Recap

So far in Ezekiel, we’ve read through Ezekiel’s commissioning, his prophetic acts, finished the accusations against Judah and the nations, and started the section on the future hope. 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.

God charged Ezekiel with speaking to the Israelites still in Jerusalem to repent and change their ways before it was too late. 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.

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 and left in the wilderness. The language was often highly graphic and was intended to be shocking. 

Then 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. In the same way, the rebuke against Pharaoh was also a rebuke against chaos itself. Finally, Jerusalem was sacked and destroyed, freeing Ezekiel up to focus on prophesying about the future hope. This started with contrasts. The old leaders of Israel, their shepherds, were wicked and fed themselves while leading the sheep astray. God will set over his people a new shepherd who would lead them well. The foreign nations greedily look at Israel's land, but God will punish the foreign nations and restore the land to his people. Previously, the people dishonoured God's named with their wickedness. Going forward, God will give them new hearts that want to live right for him.

We read through a recreation motif, as Ezekiel sees a valley of dry bones come back to life. In the same way, God will bring back to life the land and the people that he de-created. Then came judgment on a man named God who was used as the embodiment of chaos and evil. One day God will destroy or chaos and evil so that his people can flourish.

Ezekiel 40-44

When Babylon came and destroyed Jerusalem, they also destroyed the temple. This was the place the people were used to worshipping God. If the people are going to return and live in God's presence, they are going to need a new temple to worship in.

God once again comes to Ezekiel and gives him a vision of this new temple. They start outside the temple and take a moment to measure the impressive walls. Inside these walls are three large gates; one on the south side, one on the east side, and one on the north side. As they went through the east gate into the outer court, they saw thirty rooms built attached to the walls; ten for each of the southern, eastern, and northern walls.

Next they measure the north and south gate, each exactly like the east gate. Then they move to the inner court, measuring the gates into this section as well. Inside this inner court was a room to prepare for the sacrifices; places to wash your hands, sacrifices the animals, and hang up the meat.

Also in the inner court were two dorm rooms. The one to the south was for the priests who were responsible for the temple, and the one to the north was for the priests who were responsible for the altar. Ezekiel makes his way up the stairs to the temple itself.

Inside the temple, he measures all the dimensions and then enters the inner temple to measure in there. This space is the Most Holy Place. This is where God's presence dwells. Ezekiel then begins to move back out from the Most Holy Place. Moving back into the outer section of the temple, he notices ninety rooms build into the walls, spread across three floors.

He begins measuring in greater details, and notices some of the finer details. There are cherubim and trees carved into the walls. Next he moves back out into the inner court and explores the dorms for the priests. They two were built with three floors. These were the buildings where the priests could enjoy their portion of the offerings which they were allowed to eat. Ezekiel then moved moves back to the outer court and makes some more measurements.

Then, in his vision, Ezekiel sees God approaching from the east and enters this new temple, filling it with his glory. In Ezekiel 10, we saw God leave the old temple because of the wickedness of his people. Now he is returning. God calls out to Ezekiel to tell him that his new temple is going to be his dwelling place.

The people are to no longer commit their wickedness, but they are to be pure. God punished them for their wickedness before, but now he will remain with them if they remain pure. God encourages Ezekiel to make a note of all the descriptions and dimensions of the temple. If the people ever despair because they think they've chased God away for ever he is to let them know that God has given them a plan for a future temple and he will one day be with them again.

God then teaches Ezekiel how to restore proper worship to the temple. We get a description of the altar and then how to use it. It may seem strange to us that in this future temple, God is going to restore animal sacrifice. Looking forward to the New Testament as believers, we don't need to deal with sacrifices anymore. That's been paid for by Jesus. The importance here isn't the actual sacrifices. That's just God using imagery that makes sense to Ezekiel. The important part is that God is going to restore proper worship to his house.

Ezekiel is then taken back to the eastern gate to the outer courts. This was the main gate. God tells Ezekiel this gate will be locked until the future prince comes and eats bread in this gateway. Finally, we get a description of who is and isn't allowed in the temple. Those who are uncircumcised in heart and in flesh, that haven't made that commitment to be faithful to God, will not be allowed in. Similarly, unfaithful priests, those that have made that commitment but at times turned away from God, they would be allowed in but would no longer have the same access.

Then comes a long description of how the godly priests should behave. Once again, this point of this is not the restoration of the strict priesthood and all the rules that come with it. The focus is that the people of God who come close to him will once again be made right and holy in his presence.

Psalm 41

This psalm is attributed to king David and falls into the category of lament psalm. It has all the features we have come to expect from a lament psalm; a complaint, a request for God to intervene, and a declaration of trust. 

Psalm 41 is also significant because it is the last psalm of the first book in Psalms. The larger collection of Psalms is broken down into five smaller books. It’s not clear why the division between each book is made. Some argue it is to reflect the Torah that also has five books.

Either way, we can tell where one book ends, and another begins by the doxologies that end each section. A doxology is a liturgical hymn or declaration of praise that is used to end a service, prayer, or passage.

The structure of the psalm is a chiasm where the passage reflects itself.

a) Psalm 41:1-3 - A declaration of trust in God

b) Psalm 41:4 - A prayer for mercy and healing

c) Psalm 41:5-9 - Lament over suffering

b) Psalm 41:10 - A prayer for mercy and healing

a) Psalm 41:11-12 - A declaration of trust in God

d) Psalm 41:13 - Concluding doxology to the first book of the psalms

The psalm opens with a declaration of trust in God. The Lord protects those who care for the poor. He keeps them alive, protects them from their enemies, and heals their illnesses.

This declaration of trust then leads the psalmist to bring their request to God. Have mercy on me and heal me. We can gather from the psalm that the psalmist is inflicted with some sort of illness, due to the number of references to health.

The psalmist then moves forward to bring their complaint, the suffering they have faced due to their illness. In this example, the worst thing isn’t the illness itself but how much the psalmist’s enemies are enjoying their illness. 

While the psalmist is there, presumably wasting away, their enemies are rejoicing and tell everyone about it. They are waiting for the psalmist to die, and even the psalmist’s friends have turned on them.

Having shared their complaint with God, the psalmist once again asks God to intervene. Have mercy on me and raise me up. And the psalmist returns once more to a declaration of trust. The psalmist knows that God will delight in them, not their enemies. God will be the one to protect them.

Finally, this psalm, and first book of the wider collection, ends with a blessing to the Lord. In this psalm, we can easily see the different stages of biblical lament, and how each one is important to processing difficult situations and emotions.