Christ Through the Bible- Ezekiel

TEXT: And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.  And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. Ezk.34:23-24

Ezekiel opens with his calling to be a prophet.  He has a vision that was symbolic of the greatness and majesty of the LORD and proclaims the LORD sovereign over all the nations of the earth.  Ezekiel is so moved by what he saw, he falls on his face in reverence. 

A voice calls to him, saying "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me.  And whether they listen or fail to listen — for they are a rebellious house — they will know that a prophet has been among them."

The LORD had given them a warning which was Israel’s duty to obey.  Ezekiel is then handed a scroll, on which is written "words of lament and mourning and woe." Told to eat the scroll, when he does so he finds that it tastes as sweet as honey. Evidently, Ezekiel knows that the message he is to proclaim foretells impending disaster, yet he is faithful to the task given to him.

The people who were left in Jerusalem after the first captivity reassured themselves with the idea that they were better off than their brethren who were taken to Babylon. They believed that the LORD would protect them from any foreign power and that neither the city of Jerusalem nor the Judean kingdom would ever be overthrown. Ezekiel's task was to stop the delusion concerning this hope, to make clear to them that the city would be destroyed and also the reasons why it would be overthrown.

According to the prophet, the reason for the captivities that had already occurred, as well as for the one in store for the people left in Jerusalem, is the people's defiance of the LORD's laws. Because Ezekiel believes that the LORD rules supreme over all the nations of the earth, any violation of the LORD's commands without appropriate punishment constitutes an infringement upon the deity's honor. Such violations are serious matters to Ezekiel, evidenced by the fact that his references to punishments are usually followed by the words "Then you will know that I am the Lord."

Jerusalem must be destroyed because of its sins. In his account of these sins, Ezekiel includes both moral and ceremonial transgressions, but he noticeably places the greater emphasis on matters about the ceremonial. He condemns the worship of idols that represent foreign deities, and he severely censures people who eat forbidden meat or violate any of the other rules having to do with the conduct of worship. Coming into direct contact with that which is unclean contaminates the LORD's sanctuary and profanes his holy name, which the LORD will not tolerate.

Ezekiel, no less than Jeremiah, sees the significance of the individual in his relationship to the LORD. Rejecting the ideas that fathers may be punished for the sins of their sons and the sons punished for the sins of their fathers, he boldly states that the soul that sins shall die. Furthermore, he carries this idea to the extreme position of maintaining that a person's entire life will be judged regarding that individual's last act. Concerning the man who has lived wickedly all of his life but turns from his wickedness and does that which is lawful and right immediately before he dies, all of his evil will not be remembered: He will be judged as a righteous man. The reverse is true of the man who has lived all of his life righteously but turns to wickedness just before he dies: All of his righteousness will not be remembered.

We can see this principle in Jesus forgiving the theft on the cross just before he died.  The LORD is merciful, and longsuffering and willing to forgive whosoever comes to Him, even at the time of one's death.  This makes it very important not to judge the eternal abode of people as we do not know what took place in the final moments of their life.

The fall of the city of Jerusalem presented something of a problem, especially to those who believed that LORD's presence in the holiest place in the Temple was a sure guarantee that the place would never be overthrown. They remembered Isaiah's words uttered more than a century before when he declared that Jerusalem was Zion's city and must stand forever. For Jeremiah, these words meant very little: The LORD's dwelling place is in human hearts rather than in a specific location in the Temple. While this idea is not entirely absent in the Book of Ezekiel, the prophet nevertheless believes that the LORD's presence is in the Temple more than in any other place. How then could the Temple be destroyed so long as the LORD's presence was in it? According to Ezekiel, Yahweh's presence went up out of the Temple and rested on a hill outside; then the Temple fell.

In the New Testament, the LORD's Spirit dwells within the heart of man.  Our bodies are the dwelling place of the LORD.  The Temple of natural material has been destroyed, but the spiritual Temple is within our own heart and soul.

Ezekiel has often been called the father of Judaism. His influence on the future development of Israel's religion was, at least for several centuries, more significant than that of any of the other prophets. His conception of holiness, which stands in sharp contrast to Isaiah's, became dominant in the period that followed his people's return from Babylonian exile. For Ezekiel, holiness was a quality present in both things and people. Holy objects would be profaned whenever anything common or unclean was brought into direct contact with them, a belief that led to a sharp distinction between the secular and the holy and gave new meanings to such items as the observance of dietary laws, payment of tithes, and observance of the Sabbath. Violation of any of these rules would constitute a profanation of that which was holy or sacred. This interpretation of rules and regulations pertaining only to the Israelite religion served to strengthen the spirit of nationalism and so to increase the antagonism that already existed between Jews and non-Jews.

