Nugget from the Prophets

Most of the time, as we read the Bible, the books of the major prophets (especially Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel) tend to be the hardest to wade through. I'm currently reading through Ezekiel as part of my year-long plan to finish the Bible from cover to cover (and speaking of which, I'm pretty behind schedule :)).

Ezekiel is probably one of the most difficult books. The strange thing is, I've read it before last year but this year as I read it again, I don't recall anything I read last year! Perhaps that's because it was so difficult that my mind forgot it entirely.

Well, one verse that I read last night struck me:

"As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?" - Ezekiel 33:11 (ESV)

Most of the time, especially when we sin, we think that God "enjoys" judging and punishing us. It's as though God is peeking at us constantly, waiting for us to sin and just itching to say "Aha, gotcha!" Well, this little nugget from Ezekiel tells us otherwise -- God finds no pleasure in punishing the wicked, but He would rather have them (i.e., us) repent.