Ezekiel 36: Israel to Be Renewed for His Name’s Sake

The Lord punished Israel for her sins, but other nations, mainly Edom, rejoiced on it, taking Israel's mountains.
The Lord will restore Israel to preserve His Name.

22-23 “Therefore, tell Israel, ‘Message of God, the Master: I’m not doing this for you, Israel. I’m doing it for me, to save my character, my holy name, which you’ve blackened in every country where you’ve gone. I’m going to put my great and holy name on display, the name that has been ruined in so many countries, the name that you blackened wherever you went. Then the nations will realize who I really am, that I am God, when I show my holiness through you so that they can see it with their own eyes.

24-28 “‘For here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to take you out of these countries, gather you from all over, and bring you back to your own land. I’ll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands. You’ll once again live in the land I gave your ancestors. You’ll be my people! I’ll be your God!

It is impossible to live according to the Lord's will by myself. I need the Spirit to guide me, to change my heart of stone into a heart that is God-willed.

Ezekiel 35: Edom shoudn't hate the people of the Lord

 Edom hated Judah and Israel. I must learn that the Lord is my avenger. The Lord is saying to Edom:

10-13 “‘Because you said, “These two nations, these two countries, are mine. I’m taking over” (even though God is right there watching, right there listening), I’ll turn your hate-bloated anger and rage right back on you. You’ll know I mean business when I bring judgment on you. You’ll realize then that I, God, have overheard all the vile abuse you’ve poured out against the mountains of Israel, saying, “They’re roadkill and we’re going to eat them up.” You’ve strutted around, talking so big, insolently pitting yourselves against me. And I’ve heard it all.

When abused my first reaction is to fight using my forces, but the best is to rest in the Lord. He knows what to do.

Ezekiel 34: I am your Elohim, declares Adonay Yahweh.

 In Ezekiel 34, the people of Israel are compared to sheep and their leaders as shepherds:

1-6 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherd-leaders of Israel. Yes, prophesy! Tell those shepherds, ‘God, the Master, says: Doom to you shepherds of Israel, feeding your own mouths! Aren’t shepherds supposed to feed sheep? You drink the milk, you make clothes from the wool, you roast the lambs, but you don’t feed the sheep. You don’t build up the weak ones, don’t heal the sick, don’t doctor the injured, don’t go after the strays, don’t look for the lost. You bully and badger them. And now they’re scattered every which way because there was no shepherd—scattered and easy pickings for wolves and coyotes. Scattered—my sheep!—exposed and vulnerable across mountains and hills. My sheep scattered all over the world, and no one out looking for them!

As the leaders are just taking advantage of the sheep, the Lord himself will take care of the sheep:

10 “‘Watch out! I’m coming down on the shepherds and taking my sheep back. They’re fired as shepherds of my sheep. No more shepherds who just feed themselves! I’ll rescue my sheep from their greed. They’re not going to feed off my sheep any longer!

Is it about Jesus? I think so because:

23-24 “‘I’ll appoint one shepherd over them all: my servant David. He’ll feed them. He’ll be their shepherd. And I, God, will be their God. My servant David will be their prince. I, God, have spoken.

Jesus, the son of David, came down from heaven to take care of the people of the Lord.

It is really interesting how the Lord loves his people:

30-31 “‘They’ll know, beyond doubting, that I, God, am their God, that I’m with them and that they, the people Israel, are my people. Decree of God, the Master:

    You are my dear flock,
        the flock of my pasture, my human flock,
    And I am your God.
        Decree of God, the Master.’”

It is really a great blessing to know that the Lord is my shepherd, beyond doubting. He is my Elohim, my sovereign YHWH.

Ezekiel 33: "you will have saved your own life"

I believe that Jesus saved my life and I have no merit on it, but in Ezekiel 33 we read a call to hear the watchman and repent, and have a change of life. The one who listens and have a change of life is the one who lives.
We read:

7-9 “You, son of man, are the watchman. I’ve made you a watchman for Israel. The minute you hear a message from me, warn them. If I say to the wicked, ‘Wicked man, wicked woman, you’re on the fast track to death!’ and you don’t speak up and warn the wicked to change their ways, the wicked will die unwarned in their sins and I’ll hold you responsible for their bloodshed. But if you warn the wicked to change their ways and they don’t do it, they’ll die in their sins well-warned and at least you will have saved your own life.

There are people feels heavy for their sins:

10 “Son of man, speak to Israel. Tell them, ‘You’ve said, “Our rebellions and sins are weighing us down. We’re wasting away. How can we go on living?”’

