Ezekiel 37 Commentary
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(Leviticus 10:6): on Mourning and Refraining from Mourning in the Bible
1 “Do not bare your heads and do not rend your clothes” (Leviticus 10:6): On Mourning and Refraining from Mourning in the Bible Yael Shemesh, Bar Ilan University Many agree today that objective research devoid of a personal dimension is a chimera. As noted by Fewell (1987:77), the very choice of a research topic is influenced by subjective factors. Until October 2008, mourning in the Bible and the ways in which people deal with bereavement had never been one of my particular fields of interest and my various plans for scholarly research did not include that topic. Then, on October 4, 2008, the Sabbath of Penitence (the Sabbath before the Day of Atonement), my beloved father succumbed to cancer. When we returned home after the funeral, close family friends brought us the first meal that we mourners ate in our new status, in accordance with Jewish custom, as my mother, my three brothers, my father’s sisters, and I began “sitting shivah”—observing the week of mourning and receiving the comforters who visited my parent’s house. The shivah for my father’s death was abbreviated to only three full days, rather than the customary week, also in keeping with custom, because Yom Kippur, which fell only four days after my father’s death, truncated the initial period of mourning. Before my bereavement I had always imagined that sitting shivah and conversing with those who came to console me, when I was so deep in my grief, would be more than I could bear emotionally and thought that I would prefer for people to leave me alone, alone with my pain. -
THRU the BIBLE EXPOSITION Ezekiel
THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION Ezekiel: Effective Ministry To The Spiritually Rebellious Part XXXIII: Illustrating Israel's Great Pain From God's Discipline (Ezekiel 24:15-27) I. Introduction A. When God disciplines man for sin, His discipline is very painful that it might produce the desired repentance. B. Ezekiel 24:15-27 provides an illustration of this truth, and we view this passage for our insight (as follows): II. Illustrating Israel's Great Pain From God's Discipline, Ezekiel 24:15-27. A. God made Ezekiel a moving illustration of the painful shock his fellow Hebrew captives would experience at the fall of Jerusalem in God's judgment, the destruction of their beloved temple and children, Ezek. 24:15-24: 1. After God's prophet in Ezekiel 24:1-14 announced that the Babylonian army had begun its siege of Jerusalem, the Lord told Ezekiel that He was going to take the delight of his eyes, Ezekiel's wife, away from him in death with a "blow," that is, to take her life very suddenly, Ezekiel 24:15-16a NIV. 2. Regardless of the intense shock of such event, Ezekiel was not to mourn or weep, not to let tears run from his eyes, but to sigh silently, to perform no public mourning act for the dead, Ezek. 24:16b-17a. Rather, he was to bind on his turban, put on his sandals, not cover the lower part of his face nor eat any food, highly unusual behavior for a man who had just tragically, suddenly lost his beloved wife, Ezekiel 24:17b NIV. -
DRY-BONES-3-2017.Pdf
From where you are… what do you see? Ezekiel 37:1-14 Sermon by The Rev. LAMONT ANTHONY WELLS I’ve had to wear glasses or contacts since I was in the FIFTH grade. I am near-sighted. This means that I can’t see very far in front of me. If I take off my glasses I can only see a couple of feet in front of me. The entire front row becomes blurry to me. But when I put on my glasses, my vision changes. I can distinguish faces and I can see where I’m headed. When we follow Christ it’s like we put on a pair of glasses. Before, we walked around with no direction and no vision for life. Dead in our trespasses and sin. But Christ gives us the opportunity to look at life in a whole new way. Yet, if we don’t learn to see things the way God sees them, we’re going to miss the reality of what God wants to do in our lives. The prophet, Ezekiel lived during a tumultuous time in Israel’s history. The nation had become a shell of its former self. The country had splintered and became two nations. The Assyrians dispersed Israel hundreds of years earlier. 1 Now in our text, Judah had become just as idolatrous as Israel and was heading for destruction. The Russian Empire had infiltrated Judah...sorry. I mean…the Babylonian empire reigned supreme over that entire region of the world. They overtook the land of Judah and carried away many of its inhabitants. -
Ezekiel's Two Sticks and Eschatological Violence in the Pentecostal Tradition
