2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 254

Sep10

    Day 254—We are in the NINETH month of Bible reading, with more of Israel’s history and the conclusion of EZEKIEL’s prophecy.

    Day 254– Ezekiel 46-48 (Visions and instructions of the new temple, offerings, the prince, the freshening river, and future land divisions)

Ezekiel 46. This chapter itemizes many of the feasts and sacrifices/offerings that will take place in this new, huge temple area. Also, practically, it describes kitchens where the meats and grains will be boiled for the Priests’ use.

An interesting point is about the three gates of the temple courtyard. Only the “prince” shall use the East gate, and when the people come in to worship, they will enter either at the South or North gates and exit at the opposite ones. (North to South, South to North).  It’s suitable for traffic flow, but it may illustrate that the people go out “different” after worshiping the LORD GOD.

Ezekiel 47. This chapter portrays an amazing, cleansing, freshening, life-giving river that begins as a stream from under the temple’s threshold.  It flows between the temple and the altar and seems to seep out the south side.  In the vision, the Bronze builder leads Ezekiel in increments of 1,000 cubits (1,500 feet) along this rapidly increasing river, showing him how it gets deeper and deeper until it’s above the prophet’s head.  It eventually flows into the Dead Sea (Salt Sea), making the water drinkable and teaming with fish. Plants and fruitful trees grow along its banks.  (It’s interesting to read that a few marshes are left intact, so needed salt can be gathered.)

In this chapter (and part of Ezekiel 48), the slightly enlarged land of Israel is divided into tribal allotments. Some are similar, but for the most part, the allotments are different from those in Joshua’s time. They seem more evenly divided and are in horizontal bands from North to South. Dan is included, although it is omitted in the list at the beginning of Revelation because of its sin. Now, it seems they are united again with all the tribes of Israel that God has brought back from the two exiles (Assyria & Babylon) when they were scattered throughout the world.

Ezekiel 48b.  Even the priests and Levites get land of their own to live on.  The Temple city in the Holy Portion is now called the “The LORD is There” (YHVH Shammah) and has a circumference of 6 miles, with three gates on each side.  The twelve gates are named for the twelve original tribes of Israel. (North gates – Reuben, Judah, Levi; East gates – Joseph, Benjamin, Dan; South gates – Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun; West gates – Gad, Asher, Naphtali.)  

Interestingly, the New Jerusalem described in Revelation 21:10-14 has 12 gates, 3 on each side, with the names of the tribes of Israel, one on each. It ALSO has 12 foundations with the names of the apostles, one on each. 

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Tomorrow: Joel.

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 252 & 253

Sep9

    Days 252 & 253—We are in the NINETH month of Bible reading, with more of Israel’s history and EZEKIEL’s prophecy.

NOTE: Both Sunday and Monday studies are posted on Monday.

    Day 252 – Ezekiel 40 – 42 (Ezekiel’s vision of the New Temple)

For the next few days, you architects and builders, get your tape measures and drafting tools ready!

Ezekiel 40. Twenty-five years after Ezekiel went into captivity and fourteen years after Jerusalem fell, the LORD took him back to the city in a vision and stood him on a high mountain. A “builder man” in bronze with his measuring tools appeared. God told Ezekiel to write down all the man showed him.

(The dimensions of this new temple complex are huge, way surpassing the small one the returning exiles would build and even Herod’s.  THIS temple is way off in the future – in Christ’s millennial reign.)

The Bronze Builder begins with the outer court. If you get confused with cubits, “long” cubits, and handbreadths, remember a cubit is 18 inches, a handbreadth is 3 inches, and a long or royal cubit is the sum of these, 21 inches.  The Bronze Builder’s rod, or reed, was 10 1/2 feet long. This is the height and depth of the outside wall, not very tall, but enough to show the separation between holy and common.

Next, he measures and describes the East Gate (the one leading into the entrance of the Temple), the Outer Court of the Temple, the North and South Gates, the Inner Court and chambers for the priests, and finally, the Vestibule (or porch) of the Temple.

