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TH1192: On-Line

EZEKIEL

Ezekiel 9-11

Please turn in your Bibles to Ezekiel chapter 9, as we continue our study through the Word of God. Now keep in mind that chapters 9-11 are a continuation of the vision Ezekiel received beginning in chapter 8. And in chapter 8 Ezekiel was given a vision of Jerusalem and was shown the things that were taking place even as the judgment of God was coming upon them. They had an idol set up in the temple. The elders were worshiping God’s creation instead of the creator Himself. The women were worshiping Babylonian god’s. The priests had turned their backs on God and were worshiping the sun. Thus, what we see coming in chapter 9 is directly related to what Ezekiel has already seen. It is the judgment of God coming upon a wicked and idolatrous people, the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

EZEKIEL 9

VERSES 1-2

1. These 6 angelic beings are coming to execute God’s judgment upon the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Remember what the Lord said in Ezekiel 8:18, "Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them." They have been called to fulfill those words of judgment. Each of them had a battle-ax or a shattering weapon so that this judgment was going to flatten, break them in pieces. And as these angelic beings come into position, they would be passing by all those abominations that Ezekiel was shown in chapter 8.

2. Now one of these six angelic beings is carrying with him a inkhorn, and we are going to see what this is used for in a few minutes.

VERSE 3

1. Get a picture in your mind of what is taking place here. In the temple was the most Holy place or the holy of holies. And in this room was the ark of the covenant, which contained the Law of God, Aaron’s rod that budded, and a jar of manna. On top of the ark was the mercy seat and on either side of the ark was a cherub. And the presence of God sat between the cherubim on the mercy seat. And what we are seeing here is the Shekinah glory or the presence of God rising up and He is going to begin to depart from the nation. You remember when Solomon dedicated this temple, the glory of the Lord filled the place, but now He is leaving. What a truly sad picture for Ezekiel to see.

2. Now the Lord is going to speak to the angelic being who has the inkhorn at his side.

VERSE 4

1. God did have His faithful remnant within the nation who were devastated, broken over what they were seeing. And this angel was to go and place a mark upon those faithful people. Why? Because God will not punish the righteous with the wicked.

2. We see this once again in revelation 7:1-4, where God is going to seal 144,000 Jewish believers during the tribulation period. We read "After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.’ And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed." And then in Revelation 9:1-4 we see the judgment of God come, but those that have this mark are sealed. Again, we read "Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads." God will not judge the righteous with the wicked!

3. The word "mark" is not really a word but a letter, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, TAU. And, interestingly enough, in ancient Hebrew writing this letter was in the shape of a cross! You see, when we come to Jesus, we are sealed in Him. It is His atoning work on the cross of Calvary that has cleansed us. Paul put it this way in Ephesians 1:13-14, as he said "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." Make no mistake about it, we are sealed by God and that is why Paul is able to say in I Thessalonians 5:9, "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ."

VERSES 5-6

1. God spared the faithful, but he unleashed His wrath upon the wicked who refused to repent.

2. Now why did this judgment begin with the house of God? Because they should have known better. They had the truths of God, but they refused to obey and they led the nation down a path of death and destruction, they were leading them away from God. And thus, God was holding them accountable for their actions. God is no different today. As Peter said, "For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?" I Peter 4:17.

VERSE 7

1. Dead bodies, coming in contact with them would make you unclean. And God was going to fill the temple with dead bodies, but understand this, it was already unclean. The people, the religious leaders had already defiled it.

2. We see the historical fulfillment of this in II Chronicles 36:17-19. And keep in mind the people are unaware of what is taking place on a spiritual level, they only see what the Babylonians are doing on a physical level. Thus, we read "Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. And all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions."

VERSE 8

1. Ezekiel is overwhelmed by all he see’s and he loses sight of God’s promise of sparing a remnant. He is concerned that God is going to wipe out everyone!

