WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.240 Join me in your copy of God's Word. 00:00:02.399 --> 00:00:05.919 In the middle, there's a section called The Prophets where Ezekiel will be. 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:09.119 I encourage you to follow along as we begin today. 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:10.720 Let me ask you a question. 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:14.000 What is the most important thing in your life? 00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:16.960 What is the most important thing in your life? 00:00:17.120 --> 00:00:28.719 Maybe for some of you you'd say my family, or others of you might say my marriage, others of you might say my children, others of you might say my health or my career or my ministry or my happiness. 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:31.600 And those things all are very important. 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:34.479 But let me ask that question a little bit differently. 00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:44.960 Imagine you woke up at two in the morning and you discovered your house was on fire and you only had a few moments to get out, and you can't take everything. 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:52.719 You can't take your furniture, you can't save the television, you can't save the clothes that are hanging up in your closet. 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:55.759 You have to decide, what am I gonna grab? 00:00:56.479 --> 00:01:03.280 Maybe for you it's the wedding album, or maybe for you it's the family Bible that belonged to your grandparents. 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:12.239 Or maybe there's something sitting in your house that isn't worth much money at all, but you would risk almost anything to save it because of what it means to you. 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:14.239 Isn't that interesting? 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:21.120 Because when everything else is stripped away, what we value becomes visible. 00:01:22.159 --> 00:01:28.959 What we say is important and what we actually treat as important aren't always the same thing. 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:32.000 I wonder if that's true spiritually as well. 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:37.280 We can say God is the most important thing in my life. 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:40.319 We can sing about how God is worthy. 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:42.799 We can come to church and talk about God. 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:58.640 But what if someone looked at the way I spent my time and the way I spent my money and the way I worry about things, and they looked at the things that I pursue, and they looked at the things that I sacrifice for, and they looked at the things that sometimes I'm willing to compromise to protect. 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:02.480 What would they conclude is really most important to me? 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:13.680 Friends, the Bible tells us that there's something infinitely more important than our families, our careers, our health, our ministry, even our happiness, and that is the glory of God. 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:20.960 The Hebrew word for glory is the word kavod, and it means weight or weightiness or heaviness. 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:24.560 It means that God alone has the weight and the worth. 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:31.360 And the weight and the worth of God are unrivaled in the Bible and unrivaled in the whole world. 00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:35.360 Now that might sound really obvious if you've been a Christian for a while. 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:38.000 Yes, Dave, of course, amen. 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:39.039 God is glorious. 00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:40.400 Yes, yes, we get it. 00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:44.560 But I wonder if we actually live as though that is true. 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:48.639 Because we live in a world that's constantly telling us another story. 00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:54.400 We live in a world where the message is constantly, it's all about you. 00:02:55.280 --> 00:03:04.319 It's about your happiness, it's about your dreams, it's about your identity, it's about your fulfillment, it's about your preferences. 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:12.000 And if we're honest, that message can make its way into our hearts, and that message can even make its way into the church as well. 00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:15.439 In church, it's like, well, I really like that sermon. 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:16.639 That was good for me. 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:19.680 I really like that worship song, that was good for me. 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:26.479 Even the lyrics to some of our worship songs, which are supposed to be about praising God, sometimes can center around us. 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:36.639 And somehow we get this idea that the church exists for me instead of what's true, which is that the church exists for the glory of God. 00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:39.199 Now I know worship is good for us. 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:45.280 Coming to church actually is good for us, but the main thing we need to be concerned about is God. 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:54.240 And ironically, what's ultimately really good for us is to recenter our lives not around us, but around Him. 00:03:54.879 --> 00:04:03.280 See, we believe in God, but sometimes we subtly make God like the supporting character in our story. 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:05.520 God provides for me. 00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:10.479 God is the one who protects me, God guides me, God saves me. 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:13.680 And don't get me wrong, like all those things are true. 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:17.120 But the Bible gives you a much bigger vision. 00:04:17.519 --> 00:04:20.639 God is not the supporting character in your story. 00:04:20.959 --> 00:04:24.319 You are the supporting character in his story. 