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Ezekiel 41. This chapter describes the Temple itself. (Read 1 Kings 6-7 to compare it to Solomon’s Temple). It is twice the size of Moses’ Tabernacle but the same as Solomon’s building. Decorations were carved cherubim and palm trees.

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Ezekiel 42. Many priestly chambers (rooms) and passageways are described in this chapter, particularly those where the priests prepared themselves to minister in the Holy Places.  The outer dimension of the Temple complex was 750 feet square.

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    Day 253 – Ezekiel 43 – 45 (Got continues to show Ezekiel visions of the NEW Temple, His Glory, the priests, and the prince)

Ezekiel 43. Remember, at the beginning of the book, Ezekiel saw the Glory of the LORD – on its wheeled, cherubim-flying glorious throne – leaving the Temple (full of abominations) and joining His people in captivity.  Now, God shows Ezekiel the Glory of the LORD, returning through the East gate and entering the Temple.  Again, the prophet falls on his face. Then the Spirit of the LORD lifts him up and takes him to the inner court. There he sees the glory of the LORD filling the temple.  “This is the place of my throne where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will no more defile My Name.”

Ezekiel is told to describe this temple to the exiled people, so they will be ashamed of their iniquities. He is also to remind them of the statutes and laws they are to observe.

It’s interesting that the bronze altar is described in detail, as well as all the animals to be sacrificed on it in this new era… burnt offerings and peace offerings. “And I will accept you, declares the Lord GOD.”

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Ezekiel 44.  God then takes Ezekiel back out to the East gate and tells him the gate is to remain closed because the Glory of the LORD has come through it.  Only “the Prince” may come in and go out through it.  Then God warns him that even though the North gate, no “unclean” person shall enter it.  The rest of the chapter reviews the laws about the Levitical priests, their clothing, their marriage status, and their foods.

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Ezekiel 45. The LORD then tells Ezekiel about an area around the Temple complex which He calls “the Holy District”  It is reserved for those who minister in the sanctuary; the priests and Levites.   There is also to be portion for the Prince in the Holy District.  And at the heart is an area that is one mile square, for those in Israel as well as the world to come and worship the LORD.

God then tells Ezekiel the schedule of offerings and celebrations throughout the year, including Passover and Unleavened bread in the first month.

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NOTE: Chapters 43-48 are some of the most challenging chapters in the Bible to interpret and understand.

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 251

Sep7

    Day 251—We are in the NINETH month of Bible reading, with more of Israel’s history and EZEKIEL’s prophecy.

    Day 251– Ezekiel 37 – 39 (Prophecies of Israel’s future and distant enemies)

Ezekiel 37. “Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones, Hear the word of LORD.”   This chapter is where that old spiritual came from. 

God shows Ezekiel a vast valley filled with unconnected dry bones and tells him to walk around through them.  “Can these bones live?” God asked him. “Only You know,” the prophet answered.

God tells him to prophesy over them, “O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.  Behold, I will cause breath (spirit) to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

And as Ezekiel prophesied, a rattling sound began, and the bones came together, bone to bone. And sinews…flesh…and skin. And at God’s prophecy, breath (spirit) comes and breaths on the slain, and they live, an exceedingly great army.

This is the picture and promise of God of the resurrection of national Israel. The nation seems to be destroyed, its city and temple gone, its people scattered, but God promises to one day give them new life back in the land.

The “object lesson” that God gives Ezekiel next (marking two sticks, one for Ephraim and one for Judah, then tying them together) is to show that BOTH northern and southern kingdoms will return, and be joined together as one with ONE king from the line of David (Messiah).  “They shall have one Shepherd. They shall walk in my rules….I will make an everlasting covenant with them, set them in their land, multiply them, set my sanctuary in their midst forever….I will be their God, and they my people. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel.”

