Context for Ezekiel 12-13
In spite of the clear evidence that the Word of God was being fulfilled in their lifetimes, the exiles in Babylon still doubted the words Ezekiel spoke to them. They believed that, somehow, Jerusalem and Judah would weather the current storm and be restored. Unfortunately, they believed in this restoral absent of their God.
Sometimes God comes to us subtly, through His Word or the council of a faithful friend. Sometimes God comes to us unmistakably, though actions that are clear and visible not just to us but to those around us.
Ezekiel’s public performances, as commanded by God, were a clear testament to what God was saying to His people. God was communicating to them unmistakably that He meant what He had said. He intended to punish Judah and Jerusalem for their rebellion, and there would be no escaping that punishment.
What we see in God’s public demonstration through Ezekiel is that He will go to great lengths to prove His Word to His people. Consider that God preserved His Word through persecution and unbelief for two thousand years so that each of us could have it and receive faith through it.
If God will go to those lengths to communicate with His people, then how far will He go to prove His promises to us? The question, then, is not whether God is trying to communicate His Word and His will to us, but whether we are listening.