11 “Tell them, ‘As sure as I am the living God, I take no pleasure from the death of the wicked. I want the wicked to change their ways and live. Turn your life around! Reverse your evil ways! Why die, Israel?’

The Lord has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, although it may seem so, given that Jerusalem is being destroyed. The Lord is calling to repentance, to a turning life but death is in front of Israel.

12-13 “There’s more, son of man. Tell your people, ‘A good person’s good life won’t save him when he decides to rebel, and a bad person’s bad life won’t prevent him from repenting of his rebellion. A good person who sins can’t expect to live when he chooses to sin. It’s true that I tell good people, “Live! Be alive!” But if they trust in their good deeds and turn to evil, that good life won’t amount to a hill of beans. They’ll die for their evil life.

The Egyptians thought that our good and bad deeds in a lifetime are weigh on a balance, but it is not how the Lord judges. It is very important how a person dies. A good person may turn to evil because he trusts in their good deeds and believe that he is saved. He is not, he can´t trust in his good deeds and turn to evil.

we read:

21 In the twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth day of the tenth month, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city’s fallen.”

22 The evening before the survivor arrived, the hand of God had been on me and restored my speech. By the time he arrived in the morning I was able to speak. I could talk again.

Ezekiel had stopped speaking in Ezekiel 24; the Lord would make him speak again when Jerusalem fell as a signal to the Jews in Babylon. As the prophecy fulfilled, then the Lord restored Ezekiel's speech.

The Lord says to Ezekiel:

30-32 “As for you, son of man, you’ve become quite the talk of the town. Your people meet on street corners and in front of their houses and say, ‘Let’s go hear the latest news from God.’ They show up, as people tend to do, and sit in your company. They listen to you speak, but don’t do a thing you say. They flatter you with compliments, but all they care about is making money and getting ahead. To them you’re merely entertainment—a country singer of sad love songs, playing a guitar. They love to hear you talk, but nothing comes of it.

33 “But when all this happens—and it is going to happen!—they’ll realize that a prophet was among them.”

It is very similar to people going to a church searching for diversion, instead of listen to the Lord and repent.

Ezekiel 32: Egypt will go to the grave of the heathen

 We read:

17-19 In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the first month, God’s Message came to me:
“Son of man, lament over Egypt’s pompous ways.
    Send her on her way.
Dispatch Egypt
    and her proud daughter nations
To the underworld,
    down to the country of the dead and buried.
Say, ‘You think you’re so high and mighty?
    Down! Take your place with the heathen in that unhallowed grave!’
20-21 “She’ll be dumped in with those killed in battle. The sword is bared. Drag her off in all her proud pomp! All the big men and their helpers down among the dead and buried will greet them: ‘Welcome to the grave of the heathen! Join the ranks of the victims of war!’

This grave is the destiny of the heathen, of the people that has no sign of the alliance. The text mentions: Assyria, Elam, Meshech-tubal and Edom. 

They were powerful. We read:

³⁰ “The princes of the north are there, the whole lot of them, and all the Sidonians who carry their shame to their graves—all that terror they spread with their brute power!—dumped in unhallowed ground with those killed in battle, carrying their shame with the others headed for deep earth.

I suffered bullying when young. It is interesting to think that the ones who spread terror die and carry their shame to their graves. 

Ezekiel 31: Egypt, look to the fall of Assyria

Assyria is taken as an example to Egypt.

Assyria was a great empire compared to a great tree in Eden.

1-9 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the third month, God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt, that pompous old goat:
“‘Who do you, astride the world,
    think you really are?
Look! Assyria was a Big Tree, huge as a Lebanon cedar,
    beautiful limbs offering cool shade,
Skyscraper high,
    piercing the clouds.
(...)
Not a tree in God’s garden
    was in the same class of beauty.
I made it beautiful,
    a work of art in limbs and leaves,
The envy of every tree in Eden,
    every last tree in God’s garden.’”

Assyria fell following the Lord's decree.

10-13 Therefore, God, the Master, says, “‘Because it skyscrapered upward, piercing the clouds, swaggering and proud of its stature, I turned it over to a world-famous leader to call its evil to account. I’d had enough. Outsiders, unbelievably brutal, felled it across the mountain ranges. Its branches were strewn through all the valleys, its leafy boughs clogging all the streams and rivers. Because its shade was gone, everybody walked off. No longer a tree—just a log. On that dead log birds perch. Wild animals burrow under it.

