Sacrifices, Singers, and Steps

Ezekiel 40:38-49

Where Sacrifices Were Prepared
38 There was a chamber and its entrance by the gateposts of the gateway, where they washed the burnt offering. 39 In the vestibule of the gateway were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, on which to slay the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. 40 At the outer side of the vestibule, as one goes up to the entrance of the northern gateway, were two tables; and on the other side of the vestibule of the gateway were two tables. 41 Four tables were on this side and four tables on that side, by the side of the gateway, eight tables on which they slaughtered the sacrifices. 42 There were also four tables of hewn stone for the burnt offering, one cubit and a half long, one cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high; on these they laid the instruments with which they slaughtered the burnt offering and the sacrifice. 43 Inside were hooks, a handbreadth wide, fastened all around; and the flesh of the sacrifices was on the tables.

Chambers for Singers and Priests
44 Outside the inner gate were the chambers for the singers in the inner court, one facing south at the side of the northern gateway, and the other facing north at the side of the southern gateway. 45 Then he said to me, "This chamber which faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple. 46 The chamber which faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar; these are the sons of Zadok, from the sons of Levi, who come near the LORD to minister to Him."

Dimensions of the Inner Court and Vestibule
47 And he measured the court, one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, foursquare. The altar was in front of the temple. 48 Then he brought me to the vestibule of the temple and measured the doorposts of the vestibule, five cubits on this side and five cubits on that side; and the width of the gateway was three cubits on this side and three cubits on that side. 49 The length of the vestibule was twenty cubits, and the width eleven cubits; and by the steps which led up to it there were pillars by the doorposts, one on this side and another on that side.

Here the temple is further shown to Ezekiel who described it to us in great detail as it was shown to him.  The places for preparing the sacrifices and rooms for the singers who praised the LORD around the inner court which had steps from the altar up to the entranceway surrounded by pillars.  Such details of form and function are given to us!  For the Jew it was a reminder of the lost temple and place of atoning sacrifices and of worship with songs of praise; for we who are now grafted in with His people, it is a testimony to the God of details and of symbolism for approaching God in holiness to worship and sing praises.  The altar and atoning sacrifices are no longer necessary because Christ was the perfect sacrificial Lamb who permanently covers our sins and their iniquity.  Our bodies have become the place where we meet Him to worship because He now dwells in us, and we are living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) who die daily (Luke 9:23).  Instead of continually offering the blood of bulls and scapegoats (Hebrews 10:3, 10), we have the blood of Christ shed as a perfect one-time sacrifice to cover all sin, and we now worship Him from the altar of our hearts as those who have been permanently reconciled and are found to be righteous in Christ.  The description of these new temples where Christ lives by faith and where the Holy Spirit of God resides is as of a heavenly pattern better than that for the earthly temple’s reconstruction.  We are being constructed by God in the inner man as our sanctification makes us fit the plan of His image forming in these temples by His working.  This pattern is the description of Christ Himself and the instructions for our living as set forth in the scriptures to build a spiritual house of all God’s people as it is written in 1 Peter 2:5 as we are transformed (Romans 12:2) in mind and actions to be the glorious place of worship until He returns and is our permanent temple (Revelation 21:22) for all of us to corporately worship and enjoy our Almighty God forever!  His sacrifice makes us singers of praise as we ascend the steps to that eternal home.  Amen. 

The Inner and Outer Courts

Ezekiel 40:17-37

The Outer Court
17 Then he brought me into the outer court; and there were chambers and a pavement made all around the court; thirty chambers faced the pavement. 18 The pavement was by the side of the gateways, corresponding to the length of the gateways; this was the lower pavement. 19 Then he measured the width from the front of the lower gateway to the front of the inner court exterior, one hundred cubits toward the east and the north.

The Northern Gateway
20 On the outer court was also a gateway facing north, and he measured its length and its width. 21 Its gate chambers, three on this side and three on that side, its gateposts and its archways, had the same measurements as the first gate; its length was fifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits. 22 Its windows and those of its archways, and also its palm trees, had the same measurements as the gateway facing east; it was ascended by seven steps, and its archway was in front of it. 23 A gate of the inner court was opposite the northern gateway, just as the eastern gateway; and he measured from gateway to gateway, one hundred cubits.

The Southern Gateway
24 After that he brought me toward the south, and there a gateway was facing south; and he measured its gateposts and archways according to these same measurements. 25 There were windows in it and in its archways all around like those windows; its length was fifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits. 26 Seven steps led up to it, and its archway was in front of them; and it had palm trees on its gateposts, one on this side and one on that side. 27 There was also a gateway on the inner court, facing south; and he measured from gateway to gateway toward the south, one hundred cubits.

Gateways of the Inner Court
28 Then he brought me to the inner court through the southern gateway; he measured the southern gateway according to these same measurements. 29 Also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archways were according to these same measurements; there were windows in it and in its archways all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 30 There were archways all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide. 31 Its archways faced the outer court, palm trees were on its gateposts, and going up to it were eight steps.

32 And he brought me into the inner court facing east; he measured the gateway according to these same measurements. 33 Also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archways were according to these same measurements; and there were windows in it and in its archways all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 34 Its archways faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its gateposts on this side and on that side; and going up to it were eight steps.

35 Then he brought me to the north gateway and measured it according to these same measurements— 36 also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archways. It had windows all around; its length was fifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits. 37 Its gateposts faced the outer court, palm trees were on its gateposts on this side and on that side, and going up to it were eight steps.

The inner and outer courts of the temple vision were observed and recorded by Ezekiel as he was commanded by God for God’s people then and now to reflect upon.  The gates and gateways in and out of them all are described in enough detail which he measured and gave us a mental picture to reconstruct given the time and effort on the reader’s part to do so.  The outer court had thirty room chambers surrounding a pavement area and the inner court had the same arches, windows, and gateway entrances as the inner.  It had archways all around facing the outer court with eight steps going up.  He looked north, south, and east  with their own chambers around them for some holy use with gateposts like palm trees to signify fruitfulness most likely.  These descriptions meant much more to the people of God then who had their temple leveled years before as an encouragement that it would be rebuilt according to God’s intricate plan shown to Ezekiel in this vision.  It also has significance to us now as a foretaste of the heavenly pattern used then and the promise of the New Jerusalem’s tabernacle coming to rest where God Himself is described as our permanent temple (Revelation 21:3, 22) where we will worship before His face forevermore.  No more visions of the heavenly temple will be needed because the heavenly will come down to us to worship Him on earth as He ought to be and where He will once again walk among us as in Eden’s Garden (Genesis 3:8) at our creation.  This temple to come as a replacement for the Jerusalem temple which was leveled hinted at something far greater.  His inner and outer courts will be one and no more gates will be needed because the Lamb was the gate who gave us entrance to that holy place (Matthew 7:13-14, John 10:9, 14:6, Revelation 22:14).  May all who read hear His word and turn from sin to Him to be among those who enter that gate into this place to worship Him forever before His face!

