Theological Commentary: Click Here
Discipleship Focus: King
- King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle. When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king. Authority comes from Him. Power comes through His authority. He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.
At first,
this chapter reads like a passage of a very kind and forgiving God. God tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the
mountains. The mountains have lost their
people. However, God tells the mountains
that they will get their people back. In
a short time, the Hebrew people will return from exile and take back up the
life they left. They will make the land
productive and fertile once more.
That’s a
good message, right?
Ultimately,
yes. That’s a very good message. But let’s get one thing straight. God isn’t bringing the Hebrew people back
because they deserve it. He isn’t
bringing them back because they’ve been incredibly contrite. God is bringing them back for the sake of His
name. God is bringing them back so that
people will realize that God is powerful.
After all, if God’s people are in exile, what is to keep the rest of the
world from using that to not come to God?
Why should the world pay attention to a God whose people have been
brought lower than all other people?
For the
sake of His name, He brings the people out of exile. The rebellious people don’t deserve to
return. He does it for the sake of
others who may want to turn to Him. He
does it so that people will realize that He is a powerful God. He does it so that people will know that He
has the power to conquer anything – even a powerless exile into a foreign land.
So the
land will be full again. The land will
know its occupants once again. But it
isn’t because the people have come back to God.
It is because God’s good name needs to be preserved in the nations.
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