39-Ezekiel 43 – Hosea 6
Sep. 19, 2009
We will begin our study this week with the final chapters of the Book of Ezekiel before getting into the Book of Daniel. Last week we saw how the Lord’s words to Ezekiel and His message turned from words of warning to words of hopeful restoration after the fall of Jerusalem. This week at the end of Ezekiel we will continue to look at a future temple and land that is to come. In Chapter 43 Ezekiel was taken, in the Spirit, to the new temple in Jerusalem. There he had a vision of God the same as he had during his call to service beside the Chebar River many years ago. In this vision Ezekiel was taken to the holy place inside the new temple and witnessed the Glory of the Lord fill the entire place. This temple was different than all the others in that the veil that separated God from the people was missing. The Lord said that He would remain in this temple and His people would no longer defile it. Ezekiel was then told to describe and measure the inner temple before the people. Chapter 44 describes the closed eastern gate of the temple. This was the gate the Lord used when His Glory filled the Holy Place and could not be used by any other. A prince would sit in that gate who was a descendant of David. This new temple was to help Israel remember their sins and come back to the Lord. The Levites which were descendants of Zadok were given rules to follow and offerings to give at the end of the chapter. The land was divided, in Chapter 45, to show the allotment for the Lord. This land is to be 25,000 X 20,000 cubits, or 7 X 5.5 miles using an 18 inch cubit. This land was then divided into equal portions. The temple was centered in Jerusalem on Mt Moriah where all the earlier temples were located. Land was also set apart for the prince. The Lord will then establish fairness in measure to the people and describe the offerings He required. In Chapter 46 the offerings by the prince were listed, also in the chapter is the area designated where the priests would boil the offerings to the Lord. Chapter 47 describes a river of water that will flow from the temple to the Great Sea. This fresh water river will supply fish for the people to eat along with supporting trees along its bank. The fruit of the trees will be in season all year to provide for the people. The boundaries of the land were given that were the same as the original Promised Land given by the Lord to His people. The land was to be divided up again to the twelve tribes of Israel with each man receiving an allotment. Aliens with the people that believed in the Lord were to be treated the same as the people of Israel during this time. In the final chapter of Ezekiel, Chapter 48, the Lord lists the divisions of land to the tribes along with the land for the Levites, and the prince. Then at the end of the chapter the Lord describes the gates to the city. This ends the Book of Ezekiel. We will now begin the Book of Daniel. Daniel is the last book of the Bible that is known as the Major Prophets. This refers to the length of the book. Daniel was one of the young men taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar during the first deportation to Babylon in 597 BC. He was taken with three other young men from the royal class of Judah to be trained for service in the king’s court in Babylon. Daniel was one of the few Bible characters that have nothing negative written about them. He is a great example to us on how to live the Christian life. Chapter 1 begins with Daniel and the other three young men after they had been brought to Babylon for training. They had been specially selected to be trained in all the ways of the Chaldeans. The training they received reminds me of the training Moses received from the Egyptians as he was growing up. The young men were given a place to live in the palace and a ration of the king’s food to eat. The food was of exceptional quality, but Daniel and his three friends would not eat it and defile themselves before their God. Daniel asked the commander of the officials, who the caused to favor Daniel, to give them only vegetables and water to eat. The man was afraid to grant Daniel’s request because he was responsible for their welfare. Daniel persuaded him to give them a trial for ten days and see how they were. After the ten days Daniel and his friends were stronger and healthier than the rest of the captives. Daniel and the three finished their training in the knowledge of the Chaldeans and served their kings and the kings of Persia after them. In Chapter 2 Nebuchadnezzar had a dream in his sleep that greatly troubled him, but he could not remember the details. He commanded his advisors to tell him his dream and its interpretation. The punishment for not doing this was death. None of the men could interpret a dream that was not even revealed to them, the task was impossible. Daniel and his three friends were included in this group of advisors. Daniel found out about the king’s request. He went to Arioch, the captain of the king’s bodyguard, to give him a little time to interpret the king’s dream and went away to pray to save him and the other men. He prayed and the mystery of the dream was revealed to him in his sleep. He went to Arioch and requested to be brought before Nebuchadnezzar to tell him his dream. Arioch brought him to Nebuchadnezzar and told him the dream, and it’s interpretation. God revealed to Daniel that the king dreamed of a great statute with a head of gold, arms and breast of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, and legs and feet of iron. The feet of the statute were also mixed with brittle clay. A stone cut without hands came from the sky and struck the statute on the feet, shattering them that in turn grew large and filled the whole earth. Daniel then told Nebuchadnezzar the meaning of the dream. The statute represented succeeding kingdoms from now into the future. Nebuchadnezzar was represented by the head of gold. Babylon would be replaced by an inferior kingdom represented by the silver arms and breast. This kingdom would then be replaced by another inferior kingdom represented by the belly and thighs of bronze. Finally this kingdom would be replaced by a strong kingdom represented by the iron legs. This final kingdom will be revived