Day 235: Ezekiel 33–36 | Read The Bible In A Year | Bible Study with Commentary by Dr. Manny Arango

Hey Bible nerds, this is Dr. Manny Arango. Welcome to the Bible Department podcast powered by ARMA. We are walking through the entire Bible in a year. You can go to the description or thebibledepartment.com to download a reading plan and join the journey. Family, welcome to day 235. We are in Ezekiel chapters 33 to 36 today and a couple of great verses, a couple of incredible lines that you probably already know, especially coming out of Ezekiel chapter 36. We'll get to those verses that are pretty well known at the end of the episode. I say this almost every day. If you've done the reading, I'm so proud of you. Everything that I'm going to say is going to make total sense. You're going to have context for everything that I'm going to share today. But if you have not done the reading, if you have not read Ezekiel chapters 33, 34, 35, and 36, then you probably won't have context for all the things that I'm going to share. So if you haven't done the reading, pause the video, stop the audio, and actually get the reading done. It's four chapters. I think you can do it pretty quickly. For those of us that have done the reading, let's dive in. I want to start, like always, with context clues that I'm going to give you as many nerdy nuggets as I can, and then we're always going to leave off with a timeless truth. So Ezekiel chapter 33 to 36, let's dive in to context. From chapter 33 onwards, the book shifts tone once more. So there's been a couple of major shifts in the book. The first big movement, or the first, I would say, from Ezekiel chapter 1 all the way to Ezekiel chapter 24, the big focus was judgment on Israel. Hey, Jerusalem's going to fall. Jerusalem is going to get burned. The temple is not going to save you. Ezekiel has been commissioned, called by God, as a watchman on the wall. In an army, a watchman is someone who stands up on the ramparts, or up on the city wall, or on the gates, and they can see out in the distance, hey, there's trouble looming, or there's an invading army that's coming. Ezekiel's job is to be that watchman to say, yeah, no, the Babylonians really are going to come to Jerusalem and level it. They really are going to burn it to the ground. And of course, a watchman never has good news. A watchman never comes out and says, it's all clear, everybody. No need to worry. No, a watchman is there. It's like if you install ADT or SimpliSafe, right? You're installing an alarm system. If the alarm goes off, we know there's a problem. If the alarm goes off, that means there's burglars. If the alarm goes off, that means there's an emergency. And so Ezekiel has been set up as a watchman

on the wall, and he's done his job all throughout chapters 1 to 24. At chapter 24, we get a major shift, because at that point, the thing, or the doom, or the disaster that Ezekiel was predicting, prophesying, actually happens. Jerusalem does fall, and we get a shift. And now there are words, or oracles, prophetic words, against Judah's neighbors and against Egypt. And once that whole section is done, that's chapter 25 to chapter 32, now we're in chapter 33, and there is no longer a looming disaster. From this point on, the book of Ezekiel takes a hopeful turn, and the theme is going to be restoration. God begins to promise, I'm going to bring my people back into the land. Yes, I've exiled them. Yes, I've ruined the land. Yes, I've laid waste. The temple, Jerusalem, all of the fortified cities of Judah and Israel, I have totally used the Babylonians to destroy the land that my people occupied, and I've sent them off as exiles, but I will bring them home. So from this point on, the book is all about a promise of restoration. Actually, there's a bunch of words that I actually wrote down that would be the theme of these chapters. It's restoration, return, rebuilding, replanting, resettling. Those words are going to get used in this section of Ezekiel over and over and over. Restore, return, rebuild, replant, resettle. That'd be a good sermon series. That has nothing to do with what we're talking about, but those five words are restore, return, rebuild, replant, resettle, okay? Now, last little piece of context, okay? I know I'm giving you guys a lot of context today. Last little bit of context is that Chapter 33 marks the beginning in our narrative of Ezekiel's silence being broken. Now, for those of you who may not know this, Ezekiel is silent for three years, okay? Once the siege on Jerusalem begins, he receives a command from the Lord that he is to be silent. Now, there's two major ways to interpret this. It could mean he's silent as a prophet, so he's not giving any prophetic oracles. He's not speaking as a prophet, but he can talk, right? He's not mute for three years. Or you could translate this and say, no, it's not just relegated to his prophetic ministry. He's literally silent, like, full-blown, okay? Now, Ezekiel's silence being broken is right here at the top of Chapter 33. Well, maybe not the top.

