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The Book of Ezekiel Like You_ve Never Seen Before – The Prophet of Restoration · truthunedited

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Speaker 1: Imagine witnessing God's glory departing from Solomon's Temple, then seeing
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Speaker 1: it return in blazing magnificence. Ezekiel experienced the impossible, a
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Speaker 1: priest in exile who became Heaven's war correspondent. While Jerusalem burned,
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Speaker 1: He saw spinning wheels within wheels, eight scrolls that tasted
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Speaker 1: like honey, and watched an entire valley of skeletons resurrect
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Speaker 1: before his eyes. This isn't just prophecy, its divine theater.
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Speaker 1: Ezekiel bridges Israel's darkest hour with its brightest future, revealing
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Speaker 1: how God transforms catastrophic judgment into glorious restoration. His visions
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Speaker 1: spanned from Babylon's rivers to the millennial Kingdom, showing us
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Speaker 1: that God's plans never fail, they only get more spectacular.
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Speaker 1: Every bizarre action, every mystical vision, every detailed measurement points
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Speaker 1: to one earth shattering truth. Our God specializes in bringing
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Speaker 1: dead things back to yet ready for the most visually
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Speaker 1: explosive prophetic journey. In scripture, Ezekiel was thirty years old,
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Speaker 1: living as a prisoner among thousands of Jewish exiles by
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Speaker 1: the Keebar River in Babylon. He should have been serving
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Speaker 1: as a priest in Jerusalem's temple, but instead he found
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Speaker 1: himself in a foreign land, far from home. Then, on
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Speaker 1: his thirtieth birthday, something happened that would change everything. The
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Speaker 1: heavens opened above him like a door being torn wide.
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Speaker 1: What Ezekiel saw next defied everything he thought he knew
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Speaker 1: about God. A huge storm cloud appeared, glowing with fire
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Speaker 1: and surrounded by brilliant light. From the center of the
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Speaker 1: fire came four living creatures, unlike anything on earth. Each
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Speaker 1: creature had four faces and four wings, and their legs
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Speaker 1: were straight, with feet like polished bronze. As Chapter one,
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Speaker 1: verse six describes, each of the four had the face
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Speaker 1: of a human being, and on the right side, each
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Speaker 1: had the face of a life iron, on the left
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Speaker 1: the face of an ox. Each also had the face
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Speaker 1: of an eagle. The human face looked forward, the lion
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Speaker 1: faced right, the ox faced left, and the eagle looked backward.
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Speaker 1: These weren't just decorative features. Each face had deep meaning
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Speaker 1: that Ezekiel would understand later. The creatures moved in perfect unity,
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Speaker 1: never turning. As they went, Fire flickered back and forth
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Speaker 1: between them constantly, and lightning shot out from the flames.
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Speaker 1: When they moved, they looked like flashes of lightning racing
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Speaker 1: across the sky. The sound they made was incredible, like
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Speaker 1: the roar of rushing waters or the voice of God himself.
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Speaker 1: But that wasn't all. Beside each creature sat a wheel
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Speaker 1: that sparkled like topaz. These wheels were enormous, and here's
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Speaker 1: what made Ezekiel's heart race. They were covered with eyes.
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Speaker 1: Chapter one, verse eighteen tells us their rims were high
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Speaker 1: and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes
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Speaker 1: all around. Imagine wheels taller than a man, gleaming like
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Speaker 1: precious stones, with hundreds of eyes watching everything. The wheels
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Speaker 1: could move in any direction without turning, and wherever the
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Speaker 1: creatures went, the wheels went too. When the creatures rose
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Speaker 1: from the ground, the wheels rose with them. The spirit
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Speaker 1: of the living creatures was in the wheels, making them
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Speaker 1: move as one. Above these amazing creatures stretched something that
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Speaker 1: looked like a crystal dome, sparkling and beautiful. Beyond description.
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Speaker 1: Above that crystal expanse sat a throne made of what
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Speaker 1: appeared to be brilliant blue sapphire. And on that throne
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Speaker 1: was a figure that looked like a man, but glowed
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Speaker 1: with incredible light. From his waist up, the figure looked
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Speaker 1: like glowing metal in a blazing fire. From his waist down,
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Speaker 1: he appeared to be made of fire itself, surrounded by
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Speaker 1: brilliant lil light. A rainbow encircled him, shining like an
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Speaker 1: emerald after the rain. This was the appearance of the
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Speaker 1: glory of the Lord, and when Ezekiel saw it, he
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Speaker 1: fell face down on the ground, completely overwhelmed. While Ezekiel
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Speaker 1: lay there with his face in the dirt, trembling before
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Speaker 1: God's glory, he heard a voice speaking to him. The
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Speaker 1: voice was gentle but powerful, calling him son of Man,
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Speaker 1: a title that reminded him he was just a human
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Speaker 1: being standing before the creator of the universe. Son of Man,
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Speaker 1: Stand up on your feet, and I will speak to you,
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Speaker 1: God said. As soon as these words were spoken, the
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Speaker 1: spirit entered Ezekiel and lifted him to his feet. He
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Speaker 1: stood there, still shaking, as God began to give him
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Speaker 1: the most difficult assignment any one could imagine. God explained
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Speaker 1: that he was sending Ezekiel to the Israelites, a rebellious
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Speaker 1: nation that had turned against their creator. These weren't strangers.
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Speaker 1: They were his own people, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac,
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Speaker 1: and Jacob, but they had become stubborn and hard hearted,
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Speaker 1: refusing to listen to God's voice. As Chapter two, verse
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Speaker 1: four records God's words, the people to whom I am
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Speaker 1: sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, this
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Speaker 1: is what the sovereign Lord says. Whether they listened or
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Speaker 1: refused to listen, they would know that a prophet had
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Speaker 1: been among them. God warned Ezekiel not to be afraid
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Speaker 1: of them, even though they would be like thorns and
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Speaker 1: scorpions around him. Their words might sting, and their looks
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Speaker 1: might frighten him, but he must speak God's words boldly.
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Speaker 1: The people were rebellious, but Ezekiel had to remain faithful.
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Speaker 1: Then something extraordinary happened. A hand appeared before Ezekiel holding
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Speaker 1: a scroll. The hand unrolled it, and Ezekiel could see
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Speaker 1: that both sides were covered with writing. Usually scrolls only
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Speaker 1: had writing on one side, but this one was completely
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Speaker 1: full of words, and these weren't happy words. The scroll
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Speaker 1: contained lamentations, mourning and woe. God gave Ezekiel a strange
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Speaker 1: command in chapter three, verse one, Son of man. Eat
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Speaker 1: what is before you eat this scroll, then go and
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Speaker 1: speak to the people of Israel. God was telling him
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Speaker 1: to literally eat the scroll covered with sad and terrible words.
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Speaker 1: Ezekiel opened his mouth and God fed him the scroll.
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Speaker 1: Here's the amazing part. Even though the scroll was full
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Speaker 1: of judgments and warnings about coming disaster, it tasted as
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Speaker 1: sweet as honey in Ezekiel's mouth. The word of God,
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Speaker 1: even when it contained difficult messages, was still precious and good.
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Speaker 1: After Ezekiel ate the entire scroll, God told him that
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Speaker 1: these words would become the message he would carry to
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Speaker 1: the house of Israel. But God had more warnings for
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Speaker 1: his new prophet. The people wouldn't want to listen to
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Speaker 1: Ezekiel because they didn't want to listen to God himself.
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Speaker 1: They were hard headed and stubborn. To help Ezekiel stand
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Speaker 1: against their resistance, God made him just as determined as
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Speaker 1: they were stubborn. I will make your forehead like the
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Speaker 1: hardest stone, harder than flint, God promised in chapter three,
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Speaker 1: verse nine. Do not be afraid of them or terrified
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Speaker 1: by them, though they are a rebellious people. The Spirit
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Speaker 1: then lifted Ezekiel up and took him away. Behind him,
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Speaker 1: he heard the sound of great rumbling as the glory
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Speaker 1: of the Lord rose from its place. He heard the
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Speaker 1: wings of the living creatures brushing against each other, and
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Speaker 1: the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud, thunderous noise.
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Speaker 1: The spirit brought Ezekiel to tell Aviv, where the Jewish
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Speaker 1: exiles lived by the Kaba River. For seven days, he
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Speaker 1: sat among them, completely overwhelmed by everything that had happened
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Speaker 1: to him. The people around him had no idea that
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Speaker 1: they were living next to someone who had just seen
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Speaker 1: the throne of God and been commissioned as his profit.
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Speaker 1: After seven days of sitting in shocked silence, God spoke
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Speaker 1: to Ezekiel again. This time, he gave the prophet instructions
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Speaker 1: that would make everyone stop and stare. God wanted Ezekiel
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Speaker 1: to create a living demonstration that no one could ignore
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Speaker 1: or misunderstand. First, God told Ezekiel to take a clay tablet,
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Speaker 1: the kind used for writing in Babylon, and draw the
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Speaker 1: city of Jerusalem on it. This wasn't just a simple sketch.
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Speaker 1: Ezekiel had to create a detailed model showing the city
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Speaker 1: under siege. He built tiny ramps leading up to the walls,
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Speaker 1: just like enemy armies would use to attack a real city.
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Speaker 1: Around his model city, Ezekiel set up small camps representing
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Speaker 1: enemy armies. He made miniature battering rams and siege works,
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Speaker 1: creating a perfect picture of Jerusalem surround by hostile forces.
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Speaker 1: Any One who saw this display would immediately understand what
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Speaker 1: was coming. But God wasn't finished with the demonstration. He
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Speaker 1: told Ezekiel to take an iron pan and place it
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Speaker 1: like a wall between himself and the model city. This
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Speaker 1: iron barrier represented how God had turned his face away
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Speaker 1: from Jerusalem. The city that had once enjoyed God's protection
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Speaker 1: would now face his judgment. Then came the part that
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Speaker 1: would test Ezekiel's commitment like nothing else. God commanded him
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Speaker 1: to lie down on his left side and stay there
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Speaker 1: for three hundred ninety days. During this time, he would
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Speaker 1: symbolically carry the sin of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
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Speaker 1: As Chapter four, verse five explains, I have laid on
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Speaker 1: you the years of their sin for three hundred ninety days.
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Speaker 1: You will bear the sin of the people of Israel.
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Speaker 1: After those three hundred ninety days were completed, Ezekiel had
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Speaker 1: to turn over and lie on his right side for
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Speaker 1: forty more days, representing the sins of Judah. That meant
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Speaker 1: four hundred and thirty days total of lying on his
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Speaker 1: side as a living picture of his nation's punishment. Day
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Speaker 1: after day, month after month. He would lie there as
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Speaker 1: people walked by and wondered what this strange prophet was doing.
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Speaker 1: While Ezekiel lay on his side, God gave him very
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Speaker 1: specific rules about food and water. He could eat only
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Speaker 1: twenty shekels of food per day, about eight ounces. Carefully
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Speaker 1: weighed out, he was allowed just one sixth of a
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Speaker 1: hin of water daily, roughly two thirds of a quart.
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Speaker 1: This meager ration showed how little food the people in
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Speaker 1: Jerusalem would have when enemy armies surrounded the city. The
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Speaker 1: cooking instructions were even more disturbing. God told Ezekiel to
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Speaker 1: bake his bread using dried human waste as fuel. This
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Speaker 1: represented how desperate and unclean conditions would become during the siege.
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Speaker 1: When Ezekiel protested that he had never eaten anything unclean
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Speaker 1: in his life, God showed mercy and allowed him to
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Speaker 1: use cow dung instead. Every day for more than a year,
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Speaker 1: Ezekiel lay there beside his model city, eating his small
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Speaker 1: ration of food and drinking his limited water. People came
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Speaker 1: to watch, to question, and to wonder. Some probably mocked him,
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Speaker 1: others felt sorry for him, but everyone understood the message.
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Speaker 1: Jerusalem was going to be surrounded, starved, and conquered. When
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Speaker 1: Ezekiel's four hundred thirty days of lying on his side
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Speaker 1: were finally over, his muscles aching and his body weak,
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Speaker 1: God had another dramatic performance for him to carry out.
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Speaker 1: This one would be even more shocking and personal than
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Speaker 1: the siege demonstration. God told Ezekiel to take a sharp
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Speaker 1: sword and use it as a barber's razor to shave
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Speaker 1: off all his head and beard. In that culture, a
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Speaker 1: man's hair and beard were signs of his dignity and strength.
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Speaker 1: For a priest to shave them off was almost unthinkable,
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Speaker 1: but God wanted everyone to see this dramatic act. After
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Speaker 1: collecting all his hair, Ezekiel had to do something very precise.
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Speaker 1: He needed to weigh the hair on scales and divide
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Speaker 1: it into three exactly equal parts. This wasn't random. Every
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Speaker 1: strand had meaning, and the division had to be perfect.
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Speaker 1: What happened next was like watching a powerful drama unfold.
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Speaker 1: Ezekiel took the first third of his hair and burned
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Speaker 1: it with fire in the middle of his model city.
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Speaker 1: The flames consumed every strand, leaving nothing but ashes. This
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Speaker 1: represented the people who would die from plague and famine
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Speaker 1: inside Jerusalem during the siege. The second third of his
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Speaker 1: hair met a different fate. Ezekiel took his sword and
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Speaker 1: struck the hair all around the model city, chopping it
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Speaker 1: into tiny pieces. Chapter five, verse two describes this, take
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Speaker 1: a third and strike it with the sword all around
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Speaker 1: the city. This showed what would happen to those who
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Speaker 1: tried to escape Jerusalem. They would be cut down by
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Speaker 1: enemy swords. The final third of his hair was scattered
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Speaker 1: to the wind as Ezekiel blew it from his hands.
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Speaker 1: But even then the demonstration wasn't over. As the hair
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Speaker 1: blew away, representing people being scattered to foreign countries, Ezekiel
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Speaker 1: drew his sword and waved it in the air. This
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Speaker 1: showed that even those who escaped to other lands would
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Speaker 1: face the sword of their enemies chasing them. But Ezekiel
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Speaker 1: was supposed to save just a few strands of hair
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Speaker 1: by tucking them into the folds of his garment. These
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Speaker 1: represented the small number of people who would survive the
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Speaker 1: coming disaster. Yet even this wasn't the end of their troubles.
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Speaker 1: Some of these saved strands would be thrown into the
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Speaker 1: fire and burned up, showing that even among the survivors,
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Speaker 1: some would face more hardship. This whole performance was a
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Speaker 1: perfect picture of Jerusalem's future. The city that had been
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Speaker 1: like beautiful hair on God's head, his pride and joy,
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Speaker 1: would be cut off and destroyed. One third would die
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Speaker 1: from disease and starvation inside the city walls. One third
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Speaker 1: would be killed by enemy's swords. One third would be
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Speaker 1: scattered across the world, with enemies pursuing them wherever they went.
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Speaker 1: God explained that this judgment was coming because Jerusalem had
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Speaker 1: become more wicked than the nations around it. The city
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Speaker 1: that was supposed to be a light to the world
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Speaker 1: had become darker than its pagan neighbors. As Chapter five,
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Speaker 1: verse six declares, she has rebelled against My laws and
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Speaker 1: decrees more than the nations and countries around her. The
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Speaker 1: people had rejected God's laws and refused to follow his decrees.
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Speaker 1: They had had turned to the disgusting practices of other
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Speaker 1: nations instead of staying faithful to the God who had
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Speaker 1: chosen them. Because of this rebellion, God would execute judgments
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Speaker 1: on Jerusalem that were more severe than anything he had
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Speaker 1: done before or would do again. After the dramatic hair
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Speaker 1: cutting demonstration, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel again.
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Speaker 1: This time God told him to turn his face toward
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Speaker 1: the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them. This might
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Speaker 1: seem strange, what had the mountains done wrong? But these
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Speaker 1: hills and high places had become centers of idle worship
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Speaker 1: throughout the land. The mountains of Israel had once been holy,
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Speaker 1: the places where God met with his people. But now
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Speaker 1: they were covered with altars to false gods, high places
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Speaker 1: where people burned incense, to idols, and sacred groves where
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Speaker 1: they practiced pagan rituals. What should have been places of
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Speaker 1: worship to the true God had become centers of spiritual adultery.
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Speaker 1: Speaking as God's voice, Ezekiel addressed the mountains directly. Chapter six,
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Speaker 1: verse three records his words, this is what the sovereign
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Speaker 1: Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines
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Speaker 1: and valleys. I am about to bring a sword against you,
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Speaker 1: and I will destroy your high places. The sword represented
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Speaker 1: the Babylonian army that would sweep through the land, destroying
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Speaker 1: everything in its path. These high places weren't just empty hills.
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Speaker 1: They were elaborate worship centers with altars where people offered
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Speaker 1: sacrifices to false gods. There were sacred stones called standing
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Speaker 1: stones and wooden poles called a cherapols, all dedicated to
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Speaker 1: pagan deities. The people thought these objects had power to
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Speaker 1: help them, but God promised to smash them all into pieces.
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Speaker 1: The judgment would be thorough and devastating. The altar would
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Speaker 1: be demolished, the incense altars would be broken down, and
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Speaker 1: the idols would be smashed to bits. But the destruction
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Speaker 1: wouldn't stop with the religious objects. The people who worshiped
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Speaker 1: there would also face God's wrath. As Chapter six, verse
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Speaker 1: seven warns, your people will fall slain among you, and
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Speaker 1: you will know that I am the Lord. The very
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Speaker 1: places where people had bowed down to false gods would
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Speaker 1: become their graveyards. They would die right beside the broken
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Speaker 1: pieces of the idols they had trusted in. The devastation
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Speaker 1: would be so complete that dead bodies would be scattered everywhere.
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Speaker 1: Wild animals would drag bones around, spreading them across the landscape.
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Speaker 1: The cities would be laid waste and left completely empty.
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Speaker 1: Where once there had been bustling communities full of people
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Speaker 1: going about their daily lives, there would be only silence
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Speaker 1: and ruins. Yet, even in this terrible judgment, God had
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Speaker 1: a purpose. When the people saw their land destroyed and
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Speaker 1: their idols powerless to save them, they would finally understand
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Speaker 1: who the real God was. The destruction would serve as
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Speaker 1: proof that the Lord alone is God, not the wooden
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Speaker 1: and stone images they had been worshiping. Some people would
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Speaker 1: survive this disaster, but they would be scattered among the
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Speaker 1: nations as prisoners and refugees. Even in foreign lands, they
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Speaker 1: would remember what had happened to their homeland. Chapter six,
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Speaker 1: verse nine explains, Then in the nations where they have
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Speaker 1: been carried captive, those who escape will remember me how
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Speaker 1: I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have
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Speaker 1: turned away from me, and by their eyes which have
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Speaker 1: lusted after their idols. These survivors would finally understand how
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Speaker 1: much their unfaithfulness had hurt God's heart. They would realize
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Speaker 1: that their idle worship had been like adultery. They had
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Speaker 1: betrayed the God who loved them and had chosen other
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Speaker 1: lovers instead. This understanding would make them hate themselves for
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Speaker 1: all the evil things they had done. The word of
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Speaker 1: the Lord came to Ezekiel with an urgent and terrifying message.
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Speaker 1: The end was rushing toward Israel like a massive storm,
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Speaker 1: and there was no escape. This wasn't a distant threat
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Speaker 1: or a warning about something that might happen some day.
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Speaker 1: The end had already begun, and it was spreading across
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Speaker 1: the entire land. As chapter seven, verse two declares, with finality,
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Speaker 1: the end, the end has come upon the four corners
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Speaker 1: of the land. From north to south and east to west,
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Speaker 1: every part of Israel would face God's judgment. There would
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Speaker 1: be no safe places to hide, no regions that would
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Speaker 1: be spared, no cities that would escape. God's patience, which
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Speaker 1: had lasted for centuries, was finally exhausted. He had sent
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Speaker 1: prophet after profit to warn his people, but they had
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Speaker 1: refused to listen. They had continued in their rebellion, their
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Speaker 1: idle worship, and their violence. Now the time for warnings
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Speaker 1: was over, the time for judgment had arrived. Chapter seven,
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Speaker 1: verse three makes this clear. The end is now upon you.
