Callie Harbin Burn

TODAY’S READING: EZEKIEL 17-20

OVERVIEW:

The parable of the eagles (chapter seventeen); Man’s responsibility for sin (chapter eighteen); God’s lamentation for Israel’s captivity (chapter nineteen); God refuses inquisition (chapter twenty).

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

God instructs Ezekiel to speak a parable to the house of Israel (17:1-10).  The first eagle represents Nebuchadnezzar.  He came to Jerusalem and took away the kings seed (the twigs) and planted them again in Babylon.  The highest branch of the cedar represents king Jehoiachin, the king of Judah who was exiled in 597 B.C. 

When Nebuchadnezzar removed Jehoiachin, he replaced him with a native Judean prince, Zedekiah, instead of a foreign ruler.  With the help of Nebuchadnezzar, Zedekiah was surrounded by favorable conditions and prospered in his reign. The hope of Nebuchadnezzar was that the kingdom of Judah would stay dependent on him. 

However, this state of affairs did not continue.  The second eagle represents Egypt, specifically Pharaoh-hophra, to whom Zedekiah looked for help.  The prophet Jeremiah had warned Zedekiah not to make an alliance with Egypt (Jeremiah 37:5-7, 44:30), but Zedekiah ignored the counsel of Jeremiah and made an alliance with them (17:15).  Although Egypt offered temporary relief from the oppression of Nebuchadnezzar, in the end Babylon defeated Egypt and put Zedekiah to death.  If Zedekiah had only listened to the prophet Jeremiah he would have been safe.  Oftentimes we find ourselves in trials and temptations.  It is then imperative that we make haste to listen to the voice of God.  God did not want Zedekiah to escape the adversity by making an alliance with Egypt.  If Zedekiah had obeyed Jeremiah he would have been fine.  People often want to escape adversity by refusing to submit to the authority that God allows in their life.  Men will leave churches and quit jobs, wives will!  leave husbands, and children will rebel against parents, all the while justifying their actions by pointing out the ungodliness in the authority that God has allowed in their life. 

Ezekiel 17:22-24 records a messianic prophecy.  “One of the highest branches” refers to Christ, who unlike Zedekiah, will overshadow a mighty kingdom.  It is interesting that God says, “I the Lord have spoken and have done it,” referring to the future as history.  God’s Word is certain, whether He is talking about the past or the future. 

Chapter eighteen begins with a proverb that serves as a warning to those who want to blame others for their problems.  The children of Israel were blaming their forefathers (who they say had eaten the sour grapes) for the exile (“teeth are set on edge” = bitterness) they were experiencing.  God rejects their blame shifting and evasion of responsibility.  The rest of chapter eighteen teaches a fundamental principle found in Scripture.  Judgment is according to individual faith and obedience.  We each must take responsibility for our own actions and choices.  It is true we can’t always control our circumstances, but we can always control our choices.  The Children of Israel had been offered mercy if they would have repented.  Instead they committed the same sins as their forefathers.  The chapter ends with God reminding Israel that His true heart’s desire is always for repentance (18:32). 

In chapter nineteen, Ezekiel records a lamentation for the princes of Israel.  Lamentation means a “loud cry.”  It is poetic song (usually three beats followed by two beats) that expresses deep emotion.  This lamentation is for king Jehoahaz, who languished in an Egyptian prison (II Kings 23:31-33) and king Jehoiakim, who was taken captive and deported to Babylon (II Kings 24:1-12).  They are depicted as lion’s whelps (19:2, 5).  The lamentation ends with a summary of Israel’s current state (19:10-14).  Her exile is pictured as a plant in a dry and thirsty ground.  The last verse states that Israel has no scepter to rule.  It is also interesting that Ezekiel’s lamentation “shall be for a lamentation” (29:14).  Israel still has a future lamentation, the great tribulation. However, with that tribulation will come a scepter to rule!  Christ!

