Ezekiel the Prophet
While Daniel was serving the Lord in the kingÂ’s court, GodÂ’s
prophet Ezekiel lived out among His people. You remember Ezekiel had been
brought to Babylon with the second group of captives. Ezekiel was a priest.
Since there was no more temple, he served the Lord by urging everyone to be
faithful. During the first years in Babylon, God spoke through Ezekiel in
unusual visions to show Jerusalem would surely be captured and burned. There
would be no more life in the promised land for most of them. Now they must trust
God to take care of them in this strange country. False prophets in Babylon
argued they would soon go home, but they were lying. The captivity would last
seventy long years.
After Jerusalem fell, people began to see that Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the other
prophets were telling the truth. So they began to settle down to a new life in
Babylon, just as Jeremiah had written them to do.
Then the Lord began to give Ezekiel another kind of message - - a message about
the nation going home. This did not mean everyone would be in Judah again. Very
few would live to the end of the captivity. Much of EzekielÂ’s message had
another meaning for them - - a meaning about the Savior who would bring
happiness for all people in all times, even for you and me.
God said the leaders of His people had caused a lot of their problems. The
priests had been happy to see His blessings used in sin - - then they would get
a part of the sacrifices offered for those sins.
They had even stood with the lying prophets against Jeremiah back in Jerusalem.
God said they were like wicked shepherds who fed themselves on their sheep
instead of taking care of them. With no shepherds to save them, His sheep had
been scattered in many lands. But someday God would bring them together and put
a special Servant over them - - a shepherd who would be like David, the man
after GodÂ’s own heart.
How wonderful to think God watched over His people as if they were His own
flock! How wonderful to think He would bring them all back together! And how
wonderful to think the special Shepherd described is Jesus - - and that He is
our Shepherd, too!
Another time God showed Ezekiel a vision of a valley full of bones to explain
what would happen in the future. There were many bones in the valley and all of
them were very dry. God said to Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones live?” How
would you have answered that question? Ezekiel knew no man could bring them back
to life, but he also knew God could do anything, “O Lord God, you know,” he
confessed. Then God commanded Ezekiel to tell the bones, “Surely I will cause
breath to enter into you, and you shall live.” He would put flesh on them and
cover them with skin - - then they would know He was the Lord.
Imagine EzekielÂ’s astonishment when there was a noise, a sudden rattling and the
bones started coming together. He watched amazed as bone connected to bone in
response to his words. Then flesh came on the bones and was covered with skin.
But there was still no breath in them. So God told Ezekiel to command the breath
saying, “Come from the four winds, O breath and breath on these slain, that they
might live.”
Then breath came into the bones and they did live - - standing on their feet, a
huge army of people. God told Ezekiel the bones were the whole house of Israel
who were saying sadly, “Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves
are cut off!”
God was showing that someday everything would change. “I will put My spirit in
you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own land. Then you shall
know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it!” He declared. Someone
like David would be King over them and He would make a new covenant of peace
with them forever.
The words of Ezekiel must have thrilled his people. Surely the Lord had not
forgotten them!
Talking it Over:
1. God told Ezekiel we can be guilty only of our own sin - - no one elseÂ’s. Talk
about Ezek 18:20.
2. God made Ezekiel a watchman over the house of Israel - - Ezekiel would be
sinning if he did not warn them about their wicked ways. They would still die in
their sins, but their blood would be on his hands. However, if Ezekiel was
faithful to deliver His warnings and they did not repent, he would not be
blamed. How are we watchman today?
3. After GodÂ’s nation was destroyed, he spoke especially to each person. How is
that true for us today?
Memory Verse:
“Then shall they know I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity
among the nations but also brought them back to their own land.” Ezek 39:28
What would this show about God?
Credits
Text by Betty Belue Haynes, originally published in Bible Talk Times.
Used here with the kind permission of the author. Users are free to reproduce
for use, but not for publication.
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