A New City and New Temple

Ezekiel 40:1-16

1 In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was captured, on the very same day the hand of the LORD was upon me; and He took me there. 2 In the visions of God He took me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain; on it toward the south was something like the structure of a city. 3 He took me there, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze. He had a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand, and he stood in the gateway.

4 And the man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here so that I might show them to you. Declare to the house of Israel everything you see." 5 Now there was a wall all around the outside of the temple. In the man's hand was a measuring rod six cubits long, each being a cubit and a handbreadth; and he measured the width of the wall structure, one rod; and the height, one rod.

6 Then he went to the gateway which faced east; and he went up its stairs and measured the threshold of the gateway, which was one rod wide, and the other threshold was one rod wide. 7 Each gate chamber was one rod long and one rod wide; between the gate chambers was a space of five cubits; and the threshold of the gateway by the vestibule of the inside gate was one rod. 8 He also measured the vestibule of the inside gate, one rod. 9 Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; and the gateposts, two cubits. The vestibule of the gate was on the inside. 10 In the eastern gateway were three gate chambers on one side and three on the other; the three were all the same size; also the gateposts were of the same size on this side and that side.

11 He measured the width of the entrance to the gateway, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits. 12 There was a space in front of the gate chambers, one cubit on this side and one cubit on that side; the gate chambers were six cubits on this side and six cubits on that side. 13 Then he measured the gateway from the roof of one gate chamber to the roof of the other; the width was twenty-five cubits, as door faces door. 14 He measured the gateposts, sixty cubits high, and the court all around the gateway extended to the gatepost. 15 From the front of the entrance gate to the front of the vestibule of the inner gate was fifty cubits. 16 There were beveled window frames in the gate chambers and in their intervening archways on the inside of the gateway all around, and likewise in the vestibules. There were windows all around on the inside. And on each gatepost were palm trees.

This vision of Ezekiel reminds us of the description of the temple in heaven and the New Jerusalem which will come to earth at the new creation of our world.  It may not be the description of the same one John was shown, but the parallels are quite striking.  Either way the glory of the heavenly man appearing like brass and showing it all to Ezekiel must have left him in absolute awe and he would have wondered how to describe it to Israel then and all readers afterwards.  The glimpses of heavenly things do not fit our vocabulary, let alone provide our imaginations with a clear picture of these as were shown to the messengers of God to tell us for His purposes.  Ezekiel was shown a city on a hill which we can imagine was Jerusalem then or to come.  The man of bronze appearance commanded him in the name of the LORD to observe and measure for accurate picture of what he was being shown.  The command was to “look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you,” that he might tell Israel and all God’s people to follow what God as going to make, whether in heaven or upon earth.  He measured a wall surrounding the temple.  He measured the Eastern Gateway of the temple, the vestibules (porches), the rooms, and the gateposts.  Then he measured the entrance to the gateways and even the gate and the spaces by the gates and the distance between them so the blueprint of the building could be visualized by the hearers.  Even the window frames were observed and measured along with noting the palm trees on the gateposts.  Such a detailed account meant much to the Jews who had lost their temple of worship years ago and Jerusalem with it where the LORD had promised to meet and live with them.  This was a great encouragement and affirmation that God had not forsaken them and had a future of hope to come mapped out and designed down to the last detail.  They saw it as the restoration of a leveled city and temple, but we now look further ahead to the end of time when the heavenly pattern is not for men to use as a blueprint to rebuild that temple on earth, but as a description of God’s handiwork of the original in heaven (Hebrews 8:5, Revelation 21:15-21) which He promises to bring down to earth (Revelation 21:2) to dwell in as a place to see Him finally face to face (Job 19:25-27, Revelation 21:22)!  This is the new temple of God Himself and the Lamb slain for a an eternal sacrifice to redeem us.  The New Jerusalem is the place where God will bring down the original heavenly pattern to us that we might worship in spirit and truth before His face forevermore.  It is also the place of His glory to behold.  What an awe-inspiring message for us all transcending what Ezekiel could ever begin to imagine!  This is the long-expected new city and temple for all God’s chosen people.

Reconciling Discipline of Grace

Ezekiel 39:21-29

21 "I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them. 22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day forward. 23 The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them."'

25 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name— 26 after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid. 27 When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, 28 then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. 29 And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,' says the Lord GOD."

Israel was restored by God’s reconciling discipline of His great unmerited grace of His goodness and love for His people whom He had called and chosen.  This same truth of God’s character continues in the grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord who saves us from the just consequences of our own sins of idolatry and immortality against Him.  Some may say we do not worship sticks and stones but we do idolize and covet (Colossians 3:5) countless other created works of our own hands more than we honor and glorify our Creator and we commit all sorts of immoral thoughts and actions (Ephesians 5:3-4) which God still hates because it corrupts His creation which was made good by His hand.  He then placed His glory on earth so all might see Him and worship with honor and praise and therefore had to discipline His wandering people with judgment on their sins of idolatry and immortality which contradicted their purpose.  This correction was demonstrated to all unbelieving nations surrounding the place and people where the LORD had entered into and taught His own who He is as their LORD who always exists and is ever holy in righteousness.  The Gentiles would observe and realize how sin brings punishment to correct in the grace of discipline for those God chooses as His own and would see what price unfaithfulness brings for reconciliation.  They would see how sin hides God’s face from them (Isaiah 59:2), but that there was hope that God would forgive and not hide from them anymore (Ezekiel 39:29).  This is the essence of the same gospel message we hear fully in Christ with grace to forgive His chosen ones and bring them salvation from His wrath on their sin in reconciliation (Romans 5:11, 2 Corinthians 5:19) with Himself by His own work for us.  He no longer hides His face from we who are in this grace, but changes us day by day to be more like Him in the holiness and righteousness of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).  Just as the LORD brought back the captives of Jacob and showed His mercy on them to preserve His holy name in an act of divine jealously after they suffered in shame and unfaithfulness, after He pulled them out of the world where the enemy ruled over them, He showed His holiness to them and all those looking on.  This is the same for we who are rescued and redeemed by Christ’s suffering and death, for we who also have escaped the bondage of sin and were brought in to His kingdom.  We are free indeed (John 8:36, 2 Corinthians 3:17)!  This is why we can stand firm in Him and this everlasting grace at peace with God (Galatians 5:1) and not seek any other redemption out of fear of losing what we cannot because of His promises and work which covers all sin forever (Hebrews 7:27, 10:10).  He has poured out His Spirit on all His people (not just Israel) to mark us as His own forever with His divine seal (Ephesians 1:13-14) and now He is no longer is hidden from us!  This is all possible only by God’s reconciling grace to Israel and for all God’s chosen people who are His children through repentance and faith. 

