Reflections
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 44
Z e c h a r I a h
Zechariah is given vision of a dispute in heaven. It is like a courtroom scene in which opposing parties argue a legal case before a judge. Joshua, the High Priest who accompanied Zerubbabel on his return from Babylon, is on trial. He is clothed in “filthy garments”. His advocate,“the Angel of the LORD”. The prosecutor, and accuser, Satan (formerly also an angel with ambition above his station!). The Judge, the LORD God Almighty. The charge, against Joshua seems to be that his accuser thought him unworthy of the office of High Priest, representative of the ‘people of God’. Why? Along with the people of Judea, Joshua had already been condemned, by God, and exiled to Babylon for his part in the failure of the people to keep their covenant and practise idolatry. The evidence, for all to see, being his “filthy garments”. Satan was delighted at God’s judgment of Judea in exiling them to Babylon. God’s chosen thrown out of the Land. God’s plan for His people at an end. Game, set, and match, to Satan.
Now there is an important lesson for believers today in what follows. Jude in his short letter (Jude 1:9) has a report of another heavenly dispute. The subject is different, but the advocates and the Judge are the same. And this is the lesson. In both cases it is the LORD who rebukes Satan. Even the ‘chief of Angels’ does not confront Satan directly. If Michael the archangel, does not rebuke Satan directly, it seems unwise for me, a mere mortal to do so. And yet I have many times heard enthusiastic believers throw themselves into such a conflict with a loud “I rebuke you Satan”. Learn from Michael! I do not glorify Satan by reminding myself that he is a powerful enemy. Not to be tangled with, but dealt with by Almighty God (Revelation 20: 2 and 10).
And so it was that Satan was given the message. “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who chose Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not a brand plucked from the fire?” What Satan considered to be ‘game. set, and match’ was just a corrective measure by the LORD to bring His people back to Himself. “The brand plucked from the fire”. To make the point more graphically, the LORD continued “Take away the filthy garments from him”. Then addressing Joshua “See I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes”. And herein lies another lesson. Only the LORD our God has power to accomplish that. By the breath of His mouth He can make the vilest person clean. He did, and He does. But there is much more to be learned here. Immediately following this transformation, ‘the Angel of the LORD’ spoke again in admonishment of Joshua. It is a conditional message. “If you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep My command, then you shall also judge My house, and likewise have charge of My courts”. It is very comforting to accept the blessing of God. Less comforting to even acknowledge that there might be some admonishing conditions attached to such blessing, let alone accept them. Friends, there are plenty of “IF’s” in the Scriptures. Too many of us have acquired the skill of myopically removing them from the text!!
Then, in a most enlightening way, for us living today, Zechariah joins Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Jeremiah, and the Psalmist (118) in being shown the advent of the Messiah of God. It is referred to as “a wondrous sign”, and so it is. “My servant, the BRANCH, the Stone”. All descriptors of Messiah Yeshua. We are blessed to be able to see that in history. Zechariah’s audience had faith alone as their assurance of God’s wondrous sign. And yet still future for us to receive by faith alone “And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day says the LORD of hosts, everyone will invite his neighbour under his vine and under his fig tree”. Our God is a trustworthy, covenant keeping, God. And there is more. Zechariah is shown a golden seven branched lamp stand and two olive trees constantly feeding the lamps. That speaks of the temple which at that time had not been repaired. God had called both Haggai and Zechariah to encourage the people to get on with the task of mending of the walls and restoring the temple. They were quite discouraged and severely hampered in that work. How could they possibly get that done with such obstacles in their way? So the word the LORD gave Zechariah for Zerubbabel, the man chosen to lead the Judeans back to the land from Babylon. “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts”. It sounds rather too easy doesn’t it? But it was not. The obstacles and the challenges remained. But the will and determination of the people doing the work was uplifted by the knowledge that they were about the LORD’s business. How do we know that? Because the word of the LORD to Zechariah said so, and he passed that word faithfully to the people. “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of the temple, his hands shall also finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you”.
Then Zecharaiah wondered about the two mysterious olive trees which continuously fed the lamps of the golden lamp stand. The LORD told him they represented the two “anointed ones, who stand beside the LORD of the whole earth”. Well, the two most prominent people there at the time were Zerubbabel, who led the people back from Babylon, and Joshua, the High Priest who stood in the court with this ‘filthy garments’ at the beginning of our text. Commentators point out that Zerubbabel was a direct descendant of David, and Joshua, the High Priest, was a direct descendant of Eleazar, who succeeded his father Aaron as High Priest when he died.
Now isn’t that an interesting point at which to end our ‘reflection’ this week?
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 43
Z E C H A R I A H
Just two months after the LORD spoke to Haggai, He spoke to Zechariah on the very same matter. It must have been very important to the LORD. The simplistic thrust of the message given to Haggai to proclaim was “get on with the task the LORD has given you to do”. Zechariah, a name which means ‘YHWH remembers’, had a very similar, but more extensive, insight into the prophetic future of the Israelites. So it was that Zechariah was first told “The LORD has been very angry with your fathers”. God remembered the covenant they had made, and broken. The word continued “Return to Me, and I will return to you …. Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds”. Did it ever occur to you that God sees the breaking of the covenant as “evil”? Evil is a very strong word isn’t it? The Hebrew word also could be translated “calamitous”!
