Water of Life

Readings for today: Ezekiel 45-48

In a few weeks, I will land in Entebbe, Uganda. As we drive north to our assignment, we will spend time on the shores of Lake Victoria. Lake Victoria is the world’s largest tropical lake and the second largest freshwater lake. It is a huge natural resource for three different countries - Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. As the world’s largest freshwater fishery, it sustains millions of people. I have taken tours of this lake. I’ve seen the fishermen with their nets. The birds that nest in the trees along its banks. The sheer abundance of life it produces. I have seen the underwater springs that form the headwaters of the Nile River, another body of water that provides life for millions of people. It’s incredible.

I have also been in desert places where there is no water. I have seen drought conditions that created starvation and famine. I have spent time with people who survive in these places, living off the small amounts of seasonal rainfall that take place every year. The population in these places is scarce. There is so little to sustain life. No animals. No birds. No trees. Nothing much grows from the ground. It’s a hard life. Perhaps that’s why I love the vision given to Ezekiel in our passage today. A life-giving river flowing from the Temple into the Arabah which is another word for desert place. The water starts as a trickle, much like the Nile starts as a spring, but soon becomes a river so deep and so wide, it cannot be crossed. This river flows down into the Dead Sea, turning what was once toxic into freshwater. Water that can produce and sustain life. Trees begin to spring up along its banks, bearing fruit and offering healing. It’s a beautiful picture of what God wants to do in our world.

The key to this vision lies in the restoration of the Temple. For several chapters now, God has been showing Ezekiel what will happen when true worship is restored in Israel. The Temple will be rebuilt. The priesthood purified and restored. The sacrificial system renewed. The people of God will worship God with a new heart and a new spirit and a new desire to follow His commands. As this happens, a river will begin to trickle out from the Temple. It will rise and soon turn into a flood, overwhelming all the death and destruction and devastation. The same holds true for us today. The same holds true for the church today. When the church worships God in spirit and in truth, life begins to flow into the community where it is planted. Fruit is produced. Healing takes place. Restoration and renewal takes root in the desert places where death once reigned.

Readings for tomorrow: Daniel 1-3

Presence

Readings for today: Ezekiel 41-44

There is nothing like experiencing the glory of the Lord’s presence in your life. Unexpected times when He makes Himself known to us through a sunrise or on a hike in the mountains or at the shore of a pristine lake or powerful ocean. Tender times when He makes Himself known to us in our weakness and vulnerability. The loss of a loved one. A fearful diagnosis. The breakdown of a close relationship. Redemptive times when He makes Himself known to us in our failure and sin. A mistake that costs us dearly. A fall that causes all kinds of pain. A self-destructive choice that ripples out into our lives. This is true for us not only personally but collectively as well. Powerful times of worship with God’s people. Seasons of revival in life when entire churches and communities experience the power of His presence. I’ve even witnessed entire villages and regions bowing the knee to Jesus Christ as He makes Himself known through miraculous signs and wonders. It’s amazing.

As Ezekiel’s visions come to a close, he sees the glory of the Lord firsthand and it brings him to his knees in awe and wonder and worship. It reminds him of earlier times in his life when he saw the glory of God destroy the city or visit him down by the Chebar River. This vision, however, is different. God is returning to His city. God is returning to His Temple. God is returning to His people. It’s a vision of hope. A vision of a future where God’s people will be purified and sanctified and made holy. A vision of a time coming when they will serve the Lord with all their hearts and cast aside their idolatry. It’s a vision of national revival. The renewal of a nation. The return of Israel from exile. It was overwhelming. And it serves as a great reminder to us that all is never lost. Not with God. Even in the darkest moments of our lives, He is with us and He is working out His plan for us.

I recently came across the account of a pastor who lived in Europe during the Second World War. His community had become the epicenter of a great battle between the Allied Forces and Nazi Germany. One evening as the sun was setting over the horizon, both armies pulled back to regroup. A great silence fell over the battlefield. He looked up in the waning daylight to see the spire of a church still standing tall despite the shelling that had taken place that day. It gave him hope. All of a sudden, a lone artillery shell came out of nowhere and blew the spire apart. A flock of birds happened to be resting on that spire and as the shell came in, they simply lifted up above the destruction, and once the dust had settled, nested back down in the ruins. The pastor later wrote, “It felt like the glory of God to me. Rising above all the chaos and tumult of our world and then resting back down with us in the ruins.” I think that’s about right.

We do not place our hope in anything built by human hands. Not Temples. Not churches. Not great cities or empires. All of them will eventually come crumbling down. The only hope we have is God. And the only way we will taste that hope is to experience His presence. And the only way we will experience His presence is by cultivating a deep, abiding awareness of Him in our daily lives through prayer and worship and meditation on His Word. Friends, God promises to make Himself known to all who seek Him with their whole heart.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 45-48

Return

Readings for today: Ezekiel 37-40

The people of Israel represent one of history’s great anomalies. There is no human reason they should continue to exist. There is no earthly reason why there should be a nation of Israel today. She has faced extinction level events so many times throughout her history. So many nations have sought her destruction over the centuries. Egypt. Canaan. Assyria. Babylon. Those are just the ones mentioned in the Bible. In modern times, one only has to look at the pogroms in Europe or Russia or the Middle East. The fact that she not only has survived but also thrives is truly a miracle. A sign of God’s great love and faithfulness. A sign that God’s covenant endures forever.

Does that mean Israel never errs? Of course not. The Bible is honest about her many failings. It’s why God withdrew His protective hand when the pagan nations around her attacked. It’s why God allowed Jerusalem to be destroyed. It’s why God sent His people into exile in Babylon. He judged them in righteousness for their idolatry, corruption, greed, injustice, and oppression. He never gives them a pass. He doesn’t have a blind spot when it comes to His people. He sees all. He knows all. And He refuses to let their sin go unpunished. By the way, this is as true today as it has ever been for God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

However, having said all that, it is equally clear God’s ultimate goal for Israel is restoration. Even while they are in exile, He works tirelessly for their return. He gives Ezekiel visions of dry bones coming together into living, breathing bodies. Two sticks with the names of Judah and Joseph upon them. God shows the prophet a vision of a new Temple and even takes him on a virtual tour of the building so he can see all God will one day do when He brings His people home from exile. It’s a powerful reminder of God’s faithfulness to Himself, His promises, and His people. Listen again to Ezekiel’s description. “Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have compassion on the whole house of Israel,  and I will be jealous for my holy name. They will feel remorse for their disgrace and all the unfaithfulness they committed against me, when they live securely in their land with no one to frighten them. When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the countries of their enemies, I will demonstrate my holiness through them in the sight of many nations. They will know that I am the Lord their God when I regather them to their own land after having exiled them among the nations. I will leave none of them behind. I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel. This is the declaration of the Lord God.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭39‬:‭25‬-‭29‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

