A Piece of the "True Cross" Unearthed in Turkey?

From the August 06, 2013 eNews issue
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Turkish archaeologists have announced that they have found a stone chest in a 1,350-year-old church that may have implications for the Christian Church. The archaeologists claim that inside the chest is a relic that may contain a piece of the Cross of Jesus.

The artifacts were unearthed under the Balatlar Church in the Sinop Province in north-central Turkey. Excavation team leader Gülgün Köroğlu said, “We have found a holy thing in a chest. It is a piece of a cross,” the Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News quoted her as saying.

Köroğlu, an archaeologist at Turkey’s Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, said the chest is typical of other artifacts of its type. Chests at one time not only contained the bones of a person, but also items closely associated with that person’s life. In this case, the artifacts contained in this chest were believed to be associated with Jesus’ crucifixion.

The chest has been taken to a laboratory for further examination. Köroğlu said her team has been working at the Byzantine-era church for the last four years. She said that besides the chest, they have foundthe ruins of an ancient Roman bath as well as more than 1,000 human skeletons.

According to tradition, in 325 A.D., Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, believed she discovered the true cross of Jesus at a site outside of Jerusalem. Three crosses were found at the site, including the cross that Jesus supposedly was crucified on along with the crosses of the two thieves. A healing of a crippled woman attributed to stretching her out on the cross was said to reveal the identity of Jesus’ Cross.

The main part of the cross was deposited by Helena in a church erected over the spot. Of the remainder, one portion was sent to Byzantium and inserted into the head of a statue of Constantine, and another was placed in a new church in Rome, specially erected and named for it, Santa Croce (“Holy Cross”).

Pieces linked to Jesus’ cross were spread around the world and can be found in as diverse places outside of the Holy Land as Italy, India, France, and even the Shrine of the True Cross in Dickerson, TX.

Small fragments of the wood of the cross were also encrusted with gold and jewels and sold as souvenirs. Later in the 4th century, Cyril of Jerusalem said the whole world “has been filled with pieces of the wood of the cross.”

Since many early Christian churches and wealthy believers wanted to have a piece of the cross, the miracle of the “multiplication of the cross” was devised so that any relic of the cross was “preserved,” even though pieces were taken from it.

Pundits have commented that there are so many pieces of the cross housed in churches and private collections that one could build a threebedroom house from all the fragments. In fact, in the 1,500s John Calvin was to have said “if all the pieces linked to the ‘true cross’ were assembled in one place, they would make a big shipload.”

The legend of Helena’s find of the cross was widely accepted as true, but the discovery of a 5th-century apocryphal work titled Doctrina Addai has made it evident that the entire story of Helena’s discovery is only a version of an old Mesopotamian legend.

[The Doctrina Addai tells of an identical discovery of the cross, under the very same circumstances, during the reign of Tiberius, by Protonice (wife of Claudius, who became emperor), who had been converted to Christianity by the preaching of Peter.]

Throughout time, many artifacts have been sought after or claimed to be found. The Shroud of Turin, the Ark of the Covenant, the True Cross…. All these items could easily turn into a modern-day variant of the Brazen Serpent. (In many cases they have.)

During Israel’s flight from Egypt, the Israelites began to murmur against God (Number 21:4–5). For this, they were punished by fiery serpents (Numbers 21:6–7). Moses was instructed to make a brass serpent and hang it on a pole, to which the people bitten were to look and become healed. That serpent prefigures Christ “made … sin for us” (John 3:14–15; 2 Corinthians 5:21), hanging on the tree the judgment of our sin (Romans 8:3).

However, people lost sight of the real reason for the Brazen Serpent and began to use it as an object of idolatry (2 Kings 18:4). Because of this perversion, King Hezekiah destroyed it about 700 B.C.

There is a danger that many people will look to other artifacts from the past as they did the brazen serpent and become “snake worshippers” today. To them the power is in believing in a thing rather than in God.

It is faith in God, not faith in things that has power. Without the promises of God’s Word we can have all the faith in the world and not have redemption.

Is that piece of wood part of the cross Jesus hanged from?
Does it really matter?

References
• A piece of Jesus’ cross? Relics unearthed in Turkey - NBC News
• Archeologists claim to have found ‘piece of Jesus’ cross’ at church excavations in Turkey - Hurriyet Daily News

Do Parts of Herod's Temple Still Exist?

From the May 21, 2013 eNews issue
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The Romans destroyed Herod’s Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE. Is it possible that some of the wooden beams from his Temple Mount have survived—and may be identified?

Some archeologists believe this may be the case.

In their May/June Edition of Biblical Archaeology Review, archaeologist Peretz Reuven studied beams removed from the Al-Aqsa Mosque and concluded that some of the beams may date back to the Temple.

Wooden beams of the quality that would have been used to build the temple—especially Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) and cypress (Cypressus sempervirens)—were extremely valuable and would have been used and reused, again and again.

Known to archaeologists as “secondary use,” the occurrence of reuse is known to be a widely accepted practice both today and in ancient times. Stone building blocks as well as columns and wood elements of buildings have been found to have been reused from previous building projects.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque is a prime example. While the Dome of the Rock (the other major building on the Temple Mount) has survived essentially intact since it was built in the 7th Century, the Al-Aqsa Mosque has been rebuilt several times.

Why the difference? In short, the Dome on the Rock was built on a rock foundation while the Al-Aqsa Mosque was built on land fill. The Mosque is located on the southern end of the Temple Mount on dirt fill material.

What happened on the Temple Mount between the Roman destruction in 70 CE and the construction of Al-Aqsa Mosque is a bit unclear. One view is that it remained empty, essentially a garbage dump in fulfillment of Jesus’ prediction that “not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2; Mark 13:2; Luke 21:6).