Three months later, Zechariah, a priest (Nehemiah 12:16), son of the prophet Iddo, ‘saw by night’, presumably in a dream. a man (identified as the “Angel of the LORD”) riding a red horse, standing in the myrtle trees. Behind him were others riding red, speckled, and white horses. They were “ones sent by God”, commissioned to “walk to and fro throughout the earth”. They reported that “the earth was resting quietly”. This would contrast sharply with the plight of the returned exiles, harassed and disrupted every day. They had been given the task of re-building the walls, but had made slow progress because of that disruption. We saw in our ‘reflection’ in Haggai that they were dispirited and had lost motivation to continue. It was the role of Zechariah to encourage the people in that task by reminding them of the importance of rebuilding the temple, which had been destroyed by fire at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar some 70 years earlier. The temple was the centre of worship and sacrifice for the people. It represented the very presence of God in their midst. It was the place where, by their presentation of sacrifices, they could “draw near” to God in worship of Him. A holy place.
So the angel who spoke to Zechariah in that vision (or dream) told him. To proclaim the word of the LORD thus :- “I am zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great zeal. I am very angry with the nations at ease; for I was a little angry, and they helped - but with evil intent”. There are a number of lessons for us today in that statement of the LORD. We have ‘reflected’ many times on the fact that “the LORD does not change” (Malachi 3:6). He was zealous for Jerusalem then, and He is still zealous for Jerusalem now. Appreciating that is crucial to a believers’ understanding of the Scriptures. He was ‘very angry with nations at ease’ then, and He is very angry with those nations now. In those days, He had used the nations to bring judgment on His people because of idolatry and their neglect of Torah. Even though He was at that time “a little angry” with those nations. That “little anger” turned to “exceeding anger” when those nations exceeded, and even revelled, in their role as God’s agents of judgment. God will always honour His covenant with His people. He did then, by restoring them to their land. And He is now, by restoring them in huge numbers to their land today. I invite you to consider the actions of the United Nations towards Israel today. It is that which causes me to conclude, in ‘reflection’, what God thinks of nations (at ease) today. I believe He is “exceedingly angry”, just as He was in the days of Zechariah. He says “I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it … My cities shall again spread out through prosperity; the LORD will again comfort Zion, and will again choose Jerusalem”. It was God’s message to nations then, and it’s God’s message to nations (and especially to believers in those nations) today.
It does not take long for Zechariah to be shown a much longer view of God’s prophetic message to the people. The man with a measuring line in his hand. The population of Jerusalem in Zechariah’s day is variously estimated (by archaeologists) at between 8,000 and 20,000. In 1948 it was about 160,000. Today it is about 940,000. That fulfils the prophecy about “the multitude of men and livestock in it” (Zech 2:4). Clearly, the days of the LORD being “a wall of fire all around her (Jerusalem) and I will be the glory in her midst”, are days still future to us today. And if anyone has doubt about the LORD’s love of His people, Israel, just look at chapter 2, verse 8, of our text. “He who touches you touches the apple of His (God’s) eye”. In paraphrase we might say that treating Israel with contempt or worse, is like ‘poking God in the eye’. Sadly, to our great shame, that is exactly how Israel has been dealt with by the christian church over past centuries, and continues today in many believers.
But there is also a great message of hope in this prophecy. Speaking of a day still future, the LORD continues. “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst … many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem. Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for He is aroused from His holy habitation”. I respectfully suggest that those words of the LORD, given to Zechariah for the people of his day, were also given for the day in which we are now living. Who is the “ME” who is to be sent? “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). If that were the end it would be very sad. But there is a day coming when “HE will take possession of Judah as His inheritance”. Glorious days ahead.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 42
H A G G A I
We do not know much about Haggai, who wrote this prophetic message. Only Obadiah wrote a shorter one! But that does not diminish its importance. It contains a timely call for action, with a valuable lesson for all of us to learn. In short, “do not neglect the work God has called you to do”. So, a brief recall of history to set the scene. Around 538 BCE Zerubbabel and Ezra, together with up to 50,000 others were permitted by king Cyrus of Persia to return to Israel to re-build the walls of Jerusalem. The work commenced 2 years later. As a result of harassment, opposition from neighbours, and indifference by the Jews, that work remained incomplete. About 16 years later, the LORD stirred up both Haggai and Zechariah for two principal reasons. First to encourage the people to finish the work of building the temple. Second to re-order their spiritual priorities (see Ezra 5 and 6). In the event, the work of construction was completed about 4 years later, in 516 BCE (Ezra 6:15). So let us now ‘reflect’ on the message.
The LORD spoke to Haggai in reference to that unfinished work. “Is it time for you yourselves to live in panelled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?” And followed that up with the challenging words “Consider your ways”. And herein lies the first lesson for any who seek to learn. God knows the heart and actions of each one of us. He charged these people with earning wages and putting what they earned into a ‘bag with holes’. At the very least that is wasteful, and at its worst it speaks of self indulgence. The contrast is made between the “panelled house” and the “ruined temple”. Quite a graphic depiction of priorities. So the LORD requires us to “Consider your ways”. For those Jews at that time, He provided instructions. “Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I might take pleasure in it and be glorified'. We should perhaps be asking the LORD what He requires of us.
