Shall we turn now to Ezekiel chapter 31.
In chapters 29 and 30 of Ezekiel, he
was prophesying concerning the judgment of God that
was to come against the nation of Egypt,
who was like a reed, when Israel sought
to lean upon it, it broke and only
injured Israel.
They were of course warned about leaning upon
Egypt, but the warnings were not heeded and
thus Egypt became as a broken staff and
did not really help Israel, except only temporarily
when Pharaoh Hophri came against Babylon for a
time and they stopped the siege against Jerusalem
for a short period.
Now in chapter 31, he begins a prophecy
against the Pharaoh himself and in this prophecy
against the Pharaoh, he turns to more or
less a parable in which he likens the
Egyptian leader to a great cedar tree in
Lebanon.
Now Lebanon used to be famous for its
huge cedar trees and of course you remember
that the king of Tyre, Hiram, made a
covenant with Solomon to provide the cedars, with
David and with Solomon, to provide the cedars
for the building of the temple in Jerusalem.
And so in a parabolic way, the Lord
speaks of the parable, of the parable really
of the Pharaoh as a giant cedar in
Lebanon.
Came to pass in the 11th year, the
third month, this would be the 11th year
of King Zedekiah or 586 BC.
The word of the Lord came unto me
saying, son of man, speak unto Pharaoh, the
king of Egypt and to his multitude, who
art thou like in greatness?
Egypt of course was a great powerful empire
in the ancient world.
It was one of the world empires or
the world dominating or leading empires and always
a force to be reckoned with.
Who are you like?
And he likens them unto the Assyrians who
were also a great world power.
It was the Assyrians who conquered over the
northern kingdom of Israel.
And so they are like unto Assyria.
They are like a cedar in Lebanon with
fair branches and the shadowing shroud of high
stature, the top among the thick boughs.
And the waters made him great.
That would be the Nile river.
The deep set him on the high with
the rivers running round about his plants and
sent out her little rivers under the trees
of the field, the tributaries and the delta
area where the Nile spread out in the
delta and that rich farmland.
Therefore, his height was exalted above the trees
of the field and his boughs were multiplied.
His branches became long because of the multitude
of waters when he shot forth.
And all of the fowls of heaven made
their nest in his boughs.
And under his branches did all the beasts
of the field bring forth their young.
And under his shadow dwelt all great nations.
So Egypt was one of the great nations
and overshadowed the other nations.
Notice the parable here, the birds lunch lodged
in the branches.
Uh, this is also said by Daniel of
Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian kingdom, but bringing it
into the new Testament, we remember Jesus gave
a kingdom parable.
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a
mustard seed, which is a small little seed,
but it was planted and it grew into
a tree and the birds of the air
came and lodged in it.
Now in a parabolic way, birds are always
thought of in an evil sense.
You remember that when the seed was planted
and it fell by the wayside, the birds
of the air plucked it up so that
it wasn't able to take root.
And they were likened unto the evil one
who comes and plucks the word of God
out of a person's heart so that it
doesn't have any effect.
So in that kingdom parable of the mustard
seed that grew into a tree, first of
all, that is abnormal.
A mustard seed is not a tree seed.
It is a bush, but there was this
abnormal growth.
It grew into a tree and all of
the birds came and lodged in it is
a parable really of the Gentile church that
would become a haven for every kind of
bird that exists.
And so we look at the Gentile church
today and see all the weird birds lodging
in its branches.
It's amazing the things that have been brought
into the church, incorporated as a part of
Christianity and the people who have taken on
the name or the title of Christian.
But of course, it certainly reminds us of
what Jesus said.
Not all who say, Lord, Lord, are going
to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
So Jesus is referring to the fact that
as the Gentile church grows, the abnormal type
of growth, that it is not a healthy,
solid growth, that it is become the haven
for birds.
Now here, the fowls of the heaven made
their nest in the boughs.
That is these other nations conquered by these
other peoples, conquered by Egypt.
Thus was he fair in his greatness, in
the length of his branches, for his root
was by the great waters and the cedars
in the garden of God could not hide
him.
And the fir trees were not like his
boughs and the chestnut trees were not like
his branches, nor any tree in the garden
of God was like unto him in his
beauty.
I have made him fair by the multitude
of his branches so that all the trees
of Eden that were in the garden of
God envied him, the great cedar.
A parable, of course, of Egypt, how it
became such a great nation, the envy of
other nations.
Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, because thou
has lifted up thyself in height and has
shot his up his top among the thick
boughs, his heart is lifted up in his
height.
And I have therefore delivered him into the
hand of the mighty one of the heathen,
and he shall surely deal with him.
I have driven him out for his wickedness.
So the feral judgment is pronounced upon him.
And again, the reason for the judgment notice
carefully is his pride because his heart was
lifted up for his height, for his greatness,
pride cometh before destruction, a haughty spirit before
the fall.
It is extremely difficult for men to handle
a position of power or authority.
I think one of the hardest things in
the world is to be in a position
of ruling over other men, because there is
always that danger of pride coming in and
looking at your position and saying, look what
I have done.
You remember, and we'll get to it.
You remember trustfully for about four years ago
when we were in Daniel, and we'll be
getting there pretty soon again.
When Nebuchadnezzar was looking over Babylon, no doubt
walking through the hanging gardens, one of the
wonders, seven wonders of the ancient world and
walking through this beautiful garden and this fabulous
city that he had built walls, 300 feet
high, 80 feet thick.
And he said, is not this the great
Babylon that I have built?
And a voice came from heaven saying, hey,
the watchers have been watching you and your
heart has been lifted up with pride.
Nebuchadnezzar came to Daniel and said, you know,
told him of this experience of hearing this
voice saying that the watchers have been watching
and saw his pride and God was going
to bring him into judgment.
And Daniel says, hey, walk carefully, be careful.
And about a year later, again, old Nebuchadnezzar
was boasting in his greatness, the great Babylon
that I have built.
And the voice came from heaven and said,
that's it.
You've had it.
And he had a period of insanity where
for seven seasons, he lived with the animals
in the field.
He ate grass like the oxen, his hair
grew like feathers and the dew of the
heaven settled on him.
And he lived like a wild man until
he knew that the God in heaven is
the one who sets upon the kingdoms, those
whom he will.