There is some evidence of building on the Temple Mount after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, but nothing definitive. What is definitely known is that there is no report of a building on the Mount when the Muslims erected the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque in the late seventh and early eighth centuries.

Were some wooden beams from Herod’s Temple or other Temple Mount buildings still lying around at this time, and then used and reused in the construction and various reconstructions of Al-Aqsa Mosque?

Examination of the timbers salvaged (and reused) from the Mosque following the 1927 & 1928 earthquakes indicate most of the Mosque’s Cedar of Lebanon and cypress wood was in secondary use after having been used in an earlier construction (or constructions).

The beams often display depressions and protrusions intended to hold them in place from their earlier use.
Carvings of rosettes on the underside of one of the main support beams look very similar to rosettes in the sixth-century Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, indicating that the Al-Aqsa beam probably came from a Byzantine church and its earlier use should be dated to the same period as the church.

Other cypress beams have been carbon-14 dated back to the first century BC and probably came from a nearby structure on the Temple Mount that existed at that time.

Other logs that were removed from Al-Aqsa in the early 1960s were dated to the ninth–second centuries BCE, according to archeologists who have examined the beams.

One beam found was dated back to 884 BC +/- 180 years. Given that there is building material that old on the site and materials of construction were reused on site, it is possible that some of the timbers originally used in the construction of Al-Aqsa Mosque survived from the First Temple Period.

Some of the support beams that had been used in earlier reconstructions of the Al-Aqsa Mosque were often left lying around on the Temple Mount if they were not used in later reconstructions. Gradually they disappeared, being carried away for other projects, probably homes and shops as well as souvenirs. This process sped up in recent years, especially during the recent Muslim excavation of a large stairway leading down to an underground mosque in Solomon’s Stables on the southern end of the Temple Mount.

One of the beams that has survived is carved with decorations common in the Roman period, including a rope pattern, various kinds of leaves and pomegranates. This Roman-period beam could be from Herod’s time.

Another intriguing fact about the beam is that there are markings on the beam that indicate it rested on columns that were spaced at intervals of 10.8 feet. This is a similar interval to the columns in Herod’s Royal Stoa, a basilica that stood on the southern end of the Temple Mount.

Cedar of Lebanon is an extremely valuable wood and durable enough for it to survive and be in use to the present day.

While we may never know for sure if any of these beams came from Herod’s temple, it is a distinct possibility.

References
• What Joins Jews and Muslims? - Archaeology & Arts
• Temple of Herod - JewishEncyclopedia.com
• Ancient Wooden Beams May Be from Herod’s Temple, According to Biblical Archaeology Review - PRLog
• Wooden Beams from Herod’s Temple Mount: Do They Still Exist? - Biblical Archaeology Society

God of Wrath, God of Mercy

From the May 14, 2013 eNews issue
(Visit Koinonia House for a FREE subscription)

“Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:”
— Lev 18:24

People often say that the God of the New Testament is a God of mercy and love, but the God of the Old Testament is vengeful and angry.

Consider the fate of the Canaanites. The LORD didn’t just tell the Israelites to take over the Promised Land. He had them destroy all the people, young and old, male and female. He even had them kill off all the animals (Deut 20:16–17; Josh 6:21–23). Later in 1 Samuel, the LORD tells Saul to absolutely destroy the Amalekites and all they had:

“Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.”
— 1 Samuel 15:3

Who is this God who would order such a thing?

There are a number of explanations, the first of which are included in the text:

“That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God. ”
— Deut 20:18

There is also the Nephilim issue. Genesis 6:4 includes the haunting phrase, “...and also after that....” Apparently these strange events were not confined just to the period before the Flood. We find that there seems to be some recurrence of those things which resulted in unusual “giants” appearing in subsequent periods later in the Old Testament narrative, specifically the giant-races of Canaan. There were a number of tribes such as the Rephaim, the Emim, the Horim, and Zamsummim, that were giants (Gen 14:5; Deut 2:10–12, 22).

Additional explanations are available. However, even if we do not know them all, can we trust that God who gave His Son to die for us, the God of mercy and grace, did know what He was doing, even when He ordered the destruction of entire groups of people?

All Their Abominations
First, we often hear the complaint that if God were good, He would not allow evil. We find that the groups of people God wiped out were engaged unrepentantly in a variety of horrific practices—to the point of being completely out of control.

When God brought the Flood, the earth was filled with violence, and the wickedness of humanity was so great that “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,” (Gen 6:5).

Sodom was so bad before God destroyed it, the men of Sodom (young and old) surrounded Lot’s house and insisted he send out his guests so that they could rape them. When Lot made an attempt to appease his neighbors, they tried to break down the door (Gen 19:4–5,9).

The nations whom the LORD ordered the Israelites to destroy in the Promised Land engaged in a variety of abominable practices. They practiced child sacrifice, burning their children in the fire to false gods (Lev 18:21; 2Kings 17:31; 2Chron 28:3; 2Chron 33:6 ). They engaged in bestiality (perhaps explaining why the animals could not be spared) (Lev 18:23–25), as well as adultery and homosexuality and incest (Lev 18:6–20; 24).) They invited demonic activity by practicing sorcery and witchcraft and consulting with evil spirits (Deu 18:9–12).

Yes, God had the Israelites destroy these people, but Gen 15:16 implies that He waited until their wickedness was “full”—until there was no alternative.

Sparing The Righteous
It is important to note that in every instance in which God destroys a people, He consistently rescues the few upright people in the midst of them. As Abraham noted in Genesis 18:25, God does not destroy the righteous with the wicked.

