The Book of Ezekiel

2. The Book of Ezekiel • The Prophet • Ezekiel means “strong is God.” • Ezekiel was taken captive in the year 598 BC along with King Jehoiachim and others from Jerusalem. • Ezekiel was from the priestly tribe. • Ezekiel settled with other exiles in a place called Tel-Abib, southeast of Babylon near the river Chebar.

3. The Book of Ezekiel • The Purpose • Ezekiel was to prophesy to the exiles at the same time that Jeremiah was prophesying from the city of Jerusalem. • Ezekiel was to tell the people of the coming divine punishment upon Israel – including the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple – because of their unfaithfulness. • In this way, Ezekiel was fulfilling his duty as a watchman for Israel to warn them of the impending judgment. • Ezekiel’s prophecies also included the divine blessings that were to follow the divine judgment (Chapters 33-48). • Ezekiel’s prophecies stress the fact that God is in control. The events that happen to Israel – and all other nations – are not outside of God’s realm of control. He is sovereign. • Ezekiel does speak of the New Age and the Messiah like other prophets of his time (Jeremiah). • Finally, Ezekiel’s prophecies serve to stress the need for individual responsibility and national accountability before God. Reference: Ezekiel, by Dan King

4. Ezekiel 8 8:1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, with the elders of Judah sitting before me, the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. Then I looked, and behold, a form that had the appearance of a man.  Below what appeared to be his waist was fire, and above his waist was something like the appearance of brightness, like gleaming metal.  He put out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the valley. 5 Then he said to me, “Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of the altar gate, in the entrance, was this image of jealousy. And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.”

5. Ezekiel 8 7And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. Then he said to me, “Son of man, dig in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. And he said to me, “Go in, and see the vile abominations that they are committing here.” So I went in and saw. And there, engraved on the wall all around, was every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’” He said also to me, “You will see still greater abominations that they commit.”

6. Ezekiel 8 14Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? You will see still greater abominations than these.” 16 And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east. Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations that they commit here, that they should fill the land with violence and provoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their  nose. Therefore I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

7. Ezekiel 8 Offending God

8. God is Jealous! Ezekiel 8:5-6 “5Then he said to me, “Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of the altar gate, in the entrance, was this image of jealousy. 6And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.” • What is it that made God jealous? • Deuteronomy 32:16,21 • Psalm 78:58 – “For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealously with their idols.”

9. God is Jealous! Exodus 20:2-6 – “2I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3“You shall have no other gods before me. 4You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

10. God is Jealous! • Is God’s jealousy righteous? • Is it right for God to be jealous or angry when men turn to worship idols? Let’s consider for just a moment that this action must provoke the jealousy of God because... • It is a necessity of His nature. • It is a necessity of His righteousness.

11. God is Jealous! • What idols can we have today? • Pleasure • Money • Earthly Love • Self • What would be the outcome of God’s jealousy? • “...to drive me far from my sanctuary?” • Ezekiel 8:18 – “Therefore, I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.” • God’s reaction to idolatry today is the same. See Galatians 5:19-21.

12. The Danger of Secret Sins! • Danger 1: Every man has a chamber of imagery in his own heart. • Danger 2: Deeds are done in the chamber of imagery. • Lust is a product of the thoughts and imaginations of the heart. • James 1:14-15 • Danger 3: It’s delusional to think that God is indifferent to what happens in the heart of man. • God knows the heart of man. (Psalm 44:20-21, Proverbs 16:2) • “The only effectual salvation must be one that cleanses the chamber of imagery or the heart.” • Psalm 51:10

13. Worshipping the Creature, not the Creator! 14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? You will see still greater abominations than these.” 16 And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east.

14. Making light of sin! • The children of Israel did not consider the great tragedy and effects of their sin. • It’s easy for us today to minimize or make light of sins in our own lives. Why? • First, it’s an attempt to excuse ourselves. • Second, it’s a habit. • Third, it’s because of false measurements. • Finally, it’s because we allow our consciences to die. • However, God will never make light of sin. • God sees sin for what it truly is. • God will always measure it against the law of holiness. • God cannot make light of sin because of the price required for forgiveness.

15. References • The Pulpit Commentary, Ezekiel • Ezekiel, Dan King, Guardian of Truth Foundation, 2006.