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Ezekiel 38 and 39.  These chapters tell of a future northern confederacy of nations (Magog and their prince, Gog) who will invade Israel. These titles are referred to again in Revelation 20:8.  This most likely refers to the final world uprising against Jerusalem, its people, and Messiah King.  The attack will come from Barbarian nations all around, not just the north. (Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Cush, Put, Gomer and all his hordes, Beth-Gogarmah from the north and all its hordes, many peoples, including Mongols and Huns).

Ezekiel’s prophecy shows that God puts it into their minds to attack His people, advancing on them like a storm. “You will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your hordes and many peoples with you.”

But God will miraculously save His people via a great earthquake, mountains thrown down, cliffs falling, and every wall tumbling to the ground.  God will “rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples with him torrential rains, hailstones, fire, and sulfur. He will show His greatness and His holiness and make Himself known in the eyes of many nations.”  “I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands, and they shall know that I am the LORD.

Then Israel shall go out and pick up the spoil, burning weapons as fuel for seven years!  And Israel will bury the hordes of Magog for seven months…. to cleanse the land.  God tells Ezekiel to speak to the birds and beasts to come help them by feasting on their bodies.

And God will “set his glory among the nations to see his judgment. And the house of Israel will KNOW that He is the Lord from that day forward.  God will restore their fortunes, forget their shame and treachery, and “pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel.”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 250

Sep6

    Day 250—We are in the NINETH month of Bible reading, with more of Israel’s history and EZEKIEL’s prophecy.

    Day 250– Ezekiel 34 – 36 (Messages of comfort, hope, God’s grace and faithfulness to His promises)

Ezekiel 34. Prophecy against Israel’s past “shepherds” (kings, priests, prophets) who “fleeced” the sheep for personal gain. Wearing their wool and eating their fat, while the sheep were not fed, cared for, or gone after when they strayed. 

In contrast, Ezekiel shows the LORD as their good shepherd.  “I will seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they were scattered… And I will feed them with good pasture.  There, they will lie down in good grazing land, on rich pasture. I will seek the lost, I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak. I will feed them in justice.”  (Sounds so much like Psalm 23!)

God promises to make a covenant of peace with them.  They will dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.  He will  send down showers in season – “showers of blessing.”

“You are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord GOD.”

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Ezekiel 35. Although it’s not said, Ezekiel prophesies against Mount Seir (Edom) as though they were false shepherds, too.  “BECAUSE you cherished perpetual enmity and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment, THEREFORE…..I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you because you did not hate bloodshed.”     

“AS you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, SO I will deal with you; you shall be desolate, Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

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Ezekiel 36. Next, Ezekiel is to prophesy to the ancient land, “O mountains of Israel hear the word of the LORD.  Say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys….. You, O mountains of Israel shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home.

But, unless Israel (and we too) forget, this grace and mercy is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned. I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, and the nations will know that I am the LORD. 

“I will gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses and from all your idols.

I will cleanse you.

I will give you a new heart,

A new spirit I will put within you.

I will remove the heart of stone… and give you a heart of flesh.

I will put my Spirit within you, cause you to walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules.

I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses.”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 249

Sep5

    Day 249—We are in the NINETH month of Bible reading, with more of Israel’s history and EZEKIEL’s prophecy.

    Day 249– Ezekiel 31 – 33 (Pharoah, Egypt & Assyria, Ezekiel as watchman, Jerusalem fallen)

Ezekiel 31. Egypt and its leader are metaphorically compared to a towering tree that dominates the forest and a nation that dominates the world.  Then Ezekiel warns them that, like great Assyria, compared to a cedar in Lebanon, God could and will easily topple it.

“Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height, I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out.”  “This is Pharaoh and all the multitude, declares the Lord God.”

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Ezekiel 32  is a lament over Pharaoh and Egypt. God says they considered themselves like a great lion or dragon, but He will easily “throw his net over them, cast them up on the ground, and let the birds and beasts of the earth gorge on them.”  How will this be done?  “The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon them and cause their multitudes to fall.” And God will make the land of Egypt desolate.

