Unit 18, Session 4: Ezekiel Prophesied to the Exiles
Ezekiel 10
Christ Connection: God left the temple because He was unhappy with His people's sin. Sin separates people from God. Jesus came to earth to fix our relationship with God by taking the punishment of our sin for us. Because of Jesus, we can turn from our sin, trust in Him, and then enjoy God's presence forever.
Adult Connection Point: Before the Apostle Paul served Christ and His church, he persecuted Christ and His church. Paulʼs pre-Christian life, when he was still known as Saul, included persecuting believers to the point of death. Before his Damascus Road conversion (Acts 9:3-8; 22:6-21; 26:12-18), Saul attempted to
serve God by arranging the arrest and persecution of Christian believers. He gave his approval of Stephenʼs martyrdom and then dragged other believers out of their homes and into prison. (8:1-3)
Paulʼs sin separated him from God, but God extends grace to those who are separated from Him. That is good news for all of us. The Bible teaches that Christ died for our sins. We are included among those who are responsible for the death of Christ. As Paul explained in Romans 5:8, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ laid down His life by His own authority, according to the will of the Father. Still, Christ died for our sins. (1 Cor. 15:3)
“The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.” –Article III from The Baptist Faith and Message (2000)
Family Devotion:
Materials: picture of the temple, paper, pencils
If available, show a picture of the temple from an illustration in your Bible or from the Internet. Also show the cherubim and mercy seat in the Most Holy Place of the temple.
Review some of the details of the story, and then direct your kids to try to draw the vision Ezekiel had of Godʼs presence leaving the temple. Ask: “Why did Godʼs presence leave the temple?” Over and over, God had sent prophets to warn the people to turn from their sin and do what was right. God loved His people, yet they turned their backs on Him and followed after other gods. Godʼs people ended up in another nation, serving a foreign king and knowing their city of Jerusalem was about to be burned. Even with all the bad news, worse news came: Godʼs presence had left the temple.
Remind your kids that sin separates us from God. We cannot come to a holy God when we have sin in our lives. God sent Jesus, His Son, to take the punishment we deserve so we could have a relationship with our holy God. When we trust in Jesus, we have an eternal relationship with Him—one that will never end.
Get up and dance to one of the worship songs. Pray, thanking God for sending Jesus so you can have a relationship with Him!
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