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

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Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel 39

EzekielEzk 38 EzekielEzk EzekielEzk 40

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Verses 1-29

FROM GOD TO GOG! (Ch.39)
1. (6) Why does God do this?
  1. [1] Nations will know that he is Lord - (39:6)
  2. [2] His name is holy – (39:7)
  3. [3] Israel will know that he is their God - (39:22)
2. (9) Weapons – or equipment. (combustible materials)
3. (11) Valley of Hammon Gog - A dead-end Valley east of the Dead Sea.
  1. They coveted Israel…so God gave them a permanent place there!
4. (12) 7 months – So massive would the destruction be that it would take 7 months to bury the dead.
5. (17-20) Vs.4 expanded here. {Also see Rev.19:17,18}
  1. Calling all birds – Like Tarzan used to call jungle animals as he needed them.
  2. Whoever says God’s judgment is for the birds may just be right!
  3. What a great slaughter that all the birds of the earth are needed for clean up!
6. If you receive the Supper of Salvation(Mt.22 Parable of Wedding Feast), you may partake in the next supper…the Lord’s Supper; and await the Marriage Supper of the Lamb; and never face the Supper of the Great God!
  1. If you do not “Come to the Table” at the 1^st Supper; the 2^nd won’t mean anything to you; you’ll miss the 3^rd; but be assured you not only will be at the 4^th dinner…you will be the 4^th dinner!
  2. Your choice Eat or be Eaten!
7. (21-29)
8. God’s worse punishment! – vs.23
9. God’s greatest reward! – vs.29
10. Read Num.6:22-27
11. Just like when hiking - Sometimes as you’re reading OT Scriptures you’ll be walking a dusty trail & then run across a cool stream w/an awesome bunch of flowers planted next to it.
  1. This text is one of those bouquets!
  2. Joseph Parker, “There is wine in the grape of every syllable; he who presses most in the agony of his need, will drink most abundantly & most refreshingly of the wine of God’s love!”
12. The SOURCE of Blessings! (22,27)
13. Q: In our text who is this blessing from? [Aaron? Moses?...Nope!]
  1. We don’t have Aaron say, “Hey Moses, I have a formula of benediction that I think the children of Israel would be pleased with”
  2. This is Not man made! But 100% God made! [See 22,27 The Lord!]
    1. This is a flower that God brings right out of Paradise itself!
    2. Or a bar of music right from heaven’s anthem!
14. I’ve thought in the past…“who am I to call down a blessing upon someone?”
  1. But I realized there’s nothing contingent on the “blesser” or the “blessee”! But from “Him…from whom all blessings flow”!
  2. God is always in charge of blessings! (Balaam in Deut.23:5)
    1. Nevertheless the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.
15. The COMMAND to Bless! (23)
  1. This was a divinely appointed liturgy of worship!
  2. Note: This blessing was to the common man.
    1. Let the man or woman farthest away from Him this evening say, “I will arise & go to my Father!”
16. The VEHICLE of Blessings!
17. How did Aaron do it? Jewish writers tell us that during this ceremony the high priest not only pronounced the benediction 3 times, but 3 times w/a diff accent. He would elevate his hands, & would extend the 3 middle fingers on his right hand. (JFB; pg.527 (my paraphrase).)
18. The SUBSTANCE of Blessings! (24-26)
19. Lets’ define His 3-Fold Blessing:
20. [1] The LORD bless you and keep you.
  1. Means that all the benefit & protection…come from God.
  2. The blessing of God is the Goodness of God in action! (Keil & Delitzsch(quoting Calvin); pg.41)
21. [2] The LORD make His face shine upon you & be gracious to you.
  1. The thought here is His face radiant upon you!
    1. Prov.16:15 In the light of the king's face is life.
  2. Example: In my dad’s backyard we were praying for breakfast once & kept expanding the circle as more people joined, & I stepped back 1 step from the shade, into the sun.
    1. Spiritually it is only 1 step away also!
    2. Q: Have you felt the warmth of God’s face shine upon you?
    3. Step out of the world’s cold chill into His radiant love!
  3. His Grace will come to men in their need!
22. [3] The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, & give you peace.
  1. Countenance & Face are exactly the same Hebrew word.
    1. The difference is between “making the face shine” & “lifting it up/upon”.
    2. Opposite of God “looking away” in displeasure.
  2. It’s the picture of a drowning victim looking to shore & crying for help, when finally he sees the lifeguard “look up”…help is on its way!
  3. Peace/Shalom – that comprehensive word meaning “completeness, security, health, tranquility, & peace w/God & man.” (Wycliffe Bible commentary; pg.121)
    1. When Jesus came the song was, “Peace on earth”; & When he left His farewell speech was, “Peace, I leave w/you.” (Joseph Parker; pg.163)
  4. Philip nailed this at the last supper in Jn.14:8 “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”
    1. Philip spoke for every believer…“Total sufficiency for one glimpse of the unveiled face of God.”
    2. Why can’t we gaze directly now? - Not because of a deficiency of our eyes, but a deficiency in our hearts!
  5. Now, don’t you dare cheapen this to meaning “material blessings”.
    1. Oh, it can include that…but that pales in comparison to the spiritual blessings here…of God’s Gracious smile upon you & your life!
    2. His relationship, His favor; His Smile; His Grace!
23. The Beatific Vision is the promise of the vision of God that carries w/it the ultimate blessedness (Happiness) of the human soul! (R.C. Sproul; Essentials; pg.282)
24. One of Christ’s errands to the world was to bless us!
  1. Acts 3:26 …God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you,(how?) in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.
  2. This was also the last thing He did on earth…“And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.” Luke 24:50,51
25. The Psalmist paraphrases this Ps.67:1 “God be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us. Selah”
  1. Note: a good place to pause because it is so rich!
26. So, right now is God hiding from or looking toward you?