Then, there is a picture of Egypt and her mighty chiefs in Sheol (the grave), along with other great and fallen nations. Assyria is there. Elam is there, along with Meshech-Tubal, Edom, and Sidon. Pharoah and all his army are laid to rest among the uncircumcised… declares the Lord GOD.

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Ezekiel 33 portrays Ezekiel as a watchman over the house of Israel.  When he hears a word from the LORD, he must speak it and warn them.  A watchman who warns the people will be saved, even if the warned people do not listen to him.  But if the watchman fails to warn the people and they perish, their blood will be on his hands.

Then God tells Ezekiel His desire for the wicked. “As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?”

On the other side of the coin, Ezekiel must tell them that the “righteousness of the righteous” shall not deliver them either.  “If he TRUSTS in his (own) righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done, he shall die.”   But if he turns from his sin and does what is right, he shall surely live and not die. None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him.

Still, Israel’s heart is hard. “YOUR way is not just!” they tell their God.   Whoa!!

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And then….on the 12th year of their exile to Babylon, in the 10th month, and on the 5th day….a fugitive from Jerusalem comes to tell Ezekiel that “THE CITY HAS BEEN STRUCK DOWN.”

“Then they will know that I am the LORD when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations that they have committed…..”

(Oh, American, wake up too!)

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 248

Sep4

    Day 248—We are in the NINETH month of Bible reading, with more of Israel’s history and EZEKIEL’s prophecy.

    Day 248– Ezekiel 28 – 30 (prophecy and lament against the Prince of Tyre, with metaphor, Sidon, plus prophecy and lament for Egypt)

Ezekiel 28. The word of the LORD continues against the prince (or leader) of Tyre because of his PRIDE in saying he was “a god.”

Yet the LORD says, “Yet you are but a man and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god.”   “Because you make your heart like the heart of a god, therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you, the most ruthless of nations….they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor.”

Verses 13-15, speaking of the king of Tyre in metaphor, is often taken for a description of Satan. Perhaps it’s good to consider the powerful, proud king of Tyre as being used by Satan, much like the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14:3-23. And in both cases, the supreme sin is of PRIDE.

Next a prophecy against Sidon, which was a sister port city to Tyre.  Even in the times of the Judges it had a corrupting influence on Israel. It was the center of Baal worship, and where Jezebel was from.  God promises to execute judgment (death by pestilence and sword) on Sidon and to “manifest my HOLINESS in her” (as opposed to corrupt idol worship).

The last of chapter 28 speaks of the opposite end of Israel — restoration.  “…then they shall dwell in their own land that I gave to my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall dwell securely when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt.”

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Ezekiel 29 & 30 are prophecies against Egypt.  God has set his face against Pharaoh, calling him the great dragon that dwells in the midst of his streams, who says, “My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.” (Again, PRIDE precludes a fall.)  God says he will draw him out of the water and throw him into the desert…“Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD.”

“I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I put my sword into the hand of Babylon, and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

Egypt was to lay dormant for forty years (after they fell to Babylon), then God would restore them, but not to a world power again to which Israel would run for help. They would be a “lowly kingdom.” (Because Nebuchadnezzar “put an end to the wealth of Egypt.”)

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 247

Sep3

    Day 247—We are in the NINETH month of Bible reading, with more of Israel’s history and EZEKIEL’s prophecy.

    Day 247– Ezekiel 25 – 27 (Prophecies against  seven other nations around Israel)

Ezekiel 25. In this chapter, the LORD, through Ezekiel, prophesies vengeance on five city-nations surrounding Israel, giving the reason for each pronouncement. Ammon, Moab, Seir, Edom, & Philistia all gloated over the fall of Israel, Jerusalem, and the Temple when Babylon invaded, saying that this proved Israel’s God, the LORD, also failed.

When God enacted his judgments on them, they would “know that I am the LORD.”

