Ezekiel: Repentance and Hope – Lent 2017, Part 3 Jerusalem Has Fallen Ezekiel 33 March 19th, 2017
I. A pretty THOROUGH CASE. (Ezekiel 12-33)
A. An UNFAITHFUL and UNGRATEFUL wife. (Ezekiel 16)
B. A DANGEROUS lion. (Ezekiel 19)
C. God’s GOODNESS demands JUSTICE. (Ezekiel 22)
II. God’s way DEFENDED. (Ezekiel 33:10-20)
A. God doesn’t DESIRE DESTRUCTION. (Ezekiel 33:10-11)
B. GOOD ENOUGH is not GOOD ENOUGH. (Ezekiel 33:12, 14-16)
C. It’s about ORIENTATION, not ACCUMULATION. (Ezekiel 33:13)
III. A DEPRESSING end. (Ezekiel 33:21)
A. A DENYING people. (Ezekiel 33:24-36)
B. A HYPOCRITICAL people. (Ezekiel 33:30-32)
C. A FALLEN people. (Ezekiel 33:21,33)
IV. Letting EZEKIEL in our LENT.
A. God is not CONCERNED with your RAP SHEET. (Ezekiel 33:13; Luke 15:28-32; Matthew 21:28-32
B. God uses SUFFERING to WAKE US UP. (Ezekiel 33:24-29; Psalm 51)
C. God DOES not ABANDON us. (Ezekiel 11:16-20, 48:35)
Questions for Further Discussion:
1. If God were to lay out the case for His judgment on you, what would that look like? What about for our nation? This world?
2. The people of Israel called God’s way unfair. In what ways have you thought God unfair?
3. God claims that He does not delight in the destruction of the evil. How does that picture of God compare to the ideas about God you’ve previously held?
4. How have you understood the role of performance (good works) in your relationship with God?
5. Are there places of brokenness in your life that you are in denial about? How might God be calling you to acknowledge those places?
6. Is there hypocrisy in your life? How can you structure your life during Lent to help you address the hypocrisy?
7. When Jerusalem fell, it seemed as if all of God’s promises had fallen apart. Have you ever felt let down by God? How did you respond to Him in that time? How did He respond to you?
8. The idea that God does not abandon us is all throughout Scripture, but it can become cliche if we are not careful. What does it meant to you that God does not abandon us?