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Speaker 1: And I will unleash my anger against you. I will
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Speaker 1: judge you according to your conduct and repay you for
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Speaker 1: all your detestable practices. God would treat them exactly as
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Speaker 1: they had treated him. Since they had shown no mercy
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Speaker 1: to the poor and oppressed, he would show no mercy
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Speaker 1: to them. The people had filled the land with violence,
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Speaker 1: so violence would return to them. They had ignored God's laws,
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Speaker 1: so they would face the consequences of lawlessness. They had
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Speaker 1: worshiped idols instead of their creator, so they would discover
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Speaker 1: how helpless those idols really were. When the day of
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Speaker 1: judgment arrived, Nothing the people trusted in would be able
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Speaker 1: to save them. Their money, which which they had worked
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Speaker 1: so hard to accumulate, would become worthless over night. As
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Speaker 1: Chapter seven, verse nineteen explains, they will throw their silver
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Speaker 1: into the streets, and their gold will be treated as
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Speaker 1: a thing unclean. Their silver and gold will not be
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Speaker 1: able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath.
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Speaker 1: All the wealth they had gained through dishonest business practices
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Speaker 1: would be unable to buy them safety. The gold and
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Speaker 1: silver they had valued more than God would be thrown
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Speaker 1: away like garbage in the day of terror, only God
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Speaker 1: could provide protection, but they had rejected him. The terror
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Speaker 1: would be universal. Kings would mourn, princes would be clothed
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Speaker 1: with despair, and the hands of common people would tremble
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Speaker 1: with fear. Chapter seven, verse twenty seven describes the complete breakdown.
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Speaker 1: The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with despair,
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Speaker 1: and the hands of the people of the land will tremble.
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Speaker 1: People would desperately search for answers. They would run to
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Speaker 1: prophets looking for visions, to priests seeking instruction, and to
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Speaker 1: elders hoping for wise counsel. But they would find nothing.
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Speaker 1: The religious leaders who should have guided them had also
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Speaker 1: turned away from God. When the crisis hit, there would
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Speaker 1: be no one left who could show them the way.
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Speaker 1: Disaster would follow disaster in rapid succession. Bad news would
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Speaker 1: pile up like storm clouds gathering overhead. The whole social
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Speaker 1: order would collapse. Everything that had seemed stable and permanent
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Speaker 1: would crumble in a matter of days. It was the
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Speaker 1: sixth day of the sixth month in the sixth year
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Speaker 1: of Ezekiel's exile, fourteen months after his first incredible vision
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Speaker 1: by the Keebar River. He was sitting peacefully in his house,
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Speaker 1: with the elders of Judah around him, probably discussing the
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Speaker 1: state of their homeland, when something amazing happened again. Suddenly,
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Speaker 1: the same glorious figure is Zekiel had seen in his
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Speaker 1: first vision appeared before him. The figure looked like a man,
23:05
Speaker 1: but was made of fire and brilliant light. From his
23:08
Speaker 1: waist down, he appeared to be fire itself. From his
23:12
Speaker 1: waist up, he glowed like heated metal in a blazing furnace,
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Speaker 1: surrounded by incredible brightness. This glorious being reached out what
23:22
Speaker 1: looked like a hand and grabbed Ezekiel by the hair
23:25
Speaker 1: of his head. Immediately, the spirit lifted him up between
23:29
Speaker 1: earth and heaven and carried him in visions to Jerusalem
23:33
Speaker 1: to the Temple of God. But what Ezekiel saw there
23:36
Speaker 1: would break his heart and shock him to his core.
23:40
Speaker 1: The spirit set him down at the entrance to the
23:42
Speaker 1: north gate of the Inner Court, where something terrible was standing.
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Speaker 1: There was an idol, a statue that provoked God to jealousy.
23:53
Speaker 1: This wasn't just any decoration. This was an object of
23:56
Speaker 1: worship that competed with God for the people's devotion, right
24:00
Speaker 1: there in God's own house. But God's glory was there too,
24:05
Speaker 1: shining just as brilliantly as Ezekiel had seen it by
24:08
Speaker 1: the Kibah River. The contrast was striking God's holy presence
24:13
Speaker 1: and a jealousy provoking idol existing in the same sacred space.
24:18
Speaker 1: It was like finding trash in a palace or poison
24:21
Speaker 1: in a medicine bottle. God spoke to Ezekiel, asking him
24:26
Speaker 1: if he could see what the people were doing. Do
24:29
Speaker 1: you see what they are doing? God asked in chapter eight,
24:33
Speaker 1: verse six, the utterly detestable things the Israelites are doing here,
24:38
Speaker 1: things that will drive me far from my sanctuary. But
24:43
Speaker 1: this was only the beginning. God promised to show him
24:46
Speaker 1: things that were even worse. God led Ezekiel to the
24:49
Speaker 1: entrance of the court, where he noticed something unusual in
24:52
Speaker 1: the wall. When God told him to dig into the wall,
24:56
Speaker 1: Ezekiel discovered a hidden doorway. Behind that secret end trance
25:00
Speaker 1: was a room that should never have existed in God's temple.
25:04
Speaker 1: Chapter eight, verse ten describes what Ezekiel found. So I
25:08
Speaker 1: went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over
25:11
Speaker 1: the walls, all kinds of crawling things and unclean animals,
25:14
Speaker 1: and all the idols of Israel. The walls were covered
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Speaker 1: with pictures of creatures that God had declared unclean things
25:21
Speaker 1: his people were never supposed to worship or even touch.
25:25
Speaker 1: In front of these disgusting wall paintings stood seventy of
25:28
Speaker 1: Israel's elders, the very men who should have been leading
25:31
Speaker 1: the people in true worship. Each one held a censer
25:34
Speaker 1: full of burning incense, and sweet smelling smoke rose from
25:38
Speaker 1: their offerings. But they weren't offering this incense to God.
25:42
Speaker 1: They were worshiping the painted idols on the walls. Among
25:46
Speaker 1: these seventy men stood Jazaniah, son of Schaffon, a man
25:50
Speaker 1: from a family known for supporting God's prophets. Even he
25:54
Speaker 1: had joined this secret idol worship. As they burned their
25:58
Speaker 1: incense in the darkness, they said to each other, the
26:01
Speaker 1: Lord does not see us. The Lord has forsaken the
26:04
Speaker 1: land and did They thought God couldn't see what they
26:08
Speaker 1: were doing in their hidden room. They believed He had
26:11
Speaker 1: abandoned the land and was no longer paying attention to
26:14
Speaker 1: their actions. So they felt free to worship whatever they
26:18
Speaker 1: wanted in whatever way they pleased. But God saw everything,
26:23
Speaker 1: and he was showing it all to Ezekiel. This wasn't
26:26
Speaker 1: the end of the tour. God told Ezekiel he would
26:30
Speaker 1: see even more detestable things. He brought him to the
26:33
Speaker 1: entrance of the north gate of the Lord's House, where
26:36
Speaker 1: women were sitting and weeping for Tamus, a false god
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Speaker 1: associated with fertility and the changing seasons. Then God showed
26:46
Speaker 1: Ezekiel the most shocking sight of all. In the inner
26:50
Speaker 1: court of the temple, between the portico and the altar,
26:53
Speaker 1: where priests should have been offering sacrifices to the true God,
26:57
Speaker 1: were about twenty five men, but they had their backs
27:01
Speaker 1: turned toward the temple and were facing east, bowing down
27:05
Speaker 1: and worshiping the rising sun. These weren't ordinary citizens making
27:10
Speaker 1: a mistake. These were religious leaders, probably priests, who had
27:14
Speaker 1: completely abandoned their calling. Instead of leading people to worship
27:18
Speaker 1: the Creator, they were bowing down to one of his creations.
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Speaker 1: They had turned their backs on God's temple to face
27:25
Speaker 1: the sun, showing where their true loyalty lay. God asked
27:29
Speaker 1: Ezekiel if he thought these things were trivial. The answer
27:33
Speaker 1: was clear. They had filled the land with violence and
27:36
Speaker 1: continually provoked God to anger. Now they were putting the
27:40
Speaker 1: branch to their nose, adding insult to injury with this
27:44
Speaker 1: strange ritual that mocked God even further. After seeing all
27:48
Speaker 1: the terrible things happening in God's temple, Ezekiel heard the
27:52
Speaker 1: Lord call out in a loud voice, bring near those
27:55
Speaker 1: who are appointed to execute judgment on the city, each
27:58
Speaker 1: with a weapon in his hand. And God was summoning
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Speaker 1: his executioners to carry out the punishment that had been promised.
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Speaker 1: Six men appeared, coming from the direction of the upper
28:09
Speaker 1: gate that faces north. Each one carried a deadly weapon
28:12
Speaker 1: in his hand, ready to carry out God's judgment. But
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Speaker 1: with them came a seventh man dressed in linen clothes
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Speaker 1: with a writing kit at his side. All seven of
28:22
Speaker 1: them went and stood beside the bronze altar in the
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Speaker 1: temple court. The Glory of God, which had been resting
28:29
Speaker 1: above the Cherubim, began to move. It rose up and
28:33
Speaker 1: went to the threshold of the temple, positioning itself to
28:36
Speaker 1: oversee what was about to happen. From this place, God
28:40
Speaker 1: called to the man dressed in linen who had the
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Speaker 1: writing kit. God gave this man a crucial assignment that
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Speaker 1: would mean the difference between life and death for many people,
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Speaker 1: as Chapter nine, verse four records, go throughout the city
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Speaker 1: of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of
28:57
Speaker 1: those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things
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Speaker 1: that are done in it. This wasn't a mark of shame.
29:05
Speaker 1: It was a mark of protection. The man in Linen
29:09
Speaker 1: was to find everyone in the city who was heartbroken
29:11
Speaker 1: about the sin they saw around them. These were the
29:14
Speaker 1: people who hadn't joined in the idol worship, who were
29:18
Speaker 1: grieved by the violence and injustice, who still cared about
29:21
Speaker 1: God's honor and holiness. While the man in Lenen went
29:26
Speaker 1: through the city marking foreheads, God spoke to the six
29:30
Speaker 1: men with weapons. His instructions were clear and terrifying. Follow
29:35
Speaker 1: him through the city and kill without showing pity or compassion.
29:39
Speaker 1: Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the
29:42
Speaker 1: mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has
29:45
Speaker 1: the mark. And the judgment would be thorough and complete,
29:49
Speaker 1: affecting every age group and social class. But it would
29:53
Speaker 1: also be perfectly just. Those who had remained faithful to
29:57
Speaker 1: God would be protected, while those who had rejected him
30:01
Speaker 1: would face the consequences of their choice. God gave one
30:06
Speaker 1: more instruction that showed how the judgment would begin begin
30:11
Speaker 1: at my sanctuary. The punishment would start with the religious
30:15
Speaker 1: leaders who had led the people astray. The seventy elders
30:19
Speaker 1: who had been burning incense to idols in the secret
30:22
Speaker 1: room would be the first to face God's wrath. As
30:25
Speaker 1: the slaughter began, Ezekiel found himself alone. He fell face
30:30
Speaker 1: down and cried out, Alas, Sovereign Lord, are you going
30:35
Speaker 1: to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring
30:39
Speaker 1: of your wrath on Jerusalem. He was afraid that no
30:43
Speaker 1: one would survive this terrible judgment. But God explained that
30:48
Speaker 1: the sin of Israel and Judah was extremely great. The
30:51
Speaker 1: land was full of bloodshed and the city was full
30:54
Speaker 1: of injustice. The people said, the Lord has forsaken the land.
30:59
Speaker 1: The law does not see. Since they believed God wasn't watching,
31:03
Speaker 1: they felt free to do whatever they wanted, no matter
31:06
Speaker 1: how evil. God would not show pity or spare them.
31:10
Speaker 1: He would bring down on their own heads everything they
31:12
Speaker 1: had done to others. This was perfect justice. They would
31:17
Speaker 1: receive exactly what they had given. Then the man in
31:20
Speaker 1: Linen with the writing kit returned and reported to God,
31:25
Speaker 1: I have done as you commanded. The marking was complete.
31:31
Speaker 1: Everyone who grieved over the sin in the city had
31:34
Speaker 1: been identified and protected. But even as this judgment was
31:39
Speaker 1: taking place, Ezekiel witnessed something that broke his heart. The
31:43
Speaker 1: Glory of the Lord continued to move away from the temple.
31:47
Speaker 1: What had started above the Cherubim had moved to the threshold,
31:51
Speaker 1: and now it was preparing to leave entirely. The Cherubims
31:55
Speaker 1: spread their wings and rose from the ground with the
31:57
Speaker 1: wheels beside them. The glory of the God of Israel
32:01
Speaker 1: was above them as they moved to the east gate
32:04
Speaker 1: of the Lord's house. There they stopped hovering at the entrance,
32:08
Speaker 1: as if giving the city one last chance to repent.
32:12
Speaker 1: But the city didn't repent. The people continued in their
32:16
Speaker 1: rebellion even as judgment fell around them. So the Glory
32:21
Speaker 1: of the Lord finally departed from the city completely, going
32:25
Speaker 1: up from the city and stopping above the mountain east
32:27
Speaker 1: of it, the Mount of Olives. This was the most
32:31
Speaker 1: tragic moment in Israel's history. The God who had chosen
32:35
Speaker 1: Jerusalem as his dwelling place, who had filled Solomon's temple
32:39
Speaker 1: with his glory, who had protected and blessed his people
32:42
Speaker 1: for centuries, was leaving. His presence was departing because the
32:46
Speaker 1: people had made it clear they didn't want him there.
32:49
Speaker 1: The spirit then lifted Ezekiel up and brought him back
32:53
Speaker 1: to Babylon to the other exiles by the Kaba River.
32:57
Speaker 1: The vision ended, and he found himself back in his house,
33:01
Speaker 1: but everything he had seen remained vivid in his mind.
33:06
Speaker 1: The next day, he told the exiles everything the Lord
33:09
Speaker 1: had shown him, the secret idolatries, the coming judgment, and
33:14
Speaker 1: the departure of God's glory from Jerusalem. The word of
33:18
Speaker 1: the Lord came to Ezekiel with instructions for another dramatic
33:22
Speaker 1: performance that would grab everyone's attention. This time, God wanted
33:27
Speaker 1: him to act out exactly what would happen to the
33:29
Speaker 1: people of Jerusalem when the city fell. The performance would
33:33
Speaker 1: be so realistic that no one could miss the message.
33:38
Speaker 1: God told Ezekiel to pack his belongings during the day
33:41
Speaker 1: while everyone was watching. He was to gather only the essentials,
33:46
Speaker 1: the kind of bundle a refugee would carry when forced
33:49
Speaker 1: to flee their home quickly, As Chapter twelve, verse three explains, Therefore,
33:54
Speaker 1: son of Man, pack your belongings for exile, and in
33:57
Speaker 1: the daytime, as they watch set out and go from
34:00
Speaker 1: where you are to another place, perhaps they will understand.
34:04
Speaker 1: Though they are a rebellious people. But this wasn't just
34:07
Speaker 1: about packing bags. God had something much more dramatic in mind.
34:13
Speaker 1: When evening came, Ezekiel was to dig through the wall
34:16
Speaker 1: of his house while everyone watched. He would carry his
34:19
Speaker 1: bundle on his shoulders and leave through the hole he
34:22
Speaker 1: had made, covering his face so he couldn't see the
34:25
Speaker 1: land he was leaving behind. This strange behavior would make
34:30
Speaker 1: people curious. They would ask questions, wanting to know why
34:34
Speaker 1: this prophet was acting so oddly. When they asked, Ezekiel
34:39
Speaker 1: was ready with God's answer. He was acting out what
34:41
Speaker 1: would happen to the prince in Jerusalem and all the
34:44
Speaker 1: people with him. The performance had deep meaning. Just as
34:48
Speaker 1: Ezekiel was carrying his belongings into exile, the people of
34:52
Speaker 1: Jerusalem would soon be forced to pack up and leave
34:56
Speaker 1: their homes. Just as he dug through the wall, they
34:59
Speaker 1: would try to escape through broken walls when the city
35:02
Speaker 1: was under attack. The covered face had special significance too.
35:07
Speaker 1: It represented how the Prince of Jerusalem would try to
35:10
Speaker 1: escape in disguise, covering his face so no one would
35:14
Speaker 1: recognize him as he fled, but even this wouldn't save
35:18
Speaker 1: him from capture. God revealed exactly what would happen to
35:22
Speaker 1: this prince, as Chapter twelve, Verse thirteen declares, I will
35:25
Speaker 1: spread my net for him, and he will be caught
35:28
Speaker 1: in my snare. I will bring him to Babylonia, the
35:31
Speaker 1: land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it,
35:34
Speaker 1: and there he will die. The prince would be captured
35:38
Speaker 1: and taken to Babylon, but something would happen to his eyes,
35:43
Speaker 1: so he wouldn't see the land where he would spend
35:45
Speaker 1: his final days. The people around the prince would be
35:49
Speaker 1: scattered in every direction. Some would flee to Egypt, others
35:53
Speaker 1: to different countries, but everywhere they went the sword would
35:57
Speaker 1: pursue them. Only a few would survive to tell other
36:01
Speaker 1: nations about all the terrible things they had done. God
36:05
Speaker 1: also gave Ezekiel instructions about eating and drinking that would
36:08
Speaker 1: continue the demonstration. He was to eat his food with
36:12
Speaker 1: trembling hands and drink his water with shaking and fear.
36:16
Speaker 1: This showed how the people left in Jerusalem would eat
36:20
Speaker 1: and drink in terror, knowing that disaster could strike at
36:23
Speaker 1: any moment. The land that had once been full of
36:26
Speaker 1: people and prosperity would become empty and waste. All the
36:30
Speaker 1: cities would be destroyed, and the countryside would be left desolate.
36:36
Speaker 1: When this happened, people would finally understand that the Lord
36:40
Speaker 1: is God. But some people in exile were saying that
36:43
Speaker 1: Ezekiel's visions wouldn't come true for many years, if at all.
36:48
Speaker 1: Others claimed that he was only prophesying about distant times
36:52
Speaker 1: that didn't affect them. God addressed these doubts directly, telling
36:57
Speaker 1: Ezekiel that every vision would be fulfilled quickly and every
37:00
Speaker 1: word would come to pass during their lifetime. While Ezekiel
37:04
Speaker 1: was delivering God's true messages, other people were claiming to
37:08
Speaker 1: speak for God too, But these false prophets were leading
37:12
Speaker 1: the people astray with lies and empty promises. God told
37:16
Speaker 1: Ezekiel to speak out against these deceivers who were causing
37:20
Speaker 1: so much damage. These false prophets weren't receiving real visions
37:25
Speaker 1: from God. Instead, they were making up their own messages
37:29
Speaker 1: and claiming God had spoken to them. Chapter thirteen, verse
37:34
Speaker 1: two records God's command son of man prophesy against the
37:38
Speaker 1: prophets of Israel who are now prophesying, Say to those
37:42
Speaker 1: who prophesy out of their own imagination, hear the word
37:46
Speaker 1: of the Lord. The problem was serious. These prophets were
37:50
Speaker 1: like foxes among ruins. Instead of helping repair the damage,
37:54
Speaker 1: they were making it worse. They hadn't stood in the
37:57
Speaker 1: gaps to protect God's people or built up walls of
38:00
Speaker 1: defense around them. When the day of battle came, these
38:04
Speaker 1: false prophets would be nowhere to be found. What made
38:08
Speaker 1: their deception even worse was how they gave people false hope.
38:12
Speaker 1: When someone built a flimsy wall, these prophets would come
38:15
Speaker 1: along and whitewash it, making it look strong and beautiful
38:19
Speaker 1: on the outside while it remained weak and ready to collapse.
38:23
Speaker 1: They told people peace when there was no peace, encouraging
38:27
Speaker 1: them to feel safe when they were actually in great danger.
38:30
Speaker 1: God promised to tear down these whitewashed walls. When his
38:34
Speaker 1: storm of judgment came. The wall would collapse completely, and
38:38
Speaker 1: people would ask where all that beautiful whitewash had gone.
38:42
Speaker 1: The false prophets, who had covered up the problems instead
38:45
Speaker 1: of fixing them, would be buried under the rubble. But
38:48
Speaker 1: it wasn't just male prophets who were causing problems. There
38:52
Speaker 1: were also women who claimed to speak for God but
38:55
Speaker 1: were actually practicing magic and divination. The These false prophetesses
39:01
Speaker 1: were hunting souls, trapping people with their deceptions, and leading
39:06
Speaker 1: them away from the truth. These women made magic charms
39:10
Speaker 1: and veils, using them in their fortune telling and spellcasting.
39:14
Speaker 1: As Chapter thirteen, verse eighteen describes God's anger, this is
39:19
Speaker 1: what the sovereign Lord says, Woe to the women who
39:22
Speaker 1: sow magic charms on all their wrists and make veils
39:26
Speaker 1: of various lengths for their heads in order to ensnare people.
