Doomed to destruction, sure to be saved?
Text Ezekiel 35, 36 Time 23/09/07 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church
I want us to look today at two chapters of Ezekiel – Chapters 35 and 36. You'll see that the first of these chapters is a prophecy against Mount Seir in Edom. It is another word of judgement against Israel's south eastern neighbours, Edom. The second of the chapters is a prophecy to the mountains of Israel - the Promised Land itself, as it were. This chapter, although it refers to sin, is altogether more positive and encouraging. The chapters point us to the way that at the end of time there will be a final judgement. Remember how Jesus put it in terms of a shepherd dividing his flock between sheep and goats. This is how it will be – the goats will go to his left, Edom will be destroyed, the enemies of God will be judged. The sheep he will receive on his right hand, his people, the true Israel, they will enter their rest.
In a gathering like this there are some, no doubt, who belong to God, who are his but then, it may be, that there are others who do not. They are opposed to God and to his people and if they go on in that way then they will be judged. So let's look at these chapters then and first at
1. Edom doomed to destruction – an example of how God deals with those who oppose him
So firstly The word of the LORD comes once again to Ezekiel. God says (2) Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir; prophesy against it and say certain things. Let's
1. Consider the sin these rebels were guilty of
I want us to look today at two chapters of Ezekiel – Chapters 35 and 36. You'll see that the first of these chapters is a prophecy against Mount Seir in Edom. It is another word of judgement against Israel's south eastern neighbours, Edom. The second of the chapters is a prophecy to the mountains of Israel - the Promised Land itself, as it were. This chapter, although it refers to sin, is altogether more positive and encouraging. The chapters point us to the way that at the end of time there will be a final judgement. Remember how Jesus put it in terms of a shepherd dividing his flock between sheep and goats. This is how it will be – the goats will go to his left, Edom will be destroyed, the enemies of God will be judged. The sheep he will receive on his right hand, his people, the true Israel, they will enter their rest.
In a gathering like this there are some, no doubt, who belong to God, who are his but then, it may be, that there are others who do not. They are opposed to God and to his people and if they go on in that way then they will be judged. So let's look at these chapters then and first at
1. Edom doomed to destruction – an example of how God deals with those who oppose him
So firstly The word of the LORD comes once again to Ezekiel. God says (2) Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir; prophesy against it and say certain things. Let's
1. Consider the sin these rebels were guilty of
This comes out in several places. In verse 5 we learn that this judgement is Because you harboured an ancient hostility and delivered the Israelites over to the sword at the time of their calamity, the time their punishment reached its climax. When the Babylonians were ravaging the land, Edom showed no sympathy with his brother Jacob but even betrayed him. Verses 12, 13 speak of how God had heard all the contemptible things you have said against the mountains of Israel. You said, They have been laid waste and have been given over to us to devour. You boasted against me and spoke against me without restraint, and I heard it. Their idea was that (10, 11) These two nations and countries will be ours and we will take possession of them, even though as God says I the LORD was there. They are to be treated then in accordance with the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred of them. 6b Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. 15a Because you rejoiced when the inheritance of the house of Israel became desolate, that is how I will treat you.
When God's judgement comes upon sinners it will be for many reasons but one thing in particular that angers God is the way that sinners mock his people. Some are more obvious in their mocking than others. If you look on the internet you'll find no end of anti-Christian sites.
For example there is Derrick's Atheism Page - "Ex-Christian showing errors and contradictions in the Bible"; Godless B* - "Tired of and offended by unsolicited inane Christian rhetoric? Well then, it’s time to give those bet-hedging, weak-willed, gullible and delusional cowards a taste of their own medicine"; The Anti-Christian Phenomenon - "for people who are strongly opposed to the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), and their long legacy of pointless war, atrocity, stupidity, bigotry, political and social manipulation, philosophical domination, etc"; Skeptic Atheist - "Ex-Christian website examining the Christian delusion"; Case Against Faith - "Essays critical of Christian theology, etc".
