THE PROPHECY LETTER
Ezekiel
Studies In Ezekiel
In this new category - the study of Ezekiel - we begin the third such series of studies of the major prophets of Israel. We have found in our detailed investigations of the first two, that buried deep within the texts of each there are profound lessons for the People of God - salvational words of instruction and encouragement. We are privileged to behold these features also embedded within the text of Ezekiel. We commend this study to your review, and to your profound benefit ...
A Survey of Ezekiel’s Prophecy
Introduction and Ezekiel 1
Structure of the Prophecy of Ezekiel
This major set of revelations of the Almighty YHVH has a wonderfully balanced set of features as set forward by the scholar, E. W. Bullinger, as given in his Companion Bible. That logical, linguistic structure is set forth here for our edification, not with the claim it is a perfect solution to Ezekiel’s writings, but as a convenient context in which to consider the writings as an whole. References are to chapters and verses.
A. 1:1 to 12:28, THE DESOLATION
B. 13:1-28, PROPHETS AND PROPHETESSES
C. D. 14:1-11, ELDERS
E. 14:12 – 15:8, THE LAND AND CITY (JUDGMENTS)
F. 16:1-63, JERUSALEM, DESERTED INFANT
G. 17:1-24, BABYLONIAN WAR. (PARABLE)
H. 18:1-32, THE PEOPLE. PROVERB. (SOUR GRAPES)
J. 19:1-14, THE PRINCES OF ISRAEL
C. D. 20:1-14, ELDERS
E. 20:45 – 22:21, THE LAND AND CITY (JUDGMENTS)
F. 23:1-49, JERUSALEM. (TWO SISTERS)
G. 24:1 – 32:32, BABYLONIAN WAR (PARABLE)
H. 39:1-72, THE PEOPLE. SIGN. (WATCHMAN)
J. 33:23-38, THE INHABITANT OF THE WASTES
B. 34:1-31, SHEPHERDS AND FLOCK
A. 35:1 – 48:33, THE RESTORATION
Ezekiel was a prophet of the exiles in Babylon. He served as prophet of the LORD from about BC610 to BC580. His name Yehazek’el, means El is strong, or El strengtheneth. The names of Ezekiel and Daniel, both of whom prophesied to the exiles in Babylon, are compounded with El, while Isaiah and Jeremiah (the other two Major Prophets) are compounded with Jah; both these latter two remained in Judah.
Ezekiel was also a priest (verse 3); he was carried to Babylon eleven years before the destruction of the City in BC587, therefore, c. BC598 – see 1:2 and 33:21.
As did the Apostle Paul in exile, Ezekiel lived in his own house (8:1); he was married to a wife who died c. BC587 – the year of the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem.
The revealed dates in Ezekiel always refer to days of the month rather than weeks, as do some of the other prophets.
THE DESOLATION
Chapters 1:1 to 12:28
Ezekiel 1
First Vision, at Chebar
His opening chapter is a revelation which he received by the River Chebar in Babylon.
The vision is magnificent in its scope and manifestation; its colors are brilliant and vibrant; its actions are as lightning; its noise is intense; its form perhaps inconceivable to our finite minds; equipped with giant wheels having eyes; exhibiting four faces on each of four separate bodies; having eight wings, four of which are joined together with its partner, the other four covering its bodies.
It is obviously a symbol of something rich, inviolable, powerful, immutable and eternal, as we shall discover …
We now review the vision:
Eze 1:1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God (El).
Ezekiel lived beside the Chebar, a great river (actually a large canal) connecting the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. Chebar is about 45 miles north of Babylon. The waters of the artificial canal were doubtless used for crop irrigation in the rich, level, fertile and alluvial valley.
Eze 1:2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity,
Jehoiachin is also called Coniah and Jeconiah. The date is prior to BC606.
Eze 1:3 The word of the LORD came expressly (specifically, specially) unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.
This stated action – that the hand of the LORD was … upon him – was also said of Elijah in 1Kings 18:46; of Elisha in 2Kings 3:15; of Daniel in Daniel 10:10, 18; and of John the apostle in Revelation 1:17. This assurance is given that readers and hearers may know assuredly the Divine source of these prophecies.
Eze 1:4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind (a Ruach Sa’ar) came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber (glowing metal), out of the midst of the fire.
The vivid reference to “a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself …” and subsequent features remind every student of the “Cloud by day, and the Pillar of Fire by night” (Exodus 14:19-24) which separated the congregation of Israel, trapped upon the shore of the Red Sea, from the host of pursuing Egyptians. In it was the distinct Presence of the LORD, as the elohistic Protector and Guide to the People.
Its remarkable persistence throughout their transit through the wilderness, assured the fearful Israelites of His continuing presence, protection, provision, and guidance.
What is the significance of the north here?
Two references come to mind: Psalm 75:6 informs that … promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. The word translated promotion is Room, or Rum, meaning to elevate, lift up or exalt.
So, if advancement does NOT come from the east, the west, or the south – from whence is it? It is from the NORTH. Isaiah’s words in 14:12-14 where direct reference is made to His “sitting … upon the Mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north,” and seems to indicate that the LORD is considered to live in a designated location in the north.
But north of what point?
We believe a reasonable explanation is that, given the fact that the Throne of the Kingdom was located in the City of David (which is south of Temple Mount), that the reference to the north indicates the physical fact that the Mercy Seat (the very Throne of God Himself among His People), of the Holy of Holies in the great Temple, was located directly to the north of the kingly Throne, upon Temple Mount.
We read there also of the greatest and most conspiratorial aspiration of the King of Babylon (see Isaiah 14:4), referred to here as Lucifer (bright one) son of the morning (sunrise) – for so he was considered among the kings of men – which so many mistake for a hidden reference to their concept of a literal angel fallen from heaven – a personal devil.
Here is that series of verses: Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven (his exalted, mundane position – from which he fell after the conquest of Babylon by the Medes), O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God (Nebuchadnezzar had openly boasted, Is not this great Babylon which I have built?): I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
This reference seems to refer precisely to Temple Mount, site of Solomon’s Temple and site of worship for all the people, which, as already stated, is located north of the residence and throne of the kings of Judah in Jerusalem.
The king of Babylon would feign assert his authority above that of the God of Israel, Whose place was above the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies.
Ezekiel sees coming from the NORTH, three manifestations of the intense power of the LORD – a whirlwind, a cloud, and fire – all of which are under the control of YHVH and express His will.
The fire is said to be infolding itself – seething, writhing, convulsing in a fearsome manner. It is a depiction of the whirlwind of its description. Think of this essential feature of that entity: a natural pillar of cloud will not remain intact and recognizable for very long – for clouds drift apart and dissipate. But if held intact by a violent whirlwind, the “pillar” retains its character and appearance.
The same term (fire, mingled with the hail – infolding itself) is used of the Seventh Plague laid upon Egypt in Exodus 9:24. It means burning spontaneously, not requiring the initial application of fire. Imagine the roar of a jet engine, up-throttled! It was fearsome, majestic, and demanded attention! It was visible and as obtrusive as the Pillar of Fire and the Cloud which protected Israel during the Exodus, itself reminiscent of the two latter elements of the vision: cloud and fire.
Eze 1:5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.
Ezekiel sees four living creatures emerge from the amber brightness of the turmoil; their overall appearance was as a man. Most students take these to be Cherubim, although the Hebrew word is Chay, having several meanings, including strong, living creature.
In Revelation 4:6, we read of similar creatures termed Beasts, from the Greek, Zo’on.
But there was a feature of each of the four creatures which was unique: each had four faces and four wings as well as other humanoid features as we shall discover …
Eze 1:6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.
The four faces looked in the four cardinal directions, as we shall see; and their visages were each gazing in the same direction as all the others of the like kind.
Eze 1:7 And their feet were straight feet (the word means not jointed; these did not move by walking, but instead, apparently by hovering or floating); and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot (i.e., cloven, as an ox): and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.
Eze 1:8 And they had the hands (this should be “hand” – see 10:7) of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.
Eze 1:9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.
This description probably means that they moved as one organic entity. Later we learn (verse 11) that each two adjacent wings were joined, whereas the others of the four were free.
Eze 1:10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.
As the prophet faced this compound being, he noted that the faces on the right side (toward the creature’s west side), the faces were human and leonine (the lion); on the east side the faces were bovine (the ox) and avian (the eagle).
Since we are told no different, we must assume that all four faces of these creatures faced the same directions as its similar faces.
Eze 1:11 Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.
Eze 1:12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.
First, we note that the driving force behind the Being was the Spirit of God; that was its motivating force. Therefore, it carried out the will of YHVH in all its functions. It represented divinity in every way.
The meaning of their “turning not” here seems to be that they did not look about as if seeking a prey, or surveying their territory; indeed, since their faces were oriented directionally they would not need to do so – which in a distinct sense gives the feeling of their intense concentration upon a mission without possibility of deflection from it.
Eze 1:13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.
The appearance of burning embers (coals) may possibly be significant of a purging action. We note this function of coals later in the prophet’s message: Ezekiel 6: 6, 7.
The embers were bright, giving their bright light in every direction. And the fire bred flashes of lightning (signifying power, or insuperable might) from its midst. The impression we get is that brilliant points of light danced about in the midst of the four creatures – freely moving in all directions with great speed. Its appearance would command the attention of all in any milieu or venue!
Eze 1:14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning. Its movement was stroboscopic, as stabbing, heart-stopping flashes of energy, occurring in an instant. It is activity that is decidedly supernatural – full of energy and fury such as mankind cannot produce nor emulate!
Then the prophet notes that each creature was accompanied by a “wheel” colored as beryl. And there was a wheel within each wheel as to their accomplishments (work).
Eze 1:15 Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.
Eze 1:16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl (Hebrew H8658, tarshyish, perhaps a topaz – Strong): and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
Topaz is a mineral which in its purest form is transparent; if colored, it may be tinted yellow, green, pale grey, blue brown, light blue or reddish-orange. These colors are due to mineral inclusions, or contaminants. We cannot determine what color is indicated for these particular “wheels.”
Eze 1:17 When they (the wheels) went, they went upon their four sides (we presume here he means the four quadrants of the entire entity and not of each individual wheel): and they turned not when they went.
The literal meaning here is difficult to visualize. It seems that the prophet means that not only were the wheels extremely impressive, and located at the four extremities of the living creature, but that their rims were equipped with eyes round about! They did not rotate when in motion.
In addition, there were wheels within the wheels, located concentrically; we are not told the direction of their orientation (whether the same as the outer wheels, or at ninety degrees to them).
Eze 1:18 As for their rings (rims), they were so high (the meaning here is sublimity, not physical height) that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.
Eze 1:19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
The entire Being functions as one integrated unit, and seems to soar off the ground as well as to hover and to move over the ground; but the wheels do not rotate! And it is permeated with eyes round about …
Indeed, rotation of the wheels in order to see in every direction is obviated by there being eyes in every sector of the circumference of the wheels. In clearer terms, the view of the wheels is 360 degrees both horizontally and vertically, at all times.
The ultimate meaning of this feature is therefore, that it exhibits in its own right, the omnipotence, the omniscience, and the omnipresence of the Almighty.
Eze 1:20 Whithersoever the spirit (Hebrew, Ruach) was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit (Ruach) of the living creature was in the wheels.
Eze 1:21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
We perhaps should glean some special meaning from this repeated fact that the Ruach (spirit) of the Creature was IN THE WHEELS, but have been unable to make any determination of its meaning beyond that it was the motivating force for them.
Some additional feedback from a fellow student is, we believe, enlightening: his emphasized words are as follows …
Could it possibly be that the wheels are rims of circumference consisting of 360 degrees of angle, and might the symbol be to represent eternity? God alone inhabits eternity. He is all seeing, (their rings were full of eyes round about them four, verse 18), He is all knowing, and He is everywhere present by his spirit.
God's spirit is within these wheels, representing “eternity;” that spirit determines the direction of motion for these creatures. Verse 12 states “And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.”
God determines direction of travel, and that direction is stated as straight forward. It says they turned not when they went. With God, we are told by James, there is no variableness or shadow of turning ... Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17.
These creatures were animated by the spirit of God who sees all things. They were intent on performing his purpose, and wherever God determined he needed their services they went straight to it. Thanks to Terry Smith for these clarifying remarks – Ed.
Eze 1:22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.
The “firmament” here is the visible arch of the sky (Hebrew, Raqiya) above the heads of the complex Being. We are not told what color the terrible crystal exhibits.
Eze 1:23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.
Eze 1:24 And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty (of El Shaddai), the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings.
This overpowering Being utters speech understandable by men; the speech is emanating from a great company of beings. But there was a separate, more distinct Voice then heard – from the firmament on high:
Eze 1:25 And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.
When the Voice from the firmament was uttered, the compound Creature ceases its activities, showing respect to its Source, keeping silence before Him.
Eze 1:26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
Here is depicted the Leader and Commander of the great Organism, brilliant in its manifestation, having the form of a Man.
Eze 1:27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward (i.e., the entire being), I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
The color of amber is that of brass, which symbolizes the flesh of mankind. The significance of this fact’s being included is that the Being depicted had its origin in the flesh of mankind, as we are assured that He did, by the writer to the Hebrews: Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:17
The conclusion is surely that ONLY can One Being, created in the natural course of humankind, make an effectual atonement for those of that race of men.
The Being thus represented depicts, in our view YHVH Tzv’aoth – the LORD of Hosts – as embodied in the One Man, the LORD Jesus Christ along with the “many voices” of the Immortalized Saints of the future age! Indeed, the prophet’s next words relate to the Rainbowed Angel (the LORD Jesus Christ in His returned glory) of Revelation 4, as noted below.
Eze 1:28 As the appearance of the bow (a rainbow) that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.
This great vision is summarized and defined in this last verse as … This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.
The student will realize that this vision is extremely similar to the vision of the Apostle John in Revelation 4 (q.v.), in which many of the same component parts are described in wonderful detail. It is a vision of the Angel of the Bow – which we understand to be the returned Lord Jesus Christ on His throne of glory in Jerusalem as sovereign over the nation of Israel and the world.
His Oneness incorporates the redeemed Saints – all those with Whom He was well pleased at the conclusion of his Judgment appearance before them, and every recipients of the blessing of all ages – immortality before Him in His Kingdom!
Judging from the opening words of the next chapter, we realize that this great winged creature is truly representative of the authority of Yahweh Tz’vaoth – the Lord of hosts – as he makes His will known to His messenger, the prophet. <HEL 5N> ~2650 words.
Ezekiel 2
At the outset of this writing, the “Man” – the Angel of the Bow (verse 1:26) – seated on the throne above the Cherubim speaks for the first time: we perceive the Omnipotence of His authority and power in these forceful words.
Eze 2:1 And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.
Immediately, we hear an unusual form of address, “Son of man.” The Hebrew word for “son of man” here is ben Adam, and is used of Ezekiel exactly 100 times in his writings, always without the article, i.e., A son of man, but not THE Son of man.
An extensive footnote in the Companion Bible (CB) is helpful.
The title son of man relates to a natural descendant of Adam, and to dominion in the earth as given Adam in the beginning. This title of Ezekiel is used to contrast the prophet with the celestial living creatures of the vision of chapter one.
The latter title, the Son of man, is reserved for the Lord Jesus Christ as used of Himself, always with the article, eighty six times in the N.T. This title denotes “the second Man,” “the second Adam,” taking the place dispensationally of “the first man,” who had forfeited his appointed status, and succeeding therefore to universal dominion over the earth which had been committed to Adam (Genesis 1:26).
The terms therefore speak not only to reality but to destiny of both men – Ezekiel and Christ, in a divinely structured, deeply significant relationship of servant to Master.
So the Spirit instructed Ezekiel to stand upon thy feet.
This action indicated that the prophet was worthy to “stand” before the LORD and to speak His words, and that he therefore was not a false prophet, all of whom spoke out of their own hearts – and thus falsely.
The words of the LORD to Jeremiah earlier confirm this principle: Jeremiah 23:16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.
Therefore, whether the people believed them or not, the words which Ezekiel would utter were the sure words of YHVH.
Eze 2:2 And the spirit (Ruach) entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.
This operation illustrates the means by which the Spirit comes into operation within every receptacle (person) instructed by it, and every place addressed by it: it enters WITH THE WORD. The initial working of the Spirit of God in the Creation itself was recorded in Genesis 1, in which God said … (spoke) and it was accomplished!
Its infusion within, or possession by, a person is not the result of a swoon or a trance, or being “possessed” by an external force; its resultant instruction does not come forth from such a vessel as phony, monotonous, nonsensical gibberish, but as rational, comprehensible instructions as to the Father’s will and teaching in language that can be directly understood by someone present.
It may come forth in a language foreign to most of those present, but is always translatable by a native speaker of that language to the profit of those who hear – witness the pouring out of the Spirit word on Pentecost, where every man heard the message in his own tongue! They heard it in their own tongue because it was miraculously spoken IN that tongue.
The living word’s entrance gives life and vitality – confers and demands faithfulness and utter fealty to God, the giver of Truth. In turn, the vessel (person) so occupied sends forth the Water of Life from his lips to those about him.
This was the sole means to be employed by the Almighty to His errant people of that day through Ezekiel. Ezekiel was specially instructed and energized by the words spoken to him, responding precisely as such a recipient must!
Note carefully that the prophet tells his hearers I heard Him that spake unto me; this is of course the necessary requisite to a valid reception of the Spirit word, and gives the hearer certification of Divine qualification in turn to offer that word to others. It certifies his words to be from the LORD.
The Mission of Ezekiel
Eze 2:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation (the Hebrew word , nation, here, is Goy, and means a people, usually Gentile in character; it is therefore a collective plural in that sense and in this instance, indicates Judah and Israel – the entire rebellious People of God. His People were deporting themselves as the Gentiles round about them, so He takes that cue to designate them as Goy, exactly like those alien peoples – those who were in no way related to Him, and did not deserve His salvation; He now particularly describes them and their behaviour) that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.
We believe the unusual word “goy,” which is usually reserved for heathen (Gentile) nations, is here employed to indicate to Israel that it was now deporting itself AS a Gentile, unbelieving nation. This belief is borne out in the text that follows.
The droning, repetitive message of Israel’s transgression is fully as monotonous as their transgression itself; its incessant warnings always furnishing a rampart against their unbroken iniquity, and always offering them the reprieve afforded by repentance.
The collective Nations here – the very People of God – is representative of the great rebellious (heathen) nations, the resistance of which is universal! He so perfectly then describes their conduct before Him …
Eze 2:4 For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.
The scathing accusation of their being impudent and stiffhearted is historical, having already been used against them eight times in Exodus and Deuteronomy.
The appellative the LORD GOD is Adonai YHVH, and is used in Ezekiel 214 times, but rarely anywhere else! As Ezekiel is in exile, its usage may be to remind Ezekiel that YHVH is still the sovereign LORD over ALL the earth, though Israel at the time be Lo-Ammi – not My people – Hosea 2:23.
Eze 2:5 And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
They shall not be able to escape the pervasive and persistent warnings of Ezekiel, whose words they are obligated to receive as from the LORD. Being rebellious, they will not. Although they were exiled to a land far away, Adonai had sent with them a resident messenger through which He should constantly make His wishes known to them! They could not escape His oversight!
They shall therefore be without excuse. Ezekiel 3: 17-21, q.v., is an extensive situational analysis of the responsibility of the message-bearer (the prophet) to speak God’s warnings to them, and their responsibility to respond to his warning.
In the same vein, stating that He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, the LORD again summarizes this same principle early in Ezekiel 33, q.v.
So it is imperative not only that Ezekiel speak His warnings to them, but also that they heed His warning of impending punishments.
Eze 2:6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.
The terms briers and thorns … scorpions are the figure Hypocatastasis, meaning Implication: an implied similarity or representation, for special emphasis.
Briers and thorns are nettlesome evils causing hurt and pain to Ezekiel; and the sting of some scorpions can even be fatal. Ezekiel shall suffer some of these insults, but he is encouraged as was Jeremiah, to remain firmly in the Almighty’s service, and to be neither afraid nor dismayed.
It shall be a formidable task for him to resist such brow-beating and insufferable superiority!
Eze 2:7 And thou shalt speak my words (nothing less, nothing more) unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. His “speaking” did not depend upon their “hearing.”
Eze 2:8 But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.
Is even Ezekiel subject to being swayed by his opposers’ words as the remainder of the two nations had been? This warning addresses that possibility, and warns him sternly against it.
So the prophet is instructed to open his mouth and eat that which is given him …
Eze 2:9 And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll (scroll) of a book was therein;
This scroll is unusual in that it contained a profusion of words – written both on its inside and its outside surfaces, representing the abundance, the comprehensive character, and the conclusiveness of His prophecy to them.
Jeremiah was also instructed to write a warning in a scroll and send it to the elders of Judah. And the Apostle John beheld the Lamb of God in Revelation 5 and 6 as He opened the sealed scroll (handwriting) that no man could open but Him. And Belshazzar the Babylonian king was warned by a detached hand which wrote a fatal message upon a wall of the banquet hall of Babylon!
Eze 2:10 And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
The doleful message of the scroll seems to have contained the woeful complaints that His people should utter, which should reflect the dire circumstances into which they would immediately be led.
But He makes it entirely clear that they have brought these lamentations upon themselves in their disobedience of His instructive and edifying words to them.
But the encounter with the Angel of the Bow is not finished; graphic instructions are coming for the prophet – and many exciting encounters with the people! <HEL 5N> ~1550 words.
Ezekiel 3
Mission of Ezekiel - Continued
The prophet had just been instructed to open his mouth, and eat that (which) I give thee – 2:8. Now he is instructed to consume the scroll which he has been shown!
Eze 3:1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
Note that now the title “Israel” is given to Judah; it is the remnant with which Ezekiel is to be concerned.
Eze 3:2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
Eze 3:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
Such is always the sweet and compassionate and righteous will of the Almighty!
The psalmist proclaims the immense benefits of His blessings: Psalm 19:9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
These words were the Judgments of the LORD without doubt, being sent as they were to an extremely rebellious people. But they were sweet as honey in the prophet’s mouth – because they were words of justice and mercy as could only be purveyed by their loving Father.
The Apostle John, in Revelation 10:10, was similarly given a scroll to eat, and it, too, was sweet as honey in his mouth, but in his belly it was bitter.
Eze 3:4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
The figure here is that, having eaten the scroll, it and its contents have become an integral part of him; it has become incorporated into his will and volition; it is now a part of his makeup, and is ready to be imparted to whomever will hear.
So, having now received the profuse warnings of the Almighty, the prophet is now commanded to regurgitate them, or impart them, to his prime audience, the people of Israel (Judah). The task will not be complex, because the target audience understands his language well; no translation of words is needed (of explanation of concepts, there is some doubt).
Eze 3:5 For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel;
Eze 3:6 Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.
This comment is filled with pathos – even bitterness – in that His own people will not hear the prophet, as should complete foreigners have done!
Eze 3:7 But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.
Eze 3:8 Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.
Eze 3:9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.
The adamant is a mineral, either: 1) the diamond, or more likely 2) carborundum, which is nearly as hard as the diamond! This is a measure of the extreme hardness of their foreheads, which is put for their understanding and assimilation of His instructions! Today, we should describe them as “hard-headed!”
Note: There is an extremely interesting correlation of the Hebrew word for “hardness” (harder than flint) with Ezekiel’s name in Hebrew: in the phrase harder than flint, the word “harder” is Hebrew, Hazak, meaning strong for endurance. Now, note that we earlier stated the name of the prophet as being, in Hebrew, Yehezek’el = El strengthens, or alternately El is durable or hard –the same word as “harder” than flint! So the prophet was protected from his foes with unsurpassed hardness (endurance) – even extending to his name!
But the Almighty’s words were not to be received as “hard” words; they were instead words of compassion and justice, and were thus commended to the prophet’s HEART in the Almighty’s next words.
The Cherubim
Eze 3:10 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears (i.e., with deep understanding, so that they would emanate from him with authority and clear meaning).
Eze 3:11 And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD (Adonai YHVH) whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
Eze 3:12 Then the spirit (Ruach) took me up (i.e., laid hold of me), and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, ‘Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place.’
The rushing noise came from behind the prophet who therefore was facing south at this point; the vision was coming to him from the north (or from behind him).
The cluttering, confused, unintelligible noise of movement and progress only is apparent – but there are heard no audible, understandable words as yet.
Eze 3:13 I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.
Thus the prophet is physically propelled from his original location to another, much in the manner as Elijah was taken up by the fiery horses and the chariot to another location. [We can be assured that Elijah did not ascend to heaven as it might seem, as a letter was received from him some months later – a letter to King Jehoram, which surely originated from his new location – 2Chronicles 21:12.]
Eze 3:14 So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness (Strong’s H4751 – in Maraw, or discontent, chafed, heavy in spirit), in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.
Even in his discontent and decided un-ease, Ezekiel was comforted by the strong hand of the LORD upon him!
Eze 3:15 Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib (meaning, a mound of green growth), that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
Analysts have determined that this Chebar was not that at which Ezekiel lived, but another place – a tributary of the Euphrates north of metropolitan Babylon.
Eze 3:16 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Being “astonished” among them must mean that the prophet sat in the midst of the people for seven entire days without speaking!
What a strange occurrence.
It was designed to get their rapt attention, no doubt, and there can be little doubt that Ezekiel was discussed for miles about that place!
Finally, he was given words to say to the people by the Almighty.
Eze 3:17 Son of man, I have made thee (i.e., given thee, as a gift) a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
A watchman is Hebrew Zaphah – one who looks out or views from an height, with the object of warning. His duty was not to speak his own words, but the words of his Commander and King YHVH, Who told him to give them warning from ME.
The Spirit now reveals a concise set of conditions placed upon the watchman – outlining his duties and obligations. If he does not warn the wicked, the wicked shall be punished and the blood of the wicked shall be on the prophet’s account (head).
There are also three other contingencies, which are reviewed in detail:
Eze 3:18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Eze 3:19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
Eze 3:20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Eze 3:21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
Ezekiel doubtless perceived the gravity of his responsibilities as a watchman. From the subsequent record, we shall see that he dispatched them thoroughly and responsibly!
Eze 3:22 And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.
The prophet travels some unspecified distance and in the plain encounters the original Vision of the Cherubim; he is awe-struck and falls on his face in the presence of God.
Eze 3:23 Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.
Eze 3:24 Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house.
Now that the prophet’s enigmatic appearance among the Israelites has been made and well established, he is told to disappear – to shut himself within his house!
Eze 3:25 But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:
The sense of this phrase seems to be that the people will come into his house and put binders upon him – perhaps even a yoke, for the word’s meaning allows that – that he not circulate among the population. He is apparently to be deprived of fluids and become dehydrated, and also struck dumb, that he shalt not be to them a reprover – not yet – for they are adamantly resistant to God’s word!
Eze 3:26 And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth (dehydration), that thou shalt be dumb (mute), and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house.
The prophet, in his temporary misery and discomfort, must await the time as determined by the Almighty – the time when He will relate His words to the people: it is a time which inevitably shall come …
Eze 3:27 But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.
One easily imagines the dread incurred in Ezekiel by this instruction – a protocol of conduct which will be a living example to his people – which will illustrate a certain destiny for them in their rebellious actions! The utter pragmatism of the Almighty shows through strongly, in that He well knows in advance the reaction Ezekiel shall receive from them – rejection, taunting, and extreme disdain.
But the prophet has been warned, and is ready for their rejection.
The ensuing details, and the future historical course of His nation, shall be instructive to them (and to US) as we move forward in the prophecies of Ezekiel. <HEL 5N> ~2000 words.
Ezekiel 4
Signs
The City: The Siege
The words recorded here follow immediately upon the suspension of the prophet’s mute (dumb) period of the last chapter.
But the “words” which he is designated to speak turn out to be not spoken words but a complex “sign” to the people concerning Jerusalem.
Eze 4:1 Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile (this would be a Babylonian tile, which is uniformly about 12 x 14 inches, and glazed), and lay it before thee, and pourtray (engrave a representation) upon it the city, even Jerusalem:
The ensuing details involve an enacted or gamed parable – which vividly illustrated the coming siege of the City, which had not yet occurred.
The game is a war game, and portrayed the overthrow of God’s holy City, Jerusalem, which should come in BC587.
Eze 4:2 And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about.
Eze 4:3 Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.
The prophet is directed to become one of whom today we refer to as “enactors” of battles.
[In our local community in Western Maryland, there are hundreds of persons who on special occasions dress and behave as American Civil War veterans of the Union Army (the North). On special anniversaries such as the Battle of Gettysburg and the Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam), they enact or portray days of bloody combat between the North and the South each year. Ezekiel became such an “enactor!” The prophet enacts Nebuchadnezzar, the besieger of Jerusalem in BC587.]
At this point, the prophecy becomes quite complex. Bullinger offers a (contrived) solution of sorts in his notes, but we believe there is a far more valid solution – one with a longer-ranging goal, pointing well into the future, to the “consummation of all things.”
The author composed an exhortation on this subject some months before this writing which seems to fit the case better.
Those notes are appended at the end of this chapter as Appendix A, which please see. The author hopes you find them helpful to your understanding of this long-term prophesy.
Eze 4:4 Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.
Eze 4:5 For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
Eze 4:6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
Eze 4:7 Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.
Eze 4:8 And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.
Thus, like Ezekiel’s present physical posture, Nebuchadnezzar was “bound” literally to fulfill all the days of his siege and to accomplish its intended end; we often use the term today in exactly the same way!
But as shown above, the long-term implications were far more grave, but would lead to the eventual exoneration of His people at the time of their repentance in the end time.
Food
During this time of lying on his left and right sides, the prophet will require nourishment. So the LORD makes provision for him to have bread to eat, and water to drink!
It is not sumptuous fare, but will maintain him alive to finish his stint of duty.
Eze 4:9 Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.
Although not specified here, he was to do the same while lying on his other side for 40 days. His ration would be meager – and exactly measured as to weight of bread and quantity of water.
Eze 4:10 And thy meat (bread) which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.
Eze 4:11 Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.
Eze 4:12 And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.
The visible, protracted, and public action of Ezekiel would represent to the people a prophecy of the times of their demise – their eating of defiled bread among the nations.
Eze 4:13 And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.
Eze 4:14 Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.
The prophet begs the LORD to defer to his sensibilities in the matter of the fuel for baking the bread. So the LORD makes a substitution …
Eze 4:15 Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.
This visible action would indubitably grasp the attention of all the men of Judah; all would enquire as to its meaning – and the prophet would inform them of God’s words.
The action forecasted an extended period of famine and thirst of physical elements for the people, just as they had refused the nourishment of the LORD’s words to them.
Eze 4:16 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment:
Eze 4:17 That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity.
This dire prophecy was simply that the people would be malnourished, and starve slowly; they should also lack water, and be required to subsist on only a small ration per day. No diet can be more basic and sparse than bread and water! <HEL 5N>
Appendix A: The Magnificent Fulfillment of Ezekiel Four!
An eTPL Position Paper
H. E. Lafferty
The following article is inserted here to consider more details of the prophecy. Some of it will be redundant; on these sections, please exercise Selah!
In the fourth chapter of Ezekiel there is a remarkable revelation for Jerusalem’s – and God’s People’s – future. The portion we shall first consider is verses 4 – 6. The word “also” indicates that important information came before the actions commanded by this verse, but we shall consider that preamble later.
This prophecy is both profound and beautiful in mathematical accuracy! We have personally been intrigued by it for decades, only lately gaining some better understanding deduced from several sources of information.
This presentation discusses this prophecy in some (lengthy!) detail.
The Almighty commanded Ezekiel to lie on his left side for a long period of time, then on his right side for a much longer period of time.
There were reasons given for this somewhat odd arrangement – odd, and certainly unusual enough that they should have caused Israel to examine itself and consider its ways; it did not.
One needs to concentrate upon these actions … and upon
The times required for their performance … and upon
God’s given reasons for their performance. His words are …
Ezekiel 4:4 Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.
Eze 4:5 For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
Eze 4:6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
Please note carefully that each day of Ezekiel’s reclining would be equivalent to one “year” of Israel’s suffering for its iniquities.
Now we summarize what the prophet was told:
1. The Action: First he was to lie on his LEFT side. God said that this designated the iniquity of the house of Israel (the Ten Tribes)
2. The Time Required: According to the number of the days (360 DAYS),
3. The Reason for the Action: Thou shalt bear (and illustrate to the witnessing people) the INIQUITY of the House of Israel.
These are the three parameters of his lying on his left side.
Now to the summary of his second task:
1. The Action: Now he was to lie on his RIGHT side. God said that this designated the iniquity of the house of Israel (Judah – the Two Tribes).
2. The Time Required: According to the number of the days (40 DAYS)
3. The Reason for the Action: Thou shalt bear (and illustrate to the witnessing people) THE INIQUITY of the House of Judah.
These are the three parameters of his lying on his right side.
What does all this mean? Students have sought to understand the exact meaning of this prophecy for many years. We can determine internally (from the provisions of the acted parable) it has to do with the YEARS of Israel’s punishment for iniquity – each day indicating a “year” – a well-defined and accepted interpretive principle of certain Bible prophecies as proven many times.
In the final analysis it could not be understood until a certain TIME in Israel’s history. That time proves to be the year of the ESTABLISHMENT of Israel as a re-established State among the nations!
It perhaps could have been proposed; but not proven, as it now is, from history.
As previously observed the prophecy is both sophisticated and mathematically perfect, as we should by now expect from the utterances of the Almighty. Our task is to discover exactly HOW sophisticated and accurate it is!
We may summarize the prophecy so far, as
390 days: Punishment against the Ten Tribes of Israel (Northern Kingdom)
+ 40 days: Punishment against the Two Tribes of Judah (Southern Kingdom)
= 430 days (years): Punishment against the whole House of Israel
Now the punishment for Israel’s iniquities begins to play out in an incredibly powerful, precise course of events.
In 606 BC, Babylon came against Judah’s Commonwealth and placed it under servitude to Babylon. Judah was no longer master of its own destiny. The slavery to the kingdoms of men has begun for them.
Their captivity in Babylon lasted exactly 70 years.
These years thus diminish the entire term of punishment remaining, thusly:
430 = total years of judgment determined against the nation of Israel
- 70 = the years fulfilled during the captivity in Babylon
= 360 years now remaining in judgment against the nation of Israel.
The date lapse is the seventy years from 606 BC to 536 BC – the end of Judah’s captivity and restoration (temporarily) to its land BUT NOT AS A COMMONWEALTH – not with its own independence.
Now one encounters a stone wall! In the remaining history of the Jews there is no discernible fulfillment of the remaining days (years) of the prophecy as previously experienced by them. From 536 BC a lapse of a further 360 literal years brings one to the date of 176 BC – an era in which no end of Israel’s iniquity can be said to have occurred. Indeed, this date is within the “dark” period of God’s word about which we know (scripturally) little or nothing. So this method of determination cannot be utilized.
So how may we understand the MYSTERY of these 360 “days” (years, or “times”) of the prophecy? The conclusion that we must reach is the mystery is so profound and so highly unlikely that nobody could likely have solved this mystery until it was fulfilled! However, in viewing the prophecy from its possible (most likely) date of fulfillment, we can determine the sheer accuracy of it without any doubt whatever.
If this proposed solution to the out-working of the prophecy is not correct, then what is the solution?
The Solution Determined
Here is the solution in our opinion: the answer lies in another reference in which the punishments of Israel are clearly stated. That reference is in Leviticus 26.
Lev 26:18 And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. There is more:
Lev 26:21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. There is more:
Lev 26:24 Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. There is more:
Lev 26:27 And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; 28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. And there is yet more – further defining their punishment:
Lev 26:33 And I will scatter you among the heathen (nations), and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
Note please that the final sentence is that they be scattered among THE NATIONS; this is not the earlier case of their being removed specifically to Babylon – one nation. It is that later scattering – in 70 AD – literally to every nation.
The end of this period of punishment will therefore define and determine the end point of the prophecy!
This series of sentences has been called by some the Seven Times Factor, or the “Seven-X Factor.”
Its definition and recognition is the key to the understanding of this prophecy.