Egypt will follow Assyria fate. The Lord tells the pharaoh:

18 “‘Which of the trees of Eden came anywhere close to you in splendor and size? But you’re slated to be cut down to take your place in the underworld with the trees of Eden, to be a dead log stacked with all the other dead logs, among the other uncircumcised who are dead and buried.
“‘This means Pharaoh, the pompous old goat.
“‘Decree of God, the Master.’”

Ezekiel 30: a weak pharaoh

The Lord says to Ezekiel:

21 “Son of man, I’ve broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And look! It hasn’t been set. No splint has been put on it so the bones can knit and heal, so he can use a sword again.

22-26 “Therefore, God, the Master, says, I am dead set against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will go ahead and break his other arm—both arms broken! There’s no way he’ll ever swing a sword again. I’ll scatter Egyptians all over the world. I’ll make the arms of the king of Babylon strong and put my sword in his hand, but I’ll break the arms of Pharaoh and he’ll groan like one who is mortally wounded. I’ll make the arms of the king of Babylon strong, but the arms of Pharaoh shall go limp. The Egyptians will realize that I am God when I place my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon. He’ll wield it against Egypt and I’ll scatter Egyptians all over the world. Then they’ll realize that I am God.”

When it was written, Egypt was a powerful nation. Not only Judah sought for his help, but even the Egyptians had pharaoh as a god. The Lord can destroy whatever we humans can trust. The Egyptians will realize that YHWH is the Lord when Babylon has victory over Egypt and the Egyptians will be scattered all over the world.

Ezekiel 29: Egypt is not a crutch to rely on.

Egypt was a powerful nation. Israel/Judah sought for Egypt's help against Babylon.
We read a prophecy against Egypt:

6-9 “‘Because you’ve been a flimsy reed crutch to Israel so that when they gripped you, you splintered and cut their hand, and when they leaned on you, you broke and sent them sprawling—Message of God, the Master—I’ll bring war against you, do away with people and animals alike, and turn the country into an empty desert so they’ll realize that I am God.

The Lord was angry because they relied on a human power nation instead on relying on Him.
Egypt will not end but it will never become a powerful nation again:

13-16 “‘But,’ says God, the Master, ‘that’s not the end of it. After the forty years, I’ll gather up the Egyptians from all the places where they’ve been scattered. I’ll put things back together again for Egypt. I’ll bring her back to Pathros where she got her start long ago. There she’ll start over again from scratch. She’ll take her place at the bottom of the ladder and there she’ll stay, never to climb that ladder again, never to be a world power again. Never again will Israel be tempted to rely on Egypt. All she’ll be to Israel is a reminder of old sin. Then Egypt will realize that I am God, the Master.’”
 

Ezekiel 28: king of Tyre and Satan

 In Ezekiel 28 the king of Tyre thinks that he is god.

1-5 God’s Message came to me, “Son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, ‘This is what God, the Master, says:
“‘Your heart is proud,
    going around saying, “I’m a god.
I sit on God’s divine throne,
    ruling the sea”—
You, a mere mortal,
    not even close to being a god,
A mere mortal
    trying to be a god.
Look, you think you’re smarter than Daniel.
    No enigmas can stump you.
Your sharp intelligence
    made you world-wealthy.
You piled up gold and silver
    in your banks.
You used your head well,
    worked good deals, made a lot of money.
But the money has gone to your head,
    swelled your head—what a big head!

In the whole Bible, the Lord is against proud people. Unless they repent, they will be punished.

    
6-11 “‘Therefore, God, the Master, says:
“‘Because you’re acting like a god,
    pretending to be a god,
I’m giving fair warning: I’m bringing strangers down on you,
    the most vicious of all nations.
They’ll pull their swords and make hash
    of your reputation for knowing it all.
They’ll puncture the balloon
    of your god-pretensions.
They’ll bring you down from your self-made pedestal
    and bury you in the deep blue sea.
Will you protest to your assassins,
    “You can’t do that! I’m a god”?
To them you’re a mere mortal.
    They’re killing a man, not a god.
You’ll die like a stray dog,
    killed by strangers—
Because I said so.
    Decree of God, the Master.’”

