Latest / Journey Elgin / Journey Through Scripture - Ez 12, 19, 22, 33, 2 Chr 36, Psalm 89
Transcript
- Phillip Thomas: All right, good to see you today. Welcome to our journey through scripture. My name is Philip Thomas, pastor of Journey here in Elgin. And we're getting close to kind of ⁓ the end of this period and we're gonna transition into the post-exilic period. But right now we're in the midst of the exile, the temple and Jerusalem has been destroyed, the people. Jeremiah now is over in Egypt. and still giving bad news to the people because they've continued to not pay attention to what God has to say. And so today we're going to look at kind of those events of the fall of Jerusalem, destruction of the temple, from the perspective of Chronicles and Ezekiel. So we're going to ⁓ read 2 Chronicles 36, kind of the last part of it, and then Ezekiel 12. We're going to read Psalm 89 because it appears that it was written about this timeframe. And then we'll read Ezekiel 33, 19, and 22. I know that's kind of all over the place, but so Ezekiel 33, 19, 22, Psalm 89, Ezekiel 12, and 2 Chronicles 36. All right. So 2 Chronicles 36. It just is the Chronicles perspective of the fall of Jerusalem. It focuses on the fall of the temple. Chronicles always focused more on the priest and the temple, and so it has more of a focus there. Chronicles was also written much later than Kings, and so sometimes it's kind of looking back with knowing and having more perspective of what had happened. One thing I thought was interesting, this is in verse 21, it actually mentions Jeremiah. says, "'To fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbath, as long as she lay desolate, she kept Sabbath to fulfill seventy years.'" Remember, Jeremiah gave that prophecy that they would be in exile for seventy years, and the Chronicles kind of reminds people of that. recognizes who Jeremiah was and that he was speaking for the Lord. You go to Ezekiel chapter 12. Remember, Ezekiel was taken in ⁓ captivity to Babylon, so he is with the exiles in Babylon. He's prophesying what's happening back in Jerusalem, and he actually prophesied before Jerusalem fell, kind of portraying what the captivity was going to look like. A couple of ⁓ really interesting phrases and words that he talks about. says, Son of man, this is just right at the beginning of chapter 12 of Ezekiel, Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, ears to hear but does not hear, for they are a rebellious house. And then it talks about how they will go into captivity, how they will be scattered. Verse 15 says, they shall know that I am the Lord when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. But I will spare a few of their men from the sword, from famine, from pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the Gentiles wherever they go. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. Right? So a promise that some will be spared, but all are going to be going through this judgment. I thought this was interesting. Judgment is not going to be postponed. So Ezekiel saying this is happening. Verse 17, moreover, the word of the Lord came to me saying, son of man, eat your bread with quaking and drink your water with trembling and anxiety. Not a good time. So that leads us to Psalm 89. If you read through Psalm 89, it really extols the Lord's faithfulness and how God has been faithful and has been with the people and the promises that God has given them. But now, look at where they are. And kind of it ends asking a question, questioning, God still going to be faithful? And it kind of leaves it unanswered. And it's very, very interesting. I encourage you to read Psalm 89. You know, it starts off, will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever. With my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations, for I have said, mercy shall be built up forever. Your faithfulness you shall establish in the very heavens." In verse 11, the heavens are yours, the earth also is yours, the world in all its fullness, you have founded them. It's a really extolling, worshiping God. Verse 30, if the sons forsake my law and do not walk in my judgments, if they break my statues, do not keep my commandments, Then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless, my loving kindness I will not utterly take from him, nor allow my faithfulness to fail. My covenant I will not break, nor alter the world that has gone out of my lips. Once I have sworn by my holiness, I will not lie to David." So even if there is punishment, that guy will still be faithful. ⁓ But then it gets to verse 46, says, how long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? Will your wrath burn like fire? Remember how short my time is. For what futility have you created all the children of man? What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave? Lord, where are your former loving kindnesses, which you swore to David in your truth? Remember, Lord, the reproach of your servants, how I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples with which your enemies have reproached you, O Lord. with which they have reproached the footsteps of your anointed." So he's saying, God, where is that loving kindness? We need it. We understand. Please send it. And I love what it ends. So the question is kind of unresolved, right? They are still in exile. They still feel distant from God, but yet the psalmist ends by saying, blessed be the Lord forevermore. Amen and amen. Right, so he's gonna, his trust is in the Lord no matter what. and he trusts that the Lord will continue his faithfulness even though that