As we consistently observe in our studies of Bible prophecy, our Father is an utterly truthful, straightforward, observant Revelator in these matters: He says exactly what He means to say – and He means exactly what He says! We do not have to syllogise, ponder, or theorize as to His intentions! We are not required to seek “types” and “shadows” as many do. And we are NOT PERMITTED to do so, either. We need to keep it as simple as He does in order to understand His faithful words.
The Prophecy is Fulfilled!
We “experimentally” apply the Seven-X Factor to the remaining 360 days (years) of the prophecy to determine just where it leads. That long period will be observed as almost incessant judgment against the people of Israel in this remarkable mathematical prophecy . . .
Remember, there were 360 years remaining for Israel’s judgments
x 7 which is the 7X factor of Leviticus 26
= 2,520 years of judgment which remained against the nation of Israel – the Jews.
It is a familiar time span to us as students of prophecy, but in a slightly different application than that familiar to us, the beauty of which lends even greater weight and credibility to its fulfillment!
Our greatest familiarity with 2,520 prophetic years spans the period between the initial Babylonian overthrow to the liberation of the Land from the Ottomans in 1917.
This period is entirely parallel with that earlier period but begins with the return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity and ends with the establishment of the State in 1947-48. As a different period, it does not invalidate the earlier proven fulfillment.
The Jewish calendar is the most sophisticated calendar on the planet, suiting perfectly its religious and civil obligations. It is both lunar and solar in character. It utilizes a 360 day Lunar year (the Prophetic year), but because this arrangement does not match the Solar year, mandates the addition of five months in each 19 year cycle in order to adjust for the seasons. These are “leap months” and are always designated Adar II (Adar Beit) as Adar is the last month of the Jewish calendar, and as such is simply repeated in those years.
Well … not simply, but certainly repeated.
So we may understand this prophecy – and see its exquisite fulfillment – by first converting these times into Hebrew DAYS. We may do that in this way:
We start with 2,520 years, and multiply by Jewish days per year
x 360 days (of the basic Jewish calendar), which yields
907,200 which is the number of Jewish calendar days of remaining Judgment against Israel after the Babylonian Captivity of 70 years.
Now … in the calendar which we must use to understand this time period (our Gregorian calendar of 365.25 days per year, including the adjustment (0.25) for Leap Years), we reach this figure in this way:
907,200 days divided by 365.25 days = 2,483.78 years of judgment which remained in Gregorian terms. These will now result in Gregorian years adjusted for Leap Years and are easy to calculate as to their termination, as follows; with this calculation done, we may ask how does it (or even DOES it) apply to the prophecy? We shall see!
The entire integrated calculation looks like this:
606 BC – Judah (Israel) taken into Babylonian Captivity
- 70 years’ Captivity
= 536 BC – years remaining at termination of first 70 years of judgment
+ 2,483 years of added (remaining) judgment according to the Gregorian calendar:
+ 1 year to adjust for the lack of “O” year BC or AD
= 1,948 AD !!!!
This should mark the end of “Judgment” against Israel – and IT DID!
As surely everyone is aware, Israel was re-established in the year 1948 AD, exactly on God’s precise timetable according to this view of this prophecy! This action literally terminated the long period of persecution for the Jews.
From that point they were set upon a course of redemption and reconciliation for their iniquities.
Summarizing this entire prophecy, we understand these corroborative facts of secular history – our means of cross-checking God’s perfect fulfillment …
The beginning of all this was the disaster known as the Babylonian Captivity of Judah (Israel) in 606 BC. Seventy years later, as Jeremiah had prophesied in Jeremiah 29: 10, the Jews returned to their land, but not as a sovereign people.
At this point they entered upon the second phase of their judgments – the 907,200 days of their remaining punishments!
The Persians permitted them, under Cyrus’ decree, to return to their land, but not as a sovereign nation.
The Persians were overthrown by the Greeks, who retained hegemony over all the Persians’ territories including Judea with its Jews – still not a sovereign nation.
The Greeks were in turn overthrown by the Romans; the land remained under the control of Rome. Judaea was merely a province of Rome – still not a sovereign nation.
The Jews, however, were restive and rebellious. In 70 AD and again in 135 AD (the Bar Kochba Rebellion) they were expelled from the Land and forbidden to reenter it under penalty of death.
Their Land was renamed Palestina (which is derived from Philistia – their antagonists of long standing) as a final insult to God’s people. Their long exile continued, having never actually ended since their exile to Babylon, for the Commonwealth was never again established. That blessing must await the end of their protracted period of punishment for iniquity!
The grindingly destructive history of the People inched slowly forward, including many periods in which the awful punishments of Leviticus 26 were laid heavily upon their weary frames – the sky seeming to be brass and the earth iron under their feet – their oppression unequaled in the annals of humankind until the final insult came at the hands of Adolph Hitler in 1933 to 1945 – twelve years of the most inhuman persecution any nation had ever experienced; one year for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.
But in the convoluted events that followed, within three short years, the Commonwealth of Israel was re-created! This fulfilled not only the subject prophecy on May 14, 1948, but also satisfactorily ended the “abandonment” (the “giving up”) of God’s people predicted so poignantly by Micah 5:3 Therefore will he give them up (abandon them in many other versions), until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth (or given birth: their “mother” being the divinely established and guided World Zionist Organization and its Jewish Agency, which birthed the State of Israel): then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel (i.e., to the Land of the Children of Israel, from which they were officially expelled for the entire term of this incredible prophecy given to Ezekiel).
Note the two almost casually inserted words “until” and “then” in the prophecy. but realize in retrospect that these are finite and concrete TIME MARKERS of this prophecy, giving perfect substantiation to the prophecy of Ezekiel Four as well as scores of others!
Slowly but inexorably, the people of God suffered the follies of their iniquity. On May 14, 1948 that horrible term of persecution ended forever with the formation of their newly birthed state – a nation brought forth in one day as Isaiah 66:8 foretold in graphic terms.
Since that day their return to the Land has been unstoppable!
Ezekiel, in a later vision, saw the essential endpoint of Israel’s destiny, revealing it in these succinct and comforting words:
Ezekiel 37:21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen (nations), whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: 22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
Ezekiel, under the perfect will of the Almighty, then gave the vision in turn to us, for strength and confirmation of His purpose in the end time. It has only been in the END TIME that we could decipher and understand this remarkable and singular revelation.
Before that time, largely because of its complex, mixed-matrix of fulfillment of the 70 years and the 360 years in greatly non-equivalent ways, its meaning was essentially hidden from the eyes of all inquirers!
And now it comes to the forefront as one of the most complex, but mathematically perfect, long-term fulfillments that we could ever imagine – and as reconfirmation of God’s perfectly devised and executed Plan of the Ages, leading inherently to the re-establishment of all His people in the re-constituted Eden, the Garden of God, in the location where it originally existed but was made obsolescent by the sin of Eve and Adam.
A Final Assessment
The establishment of Israel as a nation in 1948 marked THE signal event of the end time. The Lord Jesus told us that WHEN YE SEE THESE THINGS BEGIN TO COME TO PASS, THEN LOOK UP, FOR YOUR REDEMPTION DRAWETH NIGH!
We cannot, and MUST NOT, relax our vigilance.
The singular events of 1948 and those following that date are the unmistakable furthering of His Plan with Israel and with the earth – the non-bendable progression of His will and purpose.
Our Father has a COVENANT with Israel which He is faithfully executing on their behalf, because of His love for them, in spite of their yet continuing state of denial of His Son, and not for any righteousness of their own manufacture – but solely for His holy name’s sake as Ezekiel again confirms: Ezekiel 36:32 - Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.
Only a few sentences prior to this, the prophet had explained to them: Ezekiel 36:21 But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. 22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. 23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
The reason He intends to redeem them is clarified: God is jealous for His holy name and shall uphold it in the finality. He intends to redeem them in spite of their great faults; but He will do so only after these same people recognize Him and confess Him as “Blessed” – as in the phrase Blessed is He Who cometh in the name of the Lord (Luke 13: 35).
That grateful admission shall be utterly REDEMPTIVE for them, and is indicated as coming as a result of His visible appearance and His active, aggressive and utterly victorious military offensive against their neighbors round about as in Obadiah, Isaiah 63, Psalm 83, and many other references.
It shall be the beginning of his NEW covenant with them – the initial, concrete fulfillment of His eternal promises – including those promises wrapped within the blessed redemptive work of Jesus of Nazareth for Gentile believers as well.
Further credence for this explanation is adduced from consideration to the preamble to this revelation. The words are Ezekiel 4:1 - Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem: 2 And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about. 3 Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.
This acted parable of an incessant siege against God’s City and People illustrated vividly that the prophecy is directly aimed at Jerusalem as capital and representative of its people, Israel. This activity is integral to the People’s extensive, prolonged punishments – those exhaustive challenges with which we and they are far too intimately acquainted. <HEL 5N>
Please refer to - www.jewfaq.org for further assistance and understanding of the Jewish calendar – a formidable challenge for most! <HEL 5N> ~4550 words.
Ezekiel 5
Hair
Eze 5:1 And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.
Eze 5:2 Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.
Eze 5:3 Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts (these represent the few who were left behind with Gedaliah who then made the decision to disobey God and go down into Egypt for protection. Their subsequent burning in the fire is representative of their immediate disobedience of going into Egypt for protection, and their judgment therefor).
Eze 5:4 Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel (this would come to pass in Egypt).
E-Sword has this excellent footnote on verse one:
“In this expressive emblem, the prophet represents the Jewish nation; his hair, the people; the razor, the Chaldeans; the cutting of the hair, the calamities and disgrace coming upon them; the balances, the exact distribution of the Divine judgments; the third part of the hair burnt, those destroyed in the city; the third part smitten with a knife, those slain in attempting to escape; the third part scattered to the winds, those who escaped to other countries [or were scattered to the winds]; the few hairs in his skirt, those left with Gedaliah; and the burning of these, their destruction in Egypt.”
Eze 5:5 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is (this hair, represents) Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her.
Eze 5:6 And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them.
Even after the Restoration of BC537, the nation did not obey the Almighty.
The condemnation here is so severe as to include their second dispersal to all nations, which we know took place in 70AD under Rome’s aggression. At that time, the people were deported to all nations of the earth, creating the Diaspora, with all its persecution and oppression of God’s people throughout the earth for ages to come!
Eze 5:7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied (multiplied evil) more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you;
Eze 5:8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.
Eze 5:9 And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.
The terrible words that follow reflect not only (are not limited to) the crisis of their then-present disobedience, and their imminent deportation to Babylon. These acts are fulfillment of the ultimate degradation of Judah in 70AD in the siege of Rome’s armies. Josephus records precisely, heinous acts of cannibalism among those being besieged in the City at that time – horrible, repugnant atrocities which had been foretold as far back as Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26 (as penalties for future disobedience).
Some expositors of today believe and adamantly teach, that this terrible overthrow and persecution of God’s people must occur yet again, and that the nation of six million Jewish citizens now settled in Israel must be overthrown before the coming of Christ, exiled into Egypt, literally, and recovered later by Him.
We must reject this outrageous theory as being outrightly unscriptural.
Here is our reasoning:
Isaiah 11:11 proclaims that the Almighty will set His hand a second time to recover His people from certain nations which He names in that prophecy, to an Ensign (Hebrew, Nec, a flag, or signal – i.e., the State of Israel) which He should establish for them.
This prophecy is being, and has been partially fulfilled.
No THIRD recovery is even hinted at in the prophets – a necessary procedure should Israel be scattered once again. This point cannot be ignored nor gainsaid; it must be admitted as God’s Plan for His people. There is NO ‘third’ recovery even hinted at!
This present State of Israel clearly represents the FINAL recovery of His people.
As a note of interest, nearly ALL the Jews have today been recovered from those nations mentioned in Isaiah 11. A scattered few Jews remain in some areas, but most of them have been removed to Israel or other nations.
Now, in Zechariah 13:7-9 this 70AD destruction of Jerusalem is well described.
That account integrates with these revelations by Ezekiel. The Almighty’s action upon His people is a once-and-done action – unique in every way.
Our reason for believing that, are:
Note carefully the specific words of verse nine above, that … I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like.
Read that promise again; commit it to memory, for it is the key to understanding this prophecy!
… I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like.
His children MUST believe His clearly given testimonies; they are never allowed to make up their own rules. They are entitled to their own opinions, but not to their own FACTS!
The events spanning the time period from AD70 until 1948AD were permeated with His people being punished incessantly for their sins; they climaxed in the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, which we now recognize as the Shoah, or Holocaust, of Nazi Germany, conducted from 1933 to 1945, resulting in the deaths of over six million of God’s Chosen People.
No persecution of any people has ever been seen of like magnitude.
But the promise, in Jeremiah 30:7, is: Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
He shall be saved out of it!
Within four years of Independence, the population of Israel doubled, and then doubled again shortly thereafter, and has doubled again as His people have been progressively recovered from the Diaspora.
And the greatest recovery is yet to be – at the hand of the Christ of the Second Advent, when He gathers ALL the Hebrew people of all the tribes into their Land, leaving none of them dispersed in the nations!
The Almighty has clearly repudiated and foreclosed any future dispersion and persecution of His people by these words.
Further, in plain words given through the prophet Amos, the Almighty states again His people’s permanence in the land, once recalled to it: He tells His people that:
Amos 9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David (it is extremely pertinent that the State of Israel today is known by the Jews as this literal entity: “the Third Temple”) that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old (could any person seriously deny these obvious facts?)
But here, we enter into yet future operations – yet future to today): 12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, (“they” being Israel) which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.
Notice carefully that Israel is destined imminently, physically to POSSESS all these lands and all their properties – the logical end of Israel’s conquest of all of them under the aegis of Christ and the Immortalized Saints. His claim here is notable: it is not, physically speaking, Israel which shall have effected this “possession of the remnant of Edom and of all the nations; it is their Father acting by His divine prerogative and angelic oversight: cf., Daniel 12: 1-3) 13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt (Israeli agriculture is already more advanced than any in the world; its crops are superabundant; it is a net exporter of foodstuffs; its wines are some of the finest in the world; its Jaffa oranges are the most delicious of any! It is HE Who has performed these miracles within His people!). 14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel (presently in excess of six million, and still growing), and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.
Has the Almighty given the Land to His people, i.e. caused them to return to it?
Has He caused them to return under miraculous circumstances, and to survive there against incredibly impossible odds from an human standpoint?
We surely cannot deny that He has established them there by His human agency of Zionism (Micah 5:3), and caused them to survive and to thrive mightily by His angelic assistance through Michael the Archangel, Israel’s special envoy from Him as designated in Daniel: 12:1-3.
Our studied conclusion must be that Israel is back in its land forever; its development into the kingdom age is moving forward apace, and in its perfect order of fulfillment.
Soon we shall see the Second Coming of Messiah, and their humble and utterly subservient recognition and acclamation of Him in the words of Luke 13:35 – Blessed is He Who cometh in the name of the LORD!
The prophet details many of the horrendous insults to His people during the time of His disfavor – His abandonment of them (His “giving them up” as Micah 5:3).
But … “he shall be saved out of it!”
And Israel HAS BEEN so saved! And the greatest proportion of the “remnant” of Nazi Europe went directly and immediately to “Palestine,” soon to become “Israel” for the first time in over 2,500 years!
We return to the awful description given to Ezekiel of the horrors to come upon them: the cannibalism of the next verse occurred and is documented by Josephus (Israel: Wars) in 70 AD during the siege of Jerusalem. Starvation permeated the entire population of the City, although water was plentiful.
Eze 5:10 Therefore the fathers shall eat (cannibalize) the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds.
These final words always refer to their second dispersion by Rome, in 70AD.
The people would never practice idolatry as blatantly again after their return from Babylon; but their refusal to recognize and accept their Messiah was an even greater affront to the holy name of God. In repudiating His First Advent among them, they failed to understand or ignored over fifty pinpointed prophecies of His first coming, and determined that He should be crucified. In so doing, they sealed their fate for another 2,000 years into the grim future …
Eze 5:11 Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.
Here is the Father’s definitive summary of “the thirds” of the divided hair: this dolorous prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD, when about a third starved to death or died of disease, a third part were slain in the battle, and a third part were peddled away as slaves into all nations of the earth.
Eze 5:12 A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.
Eze 5:13 Thus shall mine anger be accomplished (the implication here is that once His anger is accomplished, it shall be finished! At that point, His indignation toward them is “overpast” as in Isaiah 26:20), and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.
These words were so pregnant with condemnation even their sages and rabbis could not fathom the destruction they would bring – nor would they be able to avoid these curses.
Eze 5:14 Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.
Eze 5:15 So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.
His people, and those nations round about, were about to learn the dreadful, core meaning of the words of the writer to the Hebrews: It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:31.
Unfortunately, the message would be lost on all those pagan peoples too, for they followed not the God of Jacob and Abraham. Their spiritual ignorance would never allow them to acknowledge or heed the word of an invisible God!
The principle holds true even until today in the “religion” of Islam, because for over 1400 years those people have worshipped a small stone moon god of Arabia, known as “Allah.” In these preceding words, their fate is clearly outlined …
Eze 5:16 When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:
Eze 5:17 So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts (by this phrase, he indicates HUMAN beasts, not animal ones), and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it.
Thus the personal hair of the prophet’s head becomes the vehicle by which to illustrate the intermediate destiny of His people – intermediate, because their terminal destiny is for blessing, for national elevation, for national redemption at the Second Coming of the Lord from heaven! <HEL 5N> ~2225 words.
Ezekiel 6
The Mountains
Eze 6:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 6:2 Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,
Eze 6:3 And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places (these abominations of the mountains, or ‘high places,’ usually, were the cause of their curse!).
In the end time, these actions are being abruptly reversed, as recorded in Ezekiel 36, q.v.
Eze 6:4 And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.
Eze 6:5 And I will lay the dead carcasses of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.
The figure illustrated in this language seems to be that of His symbolically offering their carcasses before their idols as sacrifice to them! This action, when it had been accomplished, seems effectively and finally to have brought home to the people the extreme futility of idolatry in Judah; after the Restoration of BC537 and subsequently, they were not prone to practice idolatry to any great extent any more.
Eze 6:6 In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.
Eze 6:7 And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
This condition was to be a long time in coming, however, as over 2500 years of “desolation” lay ahead of the people before they would be restored the second time (see Isaiah 11:11). Their last “desolator” was the Ottoman Empire, from which they were liberated in 1917; but the highly symbolic remnant of Islamic “desolation” still sits prominently and squarely upon the site of the Most Holy place, the accuracy of that determination having been made by the exhaustive investigations by the renowned archeologist/architect, Dr. Leen Ritmeyer of Nottingham, UK.
But, as every harvest is reaped, some seed is left in the ground. That was to be true here.
Eze 6:8 Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.
Eze 6:9 And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
This feature of their condemnation presented a facet which has been most remarkable. Never in the history of the world has there been a people dispersed so completely as was Judah in 70AD, scattered into all the countries of the world, but in that condition of exile having maintained its language (as liturgical language, although not common language) and their basic beliefs as to their God for all those years. This is one key reason why the Jews were not assimilable among the nations; their liturgy, their monotheism, and their clannishness was unacceptable and always under suspicion. But that characteristic should stand them in good stead …
Eze 6:10 And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
This prophecy may have seemed to them to have been an immediate one to be wrought upon them, working its effects swiftly, and then offering redemption.
Instead, it was for the long-term, for after more than 2,600 years, the people still do not recognize YHVH as their God in totality; indeed, a large number today claim to be Atheists! And hardly any of them understand that Jesus’ first Advent was according to their own prophets, fulfilling about fifty discernible, comprehensible prophecies about that first coming, but were denied by them and their rabbis.
A dark curtain descended upon their understanding; their hearts were hardened.
But many Israelis today do confess that they have returned to the Land for one purpose – for redemption – for many of them recognize that the present is the time for redemption of the nation, when they are again regathered into their Land.
Eze 6:11 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.
Eze 6:12 He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them.
Wherever they were, the pestilence and the sword would overtake them!
Eze 6:13 Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols.
Eze 6:14 So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, (the uncorrupted name is Diblah, in Syria – a deserted wasteland today) in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
These words could not have come to pass more graphically than stated!
We recall the extensive, dolorous account of Samuel F. Clements (Mark Twain) in his work, The Innocents Abroad, in which he fully documents the desolate solemnity of the land of Palestine of his day. He describes it on all sides as hot, dry, forsaken, rocky, dusty, and forlorn – unable even to sustain the cactus (sabra) and other species which usually are able to tolerate aridity, and nearly empty of persons – having almost no human occupants. He tells of one journey from Jerusalem to Galilee in which he saw not one person!
Note well the reference to the sabra above. Sabra is the term used for an extremely resilient native cactus species that grows on the arid wastelands of the deserts of the Jewish state. Its ability to sustain itself and to grow (and even flourish) under extremely dry and adverse conditions is so notable that the name has been appropriated by native born Israelis as being reflective of their own determination to survive the rigors of economic, civil and social aggression, and to grow even in such circumstances. We remember well our first Israeli Tour guide – Dr. Avashai Pesech – who he told us was a seventh-generation Sabra. His sixth great-grandfather had made aliyah many years ago during the Ottoman occupation, from Prussia. <HEL 5N> ~800 words.
Ezekiel 7
The Mountains; Lands, Continued
This entire chapter is straightforwardly understandable, and thus needs little extraneous commentary. Here are the prophet’s continuing words: they effectively reiterate the earlier excoriating words of YHVH upon them.
Eze 7:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 7:2 Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD unto the land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land.
Eze 7:3 Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations.
Eze 7:4 And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Historical accounts of the Holocaust, for example, show clearly that even the infants and smallest children were not spared the gas chamber and firing squads of the Nazi overlords. Between 1933 and 1945, over one and one half million Jewish children were murdered in cold blood. They are fittingly memorialized today in the Israeli Peace Forest on the highway leading from Jerusalem down to Tel Aviv, by a million and an half evergreen trees. Arabs desecrate their memory just the same as did the Nazis of Germany, as they have several times in the past set fire to this specific forest, trying to destroy even the memorial to these little ones. Such depth of hatred will be poured out upon these vile enemies in due time; we marvel at the forbearance and longsuffering of our Father in such matters.
Eze 7:5 Thus saith the Lord GOD; An evil, an only evil (the Hebrew is Echad, meaning unique, or singular evil – so notably apropos), behold, is come.
Eze 7:6 An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come.
Eze 7:7 The morning (this word means a turn of affairs – a worsening, in this case) is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains.
Eze 7:8 Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations.
Eze 7:9 And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth.
Eze 7:10 Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.
Eze 7:11 Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness: none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs: neither shall there be wailing for them.
Eze 7:12 The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.
Eze 7:13 For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, which shall not return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.
Eze 7:14 They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.
His prophets have long sounded the Shofar of alarm and warning, as they were appointed; but their “obedience” to Him was non-existent, their “repentance” futile; none goeth forth to change his ways, or the ways of the people!
Eze 7:15 The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.
Eze 7:16 But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity.
Eze 7:17 All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water.
Eze 7:18 They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads.
Eze 7:19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
Detailed accounts of the Shoah reveal these precise facts as operative during that time of Jacob’s Trouble (Jeremiah 30: 7). No amount of money or gold was sufficient to redeem or give quarter to the condemned Jews of Germany, France, Austria and Poland. Even extremely valuable collections of art and other costly treasures were confiscated and sent by the Gestapo and S.S. hunters (cf., Jeremiah 16: 16) to their secure underground storage vaults and to the Reichsbank for safe keeping as the Jewish owners were forced into cattle carriages and transported by rail to one of over 600 death camps which were operating at the end of the conflict. Note how precisely the wordage of the next two verses fit this historical account …
Eze 7:20 As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them.
Eze 7:21 And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it.
Eze 7:22 My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.
Eze 7:23 Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.
Eze 7:24 Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their (Judah’s) houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong (of Judah) to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled.
Eze 7:25 Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none.
Eze 7:26 Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet (but paid no heed to the prophets of the Lord who had warned them for decades about their abominations!); but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients.
Eze 7:27 The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
The drastic, deepening spiral of the Almighty’s wrath is thus about to descend upon them. The punishing, wildly violent, brutally evil fugue of increasing and repetitive violence upon them will prevail against them for thousands of years in this pervasive, complete purging of His people for their sins. But mercifully, in the finality, they shall know that I am the LORD!
<HEL 5N> ~975 words.
Ezekiel 8
The Beginning of the Vision
Eze 8:1 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house (recall, please, that Ezekiel is in exile with his people in Babylon), and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me.
Eze 8:2 Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire (this word should have been translated “a man” – see succeeding words. The LXX uses the word Ish = man; not Esh = fire): from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber.
The reason for this peculiar description of the Man’s color is not understood – i.e., from the loins upward … from the loins downward. But His image is bright orange, like amber.
Eze 8:3 And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image (an idol dedicated to envy!) of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.
Eze 8:4 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.
The word translated “glory” here is Hebrew kabod (Strong’s H8179) meaning weight, but only figuratively in a good sense; splendor or copiousness. It is significant that the word is not Shekinah, the Hebrew for the glory that dwelt above the Mercy Seat in the Most Holy Place of the Temple, for it should eminently depart from its place there, leaving the Temple and the City (see Ezekiel 10: 4, 18, 19). The terrible glory of their Deity has now personally come to prove their abominable behavior, and to avenge Himself upon them!
Sins and Punishments (through 9:11)
The transgressions shown to the prophet in the following phrases was equivalent to the worst idolatry of the heathen round about – and Israel had fallen for their subterfuge and lies hook, line and sinker! They were intransigent in their pursuit of these adopted evil ways, and thus WOULD suffer for that insufferable conduct!
As with the last chapter, this one requires little extraneous commentary as its bizarre and terrible depictions are easy to understand, with few exceptions. The picture we see is depressing, deeply disturbing that God’s uniquely chosen and preferred people could have sunk so low, and had their understanding sullied to this extreme depth of vanity and pride.
Eze 8:5 Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.
We believe these words contain double entendre. Not only does the abomination of idolatry come from “the way toward the north,” which is Babylon in the finality, but those ways had been inculcated into the Temple worship – in the area just north of the place of the King’s throne in the City of David.
Eze 8:6 He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.
Eze 8:7 And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall.
Eze 8:8 Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door.
Eze 8:9 And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here.
Eze 8:10 So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.
Eze 8:11 And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel (representing the formerly venerable Sanhedrin!), and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up.
Why is Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan especially named here? It is because Shaphan had been one of the scribes who had read the words of the newly discovered books of the laws to King Josiah, resulting in great repentance and a turning about toward the ways of the LORD only a few years prior. What a contrast for his own son to have turned against God to such an extent!
Eze 8:12 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.
Eze 8:13 He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.
Eze 8:14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD'S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.
Tammuz is a deity of the Phoenicians. It portrayed animal and vegetable life, and was also worshipped in Babylon. Its prevalence was so great that an Hebrew calendar month is named Tammuz!
Eze 8:15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.
Eze 8:16 And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.
Eze 8:17 Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned (turned themselves about) to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.
Without assistance there is no possible way to understand these words. But E-Sword has a footnote on this verse which explains:
they put: So the Vulgate has, applicant ramum ad nares suas "they apply the branch to their nose;" which Jerome explains by "a branch of the palm tree with which they adored the idols;" and it seems plainly to allude to the Magian fire-worshippers, who, Strabo tells us, held a little bunch of twigs in their hand, when praying before the fire.
What appalling ignorance and confusion!
Eze 8:18 Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
The dreadful sentence is well deserved, as virtually observed by Ezekiel in this visionary journey to Jerusalem. The guilt of his people must be appalling to Ezekiel, who had warned them on numerous occasions to avoid such ungodly pursuits, and to turn to the living God, the Father Who cares for them, and would readily accept their repentance. <HEL5N> ~1075 words.
Ezekiel 9
The Punishments Commanded
Command to Slay (the Agents)
Eze 9:1 He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.
Eze 9:2 And, behold, six men (Hebrew, iysh, a mighty man; these are doubtless, angels, most of whom are referred to as “men;” they are certainly not men of the City of Jerusalem! They are the mighty angels which have charge over the city, as verse one, who) came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.
This angel was aware of those of Judah who decried the evil and violence of the people; his ability to select the proper recipients of the saving mark was assured.
But note carefully in the next words, a sub-set of another, related event is beginning to happen: the glory of the LORD – the kabod – is preparing to depart the Temple, indicating the withdrawal of the Almighty’s support and protection of His people. The Glory had moved from its otherwise permanent position above the mercy seat where it dwelt (Shekinah) between the cherubim, to the threshold, or door of the Temple. It was thoroughly ready to depart!
Eze 9:3 And the glory of the God of Israel (Hebrew, kabod YHVH)was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side;
Eze 9:4 And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for (that is, cry in regret for) all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
This “mark” – this tav, in Hebrew – is by implication a signature, desire, mark; it is the signature of YHVH’s approval, inked upon their foreheads. This practice is illustrated by and contains overtones of another “mark” (one of repugnance) – the Mark of the Beast of Revelation 13 to 19, q.v. – which designated those who belonged to the Beast.
By these words we are informed that there were still some followers of God in the City – and that they regretted the ungodliness of their brethren. Compare this experience with that of Elijah, in 1Kings 19:18 where he is assured by the LORD, Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
A faithful remnant seems always to be present and remain, even in the midst of the worst evils. The Master, in Luke 18:8, asked the rhetorical question, When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith in the earth?
We confidently and eagerly answer that question with the assurance bred by deeply-held and hopefully rock-solid faith: Yes, thankfully, dear Abba – You shall! A Remnant of Your people will still be standing watch for the coming of the Bridegroom, with brightly lighted lamps and in eager anticipation of the midnight call!
Eze 9:5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:
Now the (virtual) destruction begins. There is no evidence at all that this massive slaughter actually took place. But the recipients of it were marked – by this specific action – for near-future destruction by the armies of Babylon – and for being taken into captivity.
Eze 9:6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men (the elders of Sanhedrin, whose duty it had been to lead the people in God’s ways, but who had failed to do so) which were before the house.
Eze 9:7 And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.
The ultimate defilement of the House (the Temple) was its complete destruction by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar in BC587; at his first invasion he looted the Temple, but did not destroy it. But the insult was destined to occur a second time in response to the People’s rejection of Jesus and Messiah; in 70 AD their house was again wrecked and burned to cinders – both insults occurring on the 9th of Av, a day of remembrance in Israel today, usually in August.
Eze 9:8 And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?
The prophet here acts as mediator for his brethren who are being slain, much in the manner of Moses, Samuel, and others before him.
But his mediation is not accepted by the Almighty. He shall not be swayed from His decision. He enumerates the extremely dire reasons …
Eze 9:9 Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not.
Eze 9:10 And as for me also, mine eye (His organ of sight, which they thought blind to their evil deeds!) shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.
Eze 9:11 And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.
The stage is now set for the complete departure of the glory of Shekinah from the Temple. It will be transported from that place by the Creature from the north quarters. That will be the subject of the next two chapters. The Shekinah will not return to the House of God until the Millennial Temple of Ezekiel chapters 40-48 is built – but that is a matter for later consideration.
One note of interest here is that the term “Shekinah” is never used in scripture. It is a word that began to be utilized by Jewish scholars after the destruction of the temple in 70AD, and it means “abiding, dwelling, or habitation” of the physical manifestations of God as in, for example, Exodus 24:16 And the glory (kabod) of the LORD abode (shakan YHVH) upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud: kabod shakan YHVY being “the glory of the LORD” which is described as Shekinah.
The Hebrew root “shknh” is the source of many other words with similar connotations, such as mishkan (tabernacle, or dwelling). The use of the word Shekinah brings more indelibly to our attention the generalized intent of other terms, and conveys to our minds the brightness of God’s presence – His dwelling with His people. Other uses may be seen in …
Exodus 40:35 And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode (shakan) thereon, and the glory of the LORD (kabod YHVH) filled the tabernacle.
The same language and intent is easily seen in another description of the cloud/pillar of fire which guided and protected Israel, in Numbers 9:16 - So it was alway: the cloud covered it (the mishkan, or tabernacle) by day, and the appearance of fire by night. 17 And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode (shakan), there the children of Israel pitched their tents. 18 At the commandment of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the LORD they pitched: as long as the cloud abode (shakan) upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents.
The brilliant Presence which was suspended in midair above the Mercy Seat, between the bookend Cherbim, will continue to be referred to by our narrative as Shekinah (glory) rather than by the Hebrew kabod, because we feel that it connotes in one singular word the indwelling or presence of the Father.
This signally apparent removal of the Light of God is visual testimony to the people of Judah that they have now been abandoned by the Almighty, and that His protection has been withdrawn from their community for a great while to come. They can have no possible appreciation of the interminable tribulations that lie ahead of them because of their extremely sinful behavior, their proud self-elevation, their pride, their arrogance. <HEL 5N, 1P> ~1025 words.
Ezekiel 10
The Cherubim
The wonderful Cherubim continue closely to interact with Ezekiel. Much of the detail of this chapter seems to be repetition of earlier descriptions.
Eze 10:1 Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.
At Sinai earlier, in Exodus 24, Moses, Aaron and the elders of Israel saw a representation of the Almighty also associated with sapphire; at that time He stood upon a pavement made of it. We believe it was transparent as the heavens are, but tinted with some unknown color. Thus the supreme Being stood in the midst of apparent nothingness – of utter transparency both above and below – suspended in a sense as is the earth in space, an indication of His omnipotence …
In this vision, the Man continues to address Ezekiel from above the Cherubim which are vaulted over with an expanse of the same material. He speaks to the man clothed in linen, bidding him perform yet another service to Him.
This man, so clothed, is a consecrated individual – fine linen is the righteousness of the saints, as revealed in Revelation 19:8; He is such as those referred to in Apocalypse 1:13 and Daniel 10:5,6 – who in both cases are clothed much the same and are surrounded by many of the same miraculous colors and objects.
Eze 10:2 And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight.
Fire is utilized by the priests for purification of anything that can withstand fire. Numbers 31: 23, q.v. Otherwise, the Waters of Separation – the water created with the ashes of the red heifer – were utilized.
Eze 10:3 Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court.
We must be in no doubt as to the source of the Voice which spoke to Ezekiel. Exodus 19:9 tells every student of God’s word the identity concealed by the Cloud: And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. This is an effective means of preventing His people from looking on the mighty God, and suffering the consequences of death – see Judges 13:22 – the fear of Manoah, and the precaution taken by Moses in Exodus 3:6 (who hid his face).
Now an unique event occurs …
Eze 10:4 Then the glory of the LORD (the kabod YHVH, or Shekinah, which dwelt between the cherubim atop the Mercy Seat) went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD'S glory.
This spectacular displacement of the Shekinah would have made a fearful impression upon the people, as it had never moved since its installation above the Mercy Seat. They must have been struck by the gravity of this visible withdrawal of God’s favor from them and their nation. It must not be mistaken that this manifestation of YHVH “dwelling above the mercy seat,” or Shekinah was ever viewed by anyone save the high priest, for only he was permitted to enter the Most Holy Place once a year, on the Day of Atonement. This manifestation of the dwelling, or presence (Shekinah) of YHVH to all eyes should have been a remarkable event.
The booming, rustling sounds of the wings came forth as the overpowering voice of the LORD, much as when, at Jesus’ baptism, the Voice spoke: This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased! – and some thought it had thundered.
Eze 10:5 And the sound of the cherubims' wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh.
Eze 10:6 And it came to pass, that when he had commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubims; then he went in, and stood beside the wheels.
Eze 10:7 And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubims unto the fire that was between the cherubims, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen: who took it, and went out.
Eze 10:8 And there appeared in the cherubims the form of a man's hand under their wings.
Now the prophet focuses on the appearance of the wheels and their peculiar movements …
Eze 10:9 And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the cherubims, one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: and the appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl stone.
Eze 10:10 And as for their appearances, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel.
Eze 10:11 When they went, they went upon their four sides; they turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it; they turned not as they went.
But now the entire Being seems to have become equipped with eyes in many locations:
Eze 10:12 And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had.
The eyes of the Cherubim are so prominently featured we believe they deserve some extra attention. What were these eyes? What is their symbolism? Surely they are not to be understood as literal eyes, festooned throughout the Cherubim as depicted in this verse.