    
11-19 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, raise a funeral song over the king of Tyre. Tell him, A Message from God, the Master:
“You had everything going for you.
    You were in Eden, God’s garden.
You were dressed in splendor,
    your robe studded with jewels:
Carnelian, peridot, and moonstone,
    beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald,
    all in settings of engraved gold.
A robe was prepared for you
    the same day you were created.
You were the anointed cherub.
    I placed you on the mountain of God.
You strolled in magnificence
    among the stones of fire.
From the day of your creation
    you were sheer perfection . . . 
    and then imperfection—evil!—was detected in you.
In much buying and selling
    you turned violent, you sinned!
I threw you, disgraced, off the mountain of God.
    I threw you out—you, the anointed angel-cherub.
    No more strolling among the gems of fire for you!
Your beauty went to your head.
    You corrupted wisdom
    by using it to get worldly fame.
I threw you to the ground,
    sent you sprawling before an audience of kings
    and let them gloat over your demise.
By sin after sin after sin,
    by your corrupt ways of doing business,
    you defiled your holy places of worship.
So I set a fire around and within you.
    It burned you up. I reduced you to ashes.
All anyone sees now
    when they look for you is ashes,
    a pitiful mound of ashes.
All who once knew you
    now throw up their hands:
‘This can’t have happened!
    This has happened!’”


Isn't it apply to Satan? It can´t totally apply to the king of Tyre because he was never an anointed cherub. His punishment is to be burned in fire and be reduced to ashes.

Ezekiel 27 Tyre as a great ship that sunk

 Ezekiel 27 compares Tyre to a great ship that will sink due to a eastern wind:

1-9 God’s Message came to me: “You, son of man, raise a funeral song over Tyre. Tell Tyre, gateway to the sea, merchant to the world, trader among the far-off islands, ‘This is what God, the Master, says:
“‘You boast, Tyre:
    “I’m the perfect ship — stately, handsome.”
You ruled the high seas from
    a real beauty, crafted to perfection.
(...)

Many nations was trading their products with Tyre. For instance:

17 “‘Judah and Israel did business with you. They traded for your products with premium wheat, millet, honey, oil, and balm.
18 “‘Damascus, attracted by your vast array of products and well-stocked warehouses, carried on business with you, trading in wine from Helbon and wool from Zahar.

Tyre had many ships used in commerce:

25 “‘The great Tarshish ships were your freighters, importing and exporting. Oh, it was big business for you, trafficking the seaways!

and then, storm our of the east sunk Tyre:

26-32
“‘Your sailors row mightily,
    taking you into the high seas.
Then a storm out of the east
    shatters your ship in the ocean deep.
Everything sinks—your rich goods and products,
    sailors and crew, ship’s carpenters and soldiers,
Sink to the bottom of the sea.
    Total shipwreck.
The cries of your sailors
    reverberate on shore.
Sailors everywhere abandon ship.
    Veteran seamen swim for dry land.
They cry out in grief,
    a choir of bitter lament over you.
They smear their faces with ashes,
    shave their heads,
Wear rough burlap,
    wildly keening their loss.
They raise their funeral song:
    “Who on the high seas is like Tyre!”
    (...)

Babylon fits the storm of the east that sunk Tyre, but by history not completely. For instance, after Babylon, Alexander the great sieged Tyre.

Ezekiel 26: Tyre and its destruction

 Tyre was a powerful Phoenician city renowned for its maritime trade and wealth.

1-2 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, Tyre cheered when they got the news of Jerusalem, exclaiming,
“‘Good! The gateway city is smashed!
    Now all her business comes my way.
She’s in ruins
    and I’m in clover.’

Tyre were glad  when Jerusalem - the gateway city - was smashed.

3-6 “Therefore, God, the Master, has this to say:
“‘I’m against you, Tyre,
    and I’ll bring many nations surging against you,
    as the waves of the sea surging against the shore.
They’ll smash the city walls of Tyre
    and break down her towers.
I’ll wash away the soil
    and leave nothing but bare rock.
She’ll be an island of bare rock in the ocean,
    good for nothing but drying fishnets.
Yes, I’ve said so.’ Decree of God, the Master.
    ‘She’ll be loot, free pickings for the nations!
Her surrounding villages will be butchered.
    Then they’ll realize that I am God.’

Many nations surged against Tyre mainly Babylon and Macedon by Alexander the Great.

19-21 “The Message of God, the Master: ‘When I turn you into a wasted city, a city empty of people, a ghost town, and when I bring up the great ocean deeps and cover you, then I’ll push you down among those who go to the grave, the long, long dead. I’ll make you live there, in the grave in old ruins, with the buried dead. You’ll never see the land of the living again. I’ll introduce you to the terrors of death and that’ll be the end of you. They’ll send out search parties for you, but you’ll never be found. Decree of God, the Master.’”

