Ezekiel 21:8-17

The sword symbolises the Babylonian army sweeping all before it. Maybe the people in Judah would think that they would be spared, for David speaks in the Psalm 91 of His people not needing to fear the things that attack other nations. But the people of Judah had moved out from the covering of the Lord. The Lord only protects those who seek shelter in Him, and Israel had long ago forsaken the Lord's protection.

God had appointed Babylon for the very purpose of executing judgement on Judah. Ezekiel was to emphasise how certain the slaughter would be. The language of the prophecy is so vivid for it is essential that the people realise the seriousness of it all.

Why does God say all this? I think there are two reasons. The first is that all these passages are followed by promises of salvation. Now after these things had happened the people who were left, including the faithful ones, might conclude that God had given up on them completely, or that there was no God. Yet when they looked back at what God ha said, they would see that, terrible though it was, it was all part of God's plan. They might not understand fully, but they would know in their hearts that it was somehow part of His plan.

The second reason is to do with the people hearing the message. Remember they were already in exile. Yet their hearts would still be hankering back to Jerusalem, they needed to let go of the past, as long as they were holding on to it they could not go forward.

Ezekiel 21:1-7

Ezekiel is to preach and prophesy against Jerusalem and the sanctuary and the land. It is difficult for us to appreciate how shocking this would be for his hearers. This was their homeland he was preaching against, and Jerusalem the city of God, and within that the very sanctuary of God. The Lord will unsheath His sword and unleash it against them, both the righteous and unrighteous would be cut off from Jerusalem.

Furthermore, Ezekiel is to groan in agony at the terrible things that are about to befall Judah. Imagine how strange this would appear to the people in exile.

Now what are we to learn from this? The first is that it is the heart of people that concerns God above all else. Israel, Jerusalem and the temple were what the people were attached to, but because of the wickedness of the people, because of their idolatrous hearts, God held these places to be of no value and would attack them. We need to be very careful what we attach ourselves to, and to ensure that God is first above all else.

In God's dealing s in our lives it is always the heart that He is concerned with. We focus on practicalities, but God focuses on the heart.

Both the wicked and the righteous would be affected. Things had reached such a depth that even a few righteous people would not save the nation.

Ezekiel 20:45-49

Having described the purpose of the judgement, Ezekiel now goes on to describe the event itself. He is first of all to face the south. The term "south" is used three times in this section, but three different Hebrew words are used, the first two are poetic terms for south, and the third refers to the region of the Negev.

The Lord is about to set fire to the land. Babylon would be His instrument, and they would be all conquering, no one would be able to stand against them.

Looking back we know that Ezekiel was speaking the truth and that all these events did indeed happen. However, the people of the time did not believe him. They said he was just telling parables, using figurative language. Likewise, we should not be surprised of people disbelieve us.

Ezekiel 20:39-44

For a time Israel would go and serve their idols. In the NT Paul sometimes talks about giving people over to satan. Sometimes God lets His people follow their own ways to discover what they are letting themselves in for. Only then will they realise the error of their ways and return to God.

Eventually the people would return to God and serve Him. There will be a people who worship Him in spirit and in truth, and God's name will be honoured throughout the world. Then the people would realise the awfulness of their previous actions and loathe their sin.

Verse 44 is very interesting. God says He deals with them according to His names' sake, not their actions. That is what He has done in Christ. If God treated us according to our actions we would all be dead, but instead He sent Christ to the cross. This has been done for the glory of His name.

Ezekiel 20:30-38

Having reminded them of what their ancestors had done, God now gives the solution. They are to live in a different way, to stop defiling themselves as their ancestors did. People who do defiles themselves cannot inquire of the Lord.

In their hearts the Israelites wanted to be just like the other nations, this included worshipping gods of wood and stone. Now we might say that we would never want to worship idols of wood or stone, but there can still be a longing to be like the world.

God declares that their desire will not be fulfilled. For they are His people, so he will execute judgement upon them. This might offend us, for we might say we can choose to live how we like, but this is a lie. We either belong to the Lord or to the devil. God would take the Israelites into the wilderness to judge them.

This judging would be a purging of the nation. Some would remain, but all whose hearts were not for the Lord would be removed. In the same way God will purify His church. Israel did not belong to herself, she belonged to the Lord. In the same way the church does not belong to us, it belongs to Christ and He can do with us what He likes.

