Ezekiel 5 Devotional

Privilege That Became a Warning

“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.”Ezekiel 5:5 (BSB)

Ezekiel shaves his head and beard with a sword, weighs the hair, and divides it into thirds: burned, struck with the sword, and scattered to the wind (5:1-2). A few strands are tucked into his garment, and even some of those go into the fire (5:3-4). God explains that this is Jerusalem, the city he set at the center of the nations (5:5). She was placed where she would be seen, yet she rebelled more than the nations around her and did not even keep to their standards (5:6-7).

The judgment is terrible, and the chapter names the horrors of siege and famine without flinching (5:10-12). It shows that God's gifts carry weight. Jerusalem had been given his statutes and his sanctuary, and she defiled that sanctuary with idols (5:11). Jesus taught that those entrusted with more are held to a greater account (Luke 12:48). Every privilege you have received from God, from his word to his people, is a trust meant to make his goodness visible, not a shield against his notice.

To think about: Which of God's good gifts to you have you been treating as a possession to enjoy rather than a trust to display his goodness?