Ezekiel Study, Part 2

 

I'm continuing my study of Ezekiel by sharing my notes from the devotional Ezekiel: For His Glory. This post will include a summary of chapters 9-15.

Chapter 9 opens with the Lord calling out in a loud Voice. He's calling the executioners and this parallels the shouts of the people that God turned a deaf ear to! He turned a deaf ear because they were unrepentant. The Scribe in this chapter marks out the people who did repent.  Basic summary is:  God is a God of justice.  In their lives and lifestyles, the Israelites had become like the Canaanites. Even in their temple sin was rampant!

The Bible says in I Peter 4:17 and Judgement will begin with the house of God. 

Chapter 10 opens with 2 aspects of God's judgement....the people had broken covenant with God by engaging in adulterous worship practices.  

The first aspect:  Jerusalem is razed to the ground.  The scattering of coals is like the judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah as found in Genesis 19: 24 

The 2nd aspect: God leaves the temple.  The glory of the Lord moves away from His throne to the threshold of the temple.  Then it moves to the south side, them to the east gate (this is the same as the first vision Ezekiel had).  God was hesitant to leave His house....He was driven from it by the abominations committed there.  Now Israel is exposed to destruction!

For us today this signifies that as Christ followers, God is present with us by His Holy Spirit who dwells in us when we first get saved/are born again.  He will be with us forever when we have repented and follow Jesus Christ. This is promised in John 14: 16&17

The "Spirit of  Truth" is of course, the Holy Spirit.  Some churches call Him the Holy Ghost.  They are the same and it is this advocate, this counselor, this Comforter that Jesus promised would be with us until He returns. 

Ezekiel 11 talks about how the walls will not protect the Israelites from God's wrath.  But God will still show His grace in 4 different ways:

• God will still be with them in the sanctuary
• God will return them to the Promised Land
• God will give them a new heart and a new spirit
• God will accept them as His covenant people again.  

All of God's promises are fulfilled...are "yes" in Jesus Christ 

Ezekiel 12 is where the exile is symbolized in the following ways:

• Ezekiel digs the hole in his wall and goes off with his stuff into the distance:  this is yet another sign-act...but the Israelites  don't understand it. Ezekiel explains that it's symbolism of what will happen to the king and the people of Jerusalem...King Zedekiah will leave but will be blinded by the Babylonians and he'll never see his land again. 
• Ezekiel eats with fear and trembling (verses 17 and 18).  This is symbolic for what it'll be like for the people during the siege of destruction.  However, the people have two rebuttals: they say God's prophecies are ineffective and won't be fulfilled and some of them say the prophecies are for the future....however, God says His Word will be done...and soon.....
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Ezekiel 13 is the chapter where the false prophets are condemned.  God  gives them a chance to repent (v.4; 6-7).  God aims to restore the covenant relationship....His judgement is against Jerusalem.  

God denounces false prophets and prophetesses and even today, in many American "Christian" churches, there are false prophets. These men and women mislead God's people therefore they will be excluded from God's people and the Promised Land.  They WILL recognize God for Who He is.  

For us today this means that false prophets are still with us.  (think cults or churches that make up their own Bibles, rules, or add to or take away from Scripture/God's Holy Word) Many of these false teachers are motivated today by financial gain and they say what the people want to hear, NOT Biblical Truth. 

Ezekiel 14 can be basically summed to this:  We (all people as seen in John 3:16) were wicked before we came to Christ. Because of God's mercy as shown to us through His Son Jesus, we are saved.  

Ezekiel 15 is the beginning of 3 Parables

The first one describes the uselessness of the wood from a vine (v.1-5), especially after pruning.  It's too soft to be used as firewood: God will judge Jerusalem...they're useless because they've been unfaithful.  For us today this means that Jesus is the One True Vine (John 15:1) 

As Christians, we are to abide (live) in Him and bear fruit (think the fruit of the Holy Spirit from Galatians 5) or else we're only fit for pruning and burning. 

I'm finding the study of Ezekiel to be very deep and profound.