The Inseparable Love of God (1) [ Romans 8:38-39 ] Why can nothing separate us from the love of God? 1. Because God’s love is eternal. Romans 8:29a says: “For those whom He foreknew…” The word “foreknew” refers to before eternity began —before the creation of heaven and earth . The phrase “those whom He foreknew” does not simply mean knowing about someone intellectually, but rather loving them. In other words, it refers to “those whom God loved from eternity past.” Amos 3:2a says: “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.” If “known” merely meant intellectual knowledge, that would imply that God only knew Israel and did not know the other nations—which cannot be true, because the all-knowing God lacks knowledge of nothing. Therefore, “I have known you only” means “I have loved you only.” God loved Israel among all the nations of the earth. Hosea 13:5 says: “I knew you in the wilderness , in the land of great drought.” The “wilderness” was where the Israelite...
These are the words of promise
from the Lord, the Good
Shepherd. (1)
I
will hold you accountable for my sheep
and
will no longer let you shepherd them.
I
will rescue my sheep from your mouths,
and
they will no longer be food for you
(Ref.:
Ezekiel 34:9-10).
These are the words of promise
from the Lord, the Good
Shepherd. (2)
I
will search for my sheep and look after them.
As a
shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them,
so I
will look after my sheep.
I
will rescue them from all the places
where
they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.
I
will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries,
and I
will bring them into their own land.
I
will pasture them on the mountains of Israel,
in
the ravines and in all the settlements in the land.
I
will tend them in a good pasture,
and
the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land.
There
they will lie down in good grazing land,
and
there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
I
myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down,
declares the Sovereign Lord
(Ref.:
Ezekiel 34:11-15).
These are the words of promise
from the Lord, the Good
Shepherd. (3)
These
are the words of promise from the Lord, the Good Shepherd:
‘I
will search for my lost sheep and bring back the strays.
I
will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak.
But
the sleek and the strong I will destroy;
I
will shepherd the flock with justice’
(Ref.:
Ezekiel 34:16).
These are the words of promise
from the Lord, the Good
Shepherd. (4)
These
are the words of promise from the Lord, the Good Shepherd:
‘I
will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats.
I
will place over them one shepherd, my servant David,
and
he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd’
(Ref.:
Ezekiel 34:22-23).
These are the words of promise
from the Lord, the Good
Shepherd. (5)
These
are the words of promise from the Lord, the Good Shepherd:
‘I
will make a covenant of peace with them
and
cause them to dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.
I
will bless them and the places around my hill.
I
will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.
The
trees of the field will yield their fruit, and the earth will yield its crops.
They
will be secure in their land; they will know that I am the Lord,
when
I have broken the bars of their yoke and delivered them
from
the hand of those who enslaved them.
Then
they will no longer be plundered by the nations,
nor
will wild animals devour them.
They
will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid.
I
will provide for them a land renowned for its beauty,
and
they will know that I am the Lord their God,
with
them, and that they are my people’
(Ref.:
Ezekiel 34:25-30).
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