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EZEKIEL

Please turn in your Bibles to Ezekiel chapter 23, as we continue our study through the Word of God. In our study this evening we are going to see the sins of Israel and Judah. And this time we are not only going to see their idolatry, but the alliances they made with other nations, the trust they placed in them to help them instead of the Lord. And we will start out with the parable of two sisters, a look at both Israel and Judah.

EZEKIEL 23

VERSES 1-3

1. The decline of these nations occurred in their youth, while in Egypt, the place where a nation was born, the nation of Israel. And even there, they gave themselves over to other lovers, other gods.

VERSE 4

1. If you remember, the nation of Israel was divided under the reign of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. 10 of the tribes followed after Jeroboam and they were known as the Northern Kingdom of Israel with their capitol being Samaria. The remaining 2 tribes, Judah and Benjamin, followed after Rehoboam and they were known as the Southern Kingdom of Judah with their capitol being Jerusalem. And these nations grew and prospered for a time.

2. Now God calls Samaria, OHOLAH. It is a name that means, "Her tent" or "Her own tabernacle." Remember, the temple was in Jerusalem, and Jeroboam, trying to prevent his people from leaving him, built places of worship up in Dan to the north and down south in Bethel. And the center of worship was a golden calf, supposedly to represent the Lord. And the idea here is the sanctuary they made was out of their own heart and not from God. It was born out of their own imagination, it was "Her own tabernacle."

3. Jerusalem is called OHOLIBAH, which means "My tent is in her." Some say that this is implying that God’s sanctuary was in her midst. I tend to see this as meaning Jerusalem was no different in her actions than her sister Samaria. The same false worship, idolatry, alliances, were being done in both places instead of God being the focus of their lives.

VERSES 5-10

1. First God speaks of Samaria or the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Her sin was her alliance with the Assyrians, even worshiping the same gods. And the evidence speaks for itself. Archeologists have discovered a black obelisk dated to 841 BC and from the king of Assyria, Shalmaneser III. And written on this black obelisk is the name "Jehu, son of Omri" and it pictures Jehu and his servants bowing down and paying tribute to the king of Assyria. Why did he do that? Because the Syrians were making advances into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and to try and stop this from continuing on, Jehu submitted himself to Assyria as a vassal king.

(II Kings 10).

2. Not only did Jehu side with the Assyrians, Menahem paid tribute to them, and you can read of this in II Kings 15. Also, Hoshea paid tribute to the Assyrians and you can read of this in

II Kings 17. And Hoshea tried to break his alliance with Assyria by looking to Egypt for help, but Shalmaneser, king of Assyria found out and put down that rebellion to the point of taking the Northern Kingdom of Israel into captivity in 721 BC. Her lover became her slayer! Instead of trusting in the Lord, they trusted in that which could not help, but only hurt them, as they found out.

3. What a powerful object lesson for her sister, the Southern Kingdom of Judah to see. The question is, "Did Judah learn from her sister?"

VERSE 11

1. This is an amazing thing to me. Not only did they not learn the lesson, but they transgressed even more than Samaria. They had become even more wicked!

VERSES 12-18

1. Instead of trusting in the Lord she too trusted in the Assyrians for help. In II Kings 16 the Syrians, along with Israel came against Ahaz and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. So the king sent word to Tiglath-Pileser, the king of Assyria, asking for help. In doing so they had become a vassal to the Assyrians. Then, under the reign of Hezekiah, God wiped out a 185,000 Assyrians in one night, freeing them from the oppression of the Assyrians as they turned to the Lord. And Josiah, trying to stop an alliance between Egypt and Assyria, was killed in battle and the Egyptians were now in control. And this lasted until the fourth year of Jehoiakim who turned to Babylon for help and when the Babylonians defeated the Egyptians at the battle of Carchemish, the Southern Kingdom of Judah was now vassal to Babylon. And they were even worse than the Egyptians and the Assyrians, if that were possible. And as they tried to escape from this oppression it only brought about the nation going into captivity in 586 BC.

