Ezekiel 11
Ezekiel has vision of twenty- five men verse 1
Moreover the SPIRIT lifted me up
and brought me unto the east gate of the LORD’S house
which looks eastward
and BEHOLD at the door of the gate
five and twenty men
among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur
and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah – princes of the people
Twenty- five men plot evil verse 2- 3
THEN said HE unto me – Son of man
these are the men that devise mischief
and give wicked counsel in this city – which say
It is not near
let us build houses – this city is the caldron
and we be the flesh
Ezekiel told to prophesy against them verse 4
THEREFORE prophesy against them – prophesy – O son of man
Spirit of the LORD knows their thoughts verse 5- 6
AND the SPIRIT of the LORD fell upon me – and said unto me
Speak – Thus says the LORD
Thus have you said – O house of Israel
for I know the things that come into your MIND
EVERY ONE OF THEM
You have multiplied your slain in this city
and you have filled the streets thereof with the slain
LORD going to judge leaders verse 7- 10
THEREFORE thus says the Lord GOD
Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it – they are the flesh
and this city is the caldron
BUT I will bring you forth out of the midst of it
You have feared the sword
and I will bring a sword upon you – says the Lord GOD
and I will bring you out of the midst thereof
and will deliver you into the hands of strangers
and will execute judgments among you
You shall fall by the sword
I will judge you in the border of Israel
and you SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD
No safety for leaders in Jerusalem verse 11- 12
This city shall not be your caldron
neither shall you be the flesh in the midst thereof
BUT I will judge you in the border of Israel
and you SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD
for you have not walked in MY statutes
neither executed MY judgments
BUT have done after the manners of the heathen that are
round about you
Pelatiah dies verse 13
And it came to pass – when I prophesied
that Pelatiah – the son of Benaiah died
THEN fell I down upon my face – and cried with a loud voice – and said
Ah Lord GOD
Will YOU make a full end of the remnant of Israel?
Relatives of Ezekiel plot to take land of remnant verse 14- 15
Again the word of the LORD came unto me – saying
Son of man – your brethren – even your brethren
the men of thy kindred – and all the house of Israel wholly
are they unto whom the inhabitants of
Jerusalem have said
Get you far from the LORD
unto us is this land given
in possession
LORD promises to gather remnant for return verse 16- 17
THEREFORE say – Thus says the Lord GOD
Although I have cast them far off among the heathen
and although I have scattered them among the countries
YET will I be to them as a little sanctuary
in the countries where they shall come
THEREFORE say – Thus says the Lord GOD
I will even gather you from the people
and assemble you out of the countries where you have
been scattered
and I will give you the land of Israel
New hearts promised in the future verse 18- 21
AND they shall come thither
and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof
and all the abominations thereof from thence
And I will give them ONE HEART – and I will put a NEW SPIRIT within you
and I will take the STONY HEART out of their flesh
and will give them an HEART OF FLESH
that they may walk in MY statutes
and keep MINE ordinances and do them
and they shall be MY people
and I will be their God
BUT as for them whose HEART walks after the heart of their
detestable things and their abominations
I will recompense their way upon their own heads
says the Lord GOD
Glory of the LORD moved to mountain top verse 22- 23
THEN did the cherubim lift up their wings
and the wheels beside them
And the glory of the God of Israel was over them above
and the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city
and stood upon the mountain which is on
the east side of the city
Vision ended with Ezekiel back in Babylon verse 24- 25
AFTERWARD the SPIRIT took me up
and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea
to them of the captivity
SO the vision that I had seen went up from me
THEN I spake unto them of the captivity all the things
that the LORD had shown me
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man. (5012 “prophesy” [naba’] means under influence of divine spirit, to speak by divine power, be in prophetic ecstasy, or behave as a nabi.
DEVOTION: The Holy Spirit was active throughout history. HE was there at the creation of the world in Genesis 1: 2. HE would move people throughout the Old Testament. HE would fill people throughout the Old Testament. HE would also leave people in the Old Testament. This final characteristic is not present in the New Testament.
