Ezekiel 11:14-25 I Will Gather
Ezekiel is distressed because pieces of the remnant of Israel are being struck down. It’s because they turned from the Lord. But He says “I will gather you…” There is hope!
Ezekiel has just “cried out with a loud voice, ‘Ah, Lord God! Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?’” (verse 13b). No. God isn’t going to kill EVERYONE that is left, but those whom He is punishing, it is for a VERY good reason.
“Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen, the WHOLE HOUSE of Israel, ALL of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far from the Lord; to US this land is given for a possession.’” (verse 15). THIS is why God is punishing the people. THEY didn’t take the land. GOD GAVE IT TO THEM. But their sins are so great, God is taking it away from them.
This is however NOT the end of the story. Yes. Judah AND Israel have pushed God to a corner of their hearts. Some have relegated Him to a heap of stones; thrown from their hearts and minds. If He is even in their hearts, He occupies the smallest corner of the room. Something else sits on the throne of their hearts. It’s time to judge them for this sin.
God doesn’t excuse their sin. He doesn’t make light of the situation they are now in. He doesn’t yell “I could have done worse!” Instead, He promises that they WILL learn from this lesson. God’s people will NEVER go back to living the way they are living now. Yes. MANY lives will be lost. MANY will be scattered to other lands. But He is keeping the land that He gave Israel safe for when they return. And, YES, a ‘remnant’ WILL return. No matter what it looks like to Ezekiel, God STILL held beck from destroying ALL of Israel and Judah.
Those who return to the land God had promised to them will be different. Gone will be their stubborn hearts. God will give them a NEW heart and a new spirt. One that will obey His laws and walk in His ways. This is an AMAZING promise! One that should bring hope even to the darkest hearts.
God doesn’t say that there will NEVER again be those who seek after idols but that He will judge that individual alone. He won’t do a national judgment again where the people are sent into exile. He “will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God” (verse 21b).
After sharing this hope for the future, God does something that has not been done since the beginning of His time with Israel. He withdraws His presence from among them. The cherubim move the glory of the Lord from the Eastern Gate to a mountain on the eastern side of the city.
I was curious as to which mountain God’s glory rested on so I Googled it. The consensus is that His glory rested on the Mt. of Olives. This wasn’t its name at the time, but this location is significant. It is the site of the garden where Jesus prayed just before being arrested. It is also the mountain from which Jesus would ascend back into Heaven. I believe it will also be the place where Jesus returns.
This vision of Ezekiel’s is more for the people who were already in exile than it was for those still in Jerusalem. God had him speak to one group while in his vision but it wasn’t to share the entire message. The message they got was the part BEFORE the hope. It was the portion about the judgment to come and that they WERE NOT SAFE as they so blindly said. That group would be pulled out of their ‘safe place’ and brought before the very sword they feared. But once the whole vision was completed, God brought Ezekiel back to the place where he started from. “And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me” (verse 25).
Were these the elders who were in the house with him at the time he was taken on his ‘vision journey’? Did he tell everyone he met about the vision? The vision that showed God’s glory leaving the Temple but promised the hope of its returning one day. The vision that spoke of a stubborn people receiving a new heart and a new spirit. The vision that promised a return to the land the Lord would hold for them.
While I was writing, I was thinking about the stubborn heart of Israel and what it took to break it. I also thought about my stubborn heart and what it took to change it. My mother will attest to the stubbornness in me. It wasn’t something that I developed but something I was born with. And I displayed it for all to see as I grew up. It served me often when I had an obstacle I needed to conquer, but it also kept getting me into trouble.
One thing my stubborn streak pulled me into was irrationality. When confronted with a problem, it didn’t matter how irrational MY solution was. I was going to FORCE the world to see it and do it my way. I think recognizing that irrationality is actually what broke my stubbornness. It hasn’t broken my determination in rational areas, but has tempered me. I now try and see ALL sides of the issues I encounter, including those on the opposing side.
I’m BEYOND GRATEFUL that I didn’t have to go through the degree of breaking that God’s people did, but even MORE GRATEFUL that He took out my stone heart and gave me one of flesh too. One that will follow Him to the end of my life. Determined to do His will and walk in His ways with wisdom and understanding.
Father God, thank You for sharing Ezekiel’s vision with me. I know I don’t fit the profile of those he was sent to but my heart fit with theirs for a time. You worked HARD to deal with their stubborn and rebellious hearts. You did the same for me. THANK YOU for not giving up on me. And, even though it may look like You gave up on them, You DIDN’T! You only withdrew to allow them to experience the full weight of their own actions. You allowed them to see where they would be on their own apart from You. And to discover that they DID NOT like where it took them.
Keep working on my heart Holy Spirit! I NEVER want to walk even one step alone. I want to stay determined, NOT stubborn, in my walk with You. Lead me where You will and help me see how God’s word is JUST as relevant today for my life as it was for the people in the periods when it was first given. If I can learn from their mistakes, I would MUCH rather do so than to go through them on my own. I’ll gladly share in their victories too!
