E z e k i e l 1 - 1 2
A Devotional COMMENTARY BY Nate Wilson
CHAPTER 1
1:1-3 This first vision is set during the exile
in
1: 4-14 In this first vision, he sees a great
cloud that was bright rather than dark like a storm cloud and had lightening
continually flashing all in it. And in the cloud were four "living
creatures" which may have resembled the Pegasus or Centaur of Greek
mythology. (Maybe Ezekiel's vision is where the Greeks got the idea?) These
creatures had hooves like a calf, the head of either a man, lion, ox, or eagle,
two wings stretched up and two wings stretched out covering their bodies, and
they sparkled and glowed and shone. They were also in constant rapid motion,
directed by the Spirit of God, going wherever the Spirit dictated, turning
neither to the right nor to the left.
These angels may have been the cherubim,
which John the Revelator also describes around God's heavenly throne in Rev.
4:5-7-- the brightness and lightening are also part of John's vision, although
his four creatures had 3 sets of wings rather than Ezekiel's two sets.
During a time in Jewish history when
everything was going wrong and people must have wondered if God were really Who
He said He was, here God gives Ezekiel tremendous reassurance. This is a
tremendous display of raw power and energy. God is tremendously powerful and
full of energy to do whatever He wants. See the great living creatures He has
to carry out His will? They are strong as an ox, lethal as a lion, perceptive
as an eagle, and intelligent as a man. They are perfectly attuned to God's
Spirit and constantly do exactly as God directs them. They are not lethargic;
God is in constant divine intervention with the affairs of His creation, and is
quickly carrying out His will. The Exile was not the result of God's lack of
power, lack of glory, or lack of good angels to carry out His will!
God, this is encouraging for me, too, because
when You don't seem to be working in power and You don't seem to be bringing to
fulfillment the desires I have, it's easy to question You. Thank You for this
reminder that You are powerful and glorious as ever, You are constantly sending
fast, powerful, intelligent, sharp, perfectly obedient angels to carry out Your
plans around the earth. The problem is not with You; it's with me. Please
forgive me for doubting You and getting frustrated with You. Please forgive me
for my lack of sensitivity and obedience to You. Please let Your kingdom come
and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!
1:15-22 The description of the wheels of the
living creatures. Now we see some more similarities with John's
Revelation--What John may have seen as a third set of wings may be what Ezekiel
saw as wheels--both men describe them as covered with eyes. Both men also
attribute a green color of heaven--Ezekiel says the wheels looked the color of
beryl, a (usually) green gemstone and John used sapphire to describe the throne
room. There must be a quality of the heavenly vision that reminded these men of
gemstones with their bright, hard clarity--they could have used other organic
things to describe the color, but they used precious stones.
The wheels seem to simply further illustrate
the awesomeness and power and immensity of our God. The wheels were
"huge" and "awesome." They were "full of eyes all
around," indicating seeing everything. The wheels were part of the living
beings. Wheels indicate movement. God is not just transcendent, He is imminently
moving among the affairs of men. For some reason the wheels did not move by
turning--they were stationary and simply floated with the living beings
wherever they went. What does this mean?
1:22 Anyway, Ezekiel's attention to these
fascinating creatures shifts to the "expanse" above them. He again
uses a rock (crystal) to describe it.
1:23-24 The last thing Ezekiel notes is more
detail on the creature's wings--significantly that they made a lot of
noise--not just noise, but awe-inspiring and fearful sounds. The wings must
have been very large and powerful to sound like an army or an ocean. This
continues to drive home the power that God has at His disposal.
1:25 The crystal expanse is described now a
little more in detail as looking like a throne and being bluish in color
(sapphire), but even greater than that was God Himself seated on the throne.
Notice that Ezekiel keeps using the word "likeness" or
"appearance" in his description of these heavenly things. The words
he used probably don't fully describe what he saw--this was the best he could
do. God is much more awesome than we can possibly understand or describe.
!:27-28 A heavenly man who looked like
polished bronze glowing in a fire was on the throne, surrounded by the glory of
a rainbow. How right to fall on your face before this great God! He deserves
absolute homage. Can you imagine how awesome it would be to stand before God's
throne?
