Ezekiel 30

Ezekiel has a picture of the coming destruction of Pharaoh and Egypt.  God is not happy with them and as I read this chapter – a number of words jump off the pages at me about what God will do.  Check out what God describes as ways He will deal with this disobedient and proud man and nation: “smash… topple…demolish…burn…punish…pour my wrath…knock…set on fire…writhe in pain…blown away…raped…killed…exiled…shatter…break…put an end…disappear… hauled off…scatter”.  Things are not going to go well for the Egyptians.  What occurs to me is that God is a God of action.  He does not just sit by and idly watch someone thumb their nose at Him.  He will take action to bring people into right relationship and reinforce the fact that He alone is God.  As God ends His list of actions here in Ezekiel 30, He says this: “That’s how I’ll punish Egypt, and that’s how she’ll realize that I am GOD”.  The point of the lesson for Pharoah and his people – to know who God is and recognize that He alone is in control.  Sometimes we tend to forget that God is God and we start to take on the role of being in charge and believing that somehow life is about us.  That couldn’t be farther from the truth.  Life is all about God and recognizing Him for who He is.  It is about relating to a loving Father who wants the best for us and has made provision for our pathetic human sinfulness through Jesus.  We have to realize that God is who He says and that means He is God of my life and yours.  The sooner we figure it out and live that way, the better for us.  It isn’t optional.  He will help us get there if we don’t chose it on our own.