In Genesis 18:17–33, Abraham pleaded with God for Sodom, and God agreed that if there were 10 righteous people in Sodom, He would spare the city. Apparently, there weren’t even 10. Rather than destroy the one righteous man with the rest, however, God sent angels to get Lot and his family out before the brimstone fell. In fact, the angel says he cannot do anything else until Lot has escaped (Gen 19:22).

In Josh 6:22–25, Joshua’s men made sure to go in and rescue Rahab and her entire family because she had been willing to help the Israelites. In fact, Rahab—once a harlot—becomes the mother of Boaz, ancestor of King David and, ultimately, of Jesus.

In 1 Kings 14, the prophet of God told Jeroboam that he would be replaced as king of Israel because of his great wickedness in leading Israel to worship false gods and molten images. The next king would wipe out all of Jeroboam’s offspring. However, there is one son of Jeroboam who had a good heart toward the LORD. This child would not be slaughtered like the others. He would mercifully die of an illness and be buried and mourned (1Ki 14:12–13).

Then, there is Ninevah. Jonah wanted God to destroy this city, but God gladly had mercy on them because they repented. In Jonah 4:10–11, we find God reasoning with Jonah about his hard heart, saying:

“Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?”

The God of the Old Testament is a God of great patience and longsuffering. He does not enjoy having to deal harshly with wicked humanity, and in Ezekiel we find His true position on the issue:

“Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?”
— Ezekiel 18:23

As we read the Old Testament, we need to be careful. The heart of God in the Old Testament is the same heart of mercy and goodness as the God in the New Testament. But because He is good, He does not allow evil to continue unchecked forever.


Related References
• Post-Flood Nephilim - Koinonia House
• Learn The Bible In 24 Hours - Audio - Koinonia House

Horatio Spafford And The Night Seasons

From the June 04, 2013 eNews issue
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Horatio Spafford was a prominent lawyer and real estate investor in Chicago when the 1871 Chicago Fire hit and destroyed almost all of his property. Two years later, Spafford sent his wife and four daughters ahead of him to England, where his friend DL Moody would be preaching.

On the voyage there, the ship sank and all four children were drowned. His wife alone was saved. The couple went on to have three more children, but tragedy struck again when their four year old son died of pneumonia in 1880. Near the end of his life, Spafford moved to Jerusalem and ran charitable ventures like soup kitchens, hospitals, and orphanages. He died in 1888 of malaria and was buried in Jerusalem.

While Horatio Spafford endured crippling tragedy after tragedy, he is most famous for having written one of the most beloved hymns of all time: “It Is Well With My Soul.” In the midst of serious personal sorrow, God brought Spafford to a place of peace and security wholly independent of his circumstances.

It is easy to fear in life. There are no promises of happiness or fairness. If anybody promised you a rose garden, then they were either naive for downright dishonest. In fact, when things seem to be running smoothly, tragedy can and often strikes and knocks us off our temporary pedestals of comfort. In John 16:33, Jesus warned us that in this world we would have troubles. “But be of good cheer,” he said, “I have overcome the world.”

In 1 Peter 4:17, Peter tells us that as God begins to wrap up time as we know it, He will allow events to happen in the body of Christ that will try us and test us to the max. How will we make it through this time of testing, if we don’t understand what God is doing, and if we crumble at the first hint of suffering? We desperately need to have a grasp of what God’s purpose is for allowing these kinds of trials and, most importantly, we need to understand what to do and how to act in them.

Night Seasons
During a night season, God initiates a purging, a cleansing and a purifying of our souls from everything that is not of faith. At this time, God crushes our self will, so that He can merge it with His own. In other words, it’s our own private Gethsemane. As Jesus cried in the garden, “My soul is exceeding[ly] sorrowful unto death… Nevertheless, not what I will, but what Thou wilt.” (Mark 14:34–36) During this dark season, God teaches us to say, just as Jesus did, “Not my will, but Thine.” (Matthew 26:39)

During this time, God can begin to transform our reliance on physical things to things of the spirit. He wants us to learn to walk by faith, not by our senses, our feelings or our understanding. God wants to teach us how to detach ourselves from all physical, emotional and spiritual supports, so that we will be able to respond with “Not my will, but Thine.”

Because this season can often be a time of desolation, of dried bones and ruined hopes, many Christians—because they don’t understand what God’s will is or what He is doing—get so discouraged and defeated that they give up and turn back.

Many will feel like Job, who “looked for good” but only “evil came”; and for “light,” but found only “darkness.” (Job 30:26) Or like Isaiah, who uttered “We wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes; we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places like dead men.” (Isaiah 59:9–10)

If we can only remember during our night season that the Holy Spirit has led us into this darkness on purpose. God is not angry at us, and He has not abandoned us – He paid the ultimate price for us, how could He ever abandon us? He brought us to a necessary place where precious things can happen. As he told Mary, whose brother Lazarus had died, “Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” (John 11:40)

It is in these places, when our normal human securities are stripped away and all we have is Jesus, that He can begin to do in us those excellent things that can make all the difference in our lives and in our walk with Him. When the only thing we can do is cling to God, we come to that place where we see Him more clearly than ever before. That’s when the fear goes away, and we can join Horatio Spafford in singing with greater appreciation:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pain shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
And Lord haste the day, when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Related Links
• Faith In The Dark Night - Koinonia House
• Faith In The Night Seasons - Koinonia House
• Faith In The Night Seasons Book - Koinonia House Store

Ezekiel 17-19

Bible study with Dr. Chuck Missler

BACKGROUND READING

2 Kings 24:8-20
2 Chronicles 36:9-13
Jeremiah 37, 52:1-7
Isaiah 11, 53
Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45
Micah 4


OUTLINE OF EZEKIEL

Ezekiel 1-3: The Call of the Prophet
Ezekiel 4-24: God’s Judgment on Jerusalem (Given before the siege of Jerusalem)
Ezekiel 25-32: God’s Judgment on the Muslim Nations (Given during the siege)
Ezekiel 33-48: The Restoration of the Jews (Given after the siege)
Ezekiel 33-36: The Jews return to their land
Ezekiel 37: The Jews experience new life and unity
Ezekiel 38-39: The Jews are protected from Gog and Magog
Ezekiel 40-48: The Millennial Kingdom


REVIEW

We are in a context where Ezekiel, trained as a priest but called to the office of a prophet, was captive in Babylon. The first siege took Daniel captive; the second took Ezekiel; and, the third siege yet forthcoming (in about two years from this passage), would be the final fall and destruction of Jerusalem.

