Anyways, in preparation for the conference they are sending out devotional emails so I thought at the very least I'll go through them.
the devotion
The surrounding text reveals some of what Ezekiel heard from the Lord God:
22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.
33 “Thus says the Lord God: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. 35 And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ 36 Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.
37 “Thus says the Lord God: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock. 38 Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
My thoughts
- I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them.
- I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.
- I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
- I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you
- I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
- I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
- You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
- I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses.
- I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you.
- I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations.
He is right up front about it.
He isn't doing it because Israel and his people are so great, he is doing it DESPITE their actions. They have dishonoured him and fouled his name among the nations.
God is doing this for one reason only. FOR THE SAKE OF MY HOLY NAME. His promise to his people is thus:
I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. God will care for his people, he will turn around their hearts so that people will know one thing.. that HE is holy and that HE is God. None other.
I find it odd... I know that some folks might find it distressing or confounding. Why would God do this? Why would he want to make sure everyone knows who he is?
I find it immensely comforting. God is God. He won't change. He calls me to be more than what I am. And HE is the one who does the work in me. It's not all on my shoulders/back. It's ALL on him. It's such a relief to know that I am not responsible for everything. I know, sounds weird. :) But God gives me my tasks to do. Raise my boy, treat my hubby well, care for all that he puts in my path, teach as he's given me the heart to do, but he's the one who changes the core of me. He's the one who opens my heart, he's the one who teaches me to trust, he's the one who nudges my spirit to consider alternative actions/feelings, he's the one who takes my anger and softens it. The HARDEST part is all on him. And I find that immensely comforting. Knowing he does all that means I don't have to think on it so much and worry on it. And yes, I've learned for the most part the worry doesn't get me anywhere and shows a profound lack of trust in God. So here I read this passage and am comforted. This is good. :)
In the email
The medical profession stresses the importance of regular checkups. Anyone with a family history of heart disease is encouraged to get his cholesterol measured. We don’t assume that just because we look fine outwardly, we have nothing to worry about. If our heart is not functioning properly or we have a blockage in our arteries, we want to know about it so we can do whatever is necessary to deal with the situation.
Should we be any less concerned about our spiritual heart condition—when we all have a family history of “heart disease”? We should be regular and diligent in letting Him diagnose conditions we may be unable to see in ourselves. For the good news of the gospel is that the Great Physician has made available a cure for our deceived, diseased hearts. Jesus came to do radical heart surgery—to cleanse and transform us from the inside out.
If you held your heart up to the light today, what would you see? What would you like to see there instead?