GLEANINGS FROM EZEKIEL

I just finished reading the book of Ezekiel yesterday. It had been a long time since I read through the entire book.... It holds wonderful nuggets.

During the time Ezekiel wrote, he lost his dearly treasured wife, but was completely responsive to God in setting his loss aside and being obedient. That definitely made an impact on me.

In the final chapters, the overwhelming reminder of God's order was reinforced. What amazing detail He provided those who would build His temple in Jerusalem. It is a stunning reminder of God being a proficient and thorough designer.

The most indelible impact of the book of Ezekiel is that God is absolutely sovereign. The repeated message Ezekiel quotes is God saying, "I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it." That gives me amazing comfort. My life is in His hands...and the life that is truly life is eternal life. This is just the path leading to life!

There is a little church about a mile from my house that has a reader board. Recently their sign stated, "Why do we call it after dark when it is really after light?" I was with my husband when I read it, and I chuckled, then mentioned that logic could apply to several other things, citing a couple of specific parallels that came to mind.

In response my husband said, "You Christians do that all the time. You talk about the after life." That's when it hit me. Heaven is not the after-life, it is life...eternal life. This is our pre-life anticipation of life! We segue from here to there - not painlessly - but what birth is painless?

This is our gestational period. Life is yet to come! We may or may not like the womb phase, depending on circumstances, but that's all this is. We are conceived by the Spirit the day we accept Jesus Christ as Savior, so our spiritual life 'begins' at that point, but we are in the cocoon phase. Our butterfly phase - the most beautiful life imaginable - is eternal!

So, as we slog through the challenges here, we can have absolute confidence in our eternal destination - when we break away from the fetters of imperfect bodies and embrace LIFE!

EZEKIEL THE NEWS ANCHOR

Ezekiel 38 - 39

If Ezekiel were here today broadcasting God's up-to-the-minute news, people would most likely think he was a lunatic. I wonder what they thought then.... The proof of prophecy is in the occurrence, and Ezekiel was spot-on with those God gave him for the earlier downfall of Jerusalem, which lends credence to the veracity of the forward-looking prophecies yet to be fulfilled.

I read them with questions, curiosity and wonder. All I know is that after the fact they will all be crystal clear. Right now I definitely 'see through a glass darkly'. I do not know exactly who God of Magog is. We have clues, but the names have changed. It could be a combination of Russia, China, Mongolia, Asia.... I don't know the precise make-up. But I know what is prophesied will come to pass.

Over and over Ezekiel reiterates, "The word of the LORD came to me...." I love it when God speaks!

EZEKIEL 37

Ezekiel 37 was my chapter for yesterday! I'm joyfully ruminating over it again this morning. It reveals what is very likely Ezekiel's most famous vision - the vision of the valley of dry bones. It elicits the lyrics of the child-learned song: "the foot bone's connected to the ankle bone; the ankle bone's connected to the shin bone; the shin bone's connected to the...." Now you're singing it, too! It ends with the exultant thrice stated, "...'Dem bones, 'dem bones they gonna walk around." (and) "Now hear the Word of the Lord!"

This is another of those prophecies of layered promises. The promises include:
God's promise that He will bring His people back into the land of Israel (verse 12); and
God's promise that the nation of Israel will no longer be two, as it was before the Babylonian captivity; that it shall be again be one (verses 18-23).

Reminiscent of their time of coming out of Egypt in about 1406 BC (after which they were under the leadership of judges, and then kings) the 'Hebrew children' did return to their land after the Babylonia captivity of 598 - 538 BC. From 400 BC until Jesus' time they were fragmented, under various dictatorial rulers; and ultimately completely scattered in the great Diaspora, following the destruction of the 2nd temple in 70 AD.

From 70 AD until 1948, they were not a nation. Israel became a nation again in 1948 - one nation! That is definitely mirrored in this prophecy that occurred some 2525 years earlier - but it's only a layer! The prophecy states: "...Thus says the Lord GOD, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and I will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall no longer be two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms..."(verses 20-23).

The reason I know that the partial fulfillment of 1948 is not the final layer is revealed in the next paragraph,"My servant David shall be the king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd .... David my servant shall be their prince forever."