Ezekiel was not offering the Israelites hope. He had pointed out to them that Jerusalem would fall, that God was going to judge them for their idolatry and their sins. After swearing allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar, Zedekiah treacherously conspired against him and sought alliance with Egypt to avoid his commitments. The alliance, which Jeremiah had warned against, proved weak, unsatisfactory and foolhardy.


EZEKIEL 17: The Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine

Judah, Babylon, and Egypt are the three nations mentioned in the riddle and the parable of Ezekiel 17: It will be stated in Ezekiel 17:3-10 and explained in Ezekiel 17:11-21. The date of the prophecy is between the 6th month of Zedekiah’s 6th year of reign and the 5th month of the 7th year after the carrying away of Jehoiachin. This is almost five years before the destruction of Jerusalem.

A great eagle breaks off the topmost shoot of a cedar (Ezekiel 17:1-4)

“A great eagle” (Ezekiel 17:3)
This is the symbol of the Assyrian supreme god, Nisroch. This was applied to “the great king” of Babylon, his vicegerent on earth (Jeremiah 48:40; 49:22; Isaiah 46:11).

“… powerful wings” (Ezekiel 17:3)
These represent great forces. These symbols are now seen in the Assyrian remains and implied the wide extent of his empire.

“… varied colors” (Ezekiel 17:3)
This was in response to the variety of languages, habits, and costumes of the peoples subject to Babylon.

“… to Lebanon...” (Ezekiel 17:3)
This was a pseudonym for the Temple at Jerusalem, called “Lebanon” by Jews because its woodwork was wholly of cedars of Lebanon—Eusebius.

“… top of a cedar” (Ezekiel 17:4)
This was the fleece-like tuft at the top of the tree (Ezekiel 31:3-14). It represents the nation Israel, specifically, the royal house of David, King Jeconiah, then but eighteen years old, and many of the chiefs and people with him (2 Kings 24:8, 12-16). The cedar, as a tall tree, was the symbol of kingly elevation. (Cf. Daniel 4:10-12, the chapter in the Bible that Nebuchadnezzar wrote!)

The Great Eagle
This is a picture of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who is going to come and crop the top of the tree. Jeremiah used it as he wrote of Nebuchadnezzar:

Jeremiah 48:40
This is what the LORD says: “Look! An eagle is swooping down, spreading its wings over Moab.

Jeremiah 49:22
Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

Daniel saw the Babylonian Empire rising up out of the sea, and it was in the form of a lion with eagle’s wings (Daniel 7:4).

“… topmost shoot” (Ezekiel 17:4)
This referred to the very young King Jeconiah, 18 years old, sometimes called Coniah, sometimes called Jehoiachin.
Jeconiah was carried to Babylon, the city of merchants and trade. He was carried into captivity, leaving the Judean throne vacant.

Babylon (2 Kings 24:15-16), was famous for its transport traffic on the Tigris and Euphrates. Also, by its connection with the Persian Gulf, it carried on much commerce with India.

The great eagle plants a seedling in fertile soil (Ezekiel 17:5-6)

“... seedlings of the land” (Ezekiel 17:5)
Nebuchadnezzar, in an attempt to be lenient, replaced Jeconiah not with a foreigner, but with Zedekiah who was “of the seed of the land,” a native of the region; a son of the soil; not a foreigner.

“... like a willow” (Ezekiel 17:5)
The Hebrew word for willow was derived from a Hebrew root, “to overflow,” from its fondness for water (Isaiah 44:4). Judea was “a land of brooks of water and fountains” (Deuteronomy 8:7-9; John 3:23).

“... low, spreading vine… branches turned toward him…” (Ezekiel 17:6)
This expressed the fealty of Zedekiah as a vassal looking up to Nebuchadnezzar, to whom Judah owed its peace and very existence as a separate state. The “branches” represent his sons and the other princes and nobles. The implication, in the way this is presented, is that if nothing else happened, he would have blossomed.

The impression we get from Ezekiel here is that if Zedekiah had kept his oath of allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar, there would have been prosperity. The “fruitful field” suggests favorable conditions (Isaiah 44:4).

Another great eagle attracts the attention of the vine (Ezekiel 17:7-8)

“...another great eagle” (Ezekiel 17:7)
This eagle was a rival to the first one. The first one was Babylon; the second one was Egypt, under the leadership of Pharaoh Hophra (Jeremiah 44:30; 37:7).

Nebuchadnezzar took Egypt, destroyed it, and made it subject to himself.

Treacherous Rebellion
As mentioned above, this second eagle represented Egypt, under Pharaoh Hopra. (2 Chronicles 36:9-13; Jeremiah 37:7; 44:30; 52:1-7).

When Zedekiah turned to him for support, Isaiah spoke out against such an alliance (Isaiah 30:1-7; 31:1-3). Jeremiah and Ezekiel also opposed this idea of Judah aligning with Egypt. The prophets Jeremiah, and Isaiah, and Ezekiel and others, all pointed out that Nebuchadnezzar was the instrument of God bringing judgment to the land in the first place.

