Ezekiel and God's Presence (Part 2)

We live in a Christian culture where 'worship' has become closely linked to (and even defined by) the songs we sing on a Sunday morning. As a result, the music we sing in church has become a CENTRAL issue in most churches to the point where we define individual churches by their style of music (traditional, mixed, contemporary, or modern). But not only this, worship style has become so CENTRAL that some people will actually divide (or leave) a church over it! Ouch! But music style is not very important to God and so it shouldn't be to us either. In fact, throughout Scripture, God defines a much more authentic 'worship' that runs much deeper than the songs we sing. And God wants His idea of 'worship' (and NOT ours) to be CENTRAL to His church. So how does He define authentic worship? Ezekiel 40-48 gives us some fresh insights. So let's check it out...

A NEW TEMPLE (VS. THE OLD TEMPLE)
In Ezekiel 40-48, God describes a new Temple to Ezekiel. This vision has many similarities with the vision of the old Temple that is given in Ezekiel 8-11. Why the similarities? The author wants us to see that this new, restored Temple is to be contrasted with the old, corrupt Temple which housed idolatry, injustice, and sin. But why does God describe this Temple to Ezekiel in the first place (and with so much detail)? Well, Ezekiel 43:10-11 gives us the answer!

"Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their sins. Let them consider its perfection, and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement, its exits and entrances—its whole design and all its regulations and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations."

This passage suggests that just like many of the symbolic acts described in the earlier chapters of Ezekiel, this description of the Temple is to be used by Ezekiel as a type of sermon illustration (a type of teaching aid). This is made apparent by the intricate details used to describe this new Temple. But what do these details communicate? And how might they have made the people feel ashamed? Let's find out...

A NEW PRIESTHOOD
We learn early on in the book of Ezekiel that the religious leaders were poor shepherds and guides for the people (Ezekiel 34). Because of this, in the new Temple, only the Zadok priests will be permitted to enter God's presence. But why only this specific group of priests? Check out Ezekiel 44:15-16.

"But the Levitical priests, who are descendants of Zadok and who guarded my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to minister before me...they alone are to enter my sanctuary; they alone are to come near my table to minister before me and serve me as guards."

Do you think that this might bring shame to the leaders of Israel who were unfaithful in leading God's people?

THICK WALLS AND GUARD POSTS
This is not God's only indictment against Israel. Ezekiel's vision also makes the new Temple seem like a military fortress. There are guard stations at the entrances to the new Temple (Ezekiel 40:7). And the 'walls' surrounding the Temple are greatly emphasized in Ezekiel 40-42. And rightfully so, they are roughly 11 feet thick and 11 feet tall! But why the emphasis on the walls? Well, the walls of the old Temple were used for idol worship. We see this in Ezekiel 8:10-11.

"So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and unclean animals and all the idols of Israel. In front of them stood seventy elders of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphah was standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising."

But the new, thick walls will be used to keep idols and idolatry outside of God's presence! In this way, they will also serve as a reminder of Israel's past unfaithfulness to God. Do you think that these walls might bring shame to Israel?

LIVING WATER & PURIFICATION OFFERINGS
Ezekiel's vision also shows an obsession with the sin or purification offering and Temple purity (40:39; 43:19-25; 44:29; 45:17-25; 46:20). This obsession with the sin offering is most evident in Ezekiel 45:18-20. The sin offering was the sacrifice that 'atoned' or 'purged' the Temple of all impurity (or death). This was accomplished by splashing the Temple furniture with blood (a sign of life) from the sin offering. But why is there this emphasis on the sin offering? Ezekiel 44:7-8 tells us.

“In addition to all your other detestable practices, you brought foreigners uncircumcised in heart and flesh into my sanctuary, desecrating my temple while you offered me food, fat and blood, and you broke my covenant. Instead of carrying out your duty in regard to my holy things, you put others in charge of my sanctuary.”

