Tuesday

5-Nov-19

Ezekiel 3-6;  Ps 122-123

Ezekiel 3: What is frustrating about God’s mission for Ezekiel? As a ‘watchman’ what were Ezekiel’s responsibilities and the consequences?  What further instructions was he given (v. 22-26)

Ezekiel 4: What was the next object lesson that Ezekiel was to perform? Why did Ezekiel ask God to change His command?

Ezekiel 5: What was Ezekiel’s next object lesson?

Ezekiel 6: What was Ezekiel instructed to do in this chapter?

Answers:

Ezekiel 3: God is telling Ezekiel to prophesy to the people of Israel who live in Babylon, but He warns Ezekiel that they will not listen to him.  That would be very frustrating if you ask me. Ezekiel was responsible for warning the exiled Israelites about the coming judgment so that they could change their hearts and be saved.  God told Ezekiel that if he failed to warn them he would be responsible for their deaths.

Ezekiel 4: Ezekiel was to draw the city on a clay tablet and then create a model of Jerusalem being attacked. He was to prepare bread that was to be baked on human dung in the sight of the people and then lay on his left side facing the model for 390 days, then on his right side for 40 days.  Ezekiel objected to baking his bread with human dung as it was unclean and God allowed him to use cow dung.

Ezekiel 5: Ezekiel was to cut his hair off and to divide it into thirds. Then he was to weigh it in the midst of the city. This represented: “A third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst; a third part shall fall by the sword all around you; and a third part I will scatter to all the winds and will unsheathe the sword after them.”

Ezekiel 6: Ezekiel was to prophesy to the mountains, as that was where the high places of worship had been established.  Then he was to clap his hands and stamp his foot and say, “Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, for they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”