Ezekiel 34:25-31 Covenant of Peace
God promises a covenant of peace with Israel. One free of enemies and even the wild beasts will be banished. His children will dwell securely.
This promise was given during the time of Ezekiel but it has not yet been completely fulfilled. God spoke these words while Israel was still in the early years of their exile. It was a promise of a secure future. It was something for the people to hold onto during the dark days that lay ahead.
Notice that this promise did NOT speak of the road to this peace. It did NOT give a timeline. It did NOT speak of the suffering that still lay ahead. It speaks of God’s completed work. The time that is still to come. However, it was meant for the days of Ezekiel AND for today. We haven’t seen it fulfilled but it WILL COME TO PASS, just as God said it would.
When the exiles finally were released to return to Israel, their neighbors were NOT happy about it. They would face opposition on every side. But they would also have an advocate who would pave the way for them and cut down the opposition; Cyrus. He would be the beginning physical person for the process to God’s promise. God would use him to bring peace to Israel as they rebuilt the Temple and the city of Jerusalem.
Israel was not free from the other nations around them. They would be ruled over by other nations, including during the time of Jesus. They would face SEVERE persecution in the form of genocide during the time of Hitler. Today, they are under rocket bombardment from the nations around them. These are only the ‘’highlights’ of their history. I’m sure there are many more examples of NOT being at peace. But they STILL have God’s promise of a covenant of peace.
I was thinking about the difference between a “promise” and a “covenant.” A promise is a one time event. It has a beginning and an end. The beginning is when it is spoken between two parties. The ending is when the promised thing is delivered and received. After that, there is no promise of what will transpire beyond delivery. In the instance of ‘peace’ it could last for a moment, a month, or an indefinite amount of time. It is up to the receiver to ensure how long it lasts. The giver is released from his obligation once delivery is made.
With a covenant, the establishment of an ongoing relationship is made. It goes beyond the thing promised. It begins when the covenant is spoken and continues for life. In a covenant, even if one party breaks their part of the covenant, it does not void it. The other party has the option to consider the relationship ended but can also work with the offending party to bring them back to the shared future. It goes beyond the delivery of the agreed upon goal. It charges both parties with maintaining the continuation of the goal. With the peace we see as the objective of the covenant, responsibility of maintaining that peace, once delivered, remains with both parties.
The fact that the peace specified in this covenant hasn’t been realized yet is not a failure of God to deliver but a development of the relationship that will bring all of it to completion AND beyond. Both parties work together to accomplish the goal and both work together to maintain that state.
GOD does most of the work but man has a part to play too. Man is responsible to cherish that relationship and allow God’s work to be done in him and the world around him. NOT to fight against the direction of God or rail at the speed of the work being done. He KNOWS what He is doing. It is ALWAYS for our best.
Father God, THANK YOU for Your covenant promises. The ones that I KNOW will last me a lifetime, and beyond. The ones that mold me into the woman You are proud to call Your own. The ones that I can’t break, no matter what!
I’m looking forward to that time of peace described here by You and Ezekiel. I bet he was too! THANK YOU that I KNOW that Your covenant promise WILL STILL be realized. I will be Your sheep any day! And live in the completion of Your promise.