The pride was the thing that brought Nebuchadnezzar
to this place of being broken until seven
seasons had passed over him and then God
restored.
And he made that tremendous proclamation, declaring his
belief and faith in the God of heaven,
who establishes upon the kingdoms, those whom he
would now all the way along through history,
from the beginning.
Pride is a destroyer.
It has destroyed so many.
Shakespeare has the statement in one of his
plays, Cromwell flee from pride for by this
sin did the angels fall.
Satan said, I will exalt my throne.
And here is the Pharaoh of Egypt being
lifted up with pride.
And yet God says, I will destroy.
I will deliver him to the hand of
the mighty one of the heathen and he
shall surely deal with him.
And I have driven him out for his
wickedness.
So God was to use Nebuchadnezzar, the mighty
one of the heathen to destroy the Pharaoh.
And of course, Jeremiah was making a similar
prophecy.
He was telling those in Jerusalem, now don't
trust in the Pharaoh.
Don't lean upon Egypt for Egypt also will
be destroyed by Babylon.
Egypt will not be a real help.
And of course, they wouldn't listen to Jeremiah.
And they finally, of course, went down to
Egypt and there at Tapanes, he took and
put these rocks down.
And he said, above these rocks, he buried
these rocks.
He said, above these rocks, Nebuchadnezzar will build
his throne and rule in Egypt.
And of course, it was fulfilled.
The strangers, the terrible of the nations have
cut him off and have left him upon
the mountains and all the valleys.
His branches are fallen.
His bowels are broken by the rivers of
the land and all the people of the
earth are gone down from his shadow and
have left him.
Upon his ruins shall all the fowls of
heaven remain and all the beasts of the
field shall be upon his branches to the
end that none of all of the trees
by the waters exalt themselves for their height.
Neither shoot up their top among the thick
boughs.
Neither their trees stand up in their height.
All that drink water for they are delivered
unto death through the nether parts of the
earth in the midst of the children of
men with them that go down to the
pit.
Thus saith the Lord God in the day
when he went down to hell, Sheol in
the Hebrew, I caused a mourning.
I covered the deep for him.
I restrained the floods thereof and the great
waters were stayed.
And I caused Lebanon to mourn for him
and all of the trees of the field
fainted for him.
And I made the nations to shake at
the sound of his fall.
When I cast him down to hell with
them that descend into the pit and all
the trees of Eden, the choice and the
best of Lebanon, all that did drink water
shall be comforted in the nether parts of
the earth.
And they also went down into hell with
him unto them that be slain with the
sword and they that were his arm and
that dwelt under his shadow in the midst
of the heathen.
To whom are thou thus like in glory
and in greatness among the trees of Eden?
Yet shalt thou be brought down with the
trees of Eden to the nether parts of
the earth.
Thou shalt lie in the midst of the
uncircumcised with them that be slain by the
sword.
This is Pharaoh and all his multitude saith
the Lord.
So that destruction and being cast down to
hell is predicted by God to be the
destiny of the Pharaoh of Egypt.
Now in chapter 32, because this is his
sad destiny, he takes up this lamentation.
A lamentation is a wailing or a crying
for the Pharaoh.
You lament or you wail.
And it came to pass in the twelfth
year.
So this was a year later from the
previous prophecy.
Actually a year and six months later, eighteen
months later, he came to pass in the
twelfth year.
In the twelfth month, the first day of
the month, that the word of the Lord
came unto me saying, Son of man, take
up a lamentation for Pharaoh, the king of
Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like
a young lion of the nations, and thou
art as a, a whale is a poor
translation.
You are really like a crocodile in the
seas, and thou camest forth with thy rivers,
and you trouble the waters with thy feet,
and you foul their rivers, a crocodile or
a dragon.
Thus saith the Lord God, I will therefore
spread out my net.
You're like a crocodile, you've muddied the waters,
you've stirred things up, but I'm going to
spread out a net over you with the
company of many people, and they shall bring
thee up in my net.
And then will I leave thee upon the
land, and I will cast thee forth on
the open field, and will cause all the
fowls of heaven to remain upon thee, and
I will fill the beast of the earth
with thee.
And I will lay thy flesh upon the
mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height,
and I will also water with thy blood
the land wherein you swim.
Even the mountains and the rivers shall be
full of thee.
And when I shall put thee out, I
will cover the heaven and make the stars
thereof dark, and I will cover the sun
with a cloud, and the moon shall not
give her light.
Now, as we get into this part of
the prophecy where God speaks of the day
when he puts her out, the heavens being
covered, the stars dark, the sun will be
covered with a cloud, and the moon will
not give her light, brings into mind the
prophecy of Joel concerning the time of the
great tribulation when the sun would be darkened,
the moon would be turned to blood, and
the stars would not shine.
Jesus, of course, quoted this in Matthew 24
as, again, a part of the great tribulation
of those days.
And we find it recorded also in the
book of Revelation and the cataclysmic judgments that
take place in the sixth seal.
So it is possible that this prophecy against
the Pharaoh is one of those prophecies with
a dual fulfillment, that he was talking about
what would happen when Nebuchadnezzar conquered him, but
also the going out and the judgment against
Egypt in the day of the great tribulation.
So there is that real possibility of a
dual aspect to the fulfillment of this particular
prophecy.
And it not only spoke of the condition
of the Pharaoh then, but as history repeats
itself, when the Lord judges the earth, these
same conditions do take place in the time
of the great tribulation.
All the bright lights of heaven will I
make dark over thee and set darkness upon
thy land, saith the Lord God.
I will also vex the hearts of many
people when I shall bring your destruction among
the nations into the countries which you have
not known.
Yes, I will make many people amazed at
thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid
for thee when I brandish my sword before
them, and they shall tremble at every moment,
every man for his own life in the
day of thy fall.
For thus saith the Lord God, the sword
of the king of Babylon shall come upon
thee.
And by the swords of the mighty will
I cause thy multitude to fall, and the
terrible of nations, all of them, and they
shall spoil the pomp of Egypt, and the
multitude thereof shall be destroyed.
And I will destroy all the beasts thereof
from beside the great waters, neither shall the
foot of man trouble them any more, nor
the hoofs of beasts trouble them.
