I don't know about you guys, but for the past couple of days, the reading was boring, and quite frankly, a real downer. After the lament to Egypt, we now hit some real turning points. Ezekiel can now talk about hope and restoration. I loved it after reading about swords, the slain and the grave with the uncircumsized.
God reminds Ezekiel that he is a watchtower. If he doesn't warn people when he sees danger coming, their blood is on Ezekiel. If he warns them and they do nothing about it, their blood is on themselves. Ezekiel's job was not to convince them. but to make them aware. Excellent lesson for us today. Some people listened to Ezekiel and acted as if what he said was cool, and then they turned away...their heart was wrong. They thought Ezekiel was just a performance..do we ever treat church like that? A great song or band or "special" and we think it is a lovely performance, and we miss the message and go about our business once it is over?
We get more foreshadowing of the ultimate shepherd, Jesus. He will bring the covenant of peace. He will look for the lost sheep and tend to them. You will see a reference to David, and that is not the literal David, it is the generation of David. Jesus came from David's line. You see that God also opened up Ezekiel's mouth. For so long, he could only speak what God told him to speak so the people would know that it was really from God. Now, Ezekiel could speak on his own (no, God is not through with him!)........I sort of felt this way when Isaiah finished with his judgement and moved to hope? Anyone sense a theme here?
Look what comes up from the depths of the sea.
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Wooo.....if Ezekiel does not let the people aware, he has the blood on his hands....he can't ignore the message he is to deliver.
ReplyDeleteNice verse: 34:12 "As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day." God is my shepherd and I am his sheep and He will seek me out when I am lost to help me.