The people of Jerusalem thought that they were the favoured ones because they had not been carried off to exile. In fact the opposite was true. This is an example of Jesus' saying that the first shall be last and last first. Outward appearances of how things are working out can be a load of nonsense, for it is what God is doing and is planning that really count. We may look at our own life and think we are missing out or others are doing better than us, but it is God's plans that count. We should live by faith not by sight.
The plans for destruction were not the final outcome, afterwards God would bring back a remnant, When they return they will remove the idols, ie they will cleanse the land. Most importantly they will have a new heart and a new spirit. This is the first mention of this in Ezekiel, and later on will be a major feature of his prophecy.
The vision left Ezekiel and he told the exiles everything. The people in Jerusalem needed to give up their complacency, but the people in exile needed to see the bigger picture so that they could understand what was really going on.
There are a number of lessons we can learn:
The plans for destruction were not the final outcome, afterwards God would bring back a remnant, When they return they will remove the idols, ie they will cleanse the land. Most importantly they will have a new heart and a new spirit. This is the first mention of this in Ezekiel, and later on will be a major feature of his prophecy.
The vision left Ezekiel and he told the exiles everything. The people in Jerusalem needed to give up their complacency, but the people in exile needed to see the bigger picture so that they could understand what was really going on.
There are a number of lessons we can learn:
- We need to look beyond immediate circumstances.
- God works by working in the hearts of the people. Once their hearts had been cleansed they would then come back and cleanse the land.
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