Category: Ezekiel - Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry

Ezekiel 2:8-3:11 - Lectionary for St. Matthew

9/13/2021

9/13/21
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.

There's a particular sort of toughness involved in Christian ministry. Yes, we're supposed to be gentle as doves, people who are committed to doing good, not harm. But that doesn't mean the Christian, especially the person in some form of leadership, like a pastor or, in Ezekiel's case, a prophet, is some sort of wish-washy, vacillating people-pleaser.

In our passage today, Ezekiel is given a message - a scroll of God's words that he is to eat. He is then sent to Israel, God's people. And God warns him that they are tough customers.

Ezekiel 3:6 explains that guiding Israel is not going to be hard work because of foreign languages or customs. Those are not a problem for Ezekiel. And God says that if Ezekiel did go to a foreign nation, they would listen to him.

On the contrary, Israel doesn't listen to God and won't be listening to Ezekiel either. Verse seven says they "have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart" (ESV). So God is making Ezekiel hard headed too. He is to speak to them fearlessly.

How can Ezekiel do this? He has taken in God's words. He knows they are good, powerful, and trustworthy. What should Ezekiel fear? Nothing at all.

Christian work often requires a tough attitude. People say and do hurtful things. But God's Word is sure. We have nothing to fear.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

Ezekiel 3:16-21 - Lectionary for St. Andrew - November 30

11/23/2020

11/23/20
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.

Rather early in the Scripture, when God confronts Cain about his sin of murder, Cain asks God if he is his brother's keeper. God's answer is, put simply, "Yes."

For Saint Andrew's Day, November 30, we traditionally read Ezekiel 3:16-21. Here Ezekiel is told that he is a watchman for Israel. If he wants to have a clear conscience before God, he must tell the people the truth. And the truth about sin and righteousness really stings sometimes.

The Scripture warns us about sin. We need to be willing to bring those warnings to our world. In the Bible sin is a terrible thing. It infects our world, ultimately bringing death and destruction. What other deadly conditions would we cover over as if they didn't exist? It is right to warn people about sin. And while we're at it, we warn ourselves and receive those warnings from others. Those warnings may just save our lives.

What if we warn people about the consequences of sin and they pay no attention? God tells Ezekiel that he is not going to be held responsible for the disobedience of the people he warns. Ezekiel's conscience can be clear, but the results of sin will still remain.

In the New Testament, Christians are identified as heralds of God's truth. We bring God's Word to our neighbors, lovingly and clearly, urging them to life, not to death. And, like Ezekiel, we are our brothers' keepers. We bring warnings as well as encouragement that, in Christ, sin and death have been taken care of. The goal of all our ministry is to direct our world into the loving hands of Jesus, who has given himself into death on our behalf, so we might have life in him.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

Ezekiel 36:22-28 - Lectionary for Easter 7

5/18/2020

5/18/20
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.

Our world is full of negative examples. To a great extent, we seem to thrive on those negative examples. Certainly the radical social and political movements that war with one another use them. The family is redefined because many families fail to live up to a theoretical, somewhat abstract concept of what a family could be. Big business is criticized because some large corporations have engaged in bad business practices with disregard for their employees, their communities, or the environment. Small business is criticized because the small business owners don’t have the resources to care for their employees, their communities, or the environment to the same extent that larger businesses might.

In Ezekiel 36:22, God says that He is going to act not for the sake of Israel, but for his own sake. Israel has brought shame on His name. What have they done? They have claimed to be God’s people but have not acted like who they are. They are the very nation God has chosen to be a blessing to the entire world, to live differently from the rest of the world, to be a haven for those who are in need, a beacon of justice. Yet they have acted no differently from the rest of the world.

By living this way, Israel has brought shame on God’s name. So God, in bringing judgment not only on the surrounding nations, but also on Israel, is acting in defense of His name. He is pointing out that his chosen people have failed.

What does this have to do with our negative examples? I’ll just give one. The Scripture calls God the husband and father of his people. Yet over many years ministering to families I have seen many, many instances of husbands and fathers who are abject failures. Many of them are physically or verbally abusive. For their family members it is difficult to be confronted with a Scriptural picture of God as the husband or father. For the person who has been stuck in an abusive situation, depicting God with the formal title held by their abuser is a dreadful idea.

The Bible does call God the father. The Bible calls God the shepherd, caretaker, in effect, the husband of his people. How do we deal with this?