We turn to the Revelation for more information.
Revelation4:6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
Rev_4:8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
Rev_5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
The eyes of the Cherubim, then, indicate the Almighty’s universal surveillance of all His creation – caring for its maintenance, its respectful treatment by men, and the forward movement of His Plan!
Eze 10:13 As for the wheels, it was cried unto them in my hearing, O wheel.
Eze 10:14 And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub (THE Cherub, referring to that of verse 7), and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
The faces as listed originally in chapter one, were: an ox, a man, a lion, and an eagle. The implication of these four beings goes back to the ensigns of the orderly, tribal encampment of Israel in the wilderness.
They also reflect the four distinct literary perspectives, or life-aspects of Christ as portrayed in the gospels – the records of these authors as to the “slant” of their dissertations being in accord with these: the Gospel of Matthew (the lion), Mark (the ox), Luke (the man), and John (the eagle).
The mighty Mechanism of the Spirit of God continues its flashing, roaring, extremely public commotion in Ezekiel’s vision!
Eze 10:15 And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar.
Eze 10:16 And when the cherubims went, the wheels went by them: and when the cherubims lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also turned not from beside them.
Eze 10:17 When they stood, these stood; and when they were lifted up, these lifted up themselves also: for the spirit (the ruach, the life) of the living creature was in them.
Now the Shekinah levitates to its next location, making manifest its steadily withdrawal from the Temple’s Holy of Holies, moving though its Holy Place, and its Outer Court to the threshold.
Eze 10:18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims.
Eze 10:19 And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD'S house; and the glory of the God of Israel (kabod YHVH, Shekinah) was over them above.
The entire Being now has emerged fully from the Temple and has moved perhaps 200 meters toward the East Gate, and stood over it.
Its exit from Temple Mount (Moriah) is imminent.
But its further movement will not be clear until we come to chapter 11:22,23.
And now, for the first time, Ezekiel makes plainly clear the identity of the Man above the Cherubim, identifying Him as the God of Israel. We must consider that the figure was an angel in whom the Father had placed His name, therefore his prime representative at the time, and a Being Who stood for YHVH in this vision.
The wonderful manifestation is replete with regal and sovereign symbolism, with the Almighty’s authority and magnificent power, and manifests His Omniscience, His Omnipotence, and His Omnipresence to all who observe Him in this glorious manifestation!
Eze 10:20 This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubims.
Eze 10:21 Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings.
Eze 10:22 And the likeness of their faces was the same faces which I saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they went every one straight forward.
This statement verifies our assumption as made above in verse 14, where “cherub” is substituted for “ox.” The faces were therefore identical to those of chapter one. <HEL 5N> ~1600 words.
Ezekiel 11
Sins and Punishments
Eze 11:1 Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the LORD'S house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.
Eze 11:2 Then said he (the LORD) unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city:
Eze 11:3 Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh.
Eze 11:4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man.
Eze 11:5 And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them.
Eze 11:6 Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain.
Eze 11:7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it.
The terrible figure being drawn here is that of a pot of stew, charged with meats – their dead bodies – and coming to a boil. As with any stew, its utility, or use, is to be consumed. Judah was thus consumed by Babylon!
Eze 11:8 Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 11:9 And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.
Eze 11:10 Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Eze 11:11 This city shall not be your caldron (i.e. not the cauldron of those who are killed elsewhere), neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel:
Eze 11:12 And ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you.
The effect of the curse was immediate for one man:
Eze 11:13 And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. (This drastic event brought great concern to Ezekiel, who again renders his voice as mediator for his people.) Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant (i.e., even of the small group remaining) of Israel?
Eze 11:14 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 11:15 Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the LORD: unto us is this land given in possession (i.e., as if God had nothing to do with it!).
Promises
Eze 11:16 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.
The Jewish people in exile in every nation on earth have always sequestered themselves to a large degree, or been sequestered – relegated to ghettos by the people living around them, and among whom they have been scattered in Diaspora. By so doing, and maintaining their intense interest in Torah, and by intermarrying within their own people for the most part, they have effectively maintained their identity as a separate and distinct people throughout the two millennia of their Diaspora.
Even when they attempted to assimilate with the nations among which they were dispersed, He caused those people to reject them, to persecute them, and to deny them generally equal privileges with the overall populace. They were denied membership in the guilds of many societies, and were relegated to the cursed profession of money-lenders.
But the hand of the LORD is seen in that affair as well, for as money-lenders they often increased their wealth to near that of their sovereigns. A literary example of such success is the venerable Jewish father of Rebecca, heroine of Sir Walter Scott’s fascinating novel Ivanhoe, whose coffers seem bottomless, and funds from which are often used to redeem both himself and his daughter from the clutches of oppressors.
We believe it is in this sense that He has been to them as a little sanctuary in the countries to which they should come, the source of strength to which they resorted.
But true to the time-honored formula of His cursing and blessing, He closes this chapter by revealing to Ezekiel that at the end of the road – in the far distant future – there lies a final Restoration, and Redemption – and His eternal Favor!
The “gathering” of which He speaks is the ultimate gathering – that gathering back to their Land such as is now occurring! They are now returning from all the countries where ye have been scattered. So we understand that the prophecy is a long-term one – to be fulfilled millennia into the future – when their punishment has been completed in the Grand Finale of the Shoah of Nazi Germany!
Eze 11:17 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.
Isaiah the prophet addressed this second recovery of God’s people from all nations – not just from Babylon as in this earlier case: cf., Isaiah 11: 11.
We see ourselves in the midst of that second recovery at this moment in history!
Today His people do possess the Land of their fathers; they have named it “Israel,” in honor of their ancient heritage – the heritage which we suspect many of them soberly realize that they squandered in favor of self-interest, in pursuit of mammon, in establishing power and prestige among their peers, as Ezekiel’s present generation had done.
Their final status, of their oneness of heart, and their possession of a new spirit, has not come yet; but it is surely in the near future for them as the prophetic events connected with their Return to their Land are quickly coalescing, coming together, and being steadily fulfilled!
Eze 11:18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.
Micah 5: 10-14 gives a remarkable summary of the objects of Israel’s desire that He intends to remove from them in these end times, transforming their entire society into a condition of “Holiness unto the LORD,” so thoroughly that this logo of dedication to him shall even adorn the lowliest cooking pot and the bridles of horses: Zechariah 14: 20, 21.
Their transformation shall be pervasive – and most exceptional … and their repentance and conversion utterly and wholly complete …
Eze 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
Eze 11:20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
Those fortunate ones are those who see His glory and righteousness, and genuinely repent of their sins. But there are others … others who have no such capacity.
Their treatment is decidedly contrary to the former group! The words of JHVH inform the reader that even at the personal return of Jesus Christ to His people, there is still much work to be done among them!
Eze 11:21 But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 11:22 Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.
The gracious, redemptive promise concludes, and the Cherubim begins to move away from Moriah and its future mission …
The Glory of the LORD Departs the City:
Moves to Mt. of Olives
Eze 11:23 And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.
In this depiction, God’s connection with David’s kingdom is symbolized as having been severed. The Shekinah (dwelling, or presence of YHVH) had abandoned its place above the Mercy Seat. Even though at the time of the first restoration (from Babylon/Persia) the People were offered repatriation by Cyrus, few took up the challenge among the largely young generation of that time, as few remembered their life and Land of old.
Only a Remnant returned, and sought God’s ways, rebuilt the Temple and the City, and attempted to worship Him in spirit and in truth for a time. The Shekinah did not reestablish itself above the Mercy Seat as formerly.
In addition, the Commonwealth was never re-established. It awaits the appearance of the One Whose right it is … and He will give it Him (the Father will give it to Christ).
Ezekiel Returns to Chaldea: His Message to Them
Eze 11:24 Afterwards the spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.
Eze 11:25 Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the LORD had shewed me. <HEL 9P> ~1400 words.
Ezekiel 12
Signs
In this chapter, Ezekiel again becomes a “sign” to the house of Judah. He is directed to perform certain tasks which will profoundly illustrate to them the appalling oppression which is coming. But their Father is STILL offering them an opportunity for repentance!
They will not seize the opportunity
Eze 12:1 The word of the LORD also came unto me, saying,
Eze 12:2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.
Matthew 13:17 and Luke 10:24 record the words of the Lord Jesus, who, in confronting the Jews of His day, told them, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
Ezekiel would become a living illustration of their coming captivity in the actions he is now instructed to undertake in their sight:
Eze 12:3 Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff (i.e., his vessels, or baggage) for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they be a rebellious house.
Eze 12:4 Then shalt thou bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing: and thou shalt go forth at even in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity.
If the prophet’s actions were not clear enough to his fellows, he would additionally interpret his actions for them in clear words; they shall have no excuse for their wicked continuance in their transgressions!
Eze 12:5 Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby.
Digging through a wall – not using the doorway to the apartment – shows the clandestine nature of the escape being portrayed, and as being contrary to the will of the Father.
Eze 12:6 In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulders, and carry it forth in the twilight (this action portended the fact that Zedekiah would disguise himself and try to escape from the Chaldeans at night): thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.
Eze 12:7 And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for captivity, and in the even I digged through the wall with mine hand; I brought it forth in the twilight, and I bare it upon my shoulder in their sight.
Eze 12:8 And in the morning came the word of the LORD unto me, saying,
Eze 12:9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou?
They are inquisitive as to the meaning of Ezekiel’s actions, and the implication of it, hence their query; his actions were strange and unusual; what was he doing?
By now they were aware that whatever Ezekiel did or said was important in some way, whether they heeded his advice or not.
So the prophet would now verbally interpret his actions to them.
Eze 12:10 Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; This burden concerneth the prince (Zedekiah) in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel that are among them.
The actions which Ezekiel had enacted before them – “in their sight” is repeatedly emphasized – indicated what should be done to “the prince” Zedekiah.
And if done to him, how much more so should the people be oppressed? The prophet now clearly enunciates to them that he is engaged in an enacted prophecy …
Eze 12:11 Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall remove and go into captivity.
Eze 12:12 And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face (be in disguise), that he see not the ground with his eyes.
Eze 12:13 My net (i.e., God’s net, or snare; insuring that they understand that it is from the LORD, making it entirely clear that this conquest is not some random act of intrigue which has no causal preamble – no attributable reason for it. This net is the Chaldean army which overtook Zedekiah at Jericho as he tried to flee the country!) also will I spread (this net) upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.
This extremely short-term prophecy should have been all the proof that the people and the elders needed in order to verify Ezekiel’s credentials – that he did profoundly express the will of their Father and their God, and was indeed the prophet which they should heed.
But their hard-heartedness prevailed, to their own extreme hurt.
The summary record of Zedekiah’s capture and treatment is found in 2Kings 25: 5 - And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him. 6 So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah (this was where Nebuchadnezzar had established his military outpost for the invasion of Judah; it is a short distance north of Damascus. It was here that Zedekiah’s sons were slain, and here that Zedekiah’s eyes were “put out.” We can only imagine the surgical procedure in that day for this barbaric “operation.”); and they gave judgment upon him. 7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
The whole prophecy was fulfilled in a matter of weeks.
All the people beheld this clear outworking of Ezekiel’s utterance from the LORD.
Zedekiah, having been blinded, never SAW the land of Babylon, but experienced the loneliness and desolation of a sightless captive in the land of his captors until the day of his death.
Eze 12:14 And I will scatter toward every wind all that are about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them.
Although the people would not realize this fact, here is that encoded message again – condemnation which leapt forward to their SECOND captivity (“I will scatter toward every wind”), which is namely, that exile imposed by Rome, which effectively lasted until the State of Israel began to re-emerge from the Valley of the Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37) as a recognizable people and nation in 1947-48!
Eze 12:15 And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries.
Eze 12:16 But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the heathen whither they come; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
These words describe the sparse remnant who actually believed the words of Ezekiel, and so ordered their lives to the service of God even in the midst of the pervasive evil of Judah.
Historically there is ever a “seed” left after every seemingly capricious and random harvest of His people – a seed who carry on with their lives of humble service to their God, maintain their separation from the rotten contamination of the Gentiles, and continue to hope in His promises.
Eze 12:17 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 12:18 Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness;
The prophet was instructed visibly to exhibit to his beholders that he was under great stress and anxiety; that his rations were sparse and must be conserved carefully. These conditions would consist when the City came under siege by Babylon; it was another short-term prophecy which should have spoken plainly to the people for their profit!
Eze 12:19 And say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord GOD of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein.
Eze 12:20 And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
We have previously commented upon the pervasive and invidious desolation of the Land; the full impact of this severe degradation of the Land is seen after the second exile – that of Rome in 70AD – when the most drastic scattering of the People was to take place.
From the first century to the nineteenth century the Land was devastated by drought, neglect, disuse, abandonment, malaria, famine, poverty, and disregard of its people – even of its few inhabitants, as testified by the extremely sympathetic but flabbergasted account of Mark Twain in his journal, The Innocents Abroad, in the mid-19th century.
If students can obtain access to this journal, we recommend it as vital information on the subject of these divine curses upon the mountains of Israel. In it, Mark Twain, the sublime master of the American language, draws vivid word pictures which the reader shall never forget.
Many other writers, such as the Reverend Samuel Manning (1874), mourned the atrophy of the coastal plain, the Sharon Plain, "the exquisite fertility and beauty of which made it to the Hebrew mind a symbol of prosperity." But where were the inhabitants? This fertile plain, which might support an immense population, is almost a solitude.... Day by day we were to learn afresh the lesson now forced upon us, that the denunciations of ancient prophecy have been fulfilled to the very letter -- "the land is left void and desolate and without inhabitants." This statement appears as nearly an exact quotation from this verse!
Eze 12:21 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 12:22 Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?
These words succinctly define the obvious unbelief of the elders and leaders of Judah.
Their blunt opinion was, “Ezekiel speaks dire words continuously, but nothing that he says ever actually happens; he’s a bag of wind!”
Well, all that proclivity for prolonged delay and hesitance is a feature of the LORD’s infinite patience with His people – not indecision … not denial of those warnings.
Eze 12:23 Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision.
His warnings have reached their final end; the promise of ruin is near upon them!
Eze 12:24 For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel.
The Destroyer (Babylon) should almost immediately dispel any myth of their security or longevity in the Land, and prove all the false prophets so to be!
Eze 12:25 For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged (no longer delayed or forestalled): for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.
In retrospect, His people should have remembered the details given them by the prophet. There is little evidence that they did so, as their subsequent actions proved.
Eze 12:26 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 12:27 Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off.
In other words, ‘We won’t see all this mayhem in our day; those words are for the distant future. Therefore we don’t have to worry ourselves with such trivialities as obedience to God!’
To this concept, the Almighty immediately gives the lie!
Eze 12:28 Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.
These sober words of the imminence of the disaster that was coming upon them fell on deaf ears as evidenced by their continued failure to heed the words of Ezekiel.
This is a stunningly substantial illustration of the historical dullness of heart and lack of faith among the privileged and unique people who have been given the precious words of Life and Eternity – of their almost inevitable disregard of righteous instruction, of their kicking them aside as so much inane drivel, and going their own way of self-indulgence, of hedonism, of narcissism, and of headstrong self-will.
Dear Father, please keep us from this subtle, fleshly gin – this snare of our inherently sinful flesh. Help us to listen raptly and intently to Thy loving words of guidance, and to keep in mind that incredible reward that He shall bring with Him when Jesus comes the second time – the wonderful position to be awarded His Saints, of ascendancy over the nations as kings and priests of Thy name, as a light unto the benighted Gentiles, as Saviors of the world to come! Even so, Lord, come quickly! <HEL 5N, 1P> ~2150 words.
Ezekiel 13
Prophets and Prophetesses
Eze 13:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 13:2 Son of man, prophesy against the (the FALSE) prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;
Eze 13:3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit (not the Holy Spirit), and have seen nothing!
Eze 13:4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes (jackals) in the deserts.
Eze 13:5 Ye have not gone up into the gaps (to close the security breaches), neither made up the hedge (the fence or wall of a vineyard. Israel is God’s vineyard. Therefore, a barrier, spiritual) for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.
The figure of a vineyard is extremely pertinent here. Two related passages come to mind, indicating that Israel IS God’s vineyard, and that He intends indeed to break down His wall of protection against intruders and those who would destroy it:
Isaiah 5:5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
Jeremiah 12:10 Many pastors (leaders, elders) have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
Eze 13:6 They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.
Eze 13:7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken?
Eze 13:8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 13:9 And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
These latter words may basically speak of the end time when His people are re-gathered. The false prophets and false shepherds shall have no place in the permanence of that institution, unlike the prominent place which they occupy here in Ezekiel’s day.
Indeed, there is evidence that the “rebels” will be purged prior to their being re-gathered, for thus it was in the original Exodus from Egypt. Hear these words of the LORD in Ezekiel 20:38: And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
However, as we view Israel today, this prohibition seems not to have been placed in effect as prerequisite for their physical return to the Land. We say that due to the prominent presence in Israel today of those who practice homosexuality (a practice which is summarily condemned by God’s word in numerous passages) and hold prideful public displays proclaiming their “liberty” to so live in Jewish society. In addition, many Israelis proudly claim atheism rather than admitting the Fatherhood of YHVH.
Therefore, it more likely means the obvious and terminal meaning of the literal words … that none such will be admitted to the Kingdom nation of Israel under Christ. The picture of Israel’s repentive, redemptive posture in Zechariah 12 and 13 seems to be inclusive of the entire population who witness His Second Coming.
Their humble acceptance of His majesty and obvious power is there depicted as being universal among those Jews who are there to witness the stupendous victories which He shall accomplish, and the immense power that they shall then realize!
The principle transgression of the lying prophets – those who disclose their own thoughts as the word of God – is that they continue to tell the people that peace shall prevail, even with the imminent prospect of invasion by Babylon!
The “wall” that they have erected is a wall of false words and false promises; there is no substance to them. Their mortar – the “facts” which should hold together their predictions – is untempered by the authenticity of God’s revelations.
Eze 13:10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter (that is, mortar which would crumble and fail at the first challenge, symbolized by the great “shower” and the “hailstones” and the “stormy wind” which is coming; the overall message being that their “wall” shall fail abysmally when tested):
Eze 13:11 Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.
Eze 13:12 Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?
Eze 13:13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower (i.e., a great flood of rain) in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it.
Eze 13:14 So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Here is depicted the unfettered fury of the armies of Babylon – their unstoppable aggression against the People of Ezekiel’s day. The wall that the false prophets have constructed shall not only fall … it shall fall upon them!
Eze 13:15 Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered morter, and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it;
Eze 13:16 To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord GOD.
These sobering words apply even today!
For the last 100 years we have heard little discussion of anything from the entire Middle East except the need and the desire for peace!
But peace has been elusive. Even when Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered nearly everything that the “Palestinians” were demanding, including East Jerusalem for a “capital of Palestine,” our Father turned the immediate decision of Yasser Arafat against even that proposal (Arafat flatly refused the proposal!), and prevented further division of His land – an act of which He does not approve (see Joel 3:2), but an act which has already been done twice (by Britain in the formation of Trans-Jordan; and by the UNO by the Partition of Palestine in 1947, by Security Council action).
Although we cannot know whether his intentions are genuine or mere subterfuge, the present administration of PM Benyamin Netanyahu is still discussing (in 2017) “land for peace,” a concession which has never actually brought peace when activated – witness the evacuation of ALL the Jews from the Gaza Strip some years ago, and the immediate evolution in Gaza of a terrorist state in the virtual heartland of Israel!
Our studied conclusion is that the Land must NOT be divided.
Instead, it is imminently due for consolidation to its stated borders of the Abrahamic Land Grant of Genesis 12, et seq.
Yet the humanistic yearning for PEACE persists – and the expectations of humanistic methods of obtaining it grind on and on in a boring, futile, blasphemous course of strife between the Jews of Israel and their impressively huge and menacing tide of opposition: Islam.
The various nations of the world periodically engage in its fabrication, to their hurt.
President Bill Clinton once remarked that, “Whom the gods will destroy, they place him in charge of the Arab-Israeli peace process!”
This view agrees with the succinct words of Zechariah, that, Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. Zechariah 12: 2, 3.
The nations of the earth are on notice: Don’t Mess with Israel!
But the message, even if it is detected, falls inevitably upon deaf ears.
False Prophetesses
Eze 13:17 Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people (the self-proclaimed prophetesses), which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them,
The following account is difficult for moderns to comprehend, so we consider the footnotes of the CB which help us understand these obscure references to armholes and pillows …
Eze 13:18 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls (nephesh, or lives) of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you?
Explanatory notes from the CB
“Sewing pillows to all armholes” means, “sew together coverings upon all the joints of Mine hands, i.e., hide from the people the hands of YHVH lifted up and stretched forth in ,judgment (Isaiah 26:11; 52:10, q.v.).
“Pillows:” (Hebrew, keseth, is from the Hebrew root, kesah, to conceal or hide). Thus pillows were contrivances for concealment in a physical context, but were being used as symbols for their hiding God’s truth from the people.
“Armholes,” = Mine hands, referring to the judgments His hands were to execute upon Judah.
“Make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature” means “make mantles to cover the heads, and therefore the EYES, of those upon whom the judgments of God’s hands were about to fall, lest they should see (and be warned).”
“Kerchiefs” were wraps that cleave close round the head …. The object being to cover the head so that God’s hand may not be seen.
“Stature” (Hebrew, komah, or height) is a tall figure. It is put for every man of high or lofty station: i.e. for the princes and rulers in Jerusalem, whose eyes were blinded by these false prophets’ words.
Eze 13:19 And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls (viz., to prophesy – falsely – that they should be slain) that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?
Eze 13:20 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly (that is, to make their lives to expect a good prospect, even temporarily), and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go (that is, let their lives be destroyed), even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly.
The sense of these phrases is that the false prophetesses were speaking lying words to their companions in order to mollify their fears, and to liberate their lives from the dread that Ezekiel was proclaiming as the word of the LORD.
The next words of the LORD contain His final solution to the transgressions of the false prophets; only He can correct their deviance from His will. In that day, those who are compliant with His will, shall know that He is the LORD; those who are not compliant will suffer the consequences of rejection by Him.
Eze 13:21 Your kerchiefs also will I tear (meaning that He will rip off their ‘blinders’), and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
A time was soon coming when the stark truth of God’s will would be perceived by them …
Eze 13:22 Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life: (“life” here means continuance of life, or their temporal escape from the judgments already announced by YHVH.)
Eze 13:23 Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine (false) divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
This conclusive redemption from the oppression and deceit of the false prophets would seem to them almost an eternity in coming. His deliverance of them from their hand will eventuate only in the final redemption of Israel, which is yet in the future for His people.
We believe that it will come first to those who have “returned to the children of Israel” (Micah 5:3) in returning to His Land in the end time, as they are commanded to do and as millions have done!
<HEL 5N, 2P> ~2150 words.
Ezekiel 14
Elders
Eze 14:1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
Eze 14:2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face (iniquity rather than the Law of the Lord as commanded in Deuteronomy 6:8): should I be enquired of at all by them?
Eze 14:4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols (a clearer statement of this last phrase is, “he hath answered My claims by classing his idols as being equal with Me!);
Eze 14:5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
Eze 14:6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
Eze 14:7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:
Eze 14:8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Eze 14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
We must recognize that the action described here – I the LORD (shall) have deceived that prophet – cannot mean that the Almighty led His prophets astray from the beginning; it probably indicates that He acted to perpetuate their errancy once it was established in the hardness of their hearts – their “iniquity.”
Eze 14:10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him (“every tub gotta sit on its own bottom,” in the words of an old acquaintance!);
Eze 14:11 That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD.
As previously noted, this utopian day would come after much tribulation and persecution of His people for their iniquities.
The Land and City (Judgments)
Literal
Eze 14:12 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,
Eze 14:13 Son of man, when the land (put by metonymy for its people) sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:
This is the first example of their approaching trial: famine.
Eze 14:14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.
All these three men were notable intercessors; but even they would be powerless here to deliver any, save themselves, by their righteousness! Notable examples of these are Noah – 1Peter 3:20; Daniel – Daniel 2:5, 48, 49; and Job – Job 42: 8-10.
Eze 14:15 If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts:
This is the second example of their approaching trial: ravenous beasts. We stress the fact that these indicated “beasts” are not beasts of the field and forest; instead, they are the evil beast-like people who have continuously assaulted and aggressed them, and have taken over their lands as squatters and interlopers – insurgent enemies whose demand for their Land continues even to this day. Ezekiel 5: 17; 14: 15; 34: 5; Zephaniah 2: 14.
Eze 14:16 Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.
Eze 14:17 Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it:
This is the third example of His persecution of their wickedness: the sword.
Eze 14:18 Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves.
Eze 14:19 Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:
And this is the fourth judgment upon them: pestilence.
Eze 14:20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
Eze 14:21 For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?
But for some, there will be hope, and a good prospect. As usual, the remnant of Israel emerges from the judgments in a final state of righteousness!
Eze 14:22 Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their (righteous) way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it.
By these righteous examples, the people shall comprehend that their fellows have brought such destruction and mayhem upon themselves, after being repeatedly warned and enjoying the patience of the Almighty for a season.
Eze 14:23 And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord GOD. <HEL5N> ~1050 words.
Ezekiel 15
Symbolical (Vine)
In this prophecy, Israel is the subject – the vine – which is worthless for any productive manufacture (such as furniture), unlike other ‘wood’ from the forest.
This is another dark prophecy as to their demise.
Eze 15:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 15:2 Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?
Eze 15:3 Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin (a peg) of it to hang any vessel thereon? No … A vine is fit for neither utility.
Eze 15:4 Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it meet for any work?
Eze 15:5 Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned?
Eze 15:6 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem (note that this was recorded as having been fulfilled in 2Kings 25:9).
In the natural sense, his errant People of Judah are as useless to Him as are the vines of a vineyard in employment toward any profitable work or utility.
Eze 15:7 And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them (that is, there shall be NO escape!); and ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I set my face against them.
Eze 15:8 And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord GOD. <HEL 5N>~300 words.
Ezekiel 16
Jerusalem, the Deserted Infant
Birth and Education
Eze 16:1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 16:2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,
Eze 16:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD (Adonai YHVH) unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity (kinship) is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.
The “father” is the founder; so this refers to the first settlers of Jebus – not to Abraham and his seed. Jebus was a Canaanite city. Adversaries occupied the land and the site of the City (which became the eternal capital of Israel, once it had been captured by David) as soon as the promises were known! They have occupied it wholly or partially in every subsequent age.
That occupation by the insurgents shall end only with the Second Advent of the Lord from heaven, the end result shall be that “there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of Hosts” – Zechariah 14:21.
Eze 16:4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee (i.e., the cleanse thee); thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
The newborn Jebus (Jerusalem) was not cared for in a loving, godly manner. This verse is a reference to the ancient tradition of rubbing the cleansed infant with salt, then wrapping it in swaddling bands – long strips of cloth – as its first clothing. But none of these niceties where done to Jebus; her heritage was not cultured or refined in any way. She was not high-born, but brought forth of the pagan mores of the Jebusites!
Eze 16:5 None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person (nephesh, or soul, or life – herself), in the day that thou wast born.
Eze 16:6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.
The word “Live!” is repeated twice for emphasis as to Jerusalem’s redemption by the Almighty. Canaanite cities or villages were founded in blood as proven by archaeology; human bones of their sacrifices have been discovered on their foundations.
Only the Almighty’s intervention brought life and respect to Jebus, later named Salem, then Jerusalem after being taken by David in the seventh year of his kingdom. She has become His adopted place of residence above all others in all the earth! His blessing only, has redeemed her and elevated her to respectability – and given infinite honor to it as His beloved seat of affection.
Eze 16:7 I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare.
These attributions of human qualities to the city’s history assisted the inhabitants to realize the progress that had been made in that place. In the time of the construction of Solomon’s Temple, it was considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the World!
Eze 16:8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.
This spreading of the skirt over an eligible kinswoman was the time-honored manner of the Kinsman-Redeemer, who by so doing, was claiming union with her, and husbandly ownership. In this similitude He had adopted Jerusalem. His tenderness toward her is readily observed in the loving phrases that follow:
Eze 16:9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.
Eze 16:10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. All these accomplishments are honorable, illustrating His love for the city, and elevating Jerusalem in the eyes of her own people and in the eyes of the neighboring nations.
Behold, then, the difference in her treatment by her adoptive Husband! His care and adornment of His City is exceptional, indicating, of course, His deep affection for her and her people.
Eze 16:11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
Eze 16:12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
Eze 16:13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.
Eze 16:14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.
This operation of “putting my comeliness – or loveliness – upon thee” is similar to the righteousness of the Saints’ being placed by Him upon them, and NOT being a result of their own righteousness, but being that of the impeccable righteousness of Christ, their Savior. Like Jerusalem at her birth, neither are we high-born, nor heritors of any good thing, but mere earthborns brought forth to death, given that we were not chosen and blessed by the Almighty as was Jebus, which was also not so treated in her nativity!
But Jerusalem Devalues and Denies Her High Status
Our similar obligation, however, is NOT to follow the course which was pursued by Jerusalem – meaning her people and governors and kings:
Eze 16:15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty (recall: her comeliness was from her God, and was not natively hers at all), and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications (spiritual betrayal of her Spouse with her manufactured idols!) on every one that passed by; his it was.
All these descriptions of her fornication refer to idol worship – not physical activity between the sexes – but their vivid language well conveys the heinousness of these acts!
Eze 16:16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.
Eze 16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men (i.e., the Ashera – upright poles set in “groves” which represent the male genitalia, designating those “religions” as purely vehicles of sexual license, appealing only to the flesh. In this vein, consider Islam of today: what is the “reward” to the faithful that is most prominently promised by her clerics? Is it not the famous 72 Virgins, of which we so often hear? Islam, like the more ancient idolatries, is a system of sexual license almost purely, and therefore a determined prolongation of fleshly transgression before the LORD), and didst commit whoredom with them,
Eze 16:18 And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.
Eze 16:19 My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD.
Note the misappropriation of the possessions of the Almighty which He has showered upon them – “Mine oil … Mine incense … My meat … wherewith I fed thee.”
Eze 16:20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, (Even the precious offspring which He had given them, they squandered upon their abominations!)
This repulsive, hideous practice was that parents would sacrifice their firstborn sons to Molech by placing them upon the broad, hot platform which the seated idol held, in back of which was a blazing furnace in his belly. They actually placed the screaming infant on that hot plate and rolled him down its slope into the fires as sacrifice to Molech!
Such was the curse of Canaan that they brought upon themselves and their nation.
We feel compelled to mention a similar practice today: that of the legalized and sanctioned abortion of infants by the millions in many of the countries of the “civilized” world. In the US alone, it is estimated that over 55 million babies have been aborted since the practice was widely legalized. The harm done to these tiny, defenseless infants has been irreparable, not to mention the trauma and guilt which it has heaped upon the mothers who have chosen to have their babies slain by this method – as surely an offering to lust and the flesh as were the offerings to Molech!
Eze 16:21 That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?
Sins
Eze 16:22 And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood.
In noting this failing, the Almighty is shaming His City and His People by recalling their humble beginnings, and his redemption from that heathen status.
Eze 16:23 And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord GOD;)
Eze 16:24 That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place (a brothel, in a sense – the idol’s house, to which they resorted in droves to practice this spiritual fornication), and hast made thee an high place (for “worship”) in every street.
Eze 16:25 Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet (i.e., your legs, figuratively engaging in fornication) to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms.
Eze 16:26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh (lustful, referring to their rampant and pervasive idolatries); and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger.
Eze 16:27 Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, (to) the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way. How could Judah continue to practice evils which, even in the eyes of the pagan Philistines, were abominable?
Eze 16:28 Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.
Eze 16:29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.
This is the Spirit’s way of revealing that Judah’s “gods” were from all these nearby societies as such, they were lifeless, speechless, and powerless; their worship deprived Him of His own people’s interest and veneration, giving His “glory” (glorification) to “others” – thus their devotions were an abomination to Him. Cf., Isaiah 42:8.
Eze 16:30 How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious (headstrong, irrecoverable, and without shame) whorish woman;
Eze 16:31 In that thou buildest thine eminent place (their idolatrous shrines) in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;
In this accusation, the Almighty is amazed that they engage in their spiritual transgressions not for hire (for money, as an harlot) but generously, and freely … and incessantly.
Eze 16:32 But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband! The motivation for these transgressions was pure lust, and not the avarice of whoredom!
Eze 16:33 They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom.
The concession, or giving up of Jerusalem’s favors, is of her own volition – freely and copiously handed out to every idol in every high place! Incredibly, they hired their own lovers in a sense! The contrast makes no sense – is completely illogical in the face of the facts of His great blessing upon them.
Eze 16:34 And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.
Eze 16:35 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD:
Eze 16:36 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didst give unto them;
Eze 16:37 Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.
The accelerated conclusion of this punishment is before the eyes of every beholder in the oppression of the Jews by their captors for over 2000 years! For this practice, they were decimated by those enemies for all those years, with only a “remnant” escaping the burden of their hatred, and their escape in the end time to a land of their own, the nation of Israel.
Eze 16:38 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock (under the Law, such adulterous women were stoned to death along with their paramours – Deuteronomy 22:22) and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.
As her Redeemer and Lawgiver, this is completely within His right to treat her thus, even to do so by the laws of men; her betrayal of her husband shall have severe and lasting consequences – resulting in oppression and hurt spread out over the coming centuries!
Eze 16:39 And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.
Eze 16:40 They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.
Eze 16:41 And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more.
Their punishment was destined to be heinous in every way – unbearable to behold by men and women of decency.
But again, after His storm of fury has been exhausted, He promises them final redemption! His mercy is infinite, His grace unending. Even this fiery destruction of His people should come to a more satisfactory conclusion ... it is an end which shall be reached only after the exhaustion of its nearly interminable condemnation of their ways.
Eze 16:42 So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.
Indeed, His indignation is destined to depart from them as seen in the metaphor of His Cup of Fury, which He gave them for interminable years because of their iniquity.
It now can easily be seen to have been removed from His People (Isaiah 51: 17, 22), and given into the hands of those who had persecuted and oppressed them for these grueling, tormenting years – this gracious act being performed in His foreknowledge, in anticipation of their future abject humility by seeing His Son arrive in their midst, acting without hesitation against them, with fury against those enemies, and exoneration of His Way with Israel, His people.
Eze 16:43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head (meaning I will not endure this greatest evil by allowing it to go unpunished), saith the Lord GOD: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations.
Birth and Sisterhood
Eze 16:44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.
Eze 16:45 Thou art thy mother's daughter, (a mother) that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
In drawing the maximum contrast between His will and their errant ways, He returns to the nativity of His City, reminding her of her lowly beginnings, equating her founders’ deportment with that of the “parents” of Jerusalem.
The comparison is pervasive, and extremely graphic. Her siblings and other relatives also come into the picture – Samaria (the Ten Tribes) and Sodom (the kinsmen of Lot).
Eze 16:46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.
Jerusalem’s Sins
Eze 16:47 Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways.
Even if considered on their own merit, and not even compared to those of her heathen cohort, Jerusalem’s abominations should yet be heinous.
Eze 16:48 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.
Eze 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
Eze 16:50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
Eze 16:51 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done.
She “justified” them by contrast with her own conduct, comparing themselves with each other and not by God’s standard of righteousness (cf., 2 Corinthians 10: 12); her transgressions were so heinous, they made those of the subject peoples seem tame by comparison!
By this bizarre comparison among themselves, Jerusalem caused her “sisters” to appear as righteous.
Eze 16:52 Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.
What is the Almighty’s rationale for stating that “they are more righteous than thou” in light of Judah’s extreme wickedness? It would appear that the accusation was relative to Judah’s degree of instruction against such practices as compared to her neighbors. Judah was supposedly “enlightened” in God’s eyes; their neighbors had not been so informed of the ways of righteousness … and when the subject nations return in the end time, they shall return to their ancient homelands in the same state of alienation from Him. Islam has no honorable standing before the God of Israel!
