Ezekiel chapter 39

So I've spent the last period of time writing a sermon (as so usually happens when there is a gap in my bible reading) but now that I've finished it, I don't know that I should post it, since I'm not actually giving it till December. But what the hey, I'll stick it up. How many people will actually see it, after all?

In the meantime, back to Ezekiel, before I start on my next sermon on the same topic.

vs 1

Oh good, Gog is still getting a thrashing.

vs 2

It's so interesting that in other places, where God uses a nation for his purposes, there is this real quandary about whether he is using them, or he is just approving the actions they do, and they want to do it anyway, so he is just going along with it, and then he'll punish them for the actions which they always wanted to do. But here, and in the last chapter, the language is far more forceful. God is dragging Gog to do the things, and it's pretty much entirely for the purpose of smiting him for doing it. Which makes it a lot more difficult to justify, which is good, because it makes you sit back and say, "Okay, so that's God. How do I deal with that?"

Personally, God can do whatever he wants in my book. Since he defines what is good, it is good.

vs 3

Not many people see it, but you do realise that this is God prophesying that left-handers will rule the world, right?

vs 4

Again, the carrion bird feast is echoed in Revelation.

vs 5

I'm not sure what the relevance of the open field is - that they will lose a fair fight, not a guerilla war in the mountains?

vs 6

Well, damn. I mean, it's not bad enough that God drags their whole army out to battle, only to slaughter them all, but when he defeats them, God himself goes on a reciprocal rampage and burns down their houses!

vs 7

They sure will. I won't argue.

vs 8

The day. It's long in coming. Even longer than we shortsighted Christians think.

vs 9

This is great. It is obviously a verse to give you an idea of how big the army was, that if you piled up all their weapons, you could use it as firewood for seven years. And remember, people used fire a lot back then - for things like cooking.

Now, you have to be a little guarded about the dispensationalist interpretation, which sees the invasion of Gog and Magog as that of Russia. While it is true that an AK74 has a wooden stock, I don't know that tanks and such burn that well. But as a friend of mine said, "They can just siphon out the petrol!" Nothing stops the dispensationalist.

vs 10

Israel has certainly shown itself to be good at this. You attack them, they beat you, they retaliate, they take some of your land, and then they fight tooth and nail over it for decades. No doubt some of them even look at this verse as legitimising this. But of course it doesn't.

vs 11

"Oh, this valley? Well, it used to be the highway to the beach, but ever since Gog attacked Israel, it's been blocked with the bones of him and his army." I mean, seriously, are you getting the message? If you are against God, you are paste.

vs 12

Another seven. Coincidence?

vs 13

I would remember having to work for seven months to bury bodies, for sure.

vs 14

But oh, no, it doesn't stop there. I suppose this is to show the holiness of God's land. I mean, if God wants an army to march onto his promised land and then strike them down, that's fine. But you can't leave a bunch of corpses lying around.

vs 15

It's an important job. Dead stuff is ceremonially unclean, I think especially dead human.

vs 16

Body parts are going to litter the ground - I mean, does God make them all explode, or what?

vs 17

As truly disturbing as this picture is, those who had been to war during this time period would no doubt be well aware that when hundreds, if not thousands, of corpses are lying around, this is the consequence.

vs 18

And of course it's a fairly ignoble way to die - the death of the defeated.

vs 19

You'd almost think that God has a special soft spot for vultures.

vs 20

But really, it's just marking out that God is going to kill so many people, because it doesn't matter how many rise up against God, they are wrong, and they will die.

vs 21

I'm afraid even if God send down a pillar of holy light that just killed a whole army, people would just blame America and say it was a GDI style ion cannon or something. That doesn't mean God didn't show his glory - it just means that the blind are called the blind for a reason.

vs 22

But those who see can see, and will go, "What the - woah."

vs 23

So... we won't have forgotten about that by this time, evidently.

vs 24

That's for sure. God deals with all uncleanness - if it's his own people, he exiles them. If it's a rogue army, he explodes them. If it's corpses, he summons carrion birds. He's got it all covered.

vs 25

God has let his name slide a little, but now he's going to make his image crystal clean again, and he's going to do it by making sure Israel does it.

vs 26

No-one to make them afraid! What an incredible statement. The less we fear, the less we fear God, I suppose.

vs 27

He definitely was. I mean, could you honestly read Israel's history any other way? Of course you could. But this way is pretty darn compelling.

vs 28

Leaving none behind. Damn it. It's in the Bible. I mean, I love it as a military idea, but as an educational idea it leaves something to be desired in my humble opinion. Nevertheless, as a religious idea, I think I'm okay with it. Not that everyone will be saved - but that no-one who should be saved won't be saved. And as such, all humanity should be reached with the gospel.

vs 29

I'm honestly not sure what to make of this promise. Is this marking Acts, or did God pour out his spirit on the exilees upon their return? Both?

Ezekiel chapter 38

vs 1

As it does.

vs 2

Good old Gog and Magog. I wondered where it came from. Don't ask me where they are though. But now, instead of prophecying to dry bones, he's prophesying against some more nations.

vs 3

So God just sets the record straight right away.

vs 4

It sounds like God is going to drag him out painfully, but I don't quite understand why the army is involved. Perhaps it will become clear.

vs 5

So that sounds like a pretty big army.

vs 6

Okay, we're talking a hell of a lot of troops - an empire worth.

vs 7

So Gog (or Magog?) is taking control of this huge empire worth of armies, because God has called them to do so.

vs 8

Wait, what? God is raising another army to invade Israel? After he's brought them back and made peace with them again?

vs 9

Unless God is going to destroy them all at the border, I think we're in for some repetitive history here.

vs 10

What a cool way to explain it - they will have this huge army, march to Israel, and then they'll think something evil. Before that, it was just military manouevres.

vs 11

Of course, no reason for Israel to build gates, because God is their gates and walls.

vs 12

Good to think that Israel will have been made rich again by God. But I assume that this is at the very least a warning to say that Israel may still have enemies.

vs 13

Why they feel the need to throw in their two cents, I don't know. But the fact is, that's the question you're bound to ask when there is an army at your doorstep. They're probably not going to borrow a cup of sugar.

vs 14

And here's the thing - God is talking to someone who probably is a leader of armies, and who probably does think like that. It's almost accusatory, like saying, "If you saw a baby with a lollipop, you'd think about stealing it, wouldn't you?"

vs 15

I guess if you think it's going to be easy pickings, then why not?

vs 16

This is what I love, and it is actually a fantastic way of showing how God makes things happen, using people's own selfish natures against them, and using evil for good. God allows Gog to raise up an army, God actually tempts Gog to come and attack a soft target, Gog selfishly thinks that's a good idea, and I think, from the sound of it, God is going to smite Gog's ass off the planet.

vs 17

So this isn't new news, then.

vs 18

Even though God tempted him to do it, and even went so far as to put hooks in and drag him there, God will still be angry he's turned up.

vs 19

Which is not the most awesome news ever for anyone, really.

vs 20

That sounds like an earthquake, all right. A biggun.

vs 21

That's a lot of sword.

vs 22

But God isn't content with using one sword against another - he wants it marked out that he is involved a little more directly.

vs 23

When a huge army comes knocking and God smites them out of existence with fiery sulfur, if at that point you do not know he is the Lord, you're crazy.

Ezekiel chapter 37

Well, after something of a hiatus, it has finally gotten hot enough that I can't sleep past about 6am, so that's a rather engaging way to get back into morning Bible reading.

vs 1

You know, I have never heard a sermon on this passage, or any real explanation. All I have heard is the song they sing at CCC, which basically consists of singing the words "Prophesy, prophesy, prophesy, prophesy, prophesy to the dry bones" ad nauseum.

