Ezekiel 48:38

‘All the way around shall be eighteen thousand cubits; and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE.’ (Ezekiel 48:35)

This is the very last verse in Ezekiel, and what a fitting way to end! After describing the new city and temple to Ezekiel for several chapters, in precise and detailed measurements, God summarises everything by saying that the name of the city will be ‘YHWH Shammah’ – THE LORD IS THERE. This is a big statement, for the glory of the LORD had departed from the temple in the land at the time, because of the sins of the people. God had made many promises to Ezekiel concerning the Israelites, and in one sweeping statement, they are all summarised and fulfilled. The Glory of the LORD will fill the city, and what further promise do you need?

The challenge? Can people call you ‘YHWH Shammah’? Can people say of you ‘The LORD is there’?

Lord, help us all display your glory to the world around us. Let us all be called ‘YHWH Shammah’.

Ezekiel 47:13

‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “These are the borders by which you shall divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions.’ (Ezekiel 47:13)

It is good that God keeps His promises, even to the point of detail such that Joseph keeps two portions of the land (one each for his two sons). This was promised way back to the tribe of Joseph, and had been in effect until the captivity. God promises that after the captivity, in the future, when Israel is fully restored to the land, then Joseph will again have two portions, as promised.

God has made many more, and more wonderful, promises to us. It is good to know that He will keep them all in detail!

Ezekiel 46:21-22

We know God is a God of order, but it gives it new meaning reading through these chapters about the future temple. The order found in the temple is so symmetrical and exact that we have to wonder if we have underestimated the importance of order to God. For instance:

‘Then he brought me out into the outer court and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and in fact, in every corner of the court there was another court. In the four corners of the court were enclosed courts, forty cubits long and thirty wide, all four corners were the same size.’ (Ezekiel 46:21-22)

These courts turn out to house the kitchens for the temple. Such order and precision for kitchens! Remember, this is after about 6 chapters of dimensions of the temple proper.

What does this mean for us? Well it surely means that God really cares about the order we live our lives in. He cares about hierarchy, He cares about relational order, He cares about living our lives in a structured manner. I am not saying that we shouldn’t be spontaneous at all. But there has to be a plan, there has to be some ‘dimensions’ to our life, a blue-print, to which we stick. God knows the complex interworkings of our lives, and knows the best order to fit the cogs together to set them in smooth motion. Running things ourselves can only get us hurt. Let us bow to His order.

Ezekiel 45:10

In Ezekiel 45 we are still caught up in Ezekiel’s vision of the temple, and now God is telling him about the feasts and things that are going to happen when the new temple is built. The verse that struck me, for some reason, is verse 10:

‘You shall have honest scales, an honest ephah, and an honest bath.’ (Ezekiel 45:10)

God makes a big point of having honest scales in the Bible, moreso than perhaps we think is proportional. We know it is a good thing to be honest (or in this case I guess the word is ‘just’), but there are other good things too. Now the intent here is more for social justice, for laws to uphold honesty in trade and social matters. But it of course implies personal honesty, which implies personal sincerity. And I think this is why it struck me. Ours is an age where real honesty and sincerity have somewhat disintegrated. It’s not that we tell any more outright lies than any other generation (although we may), it’s more ‘the truth you hear may not be the truth you thought you heard’. It’s the holding back of truth, the veiling of truth behind circumstance and façade. And the fact is, this is probably just as, if not more prominent among Christians as it is amongst non-Christians, because we feel the need to hide our sins. The Bible holds a different answer – it tells us to confess our sins! Let them be over with! What would happen if all Christians started being honest with each other, and not in a spirit of criticism, but a spirit of love? How much stronger would the Church be? We should have honest scales.

Ezekiel 44:28

‘It shall be, in regard to inheritance, that I am their inheritance. You shall give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession.’ (Ezekiel 44:28)

This is referring to the future priests of Israel, the Sons of Zadok. Originally, the Levites were the priestly tribe an they were given no land like all the other tribes, but instead their inheritance was God. They were to offer the offerings and sacrifices, and fulfill the temple duties. And thus it is with the future priests. It reminds us that in this life, God is our inheritance. We cannot expect anything else to be our inheritance. We cannot expect to gain anything worthwhile from this life other than God. This is a humbling thought, but one that takes us far.

