Week 35, August 23–29: Ezekiel 35–48; 1 Thessalonians 1–3; Psalms 113–118

• Sun      Aug 23 Ezek. 35–36    Ps. 113
• Mon     Aug 24 Ezek. 37–38    Ps. 114
• Tue      Aug 25 Ezek. 39–40    Ps. 115
• Wed     Aug 26 Ezek. 41–42    Ps. 116
• Thu      Aug 27 Ezek. 43–45    Ps. 117
• Fri        Aug 28 Ezek. 46–48    Ps. 118
• Sat       Aug 29 1 Thess. 1–3  

After a set of judgements against Egypt and Pharaoh, Israel’s ancient enemies, the message of Ezekiel shifted in its focus again starting in chapter 33. The, in chapters 33 To 39, Ezekiel takes up a variety of themes that include the Lord’s weighty reminder to Ezekiel that he is a “watchman for the house of Israel” (33:7). The prophet is compelled to give the people the word the Lord gives to him.

In this section there is also an intense critique of the shepherds in Israel, followed by a hopeful promise that God himself will seek out his sheep and bring them back to him; he will care for them and feed them in justice (34:1–16). Not only will the Lord be their loving shepherd, but he will also deliver his sheep by the hand of a shepherd he will send. “I, the Lord, will be their God,” he says, “and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.” (34:24) This is same kind of messianic language we have seen before throughout the OT, where long after David’s own time, God promises to send another, greater David. One from his line, an offspring (or seed) of David, will come and bring his people back to God and care for them with the care of a great, loving Shepherd.

In this time to come, a new covenant will be enacted, a covenant of peace. We read of this new covenant just after the promise of a coming Davidic shepherd Messiah (34:25). In the new covenant of peace, the enemies of God and of his people will be destroyed, and God will put his own Spirit within his people. The Lord will vindicate his holy name among the nations before whom he has been profaned by his people.

In one of the most beautiful and hopeful new covenant passages in all the Bible, the Lord promises to take his people from all the nations and cleanse them—cleanse us from our uncleanness. His words of promise continue with the following profound truth, which has been fulfilled in us as new covenant believers:

“I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” (36:26–27)

This is the beautiful hope of the gospel—the promise fulfilled in Christ. Jesus ushered in the new covenant when the eternal, almighty, triune God took on flesh then went to the cross to redeem to himself all who recognize him as the Messiah and put their faith in him. He is our God and we are his people. And, as chapter 37 depicts with vivid imagery, we have been raised with him from death to life.

Ezekiel concludes with a vision of a future temple in Jerusalem. Ezekiel’s description of his vision includes details related to the temple building and its surrounding complex as well as some of the activities that accompany the future temple. Ezekiel ends with a visionary picture that ties back to the vision that began the book in chapters 1–3.

The book opened with Ezekiel’s vision in which the Lord visited his people while in exile. Later we read of God’s temple being profaned and his glory departing the temple and Jerusalem (chapters 8–11). Now, here at the end of the book, Ezekiel sees ahead to a time when the glory of the Lord will return (43:5).

While this vision does not depict the eternal ideal state of God’s presence with his people, it does paint a hopeful picture that anticipates the eschatological vision of the last book in the Bible. Revelation shares much of the same kind of apocalyptic language and imagery as Ezekiel, and in Revelation we read of history consummated at the end of time. Christ’s reign as king is fully realized, and God finally restores his people and dwells with them forever. Ezekiel’s vision looks ahead to its ultimate culmination in the new heavens and new earth, which is the prophetic hope of the Bible’s entire storyline.

In 1 Thessalonians, Paul also writes with a view towards the days to come. His purpose is to instill in his readers the hope of Jesus’s second coming. Though we do not know the time or season of his return, we do know he is coming. We are to remain steadfast in our faith and hope, with the “breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake [still alive at the time of his second coming] or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (1 Thess. 5:1–11)