What I learned from the Book of Ezekiel

Finished reading through the Book of Ezekiel a couple of days ago. I have been doing this year after year following the read through the bible calendar. I cannot say I get anything more out of it this time than the other years. So I decided to devote a bit more time exploring other resources to see if I can understand the book a bit more and thus be blessed by it since it is part of scripture, God's Holy Word.

Biblestudytools.com gives a very good historical context for the Book of Ezekiel. Basically Ezekiel lived through many wars: firstly the invasion of the Assyrians ending with the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel (722-721 b.c.); then followed by the invasion of the Babylonians and Medes (612 b.c.); only to be supplanted by the Egyptian 3 years later, who also destroyed the southern kingdom of Judah. After a couple of more battles between the Egyptians and the Babylonians Jerusalem finally fell in 605 b.c. resulting in the exile of 10,000 Jews, including Ezekiel, to Babylon. On August 14, 586, Jerusalem and its famous temple were burned down completely. These events were also recorded in other books of the bible including 2 King 23-24, 2 Chronicles 35, Jeremiah 46, and Daniel 1.

Ezekiel was a priest serving among the exiles and there he received his call to become a prophet (Ezekiel 1:1-2). "For the first seven years of his ministry (593-586 b.c.) he faithfully relayed to his fellow Jews the stern, heart-rending, hope-crushing word of divine judgment: Because of all her sins, Jerusalem would fall. The fact that Israel was God's covenant people and that Jerusalem was the city of his temple would not bring their early release from exile or prevent Jerusalem from being destroyed. The only hope the prophet was authorized to extend to his hearers was that of living at peace with themselves and with God during their exile."(extract from Biblestudytools.com).

Ezekiel's prophetic messages often involved symbolism and object lessons. The most extreme object lesson I think is the death of his wife during which time Ezekiel was told not to mourn openly. This was to be a sign to God's people that they were not to mourn openly for the fall of Jerusalem and its temple (see Ezekiel 24:15-27). Ezekiel's prophetic messages also followed similar sequence as other major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zephaniah): judgement against God's people (chapters 1-24); judgement against the invading nations (chapters 25-32); and promise of restoration of God's kingdom (chapters 33-48).

So what can I learn from this book? I had referred to Chuck Swindoll's overview previously. In "What's the big idea?" he wrote: "God didn’t exile the Israelites primarily to punish them. God never has been nor is He now interested in punishment for punishment’s sake. Rather, He intended the punishment or judgment in Ezekiel’s day as a means to an end—to bring His people to a state of repentance and humility before the one true God. They had lived for so long in sin and rebellion, confident in their own strength and that of the neighboring nations, that they needed God to remind them of His holy nature and their humble identity in a most dramatic way. After centuries of warnings, prophetic messages, and invasions, God decided that more significant action was required—He had to remove the people from their promised land."

So these are my take home points:

• Sin has a real price tag. I am quite aware of my own sin and the sin of those around me. Do I have the same holy fear as Isaiah, who when he saw God in a vision, exclaimed: "Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty."(Isaiah 6:5)
• The consequences of sin are real. I am hurt and those around me are hurt. But praise God for the gift of his Son Jesus Christ. I share the same exhortation as Paul when he said: "So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:21-25)
• My hope is in what Jesus has done for me on the cross and what the Holy Spirit will accomplish through its sanctifying work. I will learn to listen carefully when God speaks, either through his holy word, or through his servants whom he sent to remind me of his truth.