Eze 16:53 When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:
These populations, along with their similar abominations, have returned in huge numbers to re-populate those lands just as have the Israelites who have re-established their nation in the former Palestine. Behold, the fig tree and ALL the trees (i.e., Israel, and all her Arab neighbors) in the prophetic words of Jesus in Luke 21:29.
Eze 16:54 That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.
Eze 16:55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.
This statement could almost qualify as an “undesigned coincidence” of the conterminous return of all these peoples, appearing in the end time for the final showdown with the God to which they still deny fealty, but Who shall instead, show Himself to BE the God of Israel, regaining their loyalty and devotion!
Eze 16:56 For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,
Eze 16:57 Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about.
Note the stark and undersigned “coincidence” of Israel’s dogged exposure to these peoples today. This is notably fulfillment of the first order!
Eze 16:58 Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the LORD.
Eze 16:59 For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.
The coming events of her desolation by the rapidly approaching Babylonians, are certainly deserved. But again, the Almighty’s final promise is of Restoration and Redemption in their final end!
Eze 16:60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant (which HE made) with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.
Eze 16:61 Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.
Eze 16:62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: (cf., Jeremiah 33: 20-26)
Eze 16:63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.
To “be pacified toward thee,” carries the meaning of “when I have accepted a propitiatory covering for thee,” or an atoning and redemptive covering!
That Covering can be brought by none other than the Christ of the Second Advent, resulting, as it shall, in their unhesitant and wholly repentant recognition of Him at some near-future time, as one who “cometh in the name of the Lord!” Luke 13: 35.
How infinite is His mercy! How loyal to His ancient covenant! How loving and forgiving of His favored People! All these favors will come abundantly to Israel immediately upon their deep repentance, and the profound humility that they shall exhibit to their coming Savior when they behold Him in the might and power which they have always expected! Cf., Zechariah 12 and 13.
<HEL 5N> ~3450 words.
Ezekiel 17
Babylonian War. Parable.
Eze 17:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 17:2 Son of man, put forth a riddle (Hebrew, chidah, or an enigma – a difficult or perplexing problem put forth to be solved), and speak a parable (an illustrative story – a simile) unto the house of Israel;
Eze 17:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle (the King of Babylon) with great wings, longwinged (long-pinioned, as verse 7), full of feathers, which had divers colours (elegant in plumage, or clothed in sumptuous garments), came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar (that highest branch was Jehoiachin, i.e., Jeconiah, or Coniah – see verse 12):
Eze 17:4 He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick (in Babylon); he set it in a city of merchants.
Eze 17:5 He took also of the seed of the land (Zedekiah, who he placed on the throne), and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree.
Eze 17:6 And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him (Zedekiah favored Nebuchadnezzar because he was dependent on that king to maintain his position; but this is about to change!), and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.
Eze 17:7 There was also another great eagle (this great eagle was Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt) with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him (responding to the king’s having resorted to Egypt for assistance), and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation.
Eze 17:8 It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.
Eze 17:9 Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? (this rhetorical question is addressed to Zedekiah, who had broken his oath to God of accepting Nebuchadnezzar’s hegemony, as had been demanded by the Almighty) shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof.
Eze 17:10 Yea, behold, being planted, shall it (the vine) prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind (the ruach from the east – the desiccating, withering east wind called Khamsin which, in Israel, blows in from the east, off the Saudi desert, bearing fine sand, blotting out one’s vision, blocking the sun’s light, and ruining the vineyards) toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.
Eze 17:11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 17:12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;
Eze 17:13 And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land:
Eze 17:14 That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.
Shall He Prosper?
Eze 17:15 But he (Zedekiah) rebelled against him (Nebuchadnezzar) in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?
You see … a covenant is a covenant – even though it may have been made to one’s perceived hurt (cf., Psalm 15:4). Zedekiah broke his covenant to Nebuchadnezzar – and to God Himself, honestly sworn; now he would suffer the consequences.
Eze 17:16 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.
Eze 17:17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him (i.e., help him) in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons:
Eze 17:18 Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand (had made a covenant), and hath done all these things, he shall not escape.
See 2Chronicles 32: 11-13. It is evident from these words that Zedekiah had not played the game fairly with Nebuchadnezzar; the Almighty expected more of Zedekiah, and would punish him and the City greatly for his breaking his oath. Zedekiah had sworn an oath before God that he would serve Babylon, and he should have done so! You see, the oath was considered to have been made solemnly – to God Himself … it was an oath that the king made on behalf of his God.
Eze 17:19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head.
Eze 17:20 And I will spread my net (the Babylonian armies – cf., Ezekiel 12: 13 et seq) upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.
When Zedekiah tried to escape toward Moab, the armies of Nebuchadnezzar overtook him and his company near Jericho. He was taken captive and all his family, and transported northward to the military headquarters of Nebuchadnezzar, where his eyes were put out; later he was transported to Babylon as a prisoner of war.
All the subsequent events of Zedekiah’s life were guided by the Almighty, and were not solely resultant of the sole volition of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon! All His people should consider this principle in their own lives.
Eze 17:21 And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.
Forward to the Kingdom Age!
Eze 17:22 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one (this speaks to Messiah, whose throne shall be established in the tops of the mountain), and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent (i.e., in the City of the Great King):
Eze 17:23 In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.
The first three verses of Micah 4 are relevant to show the supreme elevation of the Kingdom of Christ the Messiah – the eternal Tabernacle of God with men:
Micah 4:1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. 2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
When Messiah is personally occupying the throne of David in Zion, He is considered sitting upon the highest elevation; the spiritual produce of His administration shall be copious; its extent unlimited; His deserts shall be fruitful and well-watered; His people well, happy and contented – full of appreciation. These are these symbolic “fowl of every wing,” and “trees of the field” that we read of here!
Eze 17:24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.
This feature of His kingdom reverses all human calculations and machinations; it goes against the grain of logic; it is anachronistic and even bizarre in human terms. But it is the Almighty’s reward for humble and faithful service to Him.
The first shall be last, and the last first, even in the personal manner of Jesus Himself, Who was born in a tiny village, laid in a manger after his birth, was carried into Egypt to avoid being slain, returned to Nazareth of the Galilee (Galilee of the Gentiles), an insignificant, dusty backwater, a small and insignificant village on an hill, far from the ivory halls of learning or the sumptuous lifestyle of the mighty, and in a land repugnant to the learned ones of Israel in Jerusalem. He presumably worked as a carpenter under his step-father, studied Torah intensely, and restrained Himself from prominent view until he ventured forth into Judea, was baptized of John in the wilderness, and by His teachings and miracles, caused the world to turn upside down – all in a mere three and one half years! Indeed, He hath made the “dry tree”to flourish!
<HEL 9P> ~1600 words.
Ezekiel 18
People. Proverbs (Sour Grapes)
Eze 18:1 The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,
Eze 18:2 What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?
The first use of this proverb is found in Jeremiah 31:29, 30. It originated in a general misunderstanding by the People of the account in Exodus 34:6 - And the LORD passed by before him (Moses, on Mt. Sinai), and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
The intent of the Almighty to punish the children was not because the fathers sinned; it was because the fathers taught (or allowed) the sons ALSO to sin in like manner as they had done. In the end, only those who sinned would suffer YHVH’s retribution; but in such a case sin ran through their generations.
The “disease” of a particular strain of sin, such as idolatry, because it was not repudiated, would naturally affect the offspring of any family and be continued in the progeny. This is the reason for the saying that He would charge even the grandchildren and great grandchildren with these sins: because they were personally guilty of them also – thus the statement that He should “by no means clear the guilty.”
Eze 18:3 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
Eze 18:4 Behold, all souls (nephesh – lives) are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
The principle of individual responsibility is thus re-established in Israel. They might no longer use this mistaken proverb as a reason for their punishments. They would now be forced to admit their own, personal culpability for their sin!
And in the last phrase of this verse, we are reminded of the gross error of those who hold to immortal soulism. If a nephesh (a person, literally) which sins shall die, then it cannot live on forever in an immaterial state! To DIE is to CEASE TO EXIST. Does it not go without saying again that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God? This realization alone reassures the student that everyone shall die – not live on forever in the ethereal realms of the heavens.The diligent Bible student will always take note of such seemingly incidental fundamentals – the certain properties of such truths are strengthening connotations of the components of salvation as expressed in such examples – although not necessarily expressed by the Almighty as a doctrinal tenet, and reinforce them in their fellow students. These, in a large sense act as re-enforcers of one’s rudimentary faith as a seemingly incidental but vital feature of such teachings.
Discrimination
Eze 18:5 But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,
Eze 18:6 And hath not eaten upon the mountains (i.e., partaken of the idolatrous feast), neither hath lifted up his eyes (in supplication) to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman (Leviticus 18:19),
Eze 18:7 And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment;
Eze 18:8 He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man,
Eze 18:9 Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.
These “rules” are established by the Law of Moses. In observing such, one is living a “good” temporal life under the injunctions of that law. The promise of these pregnant five verses is not salvation by works – by keeping the letter of the Law.
Eternal salvation is not by the works of the Law, but by the salvation wrought by the Christ – a truth which Paul discusses in Romans 8:3: For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
However, these godly principles are not voided by this principle of salvation by grace, for the Master Himself commends these identical practices in those who come to Him through baptism, and even cites these good works of those who are finally approved by Him, in Matthew 25: 34-40 – works which did not result in salvation for them, but which illustrated to all observers (but principally to the Master Himself) that they were indeed the faithful actions of those who were sincere and dedicated followers of Christ and His principles.
The works did not bring salvation for them in the finality, but well illustrated the workers’ dedication and fealty to their Master by their having obeyed His will toward other men and women; by doing these deeds to others, they were essentially doing them to Jesus Himself – Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me – Matthew 25:40.
In making the principle entirely clear to them, the LORD reveals these facts regarding “a son” who IS a sinner (of various sorts) …
Eze 18:10 If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things,
Eze 18:11 And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour's wife,
Eze 18:12 Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination,
Eze 18:13 Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these (his penalty is not a direct fault of his father) abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.
Similarly, He cites the opposite case – that of a son who sees his father’s sins and does not follow that same evil course:
Eze 18:14 Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like,
Eze 18:15 That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour's wife,
Eze 18:16 Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment,
Eze 18:17 That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
Eze 18:18 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.
In these words of instruction, the difference in the two men is sharply drawn – their contrasting behavior illustrated as a clear object lesson. Each person is responsible for his own conduct.
Eze 18:19 Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? The LORD’s immediate repudiation of that “proverb,” should erase that long-standing error of which they were believers, for He now tells them clearly),When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.
Eze 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Now, in this next statement, the wondrous grace of the Almighty shines brightly through:
Eze 18:21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
This man (or woman) is a repentant sinner – a position all His sons and daughters occupy, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God as Paul relates in Romans 3:23.
Eze 18:22 All his transgressions that he hath (in the past) committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
Eze 18:23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? (He is here speaking of eternal death, not simply dying) saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
For utter clarity, He now cites the opposite case of a righteous man turning from his ways to the path of wickedness. The elders and priests who claimed otherwise were preaching falsely, ways that were not His ways!
Eze 18:24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
Eze 18:25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
Eze 18:26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
Eze 18:27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
Eze 18:28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
Herein is stressed the quality of repentance – an effective turning away from sin; it is a redemptive decision on such an one’s part … and illustrates the “way of the LORD” to be just.
Eze 18:29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
His next words are to the heart of the matter: it is His righteous and final judgment. The congregation’s members are to be judged according to the ways of each one!
Eze 18:30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
In these words, the Almighty is explaining to them once more, that if a sinner repents and begins to live a godly life, then he shall live!
Eze 18:31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
In these gracious words, every believer must come to realize that true repentance – turning from one’s evil ways – can and will reverse one’s course of life, and one’s destiny!
But turning from His good providence, to do evil and to transgress, shall surely bring death!
His next words, I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, establishes the converse of this statement: He DOES have GREAT pleasure in the life of the faithful adherent to His word!
Eze 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
Repentance therefore was theirs to acknowledge, to seek, and to execute within themselves. But the awful reality was that they would not – that they should continue in their wickedness, and suffer for their errant ways of which they did not repent. <HEL5N>
Ezekiel 19
The Prince of Israel
Eze 19:1 Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel (the LXX has this as singular; it refers to Zedekiah. Israel is here put for Juda.),
Eze 19:2 And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.
This probably refers to Hamutal, the mother of Jehoahaz and Zedekiah (2Kings 23:31 and 24:18).
Eze 19:3 And she brought up one of her whelps (Jehoahaz – 2Kings 24: 18): it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.
Eze 19:4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit (as a lion is captured), and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.
Pharaoh Necho executed this sentence: 2Kings 23: 30-34. Although described as a lion’s whelp, almost nothing of Jehoahaz’s reign is revealed except that he reigned for three months during which he “did evil” as had his fathers.
Eze 19:5 Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion.
This whelp is Zedekiah. His reign resembled a “lion” more than did that of his brother.
Eze 19:6 And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men.
Eze 19:7 And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring.
Eze 19:8 Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit.
Eze 19:9 And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.
These characteristics fit Zedekiah who betrayed his covenant to submit to Babylon, and tried to escape. He was apprehended in this "net" in Jericho and taken to the northern headquarters where his eyes were put out ...
Eze 19:10 Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood (i.e. in thy likeness), planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.
Eze 19:11 And she had strong rods for the scepters of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.
Eze 19:12 But she was plucked up in fury, she (that is, her sons, her high hopes) was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods (those powerful sons, who were kings) were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.
Eze 19:13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground. That is, in Babylon – dry and thirsty for God’s righteousness and testimony.
Eze 19:14 And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.
These mournful words commemorate the profitless nature of her progeny – her “big plans” for her sons. One of the sons died in Egypt, and the other in Babylon, after having his eyes extinguished and being transported there in chains. The rods had self-destructed in a manner of speaking. <HEL 5N> ~475 words.
Ezekiel 20
Elders
Eze 20:1 And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the LORD, and sat before me.
Eze 20:2 Then came the word of the LORD unto me, saying,
Eze 20:3 Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.
In their iniquitous condition, void of any sign of repentance, the Almighty is in no mood to accept their solicitation of forgiveness. No repentance, no forgiveness, Period. “I WILL NOT be enquired of by you.”
Eze 20:4 Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:
Here is Ezekiel being appointed their judge – but the prophet wielded the words of the LORD, and not his own words of condemnation …
Rebellions and Causes
Eze 20:5 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand (indicating, by the figure metonymy, “I swore, by raising My hand) unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made Myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand (i.e. swore with an oath) unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God;
Eze 20:6 In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:
Eze 20:7 Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
The golden image of a calf later fashioned by Aaron when Moses tarried in the Mount before the LORD is an example of such “gods.”
Eze 20:8 But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
Eze 20:9 But I wrought for my name's sake (He is saying that He did this for His holy name’s sake; see Ezekiel 36: 22 where this phrase is repeated in much the same context), that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.
He had given them incontrovertible proof of His guidance and care for Israel in the wilderness: His cloud by day and pillar of fire by night; the spectacular display at Sinai; the giving of the Law; His angel, which He sent before them; His provided manna and water; the quails for meat; protection from all enemies round about. But Israel was impervious to His favors and yet rejected Him.
Eze 20:10 Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.
Eze 20:11 And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which (statutes) if a man do, he shall even live in them.
This truism is reflected in the principle that obedience to the Law conferred long life in the land. The entirety of Psalm 91 describes such a trusting, faithful one, and ends with the blessing, With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
Eze 20:12 Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.
Eze 20:13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.
Eze 20:14 But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.
The compassionate and longsuffering Father of Israel restrained His hand of destruction upon His people, in this critical journey, in one perceptible crisis after another … but His patience finally reached an end when they exhibited such unbelief that they would not receive His divine reassurance of victory when they approached the Land of Canaan in the early months of the wilderness sojourn, and could not bring themselves to trust in Him to give them victory, even in the light of all the miraculous things which He had performed for them in their sojourn in Egypt, and the early days of the Exodus.
Taking into consideration the wonderful words of the prophet Micah, the People of God of the present day have seen the same magnitude of wonderful works of salvation and deliverance as did these folk of the Exodus journey. Note the prophet’s words …
Micah 7:15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things. 16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. 17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee.
This is a faithful description of the Arabs of Proximal Islam who have effected not ONE net victory against the re-gathered People of the end time, but have been defeated outrightly in every conflict which they have inflicted upon Israel.
In the face of this vicious, ongoing onslaught of Proximal Islam, Israel has gained many victories that have been greatly extolled by Gentile military commanders worldwide, and have devised tactics which have been adopted by foreign armies as battle doctrine, and taught in their war colleges.
Such is the supreme, decisive victory of the Almighty One of Israel, although attributed to His People of Israel!
These “marvelous things” (their miraculous victories and deliverance from their enemies) are the subject of this prophecy, not the length of the Exodus journey (40 years) – a truth that we shamefully did not recognize or acknowledge until after the forty years had expired in 1988, thinking that Daniel would be “standing in his lot,” and that all things should have been accomplished within those forty years; we were badly mistaken for emphasizing the length of their sojourn in the Siniatic wilderness rather than “the marvelous things” which He was showing them. And now, we realize, a “generation” is probably 70 years (cf., Psalm 90: 10). This would project that the end times should terminate by the end of the Hebrew year of 2017-18.
The divine Hand of deliverance is with them today just as during the Exodus – to deliver them, yea, but also to redeem them to service in His earthly kingdom!
Realizing these truths as prototypical of Israel today, how can any serious readers of the prophecies yet maintain that modern day Israel is destined to be conquered and overrun by the Gogian host, driven from its Land, and lose 2/3 of its present population in that conflict?
It is an astounding proposal, yet we have heard it seriously put forth with magnificent logic, and with convincing, slick graphics, and with “smooth words,” “proving” yet again this theory, a mere two days ago (this note is inserted here on February 8, 2017) in a Power Point presentation from a large contingent of brethren who purport to be serious, refined, and knowledgeable students of the prophets of Israel!
In our humble opinion, such proposals are among those … Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature (human teachers who have taught these interpretations in years long past; these “students” 0f today are instead, actively and senselessly serving men of the past …) more than the Creator (Romans 1: 25).
And in our experience, even multiple volumes of rational interpretations of end time prophecy which prove a different pathway to the Kingdom – given to such over long months of labour – cannot make even a dint in their erroneous, prejudicial philosophies – their erroneous notions of the end time wars of Israel surrounding the Second Advent.
Mercifully, these finer points of the details of the pathway to the Kingdom are not components of fundamental, salvational doctrine. Men are allowed our own errors of interpretation in such matters – as long as they do not lead us astray in overriding components of the plan of salvation.
Our certainty is that the Kingdom is coming, and that the King will establish it upon Mount Zion in the City of the Great King.
We are thankful that we are permitted varying views as to the pathway to it …
Back to Ezekiel, who now voices the Father’s dim view of their faithful acceptance of His assurances:
Eze 20:15 Yet also I lifted up my hand (swore) unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;
Eze 20:16 Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.
Eze 20:17 Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness. At the refusal of the good report of Joshua and Caleb, He turned the people back into the waste howling wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula to wander until all those over the age of 20 were dead. These were not permitted to enter into the Land of Promise even the first time – because of their unfaithfulness.
We recall that He saved all those who had been under the age of accountability when they left Egypt. All the older folk – those over the age of 60 years (20 + 40 years, if we remember correctly) – who came out of Egypt, were allowed to die in the Sinai wilderness except Caleb and Joshua, and thus were not allowed to enter the Land, including Moses himself.
As always, there was a remedy for them. He extends it here …
Eze 20:18 But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:
Eze 20:19 I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them;
Eze 20:20 And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.
Eze 20:21 Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.
Punishments and Reasons
Eze 20:22 Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand (of support), and wrought for My name's sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth.
Eze 20:23 I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries;
Eze 20:24 Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.
Eze 20:25 Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live;
In what sense did the Almighty give them statutes that were not good?
This is an Hebrew idiom which means (CB, f.n.) “I suffered others to give them statutes, etc.” that is, in their captivity. Active verbs in Hebrew were used to express not only the active doing of a thing, but the permission of the thing that the agent is said to do.”
Eze 20:26 And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb (Their firstborn were to be dedicated to God, but they passed over Him and sacrificed their firstborn to Molech!), that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD.
The House of Israel
Eze 20:27 Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me.
Eze 20:28 For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink offerings.
Eze 20:29 Then I said unto them, What is the high place whereunto ye go? And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day.
Bamah is a short reference to Strong H1120, Bamoth-Baal, a reference completely hidden to English-readers; the inclusion of the name of the “god” Baal reveals immediately the reason for His disdain of this center of “worship.” It is located in the region of Ammon, east of the Jordan.
This statement emphatically marks the contrast between this pagan high place and the REAL high place, which is Zion, the high and holy mountain of the LORD which they had abandoned and neglected in this day.
Eze 20:30 Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations?
Eze 20:31 For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.
Eze 20:32 And that which cometh into your mind (Hebrew, ruach, into yourselves, or your thoughts) shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.
The people of Judah are so deeply mired in the filth of idolatry that they would never admit their own culpability in the matter, never admitting that they have overtly adopted the ways of the heathen round about them.
His Promise of Restoration
As in all past instances, the benevolence of the Father shows through; He vaults ahead to the final Restoration, foretelling their re-gathering from all nations with an unstoppable hand, and with great fury (determination).
This account presents something of an enigma when first viewed, so we’ll try to make some rational sense of what we can expect in the return of His people to their Land in the end time as compared with their journey to it in ancient time from Egypt; the two accounts are parallel, of course, but shall end remarkably differently.
Eze 20:33 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you:
Eze 20:34 And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. (Note the overtones of the 15th verse of Micah 7!)
This promise to bring His chosen ones “out from the people” of the nations of their Diaspora is in line with the statements He has made through Isaiah 11:11 – that He will set His hand a second time to recover His people; Isaiah 36:24 – that He will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries; Amos 9:14, 15 – I will bring again the captivity of My people Israel … I will plant them upon their Land and they shall NO MORE be pulled up out of their Land. This phraseology depicts their emergence from the Valley of Dry Bones of Ezekiel 37, ending in a future time when they are ruled over by My Servant David – namely, David’s greater son, the LORD Jesus Christ.
Our thought has been that the next phrases indicate that the rebels would be purged before the people re-enter the Land, and that no true rebels would be allowed to return to it. Verse 38 below states that when He brings them out of the countries where they have been sojourning, that the rebels … shall not enter into the land of Israel. But that phrase may not mean what it appears to say …
This action would be completely parallel to His treatment of the iniquitous people of the Exodus era who were allowed to die in the wilderness, and were not allowed to enter the Land.
Verse 36 seems to confirm this view: Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you. And verse 38 - I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel.
Are not those countries where many still live, Germany, France, Yugoslavia, Ukraine, Poland, Italy, and etc?
Yes, of course they are. We wonder whether this is the specific reason that a significant number of those Jews have elected to remain where they have always been, or have decided to remove to another place, such as South America, or the USA?
In this sense, the Almighty is causing them not to make Aliyah to Israel. It would seem that these could also be defined as “rebels,” because they have refused to join their brethren in Israel.
Yet, we are aware that not all the olam who now inhabit the Land of Israel are of spotless character. “Gay pride” parades are held each year in Tel Aviv, and are attended by Jews from all over the world. Surely we cannot countenance these as acceptable to the LORD, for HE does not so accept them – contrary to the “politically correct” crowd which now makes the laws of many Western countries, including those of the USA. So, does this stipulation have another, more profound meaning?
We believe it does … discussed later.
Eze 20:35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.
Eze 20:36 Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 20:37 And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:
Passing under the rod refers to the method of counting the sheep of the fold as they passed beneath the shepherd’s outstretched rod, and admitting them to the Fold. Here it implies that none should be lost to His covenant (Amos 9:9), and that the Restored Nation should be holy to YHVH.
This latter action is “bringing you into the bond of the Covenant,” which in our minds is into the Kingdom, properly and formally constituted by the returned Christ of the Second Advent when he ascends the Throne of David restored in Mount Zion.
Only at that time is there present the personal judicial authority of Messiah, and His steadfast willingness to enforce His standards of righteousness for His people.
Compelled to admit that the rebels have not YET been purged from Israel, we are seemingly forced to that conclusion.
Eze 20:38 And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
With all due regard, these are events which lie still in futurity; they have not yet been fulfilled. They await His righteous judgment and election of grace.
Eze 20:39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.
Now we come to the definitive status of those IN THE LAND, meaning “in the kingdom” at the time when He is present and presiding over it; in the near future, ALL of them shall serve Me, says the LORD! There shall they (in that place) serve Me: THERE will He accept them, and require valid offerings from them … the firstfruits of their oblations (offerings).
Eze 20:40 For in mine holy mountain (this indicates first and foremost, Moriah and Zion – ‘the mountain of the Lord’s House’ of Micah 4: 1-3), in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.
We posit that these “oblations” are destined mostly to be the acts of obedience which Israel of the future shall render to Him – by the observance of which their sacrifices and offerings may be foregone.
Eze 20:41 I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.
The intent of these verses seems to indicate and validate that those who are gathered out of the countries of their dispersion will sanctify His Name before the nations round about.
Essentially, their presence and blessing shall validate His word of old time – all the promises made to them through their holy prophets.
That fact will be in place because they now know for certain that HE IS THE LORD, and accept Him as Who He is! Their convictions are now set – their minds convinced of His identity.
Eze 20:42 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers.
That they should return to the Land in unbelief is undeniable, for history bears out that fact; and it is indicated that their status shall change only when they recognize and admit the true identity of Him Who shall have come to save them in perhaps their time of greatest need. Luke 13: 35. For further assurance that He SHALL in that day SAVE His people, see also Luke 1: 68-72 – the words of Zecharias, father of John Immerser, referring to the Son of Mary and the work that He should perform – one of the main features of which is: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; Luke 1; 71.
Eze 20:43 And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.
Eze 20:44 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
In these words He refers to the events of the end time – including the final “lighting down” of the fury of the Christ returned upon their vile enemies round about, and after the fullness of the Second Restoration of Isaiah 11 – when the people shall behold the Son of Man when He appears among them for the fierce and decisive retribution of their enemies and the elevation of His holy name, which they have polluted.
This interpretation does not cancel or denigrate the many miraculous circumstances and victories which He has brought upon His people – “the marvelous things” of their Restoration Period – since 1948.
Note that they shall KNOW THE LORD WHEN I have wrought with you for My name’s sake. Only after those stupendous battles of liberation from their present-day enemies, in which His people shall be personally involved, shall they inquire as to His identity, and upon being apprised of His Sonship, repent as one man, and accept His intervention as One Who comes in the name of the LORD – Luke 13:35, q.v.
The Land and the City (Judgments)
Eze 20:45 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 20:46 Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;
Why does YHVH emphasize “the south” so heavily in these verses? It is because the prophet who He is addressing is a resident of Babylon, which is north of Judea to the south – the home of the remnant of His people.
But the population that He is addressing is not the few who remain in Judea; instead, He is referring to those who shall return to Judea from Babylon (a limited number) who re-inhabit the land of Judea, and are there when Rome comes to destroy the people yet again – principally because of their rejection of their Messiah, Who had appeard in their midst fulfilling nearly fifty precise prophecies defining that first appearance – but who would unanimously reject Him and His mission, instead mandating His crucifixion! The remaining evils of that society should condemn them to yet another dispersal. This series of statements was testimony to that later event...
Eze 20:47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
Eze 20:48 And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.
Eze 20:49 Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?
In Ezekiel’s day, their unbelief was put on trial! They could not uphold their case. Their hardness of heart had brought into their very midst the violations of the pagans of Babylon, of Canaan and Egypt, and ruination of their City and polity. Those who persisted in unbelief were surely unacceptable to Him in any sense, for they led their brethren astray, and drove their wives and families into perdition. <HEL 6N> ~2700 words.
Ezekiel 21
The Land and the City – Continued
Eze 21:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 21:2 Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,
Eze 21:3 And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.
Eze 21:4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:
Eze 21:5 That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more (that is, until it has fulfilled its mission).
Signs and Their Signification
Eze 21:6 Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.
Eze 21:7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For (because of) the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD.
Signification of First Sign
Eze 21:8 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 21:9 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword (a great, or sharp sword) is sharpened, and also furbished (drawn from its scabbard):
The translation here is so stilted it will require resorting to several explanatory notes as we encounter the following enigmatic phrases …
Eze 21:10 It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter (meaning, flash as lightning, indicating a frenzy of slaughter): should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod (the scepter) of my son, as every (common) tree.
The CB glosses this “… then make mirth” as an ellipsis: “should we flourish the scepter of My son [that is, of Judah])? And … It contemneth the scepter … i.e., “YHVH’s sword despiseth the wooden scepter of My son (i.e., Judah – his authority) as [it despiseth] every (common) tree.”
Eze 21:11 And he hath given it to be furbished (His “sword” had been conditioned, honed and sharpened and withdrawn from its scabbard), that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer (i.e., the king of Babylon).
Eze 21:12 Cry and howl, son of man: for it (the sword of the LORD, that is, the King of Babylon coming in the strength and power of God) shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh.
Smiting upon the thigh was a sign of grief, or distress for men, as beating upon one’s chest was for women.
Eze 21:13 Because it is a trial (meaning, YHVH’s sword has been tried (proven), and what (what will happen, or be the result) if (YHVH’s sword of steel shall not despise) the (wooden] scepter; note the inferiority of the latter to the former), if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more (it will not despise it), saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 21:14 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together (a sign of disappointment or grief in men – see Numbers 24:10), and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which entereth into their privy chambers.
The sword, here, is that of Babylon. Its coming a “third time” may be a reference to the historical fact that Babylon assaulted Judah and Jerusalem three times – before the Temple was sacked and burned and the City dismantled. The third assault was the final “straw” of the Almighty’s punisher, Babylon.
Eze 21:15 I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! It is made bright, it is wrapped up (made keen, or sharp) for the slaughter.
Eze 21:16 Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set.
Eze 21:17 I will also smite mine hands together (showing His distress!), and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it.
Signification of Second Sign
Eze 21:18 The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,
Eze 21:19 Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city.
Eze 21:20 Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.
Eze 21:21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright (= hath shaken his arrows; this was one of the means of “divination,” in which an arrow, marked like a lot, made the decision), he consulted with images (teraphim), he looked in the liver.
To inspect a liver from a slain animal was another means of divination. The CB f.n. records that “If healthy or double (lobed) and the lobes inclined inward, the omen was favorable; but if diseased, or too dry, or without a lobe or a band between the parts, the omen was unfavorable!”
Eze 21:22 At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter (an hole or the breach of the wall), to lift up the voice with shouting (a cry of war), to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort.
Eze 21:23 And it shall be unto them (referring go Zedekiah and the rulers in Jerusalem) as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.
This “iniquity” is that of Zedekiah who broke his oath to serve Nebuchadnezzar, but instead went down to Egypt for help in rebelling against him. In relying on his own initiative, Zedekiah was rebelling against the will of the Almighty.
Eze 21:24 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.
Eze 21:25 And thou, profane (Hebrew, chalal = pierced, or wounded) wicked prince (Hebrew, nasiy, a king or ruler) of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end,
Eze 21:26 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.
We have always understood this statement to refer to Zedekiah, the nasiy, or king, as the subject of the prophecy, but some have made the point that it could mean the HIGH PRIEST (Hebrew, kohen) who wears a diadem (a linen cap) and a holy crown (the gold plate about his head) proclaiming Holiness to the LORD. The student must make up his own mind in this matter. It is certainly significant that both the crown and the diadem are featured.
A point in favor of its being Zedekiah, the nasiy, rather than the kohen, the priest, is that the crown of a king is also a diadem.
In any case, both the kingship and the priesthood were overturned, and that these two offices will, in the finality, be combined into one office, the recipient being the LORD Jesus Christ when he assumes the kingship and the priesthood over Israel in the end time.
Eze 21:27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.
Another point in favor of the overturning being exercised upon the nasiy, the king, is that in the kingdom age, the priesthood will not be reestablished as a separate office. Jesus Christ will fulfill both roles in the future age.
To repeat an action three times does not necessarily mean the action will happen three separate times; it is the figure of speech known as Epizeuxis, used for great emphasis.
But if these overturnings are indeed three in number, how can these refer to the priesthood?
It has been pointed out that, although the People of Israel refer to Herod’s Temple as the Second Temple, it was actually the Third Temple … in this way: Solomon’s Temple was number one, and was destroyed by Babylon but rebuilt by Ezra and Nehemiah.
That Temple of Ezra was the Second Temple.
When Herod the Great decided to grant a boon to his people of Judah just prior to the birth of Christ, he renovated the Second Temple, creating the Third Temple.
In building the Third Temple, Herod was not permitted to remove the Most Holy Place of the Second Temple. He apparently tore down and rebuilt as the sequence of construction demanded. We are not aware of the method he used to replace or repair the Most Holy Place, which was accessible ONLY by the High Priest of Israel.
We believe this could be a valid sequence of circumstances.
So according to that view, the overturnings were to be of the Temple – three times destroyed – rather than of the King. It is significant that He Whose right it is of the next verse, is the returned Lord Jesus Christ, Who shall assume both the kingship and the priesthood over Israel of that day. He Whose right it is, is Messiah, of course. Zechariah 6:12, 13.
Eze 21:28 And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering:
Eze 21:29 Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end.
Eze 21:30 Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity.
Eze 21:31 And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, and skilful to destroy.
Eze 21:32 Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the LORD have spoken it.
<HEL 6N> ~1450 words.
Ezekiel 22
The City Defiled
Eze 22:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 22:2 Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? (= the city of much blood. Put by the figure Metonymy, for gross bloodshed; referring to those put to death for the Truth’s sake by the wicked rulers – verses 3, 4, 6, 12, 27) yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.
Eze 22:3 Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself.
Eze 22:4 Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries.
Eze 22:5 Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed (or, full of confusion).
Eze 22:6 Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood.
Eze 22:7 In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow.
Eze 22:8 Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my Sabbaths (cf., Leviticus 19:30; 26:2).
Eze 22:9 In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood: and in thee they eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they commit lewdness.
Eze 22:10 In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution.
Eze 22:11 And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter.
Eze 22:12 In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 22:13 Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.
Eze 22:14 Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it.
Eze 22:15 And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee.
Eze 22:16 And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
These words could not be made further enlightening by any comments by us. In all her ways Judah was identical with her neighboring countries and cultures – abominable, filthy, dishonest, repressive, and unrepentant.
Symbol, Dross
Eze 22:17 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 22:18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross (Lead, placed in the crucible with gold or silver, causes the dross to separate and cling to the sides, leaving the pure gold or silver in the center of the crucible. However, the silver itself here becomes dross. Apparently it is too contaminated to refine.): all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.
Eze 22:19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
Eze 22:20 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.
Normally, in the refining process the purified metals are removed from the dross; but in this case, there is no refined residue – all are guilty and unrepentant!
Eze 22:21 Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof.
Eze 22:22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.
Land not Cleansed
Eze 22:23 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 22:24 Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed (due to having no rain, the symbol of His blessings), nor rained upon (not refreshed, or relieved of His wrath) in the day of indignation.
Eze 22:25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets (the false prophets, of course) in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured our souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.
Eze 22:26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
Eze 22:27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.
Eze 22:28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.
Eze 22:29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
Note the four classes of transgressors: priests, princes, prophets, and people! It encompasses the entire spectrum of their society. All have gone grossly astray; their iniquities are insufferable to the Holy One.
Eze 22:30 And I sought for a man (ANY man – iysh) among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, (that is, one who would resist the incipient evil of the people) that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
Eze 22:31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.
Note that these final phrase are written in the past tense – a reflection of their immutability; He shall not be dissuaded. All these punishments are as if they had already been meted upon His people. <HEL 6N> ~1050 words.
Ezekiel 23
This entire chapter is rather straight-forward, requiring little commentary. The two sisters, Israel and Judah, are likened to consummate harlots, their hands full of blood, their hearts far astray from the God of their fathers. They are both condemned again and again to captivity, oppression, and ill treatment at the hands of their spiritual lovers.
Jerusalem: Two Sisters
Eze 23:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
Eze 23:2 Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:
Eze 23:3 And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.
Eze 23:4 And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.