EZEKIEL’S TWO STICKS AND ESCHATOLOGICAL VIOLENCE IN THE PENTECOSTAL TRADITION: AN INTERTEXTUAL LITERARY ANALYSIS BY ALICIA R. JACKSON A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY AND RELIGION COLLEGE OF ARTS AND LAW UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM JANUARY 16, 2018 i University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Copyright © Alicia R. Jackson 2018 All Rights Reserved ii ABSTRACT This thesis explores the topic of eschatological violence in the Pentecostal tradition through an intertextual literary analysis of Ezekiel 36:16—39:29 and Revelation 19:11—21 and 20:7—10 by investigating primarily how the intentional literary placement of the ‘Two Sticks’ oracle (Ezek 37:15—28) between the ‘Dry Bones’ vision (Ezek 37:1—14) and the ‘Gog of Magog’ war (Ezek 38:1—39:29) informs the reader’s theological understanding of the message of Ezekiel 36:16—39:29 as a whole. Secondarily, this thesis considers how the allusion to Ezek 38—39 in Rev 19:11—21 and 20:7—10 enhances the reader’s theological understanding of Ezek 36:16—39:29, yielding an intertextual reading that challenges the way these texts have long been understood in popular Pentecostal contexts. -
The Early Messianic 'Afterlife' of the Tree
THE EARLY MESSIANIC ‘AFTERLIFE’ OF THE TREE METAPHOR IN EZEKIEL 17:22-24 William R. Osborne Summary This article discusses the royal associations of tree imagery in the ancient Near East before examining four early messianic interpretations of the tree symbolism in Ezekiel 17:22-24, namely those of 4QEzekiela, the Septuagint, Targum Ezekiel, and The Shepherd of Hermas. 1. Introduction Recent scholarship related to Ezekiel has focused on the reception history of the book, yielding several studies that highlight the ongoing influence of this prophetic visionary of the Babylonian exile.1 While studies on reception history do serve the modern interpreter by providing a hermeneutical context for their own reading within more recent history, the goal of this work is to examine some of the earliest translations and interpretations of Ezekiel 17:22-24 in an effort to better understand the text.2 These three verses conclude the 1 Paul M. Joyce and Andrew Mein, eds., After Ezekiel: Essays on the Reception of a Difficult Prophet (LHB/OTS 535; New York: T&T Clark International, 2011); Paul M. Joyce, ‘After Ezekiel: Ezekiel in Tradition’ in Ezekiel: A Commentary (New York: T&T Clark International, 2007); ‘Ezekiel’ in The Oxford Handbook to the Reception History of the Bible, ed. M. Lieb, E. Mason, and J. Roberts (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011); Henk Jan De Jong and Johannes Tromp, eds., The Book of Ezekiel and Its Influence (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2007); A. R. Christman, ‘What Did Ezekiel See?’: Christian Exegesis of Ezekiel’s Vision of the Chariot from Irenaeus to Gregory the Great (The Bible in Ancient Christianity 4; Leiden: Brill, 2005); K. -
Teacher Bible Study Lesson Overview/Schedule
1st-3rd Grade Kids Bible Study Guide Unit 18, Session 5: Ezekiel Told About a Future Hope TEACHER BIBLE STUDY Ezekiel had a tough job—ministering to people who had rejected God and then suffered the consequences. The exiled people of Judah were eager to blame God for their circumstances. “It’s not fair!” they argued. (See Ezekiel 18:25.) Ezekiel told the people that they were at fault for their exile; their faithlessness had provoked God’s wrath. The people were getting what they deserved. “I take no pleasure in anyone’s death,” God said. “So repent and live!” (Ezekiel 18:32). God gave Ezekiel a vision. In this vision, God showed Ezekiel a valley of dry bones. The bones represented Israel. Ezekiel prophesied that God would put tendons, flesh, and skin on the bones. He would put breath in them so they would come to life. Ezekiel encouraged the exiles. Apart from God, they were dead. But God was offering them life. He would restore their future. “My dwelling place will be with them,” God said. “I will be their God, and they will be My people” (Ezekiel 37:27). We too are dead in our sin. (Ephesians 2:1) Sin separates us from God because He is holy. We are apart from God’s presence. But God does not delight in our death. He is patient and wants us to repent and live! Hundreds of years after Ezekiel died, God’s presence came to His people through Jesus Christ, Immanuel—meaning, “God with us.” Jesus is the source of life; He offers us living water. -
Leader BIBLE STUDY Ezekiel Told About a Future Hope
