Judges 2

Study Guide 64: Ezekiel 1-24 PRINCIPLES OF JUDGMENT Overview The prophecies recorded in this book were first uttered by Ezekiel between July 593 b.c. (Ezekiel 1:1-2), and April 571 b.c. (Ezekiel 29:17). These were tragic years for the Jewish people (called “ Israel” in this Old Testament book). Twenty-three years before Nebuchadnezzar became ruler of Babylon, Jeremiah had warned Judah that the Babylonians would crush their country and had counseled surrender. God’ s people rejected Ezekiel’ s message, even after 605 b.c., when the Babylonians destroyed Assyrian power and slowly crushed the Jewish state by a series of invasions. Ezekiel had been taken captive with others during the first Babylonian invasion. While Jeremiah continued in Palestine to prophesy Judah’ s doom, Ezekiel preached this same message to those already in Exile. The first part of Ezekiel’ s book is made up of messages delivered before the final destruction of his homeland. The later part of the book is made up of messages given after Jerusalem and the temple had been razed.

Outline I. Prophecy against JudahEzek. 1-24 II. Prophecy against NationsEzek. 25-32 III. Prophecy of RestorationEzek. 33-39 IV. Prophecy of the TempleEzek. 40-48 Commentary At the time of the first deportation of Jews from the Promised Land, 25-year-old Ezekiel was taken to Babylon. Ezekiel was a member of an important priestly family, taken as captives with other distinguished persons whom Nebuchadnezzar wished to remove from political influence in their homeland. It was five years after this transportation, in 593 b.c. (see Ezekiel 1:2), that Ezekiel received his call to be a prophet. Ezekiel had a unique two-part ministry. Between 592 and 586 his messages contained warnings about Jerusalem’ s destruction. His last message of this era, reported in Ezekiel 32:1-32, was delivered in April 585 b.c., just after the city and its temple were destroyed. For the next 13 years Ezekiel was silent. Then, in April 571 b.c., the prophet took up a new ministry. Now his message was one of hope, promise, and comfort for the exiles. In this unit we focus on the first part of Ezekiel’ s ministry — a ministry in which he struggled in Babylon with the same unbelief that met his contemporary Jeremiah in Judah. Both men fought to lead God’ s people to accept Captivity as part of God’ s plan for His people. The Book of Ezekiel has four natural divisions, reflected in the outline in the overview of this unit. Within the first section, the focus of our present study, there are several major sermons.

Messages before 586 b.c. (Chaps.)(Event) chaps. 4-5Pictures of siege chaps. 6-7The land desolate chaps. 8-11God’ s glory withdraws Ezekiel 12:1-28Exile symbolized Ezekiel 13:1-23False prophets charged chap. 15-16Jerusalem allegories chaps. 17-19Leadership allegories Ezekiel 23:1-49The two sisters Ezekiel 24:1-27Death of Ezekiel’ s wifeEzekiel is interesting to teach as well as relevant and valuable for believers today. His eccentric method of symbolically acting out his teachings offers us an unusual opportunity for some creative teaching methods. But most important, his message on the glory of God, and on human responsibility, are vitally relevant to every believer.

Symbolic Acts: Ezekiel 4-5 The most striking features of Ezekiel are the symbolic acts that accompanied the prophet’ s messages. Ezekiel did not simply speak of a coming siege of Jerusalem: he obtained a large brick, sketched a city on it, and like a child in a sandbox, raised earth siege works against it. Lying on his side, Ezekiel gazed at the besieged city, with each day representing a year in God’ s program of discipline. To represent the fate of the people still in Palestine, Ezekiel carefully shaved off his hair and beard. With greatest care he weighed and divided the hairs of his head. One-third of his hair he placed in the center of his sandbox city and burned. This represented those who would die when the Babylonians finally overran Jerusalem. Ezekiel spread another third on the ground around the city, and attacked it with a sword. Finally Ezekiel took the last third of his hair and tossed it high, to be scattered by the wind. This represented those who would be taken to surrounding nations and scattered across the face of the earth. The exiles must have gathered in wonder to watch these strange actions of Ezekiel. They would then listen as God’ s spokesman explained their meaning. The message was clear. There would be no “ next year in Jerusalem” for those taken to Babylon. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Replay Ezekiel’ s symbolic representation of Jerusalem’ s siege, reported in chapters 4-5. Use a brick to represent the city, and Legos or other children’ s building toys to construct siege works. As group members come in, be on the floor, gazing silently at the siege scene. Say nothing, but when all have come, play a tape recorded composite of the message of Ezekiel, using Ezekiel 5:8-12. Have your group members quickly read through Ezekiel 4-5, to list each act and what it symbolized. Then debrief. How did group members feel when they came in? Why might Ezekiel’ s approach have been necessary? (cf. Ezekiel 2:3) Are there issues today that may need to be dramatized to gain the attention of Christians or non-Christians?

