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Welcome to today’s Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation covering Ezekiel 20:44 wherein we discover the blessings we can enjoy from a God working for the sake of His own name.
And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.
Three times previous to this verse in the same chapter, the Lord spoke of operating for His name’s sake. Each time He says this, He is recalling His people’s rebellion against Him but His unwillingness to completely wipe them out. Really, in the end of such seasons, we see God returning good for the people’s evil. This sentence of similar statement falls as somewhat of a grand finale after the declaration that a new covenant would be instituted between God and His children. For instance, He said in verse 37, I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant, followed by a promise to remove all rebels from this covenant. In other words, something new and better was coming because of God’s power and love.
Though idolatry and compromised worship abounded, the Lord’s activity would be of the kind that would speak to His rightful place in the minds and hearts of all. People would know that He stood apart from the idols of other nations and that He was to be revered according to His design: you shall know that I am the Lord. Lest it be a stumbling for us in seeing that He acts thus for the sake of His own name, we should consider what it means for Him to do so. What is certain is that when mere men act chiefly for their own sake, the results are ugly. We may not recognize that such is happening at first, and it might even seem that certain actions are done in love for those with whom they are interacting. Take for instance a father who brings his family into public and treats them with warmth and affection to save face before observers. Perhaps he even does all the right family man activities like coaching soccer teams or being on the school board. When he, his wife, and children are at home, however, he is far more cold and distant. He has been acting for the sake of his own name in both places, having little interest in the encouragement of his family. Now with God, we do see a similar thing happen in that He desires the other nations to see that He is the true God who has worked great deliverance for His people. He does not therefore utterly destroy Israel though their sins are great. But the immense difference between God and the two-faced father in our example is that God works for the sake of His name while still working for the good of His children. His self-interest is first warranted because of His perfection, but it is likewise the source from which His love for His children flows. God is not interested in saving face so as to hide His true nature, but in displaying face so that all might observe His character and find the joy, security, and hope that comes in knowing Him. And the amazing part of all of this is that He does not act in such a manner because His family is or is not well-behaved, but He in reality acts with kindness in spite of their terrible disobedience. And this, we might argue, makes Him doubly good and doubly worthy of working for the sake of His own name. Will you join the team today of working for the sake of God’s name? The head Coach, Jesus, is a great trainer and friend who is the same on the field and off, in the home and out in public, both now and forever.
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