Israel had been desecrating God's Temple by allowing DEATH to enter God's presence through unclean foreigners! However, God's Temple presence (and God's people) were always meant to be givers of LIFE! Israel was called to be a life-giving force to a hurting world under the curse of Genesis 3. This is why a river of life is described in Ezekiel 47. It shows us that one day God's presence (and God's people) will once again bring LIFE to a DYING world! But the purification offerings will always be a reminder of Israel's past failings. Do you think that these purification offerings might bring shame to Israel?

NEW LAND DIVISIONS
We also see in Ezekiel's vision that land divisions are very important. In fact, in Ezekiel 47:14 we learn that the land will be divided EQUALLY among the people. And then we also learn that people won't have to worry about their land being unjustly taken from them by a king (Ezekiel 45:7-8; 46:18). This is a big deal because in the past, the Israelite kings would steal land from the people for their own gain (1 Kings 21). But not only this, land was never returned to people who had to sell it to pay off debts because the Sabbath Years (according to Jeremiah which included the Jubilee years) were never observed (2 Chronicles 36:21). So might these new land divisions bring shame to Israel and remind them of their past injustices?

THE BOTTOM LINE
Ezekiel's description of the Temple communicates to us that authentic worship is more than just singing songs in a certain style. Authentic worship is ACTION that REFLECTS God ACCURATELY to the world around us. This involves showing the world that God is KING (as opposed to cultural idols such as popularity, material things or anything else), that God is JUST (and cares deeply for people), and that God is LIFE (and wants people to feel loved). This is the type of worship that we need to make CENTRAL in our churches today! And so may we REFLECT God accurately to the world around us as a COMMUNITY of His people!

Ezekiel & God's Presence (Part 1)

Few texts have seen so many attempts to be literally interpreted in light of current events as Ezekiel 38-39: The Goths of the fourth century, the Arab armies of the seventh century, the Mongol hordes of the thirteenth century, the Pope and the Roman Emperor of the seventeenth century, and most recently Communist Russia of the twentieth century. And there is good reason for this (as we'll see), the text speaks of end times events that are yet to happen (as made evident in Revelation 20). But what is the function of this passage in the context of the book of Ezekiel? How would the original readers have understood this passage? And are the names and places to be understood with a wooden literalism or in some other way? Let's see if we can find out!

THE STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL
The book of Ezekiel centers around the comings and goings of God's presence. The initial unveiling of God's presence comes in chapter 1 where God's glory is riding in a 'pimped out' chariot - a 'God-mobile' (so to speak). This chariot (under the control of the spirit) has wheels with rims full of eyes (which symbolize omniscience) and is being driven by fiery creatures (cherubim) with four faces (of a human, lion, ox, and eagle who represent supremacy in their various domains - creation in general, the animal kingdom, domesticated animals, and flying creatures, respectively). But as we see in Ezekiel 7, this 'God-mobile' is not providing protection for God's people. NO. It is coming from the north to destroy Jerusalem and conquer God's people. In fact, the sound of its movement resembles that of rushing waters and the footsteps of an approaching army. Might this 'God-mobile' be leading an army toward Jerusalem with the intent to conquer God's people as judgment for their sin?

The answer comes quickly in chapters 8-11. YES! God will be coming to judge His people! Why? They have been polluting His Temple by using it to worship other gods! And this ultimately prompts God's presence to leave the Temple. Ezekiel then continues to expose Israel's sin through his prophetic parables, allegories, and symbolic acts in chapters 12-24. But it is not just Israel who has rebelled against God...so too have the nations. And so Ezekiel exposes the sin of the nations through God's oracles of judgment in chapters 25-32. But then good news arrives for God's people! A future hope is given to Israel in chapters 33-48 where God's presence returns. In fact, a new Temple is described. This new Temple is designed to prevent the past sins of chapters 8-11 from ever happening again. After this Temple is described, Ezekiel states that the future city he just described will be named "The Lord Is There." Clearly, at this point, God's presence has once again returned to His people!

