Psalm 150 (continued, part 21)
When people will not receive "the love of the truth, that they might be saved," God may "send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, so that they all may be condemned" (2 Thess. 2:10–11 nkjv). It's the condition of the person's heart that determines the response to the Lord's test, for God deals with people according to their hearts (Ps. 18:26–27). The attitude of the lost world today is that there are no absolutes, and therefore there can be no "truth." Satan is the liar and the deceiver, and he has blinded the minds of people so that they believe lies and reject the truth of God. We must do all we can to share the truth of the Word with a blind and deaf world, trusting the Holy Spirit to open their eyes and ears and save them by His grace.
It's not likely that believers today would have a love in their hearts for actual images, but anything that replaces God in our affections and our obedience is certainly an idol. It might be wealth, as in the case of Achan (Josh. 7), Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), and the man we call "the rich young ruler" (Matt. 19:16–26). Jonah's idol was a selfish patriotism that made him turn his back on the Gentiles who needed to hear his message. Pilate's idol was holding the approval of the people and his status in the Roman Empire (Mark 15:15; John 19:12–16). What we have in our hearts affects what we see and how we live. If Christ is Lord in our hearts (1 Peter 3:15), then there will be no place for idols.
False Hope (14:12–23) In this particular message, the Lord described once again the four judgments He would send on the people of Judah and Jerusalem, and He emphasized one compelling fact: there would be no escape. Perhaps some of the Jews remembered how their father Abraham interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah, and how the Lord promised to spare the city if He could locate in it ten righteous men (Gen. 18:16–33). God had told Jeremiah to stop praying for the people because they were beyond hope (Jer. 7:16; 11:14; 14:11), and now He would tell Ezekiel that the presence of three righteous men whom the Jews revered would not save the city of Jerusalem.
Loving and accepting the false prevents us from knowing and loving the true (2 Thess. 2:10) and results in our becoming estranged from the Lord (Ezek. 13:5). By worshipping false gods, Israel abandoned the Lord whom they had "married" at Sinai (Jer. 2:1–14), and they needed to turn back to the Lord. Like the believers in the church of Ephesus, they had "left their first love" (Rev. 2:4). God told Ezekiel that the Jewish people had deserted Him to follow after idols and that He would discipline them in order to "recapture" their hearts.
The judgments described (vv. 12–21). The first judgment is famine (vv. 12–14). God would break the staff of bread and cut off the lives of humans and animals. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel mention this judgment (Jer. 14; Ezek. 5:12, 16–17; 6:11–12; 7:15;
He called them to repent (vv. 6–11). Repentance is a change of mind; it means turning from sin and turning to the Lord. The Jewish exiles needed to
Ezekiel 14
12:16), and it came as promised. But God in His covenant with Israel had warned that famine would come if the people disobeyed His Word (Deut. 28:15–20, 38–40, 50–57). "But surely there are enough righteous men in Jerusalem to turn away God's anger," the leaders argued; but God silenced their lips. If Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the city, their righteousness would deliver only themselves and could not save the city.
army would sweep through the land and show no mercy (Hab. 1:5–11). They would surround Jerusalem and besiege it until its food ran out and its fortifications failed. The presence of Noah, Daniel, and Job could not have saved the city.
The final judgment was pestilence (Ezek. 14:19–20), which usually accompanies famine and war (Rev. 6:3–8). Dying people and decaying corpses certainly don't make a besieged city a healthier place in which to live. Again, God gave the warning about the inability of the three righteous men to rescue the people. The fourfold repetition of this truth surely got the message across to the elders, but the Jewish people had a tendency to rest all their hopes on the righteousness of their "great men." Both John the Baptist and Jesus warned the Pharisees and Sadducees that they couldn't please God just because Abraham was their father (Matt. 3:7–9; John 8:33–47) or Moses was their leader (9:28).
Why did the Lord choose these three men? For one thing, all three of them are identified in the Old Testament Scripture as righteous men (Gen. 6:9; Job 1:1, 8; 2:3; Dan. 6:4–5, 22). All of them were tested and proved faithful, Noah by the flood, Daniel in the lions' den, and Job by painful trials from Satan. They were all men of faith. Noah's faith helped to save his family and animal creation; Daniel's faith saved his own life and the lives of his friends (Dan. 2:24); and Job's faith saved his three friends from God's judgment (Job 42:7–8). However, the faith and righteousness of these three men could not be accredited to others. Noah's family had to trust God and enter the ark; Daniel's friends had to pray and trust God; and Job's friends had to repent and bring the proper sacrifices. There is no such thing as "borrowed faith."
God's judgments vindicated (vv. 21–23). The absence of even three righteous people in Jerusalem would make God's judgments of the city even worse, and when all four of His judgments converge, how terrible it will be! No doubt the false prophets and some of the other captives would debate with the Lord and argue that He was being too hard on Judah and Jerusalem. But in His grace, He would allow some of the people to escape the four judgments and be taken captive to Babylon (12:16). When the exiles who preceded them to Babylon see the wickedness of these people, they will have to agree that the Lord was righteous in His judgments (Jer. 22:8–9). The hearts of these survivors must have been incurably sinful if they could watch the siege, see thousands die, be spared themselves, and still not repent and turn to the Lord. Indeed, their eyes were blind, their ears were deaf, and they were a stubborn and rebellious people.
The responsibility of each person before God is a key subject in the book of Ezekiel, and he will deal with it in chapter 18. God doesn't punish people because of the sins of others, nor will God accept the righteousness of others to compensate for the wicked deeds of sinners. This principle is made clear in both the law of Moses and the covenant God made with Israel. The only time God abandoned this principle was when Jesus Christ His Son died on the cross, for He suffered for the sins of the whole world. When we trust Jesus as Savior and Lord, we receive the gift of His righteousness and God accepts us because of His Son (Rom. 3:21—4:25; 2 Cor. 5:19–21). The second judgment was wild beasts in the land (Ezek. 14:15–16). This judgment was also mentioned in the covenant: "I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate" (Lev. 26:22). The Lord gave Israel victory in the Promised Land in about seven years, but the "mopping up" operation took a little longer. God gave the Jews victory over the residents "little by little" so that the land wouldn't revert to its natural state and the wild animals take over (Deut. 7:22). But now in a developed land, with many people, towns, and cities, the animals would still take over at the command of God! Unfortunately, it would be innocent children who would suffer most. But even if these three righteous men were living in the land, they couldn't deliver anybody other than themselves.
1 The Life and Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson, edited by Adrienne Koch and William Peden (New York: The Modern Library, 1993), 255. 2 When the prophet covered his face and kept his eyes to the ground, it suggested the great humiliation God had brought upon the king. Had he obeyed God's message from Jeremiah, he and his family and staff would have been spared. The covering of the face also suggests the impending blindness of the king. 3 Whenever we use drama to convey God's truth to people, we still need the Word of God to make the message clear and authoritative. The spiritually "blind" and "deaf" will be attracted by drama and pantomime, but not everybody will accurately interpret what they see. Ezekiel preached a message after his "action sermons" because it's the Word of God that brings conviction and conveys faith (Rom. 10:17). 4 Ezekiel used this image again in 22:28. 5 Some students think that the sorceresses used the barley and bread in their magical incantations to determine the future, and this is possible. It does seem like a small fee for their services.