Others are more subtle but let's make no mistake, God takes note of it all. I remember once being with a friend and being told off about something by an older boy. We didn't listen and made fun of him. As we came round the corner the boy's father suddenly appeared. 'I told him to say that to you' he said, rather angrily. It shook me. He'd been listening all the time. What about you? Do you despise believers? Are you glad when they fall? You may not say anything but God knows your heart. He's watching.
2. Observe the judgement pronounced on them for their sin
1. God will be against them 3a This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, Mount Seir. God opposes those who sin in such ways and to have God against you is worse than having the whole world against you. Sometimes there are votes – who is for, who is against? In such situations it is the majority that decides. But if God votes against, it does not matter how many others vote for you.
2. Their land will be deserted 3b, 4 and I will stretch out my hand against you and make you a desolate waste. I will turn your towns into ruins and you will be desolate. The place they held so dear will be turned into a desert. It will not be fit to inhabit.
3. It will be depopulated and deserted 6b-9 ... I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you. I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste and cut off from it all who come and go. I will fill your mountains with the slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines. I will make you desolate forever; your towns will not be inhabited. ... A wholesale slaughter is going to decimate the population. Imagine them falling all over the mountains of Edom. None are left.
4. It will continue to be deserted. 14, 15 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate. Because you rejoiced when the inheritance of the house of Israel became desolate, that is how I will treat you. You will be desolate, O Mount Seir, you and all of Edom. To this day it is true that Edom is a deserted and lonely place just as it is prophesied here.
Now the very same judgement here in embryo is the one that will come on all who seek to oppose God. God is against such people and he will drive them out from where they are. They will be exiled forever and ever.
3. Note the purpose of this judgement
In 4, 9 and 15 we have that repeated refrain that we have referred to before Then they will know that I am the LORD. One day we will all know the LORD – even those who oppose and despise him. All will bow the knee. You must realise that. Resistance is futile.
2. Israel sure to be saved – as will all God's people
1. Realise that a distinction will be made
As we come into Chapter 36 it is clear that a distinction is going to be made. Already in 35:11 God says and I will make myself known among them (Israel) when I judge you (Edom). That idea is developed in Chapter 36 and the prophecy to the mountains of Israel. Ezekiel is to say O mountains of Israel ... The enemy said of you, Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession and so he is to reply in God's name Because they ravaged and hounded you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and the object of people's malicious talk and slander, therefore, O mountains of Israel, ... This is what the Sovereign LORD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and the deserted towns that have been plundered and ridiculed by the rest of the nations around you - ... In my burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland. And so he is to say in God's name I speak in my jealous wrath because you have suffered the scorn of the nations. ... Therefore ... I swear with uplifted hand that the nations around you will also suffer scorn.
Now at first, the distinction does not seem great. On the one hand, God's people have been punished for their sin and now their enemies are also going to be punished too. It is difficult to see the difference at first but it is one that becomes clearer over the years.
God does not treat everyone in the same way. He makes distinctions, and if we are wise we will recognise that this is the case and live accordingly.
2. Notice the promises made to God's people
1. Positive
8-12a But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. I am concerned for you and will look on you with favour; you will be ploughed and sown, and I will multiply the number of people upon you, even the whole house of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. I will increase the number of men and animals upon you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before .... I will cause people, my people Israel, to walk upon you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance. The promise is put in material terms and includes a return to the Promised Land, rich crops, a large population, prosperity, security. Oh what blessings belong to the true people of God! How gracious he is to them!
2. Negative
12b-15 you will never again deprive them of their children. ... Because people say to you, You devour men and deprive your nation of its children, therefore you will no longer devour men or make your nation childless, ... No longer will I make you hear the taunts of the nations, and no longer will you suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall, .... The exile is over, there will be no more troubles and no more mocking and taunting. All will be well.