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Verses 1-29

FROM GOD TO GOG! (Ch.39)
1. (6) Why does God do this?
  1. [1] Nations will know that he is Lord - (39:6)
  2. [2] His name is holy – (39:7)
  3. [3] Israel will know that he is their God - (39:22)
2. (9) Weapons – or equipment. (combustible materials)
3. (11) Valley of Hammon Gog - A dead-end Valley east of the Dead Sea.
  1. They coveted Israel…so God gave them a permanent place there!
4. (12) 7 months – So massive would the destruction be that it would take 7 months to bury the dead.
5. (17-20) Vs.4 expanded here. {Also see Rev.19:17,18}
  1. Calling all birds – Like Tarzan used to call jungle animals as he needed them.
  2. Whoever says God’s judgment is for the birds may just be right!
  3. What a great slaughter that all the birds of the earth are needed for clean up!
6. If you receive the Supper of Salvation(Mt.22 Parable of Wedding Feast), you may partake in the next supper…the Lord’s Supper; and await the Marriage Supper of the Lamb; and never face the Supper of the Great God!
  1. If you do not “Come to the Table” at the 1^st Supper; the 2^nd won’t mean anything to you; you’ll miss the 3^rd; but be assured you not only will be at the 4^th dinner…you will be the 4^th dinner!
  2. Your choice Eat or be Eaten!
7. (21-29)
8. God’s worse punishment! – vs.23
9. God’s greatest reward! – vs.29
10. Read Num.6:22-27
11. Just like when hiking - Sometimes as you’re reading OT Scriptures you’ll be walking a dusty trail & then run across a cool stream w/an awesome bunch of flowers planted next to it.
  1. This text is one of those bouquets!
  2. Joseph Parker, “There is wine in the grape of every syllable; he who presses most in the agony of his need, will drink most abundantly & most refreshingly of the wine of God’s love!”
12. The SOURCE of Blessings! (22,27)
13. Q: In our text who is this blessing from? [Aaron? Moses?...Nope!]
  1. We don’t have Aaron say, “Hey Moses, I have a formula of benediction that I think the children of Israel would be pleased with”
  2. This is Not man made! But 100% God made! [See 22,27 The Lord!]
    1. This is a flower that God brings right out of Paradise itself!
    2. Or a bar of music right from heaven’s anthem!
14. I’ve thought in the past…“who am I to call down a blessing upon someone?”
  1. But I realized there’s nothing contingent on the “blesser” or the “blessee”! But from “Him…from whom all blessings flow”!
  2. God is always in charge of blessings! (Balaam in Deut.23:5)
    1. Nevertheless the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.
15. The COMMAND to Bless! (23)
  1. This was a divinely appointed liturgy of worship!
  2. Note: This blessing was to the common man.
    1. Let the man or woman farthest away from Him this evening say, “I will arise & go to my Father!”
16. The VEHICLE of Blessings!
17. How did Aaron do it? Jewish writers tell us that during this ceremony the high priest not only pronounced the benediction 3 times, but 3 times w/a diff accent. He would elevate his hands, & would extend the 3 middle fingers on his right hand. (JFB; pg.527 (my paraphrase).)
18. The SUBSTANCE of Blessings! (24-26)
19. Lets’ define His 3-Fold Blessing:
