Almost a year after his first vision, Ezekiel received a visit from Jewish elders who asked him for a word from God (20:1). At that meeting the Lord had enabled Ezekiel to speak. But the words were severe. The prophet had to tell them that in God's eyes they were living as stubborn rebels and spiritual adulterers destined for severe punishment (20-23).
Seven years later, another day dawned that Ezekiel would never forget. It was January 15, 588 BC - the day Nebuchadnezzar began his final siege of Jerusalem. It was also the day Ezekiel's wife died. In the morning, God had told the prophet He was going to take from him "the desire of his eyes." He also told Ezekiel not to mourn in the customary manner.
The text recording Ezekiel's loss is disturbingly stark. He simply wrote:
So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded. And the people said to me, "Will you not tell us what these things signify to us, that you behave so?" (24:18-19).
As the news spread, people came to share Ezekiel's grief, only to discover that the prophet was not mourning. They could hardly help but listen when he told them that his silent grief was a token of the stunned disbelief and pain they would feel when enemy armies destroyed Jerusalem, profaned the temple, and slaughtered their relatives who were still living there. The news would hurt them so deeply that they would, like Ezekiel, forgo the mourning ritual.
The Judgment Of Seven Enemies. As Nebuchadnezzar began his siege of Jerusalem, Ezekiel began to prophesy against Gentile nations who down through history have tried to take advantage of Israel's desolations. These prophecies show not only that the Lord can use godless governments to bring His people back to their senses, but that no nation should ever be proud of being given an upper hand over the nation of Israel.
In chapters 25-32 of Ezekiel, God promised to punish Israel's neighbors Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, Sidon, and Egypt to the degree that they had abused His people (25:3-4, 8-9, 12-13, 15-16; 26:2-3; 28:24; 29:6-9) and to the extent that they themselves were ripe for judgment.
The Amazing Prophecy Against Tyre. Tyre's destruction is described in vivid detail, and history records its fulfillment. As a prosperous maritime city-state of Phoenicia, Tyre was divided into two parts - a large, spreading metropolis on the Mediterranean coast, and an island settlement about a half mile from shore. Ezekiel depicted the judgment as taking place in stages. First the coastal city of Tyre would be attacked by nation after nation, until flattened by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar (26:1-11). Then another enemy, referred to simply as "they," would "lay your stones, your timber, and your soil in the midst of the water" (26:12).
This second part of the prophecy was fulfilled in detail when the forces of Alexander the Great conquered the island city. Alexander's manpower scraped the ruins of coastal Tyre into the sea and used the debris to build a causeway to the island. With the land bridge established, Tyre was easily taken. From that time on, Tyre never returned to her former glory as the commercial center of the world. It happened just as Ezekiel had prophesied!
In the prophecy against Tyre, there is another important dimension. In Ezekiel's pronouncements against the king of Tyre, the prophet saw a link between the pride of Tyre and the pride of Satan himself. Ezekiel used the link to give us some important information about the history of our spiritual enemy.
Ezekiel called the king of Tyre the "anointed cherub who covers" and said of him, "You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways . . . till iniquity was found in you" (28:14-15). Even if we acknowledge poetic license, we must see more here than reference to an earthly king. These words undoubtedly portray Satan, the invisible spiritual being whose character was seen in the pride of the king of Tyre (also Isa. 14:3-21).
SEEING GOD
* In the death of Ezekiel's wife, we see a God who gives and takes away.
* In the Lord's use of Ezekiel's loss, we see a God who understands our pleasures and our pain.
* In God's judgment on seven of Israel's enemies, we see One who is angered when we delight in or take advantage of the hardship of others.
* In the destruction of Tyre, we see the power of God to fulfill predictions that seem unlikely.
SEEING OURSELVES
* In the death of Ezekiel's wife, we see our own pain and vulnerability to loss.
* In the prophet's lack of mourning, we see our own pain that is sometimes too intense for us to express.
* In Israel's predicament, we see our own tendency to disbelieve what God is saying and to reject God's love until we find ourselves in circumstances that are too awful for us to believe.