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:27.600 If we're not careful though, we forget that. 00:04:27.759 --> 00:04:32.879 And we start to think, well, God is on call for us rather than I'm on call for him. 00:04:34.800 --> 00:04:40.160 That, more than anything else, is what Ezekiel is about. 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:47.279 Everything that exists exists for him and exists through him and exists for him and comes from him. 00:04:47.519 --> 00:04:54.800 And the Bible's greatest subject is not human happiness, it is the glory of God, and that is where Ezekiel begins. 00:04:54.959 --> 00:04:59.920 Not even with Ezekiel, not with Israel, not with me, or not with you. 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:02.800 It begins with a vision of God. 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:09.360 Ezekiel sees something that's almost impossible to put into words, though he will try. 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:11.920 The first verse reads like this. 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:31.120 The book of Ezekiel begins where the Christian life begins with the glory of God. 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:37.519 It begins when we stop putting ourselves at the center and start putting God back where he belongs. 00:05:37.839 --> 00:05:43.680 At the center, above us, like before us, like over us. 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:48.319 So the subject of my message today is the weight of glory. 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:50.959 We'll be in 1-1 to 2-4. 00:05:51.439 --> 00:05:52.720 And we're going to see three things. 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:59.600 We'll see Ezekiel's life situation, we'll see Ezekiel's vision, and then we'll see Ezekiel's calling. 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:11.360 And underneath of all three of these things is like a big idea, and it's that when we see the glory of God, we stop making ourselves the center of the story. 00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:15.199 And we surrender ourselves to his purposes. 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:19.120 For many of you, this will be new territory. 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:23.439 How many of you have ever sat in a sermon series through the book of Ezekiel before? 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:25.199 Just a quick show of hands. 00:06:25.519 --> 00:06:26.720 Look around. 00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:29.920 Let the record show there are a few of us here. 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:34.480 My hand should be down, because I've never done a sermon series through the book of Ezekiel. 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:35.519 I've been too scared. 00:06:35.680 --> 00:06:43.279 It was the Puritan William Greenhill who characterized the book of Ezekiel as full of majesty, obscurity, and difficulty. 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:54.800 In terms of genre, the prophecy of Ezekiel is characterized by more types of literature than any other book in the Bible, but like by far, every type of genre you will find in the book of Ezekiel. 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:57.199 There's gonna be prophecies with predictions about the future. 00:06:57.360 --> 00:06:58.160 We expect that. 00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:01.439 There's also a great deal of poetry and prose. 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:13.839 There's gonna be tons of signs and symbols, there's parables, there's also allegories, and there will be something really interesting that he engages in called prophetic street theater, and we'll unpack that when we see that. 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:19.199 But every type of genre you can imagine is found in the book of Ezekiel. 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:22.800 It's hard, but it is worth it. 00:07:23.360 --> 00:07:26.160 So let me encourage you to begin reading through this book with us. 00:07:26.319 --> 00:07:27.839 When you do, you'll quickly see why. 00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:30.560 This is one of the most fascinating books in the whole Bible. 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:34.000 Uh, here's our tentative preaching schedule for the fall at NBC. 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:39.680 You can take out your phone and snap a picture of that to prepare you for each particular Sunday. 00:07:39.839 --> 00:07:43.279 I encourage you to read it ahead of time and meditate on this great book. 00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:45.519 The sermon series will last to the end of this year. 00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:58.879 We won't go through every chapter and verse, but we are looking at 16 key strategically chosen passages that will be like mile markers along this journey to help you understand and grasp what's going on in Ezekiel. 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:02.399 And I encourage you to read the in-between sections on your own. 00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:05.040 Pick up an Ezekiel journal to take notes. 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:13.519 You can grab one of those, hopefully, on your way out today, where you can remember what God is teaching you as you study this book together with us. 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:20.160 Even better, join one of our small groups and process the sermons together as a group with other brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:22.160 Those groups are all listed on our website. 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:26.319 You can check that out to get the most out of this series together. 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:27.839 So that's the plan. 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:30.480 And we're gonna have a wonderful fall series together. 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:33.120 Why don't we pray and ask for God's blessing upon it? 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:34.480 Would you stand if you're able? 00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:38.240 And let's actually dedicate this to the Lord as a church. 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:41.039 And I want to encourage you to pray something out loud as we begin. 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:42.240 I want you to pray these words. 00:08:42.480 --> 00:08:45.519 Lord Jesus, I open my heart to you. 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:46.559 So let's start with that. 00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:47.120 Ready? 