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TH1196: On-Line
EZEKIEL
Please turn in your Bibles to Ezekiel chapter 21, as we continue our study through the Word of God. And keep in mind, as we concluded last time, that Ezekiel was speaking of the Babylonians coming down upon the Southern Kingdom of Judah like a blazing fire upon a forest, and they will be consumed. And so, as we move into chapter 21, God is going to continue to pronounce judgment upon Judah, using different instruments of judgment, but the same thought is in mind, destruction, devastation and captivity.
EZEKIEL 21
VERSES 1-5
1. The age of grace has come to an end and the day of God’s wrath was upon them. God’s patience, God’s longsuffering was over, for the people refused to repent and get right with Him. And thus, His sword of judgment has been taken out of its sheath and He is ready to use it upon this nation for their wickedness.
2. Now something that seems confusing is the Lord said He will "...cut off both righteous and wicked from you." What is that all about? Doesn’t that contradict what the Scriptures say, even in the book of Ezekiel? We read in Ezekiel 18, "The soul who sins shall die...’Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?’ says the Lord GOD, ‘and not that he should turn from his ways and live?’ ‘For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,’ says the Lord GOD. ‘Therefore turn and live!’" Ezekiel 18:20a, 23, 32. So what is God saying here in Ezekiel 21? The thought here is the righteous and the wicked may be from the people’s perspective. They saw themselves as righteous, while God saw them as they truly were, wicked!
3. Now what is the purpose of judgment? It is not some irrational rage, but God is once again trying to get their attention. He is trying to awaken them out of their spiritual sleep. He wants them to return to Him, to recognize that He is the LORD! And now, since they ignored all His warnings, He is going to have to hurt them to heal them!
VERSES 6-7
1. Here is how Ezekiel is going to make known this message. He is to go around the prisoner of war camp in Babylon, sighing. You know, "OHHH....! OHHH!" And when the people see him acting like this, seeing him so brokenhearted, they will ask him what is wrong, and Ezekiel will tell them the news of God’s coming judgment, a judgment that is at the door. They would not escape!
VERSES 8-11
1. This was no laughing matter. It was not a time of celebration but of mourning. God’s instrument of judgment has been sharpened and polished and will destroy the Southern Kingdom of Judah and all who oppose them, that is the Babylonians, for they were the instrument that God was going to use to pour out His judgment by. And as you read this, it is like a solider preparing himself for battle, and God was preparing the Babylonians for the work He had for them.
VERSES 12-13
1. Make some noise, slap your thigh, let the people know the destruction that is coming. No longer will their be a king in Judah, the nation will fall to the Babylonians!
VERSES 14-17
1. God is telling Ezekiel to clap his hands, twirl his sword, help the people get the POINT of the message! And the point is this, sin brings about sadness, it cuts people up, it will destroy them. The tragedy in all of this is God said it didn’t have to come to this. If they would have repented, if they would have returned to the Lord, they would have lived, they would not be cut to pieces. But they refused, and God’s judgment will be completed!
2. What God said to His people back then He is saying to us. Sin will destroy your life! But, if you turn away from sin, if you return to the Lord, God will restore your life, that joy will return. But it is difficult, but not impossible for Paul says in Galatians 5:16, "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Who is controlling your life, the Spirit of God or the flesh? Whatever is, it will be manifested in your life!
VERSES 18-21
1. King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians were deciding which nation to attack first, the Ammonites or the people of Judah. And so he gathered his men together in Riblah, which is a city north of Damascus, in Syria, and they just couldn’t decide on their own. So they used 3 different methods to figure out what nation they should attack first. We see them cast lots with arrows. We might think of it like drawing straws and whoever gets the shortest straw loses. They would place the name of one of these nations on one arrow and the name of the other on another arrow. And they placed both of these arrows in a quiver, and the one drawn out first would be attacked.
They also consulted their gods or teraphim. What this all entailed we are not completely sure, but it is possible that they were contacting the spirit world for guidance in this situation. And lastly, they would examine the liver as a form of divination known as hepatoscopy. The soothsayers would examine the shape and markings of the liver of a sacrificed animal to see what they should do. And as they looked at all 3 of these things, we are now going to see where they all pointed to, who was going to be attacked first.
VERSES 22-23
1. All signs pointed to Jerusalem, destruction was to come upon them first! Now the people of Judah seemed confused. Why was this happening to them? They made an oath with Babylon that they would serve them, now why is he attacking them? Yes they made a pact with Babylon, but they broke it. We can read of this in Ezekiel 17:15, 18-21, which says "‘But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Will he prosper? Will he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still be delivered?...Since he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and in fact gave his hand and still did all these things, he shall not escape.’ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘As I live, surely My oath which he despised, and My covenant which he broke, I will recompense on his own head. I will spread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and try him there for the treason which he committed against Me. All his fugitives with all his troops shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be scattered to every wind; and you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken.’" You see, because they broke this covenant with Babylon and sided with the Egyptians, the Babylonians were going to come down upon them and destroy them, for the Egyptians would be of no help. So the confusion they had about this was unjustified, they should have clearly seen why this was happening to them.
