Exact Ezekiel; Chapters 16-17
ZADOK PUBLICATIONS - Dr. C. R. OLIVER
July 1, 2017
This Newsletter may be watched in a video HERE.
ZADOK PUBLICATIONS MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
Introduction:July 1, 2017 Exact Ezekiel Chapters 16-17 Ezekiel's prophetic word from God, in Chapter 16, is metaphoric in nature (it is an implied comparison). All of those he addressed were familiar with the prophet Hosea and God's comparison of Israel (10 Northern Tribes) to a prostitute and eventually the picture of an unfaithful wife to the prophet Hosea (Gomer). The two Southern Tribes often gloated on the fact Israel was taken into captivity and they were favored by God. They knew how God pronounced judgment on Israel's profligate activity. They knew how God portrayed them as a wayward society and how the cultural mores of the Ten Northern tribes had become so blatant that God punished them with captivity. Ezekiel's message, in comparison to Hosea's indictment of Israel, was a searing blow; for now, Hosea's descriptions applied to Judah and Benjamin. The kind words of Joel's prophecy directed to Judah, in 835 BC, were now overridden by Ezekiel's new appraisal from God. (Background: In the chronological order of prophetic messages ensconced in the genre of "major and minor prophets," Obadiah [840 BC] was the first; he prophesied against Edom [a part of Jordan today]. Next came the prophet Joel, with the rich promise of a new day of "pouring out God's Spirit." Joel's word was directed to Judah. Then Amos [760 BC] arrived with a word to Israel [Ten Northern tribes]. Next, was Hosea's prophecy to Israel [755].) Ezekiel's message to Judah (592BC) sounded like the antithesis of the beautiful Song of Solomon, which pictured the Shulamite becoming the bride of the King with all the chaste glory of her whole being. Ezekiel's raw vision of Judah, a once faithful wife who philanders on her husband, was a portrait of fained love toward God, all the while embracing spiritual adultery. By comparison, Hosea was commanded to marry a prostitute and to accept her wholesale trysts with outside lovers (in today's terms: an 'open' marriage). She, however, never put on the garment of faithfulness. She did not try to hide her infidelity. The children she bore were named "not mine." The "not mine" disclaimer was given to show she possibly bore them by other men, not Hosea.
Adultery is not like a harlot's philandering. Adultery wears the face of piety, while harboring a hidden cuckold. It is filled with lies and misleading innuendo. In society, while faking love for her husband, she wishes to be in another's arms. Adultery captures the mind, which conceptualizes another's bedchamber. It accepts her husband's love, while covering her desire for a hidden "other." This game of "Charades" is played at a deadly level. God was married to Judah. He blessed her and loved Jerusalem's Temple. Once, she loved Him with all her heart, but now was restless for change and liberation from the rules of covenant. Temple sacrifices were still going on. Temple services and feasts were maintained. Ritual "this and that" still occupied time and space but had lost its appeal. The sin of Balaam had reached her core. She lived the lie that buoyed her infidelity. Publicly, she showered her affection on her husband, but inwardly betrayed their bonds. Could this be the case in Revelation, where the indictment, "you have lost your first love" was heard? Could the modern church ever be guilty of spiritual adultery? The journey of 160 years from Hosea to Ezekiel proved fatal for Judah. Could a 2000 year journey be similar for the church? CHAPTER 16: God directed Ezekiel to address Jerusalem. (Mind you, Jerusalem was several hundred miles away, for the prophet was a captive in Babylon.) Ezekiel addressed the congregation who once lived in Jerusalem (It is the obligation of the prophet to give the word; it is God's obligation to see it gets to the appropriate ears). The Lord's opening volley was an insult to his audience's piety. He called them Canaanites! Canaanites were despised. They were heathen, having no covenant. The Lord's intent was to reveal to Judah that they were acting like heathen with no covenant. Observe: how God introduced the matter of spiritual adultery as a covenant breaking sin. They owed their whole existence to Him, yet they counted it as nothing. They had formally pledged their troth to Him, thus a marriage agreement. The commitment meant nothing to them.