Victory and a Feast

 Ezekiel 39:1-20 

1 "And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; 2 and I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. 3 Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. 4 You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. 5 You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken," says the Lord GOD. 6 "And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the LORD. 7 So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. 8 Surely it is coming, and it shall be done," says the Lord GOD. "This is the day of which I have spoken.

9 "Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years. 10 They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them," says the Lord GOD.

11 "It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog. 12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. 13 Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain renown for it on the day that I am glorified," says the Lord GOD. 14 "They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of a search party, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search. 15 The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man's bone, he shall set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. 16 The name of the city will also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the land."'

17 "And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field:

"Assemble yourselves and come;
Gather together from all sides to My sacrificial meal
Which I am sacrificing for you,
A great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel,
That you may eat flesh and drink blood.

18 You shall eat the flesh of the mighty,
Drink the blood of the princes of the earth,
Of rams and lambs,
Of goats and bulls,
All of them fatlings of Bashan.

19 You shall eat fat till you are full,
And drink blood till you are drunk,
At My sacrificial meal
Which I am sacrificing for you.

20 You shall be filled at My table
With horses and riders,
With mighty men
And with all the men of war," says the Lord GOD.

The armies of the enemy Gog would be utterly defeated by God and their carcasses in the battlefield eaten by the buzzards.  A triumphal feast would follow their defeat.  God would make His holy name known in the midst of His people, and He would stop them from profaning His holy name. Then the nations would see and know that He alone is the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.  This victory over sin was for the glory and honor of the LORD!  Likewise, the final battle of the Judgment Day will ring out His glory of the deliverance of all His people in Christ as He defeats the enemies who live against Him and His Word.  As for the defeat of Israel’s enemies then when He said, “This is the day of which I have spoken,” so will the Final Day (John 11:24) to come happen as He has spoken when death and sin are defeated (1 Corinthians 15:24-26) at the resurrection of the just in Christ and the unjust (Acts 24:15) who rejected Him and chose to love for idolatry and immortality instead.  God was defeated then and will be again (Revelation 20:8-9) to again be destroyed by fire from the Lord.  Their final torment which they earned will be unending (Revelation 20:10) in that burning lake of fire as God’s land is permanently cleansed from the presence of sin and not merely its power over us or to its penalty already removed for all who are in Christ through repentance and faith before that Day.  The valley of Hamon Gog took an extremely long time to bury the dead; the final battle in the Jezreel Valley which is also that known as Armageddon in Revelation 16:16 as a shadow of the final battle against sin and the devil.  There the bodies will fill the valley but not be buried there, but in the lake of fire to follow.  This is a warning for all to repent of their rebellion against the Lord and turn from sin to Him before that great and terrible day of the Lord described in Joel 2:10-12 for us.  The victory gained by God will be followed by a feast celebrating the defeat of His enemies and ours who are in Christ.  That sacrificial meal (Zephaniah 1:7, Revelation 19:17-18) with celebration (Psalm 22:26) will be one of eternal refreshment of spiritual enjoyment with spiritually lasting results of our victory in the Lamb who was slain and who overcame our death sentence.  Rejoice, for we shall dine with Him in the end because of His victory in the wedding feast of the Lamb! 

Hope in Judgment

Ezekiel 38:1-23

1 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. 5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you.

7 "Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. 8 After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. 9 You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you."

10 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: 11 You will say, 'I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates'— 12 to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. 13 Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, 'Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?'"'

14 "Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it? 15 Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. 16 You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes." 17 Thus says the Lord GOD: "Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them? 

18 "And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel," says the Lord GOD, "that My fury will show in My face. 19 For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, 20 so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.' 21 I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains," says the Lord GOD. "Every man's sword will be against his brother. 22 And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD."'

Gog was the ruler of the northern land of Magog and prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal (Ezekiel 38 and 39), and is mentioned again in Revelation 20:8.  We really do not know for certain who this was but do know they were set against Israel as God’s people and that in the end the battle will be against all of God’s people in Christ.  What is important is to know that such enemies set against the LORD and His people will fail and be judged for their attempts.  God told Ezekiel to set his face in opposition to Gog and speak God’s word of judgment on that nation opposing Him along with those powerful nations siding with them such as Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya.  Though these all boasted in their fine armor and saw themselves occupying the land promised to the chosen people of God, they would face defeat for their evil plans to conquer and control.  The prophetic word against them told how they would come down to overthrow them with a vast and mighty army but would be defeated to show God’s holiness and glory in their humiliating overthrow.  This witness of His work would be a testimony to the nations that they would also come to know Him as Lord of all.  This applies both to Israel then and all the chosen to come until the final judgment day.  God would show Gog His wrath and holy jealousy for His own people whom He called and chose.  The resulting earthquake would shake the world’s kingdoms but not His (Hebrews 12:26-27) own.  The whole earth will tremble as the mountains fall with every city and its wall.  Just as God caused the swords of Gog and the nations against each other, so will He defeat all in the end by the sword of His mouth which is the Word of God.  God will magnify Himself and His name of honor and glory so that all will know Him according to His greatness and holiness.  This is the reason He allowed nations to oppress His disobedient people, that He might be glorified in their enemy’s defeat and their deliverance.  He also delivers sinners in Christ who do not deserve and cannot attain this salvation on their own.  This grace of the gospel demonstrates His sovereign power and righteous judgment (2 Thessalonians 1:5, 12, Romans 5:18-19) that leads us to know that He is the Lord.  We therefore do not fear the end times nor need to calculate the exact times and happenings concerning God and Magog as if to look for an escape plan, but seek rather the faith and peace of God that keeps us from the penalty of sin in that final judgement as we spread the gospel seed (Luke 8:11, 15, 1 Peter 1:22, 25) in the field of the world in the fear and hope of the Lord.  Such is the hope in judgment that encourages us when considering the end times.

