rebuilt and replanted

Posted on December 13, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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rebuilt and replanted

Ezekiel 36:33-36 (JDV)

Ezekiel 36:33 ” ‘This is what the Lord Yahveh says: On the day I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt.
Ezekiel 36:34 The land that had been a sinister desolation will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of everyone who passes by.
Ezekiel 36:35 They will say, “This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden. The cities that were once ruined, desolate, and demolished are now fortified and inhabited.”
Ezekiel 36:36 Then the nations that remain around you will know that I, Yahveh, have rebuilt what was demolished and have replanted what was desolate. I, Yahveh, have spoken and I will do it.

rebuilt and replanted

Blake writes: “As the nations had talked about the deserted and desolated condition of Judah, so they would be constrained to remark on the great change wrought by Jehovah when He caused the land again to be tilled and to become like the garden of Eden. Once again Jerusalem shall be filled with people, even as by the flocks that were in the past days sent up for sacrifice. This illustration is very appropriate to one like our prophet, who was also a priest, and who must have remembered the sacred feasts of his city, and particularly the great Passover celebrations of Josiah’s reign” (200).

As a priest, Ezekiel knew all about the good old days, when the land was both lush and unblemished by war. As a prophet, he called on his listeners to believe in a God who can reverse the damage caused by sin and violence.

LORD, use us to revive our land — starting with its present spiritual desolation.

Blake, Buchanan. How to Read the Prophets. Part IV. Ezekiel. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1844.

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living in the new covenant

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

20221212

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living in the new covenant

Ezekiel 36:22-32 (JDV)

Ezekiel 36:22 “Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord Yahveh says: It is not with regard to you that I will act, house of Israel, but for my sacred name, which you polluted among the nations where you went.
Ezekiel 36:23 I will honor the sacredness of my great name, which has been polluted among the nations – the name you have polluted among them. The nations will know that I am Yahveh – this is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh – when I demonstrate my sacredness through you in their sight.
Ezekiel 36:24 ” ‘For I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.
Ezekiel 36:25 I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new breath within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:27 I will place my Breath within you and cause you to follow my prescriptions and carefully observe my rules.
Ezekiel 36:28 You will live in the land that I gave your fathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.
Ezekiel 36:29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful, and I will not bring famine on you.
Ezekiel 36:30 I will also make the fruit of the trees and the produce of the field plentiful, so that you will no longer experience reproach among the nations on account of famine.
Ezekiel 36:31 ” ‘You will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will detest yourselves for your iniquities and repulsive practices.
Ezekiel 36:32 It is not for your sake that I will act – this is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh – let this be known to you. Be ashamed and humiliated because of your ways, house of Israel!

While in exile, Israel will come to a new attitude toward sin. They will be ashamed and humiliated by their past idolatry and humble themselves in repentance (31-32).

God will restore them by his grace, and this will result in a new attitude toward his name. He will be honored and appreciated by his people and revered by outsiders (22-24).

God will also change them on the inside. He will give them a new heart and breath – his breath. Their purpose will be his word (25-28).

His new people will manifest the fruit and fruitfulness of his Sacred Breath. This will result in miraculous productivity for them and will rescue their reputation from the dishonor caused by their previous poverty and bondage (29-30).

When our great God invited people from every nation to be part of his new covenant, the same conditions to the covenant apply:

Access to the covenant is through repentance.

Repentance will result in regeneration and restoration.

Restoration will involve living in devotion to and obedience to God’s word.

Obedience will result in fruitfulness and miraculous evidence of God’s approval.

Are you living in the new covenant?

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polluted name

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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polluted name

Ezekiel 36:16-21 (JDV)

Ezekiel 36:16 The word of Yahveh happened to me:
Ezekiel 36:17 “Son of Adam, while the house of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it with their conduct and actions. Their behavior before Me was like menstrual impurity.
Ezekiel 36:18 So I poured out my wrath on them because of the blood they had shed on the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols.
Ezekiel 36:19 I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered among the countries. I judged them according to their conduct and actions.
Ezekiel 36:20 When they came to the nations where they went, they polluted my sacred name, because it was said about them, ‘These are the people of Yahveh, yet they had to leave his land in exile.’
Ezekiel 36:21 Then I had concern for my sacred name, which the house of Israel polluted among the nations where they went.

polluted name

While in the land, the Israelites had defiled it with their idolatry. Once in exile, they did something even worse. They polluted God’s name among the heathen. Only God’s patience and his intention to bring his Christ into the world kept him from destroying these people.

This should be a lesson to all of us who take his sacred name today. Are we polluting that name? May we not do, say or think things that dishonor our God and Savior.