The third judgment was the sword (Ezek. 14:17–18), which means war. The word sword is used at least eighty-six times in Ezekiel. The Babylonian
Ezekiel 15
nothing. Revelation 14:17–20 speaks of "the vine of the earth," a symbol of corrupt Gentile society at the end of the age, ripening for judgment in the winepress of God's wrath. But the image of the vine is often applied to the nation of Israel (Ps. 80; Isa. 5:1–7; Jer. 2:21; Matt. 21:28–46; Luke 20:9–19). In fact, Ezekiel will bring the image of the vine into his parable about the "shoots" (Ezek. 17:6–8).
CHAPTER FIVE Ezekiel 15—17 PICTURES OF FAILURE T
he prophet Ezekiel remained silent except when the word of the Lord came to him and God permitted him to speak (3:25–27). The three messages recorded in these chapters were given to the elders who were seated before him in his own house, men who outwardly appeared interested in hearing God's word but inwardly were idolatrous (14:1–3). The Lord knew that neither the elders nor the people took Ezekiel's messages seriously because they saw him as a "religious entertainer" whose words were only "beautiful music" (33:30–33). Whenever God's people turn from His Word and become satisfied with substitutes, they are indeed headed for failure.
When you study the references listed above, you learn that Israel was a lowly vine when God planted her in the Promised Land, but by His blessing she increased and prospered. During the reign of David and the early years of Solomon, the vine was fragrant and fruitful, a witness to the Gentile nations of the blessing of the God of Israel. However, Solomon introduced idolatry into the nation, the kingdom divided, and the Jewish people began to bear "wild grapes" (Isa. 5:2) instead of fruit for God's glory. Subsequent kings, both of Israel and Judah, worshipped idols and engaged in the evil practices of the neighboring nations. God allowed the Gentiles to invade the land and eventually destroy Jerusalem and the temple (Ps. 80:12–13). The holy vineyard was defiled and devastated.
Because the people who heard him were spiritually blind and deaf, Ezekiel had to hold their attention, arouse their interest, and motivate them to think about God's truth. One way he did this was through his "action sermons," and another way was by means of sermons filled with vivid and arresting vocabulary and intriguing imagery. In these three messages, Ezekiel spoke about a vine, an unfaithful wife, and three shoots from a tree, and each of these images conveyed God's truth to those who really wanted to understand. These pictures and parables not only described the sins of the nation of Israel, but they also declared her terrible judgment. Ezekiel spoke to his people in the most vivid language found anywhere in Scripture, but the messages fell on deaf ears.
Ezekiel's contribution to the "vineyard story" is to point out the worthlessness of the vine if it doesn't bear fruit. If a tree becomes useless, you can at least cut it down and make something useful out of the wood; but what can you make out of the wood of a vine? You can't even carve a tent peg or a wall peg out of it! It's good for only one thing, and that's fuel for the fire. If the wood was useless before it was thrown into the fire, it's even more worthless after it's been singed and marred by the flames.
Ezekiel saw the nation's first taste of the fire in 605 BC when Nebuchadnezzar took the temple treasures to Babylon along with some of the best of the young men, including Daniel. In 597 BC, there was a second deportation of exiles, Ezekiel among them, so the fire was growing hotter. The siege of Jerusalem began in 588 BC and the fire began to blaze; and in 586 BC, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and took thousands of Jewish captives to Babylon. The vine was burned at both ends and in the middle! The inhabitants of the Holy City certainly went from the "fire" of invasion and assault to the literal fire of destruction. "Then they [the Babylonians] burned the house of God, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions" (2 Chron. 36:19 nkjv).
One more fact should be noted: these three "parables" answered the complaints of the people that God had rejected His people and was breaking His own covenant. False prophets in both Jerusalem and Babylon were building up the confidence of the people by telling them that the Lord would never allow Jerusalem and the temple to fall into the defiled hands of the Gentiles (Jer. 29:20–32). After all, Israel was Jehovah's special vine, planted by Him in the Promised Land. The nation was married to Jehovah in a divine covenant, and He would never divorce her. But even more, didn't the Lord promise David an endless dynasty? (2 Sam. 7) The Davidic dynasty was like a tall sturdy cedar tree that could never be felled by the Gentiles. Ezekiel used these same three images to teach the nation that the Lord was judging His people because He did have these special relationships to them! Privilege brings responsibility, and responsibility brings accountability.
Those of us who are branches in Jesus Christ, the true vine, need to take this lesson to heart. If we fail to abide in Christ, we lose our spiritual power, wither, and fail to bear fruit for His glory. The fruitless branch is tossed aside and eventually burned (John 15:6). I don't think this burning means condemnation in the lake of fire, for no true believer can be condemned for sins for which Jesus died (John 6:37; 10:27–29; Rom. 8:1).1 The image of the burning branch is that of a worthless life, a life useless to God. John Wesley, the founder of the
The Worthless Vine (15:1–8) The vine is an image found frequently in Scripture. Jesus compared Himself to a vine and His disciples to branches in the vine, because we depend wholly on Him for life and fruitfulness (John 15). Without Him, we can do
Ezekiel 15—16
"passed by" again (vv. 6, 8) and claimed her for His own bride. When a suitor spread his garment over a marriageable girl, that meant they were engaged (Ruth 3:9). He did deliver them from bondage, and at Sinai He entered into a "marriage covenant" with the people of Israel. (See Deut. 32:1–14.)
Methodist church, prayed, "Lord, let me not live to be useless!"
The Unfaithful Wife (16:1–63) This long chapter contains some of the most vivid language found anywhere in Scripture. It is addressed to the city of Jerusalem but refers to the entire nation. The chapter traces the spiritual history of the Jews from "birth" (God's call of Abraham) through "marriage" (God's covenant with the people), and up to their "spiritual prostitution" (idolatry)2 and the sad consequences that followed (ruin and exile). The Lord takes His "wife" to court and bears witness of her unfaithfulness to Him. At the same time, the Lord is replying to the complaints of the people that He had not kept His promises when He allowed the Babylonians to invade the land. God did keep His covenant; it was Israel who broke her marriage vow and also broke the heart of her Lord and invited His chastening (Ezek. 6:9). But as we read the chapter, we must see not only the dark background of Israel's wickedness but also the bright light of God's love and grace. "But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more" (Rom. 5:20 nkjv).
Once again, the Lord cleansed her and clothed her with beautiful, expensive garments fit for a queen. During the reign of King David and during Solomon's early years, Jerusalem was indeed a queenly city and Israel a prosperous kingdom. As long as Israel, Jehovah's wife, obeyed His Word and kept His covenant, He blessed her abundantly just as He promised. He gave her healthy children, fruitful flocks and herds, abundant harvests, and protection from disease, disaster, and invasion. There wasn't one word of the covenant that the Lord failed to keep, and the reputation of Israel spread far and wide. During Solomon's day, foreign rulers came to listen to him (1 Kings 10:1–10, 24–25). Israel committed a great sin (vv. 15–34). When Israel became prosperous and famous, she forgot the Lord who gave her such great wealth and began to use God's generous gifts for worshipping idols (Hos. 2:8, 13–14; Deut. 6:10–12; 8:10–20). Like the ignorant heathen nations around her, she worshipped the creation rather than the Creator (Rom. 1:21–25) and abandoned her "husband" for false gods. She didn't simply occasionally commit adultery, as wicked as that is. She became a professional prostitute, but unlike other prostitutes, she sought out her lovers and paid them to sin with her! She took the very treasures and blessings that God generously gave to her and devoted them to the making and worshipping of idols—her jewels and garments, her food, and even her children (Ezek. 16:20–21)!4 Idolatry was Israel's besetting sin, and it wasn't cured until the nation was exiled for seventy years in Babylon.
