Category Archives: Ezekiel

Heart of God

Posted on by
Reply

The heart, the heart of God, the heart of man, follow your heart, and Valentine’s Day all had something to do with starting this study. No, I am not going to cover all of those topics, but this study led me to places I did not expect. I began by putting “heart God” in the search box in Bible Gateway. Many verses came up, I looked at every one of them. What I did not find surprised me, more on that later.

The Heart

Preachers, poets, and movie people provide palpitations. Do our modern thoughts on the “heart” actually sync with the ancient words and ideas? Over the years I have read many different opinions and thoughts on the subject (I have no references). Read the Strong’s references and you will see there were metaphorical aspects to the thoughts on the heart or what controlled people.

Strong’s Greek: 2588. καρδία (kardia) — heart (biblehub.com)

Strong’s Hebrew: 3820. לֵב (leb) — inner man, mind, will, heart (biblehub.com)   See H3824.

Take a Muse Moment to consider an intelligent, observant populace. Please compare an active beating heart that was in the center of your chest that changed speeds at certain times; to a glob of stuff locked away in your skull that only gave you headaches. What would you think was important?

I tend to believe that our modern society wants to nullify God and put us in His place. We think too much of our hearts (emotions and feelings). Why would God allow or even use that imagery? When you are in the lead, you have to let your followers catch up.

The Heart of Man

Please consider these popular cliches: follow your heart, my heart was not in it, my heart’s desire, bless your heart. Hollywood, Wall Street, and a sin nature can be a problem, but there are many positive thoughts also.

The free will we have is the problem. God wants us to choose Him. The Tree that Eve picked and Adam ate from also shades the way we “naturally” chose to go. So, as you study the heart of man in the Bible the overwhelming number of verses refer to us not picking Him or going His Way.

What I Did Not Find

I did not find many verses that specifically refer to God’s leb or kardia. In my first search, I found Ezekiel 28: 2 and 6. Because there was a still small voice telling me to go further, I turned to my “leaf and ink” version of Strong’s Concordance and found three more: Genesis 6:6, Jeremiah 3:15, and 32:41. There may be more and the translation you use may require more study; using the meanings of leb or kardia are going to be the path. (Let me know.) The verses I will add from the New Testament will not have kardia in them but the Hebrew ideas associated with leb. I believe these should be part of this study because you have Hebrews writing in Greek.

The exoteric anthropomorphism of a beating heart in our God, in Scripture, was put there by our God. So, it is how He chooses to portray Himself and we need to learn about Him through this self-revelation. I will use bullet points just because, again leb and kardia are the focus thoughts, not our English words.

  • Genesis 6:6 – God is grieved because of man.
  • Jeremiah 3:15 – the Father will give us shepherds who will feed us.
  • Jeremiah 32:41 – He will plant us in His land.
  • Ezekiel 28:2 and 6 – these verses are about the king of Tyre, who believes he has a heart like God’s.
  • Romans 8:27 – the “mind of the Spirit” and the “will of God”. φρόνημα | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com
  • Romans 12:2 – “renew our minds” to prove His will. These are different Greek words in this verse.
  • 1 Corinthians 2:16 – “mind of the Lord” and we have the “mind of Christ”. (Isaiah 40:13 is a reference for this verse.) Please start in verse 10 and read through 16 for the complete thought. Your translation may have the word “thought” added for clarity. 1 Corinthians 2:11 Greek Text Analysis (biblehub.com)

The Heart of God

So, there does not seem to be many verses on the heart of God, or is there? Over the years many have told me what the heart of God is, needs, or wants. Were they in the know? (Please, this is a study.)

As I worked on this post, three ideas were reinforced in me. 1. His written Word reveals the heart of God. 2. Do not be quick to claim the heart of God. 3. The Holy Spirit is an integral part of the heart of God.

I give two of many verses that show what our God is like.

Psalm 86:5 (NASB) For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all who call upon You.

Psalm 33:4-5 (NIV) For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.

Ezekiel 28

Verse 2 in the NASB is, “Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre, ‘The Lord God says this: “Because your heart is haughty And you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods In the heart of the seas’; Yet you are a mortal and not God, Although you make your heart like the heart of God.” (From Bible Gateway) This was the first verse I found that cited the heart of God. I did another search on this website Ezekiel 28:2 Hebrew Text Analysis (biblehub.com). Verse 6 also uses these words and ideas.

Tyre has a long and complicated place in Scripture, it starts with David and continues into the New Testament with Jesus and even into the Book of Acts. Joshua used it as a reference point. I will offer a “light look” at this verse.

