Ezekiel 21:27
“A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come; to him I will give it.” (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 21:25-27 and Genesis 49:8-12
In chapter 21, Ezekiel receives word from the Lord that He is against Jerusalem. God tells Ezekiel that the entire land of Israel and Judah will be conquered by Babylon. He is particularly set against King Zedekiah who has sought help from Egypt instead of Him:
“You profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Take off the turban, remove the crown. It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low” (Ezek 21:25-26).
Babylon will siege Jerusalem and it will be one of the greatest slaughters in history. The Babylonian army will surround the city and starve them out. After about two and a half years into the siege, Jerusalem will completely run out of food and Babylon will break through the walls. They capture King Zedekiah, kill his sons before his eyes, blind him and take him to Babylon as prisoner where he will die. This will end the Davidic line of kings.
However, there is one more Davidic king to come – the Messiah. Then God tells Ezekiel:
“A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come; to him I will give it” (Ezek 21:27).
After the destruction of Jerusalem, there will be no more kings until the Messiah comes to claim the crown that rightfully belongs to him. We’ve heard this many times before but specifically, we heard this exact prophecy from Jacob.
Jacob called all of his sons to gather around him on the day that he died so that he could bless each one of them. As he blessed each one of them individually, he came to Judah and gave him this blessing:
“The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he to whom it belongs shall come
and the obedience of the nations shall be his” (Gen 49:10).
As God speaks to Ezekiel, He is reminding His people of this prophecy given to Judah. This has been a long time coming and the time is upon them. The last king will soon be gone and the next king of Jerusalem will be the Messiah.
This prophecy doesn’t end with the Messiah only being the King of Judah. God says that the “obedience of the nations shall be his.” The Messiah will rule over all the nations. Jesus partially fulfilled this prophecy when he came to earth as a baby born in the line of David. He will ultimately fulfill this prophecy when he returns again to usher in the New Jerusalem and rule over all the earth:
“Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God’” (Rev 21:1-3).
Christ in the Old Testament 
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