* In the satanic character of the king of Tyre, we see how we at times can reflect the proud and self-absorbed character of God's spiritual enemy.
* In the enemies of Israel, we see our own tendency to take advantage of the weaknesses and misfortunes of others.
THE SELF-CENTERED SHEPHERDS OF ISRAEL
Ezekiel 34 begins with a stinging indictment of those shepherds of Israel who failed to feed their people. Rather than confronting Jerusalem with the seriousness of her sin, some of the shepherds embittered the people by their harshness and self-centeredness (34:4). Other shepherds merely told the people what they wanted to hear. They had been promising peace when war loomed, and deliverance when the people were ripe for judgment. So Ezekiel declared:
The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: "Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them"'" (34:1-6).
Many would lose homes, land, children, friends, and lives while the shepherds of Israel remained preoccupied with their own comforts. Generations of Israel were about to die without hope, yet the guards and watchmen of Israel "slept" on their watch.
By the time Ezekiel began to call people back to their God, their hearts were so desensitized by false prophets and their own sin that they would listen to Ezekiel the way one listens to a skilled musician. They would actually enjoy listening to his words, but they would not do anything to change (33:30-33).
THE RESTORATION OF EVIL
God would not cast off Israel forever. She was His nation. She bore His name, not just for herself but as a light to the nations. In time, God, for His own name's sake, for the good of the nations, and for the joy of a faithful remnant, would fulfill His promise to bring them back to their land. He would be the Good Shepherd of His scattered sheep.
This future restoration of Israel is the theme of Ezekiel 34. Beginning with the messages recorded in chapter 33 (spoken about the time of the Babylonian entry into Jerusalem), the remainder of the book focuses on Israel's future repentance and restoration.
In his beautiful "oracle to the mountains of Israel" (36:1-38), Ezekiel declared that God will not permit the nations that despised Israel when she was captured to retain the territory they captured (vv. 1-15). Even though He allowed Jerusalem to be broken and scattered for her sin, He will one day "sanctify" His great name through her. As an all-powerful Shepherd, He promised:
Say to the house of Israel, "Thus says the Lord God: 'I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,' says the Lord God, 'when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God'" (36:22-28).
The future restoration of Israel is assured not because Israel deserves mercy. The honor of God's name is at stake! He made promises to her which He must fulfill to be true to Himself.
The Valley Of Dry Bones (37:1-14). In one of the most well-known visions of Ezekiel, God showed the prophet a valley of bones and commanded him to prophesy to them. Ezekiel obeyed, and as he did, the bones came together with sinews, muscles, and skin to form lifeless bodies. When at God's command he prophesied to them again, they received breath and stood up as "an exceedingly great army" (v. 10).
The scattered bones symbolize the Jewish exiles in their seemingly hopeless state. The coming together of a lifeless body pictures the regathering of a nation prior to spiritual conversion - a condition true of the modern nation of Israel since its establishment by the United Nations in 1948. When God finally brings Israel "out of their graves" and establishes them in the kingdom of their Messiah, all the world will know that the God of Israel deserves worship, trust, love, and obedience.
The Two Sticks (37:15-28). The context makes it clear that the two sticks described in these verses predict the future uniting of the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel in their own land under a king of David's line.
These two sticks may indicate that the modern state of Israel will once again be divided before being united under the leadership of their Messiah. Or the two sticks "made one" might refer to a final healing of a people fractured since the division of the land in 940 BC. In any case, the people will once again be united under the God of Israel. Ezekiel declared:
Thus says the Lord God: "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. . . . Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God. David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. . . . I will be their God, and they shall be My people. The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore" (vv. 21-24,27-28).
SEEING GOD
* In Israel's Shepherd, we see the God who cares enough to come to our rescue.
* In the valley of the dry bones, we see how God leads us to Himself even before we cry out for spiritual life.
* In God's steadfast faithfulness to Israel, we see One who can be counted on to keep His promises.
SEEING OURSELVES
* In the failure of Israel's shepherds, we can see our tendency to be concerned primarily with our own interests.