We remember that the failure of humans to live up to the high calling God has given them says nothing negative about God, but everything negative about them. What’s that ideal father like? Caring, nurturing, providing, making a place of safety, giving opportunity to grow, to ask questions, to fail and to succeed? That may not be much like your father. My father, who did rather well, managed to fail at those tasks, though he also succeeded a good bit of the time.

God never fails. He is the one in whom we can depend. Let God be God!

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

Ezekiel 34:11-16 - Lectionary for Easter 3

4/20/2020

4/20/20
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.

Our Old Testament passage for this week reminds us that God is deeply concerned about restoration. His people have been scattered, and, like sheep, they are unable to care for themselves for very long. They won’t find the kind of good pasture they need, they will wind up short of water, they will be harassed by all sorts of predators. The sheep need a shepherd.

The Lord knows that his sheep need to be gathered together and cared for. They were scattered when his undershepherds, the priests, teachers, and rulers of Israel failed to do their duty. Those people, also pictured as sheep, became fat and strong but didn’t take care of the sheep they were supposed to watch. So God gives his promise. He will gather his sheep by himself. He will rescue them and bring them to a place of security and rest. This is God’s righteous judgment, to care for those who are hurting, especially those who have been scattered and neglected by the very people they should have depended on.

Three ways of God’s gathering and restoration of his people come to mind immediately. First, for the people of Israel at the time of Ezekiel - the nation has been taken into captivity by the Babylonians. They will be restored to their rightful land. The worship and sacrifice which was interrupted by the exile can be restored. The culture of God’s people gathered together can be re-instituted. God gathers his people out of a very literal exile. Second, for those in the many ages from Ezekiel’s time to now, those who wish to hear from God but who have been troubled and scattered by this world and its false teaching can be restored to right teaching. We may be seeing something like that happening in this day, as Christians are working overtime to care for people during a time of plague. We are certainly attempting to make the good news of restoration to God by faith in Jesus as plain as possible, welcoming those who are fearful and troubled to find the hope and peace of Christ. Third, in the last day, God will gather his people to himself as he raises the dead and gathers those who are still living. Again, it will be a kind of restoration, but at that time an eternal restoration, a rescue from all trouble and strife.

God is gathering his people together. Wherever we might be, we are invited to come and trust in him, as he brings us to a place of peace and rest. He has made that place for us because of his great love for us. We are welcome in his pasture.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

Ezekiel 37:1-14 - Lectionary for Easter 2

4/13/2020

4/13/20 Read the passage here.
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.

The valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37 is a popular piece of the Scripture. It’s also sadly easy to interpret really badly in one particular respect. Here’s the way NOT to deal with the passage. God has placed an impossible situation in front of you. Dead, dry bones. Nothing you can do in yourself would bring them to life. Nothing you can do in yourself can breathe life into your situation. What do you do? Like the prophet, you go ahead and command the dry bones to come together , command the dead things to come to life, reach out in faith and raise up a mighty army of God’s people! You’ve heard this preaching. I’ve heard this preaching. There’s a fundamental error in it, and I would dare call it blasphemy, a sin of speaking something that is so very harmful it denies God himself.

Why? What’s so wrong with what I did above? Compare the biblical text to the little sermonette I gave you. In Ezekiel, who knows what to do with the dead bones? Who gives the command to prophesy? Who tells what the outcome will be? There’s the difference. In the example I gave, it was my idea what to do with the dead bones, my idea to prophesy, my idea what the outcome will do.

The fact is, I have as much power to fix some situations in my world as I do to find the skeleton of a deer in the woods, bring it to life, and get it to give me venison! I don’t get to command anything. By doing so, I am claiming the role, prerogative, and power of God. It denies God and exalts me to the heavenly throne.

What do we do with this passage, then? We confess that, like the prophet Ezekiel, we don’t know what to do with the deadness we see around us. We admit that we have no idea how to fix it, and even if we did have an idea, it would probably be the wrong idea and we wouldn’t be able to put the plan into effect. Rather, we ask that the Lord, by His mercy, would work it out, and that He would use us, if it is His will, as instruments of change.

Notice how God is the one who initiates the encounter? Notice how it is by His word that anything happens? And notice that He is the one who gives the application. These dead bones are God’s people. He will bring them life, even out of the grave. But what if we become sick? What if we even die? If God wills it, we will come to no eternal harm. We are perfectly safe in Him. He can even raise us from the dead.