Ezekiel 43:7,27

Ezekiel 43 carries on the vision of the temple, but in this chapter God talks to Ezekiel and explains some things (rather than measuring the temple). Ezekiel describes God’s glory as ‘…like the vision which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face.’ (Ezekiel 43:3b) If you remember the vision by the River Chebar, right back at the start of the book, you will remember that it was quite glorious and very strange (with wheels and eyes everywhere). The Spirit of the Lord lifts Ezekiel up and takes him to the inner court, and I love what God says:

‘And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever.’ (Ezekiel 43:7)

It is interesting that He uses the expression ‘soles of My feet’. I get the impression that this place is where He will stand, and nothing will move Him. He is like a tower, immovable and strong. It shows what great love He has for His children Israel. I get the picture of a father saying to his son: ‘I will be here for you, no matter what, nothing can move me, this is where I stand.’ And yet God is saying this in the midst of Judah’s captivity with which He is punishing them for sinful and rebellious acts.

We are reminded of Jesus our saviour, who said ‘Come to me’. He is our tower, and He dwells inside of us in this life. He never leaves us or forsakes us, no matter what we do, no matter where we go, He stands immovable in our hearts, the place of the soles of His feet. What strength that will give us if we can fully realize it!

For those who are interested, you may recall that a few chapters ago I was a little confused as to some specifics especially concerning sacrifices. Since these chapters seem to be concerned with times to come (for us), there seemed to be no need for the sacrifices that God says they will perform, since Jesus has once and for all taken away sin. I have a new argument for and against this. MaCarthur makes the solid point that even in Old Testament times the sacrifices were not ‘efficacious’, but were merely symbols of sin – and in fact merely looked forward to Christ, who truly paid for the sin. And so, he says, these sacrifices are also symbols, but look back to what Christ has done. This is fair, but I can think of two arguments against it. The first is – why do we not offer sacrifices today then? If they are merely symbols then shouldn’t it be fine to make sacrifices today to remind ourselves of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice? Why should it then start again some time in the future? The second argument is: If they are not ‘efficacious’, then why this from God:

‘ “When these days are over it shall be, on the eighth day and thereafter, that the priests shall offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar; and I will accept you,” says the Lord GOD.’ (Ezekiel 43:27)

So the offerings aren’t actually doing anything, and yet if they don’t do them God won’t accept the Israelites? This verse definitely seems to say the offerings have some function.

I’m sure some of you have already figured all of this out, so I would love to hear what you have to say.

Ezekiel 42:14a

In Ezekiel 42, Ezekiel is still with the angel of the Lord, who is measuring the temple (he finishes this chapter). There is a big emphasis on holiness:

‘When the priests enter them, they shall not go out of the holy chamber into the outer court; but there they shall leave their garments in which they minister, for they are holy.’ (Ezekiel 42:14a)

God expects and requires holiness, complete holiness. Even the clothes that the priests wore in the holy place were not to be worn outside, because they would be mixed with sin. This seems extreme to us, but it is the same for us, spiritually. Our attitude towards God should be one of complete holiness. Our goal is not to be stained by the world, though we live in it. A very tough assignment.

Ezekiel 40

Ezekiel is swept away into another vision, where he is taken to Israel to see the temple. But this isn’t Solomon’s temple, because the angel of the Lord who shows him around, also measures everything as they go. This would imply that it is a new temple, one in the future. My Bible Commentator says it probably refers to the millennium temple (ie. a temple they will build in the future). At first instance I see only one problem with this, and that is, that the temple in the vision has sacrifice tables for burnt offering, sin offering and the trespass offering. Well, sure there will be sin in the millennium, but I would have thought that Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice would cover the millennium as well?

On the other hand, it doesn’t seem like the passage could be taken ‘spiritually’, that is, it doesn’t seem to represent some spiritual truth that God is getting across to Ezekiel (at least not only that). It is very, very precise (so much so that the whole 49 verse chapter is one measurement after the other), which needn’t be the case if it is merely figurative. Imagine God giving all the dimensions and instructions of the ark to Noah who then turns around and takes them all figuratively or morally!

In any case, it is a confusing chapter. So what can we glean from it? Well we can certainly conclude that God is meticulous. He has the exact dimensions of a future temple already laid out before Him – not just the general design. In our own lives, this means that He hasn’t left anything out. Sometimes we can feel like we’re just drifting, and that any plan is so general that it almost doesn’t constitute a plan at all. We feel vague and dilute. But God always has an exact plan. He knows what you will do tomorrow, the next day, the next day, and (if you live that long) eighty years from now. Exactly. He has an absolutely meticulous plan for your life; in that you can trust. Is that comforting?

