The Shepherd

Take a minute to read Ezekiel 34....go ahead, I'll wait..... :)

Ok, then, this is one of the most powerful chapters of the Old Testament for me. Here God tells the leaders of Israel how they have failed to guide the people in the ways of the Lord. Yet God still hasn't given up on His people. He says that He Himself will intervene:

I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.

This is clearly a reference to the coming of Christ. Christ often used the shepherd metaphor. It simply is amazing that God cares about us enough to search us out wherever we may be.

This chapter in Ezekiel also reminds me how important the Old Testament is. I think many Christians often dismiss the Old Testament as secondary or less important than the New Testament, yet both are the Word of God. We need to remember that the Old Testament must be read in light of the New Testament and at the same time, we need the Old Testament to truly understand the New Testament. My prayer is that more Christians can begin to recognize this in order to better understand God's Word as a whole.

Judgment and Mercy

I love the book of Ezekiel. I am currently reading through it as my daily Bible reading and it is one of the deepest and most meaningful books of the Old Testament to me. There are many aspects that impact me, but one recurring theme we see is the contrast between Israel’s (and our) unfaithfulness and God’s faithfulness. The majority of the book focuses on God’s judgment of Israel and how they will be punished for their betrayal of God. Yet constantly mixed in with this judgment is a promise that God will preserve a remnant that He will bring out of captivity and restore.

I like that the book doesn’t try to separate these aspects of God by having one section on judgment and another on the redemption of Israel. It causes us to have to deal simultaneously with God’s righteousness and His mercy. They are impossible to separate, even though some Christians seem to focus more on one or the other. Ezekiel helps me remember to be sorrowful over my many sins and realize that I deserve judgment, while at the same time, reminds me of the mercy and grace I have through Christ.

Take a closer look at Ezekiel – I think we all have a lot to learn about the nature of God from this book.