Ezekiel 35

Ezekiel 35:10

"Because you have said, 'These two nations and these two lands will be mine, and we will possess them,' although the LORD was there,

Apparently the people of Seir, wherever that is, had ambitions on Israel and Judah.  They figured the land was ripe for the taking, after Assyria and Babylon finished ransacking it.  While I don't know where Seir is off the top of my head, I assume it was close by, and therefore a good choice for them to expand into.

However, the land was not empty.  God still controlled it, and He wasn't going to just let someone waltz in and take what He'd given to others.  It's not clear whether the people of Seir knew God, or thought He'd abandoned the place.  But it sounds like they're going to learn soon, and the hard way.

Ezekiel 34

Ezekiel 34:4

Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with the force and with severity you have dominated them.

While God was referring to the people of Ezekiel's time who had shirked their responsibilities, it's also a good analogy for the church today. We are called to help those who are hurting, and find those who are lost.  But too often you see churches ruling over their people instead, preaching fire and brimstone for the slightest offense, rather than love.

However, I look at my life, and I have to wonder, am I doing enough?  Am I helping the hurt, or finding the lost?  What should I do different, to ensure I don't turn to force?

Ezekiel 33

Ezekiel 33:31

They come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain.

This, I fear, is the state today of many "Christians," either self-professed or true.  They sit in the pews on Sunday, and hear the sermon.  But once they're outside those church doors, it doesn't affect how they live their lives.

At times, I fear this for myself as well.  I know I have given into the lusts of my mind, if not my mouth, at times.  Do I belong among these condemned people, the ultimate hypocrites who have the truth but practice something less uncomfortable?

Ezekiel 32

Ezekiel 32:31

"These Pharaoh will see, and he will be comforted for all his hordes slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his army, declares the Lord GOD.

What about all this is comforting?  God's just predicted the death of Pharaoh, his people, the Edomites, and the northern kings.  They all are going to be destroyed, and all are going to go to the same place, presumably Hell.

So what about this would comfort Pharaoh?  Is it truly a form of "misery loves company?"  Or is there something else I'm not seeing here, which would lead Pharaoh to a different conclusion from what I'm reaching?

Ezekiel 31

Ezekiel 31:18

"To which among the trees of Eden are you thus equal in glory and greatness?  Yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth beneath; you will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, and with those who were slain by the sword.  So is Pharaoh and all his hordes!"' declares the Lord GOD."

Egypt thought it was among the greatest, and for a long time it was one of them.  However, they made the mistake of thinking that just because they were the best at the time, they would always be the best.  Further, they thought that nothing could ever topple them.

However, like every tree, they eventually fell, either from force outside or rot within.  What we need to remember is that circumstances don't last, and our personal power is fleeting.  Sooner or later we too will fall, and at that point all that will be left is our faith for God to catch us.

Ezekiel 30

Ezekiel 30:21

"Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and behold, it has not been bound up for healing or wrapped with a bandage, that it may be strong to hold the sword.

This seems to be a continuation of the previous chapter's prophecy.  However, here God uses the past tense.  Does that mean that it has happened, and therefore the previous chapter's prophecy has in fact happened already?

I also wonder if this is literal or physical?  Did the Pharaoh actually break his arm, and leave it untreated?  Or was it a metaphor for the bad state of the country's defenses, and how easy they would be for Babylon to defeat?

Ezekiel 29

Ezekiel 29:16

And it will never again be the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing to mind the iniquity of their having turned to Egypt.  Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD."'"

At least a couple times through their history, Israel and/or Judah turned to Egypt for military alliances against their enemies.  These never worked out well, for Egypt either wasn't strong enough to help them win, or didn't come.  Plus, whenever it happened, God condemned them move as a failing of their faith.

Apparently, that was going to come to and end, as God vowed to punish Egypt.  I'm not sure if this punishment has been carried out, or it is a prophecy yet to be fulfilled.  Whichever it is, at the completion it will be obvious that Egypt is no good as anyone's ally, and no one would turn to them for help again.

Ezekiel 28

Ezekiel 28:15

"You were blameless in your ways
From the day you were created
Until unrighteousness was found in you.

Some think that the second half of the chapter isn't actually talking about the king of Tyre, but about Satan instead.  I can understand their arguments, but am not completely convinced.  However, this is one of the verses that suggests they may be at least partially correct.

According to other passages, we are never blameless, not even before birth.  But by definition, when unrighteousness is found, one ceases to be blameless.  So while this doesn't quite fit for a human, it could fit an angelic-type being better.  But I'm not certain whether this is just poetic exaggeration, in which case it could simply mean the king fell because of hubris and arrogance.

Ezekiel 27

Ezekiel 27:35

'All the inhabitants of the coastlands
Are appalled at you,
And their kings are horribly afraid;
They are troubled in countenance.

Why are the coastlanders appalled?  Was it because of what was left of Tyre after its fall?  Or was it something about how that fall was carried out?

My guess is that it was perhaps both.  The kings of the area are afraid because of the power necessary to destroy Tyre, which had been considered impregnable.  They are troubled, because someone that powerful, and who destroyed it as utterly as they did, was a threat to the entire region.

Ezekiel 26

Ezekiel 26:6

Also her daughters who are on the mainland will be slain by the sword, and they will know that I am the LORD.'"

I wonder, who are the daughters spoken of here?  Are they actually the young women of Tyre, living on the mainland for some reason?  Or is it a metaphor, for the people who are subject to/former inhabitants of Tyre?

Whichever it is, they are to be killed as examples.  First, an example of Tyre's doom, their coming defeat as they are isolated from support.  Second, an example of what happens to those who oppose God and His people, and seek to take advantage of God's punishment.

Ezekiel 25

Ezekiel 25:2

"Son of man, set your face toward the sons of Ammon and prophesy against them,

Until now, Ezekiel's been speaking against the Jews.  However, just because that's where God has him focused, that doesn't mean the rest of the world gets off the hook.  They're about to get reminded that they have failed as well.

Towards that end, God used Ezekiel to pronounce judgment on several of Israel's and Judah's old enemies.  They are all at least as bad as the Jews had become, and oftentimes were the ones to lead them astray with their heinous practices.  Now they will be punished alongside the Jews, and all will be reminded that God's law is supreme.

Ezekiel 24

Ezekiel 24:23

Your turbans will be on your heads and your shoes on your feet.  You will not mourn and you will not weep, but you will rot away in your iniquities and you will groan to one another.

I'll admit I'm not quite sure how to interpret this.  One way I see it, it could mean that the people simply don't care that the temple is empty.  They've grown so apathetic about God that they consider His absence irrelevant.

In the other case, they're simply hiding their feelings well.  They go about business as usual, but are torn up inside, just as Ezekiel was over the death of his wife.  They either feel they can't express themselves openly, or that they shouldn't for some reason.  Whichever the answer is, it's a wrong choice.

Ezekiel 23

Ezekiel 23:48

Thus I will make a lewdness cease from the land, that all women may be admonished and not commit lewdness as you have done.

God has used this chapter to make a parallel between Israel and Judah as sisters, who have become whores to anyone powerful that interest them.  Israel has already received her punishment, and how it's Judah's turn since she did even worse.  But here God reveals His reasons.

He's doing this to clear the decks, and purge the land of sin.  Things are going to get so bad, that everyone will realize that God is punishing them.  It will be so obvious, that the people will never go back to their same sins.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of other sins for them to turn to down the line instead...