Part 20
The citizens of Jerusalem might prepare for battle, but all such preparation would be useless. Jerusalem was doomed (14). People trapped in the besieged city would die of starvation. Those in the fields and villages outside would be killed by enemy soldiers. Any who managed to escape would only face a miserable existence in their mountain hiding places (15-16). Everywhere there would be a feeling of hopelessness. The money that the Jerusalemites had unjustly gained would be of no use to them when there was no food to buy. In despair they would throw their money away (17-19). Their idols, richly ornamented and expensive, would be stolen by the invaders, and God's 'precious place', the Jerusalem temple, would be profaned as irreverent Babylonian soldiers invaded, plundered and in the end destroyed it (20-22).
Terrified by the violence of the attack, people would look on helplessly as the invaders seized their houses (23-25). Neither religious nor civil leaders would be able to save Jerusalem from being overrun by the hated foreigners. The calamity would be a fitting judgment on the city for its religious rebellion and moral waywardness (26-27).
8:1-24:27 THE SINS OF JERUSALEM
Idolatry in the temple (8:1-18)
A year and two months had now passed since God called Ezekiel to be a prophet. By this time people recognized him as a prophet, and leaders among the exiles came to discuss their affairs with him (8:1; cf. 1:1-2). While the leaders were sitting talking with him, Ezekiel was suddenly caught up by the Spirit of God and taken, as it were, to Jerusalem (2-3).
Ezekiel knew immediately that these visions were from God, because the first thing he saw was a vision of the glory of God similar to that which he had seen earlier (4; cf. 1:1-28). In this vision Ezekiel was taken to the temple where, as he was about to enter the inner court, he saw an idol that stirred God to jealousy (5-6).
From there Ezekiel went by a secret door into a hidden room (7-9). There he saw a gathering of Jerusalem's leaders, who were secretly worshipping pictures of animals painted on the walls. Foolishly, they thought God could not see them (10-13). In another part of the temple Ezekiel saw women carrying out ritual mourning as part of their worship of the foreign god, Tammuz (14-15). Finally, Ezekiel came into the inner court of the temple, where he saw a group of priests who had turned their backs on the temple and were worshipping the sun. 'Putting the branch to the nose' was part of the ritual and a particularly offensive insult to God (16-18).
Execution of the sinners (9:1-11)
God's punishment of Jerusalem was illustrated by a vision in which God sent his executioners to carry out his work of judgment on the sinful people. First, however, he sent a special servant to put a mark on those who opposed the city's wickedness, so that they might be preserved through the coming bloodshed (9:1-4). The first place where the judgment fell was the temple, where the nation's leaders had led the people astray with their wickedness and idolatry. The temple was soon defiled with the corpses scattered around its courts (5-7).
The northern kingdom had been destroyed long ago, and now many from the southern kingdom were killed or taken captive. Ezekiel feared that with the slaughter in Jerusalem the last remains of the ancient nation would be wiped out (8). God assured the prophet that his judgment was just. The people acted as if God did not matter; now they were to suffer the consequences. But safety was guaranteed for those believers who stood firm for God amid the nationwide ungodliness (9-11).
God's glory departs from the temple (10:1-22)
In the present series of visions the fiery chariot-throne of God was in the court of the temple (see 8:34). The glory of God (that is, the symbolic form of God over the throne) had risen from the throne and
come to rest on the threshold of the temple. From there God had directed his agents in the execution of the citizens of Jerusalem (see 9:3). From this same position on the temple threshold, God now gave further commands to the man who had previously sealed the faithful for preservation. God told him to go and take some coals from the vacant chariot-throne and scatter them over the city of Jerusalem, to symbolize that the coming fiery destruction of Jerusalem was directed by God himself (10:1-5).
The man then went to the chariot-throne to carry out God's commands. As Ezekiel describes how one of the cherubim helped the man collect the coals, he adds a note to explain that the cherubim had hands (6-8).
Ezekiel must have been so interested in the details of the chariot-throne that he repeated much of the description given in the opening chapter. He apparently wanted to impress upon his readers that the chariot-throne he saw at the temple was the same as that which he had seen earlier (9-17). He then saw God return to his chariot-throne and begin to leave the temple. But, as if unwilling to leave, he moved only as far as the temple gate, then stopped (18-19).
An additional note explains that the 'living creatures' Ezekiel described earlier were cherubim. Cherubim were the winged creatures who guarded the covenant box in the Most Holy Place (cf. Exod 25:20-22). In other words, the God whom Ezekiel saw enthroned above the cherubim was the same God who was enthroned above the mercy seat (the lid of the covenant box) in the Most Holy Place. This God, Israel's covenant God Yahweh, was the one now about to leave his temple, slaughter his people and destroy his city (20-22).
Judgment on Jerusalem's leaders (11:1-13)
At the east gate of the temple, where God's chariot-throne had temporarily stopped (see 10:19), Ezekiel saw in vision a group of twenty-five of the city's political leaders. The wrong advice of these men was one reason why Jerusalem was heading for certain ruin (11:1-2). (At the time of this vision, the last great siege of Jerusalem, foretold in earlier chapters, had not yet happened.)
Jeremiah had been telling the people that to fight against Babylon was fatal, for God had sent the Babylonians to punish Jerusalem. The city should therefore surrender (Jer 21:8-10). These leaders, on the other hand, were stirring up the people to resist Babylon. They recommended that building programs in the city be stopped so that more men would be available to fight. They were confident that they were safe in Jerusalem. The city walls would protect the inhabitants from the Babylonians, just as a cooking pot protects the flesh inside it from the fire (3-4).
God's word to Jerusalem's leaders is that he knows what they are thinking, but the city will fall in spite of their confidence (5-6). The innocent people, whom these corrupt leaders have killed, are now the fortunate ones, for they will be spared the bloodshed that is to come upon Jerusalem. They are the only pieces of flesh to be safe from the fire. As for the leaders, they will be taken out of the cooking pot, dragged out of their imagined security in Jerusalem, and executed at the border of Israel as the victorious Babylonian armies return home (7-12). (For the fulfilment of this prophecy see 2 Kings 25:18-21.)
Ezekiel saw one of Jerusalem's leaders drop dead as he was speaking. The prophet was again filled with fear as he saw the determination of God to punish his rebellious people (13).
Hope for the future (11:14-25)
Those left in Jerusalem thought they were God's favoured people. They thought their security was guaranteed because they lived in the city where his temple was situated. They looked upon the exiles as having been cast off by God, forsaken and unclean in a foreign land (14-15). To the contrary, Ezekiel points out that the exiles are God's favoured people, the remnant whom he has preserved. When they repent of their idolatry and rebellion, he will bring them back to their land (16-18). He will restore them to a new covenant relationship with himself, and put within them a new spirit that will make them more responsive to his will. The rebellious, however, will be punished (19-21).
As a final demonstration that God would no longer dwell among or protect the people living in Jerusalem, the chariot-throne bearing the glory of God departed from the temple, went out of the city and came to rest on a nearby mountain. God had left Jerusalem, but he was still within reach if the people decided to repent (22-23).
Now that the series of visions was finished, Ezekiel returned to normal. In spirit he was no longer in Jerusalem, but back in Babylon, where he recounted his experiences to the exiles (24-25; cf. 8:1-4).
