SUMMER QUARTER SUNDAY SCHOOL 2012
JUSTICE DEFINED AND PRACTICED GOD’S WAY FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
UNIT THREE: THE JUSTIFICATION OF JUSTICE
“THE PROMISE OF JESUS, GOD’S JUST ONE, THROUGH THE PROPHECY OF EZEKIEL”
Sunday School Lesson No. XIII – August 26, 2012
Presented by Rev. Frank Davis, III, Pastor-Teacher
Lesson Text: Ezekiel 34:23-31
Required Reading: Ezekiel 34
Memory Text: Ezekiel 34:23, “And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.”
Reliable Resources: Union Gospel Press Expositor and Illuminator; Libronix Electronic Library; Precepts for Living (UMI), Word Search 9 Electronic Library; The Maxwell Leadership Bible (Dr. John Maxwell); Believer’s Bible Commentary; Children’s Ministry Resource Bible
INTRODUCTION
Leadership means everything and especially Godly-ordained leadership. Our quarter has focused on God’s design for justice through righteous leaders. We have visited Justice Defined in June as we studied it from the Pentateuch. Then the Administration of Justice as described through the lives of Samuel, King David, King Solomon, King Jehoram and King Jehoshaphat.
We now conclude the third phase with Justice Promised through the eyes of the Psalmist in 146; the Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and closing with Ezekiel.
Anticipated Power Points:
· The Godly Prophet’s Background.
· The Good Pastor Promised. Ezekiel 34:23-24
· The Great Provision of God. Ezekiel 34:25-31
THE LESSON OUTLINE
I. The Godly Prophet’s Background.
Ezekiel’s Background: According to the Children’s Ministry Resource Bible, “Ezekiel was born into the family of a priest named Buzi who was in the family line of Zadok. At about 25 years of age he was captured by the Babylonians and taken as a prisoner of war to Nippur, a suburb of Babylon along the Chebar River…Five years after Ezekiel arrived in Babylon (1:2) God called him to preach and share His message to those living in exile (2:10). He preached 22 years along the same time as Jeremiah…Ezekiel’s message was one of judgment. Israel had rebelled against God (2:3), and Ezekiel explained that God was using the captivity to punish them for their sins as a nation and as individuals (7:1-27). These sins included pride, materialism, idleness, and selfishness (16:48-51). The prophet urged the Israelites to repent of their sins and turn back to God (33:14-20). Judah’s response: Through Ezekiel’s message, many of the Jews in exile turned back to God. They understood why God had to punish them, and they accepted His working in their lives. He helped the people understand that God could bless them individually as they turned to Him, even while He was judging the nation as a whole (34:11-17, 26).”
II. The Good Pastor Promised. Ezekiel 34:23-24
The prophet opens Chapter 34:1-6 with a stunning rebuke to the Pastors (Shepherds, Kings, leaders, etc). Note God’s powerful pronouncement… “Woe to the Shepherds of Israel…” Surely the appointed Kings (Pastors) had severely failed and were promised by God to be replaced with the “Good Pastor” who we know is our Lord Jesus Christ, the ultimate descendant of David who would one day do the right thing in leading and caring for God’s heritage! He is perfectly described in John 10:11-15 (Read).
III. The Great Provision of God. Ezekiel 34:25-31
Ezekiel goes forth to describe some of the attributes fulfilled by Jehovah through His promised Pastor. Let’s note what the Lord said that He Himself would do by way of the Shepherd:
A. “I will make a covenant of peace.” vs. 25
B. “I will drive out the wild animals or anything that will impair the sleep and rest.”
Psalm 127:2 says, “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.” A sign of contentment and not war!
C. vss. 26-27 – “I will provide blessings of ultimate provisions for Israel and those who are surrounding her.”
The blessings of showers that will fertilize a barren land and bring forth “streams in the desert!” Isaiah 35:5-7 tells us, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.”
D. vss. 28-29 – “I will deliver my people from all the heathens that bound them.”
Israel shall be like the “tree” David spoke of in Psalm One! No reproach, no want, no shame, but planted by God and maintained by His awesome power!
E. God’s evidence of Grace, Mercy and Abundance will be a sign and positive proof that His people will study war no more and be an everlasting witness of His blessed promises totally fulfilled! Psalm 2:1-6, “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.”
CLOSING
We close this quarter with the words found in Micah 4:6-8, “In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever. And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.
PASTOR FRANK A. DAVIS, III
Bibleway Missionary Baptist Church, New Orleans, LA & Little Bethel Baptist Church, Amite, LA
Mailing Address: Post Office Box 19768, New Orleans, LA 70179
Phone: (504) 486-7876 Email: Website: www.thestudyhour.com
TV Broadcasts: WHNO TV 20, Sunday, 6:30 a.m. – Channel 14 (Hammond-Amite area), 6:30 a.m.
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WABL AM 1570 (Hammond-Amite area) Sunday 7:00 a.m.
LOOKING AHEAD: September 2, 2012 Hebrews 10:19-31
PASTOR DAVIS TEACHES THE LESSON ONLINE VIA VIDEO AT www.thstudyhour.com and at Bibleway every Wednesday at noon. Please come and hear the lesson in person, and ask questions as needed.
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