Display of Glory
“‘“On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east of the Sea. It will block the way of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog. For seven months the Israelites will be burying them in order to cleanse the land. All the people of the land will bury them, and the day I display my glory will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign LORD.”‘”
Today’s Text: Ezekiel 39:11-20 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
This prophecy against Magog could be counted among some of the most gruesome passages in the Bible. Passages like this are part of the reason that many people have a difficult time reading the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, people see such an angry God, so full of wrath.
But the wrath of God is not directed at people, per se. God “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). It is more correct to say that God’s wrath is directed at sin and evil.
The problem is that people ally themselves with sin and evil. And that is exactly why God has given us His Son as a sacrifice of atonement for sins. If people would just disconnect themselves from sin and evil and ally themselves with Jesus Christ through faith instead, then no problem. People always have a choice … until they don’t.
It’s interesting to me that in this prophecy, God employs His people to cleanse the land of the carcasses. Why? Well, He says that “the day I display my glory will be a memorable day for them.”
God wants His people to understand the depth of His holiness and the depth of the devastation of sin. Those two things go hand in hand. Because of God’s holiness, there can be no compromise with sin.
But also, having a sense of the depth of God’s holiness and the depth of the devastation of sin gives us a sense of the depth of His great, great love for us.
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
— 1 John 4:10
The result of God’s wrath is not the display of His glory. It is the great, great love of God for us that is the display of His glory.
Father, Your love knows no bounds. Help me to see the depth of Your love for me in Christ Jesus. Let me see Your glory that I may glorify Your name every day. And be glorified in me through my obedience and through my praise. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
