In chapter 29, Ezekiel returned to one of his favorite themes, then [they] will know I AM the Lord. This section refers to Egypt—if they knew their history, they would remember how I AM delivered his people hundreds of years earlier. Read Ezekiel 29:1-6. The Lord called Ezekiel to prophesy…
This week I attended a Christian writers conference. I emphasized “Christian” because this conference is like summer camp for writers. The people who attend all bring their experiences with God and his Word to the conversation. God’s Word informs our writing, and the conference included worship and devotion times. I…
It sounds simple, but a leader leads people in a certain direction or toward a specific outcome. Specifically, a ruler exercises dominion over a city or country. The people may have very little say in how their leader will manage affairs that affect their lives. In Ezekiel 28, the Lord’s…
If the Lord planned to destroy Tyre completely, it’s only fitting that the lament for the city continued for another chapter (and if we peek and look ahead, there’s also a prophecy specifically against the king of Tyre). Woe to those who incur God’s wrath and judgment! In the previous…
This whole prophecy is against Tyre, part of Phoenicia. An ancient city/state a dozen miles north of Israel’s border, Tyre had good commercial relations with Israel and Judah.1 The prophecy covers two separate historical events. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the mainland portion of Tyre in 573 BC. Alexander the Great destroyed the…
Earlier this week, I read an Old Testament story about Naaman, a commander in the Aramean army who had leprosy. He heard about Elisha, a prophet in Samaria, and asked if he could go to request healing. The king of Aram sent him to the king of Israel with a…
In this passage, Ezekiel’s personal life formed the object lesson for the Israelites. Not by choice, he lived out Jesus’ description of the cost of following God. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own…
Welcome to another theatrical presentation from Ezekiel. I mean that in a good sense of the word, as his words give us a dramatic picture of God’s judgment and punishment on Israel for their spiritual adulterous ways and idolatry. God told Ezekiel Babylon would lay siege to Jerusalem that day,…
After reading the account of Samaria and Jerusalem’s continued spiritual adultery with idols, the last third of chapter 23 describes their consequences and punishment for such detestable practices against the Lord. This passage doesn’t have quite the same glimmer of hope, but it does have a message for us. Read…
Two weeks ago, we read about the older of two adulterous sisters, Samaria, in chapter 23. Newer readers can find previous reading comments on the blog, https://www.tracieheskett.com/blog/. In the next part of this chapter, Ezekiel wrote about the younger sister, Jerusalem. A reader observed much repetition in Ezekiel’s message. Why?…