Pictures of exile (12:1-16)
It appears that many of the exiles were rebellious against God because of his message of doom, and were still hoping for an early return to Jerusalem (12:1-2). God therefore commanded Ezekiel to act another message for them. He was to show that the exiles had no chance of returning to Jerusalem. On the contrary, the Jerusalemites would come to join the exiles in Babylon. Ezekiel's daytime act was to gather a few belongings that an exile could carry with him and set off into the country. His nighttime act was a little different. He dug through the wall of his home, then tried to escape with his bundle of belongings into the night (3-7).
Next morning Ezekiel explained his actions to the people. His daytime act pictured the people of Jerusalem going into exile (8-11). His nighttime act pictured King Zedekiah's attempt, at the time of Babylon's last great siege of Jerusalem, to escape from the city by night. But he was captured, blinded and taken into exile (12-13; see 2 Kings 25:2-7). His leading officials were killed and the common people taken into captivity (14-15).
Out of this catastrophe, however, God would preserve the repentant minority. These would assure the people among whom they lived that Jerusalem's destruction was not because Babylon's gods were more powerful than Jerusalem's God, Yahweh. It was because Yahweh himself commanded it. God would destroy Jerusalem as a punishment upon his people for their sins (16).
Messages to be heeded (12:17-28)
Ezekiel's starvation diet symbolized the shortage of food in Jerusalem during the last great siege (see 4:9-17). He was now told that, when he ate, he was to act as if he were stricken with terror, to emphasize the horror of the events about to overtake Jerusalem (17-20).
Many of the exiles doubted the truth of the messages that Ezekiel announced. They argued that days, months, and even years passed, but they did not see his prophecies fulfilled (21-22). God's reply was that the prophecies were now about to be fulfilled, and false prophecies of an early return to Jerusalem would cease (23-25). Others did not doubt the truth of Ezekiel's message, but claimed that the events he foresaw would all happen in the distant future. Again God said that the prophesied events were about to happen (26-28).
Condemnation of false prophets (13:1-23)
False prophets were a constant danger, both those in Jerusalem and those among the exiles in Babylon. They were bad guides, spiritually and morally, because they proclaimed only what they themselves wanted. They had no knowledge of the mind of God (13:1-3). Judah was falling into ruins, but the false prophets, instead of helping to repair and strengthen the nation, cunningly exploited the situation for their own benefit. They were like foxes digging holes around the city wall and so helping its ruin. They should have been like builders trying to strengthen the wall so that it would not crumble (4-7).
Ezekiel announced God's certain punishment on the false prophets. They would lose, to begin with, their place of honour in society, then their citizenship, and finally their right to live in God's land (8-9).
If these preachers had been true prophets, they would have destroyed the people's mistaken hopes of peace and security. Instead they encouraged them. In Ezekiel's illustration they white-washed an insecure wall to cover the cracks, whereas they should have demolished it. God announced that he would send a storm of rain, hail and wind, and the wall would collapse, burying the false prophets beneath it. They would perish along with the nation (10-16).
Among the false prophets were a number of women, who helped the decay of the nation by practising witchcraft. They used magic wristbands and veils in their weird rituals, casting deadly spells over their innocent victims, while protecting the evil people who consulted them (17-19). By their strange powers these witches disheartened the righteous and encouraged the wicked. God declared that he would now destroy their powers and release those whom they kept in bondage (20-23).
Idolatry in the heart (14:1-11)
Once again the leaders of the exiles came to see if Ezekiel had any helpful advice for them. He did, but not of the kind they were seeking. Although these men were outwardly loyal to Yahweh, inwardly they were attracted to the Babylonian gods. God told Ezekiel that he would not speak to such people through his prophet, but would speak directly. He would speak in a decisive act of judgment that would remove this tendency towards idolatry from the hearts of his people. Then they would become truly loyal to him (14:1-5).
God wanted his people to be cleansed from idolatry, in thought as well as in actions. He had his own way of dealing with the person who, idolatrous in heart, secretly consulted a false prophet (6-8). Should the prophet give a comforting message to such an enquirer, his action would indicate that he was more concerned with pleasing people than with pleasing God. It would prove that he was a false prophet. God would allow the man to speak his deceiving words, and on the basis of this clear evidence would then destroy him, along with his idolatrous enquirer (9-11).
Justice in punishing Jerusalem (14:12-23)
Some were no doubt saying that God would not destroy Jerusalem as Ezekiel had been prophesying. God would surely spare the city out of consideration for the godly people within it, even though such godly people may have been few in number. Ezekiel replied that even if some of the godliest people who ever lived were in the city, God would still destroy it; though he would deliver the godly (12-14). God's punishment could take various forms, but the same basic principle would apply (15-18). The righteousness of a few would not save the wicked from their just punishment (19-20).
Later some citizens of Jerusalem would escape the slaughter and come to join the exiles in Babylon. Then the exiles would see how corrupt the people of Jerusalem really were. The exiles would at last realize that God's judgment on the city was indeed just (21-23).
The useless vine (15:1-8)
Judah was one nation among many, like a vine among the trees of the forest. The question is asked: Is the timber of the vine better than the timber of other trees? The answer: No; as timber it is useless, not even fit to make a peg from which to hang a cooking pot. It is still more useless if it has been half burnt in a fire (15:1-5).
The nation Judah was useless and was already half destroyed through Babylon's attacks. Like the half-burnt vine thrown back on the fire, Jerusalem will be destroyed in the coming judgment (6-8).
The unfaithfulness of Jerusalem (16:1-43)
In this chapter Ezekiel describes Judah's relationship with Yahweh by means of a long and colourful illustration. The ancient nation Israel began life in Canaan as a hated people of mixed blood and mixed culture. It was like an unwanted baby girl thrown out at birth and left to die (16:1-5). Then a passing traveller (Yahweh) picked the baby up and gave it a chance to live. The girl survived and grew, though without training or upbringing (6-7).
Many years later, by which time the girl had reached an age when she might marry, the same traveller happened to see her again. She had not been washed or clothed since birth. The man then lovingly bathed her, clothed her, married her, and made her so beautiful that her fame spread to other nations. So likewise, after the Israelites had spent centuries away from God in Egypt, he saved them from shame and made them his own people by covenant at Mt Sinai (8-14).
But the woman was not faithful to the marriage covenant. Israel was unfaithful to the one who had done so much for her. Leaving him to serve other gods, she became a spiritual prostitute. She built shrines and altars to other gods, and offered to those gods the things that Yahweh had freely given her (15-19). To make matters worse, she participated in the pagan practice of offering her children as human sacrifices (20-22).
As a prostitute uses brothels to attract her customers, so Israel built idol shrines throughout her towns and villages (23-25). She further demonstrated her spiritual prostitution by forsaking God and making political alliances with other countries. Even those nations, Israel's lovers, were ashamed of her immoral behaviour, but Israel kept lusting for more (26-29). In fact, her lust was so great that it was abnormal.
Usually the customer pays the prostitute, but in the case of the prostitute Israel she paid the customer, so that she could multiply her immoral acts (30-34).
According to Israelite practice, the punishment for an adulteress was to be stripped naked, paraded in public and then stoned to death. Judah would therefore be punished, with its countryside stripped bare and the nation destroyed by enemy invaders. The nations who would inflict this disaster upon her would be the very nations whose favour she had tried to win by her prostitution (35-41). All this would be at the direction of God himself, whose love for Israel was the reason for his anger with her (42-43).