Chapter twenty begins with the leadership of Israel coming to Ezekiel to enquire of the Lord.  God instructs Ezekiel to tell the leadership that He will not be enquired of by them.  He goes on to remind the leadership of Israel’s past disobedience and current disobedience.  The chapter ends with a vivid and descriptive picture of God’s judgment with fire (20:45-49).  The leaders of Israel reply by “spiritualizing” Ezekiel’s message instead of taking it literally.  They accuse Ezekiel of speaking in parables, when it is clear that this chapter is not a parable.  This is the same thing that many lost people do when confronted with the reality of hell.  They will believe anything except the fact that Hell is a literal place of God’s judgment. 

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

As the “TENDER ONE” planted upon a high mountain – Ezek. 17:22.

TODAY’S READING: EZEKIEL 12-16

OVERVIEW:

Ezekiel’s actions typify the exile (chapter twelve); God warns the false prophets (chapter thirteen); God warns Israel that judgment is inevitable (chapters fourteen and fifteen); God reminds Israel of His grace in saving them and their decision to forsake Him (chapter sixteen).

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

God continually asks Ezekiel to picture His truth about the exile through his actions.  Leaving with his “stuff” through the wall (12:1-16) typifies the captivity of Israel’s current king, Zedekiah (II Kings 25:1-10).  Ezekiel’s trembling (12:17-20) illustrates the desolation that Israel will experience during the exile.  God wants Ezekiel to speak through his actions as well as his words.  What a lesson for the Christian to learn.  Do our actions speak truth as much as our speech?  Do our actions compliment the message we are proclaiming?  Ezekiel’s message was one of eminent judgment.  Our message is Christ.  Does our life demonstrate Christ? 

Even though Ezekiel warns Israel, there are those who still believe that God is not serious.  Ezekiel’s audience has adopted a proverb (12:22) that says (paraphrase), “With the passing of time every warning of Ezekiel is proven false.”  God has enough of this attitude and tells Ezekiel to give Israel a new proverb…“The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision.”   God is saying, “Judgment starts now!”  Man lives believing that there will never be consequences for his sin.  However, sin eventually has a payday.  It has been said that sin takes you farther than you want to go, keeps you longer than you want to stay, and costs you more than you want to pay.  Do not confuse God’s longsuffering with apathy towards sin. 

The prophets who foretell peace and safety (Ezekiel 13, 14:9) are further demonstrating Israel’s arrogance.  What a foreshadowing of the Anti-Christ, who will come to power at the beginning of the tribulation by proclaiming peace, when in truth it is God’s vengeance and wrath that will be unleashed on the earth (Daniel 8:25).  Just as God’s judgment was inevitable during the ministry of Ezekiel, so His judgment will be inevitable during the coming tribulation. 

Chapter sixteen serves as one of the most brutally descriptive images of our original sin condition and God’s grace.  This chapter is so clear and indicting that some of the ancient rabbis did not allow it to be read in public.

God likens Israel to an abandoned child (16:4-5), born of a wrong family (16:3), left for dead in a field.  God sees Israel lying in her own blood.  God says, “Live.” (16:6). God then blesses Israel with beauty (holiness), clothing (righteousness), and jewels/crown (rewards).  He anoints Israel with oil (type of the Holy Spirit) and makes her His bride (16:7-14).  But Israel prostitutes herself to other nations and other gods.  She commits adultery over and over again (16:15-59). 

Ezekiel 16:60 contains one of the most powerful words in the entire Bible — “Nevertheless.”  Despite Israel’s broken promises, God still remembers His covenant, and promises an everlasting covenant.  What a beautiful, yet solemn picture, of the reality of our life.  It is not because of our goodness or obedience that God keeps His word to us.  It is because of God’s grace.  We continually forsake our God…nevertheless. 

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

As the BRIDEGROOM in chapter sixteen.