* In Israel's fractured and scattered condition, we see our own need for the Good Shepherd.
* In Israel's history, we see our own condition of not deserving the help we desperately need.
THE WAR GOD WILL FIGHT FOR ISRAEL
Chapters 38 and 39 describe a confederacy of nations from the north. They come down to attack unsuspecting Israel before being destroyed by God's supernatural intervention. Various details in the account and varying views about the way to interpret prophecy, however, have given rise to much controversy about these chapters. Since this is an overview of the whole book, we will focus on the text itself and present several plausible interpretations that have been offered by capable Bible-believing scholars.
The Setting - in the "latter years" when Israel is in the land and is living "safely" (38:8).
The Invaders - Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Cush, Put, Gomer, Togarmah, Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish. These names appear in Genesis 10:2-7, but their specific relationship with modern nations is disputed. So is the idea that the word chief in verse 3 should be rendered "Rosh." And making it refer to modern Russia because of the similarity in sound is arguable. Dr. Ralph H. Alexander, after acknowledging the elements of uncertainty, writes, "It can be concluded that Gog is a person from the region of Magog . . . the prince . . . over the geographical areas, or countries, Meshech and Tubal. These land areas or countries appear to be located generally toward the south of the Black and Caspian Seas in the modern countries of Turkey, Russia, and Iran." The other names represent the allies of Gog when he makes his attack.
The Battle - The invading forces and the Israelites seem never to contact each other. A tremendous earthquake will throw the enemy soldiers into such panic that they will start killing one another. The Lord will pour down diseases that bring instant death, plus bloodshed, rain, hailstones, and burning sulphur (38:17-23). The armies are destroyed "on the mountains of Israel." Moreover, fire falls on the territory of Magog - on people far from the battlefield (39:3-6). God's supernatural involvement will be so obvious that the survivors will acknowledge His power (38:23; 39:7,21).
The Aftermath - The weapons left in the fields will provide fuel for the Israelites that will last 7 years. (Ezekiel depicted weapons with which he and his contemporaries were familiar. It is likely that they will be modern weaponry with today's fuel.) The dead bodies of the slain will provide food for hordes of scavengers - beasts and birds (39:17-20). Even so, the smell of decay will be oppressive (39:11), and the people will be occupied with burying the bones for more than 7 months (39:12-15). This devastation will be followed by millennial blessings (39:25-29).
The Eschatological Time - Four views are held by biblical scholars:
View 1: Near the midpoint of Daniel's 70th week. Israel will be enjoying security because of the protection afforded by the world ruler before he shows himself to be the Antichrist. But then he demands that he be worshiped, killing all who refuse. (See Dan. 9:24-27; Rev. 13:1-18.) In this view, the Israelites are attacked unexpectedly (as required by 38:8), but the period that follows - the great tribulation described in Revelation - will be so horrendous that it is difficult to envision people clearing the battlefield of war equipment and dead bodies as depicted in 39:9-20.
View 2: Near the close of Daniel's 70th week as part of the war of Armageddon described in Daniel 11:36-45; Zechariah 12,14; Revelation 14:14-20; 16:17-21; 19:11-21. Various excellent scholars take this position and manage in different ways to integrate the Scriptures listed above. But reading Ezekiel 38 and 39 gives the impression of an invading force that is destroyed before it meets enemy armies.
View 3: During the transition period between the destruction of the armies gathered at Megiddo at Christ's return, and His subjugation of the northern confederacy. In this scenario, the Beast and False Prophet are still free for a brief time after the great battle of Armageddon as depicted in Revelation 16:16-21 and 19:11-16. In this view, Revelation 19:17-21 does not refer to Armageddon, but to the battle depicted in Ezekiel 38 and 39. The regathered and converted Israelites are living safely because Messiah has returned. This position is strengthened by the fact that the "great supper" is common to both Ezekiel 39:17-20 and Revelation 19:17-19. Additionally, the time spent cleaning up the battlefield coincides nicely with the idea of a transitional period of preparation as the kingdom age begins.