Ezekiel 39:21

Ezekiel 39 finishes off the prophecy concerning Gog and Magog, with the complete destruction of the armies of Gog (and their burial over 7 months!). After this, God tells Ezekiel that Israel will be (again) restored to the land. This I think refers to the last days, because I don’t think there was any destruction of huge nations before they were restored to the land the first time. Or seven month burials, for that matter. The verse that struck me was:

‘I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them.’ (Ezekiel 39:21)

Sometimes we separate the ‘modern’ God, and the ‘Old Testament’ God, between a God who loves and a God that judges. In fact I saw this delineation yesterday in a film. But we must see that these are one and the same – without judging, there is no loving. Surely God setting His glory among the nations is a loving act? Who are we to see God’s glory? And yet He assures us that He will set His glory among us so that we can see it first hand. But this is done through judgment (in this case). Always be slow to listen to those who say that God doesn’t judge any more, that God seeks only love and harmony, and that God’s glory is fully revealed in His mercy and kindness. Although this passage is in the Old Testament, it speaks of a time in our own future. And anyway, God doesn’t change.

Ezekiel 38:18-19

Ezekiel 38 has some very complicated themes in it – about Gog and Magog, themes which I won’t try to disassemble and understand fully here: basically Gog represents an evil ruler (probably the final antichrist) and Magog represents some countries (disputable where they are apparently). Probably where Gog comes from. According to the prophecy, Gog decides that he wants to send a massive army against Israel because they are relatively unprotected by walls and all that. But as you can imagine, God takes a thorough disliking to this.

‘“And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord GOD, “that My fury will show in My face. For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel…”’ (Ezekiel 38:18-19)

God protects His precious people against all who seek to set themselves against her. In the very least, He sets Himself against those who dare oppose His loved ones. He stands against them mightily (just read the rest of the chapter!). How can we be afraid when we stand behind this God! For if He loves Israel, then surely He loves us whom He gave His son for.

On the other hand, there are things He loves that we fight against at times. Truth, justice, holiness, love, purity, the Gospel. All things He loves and holds dear, which even we as Christians can often fight against. Lets beware that we stand behind God, not against Him.

Ezekiel 37:3b

If you’ve ever heard the famous song ‘Dem Bones’, then you’ll know that Ezekiel 37 is a pretty famous chapter. God takes Ezekiel in the spirit to a valley of dry bones. There must have been a war in the valley with thousands of people dying, and he says that all the bones are indeed very dry (vs. 2) (ie. have been dead for a long while). The first thing I noticed in the chapter was that when God asks Ezekiel ‘can these bones live?’ –

‘So I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.”’ (Ezekiel 37:3b)

Resurrection of completely dry bones does not exactly seem a natural occurrence to humans. In fact probably 90% of the population would say its absolutely impossible, especially on seeing the dead dry bones in front of them. But not Ezekiel. He has faith enough to know that God can raise them if He wishes. And in this case, God does raise them. The picture is nothing short of cinematic – the bones draw together, bone to bone, and then sinew and flesh grows on them, and finally skin stretches around the whole. Then Ezekiel prophecies to the breath of the air to come into the dead bodies that they may live. And it did, and there before him was a huge army of resurrected soldiers. What a sight!

The passage is speaking of God’s future restoration of Israel, where although Israel think they are dry bones…scattered into nations not their own, leaderless and forgotten, God will bring them together, put them back in their own land, and put a new spirit in them so that they won’t fall back into the same ways as they had. This must have been a huge encouragement to the Israelites, but it is also an encouragement and point of reflection for us.

If Israel were dead in a national sense, how much more were we ourselves dead in a spiritual sense? One passage speaks of us as water poured out onto the dry ground: helpless and hopeless. We think again of the picture of the completely dead dry bones. The bones could not of their own will come together let alone start growing sinew, let alone breathe in the air that gives them life. And yet by faith we know that God can pull us together, and it is His will that He gives us life, pulls our hopelessly fragmented lives together and gives us a relationship with Him, and gives us a new spirit with which to live. How blessed are we? How can we do anything but praise our wonderful God?

Ezekiel 36:22,26-27

‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and you will keep My judgments and do them.’ (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

Does this sound like it should be a New Testament passage? It sounded so to me. But then, this is another reminder that God does not change. His methods may have changed, or His covenant with us moreso, but He will never change, and neither do His standards.

Here He is talking to Israel, who He has just described as impure and unclean, wholly repugnant, and a people who have profaned His name not only amongst themselves, but everywhere they are taken captive as well. The next thing He says is that He will take them out of all the countries they’ve been taken captive to and bring them back to their own land. And that He will bless them, and give them a new heart and a new spirit. Why? Humanly speaking, it sounds very odd that God would do that right after acknowledging their position.

‘Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went.’ (Ezekiel 36:22)

There’s a good reason for God to do this, a better than good reason. He wants Himself to be glorified on Earth. And He knows the best way to go about that.