Then will I make their waters deep and
cause their rivers to run like oil, saith
the Lord God, when I shall make the
land of Egypt desolate, and the country shall
be destitute of that whereof it was full.
Then I shall smite all of them that
dwell therein, then shall they know that I
am the Lord.
And again, in all of these prophecies, the
Lord declares when they are fulfilled, then they
shall know that I am the Lord.
One of the purposes of prophecy, speaking of
things in advance, is to give proof that
God indeed has spoken.
Jesus said, I have told you these things
before they come to pass, so that when
they come to pass, you might believe.
And so one of the strong apologetics of
scripture is prophecy and the fulfillment of prophecy.
And so over and over again, as the
prophecies are made, the Lord said, and then
shall ye know that I am the Lord.
And of course, when we get into Ezekiel,
our study next week, as it speaks of
Russia's invasion with this massive army from all
of her allies, including Libya and Ethiopia and
all Iraq, Iran and all, when they are
all defeated in Israel, he said, then shall
the nations of the world know that I
am God.
I'll be sanctified before the nations of the
world.
I was talking with a very wealthy Jewish
friend about the Bible and about the Lord.
And I was asking him what it was
going to take to make him a believer
because his whole thing was where was God
when my parents were gassed, you know, in
Germany.
For his parents were both of them killed
by the Germans during the war.
And I said, but what will it take
to make you a believer?
I said, here, God said that he was
going to make Israel a nation once again,
and Israel is now a nation.
Doesn't that say something to you?
He said, no.
He said, it's very obvious.
We have had that in our heart from
the beginning.
You know, one day it was going to
be a nation again.
We were going to take it again.
He said, we're tough people.
I said, well, it says when Israel becomes
a nation again, that they will become a
troublesome stone to all of those that are
around about them.
And if any nation tries to come against
them, that they are going to really be
hurt.
And this was right after the 67 war.
And I said, doesn't look what's happened to
how Israel struck out against, uh, Jordan, Egypt,
and Syria all at the same time.
And, and defeated all three took the Sinai,
took the West bank and the Golan Heights.
Doesn't that cause you to believe he said,
no, I told you we were tough people.
I said, well, the Bible says that Russia
then will head an invasion against Israel and
will come with all of her allies to
destroy this new nation.
And that Russia is going to be totally
defeated.
He said, when that happens, I'll become a
believer.
I said, Paul, you might be just a
little bit too late to escape the great
tribulation that will follow, but we'll be getting
into that more next week.
As we move on in this exciting prophecy
of Ezekiel, as he gets into these, uh,
the regathering of the nation, Israel and the
events of these last days.
Now, as we get into verse 17, we
have a whole new prophecy.
The lamentation against the Pharaoh is over with
verse 16.
This is the lamentation.
He's told to take up a lamentation for
the Pharaoh.
And this is the lamentation where with, they
shall all lament her.
They shall lament for her, even for Egypt
and all of her multitude.
Now it came to pass also in the
12th year, in the 15th day of the
month, this first prophecy came in the first
day of the month.
So 15 days later, he had another word
from the Lord for Egypt saying, son of
man, wail for the multitude of Egypt and
cast them down.
Even her and the daughters of the famous
nations unto the nether parts of the earth
with them that go down to the pit,
whom does thou pass in beauty go down
and be thou laid with the uncircumcised.
They shall fall in the midst of them
that are slain by the sword.
She is delivered to the sword, draw her
and all of her multitudes.
The strong among the mighty shall speak to
him out of the midst of hell with
them that help him.
They are gone down.
They lie uncircumcised slain by the sword.
Asher is already there and all of her
company, his graves are about him.
All of the slain fallen by the sword.
Egypt is going to fall and go into
hell where Asher has already been slain.
Whose graves are set in the sides of
the pit.
Her company is round about her grave.
All of them slain fallen by the sword,
which caused terror from the land of the
living.
Elam is there and all of her multitude
and verse 25, they have set her a
bed in the midst of the slain with
all of her multitude or graze around about.
And so Egypt is to be cast down
with these other nations, Meshach and Tubal, those
nations from the north along with Sidon.
And then Edom is also there, verse 29,
and her kings and princes.
And then verse 30, the Sidonians and Pharaoh
shall see them and shall be comforted over
all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his
army slain by the sword, saith the Lord
God.
For I have caused my terror in the
land of the living and he shall be
laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with
them that are slain with the sword, even
Pharaoh and all of the multitude saith the
Lord God.
Now, as we get into chapter 33, God
now begins to instruct those captives who are
in Babylon.
Son of man, speak to the children of
thy people and say unto them, when I
bring the sword upon a land, if the
people of the land take a man of
their coast and set him for their watchman,
if when he sees the sword come upon
the land, he blows the trumpet and warns
the people, then whosoever hears the sound of
the trumpet and takes not warning, if the
sword comes and takes him away, his blood
shall be upon his own head.
He heard the sound of the trumpet.
He did not take warning.
His blood shall be upon him, but he
that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
But if the watchman see the sword come
and does not blow the trumpet and the
people are not warned and the sword comes
and takes away any person from among them,
he is taken away in his iniquity, but
his blood will I require at the watchman's
hand.
So thou, O son of man, I have
set thee a watchman unto the house of
Israel.
Therefore, thou shalt hear the word of my
mouth and warn them from me.
Now God is commissioning Ezekiel to speak his
word to the captives, the people of God,
there in the land of Babylon.
And God is holding Ezekiel responsible for speaking
the word of God to them.
And God likens it unto a watchman that
has been set up to warn the people
of an impending invasion.
If the watchman sees the enemy coming and
he blows the trumpet to warn the people,
then he has fulfilled his obligation.
His responsibility was complete when he blew the
trumpet and gave warning.
What the people do with the warning is
not in the responsibility of the watchman.
He cannot help what the people do with
the warning that he gave.
His job was to give the warning.
The people could respond however they wanted to
the warning.
It was then their responsibility how they responded.
And so God said, now I have set
you like a watchman.
If you don't warn them, then you are
responsible and I will hold you responsible for
them.
But if you warn them, then they are
responsible for themselves.
In our Christian witnessing, I think that it
is important that we realize that we are
much like a watchman.
God has set us to give a warning
unto people.
