Ezekiel 38-39

My life in Christ got a tremendous boost when, as a teen, I developed a keen interest in end-times prophecy, or “eschatology” — more precisely, “apocalyptic eschatology”. I read the book, The Late Great Planet Earth, by Hal Lindsey, then went on to read There’s a New World Coming, also by Hal Lindsey, and Come, Lord Jesus, by Watchman Nee. I was very enthusiastic about figuring it all out, which ultimately led me deeper into studying God’s Word. And for all of that I am eternally grateful, literally!

Today’s reading regarding Gog and friends fits squarely into the “apocalyptic eschatology” arena. (This Gog does not show up much in the Bible — only here and Revelation 20…) So now is my chance to dive in and sort it all out for us all, right? Well, I’m sorry to disappoint, yet again, but here are a few things I have learned over the years:

• Opinions vary widely, from the obviously kooky (along the lines of asserting that Jesus is definitely coming back next Tuesday at 3:18pm) to the very scholarly camp A to the also very scholarly camp B, or C, or D — which cannot all be true;
• It is easy to get so focused on details that one can lose sight of the big picture;
• We humans do not have a good track record of interpreting such prophecy — just consider how well Jesus’ humble First Advent fit the Messianic expectations of His day.

So, no, I’m not going to make any attempt to determine who Gog is or when in the grand sequence of latter-day events the LORD will hold this feast for carrion fowl. But I will say this: God wins. That is what Israel needs to know. And so do we.

Ezekiel 34-37

Today’s reading covers a lot of ground, and I cannot possibly do it justice here. (Of course, that is true every single day, but it seems especially true today!) Here we go, nonetheless!

In Ezekiel 34, the LORD delivers a searing indictment of Israel’s leadership, the “shepherds”, who instead of caring for the “flock”, destructively exploit the people for their own gain. Unfortunately, the same might be said of any number of political and spiritual leaders today. But let’s not just consider all those “out there”. What about we ourselves? How might we exploit others for our own gain? Something to think about…

The LORD promises to replace the evil shepherds, with a better One. He declares that He Himself will be Israel’s Shepherd. (Ez. 34:11-16) He then says that He will establish David as the Shepherd. (Ez. 34:23-24) Clearly, the LORD does not mean David himself but one of his descendants, the Messiah, the Christ. (Reading between the lines, if the LORD is the Shepherd and this “David” is also to be the Shepherd, then the coming Messiah must be the LORD Himself…)

The LORD reiterates His promise to restore the people to their land and to make them dwell securely as His own flock. (Ez. 34:25-31; 36:1-15) We know from Jeremiah that the exile in Babylon is to last 70 years, and (spoiler alert!) we shall see that the people do indeed return to the land. But although we can see that return from exile as a token of the fulfillment of God’s promise here, it is by no means the full package. After returning to the land, the Jews certainly do not dwell securely and they are dispersed among the nations all over again after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D. Even with the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948, most Jews remain abroad, and Israel is surrounded by enemies, not secure. The complete fulfillment is yet to come…

Like the Book of Obadiah, Ezekiel 35 focuses on God’s judgment on Edom (Mount Seir). We should not see this chapter as randomly stuck here in the middle of other material about Israel. Rather, the judgment on Edom is part of the promise to make Israel dwell securely in the land, unafraid of her neighbors. (Ez. 37:5)

The LORD makes it clear that His actions in renewing Israel are entirely for His own name’s sake. (Ez. 36:16-38) It is not because Israel deserves or earns any such favorable treatment. Instead, Israel should be thoroughly ashamed. (Ez. 36:32) We should not miss the LORD’s promise to give Israel a new heart and to make His Spirit dwell within them. (Ez. 36:26-27) But has Israel herself seen this renewal? No. Again, the complete fulfillment is yet to come…

