Ezekiel 14: the Lord is not to be used by idolaters

 The Lord is against the idolaters and He is against being used by the idolaters. In Ezekiel 14 we read:

6-8 “Therefore, say to the house of Israel: ‘God, the Master, says, Repent! Turn your backs on your no-god idols. Turn your backs on all your outrageous obscenities. To every last person from the house of Israel, including any of the resident aliens who live in Israel — all who turn their backs on me and embrace idols, who install the wickedness that will ruin them at the center of their lives and then have the gall to go to the prophet to ask me questions — I, God, will step in and give the answer myself. I’ll oppose those people to their faces, make an example of them — a warning lesson—and get rid of them so you will realize that I am God.

An idolater wants money, women, fame, etc. He should know that he is acting against the Lord, but even though, he has the gall to go to a prophet (in nowadays, to go to a priest) and ask for God intervention in his favour. The Lord says that He will oppose such idolater and get rid of him. Perhaps, the prophet will say to such man how the Lord opposes him.

9-11 “‘If a prophet is deceived and tells these idolaters the lies they want to hear, I, God, get blamed for those lies. He won’t get by with it. I’ll grab him by the scruff of the neck and get him out of there. They’ll be equally guilty, the prophet and the one who goes to the prophet, so that the house of Israel will never again wander off my paths and make themselves filthy in their rebellions, but will rather be my people, just as I am their God. Decree of God, the Master.’”

However, it may happens that the prophet won't oppose the idolater, by contrary, the prophet may "bless" such idolater. In this case, the Lord will assign guilty to both: the idolater and the prophet.

The Lord is to be worshiped and His will to be obeyed; not the opposite.

Ezekiel 13 - the Lord is saving his people from the lies of false prophets

 In Ezekiel 13, the Lord is against the false prophets. There are many cases of false prophets, but in particular, we read:

17-19 “And the women prophets—son of man, take your stand against the women prophets who make up stuff out of their own minds. Oppose them. Say ‘Doom’ to the women who sew magic bracelets and head scarves to suit every taste, devices to trap souls. Say, ‘Will you kill the souls of my people, use living souls to make yourselves rich and popular? You have profaned me among my people just to get ahead yourselves, used me to make yourselves look good—killing souls who should never have died and coddling souls who shouldn’t live. You’ve lied to people who love listening to lies.’

There were women prophets that made magic things (bracelets, scarves) to become rich and popular. In doing so, they commited a lot of injustice (killing souls that should never have died).

20-21 “Therefore God says, ‘I am against all the devices and techniques you use to hunt down souls. I’ll rip them out of your hands. I’ll free the souls you’re trying to catch. I’ll rip your magic bracelets and scarves to shreds and deliver my people from your influence so they’ll no longer be victimized by you. That’s how you’ll come to realize that I am God.
22-23 “‘Because you’ve confounded and confused good people, unsuspecting and innocent people, with your lies, and because you’ve made it easy for others to persist in evil so that it wouldn’t even dawn on them to turn to me so I could save them, as of now you’re finished. No more delusion-mongering from you, no more sermonic lies. I’m going to rescue my people from your clutches. And you’ll realize that I am God.’”

The Lord is against them and He is resuing his people from their clutches, freeing from the satanic powers.

Ezekiel 11 - return to Israel and a new heart

 In Ezekiel 11, the Lord promises that his people will return to Israel. We read:

16-20 “Well, tell them this, ‘This is your Message from God, the Master. True, I sent you to the far country and scattered you through other lands. All the same, I’ve provided you a temporary sanctuary in the countries where you’ve gone. I will gather you back from those countries and lands where you’ve been scattered and give you back the land of Israel. You’ll come back and clean house, throw out all the rotten images and obscene idols. I’ll give you a new heart. I’ll put a new spirit in you. I’ll cut out your stone heart and replace it with a red-blooded, firm-muscled heart. Then you’ll obey my statutes and be careful to obey my commands. You’ll be my people! I’ll be your God!

21 “‘But not those who are self-willed and addicted to their rotten images and obscene idols! I’ll see that they’re paid in full for what they’ve done.’ Decree of God, the Master.”

The Lord is good and takes care of his people. He wants them to have a new heart really devoted to Him alone. The Holy Spirit is the One who transforms our hearts.

