Ezekiel 6 - Praying God's Word

Please read Ezekiel 6.  The LORD is speaking.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/eze/6/1/s_808001

Meditate on verse 10.

 Then they will know that I am the LORD; I have not

 said in vain that I would inflict this disaster on them."

“You (they) will know that I am the LORD” is a repeated phrase in this chapter of Ezekiel (vs. 7, 10, 13-14). The people wallowed in sin for so long, refusing to obey God’s commandments, that they forgot who God is. They experienced exile, destruction, desolation, famine, plague, and death because sin lorded over them instead of the LORD.

It is a big deal to God for people to know Him. Jesus took the punishment for all of mankind’s evil abominations, so every human can know He is the LORD. Thank the LORD for the precious privilege you have of knowing Him and ask Him to help you not to sin.

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard

so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men

and fall from your own steadfastness but grow in the grace

 and knowledge of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ.

—2 Peter 3:17-18a

As a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7), use the words from Ezekiel 6:10 to pray for those who need to know the LORD.

“LORD, let __________ desire to know You are the LORD

so You do not have to inflict disaster on them.

 Let Your Word not be in vain in their lives.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Ezekiel 5 - Praying God's Word

Please read Ezekiel 5.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/eze/5/1/s_807001

Meditate on verse 3.  The LORD is talking.

“Take also a few in number from them

 and bind them in the edges of your robes.”

Ezekiel again became a living sermon illustration when the LORD had him cut off his hair and beard and divide it into thirds (vs 1-2). The hairs represented the Israelites. One-third would die by plague or famine; one- third would fall by the sword, and one-third would be scattered to the wind as a result of disobeying God (vs. 11-12). But God would spare a remnant, a precious few tucked safely into the edge of His robe. From this remnant would come His Son, to save His people from their sin.

Sadly, the people of Ezekiel’s day experienced God’s wrath because they refused to obey Him. Thankfully, if you are a Christian, you are saved from the wrath of God and bound safely into His righteous robe.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us,

in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood,

we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

—Romans 5:8-9

Use Ezekiel 5:13 to thank God for saving you from His wrath and to pray for those who need to become Christians, so they, too, can be saved from His anger.

“LORD, it is only through Jesus that Your anger is spent;

Your wrath is satisfied, and You are appeased. 

Let __________ know that You, the LORD, have spoken in Your zeal.

 Save them so You do not have to spend Your wrath on them.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Ezekiel 4 - Praying God's Word

Please read Ezekiel 4.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/eze/4/1/s_806001

Meditate on verses 16-17.

Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, behold, I am going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and drink water by measure and in horror; because bread and water will be scarce, and they will be appalled with one another and waste away in their iniquity.”

God’s call to be a prophet was challenging. Ezekiel became a living sermon illustration, lying in specified positions for a total of 430 days to illustrate how many years Israel and Judah lived in iniquity (vs. 4-6). He had to eat bread made of various scraps baked over cow dung to illustrate how deprived the depraved were as a result of God’s punishment (vs. 9-15).

Contrast the Israelites’ consumption of paltry amounts of bread and water with what Jesus offers 600 years later:

“I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger,

 and he who believes in Me will never thirst.  I am the living bread

 that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread,

 he will live forever, and the bread also which I will give

for the life of the world is My flesh.”

—John 6:35, 51

Use the words from Ezekiel 4:16-17 to thank the LORD for being the bread that was broken for you (Luke 22:19), so you will not waste away in your iniquity.

“LORD, You ultimately broke the staff of bread

in Jerusalem on the cross.  Thank You that I can eat the bread

You offer without measure and without anxiety.

 I can drink Your living water without measure

and without horror; because Your bread and water

 are not scarce, and those who believe in You will

 not be appalled with one another, and we will

 not waste away in our iniquity.

Thank You, LORD Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Ezekiel 3 - Praying God's Word

Please read Ezekiel 3.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/eze/3/1/s_805001

Meditate on verse 3.

He said to me, "Son of man, feed your stomach

and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you."

 Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.

The LORD gave Ezekiel His Word and expected him to devour it, so it would fill every fiber of his being. Then, he was to tell the people every Word he had consumed. Even if they refused to listen, Ezekiel was to continue telling them the Word of the LORD. God gave Ezekiel the awesome responsibility as watchman over the house of Israel, and it was his divine duty to warn them of what God said (v. 17). If Ezekiel refused to obey God’s calling, the people’s blood was on his hands (v. 18).

What a sobering chapter in God’s Word; do not take it lightly! God has gone to much effort to give you His Word; He expects you to consume it so it impacts every aspect of your life. He has appointed you to be a watchman over precious people in your life; He wants you to tell them and warn them about what He says in His Word—even if they are not   yet listening.