I will restore Jacob and the whole house of Israel. I will bring them back from the countries of their enemies. I will regather them to their own land. I will leave none behind. I will no longer hide my face. I will pour out my Spirit. This is the declaration of the Lord. These are incredibly powerful words that will be fulfilled when Ezra returns to rebuild the Temple and Nehemiah returns to rebuild the wall. Not only that but we see the same dynamic taking place throughout history as God preserves and protects His people, refusing to let them be finally destroyed. The Jewish people have endured so much over the centuries. They have been harassed and attacked and targeted by almost every society on earth. Blamed for all kinds of terrible things. Cast as the nefarious subjects of all kinds of crazy conspiracy theories. And still they survive when other people groups and cultures have come and gone. Where is Babylon today? Where is Assyria today? Where are the Canaanite tribes today? Still Israel remains. Why? Because God is faithful.

Readings for tomorrow: No devotionals on Sundays

Redemptive Justice

Readings for today: Ezekiel 29-32

Many years ago, I had a long discussion with a dear friend. Someone I loved and respected. A fellow clergy person, though he was a Muslim and I was a Christian. For months we debated the nature of God’s justice. We probed the differences between Islam and Christianity. We wrestled over the problem of evil in the world and why God allows it. It was a wonderful discussion that challenged both of us. At the end of the day, I am not sure we moved the needle much for each other but we definitely came to a more clear understanding of how each of our respective faith’s define the justice of God.

I found myself thinking of my friend as I read these passages from Ezekiel. He would have appreciated them. For him, they describe God’s retributive justice perfectly. God deals with evil by sending it to hell. He deals with those who commit great evil by punishing them and sending them to the underworld. All those who attacked God’s people get their due. All the pagan nations finally meet their fate. God gives none of them a pass. He refuses to relent until he has utterly broken them. There’s something deep in all of us that can appreciate what God does here especially when we consider some of the horrific crimes committed against humanity throughout history.

God, however, is not in the business of retributive justice, even for the enemies of His people. What God wants is redemptive justice. A justice that restores rather than destroys. A justice focused more on rehabilitation than on punishment. A justice that expiates the guilty rather than condemns them. This is where Christians part ways with our Muslim friends. Islam has no mechanism for redemptive justice. All justice is ultimately retributive unless Allah decides - arbitrarily - to show mercy. Christianity, on the other hand, offers Jesus as a substitute in our place. Jesus makes atonement for our sin by enduring the full measure of God’s righteous judgment on sin and evil. He suffers the just penalty for sin by dying the death we deserved.

In today’s reading, the seeds of redemptive justice are sown. Over and over again, throughout this section, we see the purpose behind God’s judgment. “Then they’ll realize I am God.” God wants the nations to acknowledge His Lordship. He wants them to set aside their idols and submit to His rule and reign. He wants them to bring an end to oppression and abuse and greed and exploitation and instead, walk in His ways. He wants the same for us as well.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 33-36

Intercession

Readings for today: Ezekiel 21-24

One of the commitments I made to the Lord when I became a pastor was to become an intercessor for the people I served. Someone who would stand in the gap for them in prayer. Someone who would lift them up before the Lord. Someone who would present their needs to God and ask for provision. Someone who would present their hurts to God and ask for healing. Someone who would call on God continually to fill them with His Spirit, sanctify them with His presence, and send them in His power to proclaim the gospel to the world. I am the first to admit this hasn’t always been easy. As a pastor I get pulled in a lot of different directions. It’s all too easy to substitute a whole bunch of activity for the discipline of prayer. Furthermore, the community I served has grown. It takes me about a month to pray through our directory. But I try to do it faithfully and regularly because I believe in the power of prayer. And I believe God is looking for people to stand in the gap in prayer for His people and for the world.

Perhaps that’s why I love this line from our reading today. “I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one.” (‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭22‬:‭30‬ ‭CSB‬‬) It’s a sobering reminder to me of the importance of prayer. The importance of intercession. The importance of putting oneself at risk for the sake of the community and call on God for protection. In the ancient world, the most dangerous place to be was at the point where a wall had been breached. This is where your enemies would mass to invade your city. Those caught in these places would be in harm’s way. Their lives would be at great risk. Their chances of survival were slim. And yet, it was also where they were most needed. If a wall broke down, the only hope a city had was the brave soldiers who would rush in to fill the gap and protect the lives of those they served.

The tragic reality of our readings from Ezekiel is that Israel’s leaders had abandoned their posts. Spiritual breach after spiritual breach had occurred as they forsook the faith of their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As they abandoned the covenant God had made with them. And no one was left to stand in the gap. There was no Moses to intercede on behalf of God’s people, calling on God to spare them from destruction. What about us? What about our homes? Our families? Our churches? Our communities? Have we abandoned our posts in a similar fashion or are we willing to take our stand in the gap and intercede on behalf of those we love and serve before the Lord?

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 25-28

God’s Name

Readings for today: Ezekiel 17-20

One of the hardest things for us to get our minds around when we read the Scriptures is the absolute authority and sovereignty of God as king. We don’t like kings. We fought a rebellion to get rid of kings. We pride ourselves on living in a democracy where everyone gets to have a say through their vote. We believe fundamentally that our leaders are elected to represent the “will of the people” which makes it challenging when we start to read the Scriptures and realize the Kingdom of heaven doesn’t work that way.

God is king. His authority is absolute. His sovereignty is unchallenged. His glory cannot be compared with anything in earth, over the earth, or under the earth. He is not the same as us. He is not the best version of us. He is not a projection of us. He certainly doesn’t work for us or represent us. He rules over us. He reigns over all He has made. He sits on a throne in heaven even now and, as such, He has every right to judge the earth. Every right to judge those who live on the earth. Every right to call us to account for all we have done. We may not think it fair but then God begins to recount all our misdeeds. Every sinful thought. Every careless word. Every selfish action. And we realize we are without excuse. God’s judgment is just. His sentence of death is righteous. And we are without hope.

The only thing that keeps us from death and destruction is God Himself. From eternity, God made a decision. He decided He would have a people to call His very own. He freely bound Himself to a particular people in a covenant of grace. And by doing so, He puts His reputation on the line. This is why He relents over and over again from putting an end to Israel. How many times do we come across these words in today’s reading…“But I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭20‬:‭14‬ ‭CSB‬‬) God refuses to let His people go because to do so would betray the very covenant He made. And to betray that covenant would be to profane His own name among the nations. They would assume God is unfaithful to His own promises. Powerless to overcome sin and evil. Impotent when it comes to ruling His own people. And God simply will not allow this to happen. So He remains faithful despite the unfaithfulness of His people. He judges them in righteousness and disciplines them in His wrath. He brings them to their knees in repentance and then He restores them to the Promised Land. God does all these things to make His name known on the earth and make His name great among the nations.

