Ezekiel 14
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BIBLE STUDY QUESTIONS
1) Who came to get advice from God? (14:1)
2) Did God want to give them advice? Why or why not? (14:3)
3) What was in their heart that offended God? (14:3) Describe this in your own words.
4) How did God tell Ezekiel to answer these men that came seeking for advice? (14:4-5)
Application Idols of the heart
Name five 'idols of the heart'. Which one do you struggle with most? If you ignore this idol, do you think it will be easy to understand God's will? How will it affect your time with God?
2) Confession of our weaknesses is sufficient. (Ezekiel 14:6-8)
1) Who does God tell Ezekiel to address in 14:6?
2) What is he to tell them? (14:6-7)
3) What is the difference between being transparent, confession and repentance?
4) What is it that God will do to His people who do not repent? (14:7d-8)
Application Phone is off the hook
List one sin that you have. What idol of the heart does that sin depend upon? Repentance means that one would not only stop at that one sin but address the 'adulterous' love of ones heart. Show how you have actually not only tried not to sin but have addressed the heart issue. (Examples of idols might be pleasure, leisure (laziness), independence, lust, etc.).
When was the last time you confessed your sin? What was it? Did you repent from it? How so? Does your church teach repentance or merely transparency? List a few examples?
3) Leaders shouldn't be too hard on the people (Ezekiel 14:9-11)
1) Who in the modern church does the prophet here represent? (Ezekiel 14:9)
2) Who will hold the prophet accountable for what He teaches? (14:9)
3) What will God do if God's representative does not faithfully preach His Word? (14:9)
4) Why would God take such drastic steps? (14:10)
5) In what two ways are God's people so greatly affected by a compromised message? (14:11)
6) What is God's true desire for His people? (14:11)
Application No light from God
Have you at all compromised the message of God? Where exactly? If you are in leadership, why not start by telling God that you have compromised His message and now repent from it. Then go to the other leaders on your level within the church, and tell them what you have done. Perhaps God would be so gracious to bring people back to Himself. But they might not want your confession. Be prepared to stand strong and be rejected. Just be humble. You have failed God as much as they have.
Can you give an example of when the people wanted a church leader to soften his stand on a certain position? What happened? Is it wrong for a leader to change his message? Why or why not? Take a certain compromised issue such as pornography or divorce. What would happen if one leader started to preach and teach faithfully on such issues. What could happen?
Go to study of Ezekiel 14:9-11
4) God won't judge the heathen (Ezekiel 14:12-20)
1) Who is Yahweh (the LORD) speaking to in Ezekiel 14:12-20?
2) Of what entity is He speaking of in this section of judgment (14:13)?
3) What did this entity do that provoked God's judgment? (14:13)
4) In verses 13, 15, 17, and 19 God says that He will send different kinds of judgments. Please list them.
5) What does God do through these judgments? (13, 15, 17, 19) Does God sound defensive about it ?
6) The only thing that might cause God to spare or slow judgment is righteous people in the land. Which three men did God repeatedly mention? (14, 16, 18, 20) Think through these men's lives and think through what made them men that God would mention to represent righteous living.
Application
Will God judge heathen nations? Why? Are you convinced? If so, how does this effect your giving to missions? Are you living righteously or worldly? Is there an in between state? What will God say about your life on Judgment Day? What will He say about your nation if you could hear His thoughts today?
What disasters has your nation experienced as of late? Would it be called a nation who generally knows God's Word or not? Have you ever heard the newspaper calling these national disasters as God's judgments? Have you thought of them? Do you act contritely when they occur or just ignore them?
Go to study of Ezekiel 14:12-205) God loves us, He won't judge us! (Ezekiel 14:21-23)
1) Who is God speaking to in the last section, verses 21-23?
2) What four severe judgments will He send against them? (14:21)
3) What will God do through these judgments? (14:21)
4) What one different thing will God do with His own nation Israel that He didn't promise in the former section when dealing with the nations in general? (14:22)
5) Why will He do this one special thing? (14:23)
Application
How much is the church like the world? Some Christians suggest that the best kind of witness is when we get on the same level as the people out there and don't say judgmental things. What do you think? Why does God give His people time to live on earth? If you and your church refuse to be a righteous witness for Him, what will He do to you? Instead of using you, He will raise up other people to accomplish His purpose.
Do we think that God would judge churches? What about your own church? What sins have we allowed to go on without repenting from? Can you name or think of three dead churches? What happened to them? If God would revive the nation of Israel, do you think He would tolerate sin in that nation? What should we expect if He did?
Biblical Foundations for Freedom
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