E-Sword includes an interesting note on these names:
the names: The kingdom of Israel, of which Samaria was the capital, containing ten tribes, and occupying a larger extent of country than that of Judah, is therefore called "her elder sister;" Aholah (meaning “idolatrous sanctuary,)” the name given to her [Samaria], implies that the whole religious establishment in Israel was an human invention, a temple and service of their own, and not of God's appointment. Aholibah, the name given to Judah, implies that the worship established there was from God, and that His temple was truly at Jerusalem.
Ahola and Aholibah
Eze 23:5 And Aholah (the name means His tent, or tabernacle) played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours,
Eze 23:6 Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. Their appeal was completely directed toward the fleshly desires and admiration of men and women.
Eze 23:7 Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself.
Eze 23:8 Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.
Eze 23:9 Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.
Assyria had conquered and taken the Ten Tribes captive around 710BC. The nation was essentially raped by Assyria in every uncivilized sense …
Eze 23:10 These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.
Eze 23:11 And when her sister Aholibah (this name means: My tabernacle in her) saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.
Judah did not learn anything from the clear example shown in Israel!
Eze 23:12 She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.
Eze 23:13 Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way (i.e., the same wrong way),
Eze 23:14 And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion,
Eze 23:15 Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity:
Eze 23:16 And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.
Eze 23:17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them (from, or because of their influence; they were the source of her alienation from the Almighty).
Eze 23:18 So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister.
Eze 23:19 Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
Eze 23:20 For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
Eze 23:21 Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.
Judgment Threatened
Eze 23:22 Therefore, O Aholibah (Judah), thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom (i.e., because of whom) thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side;
Eze 23:23 The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses.
Eze 23:24 And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels (the Hebrew is galgal, a rolling thing – a whirlwind), and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments. But that judgment shall be the LORD’s judgment …
Eze 23:25 And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose (rings) and thine ears (earrings); and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.
Eze 23:26 They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels. (They should bring poverty to Judah – a poverty of spiritual wickedness and lack of appreciation for the Almighty.)
Eze 23:27 Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.
Eze 23:28 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy mind is alienated:
Eze 23:29 And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
Eze 23:30 I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols.
Eze 23:31 Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand.
This “cup” is the Cup of the Fury of the Lord: it is symbolic of His judgments upon His people. They shall drink it and swallow down and be drunk because of it. Isaiah 51: 17 is a record of this “cup” having been given Israel to consume ... Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.
But in later time, that Cup is destined to be removed from His People, and given to their enemies to drink in just the same manner.
This transaction is detailed in the words of …
Jeremiah 25:14 For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands. 15 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. 16 And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. 17 Then took I the cup at the LORD'S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:
This would take place in the end time. We believe that the Cup of Fury has now passed from Israel’s lips to those of her enemies, effective as of May 14, 1948 – the day of Zion’s elevation to a place among the nations.
Israel, in our opinion, shall NO MORE drink of that fierce Cup!
But in the meantime Judah is consuming that “cup” in her desperate oppression …
Eze 23:32 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much.
Eze 23:33 Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.
Eze 23:34 Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. This reference to “plucking off thine own breasts” may mean that the natural function of the breast shall be left aside in her whoredoms; in such a case, a woman produces no orderly offspring, and therefore the feeding, nourishing, comforting aspect of her breasts is set aside willingly by her. Her breasts are in this sense alienated (plucked off) from their natural motherly function.
Eze 23:35 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
Aholah and Aholibah
Eze 23:36 The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations;
Eze 23:37 That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.
Eze 23:38 Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.
Eze 23:39 For when they had slain their children to their idols (note the reference to the practice of infant sacrifice), then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house.
We feel compelled to bring this abomination forward to our own day – the day of legal abortion of infants – in which, in the US alone, nearly 60 million infants have been legally aborted since Roe vs. Wade was successfully approved by the courts.
This sacrifice of infants is tantamount to sacrificing them to Molech. Both operations are designed to bring temporal satisfaction to the population, although in ways that are different from each other.
Eze 23:40 And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments,
Eze 23:41 And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil. The shameful truth was that Judah welcomed these intruders and their alien ways and mores.
Eze 23:42 And a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.
Eze 23:43 Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she with them?
Eze 23:44 Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women.
Eze 23:45 And the righteous men (oddly, this term nominates the Chaldeans, for they have been given permission to judge God’s people; thus their “righteousness” is attributed to them, but not a reality), they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.
Eze 23:46 For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled.
Permission – indeed, commission – to judge His people has been granted them by the Almighty.
Eze 23:47 And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.
Eze 23:48 Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.
Eze 23:49 And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
<HEL 6N> ~1550 words.
Ezekiel 24
The Babylonian War. Parable.
Eze 24:1 Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 24:2 Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.
This narrative is true exactly as written. This was the first day of the siege of Jerusalem by Babylon.
E-Sword’s footnote on verse one says: Overview: “Ezekiel 24:1, Under the parable of a boiling pot, Ezekiel 24:6, is shewn the irrevocable destruction of Jerusalem; Ezekiel_24:15, By the sign of Ezekiel not mourning for the death of his wife, Ezekiel_24:19, is shewn the calamity of the Jews to be beyond all sorrow.”
It continues: “AM 3414, BC 590: the ninth year: This was the ninth year of Zedekiah, about Thursday, January 30, AM 3414, the very day in which Nebuchadnezzar began the siege of Jerusalem.”
Symbolical: a Pot
Eze 24:3 And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it:
Eze 24:4 Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones. “Bones” here is Hebrew etzem, meaning strength, by extension the body, or substance of the sacrifice.
Eze 24:5 Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones (i.e., all the flesh on the bones, that is, the entire body) of it therein.
Eze 24:6 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.
Eze 24:7 For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust; (The meaning of these phrases is that she openly defied the LORD, not striving to cover her iniquities, but openly displayed them as if spread on the top of a giant rock in plain view – not as spread upon the earth and therefore coverable by dust.)
Eze 24:8 That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.
Eze 24:9 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great.
Eze 24:10 Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.
Eze 24:11 Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed. “Scum” here is Hebrew chelah, meaning properly, disease of the flesh of mankind, with all the lusts thereof (cf., Romans 6: 12; 13:14).
Eze 24:12 She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.
Eze 24:13 In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest (to come to rest: to cease) upon thee.
This is important information for the end time, for it is only with the departure of the CUP of the LORD’s fury from Israel that this condition of cleanness can become possible. See above discussion on Ezekiel 23: 31.
At the coming of the Savior, a fountain for such cleansing shall be opened: Zechariah13:1 - In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
Eze 24:14 I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 24:15 Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 24:16 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.
This “desire of thine eyes” refers to Ezekiel’s wife in the figure, Paraphrasis; she symbolized Jerusalem to the citizens of Judah. Ezekiel is commanded not to weep for her just as no man would weep for Jerusalem’s demise.
Eze 24:17 Forbear to cry (don’t do it!), make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire (the attire) of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. That is, do not assume the posture of sorrow or distress by baring the head and the feet, or rending of garments.
Eze 24:18 So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded. As commanded, this announcement of the death of Mrs. Ezekiel is made without emotion or any sign of sorrow – it is merely a matter of record …
Eze 24:19 And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?
Eze 24:20 Then I answered them, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 24:21 Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes (already symbolized by Ezekiel’s wife, who died), and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.
Eze 24:22 And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.
Eze 24:23 And your tires (attire) shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet (they are to be prepared to be taken into captivity! Note the indication of the imminence of removal, and the urgency – readiness – that He required of them): ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.
Ezekiel a Man of Sign
Eze 24:24 Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
Exactly what has happened to Ezekiel in his personal life shall befall them in another way in their national life.
Eze 24:25 Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters (in this figure, Jerusalem is parallel to Ezekiel’s beloved wife; both died that day),
Eze 24:26 That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears?
Eze 24:27 In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Again, this fast-paced account needs little extraneous commentary; its words are sufficient to inform us of the terrible result of their disobedience and gross idolatry – their having forgotten the relationship that they have had with their Father, the Almighty. <HEL 6N> ~1050 words.
Now the prophet begins a long series of criticisms and prophetic doom-saying as to the nations round about Israel/Judah of his day. These prophecies consistently contain long- and short-term pronouncements against these nations and all these passages have an end time application which is now in play. They, therefore, give Believers of today a reason to expect the soon return of the LORD from the heavens to wreak the vengeance upon these peoples which is so clearly revealed in these passages...
Ezekiel 25
This chapter begins a long series of utterances against the nations round about Israel. The commentary will be headed with the principle prophecies as they occur.
The following index will guide the student to the various prophecies impacting upon the nations round about Israel, and their hatred directed against God’s people. Be it noted by all, that these words and their condemnations have direct overtones to the end times, each of which we intend to indicate in the notes …
25:3 – 25:7 Ammon Hatred by Ammon – 25:6
25:8 – 25:11 Moab Hatred by Moab – 25:8
25:12 – 25:14 Edom Hatred by Edom – 25:12
25:15 – end Philistia Hatred by Philistines – 25:15
26:1 – 28:26 Tyre Hatred by Tyre – 26:1
29:1 – 29:21 Egypt Hatred by Egypt – 29:6
30:1 – 32:21 Egypt and Ethiopia Hatred by Egypt and Ethiopia – 31:11
32:22 -32:23 Assyria
32:24 – 32:25 Elam
32:26 – 32:28 Meshach and Tubal
32:29 - Edom Hatred by Edom – 35:6
32:30 - Princes of North, Sidon
Chapter 35 Edom – decisively end-time Hatred by Edom – 35:6
Virtually ALL these nations are condemned for their hatred of Judah and Israel!
We shall find later that the “captivity” of most of these is to be “returned” in the end time at which time they shall suffer terminally for their ill-treatment of the Hebrews!
Ammonites and Other Nations
Eze 25:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
Eze 25:2 Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them;
As with all ancient peoples, we attempt to determine today’s location of their ancient territories. Ammonites lived in north Jordan of today. Amman, the present capital of Jordan, reflects this same name: Ammon. The population has grown greatly during the last 100 years, so the “captivity” of Ammon has returned to its land. Trans-Jordan was made a state c. 1922 by the international powers headed by Britain.
Eze 25:3 And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary (Ammon was culpable – a party to the plot – against Gedaliah, the governor whom Nebuchadnezzar set up after the destruction of Jerusalem – cf., 21:28), when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity;
Eze 25:4 Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east (i.e., Babylon) for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk.
Eze 25:5 And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couchingplace for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Eze 25:6 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel;
Eze 25:7 Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
This is evidence that the LORD hates the reaction from anyone who rejoices over the misfortunes of another, whether or not deserved. Here, Ammon was “cursing” God’s people, and agreeing to their treatment by Babylon.
To this point, the student should reference the middle verses of Obadiah 1, where the same attitude is condemned in the Edomites …
Now He addresses Moab and Mt. Seir (Edom):
Eze 25:8 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen;
Eze 25:9 Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Bethjeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim,
Eze 25:10 Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations.
Eze 25:11 And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Moab today is central Jordan. It lay desolate for millennia – lone, forlorn, and deserted. It has now become re-populated with many people – the Arab descendants of its original population.
Now He addresses Edom – or the descendants of Esau – who lived then in south Jordan and in the Israeli Negev region as Bedouin. Its character toward Israel was like that of Ammon and Moab – and was despised of the LORD.
Eze 25:12 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them;
Eze 25:13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword.
Eze 25:14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD.
This was fulfilled in later time; David and Solomon held sway over Edom’s lands. But there is a strong hint here of future retribution, as plainly recorded in Obadiah.
The details of Edom’s punishment in the prophecy of Obadiah is especially emphasized by the prophet because these were the enemies of closest proximity to His People in the end time. They live within Israel today, and in lands immediately adjacent to Israel, and are strategically the greatest immediate threat to His People.
Now Philistia comes into consideration. These were sea peoples who established themselves in the southwest of Canaan, having five major population centers. Today it is the Gaza Strip, inhabited by Hamas and the Moslem Brotherhood – both vehement enemies of God’s people. The Philistines are historically persistent enemies of Israel.
Eze 25:15 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred;
Eze 25:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast.
Eze 25:17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.
Much of this prophecy has been fulfilled, for the ancient Philistines are no more; but the Gaza Strip today is home to millions of fervent enemies of Israel, which are slated for total destruction as described in Isaiah 11: 14. And note in that prophecy, that Ammon, Edom and Moab shall suffer the same destruction at the same time! The geo-political status of Gaza and Jordan today makes this prophecy imminent. <HEL 6N> ~1050 words.
Ezekiel 26
Tyrus (Tyre)
Tyre remains inhabited today, although its site is different from ancient Tyre; it is a coastal city in south Lebanon, and home of Hezbollah – an extremely violent sect of Islam which hates Israel, and has vowed to defeat and to destroy God’s people.
This prophecy speaks to Tyre’s ancient jealousy toward Jerusalem, and the animosity displayed by her toward Judah.
This prophecy actually consists of many progressive events by which Tyre was destroyed partially by Nebuchadnezzar, and then its destruction was completed by Alexander the Great of Greece.
The people moved their city to an offshore island as Nebuchadnezzar attacked, thus escaping being wiped out by Babylon.
But to exhaust the prophecy, Alexander came later, scraped the debris of the old city into the Mediterranean and constructed a causeway to the island and defeated it with siege machines and battering rams.
Thus mighty Tyre was completely destroyed and never recovered its former glory.
Eze 26:1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 26:2 Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:
Eze 26:3 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. Note that these same warnings are leveled against the Gogian host of Ezekiel 38:3, but this fact does not indicate these two entities’ destruction at the same time just because of similarity of language: it is similarity that is commonly directed toward any and all enemies of the LORD.
Eze 26:4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her (bare) like the top of a rock.
Eze 26:5 It (this refers to the debris that later was used by Alexander to build the causeway; even today, fishermen dry their nets on the rocks of this structure) shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations. This means it would be conquered for its riches – its booty, or spoils of war, which were extremely valuable.
Eze 26:6 And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Now the prophet’s words become specific … targeted and plain …
Eze 26:7 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.
Eze 26:8 He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee.
Eze 26:9 And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers.
Eze 26:10 By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach.
As this initial siege was taking place, the people of Tyre were frantically moving their stores and houses to the small island offshore in a successful attempt to avoid being taken captive and becoming a spoil to Nebuchadnezzar. They succeeded in escaping his rapacity, but their original city was destroyed.
Eze 26:11 With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground.
Eze 26:12 And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.
This operation describes the later actions of Alexander, who built the causeway from the debris, by means of which he might attack the new location on the island.
Eze 26:13 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. These phrases speak of the silencing of Tyre’s influence among the trading nations of the earth.
Eze 26:14 And I will make thee like the top of a rock (we are informed that the original site of Tyre even today is level countryside): thou (i.e., thy debris, laid in the sea) shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 26:15 Thus saith the Lord GOD to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?
The soaring, pompous status of Tyre is likened to the Garden of Eden (Ezekiel 28:13) for sumptuous beauty.
Eze 26:16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee.
Again, please note the similarity of this mourning to that of the merchants of the earth who are, in the same manner, brought to mourn for Great Babylon (Revelation 18: 10, 11). But again, the destruction of these two entities was greatly separated by time and space, even as to their deletion in the end time.
Eze 26:17 And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it!
Tyre was the jewel of Phoenicia – a sea-faring people and a trading center that was renowned in the ancient world. It was often on good terms with God’s People in Israel. One of its kings, Hiram, assisted Solomon in his construction of the great Temple; he also aided in building trading ships (Tarshish ships) for Solomon at Eilat.
Eze 26:18 Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.
Eze 26:19 For thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters (symbolizing both Babylon and Greece) shall cover thee;
Eze 26:20 When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth (she would no longer be as in Eden, but in Sheol, the pit of death), in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit (the grave, or Sheol), that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;
Eze 26:21 I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord GOD.
Although Tyre later tried to recover her former glory, she failed to do so. The surrounding desolation of her land was sufficient to cause people to shun that area, never to allow its redevelopment to its former glory.
Hebrews 10:31 says truly, that … It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. <HEL 6N> ~1200 words.
Ezekiel 27
The Lamentation for Tyre
Eze 27:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
Eze 27:2 Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus;
Eze 27:3 And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.
Note well in these descriptions of Tyre, how her trading partners as well as she, considered herself to be “perfect” in every way – just as the Garden of God was perfect – and note how overrated she was in their collective eyes! The voluminous list of exotic merchandise and their source countries is literary testimony to the reason for Tyrus’ self-evaluation; in a worldly sense, her opinion of herself is entirely true.
But none of this inventory may be identifiable as spiritual valuables!
Eze 27:4 Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.
These copious references that follow immediately all refer to the ships of Tyre, expertly designed and built of the most appropriate materials – excellent in every way! Tyre’s high volume of world trade depended upon the ships that she constructed. Her shipyards were renowned, as are their products, which were called Tarshish Ships.
Eze 27:5 They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir (Senir is a mountain in Lebanon): they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee.
Eze 27:6 Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim (Chittim is Cyprus).
Eze 27:7 Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee. The isles of Elishah refer to Elis – which is part of the Peloponnesus, extending along the western coast of Arcadia, north of Messenia, and south of Achaia. Elishah was a grandson of Japheth: in Genesis10:4 he is listed among several of his famous brothers – Gomer, Magog, Meshech and Tubal!
Eze 27:8 The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots. This word speaks of their masters of navigation – their captains of marine commerce.
Eze 27:9 The ancients of Gebal (a community in Phoenicia) and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise.
These ships were known as Tarshish Ships – not men o’ war, but sea-worthy, heavy vessels for trading missions: cargo vessels which could transport the great amount of merchandise in which Tyre traded with the known world of the time. Although it was formerly opined that these ships navigated near the shorelines of the Mediterranean, it is now known that they ventured into the vast open waters of that sea and other oceans, dependent upon their “pilots’” or navigators’ skills of astral navigation.
The prophet now catalogues the vast array of merchandise that was traded in the fairs of Tyre, which were world-renowned for enormous variety and value.
The international, mundane character, of Tyre’s commerce is evident in the continuing description … note the universal commercial intercourse of Tyre with the nations!
Eze 27:10 They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness.
Eze 27:11 The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims (apparently a generic term for those who grasp and wield weapons; swordsmen and lancers: thus, mercenaries) were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect.
Eze 27:12 Tarshish was thy merchant (or supplier of merchandise) by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs. The tin mines of Cornwall in South England seem here indicated, and the silver and lead mines of the area as well. The last mine in Cornwall (coastal south of England) closed late in the 20th century, testifying to the abundance of metallic ores present there, and the reason for her ancient fame in the trading world. We understand that in the ancient world, England was known as “the tin isle.”
Eze 27:13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men (slaves) and vessels of brass in thy market.
It is evident here, that slaves and hard merchandise were equivalent in the minds of the traders of Tyre – a decidedly heartless, pejorative view of the poor, oppressed beings who had been abducted, sold for their indebtedness, or captured in battle.
Eze 27:14 They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules.
Eze 27:15 The men of Dedan were thy merchants; many isles (this means the trading items of those isles) were the merchandise of thine hand: they brought thee for a present horns of ivory and ebony.
Eze 27:16 Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate.
Eze 27:17 Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag (there is an indication that this was a kind of pastry, compatible with the next-listed commodities), and honey, and oil, and balm.
Eze 27:18 Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon (a city in Syria), and white wool.
Eze 27:19 Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy market.
Cassia, “otherwise known as cassia cinnamon, is the dried, aromatic bark of several tropical trees (genus Cinnamonium) that yields a reddish brown to dark brown spice sold as and used similarly to true cinnamon, but having a usually stronger, more spicy character; also: the powdered spice produced from cassia bark.” (Merriam Webster Dictionary)
Calamus has two definitions: a: sweet flag; b: the aromatic peeled and dried rhizome of the sweet flag that is the source of a carcinogenic essential oil. (Merriam Webster Dictionary)
Readers may note that both cassia and calamus were ingredients of the holy oil of anointing prescribed in Exodus 30: 23-25, the use of which was so integral to the Temple Worship.
Eze 27:20 Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots.
Eze 27:21 Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants.
Eze 27:22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.
Eze 27:23 Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants.
Eze 27:24 These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy merchandise.
Eze 27:25 The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious (by great ships) in the midst of the seas.
But now we see vividly depicted, her downfall!
Tyre’s ruin is to the world a great disaster – a misfortune which they should have avoided at any cost.
Eze 27:26 Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas. These “east winds” were the aggressive, savage, dry, parching winds of Nebuchadnezzar’s wrath, and their utter defeat by Alexander – most appropriate symbols of the oblivion into which Tyre should fall.
Eze 27:27 Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin.
These words integrate with the historical account, that Tyre’s ultimate demise came as an island stronghold completely obliterated by Alexander the Great – “in the midst of the seas.”
Eze 27:28 The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots.
Eze 27:29 And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land;
Tyre’s merchant marine was thus dismantled and decommissioned by the scourges which YHVH brought upon them!
Eze 27:30 And shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes:
Eze 27:31 And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.
These colorful descriptions indicate the deep feelings of everyone involved with her, which were compromised with the defeat of Tyre.
Eze 27:32 And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea?
Eze 27:33 When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise.
Eze 27:34 In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall.
The ultimate picture given here is the crumbling of worldly institutions in the wake of the conquests of Righteousness. The historical demise of Tyrus was a graphic exposition of her ultimate fate – and the fate of all similar human institutions which ultimately shall bow to the King of Righteousness …
Eze 27:35 All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance.
Eze 27:36 The merchants among the people shall hiss (meaning, to whistle or hiss in scorn) at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more.
Thus Tyre is inundated by the “waters” of Babylon and Greece. The city’s greatness has been destroyed forever, never able to rise to its former glory any more. Today the region is reasonably prosperous as part of the society of Lebanon, but is inhabited by the terrorists and militants of Hezbollah – an organization which is dedicated to Israel’s destruction.
It shall again come into play in international prominence, as Isaiah 11 is fulfilled along with Psalm 83, Ezekiel 35, Micah 5, and other prophets such as Obadiah, a small prophecy which pin-points the end time conquest of Lebanon at one early stage as far north as Zarephath, near Tyre and Zidon. <HEL6N> ~1250 words.
Ezekiel 28
The Prince and the King of Tyre
Description of the Prince
To Nagib of Tyre: His Destruction
Now the word of the LORD becomes more specific than in His previous pronouncements …
Eze 28:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
Eze 28:2 Son of man, say unto the prince (Hebrew, Nagib, chief ruler) of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
This Nagib or “prince of Tyre” was King Ithobalus II, or, in Hebrew, Ethbaal, according to Josephus. He is again addressed beginning in verse 12 under the title of Melek, the Hebrew word for “king” of Tyre. Commentators who are convicted of the existence of a personal Devil or Satan make an huge point of these two different titles used of the king of Tyre, although they are entirely equivalent terms – the first being specific to Tyrus, the second being generic, as to kings in general.
Their argument is that this first reference to the “prince” of Tyre is referring to the literal king of Tyre, whereas the reference to the “king” of Tyre in verse 12 is a hidden reference to “Satan.”
This fantastic deception has carried them away from the sublime meaning of this straight-forward prophecy – which extols the rich and extremely sumptuous wealth, the vacuous, worldly elevation – of this ungodly, pagan, worldly king, by spiritualizing the account to describe an extra-terrestrial being of supernatural evil!
There is no textual support at all for this theory – a pure presumption which is completely in agreement with the general, overall doctrine of Diabolos, or sin in the flesh, throughout the Word of God.
Note carefully how the first entity is addressed as being superior to Daniel, wiser than nearly everyone else; it is clear that this is his own assessment of himself! – a measure of “greatness” by which his great riches have been amassed.
Eze 28:3 Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
Eze 28:4 With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:
Eze 28:5 By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up (in opposition to God) because of thy riches:
Eze 28:6 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; (Note the assumed comparative equivalency of the two in this statement – and that there is no indication of actual attainment of this aspiration by the Nagib.)
Eze 28:7 Behold, therefore I will bring strangers (Babylon – and Greece) upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.
Eze 28:8 They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.
To die at sea, or by drowning, is the most enigmatic death, because there is no specific place of rest (grave).
Eze 28:9 Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee.
His final humiliation graphically shall illustrate to all, that this prince of Tyre is NOT a god, and certainly not “divine,” by his utter defeat and disestablishment from his rulership.
Thus his claims and aspirations are null and void in the eyes of Him with Whom the Nagib had to do.
Eze 28:10 Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
To Melek of Tyre; His Destruction
There is no textual reason to believe that the prophet now is addressing someone personally other than the KING of Tyre; his lofty descriptions of the king and his denunciations of him follow on, completely in parallel to his earlier words; he is addressing the iysh of Tyre, who is after all, simply an ordinary man. As the major prophets of Israel were accustomed to do (at the instruction of the Almighty) his words are greatly multiplied so that no mistake can be made by any reader as to the LORD’s intent for this object of the prophecy.
Eze 28:11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 28:12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king (Hebrew, Melek, a king) of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. See verse 7, above; same description; a self-evaluation!
Eze 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God (this is a metaphor for his occupying the highest, most secure of worldly positions, lofty and elevated above any fault or criticism, entirely safe and insulated from opposition – and sumptuously wealthy); every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets (a tambourine) and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
Note in these words that the precious stones enumerated are many of the same gems which adorn the New Jerusalem, as described in Revelation 21:19 et seq. The composition of this array indicates it as one of the sumptuous reflectors of Ethbaal’s majesty and elevation above the other monarchs of his region – his measure of his own self-worth as well as the esteem of his citizens.
Eze 28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
Although Ethbaal could not appreciate the fact, his position was due to the actions of the Almighty Who had placed him on the throne of Tyre – the greatest trading center of the ancient world, esteemed buyers and sellers of the most exotic commodities of mankind, and profiting immensely from these transactions.
It is in this sense – and measured by his physical surroundings as defined in verse 13 – that he hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
Eze 28:15 Thou wast perfect (declared in irony!) in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
Now we note a long series of condemnations in which the LORD informs the king directly that he will suffer at God’s hand. These are ALL expressed in the FUTURE TENSE. If the words be taken as related to a supernatural devil which long beforehand had been rebellious against God and had been expelled from heaven (an event which is completely oxymoronic in any sense), these words should logically be in the PAST TENSE, or past perfect tense.
The Almighty abhors the violence which is existent in Tyre, and under Ethbaal’s authority. This includes the heathenistic practice of “passing their sons through the fire” to Moloch – that is, human sacrifice in order to ensure fertility of field and family.
Eze 28:16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
Eze 28:17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
The corpse of Ethbaal lying “in state” was to be exhibited in death; how could this be referring to a supernatural Satan?
Eze 28:18 Thou hast defiled thy (not MY) sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
We are reminded by the picture drawn here, of those who tended the furnace into which Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego were thrown at the behest of Nebuchadnezzar – a furnace heated to a level seven times hotter “than it was wont to be” – a quaint way of saying Very Hot!
This furnace sent forth its fire and consumed those attendants in exactly the same manner as here forecasted!
Eze 28:19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
Incredibly, there are prophecy students who apply these words to Great Britain in its current row with the European Community over “Brexit.” They posit that Britain will suffer greatly for its decision to quit the continental powers, separating itself from its politics and economics.
Now, this is not to say there may not be parallel occurrences between the fate of Tyre (as given here in literal terms, in our opinion) and Great Britain, which may have occupied in time past the same relative positions of prominence and wealth exhibited by Tyre – in a certain sense to have “been perfect in thy ways,” as Tyre ... wealthy, authoritative, prominent among the nations, a pervasive trader and wealthy society. [And to that point, there is another parallel in the New World – that of the United States of America – which eventually surpassed Great Britain in matters of commerce and wealth-generation, and became the foremost trading nation on earth. But they do not extend the analogy to that realm as it does not fit their concepts.]
As the prophecy foretells, Tyre has perished. It clearly has not moved to another locale and there prospered no matter how fantastically the prophet’s words are interpreted.
It has vanished from the pages of every atlas, its accomplishments of olden time a mere footnote to history, its lessons unlearned by any following nation because of the intense motivation of every subsequent one to achieve wealth and prominence among the nations, and increased stature for its people.
Such observers surely have absorbed the message of all the earlier phrases of the prophet in this chapter, which should bring them to a dire conclusion for Britain ... if they believe the prophecy to carry over and apply to that People: for the prophet’s concluding words are...
Ezekiel 28:19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
Surely they do not expect this end for Great Britain! We have seen no evidence of that conclusion.
There is a certain sureness in their expectation, however, even given the continuing prosperity (and survival) of Britain for a time. And that is this: along with all the remaining nations of the earth, it is the sure destiny of Britain to give up its power and authority – its autonomy and its wealth – to the King of kings, and to that enormous cadre of His immortal Saints as stated in the words of another prophet who spoke similarly of the time of the end: Daniel 7: 18, 22, 27, the last of which states in certain terms, “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the Saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him. Daniel 7:27.
We therefore must reject any application of this prophecy to modern-day Great Britain.
The authors of an high-profile Anglo-publication has stated:
“Another prophecy, Amos 1:9-10, is also applicable. These are Scriptures worth thinking about as we consider Britain's position today. Britain must be humbled as also indicated in Isaiah 2:12-17. As we have said on previous occasions, Britain's exit from Europe (which is certain) is likely to be a very painful process. She must be brought to a repentant state. 2019 could witness the beginning of this.” (Bible Truth and Prophecy, January 16, 2019)
The first of these references predicts a fire upon the “wall...and palaces” of Tyre: destruction! Amos 1: 9, 10.
The second, Isaiah 2: 12-17, is directed specifically against the “sons of Jacob” in verse 6 of that chapter. Later, the effects of His judgment are extended to other regions and entities as well – including “the cedars of Lebanon...the oaks of Bashan...the ships of Tarshish” – the last of which is probably what has prompted this inscrutable interest in applying these words to Britain, in our opinion.
But the words are not limited to these entities; they are in their finality a summary condemnation of all the nations of the earth and their fleshly courses as waged without cessation against the power and authority of YHVH and His Servants... and The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. Isaiah 2:11.
Against Zidon
Zidon existed to the north of Tyre, and was a minor trading center – not in any way living up to the stature or fame of Tyre. Again, we feel constrained to refer to the condemnation of this precisely named area by Obadiah (see above) in the end time.
Eze 28:20 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 28:21 Son of man, set thy face against Zidon, and prophesy against it,
Eze 28:22 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they (to be consistent, we believe those who are to be so enlightened will be Israel – not Zidonians, who are destined for extinction) shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.
Eze 28:23 For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Eze 28:24 And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
This figure of a pricking brier … (a) grieving thorn is particularly apropos. These Phoenician trading cities were fierce rivals of Jerusalem and Joppa in their day. They despised the people of Judah. Today, the people who inhabit this area of Lebanon are the adherents of Hezbollah – the extremist sliver of Islam who hate Israel vehemently and are indeed a “pricking brier” to God’s people.
The LORD has previously informed Isaiah of His plan to bring destruction upon Judah’s land, in Isaiah5: 6 - And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
These words indicate the influx of squatters and interlopers who entered Judah’s vacant lands and by neglect and disuse, wore out the land, destroyed the trees, and brought drought and blight upon it. They are appropriately referred to as briers and thorns in the side of Judah, a figure made more meaningful by the fact that briers and thorns are unproductive, aggressive, aggravating, hurtful, and the products of a dry and thirsty land.
This should be especially true when Israel in the end time is restored to its Land. The intruders who have long inhabited the land as trespassers, are not willing to cede the land to the people of God, but claim it as their own by squatters’ rights. Indeed, they deny that Israel of today has any connection to the land of Israel at all, and originated in Europe. These are appropriately termed “briers and thorns” pricking the side of Israel in the end time!
The rest of the story will have a greatly different end to the course which it has already traveled, up to the time of the end.
His next words are directed to that specific divine intention. Note the uniquely precise terminology of the end time in these words …
Eze 28:25 Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell (the Hebrew word yashab, meaning to sit still, to dwell in peace) in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob.
Eze 28:26 And they shall dwell safely (Hebrew, betach, confidently) therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell (yashab) with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God.
The astute student of His word beholds here the abrupt turning point which shall overtake God’s people of the end time; when HE has EXECUTED JUDGMENTS upon ALL THOSE THAT DESPISE THEM ROUND ABOUT THEM, (then) they shall know that I am the LORD their God. Notice particularly that the specific designation of the objects of His wrath are “those that despise them ROUND ABOUT THEM” is NOT APPLICABLE to the forces of the Gogian host, for these cannot be said to be “round about” (i.e., in close proximity) to Israel; they are habitués of regions further afield, and beyond the two Rivers of Abraham’s promises in Genesis 13.
Our considered opinion is that the day is bearing swiftly upon us now! The dawn of the (Son)rise grows brighter with each passing hour. Soon the entire world shall see the full and glorious elevation of the Son of righteousness with healing in His beams, and enjoy His reign of peace upon the earth – no matter how hard they fight against it! <HEL 6N> ~1800 words.
Ezekiel 29
Egypt
Destruction; Pharaoh
Eze 29:1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 29:2 Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt (this is Pharaoh Hophra), and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt:
Eze 29:3 Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon (the crocodile; Egypt was so symbolized on Roman coins) that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. What a remarkable level of arrogance … of supposition of one’s own grandeur! It shall not stand in God’s sight.
Eze 29:4 But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers (referring to the people of Egypt) to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.
Eze 29:5 And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven.
Eze 29:6 And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed (that is, an helper who has no strength, slender and fragile as the reeds of the Nile) to the house of Israel.
Eze 29:7 When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand. The sense of these words is that the pharaoh is not strong enough when pitted against the LORD, for Israel to use as a staff – or to lean upon, or depend upon for assistance.
Eze 29:8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cut off man and beast out of thee.
Eze 29:9 And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I am the LORD: because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it.
The arrogance of kings is never acceptable to the LORD, Who has given them all their riches and lands.
Eze 29:10 Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia.
For centuries Egypt has been a wasteland – and is so largely today, with the exception of the fertile lands irrigated by the ancillary canals furnishing water from the Nile, and of deep wells furnishing water drawn by oxen walking in an eternal circle, tethered to the lever which operates the water-screws. This unique sight is seen today in the alluvial delta of the Nile.
But the menace of the desert is never far away for Egypt. We have personally witnessed the abrupt transition from Nile Delta fertility of the soil to utter soil sterility as dictated by desert conditions, in a distance of less than two feet in the region of Sukkara, near Memphis, Egypt.
Our photograph shows a three square meter patch of soil which, on the east border is green and fertile, and at the west border is identical to the Sahara sands which stretch interminably from this point all the way west to Morocco. It is a remarkably startling contrast. Egypt’s lifeline is the Nile, without the waters of which Egypt should generally appear as the dusty, empty and sandy desolation of the Giza Plateau (site of the three most famous Egyptian pyramids).
Eze 29:11 No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years.
Eze 29:12 And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.
Eze 29:13 Yet thus saith the Lord GOD; At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the people whither they were scattered:
Eze 29:14 And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation; and they shall be there a base kingdom. (Also see Jeremiah 46: 24-26)
Eze 29:15 It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.
Eze 29:16 And it shall be no more the confidence (the helper, on whom Israel depended so often) of the house of Israel, which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance, when they shall look after them: but they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
Eze 29:17 And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 29:18 Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled (this resulted from Babylonian soldiers’ long-term wearing their helmets, making them bald, and the chafing of their coats of mail upon their shoulders): yet had he no wages (i.e., Nebuchadnezzar had received no reward for this duty done for the LORD), nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service (the “service” required by the Almighty) that he had served against it:
Eze 29:19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.
This action may involve the forty years mentioned above, but there is no scriptural record of this conflict that we know of. It is supported by the history of Professor Sayce in The Egypt of the Hebrews (1896), p. 130, per CB footnote.
Eze 29:20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 29:21 In that day will I cause the horn of the house of Israel to bud forth, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the LORD. <HEL 6N> ~1000 words.
Ezekiel 30
Egypt and Her Allies
This chapter needs little explanation. It is clearly a record of the destruction of Egypt and her allies who resisted Babylon.
Eze 30:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
Eze 30:2 Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day! “Worth” is an Anglo-Saxon word, the past tense of worthen, “ to become,” so it means, “Alas, for the (coming) day!”
