Sermon - AudioEzekiel 18-21 - Audio
Ezekiel 18-21 - Reading
Daily Insights - Please Comment
The prophet disputes the view that Israel’s punishment is due to the sins of past generations. Instead, each individual is responsible for his or her own actions. -JSB-
1-4 = We understand this passage to be that some of the people believed this judgment was brought upon the people for their parents (other generations) sins. The author states this to not be true. Each man will pay for their own sin and this generation is just as guilty as the last.
5 - Again we see: “If a man is righteous and does what is just and right:"
*Worship God alone, no other possessions, people...nothing
*Does not commit adultery or mistreatment of another
*Does not oppress others (economics)
*Gives freely to the poor and does not take from his neighbor
*Clothes, feeds, and covers the poor
*Lends and gives freely
*Stands for justice, and shows righteousness in all cases
*Walks on God's path and acts faithfully
10-13 - If a righteous person’s child sins, that child is responsible for his or her own sins and shall die.
14-18 - Conversely, if a sinner’s child behaves righteously, that child shall be spared.
20-22 - summary of 10-18
21-24 - A new principle enters the debate. Ezekiel contends that a wicked person who repents shall be saved, but a righteous person who sins shall be condemned. -JSB-
28 - Why will the wicked be spared? "Because they stopped and considered...and turned."
*Thought - The wicked can see their sins because others will point them out. The "so-called" righteous being discussed hide their sins and promote injustice. Who is better off? It is better for your sins to be found out and be given a chance to confess and repent.
30-32 - Even after all this the people state that things "aren't fair" and that God has dealt with injustice towards his people. Ezekiel tells the truth of God's heart:
"For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD, SO TURN!!!!!!, and live."
Thought - This is God's heart since the very beginning of creation. He does not desire death and in fact hates murder, but He desires His creation to be restored and needs His people to walk in His ways. Man is the apex of His creation, why would God want them to die? He doesn't. They will not listen and continue to reject Him...He must get their attention, they must turn, and be a light unto the world. If His people don't follow Him, how will all the nations be blessed through them? They won't unless God acts.
Q. When people look at you do they see a loving God who desires justice, mercy, and restoration?
Ezekiel 19
This is a funeral poem, in this case for three kings of Judah. The manner of speaking is highly metaphoric (with the nation, for example, called a mother lion and a vineyard). The main point is still satiric, as evil kings are held up to rebuke and subjected to God’s judgment. -ESVLB
A lioness was your mother refers to Judah or all Israel. Note the identification of Israel or Jerusalem as the bride of God in Hos. chs 1-3; Zeph. 3:14–20; Jer. chs 2-3; Isa. chs 49-54; 66. -JSB-
4 - The first cub who is brought with hooks to the land of Egypt is King Jehoahaz son of Josiah, who was exiled to Egypt by Pharaoh Neco after Josiah’s death (2 Kings 23:31–34; 2 Chron. 36:1–4). -JSB-
6 - 2nd Cub - King Jehoiakim, whom Pharaoh Neco placed on the throne.
9 - King Jehoahaz
10-14 - Possibly King Zedekiah - "power politics" didn't work out well.
12 - The east wind withered her branches: The “Sharav” or “Hamsin,” a dry desert wind like the Santa Ana winds of southern California, is frequently employed as a symbol of God’s power (Exod. 14:21; 15:8–10; Isa. 11:15). -JSB-
13-14 - Zedekiah was captured in the wilderness, and his reign came to an end.
Ezekiel 20
History lesson [ chapter 20 ]. This long chapter ranks as a small anthology of oracles all by itself. The main story line of the chapter is a history of Israel, beginning with the exodus from Egypt and set within a framework of God’s judgment of the nation for its waywardness, as is announced right at the outset (vv. 1–4). The perspective of the history lesson is satiric, as the sins of Israel are cataloged and denounced (vv. 5–39 and 45–49), but there is an inserted oracle of redemption (vv. 40–44). -ESVLB-
9 - "But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt."
*God speaks of the continuous gifts that He gave to His people amidst their hatred shown toward them.
14 - "But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, win whose sight I had brought them out. "
17 - "Nevertheless, my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or make a full end of them in the wilderness. "
22 - "But I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. "
Ezekiel 21
The vision of the drawn sword [ chapter 21 ]. Chapter 21 is unified by the image of the drawn sword of God, a symbol of God’s judgment against sin. The oracle of judgment against Judah (vv. 1–27) is mainly a prediction of the impending invasion by Babylon. At the end of the chapter, we find an oracle of judgment against the Ammonites (vv. 28–32). -ESVLB-
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