Bible

We’re back in the Bible room today reading Session 5 of the summary of the book of Ezekiel, chapters 33 through 40.

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Ezekiel – Session 5 of 6

Chapter 33. Warning

The Lord calls Ezekiel to be a watchman for His people, Israel:

• The Lord says the watchman is called to sound a warning;
• He is to blow the trumpet to warn of a coming threat;
• Anyone who hears the trumpet needs to heed the warning;
• Those who ignore it are responsible for their own safety;
• The watchman has a very important assignment;
• If he would fail to warn his people, the Lord will punish him;
• The Lord requires the righteous to be consistent;
• And He requires the wicked to repent of their iniquity;
• The Lord is fair and just in applying His requirements;
• His people cannot claim that the Lord is unfair;
• In Babylon for twelve years a captive, Ezekiel gets word;
• An escapee comes to tell him Jerusalem has been captured;
• The Lord tells the prophet to begin again to prophesy;
• The sins of Israel, idolatry and other abominations are many;
• They are the reasons the Lord will punish the land of Judah;
• He will kill most of the people, the land will become desolate;
• The people with Ezekiel come to him for words from the Lord;
• The prophet tells them to do what the Lord says, but
• They hear the songs and the musical instruments from Ezekiel,
• But they do not listen to his words and continue in their sins.

Chapter 34. Wandered

The Lord says His People have wandered for lack of good shepherds:

• The Lord likens His People to sheep;
• Sheep need good shepherds to lead and guide them;
• His flock has been scattered and have wandered far and wide;
• The Lord blames the shepherds, the leaders of Israel;
• He says these leaders have fattened themselves, not the sheep;
• And He will hold them personally accountable for their sins;
• The Lord says He will go everywhere to find His sheep;
• And He will bring them back into His fold, and there find rest;
• He will gather them back into pastures in their own land;
• The Lord himself will be their God, and David their leader;
• And the Lord will cause “showers of blessing” to fall for them;
• They shall dwell in rich pastures and there be safe;
• All the people will know that the Lord is their God.

Chapter 35. Hatred

The Lord says Mt. Seir, and all Edom, has a history of hatred for His people:

• Therefore, He will bring judgement upon them;
• All the land, all the cities, will be covered in bloody corpses;
• Everywhere will be laid waste, and become desolate places;
• The Lord has heard the boasting and blasphemies against Him;
• When He finishes with them, they will know He is the Lord.

Chapter 36. Restoration

The Lord tells Ezekiel to declare the coming restoration of Israel:

• The Lord says He is about to rebuild, to restore His people;
• All the enemies of Israel will be destroyed, laid waste;
• All those nations who boasted they would own Israel forever;
• All those nations who claimed the Lord’s land for themselves;
• All those nations have infuriated the Lord with jealousy;
• Those nations will witness the restoration of Israel;
• They will see the reclamation of the land, the hills, the valleys;
• And Israel will become strong and will not stumble anymore;
• The Lord says the rebuilding will not be for the sake of Israel;
• But it will be for the sake of the Lord’s Holy Name;
• That all will witness that His name is hallowed in Israel;
• The Lord will wash His people and make them clean;
• He will remove their hardened heart, give them a new heart;
• And He will fill them with His spirit so they can live rightly;
• They will be ashamed for their former disobedient ways;
• They will be able to live according to His commandments;
• And they will be a witness to the power of their Lord God;
• They will live in the land the Lord promised to their fathers;
• The Lord will make them prosperous, restore their population.

