Monday, October 31, 2011

Search The Scriptures -- Ezekiel


Study 16 – Ezekiel 23

  1. The Four Divisions of Ezekiel 23:

    Verses 1-10
    à The Lord refers to Samaria (Israel) and Jerusalem (Judah) as prostitutes and describes the idolatry and the dependency upon foreign gods and kings as prostitution on the part of Samaria (The prostitute Oholah).

    Verses 11-21
    àThe Lord outlines the even worse ‘prostitution’ on the part of Jerusalem (Oholibah).

    Verses 22-35
    à The lovers of the nations of Israel and Judah will turn against them

    Verses 36-49
    àThe judgment of God and the sentencing of the prostitutes to being turned over to the hands of an angry mob that would stone them and cut them down with swords and turn those swords on the children of the prostitutes as well. They were to be an example to the world.

  2. Jerusalem should have learned from the judgment of the Lord against her sister Samaria in the north, but instead of learning from the mistakes of the northern Kingdom, Judah continued down the same path. To have seen the destruction of the north and to continue down the same road is an even worse sin.

    The sin of idolatry came from looking ‘outside the camp’ for help. The Church must always realize that their help comes from the Lord. The Church in our own country has many times ran the risk of, and perhaps has even engaged in, a form of spiritual ‘prostitution’ as it has looked to political figures, political parties, and the court systems of our nation to bring about protection and change rather than looking to the Lord from which cometh our help.


Study 17 – Ezekiel 24

  1. In Ezekiel 11:3 when the leader referred to Jerusalem as a cooking pot they were prophesying a time of prosperity on the horizon. God uses the same metaphor to describe a time of destruction and uses their own arrogant illustration against them. The meat in the pot would be poured out and scattered among the nations while the pot would be left to glow in the flames with no hope of recovery.

  2. In Ezekiel 24:16, Ezekiel’s wife is described as ‘the delight of your eyes.’ In this terrible incident Ezekiel’s wife represents Jerusalem and Ezekiel represent the Lord. Jerusalem was the delight of the Lord yet the Lord was not going to openly weep for her. What Ezekiel does in this moment is much like what happened on the cross when Jesus reacted to His own death by saying, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” The death of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem served as examples and as a means of redemption and salvation for the world.

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