Ezekiel Goes Through the Wall

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:06.960 Ezekiel, twelve versus one through twenty. The word of the Lord came to 2 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:10.910 me. Son Of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, 3 00:00:12.070 --> 00:00:15.630 who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to 4 00:00:15.710 --> 00:00:20.589 hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house. As for 5 00:00:20.750 --> 00:00:25.460 you, son of man, prepare for yourself an exile's baggage and go into 6 00:00:25.500 --> 00:00:30.219 exile by day. In their sight. You shall go like an exile from 7 00:00:30.260 --> 00:00:34.780 your place to another place. In their sight. Perhaps they will understand, 8 00:00:35.420 --> 00:00:40.090 though they are a rebellious house. You shall bring out your baggage by day 9 00:00:40.210 --> 00:00:43.770 in their sight, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself 10 00:00:43.850 --> 00:00:48.170 at evening in their sight, as those do who must go into exile. 11 00:00:49.450 --> 00:00:53.600 In their sight, dig through the wall and bring your baggage out through it. 12 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:57.280 In their sight, you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder and carry 13 00:00:57.280 --> 00:01:00.560 it out at dusk. You shall cover your face that you may not see 14 00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:04.870 the land. For I have made you a sign for the House of Israel, 15 00:01:07.230 --> 00:01:10.230 and I did as I was commanded. I brought out my baggage by 16 00:01:10.230 --> 00:01:12.909 day as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall 17 00:01:14.030 --> 00:01:18.069 with my own hands. I brought out my baggage at dusk, carrying it 18 00:01:18.189 --> 00:01:21.700 on my shoulder in their sight. In the morning, the word of the 19 00:01:21.780 --> 00:01:25.980 Lord came to me. Son of man. Has not the house of Israel, 20 00:01:26.019 --> 00:01:30.099 the rebellious house, said to you, what are you doing? Say 21 00:01:30.219 --> 00:01:34.810 to them, thus says the Lord Yahway. This oracle concerns the prince in 22 00:01:34.849 --> 00:01:40.090 Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel who are in it say, I 23 00:01:40.250 --> 00:01:42.489 am a sign for you, as I have done. So shall it be 24 00:01:42.609 --> 00:01:48.519 done to them? They shall go into exile, into captivity, and the 25 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:52.400 Prince, who is among them, shall lift his baggage upon his shoulder at 26 00:01:52.400 --> 00:01:56.599 dusk and shall go out. They shall dig through the wall to bring him 27 00:01:56.599 --> 00:02:00.400 out. Through it, he shall cover his face that he may not see 28 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:04.189 the land with his eyes, and I will spread my net over him and 29 00:02:04.709 --> 00:02:07.550 he shall be taken in my snare and I will bring him to Babylon, 30 00:02:07.870 --> 00:02:13.069 the land of the Chaldeans. Yet he shall not see it and he shall 31 00:02:13.189 --> 00:02:16.500 die there, and I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him, 32 00:02:16.819 --> 00:02:21.580 his helpers and all his troops, and I will unsheathe the sword after 33 00:02:21.659 --> 00:02:27.939 them and they shall know that I am Yahway when I disperse them among the 34 00:02:27.979 --> 00:02:30.689 nations and scatter them among the countries. But I will let a few of 35 00:02:30.770 --> 00:02:36.250 them escape the sword from famine and pestilence, that they may declare all their 36 00:02:36.289 --> 00:02:42.889 abominations among the nations where they go and may know that I am Yahway and 37 00:02:43.009 --> 00:02:45.759 the word of Yaway came to me. Son Of man, eat your bread 38 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:51.520 with quaking and drink your water with trembling and and with anxiety, and say 39 00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:54.879 to the people of the land, thus says the Lord Yahway, concerning the 40 00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:59.909 inhabitants of Jerusalem and the land of Israel. They shall eat their bread with 41 00:03:00.030 --> 00:03:04.590 anxiety and drink water in dismay. In this way, her land will be 42 00:03:04.710 --> 00:03:07.830 stripped of all it contains on account of the violence of all who dwell in 43 00:03:07.870 --> 00:03:13.099 it, and the inhabited city shall be laid