Friday 9 January 2026

Psalm 116

Background
Today’s passage comes from the final chapters of the book of Ezekiel. Like Isaiah, Ezekiel has a vision of God’s glory filling the Temple. But the Temple is neither the beginning nor the end of the story.

Ezekiel is a prophet of exile. In 597 BC Israel's elite were deported to Babylon. As well as the social dislocation, it was a theological trauma. The people believed that they had been chosen by God for a covenant relationship; that they had the right to inhabit the land God had promised them; that their God would protect them and defeat their enemies. They believed that God lived in the Temple in Jerusalem, the centre of their worship. So when they were defeated by the armies of Babylon and exiled to a foreign land, they were terrified that they had left God behind.

In the first chapter of his book, Ezekiel has a vision of God. Like Isaiah’s vision which we read about yesterday, his vision of God is multi-sensory: awesome, holy, overwhelming. He is attended by supernatural winged creatures (1:5-11). Ezekiel saw something that looked like fire, "and there was a splendour all round" (1:27). He heard a sound "like mighty waters" (1:24). But unlike Isaiah’s vision, Ezekiel’s God does not fill the Temple. Ezekiel’s God is mobile. He is in a chariot with wheels; wheels within wheels (1:16) and the wheels can move in any direction (1:17). The exiles in Babylon have not left God behind in Jerusalem after all. Their God travels with them.

Towards the end of the book, Ezekiel has a detailed vision of a new temple in Jerusalem. Like some kind of holy version of the TV programme 'Grand Designs', he plans the dimensions, the materials, the décor. He specifies the rituals that will signify the presence of God in this place for ever. Ezekiel’s temple was never built. But in today’s passage, despite the fact that the temple only exists in Ezekiel’s imagination, the God of Israel comes with the same glorious light and sound of mighty waters that characterised that initial vision (43:2). God doesn’t need a magnificent man-made building in order to be present.

To Ponder:

• Where do you most feel the presence of God?
• When have you felt as though you were in exile? What helped you recognise the presence of God in an alien place?
• Is your God mobile?

Prayer
God of glory, open my eyes to your presence in the grand places and in the humble places; when I feel  at home, and when I feel lost; when I can sense the glory of your presence, and when I feel remote from you. Remind me that you accompany me wherever I go, whether I can feel it or not. Amen.

Bible notes author: The Revd Val Reid
Val Reid is a retired presbyter who lives in Salisbury. She is a reflective supervisor and spiritual director, and has recently trained as a mediator with Place for Hope.