King David ruled from 1010 - 970 BC. Their King is not going to be David, but David's offspring, Jesus...just as promised in Psalm 89:3-4 and reiterated in John 7:42 and 2 Timothy 2:8. The Messiah's rule over earth won't come until the Millennium, after the horrible battle in the valley of Megiddo - Armaggedon. And that's where my mind first led me with Ezekiel's vision: that valley, where seemingly all hope is lost...but God holds out hope, not a wishful-thinking kind of hope, but real hope: He wins!

Chapter 37 ends this way, "I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forever. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forever."

Echoing what God has stated so many times in Ezekiel: He is the LORD, and He will do it!

The following verses are from the English Standard Version (ESV)

Psalm 89:3-4

³You have said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
⁴'I will establish your offspring forever,
and build your throne for all generations.'"

John 7:42

⁴²Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?"

2 Timothy 2:8

⁸Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel,

EZEKIEL 36

I am loving reading Ezekiel. It is exciting to read what was written +-2600 years ago, and have the opportunity to look back over history to see the obvious fulfillment of the prophecies - with some completed and some still to come, layered prophecies that have application to what has already transpired - but seeing their ultimate fulfillment in the second coming of the Messiah.

Chapter 36 is one of those chapters. I've been blessed to get to go to Israel 2 times, once in February/March 2006; and once in February 2011. Because of what I've been priviliged to see, the words of Ezekiel 36 leap off the page.

Quoting the ESV, verses 6b - 9, "Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered the reproach of the nations. Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: I swear that the nations that are all around you shall themselves suffer reproach. But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home. For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you will be tilled and sown."

Israel is an amazing country. It is surrounded by nations that want her destroyed - yet she flourishes. Why? Because God said He would do it. Anyone who defies Israel defies Almighty GOD. That's a fearful role to adopt! And why does God protect Israel? He gives the answer in Ezekiel, beginning with verse 22 "...Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name.... I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.... ...I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God."

Verse 35 declares, "And they will say, 'This land that was desolate has become like the Garden of Eden.' "

Verse 36 states, "Then the nations that are left around you shall know that I am the LORD.... I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it."

He does it for His name. There is absolutely no other explanation for why a nation so small could survive against all human odds. God intervenes for Israel.

It is absolutely beautiful to see the abundance of crops, date palms, banana trees, persimmons, oranges, etc. After extreme desolation, the desert is truly blooming again just as God said it would. There is conspicuous evidence of this layer of the prophetic fulfillment - - but the final fulfillment will come during the millenial reign. What a thing of beauty Israel will be then! And why? Because God has declared it.

Thank God, we can be grafted in to the 'spiritual Israel' by accepting Jesus' atonement for sin!

Thank you, Lord, for your incredible gift - the greatest gift ever given. Draw the hungry to You! Help me be faithful to point others to You as the source of life everlasting! I don't want to keep You a well-guarded secret!

EZEKIEL'S REBUKES

Well - really they are God's rebukes, faithfully recorded by Ezekiel.

God punished Israel's rebellion against Him through the countries that surrounded her, but afterward punished the countries who attacked Israel because of their arrogance in their actions. The past couple of days I've read chapters 25 - 28, which spell out God's indictments against the powers who are against Israel. The penalty is severe and another reminder that God's purpose in disciplining His people is to draw them back into a relationship with Him. His purpose in punishing them is for the ultimate good of knowing that He is God - and honoring Him as the Lord of their lives.

Affirmation for that premise is corroborated in Ezekiel 28:25-26, "Thus says the Lord God: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall dwell in their own land that I gave to my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall dwell securely when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God."

I see this as a layered prophecy, with more than one time in Israel's history where the prophecy finds interim application - but ultimately, this has to mean the Millenium because it speaks so clearly of the people dwelling securely. Until then, peace is a hope rooted deep inside us - a longing we inherently yearn for - but it won't happen in this deepest sense until after the Messiah returns!

With regard to the results of the declarations against the nations that surround Israel - every prophecy will be fulfilled. God's Word is true and He who spoke these declarations is faithful to keep His Word. Woe to those who regard Israel as an enemy, for in so doing they have made God their enemy.