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you will be tilled and sown

Posted on December 10, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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you will be tilled and sown

Ezekiel 36:8-15 (JDV)

Ezekiel 36:8 ” ‘You, mountains of Israel, will produce your branches and bear your fruit for my people Israel since their arrival is near.
Ezekiel 36:9 Notice! I am on your side; I will turn toward you, and you will be tilled and sown.
Ezekiel 36:10 I will fill you with people, with the whole house of Israel in its entirety. The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.
Ezekiel 36:11 I will fill you with people and animals, and they will increase and be fruitful. I will make you inhabited as you once were and make you better off than you were before. Then you will know that I am Yahveh.
Ezekiel 36:12 I will cause a people, my people Israel, to walk on you; they will possess you, and you will be their inheritance. You will no longer deprive them of their children.
Ezekiel 36:13 ” ‘This is what the Lord Yahveh says: Because some are saying to you, “You devour people and deprive your nation of children,”
Ezekiel 36:14 therefore, you will no longer devour people and deprive your nation of children. This is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh.
Ezekiel 36:15 I will no longer allow the insults of the nations to be heard against you, and you will not have to endure the reproach of the peoples anymore; you will no longer cause your nation to stumble. This is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh.'”

you will be tilled and sown

The nations around the mountains of Israel accused them of being infertile — even worse — of devouring their people. Ezekiel promises a coming era in which that accusation will not apply. In fact, it will be reversed. The land will once again be tilled and sown, and produce an abundance. It will once again be filled with people — the whole house of Israel.

God wants to restore everything that sin and rebellion have taken away. He will do that for Israel’s mountains. He will do that for us. We need to return to him, and he will return to us — with abundance.

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the nations who took his land

Posted on December 9, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

20221209

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the nations who took his land

Ezekiel 36:1-7 (JDV)

Ezekiel 36:1 “And you, Son of Adam, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of Yahveh.
Ezekiel 36:2 This is what the Lord Yahveh says: Because the enemy has said about you, “Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession,” ‘
Ezekiel 36:3 Therefore, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Lord Yahveh says: Because they have made you desolate and have trampled you from every side so that you became a possession for the rest of the nations and an object of people’s gossip and slander,
Ezekiel 36:4 therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahveh. This is what the Lord Yahveh says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and abandoned cities, which have become plunder and a mockery to the rest of the nations all around.
Ezekiel 36:5 ” ‘This is what the Lord Yahveh says: Certainly in My burning zeal I speak against the rest of the nations and all of Edom, who took my land as their own possession with wholehearted rejoicing triflingly of the throat so that its pastureland became plunder.
Ezekiel 36:6 Therefore, prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: This is what the Lord Yahveh says: Notice, I speak in My burning zeal because you have endured the insults of the nations.
Ezekiel 36:7 Therefore, this is what the Lord Yahveh says: I swear that the nations all around you will endure their own insults.

the nations who took his land

God speaks to the nations who took his land. He had allowed the attacks as a judgment on Israel and Judah, but now it was time for him to attack the attackers. They would endure their own insults. They would experience the same desolation.

God is just. If there is a nation taking advantage of another nation’s weakness and vulnerability, our just God is watching. No individual sin will go without judgment, and neither will any national sin.

LORD, bring your justice to nations who attack other nations out of greed and spite.

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while the whole world rejoices

Posted on December 8, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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while the whole world rejoices

Ezekiel 35:10-15 (JDV)

Ezekiel 35:10 ” ‘Because you said, “These two nations and two lands will be mine, and we will possess them” – though Yahveh was there –
Ezekiel 35:11 therefore, as I live – this is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh – I will treat you according to the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred of them. I will make myself known among them when I judge you.
Ezekiel 35:12 Then you will know that I, Yahveh, have heard all the blasphemies you uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, “They are desolate. They have been given to us to devour!”
Ezekiel 35:13 You boasted against me with your mouth and spoke many words against me. I heard it myself!
Ezekiel 35:14 ” ‘This is what the Lord Yahveh says: While the whole world rejoices, I will make you a sinister desolation.
Ezekiel 35:15 Just as you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it became a sinister desolation, I will deal the same way with you: you will become a desolation, Mount Seir, and so will all Edom in its entirety. Then they will know that I am Yahveh.’

while the whole world rejoices

The Edomites of Mount Seir dared to claim Israel and Judah as their own, assuming that God could not do anything about their attacks. But The LORD’s prophet told them that God would retaliate. Since they rejoiced over the destruction of God’s land, the whole world would be rejoicing when it was Edom’s turn.

As I write this (in March 2022), Russia is attacking Ukraine. The world waits for Russia to be treated as they are treating their neighbors.