waste and the land shall become 44 00:03:13.139 --> 00:03:19.180 a desolation, and you shall know that I am yeah sends the Reading of 45 00:03:19.259 --> 00:03:45.800 God's word. May bless it to us. Please be seated. Psalm Ninety 46 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:53.159 seven that we just read and sang speaks about the idols of the world, 47 00:03:53.439 --> 00:04:00.949 speaks about those who boast in worthless idols and it says that all these worshipers 48 00:04:01.030 --> 00:04:09.150 of images are put to shame. The things in which they trust and the 49 00:04:09.469 --> 00:04:12.740 demons, we would say from the scriptures, that are behind these idols, 50 00:04:13.740 --> 00:04:17.899 are nothing. They are treated as gods, but gods they are not. 51 00:04:19.060 --> 00:04:26.410 Worship Him all you gods, we could put in quotes. Perhaps this is 52 00:04:26.449 --> 00:04:32.009 a similar way to what the Lord does when he brings his people out of 53 00:04:32.209 --> 00:04:39.560 Egypt. On the Egyptians, Pharaoh, this great king over these people, 54 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:44.759 worship these false gods, many of them, a pantheon of them. And 55 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:48.279 the people of Israel in some ways had come to had succumbed to that, 56 00:04:49.240 --> 00:04:56.629 had wondered what had happened to the promises, and they cried out to God, 57 00:04:56.750 --> 00:05:00.870 but in some ways one of many gods. But God made himself known, 58 00:05:00.029 --> 00:05:04.629 much as he does here in the judgment of his own people. He 59 00:05:06.980 --> 00:05:12.459 Meets Moses in the Wilderness and Moses shall says, who shall I tell? 60 00:05:14.220 --> 00:05:16.139 WHO Shall I tell Pharaoh that you are? What name Shall I give him? 61 00:05:16.139 --> 00:05:20.769 Which God are you? And he gives him this name, the Awen. 62 00:05:20.850 --> 00:05:28.410 He says I am that I am. He says in this name he 63 00:05:28.649 --> 00:05:32.329 is the Covenant Keeper over Israel, that he is the one who is and 64 00:05:32.490 --> 00:05:38.920 always will be, that he is the one who will crush every other supposed 65 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:44.000 power, and crush them he does, one after another. In Egypt, 66 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:48.600 he brings to desolation all of their hopes and all of their gods, ending 67 00:05:50.069 --> 00:05:58.629 with darkness, ending and and death, as the angel of the Lord passes 68 00:05:58.750 --> 00:06:03.899 over all of all of the people and animals of Egypt, losing the firstborn 69 00:06:04.100 --> 00:06:10.819 of each household, including Pharaoh's own home. Raw, the Great Sun God, 70 00:06:11.019 --> 00:06:18.889 was not able to save him. Ra was powerless, useless, darkened 71 00:06:19.490 --> 00:06:28.370 by God, the one True God himself, Yahweh, brings his people out, 72 00:06:28.610 --> 00:06:31.610 and he brings them out for a very specific reason, so that they 73 00:06:31.810 --> 00:06:35.920 may worship him, so that he would establish them in a Holy Land, 74 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:42.360 a holy place in which his name would dwell. These are the ways that 75 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:46.000 he describes his covenant to his people, these are the ways in which he 76 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:50.750 teaches them about himself and promises himself in this way, he would establish them 77 00:06:50.790 --> 00:06:56.509 in his land and he would dwell with them and they would dwell with him, 78 00:06:58.149 --> 00:07:02.699 provided that they did not turn after the false gods from which they just 79 00:07:02.899 --> 00:07:08.899 came and from which all the Canaanites who were previous, that last previously in 80 00:07:08.980 --> 00:07:12.980 that land, had just been expelled. The bales and the ASTRAS and all 81 00:07:13.060 --> 00:07:17.610 the rest. None of it. No MOLECHS, no dagons. They were 82 00:07:17.689 --> 00:07:21.930 all to be put aside. The land was going to be made holy by 83 00:07:21.970 --> 00:07:30.439 the very presence of the Lord and by Sword and Holy War. The land 84 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:36.720 was made clean and the people entered and they made a covenant. God made 85 00:07:36.759 --> 00:07:43.600 a covenant with him and he said, keep my law, keep in obedience 86 00:07:43.720 --> 00:07:47.470 to me, do not worship the false gods, love one another