Israel experienced a great love (vv. 1–14). Israel is pictured here as an unwanted child—exposed, abandoned, and left to die, but was then rescued by the Lord and became His wife. Many Jews were excessively proud of their heritage and called the Gentiles "dogs," but the Lord reminded them that they had descended from the Amorites and the Hittites (see Gen. 10:15–16; Deut. 20:17), and that their great city of Jerusalem was once inhabited by the Jebusites (Josh. 15:63). It wasn't until the time of David that Jerusalem belonged to the Jews and became the capital of the nation (Josh. 10:5; 2 Sam. 5:6–10). For that matter, their esteemed ancestor Abraham was an idol-worshipping pagan when God graciously called him (Josh. 24:2–3)! So much for national pride. The parents of the newborn child didn't even given her the humane treatment that every baby deserves. They didn't cut the umbilical cord, wash the child, rub her skin with salt,3 or even wrap her in cloths ("swaddled" kjv) for her protection and to keep her limbs straight. Without pity or compassion, they threw her out into the open field and exposed her to the elements. The Lord passed by, saw the helpless baby, took pity on her, and saved her. By the power of His Word He gave her life, and this was wholly an act of divine grace. "The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham" (Acts 7:2 nkjv), not because Abraham earned it or deserved it, but because of God's great love and grace.
But the nation practiced another kind of idolatry when she trusted other nations to protect and defend her rather than trusting the Lord Jehovah, her "husband" (vv. 23–34).5 She not only borrowed the gods of other nations and abandoned the true God, but she hired the armies of other nations instead of believing that the Lord could care for her. King Solomon made treaties with other countries by marrying the daughters of their rulers, and this is what led him into idolatry (1 Kings 11). The Jews were especially tempted to turn to Egypt for help instead of confessing their sins and turning to the Lord (2 Chron. 7:14). The Jewish leaders used every means possible to secure the help of Egypt, all the while acting like a common prostitute (Ezek. 16:23–26). They also went after the Philistines, the Assyrians, and even the Babylonians! But none of these alliances succeeded, and the northern kingdom (Israel) was taken captive by the Assyrians in 722 BC, and the southern kingdom (Judah) was conquered by the Babylonians.
The baby grew and became a young woman ready for marriage. The KJV phrase "come to excellent ornaments" in Ezekiel 16:7 means "come to full maturity." But would any suitor want a young woman who was forsaken by her own parents? By now, Israel was enslaved in the land of Egypt, so the Lord would have to redeem her. He wanted her for Himself so He
Israel's pride and ingratitude prepared the way for
Ezekiel 16
First, the nation had forgotten what the Lord had done for them (v. 43), and this was the very sin that Moses warned them to avoid (Deut. 6:10ff.). God remembered the devotion they manifested in the early days of their commitment, like a young bride loving her husband (Jer. 2:2), but they didn't remember all that the Lord had done for them. When we forget to be thankful, we're in danger of taking credit for our blessings and failing to give God the glory He deserves.
her idolatry. She forgot how good the Lord had been to her and became more concerned with the gifts than the Giver. Moses had warned about these sins (Deut. 6:10–15), but they didn't heed the warning. Believers today who live for the world and depend on the world are committing "adultery" in a similar way (James 4:4–6). The Lord desires and deserves our full and complete devotion (2 Cor. 11:1–4; Rev. 2:4).
Israel suffered a great discipline (vv. 35–42). The Lord was very patient with His people and warned them that their sins would bring them ruin, but they persisted in rejecting His Word, persecuting His prophets, and practicing the abominable sins of their neighbors. Many of the Jewish people were now exiled in Babylon, and those left behind in Judah had either been slain by the Babylonians or were hopelessly imprisoned in Jerusalem and waiting for the siege to end. But the Jews shouldn't have complained to the Lord that He wasn't treating them fairly. They knew the terms of His covenant (Deut. 28—29) and He had already warned them many times that judgment was coming (32:22–43; 2 Chron. 36:14–21).
Second, they failed to understand the enormity of their sins (Ezek. 16:44–52). The Jewish people excelled in quoting proverbs and ancient sayings, although such pithy statements usually don't go deep enough to answer the need. "As is the mother, so is her daughter" is the feminine version of "Like father, like son." Another version might be, "The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree." In other words, the children inherit their parents' nature, so don't be surprised if they repeat their parents' sins. The Jewish nation came from the Amorites and the Hittites—worshippers of idols. Immorality and idolatry ran in the family, for Israel's "sisters," Samaria (the northern kingdom) and Sodom,7 were famous for their godlessness.
Their punishments are described as those of a prostitute, an adulteress, and an idolater, because the nation had committed those very sins. According to the law, prostitutes were to be burned (Lev. 21:9; see Gen. 38:24), adulterers and adulteresses stoned (Lev. 20:10), idolaters killed by the sword, and their possessions burned (Deut. 13:12–18). God used the Babylonian army to inflict these same judgments on the people of Israel (Ezek. 16:40–41). Many Jews were slain by the sword, and the city of Jerusalem and the temple were looted and burned.
However, since the Jews possessed the revelation of God's law and had enjoyed the blessing of God's goodness, their sins were far more heinous than those of their "sisters." If God judged Sodom and Gomorrah by sending burning sulfur on them, and if He permitted the northern kingdom to be captured by the Assyrians, then surely He would have to judge the people of Judah and Jerusalem if they didn't repent. But Judah and her leaders didn't take these other judgments to heart. To paraphrase verse 47, "You not only walked after their ways and imitated their abominations, but you went beyond them and sinned ever more than they did!"8
Ezekiel gives a graphic description of the judgment of Israel, the prostitute. First the Lord would announce the crimes (vv. 35–36). She "poured out her lust" on the heathen idols6 and exposed her nakedness in worshipping them. She disobeyed God's law, made idols of her own, and even sacrificed her children to them. Then the Lord announced the sentence (vv. 37–42). He would call her lovers (the heathen nations) to be her executioners, and they would gather around her and see her nakedness! She would be publicly exposed as an adulteress and a harlot. The enemy army would strip the city of Jerusalem, even as a convicted harlot is stripped, and then destroy the city (Deut. 22:23–24). Like adulterers and adulteresses, the people would be killed by stones; like idolaters, they would be slain by the sword; and like prostitutes, they would be burned in the fire. The Jews knew all these laws and their penalties, yet they flagrantly defied the Lord and persisted in their abominations.
God names the sins of Sodom (vv. 48–50). The people were proud and haughty, overfed, idle, unconcerned about the poor and needy, and guilty of detestable acts, which probably refers to their homosexual lifestyle (Gen. 19). These were abominable sins of attitude and action, commission and omission; and yet the people of Jerusalem and Judah were far guiltier than were the people of Sodom! When you read the other prophets, especially Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos, you hear them naming the sins of the people of Judah and warning them that judgment was coming. The people of Judah were twice the sinners as the people in Samaria, and by comparison, the people of Judah made the citizens of Samaria and Sodom look righteous! What a terrible indictment against God's chosen people!
But is the church today any less guilty? Members of local churches commit the same sins we read about in the newspapers, but the news doesn't always get to the headlines. Congregations are being torn apart because of professed Christians who are involved in lawsuits, divorces, immorality, family feuds, crooked business deals, financial scandals, and a host of other activities that belong to the world. Is it any wonder
Having described their sins, the Lord then defended His sentence (Ezek. 16:43–52). He not only knew what they had done, but He saw in their hearts why they had done it. In answer to the complaints of the people, the Lord proved that they deserved exactly what had happened to them. His judgment was not impulsive; He had waited a long time and they had refused to repent.