Ezekiel 12 - a vision of the exile to Babylon

 In Ezekiel 12, the Lord commands Ezekiel to show to his people (already in Babylon) about the exile. We read:

16 “I’ll permit a few of them to escape the killing, starvation, and deadly sickness so that they can confess among the foreign countries all the disgusting obscenities they’ve been involved in. They will realize that I am God.”

The Lord is furious about the sins committed in Judah. I am a Brazilian, thousands of years after, reading about the obscenities that they were involved in. The wrath of the Lord shows me how Holy He is, and how he uses his chosen people to show me it.

Ezekiel 10: Vision of God’s Glory Departing from the Temple?

 In Ezekiel 10/MSG there is a title: "The Temple, Filled with the Presence of God" while in 10/NASB "Vision of God’s Glory Departing from the Temple". In Ezekiel 10 we read:

1 When I next looked, oh! Above the dome over the heads of the cherubim-angels was what looked like a throne, sky-blue, like a sapphire!

2-5 God said to the man dressed in linen, “Enter the place of the wheels under the cherubim-angels. Fill your hands with burning coals from beneath the cherubim and scatter them over the city.”

The man dressed in linen was the the one who marked "who is in anguish over the outrageous obscenities being done in the city". Now the man must fill his hands with coals and scatter them over the city.

...Then the Glory of God ascended from the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the Temple. The cloud filled the Temple. Court and Temple were both filled with the blazing presence of the Glory of God.

It is clear that the glory of God filled the temple, but:

18-19 Then the Glory of God left the Temple entrance and hovered over the cherubim. I watched as the cherubim spread their wings and left the ground, the wheels right with them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the Temple. The Glory of the God of Israel was above them.

If the cherubim were outside the temple, then the glory of God departed from the temple. It seems that this is a preparation to the destruction of the temple.

Ezekiel 9: the mark on the forehead - a sign of salvation

 In Ezekiel 9 we read that some people will be marked on the forehead as a sign that they must escape the slaughter:

1 Then I heard him call out loudly, “Executioners, come! And bring your deadly weapons with you.”
2 Six men came down the road from the upper gate that faces north, each carrying his lethal weapon. With them was a man dressed in linen with a writing case slung from his shoulder. They entered and stood by the bronze altar.
3-4 The Glory of the God of Israel ascended from his usual place above the cherubim-angels, moved to the threshold of the Temple, and called to the man with the writing case who was dressed in linen: “Go through the streets of Jerusalem and put a mark on the forehead of everyone who is in anguish over the outrageous obscenities being done in the city.”
5-6 I listened as he went on to address the executioners: “Follow him through the city and kill. Feel sorry for no one. Show no compassion. Kill old men and women, young men and women, mothers and children. But don’t lay a hand on anyone with the mark. Start at my Temple.”

Everyone who is in anguish over the outrageous obscenities being done in the city received a mark. Those people were aligned with the Lord. Am I in anguish over the outrageous obscenities being done in Sao Paulo city?
The temple should be a holy place, but as it was not, a great slaughter would happen there.

Ezekiel 8: the temple in Jerusalem is used to worship a sex goddess

 In Ezekiel 8 we read:

1-4 In the sixth year, in the sixth month and the fifth day, while I was sitting at home meeting with the leaders of Judah, it happened that the hand of my Master, God, gripped me. When I looked, I was astonished. What I saw looked like a man—from the waist down like fire and from the waist up like highly burnished bronze. He reached out what looked like a hand and grabbed me by the hair. The Spirit swept me high in the air and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the Temple’s inside court where the image of the sex goddess that makes God so angry had been set up. Right before me was the Glory of the God of Israel, exactly like the vision I had seen out on the plain.


Ezekiel is in Babylon but he is taken by the Spirit to the temple in Jerusalem. There he saw not only the image of the sex goddess but also a lot of other images, paints used to worship false gods. Let us suppose a israelite wanted to worship a false god: why to worship in the temple of the Lord? To prove that the Lord is weak, even to expel false gods from his house. No wonder, the Lord is furious and decided to destroy the temple.

