Greetings everyone and thanks for joining me for this edition of my Sunday School lesson commentary and preview. This Sunday’s lesson is entitled “Ezekiel: Street Preacher to the Exiles” and is found in Ezekiel 18:1-9, 30-32.
Ezekiel is the third in biblical order of the major prophets. He is preceded by Isaiah and Jeremiah and followed by Daniel. Ezekiel prophesied while an exile captive in Babylon. He was among those who were taken a few years before the final fall of Jerusalem.
One of the main messages in his prophesies was God’s fairness in dealing with individuals. His messages focused on God’s willingness to forgive those who repented of their sins and would do what was just and right according to the law.
Every person would be held accountable for their own sin and not for the sins of their parents. In doing what is fair and just, God placed a great emphasis on treating people with compassion. Love is demonstrated by refusing to take advantage of and exploiting others, especially when a person is in a position of privilege, power or authority.
Some examples of this included in the lesson text are committing adultery with someone’s spouse, withholding from someone something that is needful for their survival or comfort such as food or clothing or housing, threatening people with violence by using the law or force to get them to comply with demands without consideration of their wellbeing and ability to comply and profiting on the misfortunes and circumstances of the poor.
How we see and treat others is at the center of the meaning and fulfilling of the law of God. There are two other major points in the lesson text. The first is that all people belong to God.
Regardless of our moral behavior, our beliefs or anything else that distinguishes us from each other, every living person or soul is the property of God. God has an exclusive right and claim to every person’s life or soul.
Furthermore, He states that those souls or persons that sin shall die. They shall be cut off from life. Sin is our unwillingness to seek and live by God’s command which Jesus said can be summed up in loving or treating others as if they were you or the way you would want them to treat you. This is something that can be and must be done for us to avoid the adverse judgement of God or death.
The second point is that God said those who do what He commands shall live. In other words, they shall experience the opposite of death which is to be cut off from life. Since all people die a physical death, for this statement to be true God must be speaking of life beyond this physical world.
It must be speaking of a life beyond what we know and currently experience as life. So, both life and death which God speaks of is an experience beyond that of the cessation of bodily function.
In the concluding passage of the lesson text God said he has no pleasure in anyone’s death so He commands us to repent and live. Because all souls are His, God is saying He has the power to allow some souls to live and to allow others to die.
He is saying what happens to our individual souls as to whether we live or die is determined by our response to His command to live as He commands.
Well, I hope you will be able to attend SS this coming Sunday. Invite someone to come and share your thoughts with the class. Sunday School at Flag Branch will begin at 9:00 am and you are invited to join us at www.fbmbc.org and clicking the online services link.
You and others can also join us by dialing 508 924-2890. If you have any comments or questions before then, be sure to place them in the comment section of this preview and I will get back to you. So, as always remember to fear God and keep His commandments.
Pastor Jordan
