I love living where I do.� Sunsets, water, breezes, green year round….. warm…fish…And I love America.� “In God We Trust”…..� “Liberty”… “Fraternity”….� “Equality”…It is a wonderful place to be.
Ezekiel had already left Jerusalem.� He and his wife, along with people like Daniel and his friends, were living in Iraq.� He was preaching to the exiles.� They had lived there now about�eleven years when she suddenly died (587 BC).� God told him not to cry or mourn in front of others.� In fact, he lost his voice and was told he would get it back when a messenger arrived telling him how Babylon’s army had wiped Jerusalem off the map (24:15-27).
Now the hand of the LORD had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped.� And He had opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute” (Ezekiel 33:21-22).
Of course, Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC.� The exile lasted seventy more years before a group returned to rebuild the city and its temple.�Ezekiel didn’t make it back to the city he loved.�� But, he did keep on believing and preaching and calling others to turn from their selfish ways�to love and trust the one true God.� That way he was living in the “promised land,” even while in exile, by loving God and doing what He commanded whether anyone really “heard” him or not.
�Some always listen; a remnant will return to living in the “promised land” of personal relationship with God through faith in Christ Jesus alone.� It is a wonderful place to be.
Ezekiel was 26, married, and serving as a Priest in the temple�at Jerusalem when the Babylonian raids began.� His service in the temple�facilatated�the offering of sacrifices of sheep, bulls, goats, pigeons.� It was bloody work.� The ashes from the altar had to be swept, the fire maintained, the animals slaughtered, the basins cleaned and refilled, the priests’ portions of the meat cut-up and distributed.� It was his service�so that people could be right with God again in spite of their sin individually and corporately.� The whole process prefigured�the promised Savior’s�death as a payment for the sins of God’s people.� Ezekiel had been instructed in, and�might have�had access�to, the scrolls containing Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I Samuel, some of��Psalms and�Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah. �His work as a Priest was�a respected�position.� Unfortunately, many of the Priests strayed far from what the written Word of God actually said. Their lives did not measure up to the moral precepts nor did they warn the people of the consequences of ignoring the sovereignty and holiness of God.
Those consequences began with the Babylonian raids upon Judah starting in 597 BC.� Ezekiel and his wife soon were living in exile near a canal flowing into the Euphrates River in Southern Iraq.� (This was what God had�told Habbakak would happen.years.) It was at this point that Ezekiel’s job description changed dramatically.� God appeared to him, showed him a glimpse of His glory and holiness, and called him to become a Prophet.� He was to�listen to what God said�”expressly” to him and tell it to the people whether they listened or not. (1:3;3:7). It is quite a story.� Read it in Ezekiel 1-3.
Since a prophet added to God’s revelation of Himself and His plans for providing a Savior and a final judgment, the Reformers�stressed�that Revelation�completed the revelation of God.�After all,�the Lord Jesus Christ had come, died, and risen just as was promised all through the Bible.��So the Reformers�believed that there was no vision or experience after John’s that would add to the completed revelation of who God is and His plans for salvation and justice.� This�is important as we look at the claims made by the Mormons, Moslems, or�even some�Evangelicals whose vision or experience is used to add to what we know about God.
“For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book,….” (Revelation 22:18).
Who are you listening to?� Is it someone who claims to have “special revelation?”� Or someone who follows someone who makes that claim?� Know what your teachers believe.
I hope this helps you as you read Ezekiel these final days of summer.
You can always ask me questions on Facebook (Carol Cook Brandt).� Just send me a message.� I try to keep this blog focused on the Scriptures,�but questions and comments are welcomed on Facebook.
It is important to keep this idea in mind during these days of moral decline in America.� God could send us revival—or He may not.� But, we have Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel to read.� Join me.� I’ll explain the history.� And also�give you some examples of ways you can apply this to your life and heart today.
�Since I use the Reformed Christian faith as my lens thru which I see all of scripture, I always consider�the Hebrews�as�a historical example�of the church.� When it is reasonable to do so, I equate the two–especially as I apply it to my life, both�in everyday situations �and spiritually. For instance, in Ezekiel 34, the prophet rebukes the elders of Israel for their lies and harsh leadership.� I am reminded of the many pastors and church leaders today who rule with cult-like techniques or fail to warn of sin and the wrath to come.� And are such poor leaders as to omit the hope found in the atonement of Christ Jesus.
As Pastor Chantry says, perhaps we’ll have a revival in America; maybe we won’t.� But, we can keep on reading, changing, and watching for the Holy Spirit to work in our own life.