Ezekiel 20:27-44
Rebellion &
Restoration ~ Part 2
Open your Bibles to…
Phil. 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
NLT…
Phil. 1:6 And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.
Pray
Intro
√ Rebellion & Restoration
In our last study of chapter 20 we began the 3rd
and final division of God’s message to the captives of
Need for perspective ~ chapters 20-24
(Present condition rooted in ancient corruption)
So, in chapter 20 God begins a history lesson to help the Jewish captives gain a purified perspective of their rebellious past so that they might acknowledge the need for judgment.
Vs. 1-4 ~ Rebellion in
Vs. 5-9 ~ Rebellion in
Vs. 10-17 ~ Rebellion in the Wilderness (parents)
Vs. 18-24 ~ Rebellion in the Wilderness (kids)
Vs. 25-26 ~ Rebellion leads to trouble
Unfortunately I didn’t get through the section on
Vs. 27-32 ~ Rebellion in the Promised Land
(
Vs. 33-44 ~ Restoration (
Cool stuff because it speaks of the
Ap. A future hope
Just as God is not finished with
Even if you’ve got off track as a Christian you need to know that God has a bright and promising future for you…
…all you have to do is surrender to Him!
So, be encouraged! If
God didn’t give up on
…then He won’t give up on you either!
Rebellion in the Promised Land (vs. 27-32)
Ezek. 20:27 “Therefore,
son of man, speak to the house of
Ezek. 20:28 When I brought them into the land concerning which I had raised My hand in an oath to give them, and they saw all the high hills and all the thick trees, there they offered their sacrifices and provoked Me with their offerings. There they also sent up their sweet aroma and poured out their drink offerings.
Ezek. 20:29 Then I said to them, “What is this high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah to this day.” ’
Ezek. 20:30 Therefore
say to the house of
Ezek. 20:31 For when
you offer your gifts and make your sons pass through the fire, you defile
yourselves with all your idols, even to this day. So shall I be inquired of by
you, O house of
Ezek. 20:32 What you have in your mind shall never be, when you say, “We will be like the Gentiles, like the families in other countries, serving wood and stone.’
√ Rebellion in the Promised Land
The last example from
Then He reminds them that when He gave them the
…that rather than thanking God for what He had done for them they used the beautiful land to continue their idol worship.
So, God asks in vs. 31….
“So shall I be inquired of by you, O house of
To which He answers…
“As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “I will not be inquired of by you.”
The tragedy of
Slavery in
Wandering in the Wilderness
Freedom and blessing in the Promised Land
Captivity in
…the people of
Ap. Wherever you go, your sin follows
This little history lesson reminds us that simply changing geographic location doesn’t fix our sin problem because we take our sin with us!
Ex. People I’ve known
Sometimes people try to escape their sin by changing geographic location.
The idea is that with new surrounding, new friends, and no temptation that they won’t sin.
Sounds logical, sometimes it evens works.
But most of the time simply changing location doesn’t fix a person’s sin problem because the problem is in their heart…
…not their location.
The only cure for sin is to go to God and get a new heart that wants to please Him!
“Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have
committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you
die, O house of
Where do we look for a new
heart? From God!
“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.” ~ Ex. 36:26
The point is that God is the only One who can fix our heart problem.
We can recognize our need for a new heart, God can tell us we need one…
…but He’s the only One who can actually give us a heart transplant!
That new heart is still available to anyone who wants it because God is still in the business of freeing people from sin.
Restoration ~ a Purified People (vs. 33-38)
Ezek. 20:33 “As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you.
Ezek. 20:34 I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out.
Ezek. 20:35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face.
Ezek. 20:36 Just as I
pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the
Ezek. 20:37 “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;
Ezek. 20:38 I will purge the rebels from among you,
and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where
they dwell, but they shall not enter the
√ Restoration ~ a purified people
After recounting
…God now speaks prophetically of the bright future He has planed for His people!
These verses look forward to the time of the Millennial Kingdom when
…the Jewish people will be purified and will worship Him alone as the One True God.
