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One-sentence summary: The Lord tells Ezekiel that "the end has come;" He tells him to cut off his hair to represent Israel and Judah and how He will destroy them, yet He still promises that a remnant will return who will know Him.
The Lord tells Ezekiel to shave his beard and head and to burn a third of the hair in the midst of the city after the siege, to take another third of it and strike around it with the sword, and to take the last third and scatter it in the wind. He also tells him to take some and bind in the edge of his garment and to throw some in the fire. He says that a fire will go out to all the house of Israel, and that this represents Jerusalem. She is in the midst of the nations and has rebelled and done wickedness more than they have. Therefore, the Lord is against them and will judge them in the sight of all the nations and do among them what He has never done and will never do again. Fathers will eat their sons, and sons will eat their fathers, and He will scatter all who remain "to the winds." This is because they have defiled His sanctuary with detestable and abominable things, and He will have no pity. One third of them will die of pestilence and famine, one third will die by the sword, and one third will be scattered to the winds, and a sword will be drawn out after them. The Lord will be avenged, and they will know that He has spoken it. Also, they will be a waste and reproach among the nations all around them.
The word of the Lord comes to Ezekiel and tells him to set his face toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them, and also to the hills, ravines, and valleys. The Lord says He will bring a sword against them and destroy their high places. Their altars will be broken and desolate, and He will cast the slain before the idols, and their bones will be scattered around their altars. All the cities will be laid waste along with the altars. However, He says He will leave a remnant so that some who escape the sword are scattered, and they will remember the Lord. They will hate themselves for the evils they have committed, and they will know that He is the Lord.
The word of the Lord comes again to Ezekiel. The Lord says the end has come upon them, and He will judge Israel and Judah according to their ways and repay them for all their abominations. Then, they will know that He is the Lord. Those in the field will die by the sword, and as for those in the city, famine and pestilence will devour them. Those who escape will be like mourning doves on the mountains. Horror and shame will cover every face. Their silver and gold will be like refuse because it will not deliver them in that day. Since their stomachs became their stumbling blocks, they will not be able to fill them. They will seek peace and not find it- only disaster. They will seek visions from prophets, but the law will perish from the priest and counsel from the elders. After He has judged them, they will know that He is the Lord.
As Ezekiel sits in his house with the elders of Judah sitting before him, the hand of the Lord God falls on him, and He sees "the likeness, like the appearance of fire," a Man, the lower half like fire and the top half, all brightness. The Man takes him by the hair, and the Spirit lifts him up between earth and heaven, and he sees Jerusalem. In the inner court, he sees a "seat of jealousy that provokes to jealousy." He sees the glory of the Lord, and the Lord tells him to lift his eyes to the north. When he does, he sees an "image of jealousy." The Lord asks him if he sees the great abominations that Israel has committed to make Him go away from His sanctuary. He brings him to the door of the court to see even "greater abominations." Ezekiel sees a hole in the wall, and the Lord tells him to dig. He digs, and there is a door. The Lord tells him to go in, and he goes in and sees every sort of creeping, abominable beast. All the idols of the house of Israel are portrayed on the walls. Seventy men are portrayed of the house of Israel, and each has a censure in his hand with incense. The Lord asks him if he has seen what the elders do in the dark- every man in the room of his idols. The Lord says they say He does not see and has forsaken the land. He tells him to turn and see "greater still abominations" and brings him to the door of the north gate of the Lord's house, where women are sitting there "weeping for Tammuz" (partaking in a ritual to a pagan god.) He tells him to turn again and brings him to the inner court of the Lord's house. At the door of the temple, between the porch and the altar are 25 men with their backs toward the temple and their faces to the east, worshiping the sun. The Lord says they have filled the land with violence and then returned to provoke Him to anger. He says even though they cry to Him, He will not hear, spare them, or have pity.
Thoughts/discussion questions:
Unconditional love does not mean one can treat God however one wishes and expect the same treatment forever. The Lord is slow to anger, quick to love, abounding in lovingkindness, rich in mercy, and long-suffering. Yet He is still God Almighty. We need a healthy fear of His awesome power in addition to a deep knowledge of His wondrous love.