Praise the Lord! The Lord has been good to us throughout the past week as He had been always. It is impossible for us to keep our life safe and secure in this troublesome world without a divine presence, protection, and provision. Jesus’ promised his disciples that He will never leave them as orphans; rather He will come to them (and us) and remain with them in the form of the Holy Spirit (John 14:18; also refer to 4:24; Deuteronomy 31:6, 8; Joshua 1:5; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18; Hebrews 13:5). The Lord God who promised to be with His people / disciples (Matthew 28:20) is also with us for He neither changes nor alters what He promised rather He remains faithful to us despite all our unfaithfulness towards Him (1 Corinthians 1:9; also refer to Numbers 23:19; Deuteronomy 7:9; Malachi 3:6; 2 Timothy 2:13; Hebrews 13:8).

The Lord has blessed us with a promising Scripture passage for our SftW meditation this week from the prophetic utterances of prophet Ezekiel (mentioned above). Prophet Ezekiel son of Buzi served as a priest of the Most High God, the God of Israel, (Ezekiel 1:3) but was taken to Babylon along with other captives, including Jehoiachin king of Judah and his entire household, his high-rankings officials and some others (Ezekiel 1:1; 2 Kings 24:12-16). Perhaps they were taken to Babylon as captives sometimes around BC 597, which is prior to the complete destruction of the City and the Temple [which took place in BC 586] (2 Kings 25:8-12). With all respect, Ezekiel might have continued to serve as a priest among the Israelite exiles in the land of Babylon prior to his commissioning as a prophet. In fact, he came to be known as more of a prophet than as a priest among the later generations of Israelites. For the New Testament believers [that is, for the followers of Jesus Christ], he is a prophet and a priest. Unlike most of the other Israelite prophets [who were all commissioned within the territories of Israel or Judah], Ezekiel [also, Daniel] was commissioned as a prophet outside of any Israelite or Judean territories – it seems he was commissioned in Babylon by the Kebar River at Tel Aviv, as it is mentioned:

In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin—the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the Lord was on him (Ezekiel 1:1-3; 3;15)

This indicates that the Lord God commissioned Ezekiel the priest as a prophet by the Kebar River at Tel Aviv in Babylon and began to reveal to him the things that are hidden to human perception and the things that are about to take place in the future. The main focus of his prophetic ministry included bringing awareness among God’s people that God is righteous, holy and just; to tell God’s people that the reason for God’s punishment/judgement upon Jerusalem and Judah was because of their unfaithfulness toward Him; also, to indicate that God will judge other nations for the evil and wickedness they committed; and to bring hope and encouragement to His people regarding God’s restoration plans and establishing a new or renewed kingdom that would last forever. Though he punishes people [despite being called or chosen to be His people] for their rebellion and unfaithfulness against Him, He has a plan in place to restore them and give them a bright future. Thus, His prophetic writings highlights that God’s judgement [including death of many and destruction of the city and the temple] came upon the people of Israel because of their sin and rebellion against the Lord, the God of their ancestors. At the same time, God promised a bright future hope for those who seek Him earnestly and return to Him, also, God assured building a new temple in Jerusalem in the place where the old temple was situated. In a nutshell, prophet Ezekiel’s prophecies focus on God’s Holiness and righteousness, His judgement and His restoration plans.

The passage we chose for our meditation (i.e., Ezekiel 36:25-27) is part of the refreshing revelation/message prophet Ezekiel received while he was at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River in Babylon (Ezekiel 1:2-3; 3:15), which he prophesied to God’s chosen people Israel [His treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation / Exodus 19:5-6] who were in exile because they failed to follow the Lord their God wholeheartedly who have redeemed them out of the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt (Deuteronomy 4:20), and blessed them more than any other people on earth (Genesis 26:4; 28:14; Exodus 23:25-26; Leviticus 26:9; Deuteronomy 4:7-8; 7:14). Since the people of Israel [God’s special and chosen people] polluted themselves by being unfaithful towards Him, He promised them that He will cleanse them from all their impurities and from all their idols by sprinkling clean water on them, He will give them a new heart and put a new spirit in them and remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. God’s justification and purification go hand in hand. As it is mentioned in the Scripture that the Lord does not leave the guilty unpunished (Exodus 34:7; Numbers 14:18; Proverbs 11:21; Isaiah 3:11); He punished them for being unfaithful to Him by handing them over to their enemies and uprooting them from the land He gave them as their inheritance (Deuteronomy 28:37; 1 Kings 9:7; 2 Chronicles 7:20; Jeremiah 24:9; 29:18; 44:8); and then cleanse them from all their impurities and from all their idols them by sprinkling clean water on the them (Ezekiel 36:25a), which signifies filling them with His Spirit and purifying them from all kinds of spiritual infirmities. God also promised them that He will put His Spirit in them and move them to follow His decrees and be careful to keep His laws (Ezekiel 36:26). In our case [i.e., the New Testament believers], Jesus is the One who fill us with Holy Spirit, as it is mentioned in the Scripture: And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit (John 1:33). Let us briefly analyze and study and meditate the Scripture passage we chose for our meditation, which is Ezekiel 36:25-27 …

• • The Lord will sprinkle clean water on them, and they will be clean (36:25a)
  • The Lord will cleanse them from all their impurities and from all your idols (36:25b)
  • The Lord will cleanse them from all their idols (36:25c)
  • The Lord will give them a new heart and put a new spirit in you (36:26a)
  • The Lord will put a new spirit in them (36:26b)
  • The Lord will remove from them their heart of stone (36:26c)
  • The Lord will give them a heart of flesh (36:26d)
  • The Lord will put His Spirit in them (36:27a)
  • The Lord will move them to follow His decrees (36:27b)
  • The Lord will help them to be careful to keep His laws (36:27c)

Dear friends in the Lord, as we conclude our meditation this week, let us know that the Lord God Almighty forgave our sins, purified us, accepted us as His sons and daughters, and appointed us as His chosen vessels to spread the aroma of His loving kindness and compassion to all those around us. Let us also know that we are forgiven, justified, and given eternal life through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because the One who created us is a God who forgives our sins and purifies our whole being and redeemed our souls and welcomed us back into the family of God. May the Lord God Almighty bless us all! Amen!