Note that it is God who will purify His people!
Ezek. 20:37 “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;
Ezek. 20:38 I will purge the rebels from among you,
and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where
they dwell, but they shall not enter the
The picture here is of Jesus
the Good Shepherd, who causes the sheep (people) of
The shepherd’s rod was used to inspect the sheep for ticks, signs of sickness & disease, injury etc.
If a sheep was diseased or in anyway a danger to the rest of the sheep, the shepherd would remove it from the flock.
What point in the future is God speaking of?
Probably speaking of the time between the end of the Great
Tribulation and the inauguration of the
When Jesus judges the nations and separates the sheep (believers) from the goats (unbelievers) ~ Matt. 25:31-36.
Those who had given their hearts to Jesus during the Tribulation (the purified people ~ the Jewish people) will enter into the Kingdom while the others will be turned away.
Restoration ~ a Purified Worship (vs. 39-42)
Ezek. 20:39`“As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says the Lord GOD: “Go, serve every one of you his idols—and hereafter—if you will not obey Me; but profane My holy name no more with your gifts and your idols.
Ezek. 20:40 For on My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel,” says the Lord GOD, “there all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me; there I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the firstfruits of your sacrifices, together with all your holy things.
Ezek. 20:41 I will accept you as a sweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles.
Ezek. 20:42 Then you
shall know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the
√ Restoration ~ a purified worship
Those Jewish believers who enter into the
He tells the elders that these Jewish believers will be accepted by God, instead of being rejected as the current generation was…
…and that they would be like a sweet aroma to Him (think BBQ!)
This speaks of the worship of God during the
Preview ~ animal sacrifice in the
Communion looks back at the Cross by celebrating the sacrifice of Jesus (His Body and Blood).
The animal sacrifice in the Kingdom age will celebrate the Cross by reminding them of Jesus’ sacrifice (i.e. animal sacrifice will be a “thanksgiving” offering, not a “sin” offering).
So, for now we’ll just recognize that God promises a bright
future for
Restoration ~ a Purified Perspective (vs. 43-44)
Ezek. 20:43 And there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed.
Ezek. 20:44 Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you for My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel,” says the Lord GOD.’ ”
√ Restoration ~ a purified perspective
You’ll note that we are not reading vs. 45-49, that’s because they don’t really fit with chapter 20.
The Hebrew Bible puts these verses as the opening of chapter 21.
The reason is that it is a short parable that introduces the 4 messages in chapter 21.
So, we’ll leave vs. 45-49 for our study of chapter 21!
So, in vs. 43-44 we find that the results of God’s
restoration of
They’ll have a repentant heart toward God.
They’ll have a new revelation of God.
Repentance ~ the first change will be that the Jewish people will be truly repentant for all their sin against God, look again at vs. 43…
“And there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed.”
While individual Jews have certainly repented of their sins, to this day they have not as a nation done so.
In fact, most of
Those who are orthodox have clearly not repented of their greatest sin ~ their rejection of Messiah!
But, God tells us that a day will come in the
Revelation ~ in vs. 44 God foretells…
“Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you for My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel,” says the Lord GOD.’ “
Note that God says they will know that…
“I am the LORD”
God uses His personal name, “LORD”, (YHWH, “Yahweh”), the name by which He revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The Name Yahweh emphasizes God’s self-existence and His covenant-keeping faithfulness.
The specific application to the Jewish people living in the
…not theirs that brought about the fulfillment of His promises!
Close
√ Rebellion & Restoration
Wilderness
Captivity in
…reaching her greatest rebellion 2,000 years ago when they rejected their Messiah.
That rebellion continues to this day but God has promised
that He is not finished with
So, as believers in Jesus the Messiah we ought to pray that the eyes of the Jewish people will be opened to their King!
Ap. God isn’t through with you!
Don’t believe the lies of Satan who would tell you that you’re sin is too great to be forgiven, or to be used by God…
…God’s got a plan for you that includes a crown & a kingdom!