Route 66: Ezekiel - Prophetic Visions in Exile

Good evening, brothers and sisters, and welcome to the next episode of the Route 66 series.

Tonight, we are going to be looking at the book of Ezekiel, and it is an honor and a privilege to be able to serve the Lord in this manner.

Before we get started, let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the Old Testament prophets whom you ordained to send a message to the people of Israel and, in turn, send a message to us believers through your word.

Help us to gain a clear understanding of what you're trying to tell us and help us to apply it to our lives.

In Jesus' name, we pray amen.

Now the book of Ezekiel.

The name Ezekiel means strengthened by God, which is indeed appropriate for the work that God commissioned him to do.

His authorship is declared in the first verse of the book, where he references himself in regards to his age.

He says in my 30th year, which is the age that priests started their ministry.

Chapter 1 and verse 3 says the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, the priest.

Now, a priest was a man that represented the people to God, yet he was also a prophet, a person that God used to represent him to the people.

This would put him in the rare company of men who functioned in both roles.

Ezekiel received his call to prophesy in 593 BC in Babylon, during the fifth year of King Jehoiakim's captivity, which would have taken place in 597 BC.

This was the second of three deportations led by Nebuchadnezzar as he took possession of Jerusalem.

In that year, ezekiel, along with 10,000 other Jews, were exiled.

10,000 other Jews were exiled.

His ministry lasted about 22 years, ending in approximately 571 BC.

He was a contemporary of Jeremiah, who was about 20 years older, and of Daniel, who was about the same age.

Now, ezekiel is a unique book in that he uses visions, prophecies, parables, signs and symbols to proclaim and dramatize the message of God to the exiles in Israel.

But if we look closely, god is also speaking to us and in our talk tonight we're going to cover certain key sections, discussing not only their original meaning but also the significance and how they relate to us in today's world.

We'll start with chapters one to three, which cover the preparation and commission of Ezekiel.

The opening verse in the book identifies Ezekiel as being among the exiles.

The Israelites had been ripped from their homeland and stripped of everything they knew, and the concept that God would come to them was foreign.

But indeed God does speak to them.

While they're in exile and despite the judgment that lies ahead, there is hope that God will restore them as a nation.

But what of us living in today's world?

We know nothing of being in exile, or do we?

Yes, israel lived in a land that was not their own, but are we ourselves really at home in this world?

The Israelites felt isolated in their exile, but do we as Christians not experience isolation in the same way?

In reality, we are citizens in a foreign land.

We are exiled here on earth, but God promises to restore us to our true home, which is waiting for us in eternity.

In the past, god spoke to the exiles through his prophets.

Today, he speaks to us through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Just as the Israelites could not see the restoration that was prophesied, we cannot comprehend the full glory that awaits us as we begin.

Chapter one, ezekiel sees a stunning vision of the majesty of God, with a chariot of living creatures and a glorious throne.

The chariot is made up of four living winged creatures, each with a wheel that can move in any direction.

These creatures symbolize God's majesty and glory.

The fact that their movement has no limit means that God is not confined to the temple, but in the same way, his judgment is not confined either.

The wheels of the chariot are covered with eyes.

The significance is that God knows all and sees all.

We cannot run or hide from God's wrath.

Now, before we look further at Ezekiel's calling, I wanted to find the term son of man, which God uses to address Ezekiel 93 times in the book.

The Hebrew translation is ben adam, which simply means human being.

Now, this is different from how the term is used in the New Testament.

Here Christ uses the term the Son of man to describe himself as the Messiah.

Ezekiel's first vision begins the process of communicating God's judgment to Israel.

They saw God as limited to a box in the temple, but here we see he is right there in their midst, in the temple.

But here we see he is right there in their midst.

However, his presence among his people is not always good news, as we shall see later in the book.

God goes on to explain to Ezekiel that he is sending him to prophesy to the Israelites who are rebellious to God.

They are obstinate and stubborn and they are not likely to listen to him.

First he warns Ezekiel not to be afraid of them.

Then he hands Ezekiel a scroll and commands him to eat it and then go and speak what God says to the people.

Now, ezekiel did not eat this scroll in a literal sense.

This was part of a vision, and there is a lesson in here for us in order to speak God's word, we have to know it.

The symbolic eating of the scroll in this vision is telling us that we must internalize the word of God by reading and studying in order to proclaim the truth of the gospel.

God knows that the Israelites will be stubborn and stiff-necked, so he must strengthen Ezekiel to deal with this.

And what of our calling to evangelize in the world today?

