Ezekiel 08+09

Introduction

Once again we’re going to take two chapters together, because these two chapters belong together. In the first one, Ezekiel is taken on a kind of magical mystery tour of the temple in Jerusalem where the Lord shows him the idolatry of his people. And he therefore makes clear to Ezekiel and to us why he was angry with his people in those days and why he was prepared to send the Babylonians against them.

And then in the second chapter, the Lord commanded someone to place a mark on the forehead of anyone in the city who grieved and lamented over the detestable things that were happening there. And then he commanded six other men to go through the city and kill anyone whose forehead was not marked. And so, the Lord was showing Ezekiel how he was going to punish his people from their unbelief and rebellion.

And, of course, this matches what we were reading last week when we studied chapters 6 and 7. In chapter 6, the Lord told Ezekiel to prophesy against the mountains of Israel, where the people worshipped false gods and idols at their high places. Like an unfaithful wife, who goes after other men, the people of Israel have gone after other gods instead of being faithful to the Lord their God. Instead of forsaking all others and loving, trusting and worshipping him alone, they have worshipped other gods. And in this way they provoked the Lord’s wrath and he was determined to punish them. Some will fall by the sword; and some by plague and some by famine.

And when this doom comes on them, then they will know that he is the Lord, the covenant-keeping God who has done to them everything he said he would do to them if they persisted in their unbelief and rebellion, instead of confessing it and turning from it. If they had turned from it and returned to him, then he would have pardoned them, because their covenant-keeping God is merciful and gracious and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and he’s willing to remove our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. If they had turned from their sins and returned to him, he would have pardoned them. But since they persisted in their unbelief and rebellion, then he would do what he said he would do and he would pour out his curses on them according to the terms of the covenant which he made with them in the days of Moses.

And I said last week that in this way the Lord was going to cleanse the land of defilement. Just as God cleansed the whole world when he sent the flood in the days of Noah, and removed all that was unclean, so he was going to cleanse the Promised Land by sending the Babylonians to remove all that was unclean: all their high places and all the other places where they worshipped false gods. He was going to destroy all of those places. And he was also going to destroy all those who worshipped there. And in this way, he would cleanse the land and prepare it for the time when the exiles would return and settle there once again.

And since the Lord is merciful and gracious, then he was also going to spare some. Some will be spared so that instead of being killed, they will be taken into exile. And in exile they will remember the Lord. They will remember who he is and how he’s always been like a faithful husband to them, loving and caring for them. And they will loathe themselves for their unfaithfulness. And loathing ourselves for our sinfulness is good, because loathing ourselves for our sinfulness leads to repentance, when we turn from our sins and we return to the Lord for mercy and for forgiveness.

The Lord is so merciful and gracious that even when he’s warning his people of the coming judgment, he also speaks to them of the possibility of repentance and forgiveness and peace. And we’re able to return to the Lord and receive forgiveness, because of Christ our Saviour, who gave up his life on the cross to pay for our sins and to make peace for us with God. Through faith in Christ, we’re delivered from the wrath of God for our sins and we receive mercy and forgiveness. This was true for the Israelites in the days of Ezekiel; and it’s true for us today, because there is a mediator between God and sinners and it’s the man Jesus Christ.

But I also said last week that sending the Babylonians to cleanse the land was a kind of foretaste of what Christ will do when he comes again, because when he comes again in glory and with power, he will come to restore and to renew the heavens and the earth by removing all that is unclean and unholy and impure. And that means he will remove the devil and his demons and everyone who sided with the devil and who did not believe in Christ the Saviour. They will be removed and excluded for ever from the new heavens and earth. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will be allowed to live there. And they will be allowed to live there because they have been washed and cleansed in the blood of the Lamb and renewed in body and soul by the Holy Spirit. And since they will be perfectly restored like this, then they will be able to live in the better world to come where they will see the glory of God in the face of Christ and will worship him for ever. And we will be included among them so long as we’re trusting in Christ who is the only Saviour of the world.

Chapter 8

Let’s turn now to chapter 8 and to Ezekiel’s strange tour of Jerusalem. The chapter begins with a date stamp: this took place in the sixth year. That’s the sixth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile when he and the best people of Judah were taken away by the Babylonians. And this date-stamp is important, because it means that Ezekiel received this vision from the Lord before Jerusalem was destroyed. So, this was not written after the destruction of the city, but before the destruction of the city. The Lord was announcing in advance what he was going to do so that when it happens, everyone will know that this is what the Lord said would happen. The Lord was not caught unawares by the Babylonians. On the contrary, he sent the Babylonians. This happened because God planned it. And we know he planned it, because he announced his plans before it happened.