One Kingdom with One King Forever

Ezekiel 37:15-28

15 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 16 "As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: 'For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.' Then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.' 17 Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.

18 "And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, Will you not show us what you mean by these?'— 19 say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand."' 20 And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.

21 "Then say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; 22 and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

24 "David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. 25 Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. 26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 28 The nations also will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore."'"

The word of the LORD spoke of God’s chosen people both before and after Christ’s coming into the world as a man after the seed of David.  The elaborate visual picture was a portent of the Union of Judah and Israel again, but also looked further into God’s purpose of a larger kingdom with Him as the Sovereign ruler over us all as His children chosen before He spoke to create the world with the heavens and earth which we see.  The two peoples would become one (Ephesians 2:13, 15-16, 19) just as the first man and woman in union of intimacy and purpose as His own.  He used the illustration of two sticks made into a single one to show that He would join the separated tribes of Israel and Judah, yet look forward to the single kingdom of God as promised to and through Abraham.  We are all one people in His hand, united in Christ for His glory to serve in worship as originally purposed in Eden’s Garden.  There would be one king over all Israel and one King of the kingdom to come which we pray for in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:10).  Then the people of God would cease from defiling themselves with idolatry and immortality after He delivers and cleanses us.  They will be their people and He will be their God as Revelation 21:3 promises us all who are united in Christ; this very phrase points to that end intended and not just to a restored nation of ancient Israel.  David would be king over them which is an allusion to the line of David who is Christ Jesus our Lord and sovereign King of kings (1 Timothy 6:15,:Revelation 17:14, 19:13, 16).  He is our eternal ruler.  We will be set in His sanctuary of the New Jerusalem forever with His tabernacle where we are His people and He is our God eternally without end!  All will see His coming and bow to Him as we the united people of God are gathered into one in His presence forevermore.  Ah, we anticipate this (Revelation 22:20) with a certainty of absolute hope.  Both Jew and Gentile will be one in Him to worship and enjoy forever as the sticks grown from Adam and Abraham joined together. 

The Dead Live Again out of the Grave

Ezekiel 37:1-14

1 The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. 3 And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"

So I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know."

4 Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD."'"

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.

9 Also He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live."'" 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!' 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 14 I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it," says the LORD.'"

The dry bones of dead Israel were made to live again out of the grave!  This was a picture and type of the resurrection to come in the final judgment as well as the rebirth of God’s nation of Israel in the immediate context.  Ezekiel was shown a vision of a field of long-dead bones which had been dried up and completely lifeless.  This immense valley of the dead seemed settled as to the end of those who died there, yet God asked the man of God, "Son of man, can these bones live?"  Ezekiel wisely answered that only the LORD knew the answer, end, and future of all men who die.  God therefore showed him by telling Ezekiel what to do on His behalf.  He first told the bones of the dead to listen and hear the word of the LORD.  He told them that God would give the breath of life to them (as in the first man, Adam in Genesis 2:7) and that this breath (which was His Spirit) would make them live again.  Then they would know that He was the LORD, the creator God of all people, and that nothing is too difficult for Him (Jeremiah 32:27, 17) to do according to His absolutely trustworthy word.  Then the prophet did as God commanded and spoke to the dead.  The bones reassembled and the muscles and skin covered them as before the grave took away all the coverings of flesh on the bones in the graves.  Yet they were still lifeless corpses.  Therefore, God commanded His mouthpiece to tell the breath of life (from God) to enter these who had been slain in battle of His people Israel, the defeated nation who had suffered the sword for their sins of idolatry and immortality against Him and His name.  Breath entered them as it is written.  The LORD then explained to Ezekiel and we who now read this account that the dead bones represented Israel who seemed dead, separated from God, and without any hope.  This is the state of all mankind after Adam who are dead in sin.  God then spoke His promise to open the graves of His chosen people and resurrect them to life and into their promised land, a shadow picture and foretelling of how He will resurrect all in the end of time, some to eternal life as His chosen people and some to the eternal torment (John 5:28-29) of just judgment for the unrepentant sin of disobedience and disbelief.  We know the prophets spoke of this resurrection as we read in Acts 24:14-15, but their minds were kept from understanding fully what these portents and prophecies really pointed to as the truth of God’s work to come in the end.  Jesus Christ told His apostles these things to come who told us as we now know and tell others today.  God promised to open the graves and resurrect the dead so that He could then put His Spirit of life into us and place us into His kingdom as His chosen people.  This is the hope of the gospel and not a mere rebirth of a nation long ago.  It is our rebirth with a promise of eternal life after the grave death we all face, without which we are also hopeless (1 Corinthians 15: 13-14, 17-19) and lifeless dry bones.  Thankfully we have this assurance in 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 of a certain hope of resurrection from dead bones in the grave to life in Christ!  We know therefore that our change will be better than this vision of Ezekiel, for 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 assures us that we will rise and be instantly changed from dry bone to  new and living bodies which will be imperishable and that we will enter the true promised land with God Himself present as in victory over death (1 Corinthians 15:57) in Christ.  Then we also shall know that the LORD has “spoken it and performed it," as it is written.  This is a passage of hope far beyond that of one nation on earth because it is for all God’s chosen children who are found in Christ who presence in us is the mystery (Colossians 1:27) of all the scriptures from the beginning.  It is hope beyond the grave as demonstrated by Christ’s own resurrection to pave the way of faith in His life-giving work to be done in us as well.  This is the gospel which we preach of the kingdom of God in Christ.  Amen.

Renewal of the Heart

Ezekiel 36:16-38

16 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 17 "Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds; to Me their way was like the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity. 18 Therefore I poured out My fury on them for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with which they had defiled it. 19 So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds. 20 When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name—when they said of them, 'These are the people of the LORD, and yet they have gone out of His land.' 21 But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went.