Worthless sisters (16:44-63)
Ezekiel refers back to Israel's mixed parentage in Canaan to introduce two sisters of the prostitute (who, in Ezekiel's time was identified with Judah's capital Jerusalem). The two sisters were the cities Samaria (capital of the former northern kingdom) and Sodom. Both cities were destroyed by God's judgment, but Jerusalem's sin was worse than both (44-48). Sodom was well known for its greed and immorality, Samaria for its idolatry, but both cities now appeared righteous compared with Jerusalem. Surely, the destruction of Jerusalem was inescapable (49-52).
Samaria and Sodom may each have had some satisfaction in seeing Jerusalem suffer the same fate as they had suffered. Yet all three had hope for the future. After the overthrow of Babylon, the three regions of Palestine represented by these three cities would be restored and inhabited again (53-55). In the meantime Jerusalem had to bear the shame of its immoral behaviour. In times past, Jerusalem was ashamed to mention the sin of Sodom, but now her reputation was just as bad (56-58).
Looking beyond the coming judgment, Ezekiel saw the day when a humbled and forgiven Jerusalem would exercise authority over all her neighbours. The granting of this authority would not be because of any right that Jerusalem had under the old covenant. Rather it would be a free act of God's forgiving grace (59-62). As Jerusalem remembered her shameful behaviour in the past, she would be kept from any feelings of pride (63).
Zedekiah's treachery (17:1-21)
Another detailed illustration showed the exiles the significance of political developments in Jerusalem. Much had happened since they were taken from the city in 597 BC.
In Ezekiel's illustration a giant eagle broke off the top branches of a young cedar tree and carried them into a land of trade (17:1-4). (In 597 BC Babylon captured Jehoiachin, the Judean king, along with all the best of the people of Jerusalem, and carried them into Babylon; see 2 Kings 24:10-16.) Back in the land of the cedar tree, the eagle planted a native seed that grew into a vine, but it was low-spreading and was obedient to the eagle (5-6). (Back in Jerusalem, Babylon appointed another member of the Judean royal family, Zedekiah, king instead of Jehoiachin. Zedekiah was allowed only a limited independence, and had to remain submissive to Babylon; see 2 Kings 24:17.)
Then another giant eagle, equally as impressive as the first, appeared on the scene, whereupon the vine transferred its allegiance from its former master to this new eagle (7-8). (Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon by entering into an anti-Babylon military treaty with Egypt; see 2 Kings 24:20b; Jer 37:2-10.) The first eagle will therefore pull up the vine and cut off its branches, leaving it to wither and die (9-10). (Babylon will destroy Jerusalem and take Zedekiah into humiliating exile in Babylon, where he will die; see 2 Kings 25:1-12; Jer 37:8-10.)
Ezekiel's interpretation of the illustration gives special emphasis to Zedekiah's treachery in breaking his treaty with Babylon. Zedekiah had sworn an oath of allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar in the name of Yahweh (11-14), but he broke that oath in seeking Egypt's aid. In punishment he was taken captive to Babylon (15-18). Because he swore the oath in God's name, God dealt with Zedekiah's treachery as if it were against himself (19-21).
God's promise (17:22-24)
Returning to the former illustration, Ezekiel shows that God, not an eagle, will now take a branch from the top of the cedar tree. He will plant it on the top of a mountain, where it will grow into a huge and magnificent tree, bringing benefits to birds and animals of all kinds (22-23). (From the Davidic line of kings God will take one, the Messiah, and through him establish a kingdom that will bring blessing to the
whole world.) High trees will be made low and green trees will dry up, but God's tree will flourish (24). (Nations such as Babylon and Egypt will perish, but God's kingdom will be exalted.)
Each person is responsible (18:1-32)
Many of the exiles complained that it was unjust that they should suffer because of the sins of the previous generation. True, the present captivity had resulted from the continuing decay of the nation over several generations, but the exiles could not deny that they too had sinned. There could be no excuses. They are individually responsible for their wrongdoings and they are punished accordingly (18:1-4).
Examples of sins are then given. These include joining in idol feasts at the high places, immorality, exploitation of the weakness of others, and lack of concern for those in need. The person who avoids these sins and does what is right will enjoy the blessing of God (5-9).
If this good person has a son who does evil, the son will be punished for his sin (10-13). If this wicked son produces, in turn, a son who does good, the good man will be rewarded for his goodness, though his wicked father will be punished (14-18). Each is either rewarded or punished according to whether he has done good or evil, regardless of how his father may have acted (19-20).
God wants sinners to repent, so that they can receive forgiveness and enjoy God's blessings in life. But if they deliberately choose the way of sin, nothing is left for them but judgment (21-24). The exiles had accused God of being unjust, but they, because of their wickedness, are the ones who are unjust (2529). God in his justice will punish those who sin, though it gives him no pleasure. He prefers that they repent of their sin and be forgiven; and to each person who repents, God will give eternal life (30-32).
Mourning for Judah's kings (19:1-14)
Although the prophet realized that God's judgment on the sinful people of Judah was fitting, he felt sorry for those Judean kings who fell victim to the foreign invaders (19:1). Judah was like a mother lion whose young lions became kings to rule over nations. However, when Egypt in 609 BC gained control of the region, Judah's king Jehoahaz was captured, bound and taken to Egypt, where he later died (2-4; see 2 Kings 23:31-34).
The next 'lion' had all the fierce and aggressive characteristics of Judah's next king, Jehoiakim (5-8; see 2 Kings 23:36-37; 24:1; Jer 22:13-19). Unlike the kings before and after him, Jehoiakim died not in a foreign country but in Jerusalem (Jer 22:19). His son and successor, Jehoiachin, was captured and taken prisoner to Babylon. Although Jehoiachin reigned only three months, he showed he had the same evil characteristics as his father (9; see 2 Kings 24:8-15).
Judah is pictured also as a strong healthy vine, and her kings as fruitful branches of that vine. But the 'vine' withered and was taken, along with its last rightful king, Jehoiachin, into the dry and thirsty land of Babylon (10-13). Back in Jerusalem the king appointed by Babylon proved to be a 'fire' who destroyed the little that remained of the vine. Through Zedekiah both the nation and the Davidic line of kings came to an end (14; see 2 Kings 24:20-25:21).
Idolatry in the past (20:1-26)
Ezekiel records another occasion when the leaders of the exiles came to him with certain questions. God told him not to waste time dealing with their questions (20:1-3). Rather Ezekiel was to deal with the more important issue of the people's false understanding of God. Since wrong attitudes had been passed on from generation to generation, Ezekiel began to recount Israel's history from the time the people were in Egypt (4-6). Even in Egypt they had been attracted to idols and had displayed the rebellion that was to characterize their long history. God could rightly have destroyed the people then, but he refrained. He did not want the Egyptians to misunderstand his actions and accuse him of evil (7-9).
In his grace God saved the people from Egypt and gave them his rules for right living. He also gave them the Sabbath rest day as a sign that they were his people by covenant (10-12). Again they rebelled and again God withheld his judgment when he may have justly destroyed them (13-17). Time and time again they rebelled, but God still withheld his judgment (18-22). He warned them that if they persisted in their disobedience and idolatry he would scatter them among foreign nations. He would leave them to harm themselves by following heathen customs such as child sacrifice (23-26).