Ezekiel 20:10-29

So God led the people out of Egypt and into the wilderness. In that place He gave them His Laws and Sabbaths. We have something of a problem with understanding Sabbaths these days. There are a few who take a very strict attitude towards the Sabbath (though now they mostly apply it to Sunday, rather than Saturday). Partly in reaction to this most consider the Sabbath to be of limited importance. The Sabbath was not about a day, but about a principle. It is significant that many of Jesus' confrontations with the religious leaders of the day revolved around the Sabbath, and that the Sabbath was one of His favourite days for healing people. The Sabbath refers not just to a day, but also to Sabbath years and Jubilee years. All these involved the people ceasing from their work and, in the case of Sabbath years and Jubilee, ceasing from some possessions as well. The principle is that we rest from our own work and efforts, recognising that we are utterly dependent upon God, and that His mercy and goodness towards us is the foundation of our life.

As in Egypt, in the wilderness the people rebelled against the Lord. Again, He was ready to destroy them, but relented for the sake of His Name. He also had pity on them. So God brought the children into the Promised Land, and instructed them not to be like their parents.

However, the children did exactly what their parents had done. So the people faced judgement. Part of this was giving them over to what they wanted (20:25). This led them into child sacrifice. Often then worst judgement that God can place on someone is to give them what they want. For sin is deceitful, it never tells us the truth. It promises all sorts of things, then if we give in to the temptation all sorts of troubles are unleashed.

The upshot of all this is that the nation has continually lusted after idols, they have never truly followed the Lord.

Ezekiel 20:5-9

The account of history goes back to Moses and the time when Israel was in captivity in Egypt. There is possibly some theological significance in the fact that God goes back only to Moses here, while in the New Testament Paul goes back to Abraham. Abraham was the true root of God's people (as indeed Isaiah 51:1-4 does), thus giving further "proof" that the Law was never intended to be God's means of salvation, but was their to demonstrate the need for salvation. Anyway, we will leave that aside just now.

God had searched out a land for them, and He declared to them in Egypt, through Moses, that He would save them out of slavery and into the Promised Land. However, the people had to rid themselves of the idols in their hearts, the things they had set their eyes on. The last time the elders came before Ezekiel (chapter 14) God spoke to them about the idols in their hearts. Here again He is talking about idolatry. The condition of their hearts is a key message of Ezekiel.

The people, however, refused to get rid of the idols. Now if you read the story of the Exodus and subsequent journey to the Promised Land it is amazing how reluctant the Israelites were to be saved! They were not particularly keen to come out of Egypt, and once out were forever hankering to go back, and grumbled their way to the Promised Land and then refused to go in.

This angered God, and He could have abandoned them there and then. However, "for the sake of His name" He did not. This "for the sake of My name" theme is one that will recur throughout the rest of Ezekiel. The Israelites were self-centred instead of being God-focused. We too need to ensure that we are Christ-centred.

Ezekiel 20:1-4

Elsewhere Ezekiel has used drama and allegory to convey the message, and will do so again later on, but here a fairly straightforward account of Israel's history is given. As in chapter 14 a group of elders come before Ezekiel, inquiring of the Lord. The Lord's answer is "I will not let them inquire of me". It was more important for the Lord to inquire of them, the elders were the ones who needed to answer questions, not God. This is an oft repeated scenario, people are forever asking why God does this or allows that. But it is we who need to answer questions. There are natural disasters that occur that appear to have no meaning, but the vast majority of human suffering is clearly a result of human activity.

God tells Ezekiel to confront them with the "detestable practices of their ancestors". One of the things I love about the Bible is how balanced it is, how much common sense God has! In chapter 18 we read of the importance of personal responsibility, and I made a few comments about "generational curses". Taken on its own chapter 18 may lead someone to conclude that what our ancestors have done is of no relevance, but here we see that it clearly is of importance. An over emphasis on the importance of what past generations have done is wrong, but it is equally unbiblical to say that they are of little importance.

So often debates between Christians end up with one set going up one gum tree, and another set go up a different gum tree. Both sets then find lots of Biblical texts to prove that they are up the right gum tree, but they are still up a gum tree. It is far better to read the Bible and let the Bible teach us how to think, rather than trying to use the Bible to prove we are up the right gum tree.

PS If you want a wonderful illustration of the balance of the Bible and the danger of proof texts, go and read Proverbs 26:4,5. Which gum tree are you going up!

Ezekiel 19

A lament, or dirge, was a poem usually associated with funerals. Ezekiel is reciting the funeral of Jerusalem's rebellion against God, her decision to go her own way, the failure of her kings. Ezekiel actually uses the term princes, indicating, perhaps, that he saw the kings only as pretenders.

The first cub to be taken off to Egypt was Jehoahaz. He reigned only for three months before being taken off to Egypt. The lioness is Israel, or Jerusalem. One king having failed, she sought another.

