This is what the Sovereign LORD says: The enemy said of you, "Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession."' – Ezekiel 36:2

Today's Scripture Reading (August 19, 2023): Ezekiel 36

In times of crisis, we develop songs that often tell an aspirational story or maybe even make fun of the enemy. And sometimes, it is interesting to look back at the musical record we left behind during those times. These musical tributes reflect the hopes and dreams as well as the struggles of the people living in desperate times. World War II was one of those times, and we have an incredible list of songs we can listen to that can take us back to what life was like during the war. One example of those songs might be "Mr. Hitler" by Huddle Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly. Lead Belly was a folk and blues singer of that era, and he wrote;

You ain't no iron; you ain't no solid rock.
You ain't no iron; you ain't no solid rock.
But we American people say "Mr. Hitler, you is got to stop!"

We're gonna tear Hitler down; we're gonna tear Hitler down.
We're gonna tear Hitler down someday.
We're gonna bring him to the ground; we're gonna bring him to the ground.
We're gonna bring him to the ground someday.

The song speaks of the aspirations of a people. The lyrics also talk about the crime. Another verse proclaims, "Hitler started out in nineteen-hundred-and-thirty-two. When he started out, he took the homes from the Jews" A full accounting of the Holocaust was likely unknown at the time that Lead Belly wrote the song, but he refers to the seeds of the sin and what he knows in his lyrics."

At other times, battle songs are written that are sung as the soldiers move into battle. Sometimes it is nothing more than a family name shouted as the men join the fight. But the battle cry raised the soldiers' pride as they entered the battle fray.

Ezekiel is essentially speaking of a battle cry here. "The ancient heights have become our possession" was a phrase that the enemies of Israel repeated as they ran into battle. It spoke of an aspirational desire; the land once occupied by Israel was now open to be taken by her neighbors. But Ezekiel reminds his audience of something else. The people of Israel may have been taken into captivity, but the land was far from empty. God was still there, and what happened to the land and mountains of Israel was still under his control, and he was the one who would always be in possession of the ancient heights and all the land that was once Israel. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 37