Tyre in Lebanon isn't a wasted city nowadays. Tyre is a small city in the Lebanon coast with 60k inhabitants. In Ezekiel 27, nations will isolate Tyre and she will become an island. The great ocean will cover Tyre. In fact, Tyre, once a great city, is now an isolated city.

ezekiel 25: other nations will realize that YHWH is God

In Ezekiel 25 we read many prophecies against the surrounding nations of Israel/Judah: Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia. These nations were against Israel. They were glad when the Sanctuary of YHWH was desecrated, Israel were taken to exile, despised Israel, etc. The Lord saw this, as a sin to be punished. As an example of a gentile nation, we read:

15-17 “God, the Master, says: Because the Philistines were so spitefully vengeful—all those centuries of stored-up malice!—and did their best to destroy Judah, therefore I, God, the Master, will oppose the Philistines and cut down the Cretans and anybody else left along the seacoast. Huge acts of vengeance, massive punishments! When I bring vengeance, they’ll realize that I am God.”

Ezekiel 24: announcement of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in a unique way

 
Imagine that one day Ezekiel wakes up and the Lord communicates him that the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. The Lord explains why to his people:

13-14 “‘Your encrusted filth is your filthy sex. I wanted to clean you up, but you wouldn’t let me. I’ll make no more attempts at cleaning you up until my anger quiets down. I, God, have said it, and I’ll do it. I’m not holding back. I’ve run out of compassion. I’m not changing my mind. You’re getting exactly what’s coming to you. Decree of God, the Master.’”

The Lord has run out of compassion. The destruction of the temple is on the way.
The Lord is taking the life of the wife of Ezekiel and asks him not to mourn for her:

15-17 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, I’m about to take from you the delight of your life — a real blow, I know. But, please, no tears. Keep your grief to yourself. No public mourning. Get dressed as usual and go about your work—none of the usual funeral rituals.”

His wife is a symbol of the temple of Jerusalem.

20-21 So I told them, “God’s Word came to me, saying, ‘Tell the family of Israel, This is what God, the Master, says: I will desecrate my Sanctuary, your proud impregnable fort, the delight of your life, your heart’s desire. The children you left behind will be killed.

22-24 “‘Then you’ll do exactly as I’ve done. You’ll perform none of the usual funeral rituals. You’ll get dressed as usual and go about your work. No tears. But your sins will eat away at you from within and you’ll groan among yourselves. Ezekiel will be your example. The way he did it is the way you’ll do it.
“‘When this happens you’ll recognize that I am God, the Master.’”

A Jew should go to the temple three times per year in accordance to the Law, but the temple is going to be destroyed. How a Jew would go to the temple? Is the Lord really governing the world? It was possible to believe so because the Lord has conducted his people in this stressful moment through the messages of the prophets such as Ezekiel.

25-27 “And you, son of man: The day I take away the people’s refuge, their great joy, the delight of their life, what they’ve most longed for, along with all their children — on that very day a survivor will arrive and tell you what happened to the city. You’ll break your silence and start talking again, talking to the survivor. Again, you’ll be an example for them. And they’ll recognize that I am God.”

Ezekiel will remain silent until the day when this prophecy happens, when the Jews in Babylon receive a survivor telling about Jerusalem and the temple destruction. This is a great sign that will make the Jews recognize that the Lord is Adonai.

Ezekiel 23 - two lustful whores to be despised

 Ezekiel 23 compares Jerusalem and Samaria to two sisters and whores.

1-4 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother. They became whores in Egypt, whores from a young age. Their breasts were fondled, their young bosoms caressed. The older sister was named Oholah, the younger was Oholibah. They were my daughters, and they gave birth to sons and daughters. “Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

It describes the mind of a lustful whore, beginning with Samaria:

5-8 “Oholah started whoring while she was still mine. She lusted after Assyrians as lovers: military men smartly uniformed in blue, ambassadors and governors, good-looking young men mounted on fine horses. Her lust was unrestrained. She was a whore to the Assyrian elite. She compounded her filth with the idols of those to whom she gave herself in lust. She never slowed down. The whoring she began while young in Egypt she continued, sleeping with men who played with her breasts and spent their lust on her.
9-10 “So I left her to her Assyrian lovers, for whom she was so obsessed with lust. They ripped off her clothes, took away her children, and then, the final indignity, killed her. Among women her name became Shame — history’s judgment on her.

Then, it describes the mind of her sister, Jerusalem as a more lustful whore.
The Lord express his emotion as an angry husband that will deal with his lustful wife.

Sex is linked to idolatry. It is very easy to have some disgusting to someone who puts sex first in life. The Lord is showing that is disgusting to place any other god (sex, fame, money) above the Lord. Our joy must come from the Lord.

