1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,560
Day 233, or August 21. Can you keep a promise? Our thoughts today are rooted in Ezekiel chapter

2
00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:18,240
28 verse 25. This is what the Sovereign Lord says, When I gather the people of Israel from

3
00:00:18,240 --> 00:00:24,000
the nations where they have been scattered, I will be proved holy through them in the

4
00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:30,720
sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant, Jacob.

5
00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:39,520
And now the big picture surrounding this verse. Ezekiel declares judgment on Judah's northern

6
00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:46,160
Neighbours, in Tyre and Sidon, which are now in the small land of Lebanon. Ironically,

7
00:00:46,160 --> 00:00:53,120
animosity is still real between these two little countries, and their mutual border is the scene

8
00:00:53,120 --> 00:01:00,000
of regular hostilities. Ezekiel also condemns Egypt, and many battles have followed over the

9
00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:08,400
centuries. Thankfully, a peace treaty was signed at Camp David in 1979, with the signatories being

10
00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:16,320
President Jimmy Carter of the USA, Menachem Begin of Israel, and Anwar el-Sadat of Egypt.

11
00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:22,800
Over the years, it has creaked, but is still effective in the 21st century.

12
00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:32,320
And now, today's action step. God's promises, no matter how incredible, are always fulfilled.

13
00:01:32,320 --> 00:01:38,640
In fact, God told Ezekiel that Israel would be brought together after being scattered and

14
00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:45,360
settled in their own land. This was fulfilled as soon as the seventy years of exile were completed.

15
00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:52,240
However, this prophecy was fulfilled a second time, when in 1948 the State of Israel was

16
00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:58,640
established, and Jews from all over the world came and settled in the land God had given their

17
00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:06,640
fathers millennia previously. I believe what has happened since 1948 does not please a peace-loving

18
00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:14,400
holy God, but at least He did fulfil His promise. We are His children and need to be like Him,

19
00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:21,200
and be people who keep our promises too. Can you imagine a world where everyone kept their promises

20
00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:28,160
like our God does? Why not resolve to keep your promises? It may make you more careful

21
00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:35,840
before your promise, and that's good, but when a promise is made, you must honour it, and so glorify

22
00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:45,360
our Heavenly Father.