This week, we shall continue the study of the book of Ezekiel in the Old
Testament.
The three parts of the 2nd symbolic act in chapter 4 depict the siege of Jerusalem. Now the 4th part of the act in chapter 5 depicts what would happen after the siege: Exile!
5:1-4—The 4th Part of the 2nd Symbolic Act
(1) What is the usual meaning behind the shaving of head and beard? (See 2 Sam. 10:4; Ezek. 7:18)
(2) Can a priest shave off his head or beard? (Lev. 21:5)
(3) What then does this act of shaving (by Ezekiel, a priest) signify?
(4) This act follows the 3-part symbolic act of the siege of the city of Jerusalem:
a. What is Ezekiel to do with ⅓ of the hair? (v. 2)
b. What is he to do with the second third of the hair?
c. What is he to do with the final third of the hair?
(5) A few strands of hair (likely from the third batch)
a. What is he to do with a few strands of hair? (v. 3)
b. But what is he to do with some of the strands that were initially tuck away? (v. 4)
5:5-17—The Message
(6) What was God’s original intention for putting Jerusalem “in the center of the nations”? (v. 5; Exod. 19:5-6)
(7) What has Jerusalem turned out to be compared to the nations around her? (vv. 6-7)
(8) The consequential punishment (vv. 8-11)
a. What is meant by “in the sight of the nations”? (v. 8)
b. How severe will the punishment be and what is the one sin that is cited as its cause? (v. 9)
c. The severity of the punishment includes:
i. Extreme famine: How extreme will it be? (v. 10a)
ii. What will happen to those who survive? (v. 10b)
d. What particular sin is being reiterated? Why will God not spare them? (v. 11)
(9) The symbolic act explained (vv. 12-13)
a. What does the first ⅓ of hair that was burnt signify?
b. What does the second third of hair struck with the sword signify?
c. What does the last third of hair that was scattered signify?
d. What will happen to the few strands that are tucked away? (v. 13; see Note below)
(10) The punishment elaborated (vv. 14-17)
a. How will their destruction be perceived by the nations then and now? (vv. 14-15)
b. What imagery is used by the Lord in describing the punishment that they will face? (v. 16) Why?
c. What are being highlighted to convey the severity of their plight? (vv. 16-17)
d. What are the words being repeated in this section? (vv.15, 17) Why?
(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
It appears that the last part of the symbolic act, the burning of some
of
the hair tucked away, is not explained in the message itself. Keil opines
that
“a small number of the Israelites who are scattered to the winds, is saved, and that of those who are saved a part is still consumed with fire. From hence there can only come forth a fire of purification for the whole Israel, through which the remnant, as Isaiah had already predicted (6:12ff), is converted into a holy seed. In the last clause, consuming by fire is not referred to. The fire, however, has not merely a destructive, but also a cleansing, purifying and quickening power. To kindle such a fire on earth did Christ come (Lk. 12:49), and from Him the same goes out over the whole house of Israel.”
(K&D, Ezekiel, 50)
We have seen that of all the sins of the Israelites, the one highlighted in the last message focused on their idolatry (5:9). Here (likely a continuation of the last message), one aspect of their sin of idolatry is being pointed out, as Ezekiel is commanded to set his face against the mountains of Israel and prophesy:
6:1-7—The Prophecy against the Mountains of Israel
(1) As Ezekiel is now in Babylon, how can he set his face against the mountains of Israel, and how will the people know what he is doing?
(2) As the people hear his words “to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys”, what might be the picture conjured up in their minds concerning their past practices (which were still being practiced by those in Judah)? (vv. 3-4)
(3) How will God deal with their altars and those who worshipped idols? (vv. 5-7)
(4) What is the consequence they should expect from such practices? (Deut. 29:16-28; 30: 15-20)
(5) Do you think such a punishment is too harsh? Why or why not?
6:8-10—Some Will be Spared
(6) When this punishment comes to pass, how will God spare some of them?
(7) What is the reason for sparing some of them? (v. 9)
(8) Have you ever experienced being spared by the Lord (of some discipline you deserved)?
(9) What lesson might you have learned?
6:11-14—Ezekiel to Strike Hands and Stamp Feet
(10) In this reiteration of the punishment, what aspect of its severity is emphasized (even though “the wilderness of Diblah is unknown” according to Keil)?
(11) In
asking Ezekiel to strike his hands and stamp his feet (v. 11), do you think the
Lord wishes him to express the following?
a. “violent excitement…to make known the displeasure of the Lord at the horrible idolatry of the people” (Keil)
b. “to demonstrate the remorse and derision He was to show toward Israel because of her sin and the coming judgment” (Alexander)
c. Why?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Following the prophecy against the mountains (representing the most widespread form of idolatry in the land), the word of the Lord comes to Ezekiel pronouncing judgment on “the land of Israel” with the repeated emphasis of “the end”:
7:1-4—1st Alarming Announcement
(1) What does the emphasis on “the end” mean to the exiles who still have hope for the deliverance of Jerusalem?
(2) Will any part of the kingdom be preserved, as it is the case at the moment? (7:2)
(3) What is being reiterated as the cause for the end of the land? (vv. 3-4)
7:5-9—2nd Alarming Announcement
(4) As “the end” is repeated in the message here, what language is used to heighten its urgency and severity?
(5) The same reason for their punishment is given here: the verb being emphasized is “repay”: What does it signify? (vv. 8, 9)
7:10-13—3rd Alarming Announcement (I)
(6) What analogy does the Lord use to depict the self-inflicted nature of their doom? (vv. 10-11)
(7) How fitting is it?