But it doesn’t end there. In the ultimate act of love and faithfulness, God sends His only, eternally begotten Son to become one of us. He sends Him into the world to live among us and serve us and suffer for us and die in our place. He then raises Him to new life in a glorious resurrection to give the world a foretaste of what will one day come when He comes to make all things new. Make no mistake, Jesus was sent to make God’s name known and make God’s name great among the nations. It’s why Jesus’ last command is that we would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 21-24

Whitewash

Readings for today: Ezekiel 13-16

I remember trying to paint a fence when I was younger. Rather than do the hard work to prep it by scraping off the old paint and sanding it down so it could receive a new finish, I just tried to slather a thick coat of paint over it with the hopes it would hide the imperfections. The result was a mess, of course. I had just made the job that much harder because I now had to go back and undo all I had done in addition to the original work I should have done so I could get it right.

How often do we make this same mistake in our life with God? Rather than surrender to Him and let His Spirit tear our old lives down to the studs, scraping off all the sin and corruption, and sanding us down to get us ready to receive the new life He offers; we try to justify ourselves by our own effort. We try to sanctify ourselves by trying and working harder. We try to show how virtuous we are by living one way on the outside but refuse to address what’s really going on inside our hearts. The result is a mess. The same thing happens if we try to live a double life. Trying to have it both ways. Loving the things of God and the things of this world. It just doesn’t work and I can’t tell you the number of conversations I’ve had over the years, trying to help people see that simply whitewashing their lives with a little Jesus isn’t what the Christian life is all about. It’s about total and complete surrender.

This isn’t a new problem, of course. Ezekiel faced this same issue when talking with God’s people as they went into exile. They were asking all kinds of hard questions. Why had this happened? How could God let Jerusalem be destroyed? Had God’s promises somehow failed? Had God abandoned them? The answers to these questions were not easy to accept. God was actually behind the destruction of their entire way of life because it had become so corrupt and so sinful, the only solution was to essentially scrape it all and start over. The only way forward to begin anew. “Since the false prophets have led my people astray by saying, “Peace,”  when there is no peace, and since when a flimsy wall is being built, they plaster it with whitewash, therefore, tell those plastering it with whitewash that it will fall. Torrential rain will come, and I will send hailstones plunging down, and a whirlwind will be released. When the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, “Where’s the whitewash you plastered on it?” So this is what the Lord God says: I will release a whirlwind in my wrath. Torrential rain will come in my anger, and hailstones will fall in destructive fury. I will demolish the wall you plastered with whitewash and knock it to the ground so that its foundation is exposed. The city will fall, and you will be destroyed within it. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭13‬:‭10‬-‭14‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Then you will know that I am the Lord. The ultimate goal of God’s discipline is never destruction but repentance and restoration. God is always faithful. He is faithful in love and He is faithful in justice. He is faithful in grace and He is faithful in law. He is faithful in mercy and He is faithful to call us to account. The Lord disciplines those He loves in order to bring them back into a right and righteous relationship with Himself. Stop trying to whitewash your life. Stop trying wallpaper over your sin. Trust God’s promise. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Readings for tomorrow: No devotionals on Sundays

Return

Readings for today: Ezekiel 9-12

In our current frame of reference, material wealth and physical health and overall prosperity are all signs of God’s blessing on our lives while material poverty, mental and physical health issues, and failure, struggle, and suffering are all signs of God’s judgment or God’s curse upon our lives. But what if our frame of reference shifted to a more biblical worldview? One where seasons of exile and judgment and suffering are not curses but actually part of God’s work to refine and sanctify us? Would we then be willing to go where He leads?

The reality is we often take the Lord for granted. We act as if He’s “trapped” in a relationship with us. As if God is “bound” by His unconditional love for us. We falsely believe our thoughts, attitudes, and actions don’t matter. We falsely believe we can reject holiness as a way of life. We falsely believe God’s primary goal is our personal happiness. Nothing could be farther from the truth. God does love us with an everlasting love. God does love us unconditionally. Nothing can snatch us out of His hand. Yes. Yes. And yes. But make no mistake, God is not “bound” to us or “trapped” in this relationship. He is not co-dependent on us nor does He allow our whims, our feelings, our desires to shape His will for our lives. We sin at our own risk. We run ahead of God at our own peril. We stubbornly refuse to follow Him to our own detriment. And this leads to God’s judgment on our lives, our communities, even our nation.

Thankfully, even in the midst of overwhelming judgment, Ezekiel sounds a note of hope. Presumably, God could have chosen to leave His Temple and head in any direction. However, He went east. East to where the exiles lived. East to Babylon. East to find His wayward children. East to be with them in captivity. East to comfort them in their diaspora. East to provide for them and make them prosper. East to join them so they never would be alone. Friends, God’s glory doesn’t need a Temple or a house made with human hands or a sanctuary covered in gold. The Bible declares that we are temples of the Holy Spirit. Our hearts have become the residence of God Himself. This is why Ezekiel declares, “Therefore say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Though I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.’ “Therefore say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ “When they arrive there, they will remove all its abhorrent acts and detestable practices from it. I will give them integrity of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh, so that they will follow my statutes, keep my ordinances, and practice them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭11‬:‭16‬-‭20‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 13-16

Justice

Readings for today: Ezekiel 5-8

God is just. It’s a fundamental attribute of His divine character. He will not let the guilty go unpunished. He will not let evil escape judgment. He will not let those who commit crimes get off. He is fiercely committed to enforcing His Law. And, in the abstract, I think everyone expects God to be just. We want Him to judge the guilty. We want those who commit great evil to get their due. We just don’t ever want it to happen to us.

God’s justice is a common theme in the prophets. God’s people have been stockpiling sin for generations. God has graciously withheld His righteous judgment to give them ample opportunity to repent but eventually justice must have it’s day. Ezekiel lives in such a time. Israel is finally going to pay for her sins. She is going to pay for all the abuse of power, arrogance and pride, violence, oppression, exploitation, and idolatry she has committed. There is no question of her guilt. God sees all and knows all. Not a single crime escapes His notice. His ledger is full and detailed. As harsh as it may seem, they’ve earned all they’re going to get. The destruction of Jerusalem. The suffering and death of so many at the hands of the Babylonians. God refuses to relent until every last sin is paid for in full.