View 4: At the close of the millennial kingdom, when Satan is released for a little while, gathers a following, and then makes one final and futile assault against God. In favor of this view are the facts that the Israelites will be living safely and that the words "Gog and Magog" appear in Revelation 20:7-10 as in Ezekiel 38:1-2 and 39:1-2. But one wonders why the Lord would have people spend so much time cleaning up the land when He is on the verge of purifying the whole planet by fire and bringing down the new heavens and earth as depicted in 2 Peter 3:10-13 and Revelation 20:11-21:27.
Most Bible students who are committed to the principle of literal interpretation will choose one of these four options.
FOUR VIEWS OF THE TIME OF EZEKIEL 38-39
The Day of God's Return
In 592 BC, Ezekiel had a vision in which he saw the glory cloud, the symbol of God's special presence, leave Jerusalem. Nineteen years later, in 573 BC, he had a vision in which he saw the Lord visibly return. Related to this return, he saw a new temple and tremendous topographical changes in the land.
The New Temple. The temple Ezekiel saw was quite different from the one built by Solomon. The prophet recorded its precise measurements (40-41), delineated the buildings associated with it (42), described the entrance of the glory cloud (43:1-12), depicted the great golden altar and the ceremony of cleansing by which it was dedicated (43:13-27), and stated God's regulations and ordinances for life and worship (44:4-46:24).
The sacrifices of this future temple will not be a return to the Mosaic ritual that foreshadowed Christ's sacrifice. Just as the Lord's Supper now commemorates His once-for-all sacrifice, so the temple sacrifices of the millennium will be reminders of what Jesus Christ did for us there. Those who object to the killing of animals in the millennium must remember that this is an earthly kingdom, not heaven.
The New Land. While the boundaries of the land will be similar to those of ancient Israel, it will be greatly changed. A river will flow out of the temple in ever-increasing volume toward the Dead Sea. It will be clear and filled with many varieties of fish - a fisherman's paradise. It will bring life and healing wherever it goes, even to the Dead Sea (47:1-12).
The New City. The new city will be square and have three gates on each side. In some respects, it will foreshadow the Holy City of Revelation 21. But it will have a temple (as noted earlier), while the eternal city will not need one, "for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple" (Rev. 21:22). However, because Jesus Christ is King and the glory cloud resides in the temple, the name of Jerusalem will be, "the lord is there" (Ezek. 48:35).
SEEING GOD
* The predicted invasion from the north shows a God who sees our problems long before we do.
* The power God uses to overwhelm and consume the coalition of invading armies shows the kind of power He can call on to defeat our enemies.
* The difficulty of knowing exactly when this battle will take place reminds us of our need to trust the only One who understands the times and seasons of our lives.
SEEING OURSELVES
* The coalition's hatred of Israel reminds us of how much our spiritual enemy hates us.
* The Lord's promise to occupy a future temple reminds us of our present privilege of being temples of the Holy Spirit.
GOD WITH US
The prophecy of Ezekiel begins with God displaying His power to a despondent young prophet living as a displaced person a long way from home. It closes 21 years later with this same prophet celebrating a glorious age when the presence of the Lord will ensure worldwide righteousness, justice, peace, and prosperity. This is how God often works - tears before joy, the cross before the empty tomb.
The good news is that the God who gave Ezekiel a glimpse of His glory can do the same for us. He may not give us a vision, but He can make His power and presence real to us. The Lord Jesus, who came to reveal the Father, to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, and to conquer death for us through His resurrection, promised, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Mt. 28:20). He is with us. And He will show Himself to us if we make obeying Him our highest priority. On the night before His crucifixion He said, "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love Him and manifest Myself to him" (Jn. 14:21).
The truth and power we see in Christ is the same truth and power that can be seen in the world around us. The God who captured Ezekiel's attention with a cloud of fire and wheels within wheels is the same God who in our day can use hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, fire, and famine to remind us of His power. He is the same Lord of the nations who may now be setting the stage for the return of His Son and the complete fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecies.
