Ezekiel Prophesies Restoration

"And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will requite their deeds upton their own heads, says the Lord God." (Ezekiel 11:19-21, RSV) [Read Ezekiel 11:14-21]

Ezekiel did not have a happy task because he declared God's judgments against Judah and Jerusalem. He reprimanded the people for forgetting God and saw the beloved city of Jerusalem overtaken with idolatry, with terrible abominations conducted in the temple itself, a representation of the dwelling place of God. Because such abominations had been allowed to happen, Yahweh was filled with wrath. The city of Jerusalem which had been invaded by the Babylonians in 598 B.C. was allowed to stand, although under vassalage to its conquerors. During the period from 598 to 587, a portion of Jews remained in the city although 10,000 inhabitants had been taken to Babylon along with King Jehoiachin. Actually, during the Exile, many still held to a restoration of the city, if not in its former physical splendor, at least as a symbol for the elect people of God. Then from about January, 588 through July, 586 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon ravaged the city, the temple was burned, and the glory that had been Jerusalem was gone. Several of Exekiel's oracles are symbolic of Jerusalem during this time. She is noted as a worthless vine, good only for fuel for a fire; she is as faithless wife who has left her husband; and as a great boiling cauldron with the people themselves the flesh within it.

Then, amidst all the oracles of destruction, of worthlessness, there come messages of restoration. The one given above in Ezekiel 11 is one of the first. A new heart and a new spirt are promised. It is a message of great hope in a period of great despair.

How typical of our God of love to offer hope amidst destruction and devastation. "They shall be my people and I shall be their God." When the people have been stripped of everything, they discover that God is still faithful. True to prophecy, restoration, both of faith in God and in practice of His statutes, come from the remnant, those in exile who hold onto hope and onto God through the years of their exile. But let us note that before a new heart is restored, there comes the decision to turn from wicked ways and turn to God. In this, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, whom scholars believe were contemporaries, are in agreement. "For I know the plans that I have for you, delcares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:11-13). Prayer: Even so may it be in our own day, Lord. Amen.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Sunday, October 3, 2010