Now what they do with it is their
business.
God has not commissioned us really to argue
people into the kingdom of heaven or to
pressure or to force people into the kingdom
of heaven.
God has commissioned us to witness his truth.
And what people do with that witness is
their business.
And I realize that there's nothing I can
do beyond witnessing for the Lord.
It is interesting to me how that there
are some people that when you witness to
them, it's like they've been waiting for you
all their lives.
And they're just ready to accept that they
are so eager really that they don't always
even give you the chance to finish your
witness.
And there are others that you give the
same witness to.
And it's like it's falling on deaf ears.
It's like they don't even hear you.
It's like they haven't even heard anything you
said.
And it doesn't seem to penetrate at all.
It has no effect upon them.
Now this causes me to realize that the
Holy Spirit is the one that has to
do the work of conviction and the drawing
of these people to Jesus Christ.
My responsibility is as a watchman just to
blow the trumpet, to declare the Lord is
coming soon.
Now what you do with that is your
own business.
And so God said to Ezekiel, now look,
you're like a watchman, Ezekiel.
Your responsibility is to give the people my
word.
That's all.
What they do with it after that is
their responsibility.
But I'm going to hold you responsible to
warn them, to give them my word.
So when I say to the wicked, O
wicked man, you will surely die.
If you do not speak to warn the
wicked from his way, that wicked man shall
die in his iniquity, but his blood will
I require at your hand.
Nevertheless, if you warn the wicked of his
way to turn from it, if he do
not turn from his way, he shall die
in his iniquity, but you have delivered your
soul.
Uh, the Lord gave him much the same
kind of a commission back at the beginning
of the book in the third chapter of
Ezekiel.
Therefore thou son of man speak unto the
house of Israel.
Thus ye speak saying, if our transgressions and
our sins be upon us and we pine
away in them, how should we thus then
live the question?
Very important question.
If our transgressions and our sins be upon
us and they are destroying us, how should
we then live saying to them as I
live, sayeth the Lord God, I have no
pleasure in the death of the wicked, but
that the wicked turn from his way and
live.
Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways.
For why will ye die?
Oh, house of Israel.
And so here we see the heart of
God and we understand now a bit of
the truth of God and not the perversion
that has been fostered by Satan through the
ages that God is cruel and harsh and
almost relishes judging.
Not so God has no pleasure in the
death of the wicked, any wicked, but God
cries unto them to turn.
I often hear the complaint.
How can a God of love send a
man to hell?
Well, the complaint itself is wrong because the
Bible does not teach that God actually sends
men to hell that they go there by
their own choice against everything that God has
done to keep them from hell.
Now God has given to us free choice.
I can choose what I want.
God doesn't force me to serve him.
He doesn't force me to love him.
He gives me that choice and he respects
the choice that I make.
But God does everything short of violating my
choice to bring me into his kingdom.
But if I refuse every innovation of God
towards me, every invitation of the spirit, if
I do despite to the spirit of grace,
trample underfoot the son of God, account the
blood of his covenant wherewith he was sanctified
an unholy thing.
If I say, ah, the blood of Jesus
Christ means nothing to me.
If I am stubborn, rebellious, and I hang
in there, I can make it into hell,
but it's the hardest trip in the world.
Not easy to go to hell.
You've got to fight against God every step.
And finally you have to step over Jesus
Christ who actually sort of lays himself out
in your path to stop you from your
madness.
But the madness of man, God says, turn
ye, turn ye, for why would ye die,
O house of Israel?
The path that they have taken is a
path of destruction.
They are pining away in their transgressions and
sins.
And God is crying to them to turn.
Therefore, thou son of man, say to the
children of thy people, the righteousness of the
righteous shall not deliver him in the day
of his transgression.
As for the wickedness of the wicked, he
shall not fall thereby in the day that
he turneth from his wickedness.
Neither shall the righteous be able to live
for his righteousness in the day that he
sinneth.
When I shall say to the righteous that
he shall surely live, if he trusts in
his own righteousness and commits iniquity, all of
his righteousnesses shall not be remembered.
But for his iniquity that he hath committed,
he shall die for it.
Again, when I say to the wicked, thou
shalt surely die if he turns from his
sin and does that which is lawful and
right.
If the wicked restores the pledge and gives
again that which was robbed, he'd be walks
in the statutes of life without committing iniquity.
He shall surely live.
He shall not die.
And none of his sins that he has
committed shall be mentioned unto him.
He hath done that which is lawful and
right.
He shall surely live in that glorious.
God will never mention any of your past
iniquities again as you turn to Jesus Christ.
Of course, this is written in the pre
-grace age.
This is written under the old law of
the covenant.
But what is true under this, as far
as God not remembering our sins again is
true under grace, the grace of God, whereby
we have that forgiveness of sins.
Yet the children of thy people say the
way of the Lord is an equal.
God isn't fair.
How many times we've heard this complaint against
God?
God isn't fair.
This is the underlying complaint, really, whenever a
person says, how can a God of love,
you know that they are challenging the fairness
of God, no matter what they say after
that.
There is that subtle challenge of the fairness
of God.
And how many times the fairness of God
has been challenged by man.
And here the children of Israel are challenged.
The way of the Lord is an equal.
God says, you tell them their way is
an equal.
When the righteous turns from his righteousness and
commits iniquity, he shall even die thereby.
But if the wicked turns from his wickedness
and does that which is lawful and right,
he shall live thereby.
Yet you say the way of the Lord
is an equal.
Oh, ye house of Israel, I will judge
every one of you after your ways.
Now, at this point, it came to pass
in the 12th month of our captivity, in
the 10th month and the fifth day of
the month.
So we're coming into a whole interesting aspect
here now.
That one that had escaped out of Jerusalem
came unto me saying, the city is smitten.
And so the news finally arrived.
It was a year earlier that Jerusalem fell,
but one of the persons who had escaped
finally comes to Ezekiel, bringing him the news
that Jerusalem was smitten.
Now the hand of the Lord was upon
me in the evening before he that was
escaped came and had opened my mouth until
he came to me in the morning and
my mouth was open and I was no
more dumb.
Now the Lord, you remember, told Ezekiel that
he was going to be dumb until they
got word of the destruction of the city
of Jerusalem.
