Ezekiel 3:5 – Oh good, a friendly audience …
Ezekiel 3:7 – … or not.
Ezekiel 3:8-9 – I like how God says, “They are hard headed people, but don’t worry, I’ve made your head even harder!” God created Ezekiel, or shaped him over his life (same difference) jsut for this purpose. He was made for it and therefore equipped to handle it. If God created or called me for a purpose, he would do the same – equip me for it.
Ezekiel 3:14-15 – Equipped or not, Ezekiel isn’t taking this calling very well. Bitterness and overwhelmed. I can relate to that at times!
Ezekiel 3:16-21 – Ezekiel had a God given responsibility to fulfill. He had a choice of whether he would fulfill it or not, but he had no choice of whether to take the responsibility. He would be held accountable. That’s a bit frightening to consider. If I believe that God created me for a specific ministry (and I do), how then can I justify not filling it? Will He not hold me accountable as well? If we I ignore and brush off the fate (both Earthly and eternally) of folks around us me, how will we I escape their blood being on our my hands?

Ezekiel 2:1 – I wonder if his first thought was “Uh oh, I’m in trouble now.” Mine would be.
Ezekiel 2:2 – He told him to stand, yet it was the spirit that stood him up. I like that picture of God empowering & assisting him in fulfilling the command.
Ezekiel 2:8-10 – God had a lot of faith in Ezekiel to send him on such a mission. To deliver “words of lamentation and mourning and woe” to a “rebellious house“. He had the confidence that Ezekiel could deliver the message without getting caught up in their rebellion. To stay true when surrounded by people in rebellion is hard enough, but to point out their rebellion and have to deal with their response and not rebel yourself is another thing all together.
I wonder if Ezekiel ever wished that God didn’t trust him so much?

Ezekiel 1:4-14 – This kind of ‘fantasy’ type of stuff is challenging for me to read. My mind tends to wander as the description goes. I try to sort it out in my mind so I have an accurate picture of what he saw. Then I get to a sentence like this:

As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces.

Ezekiel 1:10-11

I find myself trying to figure out where the eagle face was. I assume the human face was in the front, but it doesn’t actually say. If so, then the eagle would be in the back, right? But maybe not, I wish he was more clear. But I guess the point of the vision was to get his attention, to say by how shocking and awe inspiring it was that this is from God, pay attention.
I guess I wouldn’t have made a good prophet, eh?
Ezekiel 1:28 – “Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.” Hmm, a storm with lightning and fire, 4 mythical creatures, each with 4 faces and wings, each with some sort of a wheel within a wheel next to it with eyes all over it (“tall and awesome“) all supporting a crystal like expanse with a sapphire like throne with a human like figure on it. All of this moving and hovering around, up and down with no visible means for it to turn and change direction, yet it was. All gleaming as if on fire.
Yeah, falling on your face seems like the appropriate response.

I’m returning to my Quiet Times after too long an absence. In the past I’ve returned out of obligation or guilt, but this time I’m actually excited to get back into it, God has been working on me. More on that later. I’ve decided to jump into Ezekiel as I haven’t done a good OT study in a long while. That ought to keep me busy for a while.
I’m starting, as I did with my Ephesians study, with some background info on Ezekiel.
From Wikipedia:
Prior to the 12th century, the debate was about whether it should be in the canon because of concerns that it would be misinterpreted. No reading chapter 1 in synagogue and no reading in private before you’re 30. Later debate centers on whether Ezekiel was the only author. Most acknowledge that Ezekiel was involved, but that it may have been edited and added to by scribes and other followers. It was delivered orally at first.
Ezekiel is said to be descendant of Joshua through Rahab.
According to midrash Canticles Rabbah, Ezekiel was who Shadrach, Miesheck, and Obednigo went to for advice on whether to defy the kings edict and risk being thrown in the furnace. God’s first revelation indicated that they would die. It was only after Shadrach, Miesheck, and Obednigo left to their fate that God revealed to Ezekiel that He would rescue them. It is also said in Jewish literature that the raising of the 3 from the dead in chapter 37 happened on the same day that Shadrach, Miesheck, and Obednigo went into the furnace.
Ezekiel contains three distinct sections.

1. Judgment on Israel
2. Prophecies against various neighboring nations.
3. Prophecies delivered after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II.