VERSES 9-10

1. God’s judgment was righteous. Wickedness filled the land and judgment had to come. And even in the midst of all their evil activity, their philosophy was, "God doesn’t see! He doesn’t care! He doesn’t get involved! He doesn’t know what is going on! He approves of what we are doing!" And the list can go on-and-on, that was their mentality. Remember what Mr. T. said, "I pity the fool...!" Well I too pity the fool who does not heed the Words of God, because His judgment is coming!

2. This judgment came upon the Southern Kingdom of Judah. There is another judgment that is coming upon the world. And as you listen to people’s philosophy today, it is not different than it was back then. Hard hearts, stiff-necked, rebellious people who refuse to come to God, no matter what comes upon them. I PITY THE FOOL!

VERSE 11

1. This angelic being had completed his work, the faithful were sealed and Ezekiel could relax, seeing again that God does not judge the righteous with the wicked. That He will protect, spare this faithful remnant. That you can rest in the promises of God, His Word!

EZEKIEL 10

VERSES 1-2

1. Here again we see this chariot-throne of God carried by these four cherubim. And the Lord tells this angel to go and take coals of fire that is located in the chariot-throne, and spread them out over Jerusalem. Again, this was what was taking place in the spiritual world. In the physical world we see this poured out by the Babylonians. In II Kings 25:8-9 we see this take place as we read, "And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the LORD and the king's house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire." You see, all that the people saw was the judgment!

VERSES 3-4

1. Here we see God’s glory, the Shekinah glory, moving away from the nation. And as He is leaving, He pauses at the threshold of the temple. He didn’t want to leave, but they drove Him from them!

VERSE 5

1. Once again this chariot-throne is on the move, and as it moves it makes a thunderous sound.

VERSES 6-8

1. Again we see the judgment of God being poured out upon this nation, as the Babylonians would destroy Jerusalem by fire.

VERSES 9-13

1. Now these are not UFO’s as some like to speculate. They are angelic beings, cherubim, created by God. But, as we said when we studied Ezekiel chapter 1, it could be the exact opposite. UFO’s could be nothing more than fallen cherubim trying to deceive people!

2. Now the word "wheel" used in verse 13, is the Hebrew word GALGAL, which speaks of a wheel, but specifically the wheel of a chariot. And thus, this could be the chariot-throne of God on this earth. Keep in mind when you see God’s throne in heaven it too is surrounded by cherubim.

VERSE 14

1. The face of a cherub could also be the face of an ox, for both were servants, and Ezekiel tells us that these are the same angelic beings he saw in his vision in chapter 1. And as we said when we studied Ezekiel chapter 1, each face represents the ministry of Jesus Christ, and we also see that manifested to us in the four Gospels.

VERSES 15-17

1. It seems from this description that these wheels might be a part of these cherubim. And as the Spirit of God led, they moved without hesitation. May we be in tune to God’s Spirit so that as He leads we would move without hesitation.

VERSES 18-19

1. God has now entered His chariot-throne and left the threshold of the temple.

VERSES 20-22

1. Make no mistake about it, what Ezekiel saw in chapter 1, these cherubim, are the same ones he see’s here in chapter 10.

EZEKIEL 11

VERSES 1-3

1. The gate was the traditional place where the elders of the city would sit to administer justice and to hear legal maters. And the Lord is showing Ezekiel the wickedness of these elders. The wicked counsel they gave the people. In fact, they mocked the prophets of God. You see, the prophets of God were saying it is not time to build homes, to fix up your house because judgment was coming. In fact, the Lord told those who were already taken captive to Babylon, "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters-- that you may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace." Jeremiah 29:4-7. But these men were mocking the Words of God!

2. They also spoke of the city being a caldron, a pot, and the people being the meat. And I think the point they were trying to make is that the walls of Jerusalem were like the pot, there for protection, to contain the people. And the people were within the walls or this pot, again they are spoken of as the meat. Latter on in this chapter we are going to see the Lord turn that around.

VERSES 4-5

1. These were the things these guys were thinking, and God is going to shout out loud the things they thought were a secret. You can’t hide anything from God, He knows all!

VERSE 6

1. When the criminal justice system has become corrupted, all kinds of evil will grow for there is no protection against it. And that is what we see here in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, not only were they corrupt, but spiritually, politically, civilly they had deteriorated. And thus, judgment was coming. America is no different, may we awaken as a nation before judgment comes.

