The Glory of the LORD

~ Ezekiel Chapter Twelve ~

"Therefore say to them,

'Thus says the Lord GOD:

"None of My words will be postponed any more,

but the word which I speak will be done,"

says the Lord GOD."

(Ezekiel 12:28)

TABERNACLE TUESDAY MORNING MEDITATION:

Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 12:1-28

Ezekiel was instructed to remain silent until he received a word from the Lord (Ezekiel 3:26, 27). Five times in chapter twelve, we read "the word of the LORD came to [Ezekiel]." The prophet was taken by the Spirit in visions of God to see the Lord's judgment upon Jerusalem but now he has been brought back to Chaldea to report all that he had seen to the elders of Judah who were sitting before him in his house (Ezekiel 8:1). The Lord reminded His servant of what He had told him from the very beginning of his ministry: "Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; for they are a rebellious house" (v. 2). Judah's blind eyes and deaf ears were a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy over a hundred years earlier (Isaiah 6:10). Because of the people's hardness of heart, Ezekiel demonstrated the Lord's coming judgment in action sermons. "...for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel" (Ezekiel 12:6b).   

"And in the morning the word of the LORD came to me,

saying, "Son of man, has not the house of Israel,

the rebellious house, said to you, 'What are you doing?'

Say to them, "Thus says the Lord GOD:

"This burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem

and all the house of Israel who are among them."

Say, 'I am a sign to you.

As I have done, so shall it be done to them;

they shall be carried away into captivity.' "

(Ezekiel 12:8-11)

Ezekiel dramatized Judah's captivity by going into his house and packing his bags for a trip, but instead of going through the door he dug a hole in the wall and came out into the street through the hole. This would certainly have caught the people's attention, which is what the Lord intended. The people finally began to respond to Ezekiel: "What are you doing?" (v. 9). The false prophets were giving the people false hope, telling them that Jerusalem and the temple would not be destroyed because Zedekiah was still on the throne. However, Ezekiel acted out exactly what would happen to the ruler of Judah when he tried to slip out of the besieged city unnoticed (2 Kings 25:1-7). Six years before it happened, Ezekiel portrayed Judah's suffering, demonstrating the fear and famine that was coming to the people still living in Jerusalem. "Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink your water with trembling and anxiety" (Ezekiel 12:18). The delay in judgment caused the people to become cynical and unbelieving; they refused to listen to the words of God's true prophet, saying, "The days are prolonged, and every vision fails" (v. 22b). But the vision would surely come, it would not tarry. The Lord would no longer delay His judgment; the people would be taken captive and deported to Babylon, as Ezekiel had prophesied.

The people of Judah were spiritually blind and deaf. Their sad condition was a continual pattern for Israel, and a consequence of their rebellion (Isaiah 6:9, 10). Because they rejected the living God and clung to their dead idols, they became insensitive to spiritual truths. Sin had blinded their hearts and minds to the death and destruction that was upon them. To get the people's attention, the Lord gave His true prophets His word and had them instruct the people using some very peculiar methods. The tragic consequence of repeated rejection of the word of God is the loss of the ability to believe. "Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them" (John 12:39, 40). It has been said that unbelief is not a mental problem, it is a moral problem. The people of Judah were willfully blind, and their sad condition provides a picture of the condition of the world we live in today. In contrast, Ezekiel was faithful to obey the Word of the Lord, providing an example for every believer to follow. Just as the Lord made Ezekiel a sign to the house of Israel (Ezekiel 12:6), we are a sign to our generation. As followers of Jesus Christ, our lives should be our most eloquent sermon - a living proclamation of the gospel for all to read. "You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart" (2 Corinthians 3:2, 3). Therefore, let us pray that we will be found faithful in our earthly assignment that all shall know that the Lord is God. Let us "sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks us a reason for the hope that is in us, with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15).

"For I am the LORD.

I speak, and the word which I speak will come to pass;

it will no more be postponed;

for in your days, O rebellious house,

I will say the word and perform it,"

says the Lord GOD."

(Ezekiel 12:25)

EVENING PRAYER:

Heavenly Father,

"You are not slack concerning Your promises,

as some count slackness, but are longsuffering toward us,

not willing that any should perish

but that all should come to repentance."

(2 Peter 3:9)

For You "desire all men to be saved and come

to a knowledge of the truth."

(1 Timothy 2:4)

Lord open the spiritually deaf ears and blind eyes

and melt the hardened hearts,

that they may see with their eyes and understand with their hearts,

and turn, so that You may heal them.

Your Word says that "the day of the Lord will come

as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise...

therefore, since all these things will be dissolved,

what manner of person ought [we] to be in holy conduct and godliness,

looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God..."

(2 Peter 3:10a, 11-12a)

Help us Holy Spirit to "gird up the loins of our mind,

being sober, and resting our hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to us

at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children,

not conforming ourselves to the former lusts, as in our ignorance;

but as He who called us is holy, may we also be holy in all our conduct,

because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy"

(1 Peter 1:13-16)

Help us to "conduct ourselves

throughout the time of our stay here in fear"

(1 Peter 1:17b)

May our lives reflect the beauty of holiness

and not rob You of any of Your glory,

that all may know that You are the Lord.

(Ezekiel 12:16b, 20b)

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ,

and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those

who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death,

and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.

And who is sufficient for these things?"

(2 Corinthians 2:14-16)

"Oh, send forth Your light and Your truth!

Let them lead me,

let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle.

Then I will go to the altar of God,

to God my exceeding joy;

and on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God."

(Psalm 43:2-4)

"Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

let Your glory be above all the earth."

(Psalm 57:11)

In Your holy, worthy, and wonderful name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

The Glory of the LORD ~ The Book of Ezekiel

copyright (c) 2022 Traci A. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright (c) 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.