The second prince was Jehoaichin. He too reigned for only three months and was carried off to Babylon.

After the princes, the nation itself was uprooted. She could and should have been a strong nation, but she rejected God and so was completely uprooted.

When someone, or a nation, has turned from God, they will adopt all sorts of strategies to try and succeed and overcome adversity. This is the human spirit, but it is ultimately futile. The only way to a truly successful life is to live God's way.

Ezekiel 18

This is a very important chapter, emphasising the key role of individual responsibility. At the same time it is important to bear in mine that it is only part of the Bible's teaching on this subject. The Bible is consistent in teaching that we can and do influence others, and are influenced by others, and this influence can pass from one generation to the next. Furthermore we see the effects of this in the world around us, in our own nation, and in our own lives. However, the person who has most responsibility for me is me, and the person with most responsibility for you is you.

There was a saying going around effectively blaming their ancestors for the trouble they were encountering. God's answer is that "the one who sins is the one who will die".

God goes on to illustrate this from every angle. If a man does what is right then he will live. However, if he has a son who does all sorts of things wrong, then the son will die because of his sin. Conversely, if this son then has his own son who does what is right, then this son will live.

God then extends this further, by saying that if wicked turn from their ways and do what is right they will be forgiven and will live. This then followed by the crucial statement that God does not desire the death of anyone, only that people will turn from their sin and live. Jesus was invoking this principle when He spoke of their being joy in heaven over a sinner who repents.

Likewise, if someone was once righteous but then turns to evil, they will not be saved by their past righteousness, they will die. Some accused God of being unjust. But the Lord's ways are just. Men are always looking for rules that allow someone to be saved or not saved. Look at all the rules the Pharisees introduced. Look at the habit we can have in evangelical and charismatic churches (supposedly free). We will invent all sorts of things that show someone is in or out.

The overwhelming message is that "you do what is right and you will be saved", and God wants us to do right. We can think God is out to get us, but that is a lie, He is out to get people to live right, If anyone turns from their sin to Jesus then they will live.

There is an emphasis in some places on "generational curses". How does this fit in with a chapter like this? I would say two things. One is that any teaching that is fatalistic or is blaming someone else for your condition is almost certainly wrong. At the same time, we need to walk into the freedom that Christ has won for us. The message of this chapter is that if I follow God then I will live, regardless of what anyone else has done. However, we can sometimes live as if we are still bound by the past, and we need to learn to live in the new way of Christ, and to appropriate all the benefits of the cross. These are not things that happen in an instant, but over a lifetime. Sometimes this is straightforward, in other cases there can be deep emotional issues that need disentangling.

Ezekiel 17

Ezekiel is now to tell them a story in the form of a parable, a form often adopted by Jesus. The allegory will describe what King Zedekiah did. v3,4 describe Nebuchadnezzar coming to take away the elite of Jerusalem into exile.

The seedling was Zedekiah. He was a spreading vine rather than a tall cedar, ie he did not have the stature of a real king. Though his roots were in Jerusalem, he owed his allegiance to Babylon. He was dependent upon Babylon. However, a second eagle, representing Egypt, became powerful, and Zedekiah sought to make an alliance with Egypt, seeking military assistance. This was an act of rebellion against Babylon.

Zedekiah thought he was making himself stronger, but this plan would nit work. He would be easily uprooted, as indeed happened when Babylon invaded.

From verse 11 onwards the meaning of the parable is made clear. A key point is that Zedekiah had made an oath to Babylon. The breaking of this treaty is the main charge against Zedekiah in this section. Pharaoh would prove to be of no help at all. Zedeikiah would fall as a result of the Lord's judgement,

The chapter finishes with the promise of restoration. The Lord Himself would set up His king in Jerusalem. v 22-24 reminds one of Jesus's parable of the mustard seed (Mark 4:30-32).

One of the key lessons of this is that the keeping of promises is important. Zedekiah should never have made a treaty with Babylon in the first place, but having done so God expected him to honour it. The heart of the decisions we make is important. Zedekiah's trying to get out of it by further scheming would prove futile. Only a change of heart would rescue him.

Ezekiel 16:43-63

Israel had been brought out of other nations, and Jerusalem once belonged to other nations. Israel was acting just like them. The countries that attacked her and saw her demise would say she was no different from anyone else.

Israel despised Samaria, yet she was worse than Samaria. When Jesus was on earth He often used Samaria as an example to show that she was more righteous than "pure" Israel. Israel is also compared unfavourable to Sodom, again Jesus did this on occasion. Social injustice in Sodom is highlighted here, rather than sexual perversion. Sexual sins and social injustice sins will often go together, and both are equally important.