Ezekiel 22: The sins of Israel and our sins

In Ezekiel 22, we read:

1-5 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, are you going to judge this bloody city or not? Come now, are you going to judge her? Do it! Face her with all her outrageous obscenities. Tell her, ‘This is what God, the Master, says: You’re a city murderous at the core, just asking for punishment. You’re a city obsessed with no-god idols, making yourself filthy. In all your killing, you’ve piled up guilt. In all your idol-making, you’ve become filthy. You’ve forced a premature end to your existence. I’ll put you on exhibit as the scarecrow of the nations, the world’s worst joke. From far and near they’ll deride you as infamous in filth, notorious for chaos.

Ezekiel is in Babylon and receives a revelation that Jerusalem will be severely punished for her sins, in particular we read:

26-29 “‘Your priests violated my law and desecrated my holy things. They can’t tell the difference between sacred and secular. They tell people there’s no difference between right and wrong. They’re contemptuous of my holy Sabbaths, profaning me by trying to pull me down to their level. Your politicians are like wolves prowling and killing and rapaciously taking whatever they want. Your preachers cover up for the politicians by pretending to have received visions and special revelations. They say, “This is what God, the Master, says . . .” when God hasn’t said so much as one word. Extortion is rife, robbery is epidemic, the poor and needy are abused, outsiders are kicked around at will, with no access to justice.’

Woudn't this apply to our Christian churches? Sacred and secular are mixed and there's no difference between right and wrong. Politicians use religion preachers and vice-versa.

Ezekiel 21 - the Sword of the Lord is against good and bad

 In Ezekiel 21 we read:

1-5 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, now face Jerusalem and let the Message roll out against the Sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel. Say, ‘God’s Message: I’m against you. I’m pulling my sword from its sheath and killing both the wicked and the righteous. Because I’m treating everyone the same, good and bad, everyone from south to north is going to feel my sword! Everyone will know that I mean business.’

It is difficult for the people of the Lord to understand that Jerusalem is going to be destroyed. The temple is there. The temple gathers the Jews three times annually. How can it be destroyed? However, Ezekiel prophecies that Jerusalem will indeed be destroyed. It is written: " I’m treating everyone the same, good and bad, everyone from south to north is going to feel my sword! Everyone will know that I mean business.". It seems to me that is not fair that good and bad people will be killed by the sword; however, we believe in the resurrection and in the Lord's justice beyond this world.

Ezekiel 20: "I acted for the sake of My name"

 in Ezekiel 20, the leaders of Israel came to ask for guidance from God. We read:
2-3 Then God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, talk with the leaders of Israel. Tell them, ‘God, the Master, says, “Have you come to ask me questions? As sure as I am the living God, I’ll not put up with questions from you. Decree of God, the Master.”’

It seems very good that the leaders came to ask for guidance from the Lord, but the Lord is not like other gods that make wishes in exchange of sacrifices. The Lord is in command, not Israel. The Lord wants repentance from his people. This chapter tells the history of Israel that are a rebellious people. Israel continually returned to the Lord through suffering, through God's intervention. We read:

9 But I acted for the sake of My name, that it would not be defiled in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.

14 But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled before the eyes of the nations, before whose eyes I had brought them out.

22 But I withdrew My hand and acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

The Lord will intervene again when He gathers his people again in Israel:

39-43 “‘But you, people of Israel, this is the Message of God, the Master, to you: Go ahead, serve your no-god idols! But later, you’ll think better of it and quit throwing filth and mud on me with your pagan offerings and no-god idols. For on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, I, God, the Master, tell you that the entire people of Israel will worship me. I’ll receive them there with open arms. I’ll demand your best gifts and offerings, all your holy sacrifices. What’s more, I’ll receive you as the best kind of offerings when I bring you back from all the lands and countries in which you’ve been scattered. I’ll demonstrate in the eyes of the world that I am The Holy. When I return you to the land of Israel, the land that I solemnly promised with upraised arm to give to your parents, you’ll realize that I am God. Then and there you’ll remember all that you’ve done, the way you’ve lived that has made you so filthy—and you’ll loathe yourselves.

44 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you in behalf of My name, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, house of Israel,” declares the Lord God.’”

The Lord is very different from other gods. He is holy and He wants a people that belongs to Him and Him alone. It is a great privilege to be part of God's people.