SUFFERING THE CONSEQUENCES

I wonder what it was like for Ezekiel, finding himself in the position of declaring God's judgment, while he was already captive in the land of Babylon. He was young, not old enough to be considered a sage, yet he was the one chosen. Further, he could even have felt God didn't have his best in mind when He allowed Ezekiel to be taken captive and torn away from his beloved homeland. We can read the story from this side of history and see God was actually protecting him, but Ezekiel didn't know that when he was first captured and whisked away. From the timeline provided in Ezekiel we know he was 25 years old when he was taken captive - and 30 when God gave him his first vision and began speaking to him of what was to come. That is young by any standard, and certainly young for what he was chosen to share. Prophets generally aren't very popular!

I have not had time to write the past several days, but this isn't a Bible study - so that's O K. I do want to point out a few interesting incidentals that leaped out at me as I read.

In Chapter 21 verse 27, God says of Jerusalem, "A ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it. This also shall not be until he comes, the one to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him...." This leaps out at me because it speaks of layered prophecy. It is clear that chapters 1 - 25 are clearly directed to prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem that is to come in 586 B C, but this leaps forward to the end of time when the Messiah - the one to whom judgment belongs - will have the right of judging conferred upon Him.

Just a few verses later, verse 30 leaps out to me - that God is pronouncing His judgment from the land where man was created - in the land of man's origin - Eden. A clear statement that Eden was in Babylon. Because of original sin, it was cursed, but it was the place of beginning. Again, tingles of what God reveals.

In Chapter 22, there is such sadness expressed in verse 30: "And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none." How sad, not one person was left in all of the land God had given them. In reality, God had already allowed those who honored Him to be taken captive and removed, and young Ezekiel was among them...but how it would break God's heart. After all He had done for them, they stopped pursuing Him.

Chapter 23:35 reiterates that clearly: "Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences...." God portrays their sins as lewdness and whoring. It is both factual and symbolic. They turned away from God and ran after everything He had saved them from.

It is compelling to me to listen and take note. In one sense it is comforting to know that God is a God of His Word - but on the other hand, it is terrifying if we are on the wrong side of His will. He had Ezekiel prophesy against the land of His chosen people - against Jerusalem, the city that was His city - and that prophecy was fulfilled exactly as God forewarned. Not only that, inserted into the warnings for then are warnings for the future. God will do what He has proclaimed. It would seem that anyone reading this would be compelled to pursue Him, and run to Him begging for mercy.

LORD, may it be so!

He alone is worthy of all honor and glory and power and praise! He accepts no less....

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY - Ezekiel 19

God's word to Ezekiel in chapter 19 was "take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel." No explanation of exactly who that means is provided - but it appears to me that the two cubs could well be the two divisions - Israel and Judah - and the allegory provides the message that both fell, both were taken captive, and both had to suffer the consequences of their behaviors.

The message to me is that no one is exempt from having to take responsibility for their actions. Even earthly kings and kingdoms that God ordained have fallen and will fall, but the Messiah's kingdom will never fall. Our ultimate trust is not in the powers of this world - but in the One and Only True God - Creator of the Universe, Lord of our lives. Sin and rebellion have consequences. The history of God's chosen people reflects that clearly. It is yet another reminder to me that God's priority for our lives is eternal. The things of this world will pass away - but His Word will never pass away.

On the personal side of life, I am also 'taking responsibility'. I am beginning my 4th week of a personal discipline I have been far too sporadic about over the past several years. I decided one month ago that I wanted to find out how good of shape a 66-year-old woman could achieve. The last time I was in really good shape was the summer of 2009 when we hiked the 100 miles around Mt Rainier on the Wonderland Trail. After getting back from the hike I didn't maintain my discipline of exercising at a level that would sustain what I had gained on the hike.

My present motivations are very simple: I want to be in shape physically as well as feel energized, instead of sluggish. As my first thrust toward my goal, I am riding my exercise bike 6 days a week, at least 4 miles a day. So - my morning disciplines are: read a chapter in the Bible, pray, write a bit, ride the bike.

My discipline also includes self-control about how many treats I allow myself. I am a chocoholic. I love good quality chocolate. After years of not being able to eat it because it gave me migraines, I found out it was the chemicals and additives that are in the cheap stuff that are the problem. Once I discovered that the spring of 2006, I went a little crazy and gained 15 pounds that summer.

Part of my goal is to get back to a weight I can be happy with, and that means setting limits. Self-imposed discipline with only self-accountability requires determination that ultimately is rewarded by achieving the desired goals. That is the carrot. And - I know if I do it I will look better, feel better, and be more likely to maintain my present good health as I grow older.

