Ezekiel 1:2–3: “On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, the word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.”

November 26th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Ezekiel, along with King Jehoiachin, was taken captive to Babylon during the Babylonians 2nd attack against Jerusalem. Throughout the book, Ezekiel dates events according to the number of years King Jehoiachin has been a captive.

This opening chapter records Ezekiel’s encounter with the Living God as God called him to be a prophet. As we might expect, it changed Ezekiel for the rest of his life. Ezekiel’s vision of God’s command center is one of the most remarkable visions in all of Scripture. He saw the throne of God, which controls the affairs of all human government throughout the world, and this is perhaps one of the most important things we can take away from this book as we study it.

Our modern news services are so focused on the staggering powers of evil that we believers can easily lose sight of the omnipotent throne of God. Even if all else is missed in the Book of Ezekiel, certainly no one can miss that this vision shows that nothing is beyond the immeasurable power of God. The 21st-century world has weapons that would make any sane person fearful were it not for the fact that 1 John 4:4 is still true: “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

“Thank You, LORD, that You have control over everything in our lives, and all we need to do to get through everything facing us is to trust You.”