question hasn't fully been answered or fully been experienced yet. So I thought that was very interesting, written in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem. So then we have ⁓ Ezekiel, a few more ⁓ places that talk about the fall of Jerusalem. Ezekiel 33, starting in verse 21. If you remember, there was that time where Ezekiel went mute. Well, when the temple fell, when Jerusalem fell, he is now able to speak again. And the Lord opened his mouth and he went out and he prophesied. And it was a reminder to the people of why this happened. Verse 25 says, say to them, thus says the Lord God, you eat meat with blood. This is kind of a reminder of why. the Jerusalem was under siege, why God's judgment came. You eat meat with blood, you lift your eyes towards your idols and shed blood. Should you then possess the land? You rely on your sword, you commit abominations and you defile one another's wives. Should you then possess the land? So just a reminder of the things that they have done. And then this one was very interesting. says verse 30. As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses, and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord." So he's talking about how they would go and they would listen to the prophets, or to Ezekiel and to Jeremiah, prophets like that. So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them. They hear your words, but they do not... do them. For with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. So they act like they are loving and kind, but really they're only pursuing their own gain. Indeed, you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument. For they hear your words, but they do not do them. And when this comes to pass, surely it will come. Then they will know that a prophet has been among them. So they were kind of humoring ⁓ Ezekiel and Jeremiah, prophets that were actually telling the truth, but they weren't truly listening. They were hearing the words, but they were not doing them. Ezekiel chapter 19 just talks about kind of the fall of Israel, ⁓ just how it has fallen so much and has been devoured now. It's kind of ⁓ a ⁓ poetic rendition of that, so you can read Ezekiel chapter 19. Then Ezekiel chapter 22, verse 23 through 31, it's interesting, I want to read some of this. It says, Son of Man say, you are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation. The conspiracy of her prophets in the midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured people. They have taken treasure and precious things. They have made many widows in their midst. Her priests have violated my law and profaned my holy things. They have not distinguished between the holy and the unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean. And they have hidden their eyes from my Sabbath so that I am profaned among them." So he's talking about the churches, talking about the priests, ⁓ right? That they have not distinguished between the holy and the unholy. They have made excuses and allowed the unholy to be considered holy. They also, they have ⁓ not made the difference known between the unclean and the clean. You know, this is something that we struggle with, and it's a challenge right now in our society. There are things that are holy and unholy, and I think we've been a little too laxed in the church of not declaring what the difference is and allowing things that society likes to view as holy, that God's Word says is unholy. And we have, in order to blend in a little bit more with society, in order to be more loving and caring and accepting, we may have gone too far. We have gone too far, and we have allowed the unholy to be considered ⁓ equal with the holy, and we have not called out the difference. That's one of the things that Ezekiel is criticizing. He's criticizing the leadership, leadership within ⁓ the priest. Then he also says, princes, so the political leaders, her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey to shed blood to destroy people, to get dishonest gain. Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar. That means it's just kind of putting up a ⁓ false facade. It looks good for a short time, but the moment it ⁓ receives any ⁓ weather or wind, it just starts to crumble off. says the prophets, ⁓ untempered mortars, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, thus says the Lord God when the Lord had not spoken. The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, mistreated the poor and needy. They wrongfully oppressed a stranger. So I sought for a man among them who would be a wall. and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it. But I found no one. Therefore, I have poured out my indignation on them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath and have recompensed their deeds on their own heads, said the Lord." So he's talking about finding leadership, leaders who would stand up to stand in the gap, to be on God's side. You know, God, we don't ask God to be on our side. We choose to be on God's side. And he's asking, where are those people that are standing up to be on my side? And they were not to be found, which is why the nation crumbled. It's why Jerusalem and eventually the temple were destroyed. Okay. So it's too hard to go and finish out this section. But I encourage you to read Ezekiel 25 through 28, and then Ezekiel chapter 32, okay? And then Psalm 137 and the book of Obadiah. So Ezekiel 25 through 28 and 32, Psalm 137, and then Obadiah. And then that will get us into kind of the time of the exile and the return from exile. ⁓ So, encourage you to read that and we will see you on