Sunday
So let’s do a little recapping of what has happened.
You remember Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon? He became a powerful leader and defeated Egypt, Syria and Palestine, and made Jehoiakim, King of Judah one of his puppet kings, subject to him. Then the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed that Nebuchadnezzar would be God’s instrument in bringing punishment to the unfaithful people of Judah (Jer. 25:1-11). King Jehoiakim tried to free himself from the Babylonian influence but this only brought destruction to the people of Judah. Jehoiakim was killed and his son Jehoiachin became king, he reigned for just three months. Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and carried off, the king, his court and thousands of high ranking people. Ezekiel was in this group of people. Zedekiah (Jehoiachin’s uncle), was given the responsibility to serve as governor/king of Judah. Ezekiel came from a priestly family and he was being trained for the priesthood.
Five years later, while in captivity, Ezekiel receives his first prophetic vision. He now is compelled to deliver a message to the people of Israel that will shatter their hopes of returning home anytime soon. This first vision is very powerful and transforms the way Ezekiel and God’s people will encounter God in the future. They will no longer have to seek God in His temple in Jerusalem, but they will be able to meet him wherever they are.
This vision that Ezekiel received prepares him for his mission work, by eating the scroll, Ezekiel is symbolically accepting his commission as God’s witness and will reveal only what God tells him to.
Ezekiel will be put through some pretty tough situations in order to demonstrate God’s message to His people. I am not sure I could spend 430 days lying first on my right side and then on my left. That’s a long time to make a point. But this was to reveal the sin of Israel’s guilt. (I did a little research on why 430 years, but I came to the conclusion that no one really knows for sure. It could be the number of years between Abraham’s covenant with God and the exodus. Exodus 12:40). Much of what Ezekiel will do, will help the people recognize their sinful nature and hopefully will bring about a positive response to God’s invitation to accept Him as their God.
As we travel through the book of Ezekiel over the next couple of weeks, I hope you will be inspired and encouraged by his message.
Shalom
Pastor Kathy