GOD’S WORD FOR DECEMBER 29 ~ ~ Ezekiel 1:28 ~ ~ “Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.”
Today we look at Ezekiel, in our study of the Major Prophets.
EZEKIEL: A PROMISE OF RESTORATION
Ezekiel focuses on prophecies of destruction and the promised restoration of the land of Israel. The name “Ezekiel” means “God is strong,” and the strength and power of God are on full display in this compelling book, which records six intense visions that God gave the prophet during his exile in Babylon. These are divided into three main themes:
1. God’s judgment against Israel (Ezekiel 1-24). Ezekiel chapter 1 describes the Throne vision, in which Ezekiel saw fire, lightning, sparkling wheels rimmed with eyes, angelic beings, and a great throne with a glorious, glowing, man-like figure: “The appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.” In the First Temple Vision (Ezekiel 8), the prophet sees God depart from the Temple because false idols are being worshiped there.
The Images of Israel section (Ezekiel 15-19) depicts the nation of Israel as fuel for a fire, an abandoned child rescued by God, a brazen prostitute engaged in detestable acts, and more.
2. God’s judgment against enemy nations (Ezekiel 25-32)
3. God’s future blessings for Israel: a new beginning and a new Temple (Ezekiel 33-48).
The vision of the Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37) depicts Israel as a valley of dry bones which, upon God’s command, come to life and become a vast army – an image of hope for Israel’s future.
The Vision of God and Magog (Ezekiel 38 &39) promises a day of judgment for Israel’s enemies, followed by an age of peace in which God pledges, “I will pour out My Spirit on the people of Israel.”
The final Temple Vision (Ezekiel 40-48) describes a future Temple in a new Jerusalem.
Ezekiel was written after the kingdom of Judah had fallen, never again to rise. While some people doubted that God was in control, others grumbled that He was unfair.
This period marks the beginning of the Diaspora, the great dispersion and oppression of the Jewish people. The Jews in Palestine who escaped death or deportation looked for better opportunities elsewhere. The Bible records the beginning of this tremendous migration, first to Egypt (see Jeremiah 43 and 44) and Isaiah 19:18) continued to be the spiritual homeland of the Jews, and they longed for a revived nation there.
The Babylon exile was a calamity for the Jewish people and the Jewish religion. The most popular false prophets in Israel and Judah had promised that God would never allow His nation to fall, yet the unthinkable had come to pass. God had delivered the Jewish kingdom into the hands of foreign enemies who worshiped pagan gods.
This forced many Jews to reconsider their faith in God. Was the Jewish religion merely the parochial creed of one failed nation in Palestine? Or was faith in Yahweh deep enough to be transplanted into every nation of the world? Paradoxically, the Babylonian exile, far from being the graveyard of Israel’s faith in God, proved to be a time of great spiritual renewal and vitality. As God told Ezekiel, “But I will spare some, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations” (Ezekiel 6:8). There also would be a future revival. As told here in Ezekiel 26:24-28:
“For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.”
The book concludes, “And the name of the city from that time on will be: “THE LORD IS THERE” (Ezekiel 48:35). This is Ezekiel’s vision of the coming Kingdom of God.
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POEM BY HELEN STEINER RICE
WHAT MORE CAN YOU ASK
God’s love endures forever – what a wonderful thing to know when the tides of life run against you and your spirit is downcast and low.
God’s kindness is ever around you, always ready to freely impart strength to your faltering spirit, cheer to your lonely heart.
God’s presence is ever beside you, as near as the reach of your hand. You have but to tell Him your troubles. There is nothing He won’t understand.
And knowing God’s love is unfailing and His mercy unending and great, you have but to trust His promise – “God comes not too soon or too late.”
So wait with a heart that is patient for the goodness of God to prevail. For never do prayers go unanswered, and His mercy and love never fail.
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Romans 8:38 &39
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Ps 145:19
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him, He will also hear their cry for help and save them.
Ps 107:9
He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness.
Ps 63:7
For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.
John 15:5
Apart from Me you can do nothing.
“It is well,…… it is well,……. with my soul………..”