3. Israel's sin and God's grace – understand why God saves his people
In verses 16-21 we have perhaps some of the most interesting verses in this chapter. Ezekiel is told next Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a woman's monthly uncleanness in my sight. So I poured out my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols. I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions. Now what was the result of this? And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, These are the LORD's people, and yet they had to leave his land. I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone. But now God is going to restore his people. Why? (22, 23) It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes. This is the note the whole chapter ends on once again - Then they will know that I am the LORD – and it is so important to get.
We have spoken of God making a distinction. Many people think the distinction is on the lines that some are good and some are bad, yet in fact it is not really like that. Rather, it is despite their sins that God saves his people. It is by his own mighty hand and for his own glory that God saves his people. There is warning here then – none of us are good enough for God. To think you are is sheer pride. We can never save ourselves. There is also an encouragement – though there is nothing good in us (we have all fallen short of God's glory) we can come to God, however, by his grace.
4. Understand what God does for his people
Now in the rest of the time we have I want us to explore some of the wonderful things that God does for his people, that are referred to here. There are eight things.
1. He gathers them together
When God's judgement comes upon sinners it will be for many reasons but one thing in particular that angers God is the way that sinners mock his people. Some are more obvious in their mocking than others. If you look on the internet you'll find no end of anti-Christian sites.
For example there is Derrick's Atheism Page - "Ex-Christian showing errors and contradictions in the Bible"; Godless B* - "Tired of and offended by unsolicited inane Christian rhetoric? Well then, it’s time to give those bet-hedging, weak-willed, gullible and delusional cowards a taste of their own medicine"; The Anti-Christian Phenomenon - "for people who are strongly opposed to the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), and their long legacy of pointless war, atrocity, stupidity, bigotry, political and social manipulation, philosophical domination, etc"; Skeptic Atheist - "Ex-Christian website examining the Christian delusion"; Case Against Faith - "Essays critical of Christian theology, etc".
Others are more subtle but let's make no mistake, God takes note of it all. I remember once being with a friend and being told off about something by an older boy. We didn't listen and made fun of him. As we came round the corner the boy's father suddenly appeared. 'I told him to say that to you' he said, rather angrily. It shook me. He'd been listening all the time. What about you? Do you despise believers? Are you glad when they fall? You may not say anything but God knows your heart. He's watching.
2. Observe the judgement pronounced on them for their sin
1. God will be against them 3a This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, Mount Seir. God opposes those who sin in such ways and to have God against you is worse than having the whole world against you. Sometimes there are votes – who is for, who is against? In such situations it is the majority that decides. But if God votes against, it does not matter how many others vote for you.
2. Their land will be deserted 3b, 4 and I will stretch out my hand against you and make you a desolate waste. I will turn your towns into ruins and you will be desolate. The place they held so dear will be turned into a desert. It will not be fit to inhabit.
3. It will be depopulated and deserted 6b-9 ... I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you. I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste and cut off from it all who come and go. I will fill your mountains with the slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines. I will make you desolate forever; your towns will not be inhabited. ... A wholesale slaughter is going to decimate the population. Imagine them falling all over the mountains of Edom. None are left.
4. It will continue to be deserted. 14, 15 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate. Because you rejoiced when the inheritance of the house of Israel became desolate, that is how I will treat you. You will be desolate, O Mount Seir, you and all of Edom. To this day it is true that Edom is a deserted and lonely place just as it is prophesied here.
Now the very same judgement here in embryo is the one that will come on all who seek to oppose God. God is against such people and he will drive them out from where they are. They will be exiled forever and ever.
3. Note the purpose of this judgement
In 4, 9 and 15 we have that repeated refrain that we have referred to before Then they will know that I am the LORD. One day we will all know the LORD – even those who oppose and despise him. All will bow the knee. You must realise that. Resistance is futile.