Israel considered herself better than others, but in reality all she did was make other nations look better than they were because of her own unrighteousness.

God then speaks of restoring the nations, this includes Sodom and Samaria. Indeed these peoples are mentioned ahead of Israel. This of course is what has happened with the gospel, though we do well to remember that eventually Israel too will be saved.

Israel would suffer the consequences of her actions, but God would not forget His covenant, and would restore Israel. There are hints here of a new covenant. Israel was proud of herself, but she had no right to be so. Restoration would come, but it would come only because if the atonement that God would make, and because of His covenant. There would be no room for boasting on Israel's part.

Ezekiel 16:35-42

The lustful activity and pouring out of her children's blood is both metaphorical of her idolatry and what actually happened. God would bring the nations against Israel and make a spectacle of her before them, showing what Israel was truly like. Israel wanted to give herself to the nations around her, to entrust her safety to them, well God would well and truly put her in the hands of the nations, and she would take the consequences. One of God's most effective judgements is to actually give someone what they want and let them take the consequences, see the second half of Romans 1 for an example of this. When people talk against God they often complain about why we should have to do this, and not do that, why God should object if we choose to do something different. Well I don't know exactly what hell is like, but receiving the full consequences of rebellious choices might be pretty close to it.

Israel is still controversial, even within the church. What these chapters, and others like it, show is that God is fully aware of Israel's sin, and that she receives the consequences of her sin. To say that Israel is God's nation is definitely not to say that it doesn't matter how she acts. We also have a tendency to focus on other nations being anti-Israel. Now this is true, and we need to be careful how we react to Israel, but Israel's prime concern must be to get right with God, to acknowledge who Jesus is.

Yet there comes a time when God's wrath against Israel subsides.

Ezekiel 16:15-34

Instead of offering herself to the Lord, Israel offered herself to anyone. The favours spoken of are sexual favours, for the passage speaks of Israel prostituting herself. As well as being used metaphorically, the idol worship sometimes did involve sexual practices. Israel made shrines and high places for idol worship, and took the things that God had given to her and gave them to the idols. We need to be careful what we offer our lives for. God gives us abilities and gifts, but we must use these for the glory of God.

The idol worship even involved child sacrifice. She gave not only herself, but her children as well. This brings to mind abortion today. In the UK about 175 000 children a year are aborted. God says that Israel forgot whence she had came, in a similar vein, what if someone had aborted us?

God does not hold back on the illustration of her prostitution, speaking of her opening her legs to anyone who passed by. Israel went to great lengths to offer herself to others. Even the other nations were shocked at Israel's lewdness. The prostitution referred to hear with Egypt, Assyria and Babylon is the alliances she made with them. These never did Israel any good, but she never learnt from this.

Israel was not even like a normal prostitute who take money for their services, Israel paid others to take her. When we turn away from God we act in utterly ridiculous ways.

Ezekiel 16:35-40

The lustful activity and pouring out of her children's blood is both metaphorical of her idolatry and what actually happened. God would bring the nations against Israel and make a spectacle of her before them, showing what Israel was truly like. Israel wanted to give herself to the nations around her, to entrust her safety to them, well God would well and truly put her in the hands of the nations, and she would take the consequences. One of God's most effective judgements is to actually give someone what they want and let them take the consequences, see the second half of Romans 1 for an example of this. When people talk against God they often complain about why we should have to do this, and not do that, why God should object if we choose to do something different. Well I don't know exactly what hell is like, but receiving the full consequences of rebellious choices might be pretty close to it.

Israel is still controversial, even within the church. What these chapters, and others like it, show is that God is fully aware of Israel's sin, and that she receives the consequences of her sin. To say that Israel is God's nation is definitely not to say that it doesn't matter how she acts. We also have a tendency to focus on other nations being anti-Israel. Now this is true, and we need to be careful how we react to Israel, but Israel's prime concern must be to get right with God, to acknowledge who Jesus is.

Yet there comes a time when God's wrath against Israel subsides.

Ezekiel 16:1-14

Ezekiel is called to confront Jerusalem with her unfaithfulness and detestable practices. First He reminds Israel of where she has come from. Israel came from the same stock as all the other nations, there was nothing inherently special about her. In fact she was despised by others.

God saw her and commanded her to live. He made her grow and develop to sexual maturity. Then God passed by again and gave Himself to Israel. He covered her with His cloak, a sign of commitment, of entering into a marriage covenant.

The Lord then cleansed Israel and clothed her in beauty. She became an object of adoration and was greatly admired among the nations. All because of the splendour that God had given her.