Ezekiel was originally written in the 25 year period between 593 to 571 B.C
From the NIV Study Bible:
The environment & political background Ezekiel lived in:

Ezekiel lived during a time of international upheaval. The Assyrian empire that had once conquered the Syro-Palestinian area and destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel (which fell to the Assyrians in 722–721 b.c.) began to crumble under the blows of a resurgent Babylon. In 612 the great Assyrian city of Nineveh fell to a combined force of Babylonians and Medes. Three years later, Pharaoh Neco II of Egypt marched north to assist the Assyrians and to try to reassert Egypt’s age-old influence over Canaan and Aram (Syria). At Megiddo, King Josiah of Judah, who may have been an ally of Babylon as King Hezekiah had been, attempted to intercept the Egyptian forces but was crushed, losing his life in the battle (see 2Ki 23:29–30; 2Ch 35:20–24).
Jehoahaz, a son of Josiah, ruled Judah for only three months, after which Neco installed Jehoiakim, another son of Josiah, as his royal vassal in Jerusalem (609 b.c.). In 605 the Babylonians overwhelmed the Egyptian army at Carchemish (see Jer 46:2), then pressed south as far as the Philistine plain. In the same year, Nebuchadnezzar was elevated to the Babylonian throne and Jehoiakim shifted allegiance to him. When a few years later the Egyptian and Babylonian forces met in a standoff battle, Jehoiakim rebelled against his new overlord.
Nebuchadnezzar soon responded by sending a force against Jerusalem, subduing it in 597 b.c. Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin and about 10,000 Jews (see 2Ki 24:14), including Ezekiel, were exiled to Babylon, where they joined those who had been exiled in Jehoiakim’s “third year” (see Da 1:1 and note). Nebuchadnezzar placed Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, on the throne in Jerusalem, but within five or six years he too rebelled. The Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem in 588, and in July, 586, the walls were breached and the city plundered. On Aug. 14, 586, the city and temple were burned.
Under Nebuchadnezzar and his successors, Babylon dominated the international scene until it was crushed by Cyrus the Persian in 539 b.c. The reign of the house of David came to an end; the kingdom of Judah ceased to be an independent nation; Jerusalem and the Lord’s temple lay in ruins.

He was eligible to serve as a priest because he was from a priestly family. His prophesy and message therefore had much to do with the temple and its ceremonies.
His message, primarily, was not one of hope but of judgement. God was judging not only his people, but the nations around them as well. That judgement was manifested in the fall of Jerusalem and only after that fall, and God’s judgement, was complete did God allow Ezekiel a message of hope for Israel.
Ezekiel contains more dates than any other OT book of prophesy, and so is easily dated (see above). His time of ministry coincides with Jerusalem’s darkest hour, spanning it’s destruction.
The themes of Ezekiel’s message are that God is sovereign over all, not just in Jerusalem, and that he longs to be known. The phrase “Then they will know that I am the Lord” or some variant occurs 65 times in Ezekiel. Ezekiel reveals God through his judgement on Jerusalem (chs. 1-24), on the other nations (chs. 25-32) and, eventually, through the restoration and spiritual renewal of Israel (chs. 33-48).
While other prophets deal with Israel’s Idolatry, immorality and reliance on things other than God, Ezekiel’s message focuses on these things through the lens of a holy people with a holy temple, holy city and holy land. Israel had defiled her worship and thus defiled the temple, city and land. God could only withdraw from such uncleanliness and judge his people with national destruction.
But God is faithful to His covenant ultimately longs to save and would revive his people, cleanse them and rebuild them as a perfect expression of His kingdom. His glory would be displayed among the nations through them.

Hebrews 13:2 – There si a lot of truth in this passage about hospitality. A brother here shared in a lesson recently about how people over and over and over in the Bible showed simple hospitality and were blessed tremendously for it. He went on and on with more examples than i can remember. Think about Rahab, Zacheus, Lydia, Cornelius, Mary and Martha, and more. I think we short change the power of showing hospitality.
Hebrews 13:11-12 – The animals are burned outside the camp, I think to keep the camp pure. Jesus, our sacrifice, suffered outside the camp as well. But the Hebrew writer here does something that surprised me. I was thinking that the point would be about how because of His suffering outside the gate, we can have the places of honor inside. Instead, he calls us to humility and to go, in our spirits, to Jesus, in his shame, and sit at the cross with him. To me it’s a powerful reminder of how Jesus sat with the lowly and rejected throughout his life and how we ought to do he same.
Hebrews 13:14 – Sometimes this seems so real. I don’t feel that I belong here, the things that are familiar to most are foreign to me. What seems acceptable to most is ridiculous to me. I don’t understand them, and they don’t understand me. This world makes no sense, I just want to go home.
Hebrews 13:15 – If your lips acknowledge Jesus, what fruit would that bear? More than words.
Hebrews 13:16 – “Do not neglect to do good …” This is the hardest thing. Avoiding evil is a cake walk at times compared to getting off my duff and actually doing some good.

