Reading Time: 4 minutes
In this lesson text, the exilic prophet Ezekiel taught that the soul that sins is the one in trouble. Ultimately a child cannot pass the buck of blame for sin to mom or dad. Each individual must stand before God personally.
+The Lookout
August 21 | Application (‘I Am Who’)
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Prior generations of parents and grandparents may have passed along their own habits, hang-ups, and hurts, but eventually we must stop blaming others and take responsibility for our own actions.
August 21 | Discovery
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Is our ranking of “really bad sins” and “not so bad sins” supported by the text from Ezekiel, or are we more likely to excuse things we’re comfortable with?
August 14 | Sins of the Leaders
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Since the call of this exilic prophet (in Ezekiel 1–3), the prophet had cried out against Israel’s idolatry and the sins of Israel’s leaders. The result was that leaders began persecuting Ezekiel. At this juncture “the word of the Lord” came to Ezekiel to cry out against those leaders.
August 14 | Application (‘Don’t Lose Your Bearings’)
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Long ago the prophet Ezekiel identified several danger signs of moral failure. How can we tell if our leaders are losing their bearings? Ezekiel 22 identifies five leadership pitfalls—ways the “princes of Israel” were veering off course.
August 14 | Discovery
Reading Time: 2 minutes
What would it look like to “build up the wall” or “stand before God in the gap” (Ezekiel 22:30) against the atrocities we see in this chapter?
August 7 | Sent to a Rebellious People
Reading Time: 4 minutes
The major prophetic book of Ezekiel is the Judges of the exile. It is the Dark Ages of captivity for Israel. This prophet-priest had to announce that sin came with consequences. With this lesson, we launch a two-month study of this book.
August 7 | Application (‘The Man Who Looked Away’)
Reading Time: 3 minutes
“Recently I led a difficult funeral for a young woman who had died of a drug overdose,” David Faust writes. “The whole time I spoke, an older man seated in the front row . . . refused to look at me . . .”
August 7 | Discovery
Reading Time: 2 minutes
If God were looking for another Ezekiel to take a message to his people, would you be a good choice?