One of the requirements for a prophet was that he had to be one hundred percent accurate or he was a false prophet. Israel had many false prophets that said they were speaking for God but they were liars. The true prophets of the LORD were faithful to their commission.
The LORD is instructing Ezekiel to speak by divine power concerning the future of Jerusalem and concerning the leaders of Jerusalem and concerning the remnant that the LORD would seal and return to Jerusalem after seventy years.
In this chapter the Holy Spirit lifts Ezekiel up and takes him from Babylon to Jerusalem to observe the glory of the LORD leaving Jerusalem. After he observes this fact he is returned to Babylon by the Holy Spirit.
Throughout the Word of God there are three persons to the Godhead that form one God. Each has their individual responsibility and each has the same characteristics as the others. It is hard for us to comprehend the fact that the Bible teaches that there is only ONE TRUE GOD but HE is manifested in three persons.
It is not Modalism. This false belief is that God is manifested in the Old Testament as the Father. HE is manifested in the New Testament Gospels as Jesus Christ. HE is manifested in Act and the Epistles as the Holy Spirit. This is a false teaching that is still around today. Watch out for those who believe and teach this. There is one that appears every Sunday morning on television.
CHALLENGE: Remember that the Holy Spirit is active in our lives once we become a follower of Jesus Christ. One of HIS responsibilities is to help us pray for what is good for the perspective of the Godhead. Our thoughts are not HIS thoughts.)
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 12 And ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you. (4941 “manners” [mishpat] means judgments, ordinances, justice, custom, plan, or procedure.
DEVOTION: These last three chapters have been a vision of Ezekiel concerning the removal of the glory of the LORD from the temple and the city of Jerusalem.
The presence of the LORD was leaving Jerusalem because of the sins of the people. They were not following the LORD’S law. They were not doing what the LORD had given them in HIS instructions to Moses.
Instead they were planning things according to their neighbor’s way of doing things. They were following procedures like their neighbors. They were making ordinances like their neighbors. They looked and acted just like their heathen neighbors.
God couldn’t tell them apart. They were acting like the world instead of like followers of the LORD. They were worshiping false gods. They were listening to false prophets. They were not concerned about what God had to say to them.
Therefore HE had to judge them with captivity and death. They would not listen to HIS warnings. They had to know that HE was still Sovereign in the world. They had to know that HE was still Holy. They had to know who HE was. This chapter restates that the people were going to know that “I am the LORD.”
The problem is that today we seem to look and act like our heathen neighbors. We seem to be following a religion rather than the Bible. We seem to think that people who live in sin are still going to heaven. We seem to think that there is no hell but only heaven waiting for all those who live in this world. That is not true.
The truth is that God is going to judge our world and the majority of people are going to spend eternity in Hell because they chose to not follow the teachings of the Word of God. There is only ONE BIBLE. There is ONLY ONE WAY to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ alone.
All other ways lead to eternity in the lake of fire. What is the LORD going to do with us? Let’s not live like our neighbors do. Let’s not follow procedures like our neighbors do. Let’s go to the LORD and HIS word for direction. Let’s plan the way HE would like us to plan. Let’s follow procedures that HE can bless.
CHALLENGE: To him that knows what is right and chooses to do wrong it is sin. Bible believing individuals look to the LORD for guidance and follow it on a daily basis.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh (68 “stony” [’eben] means metaphor for perverse, hard heart, bold and intrepid mind, stiff heart, or hard and dense heart.)
DEVOTION: This is an awesome promise that the LORD is making to the children of Israel regarding their future. Here we find that they have a stiff heart in relationship to the LORD. They are not listening to HIS prophets. They are not obeying HIS commandments. They are just in an attitude of not caring about what God wants in their life but HE is promising in the future that HE will be with the nation and restore them to a time when they will care about what HE wants them to do.