Ezekiel 16—17
hearers and give them something to think about. Perhaps the truth would grip their hearts and change their outlook on what God was doing.
that lost sinners pay little attention to our public ministry or our personal witness?
Israel will experience a great restoration (vv. 16:53–63). The phrase "bring again their captivity" means "restore their fortunes." The captives in Babylon would be restored, return to the land, and rebuild the temple. God's goodness in allowing this to happen would bring them to shame and repentance (Rom. 2:4). When you read the prayers of Ezra (Ezra 9), Daniel (Dan. 9), and the Levites who labored with Nehemiah (Neh. 9), you see that there was still a godly remnant that humbly sought the face of the Lord and confessed their sins.
This allegory is about three kings ("shoots"), because the cedar tree represents the royal dynasty of David.9 David's dynasty was very important, because through it God had promised to bring a Savior to His people and to the world (2 Sam. 7:16; Luke 1:32–33, 69). It was essential that a descendant of David sit on the throne so that the blessing of God's covenant with David might rest on the land. At that time, the kingdom of Judah was a vassal state of Babylon and King Nebuchadnezzar was in charge. He is the first "great eagle" (Ezek. 17:3). The second eagle (v. 7) is the ruler of Egypt, probably Pharaoh Hophra, who promised to help Judah in her fight against the Babylonians (v. 17). The eagle is used as a symbol of a strong ruler who invades a land (Jer. 48:40; 49:22). Now, let's consider the three kings, who are represented by three shoots.
However, it's likely that this restoration is reserved for the end times when Israel will see their Messiah, weep over their sins, and enter into His kingdom (Zech. 12:9–13:1). History records no restoration for Sodom and the cities of the plain that God destroyed, nor for the kingdom of Samaria that was conquered by Assyria in 722 BC Ezekiel wrote about an "everlasting covenant" (Ezek. 16:60), which indicates that this prophecy will be fulfilled in the end times. (See Jer. 31:31–34; Isa. 59:21; 61:8.) Later in his book (Ezek. 37:15–28), Ezekiel will predict a reunion of Samaria (the northern kingdom) and Judah (the southern kingdom) under the kingship of the Messiah. The Lord makes it clear that this restoration and reunion will not be on the basis of the covenant made at Sinai but wholly because of His grace. The Jewish people broke that covenant and suffered for their disobedience, but nobody can be saved by keeping the law (Gal. 2:16, 21; Rom. 4:5). It is only through the redemption provided in Christ Jesus that sinners can be forgiven and received into the family of God (Eph. 2:8–10; Rom. 3:24).
King Jehoiachin (vv. 3–4, 11–12). When Nebuchadnezzar swooped down on Judah in 597 BC, he deposed King Jehoiachin and took him and his family and staff to Babylon. He also took the temple treasures and ten thousand officers, artisans, and soldiers (2 Kings 24:8–17). This fulfilled the prophecy Isaiah had spoken to King Hezekiah after the king had shown all his wealth to the Babylonian visitors (Isa. 39; 2 Kings 20:17). Jehoiachin was the highest shoot or branch in David's family tree and he was "planted" in Babylon. Jehoiachin had reigned only three months and ten days (2 Chron. 36:9). He's the king that Jeremiah called "Coniah" (Jer. 22:24, 28; 37:1) and Matthew called "Jeconiah" in his genealogy of Jesus (Matt. 1:11–12). In Ezekiel 19:5–9, Jehoiachin is compared to a lion who would be caught and taken to Babylon. During his three months on the throne, instead of leading the people back to faith in the Lord, Jehoiachin did evil in the sight of the Lord. He died in Babylon.
There will come a time when God's people Israel will remember their sins and recognize God's goodness and grace on their behalf. Their mouths will be shut because of conviction (Ezek. 16:63; Rom. 3:19) and they will be saved. How can a holy God forgive the sins of rebels, Jews or Gentiles? Because of the atonement that He made on the cross when He gave His Son as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. "The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world" (1 John 4:14), and that included Israel. Christ not only died for the church (Eph. 5:25) and for the sins of the world (John 3:16), but He died for His people Israel (Isa. 53:8). One day, that new covenant will bring to them the cleansing and forgiveness that only the blood of Christ can give.
King Zedekiah (vv. 5–10, 13–21). After deposing Jehoiachin, Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin's uncle Mattaniah the new king and changed his name to Zedekiah. He was the youngest son of good King Josiah, and Nebuchadnezzar "planted" him in Judah where he "grew" for eleven years. But instead of producing a tree, King Zedekiah produced a humble vine. It was Zedekiah who asked Jeremiah to pray for him and the people and who hid him and cared for him (Jer. 37—38). Nebuchadnezzar was kind to Zedekiah, and the king took an oath to obey and serve him. Had he faithfully kept this treaty, Zedekiah would have saved the city and the temple; instead he chose to break the covenant and turn to Egypt for help. The second eagle represents Pharaoh, who tried to rescue the kingdom of Judah but failed. This foolish decision on the part of Zedekiah resulted in the uprooting and withering of the vine, and this was the end of the kingdom of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar would not tolerate his treachery in seeking Egypt as an ally, so he captured Zedekiah, killed
The Two Eagles and Three Shoots (17:1–24) From the images of a vine and a marriage, Ezekiel turned to the image of a great tree, two eagles, and three shoots. This message is called a "parable" or "riddle," which means a story with a deeper meaning, an allegory in which various objects refer to people and what they do. The Jewish people were fond of discussing the wise sayings of the ancients and were always seeking to discover deeper meanings (Ps. 78:1–3). Ezekiel hoped that his allegory would awaken his dull
Ezekiel 17—18
(Isa. 53:1–2), an insignificant shoot from David's family tree, but one day His kingdom will fill the earth. Never stop praying, "Thy kingdom come," for that prayer will be answered. The fulfillment of God's kingdom promises to David (2 Sam. 7) is in Jesus Christ (Luke 1:26–55, 67–80), and He shall not fail.
his sons before his eyes, blinded him, and took him captive to Babylon, where he died (Ezek. 17:16; 2 Kings 24:17—25:7). But Ezekiel made it clear that it wasn't only Nebuchadnezzar's covenant that Zedekiah broke. He had broken God's covenant; and it was God who punished him through Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah had sworn his oath in the name of the Lord (2 Chron. 36:11–14); therefore he was obligated to keep it. In looking to Egypt for help, Zedekiah turned a deaf ear to the warnings of Jeremiah (Jer. 38), and Isaiah had preached the same message over a century before (Isa. 31:1; 36:9). It was the Lord who caught the king and his officers in His net and turned them over to the Babylonians (2 Kings 25:1–10; Jer. 52:1–11).
It was a dark day for the people of Israel, but when the day is the darkest, the Lord's promises shine the brightest. God's people today need to take heed to this prophetic Word, which is a light that shines in our dark world (2 Peter 1:19). Just as Jesus fulfilled prophecy and came the first time to die for the sins of the world, so He will the second time and reign over His righteous kingdom. The tender "shoot" of David will be the mighty monarch, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
Messiah the King (vv. 22–24). Zedekiah had reigned for eleven years and was the twentieth and last king of Judah. His dethronement and death in Babylon seemed to mark the end of the Davidic line and therefore the failure of God's covenant with King David, but this was not the case. The prophet Hosea predicted that the children of Israel would be "without a king, and without a prince" (Hos. 3:4), but the messianic line did not die out. After Babylon was conquered by the Medes and Persians, Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to their land, and one of their leaders was Zerubbabel, a greatgreat-grandson of godly King Josiah (1 Chron. 3:17–19) and an ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:11–16; Luke 3:27). Once again, a godly remnant stayed true to the Lord, and the promised Messiah was born. The name "Zerubbabel" means "shoot of Babylon," but he helped to make possible the birth of the "shoot of David," Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.
