Ezekiel 33:21

Ezekiel 33:21 says, And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten.  Ezekiel said that one day after almost thirteen years in captivity, a person who had escaped from Jerusalem came to him telling him that the city had fallen.  What he had prophesied was now becoming a reality, just as one day God’s promise that Jesus Christ will return in victory will come to pass.   

Verse twenty-two adds, Now the hand of the Lord was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.  Ezekiel said that the morning after the man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to him that the hand of the Lord was upon him and he could speak once more.  Now that his prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem had come to pass, Ezekiel was once more empowered to speak God’s word to the people.  We already know that God’s judgment is coming, so we should be emboldened to proclaims His word, no matter how many prophesies have yet to be fulfilled.  The main one was the coming of Jesus Christ to redeem mankind, and that has already been fulfilled.   

Verse twenty-three continues, Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  God's word once more came to Ezekiel, and until God’s word came to hm, he didn’t proclaim it to the people around him. When we share God’s word with people, we need to make sure that it is His word that we are sharing and not just ours.   

Verse twenty-four concludes, Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance.  God said that the remnant of the people of Israel living in the land were speaking about Abraham and God’s promise to him.  They said Abraham was but one man when God made His promise to him, but now they were many and the promise wasn’t being fulfilled.  Of course, it was because of their sin that this had happened, but it seems they were still questioning God.  They needed to live up to their part of the covenant that God made with Abraham for it to be fulfilled.  They believed that they were entitled to the land because they were descendants of Abraham instead of because of their relationship with God.  God’s promise of redemption is still in effect, but it will always come by faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord and not by any other means.