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BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

BibleProject | One Story That Leads to Jesus

DAY 144 OF 358

In today’s reading, Yahweh gives Ezekiel access to divine security camera footage of his temple. Nothing it reveals looks good. The Israelites in Jerusalem are trashing Yahweh’s house.

They set up an idol statue on the front porch and vandalized the walls with idolatrous graffiti. Women commandeered the side door to worship a Babylonian fertility god named Tammuz. Men converted the entryway into a celestial shrine, literally turning their backs toward Yahweh’s presence to worship the sun instead.

As usual, idolatry drives people to treat one another with greed, violence, and injustice. The people of Judah show contempt for Yahweh’s image-bearers, as they do for Yahweh’s sacred home. They cook up vile corruption in Yahweh’s kitchen and splatter innocent blood all over his living room carpet. The whole place reeks.

So Yahweh sends a divine cleaning crew to wash Jerusalem clean with a flood of de-creation. Yahweh undoes the evil humanity builds. Unwilling to bear the revolting stench of Israel’s injustice and idolatry, Yahweh packs up the glory and goodness of his presence and moves out. As Ezekiel watches from afar, the God-mobile leaves its parking spot over the ark of the covenant before driving away.

Pay attention to the visceral imagery here. The contaminating filth of the people’s corruption will eventually grow so vile that the land itself will vomit them out of Judah and into exile. But, as always, Yahweh’s warning of severe judgment comes with a promise of hope. On his birthday, Ezekiel saw the mysterious God-mobile come to rest with his exiled people in Babylon. Through everything, God wants to be with his people, and he will be.

Reflection Questions

  • Meditate on Moses’ instructions in Deuteronomy 4:15-31. What hyperlinks do you see to today’s reading? How does this context help you understand Yahweh’s response to the Israelites’ idolatry in Ezekiel’s day?
  • Compare Ezekiel 9:5-6 to Deuteronomy 7:1-6 and Joshua 11:12-20. What common phrases do you notice? What might these hyperlinks reveal about the kind of nation Israel has become?

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BibleProject | One Story That Leads to Jesus

Read through the Bible in one year with BibleProject! One Story That Leads to Jesus includes daily devotional content, reflection questions, and more than 150 animated videos to bring biblical books and themes to life. Join the growing community around the globe who are learning to see the Bible as one unified story that leads to Jesus.

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