1 Parables and allegories are given primarily to elucidate one main truth, and it's dangerous to build one's theology on imagery that is supposed to illustrate theology. The major truth in John 15 is the believer's need to abide in Christ, through prayer, meditation in the Word, worship, and obedience. Our union with Christ never changes, because the Holy Spirit abides with us forever (John 14:16), but our communion with Him does change. 2 The Hebrew word for "professional prostitution" (zana) is used twenty-one times in this chapter. God considered Israel to be His wife, and her idolatry was the equivalent of adultery and harlotry (Hos. 2; Jer. 2:20–25; 3:1–13). 3 It was believed that the salt had an antiseptic power and would also help strengthen the skin. 4 On the practice of sacrificing children to idols, see 2 Kings 21:6; 23:10; Jeremiah 7:31; 19:5. The law of Moses prohibited such an evil practice (Lev. 18:21; 20:2; Deut. 12:31; 18:10). 5 See Isaiah 20:5–6; 30:1–5; 31:1; Hos. 7:11; 12:1. 6 The Hebrew verb describes the changes in the woman's genital area when she is sexually aroused. 7 Sodom and Gomorrah are frequently named in Scripture as examples of the judgment of God against sin. See Genesis 18:16–19:29; Deuteronomy 29:23; 32:32; Isaiah 1:9–10; 3:9; 13:19; Jeremiah 23:14; Lamentations 4:6; Amos 4:11; Zephaniah 2:9; Matthew 10:15; 11:24; Mark 6:11; Luke 10:12; 2 Peter 2:6; Jude 7. 8 The word daughters (vv. 46, 48–49, 55) refers to smaller cities around a larger city, i.e., "daughter cities." 9 In Scripture, a tree can represent a ruler, a kingdom, or a dynasty (Judg. 9:8–15; Isa. 10:33; Ezek. 31:1–18; Dan. 4; Zech. 11:2).
Jehoiachin had been a shoot plucked from the top of the cedar and taken to Babylon, but his descendants were rejected (Jer. 22:28–30), while Zedekiah was a shoot planted in Judah; but both of these men failed to please the Lord or do His will. Was there any hope left for the people of God? Yes. The Lord had promised to take a tender sprig "of the highest branch of the high cedar" (Ezek. 17:22) and plant it in the land of Israel, where it would grow and become a great kingdom. This "shoot" is the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who came from the stem of Jesse and one day will establish His glorious kingdom on earth (Isa. 11:1–10; Jer. 23:5–6; 33:15–17; Zech. 6:12–13). The "high mountain" Ezekiel wrote about is probably Mount Zion, where Messiah will reign over His people. The small "shoot" will grow into a mighty tree and provide shelter (see Dan. 4:17, 32–37).
D.God's justice defended—18—21^
But in order for the "shoot" to be planted, take root, and grow, the other "trees" (kingdoms) will have to be removed. Some of them will be cut down and others will just wither. The kingdoms of men seem large and powerful today, and the kingdom of the Lord seems small and withering, but when Jesus returns to earth to reign, the tables will be turned. This is why we must never be afraid or discouraged when we survey the world scene. Jesus came as "a root out of a dry ground"
CHAPTER SIX Ezekiel 18—21 GOD IS JUST! R
esponsibility is one of the major themes of these four chapters. The Jewish exiles in Babylon were blaming their ancestors for the terrible judgment
Ezekiel 18
a misinterpretation of what the Lord had said in His law, that He visited the sins of the fathers upon the children (Ex. 20:5; 34:6–7; Num. 14:18; Deut. 7:9–10), and (2) the Jewish idea of the oneness of the nation. According to the law of Moses, innocent animals could suffer and die for guilty sinners, but nowhere was it taught that innocent people should be punished for sins committed by guilty people. In fact, Moses taught just the opposite: "The fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall the children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin" (Deut. 24:16 nkjv).1 The warning in Exodus 20:5 and 34:6–7 implies that the Lord punishes the children if they commit the sins their fathers committed. Furthermore, God also promised to bless those children who followed godly examples and obeyed the Lord (20:6; Deut. 7:9–10), so He gave promises of blessing as well as warnings of chastening.
that had befallen them, so Ezekiel explained that God judges people individually for their own sins and not for somebody else's sins (chap. 18). He then pointed out that the Jewish leaders were responsible for the foolish decisions they had made (chap. 19), and that the nation itself had a long history of irresponsibility (chap. 20). Finally, the prophet reminded his listeners that the Lord Jehovah also had a responsibility to be faithful to Himself and His covenant with the Jews, and this was why He had chastened them (chap. 21). By dealing with the subject of personal and national responsibility, Ezekiel was able to answer the frequent complaints of the people that the Lord was treating them unfairly.
Responsibility and accountability are needed themes in our own day. Irresponsibility is rampant, and very few people are willing to take the blame for wrongs committed or mistakes made. In his Devil's Dictionary, the cynical Ambrose Bierce defined responsibility as "a detachable burden easily shifted to the shoulders of God, Fate, Fortune, luck, or one's neighbor." After our first parents sinned, Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent, but God still held Adam and Eve responsible for their disobedience and punished them accordingly. The Jews in Ezekiel's day were sure that God would deliver them and spare Jerusalem because Israel was God's chosen people, but they forgot that privilege always brings responsibility. They had the greatest law ever given to a nation, but they disobeyed it. The Lord gave them a wonderful land for their home, and they defiled it with idolatry. They violated the terms of the divine covenant and then were shocked when the Lord obeyed the covenant and chastened them.
As for the solidarity of the nation, the Jewish people did consider themselves one people who descended from Abraham. Since each tribe descended from one of the sons of Jacob, Israel claimed both national and tribal solidarity. If only one Israelite disobeyed the Lord, it was as though all Israel had sinned, as in the case of Achan (Josh. 7:1, 11; and see Josh. 22, especially vv. 18–20). Knowing this fact, the Jewish people concluded that the Babylonian invasion and the nation's exile were the consequences of the sins of the previous generation.
Ezekiel answered the people's objections and explained the truth about God's judgment and justice by sharing some hypothetical situations and drawing some conclusions.
You cannot blame your ancestors (vv. 5–18). The prophet refutes the proverb by imagining a situation involving three men in a family, people with whom his listeners certainly could identify. He began with a righteous father (vv. 5–9), a hypothetical Jew who kept God's law and therefore was just and would not die because of sin (vv. 4, 9). Death is frequently mentioned in this chapter (vv. 4, 13, 17–18, 20–21, 23–24, 26, 28, 32) and refers to physical death and not necessarily eternal punishment, although any Jew who didn't exercise saving faith in the Lord would not be accepted by Him. Whether people lived under the old covenant or the new covenant, before or since the cross, the way of salvation is the same: faith in the Lord that is evidenced by a new life of obedience (Heb. 11:6; Hab. 2:4; see Rom. 4).
