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“And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.” Ezekiel 34:26 Suggested Further Reading: Psalm 67 The object of God in choosing a people before all worlds, was not only to save that people, but through them to confer essential benefits upon the whole human race. When he chose Abraham he did not elect him simply to be God’s friend, and the recipient of peculiar privileges; but he chose him to make him, as it were, the conservator of truth. He was to be the ark in which the truth should be hidden. He was to be the keeper of the covenant on behalf of the whole world; and when God chooses any men by his sovereign electing grace, and makes them Christ’s, he does it not only for their own sake, that they may be saved, but for the world’s sake. For know ye not that “ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” “Ye are the salt of the earth;” and when God makes you salt, it is not only that you may have salt in yourselves, but that like salt you may preserve the whole mass. If he makes you leaven it is that like the little leaven you may leaven the whole lump. Salvation is not a selfish thing; God does not give it for us to keep to ourselves, but that we may thereby be made the means of blessing to others; and the great day shall declare that there is not a man living on the surface of the earth but has received a blessing in some way or the other through God’s gift of the gospel. The very keeping of the wicked in life, and granting of the reprieve, was purchased with the death of Jesus and through his sufferings and death the temporal blessings which both we and they enjoy are bestowed on us. The gospel was sent that it might first bless those that embrace it, and then expand, so as to make them a blessing to the whole human race. For meditation: God kept his promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:2,3). Has God blessed you? In what ways are you passing on the blessing to others? Sermon no. 28 |
Tag Archives: There shall be showers of blessing
Our Daily Bread — Extraordinary Showers
READ: Ezekiel 34:25-31
There shall be showers of blessing. —Ezekiel 34:26
What do fish, tadpoles, and spiders have in common? They have all fallen from the sky like rain in various parts of the world. Fish fell on the Australian town of Lajamanu. Tadpoles pelted areas of central Japan on multiple occasions. Spiders showered down on the San Bernardo Mountains in Argentina. Although scientists suspect that the wind plays a part in these intriguing showers, no one can fully explain them.
The prophet Ezekiel described a far more extraordinary downpour—a shower of blessing (Ezek. 34:26). Ezekiel spoke of a time when God would send blessings like rain to refresh His people. The Israelites would be safe from enemy nations. They would have enough food, be liberated from slavery, and be freed from shame (vv.27-29). These gifts would revive Israel’s relationship with God. The people would know that God was with them, and that “they, the house of Israel, [were His] people” (v.30).
God blesses His modern-day followers too (James 1:17). Sometimes blessings abound like rain; sometimes they trickle in one by one. Whether many or few, the good things we receive come with a message from God: I see your needs. You are mine, and I will care for you. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt
“There shall be showers of blessing”—
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above. —Whittle
Daily blessings are daily reminders of God.
Bible in a year: Genesis 20-22; Matthew 6:19-34
Insight
In today’s passage, the prophet Ezekiel offers a message of future hope and peace to a nation that had suffered defeat and was living in exile far from their homeland. Ezekiel 34:20-24 speaks of the shepherd who God will raise up to lead His people in the wonderful age described in verses 25-31. Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-18), and the joy and peace described in Ezekiel 34 are ours only in Him.
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