Jan. 17 - God is Faithful

From the First Lesson for this day, Ezekiel 11:14-25

It is sometimes difficult to remember that God has promises for our good when you're in the middle of difficulty. His Word today is a reminder of just that fact.

In Ezekiel's time, many of the Jews were captivity and growing comfortable in Babylon. And the ones who remained in what was left of Judah were growing comfortable without those who had been taken away. It is likely true that by the end of the 70 years of captivity, both groups might just as well forget God's promises and keep to themselves.

But God has a different idea. To those who stayed back, God reminded them that Palestine was their land AND the land of those taken captive. The naysayers would have to learn this again.

Not only that, those taken captive would learn again that the Promised Land was not for their privilege, but it was for God's purpose and they were part of that purpose.

The mentality of those who stayed back reminds me so much of many Christians. We get comfortable with our salvation and think it's only for us. There are Churches who won't take communion with one another. There are some Christians who still won't worship with one another. There are some Christians who acknowledge that there are other Christians, but they are "less Christian" than they are because they don't dress like them or talk like them or believe exactly the same on everything.

It is easy to forget that "God so loved the world." Not just a little enclave of saints worshiping here or there. He loves sinners. He loves the poor, the homeless, the ill, the imprisoned. He loves the soul that is lost in addiction, the soul beaten down by life, the soul adrift in depression and anxiety.

God so loved the world that He gave His Only-begotten Son.

The promise was not just for those who stayed back in Palestine, but also for those in captivity. They had a role to play in God's salvation of the world. They were His people. They were heirs of His promise.

A lot happened during the captivity that would shape the world into which Jesus Christ would be born. It was in Babylon that the synnagogue system would develop, so that the Jews would have a means of worship other than the Temple in Jerusalem. In Babylon, the party of the Pharisees would rise up. It is likely that Jesus' Sabbath school teachers would have been Pharisees. In Babylon, it is likely that the wise men's predecessors would have first been exposed to Judaism and would have first learned of "Bethlehem in Judea."

God is indeed faithful, whether I like it or not. That's because His will is bigger than me: it encompasses the world beyond my little corner of Roann, Indiana. There is a lot that goes on relating to the salvation of souls that I can't even imagine: missionaries at work in countries I'll never see, evangelists reaching crowds who don't speak my language, and co-workers and neighbors sharing the Gospel one-on-one with people I won't meet until we meet in Heaven.

Thank God for His long-term faithfulness to His promises, in spite of the short-sightedness of His children!