39:31
Speaker 1: Their magic wasn't just harmless entertainment. They were using it
39:35
Speaker 1: to control people's lives, telling some they would die when
39:39
Speaker 1: God wanted them to live, and promising others they would
39:42
Speaker 1: live when God had marked them for death. They were
39:45
Speaker 1: taking handfuls of barley and pieces of bread as payment
39:48
Speaker 1: for their false prophecies, showing how cheaply they valued human souls.
39:54
Speaker 1: God was furious with these practices. He promised to tear
39:58
Speaker 1: their magic charms from their arms and free the people
40:02
Speaker 1: they had ensnared. Their veils would be ripped off, and
40:05
Speaker 1: their power over people would be broken forever. The reason
40:10
Speaker 1: God was so angry was clear. These false prophets and
40:13
Speaker 1: prophetesses were discouraging good people and encouraging wicked ones. They
40:18
Speaker 1: made righteous people sad with lies, while they strengthened the
40:22
Speaker 1: hands of evil people, encouraging them not to turn from
40:25
Speaker 1: their wicked ways. Because of their deceptions, these false religious
40:30
Speaker 1: leaders would be excluded from God's people. They wouldn't be
40:34
Speaker 1: listed in the records of Israel, they wouldn't enter the
40:37
Speaker 1: Promised Land, and they would lose their place among God's
40:40
Speaker 1: chosen nation. When God restored his people, these deceivers would
40:45
Speaker 1: be left behind. Some of the elders of Israel came
40:48
Speaker 1: to sit before Ezekiel, probably hoping to receive a word
40:51
Speaker 1: from the Lord about their situation. These were respected leaders
40:55
Speaker 1: among the exiles, men who should have been examples of
40:58
Speaker 1: faithfulness to God God. But as they sat there, looking
41:02
Speaker 1: righteous and spiritual, God revealed their true condition to his prophet.
41:06
Speaker 1: The Lord spoke to Ezekiel about what was really in
41:10
Speaker 1: these men's hearts. As Chapter fourteen, verse three reveals, Son
41:14
Speaker 1: of Man, these men have set up idols in their
41:17
Speaker 1: hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should
41:21
Speaker 1: I let them inquire of me at all? These elders
41:24
Speaker 1: hadn't built physical altars or carved wooden statues, but they
41:28
Speaker 1: were idle worshipers just the same. In their hearts and minds,
41:33
Speaker 1: they had set up other gods and given their devotion
41:36
Speaker 1: to things that competed with the Lord. They had stumbling
41:40
Speaker 1: blocks right in front of their faces, things that kept
41:43
Speaker 1: them from seeing and following God. Clearly, God told Ezekiel
41:48
Speaker 1: to speak directly to them about this heart idolatry. Any
41:52
Speaker 1: One from Israel who set up idols in their heart
41:55
Speaker 1: and then came to inquire of the Lord would receive
41:58
Speaker 1: an answer, but not the kind they expected. God himself
42:03
Speaker 1: would answer them according to their idolatry, dealing with them
42:06
Speaker 1: based on what they really worshiped, rather than what they
42:10
Speaker 1: claimed to worship. The purpose was to recapture the hearts
42:13
Speaker 1: of the Israelites who had turned away from God for
42:16
Speaker 1: their idols. God wanted to win back their love and loyalty,
42:19
Speaker 1: but first they had to acknowledge what they had done
42:22
Speaker 1: and turn away from their false gods. God's message was
42:26
Speaker 1: clear and simple. Repent, turn from your idols and renounce
42:32
Speaker 1: all your detestable practices. There was still time to change,
42:36
Speaker 1: still opportunity to return to the Lord with their whole hearts,
42:41
Speaker 1: but they had to make a choice. They couldn't serve
42:43
Speaker 1: God and idols at the same time. If anyone, whether
42:47
Speaker 1: an Israelite or a foreigner, living among them, separated themselves
42:51
Speaker 1: from God and set up idols in their heart, then
42:54
Speaker 1: came to a prophet to inquire of the Lord, God
42:58
Speaker 1: would answer them personally, but it wouldn't be the comfortable
43:02
Speaker 1: answer they wanted to hear. As Chapter fourteen, verse eight warns,
43:06
Speaker 1: I will set my face against them and make them
43:09
Speaker 1: an example, and a by word, I will remove them
43:12
Speaker 1: from my people. Then you will know that I am
43:14
Speaker 1: the Lord. De Gard would make an example of such people,
43:18
Speaker 1: showing every one what happens to those who try to
43:21
Speaker 1: serve two masters. Ezekiel also learned something important about prophets
43:27
Speaker 1: who might be tempted to give false messages. If a
43:31
Speaker 1: prophet was deceived and spoke a word that wasn't from God,
43:35
Speaker 1: it was actually the Lord who had deceived that prophet.
43:39
Speaker 1: Both the prophet and the person who consulted him would
43:42
Speaker 1: bear the same guilt and face the same punishment. This
43:46
Speaker 1: might seem harsh, but God's purpose was clear. He wanted
43:50
Speaker 1: to stop the Israelites from wandering away from Him and
43:53
Speaker 1: defiling themselves with sin. He wanted them to be His
43:57
Speaker 1: people in truth, not just in name, and he wanted
44:00
Speaker 1: to be their God in reality, not just in their
44:03
Speaker 1: religious ceremonies. God then gave Ezekiel a sobering lesson about
44:08
Speaker 1: judgment and intercession. Even if the land became so sinful
44:12
Speaker 1: that He decided to destroy it, even the presence of
44:15
Speaker 1: the most righteous people in history wouldn't save the wicked.
44:19
Speaker 1: If Noah, Daniel, and Job were living in such a land,
44:23
Speaker 1: their righteousness would save only themselves, not their children or neighbors.
44:29
Speaker 1: Whether God sent famine, wild beasts, sword, or plague, these
44:34
Speaker 1: three righteous men would survive because of their own righteousness,
44:37
Speaker 1: but they couldn't rescue anyone else. Each person would be
44:41
Speaker 1: responsible for their own relationship with God and their own
44:45
Speaker 1: moral choices. The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel
44:48
Speaker 1: with a simple but powerful comparison that would help people
44:52
Speaker 1: understand Jerusalem's true condition. God asked him to think about
44:58
Speaker 1: a grapevine and consider what made it valuable compared to
45:01
Speaker 1: other trees in the forest. The question was straightforward but revealing.
45:06
Speaker 1: As Chapter fifteen, Verse two asks son of Man, how
45:10
Speaker 1: is the wood of a vine different from that of
45:13
Speaker 1: a branch from any of the trees in the forest.
45:16
Speaker 1: The answer was obvious to anyone who had ever worked
45:19
Speaker 1: with wood. Vinewood was practically useless for building anything. Unlike
45:24
Speaker 1: oak or cedar or other forest trees, vinewood was too
45:28
Speaker 1: soft and twisted to make furniture. You couldn't use it
45:32
Speaker 1: to build houses or craft tools. It wasn't even strong
45:36
Speaker 1: enough to make a simple peg to hang something on
45:38
Speaker 1: the wall. The only value of a vine was in
45:41
Speaker 1: its fruit, not its wood. But what happened when a
45:44
Speaker 1: vine didn't produce fruit? Then it became completely worthless. There
45:49
Speaker 1: was only one thing you could do with unproductive vinewood,
45:52
Speaker 1: burn it as fuel for fire. Even then, it didn't
45:56
Speaker 1: burn very well compared to other types of wood. God
45:59
Speaker 1: was making a pointed comparison. Jerusalem was like a vine
46:03
Speaker 1: among the nations. Its only value was supposed to be
46:07
Speaker 1: the spiritual fruit it produced righteousness, justice, and worship of
46:11
Speaker 1: the True God. But instead of producing good fruit, Jerusalem
46:16
Speaker 1: had become corrupt and rebellious. Since the city wasn't fulfilling
46:21
Speaker 1: its purpose, it had become like useless vine wood, And
46:25
Speaker 1: just as useless vinewood was only good for burning, Jerusalem
46:29
Speaker 1: would be consumed by fire. The comparison was perfect. A
46:34
Speaker 1: fruitless vine was destined for flames. But God took the
46:38
Speaker 1: analogy even further. He pointed out that vinewood was especially
46:43
Speaker 1: useless after it had been partially burned, as Chapter fifteen,
46:47
Speaker 1: verse four explains, And after it is thrown on the
46:51
Speaker 1: fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and
46:54
Speaker 1: chars the middle, is it then useful for anything. Once
46:58
Speaker 1: vinewood had been damaged by fire, it became completely worthless
47:02
Speaker 1: for any purpose. This described Jerusalem's condition perfectly. The city
47:08
Speaker 1: had already been partially burned by its sins and rebellions.
47:12
Speaker 1: It had been damaged by its unfaithfulness to God. Now
47:16
Speaker 1: it was even less useful than before, like a piece
47:19
Speaker 1: of vine wood that had been scorched and charred. God
47:22
Speaker 1: declared that he would set his face against the people
47:25
Speaker 1: of Jerusalem. Even though they might escape from one fire,
47:29
Speaker 1: another fire would consume them completely. When this happened, people
47:34
Speaker 1: would know that the Lord is God. The land itself
47:37
Speaker 1: would become desolate because the people had been unfaithful. They
47:41
Speaker 1: had broken their covenant with God, so he would make
47:44
Speaker 1: their country a wasteland. What had once been a fruitful
47:47
Speaker 1: land flowing with milk and honey would become as barren
47:51
Speaker 1: and useless as burned vine wood. The message was clear
47:55
Speaker 1: and unavoidable. Jerusalem had failed in its purpose as gods
47:59
Speaker 1: chose city. Instead of being a light to the nations,
48:03
Speaker 1: it had become darker than the pagan cities around it.
48:07
Speaker 1: Instead of producing fruit that honored God, it had become
48:11
Speaker 1: completely unproductive, like a useless vine. It was fit only
48:16
Speaker 1: for destruction. God told Ezekiel to confront Jerusalem with all
48:20
Speaker 1: its detestable practices through the most personal and emotional story.
48:25
Speaker 1: Yet this wasn't just about political failure or religious mistakes.
48:30
Speaker 1: This was about a broken relationship, a love story that
48:33
Speaker 1: had turned into betrayal and heartbreak. The story began with
48:38
Speaker 1: Jerusalem as an abandoned baby, as chapter sixteen, verse three
48:42
Speaker 1: describes her origins. This is what the Sovereign Lord says
48:46
Speaker 1: to Jerusalem. Your ancestry and birth were in the land
48:50
Speaker 1: of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite, and your
48:53
Speaker 1: mother a Hittite. Jerusalem came from pagan peoples, not from
48:57
Speaker 1: a godly heritage. When this baby was born, no one
49:01
Speaker 1: cared for her. Her umbilical cord wasn't cut, she wasn't
49:05
Speaker 1: washed with water, or rubbed with salt, or wrapped in cloths.
49:10
Speaker 1: Nobody pitied her enough to do even these basic acts
49:14
Speaker 1: of care. Instead, she was thrown out into an open
49:17
Speaker 1: field and left to die, despised from the day she
49:21
Speaker 1: was born. But God saw her there, as Chapter sixteen,
49:26
Speaker 1: verse six records his words, Then I passed by and
49:30
Speaker 1: saw you kicking about in your blood. And as you
49:32
Speaker 1: lay there in your blood, I said to you live.
49:35
Speaker 1: God commanded this dying baby to live, and she did.
49:39
Speaker 1: He made her grow like a plant in the field,
49:41
Speaker 1: and she grew up and developed into a beautiful young woman.
49:44
Speaker 1: When God passed by again and saw that she was
49:47
Speaker 1: old enough for love, he spread the corner of his
49:51
Speaker 1: garment over her and covered her nakedness. He made a
49:54
Speaker 1: covenant with her, swearing an oath to her, and she
49:58
Speaker 1: became his. This was like a marriage ceremony. God was
50:02
Speaker 1: taking Jerusalem as his bride. Then God lavished his love
50:06
Speaker 1: on her. He bathed her with water and washed the
50:09
Speaker 1: blood from her. He anointed her with oils and dressed
50:12
Speaker 1: her in fine clothing, embroidered fabric, leather, sandals, fine linen,
50:17
Speaker 1: and costly garments. He adorned her with jewelry, putting bracelets
50:22
Speaker 1: on her arms and a necklace around her neck. As
50:25
Speaker 1: Chapter sixteen, verse twelve describes his generosity, I put a
50:30
Speaker 1: ring on your nose, ear rings on your ears, and
50:32
Speaker 1: a beautiful crown on your head. She was decorated like
50:36
Speaker 1: a queen, wearing gold and silver, dressed in the finest materials.
50:41
Speaker 1: Her food was the best, fine flower, honey, and olive oil.
50:45
Speaker 1: She became very beautiful and rose to be a queen.
50:48
Speaker 1: Her fame spread among the nations because of her beauty.
50:52
Speaker 1: God had made her perfect through the splendor he had
50:56
Speaker 1: given her. She was like a showcase of God's goodness
50:59
Speaker 1: and love, a living example of what he could do
51:02
Speaker 1: for those who belonged to him. But then the story
51:06
Speaker 1: took a tragic turn. Jerusalem began to trust in her
51:11
Speaker 1: own beauty instead of in God who had given it
51:14
Speaker 1: to her. She used her fame to become a prostitute,
51:18
Speaker 1: giving her favors to any one who passed by. The
51:21
Speaker 1: very gifts God had given her became tools for betraying him.
51:26
Speaker 1: She took the beautiful clothes God had provided and made
51:29
Speaker 1: shrines where she carried on her prostitution. She took the
51:33
Speaker 1: gold and silver jewelry He had given her, and made
51:36
Speaker 1: male idols to worship. She even took their sons and daughters,
51:41
Speaker 1: the children God had given them, and sacrificed them to
51:44
Speaker 1: these false gods. Chapter sixteen, verse twenty reveals the depth
51:49
Speaker 1: of her betrayal. And you took your sons and daughters
51:52
Speaker 1: whom you bore to me, and sacrifice them as food
51:55
Speaker 1: to the idols? Was your prostitution not enough? She had
52:00
Speaker 1: killed the very children that belonged to God, offering them
52:03
Speaker 1: to idols as if they were mere food. Her spiritual
52:06
Speaker 1: adultery became worse than physical prostitution. Regular prostitutes received payment
52:12
Speaker 1: for their services, but Jerusalem was different, as Chapter sixteen,
52:17
Speaker 1: verse thirty four explains. So in your prostitution you are
52:22
Speaker 1: the opposite of others. No one runs after you for
52:25
Speaker 1: your favors. You are the very opposite, For you give
52:28
Speaker 1: payment and none is given to you. She was paying
52:31
Speaker 1: her lovers. Instead of being paid, she gave gifts to
52:35
Speaker 1: all her lovers, bribing them to come to her from
52:38
Speaker 1: everywhere for her illegal favors. She was so desperate for
52:42
Speaker 1: the attention of false gods and foreign nations that she
52:46
Speaker 1: would pay anything to get them to notice her. This
52:51
Speaker 1: made God's anger burn like fire. The wife he had rescued,
52:56
Speaker 1: beautified and crowned as queen, had become worse than any
52:59
Speaker 1: ordins prostitute. She had taken everything he gave her and
53:04
Speaker 1: used it to betray him with other lovers. The word
53:06
Speaker 1: of the Lord came to Ezekiel with a riddle and
53:09
Speaker 1: a parable that would reveal the political mistakes Jerusalem's leaders
53:14
Speaker 1: were making. This story used images of great eagles and
53:19
Speaker 1: trees to show how the Kingdom of Judah was trying
53:22
Speaker 1: to play dangerous games with powerful nations. God told Ezekiel
53:27
Speaker 1: to present this riddle to the people of Israel. As
53:30
Speaker 1: Chapter seventeen, verse three begins, the parable say to them,
53:34
Speaker 1: this is what the sovereign Lord says. A great eagle
53:38
Speaker 1: with powerful wings, long feathers, and full plumage of varied
53:42
Speaker 1: colors came to Lebanon, taking hold of the top of
53:45
Speaker 1: a cedar. He broke off its topmost chute and carried
53:49
Speaker 1: it away to a land of merchants, where he planted
53:52
Speaker 1: it in a city of traders. This great eagle represented
53:57
Speaker 1: the king of Babylon, nebucad Nezar. He was powerful and magnificent,
54:03
Speaker 1: with wings that could reach anywhere in his empire. The
54:06
Speaker 1: cedar tree was the royal house of Judah, and the
54:09
Speaker 1: topmost shute he broke off was King Jehoyakin, whom he
54:13
Speaker 1: had taken captive to Babylon. But the eagle did more
54:17
Speaker 1: than just take the top of the tree. He also
54:20
Speaker 1: took some of the seed of the land, other members
54:23
Speaker 1: of the royal family and nobles. He planted this seed
54:27
Speaker 1: in fertile soil, placing it like a willow by abundant water.
54:32
Speaker 1: This represented how Nebuchadnezza had set up Zedekiah as a
54:36
Speaker 1: puppet king in Jerusalem under Babylon's control. This planted vine
54:42
Speaker 1: was supposed to grow low and spreading, with its branches
54:45
Speaker 1: turning toward the eagle and its roots remaining under the
54:48
Speaker 1: eagle's control. Judah was meant to be a humble vassal kingdom,
54:53
Speaker 1: loyal to Babylon and dependent on Babylonian protection. For a while,
54:58
Speaker 1: this arrangement worked, The vine grew and became a low
55:02
Speaker 1: spreading vine. Its branches turned toward the great eagle, and
55:06
Speaker 1: its roots grew under the eagle's watch. Zedekiah ruled as
55:10
Speaker 1: nebucud Nezzar's appointed king, and Judah remained peaceful under Babylonian protection.
55:17
Speaker 1: But then another great eagle appeared on the scene. This
55:21
Speaker 1: vine began to turn its roots and branches toward this
55:24
Speaker 1: second eagle, hoping for better treatment, as Chapter seventeen, verse
55:29
Speaker 1: seven describes, But there was another great eagle with powerful
55:33
Speaker 1: wings and full plumage. The vine now sent out its
55:37
Speaker 1: roots toward him from the plot where it was planted,
55:40
Speaker 1: and stretched out its branches to him for water. This
55:45
Speaker 1: second great eagle was Egypt. Instead of remaining loyal to Babylon,
55:50
Speaker 1: Zedekiah had begun making secret alliances with Egypt, hoping that
55:54
Speaker 1: Pharaoh would provide military support against nebucud nezza. He was
55:58
Speaker 1: like a vine, trying to get water from two different sources,
56:02
Speaker 1: thinking this would make him stronger and more secure. But
56:07
Speaker 1: God revealed that this strategy was doomed to fail. The
56:11
Speaker 1: vine was already planted in good soil with plenty of water,
56:15
Speaker 1: it could have grown into a splendid vine, producing branches
56:18
Speaker 1: and bearing fruit if it had stayed where it was planted,
56:22
Speaker 1: But by trying to reach toward another source, it would
56:25
Speaker 1: be uprooted and destroyed. Chapter seventeen, verse nine poses the
56:30
Speaker 1: crucial question will it thrive? Will it not be uprooted
56:34
Speaker 1: and stripped of its fruit so that it withers? All
56:37
Speaker 1: its new growth will wither. It will not take a
56:40
Speaker 1: strong arm or many people to pull it up by
56:42
Speaker 1: the roots. The answer was obvious when someone tried to
56:46
Speaker 1: transplant a vine that was already established, especially if they
56:50
Speaker 1: did it by force, the vine would die. Zedekiah's rebellion
56:55
Speaker 1: against Babylon and his alliance with Egypt would not save Udah.
57:00
Speaker 1: It would destroy the kingdom completely. God explained the meaning directly.
57:06
Speaker 1: King Zedekiah had despised his oath to Nebuchadnezza and broken
57:11
Speaker 1: his covenant with Babylon. Even though he had given his
57:14
Speaker 1: hand in pledge and agreed to be Babylon's vassal. He
57:18
Speaker 1: had rebelled and sent envoys to Egypt asking for horses
57:22
Speaker 1: and a large army. Because Zedekiah had broken his sworn agreement,
57:26
Speaker 1: he would not escape. God himself would bring judgment on
57:31
Speaker 1: him for despising the oath and breaking the covenant. The
57:34
Speaker 1: king would be caught in God's snare and brought to Babylon,
57:38
Speaker 1: where he would be judged for his unfaithfulness. The Word
57:41
Speaker 1: of the Lord came to Ezekiel to address a saying
57:44
Speaker 1: that had become popular among the people of Israel. They
57:48
Speaker 1: were repeating a proverb that blamed their current troubles on
57:51
Speaker 1: their ancestors mistakes. The saying went, the parents eat sour
57:56
Speaker 1: grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge. This
58:00
Speaker 1: proverb suggested that children automatically suffered for their parents sins,
58:04
Speaker 1: that God punished innocent people for things their ancestors had done.
