God is God

• Thus says the Lord God. Ezekiel 17:3
  This phrase occurs 162x in the Bible.
  It occurs 122x in Ezekiel. 4x in Chapter 17.

• As I live. Ezekiel 17:16
  This phrase occurs 27x in the Bible.
  It occurs 16x in Ezekiel. 2x in Chapter 17.

• I, the Lord. Ezekiel 17:21
  This phrase occurs 50x in the Bible.
  It occurs 22x in Ezekiel. 4x in Chapter 17.

• You shall know, that I, the Lord, have spoken. Ezekiel 17:21
  This phrase occurs 5x in the Bible.
  It occurs 4x in Ezekiel. 1x in Chapter 17.

The Bible is an amazing book. It is my greatest joy to read, meditate and study it. I hope it is yours too.

When I came to Ezekiel 17 this morning, I noticed those four phrases. Thus says the Lord God. Ezekiel 17:3 NKJV. As I live. Ezekiel 17:16 NKJV. I, the Lord. Ezekiel 17:21 NKJV. You shall know, that I, the Lord, have spoken. Ezekiel 17:21 NKJV.

Have you noticed something in the Scriptures? Seven times in the book of Exodus, we have this phrase, that you may know, and then something about God being God. It seems that all through the Bible, from the beginning to the end, God reiterates His identity. The phrases I mentioned in Ezekiel 17 and others like them, seem to speak of who God is before we hear of what He does, what He wants us to do, or, of the judgement of God upon the land.

The Prophet Ezekiel ministers during the darkest days of Judah’s history. But even though there was God’s judgement, they needed to know that God was God. God is the Lord. That He is sovereign, Master, Lord, King of Kings. No matter what catastrophes and evil come upon our land, we too, all the people of the land, need to know that God is God. He is who He says He is. He has done what He said He would do. He does what He says He does. He will do what He said He will do. He is the Lord!

In the midst of all the evil of our own land, all the people need to know that God, the Lord, is God; Sovereign, Master, King, Creator, Judge, Saviour. But especially we the people of God, need to know that God is the Lord, that He is God. End of story.

Side note. Pastor John MacArthur says this in his introduction to the Book of Ezra. God’s administration overrides that of any of the kings of this world.

We have an election here in New Zealand in a few days’ time. It is a crucial time. But rather than worry and be fearful, we know that God is still God. He is still on His throne, and He is still in charge. His rule overrules that of every earthly power.

Please join us in prayer for these elections, that God will have His way in the results.

So along with the judgement, (Ezekiel 17) there comes the reiteration of the Identity of God, plus a hint of His full character, a waft of His love, grace and mercy. This is incredible. God is judging the city of Jerusalem for their sin and evil, for leaving God and His ways, and in the judgement being poured out on them, there is the truth of who God is, a hint of all the other aspects of His nature. There may be anger, wrath and just judgement, but with His reiteration of His Identity also comes the aspects of God’s compassion, love, forgiveness, righteousness.

Here’s the thing. You can’t have part of God and not the other. You can’t have the judgement of God and say this is all there is of God. Yes there is just judgement, yes there is God’s wrath, but within these statements, thus says the Lord God, as I live, I, the Lord, and you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken, is the rest of who God is. It’s also true, you can’t have just the love, mercy and forgiveness of God without the other aspects of who He is which include judgement, wrath, and vengeance.

When you get God you get all of Him. So in these statements, which are all through the Bible, thus says the Lord God, as I live, I, the Lord, and you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken, is the full character of God being conveyed.

When God comes to us and dwells in us, we don’t get a partial part of who He is. It is true, we get all of who God is. We get God, the Lord, Saviour, King, Judge, Master, Advocate, full of love, mercy and grace, full of righteousness and justice, full of unapproachable holiness, goodness, light, authority, consuming fire – we get all of these aspects of who God is. We don’t get to pick and choose which part of God we get to keep. When we get God, we get all of Him. Just as in a marriage relationship, we get all there is of the person, all their good points and all their bad points – but God doesn’t have bad points.

God reiterates His Identity over, and over and over again. It’s a theme all through the Bible, from one end to the other. And it is something I have only just seen. Therefore it must be important that we first know who God is, before we grapple with what He does, and who we are and what we do.

I think this is something of what God is saying when He says these statements, thus says the Lord God, as I live, I, the Lord, and you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken.

God’s identity always comes before His activity. Who God is, is always before what He does. The I am, is before the I will. We must know the I am before we can experience His I will.

God’s Majesty comes before His Ministry. It’s the same for us I believe. We need a revelation of who God is, then we’re in position to receive His activity or what He does. We need a revelation about who we are – our identity in Christ – before we launch into our activity, or our ministry for Him.

Next time the Lord speaks to you, gives you a promise, or clearly brings discipline to bear upon your life, have a look at what He has said to you. You might just discover there that He has graciously reminded you of many aspects of His nature and His character.

Yes. God is God. Over your life and mine.

Image: Author unknown, Source Pinterest.com