and live 87 00:07:47.589 --> 00:07:55.670 in peace and I will dwell with you. Was We come to Ezekiel, 88 00:07:56.790 --> 00:08:01.060 we find that the people of God did not fulfill the Covenant, that the 89 00:08:01.180 --> 00:08:07.699 people of God failed miserably and previously. This was many months ago and for 90 00:08:07.819 --> 00:08:11.540 those of you who have been with us and the previous chapters that we lasted 91 00:08:13.490 --> 00:08:18.250 and quite a while back now, we read how Ezekiel was taken up in 92 00:08:18.290 --> 00:08:22.370 a vision of the Lord to see the temple. He started at the North 93 00:08:22.449 --> 00:08:26.529 Gate and then, as he worked his way into the temple, he saw 94 00:08:26.569 --> 00:08:33.279 abomination after abomination after abomination that the people of Israel, the priests of Israel, 95 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:39.200 had been bringing in idols into the very temple of God. Can you 96 00:08:39.320 --> 00:08:43.950 imagine it? And this is what he sees there, priests and others saying 97 00:08:45.669 --> 00:08:50.429 God will not see, God will not care, in the very place in 98 00:08:50.590 --> 00:08:56.820 which God dwelled. Can you imagine people coming into your own home, taking 99 00:08:56.899 --> 00:09:03.179 drinks out of the refrigerator, cooking some food, setting things up? You'll 100 00:09:03.340 --> 00:09:05.899 sleeping in your bed and you wake up, he's say, what are you 101 00:09:05.019 --> 00:09:09.370 doing? Oh Board, I didn't think you'd notice. Well, God does 102 00:09:09.570 --> 00:09:16.169 notice, God does see what is happening and he brings hit and he brings 103 00:09:16.330 --> 00:09:20.289 this to the attention of these people who have eyes but don't see, who 104 00:09:20.330 --> 00:09:22.809 have ears but don't hear, and he does. He's doing it through this 105 00:09:22.970 --> 00:09:28.480 prophet, Ezekiel. If we come into is it, we come to chapter 106 00:09:28.600 --> 00:09:33.639 twelve and is Ekiel with no understanding of this covenant that has been made, 107 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:37.799 it's a little bit confusing. It's like coming into the middle of the fight 108 00:09:37.960 --> 00:09:41.110 and this person takes a swing and that person takes a swing and you're not 109 00:09:41.190 --> 00:09:46.389 really sure what's going on. But I when we hear this background, when 110 00:09:46.429 --> 00:09:52.309 we hear what exactly is going in is God, this Great Covenant Keeper is 111 00:09:52.429 --> 00:09:56.539 Coming Through His Servant to prosecute this covenant. We see now what is happening, 112 00:09:56.580 --> 00:10:01.379 and he tells us as well, he has been telling us in previous 113 00:10:01.419 --> 00:10:07.409 chapters, and he will continue to elucidate and impress on the people and us 114 00:10:07.850 --> 00:10:15.730 what has gone so wrong. This teaches us that the punishments that are happening 115 00:10:15.970 --> 00:10:20.370 here, the snare that he lays for his people, these are not random. 116 00:10:20.169 --> 00:10:24.240 This is not God just being mean, wake up on the wrong side 117 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:30.159 of the bed like some kind of Greek God. Now, this is Yaw 118 00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:35.389 way, being fair, being just bringing down the curses of the covenant that 119 00:10:35.549 --> 00:10:43.350 they said themselves that they would bear. The punishments are tied to the Covenant 120 00:10:43.470 --> 00:10:50.220 and God that they promised to keep. One of the ways, one of 121 00:10:50.259 --> 00:10:56.059 the specific ways in which this is happening has to do with blood, this 122 00:10:56.379 --> 00:11:03.980 scattering to the nation's this this taking the people out of exile and scattering thing 123 00:11:03.019 --> 00:11:09.049 nolls. So this was this was warned because of the blood that polluted the 124 00:11:09.090 --> 00:11:16.169 land, not in a physical way but in a spiritual way. In numbers 125 00:11:16.289 --> 00:11:22.279 thirty five and Deuteronomy Nineteen and Deuteronomy Twenty one, we read that these people 126 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:26.679 were called to dwell in a holy place, in a Holy Land, and 127 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:35.669 so to murder someone, to commit this Great Evil and act against love and 128 00:11:35.750 --> 00:11:37.710 act against God and, of course, neighbor and the people of God, 129 00:11:39.190 --> 00:11:43.750 when the whole land was all about life, was a great sin and that 130 00:11:43.990 --> 00:11:50.539 murder had to be atoned for by the death of the murderer. Is Deuteronomy 131 00:11:50.860 --> 00:11:54.700 nineteen nine says less innocent, or I'm sorry, not dude to my during 132 00:11:54.740 --> 00:11:58.580 one thousand nine hundred and twenty one, your eye shall not pity, it 133 00:11:58.740 --> 00:12:03.330 shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand 134 00:12:03.490 --> 00:12:07.370 for hand, foot for foot for foot. There's a principle of fairness. 