prophecy – Be Still…

Ezekiel 36:16-38 – Thy Holy Name

Read Ezekiel 36:16-38

God means what he says. For those that don’t believe, I mourn for them. This message that the LORD gave Ezekiel makes it clear that his “naughty” people did not deserve to be rescued. Their sins had been detestable, and the LORD punished them just like he said he would.

Here, he is letting the people know that they would be restored. They could place their hope and trust in these words because God does what he says he will do. God’s mercy would be revealed so that his name could be “cleared.” It seems God believed his own reputation had been marred because of the behavior of his children. Continue reading “Ezekiel 36:16-38 – Thy Holy Name”

Ezekiel 34:1-10 – Not Really Shepherds

Read Ezekiel 34:1-10

I don’t think I’ve ever met a shepherd, or one who herds sheep, in person. I’ve commonly seen goat herders and cow wranglers here in Mexico, but never a shepherd. They would have been a lot more common in Ezekiel’s day. The Bible uses the shepherd metaphor in other places as well. The 23^rd Psalm begins, “The LORD is my shepherd, I have all that I need.”

Shepherds were some of the first people to meet Jesus face to face. That tells me that God thinks highly of shepherds, perhaps because of their devotion to their flocks. God’s expectations for a shepherd’s behavior is clearly set out here. Feeding the sheep, tending to the weak, caring for the sick, and certainly searching after any sheep that get lost. Continue reading “Ezekiel 34:1-10 – Not Really Shepherds”

Ezekiel 28:25-26 – Happily Ever After

Read Ezekiel 28:25-26

Amidst all of God’s plans to discipline Israel’s neighbors, Ezekiel inserts these two verses of promise. While the verses don’t seem to fit in with the other messages, the hope they bring is like a breath of fresh air. Ezekiel had to be feeling especially heavy with all these judgment messages he’d been hearing from God.

Hallelujah! There was a light at the end of the tunnel. The judgment of Judah has already come. The reality Ezekiel and his people were living in was captivity in exile. Others had run for the hills ahead of Jerusalem’s fall. What a wonderful message to know God is going to make all things right in the world. Continue reading “Ezekiel 28:25-26 – Happily Ever After”

Ezekiel 28:1-19 – God’s Message to the King

Read Ezekiel 28:1-19

It’s helpful to be introduced to the King of Tyre as God sees him and how Ezekiel describes the king’s leadership. In earlier passages, we’ve read how this thriving town was so well respected. Did it surprise you that the leader was so full of himself, thinking he was a god? That degree of self-importance would not be pleasing to God. Yet the king must have been delighted to be in charge of such a successful city.

What must this prideful king have thought when a message came from the Sovereign LORD? Not only did the LORD call him out on his behavior, but the king was put in his place. He was simply wealthy and wise and most certainly not a god! Continue reading “Ezekiel 28:1-19 – God’s Message to the King”

Ezekiel 11:14-21 – A Glimmer of Hope

Read Ezekiel 11:14-21

Ezekiel is given a message for those in exile to bring them hope. It sounds like the people left in Israel believe that they have free reign to do what they want now that the first wave of people has been taken away into exile. The people still in Jerusalem made an incorrect assumption that what had been left behind now belonged to them. Did they think they had immunity and were safe from God’s wrath?

On the contrary, God promises to be a sanctuary for those already in exile. Faithful people like Ezekiel would be rewarded for staying true to God despite the “popular” way which led to sin and death. Ezekiel was told to tell them, “I, the Sovereign Lord, will gather you back from the nations where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel once again.” Continue reading “Ezekiel 11:14-21 – A Glimmer of Hope”