I expect we’ve all heard of Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones. (Ez. 37:1-14) It is, indeed, an extraordinary vision in which long-dead bones are reassembled, clothed in flesh, and brought back to life to form a vast living army. We can, of course, see the whole idea of resurrection here. But our notion of resurrection — eternal life, going to heaven, etc. — is not really the point of this vision. Instead, the vision is meant as a metaphor for the nation, that although Israel has been devastated by two “nuclear blasts” (the first named “Assyria” and the second named “Babylon”), the nation shall yet live again and thrive. (Ez. 37:11-14) In other words, there is hope! But again, the complete fulfillment is yet to come…

Finally, the LORD declares that all these promises are for the whole house of Israel, not just Judah. (Ez. 37:15-23) The LORD knows those who are His, regardless of where they might be scattered, even if we think the “ten lost tribes” are lost. Indeed there are Israelites scattered all around the world to this day, but the LORD will one day gather them back to the Promised Land and forge them into one nation, no longer Northern and Southern Kingdoms, but one united Israel.

My Servant David shall be King over them, and they shall all have one Shepherd. They shall walk in My rules and be careful to obey My statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David My Servant shall be their Prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.

Ezekiel 37:24-28

I am looking forward to that day! How about you?

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One more thing…

I personally don’t find the commentary in The Chronological Study Bible to be all that helpful. Sometimes I don’t like what they say, but I squelch my criticisms. Today, however, it is just flat out wrong, and I can’t keep silent. In the section titled “The Sacred and Profane (Ezek. 36:22-26)” on page 845 in the NKJV edition that I have, they say that the Babylonian captivity caused Israel to “come into contact with the nations” and that this contact is what caused the LORD’s name to be profaned. “Contaminated by the nations, Israel had become impure…”

What?! That is pure bunk! It represents a complete misunderstanding of the situation. The exile did not cause Israel to become impure. Israel’s impurity is what caused the exile! Through her sin, Israel thoroughly misrepresented the LORD, profaning the LORD’s name. Israel’s sin brought about her destruction, but from the outside looking in (i.e., from the nations’ perspective), it appeared as though the LORD was weak, unable to protect Israel from stronger gods, and that further profaned His name. Then Israel’s ongoing unfaithfulness while in exile — continuing to misrepresent the LORD — profaned His name yet more. Any notion that Israel was just fine and that contact with Babylon is what made her impure is ludicrous!

So for anyone who has this study Bible, please do not just accept the commentary as authoritative. Use some discernment and filter out the error.

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And another thing…

With Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones, it’s time for another African American Spiritual, “Dry Bones”:

• Delta Rhythm Boys
• National Taiwan University Chorus (!)
• The King’s Heralds

Psalm 137; Obadiah 1-21; Jeremiah 52:28-30; Ezekiel 33:1-20

Obadiah prophesies against Edom, the descendants of Jacob’s brother, Esau. These are people who should have at least some level of familial affinity for Israel, but who are instead consistently hostile, vengefully gloating over and abetting the destruction of Jerusalem. We have previously read other prophesies against Edom, including Jeremiah 49:7-22, Lamentations 4:21-22, and Ezekiel 25:12-14. You may have noticed in Jeremiah 48-49 that the LORD promises to restore some other nations, like Moab (Jer. 48:47), Ammon (Jer. 49:6), and Elam (Jer. 49:39), but He makes no such promise to Edom. Instead:

The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
and the house of Joseph a flame,
and the house of Esau stubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau,
for the LORD has spoken.

Obadiah 18

Why this finality for Edom and not for the others? I’m not sure, but I trust that the LORD is right in His judgments. It seems to me that we should take the certainty of Edom’s destruction as a warning for ourselves not to follow Edom’s (negative) example. We must not rejoice over the demise of others, especially those whom we ought to regard as family. We should recognize the universal truth of Obadiah’s words:

For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
your deeds shall return on your own head.

Obadiah 15

See also, December 15 (2022) / Psalm 137.

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One more thing…

You might experience a bit of déjà vu reading Ezekiel today. The themes in today’s passage echo earlier passages: Ezekiel 3:16-21 (see July 22)and Ezekiel 18 (see July 30).