VERSES 19-21

1. Egypt was a place of bondage that God delivered her from. But, because of her sin, she once again found herself in bondage. As Christians, we are no different. God has freed us from sin, we are no longer to be in bondage to it. And yet, as we give in, as we feed this monster called sin, it will grow and grow until you find yourself in bondage to it once again. It is as Jesus said in John 8:34-36, "...‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’" The choice is yours!

VERSES 22-24

1. The Babylonians had become a world power at this time. And these three tribes; Pekod, Shoa, and Koa were Aramaean and had been incorporated into the Babylonian empire, along with the Assyrians and other nations. This is the army that is coming down upon Judah!

VERSES 25-26

1. Facial mutilations was a common practice in Mesopotamia for those who committed adultery. The idea being that the woman’s face became so grotesque that she would be undesirable to anyone else. And thus, wherever she went she would bear the humiliation, the shame, the guilt of her actions. And that is what God is doing with Judah here. As they are taken into captivity, beaten, disfigured, naked, she would bear her shame for all to see. And their possessions, their children, all they were using to worship other gods with, was being taken away. Why would God do such a horrible thing? The next verse tells us.

VERSE 27

1. God did everything possible to prevent this from happening. But they refused to listen so God had to hurt them to heal them of their sin of idolatry. And it did work. Their eyes finally were open to their sin.

VERSES 28-31

1. God did not let her sister Samaria get away with her sins, nor was He going to allow them to get away with it. And when the judgment was complete, not only will they be naked, but the city they loved, Jerusalem will be bare. There is punishment for sin, as David said in Psalm 62:12,

"Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy; for You render to each one according to his work."

VERSES 32-34

1. It took so much to awaken them out of their spiritual sleep. And we may wonder why it took so long? But think about this for a minute, how long does it take God to get your attention?

VERSE 35

1. That word "forgotten" can mean "to mislay." It wasn’t that they were absent minded. The problem was that God was lost beneath all the other garbage they had placed in their life. Instead of being the focus, He became common to them to the point of losing Him in the crowd of junk they had gathered into their life! And thus, they were paying the penalty for their actions.

VERSES 36-39

1. Look how wicked they had become. Physical and spiritual adultery. They committed murder of innocent people. They sacrificed their children to the god Molech in the fire. They placed idols in the temple. And after all these things they would go into the temple like nothing was wrong. What we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history! Think about it. Throughout the world people lie, cheat, steal, murder people’s reputation with their tongues, commit adultery, have abortions, covet, and-so-on. And then on Sunday they are in church like nothing happened, nothing is wrong. There is no remorse, no repentance, they are not affected at all by their actions. Listen and heed the words of Paul as he said in II Corinthians 7:9-10. We read "Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death." I think that Paul makes it clear what we are to do when we sin, not to be just sorry we got caught, but to repent of our sin, to be truly sorry for what we have done.

VERSES 40-44

1. God is speaking of how Samaria and Jerusalem enticed her lovers to come into her. The Sabeans can be speaking of a nomadic people, but their name means "drunkenness." That is the kind of people they were attracting to themselves. And even when they were old, they tried to continue on in their harlotry. They used their charm to bring these other nations with their gods to them.

2. As Christians, we must be careful at who we are trying to entice and who is trying to entice us. Listen to this powerful warning that Solomon gives to his son, and this does work both ways, it is not only the women who do the enticing. In Proverbs 7:21-23 we read "With her enticing speech she caused him to yield, with her flattering lips she seduced him. Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks, Till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, he did not know it would cost his life."

