#soap # Ezekiel 05 ## Title: If You Make Your Bed… ## Scripture: (Ezekiel 5:5-6) “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem; I placed her in the center of the nations with countries all around her. Then she defied my regulations and my statutes, becoming more wicked than the nations and the countries around her. Indeed, they have rejected my regulations, and they do not follow my statutes. (NET) ## Observation: There’s an old phrase that says, “If you make your bed, lie in it.” This means that if you do something wrong or right, you also own the consequences. Over and over in the book of Ezekiel, the LORD tells the people that His justice is coming because of all their sin. This is not God trying to rub it in or make them feel worse. It’s mourning. God does not want to do this. He is the One who set them up in the first place. He is making sure they know over and over that there is no pleasure in what He is having to do and does not want to do it. This reminds me of when my kids were little. They would have chores to do. I would tell them that they would receive these “blessings” if they did them well or would receive these “consequences” if they didn’t do them. When I would see them not getting things done, I would plead with them and remind them of their possible blessings. As the deadline would draw near, I would get more insistent. However, once the time had passed, they would have to receive the consequences. It would break my heart even further to see them think it was me who was being unfair and unkind. If you read this chapter in this context, the one to mourn for is not Israel, but God. ## Application: Take every opportunity the Lord has given you to walk the straight path of faithfulness to Him. ## Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for Your patient kindness.