June 10, 2022
Passage Read: Ezekiel 24-27
Meditation Verse: 25:3
Thought
Though the Lord was forced to punish His people, yet He does not take kindly to the pagans who rejoice over the destruction He brings on His people. He is still jealous for His people, He has not abandoned them or grown to utterly despise them. They have been unfaithful, but He wants their heart back. His discipline is intended to bring them to repentance so He can restore them to His favor! So when the godless nations around His people rejoice at their downfall, He is provoked to wrath against them! They don't recognize that they do just as bad as His own people, and they are the ones who helped lead His people astray! They are guilty of even greater sin, so how can they think they are better than Israel? How can they think that they can get away with the very things God punishes His people for?
Application
It is never good to rejoice over the downfall of another, especially a child of God. Those who celebrate when God disciplines His wayward people open themselves to greater judgment. The Lord is jealous for me in my present brokenness, and will do worse to those who celebrate my humiliation. Likewise, when He brings judgment on those who condemned me unfairly, I must grieve over them, not rejoice, because if they are also children of God, His intent is to restore them to greater love and good works.