A couple of things first about the way Ezekiel organized his Book.

Because here in chapter 24 we read the last of his prophesies against Judah, Jerusalem. Chapter 25 (Wednesday’s Lesson) begins a series of sermons against the other nations (all Gentiles) of the world! These continue until chapter 40 … where Ezekiel begins a beautiful (and complex at times) description of brighter, future days for the people of God, for the Jews.

But today verses 1-14, discuss Jerusalem under the rubric of a “cooking pot,” like one might use in preparing a meal, a kitchen utensil. Listen to God develop the “word picture.”

Verses 3-4: “Utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it. Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.” A meal is being readied! Tasty, boiled lamb, apparently.

More instructions: “Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe (to boil) the bones of it therein.” Cook the meat with the bones, not to be “de-boned.” Also I think: “Keep adding fuel under the pot, to make it all the hotter!”

Jerusalem (peopled by God’s “choice” little lambs) was about to be slain, cut to pieces, and thrown into the HOT cauldron of an angry Babylonian army, into the wrath of King Nebuchadnezzar! (He sure was good at making things HOT! Remember the burning fiery furnace, “seven times hotter?”)

Listen: “Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.” Verse 6, a scum laden pot, dirty to begin with, not very appetizing! Bring out the pieces of meat, in no specific order, “not by lot.” They will be abused (eaten) at random!

Verse 9 continues: “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great.” God Himself is adding more fuel! God’s Patience is not always inexhaustible! He WILL judge sin! The noun “pile” is “medurah” in Hebrew, literally a “stack of wood.” Or any other flammable source of heat!

Well flavored, Jerusalem! “Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.” The word for “spice” (spelled “raqach”) is translated “apothecary” 4 times in the King James Bible!

Next (in verse 11) God wants to “burn” the filth off His pot, off Judah! “Then set it EMPTY upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.” Now we know it’s a “brass” pot, too. The word “molten” has the idea of “melting” the filth and letting it run off (drip off) the big pot.

But it’s too dirty to clean this way!

God is adamant! “She (Jerusalem) hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.” Verse 12, the residue “went not forth,” would not burn away!

Then sadly, God concludes, speaking of these Jews: “She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.” At least part of the “scum” consists of lying, deceit, crooked business practices. Plus a long list of other violations of God’s law!

Wow!

Listen to the finality here. “I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they (the Babylonians) judge thee, saith the Lord GOD.” Verse 14, the conclusion of the paragraph, the metaphor. And historically, with this Sermon, the “Fall of Jerusalem” was imminent!

God does draw deadlines!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Even for America?

 

I never realized how “brutal” Ezekiel the Prophet could be! As in “brutally honest!” Plain, outspoken, nearly brazen at times. But his people needed to hear that message, spiritual “shock” treatment!

And a prime example of such is Ezekiel 23, the story of two sisters, two wicked women! “There were two women, the daughters of one mother,” Ezekiel 23:3.

Both have been immoral, for years!

Even their names are enlightening: “Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister.” Soon we learn that they represent the Jewish Nation, the older girl Israel (with her 10 tribes) and the younger, Judah (with her 2 tribes). Verse 4: “Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.”

The first name means “her own tent.” With “tent” in Hebrew being “ohel,” often a direct reference to the Tabernacle of worship. But Israel (since the days of King Rehoboam) had rejected God’s genuine Tabernacle and had built her own places of (false) worship! So she had “her own tent!”

Yet Judah (Aholibah) did not fall that quickly into apostasy. Thus her name means “the tent is in her!” She still housed the real Tabernacle, still had some semblance to true Jehovah worship! The real Tabernacle was literally IN her, at Jerusalem. At that time, anyway.

But both these sisters were ultimately “untrue” to Almighty God! Israel first (Aholah) … then Judah next (Aholibah). It’s really a sad story.

Read with me. “And Aholah (Israel) played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours, which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself. Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt.” Verses 5-8, wicked! Idols and the sex they (freely) allowed!

So God judged Israel: “Wherefore I (the Lord) have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted. These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword.” This happened in 721 BC, history verifies.