I am reminded almost daily that God challenges us to 'occupy until He comes' and that means living intentionally every day. My first prayer this morning before I even got out of bed was, "What do you have in store for today?" We live with eternity in our sights - but the necessity of being the best stewards we can possibly be here in the interim. It is life on a tightwire - and I am eternally grateful for the One who walks the wire with me. As in Ezekiel's day, people will fail, kingdoms will fall - but God's Word will never fail! What a blessed assurance!

GETTING IT RIGHT

A couple of years ago, our youngest grandchild, who was barely 3 years old, took her mama's face in her little hands to get our daughter's attention, and said, "I'm not gonna do what I'm gonna do." We all thought it was hilarious. She obviously wanted to do something she knew she shouldn't and had decided not to do it. Her way of stating that gave us a good chuckle.

I love the inherent message. Sometimes there is something we want to do that we know just isn't right - or, at other times, something we know we should do that we need the courage to follow through with. I'm grappling with one of the latter myself, second-guessing myself, wondering if I heard God correctly, procrastinating.... I am reminded that sin isn't just commission; it is omission. I have to do what I have to do.... I actually want to be obedient - I just don't want to get it wrong...and I have to trust His voice.

Yesterday I read chapters 17 & 18 of Ezekiel. I love the last sentence in Chapter 17: "I am the LORD; I have spoken and I will do it." That is a statement I pay close attention to. Just as God warned Ezekiel what was to come then - and it came to pass, so He warns us now. Chapter 18 segues to the kind of life God calls His people to live. It is a life of holiness by God's standard, and we are each accountable for the way we live. Ezekiel 18 makes that very clear.

REBUKE AND RECONCILIATION

In Ezekiel 14 God declares that even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in Jerusalem just prior to 586 B C, they alone would be spared - but no one with them! He clearly makes His point that the entire city had become corrupt. In Ezekiel 16, God explicitly likens Jerusalem to an unfaithful bride, but the hint of hope that ends the chapter excites me! It is the first indication of the layered reality that many prophecies contain. In verse 60 He promises that in spite of the unfaithfulness, He will establish an everlasting covenant - and in verse 63 He gives us our first hint of how He will accomplish that when He states, "...when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord GOD."

He will establish an everlasting covenant. He will atone. The phrases leaps off the page at me. This prophecy comes before the relatively imminent destruction of Jerusalem - put it spans the centuries to the coming of Jesus - fully God and fully human - when God Himself atoned for all the sins both past and future, making an everlasting covenant that cannot be nullified.

God's rebuke meant the axe was about to fall, but His reconciliation is something only He could do. Even Ezekiel could not have completely understood what God was telling him at that juncture, but we can. And we can be assured that God's promises and prophecies never fail!

EZEKIEL 11

I love, love, love that right smack dab in the middle of pronouncing judgment on Israel's sinful, willful disobedience, God interjects His word of hope for their future. In chapter 11 verse 16, God promises that in their banishment (when they no longer have the temple) He will be their sanctuary, and then He goes on to say He will gather them back and give them a new heart, and affirms in verse 20: "And they shall be my people, and I will be their God."

While I exult in the resoundingly happy ending, God's promise continues with a but.... "But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the LORD GOD." Forthright. Emphatic. True.

There are so many parallels that could be made to our world today. We have taken God's grace for granted, but the Age of Grace is nearly at its end. Divine retribution is coming. All of the prophecies of the Bible relating to Ezekiel's time were fulfilled and those pertaining to the End of Time will be fulfilled. God's Word never returns to Him void.

-------

I love that right in the middle of pronouncing judgment on a sinful world, God made a way of salvation by coming in the flesh to bear the punishment for the sin that we deserve to pay for, by paying the price Himself. He who knew no sin became sin for us so that we might be made righteous in Him - - just as if we had never sinned! He offers His gift of life freely - but it costs something. The price is giving up my 'right' to be my own boss. I'm very glad to relinquish that to you, Lord. Help me walk in your footsteps today....

(Righteous means doing right according to God's standard - something we cannot achieve on our own. It is Christ living in us that makes us righteous in God's eyes, for when He looks at us, He sees us through the filter of Jesus' blood shed on the cross, and all our sins are washed away beneath that cleansing flow.)