The Glory of God Withdraws: Ezekiel 8-11 The Book of Ezekiel is impressive in its revelation of God as transcendent — that is, as highly exalted above all material creation. In the very first chapter of his book, Ezekiel told of a vision which he had from God: a vision which we can hardly understand but which conveys powerfully a sense of God’ s awesome majesty. In a series of phrases and images Ezekiel helps us realize that the God he saw is not only powerful beyond all power as we know it, but is totally different from anything that we know in our acquaintance with the things of space and time. God came to Ezekiel in “ an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light.” The figures glimpsed at its center looked like “ glowing metal” and their burnished, winged forms and faces were like nothing ever seen or dreamed of. Sparkling, rimmed wheels spinning within wheels rose and fell with these creatures. But the focus of the vision towered above these beings. Against the background of an “ expanse, sparkling like ice and awesome,” was the central figure of the Almighty. His figure, shaped like a man, was ablaze, and from Him emanated a brilliant light. Completely awed by “ the likeness of the glory of the Lord” Ezekiel fell facedown. The word “ glory” is a significant one in the Old Testament. The Hebrew word, kabod, comes from a root that means “ heavy” or “ weighty.” It suggests what is impressive or worthy about a person or thing. The term is often associated in ancient cultures with kings, who possessed both high position and great wealth. In the Old Testament the phrase “ the glory” or “ the glory of God” is closely linked with God’ s revelation of Himself. As here in Ezekiel, the imagery of a blazing splendor, or flaming holiness to mark His presence, is often used (cf. Exodus 16:10; 2 Chronicles 7:1-2). Yet neither raw power nor burning holiness can express the glory of our God. When Moses begged to see God’ s glory, he was told, “ I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you” (Exodus 33:19). “ Glory” is also associated with the acts by which God redeemed Israel from slavery in Egypt (Numbers 14:22), and even with Creation (Psalms 19:1). The Expository Dictionary of Bible Words (Richards, Zondervan), says that: “ Glory” implies more than a disclosure by God of who He is. It implies an invasion of the material universe, an expression of God’ s active presence among His people. Thus, the Old Testament consistently links the term “ glory” with the presence of God among Israel in tabernacle and temple (e.g., Exodus 29:43; Ezekiel 43:4-5; Haggai 2:3). God’ s objective glory is revealed by His coming to be present with us, His people, and to show us Himself by His actions in the world. It is this powerful concept, of the awesome, transcendent God present and active with His people, that is captured by the term “ glory.” And thus when Ezekiel saw in a vision the glory of God actually departing from the Jerusalem temple, the prophet knew that Judah’ s doom was truly sealed! When Ezekiel had this vision he was seated with the elders of the Jews in Babylon. Suddenly caught up by an angelic visitor, he was taken in his vision to Jerusalem. There he saw what was happening at that moment in the temple in which the exiles had placed their trust, confident that God would never permit the place where His presence rested to be destroyed. The vision demonstrated how foolhardy their hope was, as Ezekiel observed God removing His presence from the edifice constructed by Solomon. The remaining shell of marble and gold could afford no protection to God’ s sinning people. Ezekiel 8:4-18. Ezekiel was taken to the temple, where he perceived the glory of the Lord, the visible sign of His presence, in the holy of holies (the inner sanctuary of the temple). But in the vision Ezekiel was told to look away from God, and to observe what the men of Judah were doing in the temple. He was taken through a secret passage into a hidden chamber. There the very elders of his people worshiped idols and “ crawling things and detestable animals.” These most likely represented the gods of Egypt, with whom the Israelites were seeking a political alliance against the Babylonians. Yet it was the gods of Egypt that the Lord had shown so powerless at the time of the Exodus! There, in the hidden chamber, priests and elders offered incense, imagining that “ the Lord does not see us: the Lord has forsaken the land.” Then Ezekiel was guided to the gate of the temple, where he found women involved in the worship rites of the mother/ son cult of Tammuz. Then, in an inner court, Ezekiel found 25 men facing away from the temple (see 2 Chronicles 6:20), praying toward the sun, the chief god Ra of the Egyptian pantheon. The pollution of the temple by the Hebrews showed how far they had fallen: “ Therefore,” God said, “ I will deal with them in anger. I will not look on them with pity or spare them” (Ezekiel 8:18). Ezekiel 9:1-11. Then a striking thing happened. Six angelic figures with weapons in hand approached, and “ the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple” (Ezekiel 9:3). God’ s presence was about to leave! The executioners were given instructions — first to mark off those individuals who were ashamed and mourned over Judah’ s faithlessness, then to strike out among the rest and to kill, without showing pity or compassion, those who defiled the Lord’ s sanctuary. Ezekiel 10:1-22. Cherubim, a guard of honor, now approached the temple, and the glory of the Lord moved out to the threshold. As the honor guard stood ready, the glory of the Lord left the temple threshold and paused above it. Ezekiel 11:1-21. Ezekiel was then lifted and brought to the place from which the glory looked back toward the temple. From this perspective, Ezekiel saw the faces of the 25 who had earlier been worshiping the sun. Among them Ezekiel recognized the key religious and political leaders of God’ s people! Commanded to prophesy against them, Ezekiel spoke . . . and at his words one leader fell dead. The prophet cried out in anguish. “ Ah, Sovereign Lord! Will You completely destroy the remnant of Israel?” (Ezekiel 11:13) God’ s answer was both comforting and foreboding. Not all His people would be destroyed. Those in captivity would be kept secure and regathered one day to the Promised Land. But for those “ whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols,” there would be a complete end. Ezekiel 11:22-25. With this announcement the cherubim lifted their wings and the glory of the Lord left not only the temple but the city itself, hesitating briefly over the mountains east of Jerusalem. God had left His sinning people to the fate that, in their hardness of heart, they themselves had chosen. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Review with your group the dedication of the temple by Solomon, at which time “ the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord” (2 Chronicles 7:1-3). Read also the warning given by God at that dedication (2 Chronicles 7:19-22). Then with your group work through Ezekiel 8-11, noting how the actions of the Israelites made it certain that the threat of God to uproot Israel and reject the temple would be carried out. Then discuss: “ What lesson was there for Ezekiel’ s contemporaries in his vision? What lessons were there for future generations of Israelites? What lessons or principles can we draw from this passage for believers today?”