00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:48.799 Lord Jesus. 00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:50.720 Amen. 00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:53.200 Father, we come before you this morning with grateful hearts. 00:08:53.440 --> 00:09:00.720 Open our eyes to see your glory, to remember that you are sovereign and to trust that you are with your people wherever you lead us. 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:03.360 Speak to us now through your word today. 00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:04.960 Humble us before you. 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:08.559 Help us to respond with faith and obedience. 00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:13.440 For we pray it all in Jesus' name and for the sake of his reputation. 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:15.519 And everyone said, Amen. 00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:16.399 You may be seated. 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:20.000 So we're gonna be in the section of your Bible that's called the Prophets. 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:21.360 There are 17 of them. 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:27.919 There's five uh books that we call the major prophets, and then there's 12 that are the minor prophets. 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:32.080 Now it's not like baseball where major is better and minor is like kind of like not that great. 00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:34.399 It's just about the length of their writings. 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:41.519 So Ezekiel is a major prophet simply because he writes 48 chapters, and so he's a major prophet. 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:51.919 Now the prophets were largely spokespeople for God, and they ministered in two distinct ways through foretelling, but also through forth telling. 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:54.080 Four telling is what you might think. 00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:58.720 It's when a prophet predicts the future, and Ezekiel does that in some fantastic ways. 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:11.279 But there's also his ministry of forth telling, which is proclaiming in their day, a prophet proclaiming in their day what was important to hear from God in terms of both warnings and promises, and we'll see a lot of that as well. 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:13.120 When did all of this happen? 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:14.480 Is a really good question. 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:21.039 To put this thing on a timeline, around the year 2000 BC, there was a guy called out of Ur, and his name was what? 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:21.840 It's on the screen. 00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:23.039 Abraham. 00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:27.360 About a thousand years after that, a thousand BC, there was a guy with a great name, best name ever. 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:29.440 His name, uh, he was a ruler of Israel. 00:10:29.519 --> 00:10:31.600 He had a sling stone and he took a giant down. 00:10:31.679 --> 00:10:32.240 What's his name? 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:33.440 David. 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:39.039 David has the united monarchy, the kingdom is going well, but then it splits in two because of civil war. 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:41.360 Uh, the north breaks off from the south. 00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:47.360 Everything's going fine until the north actually gets conquered by the Assyrian Empire in the year 722 BC. 00:10:47.679 --> 00:10:51.840 We actually were in this time period last fall when we went through the book of Isaiah. 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:54.240 That's around the time of the ministry of Isaiah. 00:10:54.320 --> 00:10:56.879 The northern kingdom was uh conquered. 00:10:57.039 --> 00:11:06.720 And then the southern kingdom lasts a little bit longer, but because of their sin, they're eventually judged, and they go into exile in the year 586 BC into Babylon. 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:10.080 Babylon, they the Babylonian conquest takes over. 00:11:10.240 --> 00:11:19.360 They go into exile for a period of 70 years, where Israel is judged because of their idolatry and sin, but God promises that he will bring them back. 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:21.519 It's a promise in Ezekiel, actually. 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:30.879 And they do come back under the leadership of a man named Ezra and Nehemiah, and they come back in three different waves as the people return to the land just as God had promised them. 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:36.720 And when you get to the end of Nehemiah, you've now gotten to the chronological end of the Old Testament. 00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:41.600 So Ezekiel fits right here in the period of exile. 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:47.600 Ezekiel was actually one of the people who got exiled and sent away. 00:11:48.080 --> 00:11:53.759 Ezekiel lived in Jerusalem during the final years where Judah was still an independent kingdom. 00:11:54.000 --> 00:12:02.240 If you want to know the scripture reference that kind of records the narrative of what's going on during that time, you have to read 2 Kings 24 and 25. 00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:07.440 If you don't know that section of the Bible, you'll be pretty lost in terms of what's going on in the book of Ezekiel. 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:12.799 So I would encourage you to read those two chapters to see what's happening around the time of Ezekiel. 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:20.960 Ezekiel lives between the first forced migration and the final destruction of Jerusalem. 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:28.960 He ministers between 593 BC to 571 BC for about a ministry of 22 years. 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:40.639 Which means he was one of the people in 597 that was taken into exile, along with Daniel and his three friends, and about 10,000 other people that were brought over to Jerusalem. 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:52.399 And then he ministers over in Babylon, and right in the middle of his ministry, Jerusalem gets attacked and sacked, and the temple is destroyed, and it's a really big deal right in the middle of Ezekiel when all of that happens. 