Under the shadow of His wings

My husband and I have decided a few years ago to read through the whole Bible. Genesis to Revelation. We decided to follow a Bible reading plan that we found on a Bible reading app. We finished the first round and are now onto round two. I am not telling you this to score brownie points, but as a way to explain how it came to be that we are reading the book of Ezekiel.

In general, when you tell someone that you are reading the book of Ezekiel, their eyes glaze over, and they think you are super spiritual to read this book. Many Christians will tell you they never have and probably never will read the book of Ezekiel. So, you can understand their amazement when you casually mention that you are reading through the book of Ezekiel.

So, no, we are not super spiritual, or trying to impress people by reading through Ezekiel. We are just following the bible reading plan and this is the next book in the queue.

The book of Ezekiel is prophetic. Ezekiel was told by God to tell the Jews that God’s judgement is upon them because of their sins of idolatry and because they have turned away from serving and trusting God, and God alone. In the book, God tells Ezekiel to perform certain acts that would symbolise how God is planning to punish them. One such act of symbolism is described in the 5th chapter of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 5:1-4

And you, son of man, take a sharp sword, take it as a barber’s razor, and pass it over your head and your beard; then take scales to weigh and divide the hair. 2 You shall burn with fire one-third amid the city, when the days of the siege are finished; then you shall take one-third and strike around it with the sword, and one-third you shall scatter in the wind: I will draw out a sword after them. 3 You shall also take a small number of them and bind them to the edge of your garment. 4 Then take some of them again and throw them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will go out into all the house of Israel.

Ezekiel is told by God to cut his hair. Then he has to scatter, burn, and strike it with his sword. All of that is to symbolise how God will punish them, through their enemy the Babylonians. I am sure you will agree with me that this is definitely a grim picture. It is easy to want to skip over the gloom and doom and read on but don’t, because, even in this grim and depressing picture there is a glimmer of hope. Did you see it? Go back to the verses and read them again… see verse 3. Amid the burning and scattering God tells Ezekiel to take some of the hair and bind it to the edge of his garment. Some translations say, “tuck them away in the folds of your garment.”

The hair in this scripture represents Israel and how God’s judgement is going to befall them, yet a remnant will be kept safe. Isn’t this a beautiful reminder that our God is a just God?

The Bible is full of verses that talk about God protecting us and a familiar verse is the one I quoted at the start of the blog, Psalms 17:8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings. Another familiar scripture is in Luke 13:34 How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings. I pray that this will be an encouragement for you today.

We often face difficult times. The world feels crazy, and we are frequently reminded that we are living in the end times. We look at the sin that abounds all around us, and we wonder what would happen to us if God in His righteousness would judge the earth as He did with Sodom and Gomorrah. Earthquakes, volcanos, and most natural disaster are sometimes equated with God's judgement. Thus the idea that we could face God's judgement is a terrifying thought.

The image of Ezekiel tucking some of his shaved hair into his cloak while the rest gets chopped, burnt, and scattered is a promise of protection for those whose hearts are turned towards God. The question you must ask yourself is what is your relationship with God? Is your relationship what it’s supposed to be?

When God’s judgement does come to the world, where will you find yourself? Are you living in the shadow of His wings, tucked away in His cloak, or are you living by your own terms separate from God.