I recently came across a thread on social media from a well-known, very progressive rabbi. He spends a lot of time harshly critiquing the Christian faith. One of his main critiques is the lack of justice in our faith. He simply believes a God who forgives is unjust. He is not worthy of worship. Yes, he knows atonement theology. He knows we believe Jesus became our substitute and took God’s judgment on Himself. He just simply cannot bring himself to believe it. In fact, he gets angry when anyone presses him on it. He believes such an act makes God unrighteous. How could a just God punish the innocent in place of the guilty? What he misses, of course, or simply cannot accept, is the fact that Jesus is God Incarnate. God Himself taking on human flesh and becoming one of us in order that He might stand in our place. God didn’t just choose some random person to pay for the sins of the world. He didn’t sacrifice a prophet or good, moral teacher in our place. He laid down His own life to satisfy the demands of divine justice so that He, in turn, might show us mercy. That’s what the gospel is all about and it continues to be a “stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.”

I know it’s not easy to read through passages like the one we read today. The blood and violence and righteous anger of God is disturbing. And yet, it should remind us yet again of the unbelievable sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. It should fill our hearts with gratitude for all Jesus has done for us. Jesus took my place. Jesus stood in my stead. Jesus paid the price I had earned. He endured the punishment I deserved. He did this so that I might be washed clean, set free, and live with Him for all eternity.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 9-12

Unlikely Places

Readings for today: Ezekiel 1-4

God shows up in the most unlikely of places. Though we tend to associate Him with beautiful cathedrals and magnificent churches, God makes His dwelling with the humble and lowly of heart. Ezekiel was such a man. Born to be a priest, he was carried off into exile with the other leaders of his people. He was a contemporary of Jeremiah and must have heard his preaching. Jeremiah often preached to the ruling class in Jerusalem. He may have even known the man personally. But now Ezekiel finds himself in exile. He lives with his people in a refugee camp. And he spends days down by the local water source, pondering all that happened. He must have felt the deepest of despair. He must have felt separated from God. He must have felt abandoned and alone and afraid. That’s when God shows up.

It’s a striking vision. One that has inspired all kinds of fantastical art throughout the centuries. Ezekiel sees a vision of God on His throne coming to be with His people in exile. And as stunning as the creatures are with their multiple heads and wheels within wheels, what would have struck Ezekiel the most is God’s faithfulness. After all, Ezekiel had been trained from birth that God’s dwelling place was in the Temple. The Temple was holy ground. The Holy of Holies in the Temple is where God’s glory dwelled. There was no precedent for God leaving the Temple. No historical record of God coming and going from the most holy place. All of Israel assumed that if one wanted to meet with God, one had to show up physically at the Temple and have the priest intercede for them. But now Ezekiel is in the worst possible place in the world. If you haven’t been to one, refugee camps are some of the worst places on earth. He’s living in abject poverty on the brink of starvation. There is nothing holy about his condition. No sacred ground for him to stand on. And yet, God is willing to meet him there.

Now think about Jesus. God could have sent Jesus to be born of a virgin in a palace in Jerusalem. God could have sent Jesus to emerge bodily from the Holy of Holies at the Temple. God could have done any number of things to reveal Himself to His people but what did God do? He came to a poor couple living in a backwater town in rural Israel. He met them in a common home and his first crib was a manger among the animals. His attendants were shepherds from the fields. Despite what you may have been taught, the wise men didn’t show up for a couple of years. In Christ, God was willing to meet us in the midst of everyday life in the most ordinary of circumstances.

Now think about your life. If your life is anything like mine, God often shows up in the most unlikely of places. He comes at the most unexpected of times. Just when I think I’ve reached my limit or hit rock bottom, I find Him there waiting for me. I don’t have to go to some special place nor do I have to touch some sacred relic to find communion with Him. I simply open my heart to Him. I open His Word and He speaks. I obey His commands and I sense His abiding presence.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 5-8

A New Eden

Readings for today: Ezekiel 45-48, Psalms 44

If one had to choose a place to plant a new Garden of Eden, the Dead Sea would not be it. It’s one of the most desolate places on earth. It is almost 1500 feet below sea level. It is landlocked with no outlet. It is one of the world’s saltiest bodies of water. It’s a harsh environment where very little can live. Swimming in the Dead Sea is quite an experience. You need water shoes because the salt crystals will tear up your feet. The density of the water is so great, you simply lay back and float. It’s pretty surreal. As you look around you, there is nothing on the shore. No plants. No animals. No fish. No birds. It’s crazy and yet this is where God is going to plant the new Garden of Eden.

The vision of Ezekiel at the end of his book is breathtaking. A river flowing out of the Temple down into the Arabah or Dead Sea, bringing all kinds of life to a region of death. Fish spawn. Animals forage on its banks. Trees spring up. Birds nest. It’s beautiful. Listen to it again. “This water flows out to the eastern region and goes down to the Arabah. When it enters the sea, the sea of foul water, the water of the sea becomes fresh. Every kind of living creature that swarms will live wherever the river flows, and there will be a huge number of fish because this water goes there. Since the water will become fresh, there will be life everywhere the river goes. Fishermen will stand beside it from En-gedi to En-eglaim. These will become places where nets are spread out to dry. Their fish will consist of many different kinds, like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea. Yet its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be left for salt. All kinds of trees providing food will grow along both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. Each month they will bear fresh fruit because the water comes from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be used for eating and their leaves for healing.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭47‬:‭8‬-‭12‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Only God would choose the most desolate place on earth to make His sanctuary. Only God would choose to make the Dead Sea come to life again. Only God would choose to plant His Garden in an area where nothing can grow. Only God.

What a reminder that nothing is beyond God! No nation is ever past the point of no return. No people is ever too sinful to save. No person is ever beyond the reach of His grace. God specializes in bringing life out of death. Hope out of despair. Restoration out of destruction. He has done it over and over again throughout human history. We actually have a written record of His miraculous acts so we can have confidence that He will do it again. Think about the challenges facing our nation today. We just had an attempted assassination of a presidential candidate. Many of our political leaders have been accused of corruption and even indicted on crimes. Many church leaders are being accused of sexual, emotional, or spiritual abuse. The divisions in our country are sharp and each side feels like their opponents represent an existential threat. It’s hard to see how even God can make sense out of this mess. Think about the challenges many of us face personally as well. The relationships that are strained or broken. The financial stress and pressure. Escalating levels of anxiety, fear, depression, and other mental health issues. Again, it’s hard to see how even God can make sense of our mess. But the overarching message of Ezekiel is that God can make dry bones live. He rebuilds temples that have been destroyed. He plants gardens in the desert. Trust Him. He can do the same for you!