Nebuchadnezzar had taken the youngest son of Josiah, Metaniah, put him on the throne as a vassal, and renamed him Zedekiah. Zedekiah swore an oath before the Lord to be loyal to Nebuchadnezzar.

The main thrust we get from this passage is that there really was no reason for Zedekiah’s revolt. They were not under oppression or dispersion; they were actually under a beneficial rule under Nebuchadnezzar. They had security under him. It was only through ambition and ingratitude that Zedekiah became insubordinate in his allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar.

When Ezekiel penned this prophecy, Zedekiah’s final revolt had not yet happened. This prophetic parable was written sometime between 592 BC (Ezekiel 8:1) and 591 BC (Ezekiel 20:1). Zedekiah’s final revolt against Babylon actually began in 587 BC. That is, Ezekiel predicted Zedekiah’s revolt almost five years before it happened.

Given its shifting allegiance, will the vine thrive? (Ezekiel 17:9-10)
Instead of being loyal to the first eagle, the vine treacherously turned to the second one. Ezekiel, like his contemporary, Jeremiah (Jeremiah 37:7), and his predecessor, Isaiah (Isaiah 30:1-7), was against this policy of an Egyptian alliance.

“... the east wind” (Ezekiel 17:10)
This represents Nebuchadnezzar (Cf. Job 27:21; Isaiah 27:8; Hosea 13:15).

Zedekiah was taken at Jericho, on Jewish soil (Jeremiah 52:8).

God explains the parable (Ezekiel 17:11-15)
This passage explains the symbolisms used in Ezekiel 17:1-10.

“... this rebellious people” (Ezekiel 17:11)
The history of Jehoiachin’s deportation and of Zedekiah’s oath of fealty is recapitulated (2 Chronicles 36:13; Genesis 15:9-18; Jeremiah 34:8-22).

“... under oath” (Ezekiel 17:13)
This speaks of Zedekiah’s oath. The issue here is his oath.

“... leading men” (Ezekiel 17:13)
The might were taken as hostages for the fulfillment of the covenant.

Nebuchadnezzar dealt sincerely and openly in proposing conditions, and these moderate ones. Zedekiah’s treachery was the baser and was a counterpart to their treachery towards God.

“... horses” (Ezekiel 17:15)
Egypt abounded in them and were forbidden to Israel (Deuteronomy 17:16; Isaiah 31:1, 3; 36:9). The whole region from Thebes to Memphis was filled with royal stalls: 20,000 chariots with two horses in each could be furnished for war—Diodorus Siculus.

“Will he break the treaty?” (Ezekiel 17:15)
Nebuchadnezzar kept his side of the covenant. God’s people broke the covenant, but the pagan nation kept their side of it. Today, we will find people still carrying their Bibles, but their hearts are far from God, and we cannot believe what they say. On the other hand, there are people who although are unsaved, are men of integrity. God’s people should be men of integrity! We are supposed to be the light of the world!

Oaths
One of the issues in the Scripture is that an oath before the Lord, even an oath made under fraud, needs to be honored.
Even the Gibeonite oath, made on fraudulent premises, still had to be honored (Joshua 9; 2 Samuel 21:1-3).

Jeremiah had been warning Zedekiah that he had made an oath and he would have to hold to it. However, Zedekiah went ahead despite those warnings and sought aid from Egypt. The swearing of an oath in the Old Testament was authenticated by accompanying sacrifices. That involved the Lord who took them seriously.

God pronounces judgment on the rebellious king (Ezekiel 17:16-21)

“… he shall die in Babylon) (Ezekiel 17:16)
Zedekiah was exposed to death by his treason.

“... Pharaoh” (Ezekiel 17:17)
This was Pharaoh Hophra (Jeremiah 37:7; 44:30), the successor of Necho (2 Kings 23:29). The Pharaoh here was Apries of the Greeks. [Pharaoh Necho was earlier the refuge for the Levites and the Ark of the Covenant during Josiah’s reign (2 Chronicles 35).] For more than a thousand years, from 1600 BC onward, the Egyptians led in terms of exploitation by chariots, horses, calvary, etc.

“... my oath” (Ezekiel 17:19)
The implication by God saying, “MY” oath was that there had been a sacrifice with this oath, so that it was no longer just a little commitment on the part of Zedekiah. With a sacrifice, it had become the Lord’s covenant. God Himself must therefore avenge the violation of His covenant “on the head” of the perjurer (Cf. Psalm 7:16).

God entrapped Zedekiah just as he had tried to entrap others (Psalm 7:15). Again, this was spoken almost five years before the fall of Jerusalem (Cf. Ezek 8:1; 20:1). God, speaking through Ezekiel, on the treachery of trying to allure an alliance with Egypt, shows it will fail.

Sometimes, God allows a godless nation to harass and actually destroy a people who claim to be God’s people but have departed from Him.

The King of the Davidic Line (Ezekiel 17:22-24)
Ezekiel 17-18 deal with the ending of the Dynasty of David, the succession of kings in Judah: But in the middle are three verses (Ezekiel 17:22-24) which deal with the most important King of the Davidic line, namely the Messiah.

“... I will also” (Ezekiel 17:22)
God opposes Himself to Nebuchadnezzar: He took of the seed of the land and planted it (Ezekiel 17:3, 5); so will I but with better success than he had. The branch Nebuchadnezzar plucked (Zedekiah) and planted flourished but for a time but will perish at last – Not the branch that God will plant!

“... a shoot from the very top of a cedar” (Ezekiel 17:22)
The Lord declares that He himself will pluck off a shoot from the top of the high cedar (the Davidic house; Isaiah 53:2) and plant it on a high mountain, that all may see it and find protection under it (Isaiah 2:2; 11:10 Ezekiel 17:23; Matthew 13:31-32).