Ezekiel 7 - Judgement is near

 In Ezekiel 7 we read:

Fate Has Caught Up with You
7 1-4 God’s Word came to me, saying, “You, son of man—God, the Master, has this Message for the land of Israel:

“‘Endtime.
    The end of business as usual for everyone.
It’s all over. The end is upon you.
    I’ve launched my anger against you.
I’ve issued my verdict on the way you live.
    I’ll make you pay for your disgusting obscenities.
I won’t look the other way,
    I won’t feel sorry for you.
I’ll make you pay for the way you’ve lived:
    Your disgusting obscenities will boomerang on you,
    and you’ll realize that I am God.’

Ezekiel is in Babylon prophesying the destruction of Israel. The Lord says that He will make Israel pay of his disgusting obscenities - referring to sex gods. Although the destruction will be made by the Babylonians, Israel will realize that in fact is the Lord behind it.
    

Ezekiel 6: against the mountains of Israel

 In Ezekiel 6 we read:

1-7 Then the Word of God came to me: “Son of man, now turn and face the mountains of Israel and preach against them: ‘O Mountains of Israel, listen to the Message of God, the Master. God, the Master, speaks to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I’m about to destroy your sacred god and goddess shrines. I’ll level your altars, bust up your sun-god pillars, and kill your people as they bow down to your no-god idols. I’ll stack the dead bodies of Israelites in front of your idols and then scatter your bones around your shrines. Every place where you’ve lived, the towns will be torn down and the pagan shrines demolished—altars busted up, idols smashed, all your custom-made sun-god pillars in ruins. Corpses everywhere you look! Then you’ll know that I am God.

Ezekiel is in Babylon, but he must preach against the mountains of Israel because the shrines were there. The Lord is a jealous God. He wants his people to be his only. He will make very clear that He hates idolatry because He will destroy the sacred god and goddess shrines and stack the dead bodies in front of them. I understand that I belong to the Lord. I must watch: where is my treasure? Money? the Lord? You Lord are my treasure and my source of joy. Please, keep me away from false gods.

Ezekiel 5: 'I’m a jealous God and not to be trifled with.'

 In Ezekiel 5, the Lord says to Ezekiel shave his head and beard, then, he must take the hair and divide into thirds. The hair represent Judah (or Israel, or both). One third is to burn inside the representation of Jerusalem, one third, to chop into the bits with the sword and the final third, to throw to the wind. The Lord says:

8-10 “Therefore this is what God, the Master, says: I’m setting myself against you—yes, against you, Jerusalem. I’m going to punish you in full sight of the nations. Because of your disgusting no-god idols, I’m going to do something to you that I’ve never done before and will never do again: turn families into cannibals—parents eating children, children eating parents! Punishment indeed. And whoever’s left over I’ll throw to the winds.
11-12 “Therefore, as sure as I am the living God—Decree of God, the Master—because you’ve polluted my Sanctuary with your obscenities and disgusting no-god idols, I’m pulling out. Not an ounce of pity will I show you. A third of your people will die of either disease or hunger inside the city, a third will be killed outside the city, and a third will be thrown to the winds and chased by killers.
13 “Only then will I calm down and let my anger cool. Then you’ll know that I was serious about this all along, that I’m a jealous God and not to be trifled with.

The Lord is holy and will show his wrath to his unholy people. He is a jealous God and He expects to receive love and obedience from his people. Am I living accordingly to what the Lord expects from me? Am I looking to false gods?

Ezekiel 4: prophecy about the siege of Jerusalem

 In Ezekiel 4 we read:

1-3 “Now, son of man, take a brick and place it before you. Draw a picture of the city Jerusalem on it. Then make a model of a military siege against the brick: Build siege walls, construct a ramp, set up army camps, lay in battering rams around it. Then get an iron skillet and place it upright between you and the city—an iron wall. Face the model: The city shall be under siege and you shall be the besieger. This is a sign to the family of Israel.

4-5 “Next lie on your left side and place the sin of the family of Israel on yourself. You will bear their sin for as many days as you lie on your side. The number of days you bear their sin will match the number of years of their sin, namely, 390. For 390 days you will bear the sin of the family of Israel.

6-7 “Then, after you have done this, turn over and lie down on your right side and bear the sin of the family of Judah. Your assignment this time is to lie there for forty days, a day for each year of their sin. Look straight at the siege of Jerusalem. Roll up your sleeve, shake your bare arm, and preach against her.

8 “I will tie you up with ropes, tie you so you can’t move or turn over until you have finished the days of the siege.