Past mistakes must not be repeated (20:27-44)
Having clearly illustrated that Israel had always shown a tendency to idolatry, Ezekiel now began to apply the lessons of history to his fellow exiles in Babylon. He reminded them that as soon as the people of Israel settled in Canaan they copied the religious practices of the Canaanites (27-29). Those of Ezekiel's day were just as idolatrous in heart and were thinking of copying the idolatrous ways of Babylon. God warns that he will not allow this to happen (30-32).
As he saved his people from Egypt, so God will save them from Babylon. He will bring them back to their homeland (33-34). Again they will pass through the wilderness, but this time God will take firm control of them. He will sort them as a shepherd sorts sheep, removing those who still want to worship idols. This time only those loyal to him will inherit the promised land (35-38).
With all their idolatrous tendencies left behind in Babylon, God's people will worship him in holiness in Jerusalem. They will offer sacrifices that are acceptable to him (39-40). When surrounding nations see Yahweh and his people living in true holiness, they will appreciate the character of Israel's God (41-42). The people of Israel will then have a proper understanding of God and will be ashamed of their former unfaithfulness (43-44).
Babylon's terrifying attack (20:45-21:17)
The usual way to travel from Babylon to Jerusalem was by a semi-circular route that avoided the Arabian desert by following the Euphrates River to the north-west then turning south towards Judah. (See map 'Near East in the time of Jeremiah.) Ezekiel put himself in the position of the Babylonian army as it moved south into Judah, overrunning and destroying the country as an uncontrollable bushfire. None would escape its terror (45-48). But the people did not understand Ezekiel's message (49).
Ezekiel therefore changed his symbol of God's judgment from fire to a sword. This sword would bring slaughter, not just to Jerusalem but to the whole land of Judah (21:1-5). Ezekiel's display of bitter grief showed his hearers how frightening this coming judgment would be (6-7).
To emphasize his message and illustrate its urgency, Ezekiel gave a dramatic demonstration of a swordsman cutting down his enemy. The Judeans had not heeded when God used a stick to discipline them. He would therefore use the sharpened sword of Babylon to slay them (8-13). While acting the part of a swordsman, Ezekiel also acted the part of the onlookers, by occasionally clapping his hands at the swordsman's display. In this way he indicated God's approval of Judah's destruction (14-17).
No possibility of escape (21:18-32)
In another acted message, the prophet drew a map on the ground, showing a road out of Babylon that branched in two directions. One led to Jerusalem, the other to Rabbah, capital of Ammon. By means of markings on the map, Ezekiel indicated that the king of Babylon had arrived at the road junction and was trying to decide whether to go and attack Rabbah or go and besiege Jerusalem. The king used three superstitious methods to determine which way to go: drawing lots (using arrows for lots), consulting idols, and looking into the liver of a sacrificed animal (18-21).
The decision of the Babylonian king was to besiege Jerusalem (22). The Jerusalemites, however, were not worried by this news. They took no notice of what they considered to be Babylonian superstitions. They trusted instead in their treaty with Egypt. But it would make no difference to the outcome; Jerusalem would be captured (23).
Jerusalem was doomed because of its sin; so was Zedekiah, and for the same reason. The proud king would suffer the greatest humiliation. There would not be another king over Israel till the Messiah came, to whom the throne rightly belonged (24-27).
Meanwhile the Ammonites, having escaped the Babylonian attack, took the opportunity to join in crushing Jerusalem. They were encouraged in this by lying prophets who assured them they were doing God's work. The true prophet Ezekiel told them they were only making certain their own punishment (2829). The Ammonites were not God's instrument for punishing Jerusalem. When they returned to their own country, God would punish them (by means of a Babylonian attack) for their unprovoked attack on his people (30-32).
National decay (22:1-31)
With Jerusalem's end approaching, God again told Ezekiel to show the city its sins and the humiliating judgment that these sins would bring upon it (22:1-5). Powerful people exploited others, without any respect for the laws of God or the dignity of their fellow human beings (6-8). The corrupt city was characterized by lies, violence, idolatry, bribery, oppression and sexual sins of the worse kind (9-12). God warned that in punishment for its wickedness, he would destroy the city and scatter its people among the nations (13-16).
As a refiner puts metals into a furnace to refine them, so God would gather the people in Jerusalem for a fiery judgment. But instead of the refining process producing pure metal, it would show that there was nothing but worthless metal. As the fire of the furnace melts the metal, so God in his anger would punish Jerusalem (17-22).
Jerusalem's wickedness extended to people in all sections of the community. Leaders made themselves rich through oppression and violence, while priests encouraged corruption by ignoring God's law (23-27). Prophets approved of wrongdoing for the sake of their own gain, and the people as a whole took advantage of any who were less fortunate than themselves (28-29). Not one person among all the country's official leaders was prepared to work for God in trying to stop the nation from crumbling to ruin (30-31).
Two prostitute sisters (23:1-35)
God's chosen nation was saved from Egypt and settled in Canaan, but it soon divided into two, the northern kingdom Israel (capital: Samaria) and the southern kingdom Judah (capital: Jerusalem). The prophet likens these two kingdoms to two sisters who became prostitutes (23:1-4).
The prostitution of Israel and Judah was their unfaithfulness to God in forming military alliances with foreign nations instead of trusting in him. Israel, the northern kingdom, was impressed with the might of Assyria, but in forming an alliance with the superior power she accepted also that country's gods (5-8). Assyria, having used Israel for its own satisfaction, then savagely attacked and killed her (9-10).
Judah failed to learn from Israel's experience. She too made alliances, first with Assyria and later with Babylon (Chaldea) (11-16). Then, with the feeling of disgust that often follows immorality, Judah turned away from Babylon. Soon she went lusting again, this time seeking the favours of Egypt, hoping for Egyptian aid to fight against Babylon (17-21).
Therefore, Judah's former lover, Babylon, with the assistance of other peoples from the Babylonian region, will return and attack her (22-24). It will be a time of terrible suffering as the people are cruelly humiliated, butchered and plundered (25-27), yet the whole terrifying experience will be a fitting punishment because of Judah's disgusting prostitution (28-30). She will suffer the same fate as her sister kingdom to the north. She too will drink the cup of God's wrath (31-35).
Judgment on the two sisters (23:36-49)
The prophet links the two kingdoms for his summary of God's judgment on them. Both kingdoms had copied the religious practices of their treaty partners, even to the extent of offering their children as blood sacrifices to foreign gods. They deliberately broke God's law and defiled his temple (36-39).
Both kingdoms acted like prostitutes, enticing foreign nations so that they could join with them in unions that were immoral and ungodly (40-41). These foreign nations are likened to pleasure-seeking men from the desert who bring jewellery and ornaments to pay the prostitutes for their services (42-44). As righteous judges sentence prostitutes to a fitting punishment, so God will now judge Judah (45). As an adulteress is stoned to death and her property burnt, so will Jerusalem and her people be destroyed (4649).
The cooking pot (24:1-14)
On the day Babylon began its siege of Jerusalem, Ezekiel spoke another message (24:1-2; see 2 Kings 25:1). Previously the Jerusalemites had boasted that the walls of the city would protect them from the Babylonian armies as a cooking pot protects the meat within from the fire (see 11:3). Ezekiel now uses the illustration of the cooking pot in an entirely opposite sense. The people of Jerusalem (the meat in the pot) are going to be 'cooked alive' by the 'fire' of the besieging armies of Babylon (3-5).
