Rebellious and Forgiven

~~~ Ez 12:1-12 ~~~ Psalm 78 ~~~ Matthew 18: 21-19:1~~~

Rebellious yet offered forgiveness for every offense.

Ezekiel lives among the rebellious peoples who have eyes and do see...

who ears and do not hear.

He is living as if in exile...as if he is the only one who gets it.

God tells Ezekiel he must migrate to another place

because of these rebellious people.

Jesus also had to migrate from his own town.

In a way Jesus was in exile.

He was constantly moving around lest he be arrested

and put in jail before the appointed time.

Instead of praying at the wall he was instructed to dig a hole

and pass through the wall.

They must see Ezekiel leave

so they will know there is something else beyond the wall.

But if they eyes but do not see this digging exercise

might be for nothing.

 Beyond the wall lies more than they can imagine.

Beyond the wall is too much to handle.

Perhaps nothing worthwhile exists beyond the wall.

Ezekiel works hard to dig the hole in the wall with his hands.

It was the work of his hands; this hole through which he would pass.

Perhaps God says,

 "...they will see that they are a rebellious house."

Rebellious is a very strong word.

It means to defy, resist, to be defiant...

showing a desire to resist authority.

The people Ezekiel was surrounded by, the Israelites,

did not want to see God.

They did not want to hear the words of God.

Jerusalem must enter into exile before God can save them.

They must walk through the valley of darkness.

They must break away from the wall or they will perish.

Sometimes being rebellious can serve a purpose...

you can be rebellious if you do not follow the crowd...

you can be rebellious if you are not influenced by peer pressure.

During recent months we have seen how being rebellious

can ultimately bring about freedom.

Consider what has happened in the Middle East.

We have seen rebellious people rise up for a cause,

but Ezekiel, a prophet, had the words of God and was ignored.

You can try and be rebellious against God,

but in the end you know what will happen.

God's words and deeds will prevail.

Ezekiel must go through the hole in the wall not only

with his own baggage, but he must also carry their burden.

Jesus went beyond this...he carried the burden of all peoples for all of eternity.

Jesus carried the burden of your sins and my sins.

For when we sin are we not rebelling against God and his commandments?

Are we that different from the people of Israel?

And to further challenge us Matthew gives us THE lesson on forgiveness.

One thing most of us struggle with our entire lives.

In spite of our rebellious nature we are forgiven over and over again.

Forgive those who trespass against you...

over and over again.

Is that not rebellious?