  • Ezekiel was a captive in Babylon when God gave him this word to speak.
  • It appears to be written to a man. Most scholars will tell you this also refers to Satan.
  • The Complete Jewish Bible has, “You think that you think like God”. Many translations use this instead of the heart to portray the inner part of God.

Winds in the Bible – The Bible and Science

Posted on by
2

Winds and directions are frequently written together in the Bible. Wind(s) are a tool that the Lord uses for His purposes. There is a metaphorical side of winds, but the physical aspect of air movement should not be downplayed, this includes the geographical location of the speaker.

The Science

Air moving can be pretty or a problem, but why can it move? Hot and cold, convections, high and low pressures, and the Coriolis Effect are drivers that put air into motion. Forgive me for breezing through this but all of those boil down to Sonshine and spin. The sun heats land and water and the air rises, if something goes up something comes down. The spinning of the earth causes rotary motion in the slower-moving air. (If a term is highlighted, please click on that, it is another post that may add to the topic.)

Location, location, location is important. Many of the references to wind are in Israel, so the Mediterranean Sea, deserts, mountain ranges, and the Sea of Galilee all influence the weather. Now to be a little geo-specific, Daniel, Ezekiel, and Job are not in Israel, Moses is in Egypt, and Noah and Jonah are near Turkey, Paul and much of Acts deal with the Mediterranean. Yes, all of those are in the same region, which is the area of the prevailing westerlies or 30 to 60 degrees north latitude. Into all of that throw in seasonal weather and winds becomes more of a complex issue. Remember if you are south of the Equator storms and wind directions may not be the same as in Israel. PS winds are usually named for where they are coming from not where they are going to.

Father God vs Mother Nature and the other guy  

How many times have you acknowledged someone for the weather? Mother Nature frequently gets the credit for nice weather and some rainy weather. Let it be a destructive storm and God usually gets the blame, even from nonbelievers. Ephesians 2:2 has an interesting phrase that Paul says about the air. There is a spirit that is the prince and power of the air, or Satan. Please notice how Satan never is credited with bad weather; think steal, kill, and destroy. Much of our weather is because of physical factors but there are times.

I try to think of Father God and not Mother Nature, just to give the credit where it is due.

There are six more topics to cover and I will try not to be blustery about them. So, study and use a concordance and Bible search tool, as I will not try to mention all of the references. I encourage you to use a parallel function in your tools as there can be small differences.

Four Winds or the Four Corners of Heaven

So, is this a metaphor, actual winds, or both? I will give examples of each and let you decide. Oh, get out your Bibles as I am giving only the reference.

Both 

  • Jeremiah 49:36 has Elam being pushed by the four winds and its people being sent everywhere.
  • Revelations 7:1 is a terrifying picture where angels are stopping the winds blowing all around the world. The hot air would rise and create a heat dome, which should play into 8:5 and provide the violent weather.

Real Winds

  • Ezekiel 37:9 is the verse where Ezekiel is told to prophesy to the four winds to give breath to the slain bodies.
  • Daniel 7:2 is a “night vision” where he sees the great sea being churned by winds from four directions.

Four Directions or All the Earth

  • Daniel 8:8 and 11:4
  • Zechariah 2:6 and 6:5
  • Matthew 24:31 and Mark 13:27 tell of when Jesus’ Church will be called by a loud trumpet call from all the earth.

West Wind

A very strong west wind in Exodus 10:19 pushes the locust from Egypt into the Red Sea. The NASB has the words west and wind in the same verse, but most translations say flood or a rushing stream, and the wind could be from the east. These are the only two verses I found.

North Wind

  • Ezekiel 1:4 is God’s introduction to the prophet. A strong wind from the north is pushing a huge lightning storm with something glowing on the inside; the Father knows how to make an entrance. Remember a sky full of angels singing to some shepherds.
  • The “hurricane” that pushed Paul to start a church in Malta, Acts 27:14, is called a Northeaster in some translations.
  • A north wind is frequently paired with a south wind as in Job 37:9. Solomon does this in several places in the Bible – Song of Songs 4:16 and Ecclesiastes 1:6.

South Wind

  • A south wind in Israel is coming from the desert, so it will be warm or hot.
  • Job uses many weather references, see 37:9 and 17 for south winds.
  • Luke, who adds great details, does it again in both his Gospel and Acts. Luke 12:55 has Jesus linking a south wind with it being hot. Acts 27:13 and 28:13 are on board the ships that take them to Rome. In Luke 11:31 he joins Matthew in talking about the Queen of the South. The word is notos or south wind.  

