Sad Prophecy Had Come to Pass - Ezekiel 31-33

This is Episode #252 and today we’ll read Ezekiel chapters 31-33 together.   All of Ezekiel’s sad prophecy has come to pass.

Show Notes

·       Ezekiel's Vision
         Awesome Video of Solomon’s Temple
·       These will help!  Overview videos of all books of the Bible

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Transcript

Joy: You’re listening to Season 2 of the Lifting Her Voice podcast.  This is Episode #252 and today we’ll read Ezekiel chapters 31-33 together.   All of Ezekiel’s sad prophecy has come to pass.

Welcome

Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Season 2!  I'm your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me - from the beginning - simply reading God's word together.  We built some spiritual muscles in 2020 with just the New Testament.  But this year we’re going all out, cover-to-cover, Old Testament and New.  So, whether with your first cup in the morning, your commute to work, or as the last thing on your mind before sleep, God’s Word will equip you for every good work.  I’m really glad you’re here!

Ezekiel Chapter 31:

Downfall of Egypt and Assyria

In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes,

‘Who are you like in your greatness?

Think of Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon,

with beautiful branches and shady foliage

and of lofty height.

Its top was among the clouds.

The waters caused it to grow;

the underground springs made it tall,

directing their rivers all around

the place where the tree was planted

and sending their channels

to all the trees of the field.

Therefore the cedar became greater in height

than all the trees of the field.

Its branches multiplied,

and its boughs grew long

as it spread them out

because of the abundant water.

All the birds of the sky

nested in its branches,

and all the animals of the field

gave birth beneath its boughs;

all the great nations lived in its shade.

It was beautiful in its size,

in the length of its limbs,

for its roots extended to abundant water.

The cedars in God’s garden could not eclipse it;

the pine trees couldn’t compare with its branches,

nor could the plane trees match its boughs.

No tree in the garden of God

could compare with it in beauty.

I made it beautiful with its many limbs,

and all the trees of Eden,

which were in God’s garden, envied it.

“‘Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Since it towered high in stature and set its top among the clouds, and it grew proud on account of its height, I determined to hand it over to a ruler of nations; he would surely deal with it. I banished it because of its wickedness. Foreigners, ruthless men from the nations, cut it down and left it lying. Its limbs fell on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth’s ravines. All the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it. All the birds of the sky nested on its fallen trunk, and all the animals of the field were among its boughs. This happened so that no trees planted beside water would become great in height and set their tops among the clouds, and so that no other well-watered trees would reach them in height. For they have all been consigned to death, to the underworld, among the people who descend to the Pit.

“‘This is what the Lord God says: I caused grieving on the day the cedar went down to Sheol. I closed off the underground deep because of it: I held back the rivers of the deep, and its abundant water was restrained. I made Lebanon mourn on account of it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it. I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I threw it down to Sheol to be with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees, were comforted in the underworld. They too descended with it to Sheol, to those slain by the sword. As its allies they had lived in its shade among the nations.

“‘Who then are you like in glory and greatness among Eden’s trees? You also will be brought down to the underworld to be with the trees of Eden. You will lie among the uncircumcised with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his hordes. This is the declaration of the Lord God.’”

Ezekiel Chapter 32:

A Lament for Pharaoh

In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him,

‘You compare yourself to a lion of the nations,

but you are like a monster in the seas.

You thrash about in your rivers,

churn up the waters with your feet,

and muddy the rivers.

“‘This is what the Lord God says:

I will spread my net over you

with an assembly of many peoples,

and they will haul you up in my net.

I will abandon you on the land

and throw you onto the open field.

I will cause all the birds of the sky

to settle on you

and let the wild creatures of the entire earth

eat their fill of you.

I will put your flesh on the mountains

and fill the valleys with your carcass.

I will drench the land

with the flow of your blood,

even to the mountains;

the ravines will be filled with your gore.

“‘When I snuff you out,

I will cover the heavens

and darken their stars.

I will cover the sun with a cloud,

and the moon will not give its light.

I will darken all the shining lights

in the heavens over you,

and will bring darkness on your land.

This is the declaration of the Lord God.

“‘I will trouble the hearts of many peoples,

when I bring about your destruction

among the nations,

in countries you have not known.

I will cause many peoples to be appalled at you,

and their kings will shudder with fear because of you

when I brandish my sword in front of them.

