Questions

Scriptural Reflection
Ezekiel 37:1–14

This week, we shall continue the study of the book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament.

The message of the full restoration of Israel in the future is now further captured in two oracles from the Lord:

- 37:1-14: The resurrection of Israel to a new life

- 37:15-28: The reunification of Israel under one king

37:1-14—The Resurrection of Israel to a New Life

(1) The valley of dry bones (vv. 1-3)—This vision is clearly given by the Lord to Ezekiel, although the valley in which it is given is not identified:

a. What does the location of these bones indicate?

b. After being led back and forth among them, what does Ezekiel observe about the bones?

c. What question does the Lord ask Ezekiel about the bones?

d. Humanly speaking, what should Ezekiel’s answer be?

e. How does Ezekiel answer the Lord and why?

(2) The command to prophesy (vv. 4-6)—The command is to prophesy to these bones so that they will come to life.

a. In bringing these bones back to life, what four distinct stages are involved?

b. What will cause these bones to come to life? (see Gen. 2:7 as well)

(3) Ezekiel prophesies as told (vv. 7-10)

a. What might the rattling sound signify? (see Jn. 3:8)

b. Of the four distinct stages mentioned earlier, which stages have now come to pass? (v. 8)

c. Which stage is left undone?

d. How does the last stage come to pass? (vv. 9-10)

e. What is the significance of the separation of the last stage from the first three?

f. What reason is given now for the cause of death of these people? (v. 9)

g. What will they now become? (v. 10)

(4) The interpretation (vv. 11-14)

a. Who are these bones? (v.11)

b. What has happened to the “whole house of Israel” by the time of this vision? (v. 11; see note below)

c. What is the interpretation of this vision? (vv. 12-14)

d. Since the people of Israel have come back to their land and re-established their nation in 1948, consider the following:

1. Which parts of this prophecy have been fulfilled?
2. What has yet to be fulfilled?

(5) What do you think is the most amazing part of this prophecy? Why?

(6) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Note: 

Since the second half of the messages regarding the restoration of Israel began in chapter 33 (through chapter 39), and 33:21 provides the only date of this series of messages (which is in the twelfth year after their exile), therefore for all intents and purposes, Jerusalem has been fallen for over a year (in 586 B.C.); and of course, the Northern Kingdom had long been destroyed (in 722 B.C.).

Scriptural Reflection
Ezekiel 37:15–28

37:15-28—The reunification of Israel under one king—Here is another dramatic act to be acted out by Ezekiel:

(1) What is Ezekiel to write on the two sticks respectively? (vv. 15-16)

(2) What is he to do with the two sticks on which the words are so written? (v. 17)

(3) What would his action lead to? (v. 18)

(4) In God’s reply, who is holding the sticks? (v. 19b)

(5) What does the joining of the two sticks represent? (v. 22a)

(6) In this promise of the reunification of Israel (vv. 22-23), consider the following:

a. What are the messages that have already been foretold in the previous vision of the dry bones?

b. What do the additional messages include?

(7) Under the One King (vv. 24-25)

a. Who is that “one king”? (v. 24a)

b. Why is He also called their shepherd? (see 34:11-16, 23)

c. How will the reign of this king be different from their previous kings? (vv. 24-25)

(8) The covenant of peace (vv. 26-28)—It is helpful to read the covenant of peace already promised in 34:25-29.

a. What is the theme of peace described in 34:25-29?

b. What are the emphases here? (see 37:26-28)

c. What does the promise of His dwelling place (His sanctuary) being among them forever mean? (v. 28; see Rev. 21:1-4)

(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Ezekiel 38:1–23

The last oracle concerning the full restoration of Israel now comes to an end in chapters 38-39 which describe what appears to be a final event that leads to full restoration of Israel to Yahweh:

The prophecy against Gog (Part 1)

(1) Who is Gog? (vv. 1-3; see Note 1 below)

(2) A huge army is depicted to be led by Gog (vv. 4-6)

a. How does the Lord describe his army?