Haggai reminded them of the prospect of debilitating drought and failure of crops. How did he know? Well of course, God told him. BUT, that was clearly spelled out in the Torah account in the “blessings and curses” chapters of Deuteronomy 28,29. That was well known to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, and Joshua, the son of the high priest. And they “obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him; and the people feared the presence of the LORD”. And here lies a second lesson. I do not ever recall any teaching, or experience, of “people fearing the presence of the LORD”. Certainly there is respect and worship of God in many places. But all too often, there is a familiarity with God which diminishes the recognition and appreciation of His awesome might and power. The same power which Paul refers to as “the exceeding greatness of His power … which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places”. (Ephesians 1:19,20) That is the power over life and death. Selah!
Haggai spoke again, as directed by the LORD, to Zerubbabel and Joshua. “Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing?” I can only imagine the shame which those men might have felt to be so addressed by the prophet. And had it been left at that, quite devastating. But there was more. The LORD said “Be strong, all you people of the land, and work; for I am with you … the silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, … The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former, … and in this place I will give peace”. And as we mentioned at the beginning of this ‘reflection’, we know that the work was completed four years later, to the glory of God. However, the reference to the ‘peace’ which is to come is actually yet another indicator of a still future period, which was dealt with in our recent ‘reflections’ in Ezekiel’s prophecy. It will come after ‘the war to end all wars’ when the temple, yet to be built, will function under the reign, in the land, of our Messiah, King Yeshua. But, in Haggai’s time, there still remained one more task to be completed.
When the people returned to the land from Babylon, there was, at best, a quite dysfunctional priesthood. So Haggai questioned them about the Torah duties and operations of the priesthood. They responded correctly. They knew the theory, but were short on the practical. Then Haggai was able to compare that to the people, who evidently had not been taught correct practice by the priests. They were therefore ritually ‘unclean’, so not able to worship in the newly re-constructed temple. That was a practical issue for the people of that day, and Zerubbabel was charged with the responsibility of ensuring that things would change. He did.
And then the prophetic discourse changed to embrace a much further view of the future. The LORD said “I will shake heaven and earth. I will overthrow the throne of the kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of Gentile kingdoms. I will overthrow the chariots and those who ride in them; the horses and their riders shall come down, everyone by the sword of his brother”. That is another picture of the ‘war to end all wars’. But the final prophecy, in great compliment to Zerubbabel, God said “and I will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you”. A ‘signet ring’ is a lasting object of memorial significance. The disobedience of the people in not carrying out their allotted tasks had caused God to withhold blessing. Their turn around, to be obedient to His command causes a release of God’s abundant blessing. And that is the final lesson to be learned from this ‘reflection’.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 42
O B A D I A H
We do not have much detail about Obadiah the man, or the actual date of this prophecy. It is thought to have been written about the time of the fall of Jerusalem under the siege of Nebuchadnezzar around 586 BCE, but it could have been much earlier, during the reign of king Jehoram (852 - 841 BCE). It does not alter the substance of the prophetic vision God gave to him. Nor the message which this prophecy has for us today.
This is a relatively brief prophecy, (one chapter in our Bible) concerned largely with just one nation, Edom. That is the one nation most singled out in the Scriptures to receive the full force of the wrath of God. Psalmists 83 and 137, Isaiah 11, 34, and 63, Jeremiah 49, Lamentations 4, Ezekiel 25 and 35, Joel 3, Amos 1 and 9, and Malachi 1, all make mention of the judgment of God on Edom. And it all goes back to the time when Esau sold his birthright to Jacob, and the bitter hatred which flowed from that incident. Edom is where Esau settled. Centuries later, his descendants refused to let the sons of Jacob pass through their territory as they journeyed to the land of God’s promise. God was displeased too when these same Edomites rejoiced over the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. Edom is situated just south of the dead sea in today’s Jordan, and includes the famous tourist area of Petra (constructed by the Nabateans). It is one of two places which, after the war to end all wars, will be totally desolate. (Babylon is the other).
The description of the Edomites living in elevated caves in rocky country can be readily identified with the area where Petra is today. At least the geography fits. Proud, not least because of their elevated position, the Edomites seemed to consider themselves impregnable. Safe from all attack. It was one source of their great pride. Earlier, Solomon had written “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall”. (Proverbs 16:18) Obadiah said “The pride of your heart has deceived you well”. We have mentioned a number of times that what God says, God will do. And the prophet was sent with a simple enough message from God. Your end has been determined by your present. A good enough lesson for everyone to learn. It is not what you say. Words are cheap. It is what you are, what you do, on which God makes judgement (Revelation 20:12). But in His love and mercy, His judgement is not without warning. “For violence against your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off for ever”. For the Edomites of course the deed had already been committed. But for anyone who is able to see a lesson here, God has referred these people, Israelites, known globally today as “Jews”, as His ‘special treasure’, and ‘the apple of My eye’. He told Abraham that He would bless those who blessed him (and his descendants), but He would ‘bitterly curse’ those who treated them ‘with contempt’.
Obadiah had the task of letting the Edomites know what was ahead of them, and why. He could not have known that his message was timeless. It is the wonder of the Scriptures that God is able to convey, through His dealings with His own people, and by extension through the actions of those they came into contact with, how He exercises judgement. The ‘christian church’ has a record of appalling behaviour towards the Jews down through the ages. We should pray that God would enlighten us, in this generation, to avoid the mistakes of those who preceded us. It is evident from our text that the Edomites had metaphorically ‘danced on the grave’ of the Israelites in their days of distress. “You should not have entered the gate of My people in the day of their calamity. Indeed you should not have gazed on their affliction … nor laid hands on their substance (looting). Nor should you have stood at the crossroads to cut off those among them who escaped; nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained”. There was no more to be said to Edom.