So you would think Judah would learn from her sister’s mistakes?

But not so.

“And when her sister Aholibah (Judah) saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms. She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.” Verses 11-12, enamored with handsome young (and brave) soldiers, the elite! Worse than her sister!

When the Assyrians faded from prominence, along came the Babylonians, more lovers! “And the Babylonians came to her (Judah’s) into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them. So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind (God’s Mind) was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister. Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.” Verses 17-19

Wow!

So, God judged Judah as He had Israel. With … invasion, captivity, sorrow and pain!

To His backsliding people, God’s Word of warning: “And they (their so-called lovers) shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and YE SHALL BEAR THE SINS OF YOUR IDOLS: and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.” The chapter’s very last verse!

God’s ultimate goal … HIS GLORY!  (“… and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”)

That HIS NAME Be known.

And BE HONORED!

Friend, how are YOU living today?

Is your life pleasing to this wonderful (and Righteous) God?

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

To get the full “impact” of the chapter, read it all today. It is dramatic!

Ezekiel 23

 

Ezekiel will “preach” today, although God is his Coach!

Ezekiel chapter 22.

“Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the BLOODY city? Yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.” Verse 1, from the King James Version.

Thus begins the “bloodiest” chapter in the Book!

Yes, “blood” as a noun occurs 10 times here, and the adjective “bloody” once more. (Although Ezekiel’s Prophecy uses the words “blood” or “bloody” a lot, a total of 56 times, much more than Isaiah or Jeremiah. And Daniel does not use it at all!)

“The Bloody City!”

Alexandria, Babylon, Sodom?

No, not here anyway … JERUSALEM!!!

Why?

The “light” value she attaches to “life.”

“The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come.” Time of judgment, verse 3, where “sheddeth” means “to pour out, to spill.” Lots of blood! (Sounds like God “measures” the amount of innocent blood that any place wastes! Weighing it against the day of judgment!)

Looks to me like there is also “linkage” between this rampant “bloodshed” … and an accompanying sin into which Judah had fallen, “idol worship.” Verse 4: “Thou art become guilty in thy BLOOD that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine IDOLS which thou hast made.” And such a nexus does exist, idol worship in those days often included “child sacrifice,” burning a baby alive to appease the god of the weather or of luck or of health! That would involve “bloodshed,” certainly.

Verse 9 likely refers to men who go to court as witnesses (and lie, commit perjury) in a capital case, helping convict a man (to be stoned to death) who was not guilty! “In thee (Jerusalem) are men that carry tales (lies, slander) to shed blood.” To (illegally) get possession of that innocent (but now dead) man’s land, for example! His farm!

Furthermore … the rich of Jerusalem have so taxed (charging wickedly exorbitant interest rates) the widows and other abjectly poor people … so much that: “They have taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion.” Verse 12, starved to death, “killed” via financial fleecing! (I wonder if anyone died from hunger last night, anywhere in our world, because they lost their job or home or health? Because nobody cared?) Yes, Ezekiel is counting starvation as “shedding” blood, since it was done deliberately … “to make someone else rich!”

Yes, God clearly knew of … “the dishonest gain which they had made, and at the blood which hath been (shed) in the midst of them.” Verse 13.

Then Ezekiel uses a “word picture,” not a flattering one either! He likens Jerusalem to the “dross” (the “slag”) the “impure filth” that is thrown way (skimmed off the top) when metals are purified!

“And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become DROSS: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the DROSS of silver. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.” What a metaphor, verses 17-22, Judah as “trash!”

For the sin of shedding innocent blood!

Even Judah’s Prophets, her “Preachers” have taken part in the treachery, verse 25! “There is a conspiracy of her PROPHETS in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; THEY have devoured souls; THEY have taken the treasure and precious things; THEY have made her many widows in the midst thereof.” If you make a lady a widow, you have killed her husband! Thousands of America’s so-called “clergy” have become abominable, too, in God’s Eyes! (As far as I am concerned, an abortion advocating preacher is a shedder of innocent blood!)

