Reflections Reading EzekielUzorak

We tend to think that prophetic ministry is only forward-oriented, that prophets speak of events and times either years in the future or at least at some distant time in their lifetime.  This isn’t unreasonable – it was why they were called seers: those who see ahead.  But it doesn’t cover all the bases.

Ezekiel was already in exile in Babylon when the word of the Lord came to him.  He saw forward to the return of the nation after 70 years, and the fulfillment of God’s design in and by the Spirit.  But he also spoke prophetically of and to their past - the reason they ended up in exile, which was something the nation didn’t think possible.  In these pronouncements, the prophet gave insight into the reasons they found themselves in exile.  In other words, he interpreted their past for them, giving a reason for their present circumstance.  They weren’t in Babylon because of a series of unfortunate military bungles, or poor diplomacy with aggressive nations, or droughts and famines that weakened them.  All these things did happen, but Ezekiel reveals it was because of the nation’s idolatry, their backsliding from a knowledge of Yahweh and rejection of his word.  Prophecy uncovered the reasons for their current dilemma, as much as it foretold their future.  

We still need this voice in God’s church – trusted and credible prophetic voices that give reason for, explain, and uncover the why’s and how’s.  This isn’t an invitation for conspiratorialists who are always giving reasons for everything, fueled by their unique brand of a hermeneutic of suspicion.  We want prophets who are impelled by the word of the Lord, and not by trending theories of the human condition or political landscape, and above all by love for God’s people - the church of Jesus, because anyone who despises, weakens, or minimises the church is no prophet of God.