Ezekiel 34:25-31--The LORD's Covenant of Peace

Ezekiel 34:25-31
English Standard Version

The LORD's Covenant of Peace
25 “I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. 27 And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 And I will provide for them a renowned place for planting so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations. 30 And they shall know that I am the LORD their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord GOD. 31 And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord GOD.”

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This message is very timely today as everyone is talking about peace in Israel and in the Middle East right now.  For those reading this later in history, a peace deal was just negotiated for the release of 20 living hostages and the remains of many other hostages (only a few of the remains of the dead hostages have been returned so far) to bring an end to a two-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.  The politicians that do not understand the Bible or think that it does not tell them anything about today think they have just negotiated a lasting and maybe even an everlasting peace, but we know that is not possible, because our text today tells us that only the LORD Himself can bring true and lasting peace to Israel and His people.  There will be a day when a peace arrangement is signed between Israel and its enemies that will be negotiated by the Antichrist (I'm not saying that is what just happened) and it will be a promise for seven years of peace, but that treaty will be violated and broken halfway through the negotiated time as the Antichrist will set up worship for himself in the Temple in Jerusalem (which doesn't exist yet).  Certainly, these are times that make us ask, "Are we living in the end times"?  The answer of course is "Yes!" because everything after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and especially after His Ascension and Pentecost is "the last days," but are we living in the days described as "The Day of the LORD" here by the prophets and as the time of "Great Tribulation" by the apostle John?  Only time will tell--people with different eschatological persuasions will have different answers for you, but remember that whatever answer you give to that question should be an answer of hope for the Christians and not despair or fear.  The message for the people of God is "I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  There is no need to fear because Jesus is with us all the way.  He protected His people from the Ten Plagues of Egypt who lived in Goshen and He can protect us from the plagues and disasters described in the book of Revelation and the other books of prophecy if we are marked by the blood of the Lamb (the meaning of Passover).  There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  If Jesus desires instead to rescue us by removing us before the start of the seven-year Tribulation period or before the period of Great Tribulation at the end of the Tribulation, then all glory be to God for saving us from that which we had no power to save ourselves from.  If God saves us from the fire, all glory to God.  If God saves us through the fire (like He did with Daniel's friends), then all glory be to God.  It does not change the fact the certain hope is that God will save all of His people and not one of them will be lost.

It is also a fact that God intends to bring true and lasting peace to Israel.  There is debate (largely based on the debate I just tried to summarize about different eschatological views) of whether the "people" this peaceful kingdom is promised to are physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, spiritual descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (which would include all Christians who are part of the family by way of Adoption) or both the physical descendants and spiritual descendants or the intersection of these sets--only Messianic Jews.  For now, this passage promises a peaceful return from captivity and exile as the people will one day return from Babylon, but we know this peace from this time was not a lasting peace, because there would be more conflict, oppression, dispersion and attempts at extermination.  Certainly the time of peace promised after the Exile was good, but there has to be another peace that was coming that was better when all the enemies of the LORD would be destroyed and the Prince of Peace would rule from Jerusalem and bring the blessings of His covenant to His people.

The Jews today look at passages like this and see their return to the Land after the Dispersion of 70 A.D. and the genocide of World War two and Nazi Germany as another fulfillment of these promises, but they would agree they are not yet the ultimate fulfillment as there is sill war and conflict, and many will tell you that they believe that wars and rumors of wars will continue until the time when the Kingdom of God is established here on earth and the LORD deals justly with all the enemies of His people.  We so not yet live in the time of "They will live securely and no one will make them afraid."  We do not live in a time of lasting peace, and certainly not the time of eternal peace that is described at the end of the book of Revelation.

We do not live in a world where there is no more scarcity of resource where everyone is well-fed, well-clothed, and so immeasurably rich that they are in need or want of nothing.  There are a group of people trying to make their idea of a godless Utopia where there is no more war, hunger, homelessness, and so on (see the idealistic views of the Federation in Star Trek.  Those looking for heaven on earth apart from the gospel of Jesus Christ are fighting a battle they cannot win.  While we are Christ's ambassadors in the here and now, the Kingdom of God will not be here on earth in the way it was in the Garden of Eden before the Fall until Jesus returns and everything is put under His feet (subjected to His authority).  In that day, Israel will no longer be a reproach to the nations and only good and plentiful times will come to the people of God from the hand of God.  The LORD and His people will be one there will be perfect peace both internally (people will be at peace with God) and externally (people will be at peace with each other).  That is the kind of peace that cannot come about from a peace treaty written on paper that is easily violated--this peace is part of the covenant that God made with His people and only He can make it happen.  Those who look for salvation or peace by the hand of a man may accidently find themselves following the kingdom of Antichrists instead of the Kingdom of God.  Salvation and true and lasting peace between God and man can be found in no other name and no other source than Jesus.  He alone is our Savior and our Prince of Peace.  The Lamb of God who died to make peace between God and man and between man and man as  as sin offering, a guilt offering and a peace offering.  We pray for the peace of Jerusalem, but we understand that true and lasting peace only comes when the Prince of Peace sits on His throne and reigns from the City of the Great King who is King of Kings, Lord of Lords and Prince of Peace.