It's Chapter 33, verse 21, says this, in the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month of the fifth day, a man who had escaped Jerusalem came to me and said, the city has fallen. So, they finally get news that the siege is over and that Jerusalem has actually fallen. Now, the evening before the man arrived, the hand of the Lord was on me, and he opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So, my mouth was opened and I was no longer silent. So, two ways to interpret that. You can interpret that as he was mute, like Zechariah in the New Testament. Well, he couldn't talk at all. Or it's that he wasn't speaking any prophetic words. During the entire three-year siege, during the entire three years that it actually took Nebuchadnezzar to besiege the city of Jerusalem and then have victory over it, in that three-year span, Ezekiel was either mute, like, literally silent, totally silent, completely silent, or his prophetic ministry was silenced. I think either are fair interpretations. I'll leave it up to you to figure out what you think. However, what's important for our reading today is that that silence is now broken. So, everything from chapter 33 onwards has a completely different tone. We are no longer predicting that Nebuchadnezzar is going to come in and destroy Jerusalem because that has happened already. That has taken place. From this point on, the tone is all about restoring, rebuilding, resettling, replanting. Oh boy, I try to do all five from memory. Here we go. Restoring, returning. That's the one I forgot. Rebuilding, replanting, and resettling. All right, let's jump into some nerdy nuggets. Chapter 33, obviously, that commission to be a watchtower, to be a watchman on the wall, to be a watchman in the watchtower, that is, it's almost like Ezekiel gets recommissioned. Okay, that's a good chunk of chapter 33. We'll move into chapter 34 as we really unpack our nerdy nuggets for the day. Chapter 34 is all about the failed shepherds of Israel. It's funny because a lot of times I actually teach this chapter in reverse, and what I mean by that is that in the book of John, Jesus is going to call himself the good shepherd. He's actually going to say that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, and a lot of times in church we interpret those words as

Satan. The devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But the context for John writing that Jesus is the good shepherd, the context for that is actually right here in Ezekiel chapter 34. In Ezekiel chapter 34, Ezekiel begins to prophesy against the evil shepherds of Israel, and those evil shepherds are not Satan. Those evil shepherds are the kings and the leaders of Israel who have failed to lead the flock or the people of Israel well. Okay, so actually when Jesus begins to say, the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, not talking about the devil. Now, Satan does steal, kill, and destroy, but that's just not the context of the words of Jesus in John's gospel. The context is actually shepherds who fail to live up to the biblical standard of Yahweh in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament, and the leaders that are being talked about here in Ezekiel chapter 34 are actually the kings of Israel. The oracle of the good shepherd begins with focusing on the recent shepherds of Israel. shepherds were a common metaphor for the kings of Israel and Judah for two obvious reasons. One is that the metaphor works. The idea of shepherds leading their sheep. But secondly, and more importantly, the most famous king of Israel was of course David who rose from an actual shepherd and to being the king. David's dynasty though had not shepherded their sheep well. They are accused of feeding themselves and not the sheep and not caring for their flock. So the bad shepherd would be removed and Yahweh himself would be the shepherd of Israel which again works as he is their rightful king. This looks forward to the Messiah who is going to come and begin to say I'm the good shepherd. So when anyone in Jesus's day hears Jesus say I'm the good shepherd, they're immediately gonna think back to Ezekiel chapter 34. So to not link Jesus's words with Ezekiel 34 would actually be a massive misstep. And if you read Ezekiel 34, it's actually like really sad and it lines up with what Jesus says in the book of John one for one. The two really fit together and and I think that they should be taught together. So that is a word to every leader by the way. That anyone who's shepherding God's people, whether you are in full-time ministry, whether you are bi-vocational, whether you're

leading in a volunteer capacity, if you're working to shepherd, if you're working to disciple or lead God's people, then really you're an under-shepherd. You're shepherding God's flock, not your flock. And when someone, when our nanny comes to babysit my son, she doesn't do things that me and my wife don't do. She doesn't feed him food that we don't feed him. Her job is to actually be an extension of our parenting. And our jobs as leaders, pastors, volunteers, teachers, preachers, prophets, evangelists, is to be an extension of how Jesus would lead his flock. Family, the wait is over. My brand new book, Crushing Chaos, is out now and available everywhere books are sold. Literally today I walked into a Barnes & Noble and I signed a bunch of copies at a physical location. So you can grab this book at a physical Barnes & Noble or you can go to a Books A Million or Amazon or anywhere books are sold and grab a copy. If you enjoy reading the Bible from an ancient perspective, if you understand that the beauty of Scripture is actually knowing it in context, then you'll love this book. And if there's any chaos in your personal life, I think that reading the Bible from an ancient perspective can actually help to crush the chaos in your life. I think this book is gonna be a New York Times bestseller. I really do. I think we wrote a good one. I think you should get a copy today. Alright, back to the episode. Okay, that's Ezekiel chapter 34. Ezekiel chapter 35 actually has, it may feel kind of random, but makes total sense that it's here. This is a prophecy against Mount Seir. Now maybe you're thinking, why isn't this in the Oracles against the nations? Well, it could fit there, but honestly, the judgment is a little nuanced. So, the Oracle is directed against Edom. Okay, so Edom, the Edomites descended from Esau and is similar to the book of Obadiah. It relates the long tension between brother nations of Israel and Edom. These are the descendants of Jacob and Esau. In particular, it seems to be referencing how Edom aided the Babylonians in some way in the siege of Jerusalem. Okay, one theory about this is that refugees from Judah fled to Edom, but instead of caring for their brothers, okay, Esau and Jacob are brothers, so their descendants are called brother nations. Instead of caring for their brothers, the people of Edom rounded them up and delivered them to

the Babylonians. So, Edom is not tactically considered. It is a foreign nation, but Esau is considered to still be under the people of Abraham. Okay, so the reason that this isn't like off with the Ammonites or the Philistines or in the Oracles against the nations is because the Edomites are actually supposed to be living under the Abrahamic covenant, under the Abrahamic promise. All right, chapter 36. Ezekiel is going to prophesy to the mountains. Now, if you remember in chapter 6, there was a prophecy against mountains. This is a prophecy in favor of the mountains, okay? Ezekiel chapter 36 is a direct contrast to the earlier judgment against the mountains of Israel in chapter 6. There, they were condemned as the places of pagan worship, but now, because the people have been exiled, the mountains have had a Sabbath rest during the exile and were now to be cleansed, restored, and blessed. You can begin to see this theme of restoration, return, rebuilding, replanting, resettling, okay? A reset, a total reset. The main way in which they will be blessed is the return of the people to their home, to Israel, to Judah, but this would be a people transformed, okay? Remember, I showed you a chiasm, or I kind of talked you through a chiasm, that Ezekiel 1-7 is looking at old Israel, Ezekiel 45-48 is looking at new Israel, and then if you move one layer in, okay? Ezekiel 8-11 is about Yahweh leaving the old temple, but Ezekiel chapter 40-44 is all about Yahweh entering the new temple. Well, if you go one, again, one more layer in, then Ezekiel chapter 12-24 is all about an old people judged by their king, but then on this side, on Ezekiel chapter 33-39, which is the section that we're studying today and tomorrow, it's a new people protected by their king, and then in the middle are all the oracles against the nations. So, the goal of everything happening in this section is God is creating within the people of Israel a new people. Everything is new, okay? Restore, rebuild, replant, resettle, return, renew, the renewal of all things. That is what Ezekiel is looking forward towards, okay? Ezekiel chapter 36, the second half of chapter 36 is probably some of the most well known chunks of the book, and there's a promise here in Ezekiel chapter 36 verse 26 says this, 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, and I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws, okay? This is Ezekiel chapter 36 verse 26 and 27. Ezekiel has already hinted at this. Ezekiel chapter 11 verse 19 says, I will give them an undivided heart and

put a new spirit in them. I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. So, Ezekiel's already kind of hinted at the fact that there's a new heart and a new spirit that God wants to give his people, and when you combine this in Jeremiah, you realize, oh, this new heart and this new spirit is part of a new covenant. You can begin to see this theme of renewal, that God wants to do something that is restorative, that is returning, rebuilding, replanting, resettling, and this all falls under the category of renewal. He wants to put a new spirit. So, if we think about this, we have to ask the question, why were the people unable to follow the laws of Leviticus and Deuteronomy and Exodus? Why is that? Maybe some people would answer the question, well, because Jesus hadn't come yet, and I'd say, yeah, that's part of the answer, but remember, the Old Testament is getting us to the place where we should be anticipating both the right hand and the left hand of God. The right hand of God is the person of Jesus, but the left hand is the Spirit, the Holy Spirit. So, the reason that people are not able to actually follow God wholeheartedly is because they do not have the Holy Spirit. So, I always let people know, people are like, I'm believing God for revival, and I'm like, well, what does that mean? And they're like, oh, miracles, signs, and wonders. I'm like, okay, well, the same spirit that you need for limbs to grow back and for cancer to be healed is the same spirit you need to obey God. So, you know what? When I'm in a church and people are obeying God, and they're being faithfully married, and they're tithing, and they're giving, and they're obedient to the Lord, and they've got joy and peace and patience, I go, looks like revival to me. But in the charismatic world, we just relegate revival to things that we have described or things that we have put in the category or the description of miraculous or supernatural. And I go, nope. Actually, if you were to show a person of Jewish background in the Old Testament, you would have shown an Old Testament Jew a modern church where people are genuinely serving each other, obeying the Lord, obeying the Word of God, following the decrees, like following the Ten Commandments and not breaking them, they would go, wow, that's revolutionary because they weren't able to do it in the Old Testament. And the reason they weren't able to do it is because the day of Pentecost had not come, and the Spirit had not been poured out, and the Spirit that rose Jesus from the dead had not come in to the new temple, which is my body, my flesh, to empower me to do that, which I'm not able to do in my own strength. In the same way that I am not able in my own strength to heal someone, I am not able in my own strength to