But there was a word of warning left for the other nations too. As I write these words, a vivid, horrible, picture comes to my mind. Millions of Jews, men, women, children, old, young, middle aged, no discrimination, who were murdered in the holocaust of the early 1940’s. And the countless millions who died during the period we know as “the inquisition”. Pogroms of Britain in 1290, (they did not officially return until 1655) Spain in 1492. Of Russia, of Algeria. It is endless. Hatred of those who are “called by My name” says the LORD.
In his vision, God told Obadiah to continue “For the day of the LORD upon all nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head. For as you drank on My holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually; …. And they shall be as though they had never been.” No-one cares think that God’s judgment might be turned on them. But God is just. He deals with everyone with equanimity. No special deals. But now Obadiah sees some light at the end of the tunnel. “But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions”. There was a day ahead when Israel would once again take their rightful place, as God intended, in their own land. That has already happened, temporarily, since the return from Babylonian exile. In our generation, we are witnessing a return from “all the nations to which they were scattered”. But even this is not the end. But it is “the beginning of the end.” Look forward to the day when Messiah Yeshua returns to reign on His throne. Wouldn’t Obadiah be pleased?
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 41
E Z E K I E L
The final “reflection” on the prophetic declarations of Ezekiel. Last week the focus was on the Temple yet to be constructed in Jerusalem, and the re-institution of the sacrificial system of worship in that Temple. I note a major difference between previous Temples and this third Temple. There is NO Court of Gentiles, with its accompanying “wall of partition”. The LORD says “No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel”. (Ezekiel 44:9) However, gentiles will be allowed to take up residence in the land, sharing that experience within one of the Tribes of Israel, living in peace and harmony with that Tribe (Ezekiel 47: 21-23). It is worthy of note that the sign of the covenant God made with Abraham was “circumcision of the flesh”.
In a previous “reflection” we dealt with the re-gathering of the Jews from “all the places where they had been scattered”. And now we consider the physical elements of settlement in the land for the Millennial kingdom of Messiah Yeshua.
That ALL the tribes of Israel will be represented is beyond dispute because they are named. Among those will be the 144,000 young virginal men, who were “sealed” for special service of the LORD. From other Scriptures, we also know that those martyred during the period of tribulation leading up to “the war to end all wars” will be in positions of leadership, but not necessarily in Israel. (the world is a big place!!) The division of the land is much more ‘orderly’ than in the original settlement, (see illustration) and each tribe, except Levi, has a land allotment. Judah and Benjamin are immediately north and south of the central “Holy Zone”. That zone to be occupied by the Levites and the priests of Zadok, and adjacent land both east and west of the “Holy Zone” is allotted to “the Prince”. The Levites will be permitted to slaughter the sacrificial animals, but only the priests of Zadok will be allowed to enter the Holy Place where those sacrifices are presented to the LORD, for which duty they will be required to wear special linen garments to avoid the presence of any unclean bodily fluids such as sweat. And there will be strict rules of conduct, such as entry and exit procedures, for anyone attending the Temple courts. Having read the declarations of God given to Ezekiel, I have come to the view that the Millenial reign of Yeshua, ruling with a rod of iron (Rev 12:5 and 19:15) will be markedly different from the seeming chaotic mixture of activities we see in our present day world cities.
There will be other differences too. The Eastern Gate of the Temple, in present times is walled up and “guarded” by a very large cemetery all the way down into the Kidron Valley. In “Ezekiel’s Temple” that gate will be the way of entry of the LORD Himself. For that reason, no-one else is allowed to use it, and it will be closed for six days of the week. On Sabbaths, New Moons and other “mo’edim’ it will be opened. Only “the Prince” will be allowed to worship in the vestibule of this gate, and other people only at the entrance to that gateway, but not enter the vestibule.
Regarding the “mo’edim” of the LORD, there will also be changes to the present remembrances. Shavuot, Yom Teruah, and Yom Kippur will no longer be observed. Life will be under the New Covenant. Yeshua will have made His reappearance on this earth and the Day of Atonement will no longer be necessary. However, it is evident that as an everlasting memorial to Yeshua’s atoning death, and the miraculous birth of Israel as a nation before God, the celebration of Passover and Unleavened bread will continue. The joyous celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles (Ingathering), a remembrance of the marriage supper of the Lamb, will be an obligatory festival for ALL nations. This is clear from the word given to the prophet Zechariah, and nations unrepresented at that festival denied rainfall the following year.
The final observation to be made is the amazing revelation which God showed Ezekiel regarding the continuous flow of living water out of the new Temple. I confess that I find it impossible to imagine that scene. Truly a miracle of God. It will be a “river of life”. Ezekiel says “This water flows toward the eastern region (i.e, inland) goes down the valley, and enters the sea (the dead sea). When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there: for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; there will be places for spreading their nets. This fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea (Mediterranean), exceedingly many”.