Is it much different?

Just as Ezekiel was, we are called and sent to a people who are stubborn and obstinate.

God moves us to be obedient to his call, but our evangelism does not always provide a happy outcome.

Sometimes he will save someone in spite of our meager efforts, while other times, even the most eloquent presentation will fall on deaf ears.

Now it is important for us to pray before we evangelize, or we may become self-reliant instead of depending on God.

We need to pray and seek the power of the Holy Spirit.

It is not about being more active, but for the Spirit to become more active in and through us.

But for the Spirit to become more active in and through us.

And what about this responsibility God gives to us?

To evangelize the lost.

At the end of chapter 3, god calls Ezekiel to be a watchman for the house of Israel.

Now, what's interesting about this passage is not so much the change in the people who hear his message, but the responsibility laid on Ezekiel to preach to all, regardless of their response.

He is commanded to bring the message of judgment to all people, whether wicked or righteous, whether they listen or not.

And along with this command, god sets the consequences for Ezekiel should he fail to carry out his responsibility For the people.

They either hear, respond and live, or they ignore and die.

But inside the message is hope for those who ignore that there is still time for them to hear the word and live.

It's time for them to hear the word and live.

In the same way, the righteous must continue to listen and heed the warning given to them lest they die.

Ezekiel must practice what he preaches.

If he is faithful and obeys God's command to proclaim the warning, he will live.

But if he fails to warn them.

God will hold him responsible for the people he failed to warn and he too will die Like Ezekiel.

We are the watchmen of today.

God calls us not only to proclaim the good news of the gospel, but also to warn people of the bad news that time is running out and that judgment is coming, and we are to bring this news to everyone without distinction.

It is not ours to decide who is deserving of it and who is not.

It is God's work to sort that out.

We must be faithful heralds of God's word, or the blood of the people will be on our hands.

Moving along.

Chapters 8 to 11 contain the second of Ezekiel's visions.

While he is living in exile in Babylon, ezekiel is transported in a vision to the temple in Jerusalem by God himself.

God intends to show Ezekiel and the leaders in the exile community why he will not save Jerusalem.

In this vision, there are four examples of idolatry that God finds detestable.

Ezekiel has been shown the sinful nature of Jerusalem.

Their sin extends from outside the city gate to the inner courtyards of the temple.

It involves both men and women, including the 70 elders of the temple leadership.

It includes idolatrous worship imported from the surrounding nations, involving all kinds of gods.

It is a mix of many religions, similar to a multi-faith worship service.

It is an offensive rejection of God that is a foretaste of the future.

So let's fast forward to today.

How many times do we hear people tell us but we all serve the same God?

Well, we don't.

Christianity is radically different from the world and our God is a jealous God commanding us to serve no other.

Ezekiel's vision condemns such idolatry.

Everything he sees is an example of people turning their backs on the Lord, and we see this in many so-called churches that claim obedience to the Bible.

There should be no compromise in our church.

We must be totally committed to the Lord in every way.

We must preach biblical truth that confronts the comfortable idolatry of a multi-faith religion, or we will face the same judgment that will come upon all idolaters.

And we see the result of this idolatry at the end of chapter 11.

God's glory rises up from the temple and exits the city.

His chariot transports him to the Mount of Olives, where he makes his final departure from Jerusalem before heading east towards Babylon.

Israel's idolatry became so blatant and offensive that God decided to leave his own temple, the.

The Israelites had driven their God away and he gave the city and temple over to destruction.

But God has not abandoned his people.

Rather, he goes into exile with them and at the end of the vision, god promises that he will return a remnant of Israel back to the land.

He will transform them by removing their heart of stone and giving them a new, soft heart of flesh so that they can love and follow their God.

But let us not be fooled into thinking, as the Israelites did, we come to church here in a building.

But just as the temple was, it is just a building.

But just as the temple was, it is just a building.

How many so-called churches are out there, filled with people of an idolatrous nature worshiping and praising an idolatrous God?

Because the true God of the universe has abandoned that building, just as he abandoned the temple.

If we turn our backs on God, he will turn his back on us.

God's presence can be in this building, but only through the Holy Spirit that indwells in us.

He will reside in us wherever we go, even into exile, and that is a promise we can count on.

Chapters 12 to 24 focus on God's coming judgment for Israel.

There are several sign experiences in this section where Ezekiel acts out the message God wants him to deliver.

But in the interest of time, we're just going to focus on the main two.

Chapter 12 starts off with a dramatic demonstration of how the exile will occur.

