The story that Ezekiel tells and the truths that he prophesies are the cornerstone of the Old Testament – as they are the cornerstone of the Gospel message. God will redeem those who turn toward Him, repent, and put their faith in His Holy will. This cycle repeats itself for the Hebrews time and again. Have you ever taken pause to wonder why? What it sit that is so tempting that the people of God – His CHOSEN people – turn away from Him over and over? They spit out the Truth and ingest lies and in so doing turn their backs to God and their hearts toward Satan. Why? The answer is clear from the above text… prosperity. It is not during the times of great destitution and need that people – the ancient Hebrews or the modern day Americans – question God or His provision. It is during times of great prosperity. It is when people think that they have all that they need and that they got it all for themselves that we forsake out creator, redeemer and provider. What is truly interesting is that it is God Himself who creates the prosperity for the Hebrews. Why would He do this KNOWING their (our) weaknesses and KNOWING that they (we) will, sooner or later, turn their (our) backs on Him and return to our spiteful, wicked ways? Hmmmm – why indeed?