So the Lord opened his mouth and he
was no more dumb.
Then the word of the Lord came unto
me saying, son of man, they that inhabit
those wastes of the land of Israel speak
saying, Abraham was one and he inherited the
land, but we are many and the land
is given us for an inheritance.
So the Lord is saying to Ezekiel, though
Nebuchadnezzar has conquered Jerusalem and has set up
Gedoliah as a governor, yet the hearts of
the people are still rebelling against Nebuchadnezzar.
They're saying, look, Abraham was only one man
and God gave him the land and we
are many, so we can take the land
still.
And so even at the time of Gedoliah
there, they were not really totally subdued.
The people were still rebellious in their hearts.
And so God is speaking to Ezekiel concerning
the attitude that the people had who were
back there in the land.
Of course, Jeremiah was with them.
Jeremiah kept telling them to just surrender to
Babylon.
Things would go well.
And if they dared to resist, then they
would be destroyed out of the land.
They did not listen to Jeremiah either.
Wherefore, say unto them, thus saith the Lord
God, you eat with the blood.
Now these are the indictments against these people
who say, oh, the land is ours.
You know, Abraham was only one.
God gave him the land and we are
many.
So the land is ours.
And God says, look, just tell them that
they eat with the blood.
That is, they were not killing the food
as God required in the law, thoroughly bleeding
the animals, but they were strangling the animals
or killing them in ways by which the
blood remained in the animal.
And they were eating with the blood.
They were lifting up their eyes towards idols.
They were shedding blood.
And God says, shall you possess the land?
You know, here you're committing all of these
evil things against my law.
And you think I'm going to let you
possess the land.
For you stand upon your sword, you work
abomination, and you defile everyone as neighbor's wife.
And shall you possess the land?
I said, you're incredible.
I can't believe you.
Say thou thus unto them, thus saith the
Lord God, as I live, surely they that
are in the waste shall fall by the
sword and him that is in the open
field, what I give to the beast to
be devoured and they that be in the
forts and in the caves shall die of
the pestilence.
For I will lay the land most desolate
and the pomp of her strength shall cease
and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate
and none pass through.
Then shall they know that I am the
Lord when I have laid the land most
desolate because of all of their abominations, which
they have committed.
Also thou son of man, the children of
the people still are talking against thee by
the walls and in the doors of the
houses and speak to one another.
Everyone to his brother saying, come, I pray
you.
And let's hear the word that comes from
the Lord.
Now he's here because they're still talking about
you and in their houses.
I say, hey, let's go down and see
what the word of the Lord is from
the prophet.
Let's get on this, you know, Ezekiel, see
what God has to say.
And they come unto thee as the people
cometh and they sit before thee as though
they were my people and they hear thy
words, but they won't do them for with
their mouth they show much love, but their
heart is going after their covetousness.
Now the people are all talking about you.
Ezekiel is saying, hey, let's go down to
the prophet and hear the word of the
Lord.
And they come and they sit there before
you just like they were my people.
And they hear the words that you're saying,
but they're not going to do them.
Now in James, we, we read that a
man who is a hearer of the word
and not a doer is a man who
is deceiving himself, a lot of deception going
on because so often a person thinks, well,
I, I studied the word of God, or
I listened to the word of God, or
I hear the word of God, or I
know the word of God.
That's not what cuts it.
Are you doing the doers of the word
and not here's only.
So God's indictment against these people because they're
coming and they're, they were listening to the
prophet, but they, they weren't, they were so
filled with their own covetousness.
They weren't doers of the word and low
thou art unto them as a very lovely
song of one that has a pleasant voice.
They just enjoy hearing you talk.
You can play well on an instrument.
So they were going for entertainment for, they
hear thy words, but they do them not.
And when this cometh to pass law, it
will come, you know, God says, and it
was boy, when God says it like that,
you know, Hey, it is no stopping.
Then shall they know that a prophet has
been among them.
When all these things that you told them
happens, then, you know, they'll know right now
they're just listening and you're an entertainment to
them.
It's interesting how that so many people do
go to the house of the Lord for
entertainment.
You know, it's their place of entertainment.
It's a good socially accepted place of, of
good entertainment, you know, and so many churches
are catering to these people who are looking
for entertainment.
I heard the story of a Baptist pastor
who came to his, and it could be
any church, came to his assistants and said,
fellows, the board is going to meet tonight
and determine our salaries for the next year.
And we're having a difficult time making our
budget as it is.
So it looks like it's going to be
really slim as far as any pay raises
this next year.
And I think it's very important that we,
all of us just spend the day together
praying because if we don't get pay raises,
it's going to be a hard, tough year,
you know, and, and they're going to be
really taking a look at the budget tonight
and things really look very bad for any
pay hike.
So let's just gather together and let's just
pray that God will somehow work a miracle
so that we can all get a raise
in pay this next year.
And so they decided in order that their
prayers really be very spiritual, they would pray
in Gregorian chants.
And so the assistant pastor began, Oh Lord,
you know that it's hard to live on
$15,000 a year.
I pray thee Lord that you'll help the
board to be gracious and maybe give me
a raise.
And the pastor then offered his prayer and
he said, yes, Lord, things are tough.
And $22,000 a year is hard to
live on when I have all of these
expenses that I'm not reimbursed for.
And so Lord, please work and grant me
a raise in pay.
And then the music director, the one in
charge of the entertaining programs for the church
said, Lord, you know that $50,000 a
year is a little hard to get by
on, but there's no business like show business,
like show business.
But it's
sort of a sad indictment against those churches
that have found it necessary to put on
an entertaining program for people in order to
draw the crowds, people with itching ears who
will not endure sound doctrine.
And yet such is the case in so
many places where people go for entertainment.
And so they were coming to the prophet
for entertainment, had a good voice, could play
instrument well.
And they sit before you and they do
hear your words, but they're not going to
do them.
You're unto them like a lovely song, but
when this comes and it will come, they
will know that there was a prophet among
them.
Now in chapter 34, God speaks out against
those faithless shepherds of Israel.
Those men that were the spiritual leaders, those
men to whom the people looked for spiritual
guidance who had left the real concept of
the ministry.