The good news? Jesus has come specifically to raise us from the dead. He has shown his will by rising himself as well. It is God’s will to keep us.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

Ezekiel 34:11-24 - Lectionary for Pentecost 14C, Proper 19C

9/9/2019

9/9/19
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

The Bible describes all sorts of divisions among people, and this week’s reading from Ezekiel 34:11-24 is no exception. Here God pictures people assheep, with some goats mixed in, not an unusual scenario. God is the one who gathers his scattered sheep together, bringing them healing and putting them in good pasture.

Why do some of the sheep need healing? They need healing because the other sheep, those who have become greedy and powerful, not only eat and drink, but also trample the food, pollute the water, and attack the weaker sheep. To combat this situation, God states his intention to gather the needy sheep, strengthen them, rebuke the powerful, and place them all under the care of a good shepherd, who will come from the line of King David.

Christians confess that this good shepherd is Jesus the Christ, and that by his mercy he brings forgiveness and grace to all who believe him. There will still be selfish and sinful divisions even within the Church. However, we are not left to our own devices to seek restitution. This merely continues the pattern of the strong enforcing their own victory. Rather, at the call of Jesus, we who have strength and resources give preference and care to those who cannot help themselves. In this way we make the provision of the Lord available to all. We make sure there is fresh water and good grazing for all.

You will notice that I have spoken entirely in the context of those who are trusting in Christ. While we can urge those outside of Christianity to love and serve their neighbors and to protect those who are defenseless, history has shown that those encouragements almost never work. The best we can hope for is that in Christ those who have been tormented by our unbelieving world can find a refuge, the pure water of the Word of God, and the good food for their souls found only in Christ. God’s people provide a safe place for those who have suffered at the hands of their larger society. Jesus himself calls all people to come to him for rst. This is the good news of God’s Word.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

Ezekiel 33:7-20 - Lectionary for Lent 3C

3/18/2019

3/18/19
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

The season of Lent is normally understood as a time of repentance and humility. Our Old Testament reading for this week, from Ezekiel 33:7-20, makes two radical statements which I find particularly humbling. First, in verse 13, if the righteous person, someone who has God’s promise of life, trusts in himself, he will fall into injustice and perish. His good works may be good, but if he is no longer trusting God but trusting himself, all his good works will not save him. This is a vital correction for those who are overly confident. Our confidence comes from God, not from ourselves.

The second humbling statement comes in verse 17 and again in verse 20. Someone who has lived a life of sin and evil can repent of that sin and be forgiven by God. It is not related to his sin but to God’s forgiveness. Likewise, the one who has always done good and does not trust the Lord is not forgiven. We look at this pattern and say God is unjust. However, He is the one who created justice. He gets to define it. And God’s justice is tied to his mercy, poured out on those who believe Him.

In the end, we realize that it is only in God’s mercy that we have hope. He pours out his mercy on those who trust him. If he acted only based on our idea of justice we would have no hope. Rather, we look to him for his mercy and grace.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

Ezekiel 2:1-5 - Lectionary for Pentecost 7B

7/3/2018

7/3/18
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

Ezekiel is one of the prophets who apparently was not very popular. He couldn’t say he wasn’t warned, though. In Ezekiel 2:1-5, the Lord spoke to Ezekiel very frankly about the fact that he would be rejected. Not only that, but in verse three, God calls the Israelites “rebellious pagans.” Those are pretty hard words for God’s chosen people. What do we learn about the role of those in ministry, based on this passage from Ezekiel?

First, a calling to ministry as a pastor, teacher, or any of the other churchly roles is a calling from God. Though we expect it to be ratified by our church body as a whole and the local congregation in which the minister will serve, it is primarily a call from God. The pastor follows God’s Word. He follows God’s instructions. He has to maintain God’s priorities. It is no kind of a popularity contest.

This does not mean that the pastor should be indifferent to the congregation. After all, God is calling him to be the shepherd of Christ, leading his people to trust Jesus and share with one another in time, talent, finances, and care. Did you ever wonder if you should invite the pastor to your child’s birthday party? The answer is that you absolutely should, but that you should make it clear that no present is expected and that you will all understand if the pastor can’t make it. A good pastor cherishes the opportunities to enter into the lives and interests of his congregants, old and young.

