Thursday, July 31, 2014

The Word is Good

The Old Testament writers were inspired to write what would become the Holy Bible, inspired, inerrant, and infallible. Many people call the Bible, the "Good Book". There is one writer who recorded that the Word is indeed good. Good to the taste!

Ezekiel, an Old Testament prophet from a priestly family, spent his early years in Jerusalem. He was taken along with other hostages by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon in 597 B.C. He prophesied for at least 22 years. Ezekiel's ministry was directed to the Jews, who were exiled in Babylon. He was instructed to remind the exiles of the sins that brought God's judgment on them in the first place, and to assure them of God's future blessings in keeping with His covenant.

The early chapters were written before the fall of Jerusalem to remind the Jews in captivity that God's judgment on the city and Temple were surely coming. Before the Babylonian empire assimilated Judah, the prophet Ezekiel was given some peculiar marching orders. In Ezekiel 3, God tells Ezekiel to eat a scroll containing Holy Writ, and then go speak to His people and tell them what the Lord says. The words on the scroll were words of lament, mourning, and woe. Although the scroll tasted sweet, the prophet's task was somewhat bitter. Like Isaiah and Jeremiah, Ezekiel's ministry to a rebellious people would have discouraging results, but Ezekiel found it sweet to do God's will.

"How sweet are your words to my taste." Psalm 119:103

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