22 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. 23 And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD," says the Lord GOD, "when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. 28 Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. 29 I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. 30 And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 Not for your sake do I do this," says the Lord GOD, "let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!"

33 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will also enable you to dwell in the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt. 34 The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. 35 So they will say, 'This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.' 36 Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken it, and I will do it."

37 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them: I will increase their men like a flock. 38 Like a flock offered as holy sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem on its feast days, so shall the ruined cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they shall know that I am the LORD."'"

God’s people had defiled their land with their own ways and actions, making it unclean no impure according to God’s word as the only true standard of good and evil which the tree of the knowledge of good and evil could not impart to Adam nor them.  Only listening to hear God speak and humbly doing according to all He told them would do.  Their way, our way, is to gratify self and desecrate worship and living by the lusts of the eye for coveting, the flesh for immoral pleasures, and the pride of living to imagine our ways of reasoning are better than those of our Creator’s.  God poured out His bowls of judgment on His people for their sin’s just judgement as the wages earned (Romans 6:23) for not living by His decrees, but knowing also that they needed to learn that it was impossible for fallen man to live in righteous ways (Romans 3:23) apart from a change from that corrupt heart leading them to follow their ways instead of His.  Therefore, He “judged them according to their ways and their deeds” until that time that they would see and be made able to understand these things (Galatians 3:22-23) and why they kept falling short.  That Law was their teacher to mature them to see their need (Galatians 3:24-25) of the grace of a supernatural change of heart (Jeremiah 31:33) by the work of the LORD.  No longer would God’s people profane His holy name wherever they went as they struggled to keep His word.  They looked to this promise for when He would rule their hearts by His Spirit, His actual presence in and with each one to guide and enable the sinner to live and think righteously that we may honor and worship in that beauty of holiness (1 Chronicles 16:29-30, Psalm 29:2, 96:9).  God promised Israel that He would show how holy He is for His name’s sake over their own, demonstrating to the world His righteousness and power as the only one to be worshiped and lived for as He dealt with their sin in grace and the merciful judgment of His divine discipline.  He would rescue the remnant, sprinkle cleansing water over them as the blood of the priests ministering to Him in the sanctuary, cleansing their sin and ours once and for all (Hebrews 9:12-14, 12:24).  He would cleanse His chosen ones from idolatry and immortality which had brought judgment on themselves.  He promised a new heart and spirit; a heart of flesh replacing stone tablets of the Law where the commandments would be desired and loved, His Spirit overwhelming our corrupt and sinful spirit which led us from our own lusts to follow His righteous desires.  He will then cause us to live according to His word which we are quite unable to do on our own with checklist laws on stony hearts and sinful spirits leading us to pursue good and evil apart from His necessary instructions day by day (Hebrews 5:14).  Only then can all His people dwell in His kingdom and live to please and worship rightly and righteously as newly born regenerated men and women.  Sin’s punishment is taken away and it’s consequences mitigated by grace and healing to be able to finally be fruitful and multiply to fill the earth with disciples of this good news which God wrought.  Our shame is removed as we reflect back on our former ways of evil abominations and pursue the good instead through confession and forgiveness (1 John 1:9).  Just as the nations surrounding Israel would see and glorify God for His transforming and redemptive work in the time of Ezekiel, so He sets us on display to the world to show his glory and grace for we who are transformed in Jesus Christ with a new nature and desires.  They will observe His flock and acknowledge He is our good Shepherd.  This is the promise of the renewal of the heart and mind which God promised His people and that has come to fruition in Christ at long last!

Israel’s Blessing and Restoration

Ezekiel 36:1-15

1 "And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, 'O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD! 2 Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because the enemy has said of you, 'Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession,'"' 3 therefore prophesy, and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because they made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you are taken up by the lips of talkers and slandered by the people"— 4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been forsaken, which became plunder and mockery to the rest of the nations all around— 5 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I have spoken in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave My land to themselves as a possession, with wholehearted joy and spiteful minds, in order to plunder its open country."'

6 "Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, and the valleys, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My fury, because you have borne the shame of the nations." 7 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "I have raised My hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall bear their own shame. 8 But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come. 9 For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. 10 I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. 11 I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bear young; I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do better for you than at your beginnings. Then you shall know that I am the LORD. 12 Yes, I will cause men to walk on you, My people Israel; they shall take possession of you, and you shall be their inheritance; no more shall you bereave them of children."

13 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because they say to you, You devour men and bereave your nation of children,' 14 therefore you shall devour men no more, nor bereave your nation anymore," says the Lord GOD. 15 "Nor will I let you hear the taunts of the nations anymore, nor bear the reproach of the peoples anymore, nor shall you cause your nation to stumble anymore," says the Lord GOD.'"

The judgment on the nations opposed to God’s chosen people led to Israel’s blessing by the LORD and her coming restoration.  Their enemies saw the corrective discipline of Israel and immediately sought to claim Jerusalem and the territory for themselves.  God spoke intervention through Ezekiel to make it clear that overrunning Israel and slandering while mocking God’s called and chosen children would lead to the judgment of those nations.  He spoke against Edom and the others set in opposition to Israel and Jerusalem with jealousy for His people.  Their hubris in the sight of God was to claim the land given to Abraham and thus Israel as a possession they dared to claim as their own stolen possession in their spite and wrongful elation as they plundered the King’s treasure.  The LORD therefore prophesied for His own and against their enemies out of His jealousy and the people’s shame they bore from all those around them.  As for Israel, they would be fruitful once more and again possess their land to cultivate it and bear fruit as originally entrusted to Adam and then Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob long ago.  The land would be inhabited again because God was for them.  They would rebuild as Nehemiah and others would demonstrate later.  They were promised to do even better after the reconstruction than before they had begun in order to acknowledge Him as their LORD and God again in worship and reasonable service (Romans 12:1) as His people are created for and expected to do.  They would not overrun others anymore but also not be subjected to taunting and reproach.  He would keep them from stumbling (Psalm 140:4, Colossians 1:22, Jude 1:24-25) as a nation by leading them to humility in worship as they put aside their idolatry and immortality of the nations influencing them for evil.  There are similarities in the people of God today, not as a chosen nation but as a people in Christ (1 Peter 2:9-10) who were kept by the power of God from stumbling (1 Peter 1:5) for an eternal deliverance from our enemies and an everlasting end to the shame, slander, and mocking of the ungodly enemies aligned with our adversary.  We shall be free and fruitful at last in a kingdom that lasts forever.  This is the promise of our blessing and restoration as the chosen people of God in Christ.

