Ezekiel 15-16:14
The Certainty of
Judgment ~ For Unfaithfulness
Open your Bibles to…
Rev. 2:4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
Rev. 2:5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
Pray
Intro
√ Certainty of judgment for unfaithfulness
You’ll remember that beginning with chapter 12 through chapter 19 God begins to communicate a new message to the Jewish captives…
…that is the certainty
of His judgment upon
God spoke through Ezekiel by means of…
Signs
Sermons
Parables
Lamentations
Chapters 15-17 record 3 parables
that communicate the sin of
Parable of the fruitless vine ~ chapter 15
Parable of the faithless wife ~ chapter 16
Parable of the fierce eagles ~ chapter 17
We’ll cover chapters 15-16:14 this evening!
Ap. Don’t stray from your first love!
With all the symbolism and allegory it would be easy to miss the main point of these parables as recorded in chapter 16:43…
“Because you did not remember the days of your youth…”
That is, the root of
…she forgot what God had saved her from.
She was unwanted, unclothed, and near death when God found her.
He took her for His own, cleaned her up and lavished her with His greatest blessings.
Then in her pride she forgot that all her blessings came from God and turned to use those blessings to pursue her sin.
She forgot her first love.
Heed the warning because sin returns to our lives most often when we forget what God has saved us from!
The Parable of the Fruitless Vine (vs. 1-5)
Ezek. 15:1 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
Ezek. 15:2 “Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any other wood, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest?
Ezek. 15:3 Is wood taken from it to make any object? Or can men make a peg from it to hang any vessel on?
Ezek. 15:4 Instead, it is thrown into the fire for fuel; the fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is burned. Is it useful for any work?
Ezek. 15:5 Indeed, when it was whole, no object could be made from it. How much less will it be useful for any work when the fire has devoured it, and it is burned?
√ The parable of the fruitless vine
In our parable of the fruitless vine God asks Ezekiel a question…
“…how is the wood of the vine better than any other wood, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest?”
The answer is supposed to be so obvious that no one should miss God’s point in the parable.
That is, a vine is really of no value except for the fruit that it produces!
If the vine doesn’t produce any fruit, then it has no value at all because it can’t be used like other woods for building something useful.
God then drives His point home by asking another question in vs. 5…
“How much less will it be useful for any work when the fire has devoured it, and it is burned? “
That is, how much less valuable is the vine once it’s been burned up in a fire?
If it wasn’t good for building anything before it was burned…
…it certainly won’t be worth anything once it’s been reduced to a charred branch and ash!
God’s point is that fruitless vines are worthless vines!
The Application of the Parable (vs. 6-8)
Ezek. 15:6 “Therefore
thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the
forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of
Ezek. 15:7 and I will set My face against them. They will go out from one fire, but another fire shall devour them. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I set My face against them.
Ezek. 15:8 Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have persisted in unfaithfulness,’ says the Lord GOD.”
√ The application of the parable
God doesn’t waste words making sure the Jews in
“…so I will give up the inhabitants of
vs. 6
That is, since
…then like the fruitless vine the city and her people had become of no value to God and therefore would be burned with fire.
Ex.
As we learned on Sunday the vine and the vineyard is a
common symbol in Jewish thought and scripture for
Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:8-18; Jeremiah 2:21 and Hosea 10:1 all use the symbol of the vine and the vineyard.
So, just as the religious leaders in Jesus’ day would not have missed the meaning of His parable…
…so the Jewish captives in
Ap. Fruitlessness
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that our study on Sunday morning in Matthew correspond so closely with our study tonight!
I think the Holy Spirit wants to make a point!
Just as God judged the vineyard (people of
…so God judged the vineyard for the same reason in the 1st Century AD!
The fruitlessness of the Jewish people in both the 5th Century BC and the 1st Century AD…
…came about because they left their 1st love after they forgot what He had saved them from!
Let it be a warning to us, the Church, the Bride of Christ, that we not neglect our first calling…
…to give ourselves wholly unto the One Who loved us so much that He saved us from our sin, Satan, and eternal death!
Ex. Marriages that break up
There’s no substitute for time spent together.
The health of a marriage is directly correlated to the quality and quantity of time spent together.
Our relationship with Jesus is no different!
There’s no substitute for time spent together.
The health of your Christian experience is directly correlated to the quality and quantity of time spent with Him.
Protect yourself from becoming fruitless by choosing to make your relationship with the Lord the priority it must be.
