Ezekiel - Chapters 1-23

In the book of Ezekiel, the prophet delivers a message of judgment to the exiled Jews in Babylon. The Lord is bringing judgment against Judah for their sins, including idolatry and desecration of the temple. The purpose of this judgment is to bring the people to repentance and personal accountability. The prophet has visions of God's glory and the mobile throne of the Lord. The Lord emphasizes that he does not take pleasure in judgment but desires for the people to turn away from their sins and live. There is also a message of hope and restoration, as the Lord promises to remember his covenant with the people and make atonement for their sins. I'm Julie Calio, your host, and thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to tune in with me today. If by chance you want to contact me, you can do that at vab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today we are looking at chapters 1 through 23 of Ezekiel. Last year I broke this down into more lessons, but this year it is more of an overview, focusing on where this book fits into the history of the Bible. Chapter 1 verses 1 through 3 read, In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar river, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. On the fifth of the month, it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin. The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar river, in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the Lord was upon him. The last good king of Judah was Josiah, who died in 609 B.C. His son Jehoiahaz took his place, but the king of Egypt came and took him to Egypt where he died, and Jehoiachin was placed as king by Neco, pharaoh of Egypt. Egypt had fought with Assyria against Babylon and King Nebuchadnezzar, but they lost at the battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C., and it was in that year that Babylon came south to Judah and made them a vassal nation to Babylon. They also took some people into exile, and some of those men were Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We learned in chapters 1 and 2 of Daniel that the Lord blessed them while they were in Babylon because they desired to honor the Lord with their lives. Plus, the Lord gave Daniel gifts of interpreting dreams which saved their lives. King Nebuchadnezzar declared in Daniel 2, verse 47, Surely your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery. Now back in Jerusalem, King Jehoiakim died, and his son Jehoiachin became king for only three months. Nebuchadnezzar came against Judah, and this time, possibly due to the prophet Jeremiah's preaching about Babylon, the king of Judah surrendered. Nebuchadnezzar took the king, his mother, his officers, his attendants, his nobles, and his officials. Nebuchadnezzar also took all the gold from the temple and the treasuries in the temple and the palace. He took them all to Babylon, and in this group was Ezekiel, which we learned was a priest. Dr. Betts, in Old Testament class, stressed that he was a prophet that was a priest, and a priest that was a prophet. Then he added, meaning that both are essential and important to the message that God has given him. The year of this deportation was 597 B.C. So far, we have covered that the prophet Jeremiah was in Jerusalem, proclaiming the word of the Lord was that Babylon is coming, and that it is God's plan, and if they would surrender to them, they would be saved, but if they fight against them, they will be wiped out because of their sin. We also know the people did not like this message, and he was persecuted for it. We ended in 2 Kings chapter 24 verse 20b, and the last king of Judah, Zedekiah, rebelled against Babylon. Whoa, that's not good. In Ezekiel chapter 17 verse 15, we learn what he did, quote, but the king rebelled against him by sending his invoice to Egypt to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the treaty and yet escape? The Lord answers that question too in verse 16 and tells us that King Zedekiah will die in Babylon. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego seem to be placed in a position of access to the king of Babylon and others in the high ranks in the capital. In Ezekiel, we find that his message was to the exiled Jews who were in Babylon, and it is possible that his town is downstream closer to the Persian Gulf, but the place of the Kidar River is not certain. In verse 1 of Ezekiel, it says the 30th year, which could possibly be Ezekiel's age, but it occurred to me, because I read it wrong at first, that if it's supposed to be the 13th year, which that would be the year of the first exiles to Babylon, and that would line up with the 5th year of the exile of King Jehoiakim, which would be 592 BC. The message of the Lord through Ezekiel is that God is bringing judgment against Judah because of their sin. It is the same message as Jeremiah, except to a group that is already in exile. Dr. Bett said the purpose of Ezekiel is to bring the exiles to a point of personal accountability for the destruction of Jerusalem and a call to repentance. His first vision in chapter 1 is a wondrous vision, and notice the word like is used a lot in these descriptions, because it is hard to find earthly words to talk of heavenly things. At the end of chapter 