November
14th Ezekiel
1 A. The Glory of the Lord & the Commission of Ezekiel The First
vision of Ezekiel
1:
Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in
the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river
of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2:
In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king
Jehoiachin's captivity, 3:
The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son
of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the
hand of the LORD was there upon him. 4:
And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great
cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it,
and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst
of the fire. 5:
Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living
creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a
man. 6:
And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. 7:
And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was
like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of
burnished brass. 8:
And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four
sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. 9:
Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they
went; they went every one straight forward. 10:
As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man,
and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face
of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.
11:
Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two
wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their
bodies. 12:
And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to
go, they went; and they turned not when they went. 13:
As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was
like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went
up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and
out of the fire went forth lightning. 14:
And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a
flash of lightning. 15:
Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth
by the living creatures, with his four faces. 16:
The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour
of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and
their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 17:
When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not
when they went. 18:
As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and
their rings were full of eyes round about them four. 19:
And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when
the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were
lifted up. 20:
Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their
spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for
the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 21:
When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and
when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up
over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the
wheels. 22:
And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living
creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth
over their heads above. 23:
And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the
other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one
had two, which covered on that side, their bodies. 24:
And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise
of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech,
as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings.
25:
And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads,
when they stood, and had let down their wings. 26:
And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of
a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the
likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man
above upon it. 27:
And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round
about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and
from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the
appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. 28:
As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain,
so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the
appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw
it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.
Ezekiel
2 God makes Ezekiel a prophet
1:
And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will
speak unto thee. 2:
And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon
my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. 3:
And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of
Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they
and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very
day. 4:
For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto
them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD. 5:
And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for
they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a
prophet among them. 6:
And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of
their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost
dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed
at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. 7:
And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or
whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. 8:
But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou
rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I
give thee. 9:
And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll
of a book was therein; 10:
And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without:
and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
Ezekiel, 3
1:
Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this
roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. 2:
So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. 3:
And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy
bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was
in my mouth as honey for sweetness. 4:
And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of
Israel, and speak with my words unto them. 5:
For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard
language, but to the house of Israel; 6:
Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose
words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them,
they would have hearkened unto thee. 7:
But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not
hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and
hardhearted. 8:
Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy
forehead strong against their foreheads. 9:
As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them
not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious
house. 10:
Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak
unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears. 11:
And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy
people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. 12:
Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great
rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place. 13:
I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that
touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them,
and a noise of a great rushing. 14:
So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in
bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was
strong upon me. 15:
Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the
river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there
astonished among them seven days.
Ezekiel
the Watchman
16:
And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the
LORD came unto me, saying, 17:
Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel:
therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
18:
When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest
him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way,
to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but
his blood will I require at thine hand. 19:
Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor
from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast
delivered thy soul. 20:
Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and
commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die:
because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and
his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his
blood will I require at thine hand. 21:
Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin
not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned;
also thou hast delivered thy soul.
Ezekiel
is speechless
22:
And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said unto me,
Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee. 23:
Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory
of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of
Chebar: and I fell on my face. 24:
Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake
with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house. 25:
But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and
shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them: 26:
And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou
shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a
rebellious house. 27:
But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say
unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear;
and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious
house.
The
book of Ezekiel the priest is probably the most unread book of the
bible. It deals with great prophecies that describe the coming
Kingdom even describing in great detail the Millennial Temple.
Ezekiel begins saying that he was with the captives of Babylon and he
even gives us the exact date in which he received it. The first thing
he sees is a whirlwind coming out of the north. It was a whirlwind of
fire. And in the middle of the whirlwind was what appeared to be four
creatures alive. They appeared to be similar to a man yet each one
had four faces and four wings. Their feet went straight down and
looked like the feet of young cattle. They sparkled like shinning
brass. They had hands like a man under each wing - four hands. Their
wings were joined to each other enabling them to fly in any direction
without turning around. All four creatures had four faces, but their
faces where of four types. One face was like a man, one like a lion,
one like an ox and another like an eagle. It seemed that they had two
sets of wings each. They had a reddish appearance like glowing coals
on a fire. And there came out what appeared to be flashes of
lightening. Ezekiel is struggling to describe these things and it’s
a struggle for us to understand what he is meaning. There were wheels
within wheels. Perhaps he’s describing a sort of halo like that
which we see on the planet Saturn. He sees a throne above them and a
man sitting on the throne. Perhaps this is a vision of Christ in
glory. Then the Lord told Ezekiel to stand up so that the Lord could
speak to him. At that moment the Spirit of God entered into him. The
Lord tells him that he is going to be sent to the Children of Israel
who are wicked and backsliding. But the Lord says do not be afraid of
them or of their threatenings. He is not to concern himself in the
outcome of his ministry only in the faithfulness of its execution.
Then the Lord showed him a scroll and he was told to eat it. In his
mouth it was like honey. He is warned that Hebrew is a hard language.
He is to be strong and not put off by his ministry. Ezekiel heard the
sound of rushing waters from the four living creatures. Then he was
carried away to Tel-abib and he sat with the people for seven days.
Then the word of the Lord came to him again saying (The Lord always
addressed him as ‘Son of man’) Son of man l have made you a
watchman (Lookout or Overseer or Pastor) for the house of Israel. The
Lord explains that he is to have a very serious duty because if he
refrains from speaking the word of the Lord then the Lord will
require his blood for the people. Only if he speaks out will he
deliver his own soul from death. Then the Lord said to Ezekiel, go
and shut yourself into your house and you will bind your mouth so
that you will not go and rebuke the people. Then the Lord said
Ezekiel when l tell you to open your mouth then you must say – This
is what the Lord says… The person who hears you - let him hear and
he that refuses you - let him refuse, because they are a rebellious
people.
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