58:08
Speaker 1: The exiles were using this saying to claim they weren't
58:12
Speaker 1: responsible for their situation. They were just victims of previous
58:16
Speaker 1: generation's mistakes. But God wanted to set the record straight.
58:21
Speaker 1: As Chapter eighteen, verse three declares, as surely as I live,
58:25
Speaker 1: declares the Sovereign Lord, you will no longer quote this
58:28
Speaker 1: proverb in Israel. God was abolishing this excuse once and
58:32
Speaker 1: for all. People could no longer blame their parents or
58:36
Speaker 1: grandparents for their own problems. The truth was simple and revolutionary.
58:41
Speaker 1: For every one belongs to me, the parent as well
58:44
Speaker 1: as the child, both alike belonged to me. The one
58:48
Speaker 1: who sins is the one who will die. Each person
58:51
Speaker 1: was responsible for their own choices and would face the
58:54
Speaker 1: consequences of their own actions. To make this principle crystal clear,
58:59
Speaker 1: God gives Ezekiel a detailed example. Suppose there was a
59:03
Speaker 1: righteous man who did what was just and right. He
59:06
Speaker 1: didn't eat at mountain shrines or worship idols. He didn't
59:10
Speaker 1: commit adultery or sleep with a woman during her monthly period.
59:14
Speaker 1: He didn't oppress anyone, but returned what he took in
59:17
Speaker 1: pledge for a loan. This righteous man gave his food
59:22
Speaker 1: to the hungry and provided clothing for the naked. He
59:25
Speaker 1: didn't lend money at interest or take extra profit. He
59:28
Speaker 1: withheld his hand from doing wrong and judged fairly between people.
59:33
Speaker 1: He followed God's decrees and faithfully kept his laws. As
59:37
Speaker 1: Chapter eighteen, verse nine concludes, such a person is righteous,
59:42
Speaker 1: they will surely live, declares the sovereign Lord. But suppose
59:46
Speaker 1: this righteous man had a son who was violent and
59:49
Speaker 1: committed murder or did other things his father never did.
59:53
Speaker 1: This son ate at mountain shrines, committed adultery, oppressed the
59:57
Speaker 1: poor and needy, robbed people, and didn't return what he
1:00:01
Speaker 1: took as pledge. He worshiped idols, did detestable things, and
1:00:06
Speaker 1: lent money at interest. Would this wicked son live because
1:00:09
Speaker 1: his father was righteous? Absolutely not. Chapter eighteen, verse thirteen
1:00:14
Speaker 1: makes it clear. Will such a man live He will not,
1:00:18
Speaker 1: because he has done all these detestable things. He is
1:00:21
Speaker 1: to be put to death. His blood will be on
1:00:24
Speaker 1: his own head. But the story didn't end there. Suppose
1:00:29
Speaker 1: this wicked son had a son of his own who
1:00:31
Speaker 1: saw all the sins his father committed, but chose not
1:00:34
Speaker 1: to follow that example. This grandson refused to eat at
1:00:38
Speaker 1: mountain shrines or worship idols. He didn't commit adultery, oppress
1:00:42
Speaker 1: any one, or withhold pledges. He gave food to the hungry,
1:00:46
Speaker 1: provided clothing for the naked, and helped the poor. This
1:00:49
Speaker 1: third generation man withdrew his hand from sin and didn't
1:00:53
Speaker 1: take interest or profit from loans. He kept God's laws
1:00:57
Speaker 1: and followed his decrees. Would he die because of his
1:01:00
Speaker 1: father's sin? No? As chapter eighteen, verse seventeen promises he
1:01:05
Speaker 1: will not die for his father's sin. He will surely live.
1:01:10
Speaker 1: Each generation was judged on its own merits. The righteous
1:01:13
Speaker 1: father would live because of his righteousness. The wicked son
1:01:17
Speaker 1: would die because of his wickedness. The righteous grandson would
1:01:21
Speaker 1: live because of his righteousness, even though his father was wicked.
1:01:25
Speaker 1: God made his policy absolutely clear. The one who sins
1:01:31
Speaker 1: is the one who will die. The child will not
1:01:34
Speaker 1: share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent
1:01:36
Speaker 1: share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the
1:01:40
Speaker 1: righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of
1:01:43
Speaker 1: the wicked will be charged against them. But there was
1:01:47
Speaker 1: more good news. Even wicked people could change their destiny.
1:01:52
Speaker 1: If a wicked person turned away from all their sins,
1:01:55
Speaker 1: kept God's decrees, and did what was just and right,
1:01:59
Speaker 1: they would surely live and not die. God would not
1:02:03
Speaker 1: remember any of the sins they had committed. Their righteousness
1:02:06
Speaker 1: would save them. As Chapter eighteen, verse twenty three reveals
1:02:10
Speaker 1: God's heart. Do I take any pleasure in the death
1:02:13
Speaker 1: of the wicked, declares the sovereign Lord. Rather, am I
1:02:17
Speaker 1: not pleased when they turn from their ways and live
1:02:21
Speaker 1: the same principle worked in reverse. If a righteous person
1:02:24
Speaker 1: turned away from their righteousness and committed sin, doing the
1:02:28
Speaker 1: same detestable things that wicked people did, would they live. No,
1:02:34
Speaker 1: they would die because of their unfaithfulness. This wasn't unfair,
1:02:38
Speaker 1: It was perfectly just. Each person received exactly what their
1:02:42
Speaker 1: choices deserved. God judged people based on their current character
1:02:46
Speaker 1: and actions, not on their family history or past mistakes
1:02:50
Speaker 1: they had repented of. God told Ezekiel to take up
1:02:54
Speaker 1: a lament for the princes of Israel, using the image
1:02:57
Speaker 1: of a lioness and her cubs to tell the true
1:03:00
Speaker 1: magic story of Judah's royal family. This wasn't just history.
1:03:04
Speaker 1: It was a funeral song for a dynasty that was
1:03:07
Speaker 1: coming to an end. Chapter nineteen, verse two begins the lament.
1:03:12
Speaker 1: What a lioness was your mother among the lions. She
1:03:15
Speaker 1: lay down among them and reared her cubs. The mother
1:03:19
Speaker 1: lioness represented the kingdom of Judah, proud and powerful among
1:03:23
Speaker 1: the nations. She had raised several cubs who were destined
1:03:27
Speaker 1: to rule, but their stories would all end in tragedy.
1:03:31
Speaker 1: The first cub grew up to be a strong young
1:03:34
Speaker 1: lion who learned to tear his prey and devour people.
1:03:38
Speaker 1: The nations heard about him and trapped him in their pit,
1:03:41
Speaker 1: bringing him with hooks to the land of Egypt. This
1:03:44
Speaker 1: represented King Jehoahaz, who ruled for only three months before
1:03:49
Speaker 1: Pharaoh Necho captured him and took him to Egypt, where
1:03:52
Speaker 1: he died in exile. When the lioness saw that her
1:03:56
Speaker 1: hope was unfulfilled and her expectation was gone, she took
1:04:00
Speaker 1: another of her cubs and made him a strong lion.
1:04:04
Speaker 1: This second cub also learned to tear his prey and
1:04:08
Speaker 1: devour people. He broke down strongholds and devastated towns, terrifying
1:04:13
Speaker 1: the land and everything in it with his roaring. But
1:04:16
Speaker 1: the nations came against this lion, too, spreading their net
1:04:20
Speaker 1: to catch him, as Chapter nineteen, verse nine describes his
1:04:25
Speaker 1: fate with hooks, they pulled him into a cage and
1:04:28
Speaker 1: brought him to the king of Babylon. They put him
1:04:31
Speaker 1: in prison, so his roar was heard no longer on
1:04:35
Speaker 1: the mountains of Israel. This was King Jehoyacin, taken captive
1:04:40
Speaker 1: to Babylon when he was still young. The lament then
1:04:44
Speaker 1: shifted to a different image. Your mother was like a
1:04:47
Speaker 1: vine planted by the water, fruitful and full of branches.
1:04:51
Speaker 1: Because of abundant water, its branches were strong, fit for
1:04:55
Speaker 1: a ruler's scepter. It towered high above the thick foliage,
1:05:00
Speaker 1: conspicuous for its height and many branches. But this fruitful
1:05:04
Speaker 1: vine was uprooted in fury and thrown to the ground.
1:05:08
Speaker 1: The east wind made its shrivel. Its fruit was stripped off,
1:05:11
Speaker 1: its strong branches withered, and fire consumed them. Now it
1:05:16
Speaker 1: was transplanted to the desert in a dry and thirsty land.
1:05:20
Speaker 1: As Chapter nineteen, verse fourteen concludes, the lament fire spread
1:05:25
Speaker 1: from one of its main branches and consumed its fruit.
1:05:28
Speaker 1: No strong branches left on it fit for a ruler's scepter.
1:05:33
Speaker 1: The royal line of David was coming to an end,
1:05:36
Speaker 1: with no strong leadership left to guide the nation. In
1:05:40
Speaker 1: the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day,
1:05:43
Speaker 1: some elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord
1:05:46
Speaker 1: and sat down before Ezekiel. But God refused to let
1:05:50
Speaker 1: them inquire of him because their hearts were still full
1:05:53
Speaker 1: of rebellion and idolatry. Instead, God told Ezekiel to judge
1:05:59
Speaker 1: them by making them aware of the detestable practices of
1:06:02
Speaker 1: their ancestors. From the very beginning in Egypt, the Israelites
1:06:06
Speaker 1: had been rebellious. God had chosen them and sworn to
1:06:10
Speaker 1: bring them out of Egypt to a land flowing with
1:06:13
Speaker 1: milk and honey, but they had to get rid of
1:06:16
Speaker 1: their idols first. But they rebelled and wouldn't listen. They
1:06:20
Speaker 1: didn't throw away their idols or forsake the gods of Egypt.
1:06:24
Speaker 1: God was ready to pour out his wrath on them
1:06:27
Speaker 1: right there in Egypt, but he held back for the
1:06:30
Speaker 1: sake of his name, so the Nations wouldn't see him
1:06:33
Speaker 1: fail to deliver his people. Even after bringing them out
1:06:36
Speaker 1: of Egypt and giving them his laws in the wilderness,
1:06:40
Speaker 1: the people continued to rebel. They violated his laws, rejected
1:06:45
Speaker 1: his decrees, and desecrated his sabbaths. Their hearts were devoted
1:06:50
Speaker 1: to their idols rather than to God. Generation after generation
1:06:56
Speaker 1: repeated the same pattern of rebellion. God kept giving them
1:06:59
Speaker 1: che answers to obey, but they kept choosing to follow
1:07:02
Speaker 1: other gods instead. Now he was bringing them full circle.
1:07:07
Speaker 1: They would go back into exile, just like their ancestors
1:07:10
Speaker 1: had been slaves in Egypt. God would gather them from
1:07:14
Speaker 1: all the countries where they had been scattered and bring
1:07:17
Speaker 1: them into the wilderness of the nations. There he would
1:07:20
Speaker 1: judge them face to face, just as he had judged
1:07:22
Speaker 1: their ancestors in the wilderness after Egypt, As Chapter twenty,
1:07:27
Speaker 1: verse thirty eight promises, I will purd you of those
1:07:30
Speaker 1: who revolt and rebel against me, although I will bring
1:07:34
Speaker 1: them out of the land where they are living. Yet
1:07:36
Speaker 1: they will not enter the land of Israel. Only those
1:07:39
Speaker 1: who were truly faithful would be allowed to return to
1:07:42
Speaker 1: the promised land. The fire of Judgment was already kindling.
1:07:46
Speaker 1: God told Ezekiel to prophesy against the forest of the Negev,
1:07:50
Speaker 1: saying that fire would consume every green tree and every
1:07:54
Speaker 1: dry tree. The blazing flame would not be quenched, and
1:07:58
Speaker 1: every face from south to north would be scorched by it.
1:08:02
Speaker 1: When people saw this fire, they would know that the
1:08:04
Speaker 1: Lord had kindled it. All flesh would see that it
1:08:08
Speaker 1: would not be quenched. But when Ezekiel delivered this message,
1:08:12
Speaker 1: the people complained that he always spoke in parables they
1:08:14
Speaker 1: couldn't understand. So God gave him a clearer message. The
1:08:18
Speaker 1: sword of the Lord was being sharpened and polished, ready
1:08:22
Speaker 1: for slaughter. This sword would strike the Prince of Israel
1:08:25
Speaker 1: and all the people with him. God would test them
1:08:28
Speaker 1: with the sword, and it would not be turned back.
1:08:31
Speaker 1: The sword would strike again and again, a sword for
1:08:34
Speaker 1: great slaughter, closing in on them from every side. Hearts
1:08:38
Speaker 1: would melt with fear, and many would fall. God had
1:08:41
Speaker 1: stationed the sword for slaughter at all their gates, flashing
1:08:45
Speaker 1: like lightning, and grasped for slaughter. Chapter twenty one, verse
1:08:49
Speaker 1: twenty seven reveals the ultimate purpose. A ruin a ruin.
1:08:55
Speaker 1: I will make it a ruin. The crown will not
1:08:58
Speaker 1: be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall
1:09:01
Speaker 1: come to him. I will give it. The dividic kingdom
1:09:05
Speaker 1: would remain broken until the rightful king, the Messiah, came
1:09:09
Speaker 1: to claim his throne. The word of the Lord came
1:09:12
Speaker 1: to Ezekiel to address the nations that surrounded Israel, starting
1:09:16
Speaker 1: with those who had celebrated when Jerusalem fell. These neighboring
1:09:22
Speaker 1: countries thought they were safe from God's judgment, but they
1:09:25
Speaker 1: were about to learn that the God of Israel was
1:09:27
Speaker 1: also the God of all nations. First, God told Ezekiel
1:09:32
Speaker 1: to set his face against the Ammonites and prophesy against them.
1:09:36
Speaker 1: The Ammonites were descendants of Lot, who lived east of
1:09:39
Speaker 1: the Jordan River. When they saw Jerusalem being destroyed and
1:09:43
Speaker 1: the temple being defiled, they didn't feel sorry or offer help. Instead,
1:09:49
Speaker 1: they clapped their hands. In Joy, chapter twenty five, verse
1:09:53
Speaker 1: three reveals their attitude. Say to them, hear the word
1:09:58
Speaker 1: of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says.
1:10:02
Speaker 1: Because you said aha, over my sanctuary when it was desecrated,
1:10:07
Speaker 1: and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste,
1:10:10
Speaker 1: and over the people of Judah when they went into exile.
1:10:14
Speaker 1: The Ammonites had mocked God's holy place and laughed at
1:10:18
Speaker 1: his people's suffering. They thought Jerusalem's destruction proved their own
1:10:22
Speaker 1: gods were stronger than the Lord. But their celebration would
1:10:26
Speaker 1: be short lived. God promised to give the Ammonites to
1:10:29
Speaker 1: the people of the East as a possession. These eastern
1:10:33
Speaker 1: tribes would set up their camps and pitch their tents
1:10:36
Speaker 1: among them, eating their fruit and drinking their milk. The
1:10:40
Speaker 1: capital city of Rabbah would become a pasture for camels,
1:10:44
Speaker 1: and the whole land would become a resting place for flocks.
1:10:48
Speaker 1: Because the Ammonites had clapped their hands and stamped their
1:10:51
Speaker 1: feet and rejoiced with malicious hearts over Israel's destruction, God
1:10:56
Speaker 1: would stretch out his hand against them, as Chapter twenty five,
1:11:01
Speaker 1: verse seven warns, Therefore, I will stretch out my hand
1:11:05
Speaker 1: against you and give you as plunder to the nations.
1:11:08
Speaker 1: I will wipe you out from among the nations and
1:11:11
Speaker 1: exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and
1:11:15
Speaker 1: you will know that I am the Lord. Next came
1:11:20
Speaker 1: judgment on Moab and Sayr. The Moabites were also descendants
1:11:24
Speaker 1: of Lot, living south of Ammon. They had said that
1:11:28
Speaker 1: Judah was just like all the other nations, nothing special
1:11:31
Speaker 1: or different. They denied that Israel had any unique relationship
1:11:35
Speaker 1: with God. Because of this attitude, God would expose Moab's flank,
1:11:40
Speaker 1: removing the frontier towns that were the glory of the land.
1:11:44
Speaker 1: He would give Moab, along with the Ammonites, to the
1:11:46
Speaker 1: people of the east as a possession, so that the
1:11:49
Speaker 1: Ammonites would not be remembered among the nations. God would
1:11:52
Speaker 1: inflict punishment on Moab too, and they would know that
1:11:56
Speaker 1: he is the Lord. The Edomites faced judgment for their
1:12:00
Speaker 1: revenge against Judah. Edom had taken vengeance and made themselves
1:12:04
Speaker 1: guilty by taking revenge. As Chapter twenty five, verse thirteen
1:12:09
Speaker 1: declares God's response. Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says.
1:12:14
Speaker 1: I will stretch out my hand against Edom and kill
1:12:17
Speaker 1: both man and beast. I will lay at waste, and
1:12:20
Speaker 1: from Teamen to Didan, they will fall by the sword.
1:12:24
Speaker 1: God would take vengeance on Edom by the hand of
1:12:26
Speaker 1: his people Israel. The Israelites would deal with Edom in
1:12:30
Speaker 1: accordance with God's anger and wrath, and Edom would know
1:12:34
Speaker 1: his vengeance. Finally came the Philistines, who had acted in
1:12:38
Speaker 1: vengeance with malice in their hearts and destroyed out of
1:12:42
Speaker 1: ancient hostility. God would stretch out his hand against them,
1:12:46
Speaker 1: wipe out the Karathites, and destroy those remaining along the coast.
1:12:50
Speaker 1: He would carry out great vengeance on them with furious rebukes,
1:12:54
Speaker 1: and they would know that He is the Lord when
1:12:57
Speaker 1: his vengeance came upon them. In the elect seventh year,
1:13:00
Speaker 1: on the first day of the month, the word of
1:13:02
Speaker 1: the Lord came to Ezekiel concerning Tire, the great commercial
1:13:06
Speaker 1: city on the Mediterranean coast. Tire had been watching Jerusalem's
1:13:11
Speaker 1: destruction with greedy eyes seeing opportunity in Israel's tragedy. Tire
1:13:16
Speaker 1: had said about Jerusalem, as recorded in Chapter twenty six,
1:13:20
Speaker 1: verse two, Aha, the gate to the nations is broken,
1:13:24
Speaker 1: and its doors have swung open to me. Now that
1:13:27
Speaker 1: she lies in ruins, I will prosper. Tire viewed Jerusalem
1:13:32
Speaker 1: as a trade competitor, and its destruction meant more business
1:13:36
Speaker 1: for the Phoenician merchants. But God had different plans for
1:13:40
Speaker 1: the merchant city. He would bring many nations against Tire,
1:13:44
Speaker 1: like the sea, casting up its waves. They would destroy
1:13:47
Speaker 1: Tire's walls and pull down her towers, and God would
1:13:51
Speaker 1: scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock.
1:13:54
Speaker 1: The attack would come from the north, as chapter twenty six,
1:13:58
Speaker 1: verse seven, identify the enemy. For this is what the
1:14:02
Speaker 1: sovereign lord says. From the north, I am going to
1:14:05
Speaker 1: bring against Tire. Nebicud Nezzar, King of Babylon, King of kings,
1:14:10
Speaker 1: with horses and chariots, with horsemen and a great army.
1:14:15
Speaker 1: Nebuicud Nezza would lay siege to Tire with all the
1:14:17
Speaker 1: weapons of war. He would set up siege works, build
1:14:21
Speaker 1: a ramp up to the walls and raise his shields
1:14:24
Speaker 1: against the city. His battering rams would break down the walls,
1:14:28
Speaker 1: and his weapons would demolish the towers. The dust from
1:14:32
Speaker 1: his horses would cover the city, and the walls would
1:14:35
Speaker 1: tremble at the noise of the war horses, wagons and chariots.
1:14:39
Speaker 1: His horses hoofs would trample all the streets, and he
1:14:41
Speaker 1: would kill the people with the sword. The strong pillars
1:14:45
Speaker 1: that Tire were so proud of would fall to the ground.