b. Who else are part of this army? (see Note 2 below)

c. What does it mean to put hooks in Gog’s jaws? (v. 4)

(3) Called to invade Israel (vv. 7-9)

a. What is the timing of this event? (v. 8; see Rev. 20:7ff))

b. By then, what has happened to Israel? (vv. 7-8)

c. What will this huge army do to Israel? (v. 9)

(4) The motives of invasion (vv. 10-16)

a. What makes Israel such an attractive target of invasion then? (vv. 10-12)

b. What will these merchants of Sheba, Dedan (to the east in the Arabia desert) and Tarshish (likely Spain) ask Gog? (v. 13) What might their motive be?

c. While Gog certainly relies on his own strength and seeks to take advantage of Israel’s prosperity and unguarded walls (in the Millennium under Christ’s reign)...

1. ... who is, in fact, behind this event?
2. ... what is His purpose? (v. 16)

(5) The judgment upon Gog and his allies (vv. 17-22)

a. Is the attack of Gog against God’s people unexpected? (v. 17; see today’s Meditative Article)

b. Consider how the wrath of God against these nations will be manifested.

1. Explain it according to v. 19.
2. What impact will it have all on living things on earth? (v. 20a)
3. What will happen to creation? (v. 20b)
4. What will happen to Gog and his troops?

(6) What will this event achieve for the Lord? (v. 23)

(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Note 1: 

In my younger years, I heard many so-called prophetic or end-time preachers emphatically refer to Gog as Russia. The truth of the matter is that all right-minded scholars agree that nobody can really be certain about who Gog is. Even while most scholars tend to believe that the name Gog is most likely derived from “Gyges, the name of the king of Lydia” (Block), this and other solutions do not “possess any significant support to warrant acceptance as the answer for Gog’s identity" (Alexander, 121). Josephus links Magog (mentioned as one of the sons of Japheth in Gen. 10:2) to the land inhabited by the Scythians around the Black and Caspian Seas. Meshech and Tubal are believed to be countries located in the general area of contemporary Turkey.

Note 2: 

The great entourage of Gog’s army is depicted as coming from every part of the world, with Persia from the east, Cush (Ethiopia) from the south, Put (Lybia) from the west, Gomer (region north of the Black Sea) and Togarmah (the Armenians) from the north.

Scriptural Reflection
Ezekiel 39:1–29

The Prophecy against Gog (Part 2)

(1) The striking of Gog and his land (vv. 1-6)

a. While we do not know who exactly Gog is, what does v. 2 indicate where he is from?

b. Where will he and his troops be defeated? (v. 4)

c. What will happen to his own land and those who live in safety in the coastlands? (v. 6; “fire” could be an analogy for war and the coastlands could simply refer to places far away [Keil])

(2) Complete destruction of weapons (vv. 7-10)

a. How has Israel profaned the holy name of the Lord? (36:20)

b. How will the defeat of Gog and his army serve to vindicate the holy name of the Lord? (vv. 7-8)

c. How long will it take, at the defeat of Gog and his army, for the residents of Israel to burn up all their weapons? (v. 9)

d. What does this signify?

e. In what way(s) is it similar and dissimilar to the prophecy in Isaiah 2:4?

(3) The mass burial (vv. 11-16)

a. The burial place, while not named, is toward the sea east of Israel: What sea might it be?

b. It will be called the Valley of Hamon (i.e. multitude) of Gog (previously the place for Molech worship and child sacrifice—see Jer. 32:35): How long will it take to bury those killed? (v. 12)

c. Why is such a day so memorable? (v. 13)

d. What specific steps are being described in the cleansing of the land? (vv. 14-15)

e. What might be the deeper meaning of the cleansing of the land of dead bodies? (v. 16)

(4) God’s banquet for the birds (vv. 17-20)—it is described in terms of a sacrificial meal

a. Who are invited to this banquet? (v. 17a)

b. Where will the feast be held? (v. 17b)

c. What’s on the menu? (vv. 17c-19)

d. Who is the host? (v. 19)

e. What kind of picture does the Lord intend to depict for us? (see its resemblance to Rev. 19:17-18)