And in that year, in sixth month, and the fifth day, Ezekiel was sitting in his house, where the Lord had confined him. And elders of Judah were there. Presumably they had come to receive a word from the Lord’s prophet. And that’s when the hand of the Lord came upon Ezekiel. It was as if the Lord took hold of him. The Lord seized him. And Ezekiel looked and he saw a figure like that of a man. And from what appeared to be his waist down, he was like fire; and from there up his appearance was bright like glowing metal. This matches the description of the Lord from chapter 1. And so, we take it that Ezekiel was once again seeing the Lord. And once again, he’s having a hard time describing what he saw. He can’t quite put it into words and so he has to rely on comparisons: he looked like this and he had the appearance of that. He can’t quite describe the glory of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord is ineffable. And he tells us in verse 3 that the Lord stretched out what looked like a hand and he took hold of Ezekiel by the hair. And the Spirit of God lifted him up between heaven and earth and in visions of God took him to Jerusalem. So, he wasn’t really taken to Jerusalem. He wasn’t transported physically. In Star Trek, the crew of the Starship Enterprise could be beamed here, there and everywhere so that they went from one place to another. But this was a vision: Ezekiel’s body remained in Babylon, but in this vision — he was able to see Jerusalem. And since he refers to the inner court, then that tells us that he’s been brought into the temple.

And what he see when he arrived there? According to verse 4, he saw the glory of the God of Israel. So, he saw the Lord God. But that’s not all he saw. According to verse 3, he saw an idol. He calls it the idol that provokes to jealousy. That is to say, this idol, this false god, provoked the Lord to jealousy. The people of Israel were meant to forsake all other gods and love and worship the Lord alone, who made them and who saved them from their slavery in Egypt, and who had brought them through the wilderness to the Promised Land, an Eden-like land flowing with milk and honey where they had everything they needed. And the Lord continued to care for them and to protect them and to provide for them. But instead of loving and worshipping him, they turned to false gods. And so, they were like an unfaithful wife to him.

So, the Lord was there and this idol was there. The idol doesn’t belong there in God’s house. But the people have placed it there. And it was an abomination to the Lord.

And the Lord takes on the role of a tour guide. And first of all, he points out this idol that provokes jealousy. And he says to Ezekiel: ‘Son of man, do you see what they are doing….? Can you see the utterly detestable things they’re doing in my house? Can you believe it? And look what else he says: he says that these things which they are doing will drive him far from his sanctuary. Since the Lord is holy, then his house must be holy. It must be clean. And he can’t remain in a house that has been defiled and made unclean with idols. And so, he’s getting ready to leave that place and he won’t return while the idols remain.

And then he adds at the end of verse 6 that Ezekiel will see even more detestable things on this strange tour which the Lord is taking him on.

Next the Lord brought Ezekiel to the entrance to the court. So, we’re still in the temple. And he looked and saw a small hole in a wall which he enlarged until he could see a doorway. And the Lord told him to go in and see the wicked and detestable things the people were doing there. And inside he saw that the walls were covered with images of crawling things and detestable animals. In other words, these were images of creatures which the Lord regarded as being unclean. And there were images of idols. And he also saw seventy elders there who were burning incense. Burning incense in the temple was something the priests were to do: elders were not meant to perform this kind of ritual. But that’s what these elders are doing. And according to the words of the Lord in verse 12 they were offering the incense, not to the Lord their God, but to their idols. It seems each of them is standing at his own shrine and he’s worshipping his own idol. And so, instead of worshipping the Lord together, each person is doing his own thing. And Ezekiel also saw this man named Jaazaniah son of Shaphan. We don’t know anything about him, but the Shaphans were a godly family in the history of Israel, but this member of the family has gone astray.

The Lord then tells Ezekiel that he’s going to see even more detestable things than this. And so, he brought Ezekiel to another part of the temple where women were mourning for Tammuz. We don’t know a lot about Tammuz, but the commentators believe Tammuz was a kind of fertility god who died in the winter so that nothing grew in the fields, but who came to life again in the spring to bring new life to their fields. And these women are mourning his death and looking forward to his resurrection. Instead of trusting the Lord for food, they’re trusting this false god.

And the Lord tells Ezekiel he will see even more detestable things than this. And so, now the Lord brought Ezekiel into another part of the temple. This time he saw twenty-five men who had their backs to the temple. So, they had their backs to the Lord. Have you seen those state occasions when someone appears before the king and then they withdraw by walking backwards? It would be disrespectful to turn your back on the king. But that’s what these men are doing to the Lord. And instead of facing the Lord to worship him, they have turned their backs on the Lord and they’re worshipping the sun! Instead of worshipping the one who made the sun, they’re worshipping part of his creation.

