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848. Bible Study: Ezekiel 24 (Listen to God's warning early, or things may get worse) · Faith by annm2705

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  Ezekiel chapter 24 Dear Lord, please open our ears to hear
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  what you have to say through Ezekiel in this chapter.
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  We ask this in Jesus name, Amen. It's called Jerusalem as a
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  cooking pot. In the ninth year, in the 10th
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  month, on the 10th day, the word of the Lord came to me.
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  Son of Man, record this date, this very date, because the king
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  of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.
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  Tell this rebellious people a parable and say to them, this is
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  what the sovereign Lord says. Put on the cooking pot, put on,
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  put it on and pour water on it. Put into it the pieces of meat,
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  all the choice pieces, the leg, the shoulder.
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  Fill it with the best of these bones.
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  Take the pick of the flock, pile wood beneath it for the bones,
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  bring it to a boil, and cook the bones in it.
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  For this is what the Sovereign Lord says.
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  Woe to the city of bloodshed, to the pot now encrusted, whose
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  deposit will not go away. Take the meat out piece by
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  piece, in whatever order it comes, for the blood she shed is
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  in her midst. She poured it on the bare rock.
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  She did not pour it on the ground where the dust would
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  cover it. To stir up wrath and take
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  revenge. I put her blood on the bare rock
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  so that it would not be covered. Therefore this is what the
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  Sovereign Lord says. Woe to the city of bloodshed.
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  I too will pile the wood high. So heap on the wood and kindle
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  the fire. Cook the meat well, mixing in
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  the spices, and let the bones be charred.
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  Then let the empty pot. Then set the empty pot on the
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  coals till it becomes hot and its copper glows, so that its
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  impurities may be melted and its deposit burned away.
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  It has frustrated all efforts. Its heavy deposit has not been
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  removed, not even by fire. Now your impurity is lewdness
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  because I tried to cleanse you, but you would not be cleansed
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  from your impurity. You will not be clean again
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  until my wrath against you has subsided.
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  I want to pause right here because this basically,
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  essentially is just saying, you know from God.
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  I've tried over and over and over again to tell you to clean
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  up and you're not doing it. And I've even put you through
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  fire and it doesn't matter. You're still not doing it.
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  And then he gives, and I think this might even have a future
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  warning to it. He gives in verse 1413.
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  He says because I tried to cleanse you, but you would not
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  be cleansed from your impurity. You will not be clean again
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  until my wrath against you has subsided.
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  I believe this has future implications because there will
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  be people who study and times talk about Jacob's trouble where
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  it's the city of Israel that will have to go through God's
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  wrath because of this a long time ago.
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  And it's because there was no turning, there was no repentance
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  to God. And then also, I mean, doesn't
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  say this here, but also we know from the New Testament that
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  Jesus made atonement for sin, but because the Jewish people
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  rejected Jesus, they are not covered by that.
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  So if we do not accept Jesus, if we do not welcome Jesus into our
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  life, then we are going to be just like the Israelites.
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  We are not going to be covered by the blood that Jesus that
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  came out, you know, from Jesus's side while he was on the cross.
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  That's why when people talk about the blood of Jesus, it's
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  his crucifixion in Hebrews. It tells us that without the
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  shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins and or there
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  is no atonement of sins and, and that's what Jesus did on the
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  cross. So anyway, that's another reason
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  why Jesus has said I am the way, the truth and the life and no
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  one comes to the Father except through me.
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  So continuing in verse 14, I, the Lord have spoken.
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  The time has come for me to act. I will not hold back.
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  I will not have pity, nor will I relent.
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  You will be judged according to your conduct and your actions,
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  declares the sovereign Lord. So here's something else that
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  does also apply to us. If we don't accept Jesus as our
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  Lord and believe that he died on the cross for our sins.
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  The other, that's one thing. Believing that he died on the
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  cross for our sins, I think that's easy for a lot of people.
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  But do we make Jesus Lord over our life?
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  Do we ask God for guidance? Do we want to be led by the Holy
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  Spirit or do we reject? Do we still have rebellion to
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  God? Because if we still have
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  rebellion, just because we believe doesn't mean anything
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  because the Bible also says that even the demons believe and
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  shudder. So believing alone is, you know,
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  you're, it's no different than what a demon does.
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  And we know that demons are evil and they're not going to be in
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  God's Kingdom after Jesus returns.
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  There will be a separation of good and evil and if we have not
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  accepted Jesus, we will be on the sides of evil because Jesus
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  said, you know, I'm the way, the truth and the life and no one
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  can come to me. That's why it's really
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  concerning about other religions or any religion that doesn't
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  acknowledge Jesus because it's essentially sending people to
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  hell. That's essentially what's
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  happening and people are deceived by it.
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  And so no one's forced to believe, but it's a pretty
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  important decision to make. And if you question about Jesus,
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  it's something he is something. He is someone who you really
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  need to get to know and you need to like do all your research if
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  you need that in order to believe about him.
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  And then also to have him to welcome him into your life and
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  to come in agreement with God, to come in agreement with God's
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  covenant. I mean, God has a Kingdom.
