Ezekiel 29: Surprise
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
A sea monster lives in the Nile, is subdued and caught by God, and is then thrown back into the river as food for scavengers. Bible commentary will help us to sort out the prophet’s imagery that we see in chapters 29 through 32 but as we focus on this opening portion we may learn something useful. In this chapter dated to January of 587 B.C.E. Ezekiel was likely responding to events which took place surrounding Pharaoh Hophra’s unsuccessful attempt to capture Jerusalem from the Babylonians. (Mays 616) Tiny Israel finds herself between two warring giants . . . and an enemy leader becomes the vehicle of unexpected good fortune. This dilemma is one that may sound familiar to us.See! I am coming at you . . .
In all ways and in all times we must be prepared for God’s voice to come to us from unexpected quarters. Life has a way of springing the unanticipated upon us in both negative and positive ways. Family members fuss with one another; trusted colleagues become adversaries. Sworn enemies turn out to be partners in a common cause. Betrayal comes from the place we least expect it . . . as does hope. God uses whatever means he must to reach us . . . and God seems to love surprises.
See! I will bring the sword against you . . .
During a very sad time for our family recently, I heard myself repeating to loved ones: God does not want us to suffer. God does not plan disaster. God loves us so dearly that he suffers with us. We are not alone. God is in charge. When we are in deep anxiety or deep sorrow we cannot see what stands before us. And sometimes the well-known faces and familiar phrases cannot penetrate our grief. It is then that God will surprise us . . . when we least expect it.
The Niles are mine; it is I who made them, therefore see! I am coming at you . . .
The prophet Isaiah reminds us . . . Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy. (Isaiah 35:10) God comes at us with all he has in his arsenal to reclaim and redeem us. God uses surprise, inversion, and paradox to reach us. God is persistent; God does not give up or give in. We cannot out-wait or out-maneuver God. In the end, God is all, does all, sees all and knows all. God loves us intensely and well. God wants us to experience joy. And God loves us enough to use even our enemies to speak to us when we are determined to ignore the message we are meant to hear.See! I am coming at you . . . I will use anything or anyone to penetrate your sorrow in order to bring you joy . . . I will do whatever it takes to get your attention . . . I love you that well . . .
A re-post from November 16, 2011.
Images from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apries and http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/utp/the-glory-departs
Mays, James L., ed. HARPERCOLLINS BIBLE COMMENTARY. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1988. 616. Print.
For more information on the Pharaoh Hophra, follow the link on the images or see this link: http://www.formerthings.com/hophra.htm
There are lots of blogs that touch on topics like these – just type in a topic in the WordPress search box and you will find more. If you are looking for Bible commentary or that kind of information, take a look at the “Attributions” page of this blog for just a few. There are also lots of blogs written by people who are trained in this field; and there are online commentaries, dictionaries, etc. that might help. Some of the posts here have websites cited. Search the “web site included” category. Or you may want to purchase a commentary yourself. There are tons out there and if you search on Amazon, for example, you will find many that will suit your need. Good luck with your project.
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