Ezekiel 26-28, 32

Together with Ezekiel 25 from yesterday, today’s reading speaks of God’s judgment upon the nations surrounding Israel. Even the bit that seems to center on Israel (Ezekiel 28:24-26, in which the LORD declares that Israel will dwell securely) is really a promise to squash all Israel’s neighbors. Of all these nations, Tyre gets the most ink. As with Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia, the LORD condemns Tyre for its treatment of Jerusalem, for gloating over Jerusalem’s destruction and for seeking to profit from Jerusalem’s demise. (Ez. 26:2) So the LORD declares that, starting with Babylon (Ez. 26:7), He will send wave after wave of foreign nations to destroy Tyre. (Ez. 26:3-7) Historically, these nations would include the Persians, the Greeks under Alexander and the Seleucids, and the Romans. Once the world’s dominant center of commerce, Tyre would never again rise to any level of greatness.

The LORD’s attention turns from the city-state of Tyre to its leadership, in particular, the “prince” of Tyre (Ez. 28:2) and the “king” of Tyre (Ez. 28:12). Whether these two terms are meant to refer to the same individual is a bit unclear. The “prince” proclaims himself to be a god, but the LORD says otherwise, very clearly stating that he is a man, mortal like any other. (Ez. 28:2,6-10) The “king”, on the other hand, does not sound like a mere mortal. The LORD describes him as a guardian cherub, adorned with jewels in Eden, the garden of God and walking on the holy mountain of God in the midst of the stones of fire. (Ez. 28:13-14) What all that means has been debated for centuries, but unless the LORD is using a high level of hyperbole or sarcasm, it seems (to me) difficult to conclude that we are still talking about a man. Hence, many conclude that the “king” is a fallen angel, perhaps even Satan himself, or some other ruler, authority, power, or spiritual force of evil in the heavenly places. (Eph. 6:12)

Here’s some of what Origen has to say:

These statements from the prophet Ezekiel concerning the [King] of Tyre must relate to an adverse power, and they prove in the clearest manner that this power was originally holy and blessed, and that he fell from this state of blessedness and was cast down into the earth “from the time that iniquity was found in him” and that his fallen condition was not due to his nature or creation. We consider therefore, that these statements refer to some angel, to whom had been allotted the duty of supervising the Tyrian people, whose souls also were apparently committed to his care.

Origen, from On First Principles 1.5.4

However one chooses to interpret the description of the “king” of Tyre, it is clear that the leadership of the city is filled with pride that is driven by wealth and beauty (or splendor) (Ez. 28:5,17), resulting in violence and greed for yet more wealth. (Ez. 28:16)

Does that sound remotely familiar?

Ezekiel 33:21-33; 19; 22:23-31; 25

As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, “Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.”

Ezekiel 33:30

I read that verse, and I’m thinking, “Excellent! The people are finally not closing their ears to a prophet. They are actually interested in hearing Truth, and they are urging one another to come listen to Ezekiel. Fantastic!” But then I read the next verse:

And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as My people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it…

Ezekiel 33:31a

Sigh…

Even if you’ve never read Ezekiel before, this distinction between hearing and doing the Word of God might sound familiar. That is likely because we have it in the New Testament in the letter from James:

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

James 1:22-25

I sincerely hope that our journey together through the Bible is making us better hearers of the Word, increasing our knowledge and understanding of God and His ways. I know it is doing that for me, but then I look closer at myself, and I not only sigh, but groan. For here I am, day in and day out, reading the Word of God, thinking about it, writing about it here, urging us all to pay attention to what God says, but I myself do not do it — not like I ought, anyway. I am all too often just a hearer and not a doer.

