365 Reflections

The turn in Ezekiel's prophesy seems to come in chapter 24 with the death of the prophet's wife. He symbolizes for the nation that their precious possession, the Temple, will be lost, and they would be unable to grieve in captivity to Babylon for fear of seeming seditious. Now, in chapter 25, the message from the Lord to the prophet is against those nations that scoffed, laughed at, or helped in the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem.  Ezekiel 25:1–4 (ESV) The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them. 3 Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD, Because you said, ‘Aha!’ over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile, 4 therefore behold, I am handing you over to the people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your m...

Some of the things the Lord asked the prophets were difficult to understand. Perhaps at the top of the list is what the Lord asks of Ezekiel in chapter 24.  Ezekiel 24:15–18 (ESV) The word of the LORD came to me: 16 “Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. 17 Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.” 18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded. The NLT has it described in even more striking detail.  Ezekiel 24:16 (NLT) “Son of man, with one blow I will take away your dearest treasure. Yet you must not show any sorrow at her death. Do not weep; let there be no tears. Now, the people are understandably confused by all this. But Ezekiel tells them his life is a sign for them....

Ezekiel 23 introduces us to the parable of two sisters who played the whore and were handed over to what they desired. Oholah, who stands for Samaria, and Oholibah, who stands for Jerusalem, the respective capitals of the northern and southern kingdoms.  The names have definitions. Oholah means "her tent," which commentators suggest refers to the many tent shrines scattered on "every hill" in the Northern tribes that sought after God and false gods according to their own imagination. Oholibah means, "My tent is in her" referring to the sacred tabernacle in which God dwelt that He chose to do in Jerusalem.  These two nations committed spiritual adultery on the Lord, seeking the praise and prominence of the nations around them.  The Northern tribes lusted after Assyria.  Ezekiel 23:5–6 (ESV) “Oholah played the whore while she was mine, and she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriors 6 clothed in purple, governors and commanders, all of them desirable...

Ezekiel 22 has some of the most alarming practices of Israel listed in detail. Their heinous sins were the reason why God would no longer relent from sending disaster. They stole, they murdered, they committed sexual abominations with family members. They took bribes, extorted, and swindled each other. They were an utterly corrupt nation. And in the middle of the litany of issues Ezekiel addresses, there is this: Ezekiel 22:12 (ESV) In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD. The Lord determines to deal with the corruption through the fire of purification. Ezekiel is told that the city will melt as silver or other fine ores are melted in order to produce something useful.  Ezekiel 22:17–22 (ESV) And the word of the LORD came to me: 18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are...

In Ezekiel 21 we have one of the hardest words from the Lord in the whole Bible. God will brandish a sword and strike both Jerusalem and the Ammonites from their lands. His judgment will come down upon all those who live there, and the instrument of His judgment will be the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar.  Ezekiel 21:1–3 (ESV) The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel 3 and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am against you and will draw my sword from its sheath and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked. Other portions of scripture refer to the Word of God as a sword that pierces and divides. Here, it is a picture of judgment. God says the judgment will come and affect both the righteous and the wicked.  Ezekiel 21:4–5 (ESV) Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath again...

Ezekiel 20 shows us a familiar frame in Israel's history. When things went poorly for the people, the leaders often looked to the man who delivered the word to them in a way they didn't previously want to hear. Now its the elder's turn with Ezekiel. Ezekiel 20:1–3 (ESV) In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me. 2 And the word of the LORD came to me: 3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD, Is it to inquire of me that you come? As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you. The Lord will speak to them but not in the way they want to hear yet again. They will hear from this chapter the many ways in which they acted like their fathers in the wilderness and forsook the Lord.  Ezekiel 20:4 (ESV) Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Let them know the abominations of their fathers... The L...

Ezekiel 19 is a lament over the leaders of Israel who led Israel astray and brought that great nation down into their present captivity by Babylon.  Ezekiel 19:1–2 (ESV) And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, 2 and say: What was your mother? A lioness! Among lions she crouched; in the midst of young lions she reared her cubs. Two pictures are presented as the leaders of Israel: the lion and the vine. The image of a lion stretches back to Jacob's blessing of Judah, the tribe from which the ruler's scepter will not depart.  Genesis 49:9–10 (ESV) Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. The tribe of Judah had incredible beginnings under the leadership of David and Solomon, but as Ezekiel outline...

When life gets difficult, God goes on trial. Why is this happening? Where is God when it hurts? What is the point of this suffering? Why is life so unfair? That is the issue at stake in Ezekiel 18. During their early years in exile, the people of Israel started to question God’s fairness. If the nation sinned in the past, why should the children of that nation suffer in exile for 70 years? Chapter 18 opens with God asking them about a proverb they invented about children suffering for the sins of their fathers. Ezekiel 18:2–4 (ESV) “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3 As I live, declares the Lord GOD, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die. Every generation has this sort of question. Why should I suffer because of the poor choices of ...