![[object Object]](https://d20cai2bqfzz6a.cloudfront.net/images/main_image/jacquesmolayprendjerusalem1299versaillesmuseenationalchateauettrianons_1454428542_7.png)
Ezekiel 20-24
Jerusalem
Under Siege
Psalm 96:7-13 Here Comes the Judge
7.“Ascribe/give to Yahweh, you families of nations, ascribe/give to Yahweh glory and strength.8.Ascribe/give to Yahweh the glory due to his name. Bring an offering, and come into his courts.9.Worship Yahweh in holy array. Tremble before him, all the earth.10.Say among the nations, "Yahweh reigns." The world is also established. It can’t be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity.11.Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice. Let the sea roar, and its fulness!12.Let the field and all that is in it exult! Then all the trees of the woods shall sing for joy13.before Yahweh; for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, the peoples with his truth."Observation
96:7-13.To ascribe or give God the glory due His name is to proclaim how His name/power has been shown to you. Worship is a response to revelation; God acts, we tell others. The psalmist looks forward (along with all the earth) to the reign of Yahweh over all nations and peoples. He will judge with righteousness and truth, and there will be great joy among His people who are righteous and follow His truth.
Application
Give God public praise for how He's shown Himself strong on your behalf, and wait patiently for Him to set all things right when He rules on the earth.
Prayer
God, I praise You for Your righteous power and might; thanks that You use it on behalf of Your people, and will one day set everything right. Amen.
Proverbs 22:24-29 The Key To Great Service
24.“Don’t befriend a hot-tempered man, and don’t associate with one who harbors anger:25.lest you learn his ways, and ensnare your soul.26.Don’t you be one of those who strike hands, of those who are collateral for debts.27.If you don’t have means to pay, why should he take away your bed from under you?28.Don’t move the ancient boundary stone, which your fathers have set up.29.Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve kings. He won’t serve obscure men.“Application
The path to the top is not manipulation and jockeying for position, but in gaining skill to render better service.
Prayer
God, thanks for the model of the Lord Jesus in demonstrating that service is the path to greatness, and Solomon's wisdom that skill is the key to service; please guide me in developing the skills you want me to use to serve others. Amen.
Ezekiel 20-24 Jerusalem Under Siege
These chapters conclude Ezekiel's warnings about the fall of Jerusalem, ending with the start of the siege in chapter 24. Future chapters will deal with God's judgments on sin in surrounding nations, a report of the actual fall in chapter 33, and then prophecies of restoration and the millennial temple. God has Ezekiel graphically depict the unfaithfulness and consequent destruction of His people.
Ezekiel 20 High Places Bring Low
1.It happened in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of Yahweh, and sat before me.2.The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,3.Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and tell them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Is it to inquire of me that you have come? As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, I will not be inquired of by you.4.Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers;5.and tell them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: In the day when I chose Israel, and swore to the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I swore to them, saying, I am Yahweh your God;6.in that day I swore to them, to bring them forth out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands.7.I said to them, Cast away every man the abominations of his eyes, and don’t defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am Yahweh your God.8.But they rebelled against me, and would not listen to me; they each didn’t throw away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.9.But I worked for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, among which they were, in whose sight I made myself known to them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.
10.So I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.11.I gave them my statutes, and showed them my ordinances, which if a man does, he shall live in them.12.Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.13.But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they didn’t walk in my statutes, and they rejected my ordinances, which if a man keep, he shall live in them; and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them in the wilderness, to consume them.14.But I worked for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them out.15.Moreover also I swore to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;16.because they rejected my ordinances, and didn’t walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.17.Nevertheless my eye spared them, and I didn’t destroy them, neither did I make a full end of them in the wilderness.18.I said to their children in the wilderness, Don’t walk in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their ordinances, nor defile yourselves with their idols.19.I am Yahweh your God: walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them;20.and make my Sabbaths holy; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am Yahweh your God.21.But the children rebelled against me; they didn’t walk in my statutes, neither kept my ordinances to do them, which if a man do, he shall live in them; they profaned my Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.22.Nevertheless I withdrew my hand, and worked for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them forth.
