Thursday 12 August 2010
- Bible Book:
- Ezekiel
"Fill your hands with burning coals ... and scatter them over the city." (v.2)
Background
In the opening chapter of the book of Ezekiel the prophet hasa
Now the vision takes a severe turn for the worse. Jerusalem, thecity that meant so much to the life of the people of Israel, is tobe destroyed. The devastation starts in the Temple. The man in thelinen cloth - the priest - is handed the burning coals that arescattered over the city. Then it gets even worse. The glory of theLord, the very presence, is leaving the Temple. Not even the houseof worship will remain and the Lord will depart the holy city. Allis lost and all because of Israel's disobedience.
You cannot mess with the holy God. You are playing with fire - inEzekiel's vision literally! There is a tendency to think of the'holy' as just the splendid and wholesome, but it also has acutting edge to it. The awe and the fear of the holy means you haveto take your obedience to the Lord seriously.
But Israel failed to learn the lesson the first time round andcontinued their bad ways after the first conquest and exile in 597BC. They are going to suffer again and this time for good. Eightyears after the first deportation that took Ezekiel to Babylon,Jerusalem was in fact totally destroyed, Temple and all. Ezekiel'svision came true.
To Ponder
What does the word 'holy' mean to you? Does itbring comfort or challenge?
How attached are you to your place of worship?How would you feel if it was burnt down or destroyed?