365 Reflections

Hope dawns in Ezekiel chapter 40. The prophet is back in Jerusalem, seeing a vision of what may have looked impossible. Here's the opening: Ezekiel 40:1–2 (ESV)  In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me to the city. 2 In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south. The structure he sees is the Temple reborn. That sacred space profaned by Israel would return to glory. An unimaginable resurrection of Israel's worship center was being revealed to the prophet 14 years after the city was destroyed.  Ezekiel 40:3 (ESV) When he brought me there, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand. And he was standing in the gateway. Ezekiel 40:4 (ES...

Could it be the very thing attacking you is God's plan to deliver you? The picture of Gog's downfall in Ezekiel 39 is a thing of beauty and an illustration of the ultimate blessed hope of the Church.  Our world is against the faith. Of that, there can be no debate. Those who live in darkness love sin and refuse to come into the light. For reason of our faith, Jesus assured us we would be troubled by those who dwell in sin.  Sometimes, it looks like sin is going to win. We are overcome, attacked on all sides. The inevitable is to come upon us. But God is not done. Just as it looked like the great nation of Gog and Magog were about to devour Israel, God assures her that the battle STILL belongs to Him.  Ezekiel 39:1–2 (ESV) “And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 2 And I will turn you about and drive you forward, and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north, and...

World leaders' arrogance is typically their downfall. In the ancient world, we have no shortage of examples. From Pharoah's hardened heart to Nebuchadnezzar's years in the wilderness to Herod the Great at the time of Christ's birth, the governments set against God's rule crumbled into humiliating defeat.  In the modern world, the pendulum swing from Democrat to Republican and back again in America is a softer picture of the same thing. Pride is the undoing of many heads of state.  In Ezekiel 38, we learn that the Lord Himself sets up this whole experience. Ezekiel receives another word from the Lord about a leader named "Gog," who unites several Eastern powers to fight from the North against Israel. We first learn that God is leading them to do it. Ezekiel 38:1–6 (ESV) The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him 3 and say, Thus says the Lord ...

After Ezekiel sees the dry bones in the valley reform into a mighty army, God commands the prophet to perform the last of his "prop-based" sermons. This time, with two sticks representing the divided kingdoms of Israel's past—the Northern 10 and Southern 2 tribes—God announces that their division is about to come to an end.  Ezekiel 37:15–19 (ESV) The word of the LORD came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ 17 And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. 18 And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?’ 19 say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick o...

Ezekiel 37:1–3 (ESV)  The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” The most often quoted and preached chapter in Ezekiel has to be the Valley of Dry Bones. As you read through Ezekiel, the imagery fits. The nation is decimated, a bygone people taken captive and seemingly swallowed into the history of ancient conquest. Ezekiel sees them for what every other nation under such circumstances is - a valley of zero potential. They aren't just bones but "very dry" (verse 2). They are in the "valley", a picture of low estate. Ezeils is led around them to observe closely: They have wasted away. No picture could do more justice to the situation of...

We are in Ezekiel 36. We look at this chapter in total and see one glaring concern on God's heart - the sake of His Name. Jesus told us to open prayer with "Hallowed by THY NAME". Our concern for God's glory should preface every prayer and pleading before Him. His name is His reputation. He raises up people to life for the sake of His name. In Ezekiel, the promise to forlorn exiles was simple: I will save and redeem you for My name's glory.  Ezekiel 36:22 (ESV) “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. God will bring the exiles back to the land not because they deserve it but so that the nations might know His grace. Look at the following verse: Ezekiel 36:23 (ESV) And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations , and which you have pro...