Ezekiel 26:12

Chapter 26 is a proclamation against Tyre, and the first thing that hit me was the continuation of the theme of chapter 25, where each nation was judged on the basis that they were against Israel or Judah or both. The second verse of chapter 26 says the same thing. However God deals with Tyre over three chapters (rather than the little sections of one chapter He spends on the other nations).

What struck me was the intricacy of this prophecy, and the detail. God did not just leave it at ‘You will be destroyed…’, He went into detail about the method and what would happen after. He indicated that many nations would be against them, and that after they were first ‘destroyed’, the small remnant (or ‘dust’) would be cleaned up. This happened (according to my study Bible), as Nebuchadnezzar first besieged them, laying waste to their city. However a few escaped to a fortress until the days of Alexander the Great, who drew up a huge army to destroy them.

God says that He will make them like a place for drawing nets, and that is what it became. Eventually it became a small fishing town. What was once one of the major trading ports of the Mediterranean became nothing than a small fishing village.

Even more detailed, verse 12 says:

‘They will plunder your riches and pillage your merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; they will lay your stones, your timber, and your soil in the midst of the water.’ (Ezekiel 26:12)

In fact, to reach the island they had taken refuge on, Alexander put the ruins of their former city into the water, creating a huge causeway from which to attack them. Thus the prophecy came alive in great detail.

This makes me marvel, and yet surely this is nothing for a God who spoke the universe into existence!

Ezekiel 25:3,8,12,15

Ezekiel 25 is a chapter that is quite typical of many prophetic chapters, that is, it cycles through about 4 nations and why they are bound for judgment (other than Israel). This chapter struck me as to the reason why these nations were bound for judgment though. Let me list a few of the verses:

‘…because you [the Ammonites] said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned…and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity…’ (Ezekiel 25:3)

‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because Moab and Seir say, ‘Look! The house of Judah is like all the nations’…”’ (Ezekiel 25:8)

‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because of what Edom did against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended by avenging itself on them”’ (Ezekiel 25:12)

‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because the Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the old hatred”’ (Ezekiel 25:15)

All but the Philistine’s reason involves hatred or despising of Judah explicitly (and the Philistine’s reason involves it implicitly). Why is it that God needs to judge this antipathy? How many more people hate others and go (relatively) unjudged? Why is it that specifically the hatred of Judah must be punished on so large a scale?

I believe it is because God set Judah up as the bearers and heralders of His glory, and His glorious purpose. They were His own chosen people, chosen not because of anything they had done (Romans 9) but because He was pleased that it should be so. They were chosen to be the people who held His perfect law, who entered His holy temple, and most importantly, formed the line that brought the ‘radiance of God’s glory’ into the Earth. These people were the embodiment of God’s glorious plan on earth, and for nations surrounding to scoff at this was more than simple hatred of a nation, it was mocking of God and His plan.

What can we learn from this? Firstly, not to despise Israel. The most despised nation in the world at almost any point in history, we must not fall into despising them (for whatever reason), because God makes it clear that His purpose for them has not ended quite yet.

Secondly, to gain an appreciation for the awesome and most holy God, who forms plans and purposes that span millennia, never changing His mind or altering His course. And that plan involves you, for He knew you before He even started making the world! To be a part of that glorious plan which we can’t even comprehend the intricacies of, even the smallest part, is surely the most important thing we can partake of in our lives, by orders of magnitude! So don’t let it go.

Ezekiel 24:16

Chapter 24 of Ezekiel is pretty hard hitting, in that Ezekiel loses his wife in it, and is disallowed to mourn by God.

‘Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down.’ (Ezekiel 24:16)

That night, Ezekiel’s wife dies. It is meant as a picture of Israel, who are going to lose the ‘desire of their eyes’ – the sanctuary of God, and they will not mourn it. It makes me think – what is the ‘desire of my eyes’? Because I will lose it. Only God, the desire of my heart, will I not lose. All that is for our temporary pleasure is just that – temporary. Let’s not make the mistake that Israel made – letting the desire of our eyes get confused with what should be the desire of our heart. The temple was their desire – but it was the desire of their eyes, that is, they were proud of it because of who it made them, rather than loving it because God lived there.