Anyway, God takes Ezekiel to a valley full of bones.

vs 2

I suppose dry means not with bits of flesh sticking to them. So more skeleton than zombie.

vs 3

This is most likely the most intelligent answer someone can give to any question God poses, especially when in the spirit.

vs 4

No doubt Ezekiel is going to learn something from this.

vs 5

Well, there's not much else you could promise bones - a good burial?

vs 6

So they will come back to life, and not just as skeletons. God is not raising an army of undead.

vs 7

I can imagine this scene, thanks to myriad years of fantasy games, but if it actually happened in real life, I think I'd freak.

vs 8

So instead of skeletons, thy became corpses.

vs 9

Now this story, I don't know if it is told in the dry bones song, I don't remember. But this is a fascinating story to me. Because the word for breath in Hebrew (and Greek) is also used to spirit. So breathing life into these corpses is giving spirit to them. But also, Ezekiel prophesys to the spirit, giving it a command from God, and it enters these bodies. We also learn something about these bones - they were slain, which I would take to differentiate them from those who may be dead from natural causes.

vs 10

Now, I said before that God wasn't raising an undead army, but the word army just happens to be used here. Is it actually an army, or is it just a great throng of people, and an army is a good group descriptor of such a large group of people? Not enough to be a nation, perhaps.

vs 11

I am so glad to read these words. I thought I was going to puzzle over this. But here is God explaining his vision. The bones are Israel (so it is enough for a nation), and Israel is complaining that they have no life, or no hope.

vs 12

Is this where the doctrine of resurrection starts? I mean, no question God can do it, but he never really promised it before. In any case, I don't know that this is what he is promising per se here. It seems to be more metaphorical. God is going to bring back their hope. But then ultimately, without resurrection, is there hope? Ecclesiastes has things to say about that.

vs 13

People will definitely know that God is Lord when that happens. Or has it happened, as reported in Matt 27:51-53? That passage always puzzles me.

vs 14

It's almost as if life not in the land of God's promise isn't really life. But God gives them hope that they will live there again.

vs 15

Ahhh, good old word of the Lord. Let me guess, he said, "Son of Man"?

vs 16

So, two sticks with names on, one for Judah, and one for Ephraim (well, for Joseph, represented by Ephraim).

vs 17

If i were to just say what I thought this meant, without reading on, it seems like a reunification message to me. Which, to me, would be hugely important, because taken at face value, it would be saying something about the future of Israel.

vs 18

As people would, considering all the other things that Ezekiel has done for God so far in this book. I can imagine people coming up and saying, "Ezekiel, what are you doing?" "Err, I'm buying eggs." "What does that mean?" "No, seriously, just buying eggs. But check out these two sticks with names on them."

vs 19

I called it. This to me is really quite important. Has this happened? Will it happen? Or is this a metaphor for the new Israel?

vs 20

Whatever it is, God wants them to see it clearly.

vs 21

As one stick, as it were.

vs 22

As far as I know, they were never divided into kingdoms again. But also as far as I know, we have never really heard of the northern tribes again in history, and what happened to them. I don't know, though. That's just what I've heard.

vs 23

A huge promise here, especially considering how bad the northern kingdom was. But God's promise was still with them, and so he makes it clear that all Israel is his. Does it happen in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah though? I don't think so.

vs 24

This has got to be messianic, since they never again have a davidic king.

vs 25

I was going to say that it's easy to read this as a metaphor for Christian hope, but then I was going to ask, "Okay, but what does that mean for Israel?" But honestly, how is this hope any different from our hope? It's not. It is just as pie-in-the-sky hopeful, just as eschatologically hopeful. They've been waiting just a bit long for this as we have been waiting for Christ to come back.

vs 26

To a Christian, this definitely refers to heaven. But to a Jew, does it refer to another temple being built? I still don't really know much about the eschatological hope for Jews.

vs 27

It's the classic promise of God, and one the Jews will be glad to hear since they're tromping their way into exile for several decades.

vs 28

I can quite confidently say that the nations will know this at the end of time. But will the nations know it beforehand? I'm honestly not so convinced. Or perhaps they did know, because Jesus came from Israel? And in that way, we can see that they're blessed in the same way Mary was blessed to have Jesus as a child. They have him as a national child. They've disowned him, which was a bad decision. But that doesn't stop him being a child of Jerusalem, as it were.

Suffering Church Sunday 2010 talk

Suffering Church Sunday is a brainchild of Barnabas Fund, in an effort for churches to spend one Sunday a year focused on those who suffer for their faith. While I wrote this sermon, I modelled it around a powerpoint presentation that they sent out. It's the first time I've written a sermon using someone else's outline. Was interesting to do. I also kept it short, because I was time-conscious of the service. The little (S)'s are marks where a new slide should be shown, as I didn't have control over the slides myself. If you want to see the presentation, click here.

Suffering Church Sunday sermon

John 15:18-16:4 – Be On Your Guard

3.47-6.20 of Haddy's story

Last year, you might remember that St Ives Community Church devoted a Sunday to remembering the suffering church. We heard testimonies of those who had suffered for Christ, we looked at the different kinds of persecution that Christians suffer around the world, and we prayed for and learned about the plight of our brothers and sisters in Christ who face discrimination, rejection, beatings, separation and even death because they call Jesus Christ and Lord, and we sought to stand by them because we are their fellow believers.

This year, the focus of Suffering Church Sunday is a little different. This year, we look at the spread of persecution of Christians that is becoming more and more pervasive across the world, and how we as Christians, here in Australia, may face similar forms of discrimination to those we saw last year effecting our brothers and sisters in Christ overseas.

It might be surprising to think that this is possible. When we think about Christians suffering persecution, we think about Saudi Arabia and the Muslim world, or we think about China and the Communist world, or we think about India and the Hindu world. But what these Christians, who have been suffering for decades, some for centuries, want to tell us is, “Australian Christians, be on your guard. British Christians, be on your guard. American Christians, be on your guard. European Christians, be on your guard. Because they will not stop at us. You are next.”

I've told this story many times, but it bears telling again. Seven years ago now, I was in a hotel in Cyprus meeting with Christian leaders from across the Middle East and across the world. There were Christians from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Pakistan, Central Asia, Russia, Guyana and other places, as well as me from Australia, a couple from New Zealand, and a couple from the USA. And these Christian leaders from across the persecuted church would approach me and ask, “Ben, tell us about Christianity in Australia. We have heard that bad things are happening there, and we are worried.” You see, at the time, two Christian pastors were in court in Victoria because they had been giving seminars about the nature of Islam and its negative attitude towards Christianity. They were found guilty of discrimination for telling the truth, and were ordered to pay damages to the Islamic Council of Victoria and to make a public apology.

Has the situation got better here in Australia? You tell me. The ethics class trial in our schools has been a great success, according to the government, and many parents are keen to take their kids out of Scripture classes and put them into non-religious ethics classes, at the same time raising questions about whether Scripture is needed in schools at all. In Victoria recently, a Christian Brethren campsite on Philip Island – that perhaps some of you have been to – was charged with discriminating against a pro-homosexual group that wanted to use their facilities to propagate their beliefs about homosexuality and forced to pay damages. In New South Wales, the anti-discrimination law uniquely fails to protect Christians because of its wording. Similar things are happening across the western world, with some converts from Islam to Christianity not able to escape death threats even in places like England, as Haddy's story shows.

(S)Should this really be surprising to us? After all, Jesus made it clear to his disciples before he was arrested, as we read in the book of John, (S)“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” (S)Discrimination, harassment and persecution are effecting Christians all over the world, and that includes places like Australia. (S)The poster on the side of that bus reads, “There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” (S)In places like Australia, the culture is turning against existing Christian institutions and beliefs, and Christians are finding themselves under increasing pressure for what they believe. (S)There is an increasing pressure for us to change what we do and think so that it is in line with what non-Christian society thinks – the world of political correctness, scepticism of spiritual things, and antagonism towards established religious institutions such as church. (S)When we are faced with some of these things, it can cause us to ask some pretty serious questions. (S)Why does this persecution happen to us? (S)How should we respond to it? (S)And does it call our faith into question?

Jesus foresaw these questions coming, just like he foresaw persecution coming to his followers, and he didn't shy away from telling them about it. (S)No, Jesus wanted them, and us, to be ready, to be on our guard when discrimination and persecution comes to us. (S)In this passage in John, Jesus seeks to explain (S)why the world will hate his disciples, he seeks to show them (S)how to respond to suffering for his name, and he seeks to (S)protect them from falling away from their faith when persecution comes.

So why, according to Jesus, does the world hate Christians? (S)Quite simply, it hates us because it (S)hated Jesus first. Jesus says that he came with a confronting message. (S)If he did not come, then people would not be confronted with the guilt of their sin, their disobedience and rebellion against God. But he did come. (S)He came, and he preached that we need to repent, to turn away from our sinful lives and to live for God. The world just can't stand that message, because it's offensive to be told that you're wrong. And so the world hated him. And so the world killed him. (S)The world hates the followers of Jesus because we don't fall into lock-step with them. We accept Jesus' message. (S)We accept that we are sinful, and there is nothing that we can do to come before our perfect God. (S)We have been chosen by Jesus to be a part of his kingdom forever. We are therefore no longer part of the world.

(S)Moreover, Jesus tells us that the reason people hate us is because they also hate the father. (S)Jesus is God in bodily form, and comes to call for our obedience. But we don't want to be obedient, and so we rebel. (S)You can see why Australia is so hard a place for the gospel to penetrate. Australians don't like people who are different. Oh, we don't mind people coming from all cultures and nations and backgrounds. But we don't like it when people separate off into their own little groups, and don't mix with the culture and become Australian. We also don't like tall poppies who say that they're better than us. Well, God tells us that he is better, that he is perfect, and that we are sinners. He tells us to be different, not just to fit in, but to be different, to be holy, for him. Jesus, as God, claims not to be our equal, but to be our king, to be perfect. Humanity does not want to bow the knee, and so it rails against God, it fights and struggles to keep control. (S)Psalm 69 was written by David, but is messianic in referring to Christ. “Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me.” If our lives as Christians are to mirror the life of Christ, then we can only expect these words to be true of us too. People will hate us without reason, they will be our enemies without cause, they will seek to destroy us.

(S)If this is why the world hates Jesus and his disciples, what should our response be? Well, Jesus tells us that too, and it might not be the response we would think of. You see, when someone has a problem with us, we would usually seek to change what we're doing, talk about it with them, try and come to some sort of resolution or compromise. We would probably want to stop doing what it is that makes them angry. But not in this case. The world hates us because it hates Jesus. (S)The response he calls us to is to bear witness to him all the more. The opportunity is there, constantly, for those who are persecuted for Christ's name. The number of times they are told, “Just convert to Islam, and we will stop beating you,” or, “Just renounce your faith, and we will release you from prison,” or even what was on that bus, “Stop worrying, and enjoy your life, and forget about God,” all they need to do, all we need to do, is renounce our faith, and things will go better for us. A Christian couple in the UK, living in Derby, have recently been barred from fostering children by their local council, because of their Biblical views on marriage and the family. They have had to take their case to the High Court, where a decision will be made essentially about whether Christians are 'fit and proper' persons to foster or adopt children. Do they want to adopt a child? Just renounce their beliefs, and they won't have a problem. Does Kedron want more school camps? I remember Greg saying that if they just remove the religious element, they will get more.

But this is not the path that Jesus tells his disciples to take. He tells them that he is going to send the Holy Spirit, which will go out into the world and testify to about Jesus. (S)In the same way, Jesus tells his disciples that they must testify to him, because they have been with him since the beginning. In the same way, we are to continue testifying to him, bringing the gospel of hope and freedom to people, people like Haddy, people like us, sinners who need to hear it. Yes, some will hate us for it, because it is an offensive message to be told that you are sinful and that you're not perfect and you're not the way God wants you. But Jesus tells us also in verse 20 that if they obey Christ's teaching, they will listen to us too. There are those out there who need to hear the message, who God has chosen to hear it. And no matter whether it will cost us our comfort, our money, our friends, our job, our family, or even our lives, Jesus calls his disciples to testify to him in the face of persecution.

Think about that. How offensive is your life? Does the life you live, do the words you say, send that message that no-one is good enough for God, and that the only way to find true meaning in life is through submission and obedience to God through Jesus Christ? How often do you cop flack about it? I asked some of the young people if they would be prepared to give their lives up for Christ, and most of them were honest and said that they really hope that they would do it if it came to it. So then, I asked them if they're prepared to die for Christ, why do we all – them, me, you – not totally live our lives for Christ? And their answer was profound: because it is harder to live the life every day and suffer the little things - the rejection of friends, the not fitting in with society, the giving up of things that you know you shouldn't do – than it is to think of giving your life for God in one shot, and going to heaven. Is that how you feel? That it's easier to come to church on Sunday, then just go to work on Monday, and not do anything to stand out or make a fuss or show what you believe? Of course it's easier, but it's not what Christ demands.

(S)And Christ knew that persecution would come on his disciples, both back then and today. In fact, he gets them ready for it. (S)He gives them advanced warning, so that when it comes they remember that he warned them. And he tells them so that they do not lose faith and fall away, because he knows how hard it will be for Haddy, he knows how hard it will be for us. (S)So let me ask you another question. When you became a Christian, was it a hard choice? Were you aware of what you were giving up? Were you aware of what people would think of you? Or for you, was it an easy choice, because you went to a Christian school, or your family were all Christians, or you were at a Christian camp surrounded by Christians, and everyone you knew and loved were ecstatic that you had made the right decision? Were you told that it was going to be hard, that you were going to suffer, that persecution is the lot of the follower of Jesus, and did you count the cost before you made the decision? (S)Maybe you weren't, but Jesus told his disciples that they should. In Luke 14 Jesus tells his disciples they have to be prepared to hate their family, their children, even their own life, or they cannot be his disciple. They have to count the cost, like you count the cost before building a house, or going to war – he told them that if they aren't prepared to give up everything, then they should forget about being his disciple. Maybe you were never told that when you first became a Christian. Now you know. Are you prepared to make the change in your life?

(S)Jesus told his disciples what was coming. (S)He wanted to make sense of the suffering that they would undergo in his name, (S)he wanted to call them to bear witness to him regardless of the cost, and (S)he wanted them to know what to expect by following him. People like Haddy, who take their lives in their hands when they accept Christ, know how valuable he is to them. The time may be coming when being a Christian in Australia will actually mean that you are looked down on as intolerant, irrelevant and ignorant – if that time is not already here. So ask yourself, how valuable is Jesus to you?(S)

Lord, be with us all as we seek to live our lives entirely for you. Help us to recognise the persecution that Christians face, both in the Muslim world, the Communist world, the Hindu world, the Buddhist world, the Tribal world, and the western secular world. Thank you for the concern our suffering brothers and sisters have for us as we face discrimination. We pray that you give us the same heart of loving concern for them as they suffer relationally, financially and physically for you. We thank you that you are worth the cost. Amen

Ezekiel chapter 36

And now, a longer than normal one.

vs 1

Ahhh, perhaps this is why the prophecy against Edom was just before. God got Ezekiel to prophesy to the mountain of Seir, and now he wants him to prophesy to the mountains of Israel.

vs 2

Which again was what the last doom prophecy was about.

vs 3

Which, I might point out, was what God was planning.

vs 4

Wait... God is actually talking to the mountains and the ground? Okay, if you've ever needed a reason to believe that Ezekiel's prophecies that aren't directed to Israel are still directed to Israel, I think here it is.

vs 5

God is comforting the land almost, letting it know that he is going to punish those who have taken it away from Israel.

vs 6

I just have to say it - this verse is more full of typical Ezekiely statements (word of the Lord, this is what the Lord says, etc) than any other so far. It's like every verse has it in it! So God is speaking out of jealousy.

vs 7

Just as people scorn the land because of what happened, so will they scorn all the other nations that God brings low.

vs 8

This land will be fruitful again. Surely comforting to the land - but obviously to the people to know they will be returning one day.

vs 9

Now, just because this is a literary device, I don't know how much we can look into this verse. I mean, you could make an argument that God is saying that land likes to be plowed and sown. Perhaps just land that has been promised for such?

vs 10

See, is this what land really wants, a multiplication of people? I don't know, I can't talk to land. I really wonder if it can be read that way, and not just, "Obviously God is not talking to land, he is talking to the people."

vs 11

As if the land didn't already know that God is Lord.

vs 12

Interesting to think of the land as depriving them of children. I suppose it's a reference to droughts and other such catastrophes.

vs 13

Which I think is not unreasonable, considering God does take special interest in the promised land and its people, so plagues and locusts and such have been known to happen.

vs 14

God has had enough of that stereotype of his land, though. So no more.

vs 15

And no longer will people make up stories and taunts about the promised land being some sort of death trap, or black spot. Although I'm sure people talk about it as such today.

vs 16

That's more like it.

vs 17

Lovely picture.

vs 18

Which is harsh, but God did tell them that's what he'd do.

vs 19

Indeed he did. Although the past tense is a little odd, because it only just happened when it was written.

vs 20

Oh, wait, he might be talking about north kingdom Israel. That would make more sense. You can see, though, that even though the north kingdom people had forgotten they were God's people, other nations hadn't.

vs 21

They profaned it in the land, and profaned it out of the land. Great.

vs 22

This is hope giving, but also harsh. I mean, it's good to know that God is doing it for his own holy name, because that is an eternal thing of importance. But it sort of sucks to know that you're the ones who profaned it in the first place.

vs 23

And so God, in his classic way, will use the people who profaned him to prove to the world that he is holy.

vs 24

Thankfully he seems to be done with cursing and judgment for the moment. Now he's going to rebuild his name by reconstituting his people.

vs 25

He will polish them up so they are almost like a new people.

vs 26

What a fantastic promise. No wonder so many people know this verse from Ezekiel. I think we all feel our heart of stone weighing us down sometimes. It's fantastic to think that God would do this for us. We sometimes feel little bits of it, but I think we all wait for it's eternal completion.

vs 27

As above. The promise of God's Spirit comes so early in the piece, relatively speaking. The whole Acts thing is a fulfilment of this.

vs 28

The relationship will be renewed.

vs 29

The blessings of the land will return, but along with it a washing away of uncleanness. Probably these two ideas could have been broken up by a verse.

vs 30

I can see how tasty this promise is to people, how they want to be able to point to their life and say, "Look, I'm not starving, I must be a Christian." If only we could make it true. I mean, we could, and we do for some people, but we could do so much more.

vs 31

It's the old-fashioned heaping burning coals on their heads. Of course, they will mourn for their own sin, but also the sins of their forefathers that led up to where they are now. That's a good illustration of the connectivity of history for the near eastern culture.

vs 32

A stomach churning verse.

vs 33

It's a comforting thought, that the punishment they are suffering is temporary, that things will get better again, even if they don't know how long it will be.

vs 34

Cultivation of course means wealth and prosperity, the life of the promised land.

vs 35

They, I assume, are the people who pass through, probably people who had heard all the taunts and missayings about God's land.

vs 36

So really, God couldn't do his job properly if he didn't destroy the land so thoroughly that only he could return it to fruitfulness.

vs 37

Once again. God really is a relenting old softie, isn't he? Just... erm... ignore all that killing and suffering that he caused as punishment.

vs 38

The remnant that exists will grow, God will grow his people, because that brings him glory.

Ezekiel chapter 35

Short one today.

vs 1

And once again, it's a prophecy against somewhere. I wonder why this one fits in here?

vs 2

That would be Edom, so our scholars tell us.

vs 3

Well, God doesn't beat around the bush, does he?

vs 4

Honestly, what more needs to be said? I guess they need to at least know why.

vs 5

What did Edom do? Were they meant to help against Babylon? Perhaps they helped Babylon.

vs 6

God's fitting punishments are perhaps the worst of all. It sucks to have it pointed out how bad you are, and then have that badness end up in your lap.

vs 7

He's very keen on this desolate waste making, God.

vs 8

So I assume that the king of Babylon is going to march to Egypt via Edom or something.

vs 9

While I assume that people now live there, I wonder how many of them call themselves Edomites?

vs 10

Ooooh, I see. Edom seems to have waged war against Israel and Judah, thinking to take them both over - perhaps while they were stressed by pressure from the north at the same time.

vs 11

This is essentially the essence of this prophecy. God is telling the Jews to be what he is going to do to Edom, so that when it happens, they can go, "Oh, just like God said." And it teaches them about God hating jealousy and people who hate his people.

vs 12

Oh, God does not like that one bit. God does his own destroying and bringing low. He doesn't need some other nation to think they can come sweep up the pickings.

vs 13

Ooops. They probably will regret that.

vs 14

Nasty. Personally, I don't really know all that much about Edom, so I wasn't rejoicing, but hey, if God makes people clap when you fall down, that's rather nasty.

vs 15

Very fitting punishments for Edom. They won't be forgetting that in a hurry. Oh, wait... they are forgotten. Bummer to them.

Ezekiel chapter 34

I've almost caught up to where we are in Bible study, yay!

vs 1

I've read this so many times, and I think I sway between jealous and fascinated.

vs 2

I would not want to be the shepherd of a flock (or leader of a people, as this is so clearly talking about) with this charge levelled against me. I wouldn't want to live under such authority either.

vs 3

Obviously the shepherding metaphor is sticking here. Don't get it wrong, God doesn't mind leaders being supported by the people - what he minds is them being supported uselessly.

vs 4

I'm not actually sure how you rule sheep harshly and brutally. Does a bad shepherd beat his sheep? I'm curious. But you can see the metaphor clearly here - the people need leaders, and they have not had their leadership. They don't just need leaders because God said, "Have them," any more than they just need a covenant with God because God offered it. The purpose is important.

vs 5

Bad leaders basically equates to no leader, because the sheep act as if there is no leader, and the result is that bad things happen to them. In this case, they get swallowed up by idols and foreign gods, I think.

vs 6

Or, it could also be talking about the scattering of Israel by Assyria. I think both make a lot of sense, and I can see suggestions for both.

vs 7

Addressed specifically to them here.

vs 8

So there is another summary of what the leaders have failed to do, and the consequences their actions have taken.

vs 9

Repetitive... makes it sound angry to me.

vs 10

Another what God says! That's a lot of statements that it is God's word - perhaps required because it is addressed to leaders, and they're not prone to listening?

Since they weren't doing the work, they will no longer be able to draw the wage. I can imagine this happening in, say, Babylon.

vs 11

If you want a job done right, you've got to do it yourself.

vs 12

And when God takes a job into his own hands, it gets done properly. This is a message of hope to the people, as well as judgment to the leaders.

vs 13

In this verse we see that the scattering of the people of Israel (single nation) was a judgement on leadership primarily, although the people paid the price for following their leaders I suppose. God is going to put the blame for their judgment squarely on the leaders, and going to solve the problem by taking leadership himself.

vs 14

God is promising the return to the promised land. That is something for his people to look forward to. It is a great promise for them, because it means that God is keeping his covenant, and is not overturning it and forgetting his people.

vs 15

Lie down to rest, of course. Rest was one of the big promises of God in the covenant.

vs 16

I'm guessing the sleek and strong at the moment are sleek and strong because they were bad leaders who abused their position. So God is going to kill them, justly.

vs 17

Here we see God isn't just putting all the blame on the leaders. He discerns between his sheep too.

vs 18

This is unjust activity. It's hard to say what it might represent, but possibly rather mercenary mercantile activity. When things get to that scorched earth level, you know it's bad.

vs 19

Yeah, God isn't keen on people being unjust and oppressing his sheep people.

vs 20

So even those who aren't necessarily in leadership, but who grew fat from oppression and wickedness.

vs 21

I can't think of a better metaphor than a greedy sheep.

vs 22

I guess if you own a bunch of sheep, and you're going to eat one, you'll eat the one that is making the others weaker.

vs 23

This right here is a huge promise. A Davidic covenantal promise. We haven't seen one of these for a while. This is a promise of strong leadership, prosperity, powerful nationhood, but also a promise of closeness with God.

vs 24

God repeats it, this is an important promise. Which is funny, because of course we read this as Jesus. But they probably would have been looking around thinking, "Okay, so who is of David's line?"

vs 25

Because of course he promised he would make the land overrun with wild beasts so it was dangerous and horrible.

vs 26

God will return to blessing his land, his holy hill, and his people through their covenant land.

vs 27

God will, once again, free his people from slavery. He will give them an abundant land once again, and make them rich. These are great promises for Israel, but if the David figure is Jesus, what do they mean to us today, for whom land is not a part of our promise? Are these 'spiritual riches'?

vs 28

Of course, this has to be a heavenly promise for us, because even Israel gets plundered and devoured again, a few times actually.

vs 29

And I suppose for a time this is true, but in heaven it will be eternally true. I really, really, really hope I am correct that heaven is up to date technologically, because I must say the idea of living in a circa 500BC farming community is not attractive.

vs 30

This is the big, big deal. God is not just God, he is their God. The people of Israel aren't just a people - they are his people. That's really what makes them. It's really what makes us, as Christians. We're not just Christians, we are God's people. Without God, we're nothing.

vs 31

God thinks this statement is so great that he makes it a second time. Also, of course, he is claiming them. They are his people, and they should remember that. They shouldn't go off wandering and get eaten by wild beasts. They're smarter than sheep - one hopes.

Ezekiel chapter 33

vs 1

Once again. And don't think the repetition stops here. This is pretty much a summary chapter, before we move on.

vs 2

So for the moment, God is talking just in regular terms of what the job of a watchman is. Who watches the watchmen? God, apparently.

vs 3

This is the job of the watchman - to alert people that an army is coming.

vs 4

If you do nothing when you are warned, it's your own fault.

vs 5

You might think this is sounding familiar. But at the moment, it's still just talking about watchmen.

vs 6

Note the clarity here - the person dies because of their sin. But, the watchman is still culpable. There is a different level of responsibility that is open for the watchman because of his lack of doing his job correctly.

vs 7

And here we see what this illustration was all about. Ezekiel was probably thinking, "Man, do I have to go learn how to play the trumpet now?" But this time, God is happy to just describe the illustration. Ezekiel is the watchman, and God is the sword.

vs 8

God gives a warning that he is going to strike, and Ezekiel's job is to telegraph that warning. And if he doesn't, people will die, and he will be blamed (but of course, so will they).

vs 9

It he tells them and they do nothing, then it's all their fault. This is a repeat of an earlier chapter, chapter 3 I believe, from memory.

vs 10

They had sinned a hell of a lot. At least this is a reasonably understandable opinion for them to take.

vs 11

God doesn't want them to die in their sin! He is pleading with them now to turn. He delights in repentance, not in judgement. That is a verse well worth remembering. Ezekiel 33:11.

vs 12

This again is a repeat of a previous statement by God, in another chapter that I really can't remember. But this might be repeated because now Ezekiel is allowed to open his mouth and say it? I'm not sure. But it's definitely important - it's a vital part of God's message to Israel.

vs 13

So this verse focuses on the righteous half of the last verse, and expounds a little.

vs 14

This looks now at the wicked half a little more, and then breaks in half for no real reason.

vs 15

This verse is a fantastic definition of the term "repentance". If we defined repentance as this, I think Christians would be a hell of a lot more serious about it, and a lot more of them would recognise their unrepentance. I certainly do.

vs 16

God cares about what people do, make no bones about it. Repentance is a 'do'. The message here is simple - turn away from your evil ways, and you will live. Keep living the righteous life, and you will live. Yes, it is all in God's hands whether you live or die - it is God that gives you life. But we are still called to live that life.

vs 17

Again this is a repeat, when the people of Israel claim that God's ways are not just. Perhaps it isn't 'just' in our eyes to forgive someone who has sinned heaps, but punish someone who sins just once. I think the parable of the workers shows this powerfully: the end answer to that is, "It's my money, I'll do what I want with it."

vs 18

That is a plain and simple statement. Ouch.

vs 19

That is another plain and simple statement. Hooray!

vs 20

God makes it clear - repentance is rewarded with mercy, and evil is rewarded with judgment. How is that not fair? But God says he is going to judge Israel according to their own ways. Does that mean according to what they've done, or according to their own system of fairness? It probably means both, as God is certainly capable of both. The Israelites would certainly say, "Yes, judge evil! Evil is bad, punish it!" So God is going to do just that.

vs 21

The news finally comes. It's not happy news, but it is a fulfillment of all of Ezekiel's prophecies.

vs 22

There we go. Ezekiel's mouth was opened, so now he can let people know what's going on. In good timing, too.

vs 23

Again!

vs 24

Derp. There has been, what, two exiles now? Some people just never learn.

vs 25

The answer is obviously not, since they are defiling it with their ungodly lives.

vs 26

Pretty harsh judgment, but then God sees them doing it all. So it's not like he's lying.

vs 27

God's judgment is not yet finished - not so long as there are people in his nation who still hold to stupid notions and continue to defile his name.

vs 28

That's pretty darn desolate.

vs 29

One day, God says, they will look up and go, "Oh, riiiiiiiiight." One day.

vs 30

That sounds good.

vs 31

This is the book of James all over again. Or, well, I guess James is just the book of Ezekiel all over again... and a lot of other prophets who weren't listened to too.

vs 32

We don't even think of God's words as that any more. We have polluted them by drowning them in a sea of other words. I just look at my bookshelf, and there are so many books - there are probably more words on my bookshelf than were written down at all at the time of the canonisation of the OT. Hearing someone preaching, hearing a great orator, used to be a huge thing. Now it is relegated to an ABC show, and to 5 minute and 60 second slots, and sound bytes. Sigh.

vs 33

And what, then, will their response be, I wonder? For many, I'll bet it would be no different. They'll just clap and go home.

Ezekiel chapter 32

vs 1

More word, more Egypt I think.

vs 2

Sounds like a sea lion. Get it, sea lion? Never mind. Sounds like he is both a lion and a crocodile. The thrashing and such I think is just mostly to represent the strength and power of the crocodiles in the nile. Almost like he's putting on a show of strength.

vs 3

This obviously isn't good for a crocodile.

vs 4

The crocodile isn't even being hunted for meat or anything. It's being hunted because people want it dead. Once they catch it, they just leave it out on the ground to be eaten by carrion birds. I assume they kill it first, though - leaving a crocodile on the ground would probably just allow it to crawl back into the water - perhaps it's still in the net?

vs 5

This is obviously rather hyperbolic. Perhaps it refers to the fact that carrion birds carry off bits of flesh and sometimes drop them on unsuspecting places.

vs 6

Pharoah does not have this much blood. It's probably talking about his people.

vs 7

I wonder if this is out of some sort of strange respect, or is it a doom prophecy, or just showing that he's God and it was him who did it?

vs 8

Darkness is probably a pretty potent sign against Egypt, since they worship the sun, or whatever. You know what I mean.

vs 9

This verse definitely seems to have something to do with the dispersal of Egypt among nations. Apparently lots of people will become worried when Egypt falls.

vs 10

People will look to the ground and shake their heads, I think. Look, there goes Egypt - used to be a superpower, now it's a desolate wasteland. Dear dear.

vs 11

Ahh, Babylon - tool of God.

vs 12

God almost wants them to be ruthless, so they can do all the dirty wetwork that he has planned for them - Israel, Tyre, Egypt, etc.

vs 13

And God has this thing about killing livestock too. It's kind of disturbing. I guess it is an attack on wealth as well as life.

vs 14

As in slowly and viscously? That's not a nice picture.

vs 15

They may not be happy to know, but they will know.

vs 16

I believe this is referring backwards, because what comes after isn't really a lament I don't think. It's always hard to tell, and there's no firm rule for when statements refer backwards or forwards.

vs 17

More word.

vs 18

Egypt's great armies and apparently some other nations are headed down to the pit. The pit is not a nice place. The pit is death.

vs 19

I find it fascinating that they go to where the rest of the uncircumcised go. Well, not that so much, but that this is the distinction that is made (so obviously God's people go somewhere different when they die) and is made so obviously. Was Egypt really expecting to go elsewhere? I guess they were - into a pyramid or something, whatever their eschatology was. I guess what I mean is, would Israel have expected them to go elsewhere? Perhaps at this point they might have, and so God is correcting their false ideas.

vs 20

If you didn't get the message after all these chapters - Egypt is going to be destroyed by Babylon.

vs 21

Repetition, although this time it includes some other dead people talking about Egypt.

vs 22

Assyria has copped it pretty badly in the last couple of chapters. I guess they were something of a byword among empires. Now Egypt is going to join them.

vs 23

They were slain, and apparently judged for their crimes - if not necessarily punished, there certainly seems to be a negative connotation to them.

vs 24

I have no idea who Elam is, but apparently it was another race or tribe or nation or empire that did pretty much the same thing - killed bunches of people - and now they rot in the pit in shame too.

vs 25

Although God let these nations rise up and gain power, and do evil things, they do get shamed. They are all considered uncircumsised - that is, separated from God. Nebuchadnezzar actually has his chance - I wonder where he went?

vs 26

Again, no idea who these people/nations are.

vs 27

Okay, there is something going on here, because apparently Meshek and Tubal are treated slightly differently. Without knowing who they are, I'm really at a loss to know why they aren't buried with their swords and shields, why they aren't counted with all the other terrorising warriors.

vs 28

This is where Pharoah is headed - it's not exactly auspicious.

vs 29

Edom is still around at this point though, isn't it? Perhaps their previous kings and rulers were powerful and dastardly.

vs 30

So it would seem that no matter who you are, no matter how powerful, no matter how much fear you struck into the world, you still die, and you end up dead and separate from God, like all the other powerful, scary armies. I think there's something in that for all of us. Most likely Hitler is down there with them.

vs 31

Apaprently there will be some consolation for Pharoah down there - perhaps all the generals get together and share a drink and reminisce? It's funny, if this is hell we're talking about, I honestly didn't imagine consolation taking place.

vs 32

Even though God was the one who put him in power, that doesn't mean he is automatically going to find himself in God's presence when he dies. That's a hugely powerful image. No doubt there have been people who have attributed their greatness in whatever type in some way to God, thinking, "If I am this great, surely God has blessed me, which means I'm on the right track," but this just isn't so.

Ezekiel chapter 31

vs 1

Wurd.

vs 2

You know as soon as God starts comparing you to something awesome, something is wrong.

vs 3

Ahh, Assyria, the empire that rose, took the northern kingdom of Israel, and then floundered at the gates of Jerusalem. Not exactly what you want to be compared to. But I guess Egypt gets the comparison for good reason, considering the last few chapters.

vs 4

It's a lovely picture of a strong tree.

vs 5

And also a lovely picture of a spreading nation, becoming a mighty empire.

vs 6

Interesting - I've heard lots of arguments about the 'birds of the air' nesting in the tree that grew in one of Jesus' parables. Here's the same word picture, and it's used to describe, I assume, nations. Novel.

vs 7

It was well nourished.

vs 8

Again we see a comparison to the garden of God. Is this talking about Israel? Probably not, I mean there were heaps of places bigger than Israel. I just think he's saying it was a really big and lovely tree.

vs 9

See, since God made it beautiful, it doesn't matter if it's more beautiful than his other trees. Because this is his tree too.

vs 10

Aww, it was sounding so nice, but I fear something is going to happen to this Assyria tree.

vs 11

That would be Babylon. Babylon really did overtime for God, it seems - Assyria, Jerusalem, Egypt, Tyre, Sidon, Moab, Edom - the list goes on!

vs 12

And indeed Babylon did cut Assyria down, and apparently just left it to rot.

vs 13

Apparently although nations didn't shade under its boughs anymore, some still sort of perched on its fallen form. Perhaps using its land?

vs 14

God let Assyria rise to a height so great that God felt the need to chop it down, and to make a point to all other nations - if you try to elevate yourself above God, he will have you cut down, and not even used for firewood.

vs 15

I suppose it was still a huge nation, or empire, and so worthy of a sort of mourning. God did things to let people know that it had passed, and that he had acted here.

vs 16

It's an interesting idea, that God took the large tree, cut it down, and used the boom of its fall to make sure people were paying attention. God goes to rather epic lengths to make a point, it seems.

vs 17

There are plenty of other nations that had gone before Assyria, and more yet will come - like Egypt, I think is the point.

vs 18

Bigness doesn't protect you from God, even as a nation. America, Russia, China, India - all these places are huge, mightily powerful, but God is bigger. It doesn't matter how big, or rich, or powerful you are, God can bring you low, break you to bits, thrust you into death. I'd love to think there is something in that for all of us, but most of us aren't really such big players. Perhaps if we ever feel we are, even just big fish in little ponds, we can remember this.

Ezekiel chapter 30

vs 1

Word.

vs 2

Sounding like the lament for Tyre so far.

vs 3

Could this be an unnamed reference to the day of the Lord?

vs 4

That's a fairly good summary of everything God has said so far, just without mentioning Babylon.

vs 5

Those are the fish stuck to her scales, we assume.

vs 6

I think Midgol is in one direction and Aswan is in the other.

vs 7

Repeating the promise of last chapter.

vs 8

So now all the tribune states of Egypt will also know that it is God, via crushing.

Okay, I really think there needs to be some discussion on what "know I am the Lord" means. I mean, if they read the book of Ezekiel and then see this stuff happen, yeah, they're going to go, "Wow, the God of this book did this." But without that, are they going to know it was Yahweh? Or just some power outside their tribal powers? Will they think it's the gods of Babylon being stronger than them? How will they recognise or know God through this? I don't think it's ever explained.

vs 9

Fear and destruction will be God's messages to those who oppose him. I think it's ignorant to assume those messages still don't hold weight.

vs 10

There's Babylon and our friend Neb.

vs 11

Again, this is fairly repetitive.

vs 12

Drying up the waters of the Nile is new. Is it literal, or figurative, talking about drying up the land of its wealth, and people?

vs 13

God does hate the idolatry of the other nations, and the god-king worship too. He lets it go for a long time, sometimes hundreds of years, perhaps longer. But when it suits his purposes, he goes for it.

vs 14

All pictures of badness.

vs 15

Double mention for Thebes. Lucky them.

vs 16

I'm guessing that these important cities (which at least Thebes and Memphis are) are going to suffer lots, which is probably the explanation for the devestation and ruin.

vs 17

Ahhh, captivity. I actually am interested to read more about the Egyptian captivity. I wonder if there is much on it.

vs 18

Can't say I know anything about this place, except what is written here. Not exactly something you want to be famous for.

vs 19

A nice regular statement that lets us know we're at the end of a section.

vs 20

So now we get a new section.

vs 21

I assume that this is figurative, not literal. It would be fantastic if it were both though. What a picture! Figuratively, Pharoah's arm represents his strength and might - something Egypt has apparently lost recently.

vs 22

God is nasty - he breaks both arms, even though one is already broken! He is going to cripple Egypt.

vs 23

Just like the northern kingdom of Israel.

vs 24

So it's a warrior king versus a cripple - instead of the clash of titans one would expect between the two superpowers.

vs 25

Babylon in strong, sure, but in its strength against Egypt God's hand should be powerfully seen.

vs 26

Perhaps Egypt will look back and realise that if God didn't protect his own people from exile, why would Egypt be safe? But perhaps not. it's easy not to want to see such things.

Ezekiel chapter 29

Got some catching up to do. Go, speed racer!

vs 1

Word.

vs 2

This I think is the first of many things God has to say to Pharoah. Of course, what we need to think is that it's very unlikely it ever actually got said to Pharoah, but it did get said to Jews. So this is as much to foretell Egypt's falling as it is to tell Jews, "Hey, don't rely on Egypt, that's just national idolatry."

vs 3

Of course, Pharoah said he was a God-man.

vs 4

The fish are apparently other nations stuck to Egypt, like Cush and Put and stuff I guess.

vs 5

Not the nicest place for a river creature to end up.

vs 6

Stupid verse parsing here, but Egypt will know God is God when he has punished them thoroughly. Now we go on to see that Egypt has had a big historical part to play in Israel's history.

vs 7

Basically, whenever they trusted Egypt instead of God, they got hurt.

vs 8

And this is the reason for God's judgment, which again takes into account both people and animals.

vs 9

Some people would say this definitely happened. Did you know the nile delta used to be a forest? Apparently it's not now. Still looks pretty green to me though.

vs 10

More stupid parsing. It's interesting, though. Because he claimed the Nile as his own, so God will curse what he says is his. Then, can he bring it back, since he made it? Nice.

vs 11

That's a long time. It may not be literal - remember, 40 is a pretty important number - number of years in the wilderness, number of days of rain. Number of days on Sinai, if I recall. It seems to represent a period of God's working, like "it will be done after 40". So this punishment of desolation will be done after 40.

vs 12

It will seem so bad that even people who live in wastelands will be like, "Yeah, but at least I don't live in Egypt."

vs 13

They get scattered too. I spoke to someone once who was from Egypt, and I wish I'd paid more attention to what they said about native people and arabs and different cultures and stuff.

vs 14

And they never really were the same sort of empire they had been again. The greeks get involved, and Napoleon later on, it's not really happy for them.

vs 15

Is this exactly, 100% true? I don't know, honestly, but I wouldn't be surprised. I can't imagine the Babylonians left it in a good state. You don't tend to give your most powerful enemies enough to restart their war machine once you crush them.

vs 16

And now we see part of the big picture of God's plan. Yes, God is punishing Egypt for bad things they've done, but also it's a huge message to Israel - don't go back there. It's rubbish now. It was always rubbish compared to God, but now it will be a lot less tempting.

vs 17

This prophecy is a lot later dated than the other Egypt ones, yet it comes in the middle. Kind of weird.

vs 18

No doubt there was plunder in Tyre, but after 18 years of seige, it was spoiled, or spent, or not really worth the effort.

vs 19

His army must be damn hardcore if he decides, "I need to pay my men with pluder, let's go destroy Egypt". Just imagine the amount of plunder there would be in invading America or Australia. It's disturbing to think about.

vs 20

God is saying that he is allowing what is going to be a bloody, devastating, horrendous cash-grab. Why? Because his workers get their reward. Does that make it right? Gosh, I don't know. God allows it, actually calls it a reward. An ungodly nation punishes an ungodly nation, then gets rewarded by punishing another ungodly nation. I'm sure God has it all worked out. It's not like Babylon gets off scott free.

vs 21

When Egypt falls, Israel will receive more power (or perhaps a powerful person will be born, or something), and Ezekiel's mouth will open before them. I can't say I know who or what the horn is, but it definitely is something of power. That's a nice message to a people who are basically enslaved. There's hope there.

I wrote this a while ago, and thought I put it up here, but apparently not. So here it is now.

Flashing landscape flits by. My mind flitters with it, not thinking about any one thing. Music plays in my ears - a compilation of songs, my life in music. Songs from youth, from happy times, sad times. The songs have their own story, but I have added to it with my life.

This song makes me laugh - singing it with Alex on guitar in the street, back when we were single.

The landscape flies by, but I don't see it now.

A new song, and now I see Cyprus - this song made me homesick, made me Australian.

New music has to fight these feelings, this relationship. This familiarity makes me feel safe, comfortable, even with sad memories. No-one hears this song but me. Others, some might share.

My wife shares this one with me. It makes fun of pop, it appeals to us both.

Time passes with the scenery, and I get closer to my destination. Another song now.

This one is live. Heard it first, liked it best. Penny and I sing the parts as we drive.

Only a couple more songs till Sydney.

This one goes way back to high school. A skiing ad! A friend played it to me on the bus. Where is he now? He will always be in this song.

More buildings, more wires. Sydney is here, and my songs will soon be gone, and with them my memories. But they'll both be back, on the ride home.

Ezekiel chapter 28

vs 14

I'd by lying if I said that I fully understood what this was going on about. But I think the point is that the city, and its king, were incredibly blessed, not only with wealth and riches and stuff, but their ability to find and discover God were right there, and yet it would seem that they didn't do much about it.

vs 15

Which I suppose can be said for everyone, can't it? That's actually a pretty good verse for showing that newborns are innocent. Of course, if it is a reference to Adam, then we can safely assume he was older than a newborn.

vs 16

I'm still puzzled about the fiery stones, but the fact is that the excessive trade wealth of Tyre made the people, including its king, selfish and wicked, and God therefore is now driving them from his sight. And God can see a hell of a long way.

vs 17

It's easy to see why people want to see this as Satan - who else was up with God, and could get thrown to earth? Well, the king of Tyre, apparently. Interestingly, the Tarnach seems to link Tyre to the Mount of God, because the king of Tyre assisted Solomon in getting cedar wood for the temple. That seems to make a lot of sense to me.

vs 18

God likes not only individual deterrence, but general deterrence. He doesn't just punish, but sometimes he wants people to see the punishment, and know what's going on.

vs 19

It is rather appalling, and just a little disturbing.

vs 20

And now we get to move on to Sidon, another coastal city, I think, up near Tyre somewhere.

vs 21

As I said, Sidon.

vs 22

God is going to prove his holiness by crushing and destroying Sidon. Well, that kinda sucks for Sidon, but God knows what he's doing, and the assumption seems to be that Sidon should have known better too.

vs 23

While they may well know that God is Lord, it might be a touch too late for them. This reminds me of judgment in general - everyone will know that God is Lord, eventually. But for many, they find out (or more correctly, accept) too late for it to be of any use to anyone but God.

In that way, really, our finding out beforehand can be so obviously seen as really quite gracious.

vs 24

So when God clears out all the foreign briars and brambles that keep pricking Israel, then Israel too will know that God is Lord. This isn't too late for Israel, which is quite nice.

vs 25

See, God is going to be faithful. They are going to go and live in that land that he gave their forefathers, and he's going to clear out the bad influences on them, and he's going to let them know he's still with them.

vs 26

God will give them safety, will punish their enemies, and they will know he is God once more. It's a long arc to bring them through - sin, punishment, exile, return, punishment on surrounding nations, rebuilding - but it does the job.

Ezekiel chapter 28

vs 1

Yep, it does that, Ezekiel. For you, anyway.

vs 2

This verse straight away should tell us that this is really about the king of Tyre claiming to be a god. It's not about Satan. Should we be surprised that someone claims to be a god? It's strange to us, but pharoahs did, Babylonian emperors did, Persian emperors did, Greek rulers did, Roman emperors did. Do you get the picture?

vs 3

Good old Danel. He was a wise, wise man.

vs 4

So it's not that he has no wisdom and understanding. He's got enough to amass gold and wealth for himself. So, perhaps 15?

vs 5

As I say, it's not like he's a total brainless vegetable. He's got the smarts to be able to come up with a big trading empire and make himself rich. But he doesn't have the wisdom to not get all proud about it, he starts boasting he's a god, he lives a life of pleasure and selfishness.

vs 6

Only think, it's not true of course.

vs 7

And, you know, if you're a god, you can make them go away. Right?

vs 8

But you'll rise from the dead, because you're a god, right? Silly thing to say, really, that you're a god.

vs 9

"You can't kill me, I'm a god!" is probably even worse than "You can't kill me, I'm wearing magical armo...argh" if people actually then kill you. It shouldn't be a command, it should just be a simple statement of fact.

A simple statement of fact Jesus never made. He said, "You can kill me, but I'm God."

vs 10

In his death he will be separated from God, because of his claims about being a god himself. And his death will be a judging death, a death before his old age.

vs 11

And God wasn't finished either, he had more to say.

vs 12

See, God could see Tyre, he could see how wonderful, rich and glorious and splendid it was. He's not saying it wasn't.

vs 13

A great verse for getting a bunch of hebrew names for stones. Probably relates to stone of red, stone of blue, stone of green etc though. Lapidary concerns were not so precise back then. But it also shows a huge wealth, and it makes this claim about the garden of Eden, linking the king of Tyre back to Adam, showing that God had given him everything. The King of Tyre had his whole life, his wealth and splendour, to remind him that God had given him everything. But instead, he decided to claim that he was a god himself. Oops.

Ezekiel chapter 27

vs 28

Because so many will drown (or be killed), it will be a really loud noise.

vs 29

Tyre will be abandoned when it becomes clear that it's going to be sieged and destroyed. Who wants to hang around and defend a city that, at the end of the day, isn't their city?

vs 30

They will mourn, of course, as do all people who mourn the loss of riches and the ability to make more riches. Perhaps they are mourning for the huge loss of life... but I doubt it.

vs 31

More of the same, more pictures of mourning. The mourning is because of Tyre and the fall of Tyre, and the impact it has on them, and perhaps just because it is so pathetic that what can you do but mourn?

vs 32

It will be a pretty spectacular thing, only done better by Alexander the Great, who was way too awesome.

vs 33

Definitely a thing to mourn over, then, if there are so many people who profited by it, and now are just watching it fall. Do they come to its defence though? No.

vs 34

Tyre has sunk, as it were. And people just sat back and watched it sink too.

vs 35

Because of course if Tyre falls, then who's next? No-one expected that.

vs 36

But already the scoffing begins. Now with Tyre out of the way, other merchants will have their turn in the sun. So for them it's not all bad at all. No doubt they too were not expecting it, but they are glad for it. Poor Tyre. That's what you get for laughing at Israel's misfortune, I guess.

Ezekiel chapter 27

vs 19

So apparently cassia is like a cinnamon type thing, and calamus is a spicy aromatic thing. Who knew?

vs 20

Nice to have a trade item.

vs 21

Meaty goodness. I guess Arabia had lots of herders, to have so much livestock to trade.

vs 22

That's serious rich stuff.

vs 23

Long list of places. Perhaps they were usually grouped together?

vs 24

Ahhh, rugs. It's the middle east, someone had to trade rugs.

vs 25

Obviously you would need some pretty awesome ships for all this, considering that there is so much stuff coming into and out of this city.

vs 26

Uh oh. See, halfway through verse 25 I think it started talking about Tyre as a boat again, and now God is talking about the destruction of that boat, perhaps in terms of the destruction of it's trade. The east wind is probably Babylon, coming from the east.

vs 27

So now we see the picture of sinking to the bottom of the sea realised rather fully. If Tyre is a boat, Babylon is about to sink it.

Ezekiel chapter 27

vs 10

That's a lot of places. I don't know if they're well known for having like mercenary warriors that serve in armies around the ancient world, but apparently there is splendor in having troops from all over come and serve in your armed forces. Most often, the reason you have that is because you have some sort of power over that nation, and can force them to supply an army. I don't think that would be the case here though. Perhaps it is the protecting of trade interests that is taking place.

vs 11

Pretty much a repeat of the last verse. No doubt if I had any idea about these nations, I'd be saying, "Ooooh, aaaaah. Wow, Gammad, yeah, they're really good in towers."

vs 12

Tarshish is a long way away. So this shows the reach of the trade empire of Tyre.

vs 13

We're seeing again the long reach of trade, but also the many different items that made Tyre rich.

vs 14

Not a trade I would personally want to be involved in, but no doubt it was a wealthy thing. Trading chariot horses is like trading tanks.

vs 15

So Tyre was trading with many coastland ports, living in perfect harmony (sorry, couldn't resist). Remember, that all of these are here to tell us how rich and wonderful and great Tyre was - in the context of the fact that now it is boned.

vs 16

See, this is really rich stuff here. That is the stuff of kings and great bounty.

vs 17

By comparison, Judah and Israel aren't really trading the most flash stuff.

vs 18

Back to a bigger and more important city, and we see more interesting and cool things being traded. Unfortunately, someone felt the need to put a verse in the middle here, but we'll get to the rest of Damascus tomorrow.

Ezekiel chapter 27

vs 1

As it does to Ezekiel.

vs 2

Since it's going to go down, it's sort of a prohelament.

vs 3

God likes putting words in other people's mouths, even ours. What is really annoying about this is that we say, "I never said that," when of course we say something approximating it, and pretty much think it. In this case, we're about to hear about how much Tyre, and its king, loves itself. Whenever something declares itself perfect, in whatever way, you know you're in for a fall.

vs 4

God doesn't seem to be taking issue with the perfect beauty thing. See, the thing is, perfection actually exists. If we accept that it comes from God, then that should be okay, right?

vs 5

I didn't know cities had masts, but in any case, very good wood. Awesome.

vs 6

See, it sounds like they're describing a the city as a boat. Perhaps they are. The fact is that it's a really nice boat, and bits come from everywhere, because its rich and gets trade.

vs 7

So many nations! So many products, so much finery and richness. No wonder they said it was perfect in beauty.

vs 8

Skilled workmen filled the city, so it was a useful and productive city.

vs 9

It was the jewel of the seas, this boat... er city.

Ezekiel chapter 26

vs 12

They will plunder, but apparently they won't be rewarded well enough in doing it - it does take them 15 years to take Tyre, after all. But they still do it, and I'm sure it's an awful thing to go through - having your stuff rifled through and looted by soldiers.

