Assurances for Troubling Times

The prologue introduces us to the man Ezekiel and situates him in Babylon (modern Iraq) in the year 593 BCE when he, along with many of the leading citizens of Judah, are taken into captivity. We in America today find ourselves in analogous circumstance: exiled to cultural irrelevance.

Ezekiel’s prophetic vision continues in detail. So overwhelmed by this experience, he is grasping for words. A storm, four humanoid creatures, wheels within wheels, all supporting a brilliant expanse on which sits a glorious throne. Ezekiel falls down prostrate at having witnessed the Lord God in the most unexpected of places.

Ezekiel’s great temple vision depicts the depths of idolatry present in ancient Jerusalem, and we become eyewitness to the violent society that has supplanted true worship. As the glory of the Lord leaves its temple dwelling, the exiles must abandon their current attachment to Jerusalem, for the Lord is no longer to be found where they most expected to find him.

Chapter 37 records Ezekiel’s third vision, which occurs after the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple. It stands among the most powerful images of Scripture, a vision of new life brought forth from death, and confronts us with a burning question of faith.

Ezekiel ends as it began: with a vision. This final vision of a restored temple and city encourages repentance, faithfulness, and hope for the exilic community. Whether taken literally or figuratively, the message of the vision is clear: the Lord will return to dwell in the midst of his people and his Kingdom will transform the lives of all.