(The previous post covered the conclusion of the second part of the Book of Ezekiel which dealt with prophecies against nations other than Israel. The previous post also covered the beginning of the third part of the Book of Ezekiel which dealt with events during the Tribulation and some immediate judgments of Babylon.)
Ezekiel 34
1 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
(Prophecy against the shepherds (pastors) of Israel…)
2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, even to the shepherds, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe unto the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the sheep?
(The pastors were not feeding their flock. God used a physical example of literal shepherds and flocks to symbolize the pastors (shepherds) and the people (sheep) of Israel.)
3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill the fatlings; but ye feed not the sheep.
(The pastors were destroying the healthy ("ye kill the fatlings") and ignoring the people ("ye feed not the sheep"). The pastors were facilitating their own purpose and progress at the expense of the people.)
4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought back that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with rigor have ye ruled over them.
(The pastors did not facilitate repair and were not acting as leaders, they were bosses: "with force and with rigor have ye ruled over them.")
5 And they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and they became food to all the beasts of the field, and were scattered.
(The people were scattered and vulnerable to the enemy because they had no pastor. Pastors ought to be a source of protection for their "flock.")
6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my sheep were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and there was none that did search or seek after them.
(The pastors were not searching for the lost people.)
7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah:
8 As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, surely forasmuch as my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became food to all the beasts of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my sheep;
9 therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah:
10 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the sheep; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; and I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be food for them.
(Because the pastors were not leading the flock, God was against them.)
11 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.
12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will deliver them out of all places whither they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
(Notice the similarities in these two statements:
-God said: "…so will I seek out my sheep; and I will deliver them…"
-In Luke 19:10, Jesus said: "For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost."
Jesus was indirectly claiming His Deity in that passage. The Jews of Jesus' time would have known what He was referring to and that He was proclaiming that He was God.)
13 And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
14 I will feed them with good pasture; and upon the mountains of the height of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie down in a good fold; and on fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord Jehovah.
(God will feed the flock and will cause them to lie down.)
16 I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but the fat and the strong I will destroy; I will feed them in justice.
(God will repair the broken and sick and He will destroy the "fat and the strong": those who gained at the expense of the weak.)
17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the he-goats.
18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have fed upon the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to have drunk of the clear waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?
19 And as for my sheep, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.
20 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto them: Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
21 Because ye thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;
22 therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
(God will set up (raise up) one Shepherd (Jesus Christ) over them and He will feed them. Jesus may have been referring to this passage in John 10:14: "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine." David was the symbol of Christ. Messiah was called "David" in Isaiah 55:3, Jeremiah 30:9, and Hosea 3:5.)
24 And I, Jehovah, will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I, Jehovah, have spoken it.
25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell securely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
(A Covenant of peace at the end of the Tribulation and beginning of Christ's Millennial Reign.)
26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of blessing.
27 And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that made bondmen of them.
28 And they shall no more be a prey to the nations, neither shall the beasts of the earth devour them; but they shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid.
29 And I will raise up unto them a plantation for renown, and they shall be no more consumed with famine in the land, neither bear the shame of the nations any more.
(God "will raise up unto them a plantation for renown." Christ was also called the "Rod" and "Branch" in Isaiah 11:1 and "the Righteous Branch" in Jeremiah 23:5.)
30 And they shall know that I, Jehovah, their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord Jehovah.
31 And ye my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord Jehovah.
(The reason for this was so that Israel would know Jehovah was their God.)
Ezekiel 35
1 Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it,
(God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy against mount Seir, a mountain range in Edom. Edom was from Esau.)
3 and say unto it, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, O mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against thee, and I will make thee a desolation and an astonishment.
4 I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah.
(Mount Seir would know that Jehovah brought this judgment.)
5 Because thou hast had a perpetual enmity, and hast given over the children of Israel to the power of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time of the iniquity of the end;
6 therefore, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: since thou hast not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue thee.
(God would judge mount Seir because of their hatred and destruction against Israel.)
7 Thus will I make mount Seir an astonishment and a desolation; and I will cut off from it him that passeth through and him that returneth.
8 And I will fill its mountains with its slain: in thy hills and in thy valleys and in all thy watercourses shall they fall that are slain with the sword.
9 I will make thee a perpetual desolation, and thy cities shall not be inhabited; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
10 Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas Jehovah was there:
(The two nations that mount Seir claimed as their possession were Ephraim and Judah.)