Notice how quickly he is drawn into this sin and how it destroys him. How can we avoid this? Again in Proverbs chapter 7, beginning in verse 24, we read "Now therefore, listen to me, my children; pay attention to the words of my mouth: Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, do not stray into her paths; For she has cast down many wounded, and all who were slain by her were strong men. Her house is the way to hell, descending to the chambers of death." Proverbs 7:24-27. Keep your eyes on the Lord. Don’t let them be drawn to the left or the right, because those paths lead to death. In fact, that path has destroyed many relationships, families, destroyed a persons trusts, it has destroyed many lives! Pay attention and don’t be like an ox being lead to slaughter! A good warning to each of us.

VERSES 45-49

1. These righteous men who will judge this nation are the true prophets of God. Understand that they are not righteous in themselves, but in God. The love they have for God was manifested in their lives, in the things that they did. And the opposite is true for those that hate God, are not living for Him, their lives will manifest wickedness, as we see in the nation of Judah, as well as what we are seeing in our own nation today!

2. Interestingly enough., punishment for adultery, both physical and spiritual, was stoning, (Leviticus 20:10, 27). And God said here in Ezekiel that they "...shall stone them with stones..." Also, for the city who is doing these things, committing adultery, we are told in Deuteronomy 13:12-16, "If you hear someone in one of your cities, which the LORD your God gives you to dwell in, saying, ‘Corrupt men have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, "Let us go and serve other gods"’--which you have not known– then you shall inquire, search out, and ask diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination was committed among you, you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword-- utterly destroying it, all that is in it and its livestock, with the edge of the sword. And you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and completely burn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the LORD your God; and it shall be a heap forever. It shall not be built again." And here in Ezekiel God says that He shall destroy them "...and execute them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses with fire." Ezekiel 23:47.

3. The reason for all of this is they are reaping what they have sown. God warned them and they refused to listen, and His judgment came down upon them, not to completely wipe them out, but to help them to see the Lord once again. To open their eyes to the truth so that they might repent and return to Him.

EZEKIEL 24

VERSES 1-2

1. God warned them that judgment was coming. He sent them prophet after prophet, and they mocked them and refused to listen. And now, that day is here, judgment has come! The Babylonians are at the door!

VERSES 3-5

1. Back in Ezekiel chapter 11 they saw this pot as good, as the walls of protection around them, and they were the meat in this pot. And here in Ezekiel chapter 24 the Lord has Ezekiel put a pot on the fire and some good meat into this pot, and to then boil this stew real good. Why? I think the Lord was telling the people they were in hot water! That their goose was cooked!

VERSES 6-8

1. God is saying that the meat in this pot, instead of releasing those delicious juices, they have released scum or rust. Their lives were stained with sin and now that is rising to the surface for all to see. This once great nation was destroyed by sin. It was no longer sweet tasting.

VERSES 9-14

1. God, in speaking of this city of Jerusalem and her people, said He is going to make them a pyre or a combustible heap for the burning of dead bodies! Why? Because they refused to repent. God tried to purge the wickedness out of them and they refused to listen, they refused to change. God even brought judgments of drought and famine, but it did nothing for them. So God says that this judgment by the Babylonians will be so intense they won’t miss it, they will see their sin!

2. God is no different today. He warns us and warns us and if we continue to go down that path and not listen to Him, He will allow His fury to come upon us to get us right with Him. If He didn’t love us, he would ignore us! Remember in I Corinthians chapter 5, Paul rebuked the Corinthian church for ignoring the sin of one of their members. It says that a man was having sexual relations with either his mother or his step-mother, and the people ignored this sin that was before them. And Paul says to "deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." I Corinthians 5:5. Now that seems harsh, but Paul goes on to say in verse 6, "Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?" That is the reality in the church and in our own lives if we allow sin to grow!

And in II Corinthians chapter 2 Paul tells us that this man, after being buffeted by Satan for a while, repented of his sin and Paul is encouraging the brethren to forgive him and comfort him. What a important lesson for us to learn as we deal with sin in our own lives and in the lives of others.