Ezekiel 19: a lament for two kings and for Israel/Judah

 in Ezekiel 19 we read a lament for the leaders of Israel and Israel doom. It tells a story of two lions that were captured by Egypt and Babylon. It may refer to Jehoahaz that was taken to Egypt and died there and to Jehoiachin that was taken to Babylon. The story tells that the lions were strong, but Jehoahaz reigned for just 3 months. Perhaps it may refer to Josiah that was killed by Egypt. It compares Israel to a vine:

10 Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard,
    transplanted alongside streams of water,
Luxurious in branches and grapes
    because of the ample water.

Israel/Judah was strong but it become something like a garbage:    

14 Good for nothing but making fires,
    campfires in the desert.
Not a hint now of those sturdy branches
    fit for use as a royal scepter!

Ezekiel is lamenting for Israel

Ezekiel 18: We are judged according to the Way we Live

 In Ezekiel 18, the Jews thought that the sins of the parents were transferred to their children. We read (MSG):

19-20 “Do you need to ask, ‘So why does the child not share the guilt of the parent?’
“Isn’t it plain? It’s because the child did what is fair and right. Since the child was careful to do what is lawful and right, the child will live truly and well. The soul that sins is the soul that dies. The child does not share the guilt of the parent, nor the parent the guilt of the child. If you live upright and well, you get the credit; if you live a wicked life, you’re guilty as charged.

The wicked may not die as wicked and the just may not die as just:

21-23 “But a wicked person who turns his back on that life of sin and keeps all my statutes, living a just and righteous life, he’ll live, really live. He won’t die. I won’t keep a list of all the things he did wrong. He will live. Do you think I take any pleasure in the death of wicked men and women? Isn’t it my pleasure that they turn around, no longer living wrong but living right—really living?

24 “The same thing goes for a good person who turns his back on an upright life and starts sinning, plunging into the same vile obscenities that the wicked person practices. Will this person live? I don’t keep a list of all the things this person did right, like money in the bank he can draw on. Because of his defection, because he accumulates sin, he’ll die.

This chapter describes a good person as:

5-9 (...) doesn’t eat at the pagan shrines,
doesn’t worship the idols so popular in Israel,
doesn’t seduce a neighbor’s spouse,
doesn’t indulge in casual sex,
doesn’t bully anyone,
doesn’t pile up bad debts,
doesn’t steal,
doesn’t refuse food to the hungry,
doesn’t refuse clothing to the ill-clad,
doesn’t exploit the poor,
doesn’t live by impulse and greed,
doesn’t treat one person better than another, (...)

and a wicked person as:

10-13 (...) eats at the pagan shrines,
seduces his neighbor’s spouse,
bullies the weak,
steals,
piles up bad debts,
admires idols,
commits outrageous obscenities,
exploits the poor (...)

Interestingly this text doens't prioritize the tieth or how much we give in a church, as so many churches do today.
This text also says that wicked person may repent and gain life.

25-28 “Do I hear you saying, ‘That’s not fair! God’s not fair!’?
“Listen, Israel. I’m not fair? You’re the ones who aren’t fair! If a good person turns away from his good life and takes up sinning, he’ll die for it. He’ll die for his own sin. Likewise, if a bad person turns away from his bad life and starts living a good life, a fair life, he will save his life. Because he faces up to all the wrongs he’s committed and puts them behind him, he will live, really live. He won’t die.

29 “And yet Israel keeps on whining, ‘That’s not fair! God’s not fair.’
“I’m not fair, Israel? You’re the ones who aren’t fair.

30-32 “The upshot is this, Israel: I’ll judge each of you according to the way you live. So turn around! Turn your backs on your rebellious living so that sin won’t drag you down. Clean house. No more rebellions, please. Get a new heart! Get a new spirit! Why would you choose to die, Israel? I take no pleasure in anyone’s death. Decree of God, the Master.
“Make a clean break! Live!”

The good person is the one who continually repents and surrender to the Lord.

Ezekiel 17 - the birth of the Christ reign

King Zedekiah made an alliance with Babylon but he betrayed such alliance, seeking refuge in Egypt. We read:

16-18 “‘As sure as I am the living God, this king who broke his pledge of loyalty and his covenant will die in that country, in Babylon. Pharaoh with his big army—all those soldiers!—won’t lift a finger to fight for him when Babylon sets siege to the city and kills everyone inside. Because he broke his word and broke the covenant, even though he gave his solemn promise, because he went ahead and did all these things anyway, he won’t escape.

19-21 “‘Therefore, God, the Master, says, As sure as I am the living God, because the king despised my oath and broke my covenant, I’ll bring the consequences crashing down on his head. I’ll send out a search party and catch him. I’ll take him to Babylon and have him brought to trial because of his total disregard for me. All his elite soldiers, along with the rest of the army, will be killed in battle, and whoever is left will be scattered to the four winds. Then you’ll realize that I, God, have spoken.

