God Will Vindicate His Name (Week 35)
The prophet Ezekiel has a series of visions and prophecies to minister hope to his fellow exiles in Babylon. One such word from the Lord promises their eventual return to their land. But He makes it clear that this return is not for their sake—it is to vindicate His name.
In Ezekiel 36 the Lord first explains to His people how their disobedience and exile profaned His name before the nations. God had chosen Abraham to birth this nation, and they were to be His people. He delivered them from bondage in Egypt and then made a covenant with them in Sinai that was like a marriage. He promised wonderful blessings and a fruitful life in their land when they walked in obedience and fellowship with Him. But unfortunately, they later walked in defiance of His laws and turned to worship other gods, resulting in their exile.
The surrounding nations saw their exile as a reflection of the weakness of their god—the God of Israel. It looked like their God could not defend them and keep them in the land He had given them.
Therefore, for the sake of His holy name, the Lord said He was going to do something that would demonstrate to the nations His greatness. He would one day bring His people back to their land. Once they were back in their land, there would be a day of spiritual cleansing and restoration. Then they would be reunited in relationship with Him and would once again walk as His people—never to be exiled again.
We are seeing a great return of the Jewish people to their homeland in our day and look forward to a future spiritual restoration when God will pour out His Spirit upon His people as Ezekiel prophesied. God will have vindicated His great name and demonstrated the truth of His Word to the nations. He is faithful and will fulfill His Word!
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About this episode:
The Lord gives King Zedekiah one last chance to save Jerusalem from destruction, but he refuses. So, the Babylonians conquer Judah and burn all of Jerusalem including the temple, and a remnant flees to Egypt taking Jeremiah with them. Back in Babylon the prophet Ezekiel begins to prophesy coming events during which God will vindicate His great name. There is hope after all. This episode complements the daily readings from our Walk Thru the Bible reading plan for September 27-October 3, covering Jeremiah 37-40; Lamentations 1-5; Ezekiel 33-39.