Ezekiel 18-19

Dear RTB’ers,

Today’s first chapter seems straightforward – the essence of God’s judgment stated in Ez. 18:20: The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. But we also see into God’s heart a few verses later, Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? (Ez. 18:23) Another verse often memorized.

Yes, that chapter seems straightforward, but my Study Bible further shed light to me on Ezekiel highlighting generational behavior. Ez. 18:5-9 is a righteous man, the first generation; Ez. 18:10-13 is the first man’s son, an evil man, the second generation; then this evil man fathers a righteous son in Ez. 18:14-18, a third generation. Taken together God has eliminated generational guilt. Surprisingly, I recalled Jesus’ disciples asking Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Apparently they did not remember their readings from Ezekiel!

Ezekiel writes today’s second chapter as an allegorical poem, with clear reference to two of Judah’s kings and a bit of confusion as to another. The lioness in Ez. 19:2 is Josiah who fathered (at least) two sons. His first son was Jehoahaz (Ez. 19:3-4) who reigned only three months and was taken to Egypt where he died (II Kings 23:31-34; Jeremiah 22:10-12). Josiah’s second son was Jehoiakim (Ez. 19:5-9) whose reign was overwhelmed by Nebuchadnezzar. It’s not clear, however what eventually happened to Jehoiakim (see II Kings 24:1-6a), so the young cub who was taken to Babylon may have been Zedekiah. It was probably clear to the exiles as to whom Ezekiel was referring, even if it’s cloudy to us.

Finally, for today, my Study Bible referred to the final verse in chapter 18 as “the most important message in the whole book of Ezekiel”. Here is God speaking: For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live. We would do well to embrace that verse.

Blessings.

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See also: July 30 (2023) / Ezekiel 17-18.

Ezekiel 17

Dear RTB’ers,

Speaking through Ezekiel to the exiles in Babylon, God offers a parable in today’s first ten verses, then explains it in the next eleven verses. And if it is still not clear, our STS companion book offers the explanation in its introductory remarks. Essentially, when Jehoiachin, the king of Judah was taken captive to Babylon in 597 BC, his uncle, Zedekiah was put in as king in Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Then Zedekiah rebelled some years later and appealed to Egypt for help. Nebuchadnezzar then destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC and Zedekiah was brought to Babylon (blind) and his army was soundly defeated. The exiles had hoped that Zedekiah’s rebellion would lead to their return to Jerusalem. It was Ezekiel’s job to explain to them that that was not going to happen.

Today’s final three verses are surely Messianic to us: Thus says the Lord GOD: “I Myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I Myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.” (vv. 22-23) Yes, these verses are Messianic to us New Testament “birds”, but whether it was to the Old Testament Jewish nation is debatable. But, no doubt these verses offered hope to those exiles in Babylon, that God will redeem their misfortunes and all the world will honor that new “noble cedar”.

I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it. (v. 24b)

Blessings.

Ezekiel 16

Dear RTB’ers,

Today, Jerusalem’s “history”, as related to her by God, Himself. He paints a picture of Jerusalem’s beauty in Ez. 16:1-14, then He sets forth charges of idolatry and “prostitution” by Jerusalem’s residents and His judgment against her. A couple of interesting items stood out to me.

First, in the midst of recounting Jerusalem’s prostitution, the Lord says that her whoring is different from normal prostitution: Yet you were not like a prostitute, because you scorned payment. … Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings. So you were different from other women in your whorings. No one solicited you to play the whore, and you gave payment, while no payment was given to you; therefore you were different. (vv. 31b-34) Interesting. I’m guessing that the Lord is recounting the many times that Judah entered into treaties with powerful countries, paying them tributes for their protection.

Second, …she [Sodom] and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. (v. 49) In addition to all the sexual sin detailed throughout, God also includes His judgment against people who do not aid the poor and needy. One lone island verse in an ocean of sexual sin!

