This week, we shall continue the study
of the book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament.
Inquiry by the Wicked
(1) The elders in exile come before Ezekiel (vv. 1-3)
a. What is their purpose of sitting down in front of Ezekiel? (v. 3)
b. These elders are now in exile:
- What should they have learned from their fate?
- In refusing to let them inquire of Him, the Lord accuses them of the following:
1) They have set up idols in their hearts. What does it mean?
2) They have put up wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. What does it mean?
(2) The Lord promises to answer such a wicked person Himself:
a. How will He answer that person? (v. 8)
b. What is His purpose? (v. 5)
c. What then is God’s message to the house of Israel? (v. 6)
(3) The prophet who obliges the request of the wicked (vv. 9-11)
a. Why shouldn’t the prophet utter a prophecy in response to the request of the wicked? (v. 9)
b. If he obliges, what likely will he prophesy about? Why?
c. How will God deal with such a prophet? Why? (vv. 9-10)
d. What is God’s ultimate desire in punishing both the wicked and the prophet? (v. 11)
(4) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
14:12-20—The Judgment Against an Unfaithful Nation
(1) What kind of a nation is this prophecy directed against? (v. 13a)
(2) Hypothetically, God says three of His righteous men were in that nation:
a. Noah: In what way does Noah express his righteousness? (Gen. 6:9ff, Heb. 11:7; 2 Pet. 2:5)
b. Daniel: In what ways does Daniel express his righteousness? (Dan. 1:8; 6:10)
c. Job: In what ways does Job express his righteousness? (Job 1:20-22)
(3) Why does the Lord say that even if these three men, who are known for their righteousness, were in the nation, “they could save only themselves”? (14:14)
(4) First example of punishment that God will send to such an unfaithful nation (vv. 13-14; see Note below)
a. What is it?
b. How severe will it be?
(5) Second example (vv. 15-16)
a. What is it?
b. How severe will it be?
(6) Third example (vv. 17-18)
a. What is it?
b. How severe will it be?
(7) Fourth example (vv. 19-20)
a. What is it?
b. How severe will it be?
(8) What is the central message of these four examples?
(9) What contemporary nation(s) can you think of with this warning?
14:21-23—The Judgment on Jerusalem
(10) In comparison to the (hypothetical) nation mentioned above, why does the Lord say, “How much worse will it be” for Jerusalem? (v. 21)
(11) As the judgment should be “much worse”, what is the difference in the final outcome of the judgment? (v. 22)
(12) What is the purpose of giving them survivors who will eventually come to them (i.e. those already in exile)? (v. 22)
(13) The prophecy ends with these words, “for you will know that I have done nothing in it without cause”?
a. How might these words console Ezekiel and the exile?
b. How might these words console you in your current situation?
(14) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
The
four types of disasters that will befall an unfaithful nation to the Lord are
basically a summary of the promised increasing punishments that will befall
Israel in Leviticus 26:18ff.
(1) The Lord often uses the imagery of a vineyard or vine to describe how precious Israel is to Him (Isa. 5:1; Jer. 2:21; Ps. 80:8 etc. ). As a result, when the imagery of vine is invoked, what will the audience of Ezekiel think of themselves?
(2) But in this imagery, it is not the vine as a plant, but it is the wood that is the focus. How should one respond to the Lord’s question in v. 2 then?
(3) The Lord follows up His question by asking: "Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful?".
a. Under what circumstance is the “wood” or stem of the vine taken from the plant itself? (See Jn. 15:1ff)
b. Once taken from it, will the wood be useful to make pegs? Why?
c. Since it is useless for any other purpose, it is at best used as fuel for fire. And when it is used for fuel and both ends are burnt and the middle charred, what good is it then?
15:6-8—Imagery Applied to Jerusalem
(4) What has Jerusalem gone through by the time Ezekiel and his people are in exile?
(5) Although there are people who with their king remain in Jerusalem, how does the above imagery in v. 4 fit their present plight?
(6) What will happen to this charred vine? (v. 7)
(7) What will be the final outcome of Jerusalem and why? (v. 8)
(8) Self-reflection:
a. Who were you before you came to know the Lord?
b. Who are you today and why?
c. How does this imagery serve to help you as a warning and an encouragement?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
The Allegory of Unfaithful Jerusalem: It should be noted that Jerusalem is chastised as a representative of the whole house of Israel.
(1) What does the following allegory seek to show? (v. 2)
(2) Her spiritual origin (v. 3): Her origin is likened to the Canaanites who were known for their ungodliness in ancient times.
a. Why does God liken them to the Amorites? (see Gen. 15:16)
b. Why does God liken them to the Hittites? (see Gen. 27:46)
c. What does this insulting allegory mean to tell the Israelites?
(3) An abandoned child (vv. 4-5)
a. What normally is the occasion of a birth of a child to a family?
b. What is the result for a new born baby when the following happen?
- The umbilical cord is not cut.
- The body is not washed with water.
- The body is not rubbed with salt.
- The baby is not wrapped in cloths.
c. What picture is depicted of Israel spiritually? (v. 5)
(4) Rescued and adopted (vv. 6-7)
a. Who has come to her rescue? (v. 6)
b. What has Israel become?
(5) Marriage covenant (v. 8)
a. What special relationship has God entered into with Israel?
b. What is the result of this marriage covenant? (v. 8b)
(6) The wedding (vv. 9-14). How does this
metaphor apply to Israel in these verses?
a. In v. 9
b. In v. 10
c. In vv. 11-13a
d. In v. 13b
e. What kind of status has Israel risen to in vv. 13c-14?
