I’ve often felt like Ezekiel suffered way more than most of the other prophets for his ministry. And there’s no doubt he lived in a hard time among a hard people.
And yet to have been picked as a prophet, he must have been one of the few people who continued to seek God and serve Him even before he was a prophet.
Sometimes his book is a little depressive, but this time around I saw a good deal of beauty in it… a good deal of reminders that God WILL make justice and He IS coming and He DOES see and care… <3
And the main reminder: “They shall know that I am The Lord.”
The book of Ezekiel reminds us to seek out the Lord in those dark times when we feel lost, to examine our own lives, and to align ourselves with the one true God.
Ezekiel’s entire prophetic ministry centered around a people uprooted from their homes and livelihoods living out their days in a foreign land. Even though many of the exiles were directly engaged in the sinful behavior that led to God’s judgment, that would not prevent them from wondering why all this was happening to them. We sometimes find ourselves in that predicament as well, asking “Why, Lord?” and waiting in silence for the answer. The exiles had to wait five years for God to send Ezekiel, and when God did, His prophet had a message that the people likely didn’t want to hear: God is the Lord of heaven and earth, and the judgment the people were experiencing was a result of their own sin. - Adopted from insight.org.
As I continued to read it, I got reminded of how critics of the Bible claim the Old Testament God is a menace. While I definitely see that, his wrath is actually justified once I get in the middle of the book. Like . . . first couple of chapters, God is brutal! God really doesn't like Jerusalem. But once I realized the idolatry and promiscuity these citizens are doing, it makes sense. The book is a Noah's Ark part 2.
What really hits home is chapter 16, about the whole allegory of the prostitute. God tried His hardest to steer the town in the right direction, but it just goes downhill. The crazy thing is how God has given them opportunities to remove their wicked ways, yet they don't believe God is the way.
Ezekiel cutting his hair too. A third of it to the fire, a third of it to the sword, and a third of it thrown to the wind. All three symbolizing the eventual death through sword, famine, and plague.