1:14:48
Speaker 1: Tire's wealth would be plundered and merchandise looted. The walls
1:14:52
Speaker 1: would be broken down and the pleasant houses demolished. The stones, timber,
1:14:57
Speaker 1: and rubble would be thrown into the sea. God would
1:15:00
Speaker 1: put an end to the noisy songs, and the music
1:15:04
Speaker 1: of harps would be heard no more. Chapter twenty six,
1:15:08
Speaker 1: verse fourteen describes Tire's final fate. I will make you
1:15:12
Speaker 1: a bare rock, and you will become a place to
1:15:15
Speaker 1: spread fish nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I
1:15:19
Speaker 1: the Lord have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord. The coast
1:15:23
Speaker 1: lands would tremble when Tire fell. The princes of the
1:15:27
Speaker 1: coast would step down from their thrones, lay aside their robes,
1:15:31
Speaker 1: and clothe themselves with trembling. They would sit on the
1:15:34
Speaker 1: ground and tremble every moment. Appalled at what had happened
1:15:39
Speaker 1: to the great commercial center. God then told Ezekiel to
1:15:42
Speaker 1: take up a lament for tire, describing it as a
1:15:46
Speaker 1: beautiful ship, perfectly constructed for sailing the seas. Chapter twenty seven,
1:15:52
Speaker 1: verse four begins the description your domain was on the
1:15:56
Speaker 1: high seas. Your builders brought your beauty to This ship
1:16:01
Speaker 1: was made from the finest materials from around the world.
1:16:05
Speaker 1: Its planks were from pine trees of Senea, its mast
1:16:08
Speaker 1: from a cedar of Lebanon. Oars were made from oaks
1:16:11
Speaker 1: of Bashan, and the deck was made of cypress wood
1:16:14
Speaker 1: from the coasts of Cyprus, inlaid with ivory. The sail
1:16:18
Speaker 1: was made of fine embroidered linen from Egypt, serving as
1:16:22
Speaker 1: a banner. The awnings were blue and purple from the
1:16:25
Speaker 1: coasts of Elisha. Men from Saidon and Arvad were the
1:16:29
Speaker 1: oarsmen and tires. Skilled men were aboard as sailors. Veteran
1:16:33
Speaker 1: craftsmen from Biblos were aboard to cork the seams. All
1:16:37
Speaker 1: the ships of the sea and their sailors came alongside
1:16:40
Speaker 1: to trade for tires wares. The city was like a
1:16:44
Speaker 1: magnificent trading vessel, bringing together goods from every corner of
1:16:48
Speaker 1: the known world. But this beautiful ship would be wrecked
1:16:52
Speaker 1: by the east winds in the heart of the seas.
1:16:55
Speaker 1: Chapter twenty seven, verse thirty four describes the disaster. Now, oh,
1:17:00
Speaker 1: you are shattered by the sea in the depths of
1:17:02
Speaker 1: the waters. Your wares and all your company have gone
1:17:06
Speaker 1: down with you. When Tire's king heard these prophecies, he
1:17:10
Speaker 1: probably thought he was safe because of his wisdom and power.
1:17:14
Speaker 1: So God gave Ezekiel a message specifically for the ruler
1:17:18
Speaker 1: of Tire, addressing his pride and arrogance. Chapter twenty eight,
1:17:22
Speaker 1: verse two records God's words to this proud king son
1:17:25
Speaker 1: of Man. Say to the ruler of Tire, this is
1:17:29
Speaker 1: what the sovereign Lord says. In the pride of your heart.
1:17:32
Speaker 1: You say, I am a god. I sit on the
1:17:35
Speaker 1: throne of a God in the heart of the seas.
1:17:38
Speaker 1: But you are a mere mortal and not a god.
1:17:41
Speaker 1: Though you think you are as wise as a god.
1:17:45
Speaker 1: The king of Tire thought his wisdom and wealth made
1:17:47
Speaker 1: him equal to the gods. He believed his position was
1:17:50
Speaker 1: secure and his power unlimited. But God would bring foreigners
1:17:55
Speaker 1: against him, the most ruthless of nations. They would draw
1:17:58
Speaker 1: their swords against his beauty and wisdom and pierce his
1:18:02
Speaker 1: shining splendor. In the tenth year, in the tenth month,
1:18:06
Speaker 1: on the twelfth day, the word of the Lord came
1:18:09
Speaker 1: to Ezekiel concerning Egypt, the ancient superpower that Israel had
1:18:14
Speaker 1: often turned to for help against their enemies. But Egypt
1:18:18
Speaker 1: had proven to be an unreliable ally, and now judgment
1:18:23
Speaker 1: was coming to the land of the Nile. God told
1:18:25
Speaker 1: Ezekiel to set his face against Pharaoh, King of Egypt,
1:18:29
Speaker 1: and prophesy against him and all Egypt. The Egyptian king
1:18:33
Speaker 1: thought he was powerful and secure, but God saw him differently,
1:18:37
Speaker 1: as Chapter twenty nine, verse three describes God's view. Speak
1:18:41
Speaker 1: to him and say this is what the sovereign Lord says.
1:18:45
Speaker 1: I am against you, Pharaoh, King of Egypt, you great monster.
1:18:49
Speaker 1: Lying among your streams, you say the Nile belongs to me.
1:18:54
Speaker 1: I made it for myself. If Pharaoh claimed to own
1:18:58
Speaker 1: the Nile River, and even both did that he had
1:19:00
Speaker 1: created it himself. This was ultimate pride, taking credit for
1:19:05
Speaker 1: what God had made and acting as if he controlled
1:19:08
Speaker 1: the source of Egypt's life and prosperity. But God would
1:19:12
Speaker 1: put hooks in Pharaoh's jaws and make the fish of
1:19:15
Speaker 1: his streams stick to his scales. He would pull him
1:19:18
Speaker 1: out from among his streams with all the fish sticking
1:19:21
Speaker 1: to his scales. Then he would leave him in the desert,
1:19:25
Speaker 1: him and all the fish of his streams. Chapter twenty nine,
1:19:28
Speaker 1: verse five explains what would happen next. I will leave
1:19:31
Speaker 1: you in the desert. You and all the fish of
1:19:34
Speaker 1: your streams. You will fall on the open field and
1:19:37
Speaker 1: not be gathered or picked up. I will give you
1:19:40
Speaker 1: as food to the beasts of the earth and the
1:19:42
Speaker 1: birds of the sky. Egypt had been like a staff
1:19:47
Speaker 1: of reed to Israel. It looked strong from a distance,
1:19:50
Speaker 1: but when people leaned on it for support, it would
1:19:53
Speaker 1: splinter and pierce their hand. When Israel relied on Egypt
1:19:57
Speaker 1: for military help, Egypt failed them and made their situation
1:20:00
Speaker 1: worse instead of better. Because Egypt had been an unreliable
1:20:05
Speaker 1: ally and had failed to keep its promises, God would
1:20:09
Speaker 1: bring a sword against the land. He would kill both
1:20:13
Speaker 1: man and beast, making Egypt desolate. From Migdol to Aswan
1:20:17
Speaker 1: as far as the border of Kush. For forty years,
1:20:21
Speaker 1: no foot of man or animal would pass through Egypt.
1:20:24
Speaker 1: It would be uninhabited for forty years among desolate lands,
1:20:29
Speaker 1: and God would scatter the Egyptians among the nations and
1:20:32
Speaker 1: disperse them through the countries. But after forty years, God
1:20:37
Speaker 1: would gather the Egyptians from the nations where they had
1:20:40
Speaker 1: been scattered. He would bring them back from captivity and
1:20:43
Speaker 1: return them to Upper Egypt, the land of their ancestry.
1:20:47
Speaker 1: There they would be a lowly kingdom, never again exalting
1:20:51
Speaker 1: itself above the other nations. Chapter twenty nine, verse fifteen
1:20:55
Speaker 1: describes Egypt's reduced status. It will be the lowliest of
1:21:00
Speaker 1: kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the other nations.
1:21:04
Speaker 1: I will make it so weak that it will never
1:21:06
Speaker 1: again rule over the nations. Egypt would no longer be
1:21:10
Speaker 1: a source of confidence for Israel, but would be a
1:21:13
Speaker 1: reminder of their sin in turning to Egypt for help
1:21:17
Speaker 1: instead of trusting in God. When this happened, the Israelites
1:21:21
Speaker 1: would know that the Lord is the sovereign Lord. God
1:21:24
Speaker 1: also revealed that Nebucud Nezar had worked hard against tire,
1:21:29
Speaker 1: making every head bald and every shoulder roar from carrying
1:21:32
Speaker 1: loads during the siege. Yet neither he nor his army
1:21:37
Speaker 1: got any reward from Tire for all the work they
1:21:40
Speaker 1: had done against it. Therefore, God would give Egypt to
1:21:43
Speaker 1: nebucud Nezza as wages for his army. Chapter twenty nine,
1:21:48
Speaker 1: verse twenty explains, I have given him Egypt as a
1:21:52
Speaker 1: reward for his efforts, because he and his army did
1:21:56
Speaker 1: it for me, declares the sovereign Lord of the Lord
1:22:00
Speaker 1: came to Ezekiel again with more details about Egypt's coming destruction.
1:22:05
Speaker 1: This wasn't just punishment for Egypt's sins. It was also
1:22:09
Speaker 1: payment to nebucud Nezza for the work he had done
1:22:12
Speaker 1: as God's instrument of judgment against other nations. God told
1:22:16
Speaker 1: Ezekiel to prophesy and say that the day of the
1:22:19
Speaker 1: Lord was near, a day of clouds, a time of
1:22:22
Speaker 1: doom for the nations. As chapter thirty, verse four warns,
1:22:27
Speaker 1: a sword will come against Egypt, and anguish will come
1:22:31
Speaker 1: upon Kush. When the slain fall in Egypt, her wealth
1:22:35
Speaker 1: will be carried away and her foundations torn down. The
1:22:39
Speaker 1: destruction wouldn't be limited to Egypt alone, Kush, Libya, Lydia,
1:22:44
Speaker 1: all Arabia, cub and the people of the covenant land
1:22:48
Speaker 1: would fall by the sword along with Egypt. All of
1:22:51
Speaker 1: Egypt's allies and supporters would be swept away. In the
1:22:55
Speaker 1: same judgment, Egypt's proud strength would come to an end.
1:23:00
Speaker 1: From Migdol to a Swan, people would fall by the sword.
1:23:04
Speaker 1: Within Egypt's borders. The land would be desolate among devastated lands,
1:23:09
Speaker 1: and Egypt's cities would lie in ruins. Among ruined cities,
1:23:14
Speaker 1: fire would consume Egypt's strongholds, and young men would fall
1:23:18
Speaker 1: by the sword while women went into captivity. At Tapanhis
1:23:23
Speaker 1: the day would be dark when God broke the yoke
1:23:26
Speaker 1: of Egypt. There her proud strength would come to an end,
1:23:30
Speaker 1: and she would be covered with clouds while her daughters
1:23:32
Speaker 1: went into captivity. God would inflict punishment on Egypt through
1:23:37
Speaker 1: the hands of Nebucudnezzar, king of Babylon. As Chapter thirty,
1:23:41
Speaker 1: verse twenty four describes the process. I will strengthen the
1:23:45
Speaker 1: arms of the King of Babylon and put my sword
1:23:49
Speaker 1: in his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh,
1:23:52
Speaker 1: and he will groan before him like a mortally wounded man.
1:23:56
Speaker 1: God would strengthen Babylon's arms while breaking Egypt's arms. He
1:24:01
Speaker 1: would put his sword in the hand of the King
1:24:03
Speaker 1: of Babylon and spread it against Egypt. The Egyptians would
1:24:07
Speaker 1: be scattered among the nations and dispersed through the countries.
1:24:11
Speaker 1: This was divine justice in action. Nebucad Neza had served
1:24:16
Speaker 1: as God's instrument against Tire, working hard in that siege,
1:24:20
Speaker 1: even though he didn't receive the plunder he expected. Now
1:24:23
Speaker 1: God would compensate him by giving him Egypt as wages
1:24:27
Speaker 1: for his service. The King of Babylon would come with
1:24:30
Speaker 1: his army, the most ruthless of nations, and draw their
1:24:34
Speaker 1: swords against Egypt. They would fill the land with the slain,
1:24:38
Speaker 1: and God would dry up the streams of the Nile
1:24:41
Speaker 1: and sell the land to evil men. Chapter thirty, verse
1:24:46
Speaker 1: thirteen lists some of the specific judgments coming. This is
1:24:51
Speaker 1: what the sovereign Lord says. I will destroy the idols
1:24:55
Speaker 1: and put an end to the images in Memphis. No
1:24:58
Speaker 1: longer will there be a prince in Egypt, and I
1:25:01
Speaker 1: will spread fear throughout the land. Egypt's religious system would
1:25:06
Speaker 1: be shattered, along with its political power. The idols that
1:25:10
Speaker 1: Egyptians worshiped would be destroyed, and the images they trusted
1:25:14
Speaker 1: in would be broken. No native prince would rule over
1:25:18
Speaker 1: Egypt again. It would be governed by foreigners. God would
1:25:22
Speaker 1: set fire to Zoen, inflict punishment on Thebes, pour out
1:25:27
Speaker 1: his wrath on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and cut
1:25:31
Speaker 1: off the hordes of Thebes. The young men of Heliopolis
1:25:34
Speaker 1: and Bubastis would fall by the sword, and the cities
1:25:38
Speaker 1: themselves would go into captivity. In the eleventh year, in
1:25:42
Speaker 1: the third month, on the first day, the word of
1:25:45
Speaker 1: the Lord came to Ezekiel with a parable about Egypt
1:25:48
Speaker 1: that would show Pharaoh his true destiny. God wanted the
1:25:52
Speaker 1: Egyptian king to understand what happened to other great powers
1:25:57
Speaker 1: that had trusted in their own strength and beauty. God
1:26:00
Speaker 1: told Ezekiel to speak to Pharaoh, King of Egypt, and
1:26:03
Speaker 1: his hordes, asking them who they were like in their greatness.
1:26:07
Speaker 1: The answer came in the form of a story about
1:26:11
Speaker 1: the most magnificent tree that had ever existed. Chapter thirty one,
1:26:16
Speaker 1: verse three begins the parable consider as Syria once a
1:26:20
Speaker 1: cedar in Lebanon with beautiful branches, overshadowing the forest. It
1:26:25
Speaker 1: was majestic in height, its top above the thick foliage.
1:26:30
Speaker 1: This cedar represented as Syria, which had once been the
1:26:33
Speaker 1: greatest empire in the world. It was planted by abundant
1:26:37
Speaker 1: waters that made it grow tall and strong. Its branches
1:26:41
Speaker 1: became long and spread out because of the plentiful water
1:26:45
Speaker 1: that nourished its roots. The tree became so magnificent that
1:26:49
Speaker 1: it towered higher than all the trees of the field.
1:26:52
Speaker 1: Its boughs increased, and its branches grew long. Because of
1:26:57
Speaker 1: abundant waters. All the birds of the sea guy nested
1:27:00
Speaker 1: in its boughs, all the animals of the wild gave
1:27:03
Speaker 1: birth under its branches, and all the great nations lived
1:27:07
Speaker 1: in its shade. Chapter thirty one, verse eight describes its
1:27:10
Speaker 1: unmatched beauty. The cedars in the garden of God could
1:27:15
Speaker 1: not rival it, nor could the junipers equal its boughs,
1:27:19
Speaker 1: nor could the plane trees compare with its branches. No
1:27:22
Speaker 1: tree in the garden of God could match its beauty.
1:27:27
Speaker 1: God had made this tree beautiful with abundant branches, and
1:27:31
Speaker 1: all the trees of Eden envied it. It was the
1:27:34
Speaker 1: most spectacular tree in God's garden. Admired by every other
1:27:39
Speaker 1: tree and creature. But pride entered the heart of this
1:27:42
Speaker 1: great cedar. Because it was taller than all other trees,
1:27:46
Speaker 1: and its top was among the thick foliage, its heart
1:27:50
Speaker 1: became proud of its height. This pride would lead to
1:27:53
Speaker 1: its destruction, as Chapter thirty one, verse eleven explains God's judgment. Therefore,
1:28:00
Speaker 1: I gave it into the hands of the ruler of
1:28:02
Speaker 1: the nations for him to deal with. According to its wickedness,
1:28:06
Speaker 1: I cast it aside. The most ruthless of foreign nations
1:28:10
Speaker 1: cut down this magnificent tree and left it. Its branches
1:28:15
Speaker 1: fell on the mountains and in all the valleys, and
1:28:18
Speaker 1: its boughs lay broken in all the ravines of the land.
1:28:23
Speaker 1: All the nations of the earth came out from under
1:28:25
Speaker 1: its shade and left it. When the great cedar fell,
1:28:30
Speaker 1: it went down to the realm of the dead, along
1:28:33
Speaker 1: with all the other trees of Eden, all the well
1:28:36
Speaker 1: watered trees, the choicest and best of Lebanon, were consoled
1:28:40
Speaker 1: in the earth below when the cedar joined them in death.
1:28:44
Speaker 1: The message to Pharaoh was clear, just as Assyria had
1:28:48
Speaker 1: been like a magnificent cedar that grew proud and was
1:28:51
Speaker 1: cut down, so Egypt would face the same fate. No
1:28:56
Speaker 1: tree should ever again grow so high as to reach
1:28:59
Speaker 1: the thick folio, or be proud because of its height.
1:29:03
Speaker 1: Chapter thirty one, verse eighteen drives home the point which
1:29:07
Speaker 1: of the trees of Eden can be compared with you
1:29:10
Speaker 1: in splendor and majesty. Yet you too will be brought down,
1:29:14
Speaker 1: with the trees of Eden, to the earth below. You
1:29:17
Speaker 1: will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.
1:29:22
Speaker 1: This is Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the sovereign Lord.
1:29:26
Speaker 1: In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the
1:29:28
Speaker 1: first day, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel
1:29:32
Speaker 1: with a lament for Pharaoh, king of Egypt. This was
1:29:35
Speaker 1: a funeral song for a ruler who was still alive,
1:29:39
Speaker 1: but whose doom was already sealed in God's plan. God
1:29:44
Speaker 1: told Ezekiel to take up this lament and say to
1:29:47
Speaker 1: Pharaoh that he was like a lion among the nations,
1:29:50
Speaker 1: but also like a monster in the seas. As Chapter
1:29:53
Speaker 1: thirty two, verse two describes, you are like a lion
1:29:57
Speaker 1: among the nations. You are like a mo monster in
1:30:00
Speaker 1: the seas, thrashing about in your streams, churning the water
1:30:04
Speaker 1: with your feet and muddying the streams. Pharaoh thought he
1:30:08
Speaker 1: was a mighty lion ruling over other nations. But God
1:30:12
Speaker 1: saw him as a dangerous sea monster that thrashed around
1:30:15
Speaker 1: in the waters, stirring up trouble and making everything muddy
1:30:19
Speaker 1: and unclear. God would spread his net over this monster
1:30:24
Speaker 1: and haul him up. In his Dragnet, Chapter thirty two,
1:30:27
Speaker 1: verse four explains what would happen next. I will throw
1:30:30
Speaker 1: you on the land and hurl you on the open field.
1:30:34
Speaker 1: I will let all the birds of the sky settle
1:30:37
Speaker 1: on you, and all the animals of the wild gorge
1:30:40
Speaker 1: themselves on you. The great dragon would be pulled from
1:30:44
Speaker 1: the water and thrown on to dry land, where he
1:30:47
Speaker 1: couldn't survive. Birds and wild animals would feast on his flesh,
1:30:51
Speaker 1: and his blood would drench the mountains, while the ravines
1:30:54
Speaker 1: would be filled with his remains. When God extinguished Pharaoh,
1:30:58
Speaker 1: he would cover the heavens and darken their stars. He
1:31:02
Speaker 1: would cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon
1:31:04
Speaker 1: would not give its light. All the shining lights in
1:31:07
Speaker 1: the heavens would be darkened because of Egypt, and darkness
1:31:11
Speaker 1: would be brought over the whole land. The hearts of
1:31:14
Speaker 1: many peoples would be troubled when God brought about Pharaoh's
1:31:17
Speaker 1: destruction among the nations. Many peoples would be appalled at
1:31:21
Speaker 1: him when God brandished his sword before them, and they
1:31:24
Speaker 1: would tremble every moment for their lives. Chapter thirty two,
1:31:28
Speaker 1: verse eleven reveals the instrument of judgment. For this is
1:31:32
Speaker 1: what the sovereign Lord says. The sword of the King
1:31:35
Speaker 1: of Babylon will come against you. Nebucadnezar's sword would cause
1:31:40
Speaker 1: Pharaoh's hordes to fall, the most ruthless of all nations,
1:31:44
Speaker 1: would shatter Egypt's pride, and all her hordes would be overthrown.