The Parable of the Faithless Wife (chapter 16)
√ The parable of the faithless wife
The entirety of chapter 16 contains the parable of the faithless wife.
It begins in these first 14 verses by recounting how it was
that
It is if you will the “love
story” of how God took
The rest of the chapter records how
The point of the parable?
To make God’s case against
“Son of man, cause
That is, so that the Jewish people would understand how great their sin was in view of how great God’s love and attention had been.
Rags to riches ~ God’s love for
Ezek. 16:1 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Ezek. 16:2 “Son of
man, cause
Ezek. 16:3 and say,
“Thus says the Lord GOD to
Ezek. 16:4 As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths.
Ezek. 16:5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born.
√ Rags to riches
God begins the parable by describing the birth and growth and beauty
of
While the parable is primarily about the people of the city, these opening verses seem to be directed at the city itself.
God describes how it was that He found and chose
It has all the trappings of a “rags to riches” story!
How God is able to take what is rejected by the world and make it something of great value!
√ God’s love
for
Birth (vs. 1-5)
God begins by describing the “birth” of
“…your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.” ~ vs. 3
The reference is to the original people of the land who apparently had no use for the city.
Ex.
From a purely commercial stand point the city of
Rocky soil with little ground to cultivate.
No rivers or lakes for water or fish.
No precious metals or stones in the hills.
Not on any major trade routes.
So, the city of
“thrown out into the open field” ~ vs. 5
That is, they treated the city the same way they did an unwanted or deformed newborn child.
Ex. Unwanted children
The Canaanites commonly left newborn babies outside to die if they were unwanted (due to Canaanite religious practice), or if the baby was physically deformed.
Infancy to Adolescence (vs. 6-7)
Ezek. 16:6 “And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, “Live!’ Yes, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’
Ezek. 16:7 I made you thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.
Fortunately for Jerusalem God passed by just at the point of death!
He took pity on her and imparted life into her!
He then provided all that she needed to grow and become strong.
She grew up to be a beautiful young woman.
But, as described in vs. 7 she was still “naked and bare”, symbolizing that the city was still destitute…
…that is, the city was beautiful to look at but still lacked
any functional value to God or
Ap. The time when David conquered the city (2 Sam. 5)
Under God’s direction David
took
…David!
Maturity (vs. 8-14)
Ezek. 16:8 “When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine,” says the Lord GOD.
Ezek. 16:9 “Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil.
Ezek. 16:10 I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk.
Ezek. 16:11 I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists, and a chain on your neck.
Ezek. 16:12 And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.
Ezek. 16:13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty.
Ezek. 16:14 Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you,” says the Lord GOD.
God now describes the “next time” He passed by
“When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love…” ~ vs. 8
That is, just as young teen girl matures into a young woman who is physically and emotionally ready for marriage…
…so
That is, the city was no longer destitute, rather under the leadership of David and the blessings of God it had become a city of strength, wealth, and spirituality.
So, God took
“…so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine,” says the Lord GOD.”
That should sound familiar to you Bible students from another love story that we find in the Old Testament!
Ruth 3:7 And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.
Ruth 3:8 Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet.
Ruth 3:9 And he said, “Who are you?” So she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative.”
By choosing to cover Ruth with his blanket (or cloak) Boaz was communicating his intention to take her into his home and make her his bride.
That’s the picture that God is drawing with the parable!
He took
…but like a queen!
Ap.
We might interpret the “marriage” covenant of vs. 8 to be the time when David brought the Ark into Jerusalem and God entered into a new covenant with David and promised that his descendants would rule as king (2 Sam. 6 & 7).
The clothes, bracelets, jewels, earrings and fine foods are
the great wealth that God brought into
So, the point of these opening verses of the parable is that God is the One who…
Saved
Caused her to grow strong and beautiful
Made her the envy of the world
…everything she could possibly want or need was given to her by God, her “husband”.
Ap. I am what I am by the grace of God
The account of God’s work on behalf of
That is, God found each of us in the same wretched condition
that He found
But, God choose us anyway and lavished His greatest blessings on us that we might live, grow and become beautiful in His eyes!
Just like
…not ours!
It’s a work of His Grace! As Paul wrote of himself…
1Cor. 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am…
Every…
Talent you posses, material blessing you have, and every good thing in your life…
…has been given you by the God who loves you!
Therefore, watch yourself lest like the people of
Close
√ Don’t forget!
Don’t forget what it is that God saved you from!
Keeps us from returning to sin.
Keeps us appreciating God and His Grace.
Protects us from becoming self-righteous