We can see an analogy here of what God does in our own lives. Without Him we are nothing, but He takes a hold of our lives and makes them into something beautiful and admirable. He makes us someone who others recognise as good.

The language at the beginning about lying about in blood is rather lurid to us, but sometimes God picks us up out of the gutter. Even if your life has been a complete mess, God can still save and restore you.

Ezekiel 16

The previous chapter ended with God declaring He would make the land desolate because of Israel's unfaithfulness. This chapter now describes this unfaithfulness is lurid detail. In fact I don't think I have heard this chapter read in church, and we would think that some of it should have at least a 15 rating.

Why does God describe things in such graphic and, in our eyes, shocking a way? The truth is that we do not appreciate how terrible unfaithfulness and idolatry is. We treat these things as someone just making a choice, someone just making an intellectual decision. We say that everyone has to make their own mind up. Now this is true, but what we decide is crucial. Moreover, our trust, our faith, is the most intimate part of our being, and what and to whom we give that most vital part of us to is profoundly important.

In our society sex is treated as cheap, just a physical act. But everyone knows it is much more than that. If you have sex with someone, like it or not, you are giving and receiving much more than a physical act. That is why sex should be only within marriage, and it is why adultery and sexual promiscuity are so destructive and cause such emotional pain.

Faith is the same. Just as sex should be precious, and only given to one person, so our deepest faith is precious and should be given only to the Lord. When we put our trust in someone or something we are committing or entrusting ourselves to that person or thing. The Lord is the only one we should entrust our entire lives to.

On a more positive note, it is why when we put our trust in God He responds in such a wonderful way. Faith is the only way that we can really communicate with God. It is why Jesus always responded so positively when people demonstrated faith in Him.

Ezekiel 15

Israel is often likened to a vine, the message usually being that she ought to have produced good fruit, but did not. Here the analogy is different with the emphasis being on the quality of the wood.

Wood from a vine is useless for any practical purpose, unlike many other trees whose wood is very useful and is the prime purpose of the tree. The only value of a vine is the fruit it produces. Israel was for ever trying to be like other nations, but she was not intended to be like other nations. Indeed in terms that might be used to measure other nations she was pretty useless. Israel was different, she was meant to be the nation of God, and would only find her true vocation when she did live as the people of God.

The same applies to us as Christians. We were not saved so that we could be just like everyone else. We were saved so that we could bear special fruit. We need to look to Christ to discover our special purpose, only then will we find our true value and worth.

The wood of the vine is only good for burning, and Jerusalem was about to be well and truly burnt. This would happen because of her unfaithfulness. In the next chapter God will describe in very vivid terms the unfaithfulness of Israel.

Ezekiel 14:12-23

There are two key lessons in this passage about judgement. The first is that when things reach a terrible state, as they had done in Jerusalem, people cannot be saved by the righteousness of others. The people would tend to rely on the status of Jerusalem, and maybe on the goodness of a few people. Yet God says that even if some excellent people lived in the place, they would only save themselves. In fact they could not even save their own sons and daughters, God gives the specific example of Noah, Job and Daniel. The Daniel here is probably not the Daniel of the Bible, but a figure of renown in ancient literature. People had to deal with their own sin.

Of course, we can only be saved by the righteousness of another, the person Jesus Christ. But to avail of ourselves of this we have to believe for ourselves, we cannot rely on the faith of others.

The second lesson is that when judgement is completed Ezekiel will see that God was absolutely right to execute the judgement. We worry about how a God of love can send people to hell. Yet when judgement happens all will see that God is absolutely just on all that He does. The tragedy will not be that God sends people to hell, but that this was what people deserved. All of us need to turn to Christ to escape and live.

Ezekiel 14:1-11

A particular group of elders had come to see Ezekiel, hoping or expecting to receive some sort of oracle. However, they did not receive what they expected. They had set up idols in their hearts, ie they had been infected with the ways of the Babylonians, or maybe had carried their idolatry with them from Jerusalem. Outwardly they were still seeking God, but in reality they had turned away from Him. They came expecting to receive some word. However, God saw into their hearts and knew that they were not seeking Him, so He gave them words of judgement.

The false prophet would have given words to please the hearers, but God spoke the truth. This example is a warning about the current practice of people wanting to "receive a word". It is good to want to hear from God, but we need to be very careful about the condition of our heart. Just because someone goes to church, or goes to Christian meetings of various sorts does not necessarily mean they are seeking God.

The purpose of the Lord is to bring the people to repentance, for them to turn away from idols and bad practices.

This was applied specifically to these elders, but then God says it will be applied to all the people. The judgement applies not just to the people who have idols in their hearts, but also to the prophets who answer them. The false prophet is guilty as well.