The people of Israel weren’t going to treat Ezekiel that way. The Holy Spirit warned Ezekiel about that. Ezekiel went anyway. He spoke God’s commands to the people, he called them to repentance, he asked them to turn to the Lord for forgiveness. This is a second thing we should take from this passage. Ezekiel’s call was not to be successful in turning Israel. His call was to speak God’s word faithfully, whether it was received or not. In the case of Ezekiel, the Word of God was rejected. Some pastors serve in congregations which will refuse God’s Word. Some missionaries serve in mission fields where they may labor for decades without seeing one single convert. Some pastors, including some I know personally, are called to serve the Lord in places with shrinking and aging populations. They fully expect their church congregations to shrink and age because that’s simply the demographic reality of their community. If the pastor is being faithful to God’s Word, ministering in Word and Sacrament, distributing God’s gifts to any who will receive them, the ministry is not in vain. It is still precious in God’s sight.

Yes, we want all church congregations to be thriving and growing. Every pastor in the world hopes for a steady increase in attendance, for people to be turned from sin to righteousness, and for people to be growing in grace and the knowledge of the Lord. But Christianity is not a numbers game. It’s a matter of faithfulness. Are we willing to be faithful and to let God take care of the numbers? Ezekiel was.

We learn a lot when we look at the prophets. We learn even more when we let the prophets inform us. May this passage draw us to trust our Lord in his wisdom and grace.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

Ezekiel 17:22-24 - Lectionary for Pentecost 4B

6/12/2018

6/12/18
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

Ezekiel is notoriously difficult to interpret. I’m tempted to end this blog post right here.

Actually, our Old Testament passage for this week, from Ezekiel 17:22-24, is pretty easy to deal with. Here God, through Ezekiel, says he will take a cedar sprig, plant it, and make it grow to be fruitful and provide shelter for all. The challenging question here is what kind of fruit a cedar produces. But that doesn’t seem the point of the passage.

Here’s the point. God, by His mercy and according to His plan, provides shelter and care for all who recognize Him as the Lord of all. He does it not because the people are good or worthy, but simply because He can and He wants to. He makes it available to all, so that all will know He is LORD. And he does it as a good thing.

In these last days, Jesus, theo ne cut off from his people and raised up on a tree rose from the dead and promised eternal shelter to all who believe. This is God’s good and merciful will.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

Ezekiel 37:1-14 - Lectionary for Pentecost Sunday, Series B

5/15/2018

5/15/18
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

Ezekiel 37 is the well-known passage about the valley of dead dry bones. In a vision, Ezekiel is in a valley full of human remains. They have not been buried appropriately. It’s a ceremonially unclean place. Anyone who is there is defiled.

At God’s command, Ezekiel calls the bones together. They become living people again by God’s decree. The Lord brings them from uncleanness and death into life. God’s interpretation of the situation is that He, the Lord of life, intends to bring Israel, dead in sin, to life by his gracious words. There is no doubt. He an do it.

By Jesus, the living Word of God, all whom He calls will live. Though we are dead in trespasses and sin, He can make new life by his call, the call of the Gospel. There’s no need to doubt. We simply hear the call of God. He will take care of it all, for he is the Lord of life.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

God's Overwhelming Glory

5/15/2018

Tuesdays are for the Old Testament
5/15/18

Lessing, R. Reed & Andrew E. Steinmann. Prepare the Way of the Lord: An Introduction to the Old Testament. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2014. Chapter 25, “Ezekiel” pp. 417-432.

Ezekiel was deported to Babylon in 597 B.C. When he was 30 years old, rather than beginning service as a priest, he received a prophet’s call (Lessing 2014, 417). He serves as a transitionary prophet between those before and after the exile. Lessing finds much evidence that Ezekiel wrote the book of Ezekiel (Lessing 2014, 418). Critical opinion does, of course, suggest very substantial editorial work. The text of chapters 1-24 is primarily denunciation. Chapters 33-48 are largely a promise of restoration. In between are oracles about various nations (Lessing 2014, 419).

Ezekiel’s language is distinctive. Lessing notes unusual vocabulary, several repetitive phrases, and considerable use of allegory (Lessing 2014, 421). Lessing also observes that there are significant differences in the text traditions, with the Masoretic text being considerably longer than the Septuagint (Lessing 2014, 421). The text contains numerous historical markers, indicating that the prophecies are basically chronological (Lessing 2014, 422).

Important themes in Ezekiel include God’s glory (Lessing 2014, 423), the covenant at Sinai (Lessing 2014, 424), the idea of Yahweh as the spouse of Israel, apocalyptic themes (Lessing 2014, 425), and the new temple (Lessing 2014, 426). Ezekiel speaks of a David to come. Lessing sees this and the temple to come as signs of Christ and the future blessing of the Church (Lessing 2014, 429).Ezekiel sees sin as a corporate or generational issue. He calls people to accept their responsibility but does not portray it in highly individual terms as we tend to see later (Lessing 2014, 430).