And the Lord asks Ezekiel: ‘Have you seen this?’ He’s saying to them: here’s the evidence of their unbelief and rebellion. And this is not all they have done, because as well as committing idolatry, they have filled the land with violence. They are therefore provoking him continually. He also says they are putting the branch to their nose. We don’t know what that means, but it’s clearly something which the Lord regards as being offensive. And so, he says he will deal with them in anger. He will not pity them and he will not spare them. Although they shout in his ears, he will not listen to them. He is determined now to destroy them.

Chapter 9

And that brings us to chapter 9, where the Lord summoned these six guards to come forward. And each of them had a deadly weapon in his hand. It’s not clear what kind of weapons they had, but the Hebrews words used to describe them mean they are for destroying and shattering. Think perhaps of clubs used for smashing things. And, of course, remember that is is a vision. It was a vision to show Ezekiel what the Lord intended to do and how he was going to destroy Jerusalem and the people in it for their idolatry and for the violence.

But then Ezekiel also saw this other person who was dressed in linen like a priest and who had a writing kit with him. And the Lord called to this man and told him to go through the city and mark the foreheads of all those who grieve and lament over the detestable things that are done in the city. So, mark the people who are displaying signs of sorrow and repentance, people who are sorry for what is happening.

And then the Lord told the others to follow this man through the city and kill all those who are left unmarked. So, kill all those who are not sorry for what is happening. Show them no pity. Show them no compassion. Kill them whether they are old or young men or maidens or women or children. Kill them, but do not touch those with a mark on their forehead.

And the Lord instructed these men to start at the sanctuary. Start there, because that’s the place where people should be worshipping the Lord and offering sacrifices to him. But instead of worshipping the Lord, they’re worshipping these false gods and idols. Instead of worshipping the Lord together, each one of them is doing his own thing and worshipping their own idea of god. And instead of worshipping the Creator, there are worshipping the creation. Start with them and work your way throughout the city.

In verse 7 the Lord told these guards to defile the temple. The temple was already defiled, because of the detestable things the people were doing there. But he means the guards were to defile it with the dead bodies of the people they slaughter.

And Ezekiel tells us how the guards went out and began killing throughout the city. And that’s when Ezekiel fell down before the Lord in this vision and he asked the Lord whether he intended to destroy the entire remnant of Israel? So, was he going to destroy all who were left? Was he intending to wipe out the whole nation and leave none of them alive? Was that his intention? Was he that angry with them?

And the Lord’s answer is not very encouraging, is it? He tells Ezekiel that their sin is very great; and the land is full of bloodshed and injustice; and the people have given up on the Lord. So, they say the Lord has forsaken them and that he doesn’t see them any longer. He doesn’t pay attention to them. So, they have given up on the Lord. And because of their unbelief and because of their violent ways, he will not look on them with pity and he will not spare them. He’s going to bring down on them what they have done. That is, he will repay them for their sins.

And so, it seems the Lord is determined to annihilate them. He’s going to wipe them out entirely. And he would be right to do so, because they had turned away from him. However, it’s at that point that we’re told that the man in linen with the writing kit returns and reports to the Lord that he has done what he has commanded. And that suggests to us that there were at least some who grieved and lamented over what had been happening and who had received a mark on their forehead so that they were spared. And we know from history that the Lord did not destroy his people entirely, because he kept a remnant of them alive in exile. And when the time was right, he restored them to the land and he let them rebuild the temple and the city. He even kept King Jehoiachin alive; and from his descendants there came the Saviour of the world.

Application 1

The Lord was offended by the idolatry of the people. We’ve seen before from the book of Romans how idolatry starts. And it starts from the fact that we’re sinners by birth who are sinfully inclined to suppress or to repress the knowledge we all have of God which he reveals to us continually. God is always speaking to everyone personally because he speaks to us through what he has made; and he speaks to us through our own conscience; and he speaks to us through what he does in the world. Everything that is and everything that happens in the world speaks to us about God, because God is the one who made all things and who directs all things. And he speaks to us of his divine nature and his power and his goodness. But instead of acknowledging him and worshipping him, people suppress it or they repress it. They push what they know about God out of their minds. They bury the idea of God deep down inside. They put him to the back of their minds.

And instead of worshipping him, they exchange him for something else. Instead of believing in God, they believe in something else. And so, the create other gods for themselves which they say are real and powerful and good. In Ezekiel’s day, they bowed down to the sun. Or they bowed down to Tammuz. They trusted in these things to give them what they needed. Or they worshipped Baal or Dagan or some other god.