in a weakened state represented by the feet of iron mixed with clay and destroyed when the Messiah comes to set up His kingdom on earth. We know today that Daniel referred to the succeeding kingdoms of Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the future revived Roman Empire that will be defeated when Jesus comes again. Nebuchadnezzar was pleased and worshipped Daniel and his God. The king gave many gifts and promoted Daniel to be ruler over the province of Babylon and over the king’s wise men. Daniel also promoted his three friends to help him. In Chapter 3 Nebuchadnezzar made for himself a large golden image and set it up in a plain outside the city. The people of Babylon were told that whenever they heard music of any kind they were to bow down and worship the image. The wise men were jealous of the Jews and brought to Nebuchadnezzar’s attention they did not worship the image as directed. Daniel’s three friends could not dishonor God and go against His commandments and worship an image. This angered Nebuchadnezzar and the king had the three bound and brought to him. They refused to worship and told the king in verse16-18 “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. “But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” The penalty for refusing was to be thrown into a fiery furnace. The king was angry so he had the furnace heated seven times greater than usual and commanded the three be thrown in. The executioners were killed by the heat of the furnace when they opened it, but when the king looked inside the three men were walking around unharmed by the flames. He also saw a fourth man with them that looked like a “son of the gods.” It is believed that an Old Testament appearance by Jesus saved Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fire. After the men came out of the furnace without even having their clothing singed, Nebuchadnezzar gave a decree that no one could ever speak an offense against the God of the Jews. Daniel and his three friends are beginning to affect Nebuchadnezzar and, in Chapter 4, he acknowledges God with these words from verse 1-3 “May your peace abound! “It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me. “How great are His signs and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and His dominion is from generation to generation.” Nebuchadnezzar then had another dream his wise men could not interpret. The men brought Daniel before the king to interpret his dream. Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a large tree that covered the land. The tree had abundant fruit and protected all who were near it. The tree gave the ground creatures shade and a place for the birds to nest in its branches. An angel commanded the tree to be chopped down and the creatures around it scattered. The stump with the roots would be left with a band of metal placed around the cut off stump. The angel then addressed the stump as a man and said that his mind would leave him and he would be drenched with the dew of heaven for a period of seven times. This was to show him that the Lord was ruler over all. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar the dream was about him. His kingdom was the tree and would be removed from him soon. He would lose his mind and go into the field and eat grass like a beast for seven years to show him who God is. One year later this happened and Nebuchadnezzar lost his kingdom and his mind and was in the field for seven years. At the end of the time Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged God as Most High and his kingdom was restored. He said in verse 37 “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.” Nebuchadnezzar, I believe, died a believer in the Lord. In Chapter 5 a son of Nebuchadnezzar is on the throne of Babylon. He had not learned from the past to fear the Lord. Belshazzar held a feast in his palace while the armies of the Medes were besieging the city. In his drunken state he decided to dishonor the Lord by drinking from the sacred vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. At the height of the party, a man’s hand appeared and wrote on the wall of the chamber. Belshazzar was very afraid but could not understand the writing. Belshazzar made a decree that whoever could interpret the writing would be made third ruler over the kingdom. His queen remembered Daniel could interpret dreams and had him brought to the chamber. Daniel looked at the writing and told Belshazzar that he was not like Nebuchadnezzar and had not learned to fear the Lord. The inscription MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and UPHARSIN meant that in verse 27-28 “‘MENE’—God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it.“‘TEKEL’—you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. “‘PERES’—your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.” Belshazzar placed the robe on Daniel and promoted him to ruler. That night the army of the Medes came in through the open water supply and killed Belshazzar and took control of the kingdom. Darius the Mede was placed in control in Babylon. The Medes were now in control of the old Babylonian kingdom and, in Chapter 6, Darius needed to place new leaders over the people. He chose one hundred twenty men to rule and decided to place Daniel along with two others over them. Daniel excelled and was blessed in all that he did. He impressed Darius so much he planned to place him alone over the entire kingdom. The other rulers were jealous and tried to find some corruption to accuse Daniel with. They could find nothing so they went to Darius with an idea that he should execute anyone who worshipped any other god but him for one month. They knew Daniel prayed to his God daily in public view. Daniel prayed as usual and was taken to the king for sentencing. The penalty for breaking the edict was to be placed into the lion’s den. Darius had no choice but to comply with his irrevocable ruling and had Daniel thrown into the den. He went to his chambers, but could not sleep from worry for his friend. The next morning when the door to the den was opened Daniel came out unharmed. He said the Lord shut the mouths of the lions because he had committed no crime. Darius was very pleased and ordered Daniel’s accusers, and their families to be