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Sunday, November 17th, 2024
the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33

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Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel 10

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Verses 1-22

Intro:
1. Outline: Hovering Throne; Burning Coals; Moving Clouds; Turning Wheels; Watching Eyes.
2. We are in the midst of a vision of Ezekiel, God’s prophet, reminding that judgment comes from the Holy God of Israel, even though it looks like it’s from earthly Babylon.
  1. Historically happened in 586bc when Nebuchadnezzar battered down the city walls & burned Jerusalem.
GOD’S ON THE MOVE! (1-8)
1. HOVERING THRONE! (1)
2. If all you do is look at the Sins of the land you will end up very discouraged.
  1. Police officers deal with this, as they are trained to look for the bad guys not the good guys.
3. What did the prophet do here? He lifted his eyes higher & got a new vision of the throne of God.
4. So we start out in the Holy of Holies & move out from there.
5. BURNING COALS! (2)
6. The man clothed w/linen(Jesus pre-incarnate) has set aside his writing case & picked up a handful of burning coals from the brazen altar.
  1. There was such flammable impurity throughout the city.
7. To those that seek to walk in God’s way, the coals of God may purify and heal, as Isaiah discovered in his great vision of God in the temple (Isa. 6:6,7).
  1. “Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
  2. But the same coals may consume the impure, as the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah had discovered (Gen. 19:24).
8. This pregnant theme of purity and punishment is common in much of the literature of religion.
  1. The Iranian prophet Zarathustra, perhaps a contemporary of Ezekiel, wrote of a flood of molten metal coming on the day of judgment; it would wash around the feet of the righteous, purifying them like warm milk, but would scorch and destroy the unrighteous in their impurity.
9. Examples:
  1. In emergency situations you can add 8 drops of chlorine to water to purify it; but if you drank bleach straight it would kill you.
  2. Same with Hydrogen Peroxide(food grade) – some say if you add a few drops to your drinking water it can be healthy(oxygenate). Drink it straight, not so good.
  3. Jesus’ hand: Has nail marks = love; His hand one day will hold a Rod of wrath.
  4. God’s mouth spoke forth life; also can speak & end life.
  5. Fire can temper steel & burn up paper!
10. I guess the choice is ours: Touch it to our lips & be cleansed; or have Him rain it down upon us.
  1. The choice is: Run to His altar & be purified. (Hang on horns, mercy) 2.10.1.1. That’s where sin is atoned for, because sin is judged.
11. Or, the altar will be brought to you. /
12. MOVING CLOUDS! (4)
13. Cloud = the Hebrew means “a covering”, because clouds cover the sky.
  1. The word is used as a symbol of the Divine Presence, as indicating the splendor of that glory which it conceals!
  2. Read Ps.18:11,12 to get the picture of what type of cloud! [White? Fluffy?]
  3. When it’s referred to as a bright cloud(4) it is symbolic of the Divine presence & was called the Shechinah.
14. Let’s go look at God’s original Promise & Warning to leave!
  1. Worship & Thanks when the cloud/glory arrived – 2 Chron.9:1-3
  2. The Warning He’d leave if… – 2 Chron.9:19-22
15. God will not share His glory with idols, “I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.” Is.42:8
  1. Therefore, He had to abandon His house.
  2. His glory moves to the east gate, poised to move again in 11:23.
  3. If the nation would not glorify God in their obedience, they would glorify Him in judgment!
  4. God & sin cannot coexist!
16. Interesting when Jesus came, He did the same!
  1. 1^st Jesus is God, “covered”/clothed in flesh.
  2. His splendor concealed while here in the flesh.
  3. Jesus in His last week, came into the East Gate & cleansed the Temple; went out the East Gate & went onto the mount of Olives; ended up leaving from their & will return to their.
  4. Jesus, rejected in the Inn as a baby, but His ultimate rejection was in His Fathers House.
  5. At the transfiguration, “While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
  6. When Jesus returns it is described as coming “in the clouds”.
    1. “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.”
17. The 1^st step in God’s evacuation of his temple is forced upon him.
  1. He does not want to move, but is evicted by an evil people.
  2. The ultimate privilege of religion is the presence of God, however elusive. The most awful loss is the removal of that presence.
18. TURNING WHEELS! (11)
19. 1978 Journey sang, “The Wheel in the sky keeps on turning, I don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow.”
  1. Not sure what they meant by it, but here Ezekiel explains it as something always on the move.
20. God’s wheels are still turning & His purposes being worked out in the world.
  1. God’s on the move, are you moving with Him?
    1. Ask, Where is God moving? And then go be apart of it.
21. WATCHING EYES! (12)
22. God’s eyes are still watching? – omniscience.
23. Hagar, the Egyptian maidservant to Sarai, became pregnant with Ishmael from Abraham, doing what she was told, & Sarah got jealous & kicked her out. But God saw her & appeared as The Angel of the Lord.
  1. “Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, (El Roi)
    You-Are- the-God-Who-Sees.” Gen.16:13
  2. When you hear the phrase, “God is watching you”, Does that make you feel you’re not trusted, or the sense of protection?
24. The Karma God (Armando devotion this morning)
25. Karma = is the concept of the entire cycle of cause and effect.
  1. "As you sow so shall you reap" This is the Law of Karma.
  2. Interestingly, both science and religion recognize this law.
    1. In science it is often stated, “For every action there is an equal and opposing reaction.”
    2. Its religious counterparts are, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”; and “As you do unto others, it will be done unto you.”
  3. Even today’s common knowledge expresses this principle in the saying, “What goes around, comes around.”
26. For so many of us, we have this view of the Karma God (we get what we deserve)
  1. Jesus brought Grace = Getting what you didn’t deserve(Life, forgiveness, His peace)
  2. Jesus showed Mercy = Not getting what we did deserve(hell, death)
27. In Pilgrims Progress, Faithful was ascending the hill towards the Celestial City when he was confronted by a man who offered him to marry his 3 daughters, Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eyes, and the Pride of Life. He was tempted but later walked away, when a man came running at him. Christian explained to his walking companion faithful “That man that overtook you was Moses. He spareth none; neither knoweth he how to shew mercy to those that transgress the law.”
  1. Jn.1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

