PSA Bible Reading Challenge 2023-2024

If you have been warned not to do something then you are going to be punished.  If you have not been warned and you do something stupid then the person who was supposed to warn you and didn’t warn you will be held accountable.  That is basically the moral of this chapter.  God tells the people of Israel that he has assigned them as sentinels to tell the people that they have to turn from their wicked ways, turn away from the false idols and eating non kosher food or else God will destroy them.  If the people who were evil turn away then God will save them.  If the people do not turn away then God will destroy them because they were warned and did not heed the warning.

Really, really interesting potential parallel to where we are finding ourselves today as we have been warned that if we do not take this virus seriously then we are going to be reaping the negative effects of it.  I find it shocking that some people are wondering why things are so negative when everyone is following the CDC guidelines when in fact people simply are not following them.  This chapter lays out the basic moral of the story for us as we find ourselves in the midst of this pandemic.  We are never guaranteed our safety, but if we know that doing certain things saves lives and we do them, great.  But when we do not do them then we should not wonder why things are so bad.  Those both who do what they are supposed to do and those who are not doing what they are supposed to do will both suffer.  We live in a community where each person will thrive or suffer based upon what our neighbor is doing.

We begin this chapter with another oracle against Egypt and its impending doom.  Like the previous chapter a reference to its great Nile and that Egypt, like a fish, will be brought up onto dry land so that the surrounding nations can feast and gorge on its downfall.  The lamentations of the people of Egypt is widespread and pretty significant.  The destruction of Egypt is historical because of its place in history as one of the most powerful and indestructible nations on the earth.  But as we see with all things, God is able to bring the proud and the mighty to their knees.  Nothing is able to face up to the power and presence of God, no matter how powerful or well known a nation might be.  A good reminder whenever we think that we are untouchable.

But the chapter then transitions from Egypt to all of the nations that were involved in antagonism against Israel and the people of God.  Assyria will be destroyed, Elam will be destroyed, Meshech and Tubal will be destroyed, Edom, Sidonians will be destroyed.   Notice how they are described: “went down uncircumcised into the world below.”  That is probably the worst status possible in the eyes of the Israelite.  To be uncircumcised means that you have no part of God’s presence.  On top of that you go to the world below which is not where God is at all, so you have a bit of a double whammy.  

For each of the nations they are described negatively as the uncircumcised.  They say misery loves company, and we find in vs.31 that Pharaoh is consoled because he sees all the other nations being destroyed just like his troops were destroyed.  So he that going for him.  

This chapter requires Egypt to be a bit self-reflective.  Again, like Tyre, Egypt has the sin of thinking of itself more important and less vulnerable than it really is.  Ezekiel challenges the king of Egypt to think if the power of Egypt can in any way compare to the cedar of Lebanon which was famous throughout all the land.  This cedar of Lebanon is an archetype for Assyria which was brought low by Babylon as well.  Assyria was a power that was considered invincible, until it wasn’t.  Egypt’s might couldn’t compare to that of Assyria, which also fell to Babylon.

Not only was Assyria cut down like its cedars, but it also went below the ground down to Sheol which was considered hell.  The lesson here for Egypt is that anytime we think that we are invincible or not able to be touched by any nation because of the might that we have built up all by ourselves, then the Lord will send someone to cut down our trees.  Then the Lord will come and send someone to humble us to a point where we descend to the lowest stature we could imagine.  The greatness by which we measure ourselves is only as great as God allows us to think we are.  It can all be gone in an instant.  It is an important message for any country looking to make itself great at the expense of other countries and at the expense of building up false pride.

We spent some time in Egypt and were able to take a boat trip on the Nile.  It was somewhat surreal to be able to be on a river that is so important in the Bible.  It was overwhelming to realize that on this body of moving water Moses was scooped up and brought into Pharaoh’s house.  The Nile plays a primary role in these prophecies of Ezekiel.  In the previous chapter we read that the fish of the Nile will be thrown to dry ground as an example of the nation of Egypt being brought up like a fish and thrown onto dry land so that the birds of prey and the animals of the land can feast on it.

Here that theme is expanded to not only Egypt who is destroyed, but also all those who supported her from Ethiopia to all of Arabia, those who allied with Egypt will fall just as hard as her.  The imagery then transitions to later in the chapter to a man who has a broken arm who has not been given a sling and whose arm will not heal as a result.  This man will not be able to wield a sword in order to defend himself against the advancing armies of Babylon.  In fact, we read that both of his arms will be broken, rendering him completely defenseless.  It reminds me a bit of the Black Night in Monty Python.  The one who loses all of his limbs and then simply calls it a flesh wound.  I would put the link up, but there are a couples instances of language that is not appropriate to put on a post put out by a pastor.  Feel free to look it up.

Each of these chapters contain a sense of doom and then it is followed by a promise of restoration.  Here this chapter is focused on Egypt and the role that they played in welcoming in the people of God who were told to stay home and not run away from the impending doom that was coming at the hand of Babylon.  But there was a whole group of exiles who left Israel and fled to Egypt hoping that they would be protected there.  But Babylon and king Nebuchadnezzar makes his way to Egypt and conquers Egypt and those who sought refuge there are transported to Babylon anyway.  If they had stayed put they would have been able to stay in Israel.  But they fled against he wishes of Ezekiel and against the wishes of the Lord.

