Today’s passage: Ezekiel 17

Helpful thoughts:

• The riddle and parable given to Ezekiel in today’s passage explains what occurred in Judah in 2 Kings 24:8-25:7 and 2 Chronicles 36:5-21.
  • After Nebuchadnezzar’s first victory over Jerusalem, he set up a king under his own authority (Zedekiah), who later rebelled by turning to Egypt for help/defense against Babylon.  This brought about the full fall of Jerusalem.
• The prophet Jeremiah had given God’s instruction to Zedekiah in Jeremiah 38:14-23.  God had given Zedekiah specific instructions and he disobeyed.
• Neither Nebuchadnezzar or the Egyptian Pharaoh possess the sovereignty of the Lord.  He will remove power from whom He wishes and give power to whom He wishes.  This will culminate in the eternal kingdom of Jesus Christ!

Questions to consider:

1. Zedekiah and Jerusalem were in trouble because they had broken their oath to Nebuchadnezzar, but ultimately, who had they sinned against (Verse 19)?  Why is all our sin first and foremost sin against God?
2. What words does the Lord use repeatedly to give confidence to His promise?  Why is God gracious to give us this assurance?  Does He need them to encourage Himself to remember His promises?
3. Why can we always trust in the promises of God, even when they don’t seem to be coming as fast as we’d hope?  What is true of His nature/character that makes His promises absolutely certain? (Titus 1:2, Malachi 3:6)

Today’s passage: Ezekiel 16

Helpful thoughts:

• If you are using these devotionals for the family, you will want to read ahead and be discerning in how you explain the content of this chapter.
• Israel is depicted as a woman who was rescued, cared for, married, provided with wealth and success…and then used all that God had given her to be “adulterous” with numerous others.
• God is clear in telling the people of Jerusalem their “adultery” has been more severe than that of Samaria (The northern kingdom of Israel) and Sodom!  Yet, He will not forget His covenant with them and they will one day remember their sin and be confounded by the faithfulness, love and forgiveness granted to them by God!

Questions to consider:

1. This passage is not about the sin of sexual immorality (Though that was certainly included in all that the people of Jerusalem/Israel had done).  What are the sins that have been committed?  If God is the “husband” who entered into a covenant relationship with Israel and she broke that covenant, what is the sin being committed?  What did their unfaithfulness to God also then result in?
2. How does this illustration correlate to what we learn about Christ and the church from Ephesians 5:22-33 and Revelation 19:6-8?
3. With Christ in mind, how has God made a way for His people to be made aware of their sin, desire to repent and change, and be made pure?  What has Christ done for His bride?  How does all this urge us toward the righteous worship which He has freed us to pursue in love?

Today’s passage: Ezekiel 15

Helpful thoughts:

• This comparison of Israel and a vine is much different than what we find in different parts of the Bible.  This description is not hopeful or life-giving.  It speaks to their judgment.
• In comparison to all other woods, the wood of a vine is of no value but to use for burning.
  • If Israel thought they were better of more useful than anyone else, they were mistaken.
• Israel had earned judgment (As “fuel” for fire).  For this, they have been deemed “useful.”

Questions to consider:

1. Would it be right for us to think ourselves more useful to God in our natural state? What does Romans 3 teach us about what we were all like (Romans 3:9-12)?
2. What causes the transformation in us?  Why are we (Who were once only fit for judgment) now useful to the building up of the kingdom? (Ephesians 2:8-10)
3. How do these Gospel truths shape the way we see God, ourselves, and others in the world around us?  What does anyone need before they have the ability to change and grow?  Without worrying about how others can be useful to me, how can I be useful to God and others today?

Today’s passage: Ezekiel 14

Helpful thoughts:

• In the hearts and minds of the elders of Israel, the impending doom from Babylon was the most important thing.  In truth, their repentance and relationship with God was the most important thing.
  • They desired a prophecy of what was to come, what they heard was a call to repentance.
• When we worship idols, they are a “stumbling block” and objects “before our face,” which means we are blinded and going to stumble.
• God declares that even with judgment after judgment, and even with men from the past and present (Noah, Daniel, and Job) speaking and living amongst the Jewish people, there will not be repentance.  Except for those who are “brought out,” the remnant.

Questions to consider:

1. Given God’s initial rebuke in this chapter, what is the most important aspect (Or most important relationship) of our lives?  Would these elders have been happy with wealth, health, and peace in the land without God?  Could we be happy today with wealth, health and peace without Jesus?
2. How does blindness come from idolatry?  How does it cause people to stumble?  How do these following passages help us to learn and comprehend what it means to “become like what we worship?” (Psalm 115:4-8, 2 Corinthians 3:18)
3. If we think about the lives of Noah, Daniel and Job, did their righteous choices result in massive amounts of conversions and repentance in the first place?  Who alone has the power to give people a new heart, salvation?  What is our responsibility and privilege? (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)

Today’s passage: Ezekiel 13

Helpful thoughts:

• People were posing as prophets in Israel.  They were saying, “Hear the word of the LORD!” and then sharing whatever it was in their own hearts and minds they wanted to say.
  • Many would have certainly desired these prophets to give them favorable news.
  • This is similar to what we read in 2 Timothy 4:3-4.
• These false prophets are referred to as “jackals,” a scavenger.
  • The false prophets speak in order to gain and take from others (Manipulation, flattery, etc.), true prophets speak to obey the Lord and communicate the truth for the true benefit of the hearers (Love).
• The women (False prophetesses) are mentioned as having incorporated some form of magical bands and are rebuked as well for “hunting” for souls!
  • The magic had to have been either phony tricks or some demonic activity.  Either way, the goal was the same, taking advantage of others for their own personal gain…but remember it wasn’t their gain!  It led to their destruction.