Individual Responsibility (18:1–32) As you read this chapter, you find the prophet answering the erroneous statements the Jewish exiles were making about God and their difficult situation (vv. 2, 19, 25, 29). God knew what His people were saying and so did His prophet. Ignoring the inspired Word of God, the people were building their case on a popular proverb: "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." In other words, "Our fathers have sinned and we, their children, are being punished for it." Their philosophy was a kind of irresponsible fatalism. "No matter what we do," they argued, "we still have to suffer because of what the older generation did." The prophet Jeremiah quoted the same familiar proverb and preached the same truth that Ezekiel preached: God deals with us as individuals and punishes each of us justly for what we do (Jer. 31:29–30). He is a just and righteous God who shows no partiality (Deut. 10:17; 32:4). If He withholds punishment, it's only because of His grace and merciful longsuffering.
In describing this man, Ezekiel named eight negative offenses along with eight positive virtues. The negative sins this man avoids are attending idol feasts in the "high places" and worshipping idols in his own land, committing adultery, incurring ritual uncleanness (Ezek. 18:6), exploiting people and using violence to rob people (v. 7), lending money with interest and demanding a profit (v. 8). The eight positive virtues are returning a debtor's pledge, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked (v. 7), living justly and promoting
Where did Ezekiel's listeners get the idea that God punished the children for the sins of their fathers? This philosophy came from two sources: (1)
Ezekiel 18
Their own unbelief (they rejected Jeremiah's message) and disobedience (they worshipped heathen idols and defiled the temple) brought the Babylonian army to their gates; and Zedekiah's breaking of the covenant with Nebuchadnezzar brought the army back to destroy Jerusalem.
justice (v. 8), living by God's statutes and obeying His ordinances, and living with integrity (v. 9). These offenses and virtues are mentioned in the law of Moses,2 but the man acted as he did because he loved God and had "a new heart and a new spirit" within him (v. 31). He put God first in his life, treated people with kindness and mercy, and used his material wealth to honor God and serve others. As evidence of his faith in Jehovah, he obeyed the two great commandments of the law, to love the Lord and to love his neighbor (Matt. 22:34–40)
Ezekiel was giving the Jewish nation a message of hope! If they would truly repent and turn to the Lord, He would work on their behalf as He promised (1 Kings 8:46–53; Jer. 29:10–14). However, if they persisted in sinning, the Lord would continue to deal with them as rebellious children. God has no delight in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 18:23, 32; see 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9), but He isn't obligated to invade their minds and hearts and force them to obey Him.
This righteous father had an unrighteous son (Ezek. 18:10–13), about whom Ezekiel had nothing good to say. He listed ten offenses against God's law, three of them capital crimes: murder (vv. 12, 14), idolatry (vv. 11–12), and adultery (v. 11). This godless son exploited the poor and took interest from his debtors. He never returned the debtor's pledge (Ex. 22:26; Deut. 24:12–13) and did all he could to make a profit, even if it meant hurting people and defying God's laws. The verdict is clear: "he shall surely die."
In Ezekiel 18:24, Ezekiel isn't dealing with what theologians call "the security of the believer," because the issue is physical life or death, as stated in God's covenant (Deut. 30:15–20; Jer. 21:8). The righteous man who adopted a sinful lifestyle3 in defiance of God's law would suffer for that decision. It wasn't possible for the Jews to "accumulate points" with God and then lose a few of them when they sinned. People have the idea that God measures our good works against our bad works, and deals with us according to whichever is the greater. But from Adam to the end of time, people are saved only by faith in what God revealed to them, and their faith is demonstrated in a consistently godly life.
The third character in this drama was a righteous grandson (Ezek. 18:14–18). How strange that the godly man of verses 5–9 should raise an ungodly son who himself had a godly son! The grandson followed the righteous example of his grandfather and not the evil example of his father. King Hezekiah was a godly father whose son Manasseh was evil, although late in life he did repent. Manasseh's son Amon was evil, but he fathered godly King Josiah! (See Matt. 1:10–11.) The ways of the Lord are sometimes strange, and "where sin abounded, grace abounded much more" (Rom. 5:20 niv).
You cannot blame the Lord (vv. 25–32). For the third time, Ezekiel quoted the words of the complaining exiles: "The way of the Lord is not equal" (v. 25, see vv. 2, 19). The word equal means "fair." They were saying that God wasn't "playing fair" with His people. But Ezekiel pointed out that it was the people who weren't being fair with God! When they obeyed the Lord, they wanted Him to keep the terms of the covenant that promised blessing, but when they disobeyed, they didn't want Him to keep the terms of the covenant that brought chastening. They wanted God to act contrary to His own Word and His own holy nature.
Twelve godly character traits are mentioned about this third man. The four that are lacking are ritual cleanness (Ezek. 18:6), living justly and promoting justice (vv. 12–13), and acting with integrity (v. 9). This doesn't mean that the man was actually guilty of these sins, because the first list doesn't mention every possible law in the Mosaic code. The point is that the third man, the grandson, resisted the bad influence in the home and obeyed the Lord in spite of his father's bad example. The Lord didn't kill the grandson because of his father's sins or even spare him because of his grandfather's righteousness, but dealt with the man on the basis his own faith and righteousness.
"God is light" (1 John 1:5), which means He is holy and just, and "God is love" (4:8, 16), and His love is a holy love. Nowhere does Scripture say that we're saved from our sins by God's love, because salvation is by the grace of God (Eph. 2:8–10); and grace is love that pays a price. In His great love, God gave a gracious covenant to Israel, requiring only that they worship and serve Him alone with all their hearts. When sinners repented and sought the Lord, in His grace the Lord would forgive them; but when people deliberately rebelled against Him, in His holiness, God would punish them after bearing with them in His longsuffering. What could be fairer than that! For that matter, if God did what was fair, He would consign the whole world into hell!
You can blame yourselves (vv. 19–24). In this part of his message, Ezekiel responded to the questions of his hearers given in verse 19, just as he had responded to their question in verse 2. He described a wicked man who repented, turned from his sins, and lived (vv. 19–23), and then described a righteous man who returned to his sins and died (v. 24). The lesson from these two examples is obvious and answered their questions: people determine their own character and destiny by the decisions that they make. Neither the exiles in Babylon nor the citizens in Jerusalem were the prisoners and victims of some cosmic determinism that forced them to act as they did.
The conclusion of this message was an invitation from the Lord for the people to repent (change their minds), turn from their sins, cast away their
Ezekiel 18—20
and "roaring" (Ezek. 19:6–7) among the princes and the nations. Nebuchadnezzar took him to Babylon along with ten thousand captives and the temple treasures, and there he died. Jehoiachin turned a deaf ear to the preaching of Jeremiah, and the prophet didn't have anything good to say about him (Jer. 22:18–19). In this brief parable, the Lord made it clear that these two kings of Judah thought themselves to be great leaders, but they ignored the Word of God, and He cut them down after their brief reigns.
transgressions like filthy garments, and seek a new heart and a new spirit. God promised them a new heart if only they would seek Him by faith (Ezek. 11:19; see 36:26). This was one of the key themes in the letter Jeremiah had sent to the captives in Babylon (Jer. 29:10–14), but the people hadn't taken it to heart. God made it clear that He found no delight in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 18:23, 32), but if the wicked found delight in their sinful ways and would not repent, there was nothing the Lord could do but obey His own covenant and punish them. Ezekiel will develop this theme further in chapter 21.