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 - Lectionary for Last Sunday of the Church Year, Series A

11/21/2017

11/21/17
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

Our Old Testament reading for the Last Sunday of the Church Year is from Ezekiel 34. In this passage, God himself promises to intervene for the good of his flock. They have endured hardship. Shepherds who were not competent have allowed them to be harassed. They have been deprived of the food and water they need. God calls this injustice.

What is God’s judgment on his weak sheep? He considers their trouble and how they need to be cared for. Those who are weak and troubled will be given a good shepherd, good pasture, and all they need to thrive. What about the strong sheep? Thos who are strong and have been piling up strength at the expense of the weaker sheep will be chastized. They have acted unjustly.

Many in Western culture would like to look at this passage and tell Christians how to live their lives. There’s a lot of hostility out there against Christianity. Often the hostility is manifested when Christians don’t do what those who aren’t Christians think they should do. The Bible speaks about doing justice. If you don’t do justice the way we think you should do justice, you must not be a true Christian.

Granted, occasionally someone will get it right, but almost always by accident. What does the Bible consider doing justice? The justice God calls people to is that of trusting that Jesus, the redeemer of the world, is the one who can care for us and strengthen us. Working justice in others is normally a matter primarily of helping them see that they need to look to God in hope, not that they need to look to earthly provision and change. This is what the good shepherd works in his flock. Whenever the Church has gone off course through history it has involved getting our eyes off of the idea of salvation by God’s grace through faith in Christ to bring forgiveness of sin in precisely the way revealed in the Scripture. May the Lord correct us where we are failing.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32 - Lectionary for Pentecost 17A

9/26/2017

9/26/17
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

Our Old Testament reading this week is from Ezekiel 18. In the beginning of the passage God forcefully rejects the idea that we are merely a product of our ancestry. Rather than allow for the younger generation to be ruined by the troubles of the older generation, God says he is the owner of each generation. The young do not have to be condemned by the judgment lodged against the old.

This alone may raise the hackles of many in our day. We certainly understand that our ancestors had a good bit to do with the way things are for us. And truly we shouldn’t be dismissive of those troubles. A family may be ravaged for several generations by the suffering of one. Yet God’s perspective is that we are not entirely ruled by our forbears. God is able, by his mercy and grace, to redeem us from even the dysfunctional upbringing we may have had.

The passage then speaks to a different situation. Most of us have said, or at least we have thought, “That person will never change. Why bother?” God has a different perspective in the matter. He shows that while we might not be ready to allow for people to change, He is not limited in the same way. He is the God who allows for repentance, forgiveness, and restoration.

No person is an island. However, each of us is able to stand or fall before God in just the same way. He has made his forgiveness available to each in Christ. In him we can stand.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

Ezekiel 33:7-9 - Lectionary for Pentecost 14A

9/5/2017

9/5/17
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

I’ve heard this plenty of times. Maybe you have also. “Don’t hate on people. You can’t say they are wrong. Maybe they’re right in their own way.” No, we don’t criticize people unfairly. And we don’t hold everyone to the same standard. I know that quite well. When I was a teacher at a small private school with a middle school basketball team, believe me, the Eagles were hands down my favorite team. Did they win games? Sometimes. They would never have scored against a college team, even a very bad college team. It didn’t matter.

Is it hatred or unfair criticism to say that something isn’t up to grade? Not at all. We need to be honest about it. But we need to be aware of the appropriate scale. The drawing that my granddaughter made for me is super. But it isn’t super to many other people. And that’s fine.

What does this have to do with Ezekiel? In Ezekiel 33 the prophet is called to be a watchman for Israel. He is to confront people with sin. And he is to use the same judgment which God uses in identifying sin. We don’t have to be around too long before we figure out that God is very serious about matters of sin and salvation. He calls us to repent even if we thought we were doing just fine. In fact, he calls us to repent of our idea that we are doing fine. It isn’t hating on us. It isn’t unfair in any way. It’s God’s loving way of confronting our wrong, calling us to awareness, and offering us forgiveness. That’s exactly what we need.