(8) In emphasizing that none in the crowd and no wealth will be left, the message is directed to the buyers and the sellers of land (vv. 12-13)
a. Under the Law of Moses (Lev. 25), when can the seller expect to recover the land he sold previously?
b. Why will such not be the case anymore?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
3rd Alarming Announcement (II)
(1) Nowhere to hide (vv. 14-18): The doom that will fall upon the whole crowd is heightened by the fact that they cannot fight but flee (v. 14)
a. What about the outside of the city? (v. 15)
b. What about fleeing to the country? (v. 15)
c. What about staying in the city? (v. 15)
d. What about taking refuge in the mountains (which should be inaccessible to the foes)? (vv. 16-18)
(2) Wealth is utterly useless (vv. 19-22)
a. What will they do to the silver? Why? (v. 19)
b. How will they look upon their gold? Why? (v. 19)
c. What have they used their jewelry for? (v. 20)
d. What will happen to their jewelry? What does it mean?
e. What will God allow the wicked of the earth (presumably means the Babylonians) to do? (vv. 21-22)
(3) It will be too late (vv. 23-27)
a. Where will they be led to in chains? (v. 23)
b. Why? (vv. 23-24)
c. What will they be seeking at that time? (vv. 25-26)
d. Is it a good thing that they finally seek peace, vision, the law and counsel? Why or why not?
e. What does it mean that the Lord will judge them “by their own standards”? (v. 27)
(4) What is the message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
8:1-6—The 3rd Vision’s Setting and the 1st Scene (the idol that provokes jealousy)
(1) When was the 3rd vision given and what was its setting? (you may consult the timeline chart in the lesson for Ezekiel 1:1-14, Year 5 Week 31 Day 211)
(2) What does Ezekiel see as the hand of the Lord is upon him? (v. 2; see 1:26-28 as well)
(3) Who lifted him up and where is he transported to? (v. 3)
(4) Although
we do not know exactly what that idol is ...
a. ... where it is placed? (v. 3)
b. ... why is it called “the idol that provokes to jealousy”?
(5) While Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord, what does the Lord say that such “detestable things” will do to His glory? (v. 6)
8:7-13—The 2nd Scene (the 70 elders)
(6) Where is the next place Ezekiel was brought to? (v. 7)
(7) The next room has to be reached through the digging of a larger hole in the wall: What might it signify? (v. 8; see Note below)
(8) What does he see on the walls? (v. 10)
(9) Who are inside the room and what are they doing? (v. 11)
(10) What do the 70 leaders and Jaazaniah represent? (Although we do not know exactly who Jaazaniah is, see Num. 11:16)
(11) Why do they choose to do it in “darkness”? (v. 12)
(12) What excuses do they have? (v. 12)
(13) Why can’t these excuses justify their detestable practices?
(14) What is the message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
“The room in question may have been originally designed as a storage room for temple vessels or furniture (1 Ki. 6:5), but had been converted into an actual cult center.”
(NICOT, Ezekiel I, 289)
8:14-15—The 3rd Scene (the mourning women)
(1) Where is the next place Ezekiel was brought to? (v. 14)
(2) Who are the idolaters?
(3) We are not sure exactly who or what Tammuz is: Some opine that it is a form of mourning, some translate it as Adonis — a beloved of Venus, and some see it as having a Sumerian origin. In any case, what kind of perversion is it that the women are mourning over another deity (or after the fashion of some Canaanite superstitious mourning) in the “forecourt of the temple” (NICOT, 294)?
8:14-16—The 4th Scene (25 sun-worshippers)
(4) Where is the next place Ezekiel was brought to? (v. 16; see Note below)
(5) Who are the idolaters, given the place they are performing their detestable practice? (v. 16)
(6) What kind of idolatrous act do they perform? (v. 17)
(7) How wicked is their action?
8:17-18—Sum Total of Their Wicked Idolatrous Acts
(8) How many types of people are represented by the above four scenes?
(9) The Lord accuses them of looking upon their deeds as “trivial”. What does He mean? (v. 17)
(10) Apart from blatant acts of idolatry, what else does the Lord accuse them of? (v. 17)
(11) What serious consequences will the continuous practice of all these sins lead to, especially expressed by the metaphorical use of the phrase, “putting the branch to their noise”? (v. 18)
(12) What does the last statement of the Lord signify? (v. 18)
(13) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
“After Ezekiel has seen the idolatrous abominations in the outer court, or the place of the people, he is taken back into the inner court, or court of the priests, to see still greater abominations there. Between the porch of the temple and the altar of burnt-offering, the most sacred spot therefore in the inner court, which the priests alone were permitted to tread (Joel 2:17)…”
(K&D, 72)
Within the same vision, no sooner did the Lord avow to show no pity to the house of Judah, did He give command to summon the executioners forward:
(1) Who are those summoned by the Lord to carry out the execution? (vv. 1-2)
(2) Before their execution, what is the one with the writing kit to do? (v. 4)
(3) What are the rest of the men (who are obviously angels) to do? (vv. 5-6)
a. Why should they start with the elders?
b. Why does the Lord spare those who have marks on their foreheads? (see Rev. 7:3; 14:1 and Exod. 12:13, 22ff)
c. What might be its message to us today?
(4) How does the Lord defile His own temple courts and why? (v. 7)
(5) How does the prophet react to this vision and why? (v. 8)
(6) How does the Lord respond to the prophet’s intercession?
(7) Reflect on the excuses of the people in v. 9 (a repeat of what is said in 8:12):
a. How does this vision refute the second excuse?
b. Does this vision seek to affirm their first excuse? Why or why not?
(8) No sooner had the Lord given His reply than the man in linen came back to give his report (v. 11).
a. What is the message to the elders who are sitting before Ezekiel? (8:1)
b. What is the message to the world today?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?