God, thank You for this reassurance of Who
You are. You say that I am blessed for believing without having seen, but the
fact that others HAVE seen helps me immensely.
CHAPTER 2 EZEKIEL'S DIVINE COMMISSION
2:1-7 God speaks from His throne, fills
Ezekiel with His Spirit and says He is sending Ezekiel out to speak His words to
a rebellious people. He admonishes Ezekiel not to be afraid of all the
hardships he will encounter and to be faithful to speak whether the people
listen or not.
Interesting that each time God gives a
command ("stand on your feet," eat this roll," and presumably,
"Say to them..."), God not only gives the command, but also causes
Ezekiel to obey. (He "made me stand," (v2.) "He made me
eat" (3:2).) God will not give us a command He will not enable us to obey.
He will "equip you in every good thing for the doing of His will"
(Heb. 13:21).
Interesting also that the God of the universe
allows Ezekiel to stand on his feet before Him instead of remaining bowed down
to the ground. Indeed, God calls us to be partners with Him in His work. What
an awesome thing to be able to STAND in God's presence because He desires our
company and our handiwork. What a humble God we have to be willing to let us
stand in His presence, great as He is!
Notice that Ezekiel is sent both to the Jews
AND to the Gentiles! (v.3- to "the sons of
God obviously is frustrated with the Jews,
the way He repeatedly calls them "rebellious" and
"stiff-necked" (9 times in this little section!) He then says in
Chapter 3, that the gentiles would be more apt to listen to what Ezekiel had to
say than the Jews! But God's mercy is still great because even in His frustration
at the utter rebellion and disrespect the Jews have toward Him, He sends them a
prophet to keep trying to speak with them. Even though He knows most folks
won't give this prophet the time of day, God still demonstrates His patient
love in sending Ezekiel! At least they will know there's a "prophet among
them."
Finally, God deals with the fear factor. He
discerns that the greatest barrier Ezekiel will have is his fear of the
difficult and unappreciated task before him. In v.6, God says, "Do not
fear/be afraid" four times in one verse. No matter how terrible the
consequences will appear to be, we must not be afraid to obey God. It doesn't
matter what people say; what matters is what GOD says.
CHAPTER 3
2:8-3:4: "But you do not be like that
rebellious house..." Even among God's people, He sets some apart. Ezekiel
is not to be like everybody else. This reminds me of the passage on the life of
Balaam in Numbers. After Balaam had gotten his young women to seduce the
Israelites and get them worshipping Baal, God sent a plague on the Israelites
in His anger. But there was a man who was different; His name was Phineas. He
was so jealous for God's glory and holiness that when he saw an Israelite man
going to fornicate with the Moabite whores, he chased them into their tent and
ran a javelin through them and killed them. God said. "Now finally I see a
man who is as zealous for righteousness as I Am! I Love it!" (Loosely
paraphrased!) And when God saw someone whose heart matched His own like that,
He was satisfied to stop the plague, and He praised and blessed Phineas. God
loves people who have an uncommon passion for Him. He longs to see it. People
set apart even from the many who are associated with His Name. Lord, let me be
one such man, and so let my children be! We don't want to be like the
rebellious house of American Christians, we want to be set apart for You in
uncommon devotion and obedience.
God gave Ezekiel a book of "weepings,
mournings, and woe" which He made Ezekiel eat! In many cases, God gave
words to the mind or ears of His prophets, which they were to repeat ver batim to the people, but to Ezekiel,
God gave words to EAT! He wanted the message to really become a part of him
("let it fill your bowels"). And even though it was a book filled
with woes, it tasted like honey to Ezekiel. God's word is always sweet. It is
so important to keep taking in God's word, the Bible. Nourish yourself
spiritually every single day of your life with it! And do not be satisfied with
someone else's book about the Bible--read the Bible straight for yourself. That
is better than a thousand devotional books. God help me to take my own advice
here!