A generation that doesn’t care about what the LORD expects of them is open to judgment by the LORD. HE will chasten those who are genuine believers and HE will judge those who are religious but not according to HIS standards. The time is coming when each person will have to face the LORD and give an answer for what they did with Jesus Christ and the Word of God.
For Israel the time was now!! For us it is still in our future whether we die or we are here for the time of judgment on this earth. There is no avoiding the LORD!!
Today the LORD is willing to change a hard heart into one that will honor HIM on a daily basis. It is a choice we have to make. If you have made a choice to be a follower of Jesus Christ you have to examine your heart daily to see if you are honoring HIM with your thoughts and actions. All of us have to understand that our choices have consequences. This chapter states it plainly.
CHALLENGE: What type of heart is beating your heart? Only you have the answer to that question.
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: 24 Afterwards, the spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me. (4758 “vision” [mar’eh] means appearance, seeing, phenomenon, a religious or mystical experience of a supernatural appearance (that imparts a message), often in dreams, or spectacle)
DEVOTION: Here we have Ezekiel receiving a spectacle of the LORD to reveal to him a message the LORD had for him and the children of Israel. He was a prophet that was in close relationship with the LORD and wanted to know what was happening to the nation of Israel at this time.
God does not always give a message to those who seek HIM but many times in the Old Testament we find that HE speaks to those who are in close relationship with HIM in their dreams.
The messages are not for the prophet alone but for him to tell the people of God what the LORD is doing and what they are supposed to be doing in their relationship with HIM. If the people turn from their sins and repent the LORD would give them blessings instead of judgement.
However, most times the prophets bring a message from the LORD and they will not listen and wonder why things are not getting better. It is sad but the LORD didn’t stop talking to HIS people in the Old Testament but even speaks today through the message of the Word of God to HIS people but just like in Israel the people were not listening and we are not listening even today.
We have the example of how the LORD worked in the Old Testament and HE has not changed even today. HE is speaking through the message of the Bible through individual who are given over to the Holy Spirit in their preaching to inform God’s people what HE expects of them.
There are many men and women in pulpits today that are not preaching the Word of God but human wisdom which is not good to those who think they are worshiping the LORD but are not.
Just because people are going to a place that is called a church doesn’t mean the LORD is in that place. The Bible has to be foremost in the heart of the one giving the message and in the ons hearing the message.
Just like the children of Israel heard the message of Ezekiel and didn’t listen, so today we have people who are going to churches that are genuinely preaching the Word of God but they are not listening but leaving the building and doing as they please rather than what pleases the LORD.
CHALLENGE: First we need to attend a place that genuinely preaches the Word of God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit and then we have to apply the Word of God to our life.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Ezekiel’s prayer verse 13
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
LORD’S house verse 1
LORD’S day verse 1
Walk in God’s statutes verse 20
Keep God’s ordinances verse 20
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Statutes verse 12, 20
Word of the LORD verse 14
Ordinances verse 20
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 5, 10, 12, 14, 15, 23, 25
I know the things that come into your mind
every one of them verse 5, 6
You have multiplied your slain in the city
You have filled the streets with the slain
Lord – Adonai (Owner, Master) verse 7, 8, 13, 16, 17, 21
GOD – Jehovah verse 7, 8, 13, 16, 17, 21
Lord GOD verse 7, 8, 13, 16, 17, 21
I will bring you forth out of the midst of this city verse 7
I will bring a sword upon you verse 8
I will deliver you into the hands of strangers
and will execute judgments among you verse 9
Execute judgment verse 9- 12
fall by the sword
