Scripture Reading: Ezek. 20:6; 6:9; 11:12; 13:4-5, 17-18; 14:3, 5; 22:13-19, 22:25-30; 3:7; 2:3-4, 6
As we pointed out in the first message, the book of Ezekiel is of four sections. The first section, consisting of chapter one, presents a vision of the appearance of the glory of the Lord. This chapter reveals how God is manifested, how God moves, and how God administrates His government through the coordination of the four living creatures. The second section includes the next thirty-one chapters and covers the judgment of God by fire. In this section we see that God judges His people and the heathen nations by Himself as a consuming fire. The third section (chs. 33—39) is concerned with God’s recovery of His people by life. After carrying out His judgment, God comes in to recover. Whereas God’s judgment is by fire, His recovery is by life. The last section (chs. 40—48) covers the holy building of God. The issue, the result, of God’s recovery by life is a holy building, which is the consummation of the entire book of Ezekiel. Thus, the four sections of Ezekiel cover four main things: the vision of the appearance of the glory of the Lord, the judgment by fire, the recovery by life, and the holy building of God. This is a sketch of the book of Ezekiel, a book that begins with a glorious vision and ends with a holy building. This indicates that God’s goal is the building.
We have also seen that the book of Ezekiel and the book of Revelation are similar. Like Ezekiel, Revelation covers the four matters of vision, judgment, recovery, and building, and it covers them in the same sequence that we find in Ezekiel. The vision of the Lord in Revelation 1 is followed by God’s judgment, God’s recovery, and God’s building. Ultimately, the book of Revelation, like the book of Ezekiel, consummates with God’s building with its twelve gates. From this we see that the books of Ezekiel and Revelation are not only similar but are also parallel to each other. The former is on the history of God’s people in the Old Testament; the latter is a revelation of the church in the New Testament. God’s Old Testament people were a foreshadow, a prefigure, a type, of the New Testament church.
If we read Ezekiel carefully, we will realize that it portrays a picture of the church. In a sense, the picture in the Old Testament is more clear and complete than the revelation in the New Testament. Therefore, in reading Ezekiel we should not merely be concerned with the history of Israel or with prophecies regarding Israel, but we should consider the clear picture of the church, in particular the picture unveiled here of the degraded situation of the church. Because the degradation of Israel is a picture of the degradation of Christianity, what we see in this picture is applicable to today’s situation.
In this message we will begin to consider the second section of Ezekiel — the judgment of God by fire. In chapters two through twenty-four we see God’s judgment on Israel, His chosen people, and in chapters twenty-five through thirty-two, His judgment on the Gentiles, the nations. God’s judgment is first upon His people, the children of Israel, and then His judgment comes upon the Gentiles. This matches the principle in the New Testament, seen both in the book of Revelation and in 1 Peter, that God first judges His house (1 Pet. 4:17) and afterward judges the unbelievers.
In the Old Testament Israel was God’s chosen and elect people. God had delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt and had brought them into the good land. God’s putting the people of Israel into the good land typifies God’s putting us into Christ, who is our good land today. Ezekiel 20:6 says that the good land is the glory of all lands. Christ is the glory on earth, and God has put us into the glorious Christ, who, in His unsearchable riches, is a land flowing with milk and honey.
The people of Israel experienced three stages of the enjoyment of Christ. In the first stage they enjoyed Christ in Egypt as the Passover with the unleavened bread and the bitter herbs. In the second stage they enjoyed Christ while they were wandering in the wilderness as the heavenly manna and the living water. In the third stage they enjoyed Christ as the land, full of rich produce.
These three stages match our experience today as believers in Christ. When we were saved, we enjoyed Christ as the Passover Lamb. Afterward we began to enjoy Christ as our daily portion, our daily manna. However, this is not the ultimate enjoyment of Christ. The ultimate enjoyment of Christ is to enjoy Christ in the church as the good land with all His unsearchable riches.
Concerning Christ as the good land, Ezekiel 20:6 says, “In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands.” Milk and honey, both of which are the product of the mingling of the plant life and the animal life, represent the riches of the good land of Canaan. In Christ there are both spiritual food (honey) and spiritual drink (milk). Both milk and honey are the issue of Christ being two kinds of life: the redeeming life, typified by the animal life, which has blood, and the generating, or multiplying, life, typified by the plant, or vegetable, life. On the one hand, the life of the Lord Jesus is a redeeming life — a life which has the blood that was shed for our redemption. On the other hand, the life of the Lord Jesus is a producing and generating life — a life that was released through His death on the cross for His multiplication and increase. These two aspects of His life have been blended to produce milk as our spiritual drink and honey as our spiritual food. Christ is now our milk and honey, and as such He is our supply and enjoyment. If we abide in Him as our good land, we will enjoy the riches of His supply.
