The introduction to the book of Ezekiel makes it clear that God was speaking to the prophet at a particular time in human history about a particular people in particular circumstances. Scholars go so far as to place the call of Ezekiel on July 31, 593 B.C. on the banks of the Chebar Canal in Babylon. That’s getting pretty specific, which is why it might be tempting for contemporary believers to overlook such passages as this: “…Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me…” (Ezekiel 2:3). Yes, but while God may have been addressing specifics that don’t directly apply to you and me, the issues are universal enough to fit any age and any location.
Understanding ourselves to be the people of God is to accept God’s judgment on our lives and to admit that we, like the people of Israel in 593 B.C., are in open rebellion against our Creator. We are sinners who have fallen far short of God’s will. We have neglected our neighbors, we have lived for ourselves, etc., etc. In the midst of all this sin one might expect God to turn away and allow us to sink into our own depravity. But God has chosen to remain steadfast, loving, and merciful. This, too, applies to any age and any nation where people of faith are locked in the struggle with sin. The specificity of Ezekiel means that this is no legend. These events did not happen “once upon a time.” God is real. God does real things in the midst of real lives, as real an anything we will ever face. And while that means we are being judged by God, it also means that we are being loved by the same God, which is really good news.
Prayer: Thanks be to you, O God, for remaining at work in our world and in our lives, reclaiming us from the grasp of our own sins and leading us to lives of grace and peace. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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