On the day of your downfall

each of them will tremble

every moment for his life.

“‘For this is what the Lord God says:

The sword of Babylon’s king

will come against you!

I will make your hordes fall

by the swords of warriors,

all of them ruthless men from the nations.

They will ravage Egypt’s pride,

and all its hordes will be destroyed.

I will slaughter all its cattle

that are beside many waters.

No human foot will churn them again,

and no cattle hooves will disturb them.

Then I will let their waters settle

and will make their rivers flow like oil.

This is the declaration of the Lord God.

When I make the land of Egypt a desolation,

so that it is emptied of everything in it,

when I strike down all who live there,

then they will know that I am the Lord.

“‘The daughters of the nations will chant that lament. They will chant it over Egypt and all its hordes. This is the declaration of the Lord God.’”

Egypt in Sheol

In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, wail over the hordes of Egypt and bring Egypt and the daughters of mighty nations down to the underworld, to be with those who descend to the Pit:

Who do you surpass in loveliness?

Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised!

They will fall among those slain by the sword.

A sword is appointed!

They drag her and all her hordes away.

Warrior leaders will speak

from the middle of Sheol

about him and his allies:

‘They have come down;

the uncircumcised lie

slain by the sword.’

“Assyria is there with her whole assembly;

her graves are all around her.

All of them are slain, fallen by the sword.

Her graves are set in the deepest regions of the Pit,

and her assembly is all around her burial place.

All of them are slain, fallen by the sword —

those who once spread terror

in the land of the living.

“Elam is there

with all her hordes around her grave.

All of them are slain, fallen by the sword —

those who went down to the underworld uncircumcised,

who once spread their terror

in the land of the living.

They bear their disgrace

with those who descend to the Pit.

Among the slain

they prepare a bed for Elam

with all her hordes.

Her graves are all around her.

All of them are uncircumcised,

slain by the sword,

although their terror was once spread

in the land of the living.

They bear their disgrace

with those who descend to the Pit.

They are placed among the slain.

“Meshech and Tubal are there,

with all their hordes.

Their graves are all around them.

All of them are uncircumcised, slain by the sword,

although their terror was once spread

in the land of the living.

They do not lie down

with the fallen warriors of the uncircumcised,

who went down to Sheol

with their weapons of war,

whose swords were placed under their heads

and their shields

rested on their bones,

although the terror of these warriors

was once in the land of the living.

But you will be shattered

and will lie down among the uncircumcised,

with those slain by the sword.

“Edom is there, her kings and all her princes,

who, despite their strength, have been placed

among those slain by the sword.

They lie down with the uncircumcised,

with those who descend to the Pit.

All the leaders of the north

and all the Sidonians are there.

They went down in shame with the slain,

despite the terror their strength inspired.

They lie down uncircumcised

with those slain by the sword.

They bear their disgrace

with those who descend to the Pit.

“Pharaoh will see them

and be comforted over all his hordes —

Pharaoh and his whole army,

slain by the sword.”

This is the declaration of the Lord God.

“For I will spread my terror

in the land of the living,

so Pharaoh and all his hordes

will be laid to rest among the uncircumcised,

with those slain by the sword.”

This is the declaration of the Lord God.

Ezekiel Chapter 33:

Ezekiel as Israel’s Watchman

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, speak to your people and tell them, ‘Suppose I bring the sword against a land, and the people of that land select a man from among them, appointing him as their watchman. And suppose he sees the sword coming against the land and blows his ram’s horn to warn the people. Then, if anyone hears the sound of the ram’s horn but ignores the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his death will be his own fault. Since he heard the sound of the ram’s horn but ignored the warning, his death is his own fault. If he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. However, suppose the watchman sees the sword coming but doesn’t blow the ram’s horn, so that the people aren’t warned, and the sword comes and takes away their lives. Then they have been taken away because of their iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’

“As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, give them a warning from me. If I say to the wicked, ‘Wicked one, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to warn him about his way, that wicked person will die for his iniquity, yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. But if you warn a wicked person to turn from his way and he doesn’t turn from it, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have rescued yourself.

“Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘You have said this: “Our transgressions and our sins are heavy on us, and we are wasting away because of them! How then can we survive?”’ Tell them, ‘As I live — this is the declaration of the Lord God — I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked person should turn from his way and live. Repent, repent of your evil ways! Why will you die, house of Israel?’

