DAY 338

GOD HAS NOT GRANDCHILDREN

Ezekiel 47 & 48 and 1 John 3

We come to the end of Ezekiel and in his vision the Temple is in place, but he is not done with his vision. What follows in 47-48 is a re-ordering of the people of God.

First we see this amazing river flowing out of the Temple…getting deeper and wider…teaming with life. Next we see a new apportionment of the land to the people, different from the way it had been earlier divided…this land which had been the source of much tension among the people is now very precisely with mathematical precision in order to show equality. Lastly we have the city in a perfect foursquare in which the regular life of the people went on, but in the presence of God.

If you have come through Ezekiel, you have worked hard, well done. As I try to summarize it I think of a few points:

1.      The people in Jerusalem really thought that because they were in Jerusalem with the Temple, that somehow they would be spared.

2.      Because of this attitude, God’s Word through the prophet Ezekiel was very strong.

3.      Ezekiel had a hard life, was asked to do some rather crazy things to make God’s point, and all this came at a high personal cost including the death of his wife.

4.      Throughout this prophecy God remains faithful, think of his promises to restore including chapter 36, and so even though it is dark, God does not abandon. In fact the closing vision is a grand one of restoration and perfection.

Which brings me to 1^st John 3, another kind of summary: “See how the Father loves us that we should be called children of God.” God has no grandchildren, or great-grandchildren…we are all his children and He our Father. And because of this we are to live as children of the light. John has some tough words for those who do not, but in the end it really is not all that different from the Old Testament…we are to proclaim God’s love to the world, first by how we love one another.