From: November 7, 2025
“I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD, that you may remember and be ashamed and never open your mouth anymore because of your disgrace, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord GOD” (Ezekiel 16:62–63 ESV).
Ezekiel closes this lengthy chapter of judgment and grace with a promise that only God could make. After exposing Jerusalem’s spiritual adultery, the LORD declares that He Himself will “establish [His] covenant” and “atone” for all her sin. Historically, Israel’s partial restoration from exile previewed this mercy, but the prophet’s words reach beyond the return from Babylon. The phrase “everlasting covenant” (v. 60) and God’s act of “atonement” look forward to the new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:31–34 and fulfilled in Christ’s sacrificial death (Heb. 8:8–12). Through Jesus, God both remembers His covenant and removes our guilt. Yet the full realization of this promise awaits the future day when “all Israel will be saved” (cf. Romans 11:26–27) and as the prophet Zechariah wrote, “they will look on Me whom they have pierced” (Zech. 12:10). On that day, Israel’s shame will give way to repentance and restoration under her Messiah Jesus.
God’s grace does not lead to pride but to humility. When we truly grasp that it is God who atones for our sins—through the blood of His Son—we are moved to repentance. The same atonement that cleanses us also convicts us, causing us to remember our sin with sorrow even as we receive and rejoice in His forgiveness. As believers, we already experience this promise in part, for we have been made right with God because we have received His atonement. Yet we look forward to that future day when the remnant of Israel will also know Him and the whole redeemed people of God will stand forgiven and humbled before His glory. Until then, let us return again and again to the cross of Christ, where grace covers our sin and shame and covenant love endures forever.
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for atoning for our sins through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Teach us to remember with humility and to rejoice with gratitude. We long for the day when all Your people will know You and praise You for Your everlasting covenant of grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: November 7, 2024
“I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out… And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.” (Ezekiel 17:22,24 ESV).
God spoke through Ezekiel putting forth a “riddle” concerning the future of Israel and the nations of the world (Ez. 17:1). In this parable the “trees” represent kingdoms, with the cedar symbolizing Israel from which a “sprig” is taken and planted anew by the Lord. The “trees of the field” represent the other nations of the world. At this future time those nations that appear “high” and “green,” the Lord will bring “low” and make them “dry up.” However, that tree which is from the sprig of the cedar, that has appeared low and dried up, the Lord will cause to be raised up high and become alive again to flourish. The Lord will do this, and the nations will bear witness, so that all may know He is the Lord.
And what does this “sprig” that God would raise up and cause to flourish represent? Surely it represents the Messiah. For Isaiah also prophesied of the Messiah similarly saying, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit” (Isa. 11:1). And in Isaiah’s most amazing description of the coming Messiah, he says, “For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground” (Isa. 53:2).
Yes, this “sprig” is Jesus Christ. For Ezekiel’s “sprig of the cedar” prophecy points to the future hope of a righteous and everlasting kingdom under the rule of Jesus, offering salvation and blessing to all who come under His lordship.
PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, we are amazed at all the prophecies that point to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Our faith is strengthened by Your fulfilled promises. For You do what You say. Your Word never returns void. Therefore, we put our trust in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: November 7, 2023
“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Hebrews 8:10 NLT).
Quoting Jeremiah 31:31-34, the book of Hebrews explained why the new covenant superceded the old. The old covenant, which was the law mediated through Moses, was written on stone tablets. But the new covenant, which is by the grace of God through Jesus, is written on human hearts. The purpose of the old covenant was never to save, but to prepare a people for the Savior. The new covenant supersedes the old.
The problem with the old covenant was not its content, but the character of the people, for they could not keep it in the flesh. The superiority of the new covenant is evident in that it overcomes the flesh by the power of the Spirit that comes to dwell in those who receive Christ as Savior and Lord. The Lord revealed the coming of this new covenant to the prophet Jeremiah. Now the author of Hebrews declared that Jesus has brought it to pass.
Has the Lord put His Word in your mind and written it upon your heart? Have you received this new covenant in Jesus Christ?
PRAYER: Dear Father, we are thankful for the new covenant. For you have written Your laws on our minds and hearts. Your Spirit lives within us, leading us and strengthening us to do Your will. Thank You for Jesus, who has mediated a better covenant for us. In His name we pray, amen.
From: November 7, 2022
DO YOU HAVE AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE OR GRUMBLING?
It wasn’t external enemies that kept the Israelites out of the Promised Land. It was their own internal strife and grumbling among themselves. They complained about the food. They complained against their leader, Moses. They complained against going into the Promised Land. But really they were grumbling against God. So He led the grumblers back out into the wilderness to die, while raising up a new generation that believed and obeyed His word.
Grumbling is the opposite of gratitude. It is the opposite of worship. It doubts God’s provision and Word. It is like a virus, it starts with one person coughing up a complaint and soon the whole group has caught a faithless fever.
So if you feel a complaint coming on, cover your mouth! Don’t let grumbling and doubt infect your soul and the souls of those around you. Instead, ask the Lord to fill you with an attitude of gratitude.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we come to You today with thankful hearts. Forgive our grumbling. We know that You have never left Your throne. You are Sovereign. Therefore, we are confident in You. Have Your way in us and in our world. We are Your servants. Send us out and strengthen us this day for Your great name. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: November 7, 2016
God spoke through Ezekiel propounding a “riddle” (Ez. 17:1) concerning the future of Israel and the nations of the world. In this parable the “trees” represent kingdoms, with the cedar symbolizing Israel from which a “sprig” (Ez. 17:22) is taken and planted anew by the Lord. The “trees of the field” represent the other nations of the world. At this future time those nations that appear “high” and “green,” the Lord will bring “low” and make them “dry up.” However, that tree which is from the sprig of the cedar, that has appeared low and dried up, the Lord will cause to be raised up high and become alive again to flourish. The Lord will do this, and the nations will bear witness, so that all may know He is the Lord. And who does this “sprig” that God will raise up and cause to flourish represent (See Isa. 53:2)? Is this not the Messiah, Christ Jesus, whom God raised up from the grave to be alive forevermore, offering resurrection life to all who would believe?
From: November 7, 2015
It wasn’t external enemies that kept the Israelites out of the Promised Land. It was their internal grumbling. They complained against the food and against their leaders, but really they complained against God. So He allowed the grumblers to die in the wilderness, while raising up a new generation that believed. Complaining is the opposite of gratitude. It is the opposite of worship. It doubts God’s provision and Word.