Then God commissions Ezekiel to be a prophet
in
3:5 God ISN'T sending Ezekiel primarily to
speak to other nationalities, He's sending Ezekiel primarily to the Jews. The
good news is that he doesn't have to learn a foreign language, but the bad news
is that the home crowd will be a tough audience. (God acknowledges that He could
have sent Ezekiel to a foreign people--and those people would have much more
readily accepted the message.)
3:7 Our hearts and minds should be a mirror
of God's own heart and mind--no mirror is large enough to reflect all of the
world around it, so we cannot reflect all the infiniteness of God's heart and
mind, but we can surely reflect the part we see. And no mirror presents
flawless image--there will always be some warping or spotting or haziness, but
any mirror can reflect a pretty good image anyway. So it should be with God's
people--we should be showing a pretty good image of our God, despite our sins.
In so doing, people will associate us with our God and treat us as they treat
Him--with joy or indifference or scorn--when we come around. In Ezekiel's case,
the Jews will not listen to him because they won't listen to God.
3:8-9 Knowing this in advance, our God who
"will equip you in every good thing to do His will," does the
necessary equipping of Ezekiel for this difficult mission. God won't send us
into a battle we're not equipped to fight! He is a good provider. In Ezekiel's
case, what he needs is an unbreakable will that will persistently carry on no
matter how discouraging the circumstances. He needs a stubborn head that is as
stubborn for godliness as his people are stubborn in their rebellion. God says,
"I will make your forehead as an adamant..." Adamant was an early
term for emery stone and is used by scientists to mean diamond. It's the
hardest known substance and so it is used to file other substances down or for
drilling. This analogy is one of hope. The emery board WILL file down hard
surfaces; a diamond drill WILL forge through anything. God would give Ezekiel
what he needed to break through to the hard hearts of this people.
3:10-12 How much of God's message was Ezekiel
to retain in his heart and ears? All of it. Dear God, please help me to
remember all that You teach me. And please give me the perseverance to follow
the same command You gave to Ezekiel to speak even if they don't want to hear.
What kind of lunatic am I to be wearing a prophet's mantle? Why do I burn with
a vision that most of the people around me don't understand? Why do I plug away
at what seems futile? Why do I put myself through incredible levels of stress
when I could lead a very normal quiet life? Maybe it is the hand of God on me.
I may have always wanted to change the world, but now that I see what it takes,
I long for a peaceful, normal life. Perhaps that is only a vision of the
paradise beyond my grave. Lord, I am weak and discouraged, Please give me Your
strength to be faithful to ALL that You've commanded, and to keep speaking your
words even when it seems no one cares.
3:12-14 Twice the phrase "the Spirit
lifted me up" appears here. I suppose that is a physical lifting up into
the air and transporting Ezekiel back to the world of men. Ezekiel still hears
behind him, as he is carried off, the awesome sounds of the glory of heaven.
God, I feel like I'm in need of Your Spirit lifting me up, but in the direction
of heaven--I've had it with the world of men, I've just been immersed in
upper-middle-class professionalism for a month...and I am weary. I can imagine
Ezekiel would be loathe to leave heaven--he "went bitterly in the heat of
my spirit." I can sure sympathize with that. The only thing Ezekiel
mentions making him go back to minister to the people is God propelling him
that way--the Spirit lifted him and took him back, and the "hand of
Jehovah was strong on me." If God hadn't put Ezekiel there and steadied
him with a strong hand, who knows where Ezekiel would have been--there'd
probably be no book in the Bible by him. I can identify with this, too--I'd
love to go live in the woods and keep to myself, but I can't do that because of
God. God doesn't want His people to keep to themselves, He has commanded that
we go and make disciples, that we be salt and light in a dark world. Out of
devotion to my God, I must live in this city and minister to people, His will
being done, not mine. Dear God, please lift me up by Your Spirit and place Your
strong hand on me. I am too weak and discouraged to carry out Your will.
3:15 After that vision, Ezekiel just kinda
sits around numb for a week. He's living with the Exiles in Tel-Abib--is that
3:16-21 At the end of that week, God speaks
to Ezekiel again, clarifying what role Ezekiel is to play as a prophet of God
to His people. He is a "watchman," someone to hear God's words and
"warn" the people. This role requires a great deal of responsibility.