The next wind is the most named and is associated with judgment and correction. Use a Bible search tool as I will give a few examples. I have used Bible Gateway.

East Wind

  • Hosea 13:15 Though he may flourish among his brothers, the east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come, rising from the wilderness, and his fountain shall dry up; his spring shall be parched; it shall strip his treasury of every precious thing. (ESV) I feel this verse says a lot.
  • Genesis 41:6 Pharaoh’s dream about the coming drought.
  • Exodus 10:13 the wind that brought the locusts on Egypt.
  • Jonah 4:8 is the wind that dried Jonah’s vine.
  • Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Job, and Psalms are other books that have the east wind doing the Lord’s work.

Yes, in word searches there will be overlap.

Wind or Winds

  • 1 Kings 19:11 a strong wind is tearing apart a mountain where Elijah is.
  • Psalm 104:4 and Hebrews 1:7 link angels and winds as ministers of God.
  • Ezekiel 5 repeats the idea of being cast to the winds.

The New Testament has more generic winds than named ones.

  • Matthew 7:25 the parable of the house that will stand.
  • Matthew 8, Mark 4, and Luke 8 have Jesus calming the winds while He was in a boat.
  • Jude 1 and James 3 use winds as metaphors.

May the wind always be at your back as you sail on in your studies of wind, breath, storms, and weather in the Bible.

Bible 911 – Ezekiel

Posted on by
5

Wow, this Bible 911 on Ezekiel reminds me of why I started this series. To study things that I may not be familiar with. I have done other studies in and around Ezekiel, but this one has stretched me. Since I just did Jeremiah 911, I noticed some similar features. One is the pronouncements of the judgment of other nations as well as Israel. But in the middle of some very heavy words, God gives promises of hope and restoration. Ezekiel and Jeremiah are priests and many of their words were against their own tribe members. Jeremiah could have been selected as the high priest because he was the “son of Hilkiah”.

390 + 40

An important feature of Ezekiel is the timestamps. For this post, the two in Chapters 1 and 8 are the important ones. They start again in Chapter 20 and stop at Chapter 40; I will highlight some of these as they date Ezekiel’s visions and the destruction of Judah. The first two timestamps correspond to the number of days that Ezekiel was to lay on his side and “bear the sin” of Israel and Judah (4:5+6).

The 390 days is a thirteen-month year that could be called by the High Priest to adjust the calendar to match the seasons. The forty-day component is for the sins of Judah. I am sure there are many factors that God used to select this number of days. For me, it is a bit of a mystery, I would think it has to do with King Manasseh, but that will be another study. God’s counting is perfect, and we may not be told all of the facts as to start and end times. To impress upon Ezekiel the importance of the message, God used heavenly messengers at the beginning and end of this period.

Back to the first two timestamps. The amount of time between Chapter 1 and Chapter 8 could mean that Ezekiel had his heavenly visions while lying on his side. This set of visions ends with Chapter 11; so, it could be grouped 1-7 and 8-11. From previous studies, I know it is very easy to focus on the angels and cherubim of the visions. God gave these to Ezekiel to inform him of what was going to happen to Jerusalem and Judah. These prophetic visions and acts were started four years before the siege of Jerusalem began (24:1). You have to know that word of this got back to the land of Israel, which was the point. God was adding another witness with Jeremiah and Daniel for the people to repent.

Ezekiel 9:11 And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me. (KJV)

Imagine the turmoil for this prophet and priest of God Most High as he watched people he knew be marked for death. This was his Temple, city, and people that he now had to speak against. All of these centuries later, I fear, we tend to remove the personal aspect that Ezekiel and the other prophets lived with as they spoke the thoughts of their God to the Family. 9:11 is in the middle of a vision that if it had been spoken in Jerusalem would have gotten Ezekiel stoned to death. God’s loving nature and mercy are seen in the last part of Chapter 11 where He promises restoration.

Kings, Prophets, and High Use Words

I love God and I love how He works in His time. Josiah was the last godly king of Israel and his work and life produced the prophets and kings that would play out the prophecies of Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and others. This WordPress post was written several years ago and will help make sense of the backstory of Ezekiel and the punishment of Jerusalem.
ificouldteachthebible.com/2017/10/28/josiahs-children/

Below are a collection of thought, facts, and observations.

