Lamentation of the Desolate
Text: Ezekiel 19:1-14
Key verse: “And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation” (Ezekiel 19:14).
The children of Israel refused to learn from past mistakes of their forefathers, who wondered through the wilderness for forty years. The repeated sufferings and setback sustained by Israelites was a lamentable experience.
The passage of today is a prophetic lamentation of a desolate nation that forgot the God of their fathers. The kingdom of Judah and Israel are represented by lioness and princes as lions. When God was with them, they were fierce and ravenous until they backslided and they were hunted down and taken in nets. At the same time, the nation Israel was indeed compared to a vine, and the princess to branches, which was once strong and flourishing, until they were broken down and burnt because of transgressions.
Ezekiel used vivid illustrations to communicate his message to his audience. Certainly God uses different methods and occurrences of life supported by the scriptures to communicate his plan of salvation to sinners and restoration to backsliders who have strayed away. The ultimate goal of a loving father was their spiritual welfare. Israel was a nation owned by God, but they forsook God and their kings and princes led them astray. The prophet of God lifted up his voice in lamentation for the degraded nation of Israel under the oppression of a sinful idolatrous nation. What a shame!
Those who forsake Christ and His warning today pave way for severe oppression of the devil in their lives. It will also lead to ultimate destruction and damnation in hell fire.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Stay glued to the Lord and remain more than a conqueror.