Sunday, November 16, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Ezekiel 15-23
Key Verse
Ezekiel 20:11 — “And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.”
Devotional Thought
Ezekiel 15–23 is not a passage for the faint of heart. The prophet receives a series of vivid and painful pictures of Jerusalem’s spiritual condition. First, the vine tree: Israel is like a useless vine, good for nothing but fuel for the fire. Then, in Ezekiel 16, Jerusalem is portrayed as an abandoned infant, cast out in the open field, polluted in her own blood. God passes by, sees her, and says, “Live.” He washes her, clothes her in fine linen and silk, adorns her with gold and jewels, and makes her His own by covenant. Her beauty becomes renowned among the nations—but it was His comeliness He had put upon her. Yet she trusted in her own beauty, played the harlot, and used His gifts to serve idols. She even sacrificed her own children to false gods. In Ezekiel 17, a riddle of two eagles and a vine shows how Judah trusted in Babylon, then broke covenant by turning to Egypt. The chapter ends with a promise: God will take a tender twig and plant it on a high mountain, where it will become a goodly cedar.
This is our story too. We were not born lovely; we were born in sin, helpless and unclean. God found us, washed us, clothed us, and made us His own. He gave us gifts, abilities, and resources. But how quickly we forget. We begin to trust in our own beauty, our own achievements, our own reputations. We take the gold and silver He gave us and spend it on lesser lovers—approval, comfort, success, self. We build high places in every street, offering our devotion to anything but Him. The season of Thanksgiving approaches, and it is a good time to ask: Where has my gratitude gone? Have I remembered the days of my youth, when I was naked and bare, and God said, “Live”? Have I used His gifts for His glory, or have I squandered them on idols?
Yet even in this severe passage, grace shines through. God says, “Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant” (16:60). He does not abandon His people forever. He promises to plant a tender twig—a remnant, a future, a hope—on a high mountain. That twig points to Christ, the true Vine, who took our barrenness and made us fruitful. He took our shame and gave us His righteousness. He broke the covenant we broke, and He established an everlasting covenant in His own blood. This Thanksgiving, let us remember: we are not lovely because of what we have done, but because of what He has done. Let us return to our first love, and let our gratitude be more than words—let it be a life laid down in worship.
Reflection
- When you look back on your life, can you remember the “days of your youth”—the time when God first found you, washed you, and said, “Live”? How has your gratitude for that moment shaped the way you use His gifts today?
- Jerusalem trusted in her own beauty and used God’s gifts for idols. What “high places” have you built in your own life—places where you offer your time, affection, or resources to something other than God?
Prayer
Lord God, we come before You with humble hearts, remembering the day You passed by and saw us in our blood. You said, “Live,” and we lived. You washed us, clothed us, and adorned us—not because of anything in us, but because of Your great love. Forgive us for trusting in our own beauty. Forgive us for taking Your gifts and spending them on lesser lovers. Restore to us the joy of our first love. Thank You that even when we are faithless, You remain faithful. You remember Your covenant and establish an everlasting covenant through Jesus Christ. This Thanksgiving season, let our lives be a living sacrifice of praise. In Jesus’ name, Amen.