VERSE 7

1. This city you thought would protect you, won’t. Those whom you have killed will be better off, they died within this pot, within the walls of the city, but you are going to be removed from these walls of protection, this pot.

VERSES 8-10

1. Their biggest fears, those things they tried to escape from on their own, was going to come upon them because they refused to repent and get right with God. And just as Ezekiel said, it came to pass. The walls of the city were broken down, the people taken captive and brought to the boarder of Israel, a placed called Riblah, and many people were put to death here, and the rest taken as captives to Babylon.

VERSES 11-12

1. They looked at Jerusalem as a place of protection, but the Lord is telling them it won’t be, judgment is coming. And the reason once again is to awaken them out of their spiritual sleep so they shall know that "I am the Lord!" You see, they had forgotten that fact and walked away from Him. And the Lord is trying to draw them back.

VERSE 13

1. As Ezekiel was prophesying, Pelatiah drops dead! He was one of the princes that was mocking the Words of God and God is not mocked. A vivid object lesson for the others who felt as Pelatiah did.

2. Now Ezekiel is concerned that God is not only going to wipe out the wicked, but also the faithful remnant will get wiped out. It was a difficult ministry and he needed to refocus and get a proper perspective of things before he loses sight of the grace and mercy of God. That he forgets about the promises of God.

VERSES 14-15

1. Listen to their boldness and arrogance. "This is our land, we don’t need God. We have obtained it on our own and we can sustain it on our own!" We in America have said the same thing. God has given us this land that we may freely worship Him, but instead of praising Him and thanking Him, we take credit for all we have. We need to be careful, judgment was at the door for the Southern Kingdom of Judah, I wonder how far away it is for America?

VERSE 16

1. Here again we see the grace of God in the midst of this judgment. He is telling the people that no matter where they are at, no matter what nation they may be in, if they would only cry to Him, He will be a sanctuary, a holy place to them! You see, worship is not matter of location, it is a matter of the heart. And even in the darkest times, He is there with us if we would call to Him, He will comfort us, be a sanctuary to us. As Isaiah 26:3-4 says, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength."

VERSES 17-21

1. We saw a partial fulfillment when they returned home from their Babylonian captivity. And in 1948 when the Jews entered the land once again after they were driven out by the Romans in 70 AD, becoming a nation again, is only a partial fulfillment. Not even in 1967 when they recaptured the old city of Jerusalem is this fulfilled. You see, most of the nation at this time is agnostic or they are atheists. They can’t believe God would allow 6 million of their brethren to be slaughtered by Hitler.

But there is coming a day when their eyes will be opened and they will turn to their God, but that will not take place on a national level until the time of the tribulation period. As Paul said in Romans 11:25-27, "For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.’" So this is still speaking of a future day.

VERSES 22-23

1. What a sad picture this is. God was hovering by the east door of the temple and He is slowly making His way to the Mount of Olives, leaving the city. You could place a sign over the city of Jerusalem, at this point, saying: ICHABOD, the glory has departed! God’s chariot-throne was waiting for Him as He departed from this nation.

2. Now in the New Testament we see Jesus being taken up into heaven on the Mount of Olives and the angels said to the disciples of Jesus that as He went up He will return. And when He does return He will place His foot on the Mount of Olives and it will cleave in two, opening up a valley where living waters will flow into the Dead Sea and it shall bring forth life!

VERSES 24-25

1. Now Ezekiel has returned from this vision and he is going to speak to the captives in Babylon the things that God has shown him. He will not only share the judgments of God because of their disobedience, but the blessings that God has for them when they return to Him.

2. Let me leave you this evening with these words to meditate upon. They go like this:

JESUS, BEFORE THY FACE WE FALL -

OUR LORD, OUR LIFE, OUR HOPE, OUR ALL!

FOR WE HAVE NOWHERE ELSE TO FLEE -

NO SANCTUARY, LORD, BUT THEE!

- Samuel Medley