The book of Ezekiel has been very enlightening so far. I assumed it would be another prophetic book like Isaiah or Jeremiah but it is quite impressive what the Holy Spirit can reveal in a book that is similar in genre. Indeed, God speaks in many ways. If there is one lesson that I keep hearing from Ezekiel it is that the “earth’s is the Lord’s and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1); it is that “our God is in heaven and He does all that He pleases” (Psalm 115:3). Ezekiel shows the might and grandeur of God and that plays out very well in the prophecies he revealed. I thought it would be good for us to go through three of the character traits of God as shown in Ezekiel. These character traits are known to you but it never hurts to be reminded of them all.
The first aspect of God’s character that we see is the supremacy of God. This supremacy is displayed in the statements God makes about the upcoming judgements He is bringing upon the earth: whether Israel or its enemies’ nations. The goal in all these judgements that He is bringing is that the nations “will know that the He is the Lord” (Ezekiel 25:17). God is the ruler supreme and these nations must come to an end of themselves and realize that they have to answer to God first and foremost for whatever action they take. God deserves all the glory and all the honour. That is His due. Anytime we, as created beings do not give Him that we rob Him of what He is entitled to. In chapters 25 to 31, God speaks against nations such as Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, Egypt and Lebanon. All these countries had something in common: they were enemies to Israel and according to God, they were happy to see the judgement that befell Israel. What I find striking is that some of these nations were used by God to judge the Israelites yet God did not appreciate the fact that they mocked the downfall of His people Israel. In fact, because the Ammonites said the following: “Aha!” over the sanctuary of God when it was desecrated and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste and over the people of Judah when they went into exile, the Lord promised to give them over to another nation as possession (Ezekiel 25:3-4). It might seem too harsh of a judgement for us that simply laughing at someone else’s misfortune would cause God to act in such a manner but God makes it very clear that this was not okay. This was a mockery to His own Name. By laughing at Israel’s misfortune, the Ammonites were laughing at the Lord Almighty, the Great and Mighty One. We have to be careful to not dismiss and take lightly what the Lord says is grave. Mockery in the bible has never been put in the greatest of light, it is something we must avoid. In fact, Proverbs 24 says “do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the LORD will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him.” (Proverbs 24:17-18). Moreover, Psalm 1, tells us that “blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:1-2). One of the definitions of mockery is an “insulting or contemptuous action or speech: derision” (Merriam-Webster). From that definition, it is not hard to see why this should not be part of the character traits of God’s children because it does not resemble Him and looks nothing like what Paul exhorts us to do in Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things”. Even if the object of your mockery deserved the evil that fell on it, or if the Lord used you to enact judgement upon the object of your mockery, be careful not to mock it because the Lord does not approve, He is not pleased with such action.
The second aspect of God’s character that we see in Ezekiel is His jealousy. Indeed, many of Ezekiel’s prophecies are centered around judgement. In this judgement, the LORD makes it clear that whatever happens to Israel is His concern alone and no one else should get involved in it. God is very exclusive and particular with the way He speaks about Israel and even the way He judges her. His judgement of Israel is like that of a Father who chastises his son. Third parties are not invited to speak into this chastisement. Similarly, the relationship between God and Israel is like that of a couple were the internal issues are only a concern for the couple and not for others looking from the outside. That is why, when surrounding nations started mocking Israel and being happy about her misfortune, God did not condone it. I am also persuaded that many of such nations held similar boastful speeches like the ones the Assyrians held to Hezekiah saying “On what are you basing this confidence of yours…On whom are you depending that you rebel against me?…” (2 Kings 18:19-25). God is jealous of His Name, He is also very clear that Israel belongs to Him and He is the only one who can say anything to Israel. Other nations are not permitted to treat the “apple of his eyes” any other way that is not align to how He treats her. God is like a mighty warrior when those He loves are ill spoken of, or mistreated, or facing injustice, or oppression. He comes like a defender to redeem His Name and His people. He is jealous of His Name. The same is true for us who are in Christ, God is for us and no one can be against us. The jealousy of God for His Name’s sake compels Him to fight for us, to avenge us and to contend against those who contend against us (Psalm 35:1). What a privilege to have this Great God as our God!
The third aspect of God’s character that we see in the book of Ezekiel is the fact that God hates pride. Many of the judgements that God declared He would perform on Israel’s neighbouring nations and enemies is because those nations did not recognize that the power they had was given to them by Him. Not only did they not recognize that but they failed to humble themselves and began to believe it was the works of their hands that made them what they were. In chapter 28, we read that Tyre was a powerful nation: “by her wisdom and understanding she gained wealth for herself and amassed gold and silver in her treasuries” (verses 4). She was also “the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” as recognized by God. It is not surprising that with all these characteristics she became prideful and even thought of herself as “god” saying “I am god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas” (verse 2). The mistake we often make when God blesses us is to start believing that we made ourselves powerful, rich, great, etc. In Deuteronomy, God warned the Israelites against such behaviours so that they would continue to walk in humility saying: “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God…Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down…and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” (Deuteronomy 8:11-14). Forgetting the Lord is what brings about the downfall of man. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6). Pride puts one in a position of enmity with God so we need to fight against that with all that we are. I know in our society we like to flirt with sin and this one is a sin we often flirt with and even excuse in some forms but the bible is clear that God hates the proud. The moment you start believing that the work of your hands has made you wealthy, or that your intelligence has brought you were you are, remember that you are walking in opposition with God because it is not by your might, nor is it by your power but it is by His Spirit. We can do nothing in and of ourselves without God’s oversight (Psalm 127:1), we need Him to go before us and be all around us.
Therefore, let us be imitators of Christ “who, being in very nature God did not count equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:6). He told us that we must be humble if we want to be great in His kingdom (Matthew 20:26). It is certainly not the popular route but it is the route the Lord approves. May He grants us the grace to walk in humility all the days of our lives. Amen.
A Word Aptly Spoken 