The Lord tells Ezekiel about the siege of Jerusalem, and to represent it. Why the siege is happening? It would be very common to think that the Babylonian gods are stronger than the Lord, but the Lord explains that is due to the sins of Israel and Judah. Thus, Ezekiel will bear their sins lying for 390 days in his left side and then 40 days in his right side. He will eat food cooked in dung - very disgusting - showing the famine that will happen to his people.

Ezekiel 3: Ezekiel is sent to preach a hard people, but he will be guilty if not speak.

 In Ezekiel 3 we read about how the prophet was prepared to speak the Lord's message.
He (called "Son of man") had to eat a scroll and speak to the family of Israel. The Lord warns Ezekiel that his people are hardened in their sin, and they won't listen. Despite it, Ezekiel is responsible to speak:


17-19 “Son of man, I’ve made you a watchman for the family of Israel. Whenever you hear me say something, warn them for me. If I say to the wicked, ‘You are going to die,’ and you don’t sound the alarm warning them that it’s a matter of life or death, they will die and it will be your fault. I’ll hold you responsible. But if you warn the wicked and they keep right on sinning anyway, they’ll most certainly die for their sin, but you won’t die. You’ll have saved your life.

20-21 “And if the righteous turn back from living righteously and take up with evil when I step in and put them in a hard place, they’ll die. If you haven’t warned them, they’ll die because of their sins, and none of the right things they’ve done will count for anything—and I’ll hold you responsible. But if you warn these righteous people not to sin and they listen to you, they’ll live because they took the warning—and again, you’ll have saved your life.”

The righteous is very tempted to abandon the Lord because it may seem that the Lord is weaker than the gods of Babylon, or that the Lord abandoned his people, or that the Lord is not strong enough to defend Jerusalem and even the temple. So, the message of Ezekiel must be very important to support the righteous in this turbulent time.

Ezekiel 2: called to speak

 Ezekiel 2 is about the calling of Ezekiel to send the message of the Lord to his rebellious people:

3-7 He said, “Son of man, I’m sending you to the family of Israel, a rebellious nation if there ever was one. They and their ancestors have fomented rebellion right up to the present. They’re a hard case, these people to whom I’m sending you—hardened in their sin. Tell them, ‘This is the Message of God, the Master.’ They are a defiant bunch. Whether or not they listen, at least they’ll know that a prophet’s been here. But don’t be afraid of them, son of man, and don’t be afraid of anything they say. Don’t be afraid when living among them is like stepping on thorns or finding scorpions in your bed. Don’t be afraid of their mean words or their hard looks. They’re a bunch of rebels. Your job is to speak to them. Whether they listen is not your concern. They’re hardened rebels.

The mission of Ezekiel is to speak. It is not his mission to make people listen.

Ezekiel1: the glory of God in Babylon

 In Ezekiel 1 we read

1 When I was thirty years of age, I was living with the exiles on the Kebar River. On the fifth day of the fourth month, the sky opened up and I saw visions of God.

2-3 (It was the fifth day of the month in the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin that God’s Word came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, on the banks of the Kebar River in the country of Babylon. God’s hand came upon him that day.)

Ezekiel is among the first to be taken to Babylon. He is the priest, 30 years old, and he had visions of God in Babylon, before the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.

4-9 I looked: I saw an immense dust storm come from the north, an immense cloud with lightning flashing from it, a huge ball of fire glowing like bronze. Within the fire were what looked like four creatures vibrant with life. Each had the form of a human being, but each also had four faces and four wings. Their legs were as sturdy and straight as columns, but their feet were hoofed like those of a calf and sparkled from the fire like burnished bronze. On all four sides under their wings they had human hands. All four had both faces and wings, with the wings touching one another. They turned neither one way nor the other; they went straight forward.

25-28 And then, as they stood with folded wings, there was a voice from above the dome over their heads. Above the dome there was something that looked like a throne, sky-blue like a sapphire, with a humanlike figure towering above the throne. From what I could see, from the waist up he looked like burnished bronze and from the waist down like a blazing fire. Brightness everywhere! The way a rainbow springs out of the sky on a rainy day—that’s what it was like. It turned out to be the Glory of God!

It must be terrifying to have a vision of the Glory of God. The Lord is Holy. He is sovereign in Jerusalem and even in Babylon.