the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 4 of 5
Ezekiel 11:1-25
Following the religious iniquity of the people of Jerusalem described in Ezekiel 8:1-18; Ezekiel 1:1-28; Ezekiel 2:1-10; Ezekiel 3:1-27; Ezekiel 4:1-17; Ezekiel 5:1-17; Ezekiel 6:1-14; Ezekiel 7:1-27; Ezekiel 8:1-18; Ezekiel 9:1-11; Ezekiel 10:1-22; Ezekiel 11:1-25; Ezekiel 12:1-28 denounce the sin of its political rulers. The LORD determines to confound their counsels and their wisdom, and gives proof of it by striking down one of these men whilst Ezekiel is speaking to them.
"Wilt thou make a full end?" cries the anguished prophet. No, for without even waiting for the full dispersion of the people, the LORD is already speaking of their restoration and of their being brought back; He will give them "one heart . . . a new spirit . . . and a heart of flesh" (v. 19). Before quite withdrawing His glory from His defiled sanctuary which must be entirely destroyed, He promises them that He Himself would be "as a little sanctuary" for each one who keeps his faith in Him. Wonderful grace of God! The resource of 1 Kings 8:48 will be lacking, but however far they may be from Jerusalem, through their own fault, they will nevertheless be able to find Him and to worship Him. What a consolation this thought and this experience have brought to innumerable isolated believers! Ezekiel’s vision at Jerusalem terminates in the departure of the glory, from the same place from which the disciples will later behold the ascension of the Lord Jesus (v. 23; Acts 1:12). Then the spirit of the prophet is brought back to Chaldea.
