Ezekiel 20: 33 -34 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, I will rule over you with an iron fist in great anger and with awesome power. And in anger I will reach out with my strong hand and powerful arm and I will bring you back from the lands where you are scattered. In spite of ourselves, God will seek us out because of His covenant. God is telling them here that He will rule because of the covenant much like a master and his slave. He has a right over them and that just because we are in a different land doesn't mean we are free from "His Rule". I like the pursuit of God. Yes, discipline is a huge part of this image, but so is HIS LOVE. Constantly, the people ignored and did their own thing breaking all the laws, but He remembers His covenant with the people. He remembers His love for them and us, so He disciplines them to remind them of His love and covenant. Imagine this…put yourself in the story. God will bring us back from where we put ourselves with our choices. Our sins. Our idols. He will bring us back! God gives us all we need. He gave the people the land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful place on earth. Frankie was speaking of this earlier on the phone, so I researched it a bit for us. I found that to the Israelite audience this would mean prosperous. It would be a land where people would prosper. The "milk" might refer to animal husbandry and the use of their byproducts. Sheep were important for wool and meat, but goats had more. Goats provided more milk; their hair and hides were used to make tents, clothing, carpets, and things to hold the liquids. The "honey" refers to the fruits and vegetables. In Israel, the honey is the syrup that comes from the grapes and dates than that of the bees. We also know that they faced famines, but this was usually after they disobeyed. So, it was part of God's blessings when they prospered. God takes care of us even when He disciplines us! Sweet blessings, Debbie
Saturday, August 21, 2010
God pursues us
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Debbie, thanks for sharing that extra information about what the land, flowing with milk and honey meant. Since you mentioned the syrup that would have come from the grapes, I remember that when Joshua and the other leaders scouted that land they came back carrying a grape cluster on a pole. That would be a very big cluster!
Numbers 13:23, "they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegrantes and figs."
I was touched by Ezekiel 20:5-6, "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I chose Israel-when I revealed myself to the secendants of Jacob in Egypt-I took a solemn oath that I, the LORD would be their God. I took a solemn oath that day that I would bring them out of Egypt to (a land I had discovered and explored for them)-a good land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the best of all lands anywhere."
A land that God picked out for them. The best of all lands for His covenant people. God keeps His oaths, His promises, His covenants no matter what! They will be fulfilled.
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