PROPHECY OF GOD'S JUDGMENT AGAINST JERUSALEM

In Ezekiel 5 God (speaking through the pen of Ezekiel) spells out in no uncertain terms what He is going to do to Jerusalem for her collective rebellion, wickedness and disobedience.

Before He pronounces the parameters of His judgment, God declares, "This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries all around her." Living on this side of the fulfilled prophecy, we need to pay attention to that. Jerusalem is the center of the world. Then and now. As I read the words of God's vengeance against His holy city, I keep repeating, "God chastens those He loves."

Beginning with verse 7 God declares His judgment, but first, as any good parent should do when they punish their child, He explains why He will do what He is going to do. Then He outlines the consequences. The judgments He promised were severe. Then He told them that those who survive His horrible judgments would be scattered to the winds, and that He would withdraw His favor from them. A third would die from famine and pestilence; a third would fall to the sword; a third would be scattered to the winds, with the sword unsheathed after them. In addition, the prophecy against them included that God would make them a desolation and an object of reproach among the nations all around them and in the sight of all who pass by....

That prophecy's fulfillment began with the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B C. Ezekiel penned this chapter in c. 593 B C, so God revealed what He was going to do to Jerusalem +-seven years before it happened.

It is a clear reminder of God's sovereignty - that He is God and I am not. I cannot second-guess His decisions, but I can observe.... And, in paying attention one of the most salient points is that what He promises will come to pass....

As a little side note, I'd like to point out that God is not jealous of, He is jealous for. Jealous for our complete commitment and obedience. What God cares about most of all is our salvation, and He will go to any lengths to achieve that. His goal for us is that we be conformed to the image of His Son. That process requires refining.

God's refining took drastic measures - but that was His goal for His chosen people, Israel (Jews), as well. However, in reading this account, I get it why some Jewish people lament, "I wish He didn't love us so much!" The reality is, that retort comes from a view of self as sovereign. We aren't - but it sure takes us a lifetime to learn that.

I pray I will accept God's discipline with joy. Joy that He loves me and has adopted me as His child.

I love what Pastor Peter says, "God loves you just the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you that way." There are days that I groan against being a work in progress. I would love to be perfect. And though I know that isn't going to happen this side of eternity, I'm on the journey!

PROPHECY OF GOD'S JUDGMENT AGAINST ISRAEL

The preface to Ezekiel in my ESV says that Ezekiel was about 30 years old when he began receiving and writing down his visions, and that the visions continued over a time span of 20 years, until he was about 50 years old.

The timeline offered states that he was taken into captivity in Babylon when he was about 25 years old, and that at the age of 30, his first writings would have been around 593 B C. The ESV study notes even go so far as to suggest July as the month he began writing that year. Frankly, I'm impressed by the information-gathering that permits that keen of historical timing. One of the reasons it is possible is that Ezekiel references dates of what is happening in the secular world, which allows corroboration of a reasonably accurate timeline. Still, impressive!

Chapters 1 - 25 were written before the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B C, so they prophesy what was still to come at the time written. In chapter 4 of Ezekiel, God directs Ezekiel to bear the punishment of the house of Israel, with very specific instructions pertaining to his diet and sleeping position; and following that, to bear the punishment for Judah.

Chapter 4 goes on to lay out what some of the punishment of Jerusalem will entail. All spoken before it happened.

That is the key thing that piques my interest. I know Ezekiel will later cover prophecies relevant to these very last of the last days before Jesus returns. I'm eager to get to those!

WHEN GOD SPEAKS - Ezekiel 1 - 3

One of the first things to capture my attention in reading chapters 1 - 3 of Ezekiel yesterday was that each time God's glory was present, Ezekiel fell on his face, and in each instance it was the Spirit of God that lifted him up.

The second thing that leaped out at me was God's clear directive was: when God told Ezekiel what to speak, he was to speak it whether people heard it or not. Heard as in listened. It is a directive that segues directly to us as His followers today. We must speak the Truth - from a heart filled with love and the pure intention of turning people's hearts toward God - but even if they don't hear, when God nudges us to speak, we must speak. The clear message in Ezekiel is that God will also provide the words to say.

Lord, make me quick to obey!