Ezekiel 35

Study Guide 65: Ezekiel 25-48 PROPHECIES OF HOPE Overview The ministry of Ezekiel had two separate thrusts. The prophet, one of the exiles in Babylon during the decade before Jerusalem was razed, warned the Jewish community there of the coming destruction. There was no hope that God would relent: the Jews would be torn from their homeland and the temple as well as their cities would be destroyed. The destruction of Jerusalem silenced the prophet. For 13 years he remained silent. And then Ezekiel took up yet another prophetic mission. Now Ezekiel’ s words contained a message of hope. God would surely bring His people back to the Promised Land, and once again they would be planted in the place where God intended to bless the descendants of Abraham. In this unit, we look briefly at some of Ezekiel’ s messages about the nations surrounding Israel. And then we look closely at the prophetic words of hope — words about a future for Israel which lies ahead of our day as well as Ezekiel’ s! The chapters in this unit cover material represented by II-IV of the following outline.

Outline I. Prophecy against JudahEzek. 1-24 II. Prophecy against Foreign NationsEzek. 25-32 III. Prophecy of RestorationEzek. 33-39 IV. Prophecy of the TempleEzek. 40-48 Commentary The different themes of Ezekiel’ s ministry are carefully organized in his book. The earlier prophecies against Judah, explored in the last unit, are found in the first 24 chapters of his work. Ezekiel’ s prophecies against foreign nations, about Israel’ s restoration to the land, and about a temple to exist at the time of Israel’ s Messiah, are also grouped together.