23.Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the nations, and disperse them through the countries;24.because they had not executed my ordinances, but had rejected my statutes, and had profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers’ idols.25.Moreover also I gave them over to statutes that were not good, and ordinances by which they should not live;26.and I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that opens the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am Yahweh.27.Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and tell them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: In this moreover have your fathers blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me.28.For when I had brought them into the land, which I swore to give to them, then they saw every high hill, and every thick tree, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering; there also they made their pleasant aroma, and they poured out there their drink offerings.29.Then I said to them, What does the high place where you go mean? So its name is called Bamah to this day.30.Therefore tell the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Do you pollute yourselves in the way of your fathers? and do you play the prostitute after their abominations?31.and when you offer your gifts, when you make your sons to pass through the fire, do you pollute yourselves with all your idols to this day? and shall I be inquired of by you, house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, I will not be inquired of by you;32.and that which comes into your mind shall not be at all, in that you say, we will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.
33.As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, surely with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, will I be king over you:34.and I will bring you out from the peoples, and will gather you out of the countries in which you are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out;35.and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there will I enter into judgment with you face to face.36.Like as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I enter into judgment with you, says the Lord Yahweh.37.I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;38.and I will purge out from among you the rebels, and those who disobey against me; I will bring them forth out of the land where they live, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and you shall know that I am Yahweh.39.As for you, house of Israel, thus says the Lord Yahweh: Go, serve everyone his idols, and hereafter also, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts, and with your idols.40.For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, says the Lord Yahweh, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them, serve me in the land: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the first fruits of your offerings, with all your holy things.41.As a pleasant aroma will I accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries in which you have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you in the sight of the nations.42.You shall know that I am Yahweh, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country which I swore to give to your fathers.43.There you shall remember your ways, and all your doings, in which you have polluted yourselves; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that you have committed.44.You shall know that I am Yahweh, when I have dealt with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, you house of Israel, says the Lord Yahweh.
45.The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,46.Son of man, set your face toward the south, and drop your word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the field in the South;47.and tell the forest of the South, Hear the word of Yahweh: Thus says the Lord Yahweh, Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree in you, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burnt thereby.48.All flesh shall see that I, Yahweh, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.49.Then I said, Ah Lord Yahweh! they say of me, Isn’t he a speaker of parables?
Observations
20:1-22.God reproves the elders who come to inquire of Him (usually for favor) by recounting His dealings with them since Egypt. When God brought them out of Egypt He told them to get rid of their idols and abominations, but they rebelled and refused. Although God was angry with them, He didn't destroy them for the sake of His name/reputation among the nations. Then God gave them His law, which was the basis of living happily in the land, and His Sabbath (as a sign/reminder) and sanctified them (set them apart from the other nations = holy), but they rebelled (by refusing to walk every day in His way) and profaned (made common, or unholy) both the Sabbath (by doing their desire rather than God's) and His name (by trusting and indulging in sensual pagan idol worship). Again God was angry but because of His reputation in the eyes of the nations, He didn't destroy Israel, nor the next generation when they did the same things.
20:23-32.
God will not respond favorably to those who are not in an exclusive relationship with Him. Bamah means “high place” where the pagans worshiped their gods with sensual rites that polluted Israel when they engaged in them. Since they didn't accept His laws God “gave them over” to the laws of the pagans that were not good, nor led to life. Since they would not serve God, He would have them serve useless, unprofitable idols.
20:33-44.
God would purge the rebels in the wilderness, as He did with the Exodus generation, and eventually regather Israel in the land where they would serve Him properly. His gracious regathering of them is not for their sake, because they deserved death, but for His name's sake in the sight of the nations. They would loathe themselves for their sin when they experience God's goodness.
20:45-49.
Ezekiel ends the chapter with a prophecy against the forest of the south, thought to refer to the consuming fire of judgment against the inhabitants of Judah, which was the southern kingdom. The Hebrew text begins a new chapter with this section, which is appropriate, because the previous section ended with hope or restoration, as many prophecies of judgment do, and the next chapter opens with the same formula: “Son of man, set your face.”
Application
If we persist in being disloyal to God, He will give us over to our choice, which leads to destruction and death. He abides by our choices.
Prayer
God, please guide me into an intimate relationship with You, so I can live without shame or regret. Thanks. Amen.