135 00:12:09.250 --> 00:12:13.450 God was not going to let a murder just go unpunished, but it was 136 00:12:13.570 --> 00:12:18.480 important that that land, so the bland, could not be should must not 137 00:12:18.600 --> 00:12:24.080 be, polluted by murderous blood. This was so important that God set up 138 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:28.399 cities of refuge in the land, cities which people could flee to if they 139 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:33.470 accidentally killed someone. So let's say you you're chopping would I think this is 140 00:12:33.549 --> 00:12:37.389 one of the examples given in the scripture, and the acts had flies off 141 00:12:37.509 --> 00:12:43.830 the handle, strikes to your neighbor and he dies. Well, not your 142 00:12:43.190 --> 00:12:48.059 your his family, perhaps, not knowing all this scenario, might go out 143 00:12:48.139 --> 00:12:54.340 to avenge his death, to put you to death for this murder when it 144 00:12:54.539 --> 00:12:58.460 wasn't your intention to murder. So what does the scripture say that you do 145 00:12:58.610 --> 00:13:03.570 in that situation? Although it says you run. You run as fast as 146 00:13:03.610 --> 00:13:09.129 you can to a city of refuge that God had provided throughout the land, 147 00:13:09.169 --> 00:13:13.840 and in this city of refuge you are supposed to stay there until the priest 148 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:18.320 died, the high priest died, and then you could come and return to 149 00:13:18.440 --> 00:13:24.559 your land. The danger, of course, was that nothing would be done 150 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:30.389 about the the the the the accidental, I'm killing of the person. But 151 00:13:30.509 --> 00:13:35.629 also the danger was that that a murder, another a death would occur, 152 00:13:35.710 --> 00:13:39.669 and this one a murder of you, the one who accidentally did this thing. 153 00:13:39.710 --> 00:13:43.100 And so I say all this just to say you see the intricate ways 154 00:13:43.139 --> 00:13:46.980 in which God was protecting the land, and he talks about it in this 155 00:13:48.139 --> 00:13:52.259 way. So, for example, in numbers than seventeen, the murderer shall 156 00:13:52.299 --> 00:13:56.450 be put to death. Manslayers, however, to leave the cities for refuge 157 00:13:56.490 --> 00:14:00.850 and wait until the death of the high priest and deteronomy. Nineteen nine says, 158 00:14:00.850 --> 00:14:03.929 lest innocent blood be shed in your land, that the Lord, your 159 00:14:03.970 --> 00:14:09.009 God, is giving you for an inheritance, and so the guilt of bloodshed 160 00:14:09.529 --> 00:14:13.600 be upon you. Numbers thirty five. Thirty three says you shall not pollute 161 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:18.399 the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the 162 00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:20.519 blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the blood who, 163 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:24.110 except by the blood of the one who shed it. You shall not 164 00:14:24.429 --> 00:14:28.830 defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, 165 00:14:28.269 --> 00:14:31.909 for I, the Lord, dwell in the midst of the people of 166 00:14:33.070 --> 00:14:41.100 Israel. So what happens when the land is polluted? Ezekiel will later describe 167 00:14:41.740 --> 00:14:46.940 this city is a city of blood. I'm here and in other places. 168 00:14:46.980 --> 00:14:50.059 He talks about the rebelliousness of this house. Earlier, we've read about how 169 00:14:50.100 --> 00:14:56.250 the city is full of murder. These people are not only committing idolatry, 170 00:14:56.370 --> 00:15:01.049 but they are their sinning against one another in these horrible ways, even child 171 00:15:01.169 --> 00:15:05.850 sacrifice. Innocent blood is being shed everywhere, and often in the name of 172 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:13.840 worshiping false gods. It really doesn't get all lot worse than that. So 173 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:20.870 now what? The land has soaked with innocent blood, this holy land in 174 00:15:22.029 --> 00:15:26.590 which God was to dwell in life and enjoy and in peace with his people. 