Chapter 12 starts off with a dramatic demonstration of how the exile will occur.

Ezekiel was to pack sparingly during the day, as if trying to escape captivity.

In the evening he was to go out and dig through the wall of his house by hand and crawl through it with his belongings, all while the Israelites were watching.

This was to depict the attempted escape and capture of Zedekiah.

We're going to read verses 10 to 14, and the AB team was gracious enough to put the scriptures up on the screen.

Say to them this is what the Lord, god, says.

This pronouncement concerns the prince in Jerusalem and the whole house of Israel living there.

You are to say, the prince, who is among them, will lift his bags to his shoulder in the dark and go out.

They will dig through the wall to bring him out through it.

He will cover his face so he cannot see the land with his eyes, but I will spread my net over him and he will be caught in my snare.

I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans.

Yet he will not see it and he will die there.

I will also scatter all the attendants who surround him and all his troops to every direction of the wind, and I will draw a sword to chase after them Now.

In addition, god tells Ezekiel to eat and drink, with trembling and shuddering, showing the anxiety that the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah will feel.

Showing the anxiety that the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah will feel Through Ezekiel's actions and God's words.

A message of judgment was made clear to those listening and that God was the one who brought it about.

We need not dig through a wall like Ezekiel in order to get the message of the gospel across.

God's word explains the meaning of our actions, while our actions underline the reality of God's word.

It shows that the word and deed can work together to penetrate the heart.

And in chapter 24, as this section ends, we see the death of Ezekiel's wife ends, we see the death of Ezekiel's wife.

It is the only mention of her in the book.

God describes her to Ezekiel as the delight of your eyes.

God tells him in advance that his wife will die and instructs him on how to act In verses 16 and 17,.

God tells him how to act In verses 16 and 17,.

God tells him Son of man, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a fatal blow.

But you must not lament or weep or let your tears flow.

Groan quietly, do not observe mourning rites for the dead, put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet, do not cover your mustache or eat the bread of mourners.

Now, this strange behavior is a sign to the people of what is to come.

The temple in Jerusalem was the delight of their eyes.

It was to be destroyed along with the families of the exiles that had been left behind.

Yet the people would not weep outwardly, because the judgment would be so overwhelming that only inward grief would be possible.

But what does that have to do with us?

When judgment comes, it will always be a shock, no matter how clearly and often we have been warned.

And God, as our Creator, has the right to do that.

And he has that right because he willingly gave up the delight of his eyes, his only son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Since God did not spare his own son, the Lord Jesus Christ, since God did not spare his own son, we should be willing to spare whatever is the delight of our eyes.

Sometimes God takes from us what is most precious to us.

It is in those times that his grace will enable us to say not my will, but yours be done, lord.

Grace will enable us to say, not my will, but yours be done, lord.

So we see that God is tough on the people of Israel, just as he is tough on us.

But as we move to the next section of the book in chapters 25 to 32, he is also tough on the enemies of Israel.

He is also tough on the enemies of Israel.

God judges the nations that surround Israel, specifically Ammon, moab, edom and Philistia.

All of these nations, at some point in time, had mocked and fought against Israel and therefore against God himself.

When Israel was judged by God, some of these nations rejoiced in her downfall and also added to that by stepping on Israel when she was down.

So how does that apply to us?

Let's look at ourselves for a moment and understand that we may have acted like these nations.

So I'm going to throw out a few questions for us to consider, and I'll confess to you that they cut me to the core.

So have we ever rejoiced at the judgment of others.

Have we ever said good for them or they deserve it?

When someone gets taken down, do we sometimes have a righteous pride that we are better than those who have fallen?

Sadly, I know what my answers would be.

The nation of Tyre was also like this.

They not only kicked Israel when she was down, but sought to replace her as the center of the universe.

The seductive lure of beauty, power and wisdom made Tyre an attractive alternative to the fallen Jerusalem, and in chapter 28, in verse 2, god admonishes the king of Tyre your heart is proud and you have said I am a God.

I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.

Yet you are a man and not a God, though you have regarded your heart as that of a God.

So here are a few more questions.

Do we ever look at a person or a situation and make a judgment based on looks instead of substance?

How about power?

Does our quest for power in any situation ever cause us to stumble into sin and the folly of wisdom?

Worldly wisdom how often do we blindly follow it?

And what about our wisdom?

How often do we proudly brag about it?

And then there is God's wisdom.

How often do we ignore it?

Again?

For myself, the answer is hurt.

And finally, we look at Egypt With this illusion of a superpower.

