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 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 during 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)