Eze 30:3 For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.
Eze 30:4 And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia (Cush, allied with Egypt), when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.
Eze 30:5 Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people (the Hebrew word is Ayreb, or Arab! Note how closely this corresponds to the end time alignment of Egypt with its Arab cousins.), and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.
Eze 30:6 Thus saith the LORD; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene (see also 29:10) shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 30:7 And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.
Eze 30:8 And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed.
Egypt and all her allies are doomed to the ravenous insults of the coming Babylonian invasion.
Eze 30:9 In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh.
Eze 30:10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.
The people did not cease from being Egyptians; but Egypt ceased to exist as “Egypt” as in its former status – its polity ceased for a time.
Eze 30:11 He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.
Eze 30:12 And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the LORD have spoken it.
Eze 30:13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.
Eze 30:14 And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No.
Eze 30:15 And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.
Eze 30:16 And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.
Eze 30:17 The young men of Aven and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity.
Eze 30:18 At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.
Eze 30:19 Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
The listing of these numerous locationally specific cities and towns are mute testimony to the pervasiveness and the severity of Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of the land of Egypt.
Nebuchadnezzar – “Wages” Paid
These words pertain to the wages being “paid” by the LORD to Nebuchadnezzar for his service against Tyre and Phoenicia. Thus He gave Egypt to Babylon for a time.
Eze 30:20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 30:21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller (a bandage) to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.
Eze 30:22 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.
Eze 30:23 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.
Little information on this episode of Egypt’s history is forthcoming. It evidently was a time of great devastation for Pharaoh. This date is about four months before the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon.
Eze 30:24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man.
Eze 30:25 But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.
Eze 30:26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD. <HEL 6N> ~1000 words.
Ezekiel 31
Egypt: Perdition
These words of condemnation are severe and quite clear, requiring little or no commentary, as have been earlier texts. The Almighty was, in these words of Ezekiel, giving Pharaoh ample warning of his coming demise.
Eze 31:1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 31:2 Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?
The prophet now answers this pointed question of comparative greatness of other kings.
Eze 31:3 Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs. (That is, his nation was lifted on high among the nations.)
Eze 31:4 The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field.
Eze 31:5 Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.
Eze 31:6 All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.
Eze 31:7 Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters.
Eze 31:8 The cedars in the garden of God (the luxuriant landscape of Phoenicia and Assyria is here compared to Eden’s garden, as in chapter 26; see repetitions below) could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his branches, nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.
Eze 31:9 I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.
Eze 31:10 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;
Eze 31:11 I have therefore delivered him (Assyria – whose fate is the same as that of Egypt) into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen (this was Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon); he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness.
Eze 31:12 And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the people of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.
Eze 31:13 Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches:
Eze 31:14 To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.
Eze 31:15 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when he (Assyria) went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him.
Eze 31:16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell (Hebrew, Sheol, the grave) with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.
We hesitate not to point to the repeated references to “Eden” and to “the garden of God” as being terms of near equivalence of these regimes to the sumptuous Garden which God planted “East of Eden,” in which grew the Tree of Life – but in which also persisted the Tree of Good and Evil. It is the latter “tree” of which these heathen nations seem to have associated themselves!
Eze 31:17 They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
Nations perish and “go to sheol” just as do human beings and all the living beasts of the earth: Ecclesiastes 9:2 - All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. 3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
Eze 31:18 To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden (which were cursed to an inferior existence after the Fall of Adam, just as was man and the beasts of the earth) unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD. Cf., Jeremiah 9: 25-26. <HEL 6N> ~800 words.
Ezekiel 32
Destruction of Egypt
Like the two earlier chapters outlining the destruction of Egypt and her allies by Babylon, only little clarification is needed. The narrative is largely self-explanatory.
Eze 32:1 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 32:2 Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.
Eze 32:3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people, and they shall bring thee up in my net.
Note here that the “net” is the same godly Force (see Ezekiel 12:13)that headed off Zedekiah and his troop as they sought to escape Nebuchadnezzar’s army at the siege of Jerusalem. The Almighty’s net is always successful in its ability to catch its prey.
Eze 32:4 Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee.
Eze 32:5 And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height.
Eze 32:6 I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.
Eze 32:7 And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. In Isaiah 13: 10, the same effect was placed upon Babylon as its termination neared.
Eze 32:8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD. The resultant darkness of every element of its society was extremely foreboding for Egypt and its people.
Eze 32:9 I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known.
Eze 32:10 Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall. Now the prophet is moved to state His sentence in plain words that cannot be mistaken…
Eze 32:11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee.
Eze 32:12 By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall spoil the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed.
Eze 32:13 I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside the great waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them.
Eze 32:14 Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 32:15 When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD.
Eze 32:16 This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament her: the daughters of the nations shall lament her: they shall lament for her, even for Egypt, and for all her multitude, saith the Lord GOD.
Perdition for Egypt and Her Allies
Eze 32:17 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 32:18 Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.
Eze 32:19 Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised. Note carefully the prophet’s emphasis now on these nations’ being uncircumcised – not in covenant relationship with the LORD. These are hopelessly condemned to an eternity of the darkness of Sheol – of “hell.”
Eze 32:20 They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes.
Eze 32:21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down (to Sheol – to the pit of death), they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
Eze 32:22 Asshur (Assyria) is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword:
Eze 32:23 Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living.
Eze 32:24 There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit.
Eze 32:25 They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that be slain.
Notice carefully in these phrases, again, that their condition of being “uncircumcised” is stressed no less than ten times; this is meant to convey with intense emphasis, their utter sense of loss – of un-redeemability, and certainty of extinction!
Eze 32:26 There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living.
Eze 32:27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell (to Sheol) with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. The reference to “swords under their heads” refers doubtless to the ritual burial ceremonies of many of the heathen peoples.
Eze 32:28 Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword.
Eze 32:29 There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit.
Eze 32:30 There be the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.
Eze 32:31 Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 32:32 For I have caused my terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.
<HEL 6N> ~1200 words.
Ezekiel 33
Signification: the Watchmen
Eze 33:1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 33:2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts (borders: i.e. one man from within their land), and set him for their watchman: (there emerge several varied cases of success and failure to be considered …)
Case One: Watchman Sees Enemy Coming, Blows Trumpet
Eze 33:3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
Eze 33:4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword (the symbol of His judgment) come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head (that is, upon himself).
Eze 33:5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
N.B., emphasis is on both hearing and appropriate response!
Case Two: Watchman Sees Enemy Coming,
Blows Not the Trumpet
Eze 33:6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
Ezekiel - A Watchman
Now the Watchman is commissioned to warn against a different threat – a different “sword” and a different enemy – that of subterfuge and enticement to evil. The enemy is not physical in these cases, but ideological, or spiritual.
Eze 33:7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
Eze 33:8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Eze 33:9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
In light of this principle, an ancillary thought comes to mind relating to those who hear a warning but do not act upon it, viz., those who hear the salvation message but do not act upon it. In this we consider acquaintances or friends who attend Ecclesial functions, and hear God’s truth which we teach unfailingly – who attend meetings for perhaps many years, and then depart without receiving the teachings of Truth, never being baptized into Christ.
What is their fate?
Is it to be raised up from the dead and judged for not acting upon the teachings given? We believe this account is a true illustration of the fate of those persons – whom some consider Enlightened Rejecters of God’s commandments. Having clearly heard the warnings and not having acted upon them, they simply die in their continued estrangement from God.
The LORD Jesus addresses this specific question in His words recorded in John 12:47 - And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
The LORD Jesus requires no further accounting from them at all. They are dead; they shall not live, as the other more obviously wicked people that were addressed earlier by Isaiah, They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish. Isaiah 26:14.
Application
Eze 33:10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?
Eze 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
It may be determined by these compassionate words that LIFE is the dearest commodity with which the LORD is concerned. He is the LORD of life; He wishes life – both temporal and eternal – for all His people, having no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Cf., also Ezekiel 18: 32.
We might add as an auxiliary thought: If He is not pleased with the death of the wicked, why would some men believe He takes pleasure in burning the wicked in an everlasting furnace for eternity? Such doctrines are blasphemy to the Almighty; there is no scriptural basis for such teachings when the relevant passages are seriously investigated. Those who believe that the scriptures which might seem to say that everlasting hellfire punishment is the destiny of the wicked are either unfamiliar with or deniers of the use of metaphor in the scriptures – a mechanism heavily relied upon by the prophets and righteous men of the Bible.
And now an additional application of the above principles:
Eze 33:12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.
The plain meaning of this dissertation is that a change in the conduct of any person brings about a change in his status before the LORD – that evil men and women benefit from repentance but obedient ones suffer for turning toward transgression. For clarification, He illustrates His meaning here:
Eze 33:13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.
Eze 33:14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;
Eze 33:15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
Eze 33:16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
Eze 33:17 Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal (that is, that He is unjust): but as for them, their way is not equal.
Eze 33:18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.
Eze 33:19 But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.
Such changes of behavior indicate internal changes of heart: repentance of evildoing in this latter case – or a deviation from righteousness to evil in the former case.
Eze 33:20 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
The Messenger
Eze 33:21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten.
This specific day was that of the utter destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar! This unknown messenger had traveled to Babylon to make known to Ezekiel that Jerusalem had been devastated. They could only imagine the immense human damage that had also been done – the deaths and destruction of families and friends – cf., Ezekiel 24:25.
Eze 33:22 Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, afore (before) he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.
This statement does not mean (there is no record of such) that Ezekiel had been struck mute – unable to speak – but that he had been restrained by the Almighty from prophesying the awful truth to them – from speaking clearly and definitively to them of their coming demise – the approaching destruction of the Temple and their City back in the land of Judah.
The earlier instructions of the LORD had indicated specifically this coming messenger; refer to Ezekiel 24:24 - Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this (terminal destruction) cometh, ye shall know (by the accurate fulfillment of the prophecy) that I am the Lord GOD. 25 Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day (the day of Jerusalem’s and the Temple’s destruction) when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters, 26 That he that escapeth (from Jerusalem) in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears? 27 In that day shall thy mouth be opened (to prophesy) to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb (or prophetically silent): and thou shalt be a sign unto them (an eloquent spokesman); and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Inhabitants of the Wastes
Eze 33:23 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 33:24 Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes (ruins) of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance.
Their thinking was that if Abraham “inherited the land” (by which they probably mean “successfully occupied” it) being only one man, then they, being many, should be able to “hold” (defend) the inheritance – which, of course, was erroneous. They could not hold onto the possession by force of arms in light of their iniquities, which He now references:
Eze 33:25 Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Ye eat with the blood (animals slain in non-kosher ways, still containing their blood), and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye (in your iniquity, in your adoption of the ways of the nations round about, be able to) possess the land?
Eze 33:26 Ye stand upon (depend upon) your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife: and shall ye possess the land?
Eze 33:27 Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence.
It is ironic that those who were left in the Land had to suffer such depraved treatment, whereas those who had obediently gone into captivity in Babylon did NOT so suffer!
Eze 33:28 For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through.
This dreadful sentence of utter desolation was surely not comprehended by the people who remained in Judah, for they had not mended their ways. They could not imagine the depravity and dissolution into which their glorious land should be cast!
Eze 33:29 Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.
But the perversity of those in Babylon was exactly similar to those remaining in Judah! The LORD informs Ezekiel that He has detractors even in Babylon – in those who have escaped His wrath – for neither do they hear and do: they hear and deny that God has spoken to them through Ezekiel!
Eze 33:30 Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD.
Eze 33:31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.
Eze 33:32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.
Eze 33:33 And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.
Thus, the people of Judah’s exile could not escape the verifiable words of the LORD! Their resident prophets of the exile, Ezekiel and Daniel, continued to warn them and teach them the will of the LORD, but they would not DO His will. <HEL 6N>
Ezekiel 34
False Shepherds
The incisive language of Ezekiel here has broad application, not only as directly to the false prophets and false shepherds (leaders) of Judah of his own day, but in principle and by extension, also to the Ecclesia of Christ and its leaders of today.
It begins by addressing the Shepherds of Israel.
Ezekiel 34:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (these words assure the hearers of Ezekiel as well as us readers of today, that the words to come are directly from YHVH Himself – El Shaddai, the Almighty One …)
Eze 34:2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
A footnote on verse two in ESword notes…
“the shepherds: The shepherds of Israel, signify their kings and princes, priests and prophets; the flock, the whole of the people; the fat and wool, the tithes and offerings, taxes and imposts: these they exacted with great rigour, and even oppressed and destroyed the people to enrich themselves; but they bestowed no pains to provide for the welfare of the state, or for the souls of those entrusted to them. They knew nothing about their flock. It might be diseased, infirm, bruised, maimed, strayed, or lost, for they watched not over them. Ezekiel 33:24; Jeremiah 2:8; 3:15; 10:21; 12:10; John 10:1-2;10:12.”
The incisive use of the word “woe” here is directly echoed in the words of the LORD Jesus, beginning in Luke 11: 39, and extending to verse 52 – words of animated, energized, and wrathful warning to the Pharisees of his day, whose contemptible behavior is described so directly by Him. The Koine Greek word for “woe” is a peculiar noun completely spelled in vowels: ouai! – and is indicative of the Master’s deep emotions of extreme distress or grief: Woe! To thou Pharisees, scribes, and lawyers – the three expressly-named groups of Jews addressed.
Study those baleful and malevolent condemnations (for that is what they are!) carefully – and with deep consideration, you Shepherds of His People, as they relate to your own personal conduct – your stewardship – among your fellow brethren in Christ!
If you see a reflection of yourself in our Master’s dissertation, it will be extremely advisable for you to turn away from that course of action!
Eze 34:3 Ye (Shepherds) eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
We think in pity of the little ones, some of whom, even today, are “disinvited” to partake of the good nourishment which some of those “shepherds” should be providing them, but of which they are not permitting them to partake, extending, Yes – To the Lord’s Table of Remembrance.
Instead, we see those who are exclusive in their tight circle of friends, laying their own wrath upon those who do not fall into line with their numerous, restrictive, man-made “rules” of conduct and belief – their repeated refusal to “eat with Publicans and sinners” in the manner demonstrated so willingly, so lovingly, and so prominently by our Savior during His ministry among them ... refusing to share fellowship with them in the love of Christ to which we are constrained.
Such restrictive “rules” can easily get completely out of hand, their details growing metastatically (Yes, our comparison is to deadly carcinomas spreading out of control – for that is the true picture given here), to become as complex and far-reaching as the Law of Moses itself – a Routine which was admitted even by the Master as being beyond almost every man to observe perfectly, and whose tenets could not provide salvation.
In short, it was, although beneficial as to daily life and longevity in the land, in the finality a regime of death, given no further emendations to the Almighty’s Plan ...
We are particularly distressed by the “driving away” of numerous good and honest brethren, as indicated in the next verse. In so doing, the “shepherds” are literally saying, You are not worthy of our company or our fellowship – get thee hence!”
These poor, helpless ones of the Household have been shut down and out of the congregation of the “righteous.’”
How markedly different is this approach to their brethren from the compassion of our LORD, who willingly and lovingly, and in the deepest sense, “broke bread” with both Judas and Peter at the Last Supper – two of His chosen and elected Apostles whom Jesus had already evaluated, and about whom he had already stated clearly, that they should betray Him in two heinous ways: by word of mouth (Peter, by denying Him) and by an action of avarice (Judas, by having been paid to betray Him).
This question has been posed to the “exclusive” brethren of this discussion, and there has been no answer or justification.
Their lips are sealed, along with their hearts of compassion.
In the context of the next verse, these brethren were “diseased,” and deserved the strengthening which He offered rather than the disdain of their philosophy.
Eze 34:4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
These phrases speak to the core duties of the Shepherds: the tender, loving care and tutelage (spiritual feeding) of the individuals of the Flock.
These are the lame and the halt (Matthew 11: 5; 15: 30), whom they are admonished to support;
The spiritually “sick,” whom they are bound to attend (Luke 7:22; 14: 13) with loving care and instruction;
Even the dim-witted, whom they must nurture and protect (Matthew 5; Mark 5; Luke 8)!
Those who have strayed from the flock, who must be sought with diligence, and brought back with great love and care into the fold, if they can be found (Luke 15: 3-6).
The beneficial practices and traits of the good shepherds are so important that they are featured even in the requirements of the more stringent and restrictive Law of Moses … a code impossible to be observed by any ordinary man of woman.
Eze 34:5 And they were scattered, because there is no (effectual) shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
The lax shepherds of Judah of Ezekiel’s day had let down their brethren in adopting and practicing the idolatry of the heathen nations, instead of “hearing” Ezekiel and the other faithful prophets of Judah and Israel, and following the ways of YHVH that they enjoined.
Eze 34:6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
Eze 34:7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
Eze 34:8 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast (Hebrew, chay – wild beast, troop, company) of the field (these are the people (beasts) of the nations round about them, which devoured them spiritually by purveying their filthy idolatrous practices to God’s gullible people), because there was no shepherd (no effective keeper, or supervisor/advisor), neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
The pathetic emphasis on “feeding themselves” is far too reminiscent of a rare but prominent few among the “shepherds” of today’s flock who, just as these shepherds of old, “feed themselves” in preference to feeding the flock – shunning and actively pushing away the tender, seeking, little ones whom they are directly and profoundly charged with nurturing and assisting in The Way of Life – deeming themselves to be too “exclusive” for such lowly associations.
Eze 34:9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
Eze 34:10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the (false) shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
But notice carefully the lovingkindness of their Father, Who declares, “I will deliver My flock from their mouth (their ravening consumption) …”
Who can dare to resist His will?? Who can hope to thwart it?
Eze 34:11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search (for) my sheep, and seek them out.
The texts of Luke 15: 3-6 as already noted, relates a deeply-felt account, absolutely charged with profound emotion, as it relates the decisive and immediate action which is undertaken by the Good Shepherd, who notes with alarm that one of his hundred sheep has strayed from the fold.
With dedication and great diligence, He ventures forth into the wilderness in search of that little one … “until He finds it.”
He does not search for six hours, then just give up the search!
And when He finds the little lost one, He lays it tenderly and securely upon His shoulders, rejoicing, and returns it to the fold!
In so doing, He shows Himself not concerned with the fleas and ticks which the sheep may have acquired in his wanderings – nor the hurtful thistles and briars caught in its coat – nor the contamination of soil and debris which has adhered to its wooly little body.
These words illustrate that the persistent dedication of His search was compelling … gripping … heartfelt … and riveting to the Shepherd, who did not discontinue the search at dark – or at the chasm – or at the threat of the lions of the thicket.
May we frankly say that this level of stewardship is rarely seen among us “Shepherds” of today – whether appointed over a flock, or autonomously-dedicated to its overall care and feeding.
It is a matter of extremely grave concern in our estimation.
Have every one of God’s Shepherds fallen short of this Standard?
We should not so accuse our brethren.
At the same time, we must exhort a fuller, more concentrated Protocol of Godly Righteousness, an Enhanced Matrix of Concentrated Action on the part of all.
His Long-Term Plan of Redemption for His Flock
The prophet’s message continues to be delivered to the People of God of his own day. The words are the message of YHVH through the mouth and pen of the prophet: verses 1,2,7,8.
His general intention is physically to re-gather His ravaged People from widely dispersed locales – from the nations of the earth, among which they shall have been scattered … and to bless them eternally in their Land.
Eze 34:12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
The enormity of this coming initiative – to return His people to their Land – in prospect, will seem nearly impossible once the full conditions of their scattering are in force, and once they are dispersed into all the nations of the world.
But He is not daunted, nor dismayed by the prospect.
His resultant actions should furnish a clear pattern of conduct for his servant-Shepherds of every age.
Note carefully the specific actions which He intends for them … the pervasive, comprehensive blessing which He will place upon His People:
Eze 34:13 And I will bring them out from the people (the Gentiles), and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
The word translated “to feed” here is Hebrew, ra’ah, meaning not only to nourish with food but to nourish with loving care and companionship. The poetic inferences to both these blessings are certainly prevalent in His next words …
Eze 34:14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
Eze 34:15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down (in peace and utter safety – being without fear is implied), saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 34:16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away (as some shall have been by false Shepherds), and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
This is a severe indictment of the “fat and the strong” shepherds of Israel – no doubt self-appointed shepherds of political consequence, in distinction to spiritual consequence – which remind us of those among the Flock today who seek to control every action, regulate lives according to the letter of their own Law, but not with loving concern for them, or forgiveness … and with precious little compassion (agape), although that is their superior claim.
These “fat and … strong” ones (by their own self-evaluation) shall in that day of reckoning sadly realize that their fatness and strength was of themselves, and not of the LORD – for their failings and weaknesses shall in that day be made manifest before all.
Often, instead, these seek to preserve their own status as “leaders” of the Flock, while denigrating the humble and broken ones – those to whom Christ came and for whom He died!
Such actions do not reflect the Master’s oft-expressed love and compassion for the poor, and those who were earnestly seeking instruction among his People.
The Master made it clear in superb irony, that He came not to save the “righteous,” but the sinners.
Was it not the inexperienced, innocent, relatively un-schooled lamb which, out of His flock of an hundred, went astray?
And did He not leave the flock and go in search of that lost lamb?
We believe this is the spirit which is inculcated by these harsh words of rejection of the Almighty toward the false shepherds of that day!
Those principles are as applicable today as they were at that early time!
Eze 34:17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle (a pointed reference to judging between the sheep and the goats; the rams of the next phrase are put for sheep, and the he-goats for their opposites) , between the rams and the he goats.
Eze 34:18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you (the shepherds are deporting themselves as goats, who famously follow their own will, and push and shove their flock mates at will. Their vile practice was to consume the best benefits, and to spoil the remaining resources for their underlings) to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?
Their practice of taking all the good and despoiling the rest was a spiteful tactic, leaving only meager and contaminated resources for the poor of the people.
Eze 34:19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.
These scorching words clearly separate the persistently false shepherds from “His flock,” and relegate them to a place outside His foal … and beyond His favor!
Eze 34:20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle (some today refer to “fat cats” in this vein – the “big dogs” of a designated group!) and between the lean cattle (the humble, trusting and faithful lambs of God).
The rough, un-warranted treatment of the Flock by the false shepherds is further illustrated in the language that follows:
Eze 34:21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder (indicating infighting and turmoil within the flock), and pushed all the diseased (i.e., those who were sick or injured, who needing healing – not rough treatment!) with your horns (your “power,” whether elected, or assumed “power”), till ye have scattered them abroad;
These are described in stark terms by the Master Himself, Who in the Olivet Prophecy of Matthew 24, spoke these words:
Mat 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken (drunken with “power”); 50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
The condemnation in these words of those who “smite their fellowservants” illustrates unconscionable treatment of brethren by other brethren – namely those in “power” over them – their “shepherds.”
Additionally, there are these instructions regarding “those who are weak” set in the context of some who were eating meat offered to idols and thinking it a beneficial act; the correction of such actions is here indicated as exemplary conduct rather than condemnation and exclusion. We quote extensively for context …
1Co 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. 7 Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. 8 But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse. 9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. 10 For if any man see thee which hast knowledge (we believe that word should be enclosed in quotation marks!) sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; 11 And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? 12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. 13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.
Such “shepherds” are not fulfilling their bounden duty to be an example; so acting, they decidedly are not fulfilling their duties as HIS shepherds.
Their actions are certified by the Spirit as “sin” – “when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, YE SIN AGAINST CHRIST.”
This is a venal charge, and surely unwise.
His true shepherds have the duty to hold the flock together – to prevent its being scattered, distressed and rejected. The exhortation – yea, the commandment – here, is for unification rather than division of the flock.
His Everlasting Remedy Against the False Shepherds
Eze 34:22 Therefore will I save my flock (here the Chief Shepherd is seen overriding and excluding the false shepherds!), and they (the Flock) shall no more be a prey (to false shepherds); and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
The Almighty’s remedy is an irreversible, eternal one, of JUDGMENT of the Shepherds: there is One coming who is called My Servant David, the primordial Shepherd of Israel, by which we know He indicates the greater Son of David – Jesus Christ, the Anointed Savior of His flock! He is the TRUE Shepherd – the One Shepherd – the Good Shepherd – Who shall feed them and nourish them in godly compassion.
Eze 34:23 And I will set up one Shepherd (the Chief Shepherd) over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them (and NOT selfishly feed Himself, as do they), and he shall be their Shepherd.
Eze 34:24 And I the LORD will be their God, and My Servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.
Eze 34:25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts (all adversaries) to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods (in the unguarded openness of the outdoors, and in utter safety).
Eze 34:26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.
The overtones of these words draw pictures of the coming superb tranquility of His Lands, of openly sylvan fields, of unfenced broad meadows of profusely flourishing flowers and grass, of copiously flowing streams of blessing and joy in His Kingdom of Peace, permeated as it shall be by His Spirit, then to have been bestowed on all Saints, and upon His blessed People of natural Israel, even in the continuing days of their flesh (cf., Ezekiel 39: 29; 44: 3; Joel 2: 28, quoted in Acts 2: 17).
Eze 34:27 And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.
The double entendre of these words seems striking: the equation of the hurtful beasts round about His People, as equated with the hurtful Shepherds who are appointed to guide them and provide for their welfare, both of whom are equally harmful to the Flock but in entirely different ways.
Eze 34:28 And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them (He indicates the “evil beasts” that dwell among them – those who have always determined to destroy His people, and take their Land – Ezekiel 5: 17; 14; 15 and 34: 5, 25); but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.
Eze 34:29 And I will raise up for them a Plant of Renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger (He indicates hunger for His Word) in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.
A “plant,” here capitalized in our estimation, indicates firstly David’s righteous Branch … a King Who shall reign and prosper, as in Jeremiah 23:5 and 33: 15. It is He Who shall “feed them” with the succor of peace, of righteousness, and spiritual instruction in His Kingdom.
But a “plant” also supplies the needed nutrition of a people; in that sense, their caloric needs will be supplied abundantly by Him as to natural foodstuffs, as in verse 27, q.v.
So, does it not also appear that He equates in a certain sense, the false shepherds of Israel with the nations (the heathen) round about them? Their treatment of His people is exactly the same – oppression, extortion, misappropriation, and denigration – taking advantage of His people when they will, and always providing for themselves first.
Such oppressed ones are not being supplied with the valid “knowledge” of God – a certified, faithful course of instruction in righteousness, as he commissioned them, but are being denied the essential fellowship of warmth and loving encouragement that YHVH is even their God!
Their ancient shepherds had made bad decisions for long years; had for long ages, substituted the gods of the heathen in supplanting Him!
In line with that misplaced loyalty to deity, their treatment of their brethren had also declined.
They had essentially removed the flock from ownership of the Chief Shepherd (YHVH), and claimed the people for Baal and Moloch! They were in the false shepherds’ eyes, no longer the people of God.
The Almighty was now outmoded – redundant, and set aside.
But the certainty of a reversal was that His final actions would reverse that corrupt condition for His flock.
Eze 34:30 Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 34:31 And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.
Thus is drawn together the metaphor of His Flock being representative of His People, the Remnant of Zion, at that time re-gathered to their Land and made secure under their long-desired Messiah.
In that future day they shall be eternally blessed of Him, and no longer under the oppressive suasion of shepherds who feed themselves and abuse the flock, not knowing or caring how they should tend the ill and diseased, how they should seek the lost, or how they should succor those who hunger and thirst after righteousness – the tender lambs of the Flock.
This message of rebuke and reproval of the false shepherds of Israel – whose leadership was so far distant from the ways of the Almighty – is a clear warning to all who are appointed – or who become, by default, “shepherds” of His flock – shepherds of the humble, seeking saints of God – who depend upon godly care from those who are in a position to act as shepherds to them, those humble ones who seek true instruction, true mercy, true succor from those who have risen to lead them.
If any deliberately cut them off, and refuse these kindnesses for their trusting comfort, they qualify themselves as false shepherds – hirelings who have no true feeling for the people of God.
<HEL 6N, 1P> An eTPL:26 Exhortation
Ezekiel 35
Against Mount Seir, or Esau
This writing of Ezekiel culminates in his extended pronouncements against the nations round about Israel, both in ancient time and in modern time. But this present chapter particularly addresses the descendants of Esau who have been returned to the land in the end time. As such it is entirely parallel with Obadiah, whose writings address the same people and who also indicates their obliteration by Israel in the end time.
Both writings summarize the many reasons for the Judgment of the Almighty to be concluded against Esau – their atrocities and maltreatment of Judah and Israel in time past as resumed in the end time.
In addition, Obadiah specifically reveals the physical distribution of these pinpointed modern-day peoples (see Obadiah 1:19, 20). This chapter focuses on the hatred of Esau for His people, and the retribution they shall suffer for that animosity and persecution.
The conclusions of both prophecies are entirely similar. Both are decidedly about the events of the end time.
Obadiah concludes with Obadiah 1:21 - And saviours (the Saints now redeemed) shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.
This chapter concludes with these similar words: Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate (verse 14) ... and they (Israel) shall know that I am the LORD (verse 15).
The meaning of these words is: His re-gathered people of Israel, seeing the utter destruction of their age-old nemesis, the descendants of Esau, shall know certainly that the LORD has finally appeared among them, and is executing His will against their vile enemies, assisting the Israel Defense Force (IDF) in their final settlement of the land crisis which has ground on for so many decades.
It shall be the final and decisive struggle against those interlopers who have said that Israel’s high place (Mount Zion) is theirs to have and enjoy, exactly as foretold in Psalm 83, where Edom (Esau) is lumped together with all the other insurgents who have opted to occupy and claim the Abrahamic Land Grant of Genesis 12, et seq.
The military action described there indicates that the Man of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) has returned to settle all accounts – and to clear His land of all the intruders of the ages – all those who have been in conflict with His people and have appropriated God’s land for themselves.
It is an action (that of dividing My land) against which the prophet Joel specifically advised: Joel 3:2. The same conclusion to this controversy of Zion is reached by Joel, that … it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. Joel 2:32
Similarly, these words of the LORD given to Ezekiel summarize this final judgment of the house of Esau – also known as Edom, Idumea, and Mount Seir – and the eternal judgment which He is executing against this ill-starred, vicious twin brother of Jacob, whose interminable animosity and hatred toward Jacob’s children has persisted through more than three millennia of conflict!
Eze 35:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 35:2 Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it,
Eze 35:3 And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.
Eze 35:4 I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
Eze 35:5 Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end:
Esau in the Time of the End
The LORD thus decisively brings His condemnation of Esau (Edom) forward to the time of the end, specifically (to) the time that (when) their iniquity had an end.
That time is our time; it is the time of the end of Jacob’s dispersion, succeeding the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, the Shoah, or the Holocaust, of Nazi Germany of 1933-1945, immediately after which, according to Isaiah and Daniel, the Jews of the earth will be recovered, or resurrected, from the lands of their dispersal (the Diaspora), and settled in their own Land a second time, as clearly prophesied by Isaiah 11: 11, and the 12th chapter of Daniel among others.
Eze 35:6 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood (bloodshed), and blood shall pursue thee: sith (since) thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.
Eze 35:7 Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth.
Eze 35:8 And I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword.
Eze 35:9 I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Eze 35:10 Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries (Israel and Judah – cf., Ezekiel 37) shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the LORD was there:
Eze 35:11 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them (Israel), when I have judged thee.
The obvious fury of the LORD in His conquest and destruction of Esau’s descendants – the PLO, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, the PFLP, and others who have aggressed Israel since the Great Aliyah began – will be one of the great enlightening factors to ISRAEL’s people when they see the utter destruction of the aggressive and voracious enemies which have troubled them for so many years!
Eze 35:12 And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume.
Eze 35:13 Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them.
Eze 35:14 Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.
The signal exclusion of the children of Edom from His favor will be one blessed feature of His favor toward the remainder of the earth’s peoples. And it will give untold relief from oppression to His people of Israel. In accomplishing this eradication of the “militants” of Islam, the LORD shall begin to rid the earth of perhaps its most visible scourge – Radical Islam.
Eze 35:15 As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they (Israel of the end time) shall know that I am the LORD.
This chapter brings to an end the condemnation of a group of nations both surrounding Israel (and which should surround them in the end time), but extending to a few beyond the lands between the Rivers, which were listed at the beginning of Chapter 25, q.v. The prophet now moves into the incisive events of the end time themselves, summarizing these as being fulfilled during the time of the resurrection of Israel from the nations – i.e., the end time per se – culminating in the pacification of Israel and its expansion to Greater Israel: the entire extent of the Land promised primarily to Abram and His Seed, beginning in Genesis 12.
<HEL 6N> ~1200 words.
Ezekiel 36
The Land
These words given to Ezekiel continue his now adopted theme for the end time.
These events give the historical reason for the land’s desecration, but then furnish details as to its refurbishment under the aegis of the returned People.
The prophet is now transported to a time beyond the prophesied First Restoration to another Restoration which lies beyond that – a Restoration of which the people are not yet even aware!
The second Restoration is forecasted by Isaiah 11:11, which relates that the LORD shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from … the lands of their captivity, and from all the nations of the earth.
He now first addresses the physical Land of Israel – the Land of Promise – which is wasteland at the beginning of the end-time, but which must now be serially and progressively prepared, developed and cultivated – built up physically by the returning people of the Second Restoration.
Eze 36:1 Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD:
Eze 36:2 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession: (cf., these precise words in Psalm 83:12)
Eze 36:3 Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they (your enemies) have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:
Now the prophet is told to address the mountains of Israel as they were at the mid-point of the 19th century – still occupied by the last King of the North, yet without hope of restoration, desolate and forsaken, and forlorn – at the time when Zionists began to raise their level of interest in establishing an Homeland, and the serious, sustainable beginning of their intense activities of colonizing the land in hopes of a state of their own.
His denunciation of the heathen round about Israel is searing; His judgments upon them final and irrevocable in this rather summary account!
The prophet now directly addresses the “mountains of Israel,” that area of the Land today which is labeled the “West Bank” by the Arabs who reside there, and as Judea and Samaria by Israel, which has several hundred thousand of Israeli citizens also inhabiting those mountains, dispersed among the prevalent Arabs of the PLO who live there. Its message spills over with concern for the entire land, of course, and is not limited to the “mountains” (viz., it addresses also the valleys, the desolate wastes, the cities of this verse – many of which inhabit the lowlands of the Jordan Valley and the Sharon – the coastal plain).
Eze 36:4 Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about;
Eze 36:5 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.
The picture drawn here is precisely that of the entirety of Psalm 83, where the Restoration of the Second Return is named as “Israel” (only since 1948), a prize coveted by their neighbors in the words … They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance Psalm 83:4.
It is the concise picture we have seen as the people have lately formed their State, and prepared to return to it in huge numbers, to develop their State, to populate it, to cultivate it, to reclaim it from the arid climate by such measures as water conservation and advanced farming methods which were to be developed by their pioneers. The entire Land it increasingly becoming an attractive “prey” for these presumptuous and arrogant enemies of God!
Eze 36:6 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen (note particularly the past tense employed here; it is an indication that the time of Israel’s danger from its enemies of being further distresses and overrun and destroyed shall have become a thing of the past. The words of Amos 9: 11-15, with the establishment of “Israel,” have in our opinion, gained currency, i.e., have come into effect. Israel’s peril as to such destruction has come to an abrupt and remarkable END. It shall no bear the “shame” of the nations (heathen) round about …):
Eze 36:7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame.
Eze 36:8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.
To reiterate briefly: this was the precise conditions in “Palestine” in the mid- to late- 19th century, just prior to the beginning stirrings (beginnings) 0f The Return by the Jews of the world.
Zionism was flourishing. Monies were being donated for land purchases by the Jewish philanthropists of Britain, the United States and Europe, to the poverty-ridden Colonists, those supremely tenacious and industrious souls who had begun by purchasing large tracts of lands, thought by their Islamic property barons to be worthless, and beginning its end time improvements by draining its northern swamplands, eradicating its mosquitoes, clearing the rocks and boulders from the potential farmland, and cultivating the desolate lands with loving and dedicated hands and hearts. Many of these pioneer Settlers were physicians and scientists who had no previous experience in this kind of industry, but whose desire to be successful seemed almost to be supernaturally inculcated and therefore indefatigable!