1:31:49
Speaker 1: God would destroy all her cattle from beside abundant waters,
1:31:53
Speaker 1: and no longer would the foot of man or the
1:31:55
Speaker 1: hoofs of beasts muddy them. The waters would settle and
1:31:58
Speaker 1: flow like oil, smooth and undisturbed. When God made Egypt
1:32:03
Speaker 1: desolate and strip the land of everything in it, when
1:32:06
Speaker 1: he struck down all who lived there, then people would
1:32:09
Speaker 1: know that He is the Lord. This was the lament
1:32:12
Speaker 1: that would be sung for Egypt. The daughters of the
1:32:15
Speaker 1: nations would chant it as a funeral song for Egypt
1:32:19
Speaker 1: and all her hordes. In the twelfth year, on the
1:32:22
Speaker 1: fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord
1:32:25
Speaker 1: came to Ezekiel with instructions to wail for the hordes
1:32:29
Speaker 1: of Egypt and consign them to the earth below along
1:32:32
Speaker 1: with the daughters of mighty nations. God told Ezekiel to
1:32:37
Speaker 1: ask Egypt if she was more favored than other nations,
1:32:41
Speaker 1: than to tell her to go down and be laid
1:32:43
Speaker 1: among the uncircumcised. Egypt would fall among those killed by
1:32:48
Speaker 1: the sword, and the sword was drawn to drag her
1:32:52
Speaker 1: and all her hordes away. From within the realm of
1:32:55
Speaker 1: the dead, the mighty leaders would speak about Egypt and
1:32:58
Speaker 1: her allies, as Chapter thirty two, Verse twenty one records
1:33:02
Speaker 1: their words. From within the realm of the Dead, the
1:33:06
Speaker 1: mighty Leaders will say of Egypt and her allies, they
1:33:10
Speaker 1: have come down, and they lie with the uncircumcised, with
1:33:14
Speaker 1: those killed by the sword. In this realm of the dead,
1:33:18
Speaker 1: Egypt would find herself among other great nations that had
1:33:22
Speaker 1: already fallen. First was Assyria, once the mightiest empire in
1:33:27
Speaker 1: the world. She was there with her whole army, all
1:33:30
Speaker 1: of them slain fallen by the sword. Their graves surrounded
1:33:34
Speaker 1: her grave, all of them uncircumcised, killed by the sword.
1:33:40
Speaker 1: Assyria had once spread terror in the land of the living,
1:33:43
Speaker 1: but now she bore her shame with those who went
1:33:46
Speaker 1: down to the pit. She was placed among the slain,
1:33:49
Speaker 1: with graves all around her army, all who had fallen
1:33:52
Speaker 1: by the sword. Next was Elam, with all her hordes
1:33:56
Speaker 1: around her grave. All of them were slain, fallen by
1:34:00
Speaker 1: the sword, who had gone down, uncircumcised, to the earth below.
1:34:04
Speaker 1: They had spread their terror in the land of the living,
1:34:07
Speaker 1: but now they bore their shame with those who went
1:34:09
Speaker 1: down to the pit. A bed was made for Elam
1:34:13
Speaker 1: among the slain, with all her hordes around her grave.
1:34:16
Speaker 1: All of them were uncircumcised, killed by the sword, because
1:34:20
Speaker 1: their terror had spread in the land of the living.
1:34:23
Speaker 1: They bore their shame with those who went down to
1:34:25
Speaker 1: the pit. There was Meshek and Tubul, with all their hordes,
1:34:29
Speaker 1: their graves all around them. All of them were uncircumcised,
1:34:34
Speaker 1: killed by the sword, because they spread their terror in
1:34:36
Speaker 1: the land of the living. But they did not lie
1:34:40
Speaker 1: with the fallen warriors of old, who went down to
1:34:43
Speaker 1: the realm of the dead with their weapons of war.
1:34:46
Speaker 1: These ancient warriors had their swords placed under their heads
1:34:50
Speaker 1: and their shields resting on their bones. Because the terror
1:34:53
Speaker 1: of these warriors had stalked through the land of the living,
1:34:56
Speaker 1: but the more recent fallen nations didn't receive much honor.
1:35:00
Speaker 1: Chapter thirty two, verse twenty eight addresses Egypt directly, You too,
1:35:05
Speaker 1: Pharaoh will be broken and will lie among the uncircumcised
1:35:09
Speaker 1: with those killed by the sword. There was Edom, her
1:35:13
Speaker 1: kings and all her princes, who, despite their power, were
1:35:17
Speaker 1: laid with those killed by the sword. They lay with
1:35:20
Speaker 1: the uncircumcised, with those who went down to the pit.
1:35:23
Speaker 1: All the princes of the North were there too, and
1:35:26
Speaker 1: all the Sidonians who went down with the slain in disgrace,
1:35:30
Speaker 1: despite the terror caused by their power. They lay uncircumcised
1:35:35
Speaker 1: with those killed by the sword, and bore their shame
1:35:38
Speaker 1: with those who went down to the pit. When Pharaoh
1:35:41
Speaker 1: saw all these fallen nations in the realm of the dead,
1:35:44
Speaker 1: he would be consoled for all his hordes that were
1:35:47
Speaker 1: killed by the sword, even though God had caused his
1:35:51
Speaker 1: terror to spread in the land of the living. Pharaoh
1:35:54
Speaker 1: would be laid among the uncircumcised with those killed by
1:35:58
Speaker 1: the sword, along with all his hordes. Through all these
1:36:02
Speaker 1: prophecies against the nations, one truth rang clear. No nation
1:36:08
Speaker 1: could stand against the Lord God of Israel. From the
1:36:11
Speaker 1: small neighboring countries that had mocked Jerusalem's fall to the
1:36:15
Speaker 1: great superpowers that had seemed invincible, all would face the
1:36:19
Speaker 1: same divine judgment. The pattern was always the same. Each
1:36:24
Speaker 1: nation had committed specific sins against God and his people.
1:36:28
Speaker 1: Some had rejoiced over Israel's destruction, others had been unreliable allies,
1:36:34
Speaker 1: and still others had grown proud because of their power
1:36:37
Speaker 1: and wealth. Amon had clapped and stamped in celebration when
1:36:42
Speaker 1: Jerusalem fell. Moab had claimed Israel was no different from
1:36:45
Speaker 1: other nations. Edom had taken revenge with ancient hatred. The
1:36:50
Speaker 1: Philistines had acted with malice and destroyed out of old hostility.
1:36:55
Speaker 1: Tire had seen opportunity in Jerusalem's destruction, hoping to profit
1:36:59
Speaker 1: from israel tragedy. Her king had grown so proud that
1:37:03
Speaker 1: he claimed to be a god sitting on a divine throne.
1:37:06
Speaker 1: Egypt had been a broken reed that failed Israel when
1:37:10
Speaker 1: support was needed most, but God's justice was perfect and unavoidable.
1:37:16
Speaker 1: The same Babylonian army that had destroyed Jerusalem would march
1:37:21
Speaker 1: against these other nations. Nebucan Neza would receive payment for
1:37:25
Speaker 1: his services by conquering Egypt. After working so hard against Tire,
1:37:30
Speaker 1: The great Cedar of Assyria had already fallen, teaching all
1:37:34
Speaker 1: other trees not to grow proud because of their height.
1:37:37
Speaker 1: Pharaoh the sea monster would be caught in God's net
1:37:40
Speaker 1: and thrown on to dry land to die. All the
1:37:44
Speaker 1: mighty nations would find themselves together in the realm of
1:37:47
Speaker 1: the dead, their power and pride forgotten. Chapter thirty, verse
1:37:52
Speaker 1: twenty six summarizes the result. I will disperse the Egyptians
1:37:56
Speaker 1: among the nations and scatter them through the countries. Then
1:38:00
Speaker 1: they will know that I am the Lord. The sword
1:38:04
Speaker 1: of divine judgment had been unsheathed and would not be
1:38:07
Speaker 1: turned back. It would strike nation after nation until all
1:38:12
Speaker 1: the earth acknowledged that the Lord is God. No power
1:38:15
Speaker 1: on earth could stand against him, and no alliance could
1:38:19
Speaker 1: provide protection from his wrath. The nations that had seemed
1:38:22
Speaker 1: so strong and permanent were revealed to be as temporary
1:38:26
Speaker 1: as flowers in the field. Their armies, their wealth, their alliances,
1:38:31
Speaker 1: and their gods all proved powerless when the day of
1:38:34
Speaker 1: the Lord came upon them. Through it all, God's purpose
1:38:38
Speaker 1: remained the same, that all people would know that He
1:38:41
Speaker 1: is the Lord, whether through blessing or judgment, through mercy
1:38:45
Speaker 1: or wrath, the result was always recognition of His sovereignty
1:38:49
Speaker 1: over all nations and peoples. The word of the Lord
1:38:53
Speaker 1: came to Ezekiel again, renewing his calling as a watchman
1:38:58
Speaker 1: for Israel. God ex explained the watchman's duty using a
1:39:02
Speaker 1: simple comparison. When people chose a man as their watchman,
1:39:07
Speaker 1: he would stand on the wall watching for danger. If
1:39:10
Speaker 1: he saw the sword coming, he would blow his trumpet
1:39:13
Speaker 1: to warn everyone. Chapter thirty three, verse four describes what
1:39:17
Speaker 1: happened next. Then, if anyone hears the trumpet but does
1:39:21
Speaker 1: not heed the warning, and the sword comes and takes
1:39:24
Speaker 1: their life, their blood will be on their own head.
1:39:28
Speaker 1: The watchman's job was to give the warning. What people
1:39:32
Speaker 1: did with it was their choice. God had appointed Ezekiel
1:39:36
Speaker 1: as Israel's watchman. When he heard God's word, he must
1:39:39
Speaker 1: warn the people. If God said to a wicked person,
1:39:43
Speaker 1: you will surely die, and Ezekiel didn't warn them, their
1:39:47
Speaker 1: blood would be on his head. But if he warned
1:39:50
Speaker 1: them and they didn't turn, they would die in their sin,
1:39:53
Speaker 1: but Ezekiel would be safe. The people were saying something
1:39:57
Speaker 1: that showed their despair. Our offenses and sins weigh us down,
1:40:02
Speaker 1: and we are wasting away because of them. How then
1:40:05
Speaker 1: can we live? They felt hopeless under their guilt, but
1:40:09
Speaker 1: God had good news, as Chapter thirty three, verse eleven declares,
1:40:13
Speaker 1: say to them, as surely as I live, declares the
1:40:16
Speaker 1: sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of
1:40:19
Speaker 1: the wicked, but rather that they turned from their ways
1:40:22
Speaker 1: and live. Turn turn from your evil ways? Why will
1:40:27
Speaker 1: you die? People of Israel? A righteous person who turned
1:40:31
Speaker 1: to evil wouldn't be saved by past good deeds, but
1:40:35
Speaker 1: a wicked person who turned from sin and did what
1:40:38
Speaker 1: was just and right would surely live. None of their
1:40:42
Speaker 1: past sins would be remembered against them. In the twelfth
1:40:46
Speaker 1: year of exile, a man who had escaped Jerusalem came
1:40:49
Speaker 1: to Ezekiel, saying, the city has fallen. Now that Jerusalem
1:40:53
Speaker 1: had fallen, some people in the ruins thought they could
1:40:56
Speaker 1: possess the land, but God warned that those in ruins
1:40:59
Speaker 1: would fall by the sword. Those in the country would
1:41:02
Speaker 1: be devoured by wild animals, and those in strongholds would
1:41:07
Speaker 1: die of plague. The word of the Lord came to
1:41:10
Speaker 1: Ezekiel about israel shepherds, the leaders who were supposed to
1:41:14
Speaker 1: care for God's people. These shepherds had failed completely in
1:41:18
Speaker 1: their duties. Chapter thirty four, verse two declares, Son of
1:41:22
Speaker 1: Man prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say
1:41:26
Speaker 1: to them, this is what the Sovereign Lord says. Woe
1:41:30
Speaker 1: to you, shepherds of Israel, who only take care of yourselves.
1:41:33
Speaker 1: Should not shepherds take care of the flock. These leaders
1:41:36
Speaker 1: fed themselves instead of the flock. They ate the best food,
1:41:40
Speaker 1: wore fine clothes, and killed the choice animals, but didn't
1:41:44
Speaker 1: care for the sheep. They hadn't strengthened the weak, healed
1:41:48
Speaker 1: the sick, or brought back the lost. They ruled harshly
1:41:52
Speaker 1: and brutally. Because there was no real shepherd. The sheep
1:41:55
Speaker 1: scattered and became food for wild animals. They wandered over
1:42:00
Speaker 1: the mountains and hills, scattered everywhere, with no one looking
1:42:03
Speaker 1: for them. God was angry with these false shepherds. He
1:42:07
Speaker 1: would remove them from tending the flock and rescue his
1:42:10
Speaker 1: sheep from their mouths. Since human shepherds had failed, God
1:42:14
Speaker 1: himself would search for his sheep and care for them.
1:42:17
Speaker 1: He would bring them out from the nations and gather
1:42:20
Speaker 1: them from all countries. He would bring them to their
1:42:22
Speaker 1: own land and feed them on Israel's mountains. As Chapter
1:42:26
Speaker 1: thirty four, verse fifteen promises, I myself will tend my
1:42:31
Speaker 1: sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord.
1:42:36
Speaker 1: God would search for the lost, bring back the strays,
1:42:40
Speaker 1: bind up the injured, and strengthen the weak. But the
1:42:43
Speaker 1: fat and strong he would destroy shepherding the flock with justice.
1:42:48
Speaker 1: He would place over them one shepherd, his servant, David,
1:42:51
Speaker 1: who would tend them and be their shepherd. God would
1:42:54
Speaker 1: be their God, and David would be prince among them.
1:42:59
Speaker 1: The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel to prophesy
1:43:01
Speaker 1: against Mount Sayr, where the Edomites lived. Edom was Israel's
1:43:06
Speaker 1: brother nation, but they had shown only hatred toward their relatives.
1:43:11
Speaker 1: Chapter thirty five, verse three declares God's judgment. This is
1:43:16
Speaker 1: what the Sovereign Lord says. I am against you Mount Sayr,
1:43:20
Speaker 1: and I will stretch out my hand against you and
1:43:23
Speaker 1: make you a desolate waste. Edom would become desolate because
1:43:28
Speaker 1: of their ancient hostility toward Israel. When Israel was in trouble,
1:43:33
Speaker 1: Edom had delivered them to the sword. Instead of helping.
1:43:37
Speaker 1: At Israel's time of calamity, Edom had joined their enemies.
1:43:41
Speaker 1: God would pursue Edom with bloodshed, since they hadn't hated bloodshed.
1:43:46
Speaker 1: He would make Mount Sayr desolate and cut off all
1:43:49
Speaker 1: who traveled through it. The mountains would be filled with
1:43:52
Speaker 1: the slain, and the towns would never be inhabited again.
1:43:57
Speaker 1: Edom had said the two nations and countries would be
1:43:59
Speaker 1: there to possess even though the Lord was there. God
1:44:04
Speaker 1: had heard all their contemptuous words against Israel's mountains. As
1:44:08
Speaker 1: Chapter thirty five, Verse fourteen announces, this is what the
1:44:12
Speaker 1: sovereign Lord says, while the whole earth rejoices, I will
1:44:16
Speaker 1: make you desolate. Just as Edom rejoiced over Israel's desolation,
1:44:22
Speaker 1: God would make them desolate mount Sair and all Edom
1:44:26
Speaker 1: would become waste, and they would know that he is
1:44:30
Speaker 1: the Lord. After judging Mount Sair, God told Ezekiel to
1:44:34
Speaker 1: prophesy to Israel's mountains with a different message. While Edom
1:44:38
Speaker 1: would become desolate, Israel's mountains would be restored. The mountains
1:44:43
Speaker 1: had suffered greatly. Enemies had claimed the ancient heights belonged
1:44:47
Speaker 1: to them. But God had good news. Chapter thirty six,
1:44:52
Speaker 1: verse eight promises, but you mountains of Israel will produce
1:44:56
Speaker 1: branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will
1:44:59
Speaker 1: sue come home. God would turn to the mountains. They
1:45:03
Speaker 1: would be plowed and sown, and people would live on
1:45:06
Speaker 1: them again. The whole house of Israel. Towns would be
1:45:09
Speaker 1: inhabited and ruins rebuilt. He would increase people and animals,
1:45:14
Speaker 1: and they would be fruitful. God wasn't doing this because
1:45:18
Speaker 1: Israel deserved it. They had defiled the land with their conduct,
1:45:23
Speaker 1: so He had scattered them among nations. Wherever they went.
1:45:26
Speaker 1: They brought shame to his name because people said, these
1:45:30
Speaker 1: are the Lord's people. But they had to leave his land.
1:45:34
Speaker 1: Chapter thirty six, verse twenty two explains his motivation. Therefore,
1:45:38
Speaker 1: say to the Israelites, this is what the sovereign Lord says.
1:45:43
Speaker 1: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that
1:45:46
Speaker 1: I am going to do these things, but for the
1:45:48
Speaker 1: sake of my holy name, which you have profaned. Among
1:45:52
Speaker 1: the nations where you have gone. God would gather them
1:45:55
Speaker 1: from all countries and bring them to their own land.
1:45:58
Speaker 1: He would sprinkle clean water on them and cleanse them
1:46:01
Speaker 1: from all impurities and idols. The most beautiful promise comes
1:46:05
Speaker 1: in chapter thirty six, verse twenty six. I will give
1:46:09
Speaker 1: you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.
1:46:12
Speaker 1: I will remove from you your heart of stone and
1:46:16
Speaker 1: give you a heart of flesh. God would put his
1:46:19
Speaker 1: spirit in them and move them to follow his laws.
1:46:23
Speaker 1: The desolate land would become like Eden, and ruined cities
1:46:26
Speaker 1: would be fortified and inhabited. The hand of the Lord
1:46:30
Speaker 1: brought Ezekiel to a valley full of bones. God led
1:46:34
Speaker 1: him among them, and he saw very many bones that
1:46:37
Speaker 1: were very dry. God asked, son of man, can these
1:46:40
Speaker 1: bones live? Ezekiel answered, Sovereign Lord, you alone know. God
1:46:46
Speaker 1: told him to prophesy to the bones. Chapter thirty seven,
1:46:49
Speaker 1: verse four records, prophesy to these bones, and say to them,
1:46:53
Speaker 1: dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. God would
1:46:57
Speaker 1: make breath enter them, attach tendons men, make flesh appear,
1:47:01
Speaker 1: cover them with skin, and put breath in them. As
1:47:04
Speaker 1: Ezekiel prophesied, there was rattling, and bones came together. Tendons
1:47:09
Speaker 1: and flesh appeared, and skin covered them, but there was
1:47:12
Speaker 1: no breath. Then God told him to prophesy to the
1:47:16
Speaker 1: breath from the four winds, to breathe into them. When
1:47:21
Speaker 1: Ezekiel prophesied, breath entered them, they came to life and
1:47:26
Speaker 1: stood up a vast army. God explained that these bones
1:47:31
Speaker 1: represented Israel, who said, our bones are dried up and
1:47:36
Speaker 1: our hope is gone. We are cut off m Chapter
1:47:40
Speaker 1: thirty seven, verse fourteen contains God's promise, I will put
1:47:44
Speaker 1: my spirit in you, and you will live, and I
1:47:47
Speaker 1: will settle you in your own land. Then you will
1:47:50
Speaker 1: know that I, the Lord, have spoken and I have
1:47:53
Speaker 1: done it, declares the Lord. God told Ezekiel to take
1:47:58
Speaker 1: two sticks and write on them. On one, he wrote
1:48:01
Speaker 1: belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him, On
1:48:06
Speaker 1: the other belonging to Joseph, that is, to Aphram and
1:48:10
Speaker 1: all the Israelites associated with him. The kingdom had been
1:48:15
Speaker 1: divided for centuries after Solomon's death. The Northern Kingdom of
1:48:19
Speaker 1: Israel and Southern Kingdom of Judah had often been enemies,
1:48:24
Speaker 1: fighting each other instead of standing together. Chapter thirty seven,
1:48:28
Speaker 1: verse seventeen instructs join them together into one stick, so
1:48:33
Speaker 1: that they will become one in your hand. When people
1:48:38
Speaker 1: asked what this meant, Ezekiel would explain that God would
1:48:41
Speaker 1: join the stick of Joseph to Judah's stick, making them
1:48:45
Speaker 1: one in his hand. God would take the Israelites from
1:48:49
Speaker 1: the nations and gather them from everywhere, bringing them to
1:48:52
Speaker 1: their own land. He would make them one nation on
1:48:56
Speaker 1: Israel's mountains, with one king over all. Chapter thirty seven,
1:49:01
Speaker 1: verse twenty two describes the reunification. I will make them
1:49:05
Speaker 1: one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel.