The cooking pot illustration is then used again. The pot, covered in rust and filth, cannot be cleansed, and the meat within it must be thrown out. Jerusalem is morally filthy beyond cleansing, and the people will be taken out of it into captivity (6).
One reason for Jerusalem's punishment is the innocent blood that has been shed in the city. That blood, which has cried out for vengeance and which till now has not been answered, will now receive a decisive response from God (7-8). Once the contents of the pot have been thrown out, the pot itself will melt in the intense heat of the fire. Only in this way can the filth of the pot be removed; and only by the destruction of Jerusalem can its filth be removed (9-14).
Death of Ezekiel's wife (24:15-27)
It came as a shock to Ezekiel to learn from God that his wife was about to die. He was told not to show any of the usual signs of mourning, but to go about his business as usual. Before his wife died, Ezekiel told the people what would happen (15-18).
As expected, the people asked Ezekiel why he was not observing the usual mourning customs (19). Ezekiel explained that he was demonstrating how the exiles would react when they heard news of the destruction of their temple and the slaughter of their relatives. Being exiles in the land of the conqueror, they could hardly show public signs of mourning, though they would groan privately to one another in their unspeakable grief (20-24).
When news of the fall of Jerusalem reached the exiles, the restrictions God had placed on Ezekiel's speech and movements would be lifted. The people would at last realize the truth of his message and be prepared to listen to him (25-27; cf. 3:22-27; 33:21-22).
25:1-32:32 JUDGMENTS AGAINST FOREIGN NATIONS
Once the exiles had been awakened, Ezekiel's next task was to instruct them further about God's future purposes for them. But before doing so, he shows how God will deal with Israel's former oppressors. God is the controller not only of Israel's destiny but also of the destinies of other nations. He will not allow sin to go unpunished, and he will especially deal with the four neighbouring nations who supported Babylon at the fall of Jerusalem. (For the nations dealt with in this section, see map located at Isaiah 13-23, where another group of messages to various nations is recorded.)
Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia (25:1-17)
The Ammonites had taken wicked delight in seeing Jerusalem and its temple destroyed. Now God is going to deal with them (25:1-3). They will be overrun by desert tribesmen from the east who will turn Ammon's cities into pasture lands for their animals (4-7).
Moab will suffer the same fate as Ammon. Its sin was to despise Judah's God, Yahweh, by claiming that he was no different from the gods of other nations. They thought that he was powerless to protect his temple from devastation. He will now show his power by devastating Moab (8-11).
Edom had acted with unnecessary violence and treachery against Judah, and helped Babylon in the final destruction of Jerusalem. The Jews themselves will be God's instrument in punishing Edom (12-14; see also Ps 137:7; Obad 10-14).
The Philistines, ancient enemies of Israel, had also acted in bitter revenge against Jerusalem when they saw the city about to fall. Therefore, they too will cease to be a nation (15-17)
Overthrow of Tyre (26:1-21)
Tyre, on the Mediterranean coast of Phoenicia, just north of Palestine, was a leading commercial centre in the ancient world. The city was in two parts, one built on the mainland coast, the other on an island a short distance offshore. Tyre rejoiced at the fall of Jerusalem, for the way was now open for it to take over the important trade routes that passed through Jerusalem (26:1-2). The prophet announces that in the years ahead, armies from various nations will overrun both Tyre's island and mainland portions, leaving it devastated and bare (3-6).
Babylon will be the first nation that God sends against Tyre. The mainland city will be besieged and will suffer extensive damage at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar's well equipped attackers (7-11). When the city is later destroyed, the enemy will empty the rubble into the sea, forming a road across to the island city, which, in turn, will be overthrown (12-14).
Coastal cities around the Mediterranean will mourn the loss of this trading giant, on whom they have depended for trade and economic prosperity (15-18). In pictorial language the prophet describes Tyre as sinking beneath the sea, never to be seen again (19-21).
Mourning for Tyre (27:1-36)
This chapter continues the theme of Tyre's overthrow. It is in the form of a funeral song that Tyre's trading partners sing as they mourn the city's death (27:1-2).
The song begins by recalling the glory of Tyre's past. The prosperous commercial city is likened to a magnificent merchant ship, beautifully made from best quality materials taken from all parts of the trading world. Her planks, masts, oars and decking were made of the best timbers, her sails from the finest linen, her colours of the most expensive dyes (3-7). The oarsmen, sailors and craftsmen who made up her crew were highly skilled men drawn from many countries (8-9).
Tyre's prosperity appeared to be secure, for the city was well defended by an army of hired soldiers chosen from many countries (10-11). The city's commercial strength was unequalled. Countries from the west to the east, from the north to the south, traded with Tyre. The trade covered an enormous range of merchandise, from minerals to animals, from spices to slaves (12-24).
However, Tyre's great commercial enterprise brought with it great danger. The ship became overloaded and, when caught in a storm at sea, sank. All its merchandise was lost and all its crew drowned (25-27). All Tyre's trading partners now mourn its loss (28-31), though their mourning is as much out of pity for themselves as out of pity for Tyre. The chief reason for their sorrow is that, with the loss of Tyre, they have lost the trading partner who, more than any other, has been the source of their wealth (32-36).
Judgment on the king of Tyre (28:1-19)
The king of Tyre, as representative of the whole nation, is now condemned on account of the pride for which Tyre was famous. Because of the wealth and strength that the country gained through clever trading, Tyre saw itself as all-powerful, answerable to no one. It considered itself to be a god among the nations of the commercial world (28:1-5).
Yahweh, the only true God, will tolerate Tyre's arrogance no longer. The day of Tyre's judgment has come (6-7). The city in both its island and mainland sections will become rubble and will be thrown into the sea. The king who thought he was a god will be killed by the foreigners whom he despised, and his body thrown into the sea (8-10).
Tyre, still represented in its king, thought of itself as one who lived in paradise – wealthy, wise, happy, in need of nothing (11-13). Not satisfied with the security it enjoyed and the dominion it exercised over God's earth, Tyre fell into the sin of wanting to be like God. Just as those who lived in the original paradise were driven out for their arrogance and rebellion, so proud Tyre will be shamefully removed from its place of honour and power (14-17). By the selfish greed and arrogant ambition of its trading activity, Tyre has corrupted itself. It will therefore come to a humiliating end by being smashed and burnt before the gaze of the nations through whom it has made itself rich (18-19).
Judgment on Sidon (28:20-26)
Sidon, to the north of Tyre, was another neighbouring state that had oppressed Israel. It too will experience a bloody judgment (20-23). As a result God's people will have relief from suffering and a more enlightened understanding of him (24). When God has destroyed their enemies, he will bring them back to live contentedly in their land again. His righteous dealings with them will be a striking demonstration to the surrounding nations that the God of Israel is holy (25-26).
Judgment on Egypt (29:1-16)
At the time Ezekiel delivered this prophecy against Egypt, Jerusalem was besieged by the Babylonian armies (29:1; see 2 Kings 25:1-2). The Judean king Zedekiah depended upon Egyptian aid in rebelling against Babylon, but Ezekiel knows that to depend on Egypt is to invite defeat. By his condemnation of Egypt in this message, he shows how unacceptable any Judean-Egyptian alliance is in God's sight (2; cf. 17:15-18; Jer 37:6-10).