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:57.679 And then Ezekiel continues to minister even after the destruction for some years after that. 00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:04.000 In terms of location, spatially, Ezekiel was in Babylon, which is over here. 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:06.080 They were all in Babylon. 00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:07.759 Why were they in Babylon? 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:13.519 The answer was that God himself had given his people a land flowing with milk and honey. 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:23.440 He had given them everything, but God had also said, if you turn from me and turn instead toward worthless idols, then I will take everything away from you. 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:25.440 And that is exactly what happened. 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:28.159 So they are sent away into exile. 00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:32.480 You say, okay, Pastor Dave, that's an interesting map, interesting piece of history, but who cares? 00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:34.000 What does that have to do with me? 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:35.679 Well, everything. 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:41.200 The Israelite exile is a picture of our exile. 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:52.879 Just as the Israelites, because of their rebellion, were sent into exile, so also all of humanity is in exile away from the presence of God. 00:13:53.120 --> 00:14:01.039 There was not supposed to be sin and suffering and sickness and death, but we are all, in a sense, in a place of exile. 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:02.240 Don't you realize that? 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:03.840 Don't you sense that? 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:08.639 Don't you sense that something is wrong, that this whole human race is in exile? 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:09.440 We are. 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:11.600 We are exiled from our true home. 00:14:11.759 --> 00:14:13.519 We are exiled from our true selves. 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:16.080 We are exiled from our destiny. 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:20.399 We were never meant to live the way that we're living. 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:21.919 We are in exile. 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:33.120 To the degree that you understand that and acknowledge that reality, you'll understand life better, you'll understand yourself better, you'll understand this world better, and you'll definitely understand the book of Ezekiel better. 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:37.279 As far as structure, here's Pastor Dave's famous chart. 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:42.000 Ezekiel divides easily into three major sections. 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:52.799 Chapters 1 through 12 is part one, and it is all about Yahweh, the Lord, leaving the temple of Jerusalem and going with his people into exile. 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:54.240 Right here. 00:14:54.639 --> 00:15:00.799 This was the biggest aha moment for me as I re-study this book starting in June till today. 00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:02.720 Think about what I just said. 00:15:03.039 --> 00:15:09.759 The question I want you to ask and answer as we're looking at chapter one later today, in just a few moments, is this here's a vision of the glory of God. 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:14.000 What's the glory of God doing in Babylon? 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:17.279 Strange, isn't it? 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:19.679 Ezekiel, you'll learn, is a priest. 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:20.879 He's trained as a priest. 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:24.480 He spent his entire life preparing to serve God in Jerusalem. 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:31.039 And if you were to ask Ezekiel and all his priestly friends, where are we going to encounter the glory of God? 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:32.159 What's he going to say? 00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:32.879 Where? 00:15:33.679 --> 00:15:34.960 At the temple. 00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:37.600 That's where God's presence was. 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:38.399 Thank you. 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:40.240 That's where God dwelled. 00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:41.759 But now he's in Babylon. 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:42.960 He's been taken away from the temple. 00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:44.799 He's been taken away from his homeland. 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:48.559 He's been taken away from the place where he thought God was. 00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:51.120 And then the heavens open. 00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:59.919 And Ezekiel sees the glory of the Lord in Babylon. 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:03.279 Do you see what's happening? 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:09.120 God has gone with his people into exile. 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:15.440 Yes, we have a God who goes with us into exile. 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:27.840 Israel sinned against God, they rebelled against him, their exile was not unjust, they deserved God's judgment, and yet when God sends them into exile, our God does not abandon his people there. 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:29.600 He goes with them. 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:35.120 And so the glory of the Lord is not confined, we learn, to Jerusalem or to the temple. 00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:40.720 God is not saying to Ezekiel and his friends, hey, you sinned, you blew it, now you're on your own. 00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:45.919 No, even in judgment, we have a God who pursues his people. 00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:48.879 Even in exile, God is with his people. 