“In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel,…” Ezekiel 40:2
Many of the Jews had been in exile for over 25 years. They’d heard Ezekiel prophesy that they would one day return to Jerusalem. God took time to assure Ezekiel, and his listeners, that He would restore them as one nation and they would again enjoy being His people.
At the beginning of Ezekiel’s ministry (Ezekiel 10), God gave Ezekiel a vision of the temple, how wickedly the priests and leaders of Jerusalem behaved and thought, and how God departed from the temple.
Now, God reveals to Ezekiel His plans for the temple. God wants to rebuild His relationship with His people, and that would begin with worship. And in Ezekiel 43, Ezekiel sees God’s glory returning to the temple. Holiness prevails in this relationship, this presence of God.
All that transpired from the time before the first Jews were taken to Babylonia to today was done to glorify God, to exalt Him above all else. God glories in those who love and choose Him, who seek His holiness.
Our relationship with God is not one of a big sugar daddy in the sky that gives us our every desire. Nor is He a fierce and angry God bent on whipping us into shape. God does, on one hand show kindness and mercy, while on the other hand has strict justice and truth. We need to see and receive both sides, and more, of God’s character.
The problem is, we tend to view God without letting go of our focus on ourselves. Before us, God was. He wasn’t created. And He doesn’t exist to please us, to pamper us, to…anything us. It’s the other way around. We are created for His pleasure.
We lose sight of this, I think. We stop allowing God to be God.
And when we don’t get our way? Well, how often have you gotten mad at God or stormed off in a spiritual huff when He hasn’t answered your prayers the way you wanted Him to? We all do it. We may not all act out in the same way, but we all at times choose to be put out if we don’t get our way.
I think this may lead us to swing the other way, if we’re not careful, and count God as an angry, vengeful God. And it is true that God does get angry, and vengeance is His. However, who are we to retaliate by rejecting the truth about God? Who are we to decide to make God become a god of our liking? Or outright reject God and follow the gods of this world.
Whatever our problem is, God’s not it.
In Ezekiel, we see the Existing One, the Great and Almighty Creator, pleading with His people, longing for them to turn to Him. We get a glimpse of the pain His people inflicted on Him by committing such great abominations in the temple—tremendous unholiness. And this righteous God must leave for holiness no longer resides in the people. Jerusalem and Judah are ravaged and destroyed.
And yet, God calls them back. He promises them good things. He plans on restoring their relationship with Him, and central to that relationship, is holy worship.
I wonder when God looks at us today, what does He see? No doubt, He has great compassion. Absolutely, He’s merciful and gracious. And covering all our wicked unholiness, selfish rebellion, sinful nature, is His Son’s shed blood, poured out on the altar in Heaven. When we are selfish and acting like spoiled children, He looks at that. Is He hurt? Oh, I am sure.
Does our sin affect our relationship? Christ’s blood shed once and for all covers all of our sins: past, present, and future. Nothing can pluck us from His hand. But our actions and our thoughts and our attitudes can affect how close a fellowship we have with God.
Nonetheless, we receive forgiveness, and we receive hope…the hope of being with God in eternity, in a place where we’ll sin no more.
Have you considered your response to God when you don’t get your prayers answered the way you’d like Him to? How about when you really want to do something, but the Holy Spirit prevents you or convicts you? How do you respond then? Isn’t it wonderful that God understands, promises to forgive, and forget, and draws us back to Him?
For further study read Ezekiel 40-48; Revelations 21-22; Isaiah 64-66.
“…and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.” Ezekiel 48:35
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new…” Revelations 21:4-5
