July 27, 2025 - Ezekiel 4-7

A brick, a mound, an iron griddle, the prophet lying on his side for 390 days and, then, an additional forty days.  A bared arm, prophecies against Jerusalem, barley cakes cooked over dung, the prophet’s shaved head.  All a picture of the destruction of Jerusalem that is about to take place (Ezekiel prophesied from Jerusalem before the destruction and, later when he was carried away, from Babylon.).  And why this destruction?  “She has rebelled against my rules by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries all around her” (5:6).  Of course, this is not the end of the matter.  Though imprisoned in captivity for seventy years, that exile will end.  The Lord will show grace and mercy toward a people who had spurned him.  I am always amazed, I just cannot get over how merciful our God was toward Israel and is toward us.  From time to time, I repeat hymn selections; after all, I have access only to a limited number of hymns.  Considering Israel’s stubborn rebellion, and ours, how wonderful does God’s grace appear!

Amazing grace (how sweet the sound)

that saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found,

was blind, but now I see.   –John Newton (1779)