thrown in the den. Their bones were crushed before they reached the bottom. Now, in Chapter 7, the account of Daniel shifts from the chronological account of Chapters 1-6 to Daniels own visions during these times. In this chapter Daniel describes a vision he was given during the first year of Belshazzar’s reign over Babylon. The vision was of four beasts that came up from the sea. The first was like a lion, the second like a bear, the third like a leopard, and the fourth like nothing he had ever seen. These four beasts represented God’s view of the kingdoms represented by Nebuchadnezzar’s statue. The vision went on to describe future events associated with these kingdoms that have proved too be very accurate today. The prophesies of Daniel give us a sweeping panorama of world history. This vision also predicted the length of the time known as the great tribulation. Daniel then had another vision of a ram and a goat. This vision foretold of future rulers and events in a future kingdom. Here in Chapter 8 Daniel was visited by the angel Gabriel to tell him the meaning of his vision. Gabriel said the vision was of the last days and spoke of future events. The knowledge sickened Daniel and he was in his bed for many days. In Chapter 9 during the first year of Darius Daniel prayed for his people, Israel, to the Lord. Daniel had read from Jeremiah that Israel would be in bondage for seventy years and wanted to intercede for them. He was concerned and asked the Lord for mercy. At the end of the chapter he was visited again by the angel Gabriel to answer Daniel’s request. Daniel was told that seventy weeks had been set aside to punish Israel. After seven prophetic weeks the temple would be rebuilt, then after the sixty ninth week the Messiah who is to come will be cut off and rejected. There would then be a pause until a man would make a treaty with Israel beginning the seventieth week. The treaty will be broken in the middle of that week and war will be fought until the end. The prophetic weeks here represent weeks of years. Several years later, in Chapter 10, Daniel was again terrified by a vision of the future. He prayed for three weeks for an answer and was finally visited by Gabriel on the twenty fourth day. God heard his request from the first time he prayed but Gabriel had been delayed in conflict with demonic forces along with Michael the Archangel. There is a spiritual war going on today all around us that we are unaware of. Gabriel said these visions also pertained to future things. Gabriel told Daniel about the visions and returned to help Michael in the battle. Chapter 11 goes back several years to another vision of Daniel on future things. The vision showed events that would take place in future kingdoms on earth. The vision covered the decline of the Medes and Persians and their loss to Alexander the Great from the kingdom of Greece. Alexander would die young and the vision describes the events of his generals as they came to power. The vision has proved to be very accurate in describing history. In the final chapter of Daniel, Chapter 12, Daniel is told the Lord will separate the believers from the wicked in the end for reward or judgement. There is going to be a time of great trouble in the future. Daniel was also given timelines that describe the last days. He though, being at the end of his life was told to enter into God’s rest and wait for the final resurrection where he would receive his portion for his faithful service. This ends the Book of Daniel. I would encourage all to study this book because it tells of things that are occurring today. This study only touches some of the story of the book. We will now begin the first book of the Minor Prophets, the Book of Hosea. The Book of Hosea was written by Hosea to the people of the ten northern tribes of Israel from the reign of Jeroboam II to the captivity by Assyria. Hosea is a Minor Prophet only because his book is shorter than the Major Prophets books. The book was written to show the unfaithfulness of Israel towards God. In Chapter 1 Hosea is told by the Lord to marry a prostitute and have children as a sign to Israel. Hosea married Gomer and had three children. The first was named Jezreel to show the people they would be punished a while longer for their sin. The second, a girl, was named Lo-ruhamah as a sign to the people the Lord would no longer have compassion on them. A third child was born who was named Lo-ammi as a sign to the people in verse 9 “you are not My people and I am not your God.” In this chapter the Lord is represented as Hosea, and Israel as His adulteress wife. In Chapter 2 the Lord condemns His faithless wife and divorces her because of her evil ways. She is condemned for her actions until the end of the chapter where she is told of restoration. This represents the exile of God’s people and there restoration in the future. In Chapter 3, Hosea was told to go again and pursue Gomer even though she was an adulteress. He was to spend time with her without having relations and also to remove the idols from around her. She, representing Israel, would again turn to God and David, representing Jesus, in the Millennium during the final days. This was a picture of God’s love for His people. In Chapter 4 the text reveals the controversy God had with His disobedient people. He said to them in verse 6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” The Lord has that problem today when his people refuse to read His Word. In Chapter 5 the apostasy of the people is rebuked by the Lord. God told the people in verse 4-5 “Their deeds will not allow them to return to their God. For a spirit of harlotry is within them, and they do not know the Lord. Moreover, the pride of Israel testifies against him, and Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity; Judah also has stumbled with them.” We will finish up this week with Chapter 6 where the people respond to the Lord with the words of verse 1-3 “Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. “He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, that we may live before Him. “So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth.” This ends our study for this week. Next week we will finish the Book of Hosea and look at several other of the Minor Prophets.