24. EZEKIEL
Ezekiel
was a prophet in Babylon around 593 years before the birth of Jesus. He
preached for about twenty years.
PERSONAL
RESPONSIBILITY. One problem encountered by Ezekiel was that innocent people had
to suffer. The people said that they were victims of a situation inherited from
their fathers. It was this mood that Ezekiel sought to correct. To be sure, his
generation was caught in a fateful situation; but he insisted that individuals
should not respond by giving up saying, "What's the use? God is not
fair." He emphasised that each person is responsible for his own destiny.
He is not the puppet of heredity, environment, or historical reasons. He must
answer to God alone and for no one else.
THE
GOOD SHEPHERDS. In the year 586 before the birth of Jesus, Jerusalem was
destroyed by Babylon. In his message of hope to the people, he used the image
of a shepherd and his flock. There were the false shepherds, the leaders of the
people, who cared for themselves rather than the people. God is the good
shepherd who goes out to seek the sheep who are lost, crippled, or strayed in
order to return them to their own pasture. He would also provide a good
shepherd like David.
A NEW
COVENANT. With the fall of Jerusalem, the other nations believed that God was
powerless to save Israel. God would show the nations that they were wrong by
restoring Israel. This act would lead Israel to repentance for Israel's heart
must be changed from the sin of idolatry. God would give the people a new heart
and a new spirit. Then Israel would have the will to obey God and would repent
of its former evil ways.
Before
the fall of Jerusalem, 586 years before the birth of Jesus, Ezekiel's message
was one of doom. After the fall, his message was one of hope. He taught that
each person was responsible for his own sins.