Prophecies Against the Nations: Ezekiel 25-32 The ancient covenant promise that God gave to Abraham echoes throughout the Old Testament. The Jews discovered their identity in their relationship with God as His chosen people. They saw their destiny in God’ s promise to Abraham of the land that had been called Canaan, and across the centuries has been known as Palestine, Judah, and Israel. Now Ezekiel showed that he, as well as other prophets, explained God’ s dealings with pagan nations through another aspect of that ancient promise. One of the several promises that God made to Abraham was, “ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse” (Genesis 12:3). This promise was now recalled as Ezekiel announced doom for the nations around Judah who delighted or participated in her fall. Edom’ s doom would come “ because Edom took revenge on the house of Judah and became very guilty by doing so” (Ezekiel 25:12). Philistia would suffer “ because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah” (Ezekiel 25:15). Tyre would fall “ because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘ Aha! The gate to the nations is broken . . . now that she lies in ruins I will prosper’” (Ezekiel 26:2). Egypt would be crushed because, “ You have been a staff of reed [e.g., a useless ally] for the house of Israel. When they grasped you with their hands, you splintered and you tore open their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke and their backs were wrenched” (Ezekiel 29:6-7). Thus the prophet reminded the Jews that the ancient covenant promises were still valid, despite their own wickedness. God kept His Word. Those who through history have sought the welfare of Jerusalem have prospered, and those who have been the enemy of the Jewish people have declined. Against Tyre. One of the most fascinating of Old Testament prophecies concerns the future of Tyre. This Phoenician city-state was rich in Old Testament times. Built largely on an island lying in the Mediterranean Sea just off the Lebanese coast, Tyre seemed to be impregnable. The ships of Tyre ruled the seas, and their trade brought her vast wealth. Yet Ezekiel warned that even the island state was not safe. Nebuchadnezzar attacked the mainland settlements of Tyre, and as Ezekiel foretold, “ set up siege works against you” (Ezekiel 26:8). While the island city surrendered in 573-572 b.c., it was not destroyed. The rest of Ezekiel’ s prophecy did, however, come true! Here is what Ezekiel foretold — and how it actually happened. They will break down your walls and demolish your fine houses and throw your stones, timber, and rubble into the sea. I will put an end to your noisy songs, and the music of your harps will be heard no more. I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread fishnets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. Ezekiel 26:12-14Much later, in 332 b.c., Alexander the Great led his small Macedonian army against the great Persian Empire. When Alexander marched along the coast to attack Tyre, that people refused to surrender. They simply retreated again to their island, sure their fleets would protect them against any possible attack. But Alexander did not attack by sea. In stead he threw the stones, timber, and rubble of the shoreside communities into the sea — and built a causeway out to the island on which Tyre lay! Attacking over the land bridge that he had built, Alexander and his forces completely destroyed the city. As the prophet of God had said, the land was cleared down to bare rock. Today one can visit that war-torn coast and see the causeway containing the ruins of ancient Tyre. A person can stand on the bare rock of the shore, and watch fishermen spread their nets. For the city of Tyre has never been rebuilt, as God through Ezekiel foretold. The “ king of Tyre.” Ezekiel 28:1-26 contains a message to the “ ruler of Tyre,” and also a “ lament concerning the king of Tyre.” There is no doubt that the ruler is a human being. But many feel that the “ king” referred to in these passages is not human at all. Instead they believe the “ king,” identified in the text as a “ guardian cherub,” is none other than Satan himself. If this interpretation is correct the passage looks back to an age before the creation of human beings, when Satan held an important position in the angelic order, stationed where Eden lay. Again, if this interpretation is correct it also describes the very origin of evil itself! What does the passage suggest? Satan’ s original state (Ezekiel 28:12-15). The “ king of Tyre” is described as the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty (Ezekiel 28:12). In that state the “ king” was “ in Eden, the garden of God,” and was adorned with “ every precious stone.” The phrase placing this “ king” on “ the holy mount of God” suggests a high position, as mountains in the Old Testament are associated with power and authority. Satan’ s fall (Ezekiel 28:15-17). The next verses examine the origin of evil in the universe. God did not create evil, in the sense of wrongdoing. Even Satan was “ blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.” Pride in his own beauty and splendor led to Satan’ s downfall, corrupting the perspective of this being and leading him to violence and sin. As a result the “ king” was expelled from his high position and thrown to the earth. Satan’ s future (Ezekiel 28:18-19). Satan will be destroyed by the flames of his own consuming evil, and his “ horrible end” will be witnessed by all creation. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT While this section of Ezekiel is interesting and significant in satanology, (a study of Satan), it has little to do with the thrust of this powerful prophetic book. So you will probably not want to deal with it unless you are teaching a special session on Satan. In that case, you will probably want to use this passage, with Genesis 3:1-24, Job 1:1-22, Isaiah 14:1-32, and possibly Matthew 4:1-25, and Revelation 20:7-10, to develop a more fully orbed picture of this truly evil being. To teach on Satan, place a series of questions on the chalkboard. Then distribute the various chapters to teams from your group. Each team is to see what answers its passage suggests to the questions, if any. The questions: Who is Satan? Where did Satan come from? What is Satan’ s relationship to evil? What is Satan’ s attitude toward God? What is Satan’ s attitude toward human beings? What do we know about how Satan operates? What is Satan’ s final destiny? What is God’ s attitude toward Satan? How should Christians think and feel about Satan? How vulnerable are believers to this wicked being?

