Ezekiel Chapter 7 and 8
I.
Ezekiel Chapter 7
A.
Structure
1.
An End is coming. Ezk
7:3f: “…according
to thy ways, …and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.”
2.
An unheard disaster is coming. Ezk 7:9: “…according to thy ways and thine abominations …and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD
that smiteth.”
3.
The consequence is fatal. Ezk
7:27 “…according
to their deserts will I judge them; …they shall know that I [am] the LORD.”
a.
sword [is] without, and the pestilence and the
famine within (vs.15)
b.
The temple will be polluted and destroyed (vs. 21ff)
c.
Calamity upon calamity will come, and rumor upon
rumor (vs. 26)
d.
King shall mourn, and people shall tremble (vs. 27)
B.
Key words
1.
End (vs. 2, 3, 6):
appears 5 times.
2.
Evil/mischief: (vs. 5, 7, 10, 26):
Appear 6 times.
3.
Abomination. (vs. 3, 4, 8, 9, 20):
appear 5 times.
C.
Observation:
1.
The urgent repeated sentence:
a.
An end, the end comes (vs. 2)
b.
An evil, an only evil. (vs. 5)
c.
The end is come, the end is come. (vs. 6)
d.
Behold, the day! Behold,(vs.10)
e.
The time is come, the day draws near (vs.12)
f.
Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have
pity: (vs. 9)
g.
Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumor
shall be upon rumor (vs. 26)
2.
The metaphor
a.
Pride occurs like the
rod blossom. ()
b.
Violence is risen up into a rod (7:11). It was
to punish Israel.
c.
Like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning.
(7:16)
d.
And all knees shall be weak as water. (7:17)
3.
(v13): When the land was sold in Israel,
the transaction was always temporary. Every 50 years, during the Year of
Jubilee, the property reverted to its original owners (Lev. 25:10, 13-17).
However, God’s coming judgment would prevent original owners from reclaiming
their properties; they would be in exile along with the buyers.
D.
Learning.
1.
At the last day, there shall be urgent warning when
the disaster is at the door (vs.1f). Disaster had been predicted for Jerusalem by Micah (Micah ), but that prophecy had
remained unfulfilled for over 100 years. When Jesus came, it was the beginning
of the last day. The early workers in apostolic time had strong sense of the second
coming of Jesus Christ. Later on, Elder Peter needed
to explain that the Lord was not late, but it was for a good purpose. The TJC
in the last day will assume the responsibility to proclaim the urgent coming of
Jesus. The message shall give to his
workers over and over again (7:1, 5).
2.
God will punish people according to their ways.
(7:3f, 9, 27)
a.
Their bloody crime will be punished (vs. 23)
b.
Their violence will be punished (vs. 23)
c.
Their pride will be ceased. (vs. 24)
d.
The idols in the temple will be destroyed. (vs. 24)
e.
In the book of Roman, it does not only talk
about “justify by faith”, it also mentions “judges by deeds” (Rom 2:6). The
book of life and other books will be opened. All people shall stand in front of
the white throne of the judgment seats. All shall be judged according to their
deeds recorded in the books.
3.
At time of judgment, there shall be no mercy
(7:4). It is fearful to fall into the hands of God (Heb10:31). Their reliance
is of no use.
a.
Not their properties (vs. 12f)
b.
Not their power. (vs.14)
c.
Not their money. (vs.19)
d.
Not their temple. (vs. 20)
e.
Not their prophet and priest. (vs. 21)
f.
Not their king. (vs. 25)
II.
Ezekiel Chapter 8
A.
Structure.
1.
Vs. 1-3: The Spirit of God led Ezekiel to see
visions.
2.
Vs. 5-16: Ezekiel saw four evils of Israel in the
spirit.
3.
Vs. 17-18: The conclusion of God: “Therefore
will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare,…”
B.
Key words.
1.
Image of jealousy (vs. 4): Idol provokes the
jealousy of God.
2.
Hand of God. (vs.1): the spirit of God.
3.
Tammuz: (vs.13): Sumerian god of vegetation.
According to the pagan religion, Tammuz was betrayed by his lover, Ishtar, and
as a result dies each autumn. The wilting of the vegetation at that time of
year is seen as a sign of his death. This caused great mourning in the ancient
world, and was why the women in Jerusalem
wept (by Holman Bible Dictionary).
C.
Observations.
1.
When it comes to the judgment of God, God is
like fire (vs. 2). For our God [is] a consuming fire (Heb 12:29).
2.
Where the seat of the image of jealousy is, the glory
of the God of Israel was there. It was a shock to the author (vs. 4). However,
the spirit eventually left. A holy God could not stay at a detested place
forever.
3.
The evil of their deeds were getting worse and
worse.
“…and thou shall see greater abominations” (vs. 6, 13, 15). God
told Abraham that his descendents would in stay in Egypt for years, because the evil
of the Canaanite was not full yet. One day, when the evil of this world is
full, we can see the judgment day comes.
4.
The elders came to ask questions from the Lord
and sat in front of Ezekiel (Ref 14:1). However, they already received the
false gods into their hearts (14:3f). They got killed first in the judgment day
(9:6).
D.
Learning.
1.
All the evil things are found in the temple. The
temple is church now a day. We need to be aware of the evil things that are
occurring in the church
of God right now.
2.
God hated idols (vs. 3). He almost killed the
whole Israelites when they worshiped the golden cow. Believers now a day have
invisible idols.
3.
One needs to dig into the wall of hearts in
order to find the shadow/darkness in our spirituality.
4.
The 70 elders stood in front of the idols. The
70 elders are the total number of elder. (ref: Num 11:25).
They did not sin in the eyes of man, but in secret. They took the incense, yet standing
in front of idols. No wonder that bible says that no one standing on the breach
(Eze 22:30). We need to remember the church always in
our prayer.