An Ancient Hatred Answered

Ezekiel 35:1-15 

1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it, 3 and say to it, 'Thus says the Lord GOD:

"Behold, O Mount Seir, I am against you;
I will stretch out My hand against you,
And make you most desolate;
4 I shall lay your cities waste,
And you shall be desolate.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

5 "Because you have had an ancient hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, when their iniquity came to an end, 6 therefore, as I live," says the Lord GOD, "I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you have not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue you. 7 Thus I will make Mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it the one who leaves and the one who returns. 8 And I will fill its mountains with the slain; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those who are slain by the sword shall fall. 9 I will make you perpetually desolate, and your cities shall be uninhabited; then you shall know that I am the LORD.

10 "Because you have said, 'These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess them,' although the LORD was there, 11 therefore, as I live," says the Lord GOD, "I will do according to your anger and according to the envy which you showed in your hatred against them; and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you. 12 Then you shall know that I am the LORD. I have heard all your blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, 'They are desolate; they are given to us to consume.' 13 Thus with your mouth you have boasted against Me and multiplied your words against Me; I have heard them."

14 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "The whole earth will rejoice when I make you desolate. 15 As you rejoiced because the inheritance of the house of Israel was desolate, so I will do to you; you shall be desolate, O Mount Seir, as well as all of Edom—all of it! Then they shall know that I am the LORD."'

The judgment of the LORD on Mount Seir was for their age-old hatred of God’s people since they entered the promised land given to Abraham and his descendants.  This ancient hatred was to be answered according to God’s word from Ezekiel to hold them accountable as Israel suffered a lesser judgment for their idolatry and immortality.  Mount Seir where Edom lived (Genesis 36:8) was given by the LORD and were to be left alone by Israel on their way into their God-given country (Deuteronomy 2:5, 7).  Genesis 25:30-34 tells us how Edom sold his birthright as firstborn because he did not count God’s inheritance to be valuable until he lost it (Hebrews 12:16-17).  Then he fought against Israel and coveted the land he forfeited as he reveled in the judgment against Jerusalem and her people, which was really anger, envy, and hatred against God Himself.  This brought a severe and certain consequence of judgment which led to Edom’s destruction and desolation.  They attacked the chosen line of God’s people (Ezekiel 25:12) in the lineage of the Messiah as if to stop the delivering salvation of all the chosen because of bitter regret for a poor and selfish choice to give it all up as worthless, but now seen as infinitely valuable.  Psalm 137:7-8 recounts how God used Babylon as His weapon to punish Edom for wanting to destroy Jerusalem where God met with man for sacrificial atonement and worship and to list after the city and land for themselves in their blasphemous desires to take over what right was freely abrogated before.  Yes, the anger and envy drove Edom from Mount Seir to attack the chosen ones even after they had been given much by the LORD and even protected from attack by their kinsmen of Israel.  They wanted more in their aim to take Judah and Israel, and they wanted it by forceful vengeance driven by jealousy.  God heard their boasts and leveled judgement on Edom with resulting rejoicing of all who looked on at their humbling defeat and desolation.  This is encouraging for we who are the called and chosen of all nations in Christ because we see and know that no enemy can defeat our Lord and His people.  There is victory in Christ as 1 Corinthians 15:57 and Romans 8:37 strongly remind us each day until His return to set up the kingdom forever apart from even the presence of such sin.  Our faith in Him and His work is our (1 John 5:4) assurance to overcome the world set against us.  Then all who look on will know and confess that He is the Lord ((Philippians 2:11).  Then all who willfully and even violently oppose God and His people will regret selling their eternal inheritance for their own fleeting temporal gain.  How far better to turn from sin to trust in Him and claim the birthright of the called!  An ancient hatred should instead be answered by a new love to join God’s people. 

Our True and Trustworthy Shepherd

Ezekiel 34:11-31 

11 'For thus says the Lord GOD: "Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down," says the Lord GOD. 16 "I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment."

17 'And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. 18 Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture—and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet? 19 And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet."

20 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD to them: "Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. 21 Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad, 22 therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken.

25 "I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. 27 Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid. 29 I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore. 30 Thus they shall know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people," says the Lord GOD.'

31 "You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God," says the Lord GOD.

After seeing the irresponsible shepherds of God’s children in the first half of this chapter, we find the answer declared is God Himself as our true and trustworthy shepherd.  He searches for the lost sheep who are of His flock as one who seeks to save (Matthew 18:11, Luke 19:10, John 10:14, Romans 3:11, 5:8) and not to mislead or to expect them to find the Shepherd on their own as of that was even possible (John 6:44, 64-65)!  The same God who promised to seek out the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 15:24, Luke 15:4) now seeks the rest of His flock out of every nation and people group (Revelation 5:9) from all the world.  Ezekiel called them to the promised land of Israel as a foreshadowing for us because we and they together now anticipate the call to a better heavenly country (Hebrews 11:16) in eternity as an unearned reward that never fades away (1 Peter 1:4, 5:4).  We also will be fed and find rest in that good pasture as His sheep (Psalm 1:3) who have our great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20) to tend to us with His loving kindness and goodness of grace before His face forevermore.  What a loving hope to be gathered to our Shepherd by His drawing that leads to such an end in that blessed flock!  He said, "I will seek what was lost,” and now our Lord has fulfilled this word to all of His children called according to the faith of Abraham who heard God and trusted the promise because he knew that He who calls and who promised is absolutely faithful (Romans 4:16, 20-21, Galatians 3:7-9, Hebrews 10:23).  There is also a warning for the flock here to remember that the goats among them will be taken out to preserve His sheep (Matthew 25:32-33) and set one Shepherd over us to keep us humble and not self-serving with ambition but to treat others as we want to be treated and shepherded (1 Peter 5:2-4).  The we’d of David, Jesus the Christ, is our Shepherd who fulfilled this promise and who tends His sheep and to care and feed us all we need.  This is his covenant of everlasting peace that cannot fade away because the eternal sacrifice of Jesus covers all time and all sin completely, a covenant much anticipated then but realized for us now in Him.  His grace is our showers of blessing spoken of here to have that peace that does not pass away (Romans 5:1, John 16:33).  Yes, we know the LORD because He has broken the yoke of sin from our necks that held us in bondage with only the just sentence of death before us until He set us free indeed!  Whom shall we fear (Psalm 27:1) then?  Just as He was with Israel, so He is with all His people chosen and called in Christ; we are His flock in His world’s pasture and He is our God who is our great Shepherd.  In these things we have a more certain hope (Hebrews 6:19), sure and steadfast under the true and trustworthy Shepherd of our souls. 