Unit 15 • Session 4 unit_head UNIT 15 Session 4 Use Week of: head1 outline nested Ezekiel Told About a Future Hope BIBLE PASSAGE: Ezekiel 37 MAIN POINT: God planned to bring His people back to their land and give them new life. KEY PASSAGE: Ezekiel 11:19-20 BIG PICTURE QUESTION: Why should we obey God? We obey God because He loves us. outline_centered SMALL GROUP OPENING LARGE GROUP BIBLE STUDY SMALL GROUP ACTIVITIES (10–15 MINUTES) (25–30 MINUTES) (25–30 MINUTES) PAGE 206 PAGE 208 PAGE 214 4 head1 Leader BIBLE STUDY body_no_indent Ezekiel had a tough job: ministering to people who had rejected God and suffered the consequences. The exiled people of Judah were eager to blame God for their circumstances. “It’s not fair!” they argued. (See Ezek. 18:25.) Ezekiel told the people that they were at fault for their exile; their faithlessness had provoked God’s wrath. The people were getting what they deserved. “I take no pleasure in anyone’s death,” God said. “So repent and live!” (Ezek. 18:32). God gave Ezekiel a vision. In this vision, God showed Ezekiel a valley of dry bones. The bones represented Israel. Younger Kids Leader Guide 202 Unit 15 • Session 4 © 2016© 2016 LifeWayLIfeWay Ezekiel prophesied that God would put tendons, flesh, and skin on the bones. He would put breath in them so they would come to life. Ezekiel encouraged the exiles. Apart from God, they were dead. But God was offering them life. He would restore their future. “My dwelling place will be with them,” God said. -
Lesson 1 Kids-Ezekiel Gave Hope
Unit 15 • Session 6 Use Week of: 3/22 - 3/28 Unit 15 • Session 6 Ezekiel Gave Hope BIBLE PASSAGE: Ezekiel 37 STORY POINT: God planned to bring His people home and give them new life. KEY PASSAGE: 2 Chronicles 7:14 BIG PICTURE QUESTION: How did God plan to fix what sin broke? Before He created the world, God planned to send the Messiah to save sinners. INTRODUCE THE STORY TEACH THE STORY APPLY THE STORY (10–15 MINUTES) (25–30 MINUTES) (25–30 MINUTES) PAGE 206 PAGE 208 PAGE 214 Additional resources are available at gospelproject.com. For free training and session-by- session help, visit MinistryGrid.com/gospelproject. Children Leader Guide Unit 15 • Session 6 LEADER Bible Study Ezekiel had a tough job: ministering to people who had rejected God and suffered the consequences. The exiled people of Judah were eager to blame God for their circumstances. “It’s not fair!” they argued. (See Ezek. 18:25.) Ezekiel told the people that they were at fault for their exile; their faithlessness had provoked God’s wrath. The people were getting what they deserved. “I take no pleasure in anyone’s death,” God said. “So repent and live!” (Ezek. 18:32). God gave Ezekiel a vision. In this vision, God showed Ezekiel a valley of dry bones. The bones represented Israel. Ezekiel prophesied that God would put tendons, flesh, and skin on the bones. He would put breath in them so they would come to life. Ezekiel encouraged the exiles. Apart from God, they were dead. But God was offering them life. -
A Response to Pain Ezekiel 24:15-27
Kyle Cox Grace Bible Church - Creekside Ezekiel: A Response to Pain Ezekiel 24:15-27 Pain and tragedy is a reality for every person. Ezekiel illustrates to us that when Christians respond to pain and tragedy differently than how the world expects, we get the world's attention. We can redirect our pain towards a purpose. When we respond to pain differently than how the world expects, we get the world’s attention A Grief Observed C.S. Lewis, “We were promised sufferings. They were part of the program. We were even told, ‘blessed are they that mourn,’ and I accept it. I’ve got nothing that I hadn’t bargained for. Of course, it is different when the thing happens to oneself, not to others, and in reality, not imagination.” Jeremiah Daniel Ezekiel Ezekiel 2:1 “And he said to me, ‘Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.’ And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. And he said to me, ‘Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me” Ezekiel 3:17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me.” Structure Chapters 1-24: Pre siege of Jerusalem (Judgment on Judah) Chapters 25-32: During the siege of Jerusalem (Judgment on surrounding nations) Chapters 33-48: Post siege of Jerusalem (Hope and Restoration) Ezekiel 24:15-19 And the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the desire of your eyes with a blow; but you shall not mourn and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not come. -
THE USE of EZEKIEL 37 in EPHESIANS 2 Robert H. Suh* I
JETS 50/4 (December 2007) 715–33 THE USE OF EZEKIEL 37 IN EPHESIANS 2 robert h. suh* i. introduction Over the past several decades, scholars have endeavored much to identify the background to Ephesians 2. The issue mostly revolves around Eph 2:14– 18 with four primary suggestions: Gnostic mythology, a hymnic-liturgical background, the relationship to Colossians, and OT tradition.1 Today, it is widely agreed among scholars that the author of Ephesians has brought together “traditional materials of various origins in order to express his theological concerns.”2 Admittedly, however, the major underlying tra- ditional source for Ephesians 2 has often been considered to stem from non- canonical literature. The sweeping influence of the Gnostic hypothesis that has dominated the study of Ephesians’s background and the seeming lack of clear OT quotations in Ephesians 1–3 may probably have been the major * Robert Suh is associate pastor of Georgia New Seoul Baptist Church, 1664 Old Peachtree Rd., Suwanee, GA 30024. 