One Last Vision
As the glory of the Lord departs Jerusalem, He takes one final
stop at the gate. The gate of the city
was the place of counsel and legal advice.
The gate of the city was like the courthouse. It was at the gate that justice was handed
out and advice on certain matters could be sought.
Ezekiel sees 25 people. He
is told that these 25 people are the people who are giving false hope to the
Hebrews living in Jerusalem. We are told
that these are largely the people to blame for the reality that the people will
not repent. Of course they will not repent
so long as they hear their leaders tell them that they have nothing to worry
about!
This brings us to their counsel.
This counsel is tricky at first glance.
When I hear, “The city is our cauldron and we are the meat,” I don’t
think of it as a good prophecy. I know the
purpose of cauldrons. Cauldrons are used
to cook meat. From my modern frame of
mind, I hear these words and think that they are speaking the truth. Literally, they are being cooked! The Babylonians will slaughter the Hebrew
people during the siege. From a modern
perspective, meat within a cauldron is not safe! Meat within a cauldron is dinner!
But, all of that line of thinking comes from my modern
perspective. In those days, cauldrons
weren’t used for cooking meat. Cauldrons
were used for protecting meat. When you
had meat, you would want to put it is some safe place. There are few places safer than a thick iron
cauldron. Don’t think of a cooking
cauldron; think of a heavy iron pail.
The pail keeps the meat safe from being stolen, collecting flies or
parasites, or more generally from being used for other purposes than the owner
intends.
Therefore, in the ancient mindset the people would have heard
these false prophets saying, “Jerusalem is impenetrable. We are like meat kept safe in a heavy
pail. Nothing can get in and spoil
us. Build houses, this siege can’t last
forever!”
Of course, we know it is this advice that cannot last. We know that this advice is wrong. The city does fall.
A New Prophecy
God tells Ezekiel to tell the truth. Jerusalem is not the safe haven that the
people in Jerusalem think that it is.
Jerusalem will not be the fortified impenetrable city. They will fall.
What I love about this part of the prophecy is the personal nature
of God that is contained within it. God
says that the people will be dragged out of Jerusalem by His action. It is God that will remove them from their
so-called safe place. Again we hear
scripture affirm that God is the impetus for the fall of Jerusalem.
I’ve made this point before, so in this blog post I want to take
this thought on a bit of a tangent. It
is passages like this that actually make me believe in the God of the Bible
more. No human author would ever write
this as fiction. Who, in writing a
fiction book, would think to present a God that drags His own people into
captivity? No, a human author trying to
write a human book would talk about an incredibly great God who never makes
anyone suffer or deal with consequences.
A human writing a book like this would want to make God so perfect that
people would naturally fall in love with His uncharacteristic benevolence and
grace.
Don’t get me wrong. I do
believe God is beyond gracious, merciful, and benevolent. But God is also righteous. God is jealous. God is faithful and true to His Word and His
promises. God does hold people
accountable. God does judge when we
deserve it. God does drag us out of our
so-called safe places and place us in captivity once and a while.
The God of the Bible is a real God. This is not some made-up testimony. The fact that the Bible is so bold in the
proclamation that the captivity of the Hebrew people was from the very hand of
God actually causes me to believe the message of the Bible even more. No human could – would – make this up.
God Leaves His Temple
After this, the presence of the Lord departs. Ezekiel is returned back to his home as he is
already in captivity. But Ezekiel is
given a message to tell to the people.
God will return them to the Promised Land. God will allow a remnant to exist. God will put within them a new heart and a
spirit to obey. God will do all of these
things. These people will be His people,
and they will be His God. These people
will obey His statutes and they will walk in His ways.
That being said, I have to read this through the eyes of the New
Testament. I know who those new people
are. I know who it is that God’s Spirit
dwells within. I know who it is that
knows God’s Laws because I know who is responsible for inscribing Himself upon
our hearts. I know all of that.
So I really think it is quite significant that the Lord leaves His
temple before giving Ezekiel this message.
It is as if God is saying, “I am leaving this place. I will no longer dwell among people in this fashion. I am going to dwell in heaven. And I will dwell on earth. I will dwell within people.” It’s as if when God leaves the temple He is
giving Ezekiel a sign that things are going to change.
I really like this ending to the vision.
Abomination. Judgment. Promise of something new. Hope for the future – the next installment of
God’s plan.
Sin. Judgment. Repentance.
Something new. Hope for the
future – the next installment of God’s plan.
Amen. Come Lord Jesus.
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