175 00:15:28.669 --> 00:15:31.309 Well, the promise back and was a Leviticus. Twenty six, thirty 176 00:15:31.350 --> 00:15:37.179 three and thirty four was this. And I will scatter you among the nations 177 00:15:37.419 --> 00:15:41.500 and I will unsheathe the sword after you, and your land shall become a 178 00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:48.299 desolation and your cities shall be a waste. Then the land shall enjoy its 179 00:15:48.379 --> 00:15:52.570 sabbaths as long as it lies desolate while you are in your enemy's land. 180 00:15:54.289 --> 00:16:00.529 Then the land shall rest and enjoy it's sabbaths. It's like, sort of 181 00:16:00.690 --> 00:16:07.559 like remember when Cain murdered Abel and the and his blood cried out right for 182 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:12.720 justice. The land here, the ground, this blood is crying out, 183 00:16:14.799 --> 00:16:19.230 this innocent blood is crying out for justice. The land soaked in blood needs 184 00:16:19.389 --> 00:16:26.870 its asked. Why? Because it's Holy Land. Why is it Holy Land? 185 00:16:26.669 --> 00:16:32.750 Because this is where the Lord dwells. This teaches us about the Lord 186 00:16:32.750 --> 00:16:37.100 and about the place in which he puts his people. As we think about 187 00:16:37.179 --> 00:16:42.220 Heaven, heaven will not be like this when we are ushered into the new 188 00:16:42.379 --> 00:16:45.860 heavens and the new earth, when we are resurrected from the dead. We 189 00:16:45.940 --> 00:16:52.610 are not going to come into a land which is dripping with blood and murder 190 00:16:52.049 --> 00:16:56.970 and idolatry everywhere. With the Lord will bring us into when he consummates his 191 00:16:57.090 --> 00:17:03.399 kingdom is a land of holiness, of true peace and true rest, where 192 00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:11.160 there is righteousness and only righteousness. Everywhere he talks about the land is a 193 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:15.789 land that needs rest. It was not given rest by the people, and 194 00:17:17.190 --> 00:17:21.990 so get the people out, get them out of there. They were no 195 00:17:22.190 --> 00:17:26.549 longer in a position to enjoy that land, to enjoy that place and enjoy 196 00:17:26.710 --> 00:17:32.019 that peace with God. And so what we saw in chapter eleven is, 197 00:17:32.420 --> 00:17:37.660 as Ezekiel goes into the temple, the Lord leaves the temple. You remember 198 00:17:37.740 --> 00:17:41.859 that the the glory of the Lord Lifts up out of the temple and exits 199 00:17:42.500 --> 00:17:49.170 the building in the city and he goes outside. In some ways, I 200 00:17:49.250 --> 00:17:53.529 wonder if this might have been both a scary and terrifying for the thing, 201 00:17:53.650 --> 00:17:59.680 for the Israelites, but maybe a reminder two to the exiles and those who 202 00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:04.079 were cast out. The God was present everywhere. I'm not just in the 203 00:18:04.119 --> 00:18:11.640 land at this time that Ezekiel is riding. Remember that Daniel was already in 204 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:15.470 Babylon, part of the first captives that were led out, and they are 205 00:18:15.549 --> 00:18:22.789 Daniel is facing similar challenges of idolatry in these sites of things. It's an 206 00:18:22.829 --> 00:18:26.589 interesting thing to think about when we think about the psalm that we read earlier. 207 00:18:26.500 --> 00:18:30.980 Want you to turn with me there for a moment. This is psalm, 208 00:18:30.980 --> 00:18:45.569 Psalm forty six. The question to think about is we've turned back to 209 00:18:45.690 --> 00:18:51.609 this psalm. Question I'd like you to think about is, could you sing 210 00:18:51.890 --> 00:18:56.759 this song as you are being led into exile, after the glory of the 211 00:18:56.920 --> 00:19:03.519 Lord has left his temple and the Babylonians are coming in to destroy the temple, 212 00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:11.390 burn it to the ground, destroyers city, kill the people and just 213 00:19:11.509 --> 00:19:15.990 the whole thing crumbles down? Could at that