Ezekiel 21 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application
Ezekiel 21 Bible Study
TIMELINE:
This chapter is dated to the 7th year of the exile of King Jehoiachin (Eze 20:1), 590 or 589 BC. Jehoiachin had been king in Judah but was dethroned by the Babylonians and taken as a captive.
Below is a list of kings of Judah and dates for their reign:
Amon (642-640 BC)
Josiah (640-609 BC)
Jehoahaz (also known as Shallum, 609 BC)
Jehoiakim (initially known as Eliakim, 609-598 BC)
Jehoiachin (also known as Jeconiah or Coniah, 598-597 BC)
Zedekiah (His reign ended when Babylon conquered Judah, (597-586 BC)
WHAT WE STUDIED PREVIOUSLY
Ezekiel 1 – Ezekiel had a vision of 4 living creatures, 4 wheels, and God’s throne.
Ezekiel 2 – God commissioned Ezekiel to be a prophet to his rebellious countrymen.
Ezekiel 3 – The end of the heavenly vision. Ezekiel ate a scroll of God’s words, and God called him to be a watchman over the people of Judah.
Ezekiel 4 – Ezekiel prophesies with an object lesson in the street by laying on his side for 430 days, eating rations of bread, and creating a siege scene with a brick that represents Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 5 – After the 430 days, Ezekiel cut off his hair divided it up into 3 parts and used it as a symbol for what would happen to the people of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 6 – Ezekiel prophesies against the idol worshipers in Judah, telling them their bodies will be thrown at the feet of their powerless gods.
Ezekiel 7 – God spoke to Ezekiel about the day of His judgement. The end was near for the citizens of Jerusalem, and their doom was on the horizon.
Ezekiel 8 – Ezekiel saw a vision of the Temple in Jerusalem. God guided him through the courts and gates of the Temple and showed him the secret idolatries that filled God’s house.
Ezekiel 9 – God sends a man with a writing case to mark the foreheads of those who hated the idolatries of Judah. Afterwards, God sends 6 executioners to kill everyone in Jerusalem who didn’t have the mark.
Ezekiel 10 – God’s glory departed the inner sanctuary of the Temple and ascended to His throne carried by the 4 living creatures.
Ezekiel 11 – God announced judgement on the wicked rulers of Judah. They thought they were safe in Jerusalem, like meat in a cauldron, but God promised to bring them out for death and captivity. At the end of the chapter, God spoke of a future day, when He would regather a remnant of His people and give them a new heart and new spirit.
Ezekiel 12 – Ezekiel prophesied about the downfall of King Zedekiah by carrying his possessions out of his house as if he were going into exile. God promised that His judgement was near, and anyone who suggested otherwise would be put to shame.
Ezekiel 13 – God confronted the false prophets and sorceresses amongst the people of Judah. The false prophets falsely claimed to speak with the authority of God, and the sorceresses hunted the souls of God’s people through witchcraft and divination.
Ezekiel 14 – God condemned the elders of Judah who harbored love for idols in their hearts. He told Ezekiel Jerusalem would not be spared even if righteous men like Noah, Daniel, and Job lived there.
Ezekiel 15 – God compared the citizens of Jerusalem to useless vine wood that was good for nothing except to burn.
Ezekiel 16 – God compared his people to a young woman who he had raised and cared for. When she grew up, she turned her back on God and prostituted herself with foreign nations and idols.
Ezekiel 17 – Ezekiel spoke a parable to the people of Judah about two great eagles. The parable indicated that the King of Judah would betray Babylon and be uprooted by them.
Ezekiel 18 – The people of Judah were accusing God of punishing them for the sins of their ancestors. God clarified that each man was responsible and would be held accountable only for his own sins.
Ezekiel 19 – God lamented the unfaithfulness of His people through two laments, the lament of the lion cubs and the lament of the vine.
Ezekiel 20 - The elders of Israel wanted to consult with God, but God refused them based on their continual and cyclical rebellion against His laws. God spoke of His future judgement on Judah and His future grace that would restore the nation.
OUTLINE:
THE SWORD OF THE LORD, LIKE A FLASH OF LIGHTING AGAINST JUDAH (21:1-17):
God told Ezekiel to preach against the land of Israel and their sanctuaries.
God was going to draw His sword and strike down the nation.
Ezekiel was told to go around groaning. When the people asked him why he was groaning, he was to tell them it was because of the terrible fate of his nation.
God had polished and sharpened His sword for slaughter.
The people of Judah had ignored God’s rod of discipline, so the sword of destruction was all that was left.
THE KING OF BABYLON’S FORK IN THE ROAD (21:18-27):
Ezekiel was told to mark 2 routes for the Babylonians to take when contemplating their invasion of Judah and their neighbors. One led to the land of the Ammonites and the other led to Jerusalem.
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, is pictured as standing at the fork in the road and using divinations to determine his route.
The divinations pointed towards Jerusalem. Jerusalem would be attacked first.
But the people of Judah dismissed the idea that the Babylonian army would destroy them. They had given oaths to the Babylonians to serve them, but evidently, they forgot how poorly they had kept those oaths. Nebuchadnezzar hadn’t forgotten, and he was going to remind them of their guilt.
God spoke directly to Zedekiah, the “profane wicked one,” telling him his day had come and his final punishment awaited him.
PROPHECY AGAINST THE AMMONITES (21:28-32):
Though Judah would face judgement first, the Ammonites wouldn’t escape punishment for their sins.
God’s sword was drawn against them, and their blood would be spilled in their land.
APPLICATION:
Why pray for people who are unsaved? Because God can lead them to Himself through the forks they encounter in the road of life.
God can work through divinations, materialism, lust, selfishness, betrayal, and every other horrible thing to bring a person to a place where they are ready to repent and surrender their life to Him.
God is not absent from the world of sin, and just because He does not approve of it, doesn’t mean He is powerless to work through it.