Prophecies of Restoration: Ezekiel 33-39 It was 13 years after the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple that Ezekiel took up his new ministry as a prophet of hope. The Captivity that God had ordained for the Israelites was not permanent. A remnant would surely return to the land. In God’ s own time and in His own way, God would keep the promises He had made to Abraham and to David. Many conservative scholars are convinced that the pictures here of a return to the land refer not simply to the exiles in Babylon but express a basic pattern in God’ s dealing with Israel. According to this understanding, the pattern of scattering and regathering we see in the Old Testament operates even today! Thus the scattering of the Jewish people in a.d. 70, after the destruction by the Romans of Jerusalem and the temple, is a reflection of what happened some 500 years later. That scattering lasted not just for 70 years, but has extended to nearly 2,000! And, many believe, the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 was the first phase in a regathering yet ahead, but described graphically in Ezekiel 37:1-28. But there are several regathering themes in these important Old Testament chapters. The watchman (Ezekiel 33:1-33). Ezekiel compared the ministry of the believer sensitive to God’ s truth to that of a city watchman set on a high wall to guard against enemy attack. It was the watchman’ s duty to blow the trumpet and warn of danger so the city inhabitants could prepare for the attack. Those who heard the warning might not respond. But that was their responsibility. It was the responsibility of the watcher to give warning. This principle is often applied to Christian witness in our preaching. You and I cannot be responsible for how a person responds to the Gospel. But we are responsible to share the Good News. Like the Lord Himself, we can say, “ I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die?” (Ezekiel 33:11) Shepherds and sheep (Ezekiel 34:1-31). In this prophetic message Ezekiel condemned those spiritual leaders of his people who were supposed to shepherd them, but rather than caring for the flock of God, “ clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals,” ruling brutally for their own profit rather than for the good of the sheep. This message has a dual emphasis. First God said of the shepherds, “ I am against [them] and will hold them accountable for My flock” (Ezekiel 34:10). The predatory shepherds will be removed, and the sheep rescued from their care. Then the Lord said, “ I Myself will search for My sheep and look after them” (Ezekiel 34:11). This personal commitment is to be fulfilled by Jesus, who spoke of Himself as the Good Shepherd in John 10:1-42, in words that reflect Ezekiel’ s emphasis. I Myself will tend My sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak. Ezekiel 34:15-16But associated with the Lord’ s coming to shepherd His people is the promise of a regathering to the land! The Shepherd God will bring the sheep back from the nations “ and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel” (Ezekiel 34:13). There the “ house of Israel,” who are “ My people,” will be blessed endlessly (Ezekiel 34:30). The mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 36:1-38). In this unique prophetic message God speaks to the mountains of the Promised Land. The mountaintops, polluted by Israel’ s pagan worship and shamed by the trampling feet of enemy armies, have suffered divine judgment along with God’ s people. But in the future Israel will be cleansed and spiritually transformed. In that day the desolate land will be resettled, to become cultivated and fruitful, no more a waste. Here too is a striking prophecy of spiritual rebirth, one which parallels Jeremiah’ s great prophecy of a New Covenant. I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God. Ezekiel 36:24-28An image of the regathering (Ezekiel 37:1-28). So far each passage we’ ve looked at in this section associates the spiritual renewal and revitalization of Israel with both God’ s direct action, and a return of the people to the Promised Land. Now a spectacular prophecy outlines steps associated with that regathering. Ezekiel is taken by the Spirit to a valley. Scattered over it are millions of bones, dried and lifeless on the ground. At God’ s command, Ezekiel cried out for the bones to hear the Word of the Lord. In response there was a great rattling, and the bones came together. Sinews grew, and flesh and skin covered them. Then, last of all, the winds breathed life into the restored beings, and they “ stood up on their feet, a vast army” (Ezekiel 37:10). God explained the vision to Ezekiel. “ These bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘ Our bones are dried up, and our hope is gone; we are cut off’” (Ezekiel 37:11). Ezekiel was to inform the nation that God will open the graves (e.g., the lands to which Israel has been scattered) and will bring them back to the land of Israel. The restored people will at first be lifeless. But God will act again. “ I will put My Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land” (Ezekiel 37:14). Is this a description of modern Israel, a secular state whose citizens generally do not believe in the God of the Old Testament? Will the spiritually dead people one day be converted by a wonderful act of God’ s Spirit and, restored to their ancient relationship with the Lord, experience fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies? This is what many Christians believe. And it may well be exactly what Ezekiel teaches us in this significant section of his book. Certainly the rest of Ezekiel’ s picture of restored Israel has not yet had a historic fulfillment. For when that day comes, “ My servant David [that is, the Messiah, who will come from David’ s family line] will be king over them” not just for one generation but “ forever” (Ezekiel 37:24, Ezekiel 37:26). Gog and Magog (Ezek. 38-39). These two chapters describe an invasion of Israel mounted from the North. The ancient place names in these chapters have been identified. Many are currently located in the Soviet Union. Others are those loosely aligned today with Russia: Iran, Libya, and Turkey as well as the Sudan and northern Ethiopia. This coalition of states will invade as “ a great horde, a mighty army” (Ezekiel 38:15). While the attack will succeed initially, God will personally intervene and destroy the invading army (Ezekiel 38:18-23). The war material left behind by the invaders will supply Israel for years, and it will take seven months to dispose of the bodies of the crushed enemy. And, God said to Ezekiel, “ From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God” (Ezekiel 39:22). For then “ I will pour out My Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord” (Ezekiel 39:29). Interpreting prophecy. Each of the images in this section is prophetic in that each deals with events still future to the writer. So how are we today to take these vivid images? Are they images intended to convey spiritual truth about living close to God, or are they intended to outline what will literally take place on earth? While this issue is debated by sincere Christians, it is fascinating to note these facts: (1) Other Old Testament prophecies, like that concerning Tyre, and like the many concerning Jesus’ first coming, have been fulfilled in a literal way. The pattern established by already-fulfilled prophecy suggests a literal fulfillment. (2) Again and again these prophecies speak of Israel, and the physical seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are clearly intended. It is true that Christians today are members of the spiritual family of Abraham (Romans 4:16-17). But this does not make Christians “ Israel.” (3) Again and again these prophecies also speak of the Promised Land in the most literal possible way. The spiritual renewal they foretell is invariably linked by Ezekiel with a return of the people to inhabit the Promised Land. (4) Ezekiel linked the events he foresaw with the establishment of a Davidic ruler on Israel’ s throne. We know that that ruler is Jesus, the promised Messiah, God the Shepherd. We also know that He has not yet in any literal way established kingly authority in Israel — but that Jesus will return. While many different themes are associated with Jesus’ return, it is surely possible that the fulfillment of Davidic Covenant promises are included. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Let your group members explore these prophecies and debate their meaning. Divide the chapters between study teams. Each team is to find evidence for and against this position: “ The prophecies of a regathering for Israel were fulfilled when the people returned to Judah from Babylon.” Do not try to get complete agreement on this question. But do assemble evidence. Then discuss: “ If most of what Ezekiel was speaking of is still in the future, what might this mean for Christians? Based on current events, how far in the future do you think fulfillment lies?”

