What I Noticed Today (Ezekiel 22-24)
Ezekiel 22
Ezekiel delivers three messages in Ezekiel 22, describing the sins and judgment coming to Jerusalem.
First Message. In verses 1-5, the word of the Lord comes to Ezekiel, saying if he is going to judge this bloody city (Jerusalem), he needs to name the charges against them. God then tells Ezekiel what charges to bring against the people. They have been guilty of shedding innocent blood and making idols. The time for judgment had come. Neighboring countries would mock her, and Jerusalem’s name will be defiled.
In verses 6-12, Ezekiel lays out the sins of the people: they killed innocents, social injustice, apostasy, idolatry, immorality, greed, and most importantly, they had rejected God.
In verses 13-16, God says He will strike His hands together (some translations say, “I will strike my hands at…”) at the dishonest gain. They will not be so courageous when God’s judgment comes, and He scatters them among the nations. They will be profaned in the sight of nations, and then they will know that He is the Lord.
Second Message. In verses 17-22, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel saying the people of Israel had become dross to him (when refining metals impurities were referred to as dross). The people were impure to God because of their sin. God said He would gather the people together and refine them by blowing the fire of His wrath on them, and then they will know that He is the Lord.
Third message. In verses 23-31, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel to lay out charges against the leaders. Prophets were full of greed; they had taken treasures and killed men making many widows. Priests rejected the Law and profaned God’s holy things. They made no distinction between the clean and the unclean and had even abandoned the keeping of the Sabbath. The princes (kings) were destroying people seeking dishonest gain. The prophets had spread false vision and lied to the people claiming that the Lord had spoken to them. The people were not exempt; in general, they were practicing extortion, robbing, and oppressing the poor and needy. Ultimately, when God looked for a leader who could stand with God, He found none and so He has determined to pour out His judgment on them.
Ezekiel 23
Ezekiel 23 is a parable of two women who were unfaithful representing the unfaithfulness of Judah. Ezekiel 16’s parable focused on Judah’s unfaithfulness with respect to idol worship. While Ezekiel 23 is focused on Judah’s unfaithfulness in terms of her making foreign alliances rather than trusting God.
In verses 1-4, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, saying two sisters had practiced prostitution with Egypt since their youth. The sister’s names were Oholah and Oholibah. Oholah represents Samaria, and Oholibah represents Jerusalem, the capital cities of Israel and Judah.
In verses 5-10, the sin of Oholah (Israel) was her association with Assyria. They defiled themselves by lusting over them and worshipping the idols of Assyria. So God gave them over to the Assyrians and killed them with the sword.
Note: In 722 B.C., Samaria was conquered by Assyria (2 Kings 17:5-6, 18-20).
In verses 11-21, Oholibah (Jerusalem) became even more corrupt than her sister Samaria. She also lusted after the Assyrians. But she also lusted after the Chaldeans (Babylonians). The Babylonians came to her and defiled her. Then she longed for her Egyptian lover from her youth.
First Oracle. In verses 22-27, is the first of four oracles of the Lord that begin with “This is what the Lord says.” The Lord says to Oholibah He will bring all her past lovers to come against her including Babylonia, Pekod, Shoa, Koa, and all the Assyrians. (Pekod, Shoa, and Koa are thought to be three Aramean tribes).
Second Oracle. In verses 28-31, God says He will deliver them into the hands of those they hate. They will leave you desolate and stripped of all your riches because you defiled yourself with all their idols. Because Oholibah went the way of her sister, God will give her cup into Oholah’s hand.
Third Oracle. In verses 32-34, the third oracle is a poem, unlike the first two, which are prose. Jerusalem (Oholibah) will drink of the cup of Samaria (Oholah). It will fill you with drunkenness and make you a desolation.
Fourth Oracle. In verse 35, God says because they have forgotten Him, they must bear the consequences of their actions.
In verses 36-42, the Lord calls on Ezekiel to judge Oholibah and Oholah naming their sins (abominations). They have committed adultery by following after other gods. They offered up their children as sacrifices to those gods (Molech) and defiled the sanctuary, and they did not keep the Sabbath.
In verses 43-45, in addition to spiritual adultery, they had also committed adultery by aligning themselves with foreign nations. But, says God, righteous men will pass judgment on them as adulteresses.
Note: The punishment for adultery was death by stoning (Leviticus 20:27). The punishment for adultery in a city was the sword and fire (Deuteronomy 13:12-16).
In verses 46-49, God issues a judgment against the two cities saying they shall be stoned and cut down with a sword, and their houses burned down. They must bear the penalty for their sin, and they will know that He is the Lord.
Ezekiel 24
Ezekiel 24 is the final chapter in the third series of judgments on Judah (first series chapters 4-11, second series chapters 12-19, and the third series chapters 20-24). It begins with the parable of the boiling pot.
In verses 1-2, Ezekiel dates this prophecy as the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Kings Jehoiachin’s exile, which was January 15, 588 B.C. (this date was also mentioned in 2 Kings 25:1, Jeremiah 39:1, and Jeremiah 52:4). The Lord commands Ezekiel to write down this date because it is the day the King of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem.
In verses 3-5, Ezekiel describes the parable of the boiling pot. The choicest animal of the flock was placed in a pot of boiling water and boiled well.
In verses 6-8, Ezekiel explains the meaning of the parable. The Lord pronounces a woe on the city describing the city as a city of bloodshed. The reference to rust (some translations say “corrosion”) in the pot suggests the choice meat had been ruined by the impurities (the rust) in the pot. The reference to the blood poured out on a rock means that it is out in the open (not hidden as if the blood had been poured out in the dirt). Jerusalem had shed innocent blood out in the open.
In verses 9-14, Ezekiel explains the parable a second time. The meat in the pot was cooked until well done, until the bones burned up, suggesting the city would be completely destroyed. The reference to the empty pot being put on the coals until it melts and the corrosion goes into the fire means the impurities in the city will be destroyed and the city burned up. God says He had tried to cleanse the city, but they had rejected Him so now He has decided to bring judgment upon the city, he will not relent, it must be judged.
In verses 15-18, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel. God told him that his wife, the delight of his eyes, was about to die. He was not to weep or mourn but was to keep his feelings to himself. Ezekiel spoke to the people in the morning, and that evening his wife died, and the next day he did as the Lord had commanded.
In verses 19-24, the people asked Ezekiel why he was acting the way he was, and he explained that this symbolized what would happen to Jerusalem. The exiled people of Jerusalem would lose the city, the delight of their eyes when Nebuchadnezzar conquered them. When this happened, then they would know that He was the Lord.
In verses 25-27, the Lord says that when the news of the fall of Jerusalem came to the exiles someone would report this to Ezekiel and his mouth would be opened, and he would no longer be mute. This was to be another sign to the people so they would know that He is the Lord.
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
