Ezekiel’s sorrow was compounded by the death of his wife (Ezekiel 24)—an event that God forbade him to weep over. God used the death of Ezekiel’s wife as a sign to the people of Judah. Just as the prophet lost his wife, the people of Judah would lose their temple. And, just as Ezekiel did not show outward signs of mourning, the Jews would be overwhelmed to the point of silence by the sorrow they felt.
The prophet Ezekiel experienced considerable opposition during his own lifetime, yet he doggedly expressed God’s desire that the wicked not die but turn from their wicked ways and live. His periodic speechlessness during his early years was broken when God empowered him to speak, and his tongue was loosened to speak the longest passage of sustained hope in the Bible. The burning, chopping, and scattering of his hair represented the fall of Jerusalem and the bringing back of God’s remnant (chapter 5). The hopeful words climax in the promise of everlasting possession of the land, an everlasting Davidic prince, an everlasting covenant, and an everlasting sanctuary in Israel (Ezekiel 11:16–21).
Ezekiel’s visions leap far ahead to a time when Israel will face an invasion by a coalition of nations led by a country from the north. The nations threatening Israel will be utterly defeated by the direct intervention of the Lord (Ezekiel 38—39). This future victory demonstrates two things of note for the Jews in captivity: 1) their nation would be restored, and 2) after that final restoration, no enemy will ever successfully invade the Holy Land again. Ezekiel also sees the glory of the Lord return to the temple in chapter 43—the same glory that had departed in chapter 10.
Ezekiel has shown all Christians that we are to be obedient to God’s call on our lives. God told Ezekiel to groan with a broken heart and bitter grief for the coming judgment, and, through his dramatic book, Ezekiel tells us the same thing. Judgment is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. We, like Ezekiel, can warn others, and we can also share with them the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.
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Remember:
The prophet Ezekiel experienced considerable opposition during his own lifetime, yet he doggedly expressed God’s desire that the wicked not die but turn from their wicked ways and live. His periodic speechlessness during his early years was broken when God empowered him to speak, and his tongue was loosened to speak the longest passage of sustained hope in the Bible. The burning, chopping, and scattering of his hair represented the fall of Jerusalem and the bringing back of God’s remnant (chapter 5). The hopeful words climax in the promise of everlasting possession of the land, an everlasting Davidic prince, an everlasting covenant, and an everlasting sanctuary in Israel (Ezekiel 11:16–21).
Ezekiel’s visions leap far ahead to a time when Israel will face an invasion by a coalition of nations led by a country from the north. The nations threatening Israel will be utterly defeated by the direct intervention of the Lord (Ezekiel 38—39). This future victory demonstrates two things of note for the Jews in captivity: 1) their nation would be restored, and 2) after that final restoration, no enemy will ever successfully invade the Holy Land again. Ezekiel also sees the glory of the Lord return to the temple in chapter 43—the same glory that had departed in chapter 10.
Ezekiel has shown all Christians that we are to be obedient to God’s call on our lives. God told Ezekiel to groan with a broken heart and bitter grief for the coming judgment, and, through his dramatic book, Ezekiel tells us the same thing. Judgment is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. We, like Ezekiel, can warn others, and we can also share with them the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.
______________________________________________________________________________
Remember:
- If you think like today’s people, you will never understand the Bible!
- They used to write differently!
- They used to speak differently!
- They used to think differently!
- They used to act differently!
