38-Ezekiel 20 – 42

Ezekiel 20 – 42

Sep. 12, 2009

We will continue our study this week in the Book of Ezekiel in Chapter 20. Last week we began the book and looked at Ezekiel’s call from the Lord and also how he used his own body to act out some of the Lord’s prophesies to the Jewish people during their exile. This week in Chapter 20 some elders from Israel came to Ezekiel to ask a request from the Lord. God refused to let them ask then began to tell the men through Ezekiel the sins that had been committed by the people against Him from the beginning. At the end of the chapter Ezekiel was upset because the elders did not believe he spoke of the actual things that were to come, but that he only spoke in parables. In response to this the Lord gave Ezekiel, in Chapter 21, a parable to speak to the people. He told Ezekiel to tell them that the Lord would soon draw His sword against His people and cut off the righteous from the wicked. The Lord then told Ezekiel that the throne of David would be taken away until His Son comes during the latter years and reestablishes the throne of David in Israel. In Chapter 22 the Lord listed the sins of Israel to Ezekiel and told him their day of judgement was near. The Lord said the people were dross in His pure silver that He would burn off with fire in a furnace. The heat would separate the impurities from the fine metal that remained. He still uses this method today to drive the impurity of sin from us. The Lord said in verse 20-22 “As they gather silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into the furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in My anger and in My wrath and I will lay you there and melt you. ‘I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it. ‘As silver is melted in the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it; and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out My wrath on you.’” In the end of the chapter the Lord said in verse 30 “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.” No one could be found on earth so God sent His own Son to stand in that gap. In Chapter 23 the Lord told Ezekiel the story of two women. These women were named Oholah and Oholibah and were sisters. The two women also acted as prostitutes. The Lord also said that both sisters belonged to Him. In reading further we find out that the two women were pictures of God’s people, the Jews. Oholah represented Israel, and her sister Oholibah represented Judah. Oholah continued to be a prostitute even after the Lord claimed her and lusted after the Assyrians. The Lord allowed them to take her and she vanished from view. Oholibah was even worse than her sister. She also continued to be a prostitute and lusted after the leaders of the Assyrians, and also Babylon. The Lord said that because of her sin He would have her lovers rise up against her and place her into bondage and under judgement. This illustration was to show the Lord’s displeasure at what His people had become. The Lord spoke another parable to Ezekiel in Chapter 24. This parable was about a boiling pot. The parable was to mark the day the Babylonians laid siege to the city of Jerusalem. He told Ezekiel that Jerusalem would be like a pot, and its people would be like the flesh boiled in the pot in their judgement. Ezekiel was also told that he would suffer a great loss as a sign to the people. His wife was to die and he could not mourn her as a sign to the people that the desire of their heart would also be taken away. In Chapter 25 the Lord gave Ezekiel judgments against several Gentile nations. The Lord first turned His attention toward Ammon. He said the Ammonites would be taken over by the Babylonians because they tried to entice Israel to side with them. They had caused God’s people trouble in the past and believed falsely that their God perished with them. It was revealed in the Book of Jeremiah that a remnant of the Ammonites would be restored during the millennial reign of Jesus. Next the Lord turns to Moab. He said the Moabites would be removed along with the Ammonites. The remnant of Moab would be absorbed into the Arabian people. The Lord then gave Ezekiel a prophecy against Edom. Edom would also be judged and absorbed into the Arabs. Last in this chapter were the Lord’s words against Philistia. The Philistines had been a thorn in the side of God’s people since they entered the Promised Land so many years before. God said He would execute vengeance on them for what they had done. In Chapter 26 the Lord continued His prophesies against the Gentile nations. Here He turned His attention on the city of Tyre. Tyre was an important commercial center in the region where many people came to sell their merchandise. In the past their king had befriended David and Solomon and supplied the timbers and craftsmen for the work on the temple and palaces of Israel. They turned against the Jews later and sold them into slavery. God said he would put the city into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar and they would be defeated. Tyre had a large effect on Israel. The Lord’s words against Tyre cover three chapters in Ezekiel’s book. Because of their sin the city would be reduced to rubble in judgement. Ezekiel was told by the Lord, in Chapter 27, to take up a lamentation for Tyre. In the lament He equates the city of Tyre with a large merchant ship that is packed with cargo and destroyed at sea. The nations that had commerce with Tyre are named in the lament, also the ones who sent mercenaries to defend the city against Babylon. Even with this help the city would fall. In Chapter 28 the Lord turns to the king of Tyre. God said his pride would be his downfall. The man believed he was God and also wiser than Daniel, who had gained a great reputation during his exile. The Lord said that because of this attitude in verse 10 “You will die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers, for I have spoken!’ declares the Lord God!” In verse 11 the Lord shifts from the earthly king of Tyre to something else. This lamentation appears to be addressed to Satan and gives us additional insight on his origin. We learn about Satan’s beginning here in verse 12 “You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” Originally he was one of the Cherubim that guarded the throne of God. He was sinless from his creation until he turned against the Lord. His pride caused him to be cast out of heaven and face destruction. This will happen at the final judgement when he will be thrown into the lake of fire. He is now at work in our midst tempting us and accusing us before the Lord until his time of judgement comes. The good news is that we know that through Jesus Christ we have obtained victory over the Devil even though he still stands to accuse us. Near the end of the chapter the Lord spoke against Sidon. The city would no longer be a torment to Israel and would be destroyed by pestilence. At the end the Lord said that His people would be re-gathered into the land in the latter days. This is happening now before our eyes since the Nation of Israel was reestablished in 1948. The Lord continued to speak of judgments to Ezekiel in Chapter 29. In this chapter He spoke against Egypt. He spoke directly to Pharaoh and equated him with a great monster that lived in the Nile River. He said He would remove him from the river with hooks and the small fish of the river would cling to his scales. The monster would be destroyed on dry land. God said in verse 8-9 “Behold, I will bring upon you a sword and I will cut off from you man and beast. “The land of Egypt will become a desolation and waste. Then they will know that I am the Lord. Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I have made it,’” God said He would put Egypt into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar in the future. He also said in the last verse of the chapter“On that day I will make a horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth in their midst. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” This meant that they would then understand the words that Ezekiel had spoken. In Chapter 30 the Lord had Ezekiel also say a lament for Egypt. Ezekiel said the day would come when Egypt and her allies would be judged. They would be defeated by Nebuchadnezzar and made a ruin. The people of Egypt would also be scattered throughout the nations. Ezekiel was told to speak to Pharaoh, in Chapter 31, about the fate of Assyria. Egypt wanted to be in league with them to go against the threat from Babylon. Ezekiel warned Pharaoh that even though Assyria was once great, both of them would be brought down together. In Chapter 32 Ezekiel was told to speak another lament on Pharaoh and Egypt. He said to Pharaoh, out of pride you thought of yourself as a young lion of the nations, but as the Lord had said you were a monster of the seas. He was told that the time had come for him to be judged for his actions. In 587 B.C. the Lord came to Ezekiel and had him say to Egypt in verse 19 “Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and make your bed with the uncircumcised.” Egypt was defeated and reminded that they would join Assyria, Elam, Meshech, Tubal, Edom, and the Sidonians in the grave. Ezekiel was reminded of his duty as a watchman to the house of Israel in Chapter 33. He was told to warn the people of their evil ways and answer them with the words of verse 11 “Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?” The Lord said in verse 20 “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways.” Ezekiel was then told about the fall of Jerusalem by the refugees from the city. He was told in the end of the chapter that the people would soon begin to listen to him. In Chapter 34 the Lord spoke against the shepherds of Israel. These men were supposed to be leaders of the people, but they only looked after themselves. God said that because of this they would cease to be shepherds over His people. He then said that during Israel’s restoration that He would be their shepherd. God’s words here sound very much like His Son’s from the Gospel of John Chapter 10 in the parable of the Good Shepherd. In Chapter 35 the Lord turns His attention to a prophesy against Mt. Seir. This prophesy was against the Edomites who had always been in conflict with Israel. Where the Lord spoke against Mt. Seir in Chapter 35, in Chapter 36 He blessed the mountains of Israel. The Lord had now changed from words of warning, destruction, and judgement to His people to words of restoration. He said He would restore His people for His name’s sake. The Lord told Ezekiel in Chapter 37 about the valley of dry bones. He brought him in the Spirit to the middle of a valley that was full of human bones that were very old and dry. The Lord asked Ezekiel in verse 3 “Son of man, can these bones live?” Ezekiel answered “O Lord God, You know.” He then spoke to the bones as the Lord instructed and they lifted up and slowly reformed themselves back to human form and became a great army when the breath was put back into them and their life was restored. God told Ezekiel that Israel was as dead and dry as these bones, but in the same way they would be brought back to life in the future. The Lord said in verse 12-14 “Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. “Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. “I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it,” declares the Lord.’” He also had Ezekiel use two sticks to represent that Israel and Judah would be brought back together in the restoration. Also the kingdom of David would be restored. Chapter 38 begins the Lord’s prophesy about a future invasion of the restored Israel. This war has not yet occurred in our time. It is believed that this event will take place during the period of time known as the Great Tribulation. The names of some of the invading nations refer to existing enemies of the Nation of Israel today. These armies will go up against Israel in what they believe will be a final conflict. In Chapter 39 the Lord reveals that He will get all the glory from the war. He will stand up for His people and defeat the invading armies with no loss of life to His people Israel. The nation will now be fully restored and prepared for a time of peace and prosperity. We will finish up this week with the beginning three chapters of the section of the Book of Ezekiel that describes a new temple and lands in the future Israel. In Chapter 40 Ezekiel was taken in the Spirit to a future Israel where he saw an angel with a measuring rod in his hand. With this rod the angel described the dimensions of a new magnificent temple. In Chapter 41 the angel described the inner area of the temple, and in Chapter 42 the chambers of the new temple were described. This ends our study this week. Next week we will finish the Book of Ezekiel, look through the Book of Daniel, and begin the last group of Books in the Old Testament, the Minor Prophets.