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Ezekiel 26. This chapter and the next two are against Tyre, the kingdom-city north of Israel. In David’s and Solomon’s time they were friendly, supplying their great cedars in the building of the Palaces and the Temple. Later they were involved in selling Jews as slaves. They boasted of their incredible commercial success.

“For thus says the Lord GOD; Behold I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings (because he’d conquered so many kingdoms), with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of soldiers. He will kill with the sword your daughters on the MAINLAND. He will set up a siege wall against you…..”  

The following verses could also picture the successive attacks “wave on wave” by the Greeks who brought ships against it, and the Saracens until Tyre is finally totally destroyed in the 4th century, “I will make you a bare rock. You shall be a place for spreading nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I am the LORD; I have spoken.”     “I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more.”

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Ezekiel 27.  Here, the LORD tells Ezekiel to “raise a lament over Tyre.”  The chapter describes Tyre as a great trade ship destroyed on the high seas.  Sections describe the commercial glory of Tyre with the nations around the then-known world,  Greece, Spain, Asia Minor, Assyria, Turkey, Rhodes, Syria, Arabia, and Mesopotamia.

In verses 26-27, Tyre’s fall is pictured as a shipwreck on the seas. The “east wind” pictures Babylon.  “Now you are wrecked by the seas, in the depths of the waters; your merchandise and all your crew in your midst have sunk with you. All the inhabitants of the coastlands are appalled at you, and the hair of their kings bristles with horror; their faces are convulsed. ….you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 245 & 246

Sep2

    Days 245 & 246—We are in the NINETH month of Bible reading, with more of Israel’s history and the prophecies of Ezekiel.

NOTE: Sundays and Mondays are posted together.

    Day 245– Ezekiel 21 – 22 (The sharp & polished “sword” of Babylon judging Jerusalem/Judah, the end of turban and crown in Israel, bloody sins in Jerusalem returns upon her.)

Ezekiel 21. Ezekiel is to “groan with breaking heart and bitter grief: before the people because God is “drawing a sword against all flesh from the north to the south…“to cut off from you both RIGHTEOUS and WICKED.”

God is to judge the RIGHTEOUS?

Remember in Genesis when Abraham prayed the wicked city of Sodom would be spared judgment because his nephew, Lot, lived there. God agreed to spare it if just TEN RIGHTEOUS people could be found there.  Well, Lot was the only one, and God saved him and his immediate family but destroyed the city.  IN EZEKIEL 22:30, God said He looked for ONE RIGHTEOUS MAN in Jerusalem that He should not destroy the city…but He found NONE. No, not one. (Romans 3:10-14)  Wow.

And now God (the swordsman) is using Babylon as His sharp and polished sword (21:19) to “slaughter” the wicked.   God especially speaks against Judah’s last king, Zedekiah. “And you, O profane wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day has come, the time of your punishment.”

God also says, “Remove the turban and take off the crown.  Things shall not remain as they are. A ruin, ruin, ruin, I will make it. This also shall not be until HE comes, the One to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to HIM.”  This says that neither the office of king or priest will be fully restored after captivity….until the Messiah takes BOTH.   This judgment begins “the times of the Gentiles.”

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Ezekiel 22.  In verses 4-13, God, through Ezekiel, lists more than 17 kinds of sin condemning Jerusalem (their blood-guiltiness). More are listed in verses 25-29.

God tells Ezekiel (and us) that “the house of Israel has become dross to me, like bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the furnace when you smelt silver.”  All are to be melted and burned off.  And so, “I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, says the Lord GOD.”

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    Day 246 – Ezekiel 23 – 24 (More metaphors, dark, bloody, and a shared grief)

Ezekiel 23. This is a dark chapter, with an obscene metaphor for the capital cities of Israel: Samaria & Jerusalem, and how they acted as lewd, adulterous wives of the Lord in their idolatry.