“Now, son of man, say to your people, ‘The righteousness of the righteous person will not save him on the day of his transgression; neither will the wickedness of the wicked person cause him to stumble on the day he turns from his wickedness. The righteous person won’t be able to survive by his righteousness on the day he sins. When I tell the righteous person that he will surely live, but he trusts in his righteousness and acts unjustly, then none of his righteousness will be remembered, and he will die because of the injustice he has committed.

“‘So when I tell the wicked person, “You will surely die,” but he repents of his sin and does what is just and right —  he returns collateral, makes restitution for what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without committing injustice — he will certainly live; he will not die. None of the sins he committed will be held against him. He has done what is just and right; he will certainly live.

“‘But your people say, “The Lord’s way isn’t fair,” even though it is their own way that isn’t fair. When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, he will die for it. But if a wicked person turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live because of it. Yet you say, “The Lord’s way isn’t fair.” I will judge each of you according to his ways, house of Israel.’”

The News of Jerusalem’s Fall

In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and reported, “The city has been taken!” Now the hand of the Lord had been on me the evening before the fugitive arrived, and he opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute.

Israel’s Continued Rebellion

Then the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, those who live in the ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one person, yet he received possession of the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as a possession.’ Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: You eat meat with blood in it, you look to your idols, and you shed blood. Should you then receive possession of the land? You have relied on your swords, you have committed detestable acts, and each of you has defiled his neighbor’s wife. Should you then receive possession of the land? ’

“Tell them this: ‘This is what the Lord God says: As surely as I live, those who are in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I have given to wild animals to be devoured, and those in the strongholds and caves will die by plague. I will make the land a desolate waste, and its proud strength will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will become desolate, with no one passing through. They will know that I am the Lord when I make the land a desolate waste because of all the detestable acts they have committed.’

“As for you, son of man, your people are talking about you near the city walls and in the doorways of their houses. One person speaks to another, each saying to his brother, ‘Come and hear what the message is that comes from the Lord!’ So my people come to you in crowds, sit in front of you, and hear your words, but they don’t obey them. Their mouths go on passionately, but their hearts pursue dishonest profit. Yes, to them you are like a singer of passionate songs who has a beautiful voice and plays skillfully on an instrument. They hear your words, but they don’t obey them. Yet when all this comes true — and it definitely will — then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

Close

I think you’ll agree that there is a subtle shift, a preparation for something new in chapter 33.  And you would be right.  Let’s take a quick look at the three sections of this chapter.

First, God spends some time describing what the responsibilities of a prophet are.  He compares him to a watchman.  A watchman sounds an alarm of approaching danger.  The disturbing part of this passage for me is that I don’t think he’s just talking about prophets in Ezekiel’s time.  I suspect it just as accurately applies to those of us who have the saving knowledge of Jesus …the Savior sent to relieve us from the kind of punishment that we’ve been reading about virtually non-stop in the last four books of the Old Testament.  Do we consider that sounding an alarm?  Because I wouldn’t wish this kind of annihilation on my worst enemy.  It should give one pause.

The next little section brings to pass what Ezekiel already knew.  A man came with the news that the blessed city of Jerusalem had fallen.  It was stripped bare of its precious metals and the temple burned.  Not only had Ezekiel been told this was coming, but as we know, he had been given a vision of God leaving His temple.  He no longer resided there between the cherubim.  It has been said that Israel’s sin drove Him away.

Finally, we read, not surprisingly, that Israel continues to rebel.  Their demise is once again described with the additional accusation that they listen to Ezekiel and speak passionately about what he is prophesying, but it does not change their behavior.  Again, we hear the gavel coming down in Ezekiel 33:33 when God refers to Ezekiel’s preaching: 'Yet when all this comes true — and it definitely will — then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”'

Tune in tomorrow, when Ezekiel’s message shifts from doom to hope.  God had not abandoned His people.  Let me know if you’re as glad about that as I am at Lifting Her Voice.com, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Thank you for joining me here today.  I pray that by spending time in His Word every day, you will be changed.  Visit me at Lifting Her Voice.com with your comments and questions.  And don’t forget to visit the Blog page while you’re there.  If you like the podcast, it would be great if you’d give it a five-star review and share it with everyone you know.  Don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.  See you tomorrow!

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible(r), Copyright (c) 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible(r) and CSB(r) are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.