1 it says, This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell face down, and I heard the voice of one speaking. One thing C. Hasselblad mentioned in his book, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophetic Books, about the wheels and the vision. Here the throne is mobile, moving with lightning speed across the sky, supported and mobilized by four sets of gyroscopic wheels and flanked on all four sides by the cherubim with four faces. Very soon the temple of the Lord will be demolished by Babylon, but this vision reminds Ezekiel that the Lord is mobile, he is with his people wherever they are in exile. In this section we see the spirit of the Lord is with Ezekiel, also called the Son of Man. This calls forth his humanity, and I don't know if you know this, but in the New Testament Jesus often references himself as the Son of Man too, because Jesus was both fully God and fully man. With Ezekiel's call there is lament and mourning because of what will happen to Jerusalem because of the sin of the people. In chapter 3 Ezekiel was called a watchman, whose job was to stand at the top of the walled city and call out if there was danger. Ezekiel was to call out, and he does. The question is, would the people heed the warning? One of the issues in Jerusalem was the desecration of the temple with idolatrous worship, which is one of the reasons that the glory of the Lord is mentioned a lot in this priest's message. Chapter 3 verse 23 And the glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kibar river, and I fell face down. Chapter 8 verse 4 And there before me was the glory of the God of Israel, as in the vision I had seen in the plain. Chapter 9 verse 3 Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Chapter 10 verse 4 Then the glory of the Lord rose from above the cherubim, and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the Lord. Chapter 10 verse 18 and 19 Then the glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple, and stopped above the cherubim, while I watched the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the Lord's house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. Chapter 11 verse 22 and 23 Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. The glory of the Lord went up from within the city, and stopped above the mountain east of it. And ladies, Babylon is to the east of Jerusalem. The glory of the Lord left the temple, because of the Jews desecration of it. The Lord also says that Judah rebelled more than the nations and countries around her. Chapter 5 verse 6 and in the comparison between Judah and Israel in chapter 23, Judah is described as more depraved than Israel. Verse 11 and he also says that in chapter 16 verse 47. Chapters 11 and 13 are prophecies against the leaders and prophets of Judah for leading the people astray. And keep in mind that many of these leaders were taken into exile with Ezekiel. Another thing that C. Hassel Bullock mentioned, quote, In the Jewish community of Babylonia his, Ezekiel's, reputation was well known and respected, for the elders of the exilic community came to inquire of him on several occasions. Chapter 8 verse 1, chapter 14 verse 1, and chapter 20 verse 1, end of quote. Just maybe they are seeking the Lord while they are in exile. Another phrase that runs throughout this book is the phrase in various forms that they will know that I am the Lord. Dr. Betts said it's in there about 65 times. The Lord is not bringing judgment because he delights in it. There is a purpose and that purpose is to draw people to himself. Chapter 14 verse 6 reads, Therefore say to the house of Israel, this is what the sovereign Lord says, repent, turn from your idols, and renounce all your detestable practices. Chapter 18 explains that the Lord holds each person accountable for their actions. And then verses 30-32 say, Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent, turn away from all your offenses, then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent and live. Dr. Betts also said numerous times in Old Testament class, when we see a book or a message of judgment, we must always, always, always look for the message of God's hope and restoration. Chapter 16 verse 60, Yet, I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. And then verses 62 and 63, So I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord. Then when I make atonement for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation, declares the sovereign Lord. In the New Testament, the word atonement is only used one time, and that is found in Romans chapter 5 verse 11. Paul the Apostle has been talking about what Jesus did on the cross for us. And verse 1 of chapter 5 says, Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He speaks of how we now have access to God. And verses 9 through 11 say, Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. It doesn't matter how bad our past was, we can be forgiven when we put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and then our humiliation is turned to joy in Jesus. Ladies, if you have heard the Lord's voice today, please don't harden your hearts, that does not end well. Instead, let's be faithful like Ezekiel, and trust and obey. Until next time, and thank you so very much for listening.