Day329: Ezekiel 32-33; 1 Peter 1

The LORD God: "Why will you die, house of Israel?" (Ezekiel 33:11)

In Deuteronomy 30:19 God challenges Israel through Moses to choose life, defining that choice as loving Him, obeying Him and holding fast to Him. Why is it that the sinful heart chooses the total opposite of the heart of God. Here in Ezekiel 33, Israel is blaming God for being unfair, and in essence using that as an excuse for their wicked, wandering ways. That they have chosen death over life is heartbreaking to God. Read the above question in context: "Tell them, ‘As I live—this is the declaration of the LORD God—I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked person should turn from his way and live. Repent, repent of your evil ways! Why will you die, house of Israel?’" (Ezekiel 33:11, CSB). Here is God's heart:  "'So when I tell the wicked person, “You will surely die,” but he repents of his sin and does what is just and right...None of the sins he committed will be held against him. He has done what is just and right; he will certainly live.'" (Ezekiel 33:14,16, CSB).

Even in this day and age, similar arguments are made against embracing the eternal and abundant life God offers. If only people would realize this truth: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you." (1 Peter 1:4-5, CSB). Perhaps as we approach Advent, celebrating the coming and soon coming of our Lord and Savior, we can redouble our intercession for our lost world and ask: "Why will you die when God is freely and lovingly offering you Life?"