Eventually, Israel, God’s chosen people, were living in the good land with a temple and a city. The temple signifies God’s house, and the city signifies God’s kingdom. God’s presence is in His house, and God’s authority is in His kingdom. In the church life today, we enjoy Christ as our good land, and therefore we have God’s presence and God’s authority. Because we are God’s elect living in Christ and enjoying all that He is, in the proper and normal church life, we have God’s temple with His presence and God’s kingdom with His authority.
At this juncture we need to consider the rights, privileges, and standing of the people of Israel.
Israel was God’s elect, His chosen people. As His elect, they should have been separated from the nations and different from them. The principle is the same with Israel in the Old Testament and with the church in the New Testament.
Israel was not only God’s elect but also God’s vine. God’s vine is for the accomplishing of God’s economy. John 15 reveals that Christ is the true vine and that we are the branches. As a whole, Christ and we are a vine for God’s economy. To the vine God grants His rich visitation with the supply of sunshine, air, rain, soil, and many other things that are necessary for the vine to grow and produce something.
This vine consists not only of human beings but of human beings joined to the divine person. This means that the vine is a combination of the Divine Being with many human beings. Such a vine is for God’s economy, and it should produce something that can make God happy and cause people to rejoice. As God’s chosen and elect people, Israel was God’s vine for His economy. Christ with the church is God’s vine today.
In the Bible the vine tree signifies God’s people as they are under His care and in union with Him. The vine tree in John 15 is formed by the union of the glorious Christ, God’s Son, and all who believe into Him and belong to Him. This union issues in the flowing forth of the divine life, and this life becomes the wine that brings joy to both God and man. Therefore, with the vine we have four crucial points: God’s care in His grace, the union of God and man, the flowing forth of the divine life, and the producing of wine for the joy of God and man.
In His grace and in His care for us, the believers, God has put us into Christ (1 Cor. 1:30), and now He is cultivating us that we may live in union with Christ. He is the vine, and we are the branches (John 15:5a). We are in Him, and He is in us. As we abide in Him, the divine life flows forth in fruit-bearing, and grapes are produced. Eventually, these grapes become wine to cheer both God and man (Judg. 9:13).
Israel was also God’s bride, His counterpart, for His satisfaction. Whereas the vine is a matter of the flow of life and the manifestation of grace, the wife is a matter of love and satisfaction. God does not want to be alone but wants to have a bride. Genesis 2:18 says that it is not good for man to be alone. In typology, this signifies that it is not good for Christ, for God, to be alone. Christ desires to have a bride. According to Ezekiel 16 and 23 Israel was God’s bride in the Old Testament time. Today the church is Christ’s bride for His satisfaction (John 3:29; Rev. 19:7). What will satisfy God the most and bring Him the greatest pleasure will be the church as His bride, His counterpart.
The house of Israel was also God’s flock. In the Old Testament God had a flock on earth that was under His care, and this flock was Israel. Today the church is God’s flock, under His care (1 Pet. 5:2).
In addition, the people of Israel were chosen by Him to be a precious and peculiar treasure (Exo. 19:5). How marvelous was Israel’s standing before God! They were His elect, His vine, His bride, His flock, and His treasure. These were the rights, privileges, and standing of the people of Israel.
Unfortunately, the actual condition of Israel was very poor. If we read the long record in Ezekiel from chapter two to chapter twenty-four, we may feel like weeping over Israel’s pitiful condition.
The people of Israel were God’s elect, but they became rebels against God. Many times in these twenty-three chapters God said that Israel was a rebellious nation, a rebellious house. In 2:3 the Lord said to Ezekiel, “Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me.” In verses 5 and 6 God referred to them as “a rebellious house,” and in verse 7 He said that “they are most rebellious.” They were God’s elect, but they had become rebels against God.
The people of Israel were God’s vine, but they became briars and thorns (2:6). A vine should produce grapes as fruit to eat and for making wine. Instead of producing grapes, Israel became briars and thorns. They became a pricking, injuring, and damaging plant which yielded no fruit and no wine. God’s elect became rebels, and God’s vine became briars and thorns.
Moreover, although the people of Israel were God’s bride, they became a harlot. They had a “whorish heart” and they went “a whoring after their idols” (6:9). What a miserable situation! In chapters sixteen and twenty-three God said that His heart was broken because of their whorish heart. As a dear Husband, God was grieved because His people had become a whorish wife.