follow the Ten Commandments. I'm not. What enables me to follow the Ten Commandments? The fact that the Holy Spirit lives on the inside of me. And so I find this happening a lot where we describe revival as one thing. Revival is long church services and people getting laid out in the Spirit and speaking in tongues and healing, and that's all we describe as revival. And I would say revival is also a desire to obey God. Revival is also just like the consistent, monotonous, like not glamorous decision that you make day after day after day after day to be a Christ follower, to just obey God, to trust Him at His Word, and to trust Him more than you trust yourself because there's a new heart that God's given you, a soft heart that God's given you that causes you to trust Him more than you trust yourself. And you know what? Man, that sounds like revival to me. With a couple of seconds we got left, okay, I want to give you my timeless truth for the day. And I know Pentecostal is not going to be happy with me for what I got to say today, but I think that's okay. We've got to reframe how we talk about revival. And I'm believing, God, that there will be a revival for the love of the Scriptures. I'm believing, God, there will be a revival for marriage to be healthy in America. Fifty percent of Christians have a divorce rate. So when I think revival, I don't just think people being physically healed of cancer or limbs growing back. I think, well, people staying married to one another, that would be a revival. That would make youth ministry a whole lot easier in a whole lot of churches. So I think we need to expand our vision for how we define this word revival. Okay, timeless truth for the day. Kind of a two-pronged timeless truth. Number one, Yahweh does not bring the people back because they are changed or because they had changed. No, no, no. He brings them back. And the bringing them back, the grace, the forgiveness, the restoration is actually the thing that will change them. This is the transforming power of God. We do not change so that we can meet Him, but in meeting Him, He changes us. This is life in Christ. Life in Christ transforms us. His life changes our life. It is His work, His strength, His life that we now live in. That's counterintuitive, right? It's funny. We started hiring professional cleaners to come to the house, and I used to find myself cleaning before they got there. And then I remember going, why am I pre-cleaning before the cleaners get here? And spiritually, we almost try to do the same thing. We try to clean up ourselves so that we're not so dirty so that when God gets a hold of us, He's got less work to do. And can I be honest? Like, there is no amount of cleaning yourself up that's going to help God. You're a mess. You're an

absolute, total mess, and so am I. And it is the grace of God and the gift of God that actually rolls up His sleeves and it gets to work on all of our flaws and all of our failures and all of our frailties. Here's another counterintuitive, timeless truth. God says this in Ezekiel 36, verse 22. He says, it is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I'm going to do these things. This is restoration, rebuilding, replanting, resettling, renewal, all that. It's not for your sake that I'm going to do these things. But for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. How do they profane His name? By not caring about God's reputation and how they lived. So they lived in such a way that they their actions did not reflect the actual character of God. They damaged God's reputation. Why in the world would the nations want to follow a God whose people are in exile in the middle of the Babylonian empire? Their God looks weak. Their God looks wrathful. Their God does not look good based on how they have acted in the world. And man, that's a timeless truth that what we do as people who bear God's name actually has an impact on God's reputation. That's not just true for the people here in the book of Ezekiel, but that's true for us. And so what does God say? He says, I'm not gonna be gracious towards you because you deserve it. I'm gonna be gracious towards you because my reputation is at stake. You wanna know something? I think sometimes God doesn't act kindly towards us because we deserve it.

I think God acts kindly towards us because his reputation is at stake. And I think that that should humble us. That should make us go, ah, I thought it was my, I thought it was my this or that. I thought it was my fasting or I thought it was my, I thought it was my degree or I thought it was my this or that or whatever. And God goes, nah, actually, you don't deserve anything from me. But I care about my reputation in the earth and therefore I am gonna act kindly towards you because I want the people who don't know me to actually know me as a God that is gracious and loving and merciful. And that's not just true in Ezekiel 36, verse 22. That's true for us today and that's timelessly true. Tomorrow, we've got day 236. We're gonna be walking through Ezekiel 37, 38 and 39, three chapters tomorrow. We're gonna talk about the Valley of Dry Bones. It's gonna be good. Another kind of well-known verse or well-known story in the book of Ezekiel. If you're on a streak, I'm so proud of you. Keep up your streak. I'll see you right here tomorrow as we continue our trek through the book of Ezekiel. I love you guys.

See you tomorrow. Peace. Thanks so much for joining us on the Bible Department Podcast. If this episode was helpful, how about you leave a comment, share with a friend and subscribe so that you never miss an episode To learn more about the show, head to thebibledepartment.com. We'll see you right back here tomorrow.