If Ezekiel fails in this role, God warns him that there will be blood guilt on
his hands. Why does it say that Ezekiel is to warn the people FROM God? That's
what is says right there in the Hebrew--the letter Mem is the preposition
"from" immediately preceding the word for "me" (God).
Perhaps it is to warn them from OFFENDING God, to steer them away from God's
wrath.
How is it that Almighty God invests the fate
of men's souls in a prophet? What a tremendous responsibility! If God tells
Ezekiel to warn a righteous or a wicked man from his wicked way, and Ezekiel
does not do it, then the man will go to hell and Ezekiel will be held
responsible. Does, "His blood will be required at your hand" mean
that Ezekiel will be forced to murder the man, or does it mean that Ezekiel
will be accounted as a murderer? Based on the other half of the warning that if
he does warn the man--whether or not the man heeds it, "you have delivered
your soul," it sounds like the latter interpretation is the best. Reminds
me of James 5:20 "Whomever turns a sinner from the error of his way saves
his soul from death and covers a multitude of sins." Further into the
passage, it is even scarier: "Since you did not warn the man, he will die
in his sin..." Heavy stuff!
How is it that God says in v. 20 that He
would put a stumbling block in the way of a "righteous" man causing that
righteous man to die in his sin, his righteousness not being remembered? Is
this speaking of a self-righteous man who appears righteous, but is not
genuinely God's child? Verses like this could be used to give credence to Arminianism--sounds
like the righteous can fall into sin and loose their salvation! And how does
God lay a stumbling block? James 1 says God does not tempt us to sin, yet here,
and in other O.T. passages, it appears that God does test His children with
temptations to sin in order to prove whose we are.
This "watchman" role is
significant. I am awed at the responsibility I have for the souls of people
around me. I don't want to be guilty of murder by not warning someone when I
should. Yet so many times, people get angry with me when I give a warning or
admonition--however gently I try to put it. Please Lord, give me grace to speak
warnings whenever You prompt me and to say Your words graciously that the
warnings might be accepted into the hearts of those going astray. I'm totally
dependent on You, Lord, in this--I can't do it on my own!
3:22-23 Now God sends Ezekiel away from the
people in order to deliver the next oracle. Out to the plains. Now, God COULD
easily show His glory and speak a message anywhere He wanted; He could have
delivered another message right there in Tel-Abib, where He did the last
message to Ezekiel. So why make Ezekiel change locations? Perhaps there was
something to going to a lonely place where interruptions are minimized, and no
other ministry responsibilities can call? It's true that God speaks to me in a
much deeper way through the Bible when I am alone in the morning before anyone
else awakes, than when I am in a Bible study with a group of people.
Interesting how Ezekiel prefaced the oracles
he received: #1 (Ch 1:1-3:13) and #3 (3:22-5:17) are both by the river Chebar,
but #1 is prefaced, "I saw visions..." and "the word of the
Lord," and the second (Ch 3:15-21) is just prefaced, "The word of the
lord came to me." It was not accompanied by a vision as the 1st and 3rd.
The 3rd is prefaced by "And the hand of Jehovah was on me" and
"behold."
When Ezekiel once again sees the glory of God
revealed to him on the plain, just as in the first vision, he falls down again
on his face. This is the appropriate response to revere the king of the
Universe, yet we do not pay such reverence these days. Lord, forgive our
insolence!
3:24 "The Spirit entered me and stood me
on my feet and spoke with me." Father, thank You that You have sent Your
Spirit to indwell me and that I have a relationship with You, Yet I do not feel
stable in my life--"on my feet" as it were, and I need You to speak
with me, to guide me as I am confused about what to do in my life next.
3:24-27 Now that Ezekiel has been called, his
first prophetic act is commanded of him, and it is not easy! God warns him that
it's going to result in harsh treatment: they'll drag him out of his house and
tie him with ropes (probably starving him) so that he can't go out and preach.