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:53.679 Even when they have wandered far, far from him, he has not wandered from them. 00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:56.159 He is still chasing after them. 00:16:56.240 --> 00:16:58.159 And that is the kind of God they have. 00:16:58.320 --> 00:17:00.480 And brothers and sisters, that's the kind of God you have. 00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:02.320 Part two. 00:17:02.720 --> 00:17:07.359 Part two is about Yahweh warning Israel and the nations. 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:18.319 Here we have the most graphic, vile description of sin and rebellion in the whole Bible. 00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:22.240 Little Jewish boys were not even supposed to read this book until they were 30. 00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:27.519 Some of that language is so, so severe that they could not handle it. 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:32.559 Ezekiel's vocabulary and his characterization of sin is very vivid. 00:17:32.799 --> 00:17:36.240 Some of the verses, I don't know if I'm putting on the screen during this series. 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:39.200 Sin to Ezekiel is abominable. 00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:40.559 Sin is grotesque. 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:41.680 It is detestable. 00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:42.880 It is gruesome. 00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:44.079 It is disgusting. 00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:47.839 It perverts, it pollutes, it offends God. 00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:55.200 Actually, God's anger shows up more in the book of Ezekiel than any other book in the Bible. 00:17:55.440 --> 00:18:00.640 And the issue here for God is his name. 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:06.000 The reason God is concerned is with his own reputation. 00:18:06.799 --> 00:18:15.200 Israel has tarnished the reputation of the God that they were supposed to reflect, and they are not imitating him properly. 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:20.880 And so the most repeated phrase in the whole book of Ezekiel is God going after his name. 00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:23.440 And you'll hear it every week almost. 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:25.839 Then you will know my name is the Lord. 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:27.759 Then you will know my name is the Lord. 00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:31.039 62 times that phrase is repeated in the book of Ezekiel. 00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:31.519 Why? 00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:35.839 Because God is committed to restoring his name. 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:37.200 Part three. 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:38.960 Part three is unbelievable. 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:46.000 Part three is Yahweh promising to restore his people Israel in this kingdom, this messianic kingdom. 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:48.960 Here, brothers and sisters, we have a wonderful hope. 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:59.519 Promises are there for you of a new shepherd, a new covenant, a new heart, a restored land, a restored temple, dry bones bringing themselves to life because of God's Spirit. 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:04.799 And when all that happens, go ahead and turn in your Bible to the last verse of Ezekiel. 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:07.200 Just flip there, chapter 48, the last verse. 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:10.480 When everything happens and everything is restored, I want you to see the end. 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:21.359 When God rebuilds his people and his temple and his city, it says in the very last verse of the book of Ezekiel that on that day the name of the city will be the Lord is there. 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:23.039 That's our hope. 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:24.160 That's where we're going. 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:30.400 That is the hope not just of Ezekiel and the people of Israel, but that is the hope of all the people of God in all ages. 00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:33.039 This is the city that we're looking for. 00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:38.160 So with that said, let's begin where Ezekiel begins. 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:40.400 Chapter 1 again, verse 1. 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:42.079 His life situation. 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:47.119 See if you can look at the superscription with me and see what God is saying. 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:57.200 Verse 1 says this again in the 30th year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I, he's speaking in the first person here, was among the exiles by the Kebar Canal. 00:19:57.359 --> 00:19:59.920 The heavens were open, and I saw visions of God. 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:01.759 Now we switch to the third person. 00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:03.039 There appears to be a narrator here. 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:16.160 On the fifth day of the month, it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachim, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, the priest, the son of Buzai, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Kebar Canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there. 00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:21.519 So here we meet Ezekiel, and his name means God strengthens. 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:22.960 God strengthens. 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:25.680 And we'll talk about what that means in the series. 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:28.880 Notice, as I mentioned, he is a priest. 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:31.359 So the priest would work at the temple. 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:32.559 That was his training. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:37.039 The only problem, as he said, is Ezekiel is nowhere near the temple. 00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:41.519 He is now in the land of the Chaldeans, which is a synonym for the land of the Babylonians. 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:43.359 Here's the other thing that you may not notice. 