Jehoiachin ruled for 100 days before being removed and taken to Babylon. For Jehoiachin that is a number of mercy, his life was spared. He was 55 years old when he was released by Awel-Marduk after 37 years as a prisoner.

Ezekiel was alive, a teenager, during the reign of Josiah. (It was at the end of his rule.)

IF Jeremiah was born when Josiah started ruling, he would be in his 50s when Jerusalem fell. He would have been a prophet for over 40 years.

Like Jeremiah, in the middle of words of judgment, God gives words of hope and restoration through Ezekiel.

There are sections of announcements of judgment on other nations. Jeremiah 24 and 25 may help in understanding this.

There is a section on Egypt, where the survivors ran to after leaving Jerusalem. Timestamps are out of order here, so it is apparent that there was some editing to produce the final book.

There is a section about Tyre. Much of that is a shadow of Satan. (26:1)

The “prince of____” is mentioned several times. Depending on the translation it is used the most in Ezekiel, not all are about Israel.

“Son of man” is mentioned more often here than in other books. Most are directed to Ezekiel, but the connection to Jesus should not be ignored.

Son and daughter are also used many times.

Land and day are used repeatedly, not always about “the day” or “the land”. Outside the Torah, it is a leader in the use of these words. NASB is my reference.

NIV has many “year and day” combinations in the Book of Ezekiel, most are part of the timeline of his life and the messages he was given.

Next to Revelations. Ezekiel uses cherubim or living being or living creature many times. It is a main reference if you are studying these heavenly messengers.

Ezekiel 26:1 is also the time when Jerusalem fell to the siege. Since Ezekiel is a priest, I believe he used the religious calendar. That means that references to the first month are just before Passover. A third-month reference is around the time of Pentecost.

Other posts I have written where Ezekiel was important.

Going Further –

Find and list the thirteen timestamps that refer to Jehoiachin in exile and write a statement about them. OR Read the ending chapters of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles and imagine how Ezekiel, Daniel, and Jeremiah fit into those stories.  

Going Back to Egypt

Posted on by
Reply

In Numbers 14:4 the Children were going back to Egypt. The spies had returned with a bad report and the Tribes were going to pick a new leader and leave. The Children had tested God ten times, and He was ready to start over. I have heard many preachers say that they were ready to go back and be slaves in Egypt, I do not think that was on their mind. The people had trained for two years as a military force. These were not the beaten down slaves that passed through the Red Sea. My feeling is they did not want to fight giants, but Egypt had lost much of its army. Israel was going back to capture Egypt and rule it.

Egypt is mentioned thousands of times in Scripture, both Old and New Covenant parts talk about it. Abraham was the first to go into Egypt and that laid the ground work and pattern for his children since then. He came out rich, but there were problems (Ishmael). It became a place of refuge for Jacob and the family but that turned to bondage. Solomon acquired wealth from them through trade, and sinned. Jesus went there as a child to mirror Abraham and Israel coming out of her. Egypt bullied Israel until Nebuchadnezzar ended their bad boy ways. Even with them being a problem not all the books of the Old Testament mention Egypt. Do a search with a Bible app, that is interesting.

Why was going back to Egypt a problem? Why did God not want His children going back to Egypt for help? Bondage is the favorite answer and that is hard to argue with, but what sort of bondage? Ezekiel 23 describes Israel’s relationship with the gods of Egypt as prostitution. The ten plagues that got Israel out of Egypt were focused at their gods. Each plague struck down a deity that Egypt worshiped. Egypt loved the created thing-water, sun, plants, animals, and Pharaoh. Aaron and Jeroboam made a god for Israel that looked a bull, because of the influence of Egypt. Part of Eve’s problem in the Garden was because she made a big deal of the fruit on the Tree.

Abraham, the Children of Israel, and Jesus came out of Egypt. Analysis of this fills volumes of books. I would like to offer three ideas about coming out of Egypt. 1) You were in Egypt because of a problem, it may have been a refuge for a season. 2) Once you are gone, there will be a time of peace. Trials and test, however, are coming. 3) Leaving will open you up to your Promised Land or destiny. Once you are called out of Egypt the Father wants you to look to Him for your help. Worship the Creator and not the created, and stop going back to Egypt.

Tree of Knowledge – Trees and Garden in Ezekiel

Posted on by
2

In this post, I will focus on the trees in chapter 31 of Ezekiel.  In studying the topic of trees in the Book of Ezekiel I saw four groupings of trees throughout its chapters:

  1. Chapters 6 – 20 – are a mixture of unfaithfulness and judgment. 
  2. Chapter 31 – Pharaoh and his hordes being compared to Assyria.
  3. Chapters 34 and 36 – a promise of provision and “more than enough”.
  4. Chapters 40 and 41 – palm trees (art) in the new temple.