This is just part of the wonderful provision of God for those who, by faith and by action, are promised life with and in the Millennial reign of our Saviour. Blessed be His Name.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
Image Reference:
Source:
John W. Schmitt, Messianic Temple Ministries, 1633 SE 38th Portland, OR 97233
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E Z E K I E L
The first Temple, built by Solomon, was destroyed by the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. It was partially restored by Ezra and Nehemiah, and a new (second) Temple, built by Herod the great, took more than 50 years to construct, and was destroyed in 70 CE by Titus, son of Roman Emperor Vespasian. Following the prophecy about the return of the exiled Jews back to the land, and the “war to end all wars” which would bring nations into judgment with the LORD, Ezekiel is given a vision of another (third) Temple which is yet to be built in Jerusalem. As this present age draws to a close, the Scriptures tell us of the rise of “a man of peace” (identified as Anti-Christ). During his seven years of global influence he will demand to be worshipped in the Temple in Jerusalem. It does not yet exist! The dimensions of this visionary Temple occupy about 10 acres of land. The Temple Mount, is about 37 acres in area, and of trapezoid shape. Presently the site of TWO mosques. The Dome of the Rock (a memorial site to the prophet Mohammad), and the regularly used Al Aqsa mosque. The whole site presently under Jordanian administrators. Jews are not permitted to enter the site, but gentile visitors may get permission as tourists. (I have often wondered how a seven year peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians might be forged by anyone. And then, in my imagination I see how the construction of a new Temple on the Temple Mount would be such an attractive proposition for Jews that such a peace treaty is quite possible)
God took Ezekiel, in a vision, to a very high place, causing him to look to the south so that he could see clearly a structure ‘like a city’. There was a man in the gateway of that place, with a measuring line in his hand. The man spoke to Ezekiel. “Look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here so that I might show them to you . Declare to the house of Israel everything you see”. (That reminds me of the kind of instruction John was given as he was taken on his visionary tour of Heaven which is recorded in Revelation). In the first three chapters of our ‘reflection’ we find a detailed description of the Temple with many precise measurements of rooms, spaces, courtyards and steps. The descriptions of the Temple furniture and decorative features are also precisely specified. It appears as nothing was left to chance. It’s God’s way isn’t it? It is a most remarkable characteristic of our Bible. Sometimes a good search may be required, but God is fulfilling all His purposes just as He has declared in His Word. Trustworthy. And after the descriptions, Ezekiel was introduced to the purpose. The man spoke to Ezekiel again “Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory”. (Look again at Revelation 1:15) “And the glory of the LORD came into the Temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east”. Then the man who had been speaking to Ezekiel became silent and LORD Himself spoke again. “This is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever”. (Can you hear that voice like many waters?)
Now this is the challenge for believers today. Because of the anti Jewish bias of centuries of “church teaching”, there are many who cannot come to terms with the concept of another Temple being built. Especially a fully functioning Temple as was described in minute detail to Ezekiel. But there is MORE. Read for yourself Ezekiel 43:18-27. The last words read “When these days are over it shall be, on the eighth day and thereafter, that the priests shall offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar; and I will accept you says the Lord God”. What Ezekiel is describing is a return to the sacrificial system of “drawing near to God” just as God had described to Moses on the mountain. For almost two thousand years, Jews have bemoaned the fact that they have no Temple in which to worship God. Unable to perform the daily rituals of sacrifice which Torah specifies. And here Ezekiel is describing the return of Burnt offerings, Sin offerings, Peace offerings. The only offerings not mentioned specifically are the Grain Offerings and the Trespass Offerings. It is demonstrably evident that God is fulfilling the prophetic return of Jews to Israel just as Ezekiel wrote. Did Ezekiel get it right in the first 39 chapters, and then get it wrong from chapter 40 to 48? I think not.
The Temple specified here will remain throughout the Millennial reign of Yeshua. A fully functioning Temple of worship, praise, adoration, and sacrifice to the Lord our God. Why? Because God has declared it. Now we need to also remember that life in that time will be different to the life we experience today. It will be life living in the New Covenant. The Torah of God will be put in the minds, and written on the hearts of men. No-one can be taught that, because everyone, from the greatest to the least will know it. Am I too bold to suggest we could start by observing it today?
Shabbat Shalom
RS
Image Reference:
Source:
Hubbard, Shiloh, Elliot Ritzema, Corbin Watkins, and Lazarus Wentz with Logos Bible Software and KarBel Media. Faithlife Study Bible Infographics. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2012.
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‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 39
E Z E K I E L
Very serious message to ‘reflect’ on this week. The war to end all wars, a future event. Ezekiel is instructed to prophesy against more enemies of Israel. The first mention of the name “Gog” appears in 1 Chronicles 5:4, the genealogy of Reuben. However, there are many who still argue about the identity and origins of the “Gog” (be it man or nationality), who (or which) is the main subject of this week’s ‘reflection’. What is abundantly clear is that Almighty God is against Gog! Identified as an enemy whom God will encourage to enter into battle with Israel, and then be defeated. The prophecy remains unfulfilled. Many believers look for the signs of that fulfilment because, importantly, it heralds the beginning of the end of this age, immediately preceding the return of Messiah Yeshua to rule and reign in Jerusalem for 1,000 years. And that is what the Scriptures are all about.