And then to add insult to injury, they take your houses apart and throw the building materials into the sea. So God was right! The city really does end up in the ocean. I never thought of that.

vs 13

Partly because there's nothing nice to sing about, but even if you want to sing a dirge, they probably stole your harp.

vs 14

Now of course, we hit a bit of a snag here, because Tyre was rebuilt. And then it was seiged by Alexander the Great. And now it's rebuilt again. But I guess if it's not reabuilt by the same people who built it the first time, perhaps it doesn't count as the same town? Who's to say. Perhaps not rebuilt in their lifetime.

vs 15

The coastlands generally, or all those who live on the coast and trade with her? Because I can definitely imagine the second one. Incidentally, if it is that, then that's a really good link to Revelation, where the coastal cities weep and mourn over the great city of humanity falling.

vs 16

So it does sound like the cities. And if Tyre can fall - being a basically impregnable island fortress - then all the other towns on the seaside will think that they are next, and that now their living has been substantially destroyed because of the loss of a great trading partner, and so the princes of said cities won't be happy at all. In fact, they will be fearful.

vs 17

What they say says it all really. They were a great sea power, and now they have fallen. Who should we be afraid of now, if not those who conquered them!?

vs 18

Other island nations, somewhat protected by their remoteness, are going to be shaking in their boots now.

vs 19

So something else is going to happen?

vs 20

Sounds pretty ominous. This is definitely not just a threat to the walls and ceilings of Tyre, it's a threat to the people of Tyre, about how their life is going to suck, and perhaps even when they die they're not going to get a good time of it.

vs 21

So even if the town is rebuilt, it won't be like Jerusalem, where the same people return to build it. Because the people will be forever lost. People will say, "Hey, you know those people who used to live in Tyre?" and someone will reply, "No? Aren't they all dead?"

Ezekiel chapter 26

vs 1

So here we begin what turns out to be quite a long tirade over a few chapters about Tyre, which I guess shows just how important a single city state can be. So we get a new date, and a new message from God, this one about Tyre.

vs 2

It would seem that Tyre was in competition with Jerusalem. Jerusalem apparently was the gateway to the nations, which is a pretty good place to be if you want trade. Now Tyre is hoping to open a new gate.

vs 3

Having God against you is not quite the enviable position you might think it is, trade or no trade.

vs 4

Basically, destroy the city.

vs 5

I think talking about the oceans overtaking the city is more poetic than reality - the idea being not that it will sink into the ocean, but that rather it will be wiped out as if it were.

vs 6

So God judges both the island city and the mainland city - because Tyre had both.

vs 7

See, while God has the huge army at his disposal to spank Jerusalem, he may as well do some other judging too.

vs 8

Doesn't sound good at all.

vs 9

Ditto above. Nice to get these pictures of ancient warfare. Less nice to be a picture of ancient warfare.

vs 10

So Tyre might have big walls and defences, but God won't let them stand.

vs 11

Mayhem and destruction - similar to what Jerusalem is going to suffer, really. Were you so keen to be that much like Jerusalem, Tyre, that you also inherited her downfall? Sucks to be you.

Ezekiel chapter 25

vs 9

Exposing the flank is not good, I think, regardless of whether it is talking anatomically or militarily.

vs 10

Poor Ammonites. Of course, we remember them because they are in the Bible, but apart from that, no doubt we know very little of them, and certainly there probably aren't many people who say, "Hey, I'm an Ammonite."

vs 11

God's punishment, though great, is still a method of revealing himself to people. It is part of how we know God as God, showing his power and justice.

vs 12

Very guilty is not a good place to be when God is talking doom. I don't know exactly what they did in their revenge, but apparently they shouldn't have done it.

vs 13

This obviously doesn't bode well for Edom. No doubt they probably became victims of the same empire that took over Jerusalem. After all, if you're already in the neighbourhood taking over little nation states...

vs 14

But no! God actually promises that it will be God's people Israel who get to mete out the punishment. So this is perhaps some time in the future, after the exile, because they're not really in a position to do too much smiting at the moment.

vs 15

Pretty ancient hostility, as in for the last thousand years or so. The Philistines are the classic bad guys of Israel's early history (besides Egypt of course, but we get to them in a few chapters).

vs 16

So when God decides to crack open his judging sword, he doesn't just use it once. Nation after nation are falling now, and God is claiming their scalps for his just judgment.

vs 17

Ahhh, the verse made famous by Jules Winfield, our man from Inglewood. Of course, this one carries real power and fear - let us all hope that we are not only able to recognise God and his power through his vengance.

Ezekiel chapter 25

vs 1

Ey-yep.

vs 2

So now we begin into a rather long section of prophecies against various nations that have shown themselves to be antagonistic against Israel and Jerusalem. One wonders whether those nations would ever have gotten to read these prophecies, or if they are more here so that God's people can read them and see that yes, he does judge other nations, not just them, for their wrongdoing. And that he still is on his people's side.

vs 3

So we see the Ammonites, for example, exclaimed (probably with joy) at the destruction of God's people. This is not the correct response, it seems.

vs 4

This is pretty much what happens to Israel and Judah. So the punishment for both nations is the same.

vs 5

I assume these are cities or towns, or at least populated areas.

vs 6

Definitely rejoicing, although possibly also a rock concert.

vs 7

This may seem harsh. I mean, an entire nation gets wiped out because they mocked God's people. But I suppose they were not rejoicing because God was punishing wrongdoing, but rather they were rejoicing because an enemy was getting stepped on. Big picture fail, survival epic fail.

vs 8

And it looks like it is Moab's turn now. But more on this tomorrow.

Ezekiel chapter 24

Well, life certainly has been pretty stirred up recently. Is today the first day of a once-again normal routine? Only time will tell.

vs 21

Ezekiel recounts what God has told him - that God is going to desecrate Jerusalem, that many are going to die, that the delight of their eyes will be destroyed - just as Ezekiel's wife died suddenly.

vs 22

Ezekiel goes on to tell them that they will not be able to mourn in the normal way for this loss - of both children and city.

vs 23

It is obvious that there is a perceived benefit in the loud and public mourning process here, and a detriment to it's not being practiced. But why won't they get to mourn?

vs 24

Perhaps for no other reason than that God forbids it, and so it does not happen. Then when they see that it has happened, when the news strikes them, and they don't mourn, then they will see that God was right. It might be that what was contrived in Ezekiel for effect is reality to God's people, because that's how deep in their sin they are - unable to mourn the loss of something great.

vs 25

It's quite a loss.

vs 26

Ahhh, the fugitive - the one who was hiding in the rugs or whatever. Is God using the trope, or did God invent the trope? Answer is obvious, really, because it's a trick question.

vs 27

Apparently this is a turning point in the book of Ezekiel. When this fugitive comes, and tells them about the destruction of Jerusalem, then Ezekiel is allowed to "talk", as it were. Really, what he is allowed to do, many people say, is to fulfil his role as a mediatory prophet, something God forbade him do earlier. Because obviously he hasn't been totally silent to them.

Ezekiel chapter 24

Internet returns! Huzzah!

vs 11

Yes, this really is like a self-cleaning oven, although I don't know that self-cleaning ovens make the metal glow with heat. Still, interesting to know that some things never change.

vs 12

Israel's filthy deposit of sin and rebellion against God is so caked on that even the fires of punishment don't seem to be enough to burn it off. That's not a good sign for Israel.

vs 13

God is so good as to give us what the impurity is - in the case of Jerusalem, it is lewdness. Now, whether this is actual lewdness, or whether it is lewdness as idolatry (since last chapter was pretty lewd, but was really about Jerusalem's idolatry of other gods and other nations) is a little harder to say. I've got to say it could be both though.

And now that God can't cook off the impurities, he's going to have to bring out his scourer of wrath.

vs 14

This really makes me think, how often do we deserve judgment, but God relents or has mercy? This time in Jerusalem's history is rather unique (or at least very uncommon) in that God does not relent, does not have mercy, but instead pours out his full cup of wrath.

vs 15

And now another word comes to Ezekiel.

vs 16

When you hear words like this, probably your mind starts racing, "What is the delight of my eyes? What's he going to take away? My sight?" Whatever it is, it won't be good, because you're going to want to mourn, but God says he's not allowed to.

vs 17

His grief is not to impact his outside life. Nowadays, when we are always trying not to let our grief be shown (and some people take drugs at funerals to stop themselves from losing it), it is hard for us to imagine the middle eastern culture of mourning and wailing loudly at funerals. But this is in fact still done today - just watch any funeral of a young Palestinian boy killed by the Israeli army.

So God telling Ezekiel not to mourn is actually quite a cultural shift - it will be noticed.

vs 18

This verse is just so bleak, so plain. His wife died. Just like that. I feel so bad for him, that God chose to send a message to his people this way. But God knows best, and it's a reminder that we must always value God first - not even our own families come before Him.

vs 19

See, I told you his outward appearance of not mourning would have an effect. People are very much paying attention and asking questions.

vs 20

An important preface, because if it's not from God, then they really don't need to listen. Ezekiel repeats this idea of God's word coming to him over and over, really reinforcing the authority of his words. Nowadays, we probably would think that such repetition is a trick to try and make it seem more authoritative than it should be. But back then, it was most likely just a writing device. Probably works on the same level, but it's not meant to deceive, it's meant to highlight.