The Lord said to his disciples, the heathen
or the Gentiles do love to exercise lordship
over each other, but it shall not be
so among you or whosoever would be chief
among you.
Let him become the servant of all.
You remember how when Jesus took a towel
and washed his disciples feet and then he
said unto them, you see what I have
done.
Now, if I be being your Lord am
a servant, then you also should be servants.
And Christ taught the servanthood of the ministry.
And that's actually what the word minister means,
a servant.
And God intends that those who are the
ministers are really the servants to the body
of Christ, not Lords over the body of
Christ.
But the servants to the body of Christ.
But it is easy to get an attitude
of lordship or superiority and start abusing your
position and seek to exercise lordship over the
people rather than to continue in that attitude
of servant.
Now, whenever you do turn and get this
lording attitude and you begin to look at
the, you begin to get greedy, really for
gain, for fancy homes and cars and things
of this nature, then you begin to misuse
that position that God has placed you in.
So the word of the Lord came into
me saying, son of man, prophesy against the
shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say unto them,
thus sayeth the Lord God unto the shepherds,
woe be to the shepherds of Israel.
Now, whenever God says, woe, look out because
you're in trouble.
Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that
do feed themselves.
Should they not be feeding the flock of
God?
Men who are using the ministry for their
own gain rather than using the place of
a minister to bring gain to the people.
It is sad, but it is true that
there are many men in the ministry today
who are only fulfilling a psychological need in
their own lives.
They're not really called of God and do
not really have the true aspect of the
ministry at heart.
Woe unto those shepherds who use the ministry
as a means of just feeding themselves, enriching
themselves.
Should you not be feeding the flock?
You eat the fat, you clothe yourself with
wool, you kill them that are fed, but
you feed not the flock.
Jesus said to Peter, feed my flock.
Peter later writing to the elders in the
church said, feed the flock of God, which
is among you.
The most important need in the church today
is that the people be fed, feed the
flock of God, the commission of Jesus unto
Peter.
Now the shepherds are further indicted by God
because they, the diseased, have you not strengthened?
Neither have you healed that which was sick,
neither have you bound up that which was
broken, neither have you brought again that which
was driven away, neither have you sought that
which was lost, but with force and with
cruelty you've ruled over them.
They were lording over the flock of God.
They weren't caring for those that were weak
or sick or broken or lost, but they
had misused the position.
And as the result, the sheep have been
scattered because there is no shepherd.
And they became a prey to all of
the beast of the field when they were
scattered.
My sheep wandered through all the mountains and
upon every high hill.
Yea, my flock was scattered upon the face
of the earth and none did search or
seek after them.
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the
Lord.
As I live, saith the Lord God.
Oh, and again, when God begins to speak
like this, you know that it's powerful.
As I live, more or less swearing by
himself, because he can swear by no higher.
As I live, saith the Lord God, surely
because my flock became a prey and my
flock became meat to every beast of the
field because there was no shepherd and neither
did my shepherd search for my flock, but
the shepherds fed themselves and fed not my
flock.
Therefore, oh ye shepherds, hear the word of
the Lord.
Thus saith the Lord God.
Behold, I am against the shepherds and I
will require my flock at their hand and
cause them to cease from feeding the flock.
Neither shall the shepherds feed themselves anymore, for
I will deliver my flock from their mouth
that they may not be meat for them.
The whole religious system, the priesthood and all
was to be abolished.
It's interesting.
It has been abolished and abolished because they
were feeding themselves rather than the flock of
God.
Of course, in their history, we find how
it happened.
The sons of Eli, you remember these evil
boys, how that when people would bring their
offerings to the Lord, they'd take their meat
hooks in and grab the best part of
the meat.
Anybody had objected, beat them up, causing people
to resent their worship of God by the
greedy attitude of these men who were supposed
to be God's representatives.
Priests standing before God for the people and
yet so misrepresenting God when they were standing
before the people for God.
And so God speaks about putting away this
whole corrupted system.
They're not going to feed off my flock
anymore.
My flock won't be meat to them any
longer.
For thus saith the Lord God.
Behold, I, even I will both search my
sheep and I will seek them out as
the shepherd seeks out his flock in the
day that he is among his sheep that
are scattered.
So will I seek out my sheep and
will deliver them out of all of the
places that they have been scattered in the
cloudy and dark day.
Here God says, I will take up the
job of the shepherd.
I'll seek out these sheep that are lost
and scattered.
Aren't you glad that the Lord is our
shepherd and that he has sought us out,
scattered and bruised.
He found us and he drew us into
his fold and he put his arms around
us and said, hey, I love you.
You're my sheep.
You're my people.
Jesus said, I am the good shepherd.
I lay down my life for the sheep.
The sheep know the shepherd's voice and they
do follow him.
And you have heard the call of the
Lord.
You're part of his flock.
You following Jesus Christ.
It's beautiful.
I will bring them out from the people.
I will gather them from the countries.
I will bring them into their own land.
And of course, this is a prophecy concerning
the nation Israel, but it does have also
personal application as far as that relationship of
God to his people, Christ to his church.
But this basically is a prophecy of Israel,
the prophecy of the scattering of Israel.
The scattering of Israel was precipitated by their
crucifixion of Jesus Christ, which was the result
of the conspiracy of the spiritual leaders of
that day.
Those spiritual leaders had rejected Jesus as the
Messiah and they had conspired to put him
to death because all of the common people
were hearing him gladly.
And they said, what are we going to
do?
If all of the people turn to him,
then we're going to lose our jobs.
We're going to lose all of this loot
that we've been making off the people.
The Romans may even come and take away
our position.
We've got to put him to death.
And the high priest said, don't you realize
it's expedient that one man should die for
the whole nation?
How little did he know what he was
saying?
Now, because of these shepherds, false shepherds, who
were guilty of greed, who scattered the flock,
Jesus speaks of his gathering together that flock.
And this we get into, of course, the
prophecy and we see it being fulfilled today
as God is drawing the Jews back into
the land and is preparing to do a
work among them there.
I will bring them out from the people
and gather them from the countries.
I will bring them into their own land
and feed them upon the mountains of Israel
by the rivers.
And in all the inhabited places of the
country, I will feed them in good, in
a good pasture and upon the high mountains
of Israel.
So their fold B and there.