Today people worship Allah or they follow some other religion like Buddhism or Confucianism. Or they trust in science. Science itself is fine, because it’s a way to understand the world around us by observation and experiment. But when science becomes scientism then it becomes a false religion, because it then becomes the belief that the natural world around us is all there is; and that science is the only way to know the truth about reality. And when people believe that, then they think that science is the only way to deal with the sin and misery which fills their lives. And then there’s consumerism. According to consumerism, we can make a better world for ourselves through our knowledge and expertise and our technological know-how. And through these things, we’ll be able to spread wealth and prosperity throughout the nations. And when that happens, then everyone will be happy and there will be heaven on earth, because of all the goods and services we’ll be able to consume and enjoy. And so, Donald Trump’s solution for the Middle East is to build nice homes for people to live in: spread consumerism around the world and people will be happy and they’ll not fight against one another.

But all of these things are idols. They are not real gods and they cannot really help us. And thanks be to God who sent his Spirit into our lives to rescue us from idolatry by enabling us to believe in the one, true and living God and in Jesus Christ, his Only Begotten Son, who came into the world as one of us in order to pay for our sins with his life and to make peace for us with the one true God. If it were not for God’s kindness to us, we would never have believed and we would have been among those who worship idols and false gods and who trust in created things instead of the Creator to save us from our sin and misery. And so, thanks be to God for his kindness to us, enabling us to know and to believe the truth about God and about his Son, Jesus Christ.

But since we’re sinners, then we have to watch ourselves continually, because we’re still sinfully inclined to trust in other things instead of the true God. And we’re sinfully inclined to put other things before the true God. And so, we might put ourselves before him, or our spouse, or our family, or our possessions, or our work, or our country. We take something good and we make it the most important thing in our lives. And when we do that, then we have made an idol for ourselves. And when we think that life is not worth living without this other thing in my life, then that thing has become a god for us. And so, we should watch ourselves lest we begin to put other things before God. And when we do put others things before him, we should confess it and turn from it and return to the Lord.

And the best way to keep God first in our lives is to keep worshipping him here in church on Sundays, where we acknowledge him and where we hear his word and where we’re reminded of who he is and what he has done for us and why he is worthy of our praise. As we worship him here, he reveals his glory to us in the gospel of Jesus Christ and he stirs our hearts to love and worship him more and more.

Application 2

Ezekiel also saw how the Lord marked the citizens of Jerusalem who grieved and lamented over what was happening there. And everyone who received the mark was spared from suffering God’s wrath, whereas everyone who did not receive the mark suffered the wrath of God.

And what we read in chapter 9 recalls what happened in the days of Moses when the people bowed down to the golden calf. And afterwards, the Lord commanded those who were for the Lord to go through the camp and to kill the people who worshipped the idol. And it also recalls what we read in Revelation 7 where there are four angels with power to bring harm on the earth. But the Lord commanded them not to harm anything until the Lord’s people were sealed. That is to say, they weren’t to harm anyone until a mark was placed on the forehead of God’s people to make clear that they belong to the Lord and should remain unharmed. The seal, or the mark, was a mark of ownership. It made clear who belonged to the Lord. And they were kept safe.

What John saw was a vision. And what Ezekiel saw was a vision. But the Lord does mark his people in real life: he marks his people, not with a physical sign on our forehead, but he marks us out as people who belong to him by enabling us to believe the good news of the gospel. Faith is a sign that we belong to God, because God enables his people — chosen by God from before the beginning of time — to believe the good news of the gospel.

So, this is not a mark which we can produce in ourselves. Since we’re spiritually dead by nature, dead in our transgressions and sins, we’re unable by ourselves to believe. We cannot produce faith in our cold, dead hearts. But not only did God send his Son into the world to give up his life to pay for our sins, but he also sends his Spirit into our lives to enable us to believe. The Spirit creates faith in our hearts as we listen to the good news of the gospel. And this Spirit-created faith in our hearts marks us out as those who belong to God.

And when the day of judgment arrives, and Christ sits on his throne to judge the living and the dead — when he comes to condemn and to punish his enemies — he will pass over all those who believed in his name. They will not be condemned. They will not be punished. Everyone else will be condemned and sent out of his presence to be punished for ever for all that they have done wrong. But everyone who believes will be acquitted, and not condemned, and they will be invited to take their place in the new heavens and earth where they will behold the glory of God in the face of Christ their Saviour and they’ll worship and adore him for ever and for ever.

And so, if Jesus Christ is your Saviour, if you’re trusting in him, then you don’t need to fear the day of judgment, but you can in fact look forward to it, because on that day you’ll be invited to take your place in the new and better world to come, where you and all of God’s people will be happy for ever in the presence of our Saviour and you’ll worship and give thanks to him for saving you from his wrath and curse through faith in his Son who gave up his life to bring you to God.