His tongue will stick to the roof of his mouth, and he won't be able to rebuke
anybody. It is the nature of rebellious people to forcibly cut off the source
of truth rather than respond to it. Prophets have ever been persecuted! But
even when Ezekiel is physically unable to prophecy, God will speak to him and
open his mouth and he will prophesy anyway. Who would possibly want to be a
prophet, then? That's just the point--I don't think anybody really WANTS to be
a prophet or is able to prophesy, it is a compulsion put on by the Spirit of
God. (It is, however, still subject to evaluation and to self-discipline as
Paul points out in I Cor.)
Chapter 4
4:1-3 So here are the instructions for the
first "gig."
Take a brick and engrave on it the city of
4:4-8 Ezekiel is to lie on his left side for
390 days, representing the number of years the Northern kingdom of
4:7-8 How could Ezekiel lie on one side for
390 days straight? God says He will put "cords" on Ezekiel so that he
"cannot" turn over. (God will supernaturally enable His people to do
what He has told them to do!) And while Ezekiel is lying there, he is to
prophesy over
4:9-15 And, God makes provision for His
servant Ezekiel's food, too, while Ezekiel lies there for a year and 2 months.
Just like God gave specific instructions about how Noah should build the ark,
He gives Ezekiel the exact calculations for the food he'll need for the first
390 days: 20 shekels a day (weight) of a mixture of wheat, barley, beans,
lentils, millet, and spelt, made into bread, 1/6 of a hin of water per day, and
also cakes of barley baked with dung. I'm not sure if this means the dung was
to be mixed in with the barley or if the barley cakes were to be cooked over a
fire using dung as fuel. Either way, it was a shocker. Ezekiel couldn't handle
doing it with human dung as God had said. Ezekiel, however, is respectful.
Instead of saying he won't eat human dung, he says, "Lord, I've never
eaten anything unclean before." God is gracious with him and allows him to
use cow dung as fuel instead of human dung as an ingredient. Whew! Why would
God change His mind like that? I guess it is His nature to be gracious and work
at our pace, and perhaps He didn't intend for Ezekiel to really "eat
shi_" in the first place, but wanted to drive home the fact that the Jews
would indeed do so under God's judgment.
4:16-17 What is the meaning of the directions
God has given Ezekiel concerning the food he is to eat? Basically it is a
prophesy concerning what will happen in
Chapter 5: Three Bundles of Hair
5:1-4 God told Ezekiel to get a sharp razor
(maybe a sword and a razor? There's no "and" in the Hebrew here) ,
and shave his head and beard. Ezekiel was to weigh out the cut hair, dividing
it into thirds. "When the days of the siege are fulfilled" --I assume
this means not the real siege, but after Ezekiel has laid on his side and laid
siege to his model city of Jerusalem--he was to start a fire in the middle of
the city and burn 1/3 of the hair he cut off, chop 1/3 of it to bits with a
sword, and throw 1/3 into the air for the wind to scatter, and wave a sword
after it as it flies away. Ezekiel is instructed to gather a few of the hairs
and tie them onto his clothes, then take some of the hair (from off his
clothes?) and burn them in the fire.
5:5-17 The interpretation follows: The hair
represents the Jews who were attached to God as His special people. God is
disassociating Himself from them, cutting them off and judging them for their
wickedness.
- 1/3
of the nation will die by plagues or starvation during the siege
prophesied in ch.4, as sanitation decreases and people get desperate
enough to eat anything (human waste 4:12, cannibalism 5:10). These are
represented by the hair thrown in the fire.
- 1/3
of the nation will die by the sword--by the Chaldeans during fighting.
These would be represented by the hair chopped to bits with the sword.
- 1/3
of the nation will be dispersed all over the world, chased out of their
homeland by the fighting, fleeing for their lives.
