Ezekiel 21 Devotional

A Crown Kept for Its Owner

“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Remove the turban, and take off the crown. Things will not remain as they are: Exalt the lowly and bring low the exalted.”Ezekiel 21:26 (BSB)

God's sword is drawn, sharpened, and polished, and it will not go back into its sheath (21:3-5, 9-11). Ezekiel must groan before the people with a broken heart, and tell them why (21:6-7). The king of Babylon stands at a fork in the road, consulting arrows, idols, and a liver to choose between Ammon and Jerusalem (21:19-22). He trusts his omens, but the sword he carries is the one God announced at the start of the chapter.

One sentence breaks through the gloom. The wicked prince of Israel is to lose his crown, and things will not stay as they are: the humble will rise and the proud will fall (21:25-26). The ruin will last until the coming of the one the crown belongs to, the one God has appointed to judge (21:27). Jesus said the Father has handed the work of judging to the Son (John 5:22). The crown was never lost, only waiting for its owner, and his rule holds even when earthly powers seem to choose the road.

To think about: Which powers in the world around you seem to be choosing the road, and how does Christ's rightful rule steady you as you watch them?