So they lie in a good fold and
in a fat pasture and they shall feed
upon the mountains of Israel.
And I will feed my flock.
Remember that beautiful prophecy concerning Jesus.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
He shall gather the young in his arms
and so forth and carry them in his
bosom and gently lead those that are with
young.
Beautiful prophecy.
I will feed my flock.
I will cause them to lie down, saith
the Lord God.
I will seek that which was lost and
bring again that which was driven away and
I will bind up that which was broken
and will strengthen that which was sick, but
I will destroy the fat and the strong
and I will feed them with judgment.
And as for you, oh my flock, saith
the Lord God, behold, I judge between cattle
and cattle, between the rams and the he
goes.
Seemeth it a small thing unto you to
have eaten up the good pasture, but you
must tread down with your feet the residue
of your pastures and to have drunk of
the deep waters, but you have to foul
up the residue with your feet.
And as for my flock, they eat that
which you have trodden with your feet and
they drink that which you have fouled with
your feet.
Therefore, thus saith the Lord God unto them,
behold, I, even I will judge between the
fat cattle and between the lean cattle because
you have thrust with the side and with
the shoulder and you've pushed all the disease
with your horns till you have scattered them
abroad.
The way that the rich oppressed the poor,
of course, the religious leaders have become the
wealthy and they pushed and scattered the flock,
but 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.
And I, the Lord will be their God
and my servant, David, a prince among them.
I, the Lord, have spoken it.
Now, this, of course, is not a reference
to King David being resurrected and becoming king
again.
But even as Jesus promised to David that
there should never cease one from him ruling
over the people, that prophecy to be fulfilled
in Jesus Christ.
So it is a reference to that righteous
branch that shall come out of David, even
Jesus.
And in Jeremiah 23, you have Jeremiah giving
the same prophecy in Jerusalem to the inhabitants
there.
And he speaks about how the righteous branch
out of David shall come and reign as
king over them as he indicts the false
shepherds there and speaks of the glorious true
shepherd that shall come.
In Isaiah, we read for unto us, a
child is born unto us, a son is
given and the government shall be upon his
shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful
counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting father, the
prince of peace.
And of the increase of his government and
peace, there shall be no end upon the
throne of David to order it and to
establish it in righteousness and in judgment from
henceforth, even forever for the zeal of the
Lord of all shall perform this.
So Christ, as Paul said in Romans one
of the seed of David, according to the
flesh, but declared to be the son of
God with power, according to the spirit will
come and sit upon the throne of David.
And as David, again, shepherding over the people
or ruling over the people with the shepherd's
heart.
Now people wonder how could God say, well,
David was a man after my own heart
when David committed adultery with Bathsheba and David
was a very violent man in many situations
and he had Uriah put to death.
And yet God says that David was a
man after my own heart.
How can that be?
And that was because David had the heart
of a shepherd.
And when David ruled the people, he ruled
them with the shepherd's heart.
And that's what God desires that those who
rule have the heart of a shepherd where
their concern and their care is for the
sheep, not for themselves, but they're thinking of
the sheep.
And David had the shepherd's heart and he
ruled with the heart of the shepherd.
Saul was lifted up in pride when God
put him upon the throne.
And that's why Saul was brought down and
his family did not follow in the throne.
But David, a man after God's own heart.
And so the prophecy concerning Christ and his
coming and shepherding, and I will make them,
with them a covenant of peace and will
cause the evil beast to cease out of
the land.
The kingdom age, the beast will be tame.
The lion will lie down with the lamb
and a little child would lead them.
I've always thought what a tremendous pet a
lion could make.
Wouldn't that be exciting for a kid to
have a lion for a pet man to
jump on his background, hold the main and
just take off the kingdom age when God
restores, then there'll be peace.
The covenant of peace among the animal kingdom,
among men, beautiful kingdom age, the evil beast
will cease out of the land and they
will dwell safely in the wilderness and they'll
sleep in the woods.
There'll be no fear.
And I will make them and the places
round about my hill a blessing.
And I will cause the shower to come
down in his season.
And there shall be showers of blessing.
Now we sing that in the church, but
actually we're only borrowing from what God is
declaring is going to happen when Israel's restored
and the tree of the field shall yield
her fruit and the earth shall yield her
increase and they shall be safe in their
land.
And they shall know that I am the
Lord.
When I have broken the bands of their
yoke and delivered them out of the hand
of those that serve themselves of them.
And so as God brings his people back
again, they will know that he is the
Lord when he establishes his reign and they
shall no more be a prey to the
heathen.
Look, look at how the Jews have been
persecuted among the nations, wherever they have gone.
They've been a persecuted people.
They've been a curse and a byword antisemitism.
And it is rising again throughout the world.
You read of bombings of Jewish synagogues in
Europe.
There's again, rising in Germany, strong sentiment against
the Jews.
And even here in the United States, we're
beginning to see more and more antisemitism.
The unfortunate things that are happening up in
the Hollywood area, even against the Jewish community.
But there'll be no more a prey to
the heathen.
Neither shall the beast of the land devour
them.
The animals will be all docile, but they
shall dwell safely and none shall make them
afraid.
And I will raise up for them a
plant of renown.
That plant of renown, of course, is none
other than Jesus Christ.
And they shall be no more consumed with
hunger in the land.
Neither bear the shame of the heathen anymore.
They won't be cursed or bear that shame
among the heathen.
We were talking with our Jewish guide who
grew up in Argentina and we were seeking
to witness to him about Christianity.
And he said, do you want to know
what my first impression of Christians were?
And we said, sure.
He said, well, every day going home from
school, I would have to run as fast
as I could, or else those boys who
said they were Christians would beat me up
and call me a Jesus killer.
And he said they would throw rocks at
me and they would beat me up every
chance they got calling me a Jesus killer.
And he said that was my first impression
of Christians.
And no wonder it's hard to witness to
them if that's what has been represented by
Christianity to them.
And it is indeed sad and tragic that
much of the antisemitism has had its origins
in the church.
But we as Christians owe a great debt
to Israel, to the Jews.
After all, they gave us our Messiah.
Thus shall they know that I, the Lord,
their God, am with them and that they,
even the house of Israel, are my people,
saith the Lord God.
