I Fell on my Face – I Covered…I Restrained – Ezekiel Chapter 31

A few years ago, I did a detailed study in the book of Ezekiel. I’m going to be posting the prophetic insights from each chapter over the next little bit. If you want the full teaching, it’s available on my YouTube channel (link below):

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1SJ72pTdlLmfd8nXNtTwbwZGApM_1Xjo&si=3Vx3geZoUUB3arjU

I FELL ON MY FACE – I COVERED…I RESTRAINED – EZEKIEL CHAPTER 31

Everything we have we owe to him. Are our hands open? Or are we holding on when he wants us to let go?

INSIGHTS:

1. Do we acknowledge him as the source of all we have? Are we grateful or are we grasping at the wind?

“I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.”

Ecclesiastes 1:14 NKJV‬

This is Solomon lamenting at the end of his life. He had had great wealth, honour and wisdom poured out upon him as a young man. But he didn’t hold onto it. He didn’t stay humble. He let his heart get puffed up. Subsequently, he fell into idolatry. This is such an easy trap for all of us. He wasn’t grateful for what God had given him. At the end of his life, he saw all as vanity and grasping for the wind.

How did Solomon end up here? I believe it’s because he forgot who he was. He forgot what the Lord had given him. The Lord had lavished his goodness on him. I believe he got lost in all that God had given him and forgetting the source of all we have.

This is a simple question, but it is profound. I’ve been so blessed in my life. Am I truly thankful? This is an important question to ask ourselves. Am I grasping at the wind to obtain something that is already freely given?

2. What does it profit a man?

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”

‭Mark 8:36 NKJV‬

This is exactly what happened in Ezekiel 31. Egypt was a powerhouse, it had been for millennia. Assyria was one too. These were beauties and marvels of the ancient world brought down to nothing.

Whatever it may be that we are grasping for what does it matter at the end of the day when we stand before God but we lose our own soul? I’m taking this moment to say if you have not got before your Creator; if you have not acknowledged him as king of the universe; if you have not received Jesus as Lord and Saviour, I invite you to get on your knees and receive his grace and mercy. Mercy always triumphs over judgement, but we must receive his mercy first (Jam.2:13). Repent of your sins and make Jesus the Lord and Saviour of your life.

3. Our hands need to be open in this season.

If we are grasping at the wind, our hands are closed. They are not open to receive the goodness of God. God wants to bless us abundantly. Jesus came to give us abundant life. It is the thief who robs, steels kills and destroys (John 10:10). The Lord is the Giver of life but we can’t receive it if our hands are so firmly holding on to what we feel is important to us.

Will we let go for the greater he has for us?