11 therefore, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I will do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast showed out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I shall judge thee.
(God would judge them according to their anger and their envy…God was Just.)
12 And thou shalt know that I, Jehovah, have heard all thy revilings which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to devour.
13 And ye have magnified yourselves against me with your mouth, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard it.
(The people of mount Seir exalted themselves against God. They used their words against God.)
14 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.
15 As thou didst rejoice over the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Edom, even all of it; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.
(When all of the earth rejoices (during Christ's Millennial Reign) God will make mount Seir desolate because mount Seir rejoiced at the desolation of Israel. Mount Seir will be desolate as would all of Edom.)
Ezekiel 36
1 And thou, son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of Jehovah.
(God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to the mountains of Israel…)
2 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha! and, The ancient high places are ours in possession;
3 therefore prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because, even because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the nations, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and the evil report of the people;
4 therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes and to the cities that are forsaken, which are become a prey and derision to the residue of the nations that are round about;
(Because of Israel's desolation they were told to hear the Word of God...)
5 therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the nations, and against all Edom, that have appointed my land unto themselves for a possession with the joy of all their heart, with despite of soul, to cast it out for a prey.
6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my wrath, because ye have borne the shame of the nations:
7 therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I have sworn, saying, Surely the nations that are round about you, they shall bear their shame.
(The heathen nations that were around Israel will bear their shame as Israel bore her shame.)
8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people Israel; for they are at hand to come.
("They are at hand to come" meant the Israelites would be returning to their land.)
9 For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn into you, and ye shall be tilled and sown;
10 and I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited, and the waste places shall be builded;
11 and I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and be fruitful; and I will cause you to be inhabited after your former estate, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
12 Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of children.
13 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because they say unto you, Thou land art a devourer of men, and hast been a bereaver of thy nation;
14 therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nation any more, saith the Lord Jehovah;
15 neither will I let thee hear any more the shame of the nations, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the peoples any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nation to stumble any more, saith the Lord Jehovah.
(The heathen nations would no longer shame Israel. Israel would be restored.)
16 Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
(Verses 17-20: the reason for the captivity.)
17 Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their way and by their doings: their way before me was as the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity.
18 Wherefore I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood which they had poured out upon the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols;
19 and I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.
20 And when they came unto the nations, whither they went, they profaned my holy name; in that men said of them, These are the people of Jehovah, and are gone forth out of his land.
21 But I had regard for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations, whither they went.
(But, God had regard for His Holy Name...His Holy Cause.)
22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I do not this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for my holy name, which ye have profaned among the nations, whither ye went.
23 And I will sanctify my great name, which hath been profaned among the nations, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the nations shall know that I am Jehovah, saith the Lord Jehovah, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
(God would sanctify His Name. The Israelites had polluted God's Name among the heathen and God would make sure that even the heathen knew that Jehovah was God.)
24 For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.
25 And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
(Then would God clean the wickedness from off His people.)
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
(God would give Israel a new heart and a new spirit within them. He would take away their stony (hard) heart and give them a heart of flesh, not flesh as in wicked but flesh as in soft.)
27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep mine ordinances, and do them.
(Grace is the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life. Grace is the work of the Holy Spirit within and through a person.)
28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
29 And I will save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the grain, and will multiply it, and lay no famine upon you.
(Not only would the Israelites be saved but their land would be repaired as well.)
30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye may receive no more the reproach of famine among the nations.
31 Then shall ye remember your evil ways, and your doings that were not good; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.
32 Nor for your sake do I this, saith the Lord Jehovah, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.
33 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: In the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be builded.
34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, whereas it was a desolation in the sight of all that passed by.
35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.
(The same land that the passersby were astonished at because of the destruction would see the land after God repaired it and would liken it to the garden of Eden.)
36 Then the nations that are left round about you shall know that I, Jehovah, have builded the ruined places, and planted that which was desolate: I, Jehovah, have spoken it, and I will do it.
(The people who witnessed this would know Jehovah did it.)
37 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: For this, moreover, will I be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them: I will increase them with men like a flock.
38 As the flock for sacrifice, as the flock of Jerusalem in her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.
(All the nations will go to Jerusalem to worship Jesus during His Millennial Reign.)
(This post covered some immediate judgments of Babylon and began to cover events during the Tribulation.)
Day 254
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