Ezekiel 21 The Sword of the Lord
1.The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,2.Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and drop your word toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel;3.and tell the land of Israel, Thus says Yahweh: Behold, I am against you, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked.4.Seeing then that I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:5.and all flesh shall know that I, Yahweh, have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more.6.Sigh therefore, you son of man; with the breaking of your thighs and with bitterness you will sigh before their eyes.7.It shall be, when they tell you, Why do you sigh? that you shall say, Because of the news, for it comes; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it comes, and it shall be done, says the Lord Yahweh.8.The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,9.Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says Yahweh: Say, A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished;10.it is sharpened that it may make a slaughter; it is furbished that it may be as lightning: shall we then make mirth? the rod of my son, it condemns every tree.11.It is given to be furbished, that it may be handled: the sword, it is sharpened, yes, it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the killer.12.Cry and wail, son of man; for it is on my people, it is on all the princes of Israel: they are delivered over to the sword with my people; strike therefore on your thigh.13.For there is a trial; and what if even the rod that condemns shall be no more? says the Lord Yahweh.14.You therefore, son of man, prophesy, and strike your hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the deadly wounded: it is the sword of the great one who is deadly wounded, which enters into their rooms.15.I have set the threatening sword against all their gates, that their heart may melt, and their stumblings be multiplied: ah! it is made as lightning, it is pointed for slaughter.16.Gather yourselves together, go to the right, set yourselves in array, go to the left, wherever your face is set.17.I will also strike my hands together, and I will cause my wrath to rest: I, Yahweh, have spoken it.18.The word of Yahweh came to me again, saying,19.Also, you son of man, appoint two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; they both shall come forth out of one land: and mark out a place, mark it out at the head of the way to the city.20.You shall appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.21.For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shook the arrows back and forth, he consulted the teraphim, he looked in the liver.22.In his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build forts.23.It shall be to them as a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths to them; but he brings iniquity to memory, that they may be taken.24.Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear; because you have come to memory, you shall be taken with the hand.25.You, deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end,26.thus says the Lord Yahweh: Remove the turban, and take off the crown; this shall be no more the same; exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high.
27.I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: this also shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.28.You, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and say, A sword, a sword is drawn, for the slaughter it is furbished, to cause it to devour, that it may be as lightning;29.while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies to you, to lay you on the necks of the wicked who are deadly wounded, whose day has come in the time of the iniquity of the end.30.Cause it to return into its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your birth, will I judge you.31.I will pour out my indignation on you; I will blow on you with the fire of my wrath; and I will deliver you into the hand of brutish men, skilful to destroy.32.You shall be for fuel to the fire; your blood shall be in the midst of the land; you shall be remembered no more: for I, Yahweh, have spoken it.
Observations
21:1-26.God tells Ezekiel to prophesy about His sword, the king of Babylon, whom He is going to use to destroy Jerusalem for their sins, and remove Zedekiah. The high priest would lose his turban and the king his crown. The righteous would suffer (like Ezekiel and Daniel in captivity) along with the wicked. However, each would die because of their own sins (Ezek 18). Nebuchadnezzar would use divination (right hand pick) to decide to lay siege to Jerusalem rather than Ammon who had also rebelled. God controlled the pagan means of guiding people.
21:27-32.
Jerusalem would be overthrown until the Messiah (“he come whose right it is”).
Application
God orchestrates and guides the actions of nations and individuals to accomplish His will.
Prayer
God, may I see Your hand behind the scenes of my life, and may it be for good; if it please You, spare me the fall-out from the wicked, as I follow You. Amen.
Ezekiel 22 Refining Fire
1.Moreover the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,2.You, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? then cause her to know all her abominations.3.You shall say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: A city that sheds blood in the midst of her, that her time may come, and that makes idols against herself to defile her!4.You have become guilty in your blood that you have shed, and are defiled in your idols which you have made; and you have caused your days to draw near, and have come even to your years: therefore have I made you a reproach to the nations, and a mocking to all the countries.5.Those who are near, and those who are far from you, shall mock you, you infamous one and full of tumult.6.Behold, the princes of Israel, everyone according to his power, have been in you to shed blood.7.In you have they set light by father and mother; in the midst of you have they dealt by oppression with the foreigner; in you have they wronged the fatherless and the widow8.You have despised my holy things, and have profaned my Sabbaths.9.Slanderous men have been in you to shed blood; and in you they have eaten on the mountains: in the midst of you they have committed lewdness.10.In you have they uncovered their fathers’ nakedness; in you have they humbled her who was unclean in her impurity.11.One has committed abomination with his neighbor’s wife; and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in you has humbled his sister, his father’s daughter.12.Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I, Yahweh, have spoken it, and will do it.13.Behold, therefore, I have struck my hand at your dishonest gain which you have made, and at your blood which has been in the midst of you.14.Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I, Yahweh, have spoken it, and will do it.15.I will scatter you among the nations, and disperse you through the countries; and I will consume your filthiness out of you.
