EZEKIEL 17 - LEADERS MUST KEEP THEIR COVENANTS!

Holy Spirit had me open my Bible to a random page .. with eyes closed .. then turn 10 pages (GOD ORDERS THINGS ACCORDING TO HIS PERFECT PLAN) to Ezekiel 17.

KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR APPOINTED MATTANIAH (renamed ZEDEKIAH) VASSAL KING OVER JUDAH (a vassal is a subordinate ruler subject to a more powerful sovereign). IN TURN, ZEDEKIAH SWORE AN OATH TO KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR, WHO TOOK ACTIONS TO KEEP ZEDEKIAH IN CHECK.

ZEDEKIAH REBELLED & PLOTTED AGAINST NEBUCHADNEZZAR (KING OF BABYLON) WITH WHOM HE PROMISED LOYALTY. HE SENT AMBASSADORS TO PHARAOH HOPHRA IN EGYPT ASKING THEM TO COME TO HIS AID .. IN AN ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE YOKE OF BABYLON .. DESPITE THAT CONDITIONS IN JUDAH WERE FAVORABLE & NEBUCHADNEZZAR WAS BENEVOLENT TOWARD HIM.

IF ZEDEKIAH HAD KEPT HIS OATH .. HIS COVENANT .. WITH KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR OF BABYLON ACCORDING TO THE LORD'S PLAN, JUDAH WOULD HAVE FLOURISHED.

BY BREAKING HIS SOLEMN OATH, HE CAME UNDER THE LORD'S JUDGMENT. JERUSALEM WAS INVADED BY BABYLON & ZEDEKIAH AND HIS PEOPLE WERE TAKEN CAPTIVE. ZEDEKIAH DIED.

GOD EXPECTS LEADERS & NATIONS TO SUBMIT TO HIM, TO SEEK HIM BEFORE MAKING ALLIANCES & TO KEEP THEIR COVENANTS ONCE MADE. THE FUTURE OF LEADERS & THE PEOPLE THEY GOVERN DEPENDS UPON THIS.

"God's Message came to me: "Tell this house of rebels, 'Do you get it? Do you know what this means?' "Tell them, 'The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took its king and its leaders back to Babylon. He took one of the royal family and made a covenant with him, making him swear his loyalty. The king of Babylon took all the top leaders into exile to make sure that this kingdom stayed weak — didn't get any big ideas of itself—and kept the covenant with him so that it would have a future. "But he rebelled and sent emissaries to Egypt to recruit horses and a big army. Do you think that's going to work? Are they going to get by with this? Does anyone break a covenant and get off scot-free? "As sure as I am the living God, this king who broke his pledge of loyalty and his covenant will die in that country, in Babylon. Pharaoh with his big army — all those soldiers! — won't lift a finger to fight for him when Babylon sets siege to the city and kills everyone inside. Because he broke his word and broke the covenant, even though he gave his solemn promise, because he went ahead and did all these things anyway, he won't escape. "Therefore, God, the Master, says, As sure as I am the living God, because the king despised my oath and broke my covenant, 'll bring the consequences crashing down on his head. I'll send out a search party and catch him. I'll take him to Babylon and have him brought to trial because of his total disregard for me. All his elite soldiers, along with the rest of the army, will be killed in battle, and whoever is left will be scattered to the four winds. Then you'll realize that I, God, have spoken."

Ezekiel 17:11-21 MSG

IN HIS MERCY .. DESPITE THE FAILURES OF EARTHLY KINGS (LEADERS) .. GOD GAVE US HIS ONLY SON .. THE KING OF KINGS WHO HE PLANTED IN THE HEIGHTS OF JERUSALEM TO GROW INTO A MIGHTY CEDAR TO WHICH ALL NATIONS WILL FLOCK & SHELTER IN THE SHADE OF HIS BRANCHES FOR PROVISION & PROTECTION.

When I posted today's scripture & message on X, I received a timestamp of 5:00. GRACE.

I was trying to put my finger on WHY God is showing me this today. I reached out to my friend Sara @SaraGuerard who shed more light on it (I have been so busy l have missed a lot of the prophetic messages lately which have spoken into this). This was Sara's reply:

This is spoken of by Jeremiah, as well. Jeremiah said that if they had listened to the Lord their God, all of Israel would have been blessed. They were supposed to SUBMIT to the foreign king, not plot against him. God spoke through His prophets & called Nebuchadnezzar (and Cyrus) His servants. Zedekiah willfully opposed the Living God by calling on Egypt for help behind the back of the king who had authority over the territory. I'm not sure what the direct connection is, except that Trump is also "a foreign king" to Israel. Netanyahu is a David, and there are several in his cabinet who are conspiring with Egypt & Jordan to subvert Netanyahu's God-given authority. (Julie Green, Amanda Grace, Johnny Enlow & Robin D Bullock have all warned that there are traitors among both Trump & Netanyahu's cabinets. They'd better repent).

AMEN! PRAY THESE PEOPLE REPENT & GET INTO ALIGNMENT WITH GOD'S PURPOSES.

When I started today's blog post, Blogger noted the time was 11:42 .. this led me to Psalm 114:2.

"He made Judah His holy place and ruled over Israel."

Psalm 114:2 CEV

TO CHOOSE LIFE IS TO CHOOSE JESUS!!! HE LOVES YOU AND IS EAGERLY WAITING FOR YOU TO ACKNOWLEDGE HIS FREE GIFT OF SALVATION & TO ASK HIM TO BE YOUR LORD & SAVIOR. THE BIBLE SAYS WE MUST CONFESS WITH OUR MOUTH THAT JESUS IS LORD TO BE SAVED FOR ALL ETERNITY. 

"And what is God's "living message?" It is the revelation of faith for salvation, which is the message that we preach. For if you publicly declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will experience salvation. The heart that believes in him receives the gift of righteousness of God - and then the mouth confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scriptures encourage us with these words: "Everyone who believes in Him will never be disappointed." Romans 10:9-11 TPT

PRAY THIS PRAYER ALOUD WITH YOUR VOICE TO RECEIVE JESUS' FREE GIFT OF SALATION & INVITE HIM TO BE THE LORD OF YOUR LIFE:

Jesus, I come to you asking forgiveness of my sins. I confess in my heart and speak with my mouth that You are the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins, that You took my punishment & paid the price I could not pay for eternal salvation. I believe that you were raised on the 3rd day and are now seated at the right hand of God the Father. I receive Your free gift of salvation and I ask You to be the Lord of my heart, my soul and my life. Thank you for saving me & making me righteous before God.