It was an attractive ally for Israel, but when it came time to back up that alliance, egypt was nowhere to be found, leaving Israel to its fate.

The problems came in that Israel placed its trust in Egypt instead of in God.

There were numerous times in history that this idolatrous relationship caused problems for the nation of Israel, and now God would judge Egypt for its hand in that.

So too for us.

The world has many powerful attractions that seem to offer us easy routes to security and success.

Again, I ask how often do the pursuits of security and success have us look to the world instead of God?

Are we sacrificing for worldly gain rather than taking up our cross and following Jesus?

On the dollar bill, it says in God we trust.

But what do we trust more?

The slogan or the paper that it's printed on?

Again, my answers can be very sad indeed.

Now, while a good deal of Ezekiel deals with God's wrath and judgment, the remaining third of the book speaks of restoration, hope and the promise of new life.

Let's look at God's promise in chapter 36, verses 24 to 30.

For I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and will bring you into your own land.

I will also sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean.

I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.

I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

I will place my spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.

You will live in the land that I gave your ancestors.

You will be my people and I will be your God.

I will save you from all your uncleanness, and then in verses 33 to 36, so that you will no longer experience reproach among the nations on account of famine.

And then in verses 33 to 36,.

This is what the Lord, god, says On the day I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited and the ruins will be rebuilt.

The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of everyone who passes by.

They will say this land that was desolate has become like the Garden of Eden.

The cities that were once ruined, desolate and demolished are now fortified and inhabited, then the nations that remain around you will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt what is demolished and have replanted what was desolate.

I, the Lord, have spoken and I will do it.

Judgment followed by mercy.

God did not destroy Israel completely, but his mercy was not done out of compassion, as one might think.

It was done out of concern for his holy name.

The Lord will act not for Israel's sake but for the sake of his own name.

His action of restoring his people is not grounded in love but in a demonstration of his holiness.

And that brings us into chapter 37 and probably the most well-known portion of scripture in the book, and that is the valley of the dry bones.

He takes Ezekiel in a vision to a scene of total desolation where he is confronted with a scene of total death.

He is led back and forth over piles of bones.

The valley is not filled with slain corpses but with skeletal remains, and those bones were very dry.

The bones signify God's people who have been utterly destroyed for their sin.

No life remains in those bones.

No life remains in those bones.

In verse 3, god asks Ezekiel, son of man can these bones live?

Now imagine being confronted by God with that question.

Although the scene tells him otherwise, ezekiel is afraid to give a negative answer, but in view of God's overwhelming wrath, he cannot simply say of course.

So he turns it back over to God by responding O sovereign Lord, you alone know God certainly has the power to bring the dry bones back to life.

Regeneration is brought about through the infusion of the Holy Spirit.

In response to the prophecy of God's word, ezekiel is told to prophesy to the bones and require them to listen to God's word.

In response, the Lord will make breath, enter them and bring them back to life, not as a ghostly skeleton, but as living flesh.

Now there is a precedent for this.

Let's look at Genesis, chapter 2 and verse 7.

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

And how does this relate to us?

We were those dry bones.

We were dead in our transgressions and sin.

It is a spiritual condition that, by nature, we all share.

We were alive physically, but cut off from the life-giving presence of God and therefore without hope.

From the life-giving presence of God and therefore without hope.

No matter how we felt physically, good or bad, we were all equally dead.

So the question is not can God raise us to life, but will he raise us to life?

And that answer is yes, just like it was for Israel, and it is through our union with Christ.

In Christ, there is life for the spiritually dead.

Jesus himself took on our death when he died on the cross.

He took on our sins and was cut off from God for them.

But just as the dry bones in Ezekiel did not remain dead, so also did Christ not remain in the tomb.

He burst forward with resurrection power, raised from the dead by God, and because of that we are now made alive in Christ.

Our sins are forgiven.

Nailed to the cross, we are not dry bones any longer, but living, breathing, spirit-infused children of God.

What Ezekiel saw in his vision has now become a reality.

So, yes, god has restored Israel, but there will be no end to the attacks on this nation.

In fact, these attacks will continue until the second coming of Christ.

In fact, these attacks will continue until the second coming of Christ.

In chapters 38 and 39, we see Ezekiel prophesied to Gog from the land of Magog.

In chapter 38, verses 14 to 16, god speaks of this coming invasion.

Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog.

This is what the Lord, god, says On that day when my people, israel, are dwelling securely.

Will you not know this and come from your place in the remotest parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, who are all riding horses, a huge assembly, a powerful army.