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  The Kingdom has rules. Are you willing to abide by
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  those rules? Are you willing to live in that?
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  I mean, that's a decision that we have to make.
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  If we're not, we're rebelling God and God's.
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  Do you think God wants rebels in his Kingdom, Somebody who's
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  fighting him on his rules, on his laws, on his ways?
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  I don't. It doesn't just make any kind of
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  logical sense that God would allow people who reject his laws
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  to live in his Kingdom. I mean, even us as humans, we
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  don't want people who would conflict with our moral laws
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  living in our country. We don't want people who want to
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  murder living in our country. We want to protect life.
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  So there's there's a difference and and if you think humans do
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  it, God is perfect. So wouldn't God do it even more
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  so All right, going back to Scripture, verse 15, the word of
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  the Lord came to me, son of man with one blow.
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  I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes, yet do
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  not lament or weep or shed any tears.
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  Groan quietly. Do not mourn for the dead.
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  Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet.
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  Do not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food
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  of mourners. So I spoke to the people in the
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  morning, and in the evening my wife died.
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  The next morning I did as I had been commanded.
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  Then the people asked me, Won't you tell us what these things
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  have to do with us? Why are you acting like this?
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  So I said to them. The word of the Lord came to me,
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  Say to the people of Israel, This is what the sovereign Lord
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  says. I am about to desecrate my
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  sanctuary, the stronghold in which you take pride, the
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  delight of your eyes, the object of your affection.
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  The sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword,
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  and you will do as I have done. You will not cover your mustache
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  or your beard or eat the customary food of mourners.
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  You will keep your turbans on your head and your sandals on
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  your feet. You will not mourn or weep, but
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  will waste away because of your sins and groan among yourselves.
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  Ezekiel will be a sign to you. You will do just as he has done.
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  When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord and
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  you Son of Man. On the day I take away their
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  stronghold, joy and glory, the delight of their eyes, their
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  heart, heart's desire, and their sons and daughters as well.
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  On that day a fugitive will come to tell you the news.
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  At that time your mouth will be opened, you will speak with him
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  and will no longer be silent. So you will be a sign to them
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  and they will know that I am the Lord.
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  That's the end of chapter 24. So I'm going to read the
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  questions and answers for this. Like how long was Ezekiel
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  silent? It's not entirely clear.
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  It seems that from early on in his ministry, perhaps a sign of
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  his calling, Ezekiel could not speak unless he gave a direct
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  word from God, and that's found in chapter 3, verses 26 through
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  27 in. In these verses, God let Ezekiel
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  know that he would once again be able to speak when a fugitive
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  came to Babylon with the news of Jerusalem's fall.
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  The news arrived about three years later in 585 BC.
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  Could you imagine that being silent for three years?
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  So that was very similar to what?
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  Was it Samuel or was it Samuel I, I can't remember now, or
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  Zechariah. Zechariah and Elizabeth, I think
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  it was when John the Baptist was conceived and or foretold and
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  Zechariah was unable to speak until he wrote on something that
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  his name shall be John as he was commanded and then he began to
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  speak after that. So God has done this a few times
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  that that I mean that time comes to mind also.
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  So let's read about the the beginning of this chapter. 24
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  the 9th year of what? The 9th year of King Jehovah
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  Chin's exile. That is in 588 BC.
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  Ezekiel had been taken to Babylon along with Jehovah Chen
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  in 597 BC. The precise date was January
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  15th, 588 BC, the day Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to
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  Jerusalem. And that's found in Second Kings
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  verse 2 and then Second Kings 25 verse one.
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  So what is a parable? A parable is a short story that
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  illustrates a specific point or truth.
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  By speaking in riddles, allegories, or parables, the
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  speaker invites the hearer into the word of the story.
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  When pure invectives are spoken, they can heart, they can harden
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  the will of the hearer. When a story is told, the hearer
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  is not as cautious. Before the hearer knows it, he
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  or she is in the midst of the story as a main character and
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  quite possibly under indictment. Recall Nathan's story to David
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  after David had slept with Bathsheba.
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  Before David knew it, he had indicted himself.
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  Why compare Jerusalem to a cooking pot?
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  The evil leaders of Jerusalem compared themselves to choice
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  meat in a cooking pot and were confident that they would be.
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  They would not be charged, charred by the flames of divine
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  judgment. The Lord challenged their false
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  confidence and warned them that warned that they would not
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  escape judgment. The fire under the pot.
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  Quote or in parentheses. The Babylonians would cook, look
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  the meat and each piece would then be received a reference,
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  but and then each piece would then be removed a reference to
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  the Exiles. What is the deposit in the pot?
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  The deposit is the corruption or rust inside the steeping
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  cauldron that will not go away. The people of Jerusalem thought
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  that they were the Lord's choice meet.
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  In fact, they were. In fact, they were corrupt meat
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  stirring in or stewing in a corrupt and rusty pot.
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  Why cover up blood with dust? One would expect a murderer to
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  try to cover up his crime, but Jerusalem's citizens made no
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  effort to hide the evidence of their misdeeds.
