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Updated: July 5, 2007
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EZEKIEL [C]2000-07 by Richard L Zorek
Ezekiel's name means "God is strong," or "God strengthens." He was called "son of man" over 90 times, a term later used of the Messiah. Ezekiels' message is not only one of judgment. There is always a strong element of hope.
Ez 1:3: The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him. Ezekiel had a wide who died as a sign to Judah when Nebuchadnezzar began his final seige on Jerusalem.
Ez 2:7: And thou shalt speak my words unto them whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. His message was not dependent upon whether they would listen or not.
Ez 2: 8-10:....... Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open they mouth, and eat that I give thee..... How could Ezekiel be rebellious? By not preaching the truth about judgment that God gave him.
Ez 3:1-3: Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill they bowels with this roll that i give thee. Then did I eat it: and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness" Bowels represents the heart. "Eat it" represents take it to the heart.
Ez 3:10: Moreover he said unto me, Son of Man, all of my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears. Make them a part of you.
Ezekiel 4:9 says, "Take for yourself wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make bread of them for yourself." The Bible makes many references to barley. It was one of the earliest known nourishing grains cultivated. Some scholars even believe that the Feast of Unleavened Bread was an ancient barley festival.
In Exodus 12 we read that the Passover Feast required unleavened bread. Unleavened bread is simply bread that is made without yeast. Yeast, or leaven, causes dough to become full with volume. And we see that the Israelites took bowls of unleavened dough with them as they left Egypt. Moses instructed his people to keep a seven-day feast each year as a remembrance of that night, the night they were delivered from Egypt.
Experts in Bible history say that barley was a staple food of the masses. Wheat and barley, seen as an ancient and central gift of the earth, became used as a symbol of wealth. Barley, the less expensive of the two grains, was more readily available. The fact that barley was mentioned so often shows that the people of that day consumed large quantities of the grain and that it played a vital role in their health.
The best barley is whole barley. It is often used in bread, soup, stew, and hot cereal. Barley is a high-protein grain. Some people may be sensitive to the protein gluten in wheat. If so, barley is a good choice. Barley contains beta glucans, which help our immune system. It is high in fiber and in vitamin B.
You prepare bread made with barley by grinding the grain and then adding wheat, millet, and spelt, if you choose. Some health food stores have bread with barely already prepared, so you can buy it ready-made if you don't have the time to make it yourself.
It is important to keep this bread in the refrigerator or freezer to preserve its live ingredients. If you leave the bread out for a day or two it molds. However it will remain fresh for about a week or so if placed in the refrigerator.
Many people (especially Americans) are low in B vitamins due to all the processed foods they eat. This causes some to suffer from constipation. Barley helps prevent that while providing essential B6, B12, and folic acid. It also helps prevent heart disease.
Ez 7:3: In some instances God declares that the corrupt life of the nation is an abomination to Him, and He will bring judgment on the whole people because they have become a people without shame. A people without shame are a disgraced people who find virtue in their shame. A people without shame are blinded by their sin.
Ez 11:19: Salvation is a soveriegn act of God's grace. He and only he can regenerate a heart of stone.
Ez 18:23: Have I amy pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways and live God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
Ez 18:32: For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: Wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye He has no pleasure in you dying unrepentant.
Ez 33:11: "I desire not the death of the sinner, but that he should return through repentance and live." It often happens that Satan will insidiously commune with you in your heart and say: "Think of the evil you have done; your soul is full of lawlessness, and you are wieghed down by many grievous sins." Do not let him deceive you when he does this and do not be led to despair on the pretext that you are being humble. After gaining admission through the fall, evil has the power to commune at all times with the soul, as man to man, and to suggest sinful actions to it. You should answer it: "I have God written assurance. What was the purpose of His descent to earth except to save sinners, to bring light to those in darkness and life to the dead?"
Ez 36:26: "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." God makes us a new creation by dispensing His divine life and nature into us. When we were regenerated, God gave us a new spirit and a new heart.
Ez 36:27:The new heart and the new spirit have added to them God's spirit. The result is that the Holy Spirit causes us to walk in God's statutes and to keep His judgements.
Ez 36:28: God's law and His justice begin to govern the affairs of man and the world. This leads to a marvelous goal in which we dwell in the good earth God gives us in peace and safety.
Ez 37:1: The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. It was not just death, it was way after death. The carcass is bones. Note that they were in a valley.
Ez 37: 2: He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. And it goes even farther than just bones....they were very dry bones.
Ez 37: 3: He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"
I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know." Ezekiel knew that though it looked impossible...that God could do it: "You alone know." Emphasize the "only you." The answer to the question is found only in Him.The focus is on God, not the condition.
Ez 37:4-6: Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' " It began with "hearing the word of the Lord." And not just the word, but the "prophesied" word: full of life and a word that never returns void. "Breath" also means wind or Spirit. These bones needed the Spirit. A full of life word from God to bring life to these bones! Tendons is also translated as "sinews" and they aid in connecting muscle to the bone. It would be impossible for the body to move the way it does without them. It is a soruce of strength or muscular power.
Ez 37:7: So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. Ezekiel prophesied as he was commanded....even though the situation looked impossible. And maybe ridiuculous to talk to a bunch of dried bones. The bones were also in pieces, apparently. Though it started with a rattle, they started to come together the way they were designed to be.
8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
Ez 37: 9: Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' " If hopelessness is despair, then despair can slay you. Ministry to dry bones takes calling on the Lord (prayer) to bring the four winds....a powerful move of God.....
Ez 37:10: So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. They not only came to life....but became an army. The whole account in some way resembles the story of creation in Genesis. Hope brings new life.
Ez 37:11-14: Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.' " He will deliver even from the grave. And you will KNOW that I am Lord!!!
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