Ezekiel 40 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Chapters 40-48 begin a new and final division in the book of Ezekiel in which the prophet receives a vision of a new temple (40-43), a new service of worship (44-46), and a new Promised Land (47-48).  Just as Moses was taken up on a high mountain by God and given the blueprints for the holy tabernacle in the book of Exodus, so now Ezekiel is given the dimensions…

Ezekiel 39 by Pastor Mark Hudson As mentioned in the comments on the previous chapter, it is difficult to identify who Gog and Meshach and Tubal are meant to signify.  We know the Ezekiel’s prophecies are not meant to be taken literally as we can see in the early chapters of this book.  Yet, we also know that they do have meaning and had to have meaning for the original audience.  I remember trying to…

Ezekiel 38 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Out of all of the apocalyptic passages in the Old Testament, Ezekiel chs. 38-39 have been discussed and debated more than any other. The mysterious figure of Gog and his homeland Magog have never been clearly identified in any historical account, which has led many interpreters throughout the years to identify this great enemy of God’s people as one of their contemporary threats. For instance, in the fourth century…

Ezekiel 37:1-14 by Pastor Mark Hudson This is some unusual preaching.  Preaching to dry, dead, bleached bones.  But there is an abundance of truth in this passage.  We will only look at vs. 1-14.  During Ezekiel’s time in Babylon after the exiles heard about the destruction of Jerusalem and God’s temple, they were saying, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off” (v. 11).  This is a dark,…

Ezekiel 36 by Pastor David Groendyk This last great section of Ezekiel, from chapter 33 to chapter 48, focuses primarily on God restoring his people from judgment and exile. Especially chapters 34–37 are all about renewal. The old shepherds are weeded out, and God himself will shepherd his people and place his Chosen One on the throne (ch. 34); the old covenant made with Judah will be made obsolete at the creation of a new…

Ezekiel 34 by Pastor Mark Hudson Ezekiel 34 spreads its tentacles backward and forward to Biblical literature touching all the significant figures in the Bible.  God is designated as the chief Shepherd (I Pt. 5:4) and God’s people are described as the sheep of God’s pasture (Ps. 74:1; 100:3).  For the ancient Near East, the metaphor of sheep and shepherding was well known.  You will notice 34:1-10        The removal of the corrupt monarch; 34:11-22…

Ezekiel 33 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Using the same analogy of a watchman standing guard over a city that was previously mentioned in the third chapter of Ezekiel, God once again compares the role of the prophet to a voice loudly crying out to warn the people of the real danger that they were in. If the prophet did his job faithfully and the people listened in faith then their lives would be spared, but…

Ezekiel 31 by Pastor David Groendyk In these last few chapters that contain oracles of judgment against Egypt, it’s interesting to notice that these oracles are not all being given at once. Chapter 31’s word against the Pharaoh is given to Ezekiel a couple of months after God announced that he’s broken one of Pharaoh’s arms already (Ezek. 30:20–21). Again, this chapter is directed at the Pharaoh, and it is bookended with the rhetorical question:…

Ezekiel 30 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Israel has shared a very peculiar history with Egypt over the years. If you remember, one of the ancient pharaoh’s was rather taken with Abraham’s wife Sarai when he thought that she was merely his sister, but when he took her into his palace, God afflicted him and his house with great plagues so that the Pharaoh actually exiled Abraham and his wife from Egypt. Later on, another Pharaoh…

Ezekiel 29 by Pastor Mark Hudson On one hand this is a prophecy about Egypt.  We would be correct if we learned all we could about Egypt and her relationship with Israel.  But these chapters Ez.29-32 is also about the major cities and small towns of this and every country.  The latter first. Our age, since Adam, is, “Don’t You tell me what to do.”  This is not just America, but every country everywhere and…

Ezekiel 28 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Bowlin In God’s judgment upon the nations, Ezekiel continues his prophecy against the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon on the Mediterranean coast for how they continually profited upon Israel’s demise. Having no love for their neighbors chosen by God and no fear of the God of all creation, they would pay dearly for selling their souls to the devil and getting into bed with the harlot of Babylon…