Stay faithful to God’s calling and pray Ezekiel 3:10-11 and 17 over yourself because you are a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, I hear You saying to me, ‘____________, take into your heart

 all My Words which I will speak to you and listen closely. 

Go to your people and speak to them and tell them,

whether they listen or not .I have appointed you

a watchman to the house of _____________; whenever

 you hear a Word from My mouth, warn them from Me.’

LORD, do not let me fail You or them.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Ezekiel 2 - Praying God's Word

Please read Ezekiel 2.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/eze/2/1/s_804001

Meditate on verse 2.

As He (God) spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet,

and I heard Him speaking to me.

What an amazing calling from God Ezekiel had! As God spoke to him, the Holy Spirit entered him, and he was given the command to speak God’s Words to stubborn and rebellious people. No matter what those obstinate people said or did, Ezekiel was to fearlessly tell them the Word of the LORD, whether they listened or not (v. 7).

Can you imagine God talking to you and being filled with the Holy Spirit? If you are a Christian, your story is similar to Ezekiel’s.

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing;

the words that I (Jesus) have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”

—John 6:63

"These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.  But the Helper,

the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you

 all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

—John 14:25-26

Pray for God to give you and those you love the courage of Ezekiel to confidently speak His Word in the power of His Spirit. Pray Ezekiel 2:8 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, help _________ and me listen to

what You are speaking to us. 

Do not let us be rebellious like that rebellious house. 

Open our mouths and let us eat what

 You are giving us, Your Word of Truth.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Ezekiel 1 - Praying God's Word

Please read Ezekiel 1.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/eze/1/1/s_803001

Meditate on verses 1 and 3.

Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth

 day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar

 among the exiles, the heavens were opened

 and I saw visions of God. The Word of the LORD came

 expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi,

 in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar;

and there the hand of the LORD came upon him.

If things had gone according to plan, Ezekiel’s 30th birthday would have been celebrated with him officially entering the priesthood, serving at the Temple in Jerusalem (Numbers 4:3). Instead, he sat among a bunch of Israelite exiles in Babylon as part of God’s punishment for sin. Ezekiel never served in the Temple at Jerusalem because the Babylonians destroyed both city and Temple. However, God had greater things planned for Ezekiel, revealing Himself in amazing ways never before seen or heard by humans. Amazingly, you have the privilege of seeing Ezekiel’s visions and hearing God’s Words because Ezekiel acted as a faithful priest despite horrible circumstances, and God ensured every precious Word was recorded.

Sometimes, God surrounds His people with barrenness of exilic proportions in order to force them to look up. When they do, they see the heavens opened (v. 1). Does the LORD have you or someone you love in that place? If so, take heart as you spend the next 48 days reading the prophecies God gave Ezekiel. Pray to be like the four living creatures in Ezekiel’s first recorded vision, using the words from Ezekiel 1:12.

“LORD, let _________ and me go straight forward;

 wherever Your Spirit is about to go is where we want to go,

without turning as we go.

Because we are following You, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

2 Kings 25 - Praying God's Word

Please read 2 Kings 25.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/2ki/25/1/s_338001

Meditate on verse 29.

Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes

and had his meals in the king’s presence

regularly all the days of his life.

2 Kings 25 records the third siege of Jerusalem, its total destruction, and the final deportation of Israelites to Babylon. It’s a sad chapter, illustrating the devastation of sin. Interestingly, the last four verses of 2 Kings are like a surprise ending to a book riddled with sin and its consequences. Jehoiachin was shown mercy by the king of Babylon and released from his prison. He was given a change of clothes, so he no longer wore prison garb. The king spoke kindly to Jehoichin and allowed him to eat meals in his presence all the days of his life (vs. 27-30).

Jehoiachin’s story foreshadows the salvation provided by King Jesus. When you become a Christian, you are released from your prison of sin and given Jesus’ robe of righteousness to wear (Isaiah 61:10). Christ speaks kindly to you and provides for all of your daily needs (Titus 3:4-7). He even invites you to eat with Him (Revelation 3:20). What an amazing story of salvation! What an amazing God who writes His salvation message into every page of the Bible!

Pray 2 Kings 25:27-30 in thanksgiving for what Jesus has done for you.

“LORD, thank You for releasing me from my prison of sin. 

Thank You for speaking kindly to me.

 Thank You for changing me out of my prison clothes

and allowing me to eat in Your presence regularly

 all the days of my life.  Thank for giving me a portion

 for each day all the days of my life.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell