Scripture Text: Ezekiel 8:1-11:25
Memory Verse: “Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel 11:19-20
Introduction:
Ezekiel’s vision in Ezekiel 8-11 is united as a whole unit under the theme of God’s departing glory. Ezekiel 8:1-3 is directly comparable to Ezekiel 11:24-25. Ezekiel 8 is a deeper explanation of Ezekiel 7:20, detailing the accusation of detestable idols and vile images. Ezekiel 9:9 mirrors the charge in Ezekiel 7:23, that the land is full of bloodshed and the city full of injustice.
However, Ezekiel 8-11 was intended for a particular group of people, “the elders of Judah,” (Ezekiel 8:1) who were gathered at Ezekiel’s home. Maybe they were there to seek God’s favor from the mouth of the prophet, perhaps to find an early end to their exile. Regardless of their intentions, encouragement isn’t what they received at the prophet’s house. Ezekiel gives a step-by-step denunciation of their sins and the combined sins of Judah. They were one of the primary targets of the vision God gave.
What is the heart of the matter? The Holy One of Israel couldn’t remain in the presence of human defilement, and Judah was rotten to the core with idolatry. For centuries they had abandoned the true God to run after every possible spiritual alternative, including hideously violent and sexually perverse false gods. Even God’s temple wasn’t maintained as sacred ground—Judah had brought their worship and sacrifices to false gods right onto the most hallowed real estate in the ancient world: the temple mount! Once this last bastion of true religion was defiled, there was no hope left but for fiery cleansing.
What was in the minds of the Jewish people? How could they have failed God so completely? Perhaps we should look within ourselves. Have we failed God? Do we continue to fail? YES! Yet by faith in Christ, we are the righteous of God, saved and cleansed by the precious blood of the lamb. Can we now treat this blessed grace of God with indifference? We may receive the gift freely, but the payment was anything but cheap.
Studying the Word
Lesson Study
- What was the significance of each part of the four-part vision of Judah’s idolatry within God’s temple was shown to Ezekiel? (Ezekiel 8:1-18)
- Why is the scribe in Ezekiel’s vision in Ezekiel 9 sent through the city? (Ezekiel 9:1-4)
- Who would be slain by the executioners in Ezekiel’s vision? (Ezekiel 9:5-10:7)
- Just as the four-part exposure of Judah’s idolatry was seen, describe how the glory of the Lord departed in four stages. (Ezekiel 10:4; 10:18; 10:19; 11:23) Do you think the exposure of idolatry was directly linked to God’s departing glory?
- Why did the evil sun-worshipping leaders in Jerusalem treat the people of the city as though they were the flesh in their cooking pot (cauldron)? (Ezekiel 11:1-13) What will be the end of their treachery?
- List the blessed promises of hope that God gave to His remnant people. (Ezekiel 11:14-20)
- What would happen to the proud and rebellious people? (Ezekiel 11:21; Proverbs 14:12; 16:5)
- When God’s glory departed the temple, where did it go? (Ezekiel 11:22-23) What significance would it have had to those left in Jerusalem that God’s divine presence had departed from them? What difference would it make to us if God’s presence was taken away?
[Ezekiel’s vision shows the departing of God’s glory from the temple and the city of Jerusalem, but the Lord never fully turns His back on His people. His presence, according to divine promise, moves to abide with the remnant taken into captivity in Babylon. He becomes their “little sanctuary” (Ezekiel 11:16) of protection.]