Ezekiel 37:21 Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
I have to admit: I don't remember reading this word in verse 23 before, and it hasn't been that long since I read through this book. But there it is: backslidings. I remember growing up hearing the word: those Baptists who kept moving further and further back until they were out the door and going astray. But here it is, used to describe both the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel, who had strayed so far from God they ended up in Exile. But God was going to bring them back, together, and make them His people again. What a message of hope for today: God still brings people back, cleanses them, and unites them into one. Oh, to see "backsliders" returned today.
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