All of us are responsible for our own actions, regardless of the circumstances.

Ezekiel 13:13-23

The Lord would demonstrate beyond doubt that their prophecies were lies. The comfort the false prophets had claimed to give would be shown to be absolutely worthless.

Some of these false prophets were women and they had mingled true religion with magic practices. This is in fact a common failing throughout history and throughout the world. We have a tendency to mix true faith with rubbish that we find in our society. We may think this applies only to "primitive" societies, where the people think magic things have power, but in so called "civilised" societies we do the same. We can do it by mixing the gospel with "spirituality", or by adopting practices that society has.

The effect of the false prophets was to cause more death than was necessary, and the death of innocent people. So the Lord would be against them.

Does this mean we should have nothing to do with anything in society around us? Definitely not. The final verses of this chapter give us the clue to how to decide what is good and what is not. Anything that is godly will encourage people to turn from evil ways, and turn towards the ways of the Lord. The objective of all prophecy that is from God is to encourage people to live in obedience to the Lord.

Ezekiel 13:8-12

The false prophets may be able to fool men, but they cannot deceive God. He would be against them, and they would not be allowed to enter the land of Israel. Note that here God is speaking to the Israelites in exile. One of the themes of Ezekiel is that the the land would be purified. In the same way, nothing unclean will be allowed to enter the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:22), but only those whose name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

For a time the words of false prophets may seem to bring some comfort, but the walls they build are flimsy, they cannot stand up to the storms of life. As Jesus said, only those who do hear His word and do His word are building on a firm foundation. In fact there is a remarkable similarity in the terminology used here and that used by Jesus on the parable (Matthew 7:24-29).

Ezekiel 13:1-7

Now God specifically attacks the false prophets themselves. The feature of these people is that they prophesy out of their own imagination, they follow their own spirit. Note that in this instance there is no direct demonic activity, it is just men relying on themselves. True prophesy is inspired by the Holy Spirit, and it takes us beyond our own imagination and our own spirit.

God likens them to jackals. Jackals are animals that travel in packs and feed off dead flesh. False prophets will derive support from other false prophets, whereas the true prophet relies on God.

God then criticises them for not repairing the breaches in the wall. The true prophet, such as Jeremiah ir Ezekiel, told Israel what was wrong and how to put it right. If Israel had listened to the true prophets and followed their words, then she could have done something about it and avoided the catastrophes that came.

The false prophets claimed to speak on the Lord's behalf and expected God to fulfil their words. So just because someone says "this saith the Lord", this means nothing and on its own is worthless. Equally, just because some is fervent in what they say does not mean it is from God.

Ezekiel 12:21-28

The people had heard many visions and prophecies, many of them false, and had become weary of them. This had reached the point where the people started to despise prophecy, treating it with indifference.

The Lord's answer to this would be to put an end to this proverb, and He would do so by fulfilling the prophecies which had indeed come from Him. Moreover, there would be an end to false prophecies.

The people, even if they admitted that Ezekiel was a man of God, said the visions would only happen in the distant future, so they could safely ignore them. God would show how wrong they were.

This short passage has relevance to prophecy today. The first thing we can learn is that we must not prophecy lightly, claiming every notion or idea that passes through our minds is a "word from God". The end result of such behaviour is that all words are treated with contempt.

Secondly, our reaction should not be to dismiss all prophecy, but to test all prophecy, as the New Testament instructs. To dismiss all prophecy is as disobedient to God as to glibly accept anything and everything.

Thirdly, this passage speaks of "flattering divinations". We need to be careful when people give flattering words. They should be tested very carefully.

So how do we test for the validity of prophecy? I am not going to attempt to give a complete answer (partly because I don't have one!), but here are a few pointers:

• It must be in line with the Bible. If it is not, then it is definitely not of God. Now if it is in line with the Bible, then that does not necessarily mean it is a "word from God", but even if we get it wrong the consequences of any error will not be less serious!
• True prophecy usually requires a change on our part.
• Encouraging words are normally given to those going through difficult circumstances.
• Prophecy does not stand by itself, it will normally be consistent with other things that God is doing in our lives.
• We need to distinguish between conviction and guilt. False prophets may use guilt to try and get us to make a decision of some sort (often to give money!). When God speaks He convicts of sin. Two key elements of Godly conviction are (i) it is clear, not ambiguous; (ii) there is a clear way out (a path of repentance).

Ezekiel 12:7-20

Ezekiel duly performed the drama. God tells Ezekiel to explain it to the people verbally as well. People often need both the visual and the verbal. The visual gets their attention where they might just dismiss the words, but then they need the words in order to understand properly.