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:47.359 In verse 1, it says that this book starts in the 30th year. 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:52.400 That means Ezekiel is 30 years old. 00:20:52.720 --> 00:21:00.720 30 is the year that a priest would be fully trained and commissioned to be able to serve in the temple. 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:05.039 In the margin of your Bible, just jot down Numbers, chapter 4, verse 3. 00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:11.440 When a person was fully trained at age 30, they were finished and they were allowed to serve as a priest. 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:13.039 So think about that. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:16.079 I don't know if anybody's 30 in here. 00:21:16.319 --> 00:21:18.000 But just imagine you're 30. 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:19.519 Ezekiel's 30. 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:21.119 It's his 30th birthday. 00:21:21.279 --> 00:21:23.839 He's trained so far his entire adult life. 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:32.160 He's been looking forward to this for 30 years to serve in this special sacred capacity at the Jerusalem temple. 00:21:32.559 --> 00:21:35.039 And that dream is over. 00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:46.559 Here now he is sitting by this irrigation canal, far from home, far from the temple, far from all he was hoping would work out in his life. 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:54.400 He goes through exile, which means forced migration and incredible trauma that that would have uh entailed for him. 00:21:54.640 --> 00:21:55.680 This is his birthday. 00:21:55.759 --> 00:21:56.400 He's 30. 00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:57.839 This is a sad birthday. 00:21:58.000 --> 00:21:59.599 Like, what's your worst birthday ever? 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:01.440 Worst birthday ever, right here. 00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:02.880 That's Ezekiel. 00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:09.519 I want you to imagine for a moment that almost everything you thought was secure was taken away. 00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:11.200 Your home is gone. 00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:13.920 Your country has been conquered. 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:16.079 Your city has been destroyed. 00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:17.839 Your future is uncertain. 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:26.400 And the things that you thought God had given you, your temple, your land, your nation, your security seem to have disappeared. 00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:28.240 That's where Ezekiel is. 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:40.880 He's sitting beside this canal in Babylon, hundreds of miles from home, in exile, and there's something particularly painful about the way in which this book begins. 00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:44.240 He's supposed to be beginning his ministry. 00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:47.839 Instead, he's sitting as a refugee. 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:51.440 All his hopes are gone, all his dreams are gone. 00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:53.759 They're dashed forever. 00:22:54.880 --> 00:23:05.680 And then something amazing happens to him that changes absolutely everything as we see Ezekiel's vision. 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:18.480 Now, in the next section, we are coming to the one of the most wild, unbelievable, weird, can I use that word, bizarre, crazy visions in the whole Bible. 00:23:18.720 --> 00:23:20.720 Look with me at verse 4. 00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:32.559 As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually. 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:37.039 And in the midst of fire, as it were, gleaming metal. 00:23:37.279 --> 00:23:43.839 All of a sudden, we got a storm, not an uncommon image for a theophany in the Bible when God shows up. 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:47.680 There's fire, there's lightning, there's glowing metal. 00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:50.240 It's the same Hebrew word that we use today for electricity. 00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:54.319 If you lived in Israel, everything is like, you know, tectonic. 00:23:54.720 --> 00:24:00.240 And here, Ezekiel gets an incredible vision. 00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:05.599 Now I'm gonna warn you this vision is overwhelming. 00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:07.519 This vision is exhausting. 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:12.400 This vision will be very difficult for you to grasp if this is your first time reading it. 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:20.960 So I just want you to try your best to hear some of the pictures and get some of the imagery as I read the scripture today of this vision. 00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:26.960 The first part is the part about the living creatures, and that starts in verse 5. 00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:35.599 Ezekiel says, And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures, and this was their appearance. 00:24:35.839 --> 00:24:50.160 They had a human likeness, but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings, their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf's foot, and they sparkled like burnished bronze. 00:24:50.400 --> 00:25:00.079 Under their wings on the four four sides, they had human hands, and the four had their faces and their wings thus, their wings touched one another. 00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:05.759 Each one of them went straight forward without turning as they went. 00:25:06.480 --> 00:25:08.000 Okay, how are you doing? 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:11.200 Yeah. 00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:20.559 We have four like animals, sort of, and they're in the shape of a square. 00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:23.680 The number four is significant, usually significant in the Bible. 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:26.400 Usually it's the compass, like from all four corners of the earth. 00:25:26.799 --> 00:25:27.839 There's something about that here. 00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:28.799 There's four of them. 00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:30.880 But they're composite, right? 