The Future Temple: Ezekiel 40-48 The rest of the Book of Ezekiel is composed of a detailed description of a temple to be built in Jerusalem in the day of restoration. The description intermingles the natural and supernatural, picturing a world that is distinctly not like our own — a world in which “ the Lord is there” (Ezekiel 48:35). Much of the controversy surrounds the description here of a sacrificial system — a system which is unnecessary because Christ’ s one sacrifice in making the New Covenant has perfected all who believe in Him (Hebrews 10:1-39). Why then, at a time when “ the Lord is present,” should animal sacrifices be necessary? The best way to look at the sacrifices and ceremonies of Ezekiel 42-46 seems to be to take them as memorials; constant and joyous reminders of the redemption which Christ has secured. In this context the prophecy of Ezekiel is parallel to the vision in Isaiah 60:1-22. There will be a glorious kingdom, to be realized only through God’ s personal presence among the redeemed when the “ tabernacle of God is with men” (Revelation 21:3, KJV). How rich life will be when Jesus returns, and the full meaning of Ezekiel’ s promise is experienced by all: “ I will no longer hide My face from them, for I will pour out My Spirit on the house of Israel” (Ezekiel 39:29).

Teaching Guide Prepare What does Ezekiel 34:1-31 suggest to you about your teaching ministry?

Explore

1. The thrust of this section is prophetic. Yet there are two “ lesson” chapters that can be directly applied to Christians today. Divide into teams to come up with three “ lessons for living” from the assigned chapter(s). Ezekiel 33:1-33 : What do we learn about witnessing? Ezekiel 34:1-31 : What do we learn about spiritual leadership?
2. Or, you may wish to jump from Ezekiel 28:1-26 into a study of Satan. If either of these two approaches seems better suited to the needs of your group, feel free to take the one you like best.

Expand

1. If you wish to explore the main prophetic thrust of these chapters, begin with a minilecture on the prophecy against Tyre. Read the prophecy in the text, and then tell how it was literally fulfilled in 332 b.c. by Alexander’ s Greek army.
2. Raise the question of how to understand the prophecies in Ezekiel 33-38. Have your group members form teams to look at specific chapters, looking for answers to questions posed in the “ link-to-life” above. Remember you are not trying to win an argument or have your group members make points. Instead you want to help them consider carefully all the evidence in these chapters and draw a reasonable conclusion. If you wish, however, you might conclude the discussion with a summary of the principles for interpreting prophecy.

Apply If Ezekiel were speaking of modern Israel, Russia, Libya and other Middle Eastern states, how should we respond? What difference would believing the end is near make in our values? Choices? Priorities?