Aug 2, 2026 "Turn and Live" (Ezekiel 33:10–20)

Ezekiel 33:10-20 New International Version

¹⁰ “Son of man, say to the Israelites, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of^[a] them. How then can we live?”’ 

¹¹ Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’
¹² “Therefore, son of man, say to your people, ‘If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person’s former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person’s former wickedness will not bring condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.’ 

¹³ If I tell a righteous person that they will surely live, but then they trust in their righteousness and do evil, none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered; they will die for the evil they have done. 

¹⁴ And if I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but they then turn away from their sin and do what is just and right— 

¹⁵ if they give back what they took in pledge for a loan, return what they have stolen, follow the decrees that give life, and do no evil—that person will surely live; they will not die. 
¹⁶ None of the sins that person has committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and right; they will surely live.

¹⁷ “Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just. 

¹⁸ If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, they will die for it. 

¹⁹ And if a wicked person turns away from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so.
²⁰ Yet you Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to your own ways.”

Turn and Live

Ezekiel 33:10-20 

 

As Christians become more mature, they start to see how imperfect and wicked they are. They might start to lose hope that God can save them. We keep sinning and are not righteous. What does God say about the wickedness. 

 

Ezekiel 33:11 ESV 

[11] Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? 

 

God is a loving father that wants His creation to turn back to Him. God wants us to turn from our evil ways. God's call to repent is rooted in love. Yes, God hates sin and will punish wrongdoing, but God does not delight in this. 

 

God's heart is not to just condemn sinners. God wants sinners to repent and return to Him.  God shows that our past no longer defines us. 

 

Ezekiel 33:14-16 ESV 

[14] Again, though I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ yet if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right, [15] if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. [16] None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live. 

 

However, this also applies to the righteous. We should not rely on our good actions or past righteousness to save us. 

 

Ezekiel 33:13 ESV 

[13] Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die.  

 

God is more interested in the direction of our hearts then our past sins. It does not mean we should seek sin or take sin lightly. We should also remember that God wants us to repent and is bigger than our sins. 

 

It might not seem fair that God forgives the wicked. God might not punish the wicked people the way we want Him to. God's ways are not our ways, but God is just. 

 

Ezekiel 33:17, 20 ESV 

[17] “Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just,’ when it is their own way that is not just.  

[20] Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways.” 

 

How do you imagine God? Is it a stern man with crossed arms waiting to catch someone in sin? Yet, today's passage shows a compassionate father who calls back His children.  

 

We are never beyond the reach of God's mercy. 

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Jul 26, 2026 "Don't Forget the Gardener" (Ezekiel 31:3-14)

Ezekiel 31:3-14 New International Version

³ Consider Assyria, once a cedar in Lebanon,
    with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest;
it towered on high,
    its top above the thick foliage.
⁴ The waters nourished it,
    deep springs made it grow tall;
their streams flowed
    all around its base
and sent their channels
    to all the trees of the field.
⁵ So it towered higher
    than all the trees of the field;
its boughs increased
    and its branches grew long,
    spreading because of abundant waters.
⁶ All the birds of the sky
    nested in its boughs,
all the animals of the wild
    gave birth under its branches;
all the great nations
    lived in its shade.
⁷ It was majestic in beauty,
    with its spreading boughs,
for its roots went down
    to abundant waters.
⁸ The cedars in the garden of God
    could not rival it,
nor could the junipers
    equal its boughs,
nor could the plane trees
    compare with its branches—
no tree in the garden of God
    could match its beauty.
⁹ I made it beautiful
    with abundant branches,
the envy of all the trees of Eden
    in the garden of God.
    with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest;
it towered on high,
    its top above the thick foliage.
⁴ The waters nourished it,
    deep springs made it grow tall;
their streams flowed
    all around its base
and sent their channels
    to all the trees of the field.
⁵ So it towered higher
    than all the trees of the field;
its boughs increased
    and its branches grew long,
    spreading because of abundant waters.
⁶ All the birds of the sky
    nested in its boughs,
all the animals of the wild
    gave birth under its branches;
all the great nations
    lived in its shade.
⁷ It was majestic in beauty,
    with its spreading boughs,
for its roots went down
    to abundant waters.
⁸ The cedars in the garden of God
    could not rival it,
nor could the junipers
    equal its boughs,
nor could the plane trees
    compare with its branches—
no tree in the garden of God
    could match its beauty.
⁹ I made it beautiful
    with abundant branches,
the envy of all the trees of Eden
    in the garden of God.
¹⁰ “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because the great cedar towered over the thick foliage, and because it was proud of its height,
¹¹ I gave it into the hands of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. I cast it aside,
¹² and the most ruthless of foreign nations cut it down and left it. Its boughs fell on the mountains and in all the valleys; its branches lay broken in all the ravines of the land. All the nations of the earth came out from under its shade and left it.
¹³ All the birds settled on the fallen tree, and all the wild animals lived among its branches. ¹⁴ Therefore no other trees by the waters are ever to tower proudly on high, lifting their tops above the thick foliage. No other trees so well-watered are ever to reach such a height; they are all destined for death, for the earth below, among mortals who go down to the realm of the dead. 