Israel is like a vine (vv. 10–14). This is a familiar image in Scripture (Gen. 49:9–12;4 Isa. 5; Ps. 80:8–13; Jer. 2:21) and in Ezekiel's prophecy (chap. 15; 17:1–10). The fruitful vine produced many kings who rebelled against God and was punished by being transplanted to Babylon, from "many waters" to a "desert" (Jer. 31:27–28). The last king of Judah, Zedekiah, broke his treaty with Babylon, rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, and lost the scepter and the throne (2 Kings 24:17—25:7). With Zedekiah the Davidic dynasty ended, and he too died in captivity in Babylon (Jer. 52:11).
Leadership Responsibility (19:1–14) Ezekiel had made it clear that individual Jews were responsible for their own sins, but it was also true that their leaders had led them astray because they had rebelled against God. Jeremiah had told the kings of Judah to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar because he was God's chosen servant to chasten Israel, but they had refused to obey. Zedekiah, Judah's last king, had agreed to a treaty with Nebuchadnezzar but then had broken it and sought help from Egypt. It was this foolish act that moved Nebuchadnezzar to send his army to Jerusalem and destroy the city and the temple.
Had the nation of Israel obeyed the Lord, it would have become and remained a mighty lion and a fruitful vine that would have brought glory to the name of the Lord. Israel would have been a "light unto the Gentiles" (Isa. 42:6; 49:6), and many would have trusted in the true and living God. Israel didn't keep the terms of the covenant, but the Lord did; and that's why He chastened them and scattered them. God's chosen people have no temple, priesthood, sacrifice, or king (Hos. 3:4–5). Jesus Christ, Israel's Messiah, came as the lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5) and the true vine (John 15:1), "a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles" (Luke 2:32), and the rightful heir to the throne of David (Luke 1:68–69), and His own people rejected Him. One day they shall see Him and receive Him, and God's gracious covenant with David will be completely fulfilled (2 Sam. 7) when Jesus reigns in His kingdom (Ezek. 34:23–24; 37:24–25; Matt. 1:1).
Whether you read secular or sacred history, you soon discover that people become like their leaders. The same people who applauded Solomon when he built the temple also applauded Jeroboam when he set up the golden calves and instituted a new religion. One of the hardest tasks of Christian leaders today is to keep our churches true to the Word of God so that people don't follow every religious celebrity whose ideas run contrary to Scripture. It appears that being popular and being "successful" are more important today than being faithful.
In discussing the sins of the leaders, Ezekiel used two familiar images—the lion (vv. 1–9) and the vine (vv. 10–14)—and he couched his message in the form of a funeral dirge for "the princes of Israel." David's exalted dynasty had come to an end, but the men holding the scepter were nothing like David. Ezekiel wouldn't even call them "kings" but instead referred to them as "princes" (v. 1; see 7:27; 12:10, 12). Instead of lamenting their demise, the "funeral dirge" actually ridiculed the rulers of Israel; but later (21:27) Ezekiel would announce the coming of Messiah, the Son of David, who would be a worthy king.
National Responsibility (20:1–44) Ezekiel delivered this message on August 14, 591 BC, to some of the Jewish elders who came to his house to "inquire of the Lord." But the prophet knew that their hearts were not right with God and that they had no right to ask the Lord for instruction (vv. 30–32; see 14:1–3; 33:30–33).5 A willingness to submit and obey is the mark of the person who can seek God's guidance and expect to receive it. Ezekiel's response to their request was to review the history of the nation of Israel and point out the repeated rebellion of the people and the gracious longsuffering of the Lord.
Israel is like a lioness (vv. 1–9). The lioness represents the nation of Israel, or at least the royal tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:9; Num. 23:23; 24:9; 1 Kings 10:18–20; Mic. 5:8). The first royal "whelp" was Jehoahaz, who reigned over Judah for only three months (Ezek. 19:2–4; 2 Kings 23:31–35). He was also known as "Shallum" (Jer. 22:10–12). Pharaoh Neco took him captive to Egypt, where he died. The second royal "whelp" was Jehoiachin, who reigned three months and ten days (Ezek. 19:5–9; 2 Kings 24:8–16; 2 Chron. 36:9–10). Ezekiel describes him "strutting"
The American editor and writer Norman Cousins wrote in a Saturday Review editorial (April 15, 1978), "History is a vast early warning system." But some anonymous thinker has said, "The one thing we learn from history is that we don't learn from history"; or in the words of Dr. Laurence J. Peter, "History teaches us
Ezekiel 20
the mistakes we are going to make."6 The Jewish historians, prophets, and psalmists were honest enough to declare the sins of the nation and write them down for future generations to read! Why? So that future generations wouldn't make the same mistakes that they made. But, alas, God's people haven't begun to learn the lessons, let alone obey them.
In Egypt, God revealed Himself to the Jews through the ministry of Moses and Aaron as well as through the terrible judgments He inflicted on the land of Egypt. He made it clear that the gods of the Gentile nations were only myths and had no power to do either good or evil. God reminded them how He had judged these false gods in Egypt and proved them to be helpless nothings. (See Ex. 12:12; Num. 33:4.)
Scripture teaches that God is working out His plan for the nations (Acts 14:14–18; 17:22–31; Dan. 5:21; 7:27) and that His people Israel are at the heart of that plan. Other nations are mentioned in Scripture primarily as they relate to Israel, for Israel is the only nation with whom God has entered into covenant relationship. At Sinai, after Israel left Egypt, God gave them His law (Ex. 19—24); and before they entered the Promised Land, He reaffirmed that law and gave them the terms of the covenant they had to obey in order to possess and enjoy the land (Deut. 5—8; 27—30). It was because they violated the terms of the covenants that Israel suffered as she did.
However, while living in Egypt, the Jews began secretly to worship the gods of the Egyptians. After all, if the Egyptians were masters over the Jews, then the gods of Egypt must be stronger than the God of Israel! The Jews defiled themselves with the gods of Egypt and grieved the heart of God. When God opened the way for Israel to leave Egypt, some of the Jews took their Egyptian gods with them! God had sworn by an oath ("lifted up my hand")7 that He was Israel's God (v. 5) and that He would set them free and give them the Promised Land (v. 6). The true God set them free, but they carried false gods with them! The nation rebelled against God even after He demonstrated His grace and power in delivering them!
Before we review the history of Israel and the lessons we can learn from it, we must deal with an important matter of interpretation. In chapter 18, Ezekiel taught that the children were not punished for the sins of the fathers, but in this chapter, he seems to say that the past sins of the nation (carefully documented) were the cause of Israel's failure and the Babylonian invasion. "Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Then make known to them the abominations of their fathers" (20:4 nkjv). This statement from the Lord suggests that God was judging the Jews because of what their fathers had done.
Israel's exodus from Egypt (vv. 9–10). The Lord had every reason to pour out His wrath on Israel, but for His name's sake, He rescued His people. God often worked on Israel's behalf, not because they deserved it but for the glory of His own name (vv. 14, 22, 44; see Isa. 48:9; 66:5), just as He has saved His church today "to the praise of his glory" (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14). The account of the exodus did go before the Jews as they marched toward the Promised Land (Josh. 2:10), and it did bring glory to God's name.
Israel at Sinai (vv. 11–12). Israel tarried about two years at Sinai, where God revealed His glory and gave them His laws. While they tarried there, Moses directed the construction of the tabernacle and its furniture. But even after seeing God's glory and hearing His voice, Israel rebelled against Him by making and worshipping a golden calf (Ex. 32). God gave them the Sabbath day (the seventh day of the week) as a sign to remind them that they belonged to Him. By setting aside that one day each week to honor the Lord, Israel witnessed to the other peoples that they were a special nation, but they persisted in polluting the Sabbath and treating it like any other day (vv. 13, 16, 20).