Questions to consider:

1. How can we know whether people are sharing with us the truth?  How can we know the counsel we share and/or receive is in line with God’s will without resorting to how we feel or think about things in our own hearts? (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
2. If a teacher’s/preacher’s primary goal ever becomes gaining a larger following, how might their teaching and preaching change?  How can a verse like Ephesians 4:15 prevent us from going to the other end of the spectrum to being unnecessarily rude or hateful?
3. How can these intense rebukes and obvious abuses of the ministry of prophecy be applied to our relationships and interactions with others today?  How should we speak to people?  Whose glory and whose best interest should we be seeking?  How can love and worship remove our fear to speak the truth?

Today’s passage: Ezekiel 12

Helpful thoughts:

• Ezekiel prophecies the what would happen to Zedekiah in 2 Kings 25.
  • Ezekiel would not refer to Zedekiah as a king, most likely because Nebuchadnezzar had made him king and changed his name (2 Kings 24:10-17).
  • It might be helpful to remember that the fall of Jerusalem and the exiling of the Jewish people happened in stages.
• Since the prophecies Ezekiel had shared didn’t come to pass fast enough for the people’s expectations, the Jews began to dismiss them (Verse 22).
• Part of the excuse to dismiss Ezekiel’s prophecies was to consider them as judgments that were “far off.”  Evidently, if there were no immediate or personal negative consequences, the people were happy to carry on in disobedience!

Questions to consider:

1. What does the expectation of a timeline for God’s judgment reveal about the people’s view of God, or of Ezekiel’s trustworthiness?  If God has to act in a timely fashion according to our point of view, then who do we think is in charge?
2. How can remembering who God is and who we are encourage and help us to be patient when we are praying for something?  When we desire Christ’s return?
3. Should the people have only wanted to repent if the judgment of God was going to affect them personally?  What does love for others compel us to do?  What does love for God compel us to do?  Why is it always right to do what is right? (See the last four words of verses 16 and 20)  What does knowing that Christ took our judgment on Himself at the cross further compel us to do?

Today’s passage: Ezekiel 11:14-25

Helpful thoughts:

• In today’s passage, God answers Ezekiel’s question from verse 13.  He will preserve a remnant.
• Two important truths are contained in this passage:
  • No one suffers the wrath of God against sin who has not chosen to sin against Him (Verse 21).
  • Those who follow God do so because He has given them a new heart.  Conversion is a gift of grace (Verses 19-20).
• Upon the completion of this sequence of visions (Starting in chapter 8), Ezekiel is now ready to tell the exiles all that God gave Him to tell.

Questions to consider:,

1. What is the true sanctuary of God? Or…where?  Is it the Temple? Or…who is it? (Verse 16)  With this being true, how does one pursue “sanctuary” in God (Verse 20)?
2. What do we learn from these promises about conversion?  Do people achieve it through trial and error or through increased effort in religion?  What has to happen for a sinner to want to follow God?
3. How does the wording at the end of verse 20 compare with that of Revelation 21:3?  What might this teach us concerning what we also learn from Romans 11:25-27?  When will the remnant of Israel be saved?

Today’s passage: Ezekiel 11:1-13

Helpful thoughts:

• Ezekiel’s prophecy now moves to the political leaders of the people.  The elders had not trusted that God would not protect them from “the sword” of other nations and sinned against Him, now God is going to bring “the sword” of other nations against them.  Their fears would be realized.
• The illustration of the cauldron/cooking pot and meat seems to be related to the city of Jerusalem being under siege.  As the siege is being built up, the “temperature” is rising…cooking the “meat” inside.
  • But God tells the political leaders they will not be defeated the way they expect, so that they will know that He is the Lord!
• Pelatiah’s judgment came instantly (Verses 1 and 13).
  • Peletiah’s name means, “The LORD delivers” and he was the son of Benaiah which means, “The LORD builds.”

Questions to consider:

1. To whom does God attribute the responsibility of the number of the slain in Jerusalem (Verse 6)?  Why might the people and leaders have wanted to blame God or their enemies?  How does God’s justice, sovereignty and providence validate His claim?
2. If God is doing all of these things so that the people would know that He is the LORD, what would have been the right response?  What does God’s identity and His attributes have to do with our repentance?
3. What changes happen in the life of a person who surrenders to the Lordship of God and Christ?  How does this match what we learn happens to a person who is saved from passage like 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Ephesians 2:8-10?

Today’s passage: Ezekiel 10

Helpful thoughts:

• After the judgment of God is depicted in chapter 9, we see the glory of the Lord departing the temple in chapter 10.
• God gives Ezekiel this similar vision to what he saw in chapter one, therefore Ezekiel is now well aware of what is taking place.
• This vision of the glory departing contrasts from the account of the glory of God coming to the temple in 2 Chronicles 5.

Questions to consider:

1. If the elders who had come to Ezekiel were hoping to hear good news or instructions from God to fix their problems, how saddened or angered might they have been?  What news is Ezekiel going to be giving them?  What have the last few chapters declared concerning Jerusalem and Israel?
2. Besides what the cherubim look like, what are we learning about these angels?  What seems to be their purpose?
3. By God’s grace, what will happen one day in the future (Sneak ahead and peek at Ezekiel 43:1-5)?