August 16, 2011
WHO'S LARGE AND IN CHARGE?
Ezekiel 39
Robert Heath
Central Truth
The Lord views time and space differently than we do. Judgment is coming, and we should not count Him slow because it hasn't occurred YET. Consider it an indication of His love and mercy for us so that all might experience Him. You can't have mercy and grace without judgment.
Key Verse | Ezekiel 39:7
"My holy name I will make known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not let My holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel." (Ezekiel 39:7)
Ezekiel 39
1 And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech 1 39:1 Or Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. 2 And I will turn you about and drive you forward, 2 39:2 Or and drag you along and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the mountains of Israel. 3 Then I will strike your bow from your left hand, and will make your arrows drop out of your right hand. 4 You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your hordes and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. 5 You shall fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Lord God. 6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands, and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. 8 Behold, it is coming and it will be brought about, declares the Lord God. That is the day of which I have spoken.
9 Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and make fires of the weapons and burn them, shields and bucklers, bow and arrows, clubs 3 39:9 Or javelins and spears; and they will make fires of them for seven years, 10 so that they will not need to take wood out of the field or cut down any out of the forests, for they will make their fires of the weapons. They will seize the spoil of those who despoiled them, and plunder those who plundered them, declares the Lord God.
11 On that day I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers, east of the sea. It will block the travelers, for there Gog and all his multitude will be buried. It will be called the Valley of Hamon-gog. 4 39:11 Hamon-gog means the multitude of Gog 12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. 13 All the people of the land will bury them, and it will bring them renown on the day that I show my glory, declares the Lord God. 14 They will set apart men to travel through the land regularly and bury those travelers remaining on the face of the land, so as to cleanse it. At 5 39:14 Or Until the end of seven months they will make their search. 15 And when these travel through the land and anyone sees a human bone, then he shall set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog. 16 (Hamonah 6 39:16 Hamonah means multitude is also the name of the city.) Thus shall they cleanse the land.
17 As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God: Speak to the birds of every sort and to all beasts of the field: ‘Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood. 18 You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth—of rams, of lambs, and of he-goats, of bulls, all of them fat beasts of Bashan. 19 And you shall eat fat till you are filled, and drink blood till you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you. 20 And you shall be filled at my table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all kinds of warriors,’ declares the Lord God.
21 And I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid on them. 22 The house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God, from that day forward. 23 And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they dealt so treacherously with me that I hid my face from them and gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword. 24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and hid my face from them.
The LORD Will Restore Israel
25 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. 26 They shall forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid, 27 when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies' lands, and through them have vindicated my holiness in the sight of many nations. 28 Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore. 29 And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”
Dive Deeper | Ezekiel 39
For those of you who don't know me (which may be most of you), I spent my later teens, all my 20's, and half my 30's increasing the amount of grace I would need to have a relationship with God. My life was filled with sin including drunkenness, sloth, and inappropriate relationships. I have been married and divorced three times, a fact of which I am not very proud. However, I was so prideful at one time that I thought I'd been so bad that there was not enough grace for me, so why bother?
This chapter in Ezekiel describes me . . . I am Israel. I had turned my back on God and chosen my own path, a path that should have led to the same fate that Gog would experience some day. I acted treacherously against Him, and I have experienced the consequences of my choices--choices I knew better than to make. Yet, like Israel some day, He has restored me through the grace and mercy provided through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. Without knowing about the judgment that was waiting for me, I could not experience the grace and mercy. Without judgment, there would be no need for grace and mercy.
Because of Christ, God has forgotten my disgrace and treachery, as He will do with Israel one day. At times, I still struggle with accepting the forgiveness that is mine in Him because my pride still tells me I have to earn it. The truth is that I can't earn it, I can just accept it, say "Thank You," and then share that same grace and mercy with my world.
This title comes from my AA days when we would end meetings with the Lord's Prayer. Sometimes, the leader would begin the prayer by asking the question, 'Who's large and in charge?' This passage makes it clear Who is sovereign over this world and on His rightful throne. Because He is Who He is, He can distribute mercy, grace, and judgment justly. I'm not worthy to have a relationship with Him except for one reason--Jesus. Do you know Him?
Discussion Questions
1. Who is sovereign in your world, and who are you following?
2. Is there something in your past that is affecting your life today for which you haven't forgiven yourself or someone else? Who can you process this with so that you will forgive yourself or the other person through what Christ has done?
3. How do you feel about the statement that there is no grace and mercy without judgment?
WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY
EZEKIEL 38-42 (AUGUST 15-19)
Read Ezekiel 40:5-16.
The temple of God had been destroyed, and now God has given Ezekiel a picture of what the restoration of the temple should look like.
Why do you think Ezekiel spends so much time sharing the many, many details in his description of the temple with the people?
How do you think the people felt when Ezekiel shared the many details of the temple? Overwhelmed? Excited? Bored? Stressed?
What was the purpose of the temple? The temple was God's house, where He dwelt. It was to bring Him glory.
ACTIVITY: Supplies--tape measure, paper, and pencils.
Work together to measure each room, and draw a floor plan of your house on the piece of paper. After you finish, talk about how each room could be used to honor and glorify God. Pick out a verse for each room, and post it somewhere in the room.