But some of the Jews, God will keep close to
Himself--men like Jeremiah, Baruch, Ebed-Melech, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hananniah,
Mischael, Azariah, and others of "the Remnant." And from that remnant
will come (v.4) "a fire into all the house of
This action of God is done with clear
purpose--because Israel/Judah has:
- "exceeded
the pagan nations in wickedness." (God even holds the
"goyim" accountable to His righteousness!) and "raged (in
rebellion) more than all the nations...not even kept the laws of other
nations"
- "defiled
My laws...not gone on in My laws" (legal system)
- "exchanged
My judgments for wickedness...rejected My judgments and not walked in
them...not done my judgments" (justice system)
- "defiled
my sanctuary with idolatry and abomination"
That is why God is exercising such severe judgment.
Now, God no longer attaches Himself to a
particular nation, but considers the church worldwide His special people or
"nation." He still exercises judgment on political nations, though.
I've been looking lately at The Wall Chart
of World History (Dorsett) which lays out 6,000 years of human
history, and have been struck by the futility of investing solely in political
nations. They rise and fall over and over again. Men have wasted their lives
living and dying to create nations that will just be destroyed a few years
later. Even every Godly nation has turned to evil, undoing the goodness of the
godly men who founded it. This was brought home to me after reading Lawhead's Pendragon Trilogy on the history of King
Arthur of
I know that it is right and good to apply all
of Scripture to all of life and to bring what we can into submission to God,
including culture and politics, but I despair in this and see a higher calling
to advance the kingdom within the hearts of men primarily and externally
only secondarily. God, please make me fruitful in spreading Your everlasting
kingdom to the hearts of more men.
What is the point of an oracle like this
given to people in
- Those
in
- News
was harder to come by in those days, and I'm sure the exiled Jews were
interested in what was going on and what was yet to come "back
home."
- Perhaps
it was too late for the Jews in
- Surely
there were Babylonians who saw Ezekiel too. Through these prophecies, God
could have let the Babylonians in on the big picture that God was in
control over THEM too, and that the God of the Jews was Someone to be
reckoned with!
Chapter 6: Judgment on
6:1- Interesting that God instructs Ezekiel
to give a prophecy to inanimate objects--mountains, hills, valleys! Of course,
it was intended for human ears. God knows the psychology of how interesting it
is to "listen in" on a sensational exhortation being spoken to
someone else!
6:3-7 God promises to bring "a
sword" that will destroy the city and all the places of idol worship. The
people of
6:8-10 Going back to the three groups of
Chapter 5,we've just read of the destruction of the first two groups destroyed
in the city and destroyed in escaping the city. The "remnant" group
is also mentioned again, those scattered to the wind--scattered among the
nations. But their fate is expounded a little further here than it was in Ch.
5. They will repent of their idolatry and remember God. The aim is the same for
the remnant, that "they will know that I am the Lord..."
6:11-14 God gets Ezekiel clapping his hands
and stomping his feet, but he's not singing a children's song, he's doing it
out of anguish, recapping his prophecy of what will happen to the first two
groups: The people besieged in Jerusalem will starve to death, and those
outside the city will be slaughtered. It is because of their idolatry that God
is angry and will vent His wrath until the idol-worshippers are all killed and
the land is laid desolate. God wants to turn their hearts from idols to worship
Him as God once again.
CHAPTER 7: The End is Nigh
"The End is Nigh!" cries Ezekiel.
Life is not going to go on as usual. God is not going to tolerate the sin in
His people anymore. He is going to bring utter disaster on them. When the
Chaldean army comes marching up, God wants His people to know that this is HIS
doing and that it is PUNISHMENT for their idolatry. It's not going to be a
petty war, it's going to result in the END of the nation of
7:15ff The people in the city will die of
disease and famine, and those outside the city will be slaughtered by swords.
This is going to be terrifying! Buying and selling at a time like this (7:13)
and even owning gold and silver (v.19) is pointless--it will not do anybody any
good. The foreign (v.21) army will plunder it all, even God's "secret
place"--the Holy of Holies in the temple.
7:25-27 This is a time of
"anguish," "disaster," and "horror." God's people
are going to be laid low by this invading army, and God will judge them for
their wickedness. But the result will be that "they will know that I am
the Lord.