But that wasn't what the Lord was saying to Ezekiel. By reviewing the history of the nation, God was judging that current generation because they were guilty of the same sins of unbelief and rebellion. Jeremiah said that his generation of Jews was even worse than their fathers (Jer. 16:12)! In this historical summary, God proved that He had been consistent in His dealings with the Jews. The exiles had complained that God had not treated Israel fairly (Ezek. 18:2, 19, 25, 29), but their national history proved that God was not only fair with them but also very longsuffering and merciful. God wasn't punishing the Jews in Ezekiel's day because of the sins their fathers committed centuries before but because Ezekiel's contemporaries had committed the very same sins! That's why God reviewed the history of Israel.
The law that God gave Israel at Sinai consisted of statutes and ordinances governing every area of life: their civic responsibilities, the maintaining of courts and judges, the punishment of offenders, and the responsibilities of the people and their priests in the religious life of the nation. But because Israel was a theocracy and God was their King, every law had its religious implications. To break the law was to sin against the Lord, and the people did it frequently.
Israel in Egypt (vv. 5–8). God "chose" the nation of Israel when He called Abraham to leave Ur of the Chaldees and go to the land of Canaan (Gen. 12), but the nation didn't even exist at that time. God built the nation in the land of Egypt. When Jacob's family entered into Egypt, they numbered sixty-six people; Joseph's family was already in Egypt and they brought the total to seventy (Gen. 46). But when the Jews left Egypt at the Exodus, the fighting men alone numbered over six hundred thousand (Num. 1:46), so there may well have been over two million people in the nation.
Those who obeyed God's law would "live" (Ezek. 19:11, 13, 21), an important word we considered in chapter 18 (vv. 9, 17, 19, 21, 28). It refers to physical life, not being subject to capital punishment because of deliberate disobedience to God's statutes. But for the
Ezekiel 20
Ezekiel's generation: they were living just like their fathers! "Even unto this day" they were sinning against the Lord! Ignoring their privilege of being God's special people (Num. 23:9), their fathers wanted to be like the pagan nations in their worship and in their leadership (1 Sam. 8:5); and God let them have their way and then punished them. "When in Babylon, do as the Babylonians do" was the philosophy of the exiles, but they had been idolaters long before they went into exile.
Jew who loved the Lord, trusted Him, and obeyed Him, it included the spiritual life that comes to all who believe. Romans 10:5 and Galatians 3:12 make it clear that nobody is saved simply by obeying the law; but those who trust the Lord will prove their faith by their obedience. Religious people like the Pharisees have a "law righteousness," but those who trust Christ have a "faith righteousness" that enables them to obey God's will (Phil. 3:1–16; Rom. 10). Salvation is always by faith (Heb. 11:6), and this faith always issues in good works and obedience.
Israel's future kingdom (vv. 33–44). Ezekiel had made it very clear to the elders why they weren't qualified to inquire of God, but he didn't end his message there. God in His grace gave him a message of hope for the people, though they certainly didn't deserve it. Ezekiel described a future "exodus" of the Jewish people from the nations of the world, a return to their own land which God swore to give them. He even used the same descriptive phrase Moses used when he spoke about the Exodus—"a mighty hand … an outstretched arm" (vv. 33–34; Deut. 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 11:2). The "I will" statements of the Lord reveal both His mercy and His power.
Israel in the wilderness (vv. 13–26). After leaving Sinai, the Jews marched to Kadesh Barnea, where the Lord told them to enter Canaan and claim their promised inheritance (Num. 13—14). He had already searched out the land (Ezek. 19:6), but the people insisted on sending in a representative from each of the twelve tribes to scout out the land. They searched the land for forty days, and all of the men agreed that the land was exactly as God described it; but ten of the spies said that God wasn't great enough to enable Israel to conquer it! This led to God's judgment that the nation would wander in the wilderness for forty years and that everyone twenty years old and older would die during that time (Num. 14). You would have thought that the Jews had learned their lesson by now, but even during the wilderness wandering, they rebelled against God and He had to punish them. Once again, it was for the glory of His name that He didn't destroy them and start a new nation with Moses as the father (vv. 11–21). At the end of the forty years, Moses prepared the new generation to enter the land by reviewing the law and the covenants, as recorded in Deuteronomy.
"I will bring you out" (Ezek. 20:34) implies much more than the release of the exiles from Babylon. It speaks of a future regathering of Israel from the nations of the world to which they have been scattered (Deut. 30:1–8). God promises to bring them out, but He also says He will "bring them into the wilderness" (Ezek. 20:35–36) where He will deal with their sins and cleanse them of their rebellion (36:24–25; Hos. 2:14–15). His next promise is "I will bring you into the bond of the covenant" (Ezek. 20:37), teaching that Israel will be restored to her covenant relationship to the Lord and will experience the blessings of the new covenant (18:31; 36:26–27). "I will purge out the rebels" (20:38), and they will not be allowed to enter the land of Israel and enjoy the blessings of the messianic kingdom.
Israel in the Promised Land (vv. 27–30). Joshua brought the people into Canaan and led them in the defeat of the enemy and the claiming of the land. Before he died, he directed the assigning of the land to the various tribes, and encouraged them to claim their land. Moses had commanded the people to wipe out the godless religion of the inhabitants of the land (Ex. 34:11–17; Deut. 7), and warned them that if they failed to obey, their children would become idolaters and lose the Promised Land. Of course, that's exactly what happened. The people lusted after the gods of the land and participated in the filthy rites of heathen worship in the high places (Ezek. 19:28–29; see Deut. 18:9–14; Lev. 18:26–30).8 Instead of winning the Canaanites to faith in the true and living God, the Jewish people began to live like their enemies and worship their gods! They even offered their children as sacrifices to the pagan gods (Ezek. 19:26, 31), something that was expressly forbidden in the law of Moses (2 Kings 21:6; 2 Chron. 28:3; Lev. 18:21; Deut. 12:31; 18:10). Children are a gift from God, and His precious gifts must not be used as heathen sacrifices!
As for the true believers who receive their Messiah, God declares, "I will accept them" (v. 40). God will establish a sanctified nation that will worship Him in holiness (v. 41). As the result of this new covenant and new spiritual experience in their hearts, the people will come to know their God (v. 42) as well as know themselves and loathe themselves for the terrible sins they have committed (v. 43). No longer will they blame their fathers! They will come to know the grace of God, for all the blessing He showers on the nation will be for His name's sake and not because of any merit on their part (v. 44).
The experiences described in verses 33–44 cannot be applied to the return of the Jewish exiles to the land of Judah in 538 BC. This was not an exodus from many countries nor did it result in the glorious restoration of the Jewish nation. We have to apply this paragraph to that time in the future that Ezekiel describes in chapters 33 to 48, when Christ will return and the promised kingdom will be established.
Israel in exile in Babylon (vv. 31–32). This is the practical application of the message to the people of
Ezekiel 20—21
Divine Responsibility (20:45—21:32) In the Hebrew Scriptures, chapter 21 begins with 20:45, and this is the best arrangement, for 20:45–49 introduces the coming judgment on Judah and Jerusalem.9 Ezekiel has explained the individual responsibility of the people and their leaders and the national responsibility of Israel. Now he focuses on the fact that God has a responsibility to punish His people when they rebel against Him. He must be true to His character and true to His covenant.