(5) Concluding promise (vv. 21-29)

a. What impact will this event have on all the nations of the earth? (v. 21)

b. What impact will it have on the house of Israel from that day forward? (v. 22)

c. What might be the message for the immediate audience of Ezekiel (the exiles) and for all the nations today? (vv. 23-24)

d. Here is a summary of the promised blessings to Israel (vv. 25-29):

1. He will bring them back from captivity (vv. 25a, 27b, 28b)
2. He will have compassion on them (vv. 25b, 28c, 29a)
3. He will be zealous for His holy name (vv. 25c, 27c)
4. Israel will forget even their past shame and sins (v. 26a)
5. They will live in safety (v. 26b)
6. He will pour His Spirit upon them — promised Eternal Life (v. 29b)

In what ways have we, Gentile believers, already inherited such blessings?

(6) What is the message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Ezekiel 40:1–27

The book of Ezekiel concludes on a glorious note, with a vision of Yahweh returning to the temple He once left and establishing His residence in the midst of His people. However, these concluding chapters (from 40-48) are one of the most perplexing and difficult prophetic passages in Scriptures. Since we are reading for devotional purposes—to draw close to the Lord through the meditative reflection of His words—we shall not allow ourselves to be sucked into theological speculations, but focus on the parts that we do understand. However, to aid our proper understanding of these chapters, I shall be providing what I believe to be helpful articles under the Meditative Reflection section in the next few days to help frame our approach to the proper reflection of these concluding chapters. For a change, I encourage you to read today’s Meditative Reflection article first before the reading of the passage assigned for today.

(1) When is this oracle given? (v. 1)

(2) What might be the significance of the timing of this oracle, especially to the exiles in Babylon?

(3) Where does the Lord choose to show Ezekiel this vision? (v. 2)

(4) What might be the significance of its setting? (see 17:22, 23; Mic. 4:1 and Isa. 2:2)

(5) What does the angelic messenger hold in his hands? (v. 3)

a. What does the holding of a measuring line or rod usually indicate in OT prophecies? (see Lam. 2:8; Amos 7:7)

b. How different will this occasion be? (see also Jer. 31:39; Zech. 2:2; Rev. 21:15ff)

(6) What does the angelic messenger command Ezekiel to do (as perplexing the message might appear to us today)? (v. 4)

(7) The measuring instrument (v. 5)

a. What standard was used to measure Solomon’s temple? (2 Chr. 3:3)

b. What standard is used to measure this new temple?

c. What does the use of a new standard imply? (Block remarks that the cubit used here approximated 20.5 inches or 52 cm. instead of the one cubit of 1.5 ft.)

(8) While we cannot draw any significance from the measurements, let’s simply use the chart below to observe and list the measurements (by multiplying each cubit by 20.5 inches), and see if we can gain a bit more of the design of this new temple:

a. The wall (v. 5)

b. The outer east gate (vv. 6-16; see items A of figure 1):

1. The threshold of the gate (v. 6)
2. The alcoves for the guards and the projecting walls and the threshold of the gate next to the portico (v. 7)
3. The portico of the gate (vv. 8-9)
4. Inside the east gate:

1. Entrance to the gateway (v. 11)

2. Wall in front of each alcove and size of each alcove (v. 12)

3. Distance between alcoves (v. 13)

4. Sizes of the projecting walls around the inside of the gateway (v. 14)

5. The entire length of the inner east gate (v. 15)

6. How are the projecting walls decorated? (v. 16)

c. The outer court (vv. 17-19)

1. How many rooms are there? (v. 17; see item J)
2. What is the length of the outer court? (v. 19)

d. The outer north gate (vv. 20-23)

1. Sizes similar to those of the east gate (vv. 20-21)
2. Seven steps lead up to the gate (v .22: indicating the east gate also has 7 steps)
3. Distance between east gate and north gate (v. 23, i.e. approximately 170 ft.)

e. The outer south gate (40:24-27)

1. The south gate appears to be a duplicate of the east and north gates in design and measurement.

(9) Food for thought:

a. Why would God show such a detailed sketch of this future temple?

b. Does it contain any command to build or does it simply give the measurements?

c. What might such a vision mean to the exiles?