Ezekiel is to make the sin of Israel obvious to them. If he doesn’t do that, he is held accountable. He has allowed the people to continue in their wrongdoing without warning them. It is an act of love for him to confront them. If Ezekiel is faithful to his calling, even if nobody responds in repentance and faith, Ezekiel can have a clear conscience. He has been God’s messenger and offered salvation.

Christians fail in their mission when they denies God’s requirement of holiness. We fail in our mission when we say that God doesn’t mind our sin. We fail in our mission when we accept what the Lord never accepts. If we do this, we have no confidence ourselves. But if we are faithful to proclaim God’s displeasure with sin and his desire to give forgiveness, we can have confidence. He is indeed the Lord who forgives our sin as well.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

Ezekiel 37:1-14 - Lectionary for Lent 5A

3/28/2017

3/28/17
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

In Ezekiel 37 God brings a valley full of skeletal remains to life and makes them a mighty army. In my national culture this passage is often associated with children’s stories, folk songs, and all manner of bad theology. Maybe by your willing you can provoke God to bring what is dead to life? Maybe since you are the living prophet you need to prophesy to the bones and make them come to life, changing your circumstances? Maybe you simply need to trust God better so that youwon’t be like the dead bones any more?

In this passage God is addressing the prophet Ezekiel. He is not speaking directly to the dead skeletons. They don’t hear. God’s prophet speaks to the bones, and he speaks of what God would do in his sovereign power. What happens then? God’s words are effective. God pulls the bones together, he eventually assembles them back into whole people. He clothes them with all their flesh. He breathes life into them. He appoints them to their purpose.

Does this vision have a meaning? Rather than trying to make up a meaning, let’s see what the text says. God says to his people that he will raise them from the dead and will send them in to inherit their land. What’s the context? God’s people, Israel, have been living in exile. They have been taken captive and deprived of their land, their inheritance, all that seems to give them a national identity. God is speaking to the people of Israel and saying that he will bring them back to life, returning them from the deadness of their captivity and placing them in their land.

Many prophecies have a secondary application. This one would seem to. Sin is normally identified as death in the Scripture. People are identified as dead in sin. They have no life of their own. They need to be born from above. How does God bring people to life? He does it by his words. And those words give the people an identity, a purpose, and an inheritance. This is exactly what we see in the valley of dead bones. God raises up dead people and makes them alive. he proclaims that they will be able to inherit the promises he has for them.

What are these promises made for God’s people who have been rescued from sin? They are promises of life, of godliness, of an eternity of blessing in the presence of God. These are the promises of Jesus, who gives life to those who were dead in sin. These are the promises of Jesus, who promises never to leave his people, but to be with them to the end of the age. These are the promises spoken by God in His Word, received by his people by faith. They show God’s grace from beginning to end.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

Ezekiel 34:11-24 - Lectionary for Pentecost 17 C

9/6/2016

Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

This week’s reading, from Ezekiel 34:11-24, pictures God as the one who goes to seek his people. It also pictures God’s people as sheep who have been suffering from neglect and abuse. Let’s look briefly at a few of the important details.

First, God’s work is clearly described as “rescue.” His people are in trouble. They are like scattered sheep. They lack all the benefits of living in community with one another and their shepherd. They don’t have defense. They aren’t able to identify the best food to eat. They go without the grooming needed to remain healthy. This is a bad situation. When God’s people are separated from God’s care, they endure dangerous conditions. They need to assemble together. They need to receive the food of God’s Word. They need the care of prayer, both together and individually. They need the Sacraments to strengthen their faith. In this passage, God promises to search for his sheep and to care for them.

Second, in verses 16 and following, God separates those who have been distressed from those who have been ruining the pasture and pushing the other sheep away. Some members of God’s flock have acted selfishly. They are nourished and protected, but they don’t allow others to receive God’s loving care. The Lord will not endure this. He will chastise those selfish members of the flock. He goes so far as to say that he will “destroy” them (v. 16). When God’s people despise and reject other members of His body it is sin against God’s character and desires. He is the one who cares for the flock. Far be it from us to reject God’s care for others and steal it for ourselves.

Finally, in his work of restoration, God promises to set up a true shepherd. He calls this individual “my servant David” (v. 23, ESV). Interestingly enough, Ezekiel, writing after the time of David, apparently looks to the prophecy that David’s kingdom would be eternal. The shepherd, David, will care for all God’s people. This activity does not appear to have an end. It lasts forever. In Jesus, God has raised up his servant, the David of the eternal throne, who will gather, nourish, and care for God’s people forever.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.