Ezekiel 20-24: Oracles of Jerusalem’s Judgment
Introduction
1. This section continues the judgment prophecies against
Jerusalem with more parables and graphic language.
2. A significant event occurs in Ezekiel’s life in these
chapters, one that should certainly arrest our attention.
I.
State of Israel: Past, Present, and Future (20:1-44)
A.
God’s Dealings with Israel in the Past (20:1-29)
1.
Again the elders came to Ezekiel, but God would show them their sin to
indict their hypocrisy.
2.
In Egypt, God commanded Israel to forsake idolatry; they disobeyed, but
God spared them. (5-9)
3.
Then God gave Israel His law for their good; they rejected it, but again
He spared them. (10-17)
4.
In the wilderness God charged the second generation to obey, but they did
not obey Him. (18-22)
5.
So God swore to scatter them and gave them up to statues not for their
good. (23-26)
6.
In the land, Israel continued to provoke Jehovah, worshipping idols on
high places. (27-29)
7.
In each case, God showed mercy for the sake of His name, not because of
Israel’s righteousness.
8.
God’s law is for our good; if we reject it, God will release us to a law
that is not good for us!
B.
God’s Dealings with Israel in the Present (20:30-38)
1.
Israel defiled itself, hypocritically inquiring of the LORD while trying
to be like the Gentiles.
2.
So God would pour out His fury, exercise His rule, and present His case
in the wilderness.
3.
God would pass them under His rod, making covenant, and purge rebels from
their midst.
C.
God’s Dealings with Israel in the Future (20:39-44)
1.
Those who disobeyed were encouraged to continue; one day God would again
accept His people.
2.
On His holy mountain they would offer sacrifices and lament their sin;
God would hallow them.
3.
God would extend grace for His name’s sake, not deal with them according
to their sins. 20:44
II.
Stories of Israel’s Judgment (20:45-21:32)
A.
Parable of the Fire (20:45-21:5)
1.
God told Ezekiel to proclaim a parable of judgment describing the south
of Judah being burned.
2.
Ezekiel lamented the captive’s disdain for parable preaching, so God gave
him explicit prophecy.
3.
The fire described Jerusalem’s judgment with God’s sword; righteous and
wicked would suffer.
B.
Parable of the Sigh (21:6-7)
1.
Again Ezekiel was to use an action parable to teach a spiritual lesson:
he groaned or sighed.
2.
Ezekiel’s sighing foretold Israel’s despondency when they received the
news of Jerusalem’s fall.
C.
Parable of the Sword (21:8-17)
1.
God had sharpened and polished His sword for judgment, and it was no
laughing matter.
2.
The sword had no regard for Israel’s royalty; it would be sharpened and
given to the slayer.
3.
The sword would come as a terror against God’s people, testing them,
cutting down the scepter.
4.
The sword would slay even great men, entering private chambers, and
making hearts melt.
D.
Parable of the Crossroads (21:18-27)
1.
Ezekiel was to depict two roads leading from the same place, one to Ammon
and one to Judah.
2.
The king of Babylon would come with God’s sword to the crossroads and
select a destination.
3.
After consulting his idols and objects of divination, he would travel to
Jerusalem to lay siege.
4.
It would seem a mistake to those who had sworn to Babylon; Judah’s sin
would be remembered.
E.
The Sword against Ammon (21:28-32)
1.
Ammon would not escape judgment either; the sword for slaughter was also
drawn against them.
2.
Ammon would be judged in their own land by brutal men, skilled in
destruction.
3.
God would blow against them with the fire of His wrath, and they would be
fuel for the fire.
III.
Summary of Israel’s Defilement (22:1-31)
A.
The Bloody City (22:1-16)
1.
Jehovah affirmed that Israel had brought judgment upon herself by
bloodshed and wickedness.
2.
Judah’s evil was vicious and abhorrent; it cried out for vengeance.
22:6-12
3.
The LORD beat His fists at their wickedness; He would scatter them and
purge their filth.