EZEKIEL 38-39 IN ITS CONTEXT
There is no greater proof that God's presence will return to His people than in Ezekiel 38-39! This is a passage about the complete and utter defeat of the evil nations on account of the protection afforded by God's presence. So why is this passage about the nations not given earlier during Ezekiel's oracles against the nations (chapters 25-32)? SIMPLE. This oracle is unique from the others: 1.) It depicts an alliance of ALL nations (not just an individual nation) from the four corners of the land and 2.) It is describing a war in the distant future (NOT the near future) that will bring an end to ALL of the evil nations that pose a threat to God's world and the 'restful' existence of His people.

EZEKIEL 38-39: LITERAL OR NOT?
So should we take the details regarding this final war literally? In other words, should we be awaiting a leader (literally) named Gog from the land of Magog who will form an alliance with countries with the (literal) names of Rosh (as translated in the footnotes of the NIV and ESV), Meshek, Tubal, Persia, Cush, Put, Gomer, and Beth Togarmah? Well, that's your decision to make. But there is good reason NOT to interpret this account with wooden literalism. Why?

First, 'Rosh' is the common Hebrew term for the word 'head.' This term is used in Numbers 3:32 and 1 Chronicles 7:40 to denote a title of rank (for example, the 'head' priest). And it probably has this meaning in Ezekiel 38:2 especially in light of the fact that finding a location with the name 'Rosh' has (as of yet) alluded scholars (hence the reason the NIV and ESV translate it as a title of rank and NOT a place-name). Therefore, identifying 'Rosh' (literally) with Russia is unlikely.

Second, the symbolic number seven is prevalent in Ezekiel 38-39. If 'Rosh' is understood as a title of rank and not a location (as suggested here) then Gog, the 'head' prince, rules as the 'head' over a seven nation alliance that includes Meshek, Tubal, Persia, Cush, Put, Gomer, and Beth Togarmah. The weapons of these seven nations burn for seven years (39:9). And the burial of Gog's army of seven nations takes seven months (39:12, 14). Also, there are seven references to knowing God (38:16, 23; 39:6, 7, 22, 23, 28). Since the number seven is frequently used throughout Scripture in a symbolic way to denote 'completeness', might it be functioning in that same way here? If so, this passage is suggesting that 1.) The complete world is involved in this future invasion (seven nation alliance), 2.) They will endure complete destruction (seven month burial), 3.) Complete peace ('rest') will be established (seven years of burning weapons) and 4.) The nations will gain a complete knowledge of God (seven references to knowing God).

Third, the alliance of seven nations listed in Ezekiel 38 surrounds the Promised Land from all directions and therefore symbolically represents "nations that are at the four corners of the land" (Rev. 20:8). How do we know this? Modern research has determined the locations of each of these nations at the time of Ezekiel with a high degree of certainty. From the NORTH (in modern-day Turkey) will come Tubal (NOT to be confused with Tobolsk, Russia), Gomer, Beth Togarmah, and Meshech (NOT to be confused with Moscow, Russia). From the SOUTH will come Cush (modern-day Ethiopia). From the southWEST will come Put (modern-day Libya). And from the EAST will come Persia (modern-day Iran). And so the author is trying to communicate that in the future, evil nations from all four corners of the globe will attack God and His people.

Fourth, all of the nations listed in this passage (with the exception of Persia) are references back to the table of nations in Genesis 10:2, 6 and the Tower of Babel incident. Why would the author be making an allusion back to the Tower of Babel? SIMPLE. In the future, the prideful nations will once again attempt to 'make a name for themselves' by outdoing God through an act of rebellion. This has been the desire of ALL evil nations throughout history. But Ezekiel is telling us that the threat of evil will all come to an end in the future and that God will be crowned as the undisputed champion of the world!