You will advance against my people, israel, like a cloud covering the land.

It will happen in the last days, gog, that I will bring you against my land so that the nations may know me when I demonstrate my holiness through you in their sight.

So who is this Gog and where is Magog Now?

There are no historical records of such a person or place, but the term Gog has come to refer to a title for an enemy of God's people.

Now, the battle that is spoken of could be seen as the final battle of Armageddon and Gog as the Antichrist, but we can also see it as the ongoing battles that believers face from day to day.

Gog and his army seek to destroy the restored Israel are simply the ultimate expression of Satan as he seeks to destroy Christians in the present day.

So why should we feel confident in this battle?

First, although this world is in tribulation, god is in control.

Satan can achieve nothing other than what God allows for his purpose.

Second, god has the victory, no matter how strong the opposition, no matter what Satan throws at the church, his plans will come to nothing.

Third, God's victory will mean the ultimate destruction of all those who oppose him.

Satan and his minions will be cast into the lake of fire.

And lastly, god's victory means security for those who trust in him.

The God who will defeat Satan will take care of his people.

Romans, chapter 8 and verse 35 asks who can separate us from the love of Christ?

Romans 8 · chapter mention

The answer is nobody.

Now, as we come to the last nine chapters, we see Ezekiel's final vision, and it is the climax of the entire book.

In chapters 40 to 48, we see a detailed description of a future temple where genuine worship will take place and where God's presence will be.

Where genuine worship will take place and where God's presence will be.

This is and will be fulfilled in the coming of the true temple and true place of eternal worship, jesus Christ.

This description does not point to some physical temple structure.

Instead, god always intended these chapters to literally point to Jesus himself.

Unlike a physical temple, there are no walls or curtains that keep us out of God's presence, not because we are more holy than the people in Ezekiel's time, but because of the once and for all sacrifice of our Lord, jesus Christ.

But let us ask ourselves is he our true focus?

Are we examining our hearts to see where our true focus is?

Do we live our lives for our own glory or for God's glory?

Now, in chapter 47, we see Ezekiel's focus turn from the temple to the surrounding land.

We see Ezekiel's focus turn from the temple to the surrounding land.

This is expressed in a vision of a life-giving river that flows out from the temple.

It starts out as a trickle and gradually grows to a river deep enough to swim in.

So we have this swelling water flowing from the temple.

But that is still not the best part.

God then tells us the purpose of the water In chapter 47.

In verse 9, it says Every kind of living creature that swarms will live wherever the river flows, and there will be a huge number of fish because this water goes there.

Since the water will become fresh, there will be life everywhere the river goes.

And in verse 12, all kinds of trees providing food will grow along both banks of the river.

Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail Each month.

They will bear fresh fruit because the water comes from the sanctuary.

Their fruit will be used for eating and their leaves.

In John, chapter 2 and John 4, jesus strongly points us to seeing him as the fulfillment of God's promised temple.

John 2 · chapter mention

He says he's the temple, the giver of living water and the Messiah who brings in the time where people no longer worship in the physical temple but in him, in spirit and in truth.

So undoubtedly he is God's temple.

In Revelation, chapter 21, the Apostle John refers to the main street of the heavenly city.

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

He says I did not see a temple in it, because the Lord, god the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

This then brings us to Revelation 22 and begins with a description of the river of the water of life.

In verses one to two of this final chapter of the Bible, john writes then he showed me the river of the water of life, clear as a crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, down the middle of the city's main street.

The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing 12 kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month.

The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations.

This water is the fulfillment of the water which flowed from the temple in Ezekiel 47.

The water is flowing from Christ.

He is the temple from where the water flows.

From Christ, he is the temple from where the water flows.

Now, in conclusion, we must realize that this world is not our home.

Like the exiles of Ezekiel, we are resident aliens whose hearts and home are elsewhere.

As we wait, we are to live lives completely centered on the new covenant temple, the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

It's truly wonderful, isn't it?

It's truly all about Jesus.

This is why the Old Testament promises exist.

This is why the book of Ezekiel exists, with its description of judgment, restoration, god's presence and God's glory.

We can look forward to the day when we will sit down to feast with one another in the heavenly city and God will be in our midst.

Then, indeed, the new Jerusalem will bear the name that Ezekiel gave it Yahweh Shammah.

The Lord is there.

Let's pray, heavenly Father.

We thank you, lord, for this time spent in your word.

We thank you for giving us clarity and understanding to see that all things point to Jesus and that, in the end, he has the victory.

In this, you will receive all the honor and all the glory, amen.