The first step in doing the Word is to recognize that I cannot, in fact, do it — not on my own. I need the Lord’s grace. I need His Holy Spirit. This is at the very core of God’s message of salvation, which is not just about going to heaven when we die. Salvation is not just forgiveness, not just the removal of the penalty of sin, but the removal of sin itself and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to live rightly here and now. So when I find that I am a hearer only and not a doer, then that is evidence that I am not receiving the grace that God freely offers, that I am going my own way and not surrendering to the Holy Spirit. It is evidence that it is time (again) to receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls. (James 1:21)

II Chronicles 36:17-21; Ezekiel 12; Psalm 89

Rewind. Replay. We get to see the Fall of Jerusalem all over again through the Chronicler’s summary of the event, with his added recognition that it is all a fulfilment of Jeremiah’s prophecy. Then we get to go back a bit further to before Jerusalem’s Fall to watch Ezekiel’s dramatized prediction of Zedekiah’s attempt to flee, resulting in Zedekiah’s capture and exile to Babylon, a place to which he will go, but which he will never see.

Psalm 89 focuses our attention on an unthinkable aspect of Judah’s crushing defeat: the end of the Davidic dynasty. The psalmist wrestles with the cognitive dissonance between a) his trust in a faithful, omnipotent God, Who promised to firmly establish David’s throne forever; and b) the clear evidence before his eyes that no one now sits on that throne. How can this be? Where is God in this disaster? We may know the end of this story, but the psalmist does not. We know Jesus fulfills the promise and reigns as King even now, but the psalmist cannot yet see that, and so he cries out in confusion and dismay. Yet even so he affirms that the LORD is good and right and true, despite the mocking and insults the psalmist endures for maintaining such a position. (Ps. 89:50-51)

We may not share the psalmist’s confusion over (the apparently obvious end of) the Davidic dynasty, but we all face difficult circumstances of some form or other that challenge our faith, and it is in those circumstances that our faith grows or dies. Is God good, or isn’t He? Is God faithful, or isn’t He? Is God almighty, or isn’t He? Is God just, or isn’t He? Does God love me, or doesn’t He?

See also:

• August 11 (2022) / Psalm 89:1-18
• August 12 (2022) / Psalm 89:19-37
• August 13 (2022) / Psalm 89:38-45
• August 14 (2022) / Psalm 89:46-52

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One more thing…

We suffer these things because of our fault and of our deserving as the divine judgment has forewarned us, saying, “If they have forsaken My law and have walked not in My judgments, if they have profaned My ordinances and have kept not My commands, I will visit their crime with a rod and their guilt with stripes.” We, therefore, who neither please God with our good deeds nor satisfy Him for our sins, feel the rods and the lashes. Let us ask from the depth of our heart and with our whole mind the mercy of God because He Himself adds this, saying, “Yet My kindness I will not take from them.” Let us ask and we receive; and if there is a delay and tardiness in our receiving because we have offended gravely, let us knock because to him who also knocks it is opened, provided only our prayers and groans and tears knock at the door, in which we ought to persist and to employ much time, provided our prayer is also of one mind.

Saint Cyprian on Psalm 89, from Letter 11.2

II Kings 25:22-26; Jeremiah 39:11-44:30

Some people never learn…

Whereas the Book of Lamentations gives us a godly perspective on the sufferings inflicted upon Jerusalem, we see today that such a perspective is clearly not held by the vast majority of those left in Judah. So we see democracy in action yet again, and everyone heads to Egypt, despite Jeremiah’s clear instructions from the LORD to the contrary. And by everyone, I mean everyone, including all the poorest of the land that Nebuzaradan left to tend the fields, so that the land is now empty and without inhabitant — just as the LORD said. (Jer. 34:22; 44:22)

In making the decision to flee to Egypt, everything hinges on one’s perception of reality. Who is really behind the destruction of Jerusalem? Is this a sign of the LORD’s displeasure, or the displeasure of the queen of heaven? Did former prosperity come from the LORD, or was it from the hands of other gods? How one interprets reality depends heavily on the voices one heeds.

And so I ask again: To whom do you listen?

