Archives for September 2021

OVERVIEW:

Ezekiel’s actions illustrate the exile (chapter 12); God warns the false prophets (chapter 13); God warns Israel that judgment is inevitable (chapters 14 and 15); God reminds Israel of His grace in saving them and their decision to forsake Him (chapter 16).

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

God continues to call the prophet Ezekiel not only to speak His truth, but to illustrate it through outward demonstrations. Leaving with his “stuff” through the wall in 12:1–16, illustrates the captivity of Israel’s current king, Zedekiah. (2^nd Kings 25:1–10) Ezekiel’s trembling in 12:17–20 illustrates the desolation that Israel will experience during the exile. Perhaps one of the greatest takeaways from this section is recognizing that what God was asking Ezekiel to do in declaring His message is no different than what He asks us to do! We, too, are to speak through our actions, as well as with our words! This is the New Testament truth wrapped up in the word “conversation”. Paul tells us in Philippians 1:27: “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ.” In other words, the way we live our lives (our “conversation”) ought to communicate a message that reflects that we have been transformed by the power of the gospel. The reality is, whether for good or for evil, we not only speak with our lips we also speak with our lives! Paul makes the distinction between speaking through our lips and through our lives very clearly in 1^st Timothy 4:12, as he tells Timothy to be “…an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” Obviously, our “words” are what we say with our lips; our “conversation” is what we’re saying through our life! Thus, the old adage, “What your life is saying is so loud, I can’t hear the words you’re speaking!” In light of these truths, we all would do well to ask ourselves a few very pertinent introspective questions:

• “What message am I communicating to my Savior through the life He sees me living?”
• “What message am I communicating to my family through the life they see me live in our home?”
• “What message is my life communicating to those in my sphere of influence who are lost?”

Even though Ezekiel passionately warns Israel of impending judgment, there are still those who refuse to take God seriously. Ezekiel’s audience has adopted a “proverb” (12:22) that basically said (paraphrase), “With the passing of time, every warning of Ezekiel has proven false.” God had had enough of their smart mouths and pompous attitude and says to Ezekiel in 12:23–25, “Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord God; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision. For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the Lord: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord God.” In other words, brace for impact, because the hammer is about to fall! It is amazing how every generation somehow convinces themselves that they can live their lives like they want, and there won’t be consequences for their sin. The Bible is clear; sin always has a payday. (Galatians 6:7; Numbers 32:23) We must be careful not to confuse God’s longsuffering with apathy towards sin.

While Ezekiel was barking about the coming judgment of God upon their nation, the other “so-called” prophets in the land were prophesying “peace and safety”. (Ezekiel 13:10, 16; 14:9) The people chose to believe their message further demonstrating Israel’s arrogance. We see the same thing taking place even in our times, as Paul prophesied to Timothy in 2^nd Timothy 4:3–4: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

Notice that the prophets in Israel also foreshadow the soon-coming antichrist, who will come to power at the beginning of the tribulation period, proclaiming a message of peace and safety at a time when God’s vengeance and wrath will about to be unleashed on the earth. (2^nd Thessalonians 5:3; Revelation 6:2; Daniel 8:25) Just as God’s judgment was inevitable during the ministry of Ezekiel, so His judgment will be inevitable during the coming tribulation.

Chapter 16 serves as one of the most brutally descriptive images of our sinful condition, as well as His grace! This chapter is so graphic, and so powerfully indicting upon the Jews, that some of the ancient rabbis did not allow it to even be read publicly! God likens Israel to an abandoned child who was born of wrong parents (16:3), and left for dead in a field. (16:4–5) God sees Israel lying in her own blood, and says, “Live.” (16:6) God then blesses Israel with beauty (holiness), clothing (righteousness), and jewels/crown (rewards). He anoints Israel with oil (a type of the Holy Spirit) and makes her His bride. (16:7–14) But despite God’s amazing grace, Israel prostitutes herself to other nations and other gods. She continuously involves herself in spiritual adultery. (16:15–59) Ezekiel 16:60 contains one of the most powerful and beautiful words in the entire Bible: “Nevertheless”. Despite Israel’s broken promises, and lewd spiritual adultery in God’s very face, God still remembers His covenant, and promises an everlasting covenant. What a beautiful, yet solemn picture, of the reality of our life. It’s not because of our goodness or obedience that God keeps His word to us. It is because of God’s grace. Like Israel, we, too, continually forsake our God…“nevertheless”! (Ephesians 1:11–14; 4:30)