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  The Lord refers here to crimes against the poor that resulted,
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  whether directly or indirectly, in their death.
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  Why would God cause the death of Ezekiel's wife?
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  Simply for an object lesson? God often required his prophets
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  to perform difficult tasks or endure suffering.
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  That's found in Hebrews 1135 through 38.
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  Ezekiel's suffering was an attention getting device by
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  which God forced His people to confront the realities of their
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  sin. Ezekiel's experience
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  foreshadowed the emotional trauma the Exiles would endure.
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  What was the customary food of mourners?
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  Mourners ate very little during the seven day mourning period,
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  although a funeral feast was prepared to feed the throngs of
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  people who came to comfort the bereaved.
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  How did Ezekiel's lack of mourning affect the people?
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  In ancient Israel, it was socially proper to publicly
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  mourn the deft death of a loved one.
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  Customs of grief included loud weeping, tearing one's clothes,
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  wearing sackcloth, putting dust on one's head, and going
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  barefoot. When people noticed that Ezekiel
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  was not mourning his wife's death in the normal way, they
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  asked why. At that point, he explained the
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  symbolic significance of his actions.
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  And that's the end for the questions and answers.
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  I'm going to read a couple things from Exploring Ezekiel,
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  the book written by Amir Sarfati with Doctor Rick Young.
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  And this is from the summary. There are a few things that I
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  had outlined regarding chapter 24.
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  So the IT says the Princess and leaders displayed an arrogant UN
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  uniformed attitude in their minds, God was simply a big
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  burly, obedient bodyguard is and then we have to think about
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  this. This is me talking now we have
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  to think about this. Do we think the same thing of
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  God? Do we think that God is just
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  there to protect us? Do we, you know, I mean, because
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  He is and He does. And there are angels that
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  protect his children. But this is really important,
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  what Amir says. But they had it all backwards.
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  God is the one in control. He gives us freedom to live and
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  act as we want. But our freedom is like a rope
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  attached to our necks. There is only so far we can go
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  before we will either turn back to God or keep going and hang
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  ourselves. That's kind of a rude awakening.
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  Just think about that it. We are free, but only so free.
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  Now we come to the incident that I mentioned at the beginning of
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  this chapter, the most tragic personal loss, loss of every
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  prophet. And then he, Amir, writes the
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  verses about Ezekiel's wife dying, and I'm going to skip a
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  paragraph. And then Ezekiel was barely in
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  his 30s. You know, a lot of times when we
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  see the imagery, that's what's so bad about imagery, I guess
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  that's not depicted accurately. A lot of times we'll see Ezekiel
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  as, like some, you know, old man with long white hair, you know,
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  and, you know, all wrinkled up and everything, like, he's
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  really old. But this is what, you know, I
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  wouldn't have known this, but Ezekiel was barely in his 30s.
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  So he's a young guy. And this is he's losing his wife
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  at a young age, which had to be very challenging for him.
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  And he was likely very filled with grief.
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  I mean to have that happen. So it says 1 morning when he met
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  with God, the Lord told him that his wife was going to die.
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  That same evening she was gone. Why?
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  Because God wanted to make a point to the people.
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  Apparently sending a memo or eating some more dung cooked
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  bread wasn't enough to communicate what he wanted to
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  say. God had determined that the best
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  way to illustrate his prophecy was to take the life of the
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  prophet's beloved partner. This was wonderful for her
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  because she got to see her God. It was horrible for Ezekiel
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  because he lost the apple of his eye.
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  What point could be that important?
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  It was this. Just like Ezekiel's wife was his
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  delight, the temple in Jerusalem was the delight of God.
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  However, it was also the delight of the people in exile.
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  As long as it stood, the sinful population had a tangible
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  demonstration of their supposedly strong connection to
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  God. The day was soon coming though
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  when they would get word that the temple had fallen.
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  Just know God told them that I was behind that.
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  This reminds me of Jesus's powerful words.
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  Therefore, my Father loves me because I lay down my life, that
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  I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I
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  lay it down myself. The temple wouldn't be destroyed
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  because of the will of Nebuchadnezzar, but because of
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  the will of God. No one can take anything from
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  the Lord, be it the life of his Son or the temple of his name
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  that he placed in Jerusalem. God told the people that when
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  the day came and the temple was destroyed, they shouldn't mourn
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  for it, just as Ezekiel didn't mourn for his wife.
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  They had brought this on themselves.
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  They were suffering the just punishment for their sins.
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  It was time for them to turn things around so that the Lord
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  could turn the page and begin the next chapter for Israel.
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  And that ends all of what I have to say regarding chapter 24 of
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  Ezekiel. If you're not subscribed, please
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  do so to stay in the Word mostly every day and share this with
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  others if you found it beneficial.
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  Just because it's important for us to get to know God better
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  each day and be in communication with God.
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  Our prayers are really important, but studying His Word
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  is how we get to know Him. So that's why I do this and
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  hopefully it's beneficial to more than just me.
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  Thank you.