Read Ezekiel
10-12 & Hebrews
11:1-19
To discover:
As you read consider the
significance of God’s glory leaving the temple.
To ponder:
From his
chariot-throne God now tells the man in linen to take coals from amongst its
wheels and scatter them over the city (10v1-2). If the coals represent coals
used in burnt offerings, they stress the penalty of sin being paid in
judgement. What follows is the presence and glory of God moving from the south
of the temple to its threshold, whilst filling the inner court with a sort of
radiant cloud (as chapter 1). The note that the wings of the cherubim could be
heard at the outer court implies the LORD moving away (10v3-5). Again, God
tells the man to take the fire (presumably the coals), and one of the cherubim
gives it to him with what looks like a man’s hand (10v6-8). This detail might
be to highlight the role of angels in judgement.
10v9-17 repeat the description of
the cherubim and chariot from chapter 1. The substitution of a face of a cherub
for the initial face of an ox, may therefore a scribal error in copying. The
mention of the cherubim and wheels being covered in eyes probably stresses the
fact that God moves and acts according to what he sees throughout the earth.
The repeat of the description emphasizes what follows: God’s glory departed
from the threshold and sort of alighted upon the chariot-throne. The chariot
was then carried by the cherubim to the east gate (10v18-21), ready to continue
east to a mountain (see 11v23). The sense is that having dispensed judgement,
God is going to leave. One might consider here how Jesus walks amongst his
lampstands (churches) in Revelation, but threatens to remove those who don’t
repent of their sin (Rev 2v5).
After this, the Spirit took Ezekiel
to the temple gate that faces East, where he sees 25 men including some
prominent leaders (11v1-2) who God says are plotting evil and giving wicked
advice. 10v3 suggests this advice was to urge the people to fight the Babylonians
in contradiction of his word through Jeremiah to surrender. The footnote shows
the uncertainties with the verse. The reference to “meat” probably implies the
men saw themselves as the best part of the inhabitants of the city, who could
be protected from the fires of war as the meat is by the cauldron. Advice that
seems sensible is wicked if it contravenes God’s word.
God calls Ezekiel to prophesy
against these people, declaring that the good meat is actually the people these
leaders have killed within the city. So for breaching his laws and conforming
to the standards of the nations, God is going to drive them out to face the
sword at the borders of Israel ,
where they will then know he is the LORD (11v4-12). As this is all a vision,
and Ezekiel is still in Babylon ,
this prophesying was not heard by the people, but significant in explaining the
destruction of Jerusalem to the
exiles and later readers.
As he prophesied, one of the leaders
died and Ezekiel again cried out over whether God would destroy all that
remained of Israel .
God replied that the people of Jerusalem
say that Ezekiel’s family and the others with him in exile are far from the
LORD, and so by implication, rejected, whereas God has given the land to those
in Jerusalem . Yet Ezekiel is to declare
that God has actually been a sanctuary to those in these foreign countries –
implying that they are not rejected. The LORD adds that it is these people who
will be given back the land as he will bring them back to it. So he will not
destroy everyone. Indeed, these Israelites will remove all the land’s
idolatrous items. By his Spirit, God will then give them a heart that is singly
devoted to him, rather than being hardened against him. And they will therefore
keep his covenant by obeying his laws, so that they will be God’s people and he
will be their God. By contrast, those who are devoted to their images and idols
will suffer for what they’ve done (11v13-21). This obviously compacts the
return from exile with the work of Christ, looking to the new covenant work of
the Spirit (see Heb 8). We should be thankful that in him we are kept from
falling into such sin. But the event also reminds us that church leaders may
pronounce self-righteously that they are the ones who have God’s favour,
perhaps because they are part of establishment Christianity. But this is simply
untrue if they are not obeying the Lord. Rather, his favour is with those who
seek to do his will.
With this clarified, God’s glory finally
leaves Jerusalem and stops over the
mountain in the east, which is on route to Babylon .
The Spirit then returned Ezekiel in his vision to the exiles, to whom he told
everything. The removal of God’s glory from the city is hugely significant,
demonstrating how utterly he had rejected the people. It also reassures the
exiles that God’s presence is mobile, and so he is still with them, as long as
they look to him. This is the key purpose to the whole vision, which began in
8v1.
In chapter 12 Ezekiel is told that
in exile he is nevertheless living amongst a rebellious people who do not see
or hear what God is speaking about. So the prophet is to act it out. In the
daytime, whilst seen, he is to bring out his belongings packed for exile, and
then in the evening leave through a hole he digs in the wall, covering his face
so he cannot see the land. After doing it, the LORD asked him whether the
rebellious Israelites asked what he was doing, telling him to explain it is a
sign of what will happen to the prince of Jerusalem
and the whole house of Israel
who are still in Judah .
He adds that the prince will be brought to Babylonia but
die before seeing it, whilst his staff and troops will be scattered throughout
the nations, pursued by the LORD. God says they will then know he is the LORD,
and he will spare some so that amongst the nations they will acknowledge him
and the detestable things they have done. Next, he told Ezekiel to tremble as
he ate and drank as a picture of the anxiety that will accompany meals in Jerusalem
when the land is stripped bare. Here he corrects two sayings: Of one that
states prophetic visions are not fulfilled, he says his words will be fulfilled
– implying his words of judgement will come to pass. And with respect to
another that says Ezekiel’s vision is of the distant future, God says it will
not be delayed any longer (12v1-28). We should remember that because some of
what is to be fulfilled in Christ has not yet occurred, this doesn’t mean it
will not. God acts according to his perfect timing (2 Pet 3v1-9).
Praying
it home:
Praise God that he
is with those who love him wherever they are and whatever they face. Pray that
those suffering hardship would be comforted by this.
Thinking
further:
None
today.
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