TODAY’S READING: EZEKIEL 6-11

OVERVIEW:

God judges Israel for their idolatry (Chapter Six); The severity of God’s judgment (Chapter Seven); Vision of Jerusalem’s sin (Chapter Eight); Vision of God’s judgment on Jerusalem (Chapter Nine); Vision of the cherubim and God’s glory (Chapter Ten); Israel is warned about the false security of Jerusalem (Chapter Eleven).

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

The Book of Ezekiel contains an important “title” and a prominent reoccurring phrase.  The title “Son of Man” is attributed to Ezekiel ninety-three times.  This title appears a total of one hundred ninety-three times in the Bible.  The prophet Daniel attributes the title to the coming Messiah in Daniel 7:13.  The title appears eighty-four times in the New Testament in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ.  As seen in their reaction to the title in the Gospel of Luke, the Jews understood that this title has messianic implications. 

“And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying, Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go. Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am. And they said, What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth.” –  Luke 22:66-71

Ezekiel, a prophet and priest, will prove to be a type of the Lord Jesus Christ in that he will minister to the nation of Israel during the time of exile, just as Jesus Christ will minister to Israel during the tribulation.  It is also true that the period of judgment and restoration pictured in Ezekiel foreshadows the judgment and restoration of Israel during the tribulation and the millennial reign of Christ. 

The phrase, “know that I am the LORD” appears seventy-seven times in the Bible.  The phrase appears sixty-three times in the Book of Ezekiel and appears first in Ezekiel 6:7.  Israel had forgotten who God was.  Israel had continually turned to idolatry (6:4, 8:5-16) and had replaced God with man-made images.  Israel had also been trusting in their wealth (7:19) and in the walls of Jerusalem (11:3) for security.  Through their exile, judgment, and eventual restoration, God’s purpose is to remind Israel that He is the Lord.  What a reminder to us that our security should not rest in our material resources or self-made “walls.”  Our true security must be in the only One who can really keep us safe – God!

Ezekiel’s visions of God’s judgment are precise and severe.  Israel’s idolatry had begun at God’s Temple causing God to remove His presence (8:6).  It is at God’s Temple where judgment will begin (9:6).  This is a reminder to the believer of where the war for worship will take place.  Throughout the entire Old Testament, Satan desired to destroy the place where God’s glory dwelt.  Satan was successful during the exile when Babylon, under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar, burns the Temple in 586 BC.  The temple is later rebuilt only to be destroyed again by Rome in 70 AD.  This serves as a warning that our enemy wants to destroy the place where God currently dwells – us!  The enemy desires that we would turn to other gods (idolatry) through covetousness.  The enemy desires that we would turn away from God in an effort to find security and safety in temporal riches and wrong relationships.  Just as God instructed that judgment begin at His sanctuary (9:6), we must evaluate our temple (our heart) to see if we have forgotten who God is. 

God appears to Ezekiel for the third time at the beginning of chapter 10 (1:4, 3:23, 10:1).  It is during this encounter that God reveals to Ezekiel that Israel would one day be restored (11:17-20).  This final restoration will usher in the millennial reign of Christ.  Even in the midst of tribulation, God promises deliverance. 

SPECIFIC REFERENCES TO “THE DAY OF THE LORD”:

7:7 – “The day of trouble is near.”

7:10 – “Behold the day.”

7:12 – “The day draweth near.”

7:19 – “The day of wrath of the LORD.”

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

As the ONE MAN CLOTHED WITH LINEN – Ezek. 9:2 (Rev. 1:13).

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL                

Ezekiel, whose name means strengthened by God, is called upon by God, along with Daniel and Jeremiah, to prophecy against Israel during the time of exile (Ezekiel 1:1-2).  The first two verses of Chapter One give us the historical context of the book.  To understand the tone and message of Ezekiel’s message it is essential to understand how Ezekiel fits into the story of the Old Testament. 

The Old Testament breaks down into six natural chronological divisions.