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chased by violence

Posted on December 7, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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chased by violence

Ezekiel 35:1-9 (JDV)

Ezekiel 35:1 The word of Yahveh happened to me. This is what it said:
Ezekiel 35:2 “Son of Adam, point your face at Mount Seir and prophesy against it.
Ezekiel 35:3 Say to it, ‘This is what the Lord Yahveh says: Notice! I am against you, Mount Seir. I will stick out my hand against you and make you a sinister desolation and a devastation.
Ezekiel 35:4 I will turn your cities into ruins, and you will become a sinister desolation. Then you will know that I am Yahveh.
Ezekiel 35:5 ” ‘Because you maintained a perpetual hatred and gave the Israelites over to the power of the sword in the time of their disaster, the time of final punishment,
Ezekiel 35:6 therefore, as I live – this is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh – I will destine you for bloodshed, and it will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, it will pursue you.
Ezekiel 35:7 I will make Mount Seir a sinister desolation and will destroy from it those who come and go.
Ezekiel 35:8 I will fill its mountains with the murdered ones; those murdered by the sword will fall on your hills, in your valleys, and in all your ravines.
Ezekiel 35:9 I will make you a permanent sinister desolation; your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am Yahveh.

chased by violence

God’s judgment on Mount Seir is summarized in verse 6 when it says that since they did not hate bloodshed, then bloodshed will pursue them.

We all make choices in life, and one of the most important choices we make relates to the question of violence. Those who choose to live violently will find that they are being chased by others with the same attitude. Living violently led to Mount Seir becoming a permanent sinister desolation.

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his covenant of peace

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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his covenant of peace

Ezekiel 34:25-31 (JDV)

Ezekiel 34:25 ” ‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate dangerous creatures from the land, so that they may live securely in the open country and sleep in the forest.
Ezekiel 34:26 I will make them and the area around my hill a blessing: I will send down showers in their season; they will be showers of blessing.
Ezekiel 34:27 The trees of the field will yield their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; my flock will be secure in their land. They will know that I am Yahveh when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the power of those who enslave them.
Ezekiel 34:28 They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the wild creatures of the land will not consume them. They will live securely, and no one will frighten them.
Ezekiel 34:29 I will establish for them a place renowned for its agriculture, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land. They will no longer endure the insults of the nations.
Ezekiel 34:30 Then they will know that I, Yahveh their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people. This is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh.
Ezekiel 34:31 You are my flock, the human flock of my pasture, and I am your God. This is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh.'”

I have been drawing attention to the fact that this prophecy corresponds to Psalm 23 and John 10.

The Lord will shepherd his flock by establishing a covenant of peace with them. His part of the covenant includes eliminating dangerous creatures (25), showers of rain and showers of blessing (26), fruitfulness (27a), freedom from bondage (27b), security (28), glory instead of shame (29), and knowledge of the Lord’s presence (30).

Thank you, Lord, for your covenant of peace.

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the one shepherd

Posted on December 5, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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the one shepherd

Ezekiel 34:20-24 (JDV)

Ezekiel 34:20 ” ‘Therefore, this is what the Lord Yahveh says to them: Notice, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
Ezekiel 34:21 Since you have pushed with flank and shoulder and butted all the weak ones with your horns until you scattered them all over,
Ezekiel 34:22 I will save my flock. They will no longer be prey, and I will judge between one sheep and another.
Ezekiel 34:23 I will establish over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will shepherd them. He will tend them himself and will be their shepherd.
Ezekiel 34:24 I, Yahveh, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among them. I, Yahveh, have spoken.

the one shepherd

This section of Ezekiel should be read in conjunction with John 10 and Psalm 23 and Matthew 25:31-46. The good shepherd is Christ the son of David. He is called David here — the one shepherd.

All of us who lead God’s people have the responsibility to first be led by Christ. That is why Jesus referred to himself as the door in John 10.

Leader, have you come through the door?

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trampling the pasture

Posted on December 4, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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trampling the pasture

Ezekiel 34:17-19 (JDV)

Ezekiel 34:17 ” ‘As for you, my flock, the Lord Yahveh says this: Notice, I am going to judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and goats.
Ezekiel 34:18 Is it too little for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Or that you drink the clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?
Ezekiel 34:19 Yet my flock has to feed on what your feet have trampled and drink what your feet have muddied.

trampling the pasture

Notice that Ezekiel tells the shepherds that he is going to judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the goats. Our Lord said that he is going to do that — separate the sheep from the goats, based on how they treated the least (Matthew 25:31-46).

The leaders of Israel need to know this. They need to know that they will be judged based on how they treat those who follow them. God holds each individual responsible for his acts, but he also holds the leaders responsible for their leadership. Leaders who trample the pasture are twice condemned because their negligence leads to failures among the flock.

LORD, help us to follow you faithfully and lead others with integrity.

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