Thursday, August 2, 2001

Ezekiel 37:16-17

"Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand."
Ezekiel 37:16-17


Ah, what a great scripture. :)  I came across it just now, and it made me smile to think about how God gives us clues every day for things that will be happening in the future... constantly preparing us, and helping us.  In this case, the tribes of Israel and how they help each other.  ... not only with the different sticks (referring to scrolls or tablets, and ultimately, to scripture) which complement each other, but also joining them as one community and one people before God.  Building Zion begins with things like this... knowing and accepting that God talks to people in every nation that will listen.  Knowing that instead of divisiveness and exclusion, God wants us to become unified in our knowledge of him, and include the entire earth in our circle of belonging. 
Sincerely, the whole thing is just so cool.  It is like the difference between the Zoramites and the rest of the Church in the Book of Mormon... One group getting up on the rameumptom and thanking God that they were going to be saved while everyone else was going to be cast down to Hell... while some of the people in the church were out trying to convert the Lamanites. :)  So, one thing... isn't it cool that God tells us stuff in the Bible that opens us up to new scripture and new opportunities... *and* isn't it cool... wordlessly cool... that we are all one people, and that God's truth doesn't change, no matter who he reveals it to?

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