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Ezekiel Chapter Five

1. Ezekiel is instructed to bear even more shame with a shave & a haircut (Ezek. 5:1).
   1. For a Levitical priest, this was forbidden (Lev. 21:5), and for any Jew it was shameful (2nd Sam. 10:4).
   2. The Lord’s purpose is explained, and Ezekiel’s hair became the visual aide to teach Bible class (Ezek. 5:2-12).
2. The wrath of God is applied to His own nation, and should be a tremendous warning to every other nation on the earth (Ezek. 5:13-17).

Ezekiel Chapter Six

1. Ezekiel is given a hostile message to deliver to the mountains, hills, ravines, & valleys of Israel (Ezek. 6:1-3).
   1. The exiles aren’t addressed, as they can’t remove the idols from Israel.
   2. The remnant in Jerusalem aren’t addressed, as they won’t remove the idols from Israel.
   3. The mountains themselves are addressed as God is glorified through announcing His actions and faithfully accomplishing it (Isa. 41:21-23,26; 45:21).
2. God promises a remnant for Israel that will be preserved through captivity in foreign lands (Ezek. 6:8).
3. This remnant is promised a restoration during a time of true repentance and self-loathing resulting in an unparalleled knowledge of God (Ezek. 6:9-11; 7:16; 12:16; 16:63; 20:43; 36:31).
4. Divine discipline is not pleasant, but must be appreciated by believers who understand its necessity and its blessing (Ezek. 6:11-14).

Ezekiel Chapter Seven

1. Ezekiel’s message of judgment emphasizes “the end” (Ezek. 7:2,3,6_x2).  This is similar to Amos’ message (Amos 8:1-3).
2. The wrath of God is manifest “according to” their ways (Ezek. 7:3,8,9,27), and yet “not according to” their ways (Ezek. 20:44; Ps. 103:10; Ezra 9:13).
3. “The time has come,” “the day is near,” and “shortly” all reflect God the Father’s perfect timing in the perfect execution of His perfect plans (Ezek. 7:7-8).
4. The Lord may use earthly tools, but He Himself is the One doing the smiting (Ezek. 7:9).
5. There is nothing humanly possible to prevent this judgment, from military might to wealth (Ezek. 7:10-19).
6. The spiritual ugliness of Judah’s idolatry will be matched by the physical ugliness of Babylonians defiling their holy city and the House of the Lord (Ezek. 7:20-27).

Ezekiel Chapter Eight

1. Chapters 8-11 form a spiritual journey through time and space that the Lord takes Ezekiel on to survey Judah’s great evil.
2. The 6th year, 6th month, 5th day occurred within the time-frame of Ezekiel’s laying prostrate in shame (Ezek. 8:1; 4:4-6).
   1. The elders of Judah sat before him.
   2. They were possibly inquiring of the Lord (Ezek. 20:1), but this does not indicate that they had positive volition towards His Word (Ezek. 14:1-3; 33:31-32).
3. Ezekiel is spiritually lifted up and dimensionally positioned between the realm of earth and the realm of heaven (Ezek. 8:3).  
4. In this dimensional state outside of space & time, he is brought to Jerusalem, where he will observe a panorama of Jerusalem’s idolatry through the years (Ezek. 8:6,13,15).
   1. He is brought to the Jerusalem of King Manasseh’s day.
      1. An idol is seated within the temple (Ezek. 8:3).
      2. There were many instances of idolatry in Judah’s history, but only King Manasseh went so far as to seat an idol within the temple (2nd Kgs. 21:7).
      3. Good King Josiah (king at Ezekiel’s birth) removed that idol (2nd Kgs. 23:6).
   2. The idolatry of Judah was crafted in the very presence of the glory of God (Ezek. 8:4).
5. The Lord specifically highlights what Ezekiel is supposed to see (Ezek. 8:5), & verifies what Ezekiel is supposed to understand (Ezek. 8:6).
6. The Lord takes Ezekiel within the Holy of Holies to see the idolatry there, and even within these men’s very souls to see the idolatry there (Ezek. 8:10-13).
7. The panorama of idolatry also demonstrated Tammuz worship and sun worship (Ezek. 8:14-18).

Ezekiel Chapter Nine

1. While Ezekiel was watching, the Lord uttered the command: “Draw near!” (Ezek. 9:1-3)
   1. Six angelic executioners and one angelic scribe answered the summons.
   2. As the angels drew near, the shekinah glory of God prepared to depart.
2. The Lord instructed His angelic scribe to place a seal of protection upon those who were not partakers of the idolatry (Ezek. 9:4).
3. The Lord instructed His angels to scour the city of every person without His personal seal of protection (Ezek. 9:5-7).
4. Ezekiel became a personal intercessor for his wicked people (Ezek. 9:8), but the judgment is unavoidable (Ezek. 9:9-10).
5. The angelic scribe didn’t need a whole lot of time to mark out the faithful believers within Jerusalem (Ezek. 9:11).