King Zedekiah was the last king of Davidic dynasty in Judah. Jeremiah prophesied that he should surrender to the Babylonians and not seek refuge in Egypt, but he didn't listen to Jeremiah. Ezekiel is in Babylon prophesying the same as Jeremiah. We know that we didn't have any king of Davidic dynasty ruling over Israel or Judah after Zedekiah.

22-24 “‘God, the Master, says, I personally will take a shoot from the top of the towering cedar, a cutting from the crown of the tree, and plant it on a high and towering mountain, on the high mountain of Israel. It will grow, putting out branches and fruit—a majestic cedar. Birds of every sort and kind will live under it. They’ll build nests in the shade of its branches. All the trees of the field will recognize that I, God, made the great tree small and the small tree great, made the green tree turn dry and the dry tree sprout green branches. I, God, said it—and I did it.’

The commentary "Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges" says:

The attempt of the king of Babylon to set up a kingdom in Israel miscarried; he who set up the kingdom took it away. The shoot planted by him was smitten by the east wind and withered. But Jehovah himself will plant a shoot of the high cedar, the Davidic house, on a high mountain that all nations may see it (Isaiah 2:2; Isaiah 11:10), even on the height of the mountain land of Israel, and it shall become a great cedar, so that all the fowls of heaven shall lodge in the branches of it. This kingdom shall be imposing and universal, and all peoples shall find protection under it. And then shall it be known that Jehovah is king among the nations, that kingdoms are in his hand, to set one up and pull another down; that he can make the green tree wither and the dry tree blossom and bear fruit.

Ezekiel 16: Jerusalem - the unfaithful wife that will be restored.

 In Ezekiel 16, the Lord exposes the sins of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is compared to a baby that was cared by the Lord and became his wife.

We read:

 11 I adorned you with jewelry, put bracelets on your wrists, and a necklace around your neck. 12 I also put a ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk, and colorfully woven cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. 14 Then your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord God.

 Jerusalem was born ugly but became beautiful thanks to the Lord, however:

 15-16 “‘But your beauty went to your head and you became a common whore, grabbing anyone coming down the street and taking him into your bed. You took your fine dresses and made “tents” of them, using them as brothels in which you practiced your trade. This kind of thing should never happen, never.

 Not only a whore, but also a killer:

20-21 “‘And then you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had given birth to as my children, and you killed them, sacrificing them to idols. Wasn’t it bad enough that you had become a whore? And now you’re a murderer, killing my children and sacrificing them to idols.

The Lord will deal with Jerusalem:

41-42 “‘I’ll have put a full stop to your whoring life—no more paying lovers to come to your bed! By then my anger will be played out. My jealousy will subside.

and will remember the covenant:

59-63 “‘God, the Master, says, I’ll do to you just as you have already done, you who have treated my oath with contempt and broken the covenant. All the same, I’ll remember the covenant I made with you when you were young and I’ll make a new covenant with you that will last forever. (...) I’ll firmly establish my covenant with you and you’ll know that I am God. You’ll remember your past life and face the shame of it, but when I make atonement for you, make everything right after all you’ve done, it will leave you speechless.’” Decree of God, the Master.

I suppose that in a normal situation, the sinner should make the atonement to the Lord but here is the opposite. The Lord will make atonement for Jerusalem. As a Christian (who sees Jesus in all the Bible), Jesus is the atonement provided by the Lord for me and for Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 15: Jerusalem will be burned

 Ezekiel 15 prophecies that Jerusalem will be burned. Jews in Jerusalem couldn't believe on it because the temple of the Lord is there. This prophecy says that Jerusalem will be burned because she was unfaithful. We read:

1-3 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, how would you compare the wood of a vine with the branches of any tree you’d find in the forest? Is vine wood ever used to make anything? Is it used to make pegs to hang things from?

It is saying: "do you think that Judah (vine) is better than other nations (any tree)"?
The answer is:

6-8 “So here’s the Message of God, the Master: Like the wood of the vine I selected from among the trees of the forest and used as fuel for the fire, just so I’ll treat those who live in Jerusalem. I am dead set against them. Even though at one time they got out of the fire charred, the fire’s going to burn them up. When I take my stand against them, you’ll realize that I am God. I’ll turn this country into a wilderness because they’ve been faithless.” Decree of God, the Master.

It is a good motive to abandon Jerusalem and be exiled in Babylon.