Unfolding Grace – Week 28

The Hope of New Life (Ezekiel 34-37)

Read pages 419-431 in Unfolding Grace.

1. In Ezekiel 34:16, God says, “I will seek thelost, bring back the strays, bandage the injured, and strengthen the weak…” How has the Shepherd done these four things in your own life?

2. Who is this Shepherdand new Davidic King (34:23-24), and how does His identity fulfill the expectationsof God Himself coming to lead His people?

3. In a passage that is all about judging the nations that inflicted Israel, God says to His people, “Behold, I am for you”(Ezekiel 36:9). Knowing Israel’s history of rebellion and your own history of the same, do you have a hard time believing or understanding this truth?

4. Read Ezekiel 36:20-23.We teach our children not to be self-centered or think too highly of themselves. Why is it not only right for Him, but good for us, that God would put Himself first?

5. Read Ezekiel 36:25-28.Why do we all need a “new heart,” a “new spirit,” a “heart of flesh”? (See also Ezekiel 37:1-14 and Ephesians 2:1-5)

6. God says, “I will place my Spiritwithin you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.” What does this mean? How have you personally experienced this?

7. Read Ezekiel 36:31-32.Even though God forgives our sins, why does He not want us to fully forgetthem?  How can we maintain a proper balance between remembering but also knowing they have been removed from us? 

Memorize: “I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.” (Ezekiel 36:36)