November 30, 2020: Day 100 – Ezekiel 48

On this last day of our 100 Day Challenge we find ourselves with the prophet Ezekiel where he is tasked with laying out a brand new city of Jerusalem after he had already laid out a brand new temple.  Keep in mind he is directing these prophecies to a people who are going to be inheriting a city which is absolutely decimated, without a single structure standing so everyone is starting over.  Ezekiel gives those starting over a hope that this is going to work.  God is dividing the territory among the twelve tribes just as he did with the children of Abraham, and the people who were brought to the promised land by Joshua.  

The idea that a complete revamp was needed is something that ought to resonate with those of us who are waiting, and waiting, and waiting for this pandemic to be over.  Now, our buildings are still in place, our institutions are still in place, our places of worship are still in place, but how are our relationships?  How are those disagreements that in the past we could talk through and now we see them escalate at times to a level where we pass the point of no return?  

On this last day of our challenge we find ourselves having worked through 100 days of when we were confined to a new way of life because of the pandemic.  No one came and physically removed us from our homes to go and inhabit a foreign land like we saw in both Jeremiah and Ezekiel.  But there is still a sense that once this is over, we will have to rebuild.  I hope that we are able to focus on how Jeremiah and Ezekiel each were able to see the hand of God even in the worst of times which allowed them to encourage and give hope to the people of Israel as the times began to change to become a little more hopeful.  See you at the next challenge.