In these chapters Ezekiel is addressing the stubborn remnant back in Jerusalem who were planning, yet again, to rebel against Babylon. Even at this late stage, after being beaten down repeatedly by the Babylonians, the people back in Jerusalem were not getting the message. They still thought that the inevitable disaster was not going to happen to them. As it turned out, this final rebellion under Zedekiah led to the final death stroke of the city in 586BC. The people were so confident in themselves and they believed, against all the prophetic messages, that God’s blessings were guaranteed for them. But they had been walking away from God for generations. God had been shouting to get their attention through one catastrophe after another, but they were living in denial. It is true that God always wants to bless his people. He wants us to be happy. But if we are living in conflict with him then he wants us to know this. The worst thing that could ever happen to you is that you are happy without God. The best thing that could happen, if you are alienated from God, would be that you become so miserable that you turn around and get back to where you need to be. God did not want his people to be happy while they were sabotaging their own lives. He therefore allowed them to feel the pain of their self-sabotage. And at this stage it was only going to get worse because they were continuing to draw confidence and security from delusions.
Ask God to always keep you close to him.
Read Ezekiel 5 and 6