2. Israel sure to be saved – as will all God's people
1. Realise that a distinction will be made
As we come into Chapter 36 it is clear that a distinction is going to be made. Already in 35:11 God says and I will make myself known among them (Israel) when I judge you (Edom). That idea is developed in Chapter 36 and the prophecy to the mountains of Israel. Ezekiel is to say O mountains of Israel ... The enemy said of you, Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession and so he is to reply in God's name Because they ravaged and hounded you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and the object of people's malicious talk and slander, therefore, O mountains of Israel, ... This is what the Sovereign LORD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and the deserted towns that have been plundered and ridiculed by the rest of the nations around you - ... In my burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland. And so he is to say in God's name I speak in my jealous wrath because you have suffered the scorn of the nations. ... Therefore ... I swear with uplifted hand that the nations around you will also suffer scorn.
Now at first, the distinction does not seem great. On the one hand, God's people have been punished for their sin and now their enemies are also going to be punished too. It is difficult to see the difference at first but it is one that becomes clearer over the years.
God does not treat everyone in the same way. He makes distinctions, and if we are wise we will recognise that this is the case and live accordingly.
2. Notice the promises made to God's people
1. Positive
8-12a But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. I am concerned for you and will look on you with favour; you will be ploughed and sown, and I will multiply the number of people upon you, even the whole house of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. I will increase the number of men and animals upon you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before .... I will cause people, my people Israel, to walk upon you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance. The promise is put in material terms and includes a return to the Promised Land, rich crops, a large population, prosperity, security. Oh what blessings belong to the true people of God! How gracious he is to them!
2. Negative
12b-15 you will never again deprive them of their children. ... Because people say to you, You devour men and deprive your nation of its children, therefore you will no longer devour men or make your nation childless, ... No longer will I make you hear the taunts of the nations, and no longer will you suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall, .... The exile is over, there will be no more troubles and no more mocking and taunting. All will be well.
3. Israel's sin and God's grace – understand why God saves his people
In verses 16-21 we have perhaps some of the most interesting verses in this chapter. Ezekiel is told next Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a woman's monthly uncleanness in my sight. So I poured out my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols. I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions. Now what was the result of this? And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, These are the LORD's people, and yet they had to leave his land. I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone. But now God is going to restore his people. Why? (22, 23) It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes. This is the note the whole chapter ends on once again - Then they will know that I am the LORD – and it is so important to get.
We have spoken of God making a distinction. Many people think the distinction is on the lines that some are good and some are bad, yet in fact it is not really like that. Rather, it is despite their sins that God saves his people. It is by his own mighty hand and for his own glory that God saves his people. There is warning here then – none of us are good enough for God. To think you are is sheer pride. We can never save ourselves. There is also an encouragement – though there is nothing good in us (we have all fallen short of God's glory) we can come to God, however, by his grace.
4. Understand what God does for his people
Now in the rest of the time we have I want us to explore some of the wonderful things that God does for his people, that are referred to here. There are eight things.
1. He gathers them together
Think of the people coming back to the Promised Land from every place. 24 For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. God gathers his people to himself. Today he begins by calling individuals. The message goes out as it is going out today – Come everyone who is thirsty and drink; come all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Those who hear that message speaking irresistibly to their hearts come to the Lord and trust in him. And so the church is gathered. And we come together like this first on earth but then one by one we are called to the greater gathering above – where one day we will all gather in God's presence. Have you come to Christ? Have you heard his call?
2. He cleanses them
2. He cleanses them
Think of a shower or a bath, being washed or a sheep dip. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. By nature we are full of sin but all who hear God's call are washed clean from their sins by the precious blood of Christ. His death atones for their sin and so as they trust in him they are washed, made clean, purified. Have you been forgiven? Have you known all your sins washed away in Christ? He alone can do it.
