August 31 - Ezekiel 10-12
This passage finishes the vision God gave Ezekiel, which we began yesterday. It is a vision of the sins of the leaders and the people, as well as the glory of God departing from the Temple. As I said before, it is a graphic reminder that God knows all of their sins, and they need to repent.
Ezekiel sees an image of the throne of God, and he hears God telling an angel to pour out coals of fire on the city. I believe that represents God's wrath and His judgment. Then, he sees the same creatures with the wheels that he saw by the river. (10:18) At first, Ezekiel seemed to be confused, but now he understands that these creatures are cherubim or special angels of God that are associated with God's worship. They are moving away from the Temple with the glory of God as it leaves. The one thing you might have noticed is that their four faces are a little different here than in chapter one. (10:14) This is not a mistake in the Bible. It could be that they have the ability to change their faces as they engage in the worship of God.
God makes it plain to Ezekiel that He is angry with the leaders for being fatalistic and saying that God was cooking them like stew in a pot. The truth is that they were cooking themselves by killing the innocent. (11:7) However, the city would not be their pot, because God was going to take them away from the city. This shows us how the leaders were so deluded, and they were leading the people astray with their bad attitude. If you and I are leaders, we must realize how our attitudes and our beliefs effect other people for good or for evil.
One neat truth comes in Ezekiel 11:16. They are going to be taken from the Temple to Babylon, which they were, but God will be a "little Temple" or holy place for them. In other words they could still worship Him and have His presence with them in the exile. He was not leaving them, even though His glory was leaving the Temple. (11:22,23) He promised to bless those who would turn back to Him, and He would give them a new heart. (11:19,20) Therefore, even though chapter 12 goes into detail about the captivity of Israel, God has not left His people. They are being punished, because He loves them, and so that they will turn back to Him. The punishment is to cleanse them from their sin and the falsehood they had accepted as truth.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 13-15.
Ezekiel sees an image of the throne of God, and he hears God telling an angel to pour out coals of fire on the city. I believe that represents God's wrath and His judgment. Then, he sees the same creatures with the wheels that he saw by the river. (10:18) At first, Ezekiel seemed to be confused, but now he understands that these creatures are cherubim or special angels of God that are associated with God's worship. They are moving away from the Temple with the glory of God as it leaves. The one thing you might have noticed is that their four faces are a little different here than in chapter one. (10:14) This is not a mistake in the Bible. It could be that they have the ability to change their faces as they engage in the worship of God.
God makes it plain to Ezekiel that He is angry with the leaders for being fatalistic and saying that God was cooking them like stew in a pot. The truth is that they were cooking themselves by killing the innocent. (11:7) However, the city would not be their pot, because God was going to take them away from the city. This shows us how the leaders were so deluded, and they were leading the people astray with their bad attitude. If you and I are leaders, we must realize how our attitudes and our beliefs effect other people for good or for evil.
One neat truth comes in Ezekiel 11:16. They are going to be taken from the Temple to Babylon, which they were, but God will be a "little Temple" or holy place for them. In other words they could still worship Him and have His presence with them in the exile. He was not leaving them, even though His glory was leaving the Temple. (11:22,23) He promised to bless those who would turn back to Him, and He would give them a new heart. (11:19,20) Therefore, even though chapter 12 goes into detail about the captivity of Israel, God has not left His people. They are being punished, because He loves them, and so that they will turn back to Him. The punishment is to cleanse them from their sin and the falsehood they had accepted as truth.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 13-15.