What Will You Say to Ezekiel?

It’s surely not over-imaginative to say that in the course of eternity we’ll have plenty of conversations with the prophet Ezekiel. Of course there won’t be such a thing as embarrassment in God’s perfect place, but you’ve got to wonder what the reaction will be when Ezekiel asks people, “So what did you make of my book?” Perhaps the conversation will go like this:

“So you’re really Ezekiel, the prophet, the one who wrote that book in the Old Testament?”

“Yes, by the grace of God, that’s me.”

“Wow. Cool.”

“Did you enjoy my book? What was your favorite part?”

“Oh. Good question.”

“I’d be very interested to know.”

“Well, it’s hard to say.”

“You must have had a favorite bit though.”

“Well … it was all the word of God wasn’t it, so the whole of your book was equally great!”

“Hmm.”

“If you’re pushing me though, I’d say the part about the dead bones coming back to life. Chapter thirty-something wasn’t it. That was terrific.”

“I’m so glad you liked it. It was one of my favorite parts too. It was such a privilege to see that astonishing vision and then with God’s help record it as Scripture. But what did you think of the passage earlier on about the glory departing from the temple?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure I ever read that chapter.”

“Oh. [Long pause.] It was rather significant. How about the parable of the two eagles and the vine?”

“I don’t think I read that either.”

“The lament for Israel’s princes?”

“I guess it never came up in my Bible reading notes.”

“What did you make of the prophecy about the sword of the king of Babylon?”

“Ditto.”

“Oh. How about – “

“Sorry Ezekiel, I should probably be on my way but it’s been great to meet you, and I look forward to the next time our paths cross.”

If that thought experiment made you feel a little uncomfortable, take heart. There is still time to dig deeply into every corner of Scripture and get ready for those upcoming conversations with Ezekiel, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and others. Try giving each Bible book the kind of attention you would hope it would receive, if you yourself had written it by the inspiration of God.

[This post is an excerpt from The Book of the Covenant]