I will judge you in the border of Israel verse 11
I am the LORD verse 12
Says the Lord GOD
Although I have cast them far off among
the heathen, and although I have
scattered them among the countries
yet will I be to them a little sanctuary
in the countries where they shall come verse 16
Thus says the Lord GOD
I will even gather you form the people and
assemble you out of the countries where
you have been scattered and I will give
you that land of Israel verse 17
I will give them one heart verse 19
I will put a new spirit within you verse 19
I will take the stony heart out of their flesh
and will give them a heart of flesh verse 19
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign, Plural name) verse 20, 22, 24
I will be their God verse 20
Glory of the God of Israel verse 22
Glory of the LORD verse 23
Went up form the midst of the city
and stood upon the mountains
which is on the east side of the city
LORD showed Ezekiel verse 25
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Spirit lifted Ezekiel up to east gate verse 1
Spirit of the LORD fell upon Ezekiel verse 5
Spirit of God brought Ezekiel to Chaldea verse 24
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Cherubim verse 22
lift up their wings and the wheels beside
them and the glory of God of
Israel was over them above
Wheels verse 22
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Strangers verse 9
Heathen verse 12, 16
Chaldea verse 24
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Devise mischief verse 2
Wicked counsel verse 2
Not walked in MY statutes verse 12
Not executed MY judgmetns verse 12
Done after the manner of the heathen verse 12
Detestable things verse 18, 21
Abomination verse 18, 21
Stony heart verse 19
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Prophesy verse 4, 13
Know that I am the LORD verse 10, 12
One heart verse 19
New Spirit verse 19
Walk in MY statutes verse 20
Keep MINE ordinances verse 20
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Jaazaniah – son of Azur – prince of the people verse 1- 3
Devise mischief
Give wicked counsel
Pelatiah – son of Benaiah – prince of the people verse 1-3, 13
Devise mischief
Give wicked counsel
Died
Son of man = Ezekiel verse 2, 4, 5, 13, 15, 24, 25
told to prophesy against Jaazaniah and
Pelatiah
Called: som of man
Told to speak to the house of Israel
Asked Lord God – will YOU make a
full end of the remnant of Israel?
Message from the LORD: Your brethren
Even your brethren, the men of
Your kindred, and all the house
Of Israel wholly, are they to whom
The inhabitants of Jerusalem have
Said: Get you far from the LORD,
To us is this land given in
Possession.
The Spirit took me up, and brought me in
a vision Spirit of God into
Chaldea – to them of the captivity
Spoke to them of the captivity
House of Israel verse 5, 10- 12, 15, 17, 22
be judged in the border of Israel
will know that I am the LORD
Remnant of Israel verse 13
Jerusalem verse 15
Walk in God’s statutes verse 20
God’s people verse 20
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Pelatiah – son of Benaiah – died verse 13
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QUOTES regarding passage
11:17–21 In a message anticipating those of chaps. 34–36, especially 36:24–28, the Lord promised through Ezekiel a physical return to the land of those Jews scattered in the exile and dispersion (v. 17). However, the promise involved more than a mere physical presence in the land. There would also be sweeping spiritual reforms and a general spiritual revival. The returnees would remove all the “vile images” and “detestable idols,” both phrases translating Hebrew words meaning “something abominable/detestable” (v. 18; cf. 5:11 and 7:20, where the same terms are used). Such deep and widespread revival would be driven by Yahweh’s gift of a new heart and a new spirit. The heart was considered the center of human reason and volition, what leads someone to reject one path and choose another (cf. Exod 14:5; 1 Sam 14:7; 27:1; 2 Sam 7:3). The new heart would be “undivided” (lit. “one heart,” v. 19; cf. 36:26; Jer 32:39). Israel had attempted to follow both the Lord and idols (cf. 1 Kgs 11:4; 15:3, 14; 2 Kgs 20:3), an ill-considered, aimless course that leads nowhere but to destruction (cf. Hos 4:11, where “understanding” is lit. “heart,” and Hos 7:11, where “senseless” is “without heart”). Henceforth they would follow only the Lord in singlehearted devotion, loving and serving him with all their heart, obeying him completely and unconditionally (Deut 6:4–5; 10:12; 1 Kgs 8:61; Ps 86:11; Jer 3:10; Joel 2:12).
