Introduction
In Moneydig and Second Kilrea we’ll soon be starting a new preaching series on the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel is a long book (48 chapters) full of prophesy and visions. In all honesty it is probably one of those books which intimidates and confuses us and so it is probably one of those books we shy away from.
The aim of these daily devotions is to help us read through the book in the same order we will tackle it on Sunday mornings. There will be days when we have large chunks of scripture to read, but we will try and explain it by taking a bird’s eye view of it all. We will look at the big themes and not try to interpret the nitty gritty. Please do take the time to read this incredibly important book, a book for our times and a book full of hope as well as warning. May God bless you as you immerse yourself in Ezekiel’s world.
Reflection
Over the next four days we will be reading Ezekiel chapters 1-10. I would encourage you to start reading them now to get the bigger picture of what is happening. Do not be put off by the opening vision in chapter 1. This morning’s focus is on chapters 1, 9 & 10.
Ezekiel was a Jewish priest who lived during the time of the exile in Babylon. The people of Judah and Jerusalem were not taken into exile as one group. There were several stages where people where taken away in groups before the final fall and complete destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Ezekiel was among the first group taken along with the king Jehoiachin. (Read 2 Kings 24:8-17) Ezekiel received his vision and call as a prophet of God while in Exile in Babylon.
This is significant because amid all the strange imagery of the vision in chapter 1 the key sentence in this chapter is amazingly simple and straightforward.
There the hand of the Lord was on him.
Ezekiel 1:3b
The cherubim with four faces looking north, south, east, and west along with the wheels within the wheels are reminders that God is able to move, he is not limited to the temple or the city of Jerusalem, and so even in Exile in a foreign land, God is still capable of being with his people and his hand is still upon them. Imagine how important this would be for people who thought God was limited to his temple, and so their exile was a symbol of a defeated God and a rejected people.
His vision also gives us something of the glory of God. It paints a picture of something incredible, powerful, and majestic. Ezekiel not only is being reassured of the presence of God with him but the glory of God.
At a time when how we worship has changed, when we have been exiled from our temple. At a time when we might well wonder if God is still with us, the book of Ezekiel fills us with the hope of a God who does not need a temple built by human hands. (See Acts 7:48-50)
As with all prophecies the book of Ezekiel also comes with a warning. In Chapter 9 and 10 we read of God’s judgement on an idolatrous people. In chapter 10 the same angelic bodies and wheels that have represented God in all his glory, from chapter 1, depart the temple.
It is not the closing of a church that separates us from God it is the closing of our hearts and minds to God. It is our rejection of Jesus that separates us from God. Chapter 9 is a stark reminder that God knows his people, as the man clothed in linen marks all who have lamented and cried over the idolatry of the people. It is these people who have been marked who are protected from God’s judgement.
Have we lamented over our sin? Lament is different from self-pity or wallowing. To lament is to recognise what is happening, who we are, what we have done – but to bring it before God. To cry out to God asking God to do something about it. When it comes to sin, God answers our lament through Christ on the cross.
Our vision of God’s glory is not the powerful cherubim of Ezekiel 1, it is the humility of Christ on the cross .That we would turn to him and be marked and protected by his blood and in doing so know that we will never have to face the horrors of chapter 10 because the glory of Christ will never depart from us.
To reject Christ, is to see the glory of God depart and to face the full measure of the wrath of God. This morning ask God to reveal his glory to you in Christ that you may never know what it is like for the glory of God to depart, that like Ezekiel, even in exile you would know ‘There the hand of the Lord was on him.’
Prayer Father open my eyes this morning to the glory of Jesus, the cross and all he has done for me. May I know the extent of my sinfulness and so also know the measure of your grace. Forgive me Lord, mark me as Christ’s – remove all the idols of my heart and come take your throne in my life that your glory would reside in me.
I encourage you to use this song to reflect on these passages from Ezekiel.