Personal Responsibility: Ezekiel 18:1-32There are many indications in Ezekiel and in Jeremiah that God’ s judgment is selective. While all must suffer when a nation is defeated and its people taken captive to a strange land, God continues to deal with individuals. We see this theme in Ezekiel 9:1-11, in which individuals who were ashamed of Judah’ s unfaithfulness were marked off by the destroying angels before they went about their work to “ kill, without showing pity or compassion,” the rest. The survivors in the national holocaust were carefully selected by the Lord! Against this background the attitude of many in Judah, who lightly shrugged off the warnings of God’ s prophets, is difficult to understand. And yet the nation continued to quote a proverb that said, “ The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’ s teeth are set on edge.” We might phrase it, “ Mom ate a lemon, and her children puckered.” But however the proverb is phrased, it dismisses the notion of personal responsibility. It suggests a fatalism which dulls the moral sensibilities. If tragedy was about to come to Judah, her people seemed to say, there was nothing they could do: it would come because of the sins and failings of their parents. This moral and spiritual fatalism was both an insult to God and a snare to His people. The notion that God might bring disaster on the innocent was an affront to His justice. And the notion that nothing could be done became an excuse for further excesses. Why repent, if judgment would come anyway? Why not simply take whatever pleasure or profit they could from the present moment, if there was nothing they could do to alter the future? This attitude, so deeply ingrained in the people of the prophet’ s day, helped to make the Israelites so unresponsive to God’ s words of warning and exhortation. But in Ezekiel 18:1-32 the Lord makes something abundantly clear. What the individual does will make a difference! An individual’ s choices may not have an impact on the fate of his or her nation, but those choices will surely have an impact on his or her own fate! Soul. A phrase that is often repeated in this chapter confuses many about just what God is saying. That phrase is “ the soul who sins is the one who will die” (Ezekiel 18:4, Ezekiel 18:20). Assuming that “ soul” here means that permanent, immortal element of the human personality which survives death, some have taken Ezekiel’ s words to be about eternal destiny. The sinning soul, they have understood, will suffer eternal punishment. But the Hebrew nephesh does not indicate “ soul” in that sense. Instead it is often used in Hebrew as an intensive personal pronoun, meaning the person himself. Here, as in other places in the Old Testament, the meaning is simply “ the person.” Thus Ezekiel’ s warning was simply this: “ The person who sins is the one who will die.” But what “ death” was Ezekiel speaking of? Ezekiel spoke of physical death: the person who sinned would be killed in the coming holocaust when the Babylonians overran the nation and shattered Jerusalem! Who would live? Ezekiel then went into a thorough explanation of who would live and who would die. The person who was “ righteous” in terms of obedience to the Law’ s commands would live. “ He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor’ s wife or lie with a woman during her period. He does not oppress anyone, but returns what he took in pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. He does not lend at usury or take excessive interest. He withholds his hand from doing wrong and judges fairly between man and man. He follows My decrees and faithfully keeps My laws. That man is righteous; he will surely live,” declares the Sovereign Lord. Ezekiel 18:5-9This statement of the divine standard of behavior contains nothing new. Every clause is found written in the divine Law; every expectation has been repeated by the prophets. In the same way, the sinful behavior of the person who would die had been declared wicked from the beginning (see Ezek. 10-13). Ezekiel asked, “ Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he will surely be put to death and his blood will be on his own head” (Ezekiel 18:13). Even if such a person had a righteous parent, he would die, for each individual was responsible for, and would be dealt with according to, his own actions. Repentance and change. The prophet then went on to take several mixed cases. Suppose a person who has been wicked repents and begins to keep God’ s commands? God says, “ If a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and . . . does what is just and right, he will surely live” (Ezekiel 18:21). This statement answers one of the major confusions of our own time. People tend to think of circumstances as something that determine human choices. We think that if a person had a troubled childhood, his later actions are both explained and excused. “ His parents were drunks. No wonder he beats his wife now and then.” Or, “ Her folks never made it past third grade. No wonder she talks in classes and won’ t pay attention.” Now, it is clear that childhood experiences and the other circumstances of our lives influence us. But they do not determine our futures. Each of us is free enough to make responsible choices. And each of us will be judged by the choices we do make. Thus we each know of individuals who are like the ones Ezekiel described. We know the godly son of the wicked father, who somehow turned away from the way of life he had always known to find God and godliness. And we each know of the sinning children of godly parents. And now Ezekiel said that the individual who had chosen righteousness would not share the guilt of the father — nor benefit from the godliness of the father unless he too chose good (Ezekiel 18:19-20). With this message of responsibility Ezekiel has a powerful word of hope. Even the person who has been wicked and made wrong choices can repent and change! A wicked person can “ turn away” from all his sins, turn to good, and live (Ezekiel 18:21). But the possibility of change cuts both ways. A person who had done what is good may stray from righteousness. If a righteous man “ turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live?” (Ezekiel 18:24) We can summarize the message that Ezekiel had for individuals in Judah on a simple chart.

