Ezekiel 12

“Son of man, what is this proverb that you have about the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’?” (Ezekiel 12:22, ESV)

Words have remarkable power. They can build or they can tear down. They can lead to faith or cast seeds of doubt. They can inspire armies to fight valiantly or they can destroy morale. In Ezekiel’s day the people circulated the proverb, “The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing.” They no longer trusted in prophetic visions or words.

Perhaps their unbelief came from the fact that they had listened to many false prophets. People made promises but never kept them. So they stopped believing in any prophetic revelation. But God was not pleased with this saying. In rejecting falsehood they were also rejecting the truth. They were accusing God of never doing what He said. These were early predecessors of the last days scoffers.

“They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.’” (2 Peter 3:4, ESV)

But God will always fulfill His word in His time.

“For I am the LORD; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 12:25, ESV)

Even though the prophets had been forecasting doom for the nation of Judah, the people didn’t believe them. They rebelled against God’s word and assumed that everything would continue as it always had. But soon they would have a rude awakening.

What happened then is happening now. Many people discount the Bible as an ancient relic. Some Christians disregard Bible prophecy or spiritualize it so that it doesn’t really mean what it says. The bottom line is that they have no faith. But what will they do when God fulfills His word? What will they do when God finally delivers the judgments He has promised?

Indeed, the days are growing long, but God’s longsuffering in the face of increasing wickedness will not last forever. One day prophetic vision will become historical fact.