THE BOTTOM LINE
So how does this relate to our lives today? Whether you read this passage literally or symbolically, the application is the same. One day God will completely remove evil and pain from this world. And so no matter what suffering or pain you are enduring today or will endure in your lifetime, you have a hope-filled future awaiting you! And so may you find hope TODAY in God's promised FUTURE reality (a reality free from ALL pain)!

Jeremiah & The Word of The Lord

Did you know that "God's word NEVER returns void"? It's true. This comes straight from Isaiah 55:11! But what does this mean exactly? Some think that this verse gives magic powers to the 'words' in Scripture. Simply quote a verse, claim its promise through faith, then sit back and watch God work. If you want to give this a try, here's how you can do it...

"God, your word says that 'you do not want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.' I claim this promise for my sister and trust in your provision." 

But is this what Isaiah 55:11 is teaching? Not exactly. Why do I think this? Well, Isaiah 55:11 is not SPECIFICALLY talking about Scripture. Rather it is talking more GENERALLY about God's decrees, judgments, and plan. This is what the hebrew word dabar ('word') most likely means in this context (but check it out for yourself!). And so I don't believe that we find a "quote it, claim it" theology being taught here.

So what is being taught? Simply stated: God's decrees are a sure thing! In the context of Isaiah 55, just as God had previously decreed judgment on His people for their defiant and perpetual sin, so now He is decreeing salvation for all of His people who thirst for Him (elsewhere called the faithful 'remnant' - Jer. 23:3). And His people can believe the truth of this GOOD NEWS decree because His past decrees have never yet returned void or empty...they became reality! God's decrees are a sure thing!

And we see this working itself out in the prophetic literature! God calls out His people for their defiant sin, He decrees divine discipline through punishment, but then He provides reassurances that judgment isn't the final word (decree)...a restored and revitalized creation devoid of all evil and pain is the final word! And the words of the prophets become reality without fail!

JEREMIAH AND THE WORD OF GOD
And the book of Jeremiah fits this prophetic mold to a 't'! In fact, the main emphasis in the book of Jeremiah is 'the words (dabaray) of Jeremiah' that find their origin in 'the word (dabar) of the Lord.' This fact is made apparent by the constant repetition of the phrase "the word of the Lord came to me" (1:2, 4, 11, 13; 2:1; 7:1; 11:1; 13:3, 8; 14:1; 16:1; 18:1, 5; 21:1; 24:4; 25:1, 3 etc.) coupled with the fact that the book of Jeremiah begins and ends with the phrase, 'the words of Jeremiah' (1:1; 51:64).

BUT WAIT. This second claim isn't EXACTLY true. There is also chapter 52. This chapter retells of the fall of Jerusalem, the burning of the Temple, and the release of Jehoiachin from prison. So why does the book of Jeremiah end this way? ANSWER: The fall of Jerusalem, the burning of the Temple and the release of Judah's king validate 'the words of Jeremiah' and 'the word of the Lord.' And so I hope you can see that God's decrees take center stage in the book of Jeremiah! But that's not all...

THE STRUCTURE OF JEREMIAH
The structure of Jeremiah shows that God's decrees lead to GOOD NEWS (or 'rest' - Jer. 6:16, 31:2). The center of the book of Jeremiah (chapters 30-33) is often referred to as 'The Book of Consolation.' In The Book of Consolation, God reveals His future plans to restore the fortunes of His people (after the punishment of exile). This reveals something extravagant about God's heart...He delights in blessing His creation. And the overall trajectory of the book reinforces this very fact. The book moves from the punishment of Israel (ch. 1-44) to the punishment and destruction of the nations (ch. 45-52) who are threatening and oppressing Israel. God (in His kindness) is working out a plan that will ultimately bring 'rest' and peace to His people (and uproot evil from His creation).