The prophecies in Chapter 5-7 are very
specifically fulfilled. The "foreigners" were the Chaldean army. They
laid "siege" to the city of
Chapter 8
8:1 On the 6th year, 6th
month, 5th day, Ezekiel is sitting in his house. He has made a few
scathing public prophecies of the destruction of
8:3 God grabs Ezekiel by the hair, lifts him
into the air, and carries him to have a look at the temple in
8:5 What is the "idol of jealousy?"
Surely any idol makes God jealous. This idol was in the very
8:7 Then God reveals to Ezekiel an inner room
of the temple where the 70 elders of
8:12 Those fools think that God does not see
them. They are foolish enough to turn to idols when they believe the Lord has
disappointed them. (Lord please keep ME from such foolishness!) If they only
would have repented, they would have felt God's favor once again, but by
turning to other gods, they seal their doom.
8:13 God is incensed; He isn't through
showing Ezekiel all the things in His temple that provoke Him, so the
involuntary tour continues... Next God shows Ezekiel a group of women in the
Northern Gate, weeping for Tammuz. It's a safe bet that Tammuz was a false god.
Weeping for an idol. Oh, but are we any different? How much more emotion do we
express in the frenzy of a sporting event than in our private and public worship
of God? As God leads Ezekiel on this "abomination tour," He is
incensed that the women would work themselves up emotionally over something
that rivals God in their hearts.
8:16 The last stop on the tour of
abominations was to see 25 men in the
8:17 God asks, "Is it nothing...?"
Do we realize how seriously God takes any form of rebellion to Him? Lord,
please give me a sensitive heart to feel the way You do about sin, to
understand what a grave thing any sin is, rather than becoming calloused to the
sin around me and in me that I see every day. The people of
8:18 You want to make God mad? That's the way
to do it, and God says He will punish them severely and without mercy.
Chapter 9
Here is a picture of God's wrath and His
mercy--a revisitation of Passover. God summons six armed warriors, and goes
from the most holy place to the doorway of the temple to give them their
instructions. One of the men is to make a mark with a pen on the forehead of
every man in
God will punish those who rebel against Him, beginning with the church leaders. But God
will not punish those who are broken-hearted over the sins that break God's
heart. Even children can mourn for the sin being done in their land. God, it is
both scary and affirming to me to know that much of my life has been spent in
groaning over the abominations done among my own people--even in the church.
But then again, who would ever want to see God going out to slaughter all his
countrymen, even if they were in rebellion? God, I fear the retribution that is
surely coming to
9:8 At times like this, it is easy for
Christian and unbeliever alike to say, "Where is God? He isn't punishing
the sin!" The unbeliever will say it's because God does not exist or at
least does not see. Both may wonder if God has forsaken their land. It is for
this that God will not spare in His judgment: this thought that He has
"forsaken the land" or "does not see." To be honest, I've
wondered the former a lot to myself. How can what's going on be going on if God
is present and active in my land? Lord, please forgive me for thinking this. I
trust that You are doing what's right. I thank You for Your grace and mercy
which picks sinners out of bondage and does not destroy as we all ought to be
destroyed, but calls us sons.