1:49:09
Speaker 1: There will be one king over all of them, and
1:49:11
Speaker 1: they will never again be two nations or be divided
1:49:15
Speaker 1: into two kingdoms. They would no longer defile themselves with idols.
1:49:20
Speaker 1: God would cleanse them, and they would be his people.
1:49:23
Speaker 1: David would be king over them forever, and they would
1:49:26
Speaker 1: have one shepherd. They would live in the land forever,
1:49:30
Speaker 1: They their children and their children's children. God would make
1:49:35
Speaker 1: an everlasting covenant of peace with them. His sanctuary would
1:49:39
Speaker 1: be among them forever, and the nations would know that
1:49:42
Speaker 1: the Lord makes Israel holy. The word of the Lord
1:49:46
Speaker 1: came about a great future invasion against Israel. This would
1:49:49
Speaker 1: be led by God from Magog, chief Prince of Mashek
1:49:53
Speaker 1: and Tubal. Chapter thirty eight, verse three declares, this is
1:49:57
Speaker 1: what the sovereign Lord says, I am against you, Gog,
1:50:01
Speaker 1: chief Prince of Meshek and Tubal. God would bring out
1:50:06
Speaker 1: Gog with his whole army and many nations Persha Kush
1:50:10
Speaker 1: put Goma and Beth Toogoma. This would be a massive
1:50:15
Speaker 1: international coalition coming against Israel from many directions. After many days,
1:50:21
Speaker 1: Gog would invade a land recovered from war, whose people
1:50:25
Speaker 1: were gathered from many nations to Israel's mountains. The people
1:50:29
Speaker 1: would be living in safety when Gog advanced like a storm,
1:50:33
Speaker 1: covering the land like a cloud. Gog would devise an
1:50:37
Speaker 1: evil scheme to attack peaceful, unsuspecting people living in unwalled villages.
1:50:42
Speaker 1: He would plant to plunder and loot, turning against resettled
1:50:46
Speaker 1: ruins and people rich in livestock and goods. But when
1:50:50
Speaker 1: Gog came against Israel, God's anger would be aroused. There
1:50:54
Speaker 1: would be a great earthquake, and fish, birds, beasts and
1:50:57
Speaker 1: all people would tremble at God's presence. Mountain would be
1:51:00
Speaker 1: overturned and walls would fall. Chapter thirty eight, verse twenty
1:51:05
Speaker 1: one describes God's response, I will summon a sword against
1:51:09
Speaker 1: Gog on all my mountains, declares the sovereign Lord. Every
1:51:14
Speaker 1: man's sword will be against his brother. God would judge
1:51:17
Speaker 1: Gog with plague, bloodshed, torrents of rain, hailstones, fire, and
1:51:22
Speaker 1: burning sulfur. In this way, he would show his greatness
1:51:26
Speaker 1: and holiness to many nations. God continued prophesying against God,
1:51:30
Speaker 1: giving more details about the battles aftermath. Chapter thirty nine,
1:51:34
Speaker 1: verse two declares, I will turn you around and drag
1:51:38
Speaker 1: you along. I will bring you from the far north
1:51:41
Speaker 1: and send you against the mountains of Israel. Gog would
1:51:45
Speaker 1: fall on Israel's mountains along with his hordes and nations.
1:51:49
Speaker 1: God would give them as food to birds and wild animals.
1:51:53
Speaker 1: He would send fire on Maygog and coastland dwellers, and
1:51:57
Speaker 1: they would know he is the Lord. Victory would be
1:52:00
Speaker 1: so complete that Israelites would use enemy weapons for fuel
1:52:04
Speaker 1: for seven years. They would burn shields, bows, arrows, clubs,
1:52:09
Speaker 1: and spears instead of gathering wood from fields or forests.
1:52:14
Speaker 1: Israel would give Gog a burial place in the valley
1:52:16
Speaker 1: of those who travel east of the sea called the
1:52:19
Speaker 1: Valley of Hamon Gog. For seven months, all the people
1:52:23
Speaker 1: would bury the dead to cleanse the land. After that
1:52:27
Speaker 1: they would conduct detailed searches. Chapter thirty nine, verse fifteen
1:52:31
Speaker 1: describes the process. As they go through the land, anyone
1:52:35
Speaker 1: who sees a human bone will leave a marker beside
1:52:39
Speaker 1: it until the grave diggers bury it. In the valley
1:52:41
Speaker 1: of Hammu God God would summon birds and animals to
1:52:45
Speaker 1: feast on the flesh of mighty men and blood of
1:52:48
Speaker 1: princes at his great sacrifice on Israel's mountains. They would
1:52:52
Speaker 1: eat their fill of horses, riders, and soldiers. The ultimate
1:52:56
Speaker 1: purpose is revealed in chapter thirty nine, verse twenty one.
1:53:00
Speaker 1: I will display my glory among the nations, and all
1:53:04
Speaker 1: the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the
1:53:07
Speaker 1: hand I lay on them. From that day forward, Israel
1:53:11
Speaker 1: would know He is the Lord, their God. The nations
1:53:14
Speaker 1: would understand that Israel went into exile for their unfaithfulness.
1:53:19
Speaker 1: But now God would restore Jacob's fortunes and have compassion
1:53:24
Speaker 1: on all Israel, being zealous for his holy name. In
1:53:28
Speaker 1: the twenty fifth year of exile, at the beginning of
1:53:32
Speaker 1: the year. On the tenth day of the month, the
1:53:35
Speaker 1: hand of the Lord was on Ezekiel. Fourteen years had
1:53:39
Speaker 1: passed since Jerusalem fell, and now God was ready to
1:53:43
Speaker 1: show him something amazing, a vision of the future temple
1:53:47
Speaker 1: that would be more glorious than anything Israel had ever
1:53:50
Speaker 1: seen in visions of God. He took Ezekiel to the
1:53:54
Speaker 1: land of Israel and set him on a very high mountain.
1:53:58
Speaker 1: On its south side were some building that looked like
1:54:00
Speaker 1: a city. As he brought him there, Ezekiel saw a
1:54:04
Speaker 1: man whose appearance was like bronze, standing in the gateway
1:54:07
Speaker 1: with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand.
1:54:11
Speaker 1: This bronze man spoke to Ezekiel with an important command,
1:54:16
Speaker 1: as Chapter forty verse four records, son of Man, look
1:54:20
Speaker 1: carefully and listened closely, and pay attention to everything I
1:54:24
Speaker 1: am going to show you, for that is why you
1:54:26
Speaker 1: have been brought here. Tell the people of Israel everything
1:54:30
Speaker 1: you see. The man began measuring the temple complex with
1:54:34
Speaker 1: incredible precision. He started with the outer wall that surrounded
1:54:38
Speaker 1: the whole area. The measuring rod in his hand was
1:54:41
Speaker 1: six long cubits. Each cubit being a cubit and a
1:54:45
Speaker 1: hand breadth. He measured the wall. It was one measuring
1:54:49
Speaker 1: rod thick and one rod high. Then he went to
1:54:52
Speaker 1: the east gate and climbed its steps. He measured the
1:54:55
Speaker 1: threshold of the gate, which was one rod deep. The
1:54:58
Speaker 1: alcoves for the guards were one rod long and one
1:55:01
Speaker 1: rod wide, with five cubits between the alcoves. The threshold
1:55:06
Speaker 1: of the gate next to the portico facing the temple
1:55:09
Speaker 1: was one rod deep. The man measured the portico of
1:55:13
Speaker 1: the gateway. It was eight cubits deep and its jams
1:55:16
Speaker 1: were two cubits thick. The portico of the gateway faced
1:55:19
Speaker 1: the temple. Inside the east gate were three alcoves on
1:55:23
Speaker 1: each side, all the same size, and the faces of
1:55:26
Speaker 1: the projecting walls on each side had the same measurements.
1:55:30
Speaker 1: He measured the width of the entrance of the gateway.
1:55:33
Speaker 1: It was ten cubits and its length was thirteen cubits.
1:55:37
Speaker 1: In front of each alcove was a wall one cubit high,
1:55:40
Speaker 1: and the alcoves were six cubits square. Then he measured
1:55:45
Speaker 1: the gateway from the top of the rear wall of
1:55:47
Speaker 1: one alcove to the top of the opposite one twenty
1:55:50
Speaker 1: five cubits from one parapet opening to the opposite one.
1:55:55
Speaker 1: The man continued his detailed tour around the entire temple complex.
1:56:00
Speaker 1: He measured the outer court, which had a pavement made
1:56:03
Speaker 1: all around it, with thirty rooms facing the pavement. The
1:56:07
Speaker 1: pavement flanked the gateways and was as wide as they
1:56:11
Speaker 1: were long. This was the lower pavement. Chapter forty, verse
1:56:17
Speaker 1: twenty three shows the careful symmetry. There was a gate
1:56:21
Speaker 1: to the inner court facing the north gate, just as
1:56:24
Speaker 1: there was on the east. He measured from one gate
1:56:28
Speaker 1: to the opposite one. It was a hundred cubits. The
1:56:32
Speaker 1: measurements continued with mathematical precision. The south gate had the
1:56:37
Speaker 1: same measurements as the others. Its alcoves, projecting walls and
1:56:41
Speaker 1: portico had the same measurements as the others. The gateway
1:56:45
Speaker 1: and its portico had openings all around, fifty cubits long
1:56:50
Speaker 1: and twenty five cubits wide. Inside the inner court, the
1:56:55
Speaker 1: man showed Ezekiel rooms and a pavement. There were thirty
1:56:59
Speaker 1: rooms along the pavement, which flanked the gateways and was
1:57:03
Speaker 1: as wide as they were long. Then he measured the
1:57:05
Speaker 1: distance from the inside of the lower gateway to the
1:57:08
Speaker 1: outside of the inner court. It was a hundred cubits
1:57:12
Speaker 1: on the east side as well as on the north.
1:57:15
Speaker 1: The man brought Ezekiel into the inner court through the
1:57:18
Speaker 1: south gate and measured the south gate. It had the
1:57:22
Speaker 1: same measurements as the others. Its alcoves, projecting walls and
1:57:26
Speaker 1: portico had the same measurements as the others. The gateway
1:57:30
Speaker 1: and its portico had openings all around. After the detailed
1:57:34
Speaker 1: tour of the temple structure, the man brought Ezekiel to
1:57:38
Speaker 1: the gate facing east. What happened next was the moment
1:57:42
Speaker 1: Ezekiel had been waiting for since he saw God's glory
1:57:45
Speaker 1: leave the old temple years earlier. The return of the
1:57:49
Speaker 1: Lord's presence, the glory of the God of Israel, came
1:57:52
Speaker 1: from the east. His voice was like the roar of
1:57:55
Speaker 1: rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory.
1:57:59
Speaker 1: Four forty three. Verse three describes what Ezekiel experienced. The
1:58:04
Speaker 1: vision I saw was like the vision I had seen
1:58:08
Speaker 1: when he came to destroy the city, and like the
1:58:10
Speaker 1: visions I had seen by the Keebar river. And I
1:58:14
Speaker 1: fell face down. This was the same magnificent glory Ezekiel
1:58:19
Speaker 1: had witnessed in his first vision by the river in Babylon.
1:58:23
Speaker 1: It was identical to the vision he had seen when
1:58:26
Speaker 1: God came to judge Jerusalem. The consistency of these appearances
1:58:31
Speaker 1: proved that the same God who had brought judgment was
1:58:34
Speaker 1: now bringing restoration. The glory of the Lord entered the
1:58:38
Speaker 1: temple through the gate facing east. Then the spirit lifted
1:58:43
Speaker 1: Ezekiel up and brought him into the inner court, and
1:58:46
Speaker 1: the glory of the Lord filled the temple. This was
1:58:50
Speaker 1: the moment of ultimate restoration. God's presence was returning to
1:58:54
Speaker 1: dwell among his people once again. While the man was
1:58:58
Speaker 1: standing beside Ezekiel, he heard some one speaking to him
1:59:02
Speaker 1: from inside the temple. The voice said, as recorded in
1:59:05
Speaker 1: Chapter forty three, verse seven, Son of Man, this is
1:59:10
Speaker 1: the place of my throne and the place for the
1:59:13
Speaker 1: souls of my feet. This is where I will live
1:59:18
Speaker 1: among the Israelites forever. The voice continued with a promise
1:59:22
Speaker 1: that the people of Israel would never again defile God's
1:59:25
Speaker 1: holy name, neither they nor their kings. By their prostitution
1:59:30
Speaker 1: and the funeral offerings for their kings at their death,
1:59:34
Speaker 1: they had defiled His holy name by their detestable practices,
1:59:38
Speaker 1: when they placed their threshold next to his threshold, and
1:59:41
Speaker 1: their doorposts beside his door posts, with only a wall
1:59:46
Speaker 1: between him and them. God had destroyed them in his
1:59:50
Speaker 1: anger because of their defilement. But now they would put
1:59:54
Speaker 1: away their prostitution and the funeral offerings for their kings
1:59:58
Speaker 1: far from him, then he would live among them forever.
2:00:03
Speaker 1: God told Ezekiel to describe the temple to the people
2:00:06
Speaker 1: of Israel, so they would be ashamed of their sins.
2:00:10
Speaker 1: Let them consider its perfection. And if they were ashamed
2:00:13
Speaker 1: of all they had done, then he should make known
2:00:15
Speaker 1: to them the design of the Temple, its arrangement, its
2:00:19
Speaker 1: exits and entrances, its whole design, and all its regulations
2:00:25
Speaker 1: and laws. Chapter forty three, verse twelve gives the fundamental principle.
2:00:30
Speaker 1: This is the law of the Temple. All the surrounding
2:00:33
Speaker 1: area on top of the mountain will be most holy.
2:00:37
Speaker 1: Such is the law of the Temple. The man then
2:00:40
Speaker 1: showed Ezekiel the altar and gave its measurements. The altar
2:00:44
Speaker 1: Hath was four cubits high and four horns projected upward
2:00:48
Speaker 1: from the hearth. The altar Hath was square, twelve cubits
2:00:52
Speaker 1: long and twelve cubits wide. The upper ledge also was square,
2:00:56
Speaker 1: fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide. All round the
2:01:00
Speaker 1: altar was a rim of half a cubit with a
2:01:02
Speaker 1: gutter of a cubit all around. God gave specific instructions
2:01:07
Speaker 1: for consecrating the altar. For seven days, they were to
2:01:11
Speaker 1: make atonement for the altar and cleanse it. Thus they
2:01:14
Speaker 1: would dedicate it at the end of these days. From
2:01:17
Speaker 1: the eighth day on, the priests were to present burnt
2:01:20
Speaker 1: offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar. Then God would
2:01:24
Speaker 1: accept them. The man brought Ezekiel back to the outer
2:01:28
Speaker 1: gate of the sanctuary, the one facing east, but it
2:01:31
Speaker 1: was shut. The Lord said to him that this gate
2:01:35
Speaker 1: was to remain shut and must not be opened. No
2:01:39
Speaker 1: one could enter through it because the Lord, the God
2:01:42
Speaker 1: of Israel, had entered through it. Therefore it must remain shut.
2:01:47
Speaker 1: Only the Prince himself could sit inside the gateway to
2:01:50
Speaker 1: eat in the presence of the Lord. He was to
2:01:54
Speaker 1: enter by way of the portico of the gateway and
2:01:56
Speaker 1: go out the same way. Then the man brought his
2:02:00
Speaker 1: Ezekiel by way of the north gate, to the front
2:02:02
Speaker 1: of the temple. As Ezekiel looked, he saw the glory
2:02:06
Speaker 1: of the Lord filling the temple of the Lord, and
2:02:10
Speaker 1: he fell face down. The Lord spoke to him with
2:02:14
Speaker 1: important instructions about who could serve in this holy place.
2:02:19
Speaker 1: Chapter forty four, verse six contains God's message, say to
2:02:23
Speaker 1: rebellious Israel, this is what the sovereign Lord says. Enough
2:02:28
Speaker 1: of your detestable practices, people of Israel. The people had
2:02:33
Speaker 1: brought foreigners uncircumcised in heart and flesh into God's sanctuary,
2:02:38
Speaker 1: desecrating his temple while they offered him food, fat, and blood.
2:02:42
Speaker 1: They had broken his covenant because of all their detestable practices.
2:02:47
Speaker 1: Instead of carrying out their duty in regard to his
2:02:50
Speaker 1: holy things, they had put others in charge of his sanctuary.
2:02:55
Speaker 1: God declared that no foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh
2:02:59
Speaker 1: was to end to his sanctuary, not even the foreigners
2:03:02
Speaker 1: who lived among the Israelites. The Levites who went far
2:03:06
Speaker 1: from him when Israel went astray, and who wandered from
2:03:10
Speaker 1: him after their idols, must bear the consequences of their sin.
2:03:15
Speaker 1: They could serve in his sanctuary. Having charge of the
2:03:18
Speaker 1: gates of the temple and serving in it. They could
2:03:21
Speaker 1: slaughter the burnt offerings and sacrifices for the people, and
2:03:25
Speaker 1: stand before the people and serve them. But because they
2:03:29
Speaker 1: served them in the presence of their idols and made
2:03:32
Speaker 1: the people of Israel fall into sin, God had sworn
2:03:36
Speaker 1: with uplifted hand that they must bear the consequences. They
2:03:40
Speaker 1: were not to come near to serve as priests, or
2:03:43
Speaker 1: come near any of His holy things or most holy offerings.
2:03:47
Speaker 1: They must bear the shame of their detestable practices. But
2:03:50
Speaker 1: God would appoint them to guard the temple for all
2:03:53
Speaker 1: the work that was to be done in it. The
2:03:56
Speaker 1: priests who were Levites and descendants of Zadok, and who
2:04:00
Speaker 1: continued to carry out the duties of his sanctuary when
2:04:03
Speaker 1: the Israelites went astray from him, were to come near
2:04:06
Speaker 1: to minister before him. As Chapter forty four, verse sixteen explains,
2:04:11
Speaker 1: they alone are to enter my sanctuary. They alone are
2:04:15
Speaker 1: to come near my table, to minister before me, and
2:04:18
Speaker 1: serve me as guards. When they entered the gates of
2:04:22
Speaker 1: the Inner Court, they were to wear linen clothes. They
2:04:25
Speaker 1: must not wear any woolen garment while ministering at the
2:04:28
Speaker 1: gates of the inner court or inside the temple. They
2:04:31
Speaker 1: were to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen
2:04:35
Speaker 1: undergarments around their waists. They must not wear anything that
2:04:38
Speaker 1: makes them perspire. When they went out into the outer court,
2:04:42
Speaker 1: where the people were, they were to take off the
2:04:45
Speaker 1: clothes they had been ministering in and leave them in
2:04:48
Speaker 1: the sacred rooms, and put on other clothes so that
2:04:52
Speaker 1: the people were not consecrated through contact with their garments.
2:04:56
Speaker 1: God gave Ezekiel detailed instructions about how the land would
2:04:59
Speaker 1: be divided when the Israelites returned and received their inheritance.
