These words are a big deal in Ezekiel's prophecies:

"This is what the Sovereign Lord says ..." and
"... you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”
Sometimes it is "they will know."
Lots of really tough love in this book ... lots.

It seems like sometimes God is saying, "I will strip you down to nothing to bring you back to the place where I can love you well. You are going to figure out what is really important and that I am all you really need."

Do I like it? I don't have to like it. That is what it says. Do I understand it completely? Not necessarily. Have I experienced a tiny little bit of it in my life?

We will let "the day" declare that :)
Or we can schedule a one-on-one and I will tell all or most.
The point is that there is no particular point.

There is an historical drama that we get to observe from a distance so that we can better understand the drama around us. Namely, God is present in history and will be known. God is Sovereign and really does not respect our labels, or denominations, our affiliations, or our definitions of who we are.
God wants to be known and will be known and it has nothing to do with politics or race or ideology or even what we call our "religion."

As a follower of Jesus, I have already labeled myself somewhat, but that is what I am, it is not my job to correct or condemn everyone else. It is my job to live and speak as a follower of Jesus. That is what I do and who I am.

I may be a Baptist, but that is a function based upon history and conviction. It is not the core of who I am. I may be an Evangelical because that comes pretty close to summarizing many of my beliefs. I am a Christian, but that is confusing because in some places that means culture or ethnicity. At the heart of what it meant in the early church, I like it. Protestant - Yes. I value the heritage and courage of Luther, but I also am a little "c" "catholic," part of the universal and invisible Body of Christ. The Sovereign God will be known -- by His deeds, by His witness through us.

Is revelation progressive? Does God feed us in doses till we get the big picture? Is that not what Jesus is saying when He calls Himself "fulfillment?" Is that not what He is demonstrating as He absorbs the blunt force trauma of the inherent wrath of trying to pound against the Truth of God? He absorbs it because He invites it that He might destroy death ... That the Sovereign Lord might make Himself known.

Then, He sends us to tell and to teach ... whatsoever He commanded ... which He summed up in the two-fold law of love that envelops all other laws --- Love God --- Love others!

"Baptize them ..." He said... not in the name of your church or denomination, but in MY name! Our Name, father and Son and Holy Spirit. If ever there was a call to water things down ...

Bring people to faith and following because they hear and see and are called to come.

Freely!

Ezekiel faithfully represents this "side" of God's character as He seeks to explain the Exile. He lets God speak, but the recurring thread is historical grace and redemption. Is it enough to fully understand the character of a God with no three dimensional "sides?" I tend to believe we need the Christian scriptures as well, for it is there that everything is interpreted through the lens of grace ... radical and unrelenting grace.

Am I making a point? I hope not. That would be too one-dimensional. Am I stirring something for someone? That would be fine, but this is mainly me reflecting with the Sovereign Lord.