00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:36.960 We're mixing together the realm of land animals with humans and then sky fliers and birds. 00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:45.599 And somehow I want you to see that it's like all of creation, all of life, created life, is part of the bottom of this vision somehow. 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:48.400 Like it encompasses all of God's creation. 00:25:49.359 --> 00:25:54.880 Next, he's going to describe these living creatures a little further, and it's going to get even weirder. 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:56.799 Okay, look at verse 10. 00:25:57.359 --> 00:26:10.160 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. 00:26:10.319 --> 00:26:14.480 Such were their faces, and their wings were spread out above. 00:26:14.799 --> 00:26:21.279 Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies. 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:23.519 And each went straight forward. 00:26:23.839 --> 00:26:27.759 Wherever the spirit would go, they went without turning as they went. 00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:37.519 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. 00:26:37.680 --> 00:26:47.039 And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning, and the living creatures darted to and fro like the appearance of a flash of lightning. 00:26:47.119 --> 00:26:48.000 So pause there. 00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:49.279 How we don't. 00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:58.480 So we got four creatures, and they got four faces, and there's a lion, there's an ox, and there's an eagle, and there's a human. 00:26:59.279 --> 00:27:05.759 Now, over the years, a lot of artists have tried their best to create renderings of these creatures throughout church history. 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:07.599 Here's an example. 00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:14.319 Sometimes we think of angels in the Bible like little guardian cherubs, little baby cherub, like Cupid with an arrow. 00:27:15.839 --> 00:27:16.160 No. 00:27:17.039 --> 00:27:19.759 The cherub in the Bible are more like this. 00:27:20.240 --> 00:27:21.839 They are very strong. 00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:24.480 They are very powerful beings. 00:27:25.119 --> 00:27:26.640 I know it's a lot. 00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:30.000 But that is the vision of the four living creatures. 00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:34.079 The second part of the vision that you're about to read about is the wheels. 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:38.319 So next, Ezekiel is going to turn his attention to wheels. 00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:40.160 Look at verse 15 now. 00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:46.799 Now, as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. 00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:58.799 As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction, their appearance was like the gleaming of barrel, and the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. 00:27:59.599 --> 00:28:04.880 When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went. 00:28:05.119 --> 00:28:10.319 And their rims were tall and awesome, and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. 00:28:10.640 --> 00:28:15.039 And when the creatures went, the wheels went beside them. 00:28:15.119 --> 00:28:18.319 And when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. 00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:25.359 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 00:28:25.759 --> 00:28:27.200 Alright, how are we doing? 00:28:28.160 --> 00:28:29.359 So we have wheels. 00:28:29.519 --> 00:28:36.079 And there's wheels within wheels, and it's kind of like a like a kaleidoscope type of thing. 00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:39.920 And wheels communicate movement. 00:28:40.160 --> 00:28:43.599 This is not a static, steady state kind of vision. 00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:46.960 This thing's dynamic, this thing's mobile, this thing's on the go. 00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:54.400 The important textual emphasis here is that there's a relationship between the spirit of God and the wheels. 00:28:54.880 --> 00:29:00.000 And the spirit operating inside the wheels is in union with these wheels and the living creatures. 00:29:00.799 --> 00:29:03.599 Here's some artist renderings of the wheels. 00:29:05.119 --> 00:29:09.680 As this vision unfolds, we start to see these pictures. 00:29:09.920 --> 00:29:13.920 And Ezekiel, really, what he's doing is he's scanning things from the bottom to the top. 00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:17.440 He's working his way up the vision. 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:28.640 So we've got these wheels, and the next part of the vision, we're gonna go a little bit farther up to the platform and the throne. 00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:30.640 So look at verse 22. 00:29:31.680 --> 00:29:41.440 Over the heads of the living creatures, there was the likeness of an expanse shining like awe-inspiring crystal spread out above their heads. 00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:46.880 And under the expanse, their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another. 00:29:46.960 --> 00:29:50.079 And each creature had two wings covering its body. 00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:53.920 And when they went, I heard, now we got sound for the first time. 00:29:54.160 --> 00:29:56.079 I heard the sound of their wings. 00:29:56.160 --> 00:29:57.279 And what's the sound like? 00:29:57.680 --> 00:30:05.440 It's like the sound of many waters, or maybe it's more like the sound of the Almighty, or maybe it's like the sound of a tumult, or like maybe the sound of an army. 00:30:06.160 --> 00:30:10.400 When they stood still, they let down their wings, and there came a voice. 00:30:10.559 --> 00:30:15.119 Now for the first time we have a voice from above the expanse over their heads. 00:30:15.359 --> 00:30:17.759 When they stood still, they let down their wings. 00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:19.680 Alright, how are we doing? 00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:23.039 So look at this word, expanse. 00:30:23.440 --> 00:30:25.279 I'm gonna come back to that. 00:30:25.839 --> 00:30:27.119 It's very important. 00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:34.799 But back in Ezekiel's day, really it was a platform, and it looks like some kind of crystal. 00:30:35.039 --> 00:30:41.759