Another telling line about those false preachers: “They say; Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.” Verse 28, liars, or at least deceived apostates!

Then a summary verse: “The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.” Verse 30, where any one of these wicked acts could have caused bloodshed.

God appreciates the value of Blood!

Oh, by the way: “The BLOOD of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1st John 1:7

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

One more thing. It looks like God wanted someone to “pray” for backsliding Jerusalem here. To “intercede” on her behalf. (Like Moses did for Israel once, Exodus 32. Or Abraham did for Sodom, Genesis 18.) God is talking, lamenting: “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it … BUT I FOUND NONE.”

Wow, not even one!

 

Every chapter in Ezekiel is an adventure!

And chapter 21 is no exception.

For example, the word “sword” occurs 15 times in the 32 verses of this little unit!

And in reality it’s “the Sword of the Lord” being depicted!

Many Bible teachers call this chapter “The Song of the Sword!”

Mind you, “sword” is a key word in Ezekiel, occurring about 89 times. That counts the plural forms, too, “swords.” (I just counted and chapter 32 may even surpass our chapter today, but only by a couple of instances.)

And the sword represents?

God’s Anger at Judah, for her ever-increasing sins.

Anger that results in judgment, catastrophic death to thousands.

This sword also (subsequently) represents the “sword” of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, God’s “rod” to so chasten Israel, Judah.

Sad thing here though … both the good and bad people will die! That’s often the case in war, invasion, antagonism!

Ezekiel reports: “And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel, and say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth MY SWORD out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the RIGHTEOUS and the WICKED.” Verses 1-3, “his” sheath, a weapon being personified!

This tragedy is so bad, God commands Ezekiel to react with trauma, another “demonstrated” sermon!

“Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.” Verse 6, crying and shaking, apparently uncontrollably!

Verse 12 intensifies Ezekiel’s duty. “Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh.”

Wow, such terror!

By verse 18 King Nebuchadnezzar is all but named! He approaches Israel but stops (as in a “fork” in the road) … wanting to both go demolish rebellious Rabbath, an Ammonite stronghold … and rebellious Jerusalem, the Captical of Judah, of course.

And God intervened (made a decision for this mighty warrior) and brought the King of Babylon and his army to Jerusalem! At least to Jerusalem first!

This heathen king consulted his own gods even … and the Almighty clearly overruled them all! Here’s the story, King James Version: “Also, thou son of man (Ezekiel), appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land (Babylon): and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way (split in the road) to the city. Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, AND to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.” Verse 19-20, two “targets,” (By the way, “Rabbath” is today known as “Ammon” and is the Capital of Jordan!)

Watch Nebuchadnezzar’s methods of choosing which city to attack! It’s the only verse exactly like it in all the Old Testament. “For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.” Verse 21

They would write names (of enemies) on arrows. Then shuffle the arrows, picking which one to attack … as their gods determined! (Almost like rolling dice!)

Then he prayed (“consulted”) to his gods and goddesses individually! (Sounds confusing, doesn’t it? I’m thankful there is only ONE True God!)

Then he had his magicians, sorcerers, examine the livers of dead animals, seeing if they could discern any “guidance” there, foretelling the future. (Ancient diagrams of sheep livers have been found by archaeologists, teaching which areas of the liver, in deformed in any way, commanded certain behaviors!)

Wow!

And God said, due to Judah’s rebellion, “Nebuchadnezzar … Judah is next!”

(Peter was right. Judgment indeed does begin at the House of God! “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” 1st Peter 4:17)

So … here comes the Babylonian Army!

Then maybe even saddest of all, verse 26. “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.” Here the noun “diadem” is “mitzsnepheth,” almost always translated as the “mitre” of the High Priest of Israel, 11 times in fact, of only 12 occurrences in the Hebrew Bible! God is removing the very Priesthood of Judah! And the Monarchy too, the “crown.” Our Lord is dismantling the Nation He so carefully built! Oh, the wages of sin!

And Israel will be in disarray … until Jesus comes!