(Reference is made to Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. It is of little consequence to the events of this ‘reflection’, but “rosh” is a Hebrew adjective mentioned over 600 times in the Scriptures and always interpreted “chief”. It is not a description of territory, as Meshech and Tubal are identified as regional areas of present day Turkey. So, Gog is the ‘chief prince of Magog’. It is a matter of further interest that Gog and Magog rate an important mention again AFTER the millennial reign of Yeshua in Revelation 20, when Satan is released from the “prison” in which he will be chained. Gog and Magog are identified as ‘the four corners of the earth’. In that final battle, God uses fire to consume His enemies).
Then Ezekiel turned his attention to the battle plan God has devised. “Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you: and be a guard for them. After many days you will be visited (one might assume this to be by provocation of the Spirit of God). In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from the many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; (remember the 1,800 years of drought which caused that desolation which we mentioned last week) they were brought out of the nations and now dwell safely.” To gain the timing perspective I carefully note that for at least 200 years Israel was occupied by the Greek and Roman invaders before Yeshua came to this earth. Then only in 1948 was Israel established again as a sovereign nation, and just in the last 70 years have we observed the enormous rates of immigration by Jews back to the land. So the invaders, when they appear as a great army of many nations, thinking it to be an easy task, complacent, ill prepared, contemplating a quick end to the battle, are in for a mighty shock. God said “Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel ….. and all the men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD." As this present age draws to a close, God is intent on revealing Himself to the world in a manner that leaves no doubt about Who He is. The days of optional opinions of Him will be behind us. His mighty arm exposed and demonstrated for all to see. No longer will “faith” be required to trust Him. Because they will ALL know Him, from the greatest to the least. This is the time generally known by believers as “the Ezekiel 38/39 war”. This is also consistent with the account of the breaking of the sixth seal described in Revelation 6:12-16.
Our “reflection" continues as Ezekiel speaks in prophecy to that great army. “You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the people who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured”. The description of the carnage which this battle produces is unprecedented. Read the description in Chapter 39 of our text. The invading armies are reduced, in death, to become a gigantic food lot for birds and wild animals. Horrific. “So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name any more. Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One of Israel”. Then in emphatic terms He continued “Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,” says the Lord God, “This is the day of which I have spoken”. Now, as I write this “reflection”, I perceive that there are only TWO groups of people alive in this world today. There are those of us who trust and believe God, and there are others who do not. There is NO fence to sit on. But what I believe, and others may not, has NO bearing on the veracity of God’s plan. It is set out in plain and simple language. Make a choice. The future of every person is decided by the choice made.
The prophecy of Ezekiel declares that such will be the scale of the slaughter that it will take seven months for the whole land to be cleared of the remains of the dead, so that the land will be cleansed. A time which I presume will be part of the first year of the millennial reign of Yeshua, which immediately follows this “war to end all wars”. It is the time when the Apostle Paul declares that “All Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11:26). What God says is “When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies lands, and am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who sent the into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel, says the Lord God”.
There could not possibly be a more clear declaration of the love of God for those who are preciously ‘called by His name’.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 38
E Z E K I E L
The nature of the prophetic message given to Ezekiel changes dramatically. We ended last week with exile from the land imminent, and future desolation prophesied. And so it was. In the event, approximately 1,800 years of debilitating drought, causing catastrophic desolation. And there remain serious issues with the “shepherds of Israel”. Those who should have been leading the people into safety, feeding them properly, spiritually, with the teachings given to Moses on the mountain centuries earlier. “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I am against the shepherds (of Israel), and I will require MY flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them’.” Blunt, direct, unambiguous, final. Those appointed by God to be teachers and leaders are subject to a stricter judgment than those who are not (James 3:1). It was true in Ezekiel’s day, and it is true today. The penalty for leading people falsely, or selfishly, by seeking gain for oneself at the expense of the ‘flock’, is frightening. Yet, even today, hierarchical church structures, operating on the classic modern business model, are rife with it. In His letters to the “ekklesia” in Revelation, Yeshua described it as the “doctrine of the Nicolaitans”, which He hates.
The people had been scattered as a result of the neglect (for which God blamed the shepherds) of their covenant responsibilities. Firstly, they were exiled to Babylon, and from there, many returned about 70 years later. But this prophetic announcement of Ezekiel goes way beyond that exile. “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out … and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day … and will bring them to their own land”. And that prophecy, my dear friends, we see being fulfilled before our own eyes in this generation. Consider this. No country can prosper without rain, and God controls the weather. After the exile by the Romans, Israel did not begin to have any meaningful rain again until about 1878. (In 1867, Mark Twain, in his book “Innocents Abroad” had described the country as “desolate and uninhabitable”). Then in 1897, Theodore Hertzl, at the age of 37 years, organised the first Zionist Council in Basel Switzerland. He died 7 years later, but the return of Jews to the Land had now began. In 1947, the United Nations agreed to grant Israel rights to the Land again. That very year, rainfall reached a new level. Another peak in 1967, when Jerusalem was restored to Israel. In 1973, when Israel successfully fought off the challenge of the “Yom Kippur” war, another rainfall peak occurred. In 2020, the ‘Sea of Galilee’ was a mere 21 cm below its ‘dangerous’ red line level, causing the authorities to contemplate opening the dam to release water from it!! AND, Jews “making Alyia” (going up) to Israel continued unabated. This friends, is what the LORD showed Ezekiel in our prophetic reading today. What a mighty God we serve. “I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them - My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd”. Now clearly, king David had died about 400 years earlier. But his dynasty was established ‘for ever’ (2 Samuel 7: 12 -16). An unmistakable reference to Messiah Yeshua, and an event still future to us today. But there is MORE. “I will make a covenant of peace with them”. This is the NEW COVENANT, sealed with the ‘Blood of the Lamb’ which Jeremiah detailed, and which is to be made with ‘the house of Israel and the house of Judah’. (Jeremiah 31: 31-34) Gentiles may be included in that covenant by “grafting in” as Paul described in Romans 11. And that my dear friends, has privileges and responsibilities!! “Thus they shall know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people”. It seems that God is focussed on ensuring that both by His own people, and by the world, that HE alone is known as God, and there is no other.