(7) Their unfaithfulness (vv. 15-19)
a. How should Israel repay for such love and mercy that are of the Lord? (see Exod. 19:5-6)
b. Why has Israel become unfaithful to the Lord? (v. 15)
c. How unthinkable is her action? (vv. 15b-16)?
d. Do you agree with God’s comment in v. 16? Why or why not?
e. What in essence are God’s accusations in vv. 17-19?
(8) In this allegory:
a. What is the word you can use to describe God’s feeling?
b. What is the word you can use to describe Israel’s unfaithfulness?
c. How does this allegory speak to you personally?
(9) What is the message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Israel’s Abomination Exposed
(1) Sacrifice of their children (vv. 20-22)
a. To whom do her children belong? (v. 20)
b. What detestable practices does she subject her children to? (See 2 Ki. 16:3; 17:17; 21:6 etc. )
c. What has she forgotten in all these actions? (v. 22)
(2) Open idolatry (vv. 23-25)
a. What is the picture painted of her idolatry in this accusation?
b. Given who she is before the Lord, how sad is her condition? (v. 25)
(3) Prostitution with neighboring enemies (vv. 26-29)
a. Why is her relationship with Egypt one of prostitution? (see Isa. 30:2ff as an example)
b. How has God already punished her for their actions? (vv. 27-28; see 2 Chr. 28:18)
c. How has she turned to the Assyrians? (v. 28; see 2 Ki. 16:7; Isa. 57:8)
d. Which king, in particular, began courting the Babylonians? (v. 29; see 2 Ki. 20:12-19)
(4) A cheap prostitute (vv. 30-34)
a. How does the Lord sum up her unfaithful acts? (vv. 30-31)
b. How base is her unfaithfulness compared to other prostitutes? (vv. 32-34)
(5) God’s judgment in wrath and jealousy (vv. 35-42)
a. Who will be God’s instruments of punishment? (v. 37)
b. What will God’s punishment involve? (vv. 38-41)
c. What reasons are given for such merciless punishments? (vv. 35-36)
d. When will God’s wrath subside? (vv. 41-42)
(6) What is the message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
God’s rage has not stopped with His pronouncement of judgment because of Judah’s unfaithfulness, but has continued by comparing her with Samaria (the now destroyed northern kingdom of Israel) and Sodom (see Note below):
(1) Before this comparison, what particular sin does the Lord point out once again? (v. 43a) Why?
(2) Is not remembering who we were and what grace and mercies we have received from the Lord a common fault of yours as well? How might you keep yourself from this sin?
(3) Which proverb does the Lord invoke in His further chastisement of Judah? (v. 44)
(4) As we have previously considered, the Amorites and the Hittites epitomized the wickedness and godlessness of the ancient world.What then is the implication of citing Samaria and Sodom as their daughters? (vv. 45-46)
(5) How wicked was Samaria, the Northern Kingdom of Israel? (see the Bible's comments at its destruction in 2 Ki. 17:7-18)
(6) How is Judah now compared to them? (v. 47)
(7) What was God’s verdict on Judah earlier through the mouth of Jeremiah? (Jer. 3:6-11)
(8) How wicked was Sodom
a. According to the accounts in Genesis 18:20-21 and 19:4 ff how wicked was Sodom?
b. What further details of their sin are now provided by Ezekiel? (vv. 49-50)
c. How does the Book of Jude refer to their sin? (Jude 7)
d. What judgment did they receive from the hand of God? (v. 50; Gen. 19:23-26)
(9) By comparison, how wicked is Judah? Why? (vv. 48, 51-52)
(10) How does the Lord compare the Jews of His days to Sodom? (Matt. 10:15; 11:23-24)
(11) How would you compare the world of today to Sodom?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
“The land of Canaan (Amorite father and Hittite mother, cf. above) had given birth to three very corrupt daughters and their corresponding granddaughters (probably in this figure referring to the cities and environs which followed each of these major cities).”
(Alexander, 55)
The comparison of Judah with Samaria and Sodom now takes a surprising ending:
(1) In spite of His hurt and pain inflicted by Judah, now the Lord promises restoration:
a. Who will be restored? (v. 53)
b. What is the reason given? (v. 54)
c. How does it work?
(2) The promise of restoration is such that they “will return to what they were before”:
a. Had Sodom and Samaria not been completely destroyed? Could they return to what they were physically?
b. What does it mean then? (See Note below)
(3) What shame will the plight of Judah bring upon themselves? (vv. 57-58)
(4) God's covenant with them (vv. 59-63)
a. What has Judah done to their covenant with the Lord? (v. 59)
b. What will God do to this covenant broken by them? (v. 60)
c. How would they be truly ashamed?
- because of all the punishments?
- because of God’s everlasting covenant?
- Why? (v. 63)
d. Through what means will God establish His everlasting covenant? (v. 63)
e. How is this atonement accomplished? (see Heb. 2:17)
(5) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
The meaning of restoration can be
seen in
“the restoration of Job’s original good fortune, including the return of his standing in the community, his wealth and his family…Perhaps, Ezekiel is using the name of Sodom as a designation for the region south (and east) of Judah, incorporating the Dead Sea and its environs. In a later vision (47:3-12) of the new order the prophet anticipates that even the Dead Sea will be revived and once more swarm with life. However, Sodom may also function as a metonymic designation for the Canaanite element within the Israelite population, in which case the present picture of restoration reflects the tripartite makeup of the population of Israel: the northern kingdom with Samaria as its capital, the kingdom of Judah with Jerusalem as the seat of power, and the Canaanite remnant, represented by Sodom.”
(NICOT, 513-4)