At least that’s what I think verse 27 means! “I (the Lord God) will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until HE (the Messiah) come whose right it is; and I will give it HIM (JESUS).

What a chapter … Ezekiel 21.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Keep in mind, part of what Ezekiel wrote as “prophecy” (describing future events) … is now “history” (describing past events). But most of what remains for us … will be “prophecy,” pure and simple. Especially the last nine chapters of the book.

I am excited!

 

In Ezekiel chapter 20 the “elders” of Israel come to visit the Prophet, for at least the third time now! Chapters 8 (verse 1) and 14 (verse 1) relate the other occasions. But these men (like the Pharisees of Jesus’ Day) were rank hypocrites!

And on each of these visits, God rebuked them for their sins!

They came to “enquire” of the Lord, verse 2. But verse 3 records God’s response: “Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I WILL NOT be enquired of by you.” No response, nothing positive anyway!

Then God begins a review of Israel’s history, particularly her propensity to sinning. “Thus saith the Lord GOD; in the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God; in the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands.” Verses 5-6, goodness! God “found” the land of Canaan for His people! The verb “tur” means “to explore, to search as does a businessman!” What an “investment” God located!

But, and this I learn for the first time as a Bible student … “Then said I (the Lord) unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the IDOLS of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the ABOMINATIONS of their eyes, NEITHER DID THEY FORSAKE THE IDOLS OF EGYPT: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.” Verses 7-8, the “idols” of Egypt, I had always thought Israel behaved herself pretty well in that foreign Land (Egypt) so long ago!

But God delivered Israel anyway, miraculously extracting them from the clutches of Pharaoh … but WHY? “For His Name’s Sake,” not because of Israel’s faithfulness! Though verse 9 says the same thing, let’s read verse 14 here. “I (God) wrought (worked) for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.” He did this (Passover, Exodus) so the heathen would not blaspheme His Name! God treasures His “Testimony,” His “Glory!”

Israel did not honor God’s Word!

Nor His Sabbaths!

And they gave away His “gifts” (specifically the children, little boys and girls) to the devils, brutal child sacrifice to false gods and goddesses!

The point God is making is that Israel has been idolatrous … from her early days in Egypt then into the Wilderness and then (still) into the Land of Canaan! And such despicable behavior continued through all her time in that God-given Land! AND IT WAS STILL GOING ON (WITH THE CAPTIVES IN BABYLON) AS EZEKIEL WAS SPEAKING TO THIS BUNCH OF “ELDERS!” God had their “number” so to speak!

God even knew where these men would go after they left Ezekiel’s presence, that very day! “Then I (the Lord) said unto them (these elders), What is the high place whereunto ye go? And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day.” Verse 29, with “Bamah” meaning “a raised place,” where idolatrous worship was held!

Like their forefathers! No better, if not worse. “Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye polluted after the manner of your FATHERS? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations? For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and SHALL I BE ENQUIRED OF YOU, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I WILL NOT BE ENQUIRED OF BY YOU.” Verses 30-31, pretty plain!

When God won’t answer!

The chapter ends with a twofold emphasis.

First, God is going to severely judge these men and the wicked people they represent. “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein. And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.” Verses 47-48, fire symbolizing judgment.

But also, secondly … the day is coming when God will be able to bless Israel!

But after He has “purged out the rebels!” Verse 38 … “And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.”

Wow!

Seems like there is “repentance” in Israel’s future, even nationally! Then God promises … “And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I SHALL BRING YOU (BACK) INTO THE LAND OF ISRAEL, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers. And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and YE SHALL LOATHE YOURSELVES in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for my name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.” Verses 42-44, Revival!

But will these very “elders” repent?

These men sitting before Ezekiel?

No.

They even mock the man of God and the Lord he serves!

The chapter’s last verse: “Then said I (Ezekiel), Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?” Verse 49, where they are accusing Ezekiel of talking in circles!  Just being a “story-teller!” A silly babbler! (Some said the very same thing about Paul at Mar’s Hill!)

But, as time has proved and will continue to prove, God is always truthful and faithful and righteous!

Indeed!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell