298. Seek, Bring, Bind Up, Strengthen
Ezekiel 34:16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
This promise is like the “Blessed” Beatitudes. Here is good news for the poor. Jesus announces that He has come to bless the people who need it. On the other hand, if you think you are already fat and strong in yourself then the “Cursed” comes in; He will destroy them in the judgment.
The Lord will seek the lost. This is what Jesus came for: to seek and to save the lost. We are all lost, but sometimes we recognize it more than at other times. The Savior came for the lost: He is looking for lost souls.
The Lord will bring again those who were driven away. In Adam, we have been driven out of Paradise into a cursed and sinful world. And we aren’t making it very well, Sin drives us away from God and from others. Jesus came to bring us back to Eden and back to God, our home where we belong. We stray every day; He brings us back every day.
The Lord will bind up what was broken. In a sin-cursed world everything breaks, including our spirit that is dead, our soul that is broken-hearted, and our body that gets weak and dies. Sin did that to us; Jesus bound it up, and His bandages are available for every wound. He pours life into the brokenness.
The Lord will strengthen the sick. Sin-sickness makes us weak and weary. We get sick and tired of our own sin, and the sins of others in the world. Jesus comes to us in our weakness and weariness and gives strength and life. Now the Joy of the Lord is our strength. Now we can get up and go on.
Believe the fourfold promise: In Christ, we are no longer lost, exiled, broken and sick.