In our conviction, it was surely possible only by the impetus of the divine Hand of the LORD upon them and their benefactors in that era, for the time was approaching for vast numbers of Jews to make Aliyah – for “the Remnant of his brethren (to) return unto the children of Israel” as Micah 5: 3 had foretold 2400 years ago – for them to return to the Land of Israel, as history has borne out.
The initial émigrés to the new nation were the “remnant” of Jews from Europe – the survivors of the Shoah – who largely were transported quickly to the Holy Land from their precarious residences in lands “afar,” thereby doubling the State’s population in the first four years!
The People were indeed at hand to come! As they cultivated small portions of the Land, making it productive and self-sustaining, that growth supported further purchases of land, further development, and more growth. The tiny, forlorn infant – born again in its arid nakedness, its polity unwashed by industrious labor for so many centuries, intensely neglected in its pre-natal years, and oppressed by fierce enemies who opposed its birth even prior to its conception and birth.
The Almighty’s attitude toward His people thus shifted completely about – from refusal of His people to complete acceptance of them! From disfavor of His Land to fervent favor for it! Notice carefully the progressive nature of their return, as described in these verses …
Eze 36:9 For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you (or “return” unto you, meaning, as Malachi 3: 7 shows … to begin to show favor toward them once more in visible, overt ways), and ye shall be tilled and sown:
Eze 36:10 And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:
Eze 36:11 And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Eze 36:12 Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, (this phraseology absolutely refuses any enemy from DISpossessing His People at any future date. The “Palestinians” cannot do it; the Gogian Host cannot do it; we confidently can state upon the word of our Father, that no power on earth shall have any “sway” over his People from this day of the establishment of their State forward in time) and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men.
Eze 36:13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they (your enemies) say unto you, Thou land devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations;
Eze 36:14 Therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 36:15 Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord GOD.
These final phrases inform the faithful Believer of the absolute certainty of the “staying power” of the State of Israel.
To predict any other outcome for the People of God is outrightly to DENY His blessing written here … and repeated in so many other places in His Word in the same vein.
The People of Israel
The LORD next addresses His People Israel. Reviewing His reasons for their dispersals, He now gives them personal hope and great expectations of His returning favor – a remembrance of His holy name’s permanence among them, and reminding them of His early covenants to their forefathers.
The time of Zion’s favor has come (Psalm 102: 13), and the foreseeable end of the Controversy of Zion!
Eze 36:16 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 36:17 Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.
Eze 36:18 Wherefore (that is to say, “for this reason”) I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it:
Eze 36:19 And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.
Eze 36:20 And when they entered (i.e., were dispersed by Him) unto the heathen (lands), whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they (the people of those lands) said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land.
But even in spite of these failings, the faithfulness of YHVH continues toward His people!
Eze 36:21 But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.
Eze 36:22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this (this deliverance of you back to your own Land) for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.
Eze 36:23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
Eze 36:24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
Considering the LORD’s next words, Israel of today, in the early 21st century is at this juncture. For they have not yet been sanctified nor cleansed; and a new heart has not yet been given them, or a new spirit instilled within their breasts.
But as the former promises have come to them precisely as foretold, so shall the latter promises of perfection and sanctification!
They are profuse and overarching!
His favor toward His repentant people consists even before their impending repentance!
He blesses them exceedingly while they are yet in their state of denial of Him, beginning to return in great force to their liberated Land in great numbers.
But far greater blessings lie ahead for them – a future which the ancient patriarchs had been promised. And it is these blessings which shall complete the picture of Redemption for His people – their complete removal from the peoples of the earth by physical separation from them.
In our opinion, these immense blessings lie immediately ahead for His blessed People; they await only the physical Return of their unrecognized Messiah for His conference upon them, and shall be copiously given them immediately after the Master hears their joyful and repentant cry of rejoicing, “Blessed is He Who cometh in the name of the LORD!”
He speaks now of THAT era …
Eze 36:25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Eze 36:28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Eze 36:29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.
Eze 36:30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.
Israel is already beginning to enjoy these fruits of their labor as an “earnest” payment of this pledge.
The Jewish State is a net exporter of agricultural products to the rest of the world.
Its water management programs are world class. Even in the face of the driest winter within memory (that of 2013-2014) Israel recently announced that it is blessed with water aplenty for its crops and industrial requirements – a fact which is due to its development of salt-water desalination!
Its agricultural productivity is therefore world class; its agriscientists are regularly dispatched to other arid areas of the earth’s surface to assist those peoples (countries) likewise to increase their productivity and security of foodstuffs.
We soberly realize that these future blessings will become perfect over time – developing in a progressive way toward the end goal of having His spirit placed upon them.
Eze 36:31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.
This is the poignant picture of the end time repentance of His people. But it can happen only according to the prophetic word – at the time of the Second Coming of Christ the Redeemer to His people. Zechariah 12 and 13 give the extremely touching pictures of this event, when the People have witnessed the powerful, explosive, impending conquest by Christ, of their enemies round about, the necessity for which was expressed in the prophetic words of Zacharias, the father of John Immerser, in Luke 1: 71, 74 q.v.
Eze 36:32 Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.
Eze 36:33 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.
As in earlier, un-noted instances, the word “dwell” here is yashab, meaning “to sit down in quiet; to settle; to sit still; to inhabit,” all of which reflect the peaceable Kingdom which Messiah shall have initiated at the end of the Phase One conflicts with the Proximal Islamic States, effectively setting the stage for the then-future Gogian onslaught of Ezekiel 38 and 39, as we shall see shortly…
Eze 36:34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by.
Eze 36:35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.
Again Eden is invoked, just as in the earlier case of the luxuriant society of Tyre. This is no more an indication of some involvement with the actual Garden of Eden than those accounts were; it is an example of the many scriptural uses of the figure, simile.
Eze 36:36 Then the heathen that are left (this is a key word, “left;” for the recorded prophecies indicate that few will remain of those peoples) round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.
These informative words absolutely prove our long-time contention that the “nation born in one day” of Isaiah 66: 7, 8, was a miraculous birth (rebirth) of a People, and that it was as surely conducted by angelic superintendence as was the creation of the kosmos itself. “I will do it!” is that rhetorical cement which holds that promise to be valid …
Eze 36:37 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.
Even this promise of His willingness now to hear their petitions is the direct reversal of the adamant refusal of His willingness to do so in much of past time: see Exodus 20: 3, 31, and Isaiah 1: 15 – times when the Israelites were buried deeply within the filth and muck of the idolaters round about them, and had cut themselves off from the Almighty.
Eze 36:38 As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
These gracious promises are preamble to the summary comments which Ezekiel is next given – the entire history of the people being decimated, inhabiting the Valley of Dry Bones, and emerging as resurrected bodies from the Valley of the Shadow of Death, which in our understanding culminated immediately after the Holocaust.
Within about three years of the discovery of the death camps of Nazi Europe, the Jews had achieved statehood, a legally supported and sanctioned place among the nations – and were well on their way to becoming the premier nation of all the earth – a graphic depiction of the principle that “the last shall be first, and the first last.” Matthew 19:30; 20:16.
<HEL 6N> ~2150 words.
Ezekiel 37
The Valley of Dry Bones
The prophet now reaches a transition point in his overall revelations from the LORD. This exodus from the Valley of Dry Bones is the result of the Shoah, in our opinion, and Nazi Europe is representative of that “Valley.” It was a deep moral abyss of hatred and Jewish persecution which had hitherto been unknown in the world – the most intense and protracted persecution and mass murder of a specific ethnicity in history, heinous in its conception, and relentless in its enforcement, it put an horrible end to the lives of two thirds of all the Jews within its area of application: Europe. Some of the most illustrious and highly educated (Jewish) citizens of Europe, as well as the Jewish commoners of that habitat, were wiped out by Nazi slavery, mass murder, starvation, incineration, and prolonged and extended incarceration under deplorable conditions – surely “the time of Jacob’s trouble.”
But the Jews were “saved out of it,” or, at least, a Remnant was: Jeremiah 30:7.
As such, the advantage of being ”saved out of it” was one that few had.
We think of the stark words of Zacharias, the father of John Immerser, in Luke 1: 71, 74, as being applicable as to the Peoples’ need of similar salvation at some near-future time, because the phraseology is nearly the same in both cases.
When that need arises, if our expectations are borne out, it probably shall come as abruptly (as was the Holocaust), but perhaps even moreso – and His hand of deliverance shall visibly be extended to His people in “saving them from their enemies” of that day.
This reference leads us to enquire, “Were it not for His future intervention, could His People then be in similar danger from their neighbors round about?” We know not the surface meaning of this phrase. We only know the concrete assurance of such passages as the last several verses of the Prophet Amos, which assures today’s Israel of permanence in its Land, and protection from its enemies in the time of its reestablishment.
However, this FACT does not prevent the Israeli People themselves from perhaps becoming so overwhelmingly threatened by their neighbors that they will feel themselves desperate, and to be under great hazard from their vicious neighbors, but will be given this great boon of His fierce Deliverance as they cry unto the Almighty … for that seems the gist of what He has spoken through Zacharias.
Now the prophet addresses the great “Valley” of death, putting details to their deliverance of His People from it. The saga ends in the established State and with the enormous influx of His People into it … and to its nascent redemption at the hand of “My Servant David, as King over them” (verse 34) – the designation surely of the returned and victorious Messiah of Israel, Yeshua ben David, the Christ of the Second Advent, then ascended to the restored Throne of David, and ruling peacefully over the greatly expanded and pacified, First Dominion of His Kingdom of God on the earth (Micah 4:8).
Now we consider the words of the prophet ...
Eze 37:1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
Eze 37:2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
These bones were extremely desiccated because the people and their nations had been dead (exiled, dispersed) for a long time. This condition was a reflection that their polity – their nations – had been destroyed millennia ago, and the people scattered into the nations of the earth.
As such, the nations of Israel and Judah were utterly dead to all appearances – un-recoverable, deceased, perished.
But the LORD then asks Ezekiel a pointed question:
Eze 37:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
Eze 37:4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
Eze 37:5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
The process would involve re-assembling each bone to that which joined specifically (anatomically) to it, effecting the functional jointures, bringing sinews (muscle) upon them, miraculously placing their flesh and skin upon them – and breathing into their nostrils the breath (nephesh) of life; after this process they should stand and live again, and know that He is the LORD!
Eze 37:6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Our studied view is that Israel is in this phase of its latter day recovery at the present time (2017); Israel is a living, breathing, sentient nation, but does not “know that I am the LORD.”
Eze 37:7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking (this turbulence would be the indication of the extreme duress and hardship with which the bones should be reassembled – the regathering of the People under great duress – the tortuous and hazardous migration back to the Land of the scattered sons and daughters of Israel from the four points of the compass.
In our understanding, it reflects the extreme hardship of the Jews even as the founding of their State approached, and their ability to enter the land against the extreme (but finally ineffectual) resistance of the British Mandatory Government), and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
Eze 37:8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath (ruach) in them.
Eze 37:9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind (ruach, or breath), prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
Eze 37:10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Eze 37:11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
In this era of the early twenty first century, the description of Israel as “an exceeding great army” is entirely apropos; the people of Israel are militarily and financially far stronger than any of their neighboring polities, and of most other countries of the world.
Our thought on the “whole house of Israel” here is that this is a statement of final status, for it is recorded that “He shall save the tents of Judah first,” in Zechariah 12: 7, and then, in our understanding, the tents of Israel – the Ten Tribes, largely after His conquest of the Land.
We do realize that there are other studied views of the meaning of this phrase, but this is our conviction.
Eze 37:12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
This event is also the more obscure subject of the early verses of Daniel 12 – the “resurrection” of the nation of Israel from the nation-states of the world to their own Land.
This meaning seems sequestered within an overt prophecy of the resurrection of the responsible dead, their judgment and immortalization, and entry into the Kingdom – for those details of their “resurrection” from the nations is now verified by historical fulfillment, prior to the resurrection of the responsible dead from the grave.
The first should be a preamble to the second, although two different groups of subjects are beneficiaries of the “resurrection” – from the nations for national Israel, and the responsible dead from the graves and the responsible living from their places of residence – into that which is represented as the eternal shelter/domicile of both).
Eze 37:13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
Eze 37:14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
At this stage of Israel’s restoration, it appears that they are now secure in the knowledge that the LORD was indeed behind their great deliverance; in order for this event to take place, it appears that the LORD shall have returned visibly to them, to have delivered them from their enemies round about, and have manifested Himself to them. They shall have recognized Him as Messiah, and at that moment, know that He is the LORD.
The Two Sticks
Seemingly after the beginning of the kingdom age, the next phase of the prophecy is given – the uniting of two sticks of wood which became placed together and integrated, symbolizing the return of the Ten Tribes – Joseph – to reunite with the Two who had been saved first – Judah.
Eze 37:15 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
Eze 37:16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
Eze 37:17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
Eze 37:18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
Eze 37:19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
We cannot determine with absolute certainty, the precise stage at which this operation is to be accomplished. Some students of Prophecy feel that many of the returned Hebrews in Israel today are members of the Ten Tribes due to the fact that before the Assyrian Captivity, many of the Ephraimites migrated south to Jerusalem and joined the Tribe of Judah, thus perpetuating their line of descent within Judah.
But we wonder whether, in such a case, the members of those other Tribes forfeited their identities as, for example, Gadites or Manassites, and became absorbed into Judah. This conundrum will be revealed in the early days of the Kingdom, and we shall have to wonder no more about it.
However, it seems certain that the greatest balance of the Ten Tribes is yet in dispersion among the nations of the earth, and that their Restoration will be a major initiative of the Christ of the Second Advent when He regathers the remaining remnants of Judah from the nations.
The progressive fulfillment of this great prophecy is now in advancement!
As events proceed toward the final, decisive conflict of the nation of Israel with the enemies round about, further steps will come to pass before our eyes.
The entire process is being viewed by our finite minds as if in slow motion – gradually being accomplished … so slowly that those who are not watching nor aware of the true nature of the process will miss the main event – or misinterpret it.
Eze 37:20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
Now the prophet is directed to explain precisely what these words mean ...
Eze 37:21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen (the nations), whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
Eze 37:22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
Thus the ancient rift between the Two and the Ten is reversed.
We believe that the time of the arrival of the King Who shall do this is imminently upon us.
It is only after His arrival that they will behold His great power and authority, and accept Him as Messiah.
Only after that time may be inculcated with the Spirit of God and become a righteous, faithful, believing people. We often think of the statement of Jesus in Luke 13:35, in which He told the Jewish elders and priests that Ye shall see Me (physically see or perceive Me) no more, until ye say, ‘Blessed is He Who cometh in the name of the Lord!’0
That faithful acclamation MUST precede His overt “blessing” of Israel, His People.
At that point in time, the nation shall have been pacified for all future ages, and brought to the point of national recognition and overt acknowledgement of its Messiah/King.
Their entire composition shall then be changed instantly to that of righteousness and peace.
Eze 37:23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
The reason for this blessed state is now enunciated to them ...
Eze 37:24 And David my Servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one Shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them.
Eze 37:25 And they shall dwell in the land (the implication here is that they shall dwell securely – with confidence and in peace in that Land) that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
Only in this way may the future security of Israel be established.
With Christ in the vessel, we smile at the storm!
After He comes, the local storms shall become extremely turbulent – and decisive – as the Christ and those now immortal Saints with Him, and the IDF, go forth as in all the conflicts after those of Isaiah 63 (in which account, He seems to be alone – that is, not accompanied by the IDF, for He has appeared to Israel out of “nowhere” and is suddenly engaged in saving them from their vile enemies), to combat and defeat all their enemies between the Nile River and the Euphrates River.
You may note that this series of conflicts rids the entire land of the uninvited foreigners: the Iraqis, the Syrians, the Lebanese, the Jordanians, the Saudis, the Kuwaitis, the Egyptian Salafists, and even ISIS of the Sinai Peninsula, the PLO within Israel today, Hamas in Gaza, and Hezbollah in Lebanon … all the interlopers within God’s Land as promised to Abram.
They have no “rights” there at all – and no claim to ownership of God’s promised Land!
Our conviction is that NONE of them shall remain – certainly not as Islamists – for that “-ism” as well as “Christianity” shall no longer exist within the bounds of His Kingdom. It is not a “democratic” decision, but a regal one – and absolute as to its execution. “There shall be no more the Canaanite in the House of the Lord,” as stated in Zechariah 14: 21.
The task of the Master is to conduct a massive and thorough housecleaning, and the liberation of His people from any further worry about aggression or persecution from within their homeland!
The Shalom of that time effectively sets the stage for an invasion from foreign powers led by Gog of the land of Magog. But that is another story – which immediately is revealed by our Father.
Do the “religious” authorities of the world expect these events to happen in this fashion?
NO!
It is significant that every kingdom operation which the LORD mentions here and elsewhere as to be done by Messiah has already been attributed by the preachers of Christendom to “the Antichrist” of their theology – that miraculous (but devilish) creature who rises up from somewhere to make a covenant with Israel “for seven years” and to betray them at the end of three and one half years (there is no basis whatever for these claims. They obviously spring from a complete misinterpretation of the Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks).
The deception of this specifically false interpretation of the Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel 9:24-27, shall be nothing short of incredible!
Those who so interpret the prophecy have no inkling that the prophecy reached complete fulfillment exactly 3½ years after the death of Christ with the call of Cornelius of Caesarea – the first Gentile to be brought into the name of Christ by direct baptism, without first becoming a Jewish proselyte.
But that also is another story – for discussion in our studies of the Prophet Daniel, D.V.
Eze 37:26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
The Covenant will involve the installation of the Christ of the Second Advent as King over Israel, occupying the reestablished Throne of David in Mount Zion. Having returned physically to Him, then having recognized His temporal AND spiritual sovereignty over them, the People shall fully have “returned unto Him.”
The immediate result is that He now “returns unto them” in reciprocation of their recognition and repentance before his Throne. These are a direct cause-and-effect relationship!
The erection of the Temple of the Millennium will prospectively be undertaken immediately, by Him.
This magnificent Millennial Temple is the subject of the last eight chapters (40 – 48) of Ezekiel’s prophecy – a subject which we shall address in a short time.
Eze 37:27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Eze 37:28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
It is quite obvious that the “heathen,” or nations, haven’t any remote chance of success or any longevity as presently constituted. Their “religion” is called Islam; their “god” is called Allah; their calling is Jihad; and their wish is to die in Allah’s service!
That can fortunately be arranged – but that is the Almighty’s Judgment, not ours!
Islam is a belief system similar to all the pagan “religions” of the ancient Middle East and the land of Canaan, summed up in Zechariah 14:21, which says straightforwardly, as already referenced, that … in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.
Meantime, the assembled, fleshed-out and breathing Bones of the Valley are standing on their feet, and constitute in our day an exceeding great army (verse 10 above), whose capability is such that it is rated the third most powerful army in the world today!
This armed force is prophesied initially to fight their enemies alongside Christ and His army to put down forever the aggressors and vilifiers of God and His people – to silence their voices of discontent and braggadocio forever!
But, between this point and the tabernacling which He intends with His people, an imminent event is now prophesied to follow directly upon the Master’s conquest of the nations “round about” Israel today. It is the invasion of a great force of nations from outside the boundaries of the Kingdom being established between the Two Rivers – the invasion of Gog of the Land of Magog, and his entire cohort ... <HEL 6N>
Ezekiel 38
Now we come to two of the most well-known and rehearsed chapters in the entire Word of God – Ezekiel 38 and 39 – and perhaps two of the most misunderstood.
These two chapters are so straightforwardly presented and so brief and succinct and easy to understand and visualize (but also to misunderstand and distort), that nearly every self-appointed guru of prophetic teachings (often making mistaken and erroneous cross-connections with other, separate events, recorded elsewhere, confusing them with this account because of certain supposed similarities) has mistakenly clamped onto this account as:
· being the event that brings the return of Christ to the earth; and
· that its great victory ends the resistance to Christ and the Saints; and
· that it is an operation of the Devil or Satan;
· and that another name for it is Armageddon.
Some of our own number mistake it so massively that they even go so far as to claim that the account here allows for:
· the complete destruction by Gog’s forces of the Jewish State as we now know it,
· the deportation of some of the Jews into Egypt by Gog (!),
· and the rescue of the Jews by Christ when He comes,
· and the overthrow of Gog by Christ’s invasion of Israel from the South.
None of these suppositions are accurate, however, in our studied opinion!
We shall set forth what we believe to be an accurate view of the Gogian War in the next few pages.
First, the word of the LORD, the oft-used phrase, assures us that YHVH is speaking to Ezekiel; the writings are not native to the mind of the prophet, but are the inspired product of his Almighty God.
The account is not complex; as already stated, it is relatively straightforward and easy to comprehend when the primary text is followed and not contradicted by counterfeit, additional references and voluminous commentary striving to “justify” (to bring into agreement) the spurious references to other events which may appear on the surface to be identical to the account of the Gogian invasion; we shall elaborate in depth.
Many have impossibly complicated this account by interjecting many other extraneous and irrelevant prophecies into it, leading them rather hastily to erroneous conclusions, and bringing great mystery and complexity to a relatively simple account – which this is, if the primary text is followed – which is the first rule of prophetic exegesis in our opinion.
We must point out that, after the invasion of Israel by the physical forces of the Gogian host, there will not be enough time for Gog to accomplish ANY of the extensive goals imagined by some (and yes, insisted upon by them!).
Those proposed insertions are entirely spuriously inserted into the core text of Ezekiel 38 and 39.
Note that in 38: 18, Ezekiel is informed that … And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
“At the time when …” means immediately!
That reaction by the Almighty shall not be withheld for some extensive length of time that would be required for Gog to overcome Israel, kill 2/3 of the populace, and drive the remaining 1/3 into Egypt! The suggestion is inane – and absolutely impossible – in the shadow of this statement (of verse 18) alone.
We realize, however, that such small insertions in the text are often ignored by “students” who wish to prove an otherwise unscriptural result!
If Gog is destroyed AT THE TIME WHEN GOG SHALL COME AGAINST THE LAND OF ISRAEL, its destruction is assured immediately, and forthwith!
There is no quarter, no delay, no hesitation with the forces of the Almighty!
This means, in short, that the whole account is governed by this primary revelation, and that any other scriptural reference that does NOT agree with it MUST be rejected and tossed away as drivel when applied to this marvelous event!
No additional information may be allowed to contradict or contravene the information contained in these two chapters. Every other bit of seemingly relevant information MUST agree with these clearly stated words …
Gog and His Host Identified and Defined
At this time we will define the nations of the Gogian Host as accurately as possible in light of present knowledge, determining their modern day locations. In this task, I will enlist the help of Jonathan Farrar of Ontario, Canada, who wrote a related article which appeared in eTPL in March, 2011. We quote from his identification of these specific nations, and commend them to your recognition. He wrote …
“The nations associated with Gog in Ezekiel 38 are completely different or appear in different contexts than the nations associated with the king of the north in Daniel 11.
“Although Libya & Ethiopia appear in both chapters, they are mentioned in entirely different contexts. Libya & Ethiopia, along with Egypt, are subservient to the king of the north in 11:43, but Libya & Ethiopia, along with Iran, Gomer & Togarmah, attack with the Gogian host in 38:5.
“I have used the work of Bro. Bill Yake to assist in identifying the following list of nations of Ezekiel 38: Rosh, Meshech & Tubal (v.2); and Gomer and Togarmah (v.6). Persia (Iran), Ethiopia & Libya are also listed in v. 5. Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer & Togarmah accompany Gog as he invades Israel.
“Gog is identified in 38: 2 as the chief prince (KJV) of Meshech and Tubal. The word ‘chief’ is the Hebrew ‘rosh.’ Bill Yake writes, “If Ezekiel intended the phrase “chief prince,” he would have used the phrase “nisi ha-rosh,” the common phrase for “chief prince.” But, in Ezekiel 38: 3, the author used the phrase “nisi Rosh,” meaning “prince of Rosh.” (p.259).
It seems therefore as if Ezekiel was indicating a location associated with Gog. Bro. Yake reviews the compelling evidence to associate ‘Rosh’ with Russia in Chapter 4 of his [unpublished] manuscript. A more accurate rendering of Ezekiel 38:2 is, “Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.”
“In Ezekiel 38, Gog seems to refer to a military ruler who comes from the area of Rosh (Russia), Magog, Meshech, and Tubal (all discussed subsequently).
“Magog was one of the 7 sons of Japheth. Bill Yake reviews the considerable evidence that he settled in Scythia.
“Meshech & Tubal were two nations inhabiting regions between the Caspian and Black Seas. Meshech is historically associated with the Moschi – Mushki – and Muscovites in the land of Musku, near the Moschic mountains, at the eastern end of the Black Sea. Tubal is associated with the Tibareni – Tabali – Tabalu people in the land of Tabal. (Meshech & Tubal are not derived from ‘Moscow’ and ‘Tobolsk’ – Moscow doesn’t appear in historical literature until AD 1147, and Tobolsk was not founded until 1587 AD (Yake p.278)).
“Persia – Iran
“Ethiopia – Ethiopia
“Libya – Libya
“Gomer refers to the Cimmerians (who settled in Cappadocia)
“Togarmah was the city of Til-Garimmu, west of Tabal.
“Sheba, Dedan & the merchants of Tarshish, with the young lions, ask Gog if he is come to take a great spoil (38:13). They do not accompany the Gogian host.
“Because the nations in each of Daniel 11:40-45 and Ezekiel 38 are either completely different or appear in different contexts, it appears as if the king of the north is not the same as the Gogian host.”
Published in eTPL March 2011…. Farrar
These specific national entities are now enumerated and addressed by Ezekiel. The Almighty “sets His face against” all these …
Eze 38:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 38:2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
Eze 38:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
Note please that the Almighty’s FIRST WORDS that are uttered to Gog are words of adversity and disapproval – words which indicate that a short work will be performed upon Gog ...
Eze 38:4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
Eze 38:5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
Eze 38:6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.
Eze 38:7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
The preparatory period of Gog’s intervention includes that power’s becoming a “guard” unto the nations with which he will soon be aligned against Israel. He shall have been invited to intrude into their military preparedness on earlier occasions – prior to this “evil thought” which now comes into his mind. It is a well-known fact that Russia, for decades, has supplied, armed and trained many of the military forces of the nations with which he is to become later confederated in this conflict!
Eze 38:8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
This is the first confirmation in these two chapters, of Israel’s “dwelling safely” in their inheritance. It is a statement made by the Almighty – so it is not hearsay or rumor; it is fact!
It is the precise condition sequential to the events of Ezekiel 36 and 37, both containing the information that David My Servant has come to Israel and now rules over them.
This configuration of the People of God is in marked contrast to their society today. The Shalom which they then enjoy is that of Jerusalem, as awarded and enforced by King Jesus and the Saints.
Now the prophet begins to relate the awful details of the oncoming onslaught ...
Eze 38:9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.
A simple deduction from events which follow in the narrative show that this avowed intention of Gog is NOT carried out; the Gogian host never covers the Land as intended.
Judging by its place of burial, we must deduce that Gog and its cohort is never permitted to come anywhere near Jerusalem or Mount Zion, where the King is, at that time enthroned in power and great glory. He would never allow such rude intrusion.
Gog’s burial place is designated by Young as a valley east of the Sea of Galilee, perhaps the valley of the River Yarmouk, now the international boundary between Jordan and Syria – but then, “in Israel,” resultant from the previous great victory of Israel and Christ over the Proximal Islamic States – as already revealed by Ezekiel in great detail.
Eze 38:10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
Eze 38:11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
This is the second confirmation that Israel is dwelling safely … without walls … having neither bars nor gates. It is the opinion – the conviction, or observation – of Gog himself. But it corroborates verse 8: it is FACT.
Eze 38:12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey (a desirable thing); to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods (Israel is at that time highly successful in its place), that dwell in the midst of the land.
The phrase “to take a spoil and to take a prey” is perhaps more accurately translated as “to spoil the despoilers.”
This phraseology would take into account that the valuable booty, coveted so highly by Gog, which Israel contains in that future day, is largely the result of its having “despoiled” other powers – that these vast riches are the “booty” from a previous conquest by Israel.
Our studied opinion is that the object of Gog’s desire is the vast wealth of the Gentiles that Israel shall at that point have looted from all those interlopers and squatters between the Rivers and the Seas. Zechariah 14: 14 speaks of this great harvest of wealth at the termination of the Phase One conflict.
This great harvest is foreshadowed by the text of II Chronicles 20: 25-27.
These riches include all the wealth and oil reserves of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, and the Arab Gulf Emirates, as well as the vast oil shales of Jordan (many times as great as those in Israel), and all the liquid capital, the accounts receivable, the chattels and properties of all these countries – as well as the greatly increased wealth of Israel that has been discovered in century 21, such as its vast deposits of oil shales (containing as much oil as Saudi Arabia is estimated to have in liquid crude oil) as well as the offshore discoveries of the past several years.
At this point in history, Israel shall have expanded to become the largest country in the Levant as well as being the wealthiest by far – the direct blessing of their recognition of their Messiah in the acclamation, “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Eze 38:13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
We are compelled to note that this response of these three entities is interrogatory only – a simple but motivated question as to Gog’s intentions as it approaches. Of course these minor powers of the South will be concerned: is Gog coming for their territories and riches too??
It is a question that is never even answered. The Gogian horde, who comes to take a spoil, instead inherits a vast grave in Israel – and all probably within the space of 24 hours.
Eze 38:14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
This is the third confirmation that My people of Israel dwelleth safely – so stated by the word of the LORD. Incontrovertible. Undisputed, Factual.
Eze 38:15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
Eze 38:16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
Note carefully that in contrast to the Ottoman King of the North’s earlier invasion of the Land, this one will lead to recognition by the world of the sovereignty and majesty of the Almighty. That was not a stated result of the defeat of the Ottoman King of the North in 1917, and the liberation of the Land, opening it soon to Jewish return to it en masse.
By this statement, the LORD indicates that His means and purpose shall be shown clearly to be necessary and righteous – thus making holy (sanctifying) His holy name in the eyes of the nations.
Eze 38:17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
Eze 38:18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
Even in these words, there is indicated no delay of time: it is WHEN Gog shall come against the land of Israel ... that His fury arises! His fury has no “pause” button; there is no delay in His reaction!
Eze 38:19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
Eze 38:20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
Eze 38:21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother.
Eze 38:22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
Eze 38:23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.
The great shaking indicates an earthquake of apocalyptic proportions.
Great structures shall crumble at His word; all barriers be removed; all resistance quashed!
In this entire account we see only negative connotations for the Gogian host!
There is no hint of victory at all for these foreign intruders into God’s Land.
Note His condemnatory language …
1. I am against thee, O Gog! Vs. 3
2. Gog is attracted to spoil Israel because of her great riches (Gog’s greed). Vs. 4
3. Be thou (Gog) a guard unto them – i.e. to the enemy nations previously listed. Vv. 2-7.
4. The Gogian host shall vigorously come into the Land (but not leave it alive!). Vs. 8.
5. Gog shall believe Israel to be dwelling safely. Vv. 8 and 11.
6. The people in Israel are indeed dwelling safely, without bars or gates. Vs. 11.
7. Gog’s intent is to take a spoil from Israel. Vs. 12.
8. Sheba, Dedan and Tarshish of the south voice dismay, but do not respond any any way.
9. The LORD confirms that Israel is dwelling “safely.” Vs. 14.
10. The first action of Gog is met with God being sanctified before the nations. Vs. 16.
11. Because His fury shall “come up in His face.” Vs. 18.
12. There shall be a great earthquake in Israel. Vs. 19.
13. The Almighty will call for a sword against Gog. Vs. 21.
14. Every man’s (Gogian’s) sword shall be against his brother. Vs. 21.
15. God’s plagues upon Gog shall be pestilence and blood. Vs. 22.
16. But will also include an overflowing rain, great hail, fire, brimstone. Vs. 22.
An additional set of excoriating condemnations follows in chapter 39, while no favorable statements are recorded!
These great retributions against Gog shall testify to the nations that the LORD is there!
To reiterate: It is our well-studied opinion that the Christ (“David My Servant”) is already present in the Land, and is setting up His everlasting kingdom in Zion after He has destroyed all the internal opposition to Israel – her enemies that had set themselves up within the boundaries of the first dominion of His kingdom, meaning the nations round about – and that He has established peace in the Land, has disarmed Israel of its military forces, has broken down the Wall which was built to ward off terror attacks, has made an everlasting covenant with His people, is building the Temple of the Millennium in the place vacated by the now wrecked Dome of the Rock, is allocating the inherited territories to the Tribes as promised, has ascended the restored Throne of David, and is setting up the infrastructure of His eternal kingdom.
These activities shall have aroused the ire of Israel’s more distal neighbors, however, and the still formidable, more distant forces of Islam make a compact with Russia to attack and defeat Israel, retrieving their “holy places” and lands that they consider Islamic possessions.
This is the back-story to how this invasion shall have come about.
However, the above account is only half of the story. The account continues in Chapter 39, in which the punishment and destruction of the Gogian coalition is clearly made out to be the specific punishment of the LORD upon this outside aggressor group – mostly Islamic, by the way – all coming into the Land from beyond the Rivers – seen here to be entirely similar to that wrought upon the internal aggressors, the nations “round about” Israel.<HEL 6N> ~2150 words.
Ezekiel 39
Eze 39:1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
Eze 39:2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee (almost all other versions omit this “sixth part,” indicating total destruction for the Gogian host, also parallel to the total destruction of the Proximal enemies of Phase One), and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the
mountains of Israel:
Note well: these actions are, every one, at the volition of the Almighty – even the “thoughts” of Gog are inculcated by Him ... all for the purpose of glorifying His name, and decimating the remaining forces of Islam – the scourge of the Middle East and the world since the seventh century AD.
His retribution is not delayed even for one second ...
Close attention to the text shows that the events that follow are not delayed in any sense, giving no time for the supposed activities of the Gogian host against God’s people as outlined above.... Gog is immediately smitten – fatally and terminally.
Eze 39:3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
Eze 39:4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
Eze 39:5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it (His WORD is the only weapon that He needs!), saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 39:6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
The invaders’ homelands shall not escape His fury! The destruction of this confederacy is not limited to the field of conflict, but shall rebound upon their home territories and peoples!
The LORD’s purpose is not only to destroy this enemy confederacy, but it is to solidify His credibility among the Sons of Jacob. This action, in addition to the earlier subjection of the nations round about, shall seal and irrevocably solidify the Israelites’ convictions that this Man is indeed the LORD Who has now arrived among them in the manner in which they first expected Him to come! He shall in the conquest and destruction of mighty Gog and his confederates, have firmly established His credentials as Messiah and King!
After this, there cannot be any hesitation on their parts wholeheartedly to dedicate their lives, their wealth, and their futures to this Saviour of Israel!
The “heathen,” or nations, shall also know this truth – that He is not only the YHVH of Israel, but also that He is Lord of heaven and earth!
Eze 39:7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. This “knowing” of His name shall extend to some of the other peoples of the earth – those who are receptive to His interference in this manner – and shall bear record that HE is the God of all the earth and heaven. In this manner, His identity is “sealed” to them as well – at least as a matter of record, even if they do not fully accept the fact.
Eze 39:8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
Note the certainty of this future fulfillment – as if it has already been done!
Eze 39:9 And they that dwell (Hebrew, yashab) in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
Note that the word for “dwell” here is Hebrew, yashab. The word has a wide variety of meanings, some of the chief of which are, to sit down in quietness, to abide, to sit down still. It is a certain reflection and reinforcement of the generally peaceful, benign condition of the people of Israel under Messiah – a Kingdom at complete rest. These are certain scenarios of that peace and tranquility.
Eze 39:10 So that they shall take no wood (for fuel) out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.
The vast wreckage of Gog’s war machine shall furnish fuel for the Jewish State for years to come! No sacrifice must be made of her now limitless forests (largely true even today!) shall have to be made ...