Finally, God’s love overwhelms His anger: “Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed … So I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD … when I have forgiven you for all that you have done…” (vv. 60-63, NASB)

Let’s embrace these last words, personally: …when I have forgiven you for all that you have done. Let’s not take His love and mercy for granted!

Blessings.

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See also: July 29 (2023) / Ezekiel 16.

Ezekiel 14-15

Dear RTB’ers,

Taking the first half of today’s first chapter to heart… Suppose there is something “wicked” in my heart and I conceal that in a discussion in which I am seeking some sort of positive outcome; if that wickedness might have had bearing on that conversation, then I am doubly wrong (a) for having that wickedness in the first place and (b) for concealing it when it might have had bearing. That’s the situation set forth in today’s reading. Elders keeping idols in their heart go to Ezekiel, presumably for consultation or advice. God never needs justification from us for anything that He does, but it’s clear to us that these elders deserve any punishment that God decrees.

The second half of the first chapter… But behold, some survivors … when they come out to you, and you see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it. (v. 14:22) My Study Bible clarified it for me. These survivors are bringing their idol worship with them; Ezekiel will see that wrongdoing and will know that God was justified in what He did to Jerusalem and its inhabitants.

I had never considered how truly useless a dead vine is until God (through Ezekiel in today’s second chapter) pointed it out. When a grape vine no longer produces fruit or a wicked aggressive vine grows up and kills a tree, when any vine is “terminated”, it is good for nothing. It goes to the fire. It’s not even good for compost!

Blessings.

Ezekiel 12-13

Dear RTB’ers,

It might be helpful to set the context in which Ezekiel is operating. Jerusalem was overwhelmed by the Babylonians (Chaldeans) in 597 BC and a number of the people (including Ezekiel) were taken as exiles to Babylon. [NOTE: We saw in Jeremiah 52:28 that 3,023 were taken in that first exile. More came later, when Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC.] So in today’s readings Ezekiel is in Babylon speaking to his fellow exiles (sometime between 597 and 586 BC) about what will be happening to their friends and relatives back in Jerusalem.

In today’s first chapter Ezekiel acts out his own exile to show his fellow Babylonian exiles that more people from Jerusalem will be brought to Babylon, including their king Zedekiah, who will come as a blind man after the Babylonians destroy his sight. (Recall Jeremiah 39:4-7.)

Then in today’s second chapter the Lord speaks out against the false prophets and magicians (or voodoo artists?) who are still back in Jerusalem. We have already seen the Lord challenging false prophets (in Isaiah and Jeremiah, among others), but beginning in verse 17 we see something new – the Lord rebuking women (in Jerusalem) who are acting as soothsayers or diviners or fortune-tellers. These women have spoken out against (or cast “evil spells”) against faithful Jews, even to the point of causing death for them: You have profaned Me among My people … putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to My people, who listen to lies. (v. 13:19) Truly strange…!

Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord& GOD: None of My words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord GOD. (v. 12:28)

Blessings.

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See also:

• August 8 (2023) / II Chronicles 36:17-21; Ezekiel 12; Psalm 89
• July 28 (2023) / Ezekiel 13-15

Ezekiel 11

Dear RTB’ers,

Ezekiel’s vision that began in Ez. 8 (recall the abominations in that chapter) ends today. The glory of the Lord departs Jerusalem and rests above the Mount of Olives (Ez. 11:23). In the first half of the chapter the Lord reiterates that Jerusalem and its leaders are doomed: And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and give you into the hands of foreigners, and execute judgments upon you. You shall fall by the sword. (vv. 9-10a)

Then in the second half of the chapter the Lord assures the exiles that He is in their midst; verse 16 is today’s key verse: Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.’ Verses 19a and 20b together constitute a good memory verse for today: And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. … And they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

Verse 3b in today’s chapter is confusing: This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat. That sounds like a bad situation for Jerusalem, that the city is being cooked! But in the previous verse we read that it’s the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city (v. 2b) who are speaking. That is, their statement is misguided. Our STS companion book explains that these “false prophets” are misleading the people by suggesting that the meat in the cauldron is safe from the fire. My Study Bible adds that the meat is the good portion in the soup and that the bones are the exiles who have been discarded from the soup (i.e., from Jerusalem). So the statement from these wicked counselors is completely wrong – those residents who have remained in the city are not safe, This city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. (v. 11a) Instead, it’s the slain in the city who are the meat and the city itself is the cauldron. (Ez. 11:7)

And they shall be My people, and I will be their God. And WE are His people and He is our God! Glory!!