The “new spirit” the Lord promises also seems to refer to a renovation of Israel’s mental processes, which had become perverse (“mind” in v. 5 translates rûaḥ). The parallel with “heart” would support this interpretation, as would the parallel in Ps 51:10 [Heb. 12] between a “pure heart” and a “steadfast spirit.” D. Block notes, however, that in 36:26–27 the new spirit is associated with God’s Spirit, which he promises to put in Israel; thus there may be an intentional ambiguity in the use of the term.
The change from a “heart of stone” to a “heart of flesh” (v. 19) is also promised in 36:26. A hard heart is stubborn and unresponsive to God (Exod 4:21, etc.). In 2 Chr 34:27 the Lord blessed King Josiah because unlike his predecessors, his “heart was ‘soft’ [“responsive”] and [he] humbled [himself] before God.” After his encounter with David, Nabal’s heart is said to have “failed him, and he became like a stone.” Ten days later he died (1 Sam 25:37–38). He seems to have been stricken with paralysis, perhaps due to a stroke. H. W. Wolff applies the sense to Ezek 11:19–20; 36:26–27: “The heart of stone is the dead heart … which is unreceptive and makes all the limbs incapable of action. The heart of flesh is the living heart, full of insight, which is at the same time ready for new action. The new rūaḥ brings to the perception and will of the heart the new vital power to hold on steadfastly in willing obedience.”
Ezekiel saw a new day when God’s covenant people would again be in the land, devoted only to the Lord and enjoying fellowship with him (v. 20; cf. 14:11 and note there). After the exile when many Jews returned to a restored province of Judah in fulfillment of prophecy (Ezra 1:1), they were careful to avoid idolatry (Ezra 4:1–3; 6:19–21; Neh 8–10). Nevertheless, their obedience was not complete (Ezra 9:1–2, 10–15; 10:15, 44; Neh 5:1–9; 13:7–29), nor was their experience of promised blessings (Ezra 9:8–9; Neh 9:32–37). Thus the radical spiritual transformation of the people and the associated physical blessings promised in this and other prophecies of the new covenant (Jer 31:31–34; Ezek 34:20–31; 36:24–38; 37:15–28) await fulfillment in a future messianic age. Such promises, however, would be only for those who would receive the new heart and spirit by faith (18:31). Those who refused would be judged and eliminated (11:21). The remnant would be made up of those who repented and returned to the standard of the single heart (cf. 34:17–22). Single-hearted devotion is what God expects from us. Whenever we fail to give him our single-hearted commitment, we invite the chastening of God. (Cooper, L. E. (1994). Ezekiel (Vol. 17, pp. 142–144). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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The new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:31–34 provided for (1) a change of heart and (2) a new spirit. This new spirit would be the outpouring of the Spirit promised by the prophets (Deut 30:6; Jer 31:33; Joel 2:28–29), further developed in Ezekiel 36:26–27, and initially instituted in Acts 2. The new heart and spirit would replace Israel’s old heart of stone (Zech 7:12), which had become hardened against the Lord and his ways. The people would be empowered to live in the godly manner set forth in the stipulations of the Mosaic covenant (v.20). Finally they would truly reflect the Mosaic covenant formula: they would be God’s people, and he would be their God. (Alexander, R. H. (1986). Ezekiel. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 793). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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11:18–19. Israel’s physical return will be accompanied by a spiritual renewal. When they come back to the land, they will … remove all … vile images and detestable idols (cf. v. 21). The land will be purged of idolatry, and the people will be purged too. For God said, I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them. Israel’s external difficulties resulted from her internal condition. God promised to correct that.