The great host must now be buried. It is useless to transport millions of dead corpses from where they fell to a distant but central burial place; so it is our conviction that the host falls where it is described as being buried: in the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea, which Young defines as that broad, flat valley east of the Kinneret in what is now south Syria, but in that day shall be IN ISRAEL – for Israel shall have already annexed that region, along with all the other lands between the two Rivers, the regimes and people of which Christ has conquered and destroyed. Some have suggested that the valley of the River Yarmouk is what is meant by this description; it is the present border between Jordan and Syria, but shall at that time, be “in Israel” due to the conquests of the King.
Eze 39:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.
Eze 39:12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
Note well that is the people of Israel referred to in verse 9, who shall come forth in a confident and assured mood to burn the weapons; these same people shall bury the remaining dead of the Gogian cohort at Hamongog! They do so without any hesitation ... without fear or anxiety or foreboding.
This is not a valid picture of a people having just returned from being afflicted and persecuted in Egypt or anywhere else. They shall have peacefully been inhabiting their Land under Christ their King, and shall have watched with awe as the Gogian host has approached and entered the northern sectors of the Land.
The faith of the contemporary Israelis surely shall have been tested by the tension of the encroachment of the violent, fearsome hordes of Gog into their Land; their posture of non-resistance and of lack of fear in the face of this threat is testimony to their newly-found faith in the utter security offered by Messiah Returned.
They sit still and behold the salvation of the LORD!
Eze 39:13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 39:14 And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
Israel already has this cadre of public servants formed and in its employ. These specialists are the personnel of The Burial Society of Israel: even today, they gather at every scene of terrorism, such as a bus bombing, and meticulously gather up all the human remains for identification and proper burial. It is their official duty; no individual even now pays for a funeral in Israel as it is a function of this government bureau; they are “the buriers” of the next verse.
Eze 39:15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog.
Eze 39:16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.
This is an ignoble end for the mighty Gogian host – an excruciating termination of the disaster of its bold initial ambition!
It has sought a spoil of great value among God’s people, but instead has inherited a mass grave at the hand of their mighty Father!
We leave the reader/student to collate his own list of the denunciations of Gog in this chapter – similar to the list of 19 previously given for chapter 38. If he performs the research it will be seen to be similar.
The Ravenous Feast
It is reasonable to believe that the defeat of the Gogian host shall occur either in the spring or fall season of the year in which it is defeated, because of the next words of the LORD.
Each spring, millions of birds mysteriously gather from East Africa and Madagascar and begin their annual migration northward to East Europe and the Steppes of West Asia – their breeding and nesting grounds. They congregate and proceed on their northerly migration – through the only fertile and watered gateway from Africa to the north for hundreds of miles in either direction – at Eilat, the southern beginning of the Israeli International Flyway.
The area acts as a concentrating filter for the flyers from many nations and Madagascar to the south. It is the only pathway in the region where the birds can rest and find food and water.
The westernmost point of passage northward is across the narrow Straits of Gibraltar, many hundreds of miles to the west; and there is no other passageway to the east – only the deserted, desiccated sands of the vast Saudi Arabian desert, which offers no beneficial accommodation to these beautiful beasts of the air.
Among the approximately 550 million migratory fowl which overfly Israel going northward in the spring, and back toward their southern wintering grounds in the fall, about 15% are raptors – flesh eating birds such as eagles and cormorants. It is these raptors, and scavengers such as vultures, who shall devour the dying and dead bodies of the Gogian host lying exposed on the open fields for a time – and only their bones shall remain to be marked and buried by the buriers!
But the “beasts of the field” are determined to benefit from the great feast as well … the fatlings of Bashan (cf., verse 18: the precise area in which is located Hamonah! – another correlation of the place of Gog’s demise occurring in north Jordan of today, but in Israel tomorrow).
Eze 39:17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
Eze 39:18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
Eze 39:19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
Eze 39:20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 39:21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
Eze 39:22 So the house of Israel shall know (their earlier convictions be utterly confirmed!) that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
This added benefit to Israel (His re-confirmation of His regency over them) is multiplied to the other nations which remain – the heathen of all the other nations.
Eze 39:23 And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity (we believe the inference here is that, now that Messiah is establishing His Kingdom in the whole earth, it shall be as fully incumbent upon the “heathen” to obey Him as Israel was required to obey. Otherwise, their punishment for disobedience could be as severe as was Israel’s.): because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.
Eze 39:24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.
Eze 39:25 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;
In our studied view, this is the episode of Israel’s history when the Father’s indignation against His people is seen by the whole world to have ended absolutely.
Although we hold that it actually ended in 1948, at the establishment of Israel the State, that the plainly evident termination of His indignation against them was not nearly as overt and widely recognizable as it shall be at this future time.
The LORD’s punishment of them shall then clearly be at its end, and they shall have been accepted with full justification back into His good graces.
It is during these end time events that their convictions are utterly confirmed and solidified: The LORD is our God, and we are His people!
Eze 39:26 After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid.
This reference is decidedly a reference to the safety and tranquility that they enjoyed under David and Solomon – when they dwelt safely in their land – and transports the reader forward to the captivity of Ezekiel and Daniel in the first instance, and to the days of Herod and Pontius Pilatus and later rulers in the second instance (the Roman dispersion into all nations).
It was in those times that Israel grossly disobeyed His commandments – not in the modern era as some have opined.
The Israeli nation does not yet know the LORD as it shall know Him in the near future; but today they are also not the despicable, idol-worshipping people of 600 BC. But today’s Jews still know not that Jesus of Nazareth is their true Messiah as scripturally verified.
That day of recognition and reconciliation is scripturally in the near future and shall come upon them completely unexpectedly when the Lord Jesus appears among them, unannounced, and begins furiously to destroy their inveterate enemies of today! Isaiah 63: 1-6; Psalm 83; Isaiah 11.
Eze 39:27 When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;
This time-denominator indicates OUR day – today – the days of the momentous Second Recovery of God’s People from the nations. As the prophet’s next words attest, this event shall lead to an abrupt change in His people: they shall know the LORD in the fullest sense!
Eze 39:28 Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.
This clear statement is the reason for our earlier claim that NONE of His people shall in that future day remain among the nations; but that ALL of them shall be gathered and brought home to Israel, and be constituted the People of God, and Holiness to the LORD! (Even George Soros, the infamous Jewish hater of his own people, if still alive in that day, will have a humble abode in … perhaps a former and rebuilt town of Gaza – or a small apartment in the Valley of Hinnom!)
Eze 39:29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
As usual, this immutable Purpose of the Father is written in the past tense – as if it has already been done – for in His holy purpose it IS a done deed; it only remains to come to pass, which it most certainly shall!
Considered as whole cloth, these two chapters portend NO benefit or advantage or success to the Gogian host whatever.
In order to make this account mean something else, such as the overt Gogian successes which have been supposed by some, one must interject many other non-relevant predictions of the prophets of Israel. But even that attempt to expand it will fail wretchedly, for internal proofs within these two chapters prove beyond doubt Gog’s catastrophic end – in perhaps one 24 hour day! These facts cannot be gainsaid; they are certain to come to pass as written.
These spurious insertions would be several other prophecies which, upon close inspection – a practice which seems to elude many so-called “students” of the prophets – are referring to the earlier phase of Israel’s final, end time conflicts with the nations round about.
Partially because there is no evidence in this two-chapter account to indicate the physical return of Christ to the earth and to Israel, these writings inevitably reveal that the coming of Christ – His Second Appearance – precedes or coincides with the hotly contested, earlier armed conflict between Israel and the nations round about her – and, as exemplified in Isaiah 63, the Israelis abruptly behold One coming from Edom in Israel’s south, with blood-stained garments, relentlessly moving in the greatness of His strength against their vile internal enemies.
Other references such as Obadiah 1;18 et seq, refer to the involvement of the armed forces of Israel in this conflict, once they comprehend that this Stranger is most assuredly on their side of the war!
It seems only after the dust and smoke of battle clears that they stop and make inquiry: essentially, as we ourselves would be compelled to inquire … Just Who are you, anyway? And at that time are made aware of His identity by the nail-scars in His hands and the wounds in His side. The accounts are in Zechariah 12 and 13, and indicate a degree of mourning such as that for good king Josiah at Hadadrimmon.
We reiterate that those events shall have preceded this great invasion by Gog, and shall have resulted in Israel dwelling without bars or gates, at peace and in tranquility under their returned Messiah! <HEL 6N> ~2400 words.
Ezekiel 40 -48
Ezekiel 40
Numerous Measurements of a City
Due to the abstruse nature of these chapters of Ezekiel, and often perplexing descriptions of the construction details of the envisioned Temple, we shall offer few comments of these details. The reader is commended to study the subject in its great detail each for himself if there is compelling reason to do so.
For the most part, the current researcher is willing to take the attitude of waiting to see the meaning as it is destined to be expressed in the future edifice if he be so fortunate as to be present when its construction is undertaken. We don’t comprehend that very much benefit may be gained as to a detailed understanding of this edifice and its appurtenant structures for our present use, although these details were doubtless recorded for our consideration.
At this moment we can recommend one reference for any reader – a treatise concocted in the 19th century by one Henry Sulley, architect, of Nottingham, England, who published The Temple of Ezekiel’s Prophecy in 1887. The book is widely available today. There exist other books on this subject with which the author is not familiar at this time, as well as one work (name and author unknown to the writer at this time) which disagrees violently with Sulley.
Our considerations follow. Ezekiel is transported in a vision back to Mount Zion or some other location near Jerusalem. The described events evidently take place in the vicinity of the Holy City in future days …
Eze 40:1 In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me thither.
In our reckoning, this year would be calculated as follows: 587BC marked the destruction of the First Temple. Fourteen years after that date should be 573BC, a date that would fall after many of the people were taken to Babylon. The description of the location is nebulous. Ezekiel is writing from his location in Babylon...but he is transported in vision back to the Land.
Eze 40:2 In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south.
Eze 40:3 And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.
The reference to brass is nechosheth, meaning, a brazen object. We understand brass to be symbolic of the flesh of man – or fleshly things.
“Flax” is pishteh, meaning comminuted (broken, referring to the means of harvesting the raw material from the hard shell of its parent plant in its initial processing), or thread which has been carded, linen. It is the refined and structured product of the flax plant. Fine linen represents “the righteousness of the saints,” according to Revelation 19: 8, 14, and is associated with the immortalized Saints in those references (verse 14).
Eze 40:4 And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel. The title “Son of Man” is, as we noted at chapter 2: 1, q.v. indicates a close association of Ezekiel with the LORD Jesus Christ of the future age. Our conclusion as stated in those earlier notes was … “The terms therefore speak not only to reality but to destiny of both men – Ezekiel and Christ, in a divinely structured, deeply significant relationship of servant to Master.” We must remember that the Builder of this Millenial Temple is designated to be David, The Branch of Jesse – Zechariah 6: 12. It is this activity that the prophet is privileged to behold …
Ezekiel begins to narrate the activities that he is witnessing …
Eze 40:5 And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an hand breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.
Eze 40:6 Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the stairs thereof, and measured the threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad; and the other threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad.
Eze 40:7 And every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad; and between the little chambers were five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate within was one reed.
Eze 40:8 He measured also the porch of the gate within, one reed.
Eze 40:9 Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was inward.
Eze 40:10 And the little chambers of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure: and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side.
Eze 40:11 And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits.
Eze 40:12 The space also before the little chambers was one cubit on this side, and the space was one cubit on that side: and the little chambers were six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.
Eze 40:13 He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another: the breadth was five and twenty cubits, door against door.
Eze 40:14 He made also posts of threescore cubits, even unto the post of the court round about the gate.
Eze 40:15 And from the face of the gate of the entrance unto the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits.
Eze 40:16 And there were narrow windows to the little chambers, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches: and windows were round about inward: and upon each post were palm trees.
Eze 40:17 Then brought he me into the outward court, and, lo, there were chambers, and a pavement made for the court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement.
Eze 40:18 And the pavement by the side of the gates over against the length of the gates was the lower pavement.
Eze 40:19 Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, an hundred cubits eastward and northward.
Eze 40:20 And the gate of the outward court that looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof, and the breadth thereof.
Eze 40:21 And the little chambers thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.
Eze 40:22 And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, were after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them.
Eze 40:23 And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate an hundred cubits.
Eze 40:24 After that he brought me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures.
Eze 40:25 And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.
Eze 40:26 And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof.
Eze 40:27 And there was a gate in the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits.
Eze 40:28 And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures;
Eze 40:29 And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.
Eze 40:30 And the arches round about were five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad.
Eze 40:31 And the arches thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the going up to it had eight steps.
Eze 40:32 And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures.
Eze 40:33 And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, were according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.
Eze 40:34 And the arches thereof were toward the outward court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps.
Eze 40:35 And he brought me to the north gate, and measured it according to these measures;
Eze 40:36 The little chambers thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, and the windows to it round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.
Eze 40:37 And the posts thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps.
Eze 40:38 And the chambers and the entries thereof were by the posts of the gates, where they washed the burnt offering.
Eze 40:39 And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering.
Eze 40:40 And at the side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables.
Eze 40:41 Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they slew their sacrifices.
Eze 40:42 And the four tables were of hewn stone for the burnt offering, of a cubit and an half long, and a cubit and an half broad, and one cubit high: whereupon also they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt offering and the sacrifice.
Eze 40:43 And within were hooks, an hand broad, fastened round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering.
Eze 40:44 And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south: one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north.
Eze 40:45 And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house.
Eze 40:46 And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the LORD to minister unto him.
Eze 40:47 So he measured the court, an hundred cubits long, and an hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar that was before the house.
Eze 40:48 And he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.
Eze 40:49 The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; and he brought me by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.
Summary: the prophet is transported to the Land of Israel, and is set upon an high mountain. He beholds a frame of a city to his south.
Next he sees a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. It is evidently a symbol of the LORD Jesus Christ in future glory, the certified Builder of this Temple.
He is instructed to pay close attention and to report all that he sees to the house of Israel. He proceeds to do just that, furnishing the reader with a dazzling array of structural details and features of this mysterious building in almost clinical detail – yet furnishing the reader with few means of deep understanding of the symbols and implications of his words.
Verses 5-38 describe various gates, posts, altars, porches and other features with exact measurements.
In Verse 39, he beholds two tables upon which sacrifices are to be slain: the burnt offering, the sin offering and the trespass offerings. Then eight more tables of hewn stone with their associated hooks were seen and measured.
Verse 44 describes chambers for the singers.
Verse 45 describes chambers for the priests, the keepers of the house.
Verse 46 describes a chamber facing north – for the Sons of Zadok.
In the remaining verses he describes the appearance of the court with its arches and porches.
This description as such yields little sensible information to the casual reader. But a professional architect, the aforementioned Henry Sulley, did a comprehensive study of these nine chapters and developed a conceptual view of the appearance of this great temple – The Temple of Ezekiel’s Prophecy. We refer the student to this work among others for a possible explanation of these intricate details.
Disclaimer: At the same time, some students have opined that Henry Sulley’s work is rife with errors of misconception and misconstruction. Prior to the time of its future erection, the student may not be able to perceive with accuracy the indicated structure of the Temple of the Millennial Age.
Ezekiel 41
The Temple
Eze 41:1 Afterward he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle.
Eze 41:2 And the breadth of the door was ten cubits; and the sides of the door were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, forty cubits: and the breadth, twenty cubits.
Eze 41:3 Then went he inward, and measured the post of the door, two cubits; and the door, six cubits; and the breadth of the door, seven cubits.
The Most Holy Place
Eze 41:4 So he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits; and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy place.
Eze 41:5 After he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side chamber, four cubits, round about the house on every side.
Eze 41:6 And the side chambers were three, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which was of the house for the side chambers round about, that they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house.
Eze 41:7 And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers: for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst.
Eze 41:8 I saw also the height of the house round about: the foundations of the side chambers were a full reed of six great cubits.
Eze 41:9 The thickness of the wall, which was for the side chamber without, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side chambers that were within.
Eze 41:10 And between the chambers was the wideness of twenty cubits round about the house on every side.
Eze 41:11 And the doors of the side chambers were toward the place that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: and the breadth of the place that was left was five cubits round about.
Eze 41:12 Now the building that was before the separate place at the end toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits.
Eze 41:13 So he measured the house, an hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof, an hundred cubits long;
Eze 41:14 Also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east, an hundred cubits.
Eze 41:15 And he measured the length of the building over against the separate place which was behind it, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, an hundred cubits, with the inner temple, and the porches of the court;
Eze 41:16 The door posts, and the narrow windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the door, cieled with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows, and the windows were covered;
Eze 41:17 To that above the door, even unto the inner house, and without, and by all the wall round about within and without, by measure.
Eze 41:18 And it was made with cherubims and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces;
Eze 41:19 So that the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side: it was made through all the house round about.
Eze 41:20 From the ground unto above the door were cherubims and palm trees made, and on the wall of the temple.
Eze 41:21 The posts of the temple were squared, and the face of the sanctuary; the appearance of the one as the appearance of the other.
Eze 41:22 The altar of wood was three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said unto me, This is the table that is before the LORD.
Eze 41:23 And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors.
Eze 41:24 And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves; two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the other door.
Eze 41:25 And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubims and palm trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there were thick planks upon the face of the porch without.
Eze 41:26 And there were narrow windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch, and upon the side chambers of the house, and thick planks.
Summary: The prophet now views a structure called the Temple.
Verse 4: The door and its posts are measured precisely, and he is informed that this is the Most Holy place of the structure. Thirty “side chambers” are shown him, three stories high.
The thickness of the walls and the space between the chambers is measured.
In verse 13, he sees the man measure the house itself.
In Verse 17 and in subsequent verses he measures the breadth of the house, the separate place, and the length of the house, above the door of which were cherubim and palm trees engraved, alternating with each other.
Verses 18, 19 – the cherubim had two faces: that of a man looking toward one adjacent palm tree, and that of a lion looking toward the alternate palm tree. Note that these are two of the four countenances of the great Cherubim of Chapter 0ne, et seq.
Verse 22 describes a table of wood, which is described as the table that is before the LORD.
The Temple and the Sanctuary each have two doors of two leaves each, upon which were also displayed (carvings (?) of) cherubim and palm trees. <HEL 6N>
Ezekiel 42
The Utter (Outer) Court
Eze 42:1 Then he brought me forth into the utter court, the way toward the north: and he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate place, and which was before the building toward the north.
Eze 42:2 Before the length of an hundred cubits was the north door, and the breadth was fifty cubits.
Eze 42:3 Over against the twenty cubits which were for the inner court, and over against the pavement which was for the utter court, was gallery against gallery in three stories.
Eze 42:4 And before the chambers was a walk of ten cubits breadth inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors toward the north.
Eze 42:5 Now the upper chambers were shorter: for the galleries were higher than these, than the lower, and than the middlemost of the building.
Eze 42:6 For they were in three stories, but had not pillars as the pillars of the courts: therefore the building was straitened more than the lowest and the middlemost from the ground.
Eze 42:7 And the wall that was without over against the chambers, toward the utter court on the forepart of the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits.
Eze 42:8 For the length of the chambers that were in the utter court was fifty cubits: and, lo, before the temple were an hundred cubits.
Eze 42:9 And from under these chambers was the entry on the east side, as one goeth into them from the utter court.
Eze 42:10 The chambers were in the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, over against the separate place, and over against the building.
Eze 42:11 And the way before them was like the appearance of the chambers which were toward the north, as long as they, and as broad as they: and all their goings out were both according to their fashions, and according to their doors.
Eze 42:12 And according to the doors of the chambers that were toward the south was a door in the head of the way, even the way directly before the wall toward the east, as one entereth into them.
Eze 42:13 Then said he unto me, The north chambers and the south chambers, which are before the separate place, they be holy chambers, where the priests that approach unto the LORD shall eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; for the place is holy.
Eze 42:14 When the priests enter therein, then shall they not go out of the holy place into the utter court, but there they shall lay their garments wherein they minister (this describes a vestry of sorts, where priestly ceremonial garments were kept); for they are holy; and shall put on other garments, and shall approach to those things which are for the people.
Eze 42:15 Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth toward the gate whose prospect is toward the east, and measured it round about.
Eze 42:16 He measured the east side with the measuring reed, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about.
Eze 42:17 He measured the north side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about.
Eze 42:18 He measured the south side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed.
Eze 42:19 He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed.
Eze 42:20 He measured it by the four sides: it had a wall round about, five hundred reeds long, and five hundred broad, to make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place.
Summary: This chapter continues the detailed measuring of the sanctuary which is in the last verse said to be separated from the profane place.
The three storied chambers and their description.
Verse 13: the chambers of the north and the south are especially holy, and are the priests’ refectory, or dining hall, where they eat the sacrifices.
The priests must not go out into the utter court before changing their garments. They lay up the ceremonial garments in a sort of vestry, and change into their normal streetwear before going out.
Next he measures the gates facing east, north, south, and west, which are of an identical measurement: five hundred reeds.
The Sanctuary and the Profane place are distinctly separate. <HEL 6N>
Ezekiel 43
The East Gate
The Glory of the Lord Enters!
Eze 43:1 Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east:
Eze 43:2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his (the Glory was therefore a personage) voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.
Eze 43:3 And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. This refers to the great vision of chapter one.
Eze 43:4 And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.
The Glory of the Lord Fills the House
The reader will recall our earlier discussion of the removal of Shekinah from the House as described by the prophet. The following scenario depicts the restoration of the Glory of the LORD to this future Temple.
Eze 43:5 So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory (kabod) of the LORD filled the house.
Eze 43:6 And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me.
Eze 43:7 And he said unto me, Son of man, (This is) the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places. These conditions reflect the perfection of the Kingdom age.
Eze 43:8 In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger.
Eze 43:9 Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.
Eze 43:10 Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern.
Eze 43:11 And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.
Eze 43:12 This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
Eze 43:13 And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits: The cubit is a cubit and an hand breadth; even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span: and this shall be the higher place of the altar.
Eze 43:14 And from the bottom upon the ground even to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle even to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth one cubit.
Eze 43:15 So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns.
Eze 43:16 And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof.
Eze 43:17 And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east.
Eze 43:18 And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon.
Eze 43:19 And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering.
Eze 43:20 And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it.
Eze 43:21 Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary.
Eze 43:22 And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock.
Eze 43:23 When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.
Eze 43:24 And thou shalt offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the LORD.
Eze 43:25 Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish.
Eze 43:26 Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves.
Eze 43:27 And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.
Summary: The prophet is transported to the East Gate of the Temple where he sees the Glory of the Lord approaching, reversing its outward movement of Chapters 10 and 11.
The Glory is animate, and speaks to him in Verse 7, telling him … (This is) the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever.
We already know Who it is that shall dwell in that Millennial Temple, and be King over Israel; so the voice is the prophetic voice of Jesus Anointed, the eternal Messiah of His people, and Savior of the entire earth! He is the Glory – the Shekinah – of the LORD, Who returns to His now repentant and humble People, to tabernacle among them forever.
Verse 9 states that fact again: I will dwell in the midst of them forever!
Verse 11 emphasizes His insistence upon the prophet showing to Israel the form of the ordinances of the House, the physical form of it, and its sanctity to them.
Verse 12 states the holy principle that the mountain of the House shall be most holy: Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy.
The lesser prophet Micah revealed the function of this House in Micah 4:1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. 2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn (i.e., practice) war any more.
The House is pointedly referenced by Isaiah in Isaiah 56:7 - Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
Those of whom He speaks are the eunuchs, and the strangers (Gentiles!), and others who come seeking the LORD: the previous three verses expand our vision of His ultimate purpose as He speaks of the “outsiders” of former time, and those who had little opportunity for such blessings: Isaiah 56:4 - For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; 5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. 6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
Verses 13 – 17: The great altar is described in detail, with its steps toward the east.
Verses 18 to the end describe the ordinances of the Altar; the use of the blood of a bullock for cleansing the altar, followed the second day by the sacrifice of a kid of the goats, a young bullock and a ram, all without blemish, including the rituals to be observed in these sacrifices. The commandment for the Sons of Zadok to place SALT upon the burnt offering.
For the next seven days they are to offer a goat, a young bullock, and a ram without blemish – continuing to purify the altar and themselves.
The final ceremony is outlined in the last verse: And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD. <HEL 6N>
Ezekiel 44
The Sealed East Gate – Reserved for the King’s Use
Eze 44:1 Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut.
Eze 44:2 Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.
Here we opine that he references the chosen representative of the God of Israel (YHVH), Who is Jesus Anointed.
Eze 44:3 It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.
Eze 44:4 Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face.
Eze 44:5 And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary.
Eze 44:6 And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,
Eze 44:7 In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations.
Eze 44:8 And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.
Eze 44:9 Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.
The Errant Priests of Ezekiel’s Day
Eze 44:10 And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.
Eze 44:11 Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them.
But there is a severe restriction upon the Levites because of their iniquity: it is this – that they shall not come near the King to do the office of a priest unto him in the most holy place! Even though it is here to be understood that they shall be there in the kingdom age, they shall bear the consequences of their iniquity and their shame!
Eze 44:12 Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity.
Eze 44:13 And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.
Eze 44:14 But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.
The Sons of Zadok – the Favored Priests:
Their Requirements
Eze 44:15 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD:
Eze 44:16 They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.
Eze 44:17 And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.
Eze 44:18 They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.
Eze 44:19 And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.
Eze 44:20 Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads (that is, they have their hair cut normally).
Eze 44:21 Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.
Eze 44:22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before.
Eze 44:23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
Eze 44:24 And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.
Eze 44:25 And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves.
Eze 44:26 And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days.
Eze 44:27 And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 44:28 And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.
Eze 44:29 They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.
Eze 44:30 And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest's: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.
Eze 44:31 The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast. <HEL>
Ezekiel 45
Allotment of the Tribal Inheritance
The Holy Oblation
Eze 45:1 Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer (“heave up,” or set aside) an oblation (an heave offering) unto the LORD, an holy portion of the land: the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about.
Eze 45:2 Of this there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred in length, with five hundred in breadth, square round about; and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs thereof.
Eze 45:3 And of this measure shalt thou measure the length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the sanctuary and the most holy place.
Eze 45:4 The holy portion of the land shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary (the Sons of Zadok) , which shall come near to minister unto the LORD: and it shall be a place for their houses, and an holy place for the sanctuary.
Eze 45:5 And the five and twenty thousand of length, and the ten thousand of breadth, shall also the Levites, the ministers of the house, have for themselves, for a possession for twenty chambers.
Eze 45:6 And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, over against the oblation of the holy portion: it shall be for the whole house of Israel.
The Prince’s Portion
Eze 45:7 And a portion shall be for the prince (Hebrew, Nasiy, a governor, prince, ruler) on the one side and on the other side of the oblation of the holy portion, and of the possession of the city, before the oblation of the holy portion, and before the possession of the city, from the west side westward, and from the east side eastward: and the length shall be over against one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border.
Eze 45:8 In the land shall be his possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; and the rest of the land shall they give to the house of Israel according to their tribes.
This operation will settle the Twelve Tribes in their orderly allotments of land and within their own tribal borders, although the precise landmarks are difficult to determine from the text.
Eze 45:9 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 45:10 Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath.
Eze 45:11 The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of an homer, and the ephah the tenth part of an homer: the measure thereof shall be after the homer.
Eze 45:12 And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh.
Ordinances
Eze 45:13 This is the oblation that ye shall offer; the sixth part of an ephah of an homer of wheat, and ye shall give the sixth part of an ephah of an homer of barley:
Eze 45:14 Concerning the ordinance of oil, the bath of oil, ye shall offer the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which is an homer of ten baths; for ten baths are an homer:
Eze 45:15 And one lamb out of the flock, out of two hundred, out of the fat pastures of Israel; for a meat offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make reconciliation for them, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 45:16 All the people of the land shall give this oblation for the prince in Israel.
Eze 45:17 And it shall be the prince's part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel.
The prince shall offer the overall offering for himself and the people; they shall not offer this sacrifice individually.
Eze 45:18 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the first month, in the first day of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary:
Eze 45:19 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it upon the posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the settle of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court.
Eze 45:20 And so thou shalt do the seventh day of the month for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple: so shall ye reconcile the house.
Eze 45:21 In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.
Eze 45:22 And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering.
Eze 45:23 And seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the LORD, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering.
Eze 45:24 And he shall prepare a meat offering of an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and an hin of oil for an ephah.
Eze 45:25 In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, shall he do the like in the feast of the seven days, according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the meat offering, and according to the oil.
These dates bear further extensive investigation as to correlation with earlier established feast days during Hebrew history. <HEL 6N>
Ezekiel 46
Ordinances; The East Gate
Eze 46:1 Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened.
Eze 46:2 And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his (the prince, who should offer for the nation collectively) burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening.
Eze 46:3 Likewise the people of the land shall worship (note that the people worship only; they do not offer individually) at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons.
Eze 46:4 And the burnt offering that the prince shall offer unto the LORD in the sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish.
Eze 46:5 And the meat offering shall be an ephah for a ram, and the meat offering for the lambs as he shall be able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah.
Eze 46:6 And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram: they shall be without blemish.
Eze 46:7 And he shall prepare a meat offering, an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs according as his hand shall attain unto, and an hin of oil to an ephah.
Eze 46:8 And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of that gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof.
Eze 46:9 But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.
Eze 46:10 And the prince in the midst of them, when they go in, shall go in; and when they go forth, shall go forth.
Eze 46:11 And in the feasts and in the solemnities the meat offering shall be an ephah to a bullock, and an ephah to a ram, and to the lambs as he is able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah.
Eze 46:12 Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily unto the LORD, one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he did on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.
Eze 46:13 Thou shalt daily prepare a burnt offering unto the LORD of a lamb of the first year without blemish: thou shalt prepare it every morning.
Eze 46:14 And thou shalt prepare a meat offering for it every morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of an hin of oil, to temper with the fine flour; a meat offering continually by a perpetual ordinance unto the LORD.
Eze 46:15 Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meat offering, and the oil, every morning for a continual burnt offering.
Eze 46:16 Thus saith the Lord GOD; If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his sons'; it shall be their possession by inheritance.
Eze 46:17 But if he give a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his to the year of liberty (the year of Jubilee); after it shall return to the prince: but his inheritance shall be his sons' for them.
Eze 46:18 Moreover the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.
The House
Eze 46:19 After he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers of the priests, which looked toward the north: and, behold, there was a place on the two sides westward.
Eze 46:20 Then said he unto me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, where they shall bake the meat offering; that they bear them not out into the utter court, to sanctify the people.
Eze 46:21 Then he brought me forth into the utter court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and, behold, in every corner of the court there was a court.
Eze 46:22 In the four corners of the court there were courts joined of forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four corners were of one measure.
Eze 46:23 And there was a row of building round about in them, round about them four, and it was made with boiling places under the rows round about.
Eze 46:24 Then said he unto me, These are the places of them that boil, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people.
These several ordinances doubtless have hidden significance which will be profitable to investigate at some later time. They are greatly detailed and relate significant meanings to the people.
<HEL 6N>
Ezekiel 47
The Healing of the Land
Eze 47:1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
This description fits the Spring Gihon, which flowed from an unknown source to the surface in the Valley of the Kidron, southeast of the Temple Mount.
Eze 47:2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
Eze 47:3 And when the man that had the line (the measuring line) in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
Eze 47:4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
Eze 47:5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
Eze 47:6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
Eze 47:7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
Eze 47:8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country (the plain, or Arabeh), and go down into the desert, and go into the (Dead) sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
This healing of the Dead Sea shall be in agreement with the given information that the desert shall blossom as the rose, which cannot happen in a saline environment.
Eze 47:9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
This fact has already been taken advantage of by Israel, the farmers of which have found that the desiccated, salty soil of the shores of the Dead Sea can be made extremely productive by building small barriers over an area and pumping fresh water into the areas inside the dams: this process of leaching removes the salt in a very short time, and the land becomes fertile and productive!
Near Qumran – between that archaeological site and the Dead Sea – lies an easily accessible Kibbutz which was founded on land reclaimed by this method. Today, it produces tons of lettuce and cucumbers, leeks and onions, and other vegetables with minimal irrigation. We understand that much of its water comes from catchbasins which the Kibbutzniks have built to hold the excessive runoff from the intense thunderstorms that strike the Dead Sea plain on infrequent occasions.
Eze 47:10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
Eze 47:11 But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.
This condition seems difficult to understand, but probably means that a portion of the area will remain, by some method unrealized by the author, to be un-healed by the abundant fresh waters.
Eze 47:12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
Allotment of Lands
Eze 47:13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.
Eze 47:14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.
Eze 47:15 And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad;
Eze 47:16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazarhatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran.
Eze 47:17 And the border from the sea shall be Hazarenan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side.
Eze 47:18 And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side.
Eze 47:19 And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward.
Eze 47:20 The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side.
Eze 47:21 So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel.
Eze 47:22 And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
Eze 47:23 And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.
<HEL 6N>
Ezekiel 48
This chapter outlines the assignment of portions for the tribal cantons both north and south of the Holy Oblation. As will be noted, the tribes of Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben and Judah (seven in all) lie north of the Holy Oblation. It will be discovered shortly that the remaining five tribes shall inherit portions south of the Holy Oblation. These, as listed, are Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun and Gad.
Eze 48:1 Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazarenan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan.
Eze 48:2 And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher.
Eze 48:3 And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali.
Eze 48:4 And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh.
Eze 48:5 And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim.
Eze 48:6 And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Reuben.
Eze 48:7 And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah.
Eze 48:8 And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.
Eze 48:9 The oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.
Eze 48:10 And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof.
Eze 48:11 It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.
Eze 48:12 And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.
Eze 48:13 And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.
Eze 48:14 And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the LORD.
Eze 48:15 And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof.
Eze 48:16 And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.
Eze 48:17 And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.
Eze 48:18 And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city.
Eze 48:19 And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.
Eze 48:20 All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city.
Eze 48:21 And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof.
Eze 48:22 Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince.
Eze 48:23 As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion.
Eze 48:24 And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion.
Eze 48:25 And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a portion.
Eze 48:26 And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a portion.
Eze 48:27 And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad a portion.
Eze 48:28 And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea.
Eze 48:29 This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 48:30 And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures.
Eze 48:31 And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.
Eze 48:32 And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.
Eze 48:33 And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.
Eze 48:34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.
Eze 48:35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.
In Hebrew, this name is YHVH Shammah. This concept is voiced again by the prophet Joel, in Joel 3:20: But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. 21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion. Here the short message of Joel ends concurrent to this prophecy of Ezekiel. The last phrase … the LORD dwelleth in Zion, translates as the LORD is there!
This is a fitting end to the prophecy of Ezekiel.
His narrative sets the stage completely in harmony with the early events of Ezekiel 38 and 39, and follows on the events of Ezekiel 28 through 36.
Ezekiel is concerned with Judah primarily, and with Israel secondarily. He is not given any information to transmit to his fellows about Armageddon, or the confrontation of the Kingdom of Christ with Rome and the European Community.
He leaves those details to Daniel and the Apostle John who wrote the visionary words of Jesus Christ as the Revelation, the latter following closely upon the groundwork of the former prophet’s writings.
Therefore, our next concern will be the Prophet Daniel and his ministry to the exiled folk of Judah in Babylon.
Like Ezekiel, he is a prophet in residence among the dispersed; they of that first Diaspora are not allowed to escape his words, or those of Ezekiel – for theirs are the words of YHVH to His people.
Those who heeded the advice of Daniel particularly, returned to the Land when the seventy years had expired. However, these faithful ones were only a small remnant of those in captivity. Most of the people could remember little of Judah’s blessed land, the Temple, or their inheritance in the land, so the greatest preponderance of them elected to remain in Babylon, which in this end time is known as Iraq.
Their descendants were recovered to the homeland in the late 40s and early 50s, when the Iraqi leaders allowed any who wished to make Aliyah to leave Iraq with the clothes on their persons and one suitcase into which they crammed all the possessions that they were allowed to bring out. All their other properties, lands, businesses, and professions were forfeited to the Iraqi government in an harsh edict dictated by the “merciful” Islamic regime!
<HEL 6N> ~11,400 words: Chapters 40-48.
N. B. The complete word count for this entire document is approximately 96, 500 words as of final edit date: December 25, 2017. <HEL>