Category: Ezekiel

Ezekiel 6:13 – “They will know that I am the Lord when their dead lie scattered among their idols and altars on every hill and mountain and under every green tree and every great shade tree—the places where they offered sacrifices to their idols.”

Read the full chapter here.

Lots of people walk around every day thinking God is angry with them. They read a passage like this and think that God is just bent on destroying people. How does that connect with love and Jesus and all the things we cling to as Christians? Does God just want to punish us when we do things wrong?

Context is important. We have to remember that God is sending this message of warning through Ezekiel after his chosen people have rebelled against him in idol worship for centuries. That’s hardly a quick temper (and in fact, the Bible says that God is slow to anger). We haven’t read the whole book yet, so let’s wait and understand the big picture before we make quick judgments about God’s character.

Here’s your freedom for today:

God is not out to get you.

In today’s passage, God is warning his people of coming destruction because he wants them to turn back to him. In some sense, it’s the result they’ve been going for. Idol worship doesn’t bring eternal life. God promises that he has something better, and if we want to connect with freedom and life we have to follow him into it. God isn’t out to get you in the sense that we usually use that phrase — he doesn’t want your destruction. But he is out to get you if by that we mean he will pursue you and try to stop you from death that you will bring on yourself. I’ve walked with God a long time, and I’ve sat with hundreds of people in various stages of the spiritual journey. Those who are connected with God have a freedom that is simply not possible any other way. Those who cling to their sin and idols find their lives destroyed. It’s not a cruel punishment, it’s how the spiritual war is won or lost. Gravity doesn’t ask permission to have a pull on us. It’s just a force that we exist within. Sin is the same way, dragging you away from God and pulling you into a painful death.

Ezekiel 7:4 – “I will turn my eyes away and show no pity. I will repay you for all your detestable sins. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

Read the full chapter here.

This is about the point where people give up on reading a book like Ezekiel. It’s a lot. More destruction and anger — it’s depressing, confusing, and mentally tiring. I’ll let you in on a secret: I write these devotionals so that I can’t give up. I started this series, and I’m going to keep asking what God reveals about himself in these pages. It’s important history, but it’s also important for having a full understanding of who God is. The prophets also help us understand Jesus better. Hang in there with me — we can be on this journey together to see what it is we will know by the end!

Verse 4 caught my eye (also repeated in verse 9 for emphasis and literary style). There are references to hopelessness in this chapter, but the image of God turning his face away immediately brought the cross into my mind. Take a look at Matthew 27:45-46 and Mark 15:33. Jesus hangs on the cross, crying out to God who appears to have forsaken him.

Here’s your freedom for today:

God has not forsaken you.

1 John 2:1-2 tells us that Jesus took on the sin of the world when he died on the cross. In that moment, Jesus at least felt as though God had forsaken him. And perhaps God did turn his face in that moment because that is the right response to evil. If all the evil in the world were concentrated into one moment, I would look away too. It’s hard to watch. But we know that God did not forsake Jesus — the plan for resurrection and redemption was just getting started. If you’ve been in a dark place and feel like God has turned his face from you, connect with Jesus. He’s been there. And his comeback was pretty huge.

Ezekiel 8:16 – “Then he brought me into the inner courtyard of the Lord’s Temple. At the entrance to the sanctuary, between the entry room and the bronze altar, there were about twenty-five men with their backs to the sanctuary of the Lord. They were facing east, bowing low to the ground, worshiping the sun!”

Read the full chapter here.

One of the things on my heart when I chose to work through the book of Ezekiel was the fact that in America we have lost sight of God. And I don’t mean regular, everyday Americans. I mean the church. Some have married politics, others have left the heart of Jesus, and others have stopped preaching anything resembling Good News. The American church in many ways is thriving as there are many who are seeking after the Holy Spirit. But many are also falling away.

In today’s highlighted verse, we see people bowing to the sun in the very place they had built to worship God. When we read this, it might be easy to see it as different from anything we would do. But we need to check ourselves. What created thing has taken God’s place in your life? What is the thing your heart is chasing after?

Here’s your freedom for today:

The one, true, living God is the only one deserving of worship.

Our hearts and spirits are absolutely set free when we worship the one true God. He is here, in this chapter, watching his people give away their hearts to other things. It’s painful, it’s sad, and it shows how far God’s people had strayed. If your life is comfortable and safe, if you are seeking security over the supernatural, if your heart longs for something more than God, realign yourself today. Physically bow to him in prayer and worship. Ask him to bring you back to himself.

Ezekiel 9:4-5 – “Then the glory of the God of Israel rose up from between the cherubim, where it had rested, and moved to the entrance of the Temple. And the Lord called to the man dressed in linen who was carrying the writer’s case. He said to him, ‘Walk through the streets of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of all who weep and sigh because of the detestable sins being committed in their city.'”

Read the full chapter here.

In the book of Exodus, when God was setting his people free from Egyptian slavery, he told them to put blood on the door posts of their houses. This sign would allow the angel of death to pass over these homes, sparing the first born son. In today’s passage, we see a similar event. A man is out searching, looking for anyone who is weeping at the sins of their city.

If you read the full chapter, you’ll see that everyone who did not have the mark on them was killed. If you are numb to sin and have no problem with the evil you see around you, you are complicit in it. God, in his plan to eliminate the evil influences on Israel, is still giving a way out.

Here’s your freedom for today:

Freedom is found when your heart is stirred toward God.

Check your heart today. What is your response to sin in your own life? When you see injustice and evil in the world, are you complacent or do you weep for the suffering and pain around you? Too often when we read the Bible and think about God’s anger at sin, we forget that evil is upsetting. We think of God as overly angry and strict. But when I see children abused or women raped or people giving their lives to drugs, I get angry. Sin and evil harm people, including me and you. How will you be marked?

Ezekiel 10:4 – “Then the glory of the Lord rose up from above the cherubim and went over to the entrance of the Temple. The Temple was filled with this cloud of glory, and the courtyard glowed brightly with the glory of the Lord.”

Read the full chapter here.

You’ve probably heard the word “glory” before, but have you ever tried to imagine God’s glory? The Bible talks about God’s glory almost as an entity unto itself. “The glory of the Lord rose up…” Somehow places can be filled with clouds of glory. It just shows me how little I truly understand about God’s glory.

“Glory” has a sense of power with it, yet it seems to occupy space as well. Light is often a theme that accompanies descriptions of glory. It is tangible, yet hard to describe. In today’s chapter, there is a ceremony of angels around a throne and God’s glory is filling the Temple.

Here’s your freedom for today:

Your imagination cannot contain God’s glory.

No matter how hard we try, we will never be able to fully imagine the glory of God. We can barely comprehend it. Even Ezekiel, who is seeing a direct vision, can hardly describe it. The fact that God is bigger than my imagination is comforting and exciting. If my brain could totally understand everything about God, he would be a small god! We are often used to placing ourselves at the center of our own universe, but today I am challenged to place myself at the foot of an enormous throne where God’s glory is surrounding me and nothing matters but him. My priorities might shift a bit if I keep that in mind.