Theological Commentary: Click Here
Discipleship Focus: Obedience
- Obedience: Genuine and satisfying obedience comes out of our identity. Our true identity comes only from our Father.
In the last
chapter, we saw a gross image of the rebellion of the Hebrew people. We saw all of their idolatry. We saw that the idolatry infiltrated all of
the way to the top of the leadership in Jerusalem. In this chapter we see that such rebellion
brings about judgment.
Do not miss
the fact that God sends out seven beings to judge. Of those seven, six are sent out with the command
to kill. One is sent out with the command
to spare by placing a mark upon the foreheads of those who mourn the idolatry. God sends out six times the amount of beings
for punishment as salvation.
What does
this tell us? The road to obedience is
hard to find. Many more find the path to
idolatry than those who find the path to obedience.
What is also
interesting is Ezekiel’s response. He
can’t do anything about it. He’s already
in Babylon in exile as the Babylonian armies go to surround Jerusalem and bring
judgment upon it. So he mourns. In truth, this is all that the obedient to
God can do. We can preach
obedience. We can teach obedience. We can model obedience. But if the people around us do not choose
obedience for themselves, all we can do is mourn their choice.
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