Sometimes reading the Old Testament requires extra focus and determination, because the style of writing and the events are so unfamiliar. But that didn’t seem to be the case for me today!
Read Ezekiel 9-12
Right from the beginning Ezekiel captured my attention. I know that the men coming from the north (in this case the northern gate of the city) represent the Babylonians who will ransack the city and burn it to the ground. I wonder why there are six of them? Who is the man in linen? I don’t think he represents anyone from Babylon, he’s strictly a heavenly being. And I notice that he is marking everyone who isn’t grieving the condition of Jerusalem (or Israel in general). That got me thinking: in order to truly be sad about the terrible things that are happening around you, you must have compassion, which means that you would have love…which can only come from God. People who say they are Christians but don’t have compassion clearly don’t have any love….which makes their testimony suspect. Considering this, I believe that a good way to confirm if someone has had a genuine encounter with Jesus is to observe what they are concerned about, or what they care about.
If the man in linen was marking everyone who didn’t care about ungodly activities in Jerusalem, then how many would he mark in the United States today? And here’s another thought…he was looking at how the people felt about the area they lived in, not how they felt about other countries. What I mean to say is, the man in linen was told to observe how the people felt about the community in which they lived. He didn’t check to see if they had a heart for other countries, or the community “down the road”. If their hearts didn’t overflow with sadness because of the evil that was surrounding them in their own city, they were marked.
On the other side of that argument, I suppose that if your heart is moved to compassion about sin nearby, it will also be moved for sin no matter where it’s found. Either way, feelings of grief about the fallen state of the world seems to be an indication of God’s presence.
Chapter 10:
Before I forget to mention it…. when the glory of God leaves the temple it heads toward the mountains in the east. (that’s in 11;22) For that reason some people believe the Ark of the Covenant is hidden somewhere east of the temple. Do you know what hilltop is east of Jerusalem? The mount of olives! What if the Ark is buried somewhere near where Christ was crucified? One commentator believes that Christ’s blood when crucified dripped down onto the Ark in it’s hiding place. (blood from the sacrifices was sprinkled on the altar in some cases).
I am in awe of the images of the glory of God in this passage! I have heard people comment on the wheels, observing that they probably resemble electrons circling an atom. Honestly, there isn’t much for me to comment on here because it’s so far beyond me. I can’t say why the created beings have hands under their wings, and I can only speculate on why they are covered with eyes (symbolizes that the Lord sees everything). And, I don’t know what the significance is of the beings not turning their heads when the travel, or why the wheels are beside them, and not underneath them. Clearly nothing is riding on the wheels, they have some other meaning. I do know this: It’s all part of the glory of God, and the mystery of what heaven looks like. Ezekiel has glimpsed the throne room in heaven! He has seen a small part of what we will all gaze upon in awe someday. He got to see what the angels see every day. If it does nothing else, it should at least confirm for us that God is real, and lives in perfection and power somewhere above us.
In chapter 11, the new Spirit that is placed within them is the Holy Spirit, which had not been given before this. And they didn’t receive it immediately upon returning to their homeland, even though you could read that into the text. We know that this particular passage is fulfilled when the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost, as recorded in Acts. It’s just another example of how our interpretation of time is vastly different from God’s interpretation.
When God talks about what will happen to “them” it generally turned out to be their descendants.
In chapter 12 God uses Ezekiel in exile to send a message to Zedekiah, who is ruling in Jerusalem. Zedekiah will eventually lose his eyes, and exactly what this passage describes will be true of him. God always knows! Our future is the present for Him (or maybe even the past!…if there is any “past” with God). In 12:16 a few people are spared so that they can confess their sins to their captors….I wonder if Christians will be on the earth during the tribulation for the same reason? Hmmm.
It didn’t escape my attention that the people of Israel are paying no attention to the prophets because the prophecies haven’t come true for a long time. That’s exactly where we live today! We know all of the prophecies about how the world will end, and how God will return and put an end to sin,and how everyone will be judged. And yet, many people react to this truth the exact same way that the Israelites acted when they heard it. They scoff, they look around and see peace and prosperity on every side and they say “I don’t think so…there are crackpots in every age that think the world will end, and yet it never does”.
Let the reader be warned…everything that God has promised will come true, so it’s best to live prepared since we don’t know when it will happen. Better to be forewarned and ready than to be caught in the judgement as a doubter.
Faithfully
PR