Catastrophe strikes us and our world changes; this disorientation should drive us to an honest evaluation of our realities and then to solutions. Denial refuses to acknowledge what has happened: holding tightly to certainties that all will be alright. Despair is a deadly paralysis; it is often this apocalyptic-thinking that promotes thoughts of little or no foreseeable hope.
Ezekiel, whose name means “strengthened by God,” deals with a catastrophe where disorientation, denial, and despair had settled in. But he was able to see what others could not see. He proclaimed that God was at work and provoked the people of God to embrace Him during the worst of times.
His writings use several phrases multiple times: “This is what the Sovereign Lord says”; and “you will know that I am the Lord.” We must recognize who God is and then respond appropriately to it. This usually begins with repentance. In Ezekiel 16:49 they were arrogant, affluent without gratitude, distracted and bored, inventors of detestable activities, and unconcerned for the destitute in their periphery. This begs the question, “How then should we live?” (33:10)
Two more truths surface as we digest this book (3:1-3). It is the Holy Spirit of God that will “lift us up.” And when He does we will experience “the good and strong hand of God upon us.” We will experience the One who strengthens us and find coherence and clarity in our individual lives. And we will find hope and comfort in our God who dwells in our midst. (48:35b)