And ye are my flock, the flock of
my pasture.
And you are men, ye the flock, the
flock of my pasture are men.
And I am your God, saith the Lord
God.
Now in chapter 35, he makes a prophecy
against Mount Seir.
Mount Seir was the area inhabited by the
Edomites.
And the Edomites were descendants of Esau, the
twin brother of Jacob.
But the Edomites, you remember how Esau, when
Jacob stole the father's birthright by disguising himself
as his brother Esau, and went in and
took the venison into his father, took the
goat meat that his mother had prepared to
taste like venison, and took it in and
fed his dad and got the blessing.
And when Esau came in with the venison
and said, here, dad, eat and bless me,
he said, oh, you know, what is going
on?
And he said, I've already given the blessing.
And Esau said, oh, I'm going to kill
that brother of mine.
And he vowed really to kill Jacob.
And there was bad blood between them.
And Jacob, of course, fled for his life
and spent 17 years with his uncle for
fear of his brother Esau.
This antagonism continued down through the years.
So you remember when the children of Israel
were coming out of Egypt, coming through the
wilderness, they desired to pass through the land
of Edom to make a more direct route
to the land that God had promised.
But the Edomites came out with their army
and refused to allow them to enter into
the land.
Now, the Edomites dwelt in the area of
south from Moab.
And in that area where their capital was
the rock city of Petra.
And that was at one time one of
the centers of commerce from the east.
And it was, of course, a fabulously beautiful
city carved out of the rock.
This rock city of Petra was the capital
of Edom.
And it was never really a powerful nation,
but they were constantly, they were related to
the Jews.
But yet there was this great antagonism so
that every time it would seem that someone
would attack Judah from the north, the Edomites
would take advantage of it and attack them
from the south.
Whenever their troops were occupied elsewhere, they would
take advantage and they would attack.
And they were a constant thorn because they
had to constantly keep a garrison down in
the south to protect them from these Edomites
who really looked for every opportunity to attack.
Now, when Nebuchadnezzar came and destroyed, the Edomites
also came in to get what loot they
could.
And of course, they rejoiced greatly over the
fall and destruction of Jerusalem.
And because of this, God pronounces a judgment
to come against the Edomites.
Now, the last of the Edomites was Herod.
That is recorded in history.
Herod, who was from Idumea, he was an
Edomite.
And since that time, they have been lost
historically.
The area has become very desolate.
You go down to the area of Petra
now and you find it's just an extremely
desolate area, pretty much uninhabited.
So, in the light of that, this prophecy
against Mount Seir or the area of Edom
is quite interesting.
The word of the Lord came unto me
saying, Son of Man, set your face against
Mount Seir and prophesy against it and say
unto it, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold,
O Mount Seir, I am against thee.
Now, God's not against the mountains.
But of course, in saying that, He's against
the people who inhabit that mountain.
You know, God wouldn't say, Oh, San Gorgonio,
I'm against you.
God has nothing against the mountains themselves.
But if the inhabitants of God said, Oh,
San Francisco, I'm against you.
He wouldn't be talking about San Francisco.
But those people that live in San Francisco
who have turned their backs upon God and
are living such an unsavory kind of existence.
So, I will stretch out my hand against
you and I will make you desolate.
I will lay thy city's waste and you
shall be desolate and you shall know that
I am the Lord.
Mount Seir is one of the most desolate
places today.
Because you have had a perpetual hatred and
you have shed the blood of the children
of Israel by the force of the sword
in the time of their calamities.
And that's always when they would strike, when
they were in trouble.
And at the time that their iniquity had
an end.
Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God,
I will prepare thee unto blood and blood
shall pursue thee since thou hast not hated
blood, even blood shall pursue thee.
Thus will I make Mount Seir most desolate
and cut off from it him that passeth
out and him that returneth.
And I will fill his mountains with the
slain men by the hills and by the
valleys and all of thy rivers and they
shall fall that are slain with a sword.
And I will make thee a perpetual desolations
and thy city shall not return.
And ye shall know that I am the
Lord.
The land has remained perpetually desolate because thou
has said these two nations and these two
countries shall be mine and we will possess
it.
Whereas the Lord was there.
Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God,
I even will do according to your anger
and according to your envy, which you have
used out of the hatred against them.
And I will make myself known among them
when I have judged thee and thou shalt
know that I am the Lord and that
I have heard all of your blasphemies, which
thou has spoken against the mountains of Israel
saying they are laid desolate.
They are given to us to consume.
Thus, with your mouth, you have boasted against
me and you've multiplied your words against me.
And I heard them.
Thus saith the Lord God, when the whole
earth rejoices, I will make thee desolate.
The time when the whole earth is rejoicing,
that will remain a desolate area.
As thou didst rejoice at 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 of Idumea, even all of it.
And they shall know that I am the
Lord.
So, uh, the prophecy against Mount Seir.
Now, as we move into the next lesson,
it is a prophecy concerning the mountains of
Israel.
And you'll find a vivid contrast as you
get into chapter 36 between Mount Seir, which
is to be desolate perpetually and the prophecies
that are made concerning the mountains of Israel,
which were desolate for so many centuries.
And the exciting thing when you go over
to Israel today is to see Isaiah.
I mean, see Ezekiel 36 fulfilled before your
very eyes.
These prophecies that God made concerning the mountains
of Israel.
You see the fulfillment of those prophecies when
you're over there.
Chapter 37, God deals with the regathering of
the nation of Israel back into the land.
Chapter 38, the invasion by the allied forces
of Russia.
When Israel has become a nation again, chapter
39, the destruction of those invading forces.
So you've got some fascinating reading as the
prophecies that we get into now.
Chapter 36, you can go over and see
much of it already fulfilled as with chapter
37, chapter 38 is down the road, not
very far, but down the road just a
little bit waiting really to happen most any
time.
So getting into some exciting areas next week
ought to be a real blast.
May the Lord bless and guide your life
this week when those decisions have to be
made.
May the Lord give you a very strong
impression to lead you into his path of
righteousness.
And may you experience God's power working in
your life in a very special way.
May the love of Christ just fill your
heart and overflow that lives around you might
be touched because of what the Lord has
done for you.
May you be his witnesses, a testimony to
others by the love of Christ that shines
forth from you.