Readings for tomorrow: Ezra 1-3, Psalms 45

A Vision of Heaven

Readings for today: Ezekiel 40-44, Psalms 43

Imagine you are God for a moment. Your people are living in exile. They are defeated. Discouraged. Depressed. They desperately need their hope restored. Because you love them with an everlasting love, you have a plan to restore them to the Promised Land and return them to Jerusalem. How would you best communicate your intentions to your people? You would show them a rebuilt Temple where your glory would once again reside. You would give them a vision of renewed worship with people, priests, and princes all playing their respective roles. You would let them know your plan to dwell with them forever.

This is exactly what Ezekiel sees. He sees a vision of a new Temple restored in Jerusalem. He sees his people and their priests and their prince all serving faithfully in their respective, God-ordained roles. He is given the exact measurements of this Temple and each of its sacred spaces. He sees the glory of God as it fills the Temple once again and he falls to the ground in worship.

Historically, this passage has been notoriously difficult to interpret. Some believe Ezekiel was given a vision of a 3rd Temple that will be rebuilt on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Some take the opposite position and believe Ezekiel’s vision is purely symbolic, depicting an “ideal” Temple that will never be built. Some take the position - as I do - that Ezekiel sees a vision of a heavenly Temple that will one day descend to earth and actually finds it’s fulfillment in John’s vision of the heavenly city in the Book of Revelation. In fact, if one compares what Ezekiel sees with what John sees, there are a great number of similarities. The allusions to Eden. The river of God. The dimensions of the heavenly Temple and the heavenly city (both are perfectly square).

Of course, if one takes the eschatological view (whether you believe in a 3rd Temple being built on the Temple Mount or you believe in a heavenly Temple one day descending to earth in the New Jerusalem), you still are left to puzzle over why there would be an altar and sacrifices. After all, in John’s vision there are no such things because Christ Himself has become the perfect sacrifice. Surely, there will be no more need for a sacrificial system in heaven so why would God include these in the vision He gives to His prophet?

Here one has to remember that God’s revelation is progressive. He speaks to us in language and in terms we can understand. The people of Israel in Ezekiel’s day had no frame of reference that would include a crucified and resurrected Messiah. Their knowledge of the worship of the Living God was limited by what they knew of the Law and what they had experienced throughout their history. God therefore gave them a vision of worship that they could understand. However, after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the people of God were ready for a new vision. A fresh vision. A fuller picture of what is to come and so John receives his revelation which acts as the fulfillment of the vision God first gave to Ezekiel. You and I are post-resurrection people. As such, we look forward to the day when our Messiah will return and commence His reign from His throne in the New Jerusalem. There will not be any need for a Temple or a sun or a moon for that matter for the Lord God will be our Temple and our Light. We will see Him face to face and walk with Him again in perfect relationship for all eternity.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 45-48, Psalms 44

Faithful Shepherds

Readings for today: Ezekiel 37-39, Psalms 42

Throughout this section of Ezekiel is the constant refrain of restoration. God promising to restore His people. He will make them one again. No longer will they be divided or fractured. He will gather them from the nations where they have been scattered and He will make His dwelling with them again. He will renew the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He will be their God and they will be His people. He will leave none behind. He will search for them as long as it takes. He will prove Himself to be the faithful Shepherd who gives His life for His sheep. I love this about our God. He is true to His Word. He never leaves us or forsakes us. He relentlessly pursues us with His faithful, steadfast, loyal love until the day we die.

You and I are called to do the same for the people in our lives. I think about my father. We buried him on Friday in our family cemetery in a small town in western Nebraska. For decades, I pursued my father. I shared the gospel with him over and over again. I confronted him on his addiction and sin. I challenged him to surrender his life to Christ. I prayed for him regularly. I set boundaries on him when he was difficult. I refused to let him get away with manipulation or deceit. And God honored my prayers. He eventually wore my dad down and my dad gave his life to Jesus. I think of another person I am pursuing right now. A dear friend whose life has fallen apart. Divorced. Lonely. Isolated. Anxious. For months I’ve been pursuing this person. I’ve shared the gospel with them over and over again. I’ve confronted them on their sin. I’ve challenged them to repent and turn to Christ. I pray for them regularly. And though I have yet to see a change, I trust God to honor my prayers. I think of the church I serve. I feel a strong responsibility to be a faithful shepherd to the people God has entrusted to my care. It breaks my heart when some of the sheep stray or wander or leave. It further breaks my heart when some of the sheep self-destruct or engage in all kinds of self-harm physically, emotionally, mentally, and relationally. There’s a part of me that wishes I could cut ties at times but that is not God’s call on my life. He has called me to engage in a relentless pursuit of the sheep no matter how far they scatter or how much effort it takes to track them down and bring them back home.

I think of another shepherd I know. He was given charge over thousands of sheep. Tragically, this shepherd decided to use the sheep to feed himself. His ego. His pride. His self-image. Hundreds, if not thousands, of his sheep scattered. They were left wounded and broken and isolated and anxious and discouraged all over the face of the earth. They became vulnerable to those who would seek to prey upon them. I confronted this shepherd. I used passages like the one we read yesterday from Ezekiel 34 to help him understand his responsibility before the Lord. “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed their flock? You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened animals, but you do not tend the flock. You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. They were scattered for lack of a shepherd; they became food for all the wild animals when they were scattered. My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and there was no one searching or seeking for them.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭34‬:‭2‬-‭6‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Sadly, he chose not to listen and the damage he created remains in many of the hearts of the sheep to this day. The same is true with pastor after pastor across the United States who use and abuse their positions of spiritual authority. They are faithless shepherds who come under judgment.

Thankfully, God is not dependent on us to shepherd His people. Even the best among us do it imperfectly. Even the most faithful pastors make mistakes. So this is what God says He will do, “See, I myself will search for my flock and look for them. As a shepherd looks for his sheep on the day he is among his scattered flock, so I will look for my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and total darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own soil. I will shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the land. I will tend them in good pasture, and their grazing place will be on Israel’s lofty mountains. There they will lie down in a good grazing place; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will tend my flock and let them lie down. This is the declaration of the Lord God. I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bandage the injured, and strengthen the weak, but I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will shepherd them with justice.” (‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭34‬:‭11‬-‭16‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Friends, God is at work even now to restore the fortunes of His people. He is at work even now to gather His sheep together, make them lie down in green pastures, and lead them beside still waters. He is at work even now through people like you and me to feed the sheep, tend the flock, strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bring back the strays, and seek the lost. May we, with joyful hearts and eager hands, join Him in this great work!

