LESSON 6 - Hope for Israel—Ezekiel 33-48

Sixty percent of Ezekiel’s message has been terrible news for Ezekiel and his fellow captives, culminating in the complete fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar and the destruction of the temple in 586 BC. God has exercised the curses (penalties) of the covenant with Israel (see Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28, and 2 Samuel 7) because of their disobedience, failing to fulfill their part.

Thankfully, the Lord is a merciful God. He is willing to forgive and grant second chances. The final part of the prophetic book of Ezekiel gives a message of hope for the Israelites who have suffered a devastating loss. God is willing to restore the covenant with Israel and once again promises blessings for the nation if they will obey him by keeping the covenant. The prophecies (oracles) of Ezekiel continued until at least 571, the latest date (29:17) given in the book [remember that not all of the book is in chronological order].

For example, God prophesied against the mountains of Israel through Ezekiel in chapter 6, because the people had built shrines to idols in those “high places.” Now the message is one of hope as Ezekiel is the mouthpiece of God in saying that God will once again bless the people through the mountains (36:8-12 ff). God continues to remind the people of the reason for the past punishment (fall and captivity; see as an example 36:16-18 ff). Blessing and restoration are now available from the Lord (36:33-38).

Within this hopeful section of Ezekiel comes one of the most interesting and well-known parts of the book, Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones (37:1-14). It is like a vision, though it is not called that nor does it have the same characteristics as the 3 named visions in the book. The Lord puts Ezekiel in a valley which is filled with many bones on which the flesh has completely decomposed. When the Lord asks Ezekiel if it is possible for those bones to live again, Ezekiel answers in faith “O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

God tells Ezekiel to preach (prophesy) to the bones that God will give them life. While Ezekiel did as commanded, he saw the bones join together, gain flesh, and the bodies begin to breathe—those bones became an army. They represented the people of Israel. God was going to renew the nation as he did those dry bones. The point of the story is not as many think, to show that there is a resurrection from the dead. Instead, God was showing Ezekiel that he could take a defeated, demoralized, disobedient people and make them a vibrant nation once again. If God can breathe life into bleached bones, he can also restore Israel to its place.

The last nine chapters (40-48) comprise the third and final vision of Ezekiel. The date given would be in 573. God shows Ezekiel a vision of a new temple by means of a guide (40:3-4). Throughout the rest of the book, quite a bit of detail is given about the rebuilding of the temple. A significant part of the vision occurs in chapter 43, where in contrast to chapter 10, the glory of God returns to the this new temple. Of course, this would be highly symbolic for the Jews.

One of the most difficult questions in the study of Ezekiel is whether the promises of the final chapters are fulfilled, along with how and when. The answers actually result in various millennial positions today which are beyond the scope of this lesson (however, lessons on this are planned later in this series). These interpretations would have been unknown to Ezekiel and those who heard him preach. How would they have understood these teachings and promises?

As the herald of the covenant curses of God, Ezekiel expected the punishment that came upon Israel. In the same way, he and his fellow-exiles would also have expected the promises that God makes to come as covenant blessings. However, as noted earlier in this lesson and in the previous lesson, the covenant blessings are not unconditional (see also Jeremiah 18:7-10). The Lord still wants faithful obedience from his people. There are still elements of warning amidst the promises of renewal. The main point of these messages of hope is that God is still both willing and able to bless Israel; the exiles do not need to despair that all hope is lost. It may also be helpful to review the themes in Ezekiel from the introductory material to see how this section fits into those themes.

Are the prophecies of hope in Ezekiel fulfilled? To a great extent, they are not. Does Israel rise to national prominence? Not much. Neither was the nation of Israel particularly faithful even after the discipline of covenant cursing from God. Even a cursory reading of Malachi, written in the fifth century BC (about 100 years after Ezekiel’s prophecies), shows that.

Open

1. How would you feel as an Israelite living in an exile camp with Ezekiel, under the thumb of Babylon, your nation recently defeated?

2. How would you respond to Ezekiel’s message of hope, especially of a rebuilt temple in which the Lord dwells?

Examine

1. Did Israel learn the lessons of God’s punishment for their unfaithfulness? Did they change? Can you put yourself in their place? What would you have learned?

2. How important was God’s presence among the people of Israel (dwelling in the temple)? How important is God’s presence in our lives today (see Matthew 28:20, 1 Corinthians 6:19)?

3. What lessons do you learn from Ezekiel about God’s love and mercy?

4. What lessons do you learn about God’s desire for faithfulness (see also Romans 9-10)?

Reflect and Apply

• How hard is it to have hope in the midst of despairing circumstances? Did the captives have reason to despair? Have you ever despaired of hope? How difficult is to overcome those feelings? Does Romans 8:28 ff. represent a similar promise of hope for Christians who might despair over their situation?