269 - “The Hound of Heaven Pursues You” Ezekiel 39-40; Romans 6

 

And the Word of God came again to Ezekiel. I don't know that I've ever noticed how many prophecies came to this holy man who maintained justice and rightness before God.

And the Hound of Heaven pursues once again and forever.  Them and us.

Ezekiel 39:25 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name."

613 commands they had to obey.  How could they even remember them all.  No one could live them out every day.  Impossible.  The Jewish system and all its rules.  From 10 Commandments to over 600.  And God is moving to redeem.  Christ came.

Christ's invitation:  Come to Me.  Doesn't matter if it's just one rule.  Always breaking one.  Oh, that we live attached to the One Who can do something about all this weariness and woe.

“Patient sufferers have most of the Divine consolations, which abound as afflictions abound. It works needful experience of ourselves. This hope will not disappoint, because it is sealed with the Holy Spirit as a Spirit of love. God sheds abroad the love of God in the hearts of all the saints.  A right sense of God's love to us, will make us not ashamed, either of our hope, or of our sufferings for him."  Matthew Henry.  

Just watched a story on the "I Am Second" website about Ethan:  http://www.iamsecond.com/ethan/ This 13-year-old is not ashamed of his suffering and neither am I.  

Therefore present yourselves to God as alive from the dead." Rom 6:13.  People don't want us to suffer---they don't want to hear the trodden stories.  And they miss the Grace of God there.

PHOTO:  The Hound of Heaven comes.  From the days of Jerusalem to the days of hill country, He comes.