Ezekiel 23:36, 45

Chapter 23 of Ezekiel is pretty serious, in detailing the putridness of the sin of both Israel and Samaria (and really rubs it in the nose of Israel in fact – because they are shown to be more far gone than Samaria, whom they despise). Again, it shows the importance of purity towards God, and how much God abhors sin and idolatry in all its forms. However, one thing I noticed in it was this:

‘But righteous men will judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.’ (Ezekiel 23:45)

While earlier it says:

‘The LORD also said to me: "Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations.’ (Ezekiel 23:36)

I was struck by the fact the God wants men to judge evil. He has this huge indictment against Israel, but He wants the righteous men (including Ezekiel) to judge the same way. He wants us to feel as bad as He does about this abomination. It’s like when you have a friend, you want them to like the same music and movies as you. God wants us to have the same passions and frame of mind as Him. So this chapter is like Him saying to Jeremiah: this is how I think – do you think the same (hint hint nudge nudge)?

God wants you to think like He does. He wants you to take on His mindset. And that means the ‘positive’ things and the ‘negative’ things. We need to read His word to know what His mindset is!

Ezekiel 22:3,5

‘The city…makes idols within herself to defile herself…Those near and those far from you will mock you as infamous and full of tumult.’ (Ezekiel 22:3,5)

If we are going to be Christians who make idols for ourselves and disobey God, then not only will God be displeased, but those who are not Christians will mock us and ridicule Christianity.

Ezekiel 21:3-4,26-27

There’s two things I want to mention in chapter 21 of Ezekiel. Firstly, verses 3 and 4:

‘…and say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I am against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off both righteous and wicked from you. Because I will cut off both righteous and wicked from you, therefore My sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh from south to north.’ (Ezekiel 21:3-4)

There is a logic here that I think is quite important. God says he will cut off both the righteous (no sin) and the wicked (lots of sin) – and therefore His sword will be against everyone. This means that there is a true dichotomy between righteous and wicked – ie. You can’t be in between. This is true of us today because of the way we are forgiven. We are all wicked but Jesus’ blood has cleansed some of us so that we are righteous in God’s eyes. But this passage shows that it was just as true of people before Christ had come. There were no people that were good but not perfect. Even in those days there was no salvation by good works. We know that those who were righteous were looking forward to the cross of Jesus (whereas we look back to it).

The second thing is in verse 26-27:

‘…thus says the Lord GOD:
“Remove the turban, and take off the crown;
Nothing shall remain the same.
Exalt the humble, and humble the exalted.
Overthrown, overthrown,
I will make it overthrown!
It shall be no longer,
Until He comes whose right it is,
And I will give it to Him.” (Ezekiel 21:26-27)

The turban represents the priesthood, and the crown obviously refers to the king. Both of these had failed miserably in the last few generations – with wicked kings and idols in the temple. And God even promised to stop the line of kings from David because of the wickedness of Zedekiah. Here is a reiteration of that promise, but with added information. God is saying that the priestly line will stop as well, and everything will be turned upside down. Everything that the Jews know will be overthrown – the humble will be exalted, and the exalted will be humbled (sound familiar?!). The old order will change and the new will come in – that is until He who is right to be king and priest comes (and we know that is Jesus). I think it means when He comes the second time, to rule on earth, when the temple will be restored. Because even now, the old order is turned over, and the new order, the new testament, the covenant of Jesus’ blood is all the opposite to what we might expect. Because we serve the only One who has the right to be the King and Priest.

Ezekiel 20:3

‘"Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Have you come to inquire of Me? As I live," says the Lord GOD, "I will not be inquired of by you."'’ (Ezekiel 20:3)

The elders of Israel had a complaint with God, but God says He will not listen because of their actions previously. Their heart is set against God, which is evidenced by their disobedience, and yet when things go wrong, they still move to blame God or ask Him for help. God is saying that it’s no use coming to Him just when you need Him without living like you need Him all the time. He won’t listen to a heart that is rebelling against Him.

This is a grave message. There’s nothing scarier than the possibility that God isn’t listening to us. But if our heart is in the right place, evidenced by our actions, He will always listen.