Let the Prophets Speak

In the final prophecy regarding Tyre, Ezekiel turns his attention to the King of Tyre. All of his wealth and possessions and commerce once could have been such a force for good in the world But unfortunately it has now become a source of arrogance, greed, dishonesty and oppression. Especially disgraceful is how the King thought of himself as a God. Ezekiel ends by stating that when Israel returns...

Ezekiel dramatically describes how Tyre became great due to all the many nations they traded with and took advantage of. However, they took all the credit themselves. It is so important to remember that we all depend upon each other. No one achieves greatness without the help of others.

Ezekiel turns his attention to Tyre, a powerful and ancient island kingdom to the north of Israel. The relationship between Tyre and Israel goes back many centuries, and at times they were close allies. However, during the destruction of Judea, Tyre rejoiced, and anticipated the day they could join and take the spoils of Jerusalem for themselves.

Ezekiel begins a new section of his book with his prophecies regarding the surrounding nations. They gloated over Israel's demise, and took it as a lesson that their gods were more powerful than the God of Israel. God declares that they will soon receive their due punishment as well.

We learn of the tragic passing of the prophet's wife, and God instructs him not to mourn publicly. This sets the example for the people who are about to hear of the destruction of Jerusalem.

The day of the siege of Jerusalem has begun. God compares the people of Judah to the blood and guts of an animal to be boiled in a pot. The wrath of God is now lighting the flame that will destroy the city.

God is clearly frustrated, and sees no path forward other than destruction. Judah has followed the same destructive path as her "big sister" Israel. They have chosen the other nations over God, immorality over justice. Their very "lovers" are now going to come and destroy them.

Ezekiel compares the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah to two disloyal and lustful sisters. They never learned the lessons God tried to teach them from their early days in Egypt. Instead they desired everything else but God. The places they lusted after, ended up being the source of their downfall.

Ezekiel is exasperated, the destruction of Jerusalem is imminent, but he wants us to know exactly what led to this terrible end. Corruption, taking advantage of one another, lust for profit, God can no longer find anyone who is ready or able to turn things around.

Ezekiel has given up on the people listening to his message, but he wants it to be clear what is going to happen to Jerusalem and why. He lists the sins of Jerusalem. It starts with talebearing and gossip and xenophobia, and ends with death and bloodshed.

God tells Ezekiel about two paths of destruction that lay ahead of the Babylonian conquerors. The lackadaisical attitude of the King of Babylon is striking. Whom should I kill first? The King of Babylon decides to head to Jerulsalem first, but the destruction of Ammon is not far behind.

Ezekiel tries again with a parable that falls flat. The people dismiss him as just another storyteller, so he says it like it is. The sword is about to fall against Jerusalem. The sword has been polished and sharpoened by god Himself, and given to the hands of the oppressors. The coming destruction is so awful, God Himself is clapping His hands in grief. God so sadly asks His prophet, "do I have a...

God declares His wrath over the many generations of Israel that have consistently veered from the path He desired from them. Too many times they have defiled His name with the most disgusting of practices. They will be scattered among the nations, and they will be cleansed. One day the remaining people will be gathered, but only those from whom God can build a righteous nation.

God tells Ezekiel to teach the people a lesson of history. For genertions, the people have ignored His laws of life and justice. They rejected Him in favor of their own disgraceful practices. They ignored His special Shabbat, and instead turned to idols. Even to the terrible depths of offering child sacrifices. God only has so much patience, but no longer was God going to look the other way.

Ezekiel laments the failure of the lions of Judah, the Kings that could have led the people to success, but instead led them to destruction.

God declares that every person is responsible for his own behavior. God is just, and will treat us justly if we act properly towards others. God does not want us to die, He wants us to live.

Ezekiel teaches the solution to the riddle. Those who are arrogant and do not keep the promises they make will be destroyed, while those who are humble and accept God's sovereignty will flourish.

Ezekiel employs a new method to get his message across, as God tells him a riddle to say to the people. A great eagle, a tree, a vine and a lesser eagle all play a part in this riddle. The meaning of the riddle will be discussed in 17b.

We conclude the parable of the unfaithful wife by learning the root cause of corruption and destruction. Arrogance is the the root of it all. This was the sin of Sodom, the sin of Samaria, and the sin which led to the destruction of Judah. God will remember His promise, even though we have not kept ours. The other nations will be redeemed as well, reminding us of our shame and reminding us that on...

Ezekiel describes how the people descended into the most awful forms of corruption and promiscuity. They looked everywhere for pleasure and satisfaction except not towards God.

Israel forgets the desperate and unfortunate cuircumstances of her birth, and uses all of her wealth, beauty and bounty to satisfy her own arrogance. In a chapter full of powerful sexual imagery, the prophet shows how arriogance can turn into a quest to satisfy one's own desires without regard to it's effects on anyone. Even to sacrifice one's own children, nothing will stop a person infected with...

In the second in his series of parables, the prophet compares the people of Isael to an unfaithful wife. In this first portion, he describes how Israel was an abandoned child, full of blood and dirt and left to die. God brought us to adulthood, took care of us until we grew into a beautiful young woman, God took us under His wings, and gave them all that we needed to prosper.

Ezekiel begins a series of parables in a new attempt at getting his message across. This parable uses the familiar image of Israel as a grape vine, only now the grape vine produces no fruit. The wood of the vine is thus a useless twig, not suitable for any constructive purpose.

The people would like to know, will anyone be saved? Why destroy everything? God answers, sometimes the society ois so corrupt that it can no longer be saved. Even were there righteous individuals such as Noah, Daniel and Job, they can save themselves, but the society, even many innocent people, will suffer.

Don't come to seek the word of God if your heart is still dreaming of corruption and sin. If you do come, God will answer you according to what is in your heart. Mend your ways, then seek God. For those false prophets who pretend to speak My word, there will be no excuse, you are causing My people to stray.