“I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment on him there because he was unfaithful to me.” Ezekiel 17:20.
God’s plan was for Israel to go into exile.
It’s certainly wasn’t a popular plan, but it was what God wanted.
Those who came and told the Israelites about what was going to happen did so at their own risk.
Several chapters back in Ezekiel, the Israelites were confident that the impending disaster wouldn’t happen in their lifetimes. “Relax, we’re okay,” they surmised.
We’re further along now. Israel has been captured and many residents have been taken to Babylon. Babylon kept the Israelite leader in place on the condition that he would remain loyal to Babylon.
Despite signing an agreement with Babylon, the Israelite leader conspired with Egypt. He would get Egypt to help him.
This was not God’s plan and because of the leader’s behavior there would be a price to pay.
When I do what I (alone) want to do, I am behaving as the Israelite leader did. I am choosing my own course of action. I am putting myself in line to bear the consequences of such action. God is not mocked. He misses nothing. I can’t hope that He won’t find out. In fact, He knows everything I think and do. Nothing escapes Him.
I continue to recall the point I found in Revelation 3 about God’s Work and busywork. If I am not working directly for God, then I am working for Satan. That’s a harsh truth. The Israelite leader’s behavior was extreme. He disregarded God and then directly disobeyed Him. I, however, do the same at my own level too many times.
I MUST attach myself and my plans to His scrutiny. If I act without Him, I am going with Satan. God is not pleased, and He will not bless me.
I am quite sure that the leader of Israel had trouble imagining that being in captivity was a good thing. It was to God, however, but not to him.
When I am faced with difficult situations, I struggle to remember that if God is running my life then that struggle is for my good. Too often I want a walk with Him that has no obstacles. I have to realize that those “obstacles” strengthen me in a way God only knows.
Conclusion: I am not immune from struggles. Will I remember, because I am a believer, that God is in the struggles with me and live accordingly?
His Word For Me 