JEREMIAH AND JESUS
And Jesus brings this plan to fulfillment! It's interesting how closely Jeremiah's LIFE and WORDS parallel those of Jesus! Just like with Jesus (Lk 13:34), the leaders of Jerusalem were wanting to kill Jeremiah because of the WORDS he was speaking (Jer. 2:30; 38:4-13). Just like Jesus (Lk. 19:46), Jeremiah prophesies against the TEMPLE by calling it a 'den of robbers' (7:11). Just like Jesus (Lk. 13:6-9; 21:29-33), Jeremiah points out the BAD FRUIT being produced by God's people (Jer. 11:16-20; 24:1-10). And just like Jesus (Lk. 21), Jeremiah prophecies the DESTRUCTION of Jerusalem and the Temple (Jer. 19:14-15). But also just like Jesus (Lk. 4:18-19), Jeremiah preaches a message of HOPE to those who will repent and turn from their rebellion against God (Jer. 30-33)! And finally just like Jesus, Jeremiah's life moves God's decrees even closer to fulfillment.

THE BOTTOM LINE
So how does this relate to our lives today? God's decrees have not yet met their final fulfillment. And so we need to continue to cooperate with God in moving His plan forward! This is why Jesus has given His followers a commission! GO and MAKE disciples who will make disciples. Disciplemaking needs to become our business! Both Jesus and Jeremiah took their commissions seriously and we should too! We need to walk just like they walked - with faithfulness and conviction. And just like them, we need to become more than just mere QUOTERS of the WORD...we need to become DOERS of the WORD. We need to REPRESENT God well to the world around us and BE God's message of HOPE to a hurting world.

Isaiah 40-66: Out with The Old, In with The New

Hey everyone - its Erin!  I have the great privilege of writing the post today for the second half of Isaiah. I'm not going to lie, it is a hugely intimidating task for me. Isaiah is not a cakewalk, right?! But I'm excited, too, because these past few weeks I have learned so much through this book which I had avoided for so many years.

REVIEW
One of the first things you'll learn about the book of Isaiah if you study it at any length is that it seems to easily split into two parts. The first part includes chapters 1-39, the second contains chapters 40-66. Matt has been talking about that first part (often called "the first book of Isaiah") for a few weeks now. Here is a summary of what we learned in Isaiah 1-39:

• God is going to judge Israel AND the nations for their unfaithfulness
• Despite this coming judgment, God reveals glimmers of hope for BOTH Israel AND the nations
• God's ultimate desire is to USE Israel to BRING hope and salvation to the nations
• Israel has consistently failed in its mission to reflect God to the world

We believe that Isaiah compiled these first 39 chapters during his time prophesying in Jerusalem. These chapters offer an unfortunate glimpse into the psyche of the Israelites. No matter what punishment was threatened upon them, or what proof of God's incomparable greatness - they were NOT going to turn from the idols and trust in God alone. It's a tragic story, really, and at the conclusion of chapter 39 we are left with a gaping hole in the plan and an obvious question on our hearts:

If Israel won't cooperate with God to bring hope and salvation to the world, how will God do it?

Chapters 40-66 will answer this pivotal question for the Israelites, and for us.

THE FORMER THINGS
But there is one thing we must grasp before we dive in. As I said earlier, the first section was compiled before the Israelites were sent into exile, while Isaiah was still prophesying in Jerusalem. Much of the foretelling within chapters 1-39 was regarding the Israelites soon coming period of exile and the subsequent judging of the nations (especially the judging of Babylon by Cyrus and the Medo-Persians!). Then there are a handful of verses that suggest that after Isaiah recorded the words of the first 39 chapters, he had his disciples "bind up" those words to be opened after the prophesies had been fulfilled (you'll find those in 8:16, 30:8, and 34:16).

Further proof of this fact lies in the opening of chapter 40 itself. There you read these words:

"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all of her sins."  Isaiah 40:1-2

These verses indicate that the punishment for Israel's sin, the same punishment foretold in chapters 1-39, has been accomplished! Time has passed, and God's words through the prophet Isaiah have come to fulfillment.