Ezekiel 31:3-14 

Don't Forget the Gardener  

A pastor once said that when we raise our children, we should consider them as someone else's children. In that way we will be kinder to them on not take things so personally.  

 However, there is another reason. Are they our children or a gift from God. God makes our children grow, not us. Our children may have grown up well and be successful, but this is God's will and not our doing,. 

Ezekiel 31:9 ESV 

[9] I made it beautiful in the mass of its branches, and all the trees of Eden envied it, that were in the garden of God. 

James 1:17 ESV 

[17] Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 

In Ezekiel, we read about how pride is forgetting what God has done for us.  

Ezekiel 31:10 ESV 

[10] “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height,  

God does not punish the tree because the tree has grown too high, it is because its heart grew proud.  

 

As we become more successful, we might be tempted to ignore God. Or we say that we will praise God after we accomplish what we want. Yet, whenever we ignore God, we stop praying to God, we become more proud. We show our independence and prefer to be independent.  

 

Gratitude is the language of humility. We can be successful but remember who blessed us and made us successful. Those who forget God will be humiliated. 

 

Ezekiel 31:12 ESV 

[12] Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land, and all the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it.  

 

God wants people to be successful; however God wants us to give him our attention and admit our dependence on God. God will bring us back even it is painful to bring us back in humility.  

 

Ezekiel 31:14 ESV 

[14] All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to towering height or set their tops among the clouds, and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they are all given over to death, to the world below, among the children of man, with those who go down to the pit. 

 

The real beauty is that God will not forget us even when we forget God 

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Jul 19, 2026 "The Heart God Sees" (Ezekiel 25:1–17)

Ezekiel 25 New International Version

A Prophecy Against Ammon

25 The word of the LORD came to me: 

2 “Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites and prophesy against them. 

3 Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Sovereign LORD. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you said “Aha!” over my sanctuary when it was desecrated and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste and over the people of Judah when they went into exile, 

4 therefore I am going to give you to the people of the East as a possession. They will set up their camps and pitch their tents among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk. 

5 I will turn Rabbah into a pasture for camels and Ammon into a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 

6 For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel, 

7 therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will wipe you out from among the nations and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the LORD.’”

A Prophecy Against Moab

8 “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘Because Moab and Seir said, “Look, Judah has become like all the other nations,” 

9 therefore I will expose the flank of Moab, beginning at its frontier towns—Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon and Kiriathaim—the glory of that land. 

10 I will give Moab along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, so that the Ammonites will not be remembered among the nations; 

11 and I will inflict punishment on Moab. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’”

A Prophecy Against Edom

12 “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘Because Edom took revenge on Judah and became very guilty by doing so, 

13 therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom and kill both man and beast. I will lay it waste, and from Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword. 

14 I will take vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they will deal with Edom in accordance with my anger and my wrath; they will know my vengeance, declares the Sovereign LORD.’”

A Prophecy Against Philistia

15 “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah, 

16 therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will wipe out the Kerethites and destroy those remaining along the coast. 

17 I will carry out great vengeance on them and punish them in my wrath. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I take vengeance on them.’”

The Heart That God Sees 

Ezekiel 25:1-17 

 

Ezekiel 25 lists many nations which God will punish. It might occur to us that this is just a historical account, but there are important messages and warnings here.  

 

God looks at our hearts carefully and also the hearts of nations. God judges man's actions, but he also judges their motivations and intent. 

 

Ezekiel 25:3 ESV 

[3] Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God, Because you said, ‘Aha!’ over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile,  

 

Aha in ancient Hebrew is mocking. God warns us not to rejoice in our enemies’ failures. We should embrace the heart of God and seek peace. We should forgive and not delight when our enemies suffer as mentioned in proverbs. 

 

Proverbs 24:17 ESV 

[17]  Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, 

 

Moab is the next nation that God will punish. 

 

Ezekiel 25:8 ESV 

[8] “Thus says the Lord God: Because Moab and Seir said, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,’  

 

Judah was a covenant nation with God. To degrade Judah was to degrade God.  

 

God seeks to be first in our lives. To treat God holy, we have to put God first in everything.  

 

God judges Edom and Philistia because of their violence. 

 

Ezekiel 25:12 ESV 

[12] “Thus says the Lord God: Because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance on them,  

 

Ezekiel 25:15 ESV 

[15] “Thus says the Lord God: Because the Philistines acted revengefully and took vengeance with malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity,  

 

Our world is full of hate and strife. Everyone feels offended and wants justice, but when we take our vengeance, we act as if we are God.  God is not asking us to ignore justice or pretend bad things did not happen However, we need to trust God that he will do what is best. God is asking us to release the unforgiveness and bitterness and be content with God's justice. 

 

We need to ask for a heart like God. We need hearts that grieve when others suffer or witness injustice. We need hearts that seek peace and love. Hearts to forgive as Jesus forgave. 

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