Psalms 143-150 and Ezekiel 1-18

For my own piece of mind, I need to summarize where we are during this book-

Creation -> Adam -> Noah -> flood -> Abram -> Abraham -> Isaac -> Jacob -> Hebrews/ Israelites -> go into Egypt, willing after Joseph gets sold by his brothers to merchants -> Egyptians treat Hebrews as slaves -> Moses -> plaques in Egypt -> Moses leads Israelites out of Egypt -> parts Red Sea -> traveling to Promised Land -> ends up wandering around for 40 years -> Israelites enter Promised Land with Joshua as the leader -> led by judges -> sidetrack a little to meet Ruth who marries Boaz, King David’s great grandfather -> we meet Hannah and Eli -> Samuel -> the 1st king, Saul -> David -> Solomon -> various kings -> Elijah -> Elisha-> lots of battles -> Isaiah & Jeremiah are prophets that try to warn the Israelites to repent -> Israel falls to Babylon —> Ezra returns to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon as a priest helping to restore Jerusalem -> relatively around this same time Nehemiah also leaves exile in Babylon to help rebuild

At first I thought this passage was taking place a little before Nehemiah, during the exile. But as I continue reading I’m not sure that makes sense. So rather- I think at this point in time Jerusalem is in the midst of the fall. King Jehoiakim has been taken into captivity in Babylon but Jerusalem is currently still standing. So this would be what we read about in Jeremiah where the governor was appointed by the Babylonians to lead what’s left of Israel but remember he ends up get assassinated and shortly after that the city fully falls, the walls are gone, the temple is burned, the majority of the people go into exile. So I think (again not an expert, just trying to figure this out with you all) this is exactly what God is having Ezekiel prophecy here. Ezekiel is seeing these creatures, he later figures out are cherubim. God is telling him to speak to the house of Israel, warning them- they are going to pay for their detestable ways.

Israel isn’t listening. They didn’t listen to Isaiah; they didn’t listen to Jeremiah; here come Ezekiel, smack in the middle of the fall, still trying to warn them, and they just aren’t listening.

BUT God is then saying after this you will be judged according to your own behavior. No longer will they be judged based on the behavior of the country as a whole or on the behavior and sins of their fathers- solely on their actions BUT that it is an ongoing process. And even though this part seems a little daunting I think this is actually great, right- so He’s saying this is not a one and done, check it off the list kind of thing- well I walked down the aisle during VBS, got baptized when I was 9, so ✅✅ now I can do whatever I please and not worry about my actions or the state of my heart, right?! NO NO NO- in fact once you “find God” and “walk the aisle,” the stakes are higher. Now you know- and once you know, you know. Sure we’re all going to drift during different seasons of life; maybe you’re a tax accountant during tax season or a teacher trying to start the school year and you’re just trying to keep your head above water, you don’t have time to spend hours studying the Bible and in prayer- BUT where’s your heart? I think that’s my overall takeaway here- do you have idols in your heart? Do you have stumbling blocks in your mind? Where does God fit in to all that? We are smack in the middle of our sanctification process and as hard as it is sometimes- I am thankful that I can accountable for me; my sins aren’t going to directly cause discomfort for my children or their children.

What did you get out of this passage? New takeaways? Maybe something completely different than what I’m getting here??