Face the Truth and Accept Rebuke (Ezekiel 15-19)

You did not remember, yet I will remember: "...you did not remember the days of your youth..." (Eze 16:22, 43) "Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth... Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed... So I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord. Then, when I make atonement for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign Lord" (Eze 16:60-63)

Face the truth (Accept rebuke); Useless, Faithless, Lustful, Presumption and Deserving of Judgment

• [Ezekiel 15 - A useless vine] You are useless. Why is Jerusalem like a useless vine (Eze 15:8)?

• [Ezekiel 16 - A nymphomaniac bride] You forgot God's grace and used your beauty for yourself. What is the problem with forgetting your past and how you once were (Eze 16:22, 43)?

• [Ezekiel 17 - The eagle and the vine] You broke your oaths. How important is it that you keep your oaths and your promises (Eze 17:18)?

• [Ezekiel 18 - Only the sinner needs to die] You blame others and do not take responsibility. What happens when you blame others (Eze 18:2)?

• [Ezekiel 19 - A lament] Your leadership sucks. What may be some causes of bad or failed leadership?

A Lament for the Dynasty of David (Ezekiel 19)

1. Presumption. The promises of God to the ancestors are no guarantee of divine blessing for their descendants. Ezekiel 18 affirms that children die for their own sins; they do not inherit the guilt of their parents. God had promised to bless Jacob/Isreal (Gen 49:8-12), and then narrowed this privilege to the house of David (2 Samuel 7). After four centuries of uninterrupted rule, the dynasty was governing the people as if by divine right, without any sense of accountablity to the people of God. For such leaders, the promises of David count for nothing.
2. Servanthood. The call to leadership is a call to servanthood. Ezekiel 19:3, 6 is a sharp indictment of the exploitative behavior of Israel's kings. Much of the responsibility for the fall of Judah/Israel would rest on their shoulders. According to Moses, leaders serve by divine appointment for the good of the people (Dt 17:14-20). The last kings of Judah were not the only ones who had betrayed their calling. Sadly, the history of the world and of the church is strewn with the victims of monarchical excesses. Solomon--the wisest of Israel's kings--demonstrated himself the consummate fool by disregarding Torah. So are all who use divine election as an excuse for high-handed rule. Government exists for the people. People do not exist for the government.
3. Commitment. The presence of God's chosen representative is no substitute for personal commitment to him. The people of Judah, even the exiles, continued to look on the ruling members of the dynasty as sure signs of divine favor, a kind of good luck charm. So long as a Davidide sat on the throne, God's protection was sure. They failed to realize that none of the divine promises was automatic; all are contingent. Without submission to the will of God of both leader and led, shepherd and sheep, pastor and congregant, any claim to security with God is a delusion.

References:

1. Block, Daniel I. The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24, NICOT (New International Commentary on the Old Testament). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1997.
   
2. Wright, Christopher J.H. The Message of Ezekiel, BST (Bible Speaks Today). IVP, Downers Grove, IL, 2001.
   

References:

1. Block, Daniel I. The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24, NICOT (New International Commentary on the Old Testament). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1997.
2. Wright, Christopher J.H. The Message of Ezekiel, BST (Bible Speaks Today). IVP, Downers Grove, IL, 2001.