The prince referred to is Zedekiah. Although he would try to escape, God would catch him in His net. When the Lord has determined to catch someone there is no escape. The scattering of the people living in Jerusalem among the nations would finally bring it home to them that He is the Lord.

Ezekiel is given a further drama to play, this time trembling as eats and shuddering as he drinks. This would represent the anxiety that would envelop Jerusalem as Babylon surrounded the city.

Ezekiel 12:1-6

The words in verse 2 are reminiscent of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-10), and Jesus often spoke of those who have ears to hear and eyes to see. God makes Ezekiel fully aware, if he wasn't already, of the nature of the people.

Therefore there is no chance of the people repenting and so exile is certain for the remnant in Jerusalem. Ezekiel is to act this out before the people. Now remember that he is doing this for the people who are already in exile. So why is God getting him to do this? It cannot be as a last ditch attempt to get the people in Jerusalem to repent (other prophets such as Jeremiah had that job). No, it is so that they will understand. When things go badly we tend to cling on to things in our mind, we attach our hope to things that we trusted in or held dear. The exiles would have a deep emotional attachment to Jerusalem. They needed to let go of this and realise that they needed to get right with God. Often we focus on the wrong thing. It might be the lack of money, or job, or health, or some relationship. Now clearly the fact that the Israelites were in exile was a big problem, but hankering after Jerusalem was not the answer. Likewise, the money, job, relationship etc is no doubt a real problem, but focusing on it is not the answer. We need to look to God and our relationship with Him.

Once the Israelites got their relationship with God sorted out they would indeed be able to live in Jerusalem, but as long as Jerusalem was the centre of their lives they would not be allowed to live their. As Jesus said, "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you". Our natural inclination is to focus on "these things", instead we should seek first the kingdom and His righteousness.

Ezekiel 11:14-25

The people of Jerusalem thought that they were the favoured ones because they had not been carried off to exile. In fact the opposite was true. This is an example of Jesus' saying that the first shall be last and last first. Outward appearances of how things are working out can be a load of nonsense, for it is what God is doing and is planning that really count. We may look at our own life and think we are missing out or others are doing better than us, but it is God's plans that count. We should live by faith not by sight.

The plans for destruction were not the final outcome, afterwards God would bring back a remnant, When they return they will remove the idols, ie they will cleanse the land. Most importantly they will have a new heart and a new spirit. This is the first mention of this in Ezekiel, and later on will be a major feature of his prophecy.

The vision left Ezekiel and he told the exiles everything. The people in Jerusalem needed to give up their complacency, but the people in exile needed to see the bigger picture so that they could understand what was really going on.

There are a number of lessons we can learn:

• We need to look beyond immediate circumstances.
  
• God works by working in the hearts of the people. Once their hearts had been cleansed they would then come back and cleanse the land.

Ezekiel 11:1-13

God gives Ezekiel unique insight into the evil that was going on in Jerusalem. Remember that Ezekiel was in exile, and would have had a natural affection for Jerusalem. God does not just say "tough Ezekiel, I am going to destroy the place", instead He lets Ezekiel know why the destruction must come.

God shows him the leaders of the people and the evil they were plotting. Thins were going on in the nation that most people would be unaware of. The leaders were smug. They thought that because they had survived the initial Babylonian invasion they were now secure and indeed were better than the exiles.

The leaders perception of things could have not been further from the truth. Destruction would come, and they would be either killed or taken into exile. They would suffer at the sword, the very thing they feared most. The leaders would be brought face to face with the evil they have committed, and will be shown that the Lord is indeed God.

Ezekiel sees one of the leaders die, and calls out to God, fearful that all the remnant will die.

Ezekiel 10

Ezekiel is about to receive a vision of the glory of the Lord departing from the temple. It is difficult for us to appreciate how terrible a thing this must have been for Ezekiel, for the temple was central to the very identity of Jerusalem. Ezekiel is given visions to reinforce the reality and seriousness of what God is about to do. As an aside, people sometimes dismiss visions as some sort of wish fulfilment. Sometimes this may well be the case, but here with Ezekiel there is no way that his prophecies and visions are wish fulfilment, if anything they are his worst nightmare.

The man who had marked the righteous is now told to scatter burning coals over the city. In Isaiah's vision the burning coals took away Isaiah's guilt.

Verses 9-17 repeat much of what Ezekiel had seen in earlier visions. The Lord is using a repeated vision to emphasise that the message is from Him.

Then the glory of the Lord departs from the temple.

It is interesting that the linen man was an instrument of deliverance in Ezekiel 9, but an instrument of judgement here. Jesus came to bring salvation, but will come again in judgement.