When the state of Israel shall seem past recovery, the Messiah, the Jehovah Himself, will unexpectedly appear on the scene as Redeemer of His people (Isaiah 63:5).

The Branch
This is one of the titles of the Messiah (Zechariah 3:8; 6:12; Isaiah 11:1; 4:2; Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15).

“... tender sprig” (Ezekiel 17:22)
This speaks of the Messiah, who is tender-hearted, who is “a tender plant and root out of a dry ground” (Isaiah 53:2). The beginning of His kingdom is humble: His reputed parents were of lowly rank, though they were King David’s lineal representatives. Yet, God here calls Him, in respect to His purpose, “the highest… of the high” (Psalm 89:27).

“... high and lofty mountain” (Ezekiel 17:22)
Zion is destined to be the moral center and eminence of grace and glory shining forth to the world, out-topping all mundane elevation. The kingdom shall have its highest manifestation at His reappearing to reign on Zion and over the whole earth (Psalm 2:6, 8; Isaiah 2:2, 3; Jeremiah 3:17).

“... make the low tree grow tall” (Ezekiel 17:24)
Contrast the tree that God plants with the tree that Nebuchadnezzar planted.

This passage is an echo to Psalm 89, the essence of which is that the Covenant with David would never be made void or annulled.

The establishment of this new and universal kingdom by YHWH will lead the world to recognize him as the Lord of human life and the Controller of Israel’s destiny. Other kingdoms are likewise called trees (Ezek 31:5, 8, 14, 16, 18). For passages in Ezekiel concerning God’s kingdom, see Ezekiel 21:27; 34:24; 37:24; 40-48; Luke 1:51-55.

“... I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it” (Ezekiel 17:24)
God speaks about things yet future as if they were done, because He ordained them. This prophecy was not fulfilled when Israel returned to the land after the Babylonian Captivity. The fulfillment of Ezekiel 17:22-24 awaits God’s establishment of Israel in the Millennium under the Messiah, Jesus Christ. At that time God’s kingdom will rule the world (Daniel 2:44-45; Zechariah 14:3-9, 16-17).

Blood Curse on Jeconiah (Jeremiah 22:24-30)
After David, there were all kinds of bad kings, declining and getting worse spiritually and into idolatry. In Jechoniah (aka, Coniah, Jechoiachin), we see the end.

God pronounced upon Jechoniah a blood curse and said none of his seed would rule any more in Judah. The genealogy in Matthew begins with “the first Jew”: Abraham. Luke begins his with Adam (“Son of God” vs. ourselves, sons of Adam). The next 10 names are familiar from Genesis 5, and from Abraham to David, the two lists are identical.

As the list continues in Matthew, we note that Matthew took the royal line, all the way down to Joseph. Jesus is thus the legal heir of the Davidic covenant through Joseph. Did Jesus also inherit the blood curse? No! Because Jesus is not the blood son of Joseph!

Luke’s account, however, took the genealogy through Nathan, not the royal line, down to Mary. Jesus is the blood son of Mary.

God promised David that the Messiah, Jesus, would be the heir of the House and Lineage of David – And in Jesus’ case, we see that the two are not always synonymous. The legal lineage (House) was through Joseph; the blood lineage was through Mary!

We also note that Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah all died violent deaths – This was God dealing with idolatry literally “to the 3rd and 4th generations” (Exodus 20:4-5). Their names were “blotted out” according to the Law (Deuteronomy 29:20):
• Ahaziah was slain by Jehu (2 Kings 9)
• Joash was slain by servant (2 Kings 12)
• Amaziah was slain by Jerusalem (2 Kings 14)

Deuteronomy 29:20
The LORD will never be willing to forgive them; his wrath and zeal will burn against them. All the curses written in this book will fall on them, and the LORD will blot out their names from under heaven.

Jeremiah 22:30
This is what the LORD says: “Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah.”

This blood curse suggests the Davidic line ended with Jeconiah, that the dynasty ended before the Messiah could be born. But ah, let us not forget the virgin birth!

Daughters of Zelophehad
There was a Torah exception on rules of inheritance—requested of Moses (Numbers 27:1-11) and granted by Joshua (Joshua 17:3-6). This was the result of a petition by the daughters of Zelophehad, which provided for inheritance through the daughter, if no sons were available, and if she married within her tribe. The husband would be adopted as a son by father of the bride (Ezra 2:61; Nehemiah 7:63; Numbers 32:41; 1 Chronicle 2:21-23, 34-35) and therefore receive the inheritance. This exception anticipated the lineage of Christ: Joseph was the son-in-law of Heli (Luke 3:23), who received inheritance of Heli by his marriage to Mary. Both Joseph and Mary were of the line of David. Joseph came through David’s son, Solomon (and so did Jeconiah), whereas Mary came through David’s other son, Nathan. Hence, the virgin birth of Christ circumvented the blood curse of Jeconiah and allowed Christ to be of the line of David by blood through Mary and by law through Joseph! Every detail—even in the regulations of the Torah—are there by deliberate design and always point to Christ!


EZEKIEL 18: The one who sins is the one who will die

In Ezekiel 15-17, Ezekiel delivered three parables to convict the nation of her sin. He now returned with bluntness in a direct message to drive home the fact of Israel’s guilt. The message in Chapter 18 is similar to that in Ezekiel 12:21-28, for they both addressed the people’s proverbs in their attempt to deny their coming judgment.

Sin by Heredity?
In Ezekiel 18, God emphasizes that these people are going to be judged for their personal sin. The concept that they had invoked, both from the proverb and from the Torah, was that the iniquity of the fathers was visited upon the children, and they are going to use that as an excuse, saying in effect, “Okay, you’re judging us, but you are judging us for the sins of our fathers.”