Well, here I am again, back to my QT journal after another 3 month absence. I am always surprised and disappointed by these lapses in my reading, but I don’t know why. It’s a pattern i fall into repeatedly, besides, look at the roller coaster that was Israel in the OT. Thankfully, even that harsh God of the OT didn’t’ abandon them, so there’s hope for me too. 🙂
Hebrews 11:32 – If I could travel back and ask the writer of Hebrews (assuming I knew who it was) some questions, one of them would be “Why is Samson listed here?”
Hebrews 12:1 – Maybe the writer answers the question for me here: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us …” Look at the list – Samson was a fool, Rahab a prostitute, David a murderer – yet they were honored by God for their faith. Since they were, what should hold me back from the race God has set before me?
I can certainly relate to the phrase “[the] sin which clings so closely“. It seems my sin sticks to me closer than my own skin, and heavier than a heavy wool coat saturated with water. It bogs me down, dragging me to my knees and even farther, preventing me from moving. By Hebrews tells me, look at the great knuckleheads of the Bible, heroes of faith and heavy with sin, just like you. Throw off that weight, shed the skin of sin, and run as Go meant for you to run. What a mental picture. If David could, and Rahab could maybe I can too.
There’s a Casting Crowns song called Set Me Free about the man possessed by a legion of demons with lyrics that haunt me:

As the God man passes by
He looks straight through my eyes
And darkness cannot hide
Do you want to be free?
Lift your chains
I hold the key
All power on Heaven and Earth belong to me

I can feel, at times, Jesus look straight through my eyes and see my darkness. I wonder, do I believe that he is “the One they say will set the captives free” and I wonder if I am really willing to lift my chains of sin and be free. It seems easier at times to wallow.
Hebrews 12:3-11 – There have been some dark times in my heart the past year or two. I’ve written about some if this. God has been disciplining me, allowing to see the sin (pride, judgemental ism, anger) that has been there for so, so long. This passage has been my encouragement. God is disciplining me because he loves me. Moreover, he believes in me enough to show my this part of my character. Sometimes I wish he didn’t, but ultimately it’s encouraging that he does. I’m looking forward to “the peaceful fruit of righteousness”, though.
Hebrews 12:15 – This verse has been used to challenge those with issues with others in the church, but in this context, is that what he’s talking about? Maybe it’s just my mental state or the flow of this post, but given the urging to drop the weight of sin and lift drooping hands and strengthen weak knees, I wonder if this is not an urging to see that no one is bitter towards God rather than man? If so, that would demand a very different kind of response, wouldn’t it? It’s a call to stand by those being disciplined by God, the weak and the discouraged, and make sure they are cared for, encouraged and pointed back to a God who cares. I don’t know, certainly both kinds of bitterness are unhealthy and destructive.

Hebrews 11:1 – The EV uses the words ‘assurance’ and ‘conviction’. Makes me think of the previous post. Earlier in the year as God was revealing my character to me, I prayed with tears that somehow I could overcome what was so ingrained in me, it seemed like trying to stop being male or quit having 10 fingers. Yet somehow, and I shared this with others, I firmly believed that I would be different by God’s acting on me. Some where I lost that ‘assurance of things hoped for’, and now I just strive to get through each day. Did God get weaker? Did he loose interest? No, I just forgot. I’ve settled for things seen instead of having a ‘conviction of things unseen’.
Hebrews 11:15-16 – God is not ashamed of us when we are seeking heaven. So, does this means that when we are world focused He is ashamed of us? Putting it that way, I guess it makes sense. Now, I’m not sure that means from one day to another, minute to minute. “This morning you were heaven focused and I was not ashamed of you, but then you turned on ‘Deal or No Deal’ and were thinking of the world and I was ashamed. Still, the lesson is that God may be ashamed of us when we think small, and small thinking is earth bound thinking. We ought to have our minds on greater things, things of heaven and things of God.
I guess it’s obvious, but isn’t that the essence of faith? We seek more than the obvious conclusions and possibilities. Isn’t that what all these men did? The world offered some things, even some great things (Moses lived in the house of Pharaoh), but they were looking higher still. How easily I settle for the mundane or even the good and don’t have the faith to look higher, to see what God is offering and go after that. Even more so, to refuse to settle for good or Earthly greatness.