Ezekiel’s promise refers to the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit in Israel (“spirit” could read “Spirit”). Before the Church Age the Holy Spirit indwelt select individuals; this was generally a temporary enablement for a special task (see comments on 2:2). However, in the Millennium the Holy Spirit will indwell all believing Israelites (cf. 36:26–27; cf. Joel 2:28). The inauguration of the New Covenant, which includes this permanent indwelling (cf. Jer. 31:31–34), began with the death of Christ (cf. Matt. 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; Heb. 8:6–13; 9:15; 10:14–16; 12:24); but the ultimate fulfillment awaits the national regathering of Israel. The church today is participating in the spiritual (not the physical) benefits of the covenant through its association with Christ.
The results of the new “heart” (a heart of flesh instead of a heart of stone) for Israel will be new actions and a new relationship. (Dyer, C. H. (1985). Ezekiel. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 1248–1249). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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But the Lord made it clear that He had not forsaken the Jews in Babylon, for the “I will” statements in Ezekiel 11:16–20 declare His promises to the exiles. First, God Himself would be to them “a sanctuary for a little while” during their captivity. “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations” (Ps. 90:1, nkjv). The self-confident Jews in Jerusalem thought they were secure as long as they had the temple, but the true temple was with the exiles in Babylon! Long before there ever was a tabernacle or a temple, the patriarchs had God as their refuge and strength, their sanctuary, and their abiding place. Wherever Abraham pitched his tent, he also built an altar to the Lord, because he knew that God was with him (Gen. 12:8; 13:1–4, 18). The New Testament equivalent of this experience is to abide in Christ (John 15:1–10).
His second promise is “I will even gather you” (Ezek. 11:17). A remnant of Jews would one day return to the land and rebuild the temple. No matter where the Jews had been scattered, the Lord would find them and bring them home. This promise goes far beyond the restoration after the Captivity, for the Lord has promised that in the end times He will gather His people back to their land (28:25–26; 34:11–16; 36:24–38; 37:11–28; Isa. 11:11–16; Jer. 24:4–7). His third promise is, “I will give you the land of Israel” (Ezek. 11:17). Since God had already given this land to Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 12:7; 13:14–17; 15:7), nobody else could successfully lay claim to it. When the exiles returned to their land, they would be cured of idolatry and would remove all the pagan worship.
The promises in Ezekiel 11:19–21 go beyond the return of the Jewish exiles after the Babylonian Captivity, for Scripture records no evidence of this kind of spiritual renewal in the post-exilic period. In fact, the account given in Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, and Malachi is just the opposite. The promises apply to the end times when God’s people Israel will be regathered to their land, will repent of their sins and trust their Messiah (Zech. 12–14), and welcome Him as their King. They will experience a spiritual regeneration, a new birth. However, those who will not believe will be judged (Ezek. 11:21). Later in this book, Ezekiel will describe in greater detail the glorious blessings God has prepared for the Jewish nation (chaps. 33–48). Jeremiah had also announced a “New Covenant” for the people of Israel (Jer. 31:33; 32:38–39), a covenant not written on stones but engraved on the human mind and heart; and Christian believers today share in that covenant (2 Cor. 3; Heb. 9–10). (Wiersbe, W. W. (2000). Be reverent (pp. 54–55). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor/Cook Communications.)
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Jehovah’s words were addressed, as before, to Ezekiel as “Son of man.” His own near kinsmen were among those who had rebelled against the Lord, and they, with others, had been removed far off among the nations, but God would never forget any who, in the land of their captivity, turned to Him. He said, “Yet will I be to them a sanctuary for a little while in the countries where they are come.” The temple might be destroyed. No place on earth would any longer be designated as that where Jehovah had set His name, but no soul would ever seek Him in vain. No matter what the circumstances in which His people were found, if any turned to Him with all their hearts He would reveal Himself to them and would Himself be a sanctuary unto them. Moreover, in due time He will gather a remnant of His people back to their own land.
Notice the definite promise, “I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.”
When that day comes the remnant will be accepted of God as the nation and will be regenerated. He says, “I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh; that they may walk in My statutes, and keep Mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.”
