Overview of: EzekielToday's Reading:
Ez. 4:1-17
"Ezekiel Acts Out His Message"
Focus Verses: Ezekiel 4:1-3
1 "Now, son of man, take a clay tablet, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it. 2 Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it. 3 Then take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel.
Insight:
Ezekiel used dramatic and visual methods to deliver his prophetic message. Instead of just words, he would use theatrical symbols to make his point. This made him very interesting and hard to ignore. His message was very similar to the other prophets--warning, judgment, hope of restoration--but his artistic and symbolic approach to delivering his message makes him unique.
Response and Action:
I want to give voice to my faith and love for Jesus to the world around me. This can be done to some extent with words, but it might be even more effective to think of creative ways to act it out. I want to express my hope in Christ through every means possible. I want every aspect of my life to point others to Jesus.
O God, help me to honor you in thought, word, and deed. Give me the creativity to lift up Jesus in every aspect of my life. Give me words, songs, pictures, stories, and more, that I might give witness to truth. May Christ shine through me in ten thousand ways. Amen.
Proverb for Today: Prov. 26:7
"Like a lame man's legs that hang limp is a proverb in the mouth of a fool."
New Testament for Today: 1 Peter 2:12
12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
In Context: 1 Peter 2:4-12
Recommended Reading:
Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology
by Eugene H. Peterson
