Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness; And say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord GOD of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein. And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. Ezekiel 12:17-20
This passage is part of Ezekiel’s vision relating to the coming Babylonian captivity in 586 BC (the third and final movement of the children of Israel out of the land). Ezekiel is role playing this scene out to exemplify to the Jewish people what that coming attack by Babylon will be like. They will eat and drink with “carefulness” and “astonishment”, alluding to the ideas that they will be frightened and unsure about the future (and where their next meal may come from). God was letting them know that He was going to get their attention, and made it clear that in the end they would “know that I am the LORD”.
This jealous God that we see in this passage is the same God that we serve today. He is the same God who is watching America turn away from Him after following after Him for so many years. How long will it be before God decides to get our attention the way He chose to get Israel’s? As I was reading this passage, and drinking my coffee, I couldn’t help but think that maybe I should be drinking it with carefulness….