Scripture:
Ezekiel 18:30–32
Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, all of you according to your ways, says the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions; otherwise iniquity will be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord GOD. Turn, then, and live. (NRSVUE)
Observation:
The prophet Ezekiel is speaking the words of the Lord. The people will be judged, but the larger context of this chapter makes it clear that each person will be judged according to their own ways. They will not simply be held responsible for the sins of their parents or those who went before them.
As a result, the call is for each person to repent and turn from the way they have been living. This is true repentance—not just words, but a change of direction. God knows that their present path is leading them to ruin, and He calls them to turn around and live.
They are told to cast aside their transgressions and “get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.” Later Ezekiel will reveal more fully how such transformation becomes possible: God Himself will give His people a new heart and put a new spirit within them.
But here the invitation is urgent.
“Why will you die?”
God takes no pleasure in their death. His desire is for them to turn.
And live.
Application:
I had a strange dream last night. I don’t always remember my dreams, but this one was especially vivid.
For some reason, I was surrounded by sheep whom people had presumed were dead. They were lying all around me, all different colors and sizes.
I was supposed to pick up each sheep and weigh it. It took great effort, but I did. Some were very heavy, while others were quite small. But then something strange started happening. After I weighed them, I began to notice that some of them still had life in them. They stood up and began walking around, and they looked remarkably healthy.
Then I came to a small black sheep.
This one had prison tattoos.
I picked her up and weighed her. She was so thin that I could see her bones, and I was certain she was dead. After weighing her, I laid her back down.
Then I noticed a little breath.
I went for water and cupped it into my hands, trying to get her to drink. She took a little, so I went for more. Little by little, she drank. Finally, she was able to raise her head and then stand on her own two feet.
Somehow, I knew I was supposed to give names to the sheep who were alive.
Her name was Arrow.
We live on some land out in the country, and in my dream I knew that I was supposed to take Arrow and all the other living sheep home and care for them. I awakened while I was trying to work out the transportation to get Arrow and the others home.
I don’t know why I dreamed that. But when I read Ezekiel this morning, something about the dream and this Scripture came together.
These people were headed toward death. God knew where their choices were taking them. Yet His message wasn’t, “You’ve gone too far.”
It was:
“Why will you die?”
“Turn, then, and live.”
The sheep in my dream had been presumed dead. Even I looked at that scrawny little black sheep with her prison tattoos and thought there couldn’t possibly be life left in her.
But there was still breath.
And that makes me wonder how often we look at another human being and assume that their story is finished. Perhaps they’ve made terrible choices. Perhaps they’ve spent time in prison. Perhaps addiction has ravaged their life. Perhaps they’ve rejected every effort to help them. Perhaps everyone around them has quietly concluded that there isn’t much hope.
But God takes no pleasure in death.
God calls people to turn and live.
And when they begin to stand up, what will we do with them?
Will we care for the poor black sheep? Will we feed her, both materially and spiritually? Will we welcome her into our fellowship? Will our churches provide green pasture for those whom God is bringing back to life?
Maybe there is still breath where everyone else sees death.
Maybe there are people God hasn’t given up on whom we have already counted out.
Turn, then, and live.
And church, become a channel of grace that welcomes the black sheep home.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for speaking to me through Scripture and even through the strange images of a dream. Forgive me when I presume that someone’s story is already finished. Give me eyes to recognize signs of life and hands willing to offer water. Help me to be a gentle shepherd to the sheep You place in my care, and make Your church a place where those who turn and live can truly come home. Amen.
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