And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD.”
God has given Ezekiel much to write in his book. He covers many years (over 20). This was not a one time prophecy, but a number of “visions” that Ezekiel was given by God through, at times, an angel. Ezekiel was taken many places to see many things which he was told to covey to the nation of Israel. The above line, ending one of those visions, is perhaps the most promising for the nation. In the midst of a prophecy that can, at times, seem dark and full of God’s wrath, this verse stands out as a beacon of light to the nation of Israel (and, through their Messiah, to us). God promised them the gift of the Holy Spirit. There are some implications in that that promise to them:
1. The fact that God states He is going to “pour out my Spirit upon them,” indicates they did not have that pouring out yet. It was to be a future blessing. Those who walked by faith in the future Messiah did not have the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the same way we have Him today.
2. The fact that God states, “I will not hide my face anymore from them ...”, indicates that this “pouring out of the Spirit” will have something to do with our being to come close to God and have intimidate conversations with Him. The Bible states that no man can see God’s face and live (Exodus 33:20). This must have been an amazing thought for the nation to wrap their mind around as they thought, perhaps, about Moses coming down from the mountain and had to veil his face after being with God.
3. The implication is that this is a specific time in the future. This was to be a promise of hope that they remnant in captivity could hold on to for encouragement and endurance. God was giving them a promise, that once believed, would give them hope and strength.
We know that at they day of Pentecost, God fulfilled this promises. God send His Spirit to fill the Church. Every believer in the Church age is filled with the Spirit and has the power of the Spirit indwelling them. God has kept His promise by sending the Spirit. Jesus promised that after His resurrection He would send the Spirit of Truth to guide them (John 14:16-17). We can rejoice that the power of the Spirit in dwells us each day and it was a promise to the nation of Israel through the prophecy of God (Ezekiel), a promise from the Son of God and a fulfillment by the power of God, in our lives today.
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