EZEKIEL The LORD’s Judgment & Restoration Bible Study 2020/2021; Tuesdays, 12:00-1:00 p.m. by Zoom
Class #29, April 20, 2021
The Herald of Good News
Ezekiel 6:8-10; 11:14-21; 16:59-63; 28:24-26; 35:1-36:15; 36:16-38; 37:1-14
Notes, observations, and questions on Ezekiel 6:8-10
1. We come to a series of oracles of good news to the exiles, the remnant of Israel which has been scattered over the earth. These provide the light of hope in a dark world.
2. God will provide that a remnant escapes the sword (v 8). These exiles will emerge from the nations as a transformed people. Their spiritual renewal will occur on foreign soil.
3. The spiritual rebirth of the survivors of the national calamity will occur on three levels (v 9): a. They will remember Yahweh. To remember implies a renewal of relationship with the Lord and the confession of him as the Covenant Lord. God is Israel’s Redeemer and Husband and would tolerate no interference from would-be competitors. b. The survivors will loathe themselves. They will see their sins like never before. c. The survivors will know that “I am Yahweh,” and God has not threatened in vain.
4. After the fury of divine judgment on the idolatrous nation, a remnant comes forth, ready to obey God and confess their sins.
Notes, observations, and questions on Ezekiel 11:14-21
1. vv 14-15, preamble and thesis
a. The exiles are the central concern of this passage. They are Ezekiel’s brothers and “men of your redemption.” This term refers to the circle of relatives, the extended family, to whom Ezekiel would have looked for support in time of need. Moreover, the whole family/house of Israel portrays the exiles as a clan, of which Ezekiel is a member. At the same time, we see the irony here. Ezekiel was often alienated from the other exiles. b. But many of the exiles no doubt thought of themselves has rejected by God and sent out of the land in judgment, while those back in Jerusalem gloated and profited from their exile. It was the Jerusalemites back home who were alienating themselves from Yahweh by their daily conduct and their arrogant claims.
2. v 16, the refutation
a. Yahweh will have none of this. He rebuts the Jerusalemites’ cynical claims on two grounds: (1) He reaffirms his involvement with the exiles. (2) Expulsion from the land should not be interpreted as alienation from himself. b. When God says, “I have become their sanctuary,” that’s unparalleled in the OT. Now a relationship with God is possible apart from the physical temple back home.
3. vv 17-21, the counter-thesis and epilogue
a. These verses announce fundamental changes in Israel’s relationship with their land and their God: (1) The new Exodus – back to their homeland (2) The new land – the exiles must restore it to holiness (3) The new covenant, the new heart– the restitution of Yahweh’s covenant with his people; this renewal is described as a heart-transplant (4) At the end, the people and the LORD will be one together in covenant b. After God does all this, his promised benefits are not to be taken for granted (v 21).
4. Theological implications
a. Those who are arrogant, especially those in authority, will face God’s wrath. b. The true Israel is recognizable not by external marks such as circumcision, the possession of the Law, or the temple in Jerusalem, but by a willing obedience to the covenant Lord. c. Spiritual renewal is achieved not by human effort but by God’s act alone. d. God is always faithful.
Notes, observations, and questions on Ezekiel 16:59-63
1. This announcement of grace is prefaced (v 59) by God’s judgment on Jerusalem.
(a) First, Jerusalem has displayed contempt for the covenant curses. Thus, Yahweh is bound to impose the curses upon her. (b) Second, she has broken the covenant. God is legally absolved from protecting her.
2. However, the LORD now looks beyond the judgment to a day when he will take Jerusalem back and renew his covenant with her (v 60).
(a) First, he will remember his covenant that he made with her when she was young. (b) Second, he will establish an eternal covenant with Jerusalem. (c) The future of Jerusalem rests on the past covenant to which Yahweh remains eternally committed, in spite of the judgment and in spite of all appearances to the contrary. (1) Leviticus 26 is in the background here, which records the covenant blessings and curses. (2) We also hear what God said through Jeremiah (Jer 32:31-34).
3. In vv 61-63, the effects of this covenant renewal are spelled out.
a. First, Jerusalem’s memory will be quickened. b. Second, Yahweh’s new expressions of grace will evoke an intense sense of shame in her. c. Third, Jerusalem will acknowledge God. d. Yahweh therefore affirms Jerusalem’s need for a fundamental spiritual renewal, the elimination of her sins, which only he can affect. No ritual acts on their part can accomplish this purging. It can occur only through the gracious intervention of God himself.