Hebrews 10:11-14 – This is actually the passage I was think of before:

And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

ESV

He mentions every priest “stands daily” and that Jesus “sat down, waiting”. Even if the story of the symbolism of the priest not sitting isn’t accurate, the contrast is still powerful yet easy to miss in our Western culture, so far removed from the temple system. As the writer said earlier in this chapter, the sacrifices were a constant reminder of sin.
That makes me think a bit more about Hebrews 10:2-3. He indirectly describes the results of one having been cleansed once for all. No “consciousness of sin”. The constant sacrifices at the temple made the Jew constantly aware of their sin. Their unrighteousness before God was always there. While sometimes it feels that we are not aware enough as Christians of our sin (although, at other times it’s all too real), but the implication here is that’s the way it ought to be. He says “… the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sin.” There’s something healthy and right for us to be able to brush off our sin, not because we think it trivial, but because it is factually of no consequence any more. We are cleansed. It can not harm us. So, while we deal with it, it is no longer to be a constant reality. As Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life and life to the full.”
This sets up the reality in Hebrews 10:19. We are cleansed, it is over, sin no longer matters, we need not dwell on it over and over and over and over again. “Therefore … we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus … ” That is one of my favorite verses. I was, and am, nothing, dirt, dust, worthless, scum, yet because of Jesus I can spiritually enter the place so Holy and special that only a handful of men in thousands of years were able to see. It’s likely that more men have been to outer space than entered the Holy of Holies, yet you and I now have unlimited access to it, on a spiritual level. Such is the intimate access we have to our God. Wow. It still amazes me, and I hope it always does.
Hebrews 10:23 – “Let us hold fast” – why? Because it’s what we are required to do? No, “because he who promised is faithful.” And it is in this context that we get Hebrews 10:24-25, the context of responding to God’s amazing grace and faithfulness. That is why we continue to spur one another on, that is why we so not stop meeting together. Not out of obligation, but a response to grace.
Hebrews 10:26-31 – Reading this passage – often taken out in isolation to show that we can loose our salvation – reading it in the context of the description of Jesus’ amazing work on the cross and God’s amazing grace and the crescendo leading up to Hebrews 10, the words are much more powerful than when read alone. Yes, we can walk away from God, but what a statement of our hearts that would be. After understanding all this love, if you continue as you had been doing, there is no hope left for you, only fear of the judgment to come.

Hebrews 9:11-14 – I have to wonder what this meant to the Jews it was written to. Jesus went, not to the Most Holy Place, the most sacred space known to them, where only the high priest went once a year. But that most sacred of spaces was not good enough for the work Jesus had to do. He, when he left this Earth, went to the place that these things were meant to represent, the Most Holy Place of Heaven itself. (Hebrews 9:24)
But that’s not the most amazing thing. In doing so, Jesus did not simply cleanse our flesh, he cleansed out consciences themselves. Not just for now, but for good. This is a profound thing for me here and now. How much more for the Jew of that day, where the temple was still functioning and sacrifices still being offered?
Hebrews 9:22 – Sin is serious, it requires a death to be forgiven. At one time, it was sheep, goats and bulls, but now it’s Jesus.

Hebrews 8:1-7 – I love how this is beginning to open up a whole parallel, spiritual reality. Jesus doesn’t fit in the earthly temple and temple system. They are simply a copy of the heavenly ones, where he serves. He is “a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.” It’s an amazing thought, and I’m sure was more so for his Jewish audience who was immersed in the temple system, surrounded by it from birth, taught it and understood it as the long standing means for God to relate to man. Now to know that it’s time has gone and Jesus is seated in the heavenly temple had to blow my mind.
I once read (somewhere, I which I could remember where) that Jesus’ sitting down at the right hand of the throne (Hebrews 8:1) was a powerful symbol in itself. The earthly priests, when on duty, never sat down as a testament that there work of atonement was complete. When Jesus sat down, he was saying it is done. There will be no more sacrifices, the work is complete.
Hebrews 8:8-13 – When he quotes this passage from Jeremiah, I wonder what it meant to the Jews. Had they heard it for years and never expected it to be fulfilled in their lives? Had they a vision of what it would mean for God to fulfill this passage? How did that fit with what they heard in this letter?