God gives Samaria the name Oholah and Jerusalem the name Oholibah. Both “played the whore” in a spiritual sense, seeking fulfillment and security from other nations and their idols. And as “Oholah” was taken into Assyrian captivity, “Oholibah” learned nothing and lusted after the pagan power of Egypt and Babylon, and will be taken away too.  Some parts of the chapter portray spiritual unfaithfulness in graphic sexual terms.

God, therefore, stirred up these cities’ “lovers” to deal with them in fury, God’s fury for being so shamed when He was a faithful and loving “husband.” These nation-lovers will “cut off the noses and ears of the unfaithful “wives,” and the survivors will be burned with fire.”  “They will “strip them of their clothes and take their beautiful jewels.”object lesson  And so, God will put an end to their lewdness and their whoring brought on them because they defiled themselves with idols.”

In Verses 36-49, God tells Ezekiel how to judge Oholah and Oholibah, first with their “nation-lovers” whom they pursued, turning to them and using them brutally as whores.

For thus says the Lord God, “Thus will I put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not commit lewdness as you have done. And they shall return your lewdness upon you, and you shall bear the penalty for your sinful idolatry, and you shall know that I am the LORD GOD.”

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Ezekiel 24.  In this chapter, God sends word to Ezekiel (900 miles away in Babylon) that right then, the city of Jerusalem is under siege by the king of Babylon.  God compares the inhabitants of Jerusalem to bloody pieces of meat ready for the boiling cauldron. God gives the harsh proclamation, “I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds, you (Jerusalem) will be judged.”

Then Ezekiel performs another harsh “object-lesson.”  His wife dies, but he is not allowed to mourn or weep. He can sigh, but not aloud, and make NO MOURNING for the dead. This is an example to the Jews in Babylon not to mourn the fall of Jerusalem because this is the just judgment of God on their wickedness. 

God told him to say, “Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.” And you shall do as I have done… you shall not mourn or weep.

Then God tells Ezekiel that when it is completed in Jerusalem, He will send a fugitive to report the news.  On that day, Ezekiel can open his mouth to speak, for after the previous judgment, he was mute (there was no more need to preach judgment) – although he was allowed to prophesy against other nations.

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 244

Aug31

Day 244—We are in the eighth month (AND 2/3 THE WAY THROUGH) of our Bible reading, with more of Israel’s history and prophecy from Ezekiel.

    Day 244 – Ezekiel 18 – 20 (sin=death, lament of 3 kings, survey of Israel’s sin)

Ezekiel 18, This chapter is about the stated truth: “The soul who sins, it shall die.”  verses 4, 20

A proverb was repeated in Israel that children will pay for their father’s sins. “If the fathers have eaten sour grapes, the children’s teeth are set on edge.”

God says that is not true.  The one who sins is the one who will pay for his sin with death.  (Romans 6:23a) 

Example 1. If a person is righteous and does what is just and proper, walks in God’s statutes, and keeps His rules faithfully….he is righteous and shall live.

Example 2. If a son of a righteous man is violent, oppresses the poor, robs, worships idols, commits adultery….he will surely die, and his blood is on HIMSELF.

Example 3. If a sinful man fathers a son who is righteous and walks in God’s ways….he shall not die for his father’s iniquity. He shall surely live.

Example 4. If a wicked person turns away (repents) from all his sins and keeps God’s statutes and what is just and right, he shall live and not die. None of his transgressions will be remembered against him.

Example 5. If a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does abominations that the wicked person does, he shall die.  None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he’s committed.

God’s final call through Ezekiel on this matter is, “Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!**  Why will you die, O house of Israel?  For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so TURN and LIVE.”

** See Psalm 51:10

Ezekiel 19  is a poetic lament for the last three kings of Judah – Jehoahaz, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah.  

Judah is the lioness (vs. 2) with her cubs (kings), as well as the vine (vs. 10) with its fruit (kings).

Verses 3-4 talk about Jehoahaz, who ruled and was then taken to Egypt.