20. [1] The LORD bless you and keep you.
  1. Means that all the benefit & protection…come from God.
  2. The blessing of God is the Goodness of God in action! (Keil & Delitzsch(quoting Calvin); pg.41)
21. [2] The LORD make His face shine upon you & be gracious to you.
  1. The thought here is His face radiant upon you!
    1. Prov.16:15 In the light of the king's face is life.
  2. Example: In my dad’s backyard we were praying for breakfast once & kept expanding the circle as more people joined, & I stepped back 1 step from the shade, into the sun.
    1. Spiritually it is only 1 step away also!
    2. Q: Have you felt the warmth of God’s face shine upon you?
    3. Step out of the world’s cold chill into His radiant love!
  3. His Grace will come to men in their need!
22. [3] The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, & give you peace.
  1. Countenance & Face are exactly the same Hebrew word.
    1. The difference is between “making the face shine” & “lifting it up/upon”.
    2. Opposite of God “looking away” in displeasure.
  2. It’s the picture of a drowning victim looking to shore & crying for help, when finally he sees the lifeguard “look up”…help is on its way!
  3. Peace/Shalom – that comprehensive word meaning “completeness, security, health, tranquility, & peace w/God & man.” (Wycliffe Bible commentary; pg.121)
    1. When Jesus came the song was, “Peace on earth”; & When he left His farewell speech was, “Peace, I leave w/you.” (Joseph Parker; pg.163)
  4. Philip nailed this at the last supper in Jn.14:8 “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”
    1. Philip spoke for every believer…“Total sufficiency for one glimpse of the unveiled face of God.”
    2. Why can’t we gaze directly now? - Not because of a deficiency of our eyes, but a deficiency in our hearts!
  5. Now, don’t you dare cheapen this to meaning “material blessings”.
    1. Oh, it can include that…but that pales in comparison to the spiritual blessings here…of God’s Gracious smile upon you & your life!
    2. His relationship, His favor; His Smile; His Grace!
23. The Beatific Vision is the promise of the vision of God that carries w/it the ultimate blessedness (Happiness) of the human soul! (R.C. Sproul; Essentials; pg.282)
24. One of Christ’s errands to the world was to bless us!
  1. Acts 3:26 …God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you,(how?) in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.
  2. This was also the last thing He did on earth…“And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.” Luke 24:50,51
25. The Psalmist paraphrases this Ps.67:1 “God be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us. Selah”
  1. Note: a good place to pause because it is so rich!
26. So, right now is God hiding from or looking toward you?

return to 'Top of Page'

EzekielEzk 38 EzekielEzk EzekielEzk 40

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 39". "Bell's Commentary". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/cbb/ezekiel-39.html. 2017.

Bible CommentariesEzekiel 39

Bell's Commentary on the BibleBell's Commentary

Verses 1-29

Verses 1-29

Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel 39