Chapter 37. Bones

The Spirit of the Lord lifted Ezekiel into a valley of bones, very dry bones:

• The Lord asks the prophet if these bones can live again;
• Ezekiel gives his only answer: the Lord alone knows;
• Then the prophet is told to deliver a message to the bones;
• The Lord can restore the bones, bring them back to life;
• The prophet did what he was told to do: speak to the bones;
• Suddenly, there was a loud rattling of the bones;
• And that’s when it happened: the bones came together, the
• Sinews grew, flesh and skin came back, but without breath;
• The Lord tells Ezekiel to call breath back into the bones;
• Which he did;
• And all the bony people stood to their feet, like a great army;
• The Lord says these reborn dead represent the people of Israel;
• A people that have been like dead, dry bones;
• But the Lord will fill them with His spirit, and they shall live;
• The Lord will bring them back into their land of Israel;
• And they will know He is the Lord God of Israel;
• Again, the Lord gives Ezekiel another sign;
• He is to pick up two sticks: label one as Judah’s stick;
• Label the other as Joseph’s stick for Ephraim;
• The prophet is told to hold the sticks together in his hand;
• While he holds them, the sticks join themselves together;
• The people will ask the prophet to explain his illustration;
• The Lord gives him the answer: He will gather His people;
• They will come from all the nations where they’re scattered;
• The people of Judah and the tribes of Israel will be joined;
• No longer a divided kingdom, but one, with one king to rule;
• They will abandon all idol worship and all abominations;
• The Lord says: “They will be My people; I will be their God”;
• He will make an everlasting covenant of peace with them;
• And the nations will know that the Lord blesses Israel.

Chapter 38. Jaws

The Lord will put hooks in the jaws of Israel’s enemies and put them down:

• Gog of Magog, Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer, enemies all;
• These evil people have all planned to attack peaceful villages;
• They intend to plunder and take forcibly everything of value;
• The Lord says His prophets have foretold this happening;
• So, it will not be a great surprise when this trouble comes;
• But when these armies come down on Israel, God will be ready;
• He will send a great earthquake to shake the whole earth;
• The attacking peoples will be fighting and killing each other;
• Floods, hailstones, fire, and brimstone will descend on the earth;
• The fury of the Lord will be made known.

Chapter 39. Power

The Lord’s power will be on display in the destruction of the armies of Gog:  

• The time previously spoken of by the Lord has finally arrived;
• The enemy attackers will fall in the mountains and in the fields;
• The Lord will knock the bows and arrows from their hands;
• Dead bodies of soldiers will be food for the birds and beasts;
• Israel’s people will collect up all weapons made of wood;
• These will be used as firewood for the next seven years;
• For seven months corpses will be picked up for burial;
• After that, regular search parties will look for more remains;
• Birds and beasts will consume countless corpses in the fields;
• They will eat the flesh and drink the blood of enemy soldiers;
• The dead, both men and animals, will be a sacrifice to the Lord;
• After their captivity, the Lord will forgive and restore Israel;
• He says He put them in captivity, and He will get them released;
• When He gathers His people back, He will be hallowed again;
• And all the nations will know He is the Lord.

Chapter 40. Visions

In visions, Ezekiel is transported to Israel and set on a high mountain:

• The prophet has now been captive in Babylon for 24 years;
• And the nation of Judah has been in captivity for 14 years;
• In the hand of the Lord, Ezekiel is taken into Israel;
• From a high mountain he can see the image of a city;
• There is a man of bronze color standing in the gate;
• He is holding a measuring line and a measuring rod;
• The man says he is going to show Ezekiel why he’s here;
• And the prophet is expected to remember everything;
• First, he measures the wall around the outside of the temple;
• Three gates open to the outer courtyard, North, East, South;
• Then he measures the temple vestibule and the gate posts;
• There are seven steps leading up into the outer courtyard;
• There are eight steps leading up into the inner courtyard;
• The front courtyard measures 100 cubits by 50 cubits;
• The two side courtyards measure 50 cubits by 25 cubits;
• The courtyards are bounded by archways on three sides;
• There are windows, palm trees and gateways in the walls;
• A table for cleaning sacrifices is located on each side wall;
• Four more tables are for killing sacrifices at each side wall;
• Along the walls there are chambers for singers and priests;
• Priests are descendants of Levi who minister before the Lord;
• The inner courtyard measures 100 cubits square.

End of Session 5 of 6 of the book of Ezekiel