This whole theme of restoration of the scattered people of Israel to the land of God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and His reason for so doing, is continued in Chapter 36. “Thus says the Lord GOD; ‘I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went …. And the nations shall know that I am the LORD … when I am hallowed in you before their eyes’.” It is a work in progress. A population of about 800,000 in 1948 has become 9,250,000 in 2020. Can anyone deny that God is fulfilling the prophecy of Ezekiel? ALL of it in my lifetime. And it is not finished. There are still about 6 million Jews not living in Israel. And a very small proportion of Jews have faith in Yeshua as Messiah. And so we come to the amazing prophetic message of Ezekiel 37. DRY BONES. “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel answered “O Lord GOD, You know”. Please read the prophetic words of Chapter 37 again, understanding that the process has already begun.
The nations of Israel and Judah, separate at the time when Ezekiel lived, are to “become one stick” again (v 19), as they were under the rule of king David. They will be ONE nation again, never to be divided (v 22). They will be ruled by the dynasty of David (Messiah Yeshua) (v 24). They will be united in Torah observance (v 24). And they will have a “New Covenant”. “The nations will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuaries in their midst forevermore”.
The question that remains in my mind is .. why are believers in Yeshua today so ignorant of God’s eternal plan for His people, Israel? It is unfolding before our eyes.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 37
E Z E K I E L
The prophecy against Egypt (587 BCE by the date given to us by Ezekiel). Ezekiel had been taken captive into Babylon about 15 years earlier. Nebuchadnezzar’s army was just beginning their siege of Jerusalem. Egypt had been a world power for centuries and had prospered under the stewardship of Joseph when he was Prime Minister. Several years later, following his death, the prosperity continued for Egypt with the availability of an abundance of Israelite ‘slave labour’. Now Ezekiel was shown events which would soon follow for Egypt, and God would use first the Greeks (570 BCE), and then the same armies which were besieging Jerusalem (567 BCE) to bring judgement on the Egyptians. The Pharaoh was described as a ‘crocodile’, a mean cruel monster, which was once revered by Egyptians, but living in the rivers where Egyptians fished for food. Additionally, Israel had unwisely relied on Egypt in a military alliance, and been let down. “Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed (very weak) to the house of Israel (Isaiah 36:6). When they took hold of you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders (turned on them), when they leaned on you, you broke and made all their backs quiver”. For that, God said He would make Egypt “desolate and waste”. And He did. But as a God of mercy and compassion, that was not the end for the people. “At the end of forty years .. I will bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of their origin, and there they shall be the lowliest of kingdoms .. so they will not rule over the nations anymore”. And they never have. The lesson for us? What God says, God will do!
In a very interesting twist, it seems to me, God had determined to reward the army of Nebuchadnezzar, for their help in bringing judgement upon Judah!! They had toiled for about 13 years in siege of Tyre as their reward, but were unsuccessful. The people of Tyre escaped to an Island and survived. “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Surely I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army. I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour, because he worked for Me.’ Says the Lord GOD”. God is no-one’s debtor.
The prophecy against Egypt continued, and as our reading progresses we see that other nations are drawn into the net of God’s wrath. Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, Chub. Nations who supported, and had citizens working with, Egypt are all drawn into the net. “Those who uphold Egypt shall fall”, we are told. And here is perhaps another lesson for us today. We need to take great care to whom, and what, we support and provide aid. Because when God looks upon those who are His, He expects that we will not give our support to those who oppose Him. Certainly not those who are false teachers. Our God is a jealous God. Double standards will not be tolerated in any circumstance. One cannot support what God condemns. To do so is to be subject to the same condemnation. Then Ezekiel is told the reason for all this wrath AGAIN. “That they shall know that I am the LORD”. It is a recurring theme of God. When He instructed Moses to proclaim the curses which befell the Pharaoh of Egypt in his day, it was so that “they shall know that I am the LORD”. And because we are already blessed with the knowledge of Him. We are without excuse.
In Chapter 33 of our text, God returns to the message He first gave Ezekiel in Chapter 3. It is a message we should all learn. It is the role of “watchman”. It doesn’t sound too arduous, but it is viewed with great importance by God. In Chapter 3, God appointed Ezekiel as “watchman” for the house of Israel. Here in Chapter 33, God instructed Ezekiel to appoint other “watchmen”, with identical responsibility and consequence. It is a simple task. When danger appears, blow the trumpet to warn the people. It is what Ezekiel is doing in writing this prophetic book. Those who heed the warning will be saved from the danger. They take action themselves to be protected. But if the warning is deliberately ignored, then they take the consequential responsibility themselves. However, if the “watchman” does NOT sound the warning, he bears the consequential responsibility for his lack of action. I note that there is NO middle ground. It is concisely set out for us as God told Ezekiel “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?” Good question eh? Selah!
Our ‘reflection’ ends this week with a sad reminder that the Israelites did not heed the warning of the “watchmen”, and were taken, as a nation, into captivity in Babylon. But we know they were restored, in part, about 70 years later, when first Ezra, then Nehemiah, returned to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. So it comes as a surprise to see the prophecy in Ezekiel 33: 28 about the “desolation of the land”. This is a reference to another exile which took place when the Romans, in 135 CE expelled the Jews after the Bar Kochba uprising, and the siege at Masada. It is noteworthy that the land of Israel endured about 1,800 years of drought after that event. In 1867, the American author, Mark Twain, in his book “Innocents Abroad” wrote that the land, then known as Palestine, was a land “desolate and uninhabitable”. There was no meaningful rain there until about 1880! And today, Israel has an annual rainfall of approx. 600 mm. As we anticipate our “reflection” of next week, we will see how that is so important in God’s plan for those who are called by His name.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 36
E Z E K I E L
In a graphical, picturesque way, God spoke to Ezekiel about the abominations with which the Israelites had defiled themselves. Going back to their time in Egypt, as slaves, God identified the roots of their defilement. He used the example of two sisters to describe the downfall of both Israel and Judah (for which He uses the name of their capital city, Jerusalem). He might have expected that the sister “Oholibah” (Jerusalem) would have learned from the calamity which befell “Oholah” (Samaria). But the malady was deep seated, and had to be removed. Chapter 23 is quite descriptive, and requires no further comment to gain the impression of the disgust with which God viewed their behaviour, and for which He could no longer withhold judgment.
Ezekiel is specific about dating his revelations from the LORD. The dates commence (Ezekiel 1:2) from the reign of Judah’s king Jehoiachin. So the Ezekiel 24 encounter is set in 588 BCE, when the 18 month siege of Jerusalem began. The parable of the boiling pot is another graphic picture of a time of misery for the Judeans as they suffer the siege of Nebuchadnezzar. After the people are dealt with, the “pot” (Jerusalem) itself, is ruined in the fire. “It shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not hold back, nor will I spare, nor will I relent; and according to your deeds they will judge you”. God told Ezekiel that he was not to mourn or weep over His judgement. Then in an almost unbelievable manner, Ezekiel says he told the people the message of God in the morning, and that very evening his own wife died! Did the LORD take away his natural sorrow supernaturally? We will never know. But what we do know is that Ezekiel was faithful to his allotted task, and became an example to the people. “Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; and when this comes, you shall know that I am the Lord GOD”.
The “lamentations” continue. Ezekiel 25 records the words of the LORD against those who dealt spitefully with Israel. Turn your mind back to the promise God made to Abraham in Genesis 12:3. “I will (bitterly) curse (Heb. a’rar) those who (treat with contempt) curse (Heb. qalal) you”. So it is that we find Ezekiel instructed to prophesy the events which are to be visited on the Ammonites, and the inhabitants of Moab and Seir. They would scoff and ridicule the Judeans. Edom is mentioned again. The Philistines and the Cherethites, Tyre, Sidon. All the nations and groups who ‘treated Israel with contempt’ come under the judgement of the LORD for their actions. Because God described the Israelites as “My special treasure”, and “the apple of My eye”, those who ignore that relationship do so at their peril. And Ezekiel is chosen by God to reinforce that message. “Hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Because you said “Aha!’ Against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was desolate, and against the house of Judah when it went into captivity, indeed therefore I will deliver you as a possession to the men of the East etc. etc”. The Philistines too because “they dealt vengefully and took vengeance with a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the old hatred”. And don’t we see that in evidence today in many nations of the world. Curiously, to me, whereas God was bringing judgement on the Israelites because of their neglect of Torah, in many places, especially among some Christians, the ‘hatred’ seems to be because the Jews overtly uphold the Torah!! Work that out if you can.
We sometimes forget that whilst God is certainly concerned with the land of Israel because of His special relationship to the Jews, He actually commands the destiny of ALL nations. “For all the earth is Mine” (Exodus 19:5). It was His then, and it is His now, albeit temporarily the disobedient are under the influence of the “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). But that does not provide an acceptable excuse, before God, for behaviours which are detrimental to His beloved nation. Ezekiel is given a list of the detractors. Babylon heads the list, Ammonites, cities of Moab and Seir, Edom, the Philistines, citizens of Tyre, Sidon, Persia, Lydia, Libya, Syria all get a mention. And dear friends, I suspect that if Ezekiel were delivering that prophetic message today, there would be many more. To our great shame, well known names of countries and people groups joining that list. The word of the LORD still applies. “Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god, behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you, the most terrible of nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and defile your splendour. They shall throw you down into the Pit, and you shall die the death of the slain in the midst of the seas”. I speculate here as I see in my mind, the cruel destructive hand of Islam as a possible agent of the LORD is bringing judgement on nations which have been, for many centuries, enemies and detractors of the dispersed of Israel!
Well the last word, as always, must go to the LORD Himself. “When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. And they will dwell safely there, build houses, and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgements on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God”.
That re-gathering is taking place in our generation. It is a sign that we are at the beginning of the end. I pray that those who claim to be “on the LORD’s side”, will join Him in being on Israel’s side too.
Shabbat Shalom
RS