Fact – Bible Gateway (NIV) has Ezekiel with thirty verses that have the word trees in it.  That is more verses with the word “tree” than any other book in the Bible.

Chapter 31 starts with a timestamp of the “eleventh year, the first day of the third month” and verse 29:20 has the “eleventh year, the seventh day of the first month” so some background is in order.  I will digress and talk about world events outside of this chapter to help explain what we are reading.  The two timestamps are Ezekiel’s time in exile with King Jehoiachin (see 1:2) and possibly referring to the Hebrew calendar.  So first, it is after Passover and in the time of the “Counting of the Omer” that leads to what Christians call Pentecost (see Leviticus 23).  This is from the month and day portion of the timestamps.  The eleventh year is placing this just before the fall of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 39:2).

The Other Prophets – A part of this study that has been eye-opening is that Zephaniah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Daniel where all alive at this time.  Jeremiah was nearing his death and the fall of Jerusalem.  Daniel was in the time period of his first four chapters – the fiery furnace, golden statues, and dreams interpreted.  (Like Jeremiah, I do not believe that Ezekiel and Daniel are in chronological order within their chapters.)  I wonder just how much of their doings and prophecies were known to the others?  We know from Daniel’s fast that he was aware of the seventy-year exile that was spoken by Jeremiah. Zephaniah may be the oldest of the group but little of his background is known except that he was active during the reign of Josiah (1:1). 

World Events – This will be a brief placement of Tyre, Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt in context with Ezekiel 28 through 31.  You will need to do your own searches on these topics as I am not giving references.  There are too many and they seem to overlap or not go far enough on any one topic. 

  1. Tyre – In chapter 28 the king of Tyre is given the characteristics of Satan and his fall into pride is discussed (See the Bad Guy post).  Tyre was destroyed by Babylon, even though it was on an island.  It was part of the Assyrian Empire and is associated with Lebanon. 
  2. Assyria – This is the nation that defeated and exported Northern Israel and brought the “Samaritans” to take their place.  By Ezekiel’s time, Assyria had been defeated by Babylon, so they were a good object lesson. 
  3. Babylon – They are a good/evil tree in the history of mankind.  In their day they were a chosen instrument to do the bidding of God, unfortunately, they took things to unneeded levels and reaped that reward.  But the empire did do much for humanity.  The use of Babylon as an example goes all the way into the book of Revelations.
  4. Egypt – The focus of Ezekiel 29 through 32 is Egypt.  By this time, they had been defeated by Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish.  Josiah had been killed in the fighting with Neco, as he was going to Carchemish.  Neco also changed who was king in Israel setting the stage for Jerusalem’s fall.  They are given to Babylon as plunder in 29:17. This verse’s timestamp seems out of place!  The twenty-seventh year may refer to his age but that still is out of place (1:1), or this was his very first word from the Lord. Very little of Egypt’s and Israel’s interactions could be considered good.  Starting with Abraham Egypt has been a snare for Israel and all of the words from the Lord are about to be fulfilled.  Egypt would still be a “player” but never the world power that it had been.

 Trees and the Garden – The analogy of Pharaoh and Assyria uses the metaphor of trees to explain the fallen angels and Satan with the men/nations who supported them.  I am going on the premise that the “garden of God” and “garden of Eden” are being used to separate the ideas of angels and men.  To me the trees in the “garden of God” in verse eight are angels and a transition occurs in verse nine to bring both realms together, and then in verses 16 – 18 it shifts to the men who are the allies.  The end results of these comparisons were that Babylon did humble Assyria and that Egypt would fair no better.  

In the Bible – The Book of Jonah was written about the city of Nineveh, which at that time was the capital of Assyria.  

The words to Ezekiel are not done with the enemies of God before He sets up the New Jerusalem.  The “unfaithful shepherds”, Edom, and Gog are still to be dealt with before the “valley of dry bones” becomes God’s army and the new Temple comes.  Edom is the land of Esau, Jacob’s brother.  Gog has been referenced as Russia or China, but I am starting to think that it is Europe and the coalition of the Beast.

So, starting with the trees of the garden in chapter 31 I wonder if the rest of the Book is a “timeline” of events before the return of Jesus?

pic ; http://clipart.christiansunite.com/Bible_Characters_Clipart