Ezekiel 9

Judgement is now enacted. Six men represent those appointed and equipped to execute judgement, but before they can do so a seventh man with a writing kit has work to do. His task is to put a mark on the forehead of all those who still honoured the Lord, who mourned over the direction the city had gone in. When the slaughter came it would be merciless, but those who had the mark would be protected.

When the judgement started it would involve doing things that would seem to defile the temple, ie the piling up of dead bodies inside the temple. However, this was as nothing compared to the defilement caused by the actions of the people.

Ezekiel is horrified at what is about to happen, fearing that all the people would be destroyed. The Lord's answer is that the people have brought the judgement upon themselves by their actions.

There are a number of points that can be brought out from this. The first is that even in the severest of judgements those who are faithful to the Lord are not forgotten, they are marked out. It is always worth trusting God.

Secondly, the mark on the forehead makes us think of the mark of the beast in Revelation. In Ezekiel the mark is a sign of righteousness, in Revelation it is a sign of the exact opposite. This should perhaps make us wary of getting over excited about actual marks, or worrying about chips being implanted and so on. Much speculation sees these possibilities as being evidence of the mark of the beast. However, we see here that the mark on the forehead can be good (Ezekiel) or bad (Revelation). The mark was not the issue, the mark was the sign of what was in the hearts of the people. Should we be worried if at some point in the future governments start to implant chips in people (we already do it with pets!), and automatically refuse it? I do not know the answer for certain, but I do not think that some outward sign is the issue, it is what is in our hearts that counts, and it is this that we should be concerned with above all.

Thirdly, God's answer to Ezekiel's horror is to say that they have brought it upon themselves. When people hear of God's judgement they always respond by asking is God right or wrong to do such and such a thing. Instead, our response should always be to look at our own actions and ask if we need to change them.

Ezekiel 8

God now starts to explain why such judgement is coming. This incident takes place about fourteen months after Ezekiel's call. As mentioned earlier, he was probably a priest, and this together with his prophetic ministry had gained him some attention. The elders were waiting for an answer. Ezekiel did not just give them any old answer, but waited for a word from God. We have a great tendency today to want to receive and to want to give immediate answers, but sometimes it is better to wait until we have insight from the Lord.

God gave him the same vision he had had before, thus confirming to Ezekiel that it was indeed the Lord. Now God uses different ways with different people, but each one of us needs to learn to recognise the Lord's voice. God took him to Jerusalem, apparently supernaturally enabling him to see what was going on.

In the north of the temple was an idol. An idol had indeed been placed there before Hezekiah removed it, but it may well have been brought back.

Over the walls were drawings of all sorts of crawling animals. The abomination here may have been that they were unclean, or that they were copying from Egyptian religions. They were offering incense to these things.

Women were mourning Tammuz, folklore had it that Tammuz died each year, and this was believed to cause vegetation to die away in autumn, Then Ezekiel saw elders worshipping the sun.

God is showing Ezekiel just how bad things were, how deep the corruption had gone. Ezekiel no doubt knew that something was wrong, but probably did not realise how bad things were. We may wonder how things can get to such a state, but there are parts of all sorts of churches where things have indeed got so bad, where terrible things happen.

Ezekiel 7

This chapter is one of almost unremitting judgement on Israel, a fact that is even more apparent in the original Hebrew which adopts a very staccato style. Ie it is like a machine gun of judgement.

For years Israel had rebelled against the Lord for a time, then the occasional good king would come along who would introduce some reforms, only for the nation to lapse back into rebellion. At last enough is enough and judgement would come. The nation would be judged for her conduct and detestable practices.

"Then you will know that I am the Lord". There are two ways to know the Lord. One is to repent and submit to Him. To trust Him and follow His ways. Then we will know Him as a Father, as the One who cares for us in a deeper way ever imaginable. The alternative is to carry on going our own way, then one day we will finally run up against the buffers and meet Him as judge. On that day we will see that He was right and we were wrong. It is far better to take the first option!

Some might object that how can a God of love not show any pity? But the tragedy is that God has been showing pity and patience for years, but the nation failed to take advantage of it. Pity has failed, judgement must come. The nation will know that it is not random events that are afflicting them, but the Lord Himself.

As then, as now, people immerse themselves in consumerism, in selling and buying, in making money. They think they are secure because of their wealth and money making abilities, but this will be no protection at all against the judgement of God.

There will be no escape from the judgement, neither inside the city, nor outside in the country. The people had used wealth to make idols, instead of using it to bring justice and mercy to people.

So judgement will come upon the land.