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Ezekiel 19:14b  “This is a lament and is to be used as a lament.”

Ezekiel’s love of, respect for, and commitment to the LORD God’s covenant with his people Israel, moved this faithful prophet to express his heartfelt emotions in a poetic form known in Hebrew literature as a ‘lament’ or ‘dirge’.  It consisted of a standard metric pattern using rhythm and parallelism which, sadly, can’t be reproduced in a reliable English translation so we miss out on benefitting from the real emotional impact of it – but Ezekiel’s contemporary readers would certainly have clearly understood his message.

The LORD loved his covenant people with deep compassion – hence the abundant use of the Hebrew word, ‘ches-ed’, in the OT, 239 OT verses, and especially in the Psalms and other Wisdom Literature, 139 verses. Yet from their leadership down, they had failed in their covenant responsibilities – and even their recognition of these responsibilities – and were experiencing the consequences of such disobedience under the harsh oppression of Babylon and Egypt.  In this ‘lament’ poem (chapter 19), Ezekiel is drawing on Jacob’s ‘blessing’ of his sons Judah as a ‘lion’ and Joseph as a ‘vine’ (Genesis 49) to spell out these consequences.

Their basic sin was pride and and self-sufficiency – going it alone and depending on their own human wisdom and strength without submittinng to God’s sovereign rule.  This is a powerful warning to our present generation, and those of us who are willing to submit to the truth and authority of God’s Written Word are also seeing the same consequences of such arrogant autocracy in our day.  It is interesting that, nearly 600 years later, when the True Lion of Judah (Revelation 5), and the True Vine (John 15) came among God’s covenant people to rescue and redeem them, they treated him in the same way they treated Ezekiel’s warning, and failed to lament.

As we draw ever closer to that Day when the Revelation given to the Apostle John is fulfilled, will we heed the warning before it is too late, and will we renounce our arrogant self-sufficiency and turn to him in humble repentance-and-faith and so avoid the dire consequences?  “Out of my bondage, sorrow, and night, Jesus, I come!  Jesus, I come!  Into thy freedom, gladness, and light, Jesus, I come to thee!  Out of my sickness into thy health, out of my want and into thy wealth, out of my sin and into thyself, Jesus, I come to thee!  Out of my shameful failure and loss, Jesus, I come! Jesus, I come!  Into the glorious gain of thy cross, Jesus, I come to thee!  Out of earth’s sorrows into thy balm, out of life’s storm and into thy calm, out of distress to jubilant psalm, Jesus, I come to thee!  Out of unrest and arrogant pride, Jesus, I come! Jesus, I come!  Into thy blessed will to abide, Jesus, I come to thee!  Out of myself to dwell in thy love, out of despair into raptures above, upward for aye on wings like a dove, Jesus, I come to thee!” (William Sleeper)

– Bruce Christian