Day 240 (Ezekiel 5-8) - Year 4
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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap.

When we left Ezekiel yesterday, he was lying on his side for over a year and surviving on a small portion of food and water that mimicked a famine. Today we'll pick up in chapter 5 with God telling Ezekiel to shave off all the hair of his head with a battle sword, which makes for an awkward razor, then weigh it and divide it into thirds. He's supposed to burn a third, strike a third with his sword, and scatter a third to the wind.

But he's also supposed to hide part of it in his clothes, in his pockets basically, then throw a part of that into the fire. God tells Ezekiel that all this haircutting business pertains to his people back in Jerusalem. Just a reminder, in this particular book of prophecy, we aren't yet to the place in the timeline where the destruction of Jerusalem has happened. It's still a few years off. We've had one round of deportation and exile, which is how Ezekiel got deported to Babylon, but there are still two more rounds to go.

While he's in Babylon, God calls him to do this sign act with cutting off and scattering the hair. And God says these three actions symbolize the three ways he'll respond to their rebellion. Sword, pestilence, and famine. These sound familiar because we've seen these punishments prophesied by other prophets. But what's important to note is that these exact punishments were promised as the consequences for specific sins way back in the book of Leviticus, before Judah committed these sins.

God isn't just making these punishments up on the spot. He's already told them what to expect in advance. So Ezekiel is supposed to do this sign act as a warning about what's going to happen. But here's a potential problem. It seems like Ezekiel is in Babylon at this point. So how would the people of Judah see him perform these signs?

Lots of commentators don't even address it, but some think it's possible that there was some teleportation going on here, like we talked about yesterday, and that the Spirit of God actually transported Ezekiel to Jerusalem. And if you think I haven't asked him to do that for me, you are mistaken. One of the things God does in response to their sins is turn their sins back onto them. Here are some of the ways that plays out.

They were oppressing the poor in order to get rich, so now all the money they've amassed and trust in will be worthless. They were sacrificing their children, and now there will be cannibalism between parents and children. The idols they worshipped and trusted to bring them full and easy lives, they'll scatter their bones in front of those idols. In other words, God makes the punishment fit the crime. Then there's the portion of hair-slash-people hidden in Ezekiel's pockets. This represents what God will do with the remnant.

There will be punishment for some of them as well, but then he addresses the remainder in chapter 6, verses 8-10. In part, those verses say, I will leave some of you alive. Then those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, and they shall know that I am the Lord.

As we talked about yesterday, this last phrase, they shall know that I am the Lord, is one of the most common phrases in the book of Ezekiel. In fact, it appears eight times in today's reading alone. God wants to be known, and he's turning the hearts of the remnant back to himself. The reality is, in the end, everyone will know who he is. Everyone will know he is God. But not everyone will submit to him and love him. But those who do are the ones adopted into his family.

One important thing to note is that the remnant hasn't been set apart because they earned it. They weren't necessarily any more righteous than anyone else. That's another thing we see in verses 9 through 10. God's talking about the remnant and he says, They will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils that they have committed, for all their abominations. And they shall know that I am the Lord. I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.

God's punishment of them has a purpose. It's serving to reveal who he is. And in light of who God is, idolatry leads to shame and regret. In 7:16, God points out again that the remnant is not innocent. That verse says, "If any survivors escape, they will be on the mountains, like doves of the valley, all of them moaning, each one over his own iniquity." Then it goes on to talk about their shame and mourning and sin.

So if they don't earn it, if they're sinning just like everyone else in Jerusalem, then how do they get to be the remnant? This is important. It's granted to them solely by God's grace and sovereign choice, not by their actions. He preserves some people to magnify his name, display his mercy, and continue working out his plan to restore humanity in relationship with himself.

Because again, as we saw at least eight times today, he wants to be known. Justice is one of the things he wants us to know about him. And the sword, famine, and pestilence display that aspect of his character. And mercy is one of the other things he wants us to know about him. And the remnant displays that aspect of his character.

In 722, God tells Ezekiel that he will remove his presence from the temple. He will leave it empty to be defiled. Those who remain in Jerusalem will finally seek wisdom from the prophets and priests and elders, but it'll be too late. No one will be able to offer them guidance. The king won't even be able to do anything to help them out.

In chapter 8, Ezekiel is sitting with the other exiled leaders from Judah and he has another vision. He sees a man-like being made of what appears to be fire and light and metal. The being takes him by his hair, which has grown out by this point. Then the spirit takes him in a vision to Jerusalem. So this time he clarifies that he's not physically going to Jerusalem, he's only spiritually going to Jerusalem.

He sees all the terrible things going on outside the temple, all the idolatry. Then God tells him to do a Kool-Aid man through the wall so he can enter and see what's going on inside. And things are even worse in there. All the current leaders of Jerusalem are worshiping graven images, which is in defiance of the second commandment. And since this vision is of a time when God's presence isn't in the temple anymore, they believe God can't see them and won't punish them.

Then Ezekiel goes back outside again, where he sees women worshiping the God of fertile soil and men worshiping the sun. Today I had two small God shots that I want to share with you, and they actually fit together. The first was in 6-9, where God says their idolatry has broken his heart. Yes, we see his fury and wrath and lack of pity, but this comes on the heels of centuries of compassion and mercy.

His actions are rooted in the fact that his people have rejected his patient love. They've broken his heart. My second God shot was in 7.13, which says, Because of his iniquity, none can maintain his life. This reminds me of Romans 6.23, where Paul says, For the wages of sin is death. But that verse goes on to say, But the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yes, my sin broke God's heart. Yes, I deserved his wrath. Yes, because of my iniquity, I can't maintain my life. But do you know who maintained it for me, for free? God the Son who came to die in my place. He's where the joy is.

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