If you look at vs.21 you see then a shout out to the future and the potential for a horn to rise up and the possibility of this horn bringing the people back to God.  If you look at Psalm132:17 it speaks about a horn rising back up and reestablishing the kingdom of David.  That is what the people of God want all along, and God promises that it will happen.

While in the past chapters we have seen a prophecy against Tyre as a nation and how God has turned His back on the nation and that the structures and institutions of the Tyre will come tumbling down.  This chapter is dedicated to speaking out against the ruler of Tyre, the king of Tyre.  It is really interesting how God speaks incredible praises about this king.  He was a “signet of perfection”.  I don’t think those words were reserved for anyone else, much less one who was considered outside of the people of God.

The reasoning behind the destruction of the king is seen a few times where we read: “your heart is proud” in verses 2, and in vs.5 where because of that pride God will bring strangers against him.  Once that declaration is proclaimed then God extols the king as someone who could have been a contender, someone who could have been someone special.  Look at vs.15 where we read: “You were blameless in your ways from the day that you were created, until iniquity was found in you.”  Basically what we read is that you were perfect until we started looking for imperfections.

One of my favorite quotes is that a saint is someone whose past has not been examined enough.  That is so true, each of us has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  But thanks be to God that we have Jesus who has taken our sin and claimed it as his own so that we can have eternal life.

Another description of the destruction of Tyre is found in chapter 27.  Here we find all of the allies of Tyre, who worked closely with her in order to provide for her those things which the city needed to survive and prosper.  So you have Senir who provided planks for their boats, Lebanon who provided masts for their ships, oars from Bashan, decks from Cyprus, the sail from Egypt, awnings from Elishah, rowers from Sidon and Arvad, pilots from Zemer, the caulkers of the seams were the elders of Gebal, and the list goes on and on.  Tyre was not a lone ranger.  Tyre was surrounded by allies who helped her to get where she was.  It does not state that they will be harmed even in the destruction of Tyre, although we do hear that they grieved and were appalled by the destruction of Tyre.

The destruction of not only a powerful city but a well liked and well connected city with those around it is tragic.  It would be one thing if they were disliked, but they were liked.  They worked closely with their neighbors.  Isn’t it interesting how the demise of someone who is loved seems to be more of a tragedy than the death of someone who is either an  unknown or not loved at all?  God certainly grieves the loss of all people equally.  Even though, ironically, it is God who brings about the destruction of Tyre in this example.

This chapter is almost exclusively on Tyre and the destruction that will befall this city because of their involvement in the captivity and the exile of the people of God.  We read in vs.7 that Babylon is going to be the force that is bringing this destruction upon Tyre, just as they were seen as an instrument of God in bringing about his destruction.  Again, keep in mind that they are a secular nation, pagans who worshipped idols, and yet God was going to use them to bring about God’s purposes.  

Just to give you a taste for what is about to come, Tyre is going to be our focus again in chapter 27.  It might be helpful to see where the modern day Tyre is today.  It is in current day Lebanon.  Just fascinating to see that these locations in the Bible are related to modern day locations as well.  Here is a map of where current Tyre would be located.  

I think it is time to see another map.  Find below a map of the oracles that Ezekiel gives against the nations.   As you read this chapter see if you can identify where those nations are as they surround Israel and Judah.  Remember, both Israel and Judah are God’s people.  

Each of these nations will receive the fruits of their rebellion against the people of God.  God says that to each of these nations: “I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful punishments.”  God’s people have been taken away captives and those nations that participated in this will receive their due reward, which is “wrathful punishment”.  

So while many of these oracles and prophecies were written against the people of Israel and described their unfaithfulness, these oracles are written against the foreign nations that contributed to taking the people of Israel away from their God and, as the previous chapter stated, the “delight of your eyes.”  Nice to give the people of God a break here.

There are object lessons and then there are object lessons.  We find today God speaking to Ezekiel in a way that is powerfully impactful.  The object lesson he gives is that of his wife being, as he describes her, “the delight of your eyes.”  It is all within this context that Ezekiel began to describe how Israel and Judah have abandoned God and as a result they will reap the results of their traitorous actions.  

So why does Ezekiel’s wife get involved?  Well, she is only involved in that she dies and Ezekiel is commanded to sigh, but not too loudly.  The current situation in which he finds himself is not insignificant, so no mourning is allowed because the destruction and the temple is an event that supersedes all things, even the death of our wives, our children, our delights of our eyes.  

God’s delight, his sanctuary, his temple, was profaned, was destroyed, was considered insignificant by the people of Israel and so as a result this object lesson points back to that reality that God reminds us through his prophet.  Things are not going well, people have desecrated the temple, people have turned their back on their God and as a result they need to know the impact of that betrayal.  Pretty severe things here.