1. Genesis (The time of Genesis begins with the creation of the world and ends with Jacob’s sons in Egypt.) 2. Exodus (The time of Exodus begins with Jacob’s sons in Egypt and ends with Joshua leading the nation of Israel in to possess the Promised Land.) 3. Judges (The time of Judges covers the period in Israel’s history when a variety of judges ruled.) 4. Kings (During the time of Kings, different kings ruled Israel.  Division into Northern Kingdom (Israel) and Southern Kingdom (Judah) came after Israel had been united under the reign of Saul, David, and Solomon.  The Northern Kingdom was then defeated by Assyria and carried away captive in 722 BC.  The Southern Kingdom was defeated by Babylon and carried away captive in 606 BC.) 5. Exile (The time of Exile covers the nation of Israel’s seventy years of exile.) 6. Return (The time of The Return covers the time of Israel’s return to their homeland and the time when both the temple and Jerusalem were rebuilt under the leadership of Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah. 

The exile had been prophesied as far back as Moses (Deuteronomy 28) and as recently as the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:11-12).  Israel’s disobedience culminated in the fact they had failed to keep the Sabbath for the land (II Chronicles 36:21).  God had kept track of Israel’s failure to let the land rest and had decided to exile Israel for seventy years in order that the land finally might have its rest.  This is a chilling reminder of the consequences of sin.  There is no doubt that Israel had grown accustomed to ignoring the Sabbath for the land.  However, God had kept track.  God will not ignore sin. 

Israel had temporarily turned to God under the reign of Josiah (640-609 BC).  After Josiah was killed by the Egyptian army Israel (southern kingdom) plunged back into sin under their four remaining kings).

1. Jehoahaz (609 BC)
2. Jehoiakim (609-598 BC)  – Daniel taken captive during his reign
3. Jehoiachin (598-597 BC) – Ezekiel taken captive during his reign
4. Zedekiah (597-586 BC) – more of a puppet king under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar

The exile had begun in 606 BC and ended in 536 BC.  During those seventy years, both Daniel and Ezekiel were taken captive to Babylon. Eventually Babylon, under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar, would burn the temple and destroyed Jerusalem.

722 BC Northern ten tribes are defeated by Assyria  

606 BC though 536 BC Southern tribes of Judah are defeated by Babylon.  Three separate conquests lead to deportation of many Jews along with the final destruction of Jerusalem.  

605 BC –  (Daniel taken captive)

597 BC –  (Ezekiel taken captive)

586 BC –  (Jerusalem destroyed)

539 BC Persia invades and defeats Babylon

Ezekiel and his wife are among 10,000 Jews taken into captivity along with king Jehoiachin in 597 BC (II Kings 24:11-18).  He is 25 years old when he is taken to Babylon.  He is thirty years old when his ministry begins; 592 BC (Ezekiel 1:1).  He ministers for twenty-two years (570 BC).  Ezekiel and his 10,000 fellow countrymen were more of colonist than captives, being permitted to farm tracts of land under somewhat favorable conditions.  Ezekiel even had his own house. 

It is important to remember that Ezekiel is already in captivity when he is prophesying to the Jews who have not been taken captive.

TODAY’S READING: EZEKIEL 1-5

OVERVIEW:

Ezekiel receives a vision of God’s glory; Ezekiel receives his commission; Ezekiel is instructed to physically typify the siege and judgment of Jerusalem. 

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

Ezekiel chapter 1 records one of the most incredible visions in the Word of God.  The vision includes four living creatures flying through the air like a flash of lightning, a crystal sea, creatures with multiple eyes and faces ushering in a throne, and an appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ.  Ezekiel is ushered into the presence of the Lord and sees a glimpse of the Second Advent.  Just like Isaiah (Isa. 6:1-8) and the Apostle John (Rev. 4-5), Ezekiel is overwhelmed by the revelation of Christ in all of His glory.  Ezekiel’s response will be the response of every person when they see Christ in all of His glory. He falls on his face!  What a contrast to the nonchalant way much of Christianity approaches the Lord Jesus Christ!  There is no room for pride or selfishness in the presence of God Almighty.  One day every knee will bow to the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 14:11). 