According to the record in Ezekiel, what became of Israel as God’s flock? In 2:6 we see that God’s flock became scorpions. As God’s flock they should have been sheep producing meat to nourish people and wool to warm people. But they became scorpions, and with scorpions there is no producing, only stinging.
Ezekiel 22:18 says, “Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.” This reveals that Israel, God’s precious treasure, had become dross, the waste material that remains after gold and silver have been refined. As God’s elect, they became rebels; as God’s vine, they became briars and thorns; as God’s bride, they became a harlot; as God’s flock, they became scorpions; and as God’s treasure of gold and silver, they became dross.
This picture of Israel can be applied to the situation of today’s Christianity. In their standing Christians are God’s elect, but many have become rebels against God. Instead of being a vine, they have become briars and thorns. Instead of being a wife, they have become a harlot. According to Revelation 17 and 18 today’s Christianity is not a bride but a great harlot with many daughter harlots. Thus, today’s Christianity is altogether a whoredom. Moreover, among Christians what we see today is not a flock producing meat and wool for others but stinging scorpions. Finally, although some Christians today may be a treasure to God, most have become dross.
How could such a wonderful people who were God’s elect, God’s vine, God’s bride, God’s flock, and God’s treasure become rebels, briars and thorns, a harlot, scorpions, and dross? In order to answer this question, we need to consider the reasons for Israel’s degradation.
The first reason for their degradation was their idolatry. Ezekiel speaks again and again about the idols among the people of Israel. We should not consider that an idol is always an outward image. Idols are substitutes for God. Ezekiel 14:3 says, “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart.” Those who set up idols in their hearts are estranged from the Lord through their idols (v. 5). Verse 4 says, “Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh, according to the multitude of his idols.” In these verses we see a principle: All those who have idols within them and yet seek God in an outward way cannot find God. God will not be found by those who set up idols in their hearts. Those who seek the Lord with their whole heart will find Him (Jer. 29:13). However, God will not be found by those who seek Him outwardly, yet have idols inwardly. If there is an idol in our heart, something in our heart that occupies us instead of God, it will be useless for us to seek God, for in this situation God does not have a way to be found by us.
Anything within us that is a substitute for God is an idol. Whatever we love more than the Lord is an idol. A scholarship, education, money, clothing, a wife, a husband, children — all these can be idols, something or someone that we love more than God and that replaces God in our life. Whatever is more important to us than the Lord is an idol. The first reason for the fall and degradation of Israel was idolatry.
The principle is the same with the degradation of the church. In Revelation 2 we see that the degradation of the churches began with the leaving of the first love to the Lord (v. 4). The Lord Jesus said that the church in Ephesus had many good works, yet He had something against them, for they had left their first love for Him. This indicates that they had some idols. If we do not love the Lord with the first love, this is a sign that we have some kind of idol. Whatever we love more than the Lord, is our idol. If we realize this, we will see that the cause of the degradation of Israel and of the church is exactly the same.
The people of Israel worshipped idols as substitutes for God. The situation is the same with a great many Christians today. Most Christians have lost their first love. Some love their missionary work much more than they love the Lord Himself. Others love their study of the Bible or their evangelistic outreach more than the Lord. Many care for their work, but they do not care for the Lord. Dr. A. W. Tozer of the Christian and Missionary Alliance once said that if the Lord Jesus came into a conference of Christian leaders, they would not recognize Him. Although they might be discussing their work for the Lord, if He were to come into their meeting, they would not know Him. Tozer’s observation indicates that it is common for Christians to love many things other than the Lord Himself.
Idols bring people into association with the world. The people of Israel had idols, and through these idols they were brought into contact and association with the world, that is, with the heathen nations. This indicates that as long as we have something within us that is a substitute for the Lord, we will be associated with the world. We may love various things in place of the Lord: money, a degree, a good job, an automobile, a house, a good living, and even our husband, wife, or children. Anything that we love more than we love the Lord will bring us into association with the world and lead us into worldliness.
After the people of Israel became associated with the nations, they began to walk after the manners and customs of the nations. This means that they followed the nations.
We need to realize that the three causes of the fall and degradation of Israel are also the main causes of the fall and degradation of today’s Christianity. These causes are loving something more than the Lord or in place of the Lord, association with the world, and walking after the manner of the heathen.