IGRIM PROGRESS - THE FITH STAGE

FAITH. When I came to the foot of the hill called Difficulty, I met with a very aged man, who asked me what I was, and whither bound. I told him that I was a pilgrim, going to the Celestial City. Then said the old man, Thou lookest like an honest fellow; wilt thou be content to dwell with me for the wages that I shall give thee? Then I asked his name, and where he dwelt? He said his name was Adam the First, and that he dwelt in the town of Deceit. Eph. 4:22. I asked him then what was his work, and what the wages that he would give. He told me that his work was many delights; and his wages, that I should be his heir at last. I further asked him, what house he kept, and what other servants he had. So he told me that his house was maintained with all the dainties of the world, and that his servants were those of his own begetting. Then I asked how many children he had. He said that he had but three daughters, the Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eyes, and the Pride of Life, 1 John, 2:16; and that I should marry them if I would. Then I asked, how long time he would have me live with him; And he told me, as long as he lived himself.

CHR. Well, and what conclusion came the old man and you to at last?

FAITH. Why, at first I found myself somewhat inclinable to go with the man, for I thought he spake very fair; but looking in his forehead, as I talked with him, I saw there written, "Put off the old man with his deeds."

CHR. And how then?

FAITH. Then it came burning hot into my mind, that, whatever he said, and however he flattered, when he got me home to his house he would sell me for a slave. So I bid him forbear to talk, for I would not come near the door of his house. Then he reviled me, and told me that he would send such a one after me that should make my way bitter to my soul. So I turned to go away from him; but just as I turned myself to go thence, I felt him take hold of my flesh, and give me such a deadly twitch back, that I thought he had pulled part of me after himself: this made me cry, "O wretched man." Rom. 7:24. So I went on my way up the hill.Now, when I had got above half-way up, I looked behind me, and saw one coming after me, swift as the wind; so he overtook me just about the place where the settle stands.
CHR. Just there, said Christian, did I sit down to rest me; but being overcome with sleep, I there lost this roll out of my bosom.