When I read verses like Isaiah 40:1-2, I think how unbelievably life-giving those words must have sounded to the Israelites when they heard them! What great encouragement to receive from God! But if we assume that God's chosen people received those words with that attitude, we would be wrong. Instead of finding greater faith in God's abilities, the Israelites were doubting God's presence and activity in their lives altogether. We see this in Chapter 41:

Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God?"  Isaiah 41:27

Now, we should cut the Israelites a little slack. At the time of these complaints they were in exile, under oppressive rule, and the promises of God must have felt like lightyears away. The Israelites felt that their way was hidden from God because the path that they were on didn't line up with what they thought God would do. Interesting, isn't it though? God was doing exactly what he said he'd do (judging Israel and the nations for their sin... Isaiah 6:11-13, 13:17, etc).

So as we read through chapters 40-49 of Isaiah we see an unfortunate pattern develop. Israel continually puts God on trial, and God continuously offers proof of His faithfulness and able-ness. We know that God is able because of something that we see referred to as the 'former things' (Is. 41:21-22, 42:9, 43:9, 43:18-19).

These former things were the prophesies foretold in the first section of Isaiah that dealt with the punishment for Israel's unfaithfulness (Isaiah 42:23-25; 43:26-28) and the sins of the nations (Isaiah 41:2-4). As we read Isaiah 40-49 we understand that GOD accomplished these 'former things'. That is an important point to make because the temptation might have been for the Israelites - and the other nations - to attribute the fulfillment of these 'former things' to other false gods. But throughout chapters 40-49 God makes it clear that He alone caused these 'former things' to come about!  And now that He has shown Himself faithful and able, there is a 'new thing' waiting to be done. And based on the fulfillment of the 'former things', Israel now should trust God for the 'new things'.

THE NEW THING
I don't know about you - but at this point in the story I am really ready for a new thing!  It gets old reading so many accounts of Israel being so easily torn from the God who called them out of darkness and made them His very own (even as much as I have to admit that I would have been no more faithful than them...).

So what is this 'new thing' that God is going to do? How will he bring hope and salvation to the world in light of Israel's inability to stick to His plan and trust in Him alone?

God will accomplish the 'new thing' through His servant. At first glance one might assume that the 'servant' is Israel itself (and in fact, at first it is...41:8-9, 42:19 etc.) but as Israel shows its inability to trust in and follow after God, it becomes clear that Israel will be sidelined and another servant will come to fulfill its role.

And we know who this servant is, don't we? Yes. Here is where the 'Sunday School answer' fits quite nicely. Jesus! Jesus will be the true and faithful Israel (Matthew 4:1-11). Jesus will trust in God alone. Jesus will refuse to give in to the cultural tendency to worship anything and everything. Jesus is THE perfect servant.

And what will this servant Jesus do?

Well, bring hope and salvation to the ENTIRE world!

"It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."  Isaiah 49:6

And so here we are. Once again, we have seen the fulfillment of God's plan. Jesus did come and perfectly fulfill what Israel was meant to do and be. Jesus did make a way for every person and every nation to be restored to our Creator.

THE BOTTOM LINE
As we bring our study of the book of Isaiah to a close, I think there are a lot of practical applications for our own lives. This might be a confusing and overwhelming book, but I believe that the principle is clear:

Trust God - and God alone. He is faithful, and He is able.

Sometimes we go through periods of time when it feels like God is distant. We experience death, or pain, or betrayal, or stress... The list of heartbreaking things that happen in this fallen world sometimes seems endless. But we have this eternal hope: the same God who spoke the heavens into existence and who knit you together in your mother's womb will ultimately win this war. He will accomplish every single thing He promised and if you trust in Him and follow Him with your whole heart there is nothing - no single thing - that could keep you from Him.

In Isaiah we see the ultimate judgement for sin. We see how God really feels when His people turn their backs on Him and put their trust in created things...

But we also see the unparalleled vision of an incredible God who will stop at nothing to finish what He started - in this world, and in you.

So we find hope in Isaiah. Hope and confidence in our God.

No matter what road you walk, my prayer today is that you would trust that God is faithful and able.