In this very pictorial prophecy, Egypt is likened to the mythical monster who thought he owned the Nile. God says he will catch this monster, drag it out of the river and leave it to lie in the fields, where it will become food for foul birds and animals. Egypt will fall to foreign powers (3-5).
Ezekiel then gives another illustration. Judah at times had depended on Egypt for help, as a cripple depends on a walking stick. Egypt, however, proved to be not a walking stick but a reed, which broke and brought injury to the person who depended on it. For its treachery to Judah, Egypt will be punished (6-9a; cf. Isa 36:6). For its pride also it will be punished, and its land will be left desolate (9b-12). Although God will later restore Egypt, it will never regain its former power (13-16).
Babylon's victory over Egypt (29:17-21)
A much later prophecy is put into the collection at this point, to show how God's judgment on Egypt was carried out. The year was 571 BC (17).
Babylon took thirteen years of hard work to conquer Tyre, and this left the Babylonian soldiers worn out. To make matters worse, they did not gain the profit they expected from the conquered city, because the people of Tyre had apparently shipped out much of their wealth during the thirteen years of siege (18). Therefore, the Babylonian forces will turn south and conquer Egypt, assured by God that the rewards of victory in Egypt will compensate for what they missed at Tyre. In both cases they were 'hired' by God to carry out his judgment, and he would make sure they received fitting 'wages' (19-20). The fulfilment of this prophecy will be proof to Israel of God's power (21).
Desolation of Egypt (30:1-26)
God's coming judgment on Egypt will be a day of terror for other nations besides Egypt (30:1-3), because when Egypt falls many of its neighbouring allies will suffer also (4-5). These allies will be terrified as news reaches them of the calamities in Egypt. The invading army will overrun Egypt from north to south, killing the people and burning their cities (6-8). The people in neighbouring Ethiopia (NIV: Cush; GNB: Sudan) will be terror-stricken, knowing that they will be the next victims of this ruthless attacker (9).
The nation that God will use to smash Egypt is mighty Babylon. In addition to sending armies, God will send a drought to dry up the Nile, so that the whole land of Egypt will be left desolate (10-12). Cities throughout the country will be destroyed, strongholds burnt, idols smashed, leaders killed, and people taken captive (13-19).
Already God's judgment on Egypt had begun. Egypt had suffered one defeat by Babylon, and was not able to repair the damage or regain former strength. Babylon had, so to speak, broken one of Pharaoh's arms (20-21). Babylon is now about to break Pharaoh's other arm. It is about to gain another major victory, and Egypt's power will be smashed completely (22-26).
The mighty cedar tree (31:1-18)
Pharaoh, and through him Egypt, is likened to a giant cedar tree, well watered and tall, which provides shelter for birds and animals alike. It is a picture of the strong and proud kingdom of Egypt, upon whom neighbouring countries relied for protection (31:1-6). (Some versions suggest that this poem was written concerning Assyria. If that is the case, the writer quotes it here so that Egypt might learn the lesson.)
Other countries were impressed by Egypt and envied its stability and strength (7-9). But no matter how impressive the tree is, foreigners will cut it down. Egypt will be conquered (10-13). The ruin of Egypt will be a warning to others not to be dominated by pride and selfish ambition (14).
As the trees of the forest mourn the death of this mighty cedar tree, so will nations tremble when they hear of the fall of Egypt. Other nations who had 'died' previously will feel some comfort to learn that mighty Egypt has now suffered the same fate (15-17). The once glorious nation now lies in humiliation among the dishonoured dead (18).
The end of Egypt (32:1-32)
Again Pharaoh (or Egypt) is likened to the mythological monster of the Nile who will be caught, dragged out of the river and left to rot in the sun. His blood will flow over the land and his carcass will be
meat for birds and wild animals (32:1-6; cf. 29:3-5). A terrifying darkness throughout the country will impress upon people that this judgment is the work of the sovereign God (7-8).
Neighbouring nations will tremble when they see multitudes of Egyptian people killed by the invaders or taken into foreign captivity (9-12). With people and animals wiped out, the land will be left desolate. The waters of Egypt will be clear and its rivers will flow smoothly, unpolluted and undisturbed by any form of life (13-16).
Ezekiel returns to his picture of Egypt's sinking into Sheol, the dark silent world of the dead. With mocking words, the dead welcome the formerly proud nation to join them in the place of shame and uncleanness (17-21; cf. 31:15-18).
Already in the world of the dead are certain cruel nations of the past, such as Assyria, Elam, Meshech and Tubal. These nations formerly terrified others, but now they lie useless and dishonoured (22-27). Egypt will now join them (28). Other nations that Ezekiel has already denounced, such as Edom and Sidon, will finish in the same place (29-30). The only comfort for Egypt will be to learn that it is not the only nation to suffer such a humiliating end (31-32).
33:1-39:29 RETURN TO THE LAND
A new phase in Ezekiel's work (33:1-20)
Up till now Ezekiel's messages have been concerned mainly with God's judgment – first his judgment on Jerusalem, then his judgment on other nations. Now that Jerusalem has fallen (see v. 21), the prophet concentrates more on the task of building up the exiles. He wants them to be a new people who will be ready to repossess the land when God's time comes. This, however, is going to involve some stern warnings. Ezekiel is therefore reminded again that he is like a watchman on the city wall who must warn the people when he sees danger approaching (33:1-6). Whether the people heed him or ignore him, he must carry out his duty faithfully (7-9; cf. 3:16-21).
For the first time, the exiles show sorrow for their past sin. Some are even tempted to despair. Ezekiel assures them that God does not delight in punishment. He would rather they repent. Then he will forgive the past and they can make a new beginning (10-11).
The prophet reminds the people that each individual has a personal responsibility to do what is right in order to enjoy the blessings of God. Good deeds of the past will not save a person from judgment if that person deliberately turns back to sin. Bad deeds of the past will not be held against a person if that person turns from them (12-16; cf. 18:5-24). If people suffer God's punishment, it is because they have done wrong, not because God is unjust (17-20; cf. 18:25-32).
News from Jerusalem (33:21-33)
As soon as news reached the exiles that Jerusalem had fallen as Ezekiel had foretold, Ezekiel knew that the new phase of his work was to begin. The former restrictions on his speech and movements were lifted (21-22; cf. 24:25-27).
Ezekiel received news also of certain selfish and dishonest practices among the Jews who were left in the country areas of Judah. Some of these people had seized the land of those taken into exile. They argued that if Abraham (only one person) had been given the right to inherit Canaan, surely they (a much greater number) had the right to accumulate property there (23-24).
God's reply through Ezekiel is clear. The Jews scattered in Judah have no right to possess any of the land, since they commit the same sins as the Jerusalemites – sins for which Jerusalem was destroyed and its people taken into captivity (25-26). Those who happened to escape the Babylonians are not the people who will repossess the promised land. On the contrary, they will be punished as the Jerusalemites were punished (27-29).
