Swords

 Ezek. 20:49-22:30
 

Welcome! Today we continue in our study of Ezekiel, looking at Chapters 21 and 22. I want to open today, however, with the last verse of Chapter 20.
 
Then I said, “Sovereign Lord, they are saying of me, ‘Isn’t he just telling parables?’” – Ezekiel 20:49
 
I start with this verse as a reminder that the chapter divisions in Scripture are much later editions made by editors and copyists of the scrolls of the Bible. This verse is addressed in the following prophecy in chapter 21.
 
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel and say to her: ‘This is what the Lord says: I am against you. I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, My sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north. Then all people will know that I the Lord have drawn My sword from its sheath; it will not return again.’ – Ezekiel 21:1-5
 
As we have been seeing in this series, God has given Ezekiel visions and prophecies warning his people of the coming final fall of Israel – more specifically, of the small part that was still standing, portions of the land of Judah, and within it, Jerusalem, the capital city. Some of the prophecies and visions focused on how God would remove His Spirit from the Temple, and with it, His protection over it. Some focused on the king, and some on the corrupt upper classes and the corrupt priests. Here we see a prophecy against the entire land of Israel, from south to north, and to all that live within it. The image used is that of a sword.

We Want to Be Like Them

Ezekiel 19:1-20:48
 

Good Morning!  Today’s passage from Ezekiel will cover chapters 19 and 20.  The passage can be viewed in 3 parts, so that is how we will consider them today.  Chapter 19 is a lament that also uses imagery like the parables we have seen in the last few weeks.  Most of chapter 20 is an answer from God to the elders of the exiled people of Judah in Babylon.  The last few verses of chapter 20 are another prophecy against the kingdom of Judah.
 
As we prepare to examine the lament in chapter 19, it is good to consider the conclusion of chapter 18.  It is perhaps the most important message of the book of Ezekiel.  This is God speaking.
 
For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live! –  Ezekiel 18:32
 
This year, I have been reading the New Testament from the Amplified Translation of the bible.  Recently, I was in the book of Ephesians.  One word stuck with me from chapter 4, verse 18.  The word is self-banished.
 
You must no longer live... alienated and self-banished from the life of God. – Ephesians 4:17-18 AMP
 
This is a complementary thought to Ezekiel 18:32. Our own ability to choose has an impact on whether or not we experience the life of God, or the life God wants to give to each one of us through His Son, Jesus Christ.  But sometimes, people separate themselves from Him.  They maybe do not realize it at first, but by their choices they banish themselves from a relationship with Him.
 
Much of the first half of Ezekiel is about the people of the nations of Israel and Judah and how they rejected God and banished themselves from Him to pursue idols and ideas which do not come from God or lead to Him.
 
Chapter 19 is a poem of grief over the loss of kings, but these losses did not have to happen.  The leaders of Israel rejected God’s way, the way of life.  Let us pray and then consider what happened to those who rejected the Lord.
 
Father God, show us from today’s passage what You desire for us to see and understand.  Help us to avoid the pride and other resulting sins which can separate us from relationship with You even for a moment.  Help us to draw near to You in repentance and trust.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

The One Who Sins

Ezekiel 17:1-18:32
 

Welcome! Today we continue in our study of Ezekiel, looking at Chapters 17 and 18. As we have been studying Ezekiel, I have seen many things I never noticed from past readings. One thing I have noticed is parallels between Ezekiel and the gospels. Just like the gospels, Ezekiel has sections that focus on parables. We are currently finishing up one such section. This section began in Chapter 15, which we looked at two weeks ago, in which the Lord gave Ezekiel a parable about the uselessness of the wood of a vine in comparison to the wood of a tree. Vines are not strong enough to make good furniture out of. Even more useless is vine wood after it has been through a fire. God compares such a burnt vine to the people of Jerusalem after they experience God’s judgment for their unfaithfulness. And last week, in Chapter 16, we saw an extended parable or allegory of an unfaithful woman. It describes how a cast out woman is rescued, her wounds treated, and then she is given fine clothing and jewelry and is transformed into someone like a queen. She is married, and she achieves fame as a result of who she is married to and how she now appears. But she chooses to live a life of unfaithfulness and wickedness turning all the good things she has been given into instruments for evil. Again this is an illustration meant to describe the unfaithful people of Israel who have also left their God for idolatry and wickedness. The parable concludes with God pronouncing judgment. This brings us to a third parable, starting at Ezekiel 17:1.

Sister Sodom

Ezekiel 16:1-63
 

Today we will tackle one of the chapters in Ezekiel that is rarely preached on or even read publicly. It isn’t necessarily ignored, like the chapters of genealogies at the beginning of 1 Chronicles for example, but people avoid it if they consider it too scandalous for ordinary consumption, with its explicit sexual language and imagery. So it is appropriate for me to issue a disclaimer here at the beginning of this message that this chapter may make you feel uncomfortable and may be difficult to explain to younger children - along with chapter 23, coming up in a few weeks.
 
This particular prophecy from Ezekiel is meant to be shocking. He probably felt personally disturbed by it when God gave it to him to pass on to the Israelites around him. But he no doubt understood that God was trying to get the people’s attention by any means possible and reveal to them the depth of their corporate sin and depravity. At the same time he was repeatedly making the case, like a lawyer, for the justice of God’s judgment on his people. Their exile, the destruction of Jerusalem, indeed all their suffering and punishment was completely deserved. It didn’t happen by chance and it would not just disappear on its own.
 
Fred set the stage for this section last Sunday with chapters 14 and 15. Chapter 14, you may recall, begins with a meeting between Ezekiel and some of the elders of Israel who had come to him for advice:
 
Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. Then the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?” – Ezekiel 14:1-3
 
You can almost see God shaking his head with frustration here. He had been giving his message through faithful Ezekiel, speaking repeatedly of sin and judgment, and yet these leaders were sitting there as though none of it applied to them. They were there to inquire of the Lord as though they deserved something good from him. They were not acknowledging the idols in their hearts. All this talk of judgment must be meant for someone else, some other bad people - not them.
 
We do this so easily as well. We read the warnings in scripture and think that they must be for someone else. We’ll be just fine. No one can see the idols in our hearts. But God is calling everyone to repentance! He wants to remind us just how bad our sin really is. Chapter 14 explains that he wants to “recapture the hearts of the people of Israel.” They have fallen in love with something other than him, but they think that it doesn’t really matter. God realizes that he needs to shock them to bring them up short and to get them to think, to make them consider their most basic affections and motivations, and to understand the dire consequences of abandoning their commitment to him.
 
He begins with the allegory of Jerusalem as a useless vine in chapter 15. The vine is disconnected from its root, dried up and partially burned. It is a mere shadow of the lush, fruitful vine that had come to represent Israel in the Old Testament. It is now good for nothing except fuel for the fire. In the same way, Jerusalem had not fulfilled her divine purpose and was now destined for complete destruction.
 
Chapter 16 today begins a new allegory. Jerusalem is now compared to an adulterous wife. God wanted the intimacy and exclusivity of a marriage relationship with his people, but they had been unfaithful by following after other gods and abandoning their love and commitment to the one true God. God wants to confront them with their sin in a way that will make a real difference.