Slapping the face of Judah and insinuating she was the offspring of a heathen unwed union was incomprehensible to them. Amorites and Hittites were their enemies. The Canaanites were considered the trashy residue of a disobedient Israeli army which had failed to eradicate them. Ezekiel's reality check was to include not only where they originated as the unwanted child of an unwed union, but as an exposed infant. (In ancient times, it was customary to throw an unwanted child into a field and leave them for either death or rescue by another. Female babies were often gathered by "pimps," who raised them to be prostitutes. Today, abortion clinics take them for body parts).
(Caution: The next few verses need to be viewed as the "whole picture" of Judah's subsequent condition. From a loving God--came loving care.)
In other words, He cared for her, favored her with rank and dignity and clothed her with the best. As she grew up, she expected such treatment. She was pampered and spoiled as she eventually grew to a beautiful girl of marriageable age.
Between God's early visitation, when He found her, and the late visitation, where He fell in love with her, she had grown into a beautiful young lady. She was not of His kin. She was not of His blood, so He took her to wife. A cloak being thrown around an unmarried woman was a sign of betrothal (ie: Boaz and Ruth). She was His! He showered her with attention and luxurious appointments. (I believe this is a history of God's interaction with Judah and the period of time of Solomon, when the kingdom reached age, but they forgot His care in the heat of lust. When the world's compliments meant more to her than her marriage to Him, the covenant was broken. (O church, Listen! The early and latter rain is a significant parallel here; it is like the early and latter visitation above.)
(Examine this verse. Let it talk to you. In establishing the church as the Bride for His Son, He will not allow it to prostitute itself, for He wishes "perfected beauty" to be the hallmark of His favor. What He could not do for Judah, He will bring to pass in the Church. Those churches that commit adultery with the world will pay the heavy price He exacts.)
The underlined passage above explains it all. Spiritual adultery is worse than human adultery because it involves the disruption of union between the people of God and their Maker! Many congregations can be characterized by, "you thought you could get along without Me." World recognition and societal acceptance is a tantalizing departure from filial commitment. Judah was guilty in several arenas of infidelity. Judah consorted with foreign countries for military protection (ie: Egypt). They adopted the idols of the heathen, and in their homes and Temple apartments there could be seen signs of their lust. They lusted after fame as "a nation among nations" instead of a spiritual theocracy, so they built a sizeable army. They consorted with demons on the "high places" and the plains, for shrines were evident everywhere, even places of human sacrifice. (Remember: Ezekiel is addressing the people of Jerusalem, who were the Temple elite and those who prided themselves on spiritual prowess. These are they who supported and paid for such activity, whether active themselves or not. These are the captured of Babylon who kept asking, "How did we wind up here?" This scalding indictment from God was an affront to them-but it didn't matter. Exact Ezekiel confronted them!)
(Abortion is challenged in these verses. It is a sin, for God said so! It is the outcroppings of a society that had forgotten their first estate and removed the Lord from their equation. But, whether in a captive environment or the result of a revival from God---it must cease.)
Review the awesome prospect of competing religions in the land of Israel. God was obliged to share His space with idols and with a people of adulterous hearted acts of rebellion. I ask a simple question: "With what must He share today?" (Well, sharing was guaranteed to end by the Sovereign Lord. The current wide spectrum of religious idiocy will cease also, for what Judah became, the nations of the Christian world have become! The indictment of yesteryear is pertinent today, "It seems you can never find enough new lovers!")
(Recently, Brent Strawn wrote a book entitled, "The Old Testament is dead." The premise of his research was "why?" He found that Bible folks didn't know the Old Testament, mainly because few preachers chose it for sermonic material. The church folk didn't know its relevance to modern conditions and had only heard rudimentary accounts of "Daniel in the lion's den," or "Ezekiel speaking over dry bones." They didn't know the content of the books, when they were written, to whom they were directed or what were the conditions of the times. [The more I considered Strawn's work, the more I realized why God has me writing commentaries on Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.] Imagine a pastor saying, "Today's message is taken from the 16th chapter of Ezekiel and is entitled, 'Gone a whoring.' ")
Ezekiel's narrative continued, but we are not privy to what must have been the astonished reaction of those who heard it.
There is coming a day when that which was hidden will be shouted from the rooftops. Judah thought they had things undercover, functioning without traditional boundaries. They were the new progressives with the idea of "looking like all the other nations." Incorporating all the elements of the known world was causing Jerusalem and its territories of Judah and Benjamin to be more "cosmopolitan." After all, their "tolerance" would be cited as exemplary…UNTIL GOD!