Through Ezekiel, God thus emphasizes their personal responsibility and uses several examples in rebuttal to their hereditary arguments. That is, God will judge them for their PERSONAL sin.

The concept of personal responsibility is not a new idea. Ezekiel talked about it in Ezekiel 3 and 14. It is also dealt with in the Torah in Deuteronomy 24 and in 2 Kings 14.

God rebukes the children of Israel of their false proverbs (Ezekiel 18:1-4)
The children of Israel had a proverb they used, and it is mentioned twice by Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 31:29
In those days people will no longer say, “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”
Lamentations 5:7 Our ancestors sinned and are no more, and we bear their punishment.

The point of these passages was that the effects of sin are serious and long-lasting, not that God capriciously punishes the innocent for their ancestors’ evil ways.

These proverbs may have been built upon a passage back in Exodus:

Exodus 20:5 (Cf. Exodus 34:6,7; Deuteronomy 5:9) 
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.

The problem is that the proverbs they drew from this verse are incorrect. This is the danger in lifting out a verse of Scripture without considering its context. This is a false proverb: The fathers ate the grapes, and the children paid the penalty. That is true to a certain extent, but God judges the individual, father or son, according to his conduct. This is not a judgment for eternal life, but a judgment in this life according as a man obeys or disobeys Him.

Dodging Blame
It is a universal mark of corrupt nature to lay the blame, which belongs to ourselves, on others and to arraign the justice of God -- Just as the modern Jews attribute their present dispersion, not to their own sins, but to those of their forefathers; just as we see in Genesis 3:12, where Adam transfers the blame of his sin to Eve, and even to God, saying, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.”

“The one who sins is the one who will die” (Ezekiel 18:4)
God is speaking of the way in which He judges individuals in this life.

“Live” (Ezekiel 18:9, 17, 19) and “die” (Ezekiel 18:4, 13, 18) are used in both a literal and an eschatological sense. “To live” is to enter into the perfect kingdom of the Lord which is about to come (Ezekiel 37-48); “to die” is to have no share in it. Ezekiel, like other Old Testament writers, sees this kingdom as an earthly one.

We need to look at the entire Ezekiel 18 from that viewpoint. Ezekiel anticipates here and Ezekiel 18:32 the teaching of Paul:

1 Timothy 2:4 
… who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

Deuteronomy 24:16
Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.

Three Generations of Father, Son, Grandson (Ezekiel 18:5-18)
While these examples may idiomatically/rhetorically make a point rhetorically, it is also reasonable to parallel the 3 figures with the 3 kings of Judah):
– The just father, Hezekiah
– The ungodly son, Manasseh
– The just grandson, Josiah

The Just Father (Ezekiel 18:5-9)
These verses speak of a righteous life presented in the Old Testament.

“...eaten...” refers to the feasts which were connected with the sacrifices (Exodus 32:6; Deuteronomy 32:38; Judges 9:27; 1 Corinthians 8:4, 10; 10:7).

“Upon the mountains” here refers to the places where their idol worshiping was conducted; and eating of that implied the partaking in the idol festivities and rites (Deuteronomy 12:13-14).

“… neighbor’s wife... menstrous woman...”
These refer to the respecting of marriage rights (Exodus 20:14; Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22) and laws respecting unclean women (Leviticus 15:24; 18:19; and 20:18).

“... restored to the debtor his pledge”
Cf. Exodus 22:26,27; Deuteronomy 24:10-13; Amos 2:8

“... hath given his bread...”
This refers to distribution of food to the hungry (Isaiah 58:7; Matthew 25:35, 36).

“... usury...”
Jews were forbidden to take interest from their needy brethren (Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:25-37; Deuteronomy 23:19) but were permitted interest on loans to foreigners (Deuteronomy 23:20).

“... he shall surely live...”
God is talking about this life, not eternal life. God will bless him in this life—this is the blessing of the Old Testament.

This character, the Just Father, is a just man. The son is going to be ungodly: a robber, a murdered, and a lot of other horrible things. But then the grandson is going to be just, and that point is to put to silence the idea that you are being punished for your father’s sins.

The Unjust Son (Ezekiel 18:10-13)

“Will such a man live? He will not!” (Ezekiel 18:13)
A good father cannot pile up merit for his son (Cf. Ezekiel 14:16, 18). This illustrated the fallacy of the people’s proverb (Ezekiel 18:2) and the truth of God’s principle (Ezekiel 18:4).

The Just Grandson (Ezekiel 18:14-18)
Again, God stressed the fallacy of the proverbs. The Just Grandson will “not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live. But his father will die for his own sin.”

The one who sins is the one who will die (Ezekiel 18:19-20) 
Again, God is hammering home the message: “The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.”

Here, the Jews object to the Ezekiel’s word. In their objection, it seemed to seek a continuance of the very thing which they had originally made a matter of complaint. It now would seem a consolation to them to think the son might suffer for his father’s misdeeds—for it would soothe their self-love to regard themselves as innocent sufferers for the guilt of others and would justify them in their present course of life, which they did not choose to abandon for a better.

Ezekiel points out that neither son nor father will be held responsible for the other’s iniquity, but each person is individually responsible to God.

Repent and be forgiven (Ezekiel 18:21-23)
As a man does not inherit the consequences of what his fathers have done, so the individual, through repentance, can be emancipated from his own past.’

This is a call to repentance. This question reflects God’s mercy and his desire to save all. “Mercy” has been called “the most precious word in the whole Book of Ezekiel.” To Ezekiel, to Paul (1 Timothy 2:4), and to Peter (2 Peter 3:9), the mind of God is presented as being at once absolutely righteous and absolutely loving.