Lamentations 3:34-5:22

With a second day in Lamentations, are you beginning to get a sense of the devastation of Jerusalem? If you are having trouble imagining this ancient city, let me offer more contemporary settings. On this 78^th anniversary of the dropping of the first Atomic Bomb, consider Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Or for something directly related to the Jews, picture Auschwitz and the Holocaust. With photographic records on hand, perhaps these horrors are more within our reach.

But let’s bring it all even closer to home. My college roommate suggests this scenario:

Imagine if the Chinese were to shut down our grid, incapacitate our military through software, and launch nukes that we could not answer or intercept. Our nation surrenders, our leaders are executed, all our belongings are forfeit … starvation, concentration camps, our loved ones disappear …

Let that sink in, not the Hollywood version, where Maverick shows up and prevents the whole disaster, but real and utter devastation of the U.S.A. How might we respond, both as a church community and as individuals? Would we shake our fists at God? Would we lose our faith, giving in to despair? How might we express our sorrows and grief? Would we repent, acknowledging our own sin? Would we turn to the Lord? In the midst of such devastation could we say that the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases or that His mercies never come to an end? Would we? Really?

Will anything less than such a scenario suffice to bring this nation to repentance? Will anything less suffice for you?

Lamentations 1:1-3:33

Yesterday, I encouraged us all to contemplate the desolation of Jerusalem, to get a real sense of the devastation wrought by the Babylonian conquest. The book of Lamentations should help us do just that, if we let it. Listen to the words. Visualize the desolation. Put yourself into the picture. Feel the pathos. Share in the lamentation. Alongside the author, grieve and mourn over sin and its consequences. And alongside the author, find hope in the LORD:

But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in Him.”

Lamentations 3:21-24

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One more thing…

In his book, Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortlund devotes chapter 15 to Lamentations and more specifically, to Lamentations 3:33, which he notes is at the exact center of the book:

… [the Lord] does not afflict from His heart
or grieve the children of men.

Lamentations 3:33

Ortlund recognizes that the implicit truth here is that the Lord does indeed afflict, that He is the source of Judah’s suffering, but that the explicit truth is that He does not do so from His heart, that He would very much prefer not to have to cause such suffering. It seems to me that we would do well to think long and hard about both the implicit and explicit truths here.

II Kings 25:4-7; Jeremiah 52:7-11; 39:1-7; II Kings 25:8-21; Jeremiah 52:12-27; 39:8-10

It’s 587 or 586 B.C. Jeremiah has been warning of this day for years, proclaiming the destruction of Jerusalem as God’s judgment upon Judah. Ezekiel has said the same, modeling the siege, with its attendant starvation and disease. But the king, the priests, the leaders, and the people have persisted in their sin against the LORD, deluded by the unfounded hopes of the false prophets. Now the horror of God’s judgment is realized. Jerusalem’s walls are breached. The city is burned, the Temple destroyed. The last vestiges of Solomon’s glory are broken up and carried away to Babylon. The priests and leaders are put to the sword. Zedekiah himself is captured and his eyes put out, his last visual memory that of his sons being slaughtered before him. Zedekiah could not see his way to obeying the LORD. Now he cannot unsee the consequences of his disobedience.

It would be a mistake for us to miss this moment in the history of God’s people. We must not turn away. We must force ourselves to take a good long look, to see the depth of this disaster. We should feel the horror of the starvation that drives the people of Jerusalem to cannibalism. (Ez. 5:10; Lam. 2:20; 4:10) We should gasp for air in the spiritual vacuum left by the burning of the Temple and the killing of the priests. So take some time to imagine this ravaged Jerusalem, billows of smoke rising, the stench of death and disease, the blood and gore, the wailing cries of grief and despair. If we do not see the utter devastation, if we do not perceive the complete desolation, then we have not begun to understand the reality of sin. We have understood neither God’s wrath nor His broken heart, and so we cannot begin to properly appreciate His grace and forgiveness.