Chapters two through three record God’s commission for Ezekiel.  He is to prophesy to the nation of Israel during the seventy year exile.  Ezekiel paints a picture for every Christian of what it really means to be a witness for Christ.  The picture begins with an encounter with Christ.  In chapter one, Ezekiel comes face to face with Christ (1:28).  However, the encounter didn’t just involve what Ezekiel saw, but also what Ezekiel heard.  Speaking in the first person, Ezekiel says, “and I heard a voice of one that spake.”  Our effectiveness as a witness for Christ must begin with a daily encounter with Christ.  How can we encounter Christ if He doesn’t (and won’t) appear to us in a vision like Ezekiel’s?  We encounter Christ by listening to His Word.  It is God’s written revelation that gives us a glimpse of Christ in all of His glory!

However, it isn’t enough just to hear God’s words.  We must also receive that word in our heart.  God instructed Ezekiel, “all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart” (3:10).  We must receive God’s words into our heart in such a way that they change the way we think, behave, and live.  It is interesting that God tells Ezekiel to receive “all” His words.  Over the course of this prophecy, God is going to give Ezekiel some very difficult things to do and say.  When it comes to God’s written revelation, we can’t be choosey.  Sometimes the Word will be sweet.  Sometimes it will be bitter.  Sometimes it will comfort and sometimes it will sting.  We must receive it all regardless.  This also serves as a warning to those who would tamper with the Word of God, and preachers who would fail to teach “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).

God then instructs Ezekiel to speak His words (2:7, 3:23-27).  Ezekiel spoke as a prophet of God when he uttered the phrase, “Thus saith the LORD GOD.”  Our counsel to others should not be conclusions based on our own life experiences and opinions.  We must share what we have received in our heart — God’s words.  It is interesting to note that Ezekiel’s actions mirrored his spoken words.  God continually asks Ezekiel to demonstrate His truth to Israel by the way He lives (as seen in the sign of the tile, shaving, burning hair, lying on each side, and imprisonment).  Our life must reflect the truth of God.  Our actions will speak louder than our words! 

You would think that Ezekiel was ready to so speak.  However, God gives a couple of other instructions.  Ezekiel was to go and identify with the people (3:15).  How can we share the love of Christ with people with whom we aren’t willing to identify?  Before Ezekiel spoke, he sat quietly with those who would be the recipients of his/God’s message.  We must be willing to spend time with people and to listen.  Ezekiel waited for God’s direction before he spoke.  The cliché is true — “People won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Finally, God gives Ezekiel a warning.  Ezekiel will be held accountable.  He isn’t accountable for the response of the people, but He is accountable to hear, receive, and speak the words of God (3:15-21).  God doesn’t ask us to change the hearts of men, but He does require that we hear the Word of Christ, receive the Word of Christ, and share the Word of Christ (Col. 3:16; I Tim. 4:16). 

Are you encountering Christ daily by meeting with Him in His word?  Are you listening to His words and receiving them in your heart?  Are you identifying with those around you and speaking God’s Word to them, both audibly, and in the way you live? 

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

As the APPEARANCE OF A MAN UPON THE THRONE – Ezek. 1:26 (Rev. 1:13-17).

TODAY’S READING: LAMENTATIONS 1-5

OVERVIEW:

Jeremiah’s lamentation over Jerusalem’s destruction (1:1-22); God’s justifiable wrath (2:1-22); God’s incredible mercy (3:1-66); God’s anger against Jerusalem (4:1-22); a plea for restoration (5:1-22).

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

“The Lamentations of Jeremiah” as the title states, is the expression of Jeremiah’s incredible sorrow over the sins of God’s people that had resulted in the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, and the entire kingdom of Judah.  These five chapters are kind of like a postscript to the Book of Jeremiah.  They are obviously a separate Book in our English Bible, but are contained in the third section (called “the Writings”) in the Hebrew Bible.  Like we saw in Psalm 119, this Book employs acrostic poetry.  In chapters 1, 2, and 4, each succeeding verse begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  Chapter 3 actually has three acrostic poems.