Do not take for granted the grace that has been extended to you by our loving God. We know our own position. Probably worse then the Israelites. And yet if you are a Christian then already God has put a new spirit in you. For HIS SAKE.

To God be the Glory.

Ezekiel 35:6

Ezekiel 35 is about ‘Mount Seir’, more commonly known as Edom. They were one of the most ancient and sworn enemies of Israel. They were constantly trying to take their land and fight against God’s people. Originally, of course, Edom was Israel’s brother. Edom came from Esau, Jacob’s brother. God says many things to them in many different books, but in this chapter we have this interesting verse:

‘ “Therefore, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you have not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue you.”’ (Ezekiel 35:6)

This is pretty much the original ‘He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword’. But it goes a bit further. For it was not Edom’s love of blood (violence) that God was judging them for, but their lack of hatred for it. That is, it is not enough simply to abstain from evil, but we must be vehemently opposed to it. This is a reminder. Often we can be caught up in the active positive. ‘This is what I must do, and I have to do this’. But there are also things we must not do, and not only should we not do them, but we should be actively opposed to them. Let’s not fall asleep on our watch.

Ezekiel 34:3,12

On Sunday morning we thought about Jesus being our Shepherd, bringing us back into the fold and sacrificing his life for the sheep. Chapter 34 of Ezekiel is all about shepherds. Firstly, the irresponsible ones that lead the sheep astray, and then God, the true Shepherd, who is the opposite. About the false shepherds it says:

‘You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.’ (Ezekiel 34:3)

The irresponsible shepherds take from the sheep that they lead. They use them for their own comfort and their own gain. But see what God says:

‘As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.’ (Ezekiel 34:12)

God gives up His own comfort to come after His lost sheep, to save them and to feed them. Even on a bad, miserable day. This is love that gives up oneself, it is leadership with humility. We have a great God!

Ezekiel 33:7, 24-26

Well, Ezekiel 33 has so much in it I can hardly get through it all in one devotion. In fact, I might spread it out across 2. As I looked at what it had in it, I recognized on of the parts and I thought that would be the part that struck me most, but there was another part that really struck me today, so I am going to talk about that part. I’ll talk about the other part tomorrow perhaps, even though it comes before today’s part (if that makes sense!)

So Ezekiel is in Babylon (remember, by the river of Babylon…), well someone from Jerusalem comes to him all breathless to tell him that Jerusalem had been captured. Then God explains to him why the last few remaining Jews in the land had been captured. This is what he says:

‘Son of man, they who inhabit those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. But we are many; the land has been given to us as a possession.’ Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “You eat meat with blood, you lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land? You rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and you defile one another’s wives. Should you then possess the land?”’ (Ezekiel 33: 24-26)

Those left in Israel reasoned that since they were the seed of Abraham, who had been promised the land as one man, were obviously entitled to the land as many people. They, being the children of Abraham were obviously entitled to all of his blessings and promises.

But God gives them a wake-up call. While they remember Him in that He promised them the land, they forget Him in their daily lives, turning to idols and doing all sorts of abominable things. What right do they have to claim His promise when they had forgotten Him?

It causes me to stop and think of my own life, and our lives collectively. How often do we sit back and expect God’s promises to come to us while we forget all about and do exactly what He tells us not to? How often do we turn away and obey our own will and desires, expecting His blessing on our own plans? Always think of this story, where the Jews did the same thing. God says it is the reason for the captivity of the remainder of them.

Ezekiel 33 is one of the more well known parts of Ezekiel because of the first part of the chapter, which is about ‘watchmen’, and outlines some of God’s view of judgment. You probably all know the story. If a city appoints a watchman when there is war about, and that watchman sees the armies coming in and warns everybody, but they don’t listen, then when they die it is their own fault. But if the watchman doesn’t do his job and doesn’t warn them, they will still die but it will be upon the watchman’s head

‘So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.’ (Ezekiel 33:7)

Thus the same rules apply to Ezekiel as they do to the hypothetical watchman for the city. If he doesn’t warn them all of God’s judgment, they will still be judged, but their blood will be upon his head.

This is true of us, for in truth we are all prophets, spoken to by God through His son Jesus Christ, and with a message of utmost importance, one of judgment, but also one of grace. And whomever we do not reach, whomever we do not tell, they will still be judged. But their blood is on our heads. It is up to us to warn them. What a great motivation!

Ezekiel 32:22

Chapter 32 of Ezekiel is split into two parts: the first part is a lamentation for Pharaoh and Egypt, which follows from the previous chapter. The second part is a summary of the last few chapters where several nations are prophetically judged by the LORD (and indeed some physically have already been judged – for example the Assyrians). The second part is still primarily in reference to the Egyptians, but the context is such that Egypt will find herself in the midst of many other ‘famous’ nations, including Assyria and Edom when they are thrown down. All mighty nations, but all equal after death in eternal hell.