Blessings.

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See also: July 27 (2023) / II Chronicles 36:13-16; Ezekiel 8-11 (again).

Ezekiel 9-10

Dear RTB’ers,

We continue with Ezekiel’s abominations vision from yesterday. In today’s first chapter we see God’s judgment on the people, beginning with the elders at the temple. [P]ut a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations … Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. (vv. 9:4b, 6b) These saving marks remind us of the blood above the door for the Israelites in Egypt. In His judgment God distinguishes between the faithful and the unfaithful, an encouraging note for those of us who seek Him.

The second chapter continues the vision, with the glory of the Lord leaving the temple. He had moved from the threshold of the temple in Ez. 9:3 and then hovered above the cherubim, apparently leaving the temple (Ez. 10:18-19) and later leaving the city altogether. I can picture the cherubim (although it’s a fuzzy picture) and I can imagine the striking brightness of the Lord, but I have a hard time with the wheels, especially one wheel … within another wheel (Ez. 10:10). Not an important item, just a (non)observation…!

The vision continues tomorrow…

Blessings.

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See also: July 27 (2023) / II Chronicles 36:13-16; Ezekiel 8-11.

Ezekiel 8

Dear RTB’ers,

And He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive Me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.”

Ezekiel 8:6

He said also to me, “You will see still greater abominations that they commit.”

Ezekiel 8:13

Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? You will see still greater abominations than these.”

Ezekiel 8:15

So I went in and saw. And there, engraved on the wall all around, was every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up.

Ezekiel 8:10-11

Then He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

Ezekiel 8:14

And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the LORD … were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east.

Ezekiel 8:16b

God did not bring Ezekiel back to Jerusalem to see the destruction that had been wrought upon the city and its inhabitants. Instead, God wanted to show him the greater abominations – their idolatry! God hates it when we put our idols before Him. Think on that today.

Blessings.

Ezekiel 6-7

Dear RTB’ers,

Today’s first chapter is all about Judah’s idolatry and the Lord’s judgment against those practices: Your altars shall become desolate, and your incense altars shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain before your idols. And I will lay the dead bodies of the people of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars. And you shall know that I am the LORD, when their slain lie among their idols around their altars… (vv. 6:4-5, 13a) And with all this I saw a new twist in the Lord’s raving against idolatry: …I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me… (v. 6:9b, NASB) The ESV has “I have been broken”; the word “hurt” in the NASB got my attention – that their idolatry (our idolatry!) actually causes pain to our Lord. An eye-opener for me…!

The second chapter speaks more of the Lord’s judgment: …I will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the LORD. The sword is without; pestilence and famine are within. He who is in the field dies by the sword, and him who is in the city famine and pestilence devour. (v. 7:4b, 15) When there is no food, when water is scarce, items of tangible wealth mean nothing: They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. And I will give it into the hands of foreigners for prey, and to the wicked of the earth for spoil… (v. 7:19, 21a) Much of the silver and gold that is thrown into the streets is in the form of the idols that they have created and worshiped. When God brings forth His judgment, it becomes clear to the people that their idols are of no use to them.

We might not be ready to throw our silver and gold into the street, but there may be some idol worship in our lives that we need to discard. What might be keeping us from seeking God above all else?

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. (Luke 10:27a) All.

Blessings.

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See also: August 3 (2023) / Ezekiel 6-7; 29:1-16; 30:20-31:18.