Many of the people of Judah had been rounded up and taken as captives, Ezekiel among them, to what may have been a kind of refugee camp along the Chebar River or canal. Also, all the treasure from the Temple had been loaded up and hauled away to Babylon by their conquerors. God had allowed this to happen because the people had become lax in their devotion to Him and idolatry had become rampant. Here we see that even at this time of shattered dreams and dismal prospects, God knew the suffering of His people and revealed Himself to His faithful servant, Ezekiel, as a means of encouragement to him and of comfort for the people. This did not mean that their troubling times were over—the people would need to wait patiently in their current trial for the Lord to deliver them at a later time.

This same faithful and loving God who revealed himself to Ezekiel along the banks of the Chebar to comfort His people will come to us with words of comfort and encouragement in our time of need today as well. The Lord knows our situation and will act, but there are lessons of faith for us that can only be learned through patiently waiting on Him. Christians may experience afflictions that try our very souls, yet we have the assurance of His presence during such times (cf. Ps. 121:3). These are comforting words indeed for the child of God; but, if you are not a child of God, the good news is that “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (Jn. 1:12).