moment you sing God is our 214 00:19:17.029 --> 00:19:21.190 refuge and our strength the very present hell up and trouble. Therefore, we 215 00:19:21.309 --> 00:19:23.740 will not fear, though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved 216 00:19:23.819 --> 00:19:29.299 into the heart of the sea, though the waters roar and foam, though 217 00:19:29.339 --> 00:19:34.740 the mountains tremble at its swelling, could you sing that, as God himself 218 00:19:34.900 --> 00:19:44.009 says, I lay for you a snare? That might be tough, because 219 00:19:44.049 --> 00:19:47.730 if God is laying for you a snare, how is he also your refuge, 220 00:19:47.769 --> 00:19:59.200 in your help? This passage speaks of judgment. God teaches us, 221 00:19:59.359 --> 00:20:04.640 teaches them that and this as well, through this sign of Ezekiel. What 222 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:11.829 is Ezekiel's sign? Ezekiel's sign is to pack a bag as as though he 223 00:20:11.950 --> 00:20:15.789 were leaving for exile, and to do it in broadly daylight, in the 224 00:20:15.869 --> 00:20:18.150 sight of all the people. That's a phrase that came up a lot. 225 00:20:18.230 --> 00:20:19.509 Right in the sight of all the people, in the side of all the 226 00:20:19.549 --> 00:20:23.460 people. He's to put on a show, not to entertain but to teach, 227 00:20:25.460 --> 00:20:27.700 and in broad daylight he's going to take he's going to put together this 228 00:20:27.819 --> 00:20:33.099 bag and then, when night comes, that not the the darkness of Judgment 229 00:20:33.299 --> 00:20:37.529 and foreboding gloom. As night draws down, he is then to dig through 230 00:20:37.650 --> 00:20:42.450 the wall with his hands, crawl through the wall. And then, when 231 00:20:42.490 --> 00:20:48.369 the people say, what are you doing? Why the bag and the wall 232 00:20:48.849 --> 00:20:52.480 and all of this, he tells them, he tells them that this is 233 00:20:52.680 --> 00:20:56.759 a sign of judgment. It is as Ian do good one. Commentators calls 234 00:20:56.799 --> 00:21:03.319 it an anti exodus. Instead of the people, I'm being brought into out 235 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:07.789 of Egypt and into Jerusalem or into the Holy Land. They are being brought 236 00:21:07.869 --> 00:21:11.430 out of the Holy Land, they are leaving, and they are to do 237 00:21:11.549 --> 00:21:17.430 so with another sign, as he gives, of eating and drinking, with 238 00:21:17.710 --> 00:21:22.019 trembling and anxiety. He gives this other sign where he eats and he he 239 00:21:22.460 --> 00:21:26.099 drinks, and he does this with trembling and anxiety for all that is about 240 00:21:26.619 --> 00:21:30.140 to befall them. They are to look at this prophet and they are to 241 00:21:30.180 --> 00:21:36.569 see these things that he's doing and to see what is coming. In this 242 00:21:36.809 --> 00:21:40.529 sign, in this sign of judgment, is as a message, filled with 243 00:21:40.609 --> 00:21:45.250 the authority of God, of what will be done. Prophecized specifically about the 244 00:21:45.329 --> 00:21:48.440 Prince of the people, which we later learn is Zedekiah, who will be 245 00:21:48.519 --> 00:21:52.400 taken into exile. It says he will go out of this a whole, 246 00:21:52.599 --> 00:21:56.119 out of exile, and he he won't be able to see the land anymore. 247 00:21:57.400 --> 00:22:03.750 There's no looking back, there's no way to sort of wish for home. 248 00:22:03.109 --> 00:22:06.470 You won't be able to see any more and you will die in the 249 00:22:06.509 --> 00:22:10.710 land into which you are being taken. And indeed this prophecy comes true. 250 00:22:10.750 --> 00:22:18.099 And Second Kings Twenty five seven, we read that Babylon blinded King Zedekiah when 251 00:22:18.140 --> 00:22:22.900 they took him into exile. This is no accident. This is a trap 252 00:22:23.220 --> 00:22:27.779 set by the Lord himself, a scattering to the nations to give the land 253 00:22:29.700 --> 00:22:37.089 rests. Is there any hope, though? Is there any way in which 254 00:22:37.170 --> 00:22:41.210 one could sing psalm forty six or other similar songs at this particular time? 255 00:22:41.329 --> 00:22:49.519 And I want to tell you that there is. There is. For one 256 00:22:49.640 --> 00:22:55.799 reason, we don't have it here exactly in Ezekiel twelve, but it comes 257 00:22:55.880 --> 00:23:00.349 later. There will be much more judgment and signs of judgment. That's talked 258 00:23:00.349 --> 00:23:02.950 about it. But as we come to the end of Ezekiel, we