FAITH. But, good brother, hear me out. So soon as the man overtook me, it was but a word and a blow; for down he knocked me, and laid me for dead. But when I was a little come to myself again I asked him wherefore he served me so. He said because of my secret inclining to Adam the First. And with that he struck me another deadly blow on the breast, and beat me down backward; so I lay at his foot as dead as before. So when I came to myself again I cried him mercy: but he said, I know not how to show mercy; and with that he knocked me down again. He had doubtless made an end of me, but that one came by and bid him forbear.

CHR. Who was that that bid him forbear?FAITH. I did not know him at first: but as he went by, I perceived the holes in his hands and inhis side: Then I concluded that he was our Lord. So I went up the hill.

CHR. That man that overtook you was Moses. He spareth none; neither knoweth he how to shew mercy to those that transgress the law. (Bunyan, J. (1995). The pilgrim's progress : From this world to that which is to come. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)

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Verses 1-22

Intro:
1. Outline: Hovering Throne; Burning Coals; Moving Clouds; Turning Wheels; Watching Eyes.
2. We are in the midst of a vision of Ezekiel, God’s prophet, reminding that judgment comes from the Holy God of Israel, even though it looks like it’s from earthly Babylon.
  1. Historically happened in 586bc when Nebuchadnezzar battered down the city walls & burned Jerusalem.
GOD’S ON THE MOVE! (1-8)
1. HOVERING THRONE! (1)
2. If all you do is look at the Sins of the land you will end up very discouraged.
  1. Police officers deal with this, as they are trained to look for the bad guys not the good guys.
3. What did the prophet do here? He lifted his eyes higher & got a new vision of the throne of God.
4. So we start out in the Holy of Holies & move out from there.
5. BURNING COALS! (2)
6. The man clothed w/linen(Jesus pre-incarnate) has set aside his writing case & picked up a handful of burning coals from the brazen altar.
  1. There was such flammable impurity throughout the city.
7. To those that seek to walk in God’s way, the coals of God may purify and heal, as Isaiah discovered in his great vision of God in the temple (Isa. 6:6,7).
  1. “Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
  2. But the same coals may consume the impure, as the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah had discovered (Gen. 19:24).
8. This pregnant theme of purity and punishment is common in much of the literature of religion.
  1. The Iranian prophet Zarathustra, perhaps a contemporary of Ezekiel, wrote of a flood of molten metal coming on the day of judgment; it would wash around the feet of the righteous, purifying them like warm milk, but would scorch and destroy the unrighteous in their impurity.
9. Examples:
  1. In emergency situations you can add 8 drops of chlorine to water to purify it; but if you drank bleach straight it would kill you.
  2. Same with Hydrogen Peroxide(food grade) – some say if you add a few drops to your drinking water it can be healthy(oxygenate). Drink it straight, not so good.
  3. Jesus’ hand: Has nail marks = love; His hand one day will hold a Rod of wrath.
  4. God’s mouth spoke forth life; also can speak & end life.
  5. Fire can temper steel & burn up paper!
10. I guess the choice is ours: Touch it to our lips & be cleansed; or have Him rain it down upon us.
  1. The choice is: Run to His altar & be purified. (Hang on horns, mercy) 2.10.1.1. That’s where sin is atoned for, because sin is judged.
11. Or, the altar will be brought to you. /
12. MOVING CLOUDS! (4)
13. Cloud = the Hebrew means “a covering”, because clouds cover the sky.
  1. The word is used as a symbol of the Divine Presence, as indicating the splendor of that glory which it conceals!
  2. Read Ps.18:11,12 to get the picture of what type of cloud! [White? Fluffy?]
  3. When it’s referred to as a bright cloud(4) it is symbolic of the Divine presence & was called the Shechinah.
14. Let’s go look at God’s original Promise & Warning to leave!
  1. Worship & Thanks when the cloud/glory arrived – 2 Chron.9:1-3
  2. The Warning He’d leave if… – 2 Chron.9:19-22