VERSE 24
1. God was going to use the Babylonians as His instrument of judgment against the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Their sins are open, they are not hidden, and because of that, because they refuse to repent and change their ways, they are going to be destroyed, and many will be taken away as captives to Babylon.
VERSES 25-27
1. Now historically speaking, this wicked prince was Zedekiah. He was the last king to reign in the Southern Kingdom of Judah before the Babylonians came in and destroyed the city, its walls and the temple. And as they took the remaining people captive, including Zedekiah, the right to rule in Israel was taken away also.
2. Prophetically speaking we see this wicked prince as the Antichrist, who will be even more wicked than Zedekiah was. And we will see the Antichrist usurp his authority, demand to be worshiped, and he will oppress the people. But he will be "Overthrown, overthrown, overthrown!" The Antichrist will be cast into the lake of fire, along with the false prophet, and Satan himself will be locked up for 1,000 years, and then released for a season before he is cast into the lake of fire. His kingdom will come to an end and Jesus Christ will rule and reign, for it is His right to sit upon the throne of David. It is as Luke 1:31-33 says, "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
VERSES 28-32
1. Now God speaks of His judgment being poured out upon the people of Ammon. They were not going to escape either. In Amos 1:13-15 we read "Thus says the LORD: ‘For three transgressions of the people of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead, that they might enlarge their territory. But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour its palaces, Amid shouting in the day of battle, and a tempest in the day of the whirlwind. Their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together,’ says the LORD." God was going to judge them for their wickedness. The brutality they brought upon the innocent just to increase their boarders. And they will not escape, judgment is coming, the sword is drawn!
EZEKIEL 22
VERSES 1-2
1. Ezekiel is acting like a judge or prosecuting attorney and thus, he is going to declare the facts, the things that the Southern Kingdom of Judah did that brought upon them this judgment.
VERSES 3-5
1. They not only turned from the true and living God to idols, but their actions manifested how far they were from God. Lawlessness, murders, injustices were filling the streets. And it would seem that if God did not step in, they would have destroyed themselves. This beautiful city was already destroyed before God ever stepped in with His judgment. In Isaiah 1:21 we read "How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers."
2. Also, because of their sin, God said they are going to be mocked by the nations around them and throughout history people will mock them and try to destroy them. And even today we see a rise once again of anti-Semitism. There continues to be a mocking of the Jews, with many desiring to destroy them. In fact, the nation of Israel is surrounded on 3 sides by 80 million enemies, with the Mediterranean Sea on the other side! The Jew’s have and are still paying a price for their rebellion against God and their refusal to get right with Him, to repent of their sins, and to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, their Messiah. One day, as a nation, they will receive Him!
3. Now Ezekiel is going to show how far they have fallen away from God, the wickedness that permeated their lives.
VERSES 6-8
1. The leaders were corrupt and it filtered down to the common people. They used their power to destroy people’s lives so they could make a profit. They ignored their parents, did not respect them. They oppressed those in need. And the things of God, they defiled them, used them to worship their gods by. They even refused to keep the Sabbath day, a day set aside to worship God, to get refreshed, because they did not know Him anymore!
VERSE 9a
1. Look at what God lists here in these things that are an abomination before Him - SLANDER! Why would God include this? Because, an assassin will kill your physical body, but a slanderer will murder your reputation! There was some talk a while back about a new margarine coming on the market called "Rumor" and this was their slogan, "The margarine that spreads quickly and easily!" How true.
2. As much as this was going on in Jerusalem back then, it continues on today, and God still does not approve of it. Turn to James and listen to what he has to say regarding the tongue, and may it wake us up to the things we say. In James chapter 3, beginning in verse 3, we read "Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring can yield both salt water and fresh." James 3:3-12. James is admonishing us to speak forth blessings to people, not cursing’s or be slanderous towards others, or speak forth idol talk, and-so-on. It is a warning to us. And remember, with the same mouth you bless God, how do you speak of men who were created in the image of God?
VERSE 9b
1. This is speaking of the groves where they would gather to worship the false gods, and many times this worship degenerated into sexual orgies.
VERSES 10-12
1. Look at the wickedness that permeated their lives. Sexual sins. Covetousness. Dishonesty. Murder. Extortion. And the reason these things were found in them is simple, they had forgotten the Lord and thus, the things of this world were manifested in their lives. You see, the first four commandments deal with our relationship with God and the next six deal with our relationship with our fellow man. And the point is this, if your relationship with God is not right, the way you treat your fellow man will be off and you won’t be able to correct it until you get your relationship with God back on track. That is what we see here, and I can tell you that when I see someone who is a Christian treat someone in a nasty way, I know their relationship with God is not right. That is just the way it is.