read 259 00:23:03.029 --> 00:23:10.309 that Ezekiel gain and sees a vision of something different, a temple with the 260 00:23:10.349 --> 00:23:17.819 river of God flowing from it, trees of every kind and people whose hearts 261 00:23:17.900 --> 00:23:22.819 are changed. God gives to them ears to hear and eyes to see in 262 00:23:22.940 --> 00:23:29.049 hearts that are no longer stony. God promises to them by this Prophet later 263 00:23:29.210 --> 00:23:33.529 on in the book, he promises them a great hope, and even they 264 00:23:33.569 --> 00:23:37.690 have a taste of it here in Ezekiel twelve when he says I'm not going 265 00:23:37.849 --> 00:23:42.440 to put every one to judgment. There will be a remnant and the nations 266 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:47.720 will see and they will know, and these people will proclaim the things that 267 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:52.440 they have done. I'm doing these things, that you will know that I 268 00:23:52.839 --> 00:23:57.950 am Yaha, that I'm the one who brought you out of Egypt, I 269 00:23:59.069 --> 00:24:02.789 am the one who set down this law and I am the one who will 270 00:24:02.829 --> 00:24:07.950 bring my promises to fulfill them. In mentioning that, it's right to remember 271 00:24:08.109 --> 00:24:12.180 that the reason that they are there is because of prior promises that have been 272 00:24:12.259 --> 00:24:19.619 made, promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, promises to David that there 273 00:24:19.619 --> 00:24:26.089 would be a kingdom that would last forever. Promise is that God will fulfill 274 00:24:26.970 --> 00:24:30.450 has promised to fulfill, and it's in light of those promises that these people 275 00:24:30.609 --> 00:24:36.809 could sing. God is our refuge and strength. It's the reason that Daniel, 276 00:24:37.170 --> 00:24:42.240 even though he is in Babylon, seeing the the country as seeing God's 277 00:24:42.599 --> 00:24:48.559 kingdom, is earthly kingdom here falling all down, can still pray to Yah 278 00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:52.670 way and trust him to protect him. It's the reason that shadrach and Meshach 279 00:24:52.710 --> 00:24:57.710 and Abendigo, these other exiles in the land of Babylon, after all of 280 00:24:57.789 --> 00:25:02.150 this has fallen apart, can say, no, we are not worshiping a 281 00:25:03.309 --> 00:25:08.019 false God. Yes, we are willing to go to our deaths because they 282 00:25:08.059 --> 00:25:11.700 knew God would be their refuge and strength, because they knew that he is 283 00:25:11.819 --> 00:25:18.900 trustworthy. He's trustworthy to pursue and prosecute his judgment and he's trustworthy to bring 284 00:25:18.940 --> 00:25:25.450 about salvation for all who put their faith and trust in him. Well, 285 00:25:25.490 --> 00:25:30.890 if Israelites like Daniel and Shadrach and Meshach and a Bendego and and is Zekiel 286 00:25:30.049 --> 00:25:37.160 could perhaps sing a song like this, surely we can. Surely we can, 287 00:25:37.400 --> 00:25:41.519 knowing not only the promises of old but the promises that been have been 288 00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:49.910 fulfilled in Jesus Christ. These judgments that are pictured here are judgments that point 289 00:25:49.950 --> 00:25:57.710 us to the final judgment that will come, but also a salvation that will 290 00:25:57.710 --> 00:26:00.269 come for all who put their trust in the Lord. How do we know 291 00:26:00.430 --> 00:26:04.940 this? Well, we know it from the Old Testament and we know it 292 00:26:06.019 --> 00:26:11.460 from the new as well, because in the New Testament there were words and 293 00:26:11.740 --> 00:26:17.339 signs of a prophet even greater than Ezekiel, as amazing as this man was. 294 00:26:18.339 --> 00:26:22.089 In fact, this prophet to come, I'm speaking of Jesus, was 295 00:26:22.170 --> 00:26:27.250 even greater than Moses, one who spoke with God face to face, but 296 00:26:27.329 --> 00:26:32.920 who did not, however, dwell with God from the all beginning and before 297 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:37.640 the beginning. And one reason we know that Jesus is an even greater than 298 00:26:37.720 --> 00:26:42.119 prophet than Ezekiel, that we can put our trust in him and in God 299 00:26:42.279 --> 00:26:48.750 and fulfilling all these promises, is that we in Jesus is prophetic work. 300 00:26:48.829 --> 00:26:55.230 He not only tells us of God's Works and plans, but he actually brings 301 00:26:55.309 --> 00:27:02.299 about the fulfillment itself. Thing about this Jesus didn't just act out the raising 302 00:27:02.380 --> 00:27:07.220 of the dead to point to the resurrection. He actually brought the dead to 303 00:27:07.339 --> 00:27:14.339 life and rose from the dead. Jesus didn't just act out healings to show 304 00:27:14.500 --> 00:27:21.210 the healing of the nations. He actually healed people both inside and outside of 305 00:27:21.450 --> 00:27:26.730 Israel. He didn't just exhibit things about the Kingdom of God and the coming 306 00:27:26.809 --> 00:27:30.920 of Kingdom of God, he was the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God and, 307 00:27:32.319 --> 00:27:37.240 most importantly, on the cross, when our Lord gave his own life 308 00:27:37.960 --> 00:27:42.720 for sins like murder and idolatry and many others. On the cross, he 309 00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:48.069 didn't just point to the judgments of God poured that would be poured out on 310 00:27:48.190 --> 00:27:56.269 his people for their sins, but he actually endured those judgments himself. All 311 00:27:56.430 --> 00:28:00.140 of the judgment that we have pictured here in Israel, all the things in 312 00:28:00.220 --> 00:28:04.740 which the book of Lamentations has the people crying out and describing these horrible things. 313 00:28:06.140 --> 00:28:08.900 It's that kind of judgment, and we could say for certain much, 314 00:28:08.940 --> 00:28:15.849 much more, that came upon the Lord and Savior for the forgiveness of our 315 00:28:15.930 --> 00:28:21.930 sins, an act of love so that we would not be judged when he 316 00:28:22.049 --> 00:28:27.160 comes again, so that when our sins are are put before the The the 317 00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:33.880 judgment seat of God, they are sins with forgiven written next to them, 318 00:28:36.319 --> 00:28:44.150 our names written in the book of life. When Jesus died on the cross, 319 00:28:44.230 --> 00:28:48.910 he didn't just point to something great that would happen, he actually accomplished 320 00:28:48.950 --> 00:28:53.150 it. Jesus the Prophet, therefore, Jesus, the son of God, 321 00:28:53.789 --> 00:29:00.900 made it known in this way that he is Yaha. He is the God 322 00:29:02.019 --> 00:29:06.099 who brought them out of Egypt, who brought them into the Promised Land, 323 00:29:06.579 --> 00:29:10.490 who dwelt in the temple, who protected and made his holy people. He 324 00:29:10.930 --> 00:29:17.329 was, and always has been and always will be, Emmanuel, God with 325 00:29:17.490 --> 00:29:25.400 us. He came to judge and he came to save. Jesus is the 326 00:29:25.480 --> 00:29:29.119 culmination of all those things means that there's no other prophet to come, no 327 00:29:29.279 --> 00:29:33.440 other one to warn, no other to proclaim the deeds of God. It 328 00:29:33.599 --> 00:29:40.710 means that Jesus is our Ezekiel and we must listen to him and we must 329 00:29:40.829 --> 00:29:45.430 heed his words with ears to hear and I to see. And so when 330 00:29:45.430 --> 00:29:51.710 he tells us that the Kingdom of God is at hand, that judgment is 331 00:29:51.869 --> 00:29:57.339 coming, the salvation is here, so repent and believe the Gospel, I 332 00:29:57.460 --> 00:30:06.779 can only encourage you to repent and to believe the Gospel, because the Prophet 333 00:30:06.819 --> 00:30:12.609 of God, even the very son of God, has spoken and active and 334 00:30:12.849 --> 00:30:18.849 brought these things about. And so there is no time for delay, beloved, 335 00:30:18.569 --> 00:30:22.559 no time for deciding whether or not a little more idolatry you can kind 336 00:30:22.599 --> 00:30:27.839 of skirt through, whether you can hang on to your sins just a little 337 00:30:27.880 --> 00:30:33.680 bit longer and then repent some time later. The time is now, and 338 00:30:33.839 --> 00:30:37.029 when we trust in him, we can know that all that he has promised, 339 00:30:37.109 --> 00:30:42.269 all that is Zekiel says, will come to pass, will indeed come 340 00:30:42.430 --> 00:30:48.789 to pass. We can seeing psalm forty six with confidence that the Lord is 341 00:30:48.910 --> 00:30:52.460 our refuge and our strength, knowing that all our sins have been forgiven on 342 00:30:52.500 --> 00:30:59.380 the Cross of Christ, knowing that we are justified in him and our heirs 343 00:30:59.859 --> 00:31:06.890 of eternal life. Let's pray now and ask for God to save us for 344 00:31:07.049 --> 00:31:11.130 our sins and to bring us peace and rest in his holy one.