The Bible book of Ezekiel is hard to read, hard to understand, and hard to apply. Ezekiel lived during the exile of Judah when God’s people were conquered and taken captive by the nation of Babylon (2 Kings 24:11-16). The book of Ezekiel is full of messages from God to His people reminding them that it was their sin that resulted in their scattered state. There are a lot of exact measurements for the new temple. In fact, “cubit” is the second most used word in the book.

But Ezekiel has a couple of gems that feel like rewards for digging through the tough stuff. My friend calls them the “sweet nuggets of Ezekiel.”

I love that picture. Being a history buff, I thought of the California Gold Rush where rugged men are working hard to pan through mountains of mud and dirt in order to find small pieces of gold that will immediately change their lives for good.

Here are some sweet nuggets of truth from the Bible book of Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 1:28 “Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.”

Ezekiel 3:3 “Then he said to me, ‘Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.’ So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.”

Sure, physically eating God’s word on a scroll is a little strange, but the description of God’s word tasting sweet like honey is familiar to those who love feasting on Scripture as refreshment for the soul.

Ezekiel 11:20 “Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.”

Ezekiel 18:4 “For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child both alike belong to me.” The whole of chapter 18 may be a little long to be considered a nugget, but it is sweet. You will have to read the chapter for yourself, but the bottom line is that kids are not responsible for their parent’s sins. Each is responsible for their own relationship of repentance to God.  This is comforting for those who have to deal with the consequences of their parent’s choices. When it comes to eternity with God, it’s just you and Him. Nothing your parents do can stand in your way of your eternal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 34:16 “I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.” God is fair. He exercises perfect justice. This particular verse is said to Israel, but in the book of John, Jesus uses the sheep metaphor to describe his relationship with all believers. John 10:14 says, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”

Ezekiel 34:26 “I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.” Again, this particular verse is specifically for Israel, but we also experience showers of blessing as believers as described in Ephesians 1 and other passages.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” 

Ezekiel 37:5 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.” In Ezekiel 37:1-14, God told Ezekiel to tell the dry bones to come together so that the Lord could breathe life into them so the people would know that He is the Lord. This was a picture to scattered Israel and Judah that the Lord could bring them back so to live as a nation again. That particular promise was for Israel, but we have hope for new life through salvation in Jesus Christ.

What “sweet nuggets” of truth have you found in Ezekiel? Comment below.

What other books do you have trouble finding sweet nuggets in?

Also, check out Read the Hard Parts Pinterest board to view some Ezekiel-themed pins. There is some beautiful artwork of these verses plus some infograpics on understanding Ezekiel.