16.You shall be profaned in yourself, in the sight of the nations; and you shall know that I am Yahweh.17.The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,18.Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me: all of them are brass and tin and iron and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are the dross of silver.19.Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.20.As they gather silver and brass and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire on it, to melt it; so will I gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will lay you there, and melt you.21.Yes, I will gather you, and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst.22.As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so you will be melted in its midst; and you will know that I, Yahweh, have poured out my wrath on you.
23.The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,24.Son of man, tell her, you are a land that is not cleansed, nor rained on in the day of indignation.25.There is a conspiracy of her prophets in its midst, like a roaring lion ravening the prey: they have devoured souls; they take treasure and precious things; they have made her widows many in its midst.26.Her priests have done violence to my law, and have profaned my holy things: they have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they caused men to discern between the unclean and the clean, and have hidden their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.27.Her princes in its midst are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, that they may get dishonest gain.28.Her prophets have plastered for them with whitewash, seeing false visions, and divining lies to them, saying, Thus says the Lord Yahweh, when Yahweh has not spoken.29.The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery; yes, they have troubled the poor and needy, and have oppressed the foreigner wrongfully.30.I sought for a man among them, who should build up the wall, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none.31.Therefore have I poured out my indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I brought on their heads, says the Lord Yahweh.
Observations
22:1-22.God charges Judah, her princes, priests, prophets, and people with defiling the city with idolatry, immorality, and injustice, particularly shedding innocent blood. They also failed to keep the Mosaic covenant (signified by the Sabbath) setting themselves up for the specified cursings rather than blessings (Dt 28). Because of these sins God will bring the fire of judgment to refine them, and will scatter them, and consume their filthiness and dross.
22:23-31.
The leaders haven't done their job, but oppressed the people, and the prophets and priest have not only covered it up, but greedily participated. God looked for someone who could restore things and stand in the gap in the wall so the judgment wouldn't pour through, but there was no one, prophet, priest, nor prince who could call the people to repentance that would spare them. So, God will bring their own way, their own choice upon them.
Application
God will always judge injustice, oppression, covenant unfaithfulness, and the shedding of innocent blood.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I pray that all those in positions of leadership and influence would live in fear of You and seek to bring about what is pleasing in Your sight for those around them. Amen.
Ezekiel 23 A Pair of Prostitutes
1.The word of Yahweh came again to me, saying,2.Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:3.and they played the prostitute in Egypt; they played the prostitute in their youth; there were their breasts pressed, and there was handled the bosom of their virginity.4.Their names were Oholah the elder, and Oholibah her sister: and they became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem Oholibah.5.Oholah played the prostitute when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbors,6.who were clothed with blue, governors and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.7.She bestowed her prostitution on them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them; and on whoever she doted, with all their idols she defiled herself.8.Neither has she left her prostitution since the days of Egypt; for in her youth they lay with her, and they handled the bosom of her virginity; and they poured out their prostitution on her.9.Therefore I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, on whom she doted.10.These uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters; and her they killed with the sword: and she became a byword among women; for they executed judgments on her.11.Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet was she more corrupt in her doting than she, and in her prostitution which were more than the prostitution of her sister.12.She doted on the Assyrians, governors and rulers, her neighbors, clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men.13.I saw that she was defiled; they both took one way.14.She increased her prostitution; for she saw men portrayed on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion,15.dressed with girdles on their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them princes to look on, after the likeness of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth.16.As soon as she saw them she doted on them, and sent messengers to them into Chaldea.17.The Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their prostitution, and she was polluted with them, and her soul was alienated from them.18.So she uncovered her prostitution, and uncovered her nakedness: then my soul was alienated from her, like as my soul was alienated from her sister.19.Yet she multiplied her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth, in which she had played the prostitute in the land of Egypt.20.She doted on their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of donkeys, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