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

• As the BRIDEGROOM — Ezekiel 16 (Matthew 9:15; John 3:29)

OVERVIEW:

God judges Israel for their idolatry (Chapter 6); the severity of God’s judgment (Chapter 7); the vision of Jerusalem’s sin (Chapter 8); the vision of God’s judgment on Jerusalem (Chapter 9); the vision of the cherubim and God’s glory (Chapter 10); Israel is warned about the false security of Jerusalem. (Chapter 11)

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

As we make our way through the book of Ezekiel, we will find a particular title that is repeated throughout the book. The title “Son of Man” is attributed to Ezekiel some 93 times. This title appears a total of 193 times in the Bible. In Daniel 7:13, the prophet Daniel attributes this same title to the promised Messiah, which is why the title appears 84 times in the New Testament in reference to our Lord Jesus Christ. It is apparent by the Jew’s reaction to our Lord using this title to refer to Himself in the Gospel of Luke, that they understood that this title had specific Messianic implications. Luke 22:66–71 says:

“And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying, Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go. Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am. And they said, What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth.”

It also becomes apparent, as we make our way through this book, that Ezekiel is a type of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ezekiel ministered to the nation of Israel as a prophet and a priest during the time of exile, just as our Lord will minister to Israel as a prophet and a priest during the time of tribulation. Note also that the period of judgment and restoration pictured in Ezekiel foreshadows the judgment and restoration of Israel during the tribulation and the millennial reign of Christ.

There is also another key phrase we find repeated throughout the book of Ezekiel. The phrase, “know that I am the Lord” appears 77 times in the Bible with 63 of them in the book of Ezekiel alone. The reason it is repeated so many times in this book, is that the situation in Israel during Ezekiel’s ministry was, quite simply, the fact that they didn’t know the Lord! They had forgotten who God was. Israel had turned to idolatry (6:4; 8:5–16), having replaced God with man-made images. Israel had also been guilty of trusting in their wealth (7:19) and in the walls of Jerusalem (11:3) for security. Through their exile, judgment, and eventual restoration, God’s purpose was to remind Israel that He is the Lord!

Ezekiel’s visions of God’s judgment are precise and severe. Israel’s idolatry had begun at God’s temple, causing God to remove His presence (8:6), therefore, it would be at God’s temple where His judgment would begin. (9:6) Throughout the entire Old Testament, we find that Satan constantly desired to destroy the place where God’s glory was intended to dwell. Satan was successful during the exile, when Babylon, under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar, burned the temple in 586 B.C. The temple was rebuilt later only to be destroyed again by Rome in 70 A.D. May this reality serve as both a reminder and a warning that our enemy wants to destroy the place where God’s glory is currently intended to dwell, that, of course, being in us! May we realize, that just like in Ezekiel’s day, the enemy desires that we would turn to other gods (idolatry) through covetousness, and that we would turn away from God in an effort to find security and safety in temporal material riches and our own “self-made” walls. Just as God instructed that judgment begin at His sanctuary (9:6), we must evaluate our temple (our heart) to see if, like Israel, we have forgotten who God is. Perhaps the phrase God repeated to Israel throughout the book of Ezekiel applies to us today: “know that I am the Lord”! Our security must be in the only One who can truly keep us safe: God Himself! We must recognize, that He is “the Lord”!

God appears to Ezekiel for the third time at the beginning of chapter 10. (1:4; 3:23; 10:1) It is during this encounter that God reveals to Ezekiel that Israel would one day be restored. (11:17–20) This final restoration will usher in the millennial reign of Christ. How awesome it is, that even in the midst of tribulation, God promises deliverance!

SPECIFIC REFERENCES TO “THE DAY OF THE LORD”:

• 7:7 – “…the day of trouble is near…”
• 7:10 – “Behold the day…”
• 7:12 – “…the day draweth near…”
• 7:19 – “…the day of wrath of the Lord…”

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

• As the ONE MAN CLOTHED WITH LINEN — Ezekiel 9:2 (Revelation 1:13)