4. Theological implications
a. The sentence of death hangs over everyone from the outset (Rom 3:23). Only by God’s grace through our faith in him can our sins be cleansed and our eternal life assured. b. God is faithful to us, even when we are unfaithful to him. c. We recall our Lord’s first public message recorded in Mark’s gospel, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Notes, observations, and questions on Ezekiel 28:24-26
1. Yahweh, the Lord of history, reaffirms here his commitment to Israel’s well-being and restoration.
2. V 24 is gospel to Ezekiel’s people because it announces the end of the insults they have endured from their enemies. Yahweh’s ultimate goal is the recognition of his Person and the confession of his involvement in human affairs.
3. In v 25, they are promised they will be gathered home, to their homeland. God’s holiness will be publicly manifested with this event. He will restore his name among the nations after it has been tarnished by his own people.
4. They will dwell securely in their own land (v 26). They will construct houses and plant vineyards. The reconstituted nation will be a work of God and of God alone.
5. Theological implications
a. No nation stands outside of God’s sovereignty. b. When the Lord intervenes in a nation’s affairs, he does so to manifest his own glory and holiness. (Remember the Lord’s Prayer.) c. God keeps his covenant.
Notes, observations, and questions on Ezekiel 35:1-36:15
The Restoration of God’s Land
1. This section presents a good example of “halving” in the book of Ezekiel. Together, 35:1- 15 and 36:1-15 present two sides of a single divine concern: the restoration of the land of Israel. 35:1-15 focuses on the cause of the land’s desolation and the removal of those who stand in the way of the restoration. 36:1-15 focuses on the restoration of it.
2. 35:1-15, the prerequisite to restoration: the judgment of Seir (Edom)
a. God commands Ezekiel to set his face against Mount Seir. This is a synonym for Edom, and it occurs 38 times in the OT. Mt Seir is part of the mountain region given by God to the descendants of Esau (Gen 33:14, 16). It’s an alternate name for Edom. b. This nation of Edom that had gloated over the devastation of the land of Israel will suffer the same fate. Then they will acknowledge Yahweh. c. The formal indictment of Mt Seir begins (v 5) with a charge of “long-standing enmity. From the womb of Rebekah, Jacob (Israel) and Esau (Edom) were rivals. But Edom’s hatred of Israel intensified as the years went by. When the Babylonians razed Jerusalem, the Edomites clapped their hands with glee. d. Some of the Edomites participated in that razing and even sought out and slaughter fugitives from Jerusalem (v 6). They are guilty of murder—bloodguilt. e. God will bring destruction to Mt Seir, but the ultimate goal of Edom destruction is to force Edom to recognize that the patron defender of Israel is also the Lord of their own history (vv 7-9). f. God’s second charge against Edom was their desire and plan to take over Judah now that the population had been wiped out by the Babylonians. We have some archeological evidence indicating Edomite presence in the land of Israel following the Babylonian siege. g. But the Edomites failed to see Yahweh’s continued presence in the land (v 10). They’ve assumed that a land whose population had been deported and whose cities lay in ruins must have been abandoned by its god. God will bring his full fury against Edom for this assumption (vv 11-12a). h. Yahweh has heard the taunts of these enemies of his people (vv 12b-13). Now not only Mt Seir but the entire land of Edom will become a wasteland just like the mountains of Israel (vv 14-15). Yahweh remains the rightful owner of the land of Israel. Any encroachment on the land by another nation is a direct challenge to him.
3. 36:1-15, the restoration and transformation of the land
a. Edom could be identified by a single mountain, but Ezekiel now addresses “the mountains of Israel.” This oracle concerns primarily the land, not the people, of Israel, and the LORD is the one, true owner of it (vv 1-3). b. Edom represents all the nations that have seized Israelite land for themselves (v 5). This seizure of the land was an insult to Yahweh. Plus, they took the land gleefully. God’s anger has been inflamed by actions and attitudes. c. God sentences the nations in vv 6-7. First, he announces his presence. He’s ready to defend his land. Second, he speaks. He will have the last word. Third, he declares that the nations will get a taste of their own medicine. d. God now promises a new day for the land of Israel (vv 8-11). (1) The covenant relationship between god and his people will be reestablished. (2) The nation of Israel will have returned from exile. (3) God will bring a repopulation to the land through the house of Israel (v 10). (4) Even the beasts will be blessed. The land will be like Paradise itself (v 11). e. The promise of a new day for the people is announced (vv 12-15). Land, people, and Yahweh will be forever united.
4. Theological implications
a. The promises of God are sure. He has not forgotten his promises to his people and the land he has given them. b. The exiles have a new future, thanks only to God’s grace. c. Those who position themselves in opposition to the people of Yahweh render themselves his enemies. Taunts against the kingdom of God are taunts against the LORD. He promises that the gates of hell—and the gates of Edom – will not prevail against his people and their inheritance. d. The land functions in a sacramental way: God’s promises are tangible, real, and embodied.