15. God will not share His glory with idols, “I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.” Is.42:8
  1. Therefore, He had to abandon His house.
  2. His glory moves to the east gate, poised to move again in 11:23.
  3. If the nation would not glorify God in their obedience, they would glorify Him in judgment!
  4. God & sin cannot coexist!
16. Interesting when Jesus came, He did the same!
  1. 1^st Jesus is God, “covered”/clothed in flesh.
  2. His splendor concealed while here in the flesh.
  3. Jesus in His last week, came into the East Gate & cleansed the Temple; went out the East Gate & went onto the mount of Olives; ended up leaving from their & will return to their.
  4. Jesus, rejected in the Inn as a baby, but His ultimate rejection was in His Fathers House.
  5. At the transfiguration, “While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
  6. When Jesus returns it is described as coming “in the clouds”.
    1. “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.”
17. The 1^st step in God’s evacuation of his temple is forced upon him.
  1. He does not want to move, but is evicted by an evil people.
  2. The ultimate privilege of religion is the presence of God, however elusive. The most awful loss is the removal of that presence.
18. TURNING WHEELS! (11)
19. 1978 Journey sang, “The Wheel in the sky keeps on turning, I don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow.”
  1. Not sure what they meant by it, but here Ezekiel explains it as something always on the move.
20. God’s wheels are still turning & His purposes being worked out in the world.
  1. God’s on the move, are you moving with Him?
    1. Ask, Where is God moving? And then go be apart of it.
21. WATCHING EYES! (12)
22. God’s eyes are still watching? – omniscience.
23. Hagar, the Egyptian maidservant to Sarai, became pregnant with Ishmael from Abraham, doing what she was told, & Sarah got jealous & kicked her out. But God saw her & appeared as The Angel of the Lord.
  1. “Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, (El Roi)
    You-Are- the-God-Who-Sees.” Gen.16:13
  2. When you hear the phrase, “God is watching you”, Does that make you feel you’re not trusted, or the sense of protection?
24. The Karma God (Armando devotion this morning)
25. Karma = is the concept of the entire cycle of cause and effect.
  1. "As you sow so shall you reap" This is the Law of Karma.
  2. Interestingly, both science and religion recognize this law.
    1. In science it is often stated, “For every action there is an equal and opposing reaction.”
    2. Its religious counterparts are, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”; and “As you do unto others, it will be done unto you.”
  3. Even today’s common knowledge expresses this principle in the saying, “What goes around, comes around.”
26. For so many of us, we have this view of the Karma God (we get what we deserve)
  1. Jesus brought Grace = Getting what you didn’t deserve(Life, forgiveness, His peace)
  2. Jesus showed Mercy = Not getting what we did deserve(hell, death)
27. In Pilgrims Progress, Faithful was ascending the hill towards the Celestial City when he was confronted by a man who offered him to marry his 3 daughters, Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eyes, and the Pride of Life. He was tempted but later walked away, when a man came running at him. Christian explained to his walking companion faithful “That man that overtook you was Moses. He spareth none; neither knoweth he how to shew mercy to those that transgress the law.”
  1. Jn.1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

IGRIM PROGRESS - THE FITH STAGE

CHR. Well, and what conclusion came the old man and you to at last?

CHR. And how then?

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EzekielEzk 9 EzekielEzk EzekielEzk 11

Copyright Statement
These files are the property of Brian Bell.
Text Courtesy of Calvary Chapel of Murrieta. Used by Permission.

Bibliographical Information
Bell, Brian. "Commentary on Ezekiel 10". "Bell's Commentary". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/cbb/ezekiel-10.html. 2017.

Bible CommentariesEzekiel 10

Bell's Commentary on the BibleBell's Commentary

Verses 1-22

Verses 1-22

Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel 10