Irresponsible Shepherds

Ezekiel 34:1-10

1 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: "Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them."

7 'Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 8 "As I live," says the Lord GOD, "surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock"— 9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD! 10 Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them."

The word of the LORD was given against the shepherds of God’s children who needed feeding me leading but received neither from those appointed over them.  The woe spoken to such irresponsible shepherds was very pointed and specific.  They had been feeding themselves instead of the flock they were given charge over in self-seeking and self-gratification instead of selfless service and care for the sheep.  Likened to actual shepherds with real sheep, a parable was told of how they took wool and food from the sheep and slaughtered them for their own appetites, yet neglected to feed the flock as was needed for their health and even their very survival.  They did not give strength to the weak ones nor did they heal the sick among those leaning on the shepherds for their care or those wounded and needing attention.   They did not even seek and save those who were lost (Matthew 18:12).  Instead they leaned on the staff of their own understanding and cared only for their own health and wealth.  What was far worse was how they ruled over the sheep of God’s pasture with force and cruelty, overbearing harshness instead love and service (1 Peter 5:2-3).  Their pride swallowed up any remaining humility and they abused the flock entrusted to them by leading them into idolatry and immortality in false worship and unlawful living contrary to God’s word.  Therefore the sheep were scattered without a true shepherd and were prey to all those roaming about looking to devour them (1 Peter 5:8).  It seemed as though there was no hope for them as they wandered without anyone seeming to know that they were gone!  Was no one asking about or searching for them?  The LORD then spoke through Ezekiel to those irresponsible shepherds about their selfish behavior and lack of care for those entrusted to them.  He told them quite clearly that He was now set against them and would hold them accountable for the state of these sheep.  He would stop them from feeding them lies and cruelty of neglect and abuse, of misleading and not feeding them.  He would then deliver the downtrodden sheep into His own care and take away their source of food and gain from their mistreatment and exploitation for their own gain.  This is also true for the shepherds today who use the sheep to their own advantage and gain and who mislead them in false teaching and manipulation until they are scattered.  God looks out for His children and keeps them from the adversary and that one’s minions of destruction; He cares for each of His sheep that He has personally chosen and called, and will give them solid food and loving kindness of care (John 10:10-11, 27-29).  That is our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.  Woe to the irresponsible shepherds put in care of the flock and not serving them as they have been entrusted to do!  There are many today who still claim to be shepherds, leading large ministries but with deceptive, false, and self-seeking agendas.  Instead of humbly feeding the people, they ask for more from them and only give empty hope of health, wealth, and miracles.  The problem is that these go against God and His word and leave the sheep to wander in hunger for truth with empty hopes.  They need Jesus Christ, walking by faith, solid teaching, and sacrificial examples.

A Song and a Dance

Ezekiel 33:21-33

21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, "The city has been captured!"

22 Now the hand of the LORD had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

23 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 24 "Son of man, they who inhabit those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, 'Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. But we are many; the land has been given to us as a possession.'

25 "Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "You eat meat with blood, you lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land? 26 You rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and you defile one another's wives. Should you then possess the land?"'

27 "Say thus to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "As I live, surely those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and the one who is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and caves shall die of the pestilence. 28 For I will make the land most desolate, her arrogant strength shall cease, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through. 29 Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed."'

30 "As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, 'Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.' 31 So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. 32 Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them. 33 And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them."

God’s people had a song and a dance instead of hearing and heeding the word of the LORD.  They listened when God opened Ezekiel’s mouth after holding his words for a time, only to hear how Thor sins of idolatry and immortality had caused them to lose their inheritance given by the covenant to Abraham and Isaac which they broke by disregard no disobedience.  They openly did contrary to the laws of the commandments with eating blood and worship of idols, they relied on strength to kill and lived in immoral ways with each other’s wives and husbands in disregard for the marriage covenant which is a shadow of the covenant with God in commitment and wholehearted purity.  Then they still thought they should own the land of covenant after broken these with Him!  The LORD therefore told them the sword would devour them and they would lose their land given over to desolation for a time.  They were hearers but not doers of God’s word.  They ran to hear what the prophet would tell them, but then go off forgetting everything (James 1:23-24) they had been told.  They mouthed words of love to others but instead turned to run after their own gain instead of others (1 Corinthians 10:24).  They heard the lovely music of preaching and teaching but did not heed the lyrics to learn and live accordingly.  May we learn from their bad example to do the good and listen to hear, trust, and do God’s word.  May we not just give a song and a dance around obedience. 

A Watchman’s Fair and Merciful Message

Ezekiel 33:1-20

1 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, 3 when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.'

7 "So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. 8 When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you shall surely die!' and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.

10 "Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: 'Thus you say, "If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?"' 11 Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'

12 "Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: 'The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.' 13 When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die. 14 Again, when I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' if he turns from his sin and does what is lawful and right, 15 if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 16 None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live.

17 "Yet the children of your people say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' But it is their way which is not fair! 18 When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it. 19 But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it. 20 Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not fair.' O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways."

