Book of Ezekiel: Chapter 48
The final chapter of Ezekiel is rather drab, thus I won’t be getting too much into it in this entry. Take the time to read it and compare the tone of the writing with that of the earlier portions of Ezekiel. God has moved on from judging the Israelites to rewarding them and fulfilling His promise of giving them the Holy Land. Ultimately, I wanted to use this last entry as a small review over the book of Ezekiel.
The start of Ezekiel begins in a very flamboyant fashion. We get to read about Ezekiel’s astounding visions of the Lord. His encounters with God include visions of multi-faced cherubim surrounding God, in human form, sitting on his throne. From there we saw the many messages that Ezekiel presented to the Israelites.
Ezekiel preached about the coming judgment against the Israelites. Their wicked ways filled with false idol worship and pride would lead to their demise. Ezekiel shared with those who didn’t want to listen to God’s word: God would bring down the Israelites by a coming invasion of Babylon led by King Nebuchadnezzar.
Through the use of metaphors, parables, and even interpretive acts, Ezekiel brought the word of God to the Israelites. But after the fall of Jerusalem, God continued to use Ezekiel in many ways. He had Ezekiel warn neighboring nations of their coming demise as well. These nations mocked Israel and took advantage of her when she was in shambles. God will punish those nations who chose to be adversaries against His people.
And finally, the book of Ezekiel finished on a more optimistic tone. God had Ezekiel preach to the people about God’s return to their Temple. He spent many chapters laying out details for the new Temple and how He would return. God had Ezekiel recite the rules of their worship, the rules of their offerings, and the rules of their priests.
The book of Ezekiel isn’t just about doom and gloom. There is hope present. We must remember that God wants us to live our lives fully for Him. We must not fall for the traps of sin. The Israelites fell into that trap many times, but God continues to give second, third, fourth and even more chances. But if we strive to not make the same mistakes, then there will always be hope for us.
Key Verse:
“This is the land you are to allot as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel, and these will be their portions, declares the Sovereign Lord.” ~ Ezekiel 48:29
Questions to ponder:
- If you were to see an Ezekiel-like prophet on the streets, how would you react to his preaching?
- What have you learned about yourself and God’s character from reading this book?