(10) What is the message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Note:
It is helpful to follow the chart below (Figure 1. The Temple Compound) as we read the various measurements.

Scriptural Reflection
Ezekiel 40:28–59

40:28-46—The Interior features of the Temple Compound

(1) The gates of the inner wall (vv. 28-37; see item
B):

a. The south gate of the inner court (vv. 28-31)

b. The east gate of the inner court (vv. 32-34)

c. The north gate of the inner court (vv. 35-37)

d. Their design and measurements are basically the same as the gates of the outer court, except that instead of 7 steps each, they have 8 steps each leading up to the portico (vv. 31, 34, 37).

1. What might be the spiritual reason, if any, for having one more step to the portico of the inner courts?

(2) The chamber of offerings at the northern gate (vv. 38-43)

a. What priestly functions are to be performed in this chamber (one on each side)? (v. 38; see item H)

b. What are the other tables used for? (vv. 39-41)

c. What are the dressed stone tables used for? (v. 42)

(3) The priestly chambers (vv. 44-47; see item G)

a. For whose use is the room facing south? (v. 45)

b. For whose use is the room facing north? (v. 46)

c. What is the measurement of the inner court? (v. 47)

d. Where is the altar? (v. 47b; see item C)

(4) The temple’s porch (vv. 48-49): We are being led to view the interior of the temple itself, beginning with foreroom—the porch of the temple

a. Let’s observe the measurements of the following:

1. The pillars on each side (v. 48)
2. The width of the entrance
3. The projecting walls on each side
4. What about the portico itself? (v. 49)
5. How can the priests reach the portico?

(5) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Ezekiel 41:1–26

The angelic messenger continues to measure

41:1-4—The Inner Space of the Temple

(1) The measurement of the Holy Place (vv. 1-2): Observe the measurements of the following:

a. The width of the pillars on each side (v. 1)

b. The width of the entrance (v. 2a)

c. The width of the projecting walls on each side (v. 2b)

d. The overall size of the outer sanctuary (v. 2c)

(2) The Holy of Holies (vv. 3-4)

a. Observe the measurements of

1. its entrance and projecting walls (v. 3)
2. the inner sanctuary itself (v. 4)

b. What should be inside the Holy of Holies? (see Heb. 9:3-5)

c. Why is it not mentioned at all?

(3) The wall and the side chambers (vv. 5-12): Observe the following:

a. The thickness of the temple wall (v. 5a)

b. The width of each side chamber (v. 5b; see item I)

c. What features are given concerning these side chambers? (vv. 6-7)

d. What about their foundation and their outer walls? (vv. 8-9)

e. What about the open area? (vv. 10-11)

(4) The building west of the temple (v. 12; see item E)

a. What is its width?

b. What about its thickness and length?

(5) General dimension of temple complex (vv. 13-15a):

a. What is the length of the temple, the temple courtyard and the building with its wall? (v. 13)

b. What is its width on the east side? (v. 14)

c. What about the length of the building west (also at the rear) of the temple? (v. 15a)

(6) Interior decorations and furnishings (vv. 15b-26)

a. Interior decorations (vv. 15b-20)

1. What is the main material used to cover the temple structure? (vv. 15b-16)
2. What are used to decorate the walls? (vv. 17-18, 20)
3. What do the figures of the cherub look like? (vv. 18b-19)

b. The Table of Presence and other decorations (vv. 21-26)

1. What is the wooden altar for? (v. 22)
2. Where is it placed? (see Heb. 9:1-2)
3. With what are the double-doors of the outer sanctuary decorated? (vv. 23-25)
4. What about the narrow windows on the sidewalls of the portico? (v. 26)

(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?