LiveDie good manwicked man good man with wicked parentwicked man with good parent wicked man who repents and does goodgood man who changes and does evilLINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Use the chart to present and summarize the content of Ezekiel 18:1-32. Be sure to explain the meaning of “ soul” in this context, and the life or death issue with which the prophet dealt. Also use Ezekiel 18:5-9 to explain that “ good” in this context means a person who makes moral and interpersonal choices according to what God says is right in His Word. Then put the following on a chalkboard. Ask your group members to agree or disagree that each sums up adequately a lesson or principle taught in this chapter. If group members disagree, work together on restatements that will express a principle we can apply in our own lives today. The statements: God actively watches over those who do what is right. Our moral choices may sometimes influence our future. We can’ t be held responsible when childhood influences cause our later sins and failures. Once you’ ve started down a wrong path, there’ s nothing anyone can do to change you. Good people become immune to temptations that drag others into sin. When a person does wrong he should blame the devil. A person’ s will gets so weakened by sin he or she just can’ t change.

Warnings, and Hope: Ezekiel 1-24 The first section of Ezekiel, composed of messages and visions concerning Judah’ s doom, were dark warnings indeed. Yet even in them we sense an exciting hope. First, we catch a glimpse of the glory of God. One so powerful and transcendent cannot be thwarted by any occurrences here on Planet Earth. Whatever our situations may be, we can rest in the assurance that God is all-powerful, and that God remains in control. Second, we learn that even in a time of national disaster God continued to care about, and to watch over, individuals. God preserved the good in Israel despite the terrible disaster that befell the country. What is more, the words God sent His prophet to utter conveyed good news to each individual. To the godly Jew Ezekiel’ s words were a promise. God would watch over him or her whatever came. And to the wicked, Ezekiel’ s words were both a warning and an invitation. The pressures they must have felt now under the threat of re-invasion by the Babylonians were nothing compared to the death and destruction that lay ahead. In view of that certain future, God’ s willingness to accept the person who would repent shone bright. It is never too late to change. It is never too late — until the judgment comes.

Teaching Guide Prepare Read Ezekiel 18:1-32 thoughtfully. To whom do you think such a message might be directed?

Explore

1. Give a minilecture of Ezekiel’ s times.
2. Or, actually act out as Ezekiel did the siege of Jerusalem as your group members enter. See “ link-to-life” above.

Expand

1. Divide your group into teams of five or six people. Each team is to determine one Bible truth that is vital for people of today to understand. After choosing, each team should plan one way a prophet like Ezekiel might dramatize or symbolize that message today. For a variation on this, pick a topic like abortion or pornography. Have your teams suggest at least one message to our society on the selected topic that Scripture conveys. Then plan how they might symbolize that message, as Ezekiel so powerfully presented his message to his contemporaries.
2. Or, focus on Ezekiel’ s message on personal responsibility. Use the “ link-to-life” idea above to explore the teaching of Ezekiel 18:1-32.

Apply Share: “ Which of the principles derived from Ezekiel 18:1-32 is most meaningful to me? Why?