Ezekiel 27 by Pastor Mark Hudson This chapter is about the city of Tyre.  But more importantly about a life that does not honor God, is ostensibly on top of the world and yet this same person’s life changes quickly and dramatically.  Tyre is being used to illustrate that larger point.  Tyre is in the northern part of Israel.  This is one of the foreign countries that Ezekiel rebukes in chapters 24 - 32.  This…

Ezekiel 26 by Pastor David Groendyk Ezekiel 25–32 is a large section containing oracles of judgment against different nations around Israel and Judah. The previous chapter listed four nations in quick succession, but chapters 26–28 are almost solely about Tyre. Why is that? Why are there almost three chapters dedicated to Tyre? Only Egypt has a longer judgment oracle than them. It’s been pointed out that, of all the nations listed in chapters 25–32, only…

Ezekiel 25 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence This chapter stands at the beginning of a third major section in the book of Ezekiel (chs. 25-32). Although judgment has begun at the house of God, now God’s people will hear something about God’s judgment on their enemies as well, for Ezekiel is given seven prophecies against the pagan nations surrounding Israel: Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, Sidon and Egypt. And in each of these prophecies, the Lord…

Ezekiel 24 by Pastor Mark Hudson Can you imagine what the prophets of the Old Testament had to endure?  Today chapter 24 covers the death of Ezekiel’s wife.  This is a heart wrenching account.  But first, we read of a tragic loss to the nation of Israel.  In chapter 11:3, Israel did not think she had anything to fear.  We will be taken care of.  We are choice cuts of meat.  God will preserve us. …

Ezekiel 23 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Similar to the passage in Ezekiel chapter sixteen, once again the Lord uses a sexually explicit metaphor to describe the spiritual unfaithfulness of God’s people that leads them to break their covenant with the Lord. This time he describes Israel and Judah as two lewd sisters who play the whore on a number of occasions in search of security and prosperity from the surrounding nations. He refers to Israel…

Ezekiel 22 by  Pastor Mark Hudson Chapter 22 is a rather brutal piece of literature.  Sometimes one wonders if these people are believers at all.  Has it reached a point where they are no longer or should no longer be called God’s people?  You will discover three prophetic units in vs. 1-16, 17-22; 23-31.   You will notice that each of the ten commandments are violated No other gods before Me – idols in v. 3,…

Ezekiel 20 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Contrary to the man-made proverb found in chapter eighteen that Israel had coined in which they accused God of unfairly condemning the contemporary generation for the sins of previous generations, now the Lord lays out the case against Ezekiel’s contemporaries for following the same wicked practices that their fathers, grand fathers and even great-great grandfathers had kept particularly in reference to their idolatry. Thus just as the Israelites had…

Ezekiel 19 by Pastor Mark Hudson This chapter is similar to chapter 17.  In fact, some think chapter 18 was inserted later since the two chapter feel the same.  17 is a parable or riddle while 19 is a lament and had a rhythm the Jews were familiar with when it came to laments.  This is one of those chapters that is not easy to understand.  Some sections of the Bible are rather easy to…

Ezekiel 18 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Not all proverbs that are found in Scripture are true and authoritative for the people of God, for some of them were actually coined by wicked men rather than inspired by the Lord. Previously, in chapter twelve of Ezekiel the Lord had confronted one of these so-called proverbs by some of the men in Israel that cast doubt upon the Word of God. There were some who were saying,…

Ezekiel 17 by Pastor Mark Hudson Here is a brief outline of this chapter about 2 eagles and a vine.  This was told to the people in Babylon before this happened.  This chapter concerns the exile of 587/6.  What happened was recorded in the II Kings 24, II Chr 36, Jer. 39, 52. First Jehoiachin goes to Babylon and then Zedekiah attempts to rebel against Babylon by trying to switch allegiance to Egypt.  It looked…