Meanwhile the exiles in Babylon had developed a more favourable attitude towards Ezekiel. Now that his prediction of the fall of Jerusalem had come true, they were convinced that he was a true prophet. As a result they came to listen to what else he had to say (30). But they were concerned only with any advantages that they might gain to make life easier for themselves in Babylon. They listened to Ezekiel as they might listen to an entertainer. They took no notice of his moral instruction (31-32). Only after they had been restored to the promised land would people understand fully that this was the goal for which Ezekiel had been trying to prepare them (33).
Rulers past and future (34:1-31)
The leaders of Israel, whether of the northern kingdom or the southern, were supposed to be shepherds, but instead of caring for the people they exploited them. Their sole concern was for themselves (34:1-4). Because of their neglect of the flock, the sheep were attacked and scattered. Because of the corruption of its leaders, Israel was destroyed by hostile nations and its people taken captive into foreign countries (5-6).
God will therefore punish the shepherds, but he will rescue the scattered sheep and bring them back to their home (7-10). God himself will be their new shepherd. He will feed them and care for them (1115). While being sympathetic to those who are afflicted, he will act with strict justice against those who are oppressive (16).
Having taken the flock under his control and care, the true shepherd will remove from it those who, in their greed and selfishness, spoiled the pastures and dirtied the water for others. God will punish those who made themselves rich and powerful by trampling on the rights of their fellow citizens (17-19). When God has removed those who oppressed others for their own advantage, he will set up his Messiah to rule over his people in love and righteousness. The ideal that David wished for but never experienced will then be a reality (20-24).
Ezekiel speaks of the new relationship between God and his people as a covenant of peace. A bond of harmony exists between the good shepherd and his sheep. As the shepherd protects his flock from wild animals and gives his sheep good pastures, so God will protect his people from their enemies and give them agricultural prosperity (25-29). His people will respond with true loyalty. They will be his people, and he will be their God (30-31).
Edom punished (35:1-15)
Since the Jews were to inherit their land again, any foreign nation that attempted to occupy that land for itself had to be overcome. One such nation was Edom, symbolized here by its distinctive landmark, Mt Seir (35:1-4). Edom had a long record of bitter hatred of Israel, and with wicked vindictiveness had gladly helped Babylon crush Jerusalem in 587 BC. Therefore, Edom itself will be crushed. It will suffer the slaughter it made Jerusalem suffer. Its people will be wiped out and its land left uninhabited (5-9; see notes on 25:12-14).
Edom was determined to take over the territory of Judah for itself, but God saw Edom's action as an attack upon him. Since Judah was God's people and their land was his territory, Edom's curses against Judah were really blasphemies against God (10-13). Far from taking over Judah's land, Edom will be destroyed and its land left a desolation (14-15).
Restoration assured (36:1-15)
With the removal of the people of Israel from their ancient homeland (both northern and southern kingdoms) certain neighbouring nations took the opportunity to seize Israel's former territory for themselves (36:1-2). God comforts his people with the reminder that the land rightly belongs to him, and he will not tolerate the contempt of these enemies (3-5). He will now deal justly with those who despised his people (6-7).
Having dealt with his enemies, God will bring the people of Israel back to their former territory. The deserted land will be repopulated, cities will be rebuilt, farm and pasture lands will again become productive, and flocks and herds will increase (8-12). In the past the land may at times have appeared to be hostile to its inhabitants, but now it will be favourable to them (13-15).
For the sake of God's holy name (36:16-38)
God had driven the people of Israel out of their land because their sins had made them unclean in his sight (16-19). Onlooking nations, however, did not see it that way. They mocked God, saying that the removal of Israel from its land showed that he was weak. He could not save his people from the superior gods of the nations (20-21).
Therefore, God will correct this misunderstanding and restore his honour by bringing Israel back to its land (22-24). He will cleanse his people from their idolatry and put a new spirit within them. Then, instead of being stubborn as in former days, they will have a readiness to do God's will (25-27). The land
will give them the best of agricultural blessings (28-30). They will be ashamed when they remember their bad conduct in the past, whereas God will be honoured by the nations that once mocked him (31-32).
These nations will be amazed when they see the fertility of the formerly desolated land and the prosperity of the formerly conquered people. They will realize that God is not weak as they supposed, but is working in Israel's history according to his plan (33-36). As flocks of sacrificial animals once filled Jerusalem at festival times, so will multitudes of Jews fill Israel's cities again (37-38).
The nation revived and reunited (37:1-28)
With Jerusalem destroyed and the people in exile, Israel's national life had come to an end. To Ezekiel it appeared as if a great army had been slaughtered in battle and the bodies of the dead left to rot in the sun. All that was left was a lot of dry bones. Israel's condition appeared to be beyond hope (37:13).
God now promises Ezekiel that he will do the impossible. He will bring Israel back to life – as if he brings the scattered bones together, puts flesh on them and breathes life into them. Dead Israel will become a living nation again, but only through the direct creative action of God (4-10).
The interpretation of the vision is combined with another picture illustrating Israel's revival. This is the picture of buried bodies coming back to life. Again the renewal of life is only by the direct activity of God (11-14).
When the nation is re-established in its own land, there will not be the division that previously existed between the southern kingdom (Judah) and the northern kingdom (Ephraim). To demonstrate the unity of this new kingdom, Ezekiel took two sticks, symbolizing the two former kingdoms, and held them together so that they appeared as one (15-19). In explaining the meaning of his actions to the people, Ezekiel stressed that there will be no idolatry in the restored nation (20-23).
The king who will rule over this unified nation will be none other than the promised Messiah of the dynasty of David. The people will live in the land promised to their ancestors and they will walk in God's ways (24-25). God will give his people the covenant blessings. He will establish his everlasting presence among them, and all people will know that Israel is his people (26-28).
Strange prophecies
Chapters 38 and 39 give a pictorial description of an attack by evil powers on the people of God. The setting for this attack is the land of the restored people of Israel, who are enjoying an existence of peace and contentment.
Restored Israel did, in fact, suffer an onslaught by evil powers when, in 171-165 BC, Antiochus Epiphanes butchered their people and almost wiped out their religion. But it is clear from a reading of the two chapters that the language cannot be interpreted literally of the period of Antiochus or any other period of Israel's recorded history.
As with some of Ezekiel's other visions, the meaning extends beyond the period of post-exilic Israel. It speaks of the final victory that God has prepared for his people in a hostile world. The vision is concerned only with that limited area of the world with which the exiles were familiar, but its meaning is relevant to God's people in any age, no matter where they live (cf. Rev 20:7-10). The purpose of the vision is not to teach the exiles history, but to show people in general, and God's people in particular, that God is holy and that his sovereign purposes will be fulfilled (see 38:23; 39:21-22).
Invasion by the armies of Gog (38:1-23)
To the Jews of Ezekiel's day, the nations referred to here would represent the most distant regions of the world – 'the four corners of the earth'. They are led by a man called Gog, who lives to the north in the land of Magog and who is ruler of the joint kingdom of Meshech-Tubal (38:1-3). He will lead an attack on Israel and will be helped by other countries from the east (Persia), from the south (Cush and Put, meaning probably Ethiopia and Libya), and from the north (Gomer and Beth-togarmah). But because God is working in history, the attackers, not the people of God, are the ones who are doomed (4-6).
This combined army will launch its attack some time after the people of God are contentedly settled back in their land. God urges the enemies on in their preparations for battle, as he is going to use the occasion of the joint attack to destroy them all in one final great act of judgment (7-9; cf. v. 3-4).