B.
The Blast Furnace (22:17-22)
1.
Israel had become dross to God, the waste of metals that have been
refined.
2.
Jehovah would gather them in Jerusalem and blow the fire of His fury upon
them to melt them.
C.
The Corrupt Land (22:23-31)
1.
The land was corrupted by sin; it had not been cleansed. God describes
five areas of corruption.
a)
Israel’s prophets conspired (25); Her priests
profaned (26)
b)
Her princes destroyed (27); Her prophets lied
(28); and Her people oppressed (29)
2.
God sought a man to stand in the breach and intercede, but none could be
found. (cf. Gen. 18:32)
3.
God would repay Israel’s corrupt deeds on her own head, pouring out His
indignation.
IV.
Symbols of the Two Sisters (23:1-49)
A.
The Identity of the Sisters (23:1-4)
1.
Chapter 23 is similar in its symbolism and graphic depictions to chapter
16.
2.
Two sisters, Oholah and
Oholibah, represent Samaria (Israel) and Jerusalem (Judah).
3.
The sisters were corrupted young, becoming sexually promiscuous during
their youth in Egypt.
4.
How many young people fit this description of youthful sexual activity
that alienates from God?
B.
Oholah, the Harlot from Samaria (23:5-10)
1.
The sexual imagery used in this chapter represents political and
religious alliances against God.
2.
Oholah never gave up the immorality of Egypt;
she pursued the Assyrians, lusting after them.
3.
Eventually God gave her to her lovers who stripped her, took away her
children, and killed her.
C.
Oholibah, the Harlot from Jerusalem
(23:11-35)
1.
Oholibah saw her sister’s conduct and its
outcome but became even more lustful and corrupt.
2.
First she lusted for Assyrians, then longed
for the Babylonians; she recalled her youth in Egypt.
3.
Notice the graphic, ugly language that God uses to describe
Oholibah’s lovely lovers. 23:20
D.
The Summary Judgment against Both Harlots (23:36-49)
1.
The sisters sacrificed their own sons to idols and went to worship
Jehovah on the same day!
2.
Even after being worn out by their promiscuity, they continued to
practice their lewdness.
3.
Their judgment would be a warning to other women (us!) not to practice
the same. 23:45-49
V.
Signs of the Food and the Funeral (24:1-27)
A.
The Sign of Food (24:1-14)
1.
On day ten of month ten in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign,
Jerusalem’s siege began. (2Ki. 25:1)
2.
God announced this beginning of the end to Ezekiel to declare it to the
captives in Babylon.
3.
Again an action parable would be used, this time the symbol of a rusted
cooking pot on a fire.
4.
The meat in the pot would be cooked then the pot left on the heat to burn
off the rust. 24:13-14
B.
The Sign of the Funeral (24:15-27)
1.
Ezekiel was far from an uncaring, insensitive person, and his wife was
the delight of his eyes.
2.
But God took away Ezekiel’s wife, as a symbol of the loss of the Temple
in Jerusalem.
3.
He apparently knew it would happen the night before; he preached the
morning before she died.
4.
He obeyed God; he preached the next morning without any of the customary
signs of mourning.
5.
Was God calling His people to accept Jerusalem’s fate or saying it would
strike them speechless?
6.
Ezekiel not only delivered God’s message and signs to the people, he
became the sign from God.
7.
Ezekiel’s prophetic muteness would be lifted when a messenger announced
Jerusalem’s fall.
VI.
Applications
A.
Searching for a Man to Stand in the Breach
Æ
Would we be identified by God as one righteous and courageous to
stand in the breach? 22:30
B.
Suffering Loss for the Work of God
Æ
Would we accept God’s word and work even if it meant the loss of
our beloved? Lk. 14:26
Conclusion
1. Ezekiel was the type of man of whom the world is not
worthy. He elevates our understanding of real devotion.
2. We must strengthen our resolve for God as we study these
pages. God expects our full commitment to Him.