As we gather for worship this coming Lord’s Day, our message from the great prophecy of Ezekiel will come from Ezekiel 20:1-44 (with special focus upon 20:39-44).

If you take some time to read though this lengthy passage you will discover that the prophet of God moves the captive Israelites into the Lord’s courtroom.  This section of the prophecy has been described as a ‘prosecution speech,’ or as an ‘arraignment’ of both the “elders” of Israel who were in captivity at that time (v. 1), and the whole nation of the covenant people in every period of their existence (vv. 4-39).

With the very words of Yahweh in his mouth, Ezekiel sets forth the sordid history of the covenant people upon the framework of four historical epochs: 1) their beginnings in Egypt, 2) the exodus of the first generation of Israelites under Moses, 3) the time of the second generation of Israelites following the rebellion in the wilderness, and 4) the period between the conquest of the promised land and their current status as exiles in Babylon.

Our message will investigate this prosecutorial sermon, and we will see what such a recounting of Israel’s sad history has to teach us today as we seek to follow and serve our Lord and King.  Perhaps in a surprising fashion, we will see that there is great value in deliberately not forgetting our past!