The same is true today with those who serve the LORD.  Christians are to live a life of holiness that is in sharp contrast to the secular world.  Any violation of the commands of the LORD constitute sin and separates one from the LORD.  The holy and righteous life of those who faithfully follow the commandments of the LORD (rules) creates an antagonism with those who are not Christian.

In Ezekiel, we see Jesus Christ as the Shepherd of His people.  In the Gospel of John chapter ten Jesus tries to explain to the people, He is the Shepherd.

The message in John is the message of salvation. Jesus said, “It is certainly true that when a man enters the sheep pen, he should use the gate. If he climbs in some other way, he is a robber. He is trying to steal the sheep.  But the man who takes care of the sheep enters through the gate. He is the shepherd. The man who guards the gate opens the gate for the shepherd. And the sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his own sheep, using their names, and he leads them out. He brings all of his sheep out. Then he goes ahead of them and leads them. The sheep follow him because they know his voice. But sheep will never follow someone they don't know. They will run away from him because they don't know his voice."

If you have ever tried to explain something to someone and they fail to comprehend what you are saying and feel you are talking down to them or scolding them when all you are trying to do is clarify the message.

Well, Jesus told the people this story, but they did not understand what it meant. So, Jesus said again, “I assure you, I am the gate for the sheep. All those who came before me were thieves and robbers. The sheep did not listen to them.  I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will be able to come in and go out. They will find everything they need.  A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came to give life— a life that is full and good.

Here is what makes Christianity separate from all other religions- there is only one way to heaven, and that is through Jesus Christ.  Jesus explains why this is true.  “I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. The worker who is paid to keep the sheep is different from the shepherd. The paid worker does not own the sheep. So, when he sees a wolf coming, he runs away and leaves the sheep alone. Then the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. The man runs away because he is only a paid worker. He does not really care for the sheep.

He goes on to say, "I am the shepherd who cares for the sheep. I know my sheep just as the Father knows me. And my sheep know me just as I know the Father. I give my life for these sheep.  I have other sheep too. They are not in this flock here. I must lead them also. They will listen to my voice. In the future, there will be one flock and one shepherd.  The Father loves me because I give my life. I give my life so that I can get it back again.  No one takes my life away from me. I give my own life freely. I have the right to give my life, and I have the right to get it back again. This is what the Father told me.”

Salvation was not just for the Jews.  The door of salvation was opened to “whosoever will.”  But Jesus had the same problem with getting people to understand the truth. The Jews were divided over what Jesus was saying. Many of them said, “A demon has come into him and made him crazy. Why listen to him?”

These people had forgotten the prophecy of their beloved prophet Ezekiel, And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.  And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.

The message of Ezekiel is that the promises of the LORD are based on stipulations.  All the requirements can be summed up with this, Obey the commandments.  If we love the LORD, His commandments are not grievous.  When we keep the commandments, we are entitled to the promises.  When Judah thought the LORD would not allow the Temple to be destroyed because that is where He dwelled, they failed to realize that He had left the Temple, so it was no longer His dwelling place.

If you have forsaken the LORD and no longer keep His commandment, he no longer dwells within you.  He asks that you repent and return to the fold.  It is your responsibility to make that decision.

In the book of Luke chapter 15, Jesus tells three different stories one is about the lost sheep. He said, "Suppose one of you has 100 sheep, but one of them gets lost. What will you do? You will leave the other 99 sheep there in the field and go out and look for the lost sheep. You will continue to search for it until you find it.  And when you see it, you will be pleased. You will carry it home, go to your friends and neighbors and say to them, ‘Be happy with me because I found my lost sheep!

The next story He told, “Suppose a woman has ten silver coins, but she loses one of them. She will take a light and clean the house. She will look carefully for the coin until she finds it.  And when she finds it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say to them, ‘Be happy with me because I have found the coin that I lost!’

What I find interesting is Jesus talks about things that have monetary value, the sheep, and the coin.  The last story there is no monetary value placed on the loss of a person.

The last story is different because no one goes looking for the lost son. It was the son who had to realize his condition. The son realized that he had been very foolish. He thought, ‘All my father’s hired workers have plenty of food. But here I am, almost dead because I have nothing to eat.  I will leave and go to my father. I will say to him: Father, I have sinned against God and have done wrong to you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But let me be like one of your hired workers.  The father was waiting for him, the father was watching for him, but he did not go searching for him, but when he returned home the father welcomes him with great joy.

God the Father is waiting for you to come to your right mind and realize that He is watching for your return and will welcome you with open arms of forgiveness, but you must return to the father’s house.

If you know you are not in the care and comfort of the Father's house, you can just confess your sin and go to the Father.

The last eight chapters of Ezekiel contain a description of the restored state as envisioned by the prophet.  Just as the LORD is willing to rebuild a city or temple, He is ready to restore individuals.  Repent and come to the LORD.