Although we are in the Lord’s recovery, I am concerned that some may still have an idol within them, may still be associated with the world, and in their daily living may still walk after the manner of the heathen. We should not pattern our life after unbelievers in any way. For example, we should not follow the unbelievers in the matter of the style of dress. We should not care for any particular style but care to have a proper outward appearance. The way we live, the way we spend our money, and the way we dress should not be after the manner of the nations. We are a holy people, and for this reason we must be different from the worldly people.
Now let us go on to consider the various kinds of people among the children of Israel described in these chapters of Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 22:26 says, “Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.” Here we see that the priests violated the word of God, profaned the holy things, and even profaned the Lord Himself. They made no distinction between the holy and the profane, between the clean and the unclean. Because they did not minister the word of God but instead violated it, they cheated and robbed the people. They did violence to the Lord’s word and they profaned the name of God. This is also the situation with certain teachers in today’s Christianity. They minister God’s word in a violent way, cheating and misleading others by the wrong use of the Word and profaning the name of God.
Ezekiel 22:27 goes on to say that the princes, the kings, were in the midst of the land like wolves ravening the prey, shedding blood, and destroying souls for dishonest gain. Like many in today’s Christianity, they were anxious to grasp something for their own gain.
Ezekiel 22:25 tells us that the prophets were like roaring lions devouring souls. They took the treasure and the precious things, causing many to be widows.
Ezekiel 13:4-5 says, “O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord.” Like foxes in the desert, the prophets loved to hide and live in a desolate place. It is difficult for a fox to live in a proper house, but when a house is desolate, foxes may come in. Furthermore, the prophets would not fill up the gap and make up the hedge during the time of battle. Today’s situation is similar, for very few Christians are willing to stand in the gap for the Lord’s recovery and for the Lord’s interest.
At Ezekiel’s time there were many false prophets who prophesied according to their own heart. In 22:28 Ezekiel used a parable to describe their manner of prophesying: “Her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken.” Here Ezekiel said that their manner of prophesying was like daubing the walls with untempered mortar. Mortar is made from lime and must be thoroughly saturated with water before it is applied to a wall. This would give properly tempered mortar. If the mortar is not thoroughly saturated with water before it is applied to the wall, the rain will wash the mortar away, and the wall will crumble. The meaning of this parable is that many prophets ministered the word of God in a way that was not properly tempered. To minister the word of God in such an untempered way is to be not saturated with the Holy Spirit and not soaked with the experience of life. Today many preachers and teachers are daubing with untempered mortar. They may give a good sermon, but when a storm comes, it is washed away like untempered mortar.
A word which is fully saturated with the Spirit and with the experience of the divine life is absolutely different. When this kind of word is ministered, it will strengthen God’s people to withstand whatever storms may come. From this we see that we need teaching that is saturated with the Spirit and soaked with the proper experience of the divine life. This is not a matter of eloquence or of speaking words that are pleasant to the ear. Rather, it is ministering the word of God in a way that is real, solid, and thoroughly saturated with the Holy Spirit. Such a word will protect us, strengthen us, build us together, and enable us to stand against every kind of storm.
An even worse situation than that of the false prophets existed among the daughters of the people, who prophesied out of their own heart (13:17). They not only prophesied falsely; they also prophesied when the Lord had not spoken. This kind of prophesying occurs frequently today. Many say, “Thus saith the Lord,” but the Lord has not spoken. For example, in recent years several people have prophesied that the city of Los Angeles would fall into the ocean, and some even predicted the exact date. But Los Angeles is still here. They said, “Thus saith the Lord,” but the Lord never said such a thing. When these prophesies were not fulfilled, they were proved to be false.
In addition to prophesying falsely, these women in Ezekiel also practiced superstition and witchcraft. For instance, they sewed on a magic band, an amulet, as a superstitious protection from the demons. They even sewed veils to hunt people (13:18-21). Likewise, today certain pastors, preachers, and ministers speak in a superstitious way, comforting others in a way that is false and not according to the truth.
The Lord told Ezekiel that the elders who came to him to inquire of the Lord had set up idols in their hearts (14:1-3). Because of the idols in their hearts, the Lord would not be inquired of by them. They were not honest with the Lord. Also, they were ravening and robbing, taking others’ treasures into their own hands. In many respects, the situation today is similar.
From Ezekiel 22:29 we see that the people used oppression and exercised robbery. They vexed the poor and the needy, and they oppressed the stranger wrongfully. The Lord was not able to find anyone among them who could make up the hedge and stand in the gap. Concerning this, verse 30 says, “I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” Sadly, in today’s Christianity the situation is almost exactly the same.
