"Do I Need To Draw You A Map?"

Scripture Passage

Ezekiel 20:1-22:16

Scripture Focus

Destruction! Destruction!
     I will surely destroy the kingdom.
And it will not be restored until the one appears
     who has the right to judge it.
Then I will hand it over to him.
                         (Ezekiel 21:27 NLT)

Observation

There’s an almost laughable (if it weren’t so serious) moment in today’s reading, and a remarkable promise from God.

In Ezekiel 21, Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, has a quandary. He’s camped on the outskirts of town at a crossroads, deciding whether to march his army “to Ammon and its capital, Rabbah” or “to Judah and fortified Jerusalem” (21:20). Even Nebuchadnezzar’s diviners are busy bees, “shaking arrows from the quiver” and “inspect[ing] the livers of animal sacrifices” (21:21). Still, in spite of the best efforts of Nebuchadnezzar’s best magicians, confusion reigns supreme—until Ezekiel shows up. God sends Ezekiel with a hand-drawn map pointing Nebuchadnezzar towards Jerusalem, where he will fulfill God’s purpose by bringing further judgment on God’s rebellious people. Wow. Do I need to draw you a map?

More remarkable is what follows in verse 27. In the thick of a passage full of the proclamation of continuing and increasing judgment—in the middle of a book that details again and again how the people of God have rejected their Redeemer and suffer because of it—God promises restoration…through “one…who has the right to judge [the kingdom]!”

Tucked away in Ezekiel is the promise of Jesus, our Redeemer!

Makes me wonder what promises of Jesus’ redemption are present in my dark days…in my difficult times. Makes me wonder what I might see that I don’t now see…that I’m somehow missing…if I just paid a bit more attention to the still, small whisper of God.

“Give me ears to here, O Lord, what the Spirit is saying!”

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