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 40-44, Psalms 43

Watch Out!

Readings for today: Ezekiel 31-33, Psalms 40

What does it mean to be a watchman? To put it another, more ancient way, what does it mean to be my brother or sister’s keeper? To watch out for those I love. Watch out for those I live among and around in my neighborhood. Watch out for those I work alongside. Watch out for those in my church family. Watch out for strangers or even my enemies. What does it mean to take up the responsibility to speak the truth in love? To call out wrong and work to set things right? To lift up the fallen? Comfort the broken? Confront the prideful and arrogant? Forgive those who hurt me? Reconcile with those I find myself in conflict with? What does it mean to fulfill God’s call to speak for Him to those around me with a desire to see them turn from their self-centered ways and turn back to Christ? What does it mean to be given God’s Word to speak to a specific people in a specific place and time? To be able to look out on the culture at large and see the coming judgment? To speak to it not in anger or outrage but in tenderness and compassion and love? To lay aside my natural prophetic zeal and instead kneel in sackcloth and ashes and weep over the sins of God’s people? To plead with them to return to the Lord with their whole hearts?

Ezekiel was a faithful prophet. He understood his call from the Lord clearly. He was to speak God’s Word to God’s people. Only God’s Word. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else. He was to speak God’s Word as boldly and clearly as possible. He was to speak with full conviction and hold nothing back. In so doing, he is creating the conditions whereby God’s people might respond in repentance and humility. It’s important to note that Ezekiel was not responsible for the results. He was only responsible for the warning he was given to provide. So Ezekiel’s success or failure in ministry didn’t ride on how the people responded. Those who listened to his words were saved. Those who rejected his words were destroyed. Ezekiel was only held responsible to speak. Truthfully. Honestly. Openly. Transparently. “As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, give them a warning from me. If I say to the wicked, ‘Wicked one, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to warn him about his way, that wicked person will die for his iniquity, yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. But if you warn a wicked person to turn from his way and he doesn’t turn from it, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have rescued yourself.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭33‬:‭7‬-‭9‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Tomorrow I will go to bury my dad. We will arrive in the cemetery at the graveside as a family to pay our final respects. Even as I say goodbye, I am reminded of the ways God made me a watchman for my father. How many times did I share the gospel with him over the years? How many times did I have to confront him on his selfish behavior? How many times did I suffer alongside him as he battled addiction? How many times did I forgive and reconcile with him? Thankfully, God was faithful. He used my words and my example and my encouragement to bring my father to faith near the end of his life. It was a great reminder of the power of the watchman. I wasn’t responsible for my father’s decision but his blood would be on my head if I did not share God’s Word with him.

I think about all I see happening in our world today. There is so much anger, disdain, hatred, and fear. So much corruption and selfishness and injustice and oppression. So much frustration and anxiety and despair. What the world needs now more than ever is for the people of God to take their stand and speak God’s truth in love for those who are lost and wandering in the darkness. The world needs us and God is inviting us to take our place in His great Kingdom work to bring the good news of Jesus to the ends of the earth.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 34-36, Psalms 41 (No devotionals on Sundays)

A Kingdom that Never Ends

Readings for today: Ezekiel 28-30, Psalms 39

It is a healthy thing to reflect on the end. It is healthy to think about how fleeting life is and how quickly our days pass. It is a healthy thing to think about what happens after we are gone. Nothing we have is truly ours. Nothing we achieve truly lasts. Nothing we accomplish truly remains. That may sound depressing but it’s true. For example, tomorrow I am heading up to western Nebraska to bury my father. He comes from a small town where our family has lived for generations. I am related on some level to almost everyone in the cemetery. We have put a lot of hours into the genealogical work and know who’s connected to whom but even so, most of them are just names on a headstone. Whatever work they put in has been largely forgotten. Whatever defined their lives has been largely lost. Again, it’s a humbling reminder of how quickly memories fade after one or two generations.

So why is this a good thing? It keeps us from claiming too much credit for ourselves. Consider what God has to say to the nation of Egypt in our passage today. Part of His righteous judgment against them comes because they believe too highly of themselves. They believe they created the Nile. They believe they were the masters of their own destiny. The makers of their own empire. But God confronts them and reminds them who is really in charge. As powerful as ancient Egypt was, building monuments that lasted thousands of years and establishing a kingdom that lasted several dynasties, they are barely a blip on the radar screen of history. This is why the Psalmist says, “Lord, make me aware of my end and the number of my days so that I will know how short-lived I am. In fact, you have made my days just inches long, and my life span is as nothing to you. Yes, every human being stands as only a vapor. Yes, a person goes about like a mere shadow. Indeed, they rush around in vain, gathering possessions without knowing who will get them.” (Psalms‬ ‭39‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭CSB‬‬) It helps us hold onto things loosely. It keeps us from becoming too tied to the things of this world. Even the legacy we leave should be held with open hands.

God is the only constant. God is the only Being that never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever and that’s a very good thing. Human beings come and go. At best, our life spans might reach eighty or ninety years. Kingdoms rise and fall. Empires may endure for hundreds of years. But all things eventually come to an end. This is why we store up our treasures in heaven. This is why we keep our mind focused on things above rather than things below. This is why we set our heart on Christ and His Kingdom for it will never end.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 31-33, Psalms 40

The Sin of Rejoicing at Another’s Fall

Readings for today: Ezekiel 25-27, Psalms 38

As Christians, we do not celebrate the struggles of others. We do not rejoice at their fall. We do not take secret pleasure in their pain. Ezekiel makes it clear that people who do such things will be judged. Either as individuals or as nations. The nations surrounding Israel watched them struggle and eventually fall into ruin. They rejoiced when it happened. Threw parties. Danced in the streets. They even took the opportunity to pile on for their own revenge. Ammon. Moab. Seir. Edom. Philistia. Tyre. All of them are guilty. All of them are judged. Perhaps Tyre most harshly. “Who was like Tyre, silenced in the middle of the sea? When your merchandise was unloaded from the seas, you satisfied many peoples. You enriched the kings of the earth with your abundant wealth and goods. Now you are wrecked by the sea in the depths of the waters; your goods and the people within you have gone down. All the inhabitants of the coasts and islands are appalled at you. Their kings shudder with fear; their faces are contorted. Those who trade among the peoples scoff at you; you have become an object of horror and will never exist again.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭27‬:‭32‬-‭36‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Our world today is full of people who are looking to tear others down. Social media is a dumpster fire of hot takes and snap judgments and misinformation, all designed to take down those with whom we might disagree. Even Christians have gotten in on the act. There is a certain subset that seem to delight in perpetuating conflict and hate and anger. It’s baffling to me. Reminds me of a small group I once led of middle school boys. It was several years ago now. We were discussing what it means to be made in the image of God. Male and female. Black, white, and brown. Rich and poor. Abled and disabled. Young and old. Gay, straight, bi, and trans. Every human being bears the signature stamp of their Creator. We talked through the implications for each of them as they started school. Many of their peer groups had already formed. They knew who was popular and who was not. They knew the kids who were struggling and the kids who were successful. The kids who had tons of friends and the kids who were lonely. We flipped over to Galatians 3:26-28 where the Apostle Paul challenges us to move beyond our social categories and divisions and embrace one another in Christ. We then discussed how we could put this into practice. Each boy gave the name of a fellow student who they struggled with. Someone hard for them to love. Someone they may have made fun of or even bullied at one point. Their homework was to approach that student and find a way to love them in the name of Jesus. Would that we could do the same.