'Assyria is there, and all her company,
With their grave all around her grave,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword.' (Ezekiel 32:22)

It reminds me how little this life is how fleeting and fragile. No matter your power or station, a single car accident, plane crash, slip down the stairs or other random accident can take you away form this life. It doesn’t matter how powerful you are. The only things we have are in God, because they are the only things that are eternal. And if you have nothing in God, if you don’t know Him, let alone love Him, be reminded that this life doesn’t offer an infinite chance for that to happen. There is no time to put it off. This life can leave you at any point.

Ezekiel 31:18

Whom are you like in your greatness? That’s the question God asks Pharaoh and Egypt, and that is the question He asks of us. Is there any way we can justify our actions and claim power that will help us stand against God judgments? How will we stand against the holy judgment of a God who created all things?

He reminds Egypt of the great nation Assyria, who were like a cedar in Lebanon, for all their strength. They were prominent and powerful, a tall tree, tall even in a land of tall trees. Even the trees in the garden of God (the area where the garden of Eden was) could not compare to this tree. And yet God felled that tree, it came crashing down and all the leaves and branches filled the mountains and the animals and birds came to rest even on the fallen tree.

‘“To which of the trees in Eden will you then be likened in glory and greatness? Yet you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the depths of the earth; you shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude,’ says the Lord GOD.”’ (Ezekiel 31:18)

He says: well if Assyria has been toppled, can you claim to be of equal power? And can you claim superior morality? Can you claim equal beauty? Then is it not very possible, that the Lord will topple you as well?

And God gently tells us: who can you compare yourself to? Who is the greatest among men? Are you as powerful as they? And yet did I not topple them at my appointed time? Is it not possible that I can topple you, too? How will you stand against My Holy judgment?

And we answer: no Lord GOD, I am of little power, not even comparable to fallen kings and powerful men of the world, let alone to Your awesome power. But I claim something that not a one of them could that fell, and that is the blood of Jesus Christ, pure and more glorious than all the trees in the garden of Eden, rising high above all else. Lord, myself I cannot stand in Your holy presence, indeed I am likely to trip myself over, but I cling to the mighty tree that is the cross of Christ and it can never fall.

What a claim we have!

Ezekiel 30:26

How good it would be if we always learnt things before they caused something bad to happen! It is so often the pattern of things that we don’t realize what God is trying to tell us until something goes wrong in our lives, and we are forced to step back and take stock, and we realize that all along God has been trying and trying to talk to us.

Well, it was the same for the Egyptians. Carrying along with the theme (well at least I think) of Ezekiel, we find the verse:

‘I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.’ (Ezekiel 30:26)

Then they shall know that I am the LORD. These words permeate Ezekiel unmissably. And they carry both the weight of God’s glory and the implication that we are slow to understand it. For Egypt, it is only after they are scattered among the nations that they realize that God is actually pretty big, and their Pharaoh isn’t really much of a god after all.

Check your own life. Is there anything in your life that indicates that maybe you aren’t listening to what God is saying? Maybe it’s time to step back and take stock, instead of having it forced on you! Let’s be the first to know that He is the LORD.

Ezekiel 29:20

“‘I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor, because they worked for Me,” says the Lord GOD.’ (Ezekiel 29:20)

This speaks of Nebuchadnezzar, who ironically is one of the few people who in the Bible are called ‘My servant’ by God (among them being Isaiah – if you can remember!). God used Nebuchadnezzar in a mighty way, without him knowing it for a long time. This again reinforces God’s supremacy and sovereignty over us. Even when we don’t know it, God is using us for His glory. I like the way it puts it: you worked for Me so I’ll give you some wages…here you go, have Egypt. God moves in huge (but mysterious) ways!

Ezekiel 28:25

‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob.”’ (Ezekiel 28: 25)

Sometimes we can lose something that we know is the best. Sometimes the path of our life can take a turn that we never intended and which we know is away from that which is the best. Israel experienced it when they were exiled from their land.

We wonder why we can’t have that thing back, we wonder why nothing we do can set our lives right again, can steady the ship, can bring back that which is lost. But in the end we have to ask ourselves, ‘is God being hallowed in us?’ Are the lives we are living glorifying God – are we living a life unto Him or for ourselves? For it is not until we set our lives aright with Him that He will bring us back into the land, bring us back to that which we had lost. And if not, then that which is lost is probably not worth regaining.

That is probably not the primary meaning of the text here, but it sure struck me.