Lessons From Ezekiel – Lesson 23
God had called Jeremiah and had a special purpose for him and then God called Ezekiel and had a special purpose for him.
And then when God looked for someone to stand in the gap He found none. About Israel at that time God says:
Eze 22:27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.
Eze 22:28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.
Eze 22:29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
Eze 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
Not one. It is clear that God wanted to find someone so that he should not destroy the land, but things were so bad He could not find one. Out of all of the villages and towns and countryside, out of all walks of life, and out of all age groups, God could find not one.
If He could have found just one that He could use for that job, He would have used him and they would have had a revival and the judgment that had to come would have been pushed down the road a ways.
Go back a ways and you will find that things were bad but God found Hezekiah and used him to make up the hedge and stand in the gap and they had a revival and that generation did not have to go thru the judgment.
God deals with nations and groups and He deals with individuals. Israel had judgment coming as a nation but since they had a turning back during Hezekiah those specific individuals did not have to go thru the destruction of the land.
Fast forward to Ezekiel’s time and Israel still has judgment coming and these individuals are going to go thru the judgment and why these individuals? Because they would not turn back to God.
Since there was no one to stand in the gap and make up the hedge, then the judgment had to come. Other than a small remnant the whole society was wicked. Lying and dishonest gain and robbery and oppression, and vexing the poor and needy.
God had Ezekiel warn that it was coming and do many object lessons and finally Babylon marched in and laid siege to Jerusalem. During the 3 years that the siege lasted God had Ezekiel preach about and give prophecy to many of the wicked nations that were against Israel.
Last week we looked at Tyrus and saw that God was not pleased with them and He foretold what was going to happen to them. And History shows that what God said would happen to them is exactly what happened to them.
And we saw that the prince of Tyrus was actually Satan. In that city, prosperity and beauty and culture and money was used to actually keep them in bondage to their sin and keep them from turning to the Lord.
God then has his man Ezekiel give a short prophecy against Zidon.
Eze 28:23 For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
And the reason is given.
Eze 28:24 And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
They were a thorn to Israel and despised them so that is coming back upon them.
The siege has been going on a while now and things are getting tough. That is what happens in a siege that lasts years. Nothing going in. Shortages of everything.
And now God has Ezekiel give a message of hope. A promise for the future.
Israel will be Gathered in Security
Eze 28:25 Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob.
This shows so much. They are not even scattered yet. Jerusalem has not yet fallen. And God already has His eye on the day that He will restore them. While judgment must fall and is falling, God wants them to know that He is not done with them as a nation.
He promises that they will be gathered once again in the future. They will be a nation once again. They are going to get Jerusalem back. Ezekiel is giving this message to those already in captivity. If you remember they were taken out early because it may be that they will consider.
And God has Jerimiah in Jerusalem and God has Jeremiah give a similar message there. God wanted those in the siege in Jerusalem and those already in captivity to know that this is not the end.
God promised that specific land to Jacob and God wants them to know that He is keeping that promise. God is faithful. Yes, they have earned judgment and yes they will have to be separated from the land for a while. But God is not removing from them the deed to the land.
And God tells them one of the good things that will happen to them while they are in captivity.
and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen
Sanctified means to be set apart to God. Consecrated; set apart for sacred services. God could not get thru to these people no matter what He did. Their lips might say the right things while at the Temple but their hearts were far from God.
And during the captivity God is going to move in hearts and they are going to finally put away their idols and put away their worship of the host of heaven and false gods like Baal.
God is letting them know while Judgment is happening that I am going to work with you. I am going to separate you and consecrate you for sacred service.
God is not doing this judgment out of any kind of vengeance or maliciousness. He set down the rules before they even got to the land. If they did this list, then blessings and if they did the other list then curses. They all knew of those rules. And they chose the curses and God cannot lie and must do what He said.
They chose and earned this judgment, but please look at the heart of God while the judgment is happening. God does not wait to give them this message when the judgment is over. He does this while it is going on and before Jerusalem is crushed.
He is not forsaking them and He is giving them this hopeful look at the future. It is going to get better.
I still love you. I still want you to serve me in the land that you are temporarily losing. And one day you will. You are coming back and when you do you will be usable. They will be set apart for service. And we know that is exactly what happened in Nehemiah’s day and that great revival.
The Bible says For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting. The Bible says that God is love. That He delights in showing mercy. And that is what you see here. Even when He has to chastise and in this case harshly, even in those times God is still giving hope and comfort and encouragement.
Even when chastising His children He is still making sure that they know that they are His, that He is faithful, that this will not last forever. That it is going to get better.
And this chastising will have a positive effect down the road. They were not going to come back to God in Jerusalem. They were not going to grow close to Him. They were not going down the right road.
It is thru the hard road in captivity that is going to turn them around and prepare them to walk close to God. Here we see an example of how when God does chasten it is for the long term good.
Not only does God say that I will sanctify you in captivity and that you will return to the land and that He will use them again, but that they will be safe and shall dwell with confidence.
Eze 28:26 And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God.
God says that He is going to deal with all of those that despise them in every direction. And they will be able to build houses again and plant vineyards. Vineyards take years and years before they produce. You don’t plant one unless you are confident that it will still be yours years down the road.
God is telling them that they are getting the land back, that they can have a confident hope, and assurance that He is faithful to His promises and that He is not done with them and that it is not only going to get better but that the future is actually very bright for them.
It is a wonderful faithful loving merciful God that gives such a message to rebels during a time of judgment that was chosen and earned.
God’s love is deeper and wider and higher than we can ever truly understand.