21.Thus you called to memory the lewdness of your youth, in the handling of your bosom by the Egyptians for the breasts of your youth.22.Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will raise up your lovers against you, from whom your soul is alienated, and I will bring them against you on every side:23.the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them; desirable young men, governors and rulers all of them, princes and men of renown, all of them riding on horses.24.They shall come against you with weapons, chariots, and wagons, and with a company of peoples; they shall set themselves against you with buckler and shield and helmet all around; and I will commit the judgment to them, and they shall judge you according to their judgments.25.I will set my jealousy against you, and they shall deal with you in fury; they shall take away your nose and your ears; and your residue shall fall by the sword: they shall take your sons and your daughters; and your residue shall be devoured by the fire.26.They shall also strip you of your clothes, and take away your beautiful jewels.27.Thus will I make your lewdness to cease from you, and your prostitution brought from the land of Egypt; so that you shall not lift up your eyes to them, nor remember Egypt any more.28.For thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will deliver you into the hand of them whom you hate, into the hand of them from whom your soul is alienated;29.and they shall deal with you in hatred, and shall take away all your labor, and shall leave you naked and bare; and the nakedness of your prostitution shall be uncovered, both your lewdness and your prostitution.30.These things shall be done to you, because you have played the prostitute after the nations, and because you are polluted with their idols.31.You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore will I give her cup into your hand.35.Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because you have forgotten me, and cast me behind your back, therefore you also bear your lewdness and your prostitution.
36.Yahweh said moreover to me: Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? then declare to them their abominations.37.For they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands; and with their idols have they committed adultery; and they have also caused their sons, whom they bore to me, to pass through the fire to them to be devoured.38.Moreover this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my Sabbaths.39.For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and behold, thus have they done in the midst of my house.45.Righteous men, they shall judge them with the judgment of adulteresses, and with the judgment of women who shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.46.For thus says the Lord Yahweh: I will bring up a company against them, and will give them to be tossed back and forth and robbed.47.The company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall kill their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.48.Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.49.They shall recompense your lewdness on you, and you shall bear the sins of your idols; and you shall know that I am the Lord Yahweh.
Observation
23:1-49.Jerusalem and Samaria (capital of the northern kingdom of Israel) are compared to a pair of immoral sisters, who were unfaithful to their marriage covenant with Yahweh, and wind up being punished by their “lovers.” Their names are variations on the Hebrew word for “tent”, possibly a reference to Israel's first place of worship being the a tent or Tabernacle and the second name means “my tent is in her” probably a reference to God's Temple being in Jerusalem. However, the emphasis in the first half of the chapter is not so much on the spiritual adultery of idol worship, as it is on the political alliances that constituted a breach of hesed. Looking to another political power for protection and prosperity rather than the one with whom one had a covenantal agreement was infidelity. The last half focuses more on idol worship which caused the death of their children, and resulted in the death and destruction of the “sisters.” Judah not only failed to learn from Israel's captivity and annihilation, but was even worse. God's judgment of Judah was to cause her “lewdness” to cease.
Application
If we fail to learn from the mistakes of others, we will suffer the consequences of our own sin.
Prayer
Lord, help me see clearly the cause and effect relationships in Your dealings with Your people, so I will avoid what causes pain, and do what brings pleasure to You and me. Amen.