3. Now Ezekiel is going to be told something that may be very difficult for us to understand. Keep in mind that with Ezekiel and some of the other prophets, their lives were used as an illustration to the people to show them their sin. To awaken them out of their spiritual sleep. And this one must have been a difficult one, as we shall see.

VERSES 15-18

1. God is telling Ezekiel to go out and preach to the people in the morning, share with them all day, and tell the people what is coming down upon them. Let them know that the pot is boiling, the Babylonians are coming. And then, in the evening, your wife will die. Now don’t get the idea that Ezekiel hated his wife and was looking forward to her going. She was the desire of his eyes, he loved her dearly. Why would God do such a thing? First of all, to get the peoples attention. And we are going to see that as Ezekiel doesn’t mourn over his wife’s death, a wife he loved dearly, they are going to ask him what is going on. Secondly, I think if you were to ask Mrs. Ezekiel if she was happy where she was now at, she would say "You bet!" We tend to look at death as punishment, but that is only true for the wicked, not those that love the Lord! You see, she went to a place called Abraham’s bosom until the Messiah came, and then He set those captives free, and she is with the Lord!

2. In Leviticus chapter 10, we read of the story of Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron. And they took their own fire to burn the incense unto the Lord instead of getting it from the altar of sacrifice, and the Lord struck them both dead. And the Lord told Aaron not to mourn over his sons because the anointing oil is upon him and he needed to minister to the people. What does that have to do with us? A lot! How serious are you in serving Jesus? And understand this, it doesn’t matter what position you have, you are a servant of God. That means, you can’t allow your own personal emotions, difficulties to interfere in what you are called to do. Now God doesn’t want us to be Stoics, but too often we allow things to neutralize our lives, foolish things!

What do I mean? Things like "I didn’t get a new car!" "They didn’t pick me for the pastor position!" "My job isn’t working out, it is too difficult!" "No one talks to me!" Or whatever the foolish thing is, and then we move on and say "I am not going to church!" " I am not going to read my Bible!" "I am not going to serve in Sunday School!" And on-and-on it goes!

So then what should we do? Set your eyes upon Jesus, know where you are going and don’t get distracted from it. Don’t go singing the blues! Don’t get bummed out! Don’t get depressed! Don’t get side-tracked! Set your eyes upon Jesus. You see, your calling is important in the body of Christ and you need to be able to put away personal problems, you need to be able to give them to the Lord, and keep going, just like Ezekiel did! As Revelation 16:7 says, "...‘Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.’" Keep that in mind and keep looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith!

VERSE 19

1. God did get their attention with this visual illustration and they asked Ezekiel, "What does this all mean?" And now he is going to tell them.

VERSES 20-24

1. What God did to Ezekiel’s life on a personal level, He was going to do to the nation. Their sons, their daughters, the desire of their eyes will be take away from them. The temple would be destroyed. And this destruction was going to be so catastrophic, all their grief would be inadequate. They will stand there totally numb, pale, at what has happened. And once again the reason for all of this is to point them back to the Lord.

2. Now what Ezekiel found out is what it means to be a servant of God - your life is used for His glory, His purposes. You see, serving the Lord means whatever HE wants it to be. It is not only living for Christ, but also to die with Christ! We are placing our lives on the altar of sacrifice, given over to Him to use as He sees fit. And thus, our lives will be a sweet smelling sacrifice unto Him!

VERSES 25-27

1. After Ezekiel spoke these words to the people, telling them destruction is coming, he was silent until these things came to pass. We can read of this in Ezekiel 33:21-22, ""And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, ‘The city has been captured!’ Now the hand of the LORD had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

And as God’s Word came to pass the prophet once again began to speak forth the truths of God as a witness to these rebellious people. The key, learn the lessons, that is why God is showing us these things. Don’t place yourself in a boiling point of water, don’t get into hot water, but keep your eyes focused upon Him. Look to Him to be the strength of your life! As David said in Psalm 32:8-11, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!"