Chapter 10
After seeing all these abominations and
judgments on the earth, Ezekiel is returned to a view of heaven. He again sees
the awesome cherubs that he is so fascinated with, and again sees the throne of
God. The description is no less awesome in the re-telling! Some new things
surface: The cherubs have a face, yet they are also said to have 4 faces. They
also had hands. The wheels are still there, yet they intersect in an
indescribable way. (It would be hard to describe an object that had four
spatial dimensions after growing up in a 3-dimentional earth--perhaps this is
like what Ezekiel was experiencing.) The main new action that happens is that
the linen-clad man (perhaps the scribe who was marking the elect to be spared
from destruction) is instructed to gather coals in his hands from among the
cherubim and sprinkle the coals over the city (presumably
Chapter 11
Now God shows Ezekiel 25 men at the opening
of the Eastern gate of the temple. Ezekiel notices 2 prominent leaders among
them. There are the men who lead the people of the city of
11:4 God tells Ezekiel to counter this with a
prophecy that the people--especially the leaders--have been arrogant and
ruthless, so God will bring upon them what they fear. More invaders will
forcibly take them into exile. They will not be safe in the city, nor will they
die in
11:13 So Ezekiel prophecies to the remnant of
people in
11:17 God promises that He will reassemble
the scattered remnant out of the lands and give the
11:22 Ezekiel sees one last glimpse of God's
glory, then is transported by the Spirit back to the exiles in
Is there some significance to the location to
which Ezekiel saw God's glory withdraw from
Chapter 12
12:1-16 God gives Ezekiel yet another
vision/drama about the surely-coming second wave against
It sounds like this time period is what is
recorded in II Kings 24 and II Chron. 36, when Zedekiah reigned for 11 years in
Jerusalem, rebelling against the Chaldeans, desecrating the temple, ignoring
the words of the prophets, and finally escaping through the wall one night, but
caught by the Chaldean army. Ezekiel prophesied in v.13 that Zedekiah
"would not see." What does this mean? God's accuracy in prophecy is
amazing! II Kings 25:7 says that the Chaldeans blinded Zedekiah's eyes before
taking him into
God still wants this "rebellious
house" of Jews to know that He is God. Even this exile is God's way of
drawing them back to Himself. However, Ezekiel prophesied that not all would be
exiled, and indeed, some of the Jews were left behind in
God, You know the future because You control
it. You warn Your people of Your judgment. You are patient in our rebellion,
but ultimately just. You destroy, and You also draw to Yourself.
12:17-20 Ezekiel is instructed to eat his
bread with trembling and drink with anxiety, to show how afraid and horrified
the people in Jerusalem will be when Jehovah brings the fullness of His wrath
upon them. (Dinner times for me need to be peaceful and relaxed. I'd get
indigestion if I had to act out this drama God told Ezekiel to do!) With this
comes the prophecy that the land will be desolated because of the violence of
the Jews. (Reminds me of Habakkuk's prophecy in ch.2, prophesying the coming of
the Chaldeans because of the "violence done...") Cities shall be laid
waste. Why? Again, so that the people may know that Jehovah is God!
12:21-28 God also tells Ezekiel to counteract
a popular belief that the time of judgment is yet far off and that the
prophets' words of judgment would never come to pass. Often when God speaks of
what He is going to do, it takes faith to believe it. I think of Sarah who
didn't believe she would have a son and of Zechariah who was made voiceless for his unbelief that God would
give him a son. Habakkuk's vision required faith "that the one who reads
it may run, for the vision is yet for the appointed time... It will surely come
to pass." There may be interminable waiting--perhaps 100 years as in
Abraham and Noah's case before Isaac and flood, respectively--years in which we
may doubt the veracity of God's word. Cling fast to what is true, though.
Ezekiel is to tell the people that the time is coming very soon when the
prophecies of judgment will be fulfilled and then there won't be any more false
prophets and fortune-tellers in
Ezekiel is to assure the people that God will
make good on His word without further delay. Notice the phrases indicating God
had held back judgment in times past ("not be delayed again" v.25 and
"will not be delayed any longer" v.28) There were times when Godly
men received God's blessing, and God did not vent His wrath. Other times, godly
men beseeched God not to vent His wrath when they deserved punishment, and God,
for their sake, relented. Still other times, it may be the patience of God
alone that stays His wrath, for as Peter says, "His patience is
salvation"--by waiting a little longer, He can draw more souls into His
kingdom. But none of these things were in place in Ezekiel's time. It was time
to punish thoroughly.
Dear God, please give me the faith to wait
patiently on You rather than giving up on You. I think of things where my faith
is exercised to its limit: reaching 100% of our fund-raising budget, finding
stable housing, getting a co-worker at Caleb Project... I have waited years now
without seeing the fulfillment of these things, and have suffered want. I
wonder if You will ever fulfill these things. I also think of the judgment on
our country that we discern to be eminent, when, to all appearances, everything
is going normally with no hint or apprehension on the part of people around us
that judgment is just around the corner. Lord, have we heard aright from You?
If so, please strengthen our faith to keep trusting in You and help us to know
what to do to prepare for their fulfillment.
To see commentary on chapters 13-24, click here