Ezekiel 24 Signs of the Fall of Jerusalem
1.Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,2.Son of man, write the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon drew close to Jerusalem this same day.3.Utter a parable to the rebellious house, and tell them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh, Set on the caldron, set it on, and also pour water into it:4.gather its pieces into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.5.Take the choice of the flock, and also a pile of wood for the bones under the caldron; make it boil well; yes, let its bones be boiled in its midst.6.Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Woe to the bloody city, to the caldron whose rust is therein, and whose rust is not gone out of it! take out of it piece after piece; No lot is fallen on it.7.For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it on the bare rock; she didn’t pour it on the ground, to cover it with dust.8.That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have set her blood on the bare rock, that it should not be covered.9.Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.10.Heap on the wood, make the fire hot, boil well the flesh, and make thick the broth, and let the bones be burned.11.Then set it empty on its coals, that it may be hot, and its brass may burn, and that its filthiness may be molten in it, that its rust may be consumed.12.She has wearied herself with toil; yet her great rust doesn’t go forth out of her; her rust doesn’t go forth by fire.13.In your filthiness is lewdness: because I have cleansed you and you weren’t cleansed, you shall not be cleansed from your filthiness any more, until I have caused my wrath toward you to rest.14.I, Yahweh, have spoken it: it shall happen, and I will do it: I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to your ways, and according to your doings, shall they judge you, says the Lord Yahweh.15.Also the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,16.Son of man, behold, I will take away from you the desire of your eyes with a stroke: yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, neither shall your tears run down.17.Sigh, but not aloud, make no mourning for the dead; bind your headdress on you, and put your shoes on your feet, and don’t cover your lips, and don’t eat men’s bread.18.So I spoke to the people in the morning; and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.19.The people said to me, Won’t you tell us what these things are to us, that you do so?20.Then I said to them, The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,21.Speak to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pities; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind shall fall by the sword.22.You shall do as I have done: you shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.23.Your coverings shall be on your heads, and your shoes on your feet: you shall not mourn nor weep; but you shall pine away in your iniquities, and moan one toward another.24.Thus Ezekiel shall be a sign to you; according to all that he has done, you will do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.25.You, son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their heart, their sons and their daughters,26.that in that day he who escapes shall come to you, to cause you to hear it with your ears?27.In that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped, and you shall speak, and be no more mute: so you will be a sign to them; and they shall know that I am Yahweh.
Observations
24:1-14.God has Ezekiel commemorate the day Nebuchadnezzar lays siege to Jerusalem with the parable of the rusty cauldron. Jerusalem had compared herself to a pot that protected her inhabitants, the choice meat. God says they are a rusty corroded pot that defiles everything in it, because of the innocent blood that's been shed. The cauldron is put empty on the coals and destroyed. God's efforts at cleansing her had continually been undone by their repeated sin, so now He would not spare until His wrath would eventually rest.
24:15-27.
God takes the life of Ezekiel's wife and doesn't allow him to mourn (cf Jer 16:5-13), as a sign to the exiles, that they would not mourn when Jerusalem was destroyed. There are a number of possible explanations: 1. Mourning was not customary for deserved capital punishment, and Judah was guilty; 2. Mourning was a way of relieving grief, but the captives wouldn't be able to get rid of their grief, for their sins had caused the city, and their children that remained in it to die; 3. Mourning was the custom, and the destruction of Jerusalem was so extraordinary that they would be in shock and unable to mourn, instead they would only privately mourn. Whatever the case, the fall of Jerusalem would be painful to them. Ezekiel would also be mute until the news came that Jerusalem had fallen (33:21). Like other great servants of God, Ezekiel suffered undeservedly in serving God, but the infinite justice of God will repay Ezekiel, and make him glad that he was able to exchange the temporal suffering during his short time on earth for eternal glory.
2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Application
God punishes those who rebel against Him and His law, and rewards those who sacrificially serve Him; His eternal justice makes any other outcomes impossible.
Prayer
God, You are the one who gives and takes life according to infinitely wise purposes; I trust that You know what You're doing with the life You've lent to me. Amen.
Digging Deeper
God in a nutshell: God doesn't immediately destroy His rebellious people because He is concerned about His reputation in the eyes of the nations (which is why he created Israel in the first place, to bless her so others would be drawn to Him). God punishes those who rebel against Him, His law, and are unfaithful to their covenant with Him, yet rewards those who sacrificially serve Him; His eternal justice makes any other outcomes impossible. God controls the pagan means of guiding people to get His will accomplished through them.Us in a nutshell: We can enjoy God's benefits if we live God's way; but He won't listen to us if we don't. We can't expect Him to answer our prayers if we're not rightly related to Him. God will not respond favorably to those who are not in an exclusive relationship with Him. We will reap the consequences of our actions, including pain and regret for disobedience. We can't trust in bad leaders or false prophets, but must seek God as He revealed Himself in His promises.