From an historical standpoint, the Book deals with the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. From a doctrinal (or prophetic) standpoint, the Book deals with the events during and surrounding the Tribulation Period.

In chapter one, Jeremiah likens the city of Jerusalem to a grieving widow.  She once was a “princess,” but now has become a slave (“tributary” – 1:1).  At one time she was surrounded by “friends” (1:2) and “lovers” (1:2), but now everyone has forsaken her, leaving her to grieve and weep alone.  In verse 4 of chapter 1, Jeremiah even gives human attributes to the roads leading to Jerusalem, saying, “the ways of Zion do mourn.”  Whereas at one time, they had been filled with incoming worshippers, now they are totally desolate. The picture Jeremiah describes in this chapter is heartbreaking and pitiful.  Having to actually put the reality of Jerusalem’s condition into words becomes more than Jeremiah can handle by the time he gets to verse 16: “For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water.”  Oh, that our hearts would break and our eyes would leak as did Jeremiah’s for the condition of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Laodicean church period (Rev. 3:14-22).

When God called His son, Israel, out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1), He led them with the cloud of His glory.  Chapter 2 begins by explaining that at this point in their history, the Lord likewise covered them with a cloud.  Sadly, however, it was the “cloud of his anger.”  Whereas in times past, the Lord fought on Israel’s behalf against their enemies, now the Lord, Himself fought against Israel like one of their enemies (2:2-5). Again, Jeremiah “laments” as he is forced to describe Israel’s awful condition: “Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people” (2:11).  Jeremiah recognized, however, that they had gotten exactly what they deserved (2:19), because they listened to their false prophets (2:14), and stubbornly refused to repent of their idolatry. Verse 15 is perhaps the saddest of all the tremendously sad verses in this Book: “All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag!  their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?” While Christians all over our country are “whooping it up” about all of the so-called “wonderful” and “spiritual” things that are taking place in the world, does the world not look at Christianity and say, “Is this the glorious church of the Lord Jesus Christ, the beautiful, chaste virgin Bride that is without spot or blemish or any such thing?” (Eph. 5:27; II Cor. 11:2)  God give us Jeremiahs in Laodicea who will lament our grievous condition.

After two and a half chapters of simply focusing on the pitiful condition of the land, in the middle of chapter 3, Jeremiah lifts his eyes to the Lord.  In the midst of sorrow and ruin, he is reminded of the mercy and compassion of the Lord, and the incredible fact that “His compassions fail not” (3:22), and “they are new every morning” (3:23).  It brings Jeremiah to declare “Great is Thy faithfulness”!  In other words, “We have certainly failed Him, but He will not fail us!” Praise the Lord for His marvelous, infinite matchless mercy and grace!

In the remainder of chapter 3, Jeremiah calls upon the people to stop their whining, to search their hearts, confess their sin, and get right with God!  He then calls upon God to bring punishment upon those He used as the instrument of His wrath against Jerusalem.

Chapter 4 lets us know just how horrendous the situation in Jerusalem actually had gotten. Children were being mistreated and abused by their parents, and believe it or not, some mothers were actually eating their own children!  God says that His punishment against this city would even be greater than His punishment of Sodom!

Chapter 5 continues the description of the deplorable situation in Zion, and ends with Jeremiah crying out to God, “Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old” (5:21). The good news is, in the very near future, God is going to answer Jeremiah’s prayer!

SPECIFIC REFERENCES TO “THE DAY OF THE LORD”:

2:1 – “In the day of his anger.”

2:22 – “In the day of the LORD’s anger.”

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

Through JEREMIAH’S SORROW OVER JERUSALEM – Lam. 1:12-22 (Matt. 23:37; Luke 13:34)

As the MERCIFUL SAVIOUR – Lam. 3:22 (Jude 1:21)