History with an Attitude (Ezekiel 20; 20-24)

Rewriting Sacred History (Ezekiel 20) [The pattern of history; Retelling history; History with an attitude; Know your history; History that screams, "You're a sinner"; Don't assume blessing; Don't assume security; The delusion of the exiles; Don't delude yourself]

1. The call for Israel's arraignment (1-4).
2. The indictment of Israel: The nations history of rebellion (5-31).
1. Israel's rebellion in the distant past (5-26).
• Phase I: Rebellion in Egypt (5-9).
• Phase II: Rebellion in the desert (10-17).
• Phase III: Rebellion in the desert: the second generation (18-26).
2. Israel's rebellion in the recent past (27-31).
• Phase IV: Rebellion in the land (27-29).
• Phase V: Rebellion in exile (30-31).
3. The future transformation of Israel (32-44).
• Phase VI: Israel in the desert of the peoples (32-38).
1. The transformation of Israel (39-40a).
2. God's acceptance of Israel (40b-42).
3. Israel's response to God's action (42-44).

The Avenging Sword of God (Ezekiel 21; 20:45-21:32) [Babylon as God's Sword of Judgment]

1. The riddle of the sword (20:45-49; 21:1-7).
2. The song of the sword (8-17).
3. The agent of the sword (18-27).
4. The taunt of the sword (28-32).

What is the theological significance in the quartet of oracles devoted to the sword of God?

1. God becomes the enemy of those who claim to be his people but refuse to accept the responsibilities accompanying that privilege. The sword in Ezekiel 21 functions as a frightening instrument of providential fury unleashed against his own people -- the benefactors of his covenant. The notion or idea or utterance is divine wrath is reprehensible to many, that it should be directed at his own people in intolerable. But God's application of principle is not affected by human sentimentality. If "his people" spurn his grace, they cannot expect to be spared the fate of the wicked.
2. The Lord is faithful to his word. This applies not only to his promises of presence and well-being, but also to his warnings of judgment for apostasy and infidelity (Lev 26; Deut 28). Parroting covenant promises is no substitute for obedience and offers no immunity from divine wrath. In the end the sword fell on the nation, precisely as Moses and Ezekiel had forewarned. Contra Ezekiel's contemporaries, this did not signify divine betrayal of covenant promises, but the rigorous fulfillment of its fine print.
3. God can achieve his divine agenda through those who do not worship him. The achievement of the divine agenda is not bound by human definitions of propriety. In these oracles God's will was revealed through pagan divination and executed through pagan instruments. However, the end does not justify the means, nor does the commission offer immunity from divine scrutiny to the agent. Those charged with fulfilling God's commission must still account to him how they executed the charge.

Woe to the Bloody City (Ezekiel 22) [Judgment on Jerusalem's Sins]

1. The indictment of Jerusalem - the bloody city (1-16).
1. The call for Jerusalem's arraignment (1-2).
2. The summons to Jerusalem (3).
3. The announcement of the charges (4-5).
4. The presentation of the evidence (6-12).
5. The announcement of the sentence (13-16).
1. A society that thrives on violence not only self-destructs but will also have to contend with God.
2. Community leaders bear special responsibility for the maintenance of justice and the welfare of its citizenry.
3. Knowledge of the will of God is no substitute for obedience to that will.
4. Although humans may renege on their covenant commitments, God will not.
2. The judgment of Jerusalem: In the smelter of God's wrath (17-22).
• The nation may consider itself precious metal in God's sight, but this is a delusion. For the people to become what God wants them to be, they must be subjected again to the refiner's fire. This time, however, it is the fire of divine wrath, which is terrifying as painted in this oracle. Like the gardener who cuts off fruitless branches and casts it into the fire (Jn 15:1-11), it serves as a warning for all who claim security in divine election but refuse int heir lives to reflect the glory of the divine Elector. God's passion for a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special treasure, has not diminished (1 Pet 2:9).
3. The rationale for the judgment of Jerusalem: The unmanned breach (23-31).
1. The thesis statement (23-24).
2. The crimes of Israel's leaders (25-29).
3. God's response to the crimes of Israel's leaders (30-31).
1. The call to leadership is primarily a call to responsibility, not privilege.But power has the baneful (deleterious, detrimental, harmful) tendency to transform noble lions and majestic wolves into cannibalistic beasts. The people of God are not immune from the temptation to exploit positions of power for personal advantage and thereby threaten the vitality of the community. Those who pervert "Thy kingdom come" to "My kingdom come" invite the wrath of God.
2. Whatever responsibilities other leaders have, those called into divine service are charged with maintaining the sanctity of God. This is accomplished by the scrupulous personal observance of sacred-profane distinctions and the indoctrination of the people of God with the same sensitivity. The absence of such distinctions leads to theological and moral anarchy and, even more seriously, the desecration of the reputation of God.
3. The survival of the church depends on the positive response of leaders to the call of God to stand in the breach. This call is not fulfilled by professional self-gratification or plastering decayed walls with reassuring pronouncements of peace. The breach is defended and the wrath of God averted with compelling appeals for repentance from sin and a new commitment to God.

O Oholah! O Oholibah! (Ezekiel 23) [Two adulterous sisters]

• The opening formula (1).

1. The introduction of the accused (2-4).
2. The historical background of the case (5-35).
3. The case against Oholah and Oholibah (36-49a).

• The concluding formula (49b).

The Boiling Cauldron (Ezekiel 24:1-14) [Jerusalem as a cooking pot]

1. Preamble (1-3a).
2. The popular saying (3b-5).
3. The dispute (6-8).
4. The counterthesis (9-13).
5. Conclusion (14).

The End of an Era (Ezekiel 24:15-27) [Ezekiel's wife dies]