This promise has never yet been fulfilled. The present return of many Jews to Palestine, while still in unbelief, is in one sense a partial fulfilment of this prophecy; it is, doubtless, preparatory to it. But when the actual fulfilment comes the people themselves will return to the Lord; they will judge their sins, and bowing before God will confess their guilt, even the guilt, as we now know, of the rejection of their promised Messiah; and when they thus turn back in heart to God He will establish them in the land, and will give them a new nature through a second birth, even as He does to all individuals now who turn to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
But when they do come there will be no blessing for those who persist in taking the path of self-will and who go on defiantly in their sins. The word of the Lord is, “I will bring their way upon their own heads.” (Ironside, H. A. (1949). Expository notes on Ezekiel, the prophet. (pp. 71–72). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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The Israelites begin worshipping Baal, a god of Canaan.
INSIGHT
There is a distinct pattern of events that begins to unfold in Judges. The children of Israel fall into sin and begin worshiping other gods. Sin is followed by servitude. The Lord causes other nations to rise up in judgment and enslave Israel.
Israel cries out to God for deliverance, and the Lord delivers them by raising up a judge to lead them to victory. Then the land has rest until that judge dies and the cycle begins again: sin, servitude, supplication, salvation, and silence. Sin is always followed by bondage. Repentance frees. (Quiet Walk)
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UNBELIEF
If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4
Let us consider what our Lord has to say about the terrible condition of unbelief. The ?rst thing He tells us is that it is a definite mentality, a definite spirit. Unbelief is not a negative but an active thing. Of course, our tendency is to think of unbelief as just a negative condition in which a man does not believe, but according to the Bible that is an utter fallacy. Unbelief is terribly positive and active, a state and condition of the soul, with a very definite mentality. The Bible, indeed, does not hesitate to put it essentially like this: “Unbelief is one of the manifestations of sin; it is one of the symptoms of that foul disease.” Or as the apostle Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, “If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.”
It is a terrible state and condition. Let me put it like this. It is not just a refusal to believe. That is how the devil foils us. He persuades modern unbelievers into thinking that they are unbelievers because of their great intelligence, their wonderful intellect and understanding. They think that people who are Christians are fools who have either not read or have not understood what they have read. The unbeliever thinks that he is in that state because of his scientific knowledge, and that it is in the light of these things that he refuses to believe. They rejoice in their great emancipation, that they have been delivered from the shackles of the Bible, and that they have been emancipated from this drug, this dope of the people that we call the gospel. Poor things! They are unconscious slaves, and they do not know that they are victims.
A Thought to Ponder: They are unconscious slaves, and they do not know that they are victims. (From The Heart of the Gospel, pp. 85-86, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Sitting at the Right Hand of God
“The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” (Psalm 110:1)
The 110th Psalm is one of the most significant of the so-called Messianic Psalms, prophesying of Christ a thousand years before He came. Its very first verse should completely settle the question as to whether or not the Old Testament teaches that there is only one person in the Godhead since it recounts an actual conversation between at least two Persons of the Godhead. This first verse is quoted, in whole or in part, at least five times in the New Testament and was even used by Christ Himself (Matthew 22:41-46) to prove His own deity.
Two of the Hebrew names for God are used: “Jehovah said unto Adonai. . . .” The name Jehovah is used again in verses 2-4, and Adonai in verse 5. God, in the person of Adonai, has gone to Earth on a divine mission to save His people but has been repudiated by His enemies on Earth. Accordingly, God, in the person of Jehovah, invites Him back to heaven for a time, where He will be at His right hand until it is time for Him to return to Earth to rule, striking through all opposing “kings in the day of his wrath” (v. 5).
In this coming “day of thy power” (v. 3), “thy people shall be willing.” The word here is actually the word for “free will offerings.” They will be as priests offering their own lives to Him as freewill offerings when they finally recognize Him as their Messiah/King and eternal High Priest (v. 4).
Now, although this prophecy applies specifically to the second coming and the future conversion of Israel, there is a beautiful secondary application used in Scripture for His people right now. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). “Seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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