The reality is when we rejoice in wrongdoing or celebrate the fall of others or take pleasure in another person’s pain and heartbreak, we are operating under the influence of the evil one. He loves watching God’s people tear each other apart. He loves creating divisions and factions. He loves to isolate and attack and devour and destroy. As Christians, we must resist this temptation. We must resist the temptation to label others as our enemies. We must resist the temptation to make fun of others at their expense. We must resist the temptation to wound and hurt and pile on when someone’s down. Instead, we must lift them up. We must encourage. We must stand at their side. Show compassion. Grieve with them and for them. Our hearts must break with their hearts. This is what it means to be Christ to others. To show Christ to others. To love Christ as He has loved us.  

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 28-30, Psalms 39

Standing in the Gap

Readings for today: Ezekiel 22-24, Psalms 37

“I searched for a person among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭22‬:‭30‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

These words jumped off the page today. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been praying more fervently for our nation recently or perhaps it’s because my heart has been burdened for all the violence that exists in our world today in places like Gaza and Ukraine. Perhaps it’s because I am heading to South Sudan in a few weeks, into a community where starvation and malnutrition is rampant. Perhaps it’s because I’ve spoken to many over the last few months who feel so hopeless and helpless. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been reading the New York Times and Wall Street Journal almost every day. Whatever it is, I find myself crying out to God over all that is happening in the world today and this verse is Lord’s answer to me. God is searching for people who will work for the repair of the world and stand in the vulnerable places on behalf of the weak and oppressed and least resourced and least reached so that God’s judgment will be turned aside. God is searching for intercessors like Moses and Joshua and David and Deborah and Samuel and Ezekiel. People who will faithfully pray on behalf of those who cannot for some reason. Faithfully pray for those who are struggling and afraid. Faithfully pray for those who are far from God. Faithfully pray for those in positions of authority and influence in our world.

Friends, this is the role of the church. Jesus calls us the “salt of the earth.” Salt, in ancient times, acted as a preservative. It would dissolve into meat in order to keep it from spoiling. It would be used to keep things from becoming rotten. The church is called to do the same. To intercede regularly and often on behalf of the world to keep it from becoming rotten. To keep it from spoiling completely. To keep it from being destroyed by the righteous judgment of God. But far too often, the church is complicit in furthering the rot. The church blesses sin rather than confronts it. The church indulges sin rather than call it out. The church makes no distinction - just like Israel’s priests made no distinction - between that which is holy and that which is common. That which is sacred and that which is profane. And the world is suffering as a result. God calls His church a “chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people for God’s own possession.” (1 Peter 2:9) What is the role of the priest? To stand in the gap between God and His people and intercede for them. Make atonement for them. Cry out to God on their behalf. At the same time, our role is to represent God to the people. To instruct them. Confront them. Challenge them. Encourage them. To teach and train them in righteousness.

The only hope for our communities, our cities, our nation, and our world is for the church to fulfill her high calling. She must dedicate herself to the repair of the world and stand in the gap in fervent, regular, faithful prayer on behalf of the land so that it will not be destroyed. She must engage in the honest work of self-examination, confess her own sins, and allow the Spirit to cleanse her of all unrighteousness so that she can discern between that which is holy and that which is common and lift up the sacred over the profane. God’s righteous judgment must begin at the church house before it can move to the White House or the court house or the legislative house.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 25-27, Psalms 38

Quiet Time with God

Readings for today: Ezekiel 19-21, Psalms 36

One of the first “spiritual disciplines” I learned as a Christian was how to have a “quiet time” with the Lord. I was in college. I had just come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. I was just learning what it meant to follow Jesus and some older, wiser believers taught me the importance of spending time with God every single day. When I started, I could only muster about 10-15 minutes but gradually over time that number grew to an hour or so a day. I’ve been doing it for almost thirty years at this point. Sometimes I miss a day but it’s rare. It’s become a part of my natural, daily rhythm to life much like eating, drinking, working out, etc.

Why spend time every day with God? I think the Psalmist says it best, “How priceless your faithful love is, God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They are filled from the abundance of your house. You let them drink from your refreshing stream. For the wellspring of life is with you. By means of your light we see light. Spread your faithful love over those who know you, and your righteousness over the upright in heart.” (Psalms‬ ‭36‬:‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭CSB‬‬) We spend time with God to take refuge under His wings. When we are anxious and afraid and worried about life, God is there for us. He spreads His wings over us. He spreads His faithful love over us and we are encouraged. We spend time with God to break free of the “scarcity mindset” that has so many of us enslaved. We are reminded and actually experience His abundance. We are given an eternal perspective that helps us be grateful for all we have been given rather than focus on what we may think we lack. We spend time with God to be refreshed. To be renewed. To be restored. We drink from the refreshing stream of His Spirit. We drink from the wellspring of His life. We bask in His light.

I recently returned from vacation in Puerta Vallarta. As much as I love the mountains, I love the beach as well. Whenever my wife and I can get away, we try to go somewhere close to an ocean where it is warm and sunny. We vacation well together. We pretty much shut it down. We spend our days sleeping in, reading books, being quiet, and being outside as much as possible. The sun was out almost the whole time we were in Mexico. Every day we got to spend hours basking in its rays and I was reminded once again what it’s like to be in the light of God’s presence. We got to swim in the ocean and I was reminded once again what it’s like to be immersed in God’s love. We ate and drank in abundance and I was reminded again of God’s faithfulness to us. It is endless. It is boundless. It is matchless. Perhaps most of all, I was reminded that not very many people get to do what I do and that gives me perspective. We talked to our taxi driver on the way back to the airport as we left and he told us he only gets about three to four days of vacation a year and he tries his best to spend it with family. He feels so blessed to have that time. He doesn’t feel any lack at all and his joy was contagious.

