Recap

So far in Ezekiel, we’ve read through Ezekiel’s commissioning, his prophetic acts, finished the accusations against Judah, and started the accusations against the nations. The book started five years after the first group of Israelites had been exiled to Babylon. Jerusalem was still standing, and many Israelites still lived there. Ezekiel received a vision of God on his chariot throne over Babylon. He was not limited to Israel. His authority is over all the earth.

God charged Ezekiel with speaking to the Israelites still in Jerusalem to repent and change their ways before it was too late. But God also warned Ezekiel that the people would likely not listen to him. After taking a week to process all he had seen and heard, Ezekiel started acting out prophetic declarations. These included making a miniature model of Jerusalem and acting out sieges against it, laying on his side while eating unclean food, and shaving his head and beard.

After more time passed, God gave Ezekiel a vision of what the people were doing to his temple back in Jerusalem. From the outer gates to right inside the inner temple, the people were worshipping false gods and idols. They had desecrated the space that had been reserved for God.

Ezekiel had a vision of the presence of God leaving the temple and entering his throne chariot carried by the four living beings. So God declared judgement over the people, their leaders, and the prophets. God used many metaphors to depict Israel. An unfaithful bride, a proud lion now caged, a great vine that was dug up an left in the wilderness.

God again laid out all of Israel's sins and then we got the most graphic of images used so far. Israel was likened to an unfaithful woman and God invites her other lovers to have their way with her and disfigure her. The language was highly graphic and was intended to be shocking. It was a passage that needs wrestling with before we import it into our modern day thinking.

Then, finally, the siege of Jerusalem started. God's wrath was starting to pour out. And Ezekiel's mouth was freed so he could now move from declaring judgement on Israel to judgement on the foreign nations. We read through judgements on Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia. We then started the judgement of Tyre, a city nation focused on trade, which was much longer than any of the others. God rebuked Tyre's king for trying to set himself above God, which doubled as a rebuke for the spiritual beings who tried the same. Then we read the judgement on Egypt.

Ezekiel 31-33

God now compares Egypt to Assyria. Both nations were like a strong cedar, standing tall amongst the nations providing shade. They were both flourishing like a tree right by water. Birds made their nests there, and other nations enjoyed the benefits of their shade. These two nations were both beautiful, with no other nation quite comparing to them.

But just as Egypt was similar to Assyria in its beauty and majesty, it would also be similar to them in its destruction. Because Assyria got so proud, God cut it down to size. He sent other nations to come to kill and destroy. All the nations that had enjoyed its shade and prosperity have now abandoned it. God has cast Assyria into the pits of death, and the whole earth felt it. Those that tried to help Assyria were also cast into the pit. And so, just as God did this to Assyria, he will also do this to Egypt.

God once again focuses on Pharaoh, using a lot of the same imagery as Ezekiel 29. Pharaoh sees himself as a lion, proud and strong, but he is much more like a dragon, chaotic and destructive. While God is talking about Pharaoh here, he is really using Pharaoh as a metaphor for the chaos in the world today.

While God is talking about destroying Pharaoh, he is actually talking about one day when he will destroy chaos itself. God will gather many people to catch Pharaoh in a net and throw him into the desert. He will cause wild animals to eat from his flesh. Pharaoh's destruction will be so great that God will temporarily blot out the sky. The whole earth will cower when they see Pharaoh destroyed. God will use Babylon to destroy Egypt; its pride and its riches. Egypt will be a desolate wasteland when God is finished with them.

God comes to Ezekiel another time and tells him to prophesy over Egypt it and send it down into the pit of death. When she gets there, she will find the great nations of the past, already destroyed for their pride and arrogance waiting for her. Assyria is there, and so is Elam. Meshech-Tubal and Edom are there too. All the princes of the north are there. The north was seen as the direction that wickedness and chaos comes from. Basically, anyone who was chaotic, proud, and destructive will be in this pit.

God now comes to Ezekiel to reaffirm his role as a watchman over Israel. If an enemy attacks the city, and the watchman warns the city, but they don't do anything to save themselves, then it's their own fault if they perish. But if an enemy attacks the city, and the watchman doesn't warn them, then the watchman is responsible for their deaths.

In the same way, Ezekiel is responsible for warning the people of their coming doom. They may not listen to him, but then that would be their fault. At least Ezekiel would have done his part.

Ezekiel then warns the people to turn from their sin. If there is anyone that has lived righteously, but then trusts in their own righteousness and allows themselves the odd sin here and there, then they will be punished. But if someone has lived wickedly, but realises the error of their ways and turns back to God, they will be saved. This has nothing to do with your self-righteousness. It is all about being obedient to God.

Then the news that Ezekiel has been waiting for finally comes. Jerusalem has been destroyed by Babylon. Even before the messenger had got to Ezekiel, he found his mouth opened. He was no longer bound to speak only of the judgement on Jerusalem and the other nations.

One last time he spoke judgement on Israel. They had grown overly confident in the promise God made to Abraham, and so allowed themselves to sin and do wicked things. So God has sent the sword, beasts, and pestilence. He has made the city a wasteland. But now the people can see that Ezekiel was right. Now they will listen to him, and his words will be like an encouraging, moving song to them.

Psalm 38

This psalm is attributed to king David, and falls into the category of lament psalm, specifically a psalm or repentance. Their psalmist’s sin has brought them grief, and they now bring this grief before God.

Psalm 38:1 - A prayer for mercy

Psalm 38:2-10 - My sin is like a sickness that keeps me from God

Psalm 38:11-14 - My relationship with those around me is broken

Psalm 38:15-20 - Now I wait for God and repent of my sin

Psalm 38:21-22 - A prayer for mercy

The psalm opens with a request for mercy from God. For the psalmist, it feels like God is punishing them. The weight of their sin has become too much to bear.

The psalmist describes their sin like a sickness. This could easily be interpreted that God sends sickness to those who sin, but that would be a dangerous way to view God. 

Instead, this psalmist is merely using sickness as a metaphor for their sin. It has spread through their body, corrupted everything, and made them feel awful.

The psalmist shares how their sin brings them to grief each day. Their desire is for God, and yet he seems so far away right now.

In a similar way, the sin has caused brokenness in the psalmist’s relationships. Those who were once close to them, their friends and family, now avoid them. There are also unsavoury characters that seek them harm and maybe resent the psalmist’s attempt to get right with God.

The psalmist describes themself as like a deaf and mute man. In response to the abuse they get, all they can do is try to ignore them. They can’t defend themself.

But through all this, the psalmist now waits upon God. They are willing to repent of their sin and give themselves over to God’s hand. They would much rather fall into God’s hands than into the hands of their enemies, who seek evil even though the psalmist is seeking good.

And so the psalm ends how it began, with a request for mercy. In this psalm, we see how devastating sin can be to our lives, and the need to confess it before God and repent of our wrong.