God's Judgment Is fair but thankfully it is also merciful and good.  This is the basis of the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord.  The watchman was commanded to speak the truth with tough love, alerting the people to the impending and imminent judgment of God.  If he did not warn them, he himself answered to the LORD for his inaction as Paul later hinted at in Romans 1:16 and 1 Corinthians 9:16 for our example.  The watchman warns of danger straight away and leaves it to the hearers for their response.  Either they heed and prepare themselves for life or they ignore it to their own peril of death and destruction.  If, however, the watchman does not warn them for any reason and leaves them to their fate at the hands of the enemy at the gate then he also answers for their destruction because he did not care for their souls.  The question is how much of this pertains to us in spreading the good news of Christ who rescues us from eternal destruction by telling as many as we can of the bad news of God’s wrath on sin, righteousness in Him, and the judgment to come (John 16:8-11) and then speaking the good news of that atoning work of His sacrificial death and the resulting hope of our own resurrection in Him.  While we may not be held to the severity of account that this watchman Ezekiel was, yet the desire to see men and women escape the enemy’s deceit and lasting effects of the resulting sin of rebellion since Adam should also drive us in love as willing watchers to not cease warning others (Acts 19:8, 10, 20:31, 2 Corinthians 5:11) through teaching and reasoning from the scriptures.  This includes then that we warn those bent on living in sin just what the end of that is under God’s wrath according to His word (John 3:18) just as life through forgiveness is freely offered in Christ (John 5:24) to those hearing and turning in repentance with faith to trust His work (John 6:29) and who receive Him by heeding the warnings of the watchmen.  Yes, we all have earned the wages paid out by our inherited and ongoing sin (Romans 3:23, 6:23) and deserve God’s just anger, yet we know it is God’s character to desire to be destroyed, but as He says here, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die?”  That is God’s wrath and grace of love (Psalm 85:10) joined together in His righteousness to make us holy as originally created to be in His presence in the Garden if we hear and heed the warnings of the watchmen.  He further says here that “'The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him” as a warning hinting that we can no more earn our salvation than a wicked man can escape judgement because we know that their is nobody really righteous who does good enough to earn a release from our legal sentence that fits our crime against God (Romans 3:20-23).  We are warned not to trust in our own perceived righteousness because that in itself is sin, but the wicked who turns “and does what is lawful and right,” this one will be spared judgement and “None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him.”  This is the root of the gospel spelled out for us.  Yet some today echo the same response then that God is not fair!  It is our ways which are unfair and unjust and without mercy, righteousness, or grace.  God’s ways are both fair and merciful to we who are undeserving and unable to earn the peace with Him that we earnestly seek in our yearnings for safety and hope for tomorrow.  Christ Jesus is the only answer (Acts 4:12) to these things which we speak of as His watchmen with this fair and yet merciful message of salvation.  May we then be compelled (Job 32:18-20, 2 Corinthians 5:14) to watch for others (Acts 19:8, 10) and not just ourselves that we might glorify God and see  eyes opened as men and women are delivered from hopeless darkness to light of hope eternal (1 Peter 2:9-10).  Amen and amen.

Consigned to the Pit

Ezekiel 32:17-32

17 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying:

18 "Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt,
And cast them down to the depths of the earth,
Her and the daughters of the famous nations,
With those who go down to the Pit:
19 'Whom do you surpass in beauty?
Go down, be placed with the uncircumcised.'

20 "They shall fall in the midst of those slain by the sword;
She is delivered to the sword,
Drawing her and all her multitudes.

21 The strong among the mighty
Shall speak to him out of the midst of hell
With those who help him:
'They have gone down,
They lie with the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.'

22 "Assyria is there, and all her company,
With their graves all around her,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword.
23 Her graves are set in the recesses of the Pit,
And her company is all around her grave,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword,
Who caused terror in the land of the living.

24 "There is Elam and all her multitude,
All around her grave,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword,
Who have gone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth,
Who caused their terror in the land of the living;
Now they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.

25 They have set her bed in the midst of the slain,
With all her multitude,
With her graves all around it,
All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword;
Though their terror was caused
In the land of the living,
Yet they bear their shame
With those who go down to the Pit;
It was put in the midst of the slain.

26 "There are Meshech and Tubal and all their multitudes,
With all their graves around it,
All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword,
Though they caused their terror in the land of the living.

27 They do not lie with the mighty
Who are fallen of the uncircumcised,
Who have gone down to hell with their weapons of war;
They have laid their swords under their heads,
But their iniquities will be on their bones,
Because of the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.

28 Yes, you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised,
And lie with those slain by the sword.

29 "There is Edom,
Her kings and all her princes,
Who despite their might
Are laid beside those slain by the sword;
They shall lie with the uncircumcised,
And with those who go down to the Pit.

30 There are the princes of the north,
All of them, and all the Sidonians,
Who have gone down with the slain
In shame at the terror which they caused by their might;
They lie uncircumcised with those slain by the sword,
And bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.

31 "Pharaoh will see them
And be comforted over all his multitude,
Pharaoh and all his army,
Slain by the sword,"
Says the Lord GOD.

32 "For I have caused My terror in the land of the living;
And he shall be placed in the midst of the uncircumcised
With those slain by the sword,
Pharaoh and all his multitude,"
Says the Lord GOD.

Egypt and those supporting her were sent down to the Pit, a word describing a well or cistern used here of death and the world where the dead go to.  In verse 21, the more often heard word Sheol is used of this netherworld, a place often described as where the wicked were sent for punishment and not just where they went when they died.  The picture given by the word Pit is also one of universal slaughter and universal burial as it is used for describing the grave after death.  One thing is certain here, that the enemies of God and His people would be killed and buried as punishment.  Egypt was sent there for her pride of perceived beauty but whose fame meant nothing because they were uncircumcised, not in covenant with the LORD.  It was as if the “strong among the mighty” of the dead in Sheol were warning Egypt and her followers of their fate to follow them there in the punishment of death and destruction.  Assyria along with Elam who caused such fearful terror among the living now suffered death there (Ezekiel 31:16-17).  Their prideful boasting turned to shame at such a defeat in death at God’s hand which slayed them and cast them down into the pit of death and despair because they had no promises of a covenant with the Almighty LORD God as His people did whom they had opposed in life.  Meshech, Tubal, the Sidonians, and all their multitudes along with Edom and her kings and princes all were there with these as punishment as well.  Many were sentenced to death for their crimes against God and His people in their idolatry and immortality contrary to God’s word.  They all down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth in shame with their weapons of war and their unforgiven sin and terror they spread while still alive.  Their reign of terror exercised with worldly might did not help them escape judgement, shame, and a cruel death by the sword.  Pharaoh would gloat seeing others sent to the Pit, but he himself would join them all in death by the sword and know God’s terror in the land of the living and the dead.  This lesson is one of comfort to all the chosen people of God in Christ, for we are not going with despair to the Pit but with assurance of a certain hope of the resurrection because we are in an unbreakable covenant with God in Christ Jesus as those circumcised in the heart (Romans 2:29, Colossians 2:11) and not defeated by death.  Our punishment of judgment has been atoned for and we have only life without terror (1 John 4:18) and shame to look forward to after death!  We are not consigned to the Pit of despair and torment but to a risen and living hope (1 Peter 1:3-4) to be transformed from death to life (John 5:24).