Stray and be judged (Ezekiel 18:24)
If men perish, it is because they will not come to the Lord for salvation, not that the Lord is not willing to save them (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9 John 5:40).

When we refuse to turn to God, we trample not merely on justice but on God’s mercy! What further hope can there be for us when we turn away even from mercy? (Hebrews 10:26-29).

Eternal Security
Ezek 18:24 (Cf. Ezekiel 3:17; 33:10-20) have been understood by some that a Christian may lose his righteous standing before God. But in support of the security of the believer, it should be observed that these passages in Ezekiel do not teach the eternal loss of a saved person, because the word “righteous” may refer to ceremonial religion (Cf. Matthew 5:20) and not the righteousness which is of God by faith (Cf. Philemon 3:7-9).

Moreover, the punishment threatened refers only to physical death rather than to eternal death. In any case, these texts in Ezekiel must be considered under the context New Testament affirmations, such as John 10:28-29; Romans 5:8-9; Philemon 1:6, etc. These New Testament texts clearly teach the security of the believer.

God’s way is just, and He will judge the unrighteous (Ezekiel 18:25-32)
God will judge each of Israelites according to their own ways, for their ways are unjust.

We are not perfect – but we ought to sincerely aim at perfection, so we may not fall into habitual and willful sin (1 John 3:6-9)! God alone can make us a new heart (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26; Psalm 51:10).

Each one of us stands alone – We cannot blame our decisions and how we turn out on environment or upbringing, etc.

The teaching of Ezekiel 18 is a fitting response to today’s psychology, that the reason a person is irresponsible because his mother didn’t treat him right, or because her parents neglected her. Despite our circumstances, we always have a choice to make. We can always choose to take the easy way out, or we can stand to do what is right. Each one of us will stand before God one day, and shifting blame will not make us righteous or cover the sins we willfully commit.

Ezekiel made it very clear that Israelites will be judged in this life on the basis of the life they lived, REGARDLESS of them being a believer!

Freedom vs. Responsibility
How to harmonize the personal responsibility of the individual and his moral freedom with God’s justice in the treatment of every individual is a difficult problem, with which the Book of Job and Psalm 73 struggle. Even Socrates understood this dilemma: “It may be that Deity can forgive sins, but I don’t see how.” Only through the sacrifice of a Savior…


EZEKIEL 19: Lament over Israel’s leaders and land

Ezekiel 19 is not the lamentation of Ezekiel This is the lamentation of the Lord, the same LORD who later wept over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37-39).

There are two lamentations:
1) The lamentations over the Princes of Judah (Ezekiel 19:1-9)
2) The lamentation over the Land of Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel (Ezekiel 19:10-14)

Ezekiel 19 is in parallel with Jeremiah’s review of Josiah’s successors (Jeremiah 22:10-30).

The first lion cub falls to Egypt (Ezekiel 19:1-4)
The lioness is Israel, the kingdom idealized and personified. The lionesses among whom she had lain down are the heathen kingdoms. The question asks why she had become one of them and adopted their cruelty and ferocity. Jerusalem was called Ariel (the lion of God) in a good sense (Isaiah 29:1).

This passage also alludes to Israel also being called, Judah, “a lion’s whelp” (Genesis 49:9) and also to Numbers 23:24; 24:9.

The cub, as Ezekiel 19:4 shows, is Jehoahaz, who “did evil” in the sight of the Lord (2 Kings 23:32). The words that follow point to cruelty and oppression like that of Zedekiah.

“The nations heard about him” (Ezekiel 19:4)
The king of Egypt, Pharaoh Necho, whose subjects were many nations, marched against Jerusalem, took Jehoahaz prisoner, and brought him to Egypt (2 Kings 23:33,34; Jeremiah 22:11), “with hooks/chains.” This literally means “nose rings,” such as those put into the nostrils of brutes or men (Ezekiel 38:4; 2 Kings 19:28; Isaiah 37:29).

The second lion cub falls to Babylon (Ezekiel 19:5-9)
The second lion cub, Jehoiachin (Ezekiel 19:9) became a complete heathen and made Judea as idolatrous as any of the surrounding nations. [Ezekiel passes over Jehoiakim (607-599 BC)].

Nebuchadnezzar carried off Jehoiachin to Babylon as Jehoahaz lad been to Egypt. The young lion was to roar in chains, not on the “mountains of Israel.”

Israel is a vine that has been uprooted (Ezekiel 19:10-14)
Israel is compared to a vine (Cf. Isaiah 5:1-7; 27:2, 3; Psalm 80:9; Mark 12:1-9). The vine, of course, was Israel, as we saw in Ezekiel 15 and 17 (Cf. Psalm 10; Isaiah 5).

Israel was “uprooted in fury” (Ezekiel 19:12), not gradually withered. The sudden upturning of the state was designed to awaken the Jews out of their torpor to see the hand of God in the national judgment.

“East wind” (Ezekiel 19:12) is Nebuchadnezzar.

“... a dry and thirsty land” (Ezekiel 19:13)
Chaldea was well watered and fertile. Here, the verse describes not Chaldea but the condition of the captive people.

God’s wrath was kindled by the perjury of Zedekiah who by his perjury brought about the destruction of Jerusalem by fire.

The End of the Dynasty
There was no lawful king left. The royal line was cursed. That leaves only One who can be heir to the Throne of David. The only rightful King left is the Messiah Himself, who is alive today. He never sat on David’s throne as the angel promised Mary He would (Luke 1:32).This was also confirmed by James at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:13-18; Amos 9:11,12).

Another point we should gain from these quaint historic episodes is the fact that God is real and He is serious. The way He dealt with those kings can serve as a sobering lesson for us. God has gone through incredible trouble to lay out His plan for our redemption. He has fulfilled His commitments to the letter, precisely, faithfully, without exception.