Summary #34

Weekly Summary
Ezekiel 22-43

So we left Judah in exile, with Ezekiel bringing God's message of destruction to the Israelites. At the start of our scripture for this week, God speaks through Ezekiel and describes two unfaithful sisters, an allegory of Judah and Israel. These two unfaithful sisters end up being oppressed by the ones that they pursued in their adultery, a picture of those who followed the gods of other lands, and ended up being dominated by them.

Unless you are completely hardhearted, the next story is brutal. God tells Ezekiel that his wife, his joy, the apple of his eye, will die. On top of that, Ezekiel must not mourn, but go on prophesying as if nothing happened. Ezekiel follows God's direction, showing that Judah will also have no chance to mourn the destruction that will befall her.

Moving from condemnation of Israel, Ezekiel turns to judgment of the foreign nations around Judah. Tyre, Egypt, Mt. Seir, and Gog all are condemned, and given a vision of their future destruction. Interestingly, in addition to judgment and oracles against these nations, God also includes a lament for each of these peoples. Ezekiel 33:11 stands out here: "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." says the Lord. Even the destruction of Israel's (and God's) enemies breaks God's heart.

Mindful that all of Judah's false hopes have been shattered, Ezekiel's prophecies now point to the true source and proper shape of life renewed for the people of God. Ezekiel turns to the shepherds of Israel who have not properly overseen God's sheep. He says that he himself will seek out these errant sheep, but He also points out that the sheep, too, have been doing wrong, taking no care of the weakest of their flock. Ezekiel foretells a new David to shepherd the sheep, shining a light at the promise of a Messiah.

Ezekiel is known best, probably, for the next vision he recounts: The valley of the dry bones. He sees this valley filled with disjointed bones. God asks him if he thinks they can move, and Ezekiel throws back that only God knows. And he does know -- he reanimates the bones, just as he will renew and gather back his people after the exile.

Renewed with the hope of restoration, Ezekiel is given another vision, this time of the temple, rebuilt and restored in full glory. God points out that this restoration is for the sake of his name, which must be revered and glory-filled. Ezekiel is full of amazing pictures of destruction and restoration. A few more chapters this week, then we move on to the other exile prophets! Have fun reading this week.