2:05:04
Speaker 1: This wasn't just about giving each tribe their territory. It
2:05:07
Speaker 1: was about creating a sacred geography with the temple at
2:05:11
Speaker 1: its center. When they divided the land by lot as
2:05:15
Speaker 1: an inheritance, they were to present to the Lord a
2:05:18
Speaker 1: portion of the land as a sacred district twenty five
2:05:22
Speaker 1: thousand cubits long and twenty thousand cubits wide. The entire
2:05:26
Speaker 1: area would be holy. Of this, a section five hundred
2:05:30
Speaker 1: cubit square was to be for the sanctuary, with fifty
2:05:33
Speaker 1: cubits around it for open land. Chapter forty five, verse
2:05:37
Speaker 1: three gives the measurements in the Sacred District measure off
2:05:41
Speaker 1: a section twenty five thousand cubits long and ten thousand
2:05:45
Speaker 1: cubits wide. In it will be the sanctuary, the most
2:05:49
Speaker 1: holy place. This would be the sacred portion of the
2:05:53
Speaker 1: land for the priests who ministered in the sanctuary and
2:05:56
Speaker 1: who drew near to minister before the Lord. It would
2:05:59
Speaker 1: be a place for their houses as well as a
2:06:02
Speaker 1: holy place for the sanctuary. An area twenty five thousand
2:06:06
Speaker 1: cubits long and ten thousand cubits wide would belong to
2:06:10
Speaker 1: the Levites who served in the temple as their possession
2:06:14
Speaker 1: for towns to live in. They were to give the
2:06:16
Speaker 1: city as its property. An area five thousand cubits wide
2:06:20
Speaker 1: and twenty five thousand cubits long, adjoining the sacred portion,
2:06:25
Speaker 1: it would belong to all Israel. The prince would have
2:06:29
Speaker 1: the land bordering each side of the area formed by
2:06:31
Speaker 1: the Sacred District and the property of the city. It
2:06:35
Speaker 1: would extend westward from the west side and eastward from
2:06:38
Speaker 1: the east side, running lengthwise from the western to the
2:06:42
Speaker 1: eastern border, parallel to one of the tribal portions. This
2:06:47
Speaker 1: land would be his possession in Israel and God's princes
2:06:50
Speaker 1: would no longer oppress his people, but would allow the
2:06:53
Speaker 1: people of Israel to possess the land according to their tribes.
2:06:58
Speaker 1: God commanded the princes of Israel to stop their violence
2:07:01
Speaker 1: and oppression and do what was just and right. Chapter
2:07:05
Speaker 1: forty five, verse ten gives important regulations. You are to
2:07:09
Speaker 1: use accurate scales, an accurate effer, and an accurate bath.
2:07:14
Speaker 1: The efer and the bath were to be the same size,
2:07:17
Speaker 1: the bath containing a tenth of a homer and the
2:07:20
Speaker 1: effer a tenth of a homer. The homer was to
2:07:23
Speaker 1: be the standard measure. The shekel was to consist of
2:07:27
Speaker 1: twenty gerahs, and twenty shekels plus twenty five shekels plus
2:07:32
Speaker 1: fifteen shekels were to equal one miner. God also specified
2:07:37
Speaker 1: the special gifts the people were to give. This was
2:07:40
Speaker 1: the special gift. They were to offer, a sixth of
2:07:43
Speaker 1: an effort from each homer of wheat, and a sixth
2:07:46
Speaker 1: of an effer from each homer of barley. The prescribed
2:07:49
Speaker 1: portion of olive oil measured by the bath was a
2:07:52
Speaker 1: tenth of a bath from each core. The prescribed portion
2:07:56
Speaker 1: from the flock was one sheep from every two hundred
2:07:59
Speaker 1: For the well watered pastures of Israel. These would be
2:08:03
Speaker 1: used for the grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings
2:08:08
Speaker 1: to make atonement for the people. God gave specific instructions
2:08:12
Speaker 1: about how worship would be conducted in the new Temple,
2:08:15
Speaker 1: including the role of the prince and the schedule of
2:08:18
Speaker 1: festivals and offerings. The gate of the Inner Court facing
2:08:23
Speaker 1: east was to be shut on the six working days,
2:08:26
Speaker 1: but on the Sabbath day and on the day of
2:08:28
Speaker 1: the new moon it was to be opened. The Prince
2:08:32
Speaker 1: was to enter from the outside through the portico of
2:08:34
Speaker 1: the gateway and stand by the gatepost. The priests were
2:08:38
Speaker 1: to sacrifice his burnt offering and his fellowship offerings. He
2:08:42
Speaker 1: was to worship at the threshold of the gateway and
2:08:45
Speaker 1: then go out, but the gate would not be shut
2:08:49
Speaker 1: until evening. On the Sabbaths and new moons, the people
2:08:53
Speaker 1: of the land were to worship in the presence of
2:08:55
Speaker 1: the Lord at the entrance of that gateway. Chapter forty six,
2:09:00
Speaker 1: verse four specifies the prince's offerings. The burnt offering the
2:09:05
Speaker 1: prince brings to the Lord on the Sabbath day is
2:09:08
Speaker 1: to be six male lambs and a ram, all without defect.
2:09:13
Speaker 1: The grain offering given with the ram was to be
2:09:16
Speaker 1: an epha, and the grain offering with the lambs was
2:09:19
Speaker 1: to be as much as he pleased, along with a
2:09:22
Speaker 1: hin of olive oil for each efha. On the day
2:09:25
Speaker 1: of the new moon, he was to offer a young bull,
2:09:29
Speaker 1: six lambs, and a ram, all without defect. He was
2:09:33
Speaker 1: to provide as a grain offering one efa with the bull,
2:09:36
Speaker 1: one efa with the ram, and with the lambs, as
2:09:39
Speaker 1: much as he wanted to give, along with a hin
2:09:41
Speaker 1: of oil with each efha. When the Prince entered, he
2:09:44
Speaker 1: was to go in through the portico of the gateway,
2:09:47
Speaker 1: and he was to come out the same way when
2:09:50
Speaker 1: the people of the land came before the Lord. At
2:09:52
Speaker 1: the appointed festivals, whoever entered by the north gate to
2:09:56
Speaker 1: worship was to go out the south gate, and whoever
2:09:59
Speaker 1: entered by the south gate was to go out the
2:10:01
Speaker 1: north gate. No one was to return through the gate
2:10:05
Speaker 1: by which they entered, but each was to go out
2:10:08
Speaker 1: the opposite gate. The Prince was to be among them,
2:10:11
Speaker 1: going in when they went in, and going out when
2:10:13
Speaker 1: they went out. At the feasts and the appointed festivals,
2:10:17
Speaker 1: the grain offering was to be an efer with a bull,
2:10:20
Speaker 1: an efa with a ram, and with the lambs as
2:10:23
Speaker 1: much as he pleased, along with a hn of oil
2:10:25
Speaker 1: for each effer. When the prince provided a free will
2:10:29
Speaker 1: offering to the Lord, whether a burnt offering or fellowship offerings,
2:10:33
Speaker 1: the gate facing east was to be opened for him.
2:10:36
Speaker 1: He was to offer his burnt offering or his fellowship offerings,
2:10:40
Speaker 1: as he did on the Sabbath day. Then he was
2:10:43
Speaker 1: to go out, and after he had gone out, the
2:10:46
Speaker 1: gate was to be shut. Chapter forty six, verse thirteen
2:10:50
Speaker 1: gives daily requirements. Every day you are to provide a
2:10:54
Speaker 1: year old lamb without defect for a burnt offering to
2:10:57
Speaker 1: the Lord. Morning. By morning you shall provide date. You
2:11:01
Speaker 1: were also to provide with it mourning by mourning a
2:11:04
Speaker 1: grain offering consisting of a sixth of an effort with
2:11:08
Speaker 1: a third of a hin of oil to moisten the flower.
2:11:12
Speaker 1: The presenting of this grain offering to the Lord was
2:11:15
Speaker 1: a lasting ordinance. The man brought Ezekiel back to the
2:11:19
Speaker 1: entrance of the temple, and he saw water coming out
2:11:22
Speaker 1: from under the threshold of the temple toward the east.
2:11:24
Speaker 1: Since the temple faced east, the water was coming down
2:11:28
Speaker 1: from under the south side of the temple, south of
2:11:30
Speaker 1: the altar. He then brought Ezekiel out through the north
2:11:33
Speaker 1: gate and led him around the outside to the outer
2:11:36
Speaker 1: gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the
2:11:40
Speaker 1: south side. As the man went eastward. With a measuring
2:11:44
Speaker 1: line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits
2:11:48
Speaker 1: and then led him through water that was ankle deep.
2:11:51
Speaker 1: He measured off another thousand cubits and led him through
2:11:55
Speaker 1: water that was knee deep. He measured off another thousand,
2:11:59
Speaker 1: and led him through water that was up to the waste.
2:12:02
Speaker 1: He measured off another thousand, but now it was a
2:12:05
Speaker 1: river that he could not cross because the water had
2:12:08
Speaker 1: risen and was deep enough to swim in a river
2:12:11
Speaker 1: that no one could cross. Chapter forty seven, Verse eight
2:12:15
Speaker 1: reveals the river's destination. This water flows toward the Eastern
2:12:20
Speaker 1: region and goes down into the Araba, where it enters
2:12:23
Speaker 1: the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the
2:12:27
Speaker 1: salty water there becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures would live.
2:12:32
Speaker 1: Wherever the river flowed. There would be large numbers of
2:12:36
Speaker 1: fish because this water flowed there and made the salt
2:12:39
Speaker 1: water fresh. So where the river flowed, everything would live.
2:12:43
Speaker 1: Fishermen would stand along the shore from Onngeddi to Eneglame.
2:12:48
Speaker 1: There would be places for spreading nets. The fish would
2:12:52
Speaker 1: be of many kinds like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea,
2:12:56
Speaker 1: but the swamps and marshes would not become fresh. They
2:13:00
Speaker 1: would be left for salt. Fruit. Trees of all kinds
2:13:03
Speaker 1: would grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves
2:13:06
Speaker 1: would not wither, nor would their fruit fail. Every month
2:13:10
Speaker 1: they would bear fruit because the water from the sanctuary
2:13:13
Speaker 1: flowed to them. As Chapter forty seven, Verse twelve explains,
2:13:18
Speaker 1: their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.
2:13:21
Speaker 1: God then gave the boundaries of the land that would
2:13:24
Speaker 1: be allotted as an inheritance to the twelve tribes of Israel,
2:13:28
Speaker 1: with two portions for Joseph. The northern boundary would run
2:13:32
Speaker 1: from the Mediterranean Sea by the Hethlan Road past Lebohamath
2:13:37
Speaker 1: to Zedad, Beretha and Seybraim, then to Hauser Hattikon, which
2:13:42
Speaker 1: was on the border of Hauran. The eastern boundary would
2:13:46
Speaker 1: run between Haran and Damascus, along the Jordan between Giliad
2:13:50
Speaker 1: and the land of Israel to the Dead Sea and
2:13:53
Speaker 1: as far as Tamar. The southern boundary would run from
2:13:57
Speaker 1: Tamar as far as the waters of Meribah Kadesh, then
2:14:00
Speaker 1: along the Wadi of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. The
2:14:04
Speaker 1: western boundary would be the Mediterranean Sea from the southern
2:14:08
Speaker 1: boundary to appoint opposite Labo Hamath. They were to distribute
2:14:13
Speaker 1: this land among themselves according to the tribes of Israel,
2:14:17
Speaker 1: and allot it as an inheritance for themselves and for
2:14:20
Speaker 1: the foreigners residing among them and who had children. These
2:14:24
Speaker 1: foreigners were to be considered as native born Israelites along
2:14:28
Speaker 1: with the Israelites. They were to be allotted an inheritance
2:14:31
Speaker 1: among the tribes. God gave Ezekiel the specific allocation of
2:14:36
Speaker 1: land for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. This
2:14:40
Speaker 1: wasn't random, It was a careful arrangement that put the
2:14:43
Speaker 1: sacred district at the center and organized the tribes around it.
2:14:48
Speaker 1: These were the tribes listed by name. At the northern frontier.
2:14:52
Speaker 1: Dan would have one portion along the Hethlon Road to
2:14:56
Speaker 1: Leabo Hamath, Hazerinnan, and the northern border of Damascus next
2:15:00
Speaker 1: to Hamath would be part of its border from the
2:15:03
Speaker 1: east side to the west side. Asher would have one portion.
2:15:07
Speaker 1: It would border the territory of Dan from east to west.
2:15:11
Speaker 1: Naftali would have one portion. It would border the territory
2:15:14
Speaker 1: of Asher from east to west. Manassa would have one portion.
2:15:18
Speaker 1: It would border the territory of Naftali from east to west.
2:15:22
Speaker 1: Ephraim would have one portion. It would border the territory
2:15:25
Speaker 1: of Manasse from east to west. Ruben would have one portion.
2:15:29
Speaker 1: It would border the territory of Ephraim from east to west.
2:15:33
Speaker 1: Judah would have one portion. It would border the territory
2:15:37
Speaker 1: of Reuben from east to west. Chapter forty eight, Verse
2:15:41
Speaker 1: eight describes the central sacred district, bordering the territory of
2:15:46
Speaker 1: Judah from east to west. Will be the portion you
2:15:49
Speaker 1: are to present as a special gift. It will be
2:15:52
Speaker 1: twenty five thousand cubits wide, and its length from east
2:15:55
Speaker 1: to west will be equal to one of the tribal portions.
2:15:59
Speaker 1: The sanctuary will be in the center of it. The
2:16:01
Speaker 1: special portion they were to offer to the Lord would
2:16:04
Speaker 1: be twenty five thousand cubits long and ten thousand cubits wide.
2:16:09
Speaker 1: This would be the sacred portion for the priests. It
2:16:12
Speaker 1: would be twenty five thousand cubits long, on the north side,
2:16:16
Speaker 1: ten thousand cubits wide on the west side, ten thousand
2:16:19
Speaker 1: cubits wide on the east side, and twenty five thousand
2:16:23
Speaker 1: cubits long on the south side. In the center of
2:16:26
Speaker 1: it would be the sanctuary of the Lord. This would
2:16:29
Speaker 1: be for the consecrated priests, the Zadokites, who were faithful
2:16:33
Speaker 1: in serving him and did not go astray as the
2:16:36
Speaker 1: Levites did. When the Israelites went astray, it would be
2:16:40
Speaker 1: a special gift to them from the sacred portion of
2:16:43
Speaker 1: the land, a most holy portion bordering the territory of
2:16:47
Speaker 1: the Levites. Alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites
2:16:51
Speaker 1: would have an allotment twenty five thousand cubits long and
2:16:55
Speaker 1: ten thousand cubits wide. Its total length would be twenty
2:16:59
Speaker 1: five thousand and cubits and its width ten thousand cubits.
2:17:03
Speaker 1: They must not sell or exchange any of it. This
2:17:06
Speaker 1: was the best of the land and must not pass
2:17:09
Speaker 1: into other hands, because it was wholly to the Lord.
2:17:12
Speaker 1: The remaining area, five thousand cubits wide and twenty five
2:17:17
Speaker 1: thousand cubits long would be for the common use of
2:17:20
Speaker 1: the city, for houses and for pasture land. The city
2:17:24
Speaker 1: would be in the center of it and would have
2:17:26
Speaker 1: these measurements, the north side forty five hundred cubits, the
2:17:30
Speaker 1: south side forty five hundred cubits, the east side forty
2:17:34
Speaker 1: five hundred cubits, and the west side forty five hundred cubits.
2:17:39
Speaker 1: The remaining tribes would have their portions south of the
2:17:42
Speaker 1: sacred district. Benjamin would have one portion. It would extend
2:17:46
Speaker 1: from the east side to the west side. Simion would
2:17:50
Speaker 1: have one portion. It would border the territory of Benjamin
2:17:54
Speaker 1: from east to west. Isaka would have one portion. It
2:17:58
Speaker 1: would border the territory of Simon from east to west.
2:18:01
Speaker 1: Zebulun would have one portion. It would border the territory
2:18:05
Speaker 1: of Isaka from east to west. Gad would have one portion.
2:18:10
Speaker 1: It would border the territory of Zebulun from east to west.
2:18:13
Speaker 1: The vision concluded with details about the Holy City itself
2:18:17
Speaker 1: and its most important feature, the presence of God dwelling
2:18:20
Speaker 1: there forever. This city would be the center of worship
2:18:24
Speaker 1: and government for the Restored Nation. The city would be square,
2:18:28
Speaker 1: measuring four thousand, five hundred cubits on each side. Around
2:18:33
Speaker 1: the city would be pasture land extending two hundred and
2:18:36
Speaker 1: fifty cubits in every direction. What remained of the area
2:18:40
Speaker 1: bordering on the Sacred Portion and running the length of
2:18:43
Speaker 1: it would be ten thousand cubits on the east side
2:18:46
Speaker 1: and ten thousand cubits on the west side. The produce
2:18:50
Speaker 1: from this land would supply food for the workers of
2:18:54
Speaker 1: the city. The workers from the city who farmed it
2:18:57
Speaker 1: would come from all the tribes of Israel. The entire
2:19:01
Speaker 1: portion would be a square twenty five thousand cubits on
2:19:04
Speaker 1: each side. As a special gift, they would set aside
2:19:08
Speaker 1: the Sacred Portion along with the property of the city.
2:19:12
Speaker 1: What remained on both sides of the area formed by
2:19:15
Speaker 1: the Sacred Portion and the property of the city would
2:19:19
Speaker 1: belong to the Prince. It would extend eastward from the
2:19:22
Speaker 1: twenty five thousand cubits of the sacred Portion to the
2:19:25
Speaker 1: eastern border, and westward from the twenty five thousand cubits
2:19:30
Speaker 1: to the western border. The Sacred Portion with the temple
2:19:34
Speaker 1: sanctuary would be in the center of this area, so
2:19:37
Speaker 1: the property of the levites and the property of the
2:19:40
Speaker 1: city would lie in the center of the area that
2:19:43
Speaker 1: belonged to the Prince. The area belonging to the Prince
2:19:46
Speaker 1: would lie between the border of Judah and the border
2:19:49
Speaker 1: of Benjamin. The city would have twelve gates, three on
2:19:54
Speaker 1: each side, named after the tribes of Israel. Chapter forty eight,
2:19:59
Speaker 1: verse three thirty one lists the north side gates. The
2:20:03
Speaker 1: gates of the city will be named after the tribes
2:20:06
Speaker 1: of Israel. The three gates on the north side will
2:20:10
Speaker 1: be the gate of Reuben, the Gate of Judah, and
2:20:13
Speaker 1: the gate of Naftali. On the east side, which would
2:20:16
Speaker 1: be four thousand, five hundred kubits long, would be three gates,
2:20:21
Speaker 1: the gate of Joseph, the Gate of Benjamin, and the
2:20:24
Speaker 1: gate of Dan. On the south side, which would measure
2:20:28
Speaker 1: four thousand, five hundred kubits, would be three gates, the
2:20:32
Speaker 1: gate of Simeon, the Gate of Isakar, and the gate
2:20:35
Speaker 1: of Zebulun. On the west side, which would be four
2:20:38
Speaker 1: five hundred cubits long, would be three gates, the gate
2:20:42
Speaker 1: of Gad, the Gate of Asher, and the gate of Naftali.
2:20:47
Speaker 1: The distance all around would be eighteen thousand cubits. The
2:20:50
Speaker 1: most important feature of this city was revealed in the
2:20:54
Speaker 1: final verse of Ezekiel's prophecy. Chapter forty eight, verse thirty
2:20:59
Speaker 1: five gives the city its eternal name. The distance all
2:21:04
Speaker 1: around will be eighteen thousand cubits, and the name of
2:21:07
Speaker 1: the city from that time on will be the Lord
2:21:11
Speaker 1: is there. This name captured the essence of everything God
2:21:15
Speaker 1: had promised through Ezekiel. After all the judgment, exile, and restoration,
2:21:21
Speaker 1: the ultimate goal was achieved. God would dwell with his
2:21:24
Speaker 1: people forever. The city's name would forever remind every one
2:21:29
Speaker 1: that the Lord had returned to live among his people,
2:21:32
Speaker 1: never to leave them again. If this deep dive into
2:21:36
Speaker 1: Ezekiel has opened your eyes to God's amazing love and power,
2:21:41
Speaker 1: I'd love for you to hit that subscribe button and
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Speaker 1: join our community of Bible explorers. Your subscription helps us
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Speaker 1: create more content like this, diving deep into God's word
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Speaker 1: with the respect and wonder it deserves. And please share
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Speaker 1: this video with someone who needs to hear about God's
2:21:59
Speaker 1: heart for restoration, whether they're going through their own valley
2:22:03
Speaker 1: of dry bones or just need to be reminded that
2:22:06
Speaker 1: our God specializes in bringing dead things back to life.
2:22:11
Speaker 1: Ezekiel's message is exactly what they need to hear. Drop
2:22:15
Speaker 1: a comment below and tell me which part of Ezekiel's
2:22:18
Speaker 1: visions impacted you most. Was it the wheels within wheels,
2:22:23
Speaker 1: the valley of dry bones, or maybe that beautiful promise
2:22:27
Speaker 1: of a new heart. I read every comment and love
2:22:30
Speaker 1: hearing how God's word is speaking to your heart. Thanks
2:22:34
Speaker 1: for joining me on this prophetic adventure. Until next time,
2:22:39
Speaker 1: remember no matter what you're facing, the Lord is there.