1 See H. Schlier, Der Brief an die Epheser: Ein Kommentar (Düsseldorf: Patmos, 1957) 128–29; idem, Christus und die Kirche im Epheserbrief (Tübingen: Paul Siebeck, 1966) 18–26; E. Käsemann, Lieb und Leib Christi. Eine Untersuchung zur Paulinischen Begrifflichkeit (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1933) 20; Andreas Lindemann, Die Aufhebung der Zeit: Geschichtsverständnis und Eschatologie im Epheserbrief (SNT 12; Gütersloh: Gerd Mohn, 1975) 161–66; K. M. Fischer, Tendenz und Absicht des Epheserbriefes (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1973) 132; K. Wengst, Christologische Formeln und Lieder des Urchristentums (Gütersloh: Gerd Mohn, 1972) 181–86; P. Porkorny, Der Epheserbrief und die Gnosis: Die Bedeutung des Haupt-Glieder-Gedankens in der entstehenden Kirche (Berlin: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 1965); G. -
The Restoration of Israel: Ezekiel 36-39 in Early
The Restoration of Israel: Ezekiel 36-39 in Early Jewish Interpretation: A textual-comparative study of the oldest extant Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. Rev. Ashley Stewart Crane: Bachelor of Theology; Honours. This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Murdoch University. 2006 I declare that this thesis is my own account of my research and contains as its main content work which has not previously been submitted for a degree at any tertiary education institution. ........................................... Ashley S. Crane Abstract: While many have noted the differences between the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts for Ezekiel, they have done so largely to rediscover an earlier Hebrew text, or to determine which variant preserves the better reading, frequently with the aim of establishing a ‘critical text’ for their commentaries. This often leaves the other variant(s) in a sense ‘incorrect’, often attributed to various forms of scribal error. This thesis adopts a ‘textual-comparative’ methodology that accords each textual witness equal status as an interpretive trajectory, enabling each to be ‘heard’ in its own right. The aim of this thesis is to examine these different witnesses with a view to determine what they might tell us about the way Ezekiel 36-39 was interpreted by each particular community. This entails comparing the oldest extant Hebrew and Greek texts both intra-linguistically and trans-linguistically, noting any variants, and exploring possible interpretive reasons for them. This study finds that the Greek translators were familiar with both languages, and that they often exegetically and interpretively interacted with the text before them. The Greek (LXX) is both translation and interpretation of the Hebrew. -
Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Messages of Judgment and Hope He Is Not Here
Adult Bible Study in Simpliied English Jeremiah and Teaching Ezekiel: Guide Messages of Judgment and Hope WRITER Bob Coder BAPTISTWAY PRESS Dallas, Texas baptistwaypress.org Introduction ● Page 2 Adult Bible Study in Simplified English Teaching Guide Jeremiah and Ezekiel Copyright © 2014 by BW P® ® All rights reserved. BW P First edition: February 2014 Permission is granted for a church to make as many M T copies of this publication as needed for use within its ministry. Copies of this publication are not to be sold, Executive Director distributed, or used in any other manner whatsoever Baptist General Convention of Texas without written permission except in the case of brief David Hardage quotations. For information, contact BAPTISTWAY PRESS, Baptist General Convention of Texas, 333 Director, Church Ministry Resources North Washington, Dallas, TX 75246-1798. Chris Liebrum ® BAPTISTWAY PRESS is registered in U.S. Patent Director, Bible Study/Discipleship and Trademark Office. Phil Miller Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations ® are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW LIFE Version, Publisher, BAPTISTWAY PRESS Copyright © 1969, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, Christian Scott Stevens Literature International, P.O. Box 777, Canby, OR 97013. Used by permission. Identified by “N.L.V.” L Adult Bible Study in Simplified English M T is published by BaptistWay Press. These quarterly studies follow the same curriculum plan as the Teaching Guide Writer BaptistWay Adult Bible Study curriculum. Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Messages of Teachers may wish to purchase BaptistWay Judgment and Hope Adult Bible Study materials as additional resources. Bob Coder, First Baptist Church These may be ordered through your church or Richardson, Texas directly: Teaching Guide Editor Order online at: baptistwaypress.texasbaptists.org Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Messages of Order by phone: (U.S.