Verse 9 speaks of Jehoiachin, who was carried to Babylon, kept in prison for 37 years, then released at age 55 to sit at the king’s table. 

The fate of the “vine” in 10-14 tells of the strength of Judah’s ruling scepters, but then their being plucked up as a vine, cast down, withering, and consumed by fire, so there is no scepter ruling left.

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Ezekiel 20 tells about the elders of Israel coming to Ezekiel and asking him to “inquire of the LORD” for them. The LORD basically says, “no” because when they inquired of Me in the past, and I told them truth, they did not listen to me and turned away.  So I will not answer them now.

Then God gives a historical survey of Israel’s past, about their sin, His mercy, their further sin, His grace, their greater and abominable sins, and the end of His patience.  “O house of Israel, as I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired by you.”

Then God reveals to Ezekiel further judgments on the rebellious Israel because “they determine to keep on in their wicked ways.”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 243

Aug30

Day 243—We are in the eighth month of Bible reading, with more of Israel’s history and prophecy from Ezekiel.

    Day 243 – Ezekiel 16 – 17 (Metaphors/parables about God and Israel)

Ezekiel 16. The longest chapter in Ezekiel is a sad metaphor for God’s love for Israel, her horrible abuse of that love, the consequences of her sin, and God’s eventual restoration… “that you shall know that I am the LORD.”

Again, Ezekiel is to speak to the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Judah) about her “abominations.”  She is seen as an abandoned child God finds, rescues, loves, and showers with good things. In the metaphor of a loved child and woman, the chapter covers the history of Israel from her conception, the time of the Exodus, to David’s time and the glories of Solomon’s reign. (through verse 14)

The following section pictures Israel in spiritual harlotry, copying increasingly the pagan religious practices of the Canaanites.  All God gives her, she uses to worship idols, even to sacrifice the children God gives her. The pagan countries around Israel influence her to more and more sin.  Unlike the regular payments prostitutes were paid, Israel solicits and pays for her idol “lovers.” (through verse 34)

Then comes the public shame of God’s beloved…at His own hands. Their defeat by Assyria earlier and now the coming of the Babylonian destruction reveals God’s wrath. God compares Judah to the wicked cities of Samaria and Sodom, whose judgment was great.  Judah, He says, is more corrupt than they! Now Judah and Jerusalem will “bear the penalty of her lewdness and abominations.” (through verse 59)

Verse 60 begins the glorious hope of God’s restoration, His remembering the oath/covenant he made with them. (How gracious is our God!)  He will restore Israel, not because of the good things they do, but because of His grace alone. The New Covenant is unconditional, saving, and everlasting. When He establishes this covenant with them, they will “know that I am the LORD.”  And the fact that God will “atone for you for all that you have done” speaks of the coming Messiah, and His work on the cross, by which God’s wrath on sin is satisfied.  

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Ezekiel 17. This chapter speaks about the time two years before the destruction of Jerusalem.  We’ve studied it more in detail in 2 Kings 24, 2 Chronicles 36, and Jeremiah 36, 37, and 52.  It’s a parable about the final kings who rule in Jerusalem.

The “great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors” in verse 3 is Babylon, who will take royal captives and others, “the topmost of the cedar’s young twigs,” and carry them to a land of trade and a city of merchants.”  Some “the seed of the land” (Zedekiah etc.) he left there to be a tributary (pay tribute to Babylon).

Egypt is the other “great eagle with great wings and much plumage” who flew by.  Zedekiah turned to Egypt to help him revolt against Babylon. But it didn’t work, and the king of Babylon came and took him away. (and defeated Egypt too)

Then, the LORD Himself promises to “take a spring from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it on a high and lofty mountain of Israel.”  It will bear branches, produce fruit, and become a noble cedar.  “Under it will dwell every kind of bird. In the shade of its branches, birds of every sort will nest.” 

Here, God is speaking of the Messiah and His eventual Messianic Kingdom, where even Gentiles will live.