Search The Scriptures -- Ezekiel

Study 23 – Ezekiel 34

1. The leaders of Israel had placed all of their own wants, desires, needs, and concerns over and above those of everybody else. They were neck deep in the sin of selfishness. They remind me of the United States Congress.
   
   
2. The Messiah offers hope to the disenfranchised and those that are not able to buy their way into affluence. The Lord promises to take care of those that the world deems as unimportant, but He also reminds them that as He provides for them that they must remember not to shoulder others away from the trough or to muddy the clean waters from which they have already had the privilege to drink.
   
   

Study 24 – Ezekiel 35:1-36:15

1. Edom was being judged for: harboring ancient hostilities that began between Jacob and Esau, for turning over Israel to their enemies, and for desiring the lands of Israel and Judah for their own. While the Lord may, for a season, allow the wicked to prosper; you can rest assured that they will be punished in the end and that the people of God will be blessed after they learn obedience through the trial.
   
   
2. There is nothing lacking at all for those that walk in obedience to the ways of the Lord. Every need will be met and the Lord will eternally be our sustainer.
   
   

Study 25 – Ezekiel 36:16-38

1. The nation of Israel was cast into exile due to the idolatry of the people. The Lord brought them back in order to glorify His name. They were cleansed from their sin and restored to their country. The story of Israel reflect the story of the Christian that was separated from God due to his sin, cleansed from his unrighteousness and brought back into right relationship with the Lord.
   
   
2. The restoration of the people of God would cause the surrounding nations to recognize the delivering power of the Lord and would therefore bring glory to the Lord.
   
   

Study 26 – Ezekiel 37

1. Israel had reached the point of hopelessness. Their prospects of return to their own land were as good as the prospects of a dead army to defeat a powerful enemy. Their position was a completely hopeless one apart from the power of the Lord.
   
   
2. The regeneration of Israel came in their return to a state in which the grip of death seemed more remote (the bones grew flesh) and in the second stage of the breath of life being breathed into them. Ezekiel was intimately involved in both stages.
   
   
3. The five great features of the Messianic kingdom in verses 24 -27:
   a. Christ will be King
   b. Christ will be Shepherd
   c. The Land will be restored
   d. There will be a new covenant
   e. I will dwell in the midst of them
   
   

Study 27 --  Ezekiel 38

1. The Lord causes foreign kingdoms to advance against the nation of Israel, but they are convinced that it was their own decision to invade.
   
   
2. The Lord will defeat the enemy and He will bring His people into a land of blessing.
   
   

Study 28 – Ezekiel 39

1. The defeat of God will be so overwhelming that Israel will use the weapons of their enemies as fuel for a period of seven years. The birds will pick the bones clean of the dead armies. There will be an entire industry that will be set up just to bury the dead enemy. This task will take seven months to complete and not a single bone will be left. All of these things show the extent to which God will punish those that come against His Covenant People. It proves that God is both a jealous God and a covenant keeping God.
   
   
2. ‘I hid my face’ indicates that God withheld His blessing. Verse 29  is a declaration that He has decided to pour out His Spirit upon the nation of Israel once again.
   
   

Study 29 – Ezekiel 40:1-47

1. Ezekiel had the two-fold responsibility of listening and transmitting the message. He was to pay meticulous attention to the what he both saw and heard in the vision.
   
   
2. N/A
   
   
3. God is clearly a god of order and not of disorder.
   
   

Study 30 – Ezekiel 40:48-41:26

1. N/A
   
   
2. Ezekiel did not enter into the inner sanctuary because he was not the high priest of Israel. The death of Christ on the cross removes that restriction from us.
   
   
3. Both inwardly and outwardly we should reflect the presence of the life giving power of Christ in the midst of the wilderness of this world.