The original indictment at the opening of this chapter is now explained. It is not "like father, like son," for that would be like Jesus and His Father. No, it is "like mother, like daughter." Now that their parentage is fixed, God explored the family tree. It isn't a pretty sight, for those who heard this message must have been astonished at the Lord's appraisal. The question is, "What would His appraisal of the church and society be today?" His appraisal is the one that counts!
Samaria was known for its idols. The ten Northern tribes separated themselves from Judah and Benjamin, ordained their own priests, simulated the sacrifices of Jerusalem's Temple, despised their Southern brothers, and found themselves outside the protection of the Lord and subjected to the Assyrian captivity. They were carried away from God's territory and ultimately scattered abroad through all the nations. Sodom, with its rampant homosexuality, was onerous to the Jews. Its example is known throughout history. As far back as Abraham's day, no worthy Israelite would want to be identified as a "family relative to Sodom." Yet, the sin of Sodom is now appropriated to Judah and Jerusalem. Verse forty-nine spells it out: pride (today's Gay Pride proponents date back to ancient times), laziness, gluttony and a heart of stone toward the person of others. Does this describe those who have "come out" and deem the Old Testament as irrelevant in modern thought? Note: the Lord took responsibility for the fiery destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, lest someone conclude it was a volcanic eruption and/or an act of nature. The Lord says when He restores Samaria and Sodom, He will restore Judah and Benjamin.
Edom was the subject of the first prophet in the major or minor line of prophets (Obadiah, 840BC). He declared Edom would become a city of Jackals, wild beasts and fowls. The thriving city fell and is characterized to this day as "desolate." Verse fifty-seven is a severe rebuke, with long standing implication. Consider the plight of the Jews in history. From verse fifty-nine to the end of the chapter, the Lord offers hope. He did send a redeemer, His son, as a sacrifice for their sins. He has grafted in the heathen (Gentile world) and made sinners of every sort able to obtain forgiveness. He has made a covenant that supersedes the Old Covenant, a covenant that shall not be broken or changed. He has carried out every promise made to Israel from their infancy in the new covenant. Hallelujah, what a Savior.
CHAPTER 17: Ezekiel received another graphic from God. It involved two great eagles: Babylon and Egypt. (Remember: this is close to the time of demise for the city of Jerusalem. Zedekiah is still King and Jeremiah is still functioning as the lone prophet in the land.) When Zedekiah took office as King, being from the royal family, he pledged allegiance to Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah understood this and cautioned him not to rebel against his captors. Zedekiah was obstinate, even though Jeremiah was his kin. He, and the counselors of his administration, sent letters to the King of Egypt seeking to employ him in a pact to defend Israel. For the money involved, Egypt agreed. Egypt was the second eagle and with all their resources, they could not keep Israel whole. Nebuchadnezzar eventually conquered Egypt as well. Babylon took revenge on Zedekiah by taking him to their country, beheading his two sons and blinding him after that event. They burned the city of Jerusalem, destroyed their Temple and tore away sections of the wall surrounding it. Most of the defenders perished in battle. Those that were captured were taken to Ezekiel's camp where they still maintained their rebellious attitude, much to the amazement of those who preceded them. Stupidity is bone deep. This graphic is about what will happen in history-future while Jerusalem was intact. It is to be shown to the "rebels."
God said all the following would happen because He is punishing Israel for breaking His covenant.
The Lord of mercy then gave a promise which was fulfilled by Jesus.
Jesus is that tender plant in dry ground (hard place to grow). Earlier, Isaiah gave a prophecy in this form:
Chapter 17 has another interesting facet in that God expects man to honor his covenants, whether to Him or to man. Oaths of office are a bond to be carried out to the letter before the Lord. Somehow, in my life time, that fact has been eroded and man's word is now carelessly given. Until Next month, Dr. Cosby R. Oliver, PhD. |
Zadok Publications
P.O. Box 132874
The Woodlands, Texas 77393
(936) 230-3543
Email: zadokbookstore@zadokpublications.com
On The Web: ZadokPublications.com
Paperback volumes may still be ordered through our website.
To see the currently available books from Amazon, click on the cover images below.
In Spanish:
In German:
To see the currently available books from Barnes & Noble, click on the cover images below.
In Spanish:
In German:
Last modified: 02/04/2019