3. He renews them in heart and spirit
3. He renews them in heart and spirit
Think of a heart transplant – the old diseased heart is removed and a new heart is introduced, here a brand new one, never used by that person before. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. We need not only cleansing but also renewing. Ezekiel has spoken about this already back in Chapter 11. When a person comes to the Lord, they are not only forgiven but they receive a new heart or spirit. The person becomes a new creation in Christ. Are you a new creation in Christ? Have you received a new heart of flesh? All who are born again know such blessings.
4. He gives them his Spirit and obedience
4. He gives them his Spirit and obedience
Think of having someone by your side, always telling you the right thing to do. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. When a person becomes a Christian he is not just renewed but the Spirit of God comes on him and remains on him. He now has the ability to obey God – an ability he never had before. Do you have God's Spirit on you and in you? Are you able to obey God through the Spirit? Are you obeying him and doing God's will?
5. He enables them to enter covenant life
Think of entering into an agreement with someone and shaking hands on it. He agrees to do one thing, you another. 28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. This sums up the covenant of grace. God commits himself to being our God and from us he expects that we should live as his people with all that involves. Are you in the covenant by faith? Can you say of God 'he is my God'? Do you belong to him? That is what being a Christian is all about.
6. He blesses them abundantly
5. He enables them to enter covenant life
Think of entering into an agreement with someone and shaking hands on it. He agrees to do one thing, you another. 28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. This sums up the covenant of grace. God commits himself to being our God and from us he expects that we should live as his people with all that involves. Are you in the covenant by faith? Can you say of God 'he is my God'? Do you belong to him? That is what being a Christian is all about.
6. He blesses them abundantly
Think of a bumper harvest. Those who belong to God he provides for, he blesses. They lack no good thing. 29, 30 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. Is God providing for you? That may not mean that you are rich but it does mean that you will have all you need. He will provide for you. You will not lack.
7. He grants them repentance
So the Christian is one who has been called and cleansed and renewed, who has the Spirit and who obeys God, who is under his covenant and knows his blessing. However, he is not immediately made a perfect person. Rather he is given the gift of repentance. Cf 31, 32 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign LORD. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, O house of Israel! Now here's a paradox. The believer, on the one hand, is able to obey and to a certain extent he does obey and yet he is also ashamed that he does not better obey. Repentance is part of his daily routine. He has to confess his sins daily and turn from them.
7. He grants them repentance
So the Christian is one who has been called and cleansed and renewed, who has the Spirit and who obeys God, who is under his covenant and knows his blessing. However, he is not immediately made a perfect person. Rather he is given the gift of repentance. Cf 31, 32 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign LORD. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, O house of Israel! Now here's a paradox. The believer, on the one hand, is able to obey and to a certain extent he does obey and yet he is also ashamed that he does not better obey. Repentance is part of his daily routine. He has to confess his sins daily and turn from them.
Are you repenting every day? It has to be part of our lives. We can't save ourselves. Remember your evil ways and wicked deeds ... loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices ... Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct ... !
8. He restores them to paradise
8. He restores them to paradise
The whole thing comes to a climax in the closing verses of the chapter. 33 On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. They will say, This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited. Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the LORD have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it. ... Once again I will yield to the plea of the house of Israel and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep, as numerous as the flocks for offerings at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts. So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people.
Here is the promise of Paradise for God's people – an Eden restored. We are thinking of heaven itself – the reward for all who trust in Jesus Christ. Set your heart on it. When Ezekiel spoke these words the idea of return from exile must have seemed unreal but it happened. Heaven is real too – for all who are in him. Are you doomed to destruction or sure to be saved? If you are trusting in Christ, you will be saved.
Here is the promise of Paradise for God's people – an Eden restored. We are thinking of heaven itself – the reward for all who trust in Jesus Christ. Set your heart on it. When Ezekiel spoke these words the idea of return from exile must have seemed unreal but it happened. Heaven is real too – for all who are in him. Are you doomed to destruction or sure to be saved? If you are trusting in Christ, you will be saved.
