July 27, 2026 - Ezekiel 8-11

Lots of bad news in these chapters.  Ezekiel is in Babylon, but by way of a vision, the Lord takes him back to Jerusalem and the temple.  Ezekiel had been taken into exile in 597, and the final destruction of Jerusalem and the temple have not yet taken place.  The Lord shows him all the abominations that are taking place and shows him the terrible judgments that are to come.  But, at the end of this vision, the Lord’s longsuffering and grace are again in evidence:  “And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them.  I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them.  And they shall be my people, and I will be their God” (11:19,20).  I never tire of reading about and experiencing God’s grace toward sinners such as Israel and even me.

O Spirit of the living God,

in all the fullness of your grace,

wherever human feet have trod,

descend upon our fallen race.

Let darkness turn to radiant light,

confusion vanish from your path;

those who are weak inspire with might:

let mercy triumph over wrath!   -- James Montgomery (1823)