Gog plans to take advantage of the peaceful circumstances in Palestine, where the nation Israel is no longer concerned with war. He will attack its defenceless cities and seize so much spoil that the greed of other nations will be aroused. They will then come and join with Gog, hoping to share the spoil (10-13).
After carefully laying his plans, Gog acts, but he does not realize that God is in control of events (1416). God has been waiting for him, and now he deals with him (17-18). Through earthquakes, floods, fire, disease and bloodshed, God wipes out the forces of Gog (19-23).
Destruction of the armies of Gog (39:1-29)
Ezekiel repeats that God was the one who drew out the forces of Gog, his purpose being to destroy them (39:1-3). Their dead soldiers lie unburied in the fields, and their cities are in ashes (4-6). The terrible massacre helps people to see how frightening is the power of God when he acts in holy anger against evil (7-8).
So great were the armies of Gog in size, that their weapons provide firewood for the people of Israel for the next seven years (9-10). Collecting and burying the corpses takes seven months (11-13). When this task is finished, people search the land thoroughly to make sure that not even a bone of one of Gog's men remains in Israel. All trace of the forces of evil must be removed, so that the land is completely cleansed (14-16).
Returning to the picture of the unburied corpses, Ezekiel invites wild beasts and foul birds to come and feast on them. It will be a feast such as they have never had before (17-20). The destruction of Gog, like the captivity of Israel, shows to people everywhere that God is holy and just in dealing with sin (2124). But whereas Gog is the power of evil, Israel is the people of God. Gog is destroyed, but Israel is restored. The people come back to their land, to live in close fellowship with Yahweh, their redeemer and saviour (25-29).
40:1-48:35 THE NEW AGE
In this the final section of his book, Ezekiel adds to the picture he has already given of Israel's restoration to the land and the golden age that will follow. He has already dealt at length with the return to the land; now he deals with matters relating to the people's way of life within the land. In particular he deals with the temple and the city.
Although the blessings outlined by Ezekiel were intended for restored Israel, the nation missed out on the blessings when it turned away from God as in former days. But some remained true to God, and the faithful remnant of old Israel became the nucleus of the new people of God, the Christian church. The new Jerusalem is a spiritual community of those of all nations who are 'born from above' (Gal 3:26-29; 4:26-28).
This new community can learn from Ezekiel's visions, even though the visions were given for the benefit of people of Ezekiel's time. But even this new community may not at present experience the full blessings pictured by Ezekiel. The visions seem to point beyond, to the time when the kingdom of Jesus Christ will be established in its fullest glory. The great expectation of God's people is the new age yet to come, when God will dwell for ever with all his redeemed people in an order of existence never before experienced.
Pictures and language
In revealing certain characteristics of life in his eternal kingdom, God used words and illustrations that people of Ezekiel's day could understand. Since the immediate hope for those people was to return to their land and rebuild the temple and city, God used this immediate hope as his means of instructing them concerning his ultimate purposes. The restoration was a shadow or picture of greater things to come.
Just as the details of Ezekiel's previous visions are not to be understood in a literal or physical sense, so neither are the details of his visions of the new temple and the new Jerusalem. Ezekiel was a priest, and he best understood the ideal life of God's people in terms of an ideal religious system. He saw a temple where God dwelt among his people and was worshipped by them in a religious order that was perfect in every detail (e.g. 43:10-12). He saw a nation whose ideal existence was possible only because everything was perfectly arranged around the central presence of God (e.g. 48:8,20,35).
Ezekiel, like all seers, was concerned with spiritual realities more than with physical details. Nevertheless, he had to use examples from the physical world to illustrate the spiritual, because the
physical world was the only world that he and his readers knew. In this he may be compared with another seer, John, the writer of the book of Revelation. As Ezekiel used the illustration of a temple, John used the illustration of a city. Both were concerned with informing their readers of that quality of life that can find its fullest expression only in the age to come.
The temple: outer and inner courts (40:1-47)
It was now twenty-five years since Ezekiel had been taken to Babylon, and fourteen years since the fall of Jerusalem. One day he had a vision in which he imagined himself back in Israel where, from a high
hill, he saw a huge temple. To help him understand its size and details he had a heavenly guide, who carried a linen tape for measuring long distance, and a reed (just over three metres long) for measuring shorter distances. The exactness of the measurements no doubt indicated that God does everything to perfection (40:1-4).
The first thing Ezekiel saw was the wall that surrounded the temple complex (5). This complex was square in plan and was entered through a huge tunnel-like gate in the eastern wall. To pass through this gate a person had to go up a flight of steps, cross a threshold (6), walk along a passage (on each side of which were three small rooms, or alcoves, for the temple guards), cross another threshold, then pass through a larger room (called the vestibule, or portico) into the outer court of the temple (7-9). The measurements of the various rooms within the gateway are given (10-15). They all had light and ventilation openings, and were decorated with carvings of palm trees (16).
Built around the inside of the outer wall were thirty rooms (probably for the use of worshippers) which opened on to the outer court (17-19). There were gates in the north and south sides of the main outer wall. These gates were similar to the main gate in the eastern wall that has just been described (2027).
Inside the outer court was a smaller, inner court. This inner court was on a higher level than the outer court (cf. v. 18) and was entered on either the south, east, or north sides by ascending a flight of steps and passing through a gate similar to those in the outer walls (28-37). The vestibule (or portico) of each gate to the inner court had eight tables for slaughtering the sacrificial animals (38-41), and four tables on which the various utensils used in the sacrifices were kept (42-43).
On the inside of the walls enclosing the inner court were rooms for the priests. Rooms on the north were for those priests responsible for the daily routines of the temple. Rooms on the south were for those priests responsible for the sacrifices. The altar of burnt offering was positioned in the centre of the inner court (44-47).
The temple proper (40:48-41:26)
From the inner court the way into the temple proper was up a flight of steps on the western side of the court, between two pillars at the top of the steps, and through a vestibule or entrance room (48-49). From the vestibule an entrance led into the nave or Holy Place (the outer sanctuary). From the nave a narrower entrance led into the Most Holy Place (the inner sanctuary) (41:1-4).
Attached externally to the sides and rear of the temple proper were three storeys of storerooms, probably used for storing the tithes and offerings brought by the people. The side and rear walls of the main building were reduced in thickness for the middle storey, and reduced further for the top storey. This created 'steps', or ledges, in the outer face of the main walls. The timber beams that formed the floors of the middle and top storeys rested on these steps (5-7). Access to the storerooms was through two doors in the bottom storey. These doors, one on the north side and one on the south, opened on to the raised platform, or terrace, on which the temple stood (8-11).
To the sides and rear of this paved platform was an open area called the temple yard (or courtyard). At the rear of this yard, backing on to the western outer wall, was another building. Referred to simply as the west building, it was possibly an additional storehouse (12). The measurements of the temple and its immediate surroundings demonstrated the perfection of the whole. Everything was carefully planned; nothing was left to chance (13-15a).
Windows were positioned high in the side walls of the temple so as to open above the lean-to roof of the attached storerooms. The inner walls of the temple, extending from the floor up over the doors to the underside of these high windows, were panelled with richly carved wood (15b-20).
The doors of the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place were in two halves, each of which could be folded. In front of the doors that led into the Most Holy Place was a piece of furniture that looked partly like an altar and partly like a table (21-26).