2. Do you think that is an exaggeration? I don’t. Listen to what this young man said at the age of 17. "Our heart, reason, history, and the work of Christ convince us that without Him we can not achieve our goals. That without Him we are doomed by God that only Christ can save us." At the age of 6 this boy was baptized in the Lutheran church, back in 1824. At the age of 16 he was confirmed and then by the age of 17 he wrote these words, "The only way we can be happy is to be in Christ." Do you know who wrote these words? KARL MARX! He became the founder of communism, Marxism and yet, at one time he had a great knowledge of God’s Word. What happened? He forgot about God! His studies had taken him away from the Word and as he forgot the Lord, look at the millions of lives that have been destroyed because of that! You see, that is not an exaggeration of what can be manifested in the lives of people that have turned from the Lord, have forgotten Him!
VERSES 13-16
1. Here we see the reason God is doing this to them. He is going to purge the filth from their lives through this judgment. You may have seen news reports of people whose homes are filled with junk, with garbage. From floor to ceiling in some spots. Human waste all over the place and animal waste all over the place. And many times the smell is so bad, that when this mess is discovered, they have to have professionals come in with masks and suits to remove this junk because the smell is so bad. When God looks at our lives that is what He see’s. And He wants to clean that garbage up, remove it from our lives. For Judah, they couldn’t keep their hands off the idols, so God sent them to Babylon, the center of idolatry and there they learned their lesson. Where are you at? God is calling you to come to Him and give Him that garbage for He wants to fill you with more of His love, more of His nature.
2. George Sweeting, who at one time was the president of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, shared how God showed him this very thing. As a young boy George was caught by his dad smoking. Now his dad did not spank him or get mad at him, but took him in their boat, out on the sea and gave him a big old cigar to smoke. And by the time he was done he was so sea sick, so green, he never smoked again! That is what God is doing here, and make no mistake about it, God will not give up on you, He loves you too much!
VERSES 17-22
1. God is likening Judah to dross, the impurities found in metals after they are heated in the fire. And He is saying to them that He is going to heat up the furnace of His judgment and these people who were so self-reliant, not in need of the Lord, would melt away. They would recognize this judgment came from God because they turned from Him.
VERSES 23-26
1. The land was polluted with their wickedness and the priests, the ones who were to lead them, were not doing that. They were not sharing with them, warning them of the danger and pointing them to God. As parents we do that with our children, we warn them. We don’t let our kids eat rat poison and say they will find out for themselves if it is good or bad. Nor do we let our children play out in the streets thinking they will find out if this is dangerous or not. No, we warn them of the danger that is out there and show them that which is good.
2. We see this in the church today, leaders refusing to call a spade a spade, and allowing the people to get involved in all kinds of evils. God rebuked His leaders back then and He is doing the same today.
VERSE 27
1. The political leaders were not interested in the good of the people, but they were looking out for themselves. They were making a profit at the expense of the people. And again, we see that going on today. Look at the lives that are lost in war because some political leader decided to invade a nation. And again, look at our political system and what you see many times is wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing, ready to devour the people once they get into position!
VERSE 28
1. The prophets were speaking lies, telling the people what they wanted to hear instead of what they needed to hear. And yes, they were popular, but in God’s eyes they were nothing more than false prophets leading the people down a path of death and destruction. And they will be accountable for their actions or their lack of action.
VERSE 29
1. The result of the religious leaders, political leaders, and the prophets not sharing the truths of God is seen in the actions of the people. They were manifesting the things they were being told. And thus, we see oppression, robbery, mistreatment of people in need, no love for the stranger. This is how bad it was in Judah!
2. And in the next two verses we are going to see the tragic results of a people who refused to listen to the true prophets of God.
VERSES 30-31
1. Their wall of protection was broken down, weakened, and God was looking, searching for a man to fill in that gap, to make that wall sturdy once again, but there was no one. And because of that, judgment came upon them and destroyed them, many being killed and the rest taken captive to Babylon.
2. Too often we complain about the wickedness of our nation. How corrupt the politicians are. The immorality that is running rampant. The drug abuse problem. The violence that is out of control. Our walls of protection seem to be broken. And yet, like back then, God is looking for a man to stand in the gap for this nation so that He will not destroy it. Folks, we need to be those people who make a wall and stand in the gap. Instead of complaining, be praying! Instead of despair, point people to the God of hope! Instead of judgment, bring them to the Savior! Let me leave you with these words to think about from II Chronicles 7:14. We read "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."