Friends, this is what it means to live your life in the presence of the Lord and a quiet time every day helps us get back in touch with this deep truth on a regular basis. If you don’t already, let me encourage you to make the time every day to just “be” with the Lord. No agenda. No checklist. No tasks. Just sitting quietly in His presence. Reading His Word. Praying. Listening. Letting yourself sit under the shadow of His wings and enjoy the fullness of His love.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 22-24, Psalms 37

Covenant Faithfulness

Readings for today: Ezekiel 16-18, Psalms 35

A few weeks ago, I stood with a couple before their community of family and friends as they exchanged their marriage vows before the Lord. I encouraged them, as I always do, to live in covenant faithfulness with each other. To build the kind of deep intimacy where nothing is hidden and everything shared. To hold nothing back and have no secrets. To be naked and unashamed before the Lord as they build their life together. Of course, we all know many marriages fail to live up to this high standard. Life in this world has a way of pulling us apart even from those we love most. Pressure, distractions, not to mention the ever present corruption of sin all conspire to separate what God has joined together. The same is true in our relationship with Him.

Ezekiel 16 is one of the rawest, most graphic chapters in the Bible. It depicts God as the faithful husband who finds His bride bleeding and broken and abandoned to die in the wilderness. He raises her. Feeds her. Comforts her. Blesses her. She flourishes under His tender loving care. Eventually, He weds her in a beautiful ceremony. Covering her nakedness with His garment of love. (Think about what we read in the Song of Solomon and compare it to this chapter.) For a time, the couple is happy. She is content with her husband. But soon, she begins to take His love for granted. Her eye begins to wander. She gets distracted. She chases after other gods. She commits spiritual adultery. The revelation Ezekiel is given in this chapter are graphic because they depict the utter heartbreak and anger of God. Like any husband, He is angry and feels betrayed by His bride’s unfaithfulness. I’ve walked with many husbands and wives over the years through marital counseling and there is nothing quite like the betrayal of adultery. It is brutal and almost impossible to come back from. But Israel doesn’t just commit adultery once. She makes a pattern of it. Going from the Egyptians to the Assyrians to the Babylonians. She offers herself in covenant faithfulness to whoever seems to be the strongest and most powerful. God, her husband, will not be mocked. He judges her for her unrighteousness. He judges her for her unfaithfulness. He judges her for breaking His heart over and over again.

Like any husband, God has every right to reject Israel forever. She has broken the covenant and He could choose righteously to walk away. But God is faithful. He is faithful to His vows even when we are not. He is faithful to His promises even when we push Him away. He is faithful to His love even when we reject it. So what does God, our great Husband, do? Listen again to His words from Ezekiel 16, “For this is what the Lord God says: I will deal with you according to what you have done, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant. But I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish a permanent covenant with you. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant. I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord, so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth again because of your disgrace. This is the declaration of the Lord God.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭16‬:‭59‬-‭63‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Yes, God will not give Israel a pass. He will not simply overlook her sin. But in an act of unbelievable faithfulness, He is the one who will make atonement for them. He is the one who will re-establish His covenant with them. He is the one who will bring them back into His home, back into His heart. What great faithfulness! There simply are no words.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 19-21, Psalms 36

The Presence of the Lord

Readings for today: Ezekiel 9-12, Psalms 33

It is hard for us to fathom the national catastrophe that befell Israel. Harder still for us to understand the depth of their pain and suffering. Living as we do in the world’s most powerful nation, we cannot begin to grasp what it would be like to watch your entire way of life destroyed. However, all of that pales in comparison to the tragedy Ezekiel sees in his vision today. All the destruction. The loss of life. The famine and disease. And none of that would have even come close to touching the inconsolable grief he felt as he watched the Lord leave His Temple. 

From the moment God indwelt the Tabernacle in the wilderness, Israel had never been alone. They enjoyed His protection. They enjoyed His provision. He gave them victory after victory. Established them in the Promised Land. Took up residence in Jerusalem once they built the Temple. Over time, the Israelites began to take His Presence for granted. In fact, there was a sense in Jeremiah and Ezekiel’s time that the Lord was somehow “trapped” in the Temple. They believed they had the Lord caged. He had ceased to be their god and now became a pagan totem. A magic talisman that kept them from evil. This is why they stubbornly refused to leave Jerusalem when Jeremiah called them to submit to Nebuchadnezzar. They falsely believed as long as they had the Lord locked down in His Temple they could never be defeated.  

Imagine their shock when Ezekiel relates his vision of the Lord leaving the Temple. Departing from the east gate. Rising above the cherubim where He normally sat. Heading out of the city that bore His name. Imagine their fear as their one hope departs, leaving them alone for the first time since their days in Egypt. It’s difficult for us to wrap our minds around simply because we believe God is everywhere all the time. We hold onto the promise that God is always with us. We trust He will never leave us or forsake us.  

But what if the Lord is leading us into exile? What if the Lord is leading us into a season of suffering? What if the Lord is seeking to refine us and sanctify us? Are we willing to go where He leads? The reality is we often take the Lord for granted as well. We too act as if He’s “trapped” in a relationship with us. As if God is “bound” by His unconditional love for us. We falsely believe our thoughts, attitudes, and actions don’t matter. We falsely believe we can reject holiness as a way of life. We falsely believe God’s primary goal is our personal happiness. Nothing could be farther from the truth. God does love us with an everlasting love. God does love us unconditionally. Nothing can snatch us out of His hand. Yes. Yes. And yes. But make no mistake, God is not “bound” to us. He is not “trapped” in this relationship. He is not co-dependent on us nor does He allow our whims, our feelings, our desires to shape His will for our lives. We sin at our own risk. We run ahead of God at our own peril. We stubbornly refuse to follow Him to our own detriment. 

Thankfully, Ezekiel sounds a note of hope. Presumably, God could have chosen to leave His Temple and head in any direction. However, He went east. East to where the exiles lived. East to Babylon. East to find His wayward children. East to be with them in captivity. East to comfort them in their diaspora. East to provide for them and make them prosper. East to join them so they never would be alone. Friends, God’s glory doesn’t need a Temple or a house made with human hands or a sanctuary covered in gold. The Bible declares that we are temples of the Holy Spirit! Our hearts have become the residence of God Himself! This is why Ezekiel declares, “Therefore say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Though I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.’ “Therefore say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ “When they arrive there, they will remove all its abhorrent acts and detestable practices from it. I will give them integrity of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh, so that they will follow my statutes, keep my ordinances, and practice them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭11‬:‭16‬-‭20‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 13-15, Psalms 34 (No devotionals on Sundays)