“Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore” (Ezekiel 37:26).
TEXT — Ezekiel 37:15-28
Message
The Middle East occupies a strategic position in world affairs, given its advantageous location, abundant resource reserve, and historic and religious significance. However, for whatever reason, one commodity that has eluded the region is peace. The Middle East has for a long time witnessed crises of differing proportions. Recent developments in the region do not suggest that the crises will end soon.
Israel happens to be part of the Middle East. It is no wonder that the word “Shalom” or “Shalom alekhem” meaning “Peace to you” is the commonest Jewish greeting. In today’s passage which borders on the vision given to Ezekiel while he was in exile in Babylon, God promises to make a new covenant – a covenant of peace – with His people. Ezekiel, in the preceding prophecies, assured the despondent Jews of their restoration to their possession, cleansing, and relationship with God. Here, the Prophet was instructed to write on two sticks, one for Judah and the other for Israel, and join both in his hand as an emblem of the unification of both as one nation again. Beyond these, God promised to make with them a covenant of peace, a permanent covenant of grace, which would be better than the former legal covenant.
Remarkably, all these prophecies were fulfilled. The Jews not only returned to their land as one after their captivities in Babylon and Syria but even after a further dispersal, they remained a united country. How the church of today needs to fulfil Christ’s prayer for unity! However, the promised covenant of peace has more far-reaching meaning than social and political course. This points to the dispensation of grace when Christ, the Prince of Peace, would serve as the mediator between God and men, gathering His sheep from all parts of the world into one-fold. The ultimate peace will be enjoyed by God’s people during the millennial reign of Christ.
Meanwhile, God reserves peace for those who experience Christ by embracing His grace that brings salvation. Everyone who repents and believes in the Lord Jesus will first experience peace with God (Romans 5:1) and then “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).
Thought for the day
A world that rejects the Prince of Peace will search for peace in vain.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
