Ezekiel 21:8

Ezekiel 21:8 says, Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  Once more God’s word came to Ezekiel, as it will to us today.   

Verse nine adds, Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:  Ezekiel was to tell the people that a sword was sharpened and ready to destroy them.  God is never going to allow people to be destroyed spiritually without giving them a warning, but His judgment is ready and waiting those who do not accept His gift of salvation, and we need to be warning lost people of this, just as Ezekiel was told to do then.   

Verse ten continues, It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree.  God asked if the people of Israel should continue to make mirth when they knew that His sword was ready to cut them down for their refusal to obey His word.  Nothing was going to be able to stand when this sword was cutting it down.  God’s word is said to be a two-edged  sword, and nothing can stand victorious against it.  There are many people today who are doing everything they can to find pleasure in life, and this seems to be their greatest desire, but if they are looking outside of God’s will, they will face God’s judgment if they are looking for this based on worldly desires instead of looking for true joy by obeying God’s commandments after accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.   

Verse eleven states, And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.  God said this sword was ready to be given into the hand of the destroyer.  God’s judgment is coming, and if people do not put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, then He will become their Judge.  

Verse twelve adds, Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh.  Ezekiel was told by God to cry and howl this message to the people of Israel, telling them that the sword was going to fall on them since they refused to repent and put their faith in Him.  As Christians, we should be loudly proclaiming God’s word to people today, because if they don’t put their faith in Jesus Christ, they are going to be forever separated from God.   

Verse thirteen continues, Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord God.  God said that the rod had been used to punish people who did not put their faith in Him, but it brought temporary suffering where the sword was going to bring death.  God may send the rod of correction on His people, or even those who aren’t, in this lifetime, but when His judgment comes after anyone dies or when Jesus Christ returns in victory, they will be forever cut off from God and His kingdom. 

Ezekiel 21:1

Ezekiel 21:1 says. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  Ezkiel often started a passage about a particular prophecy by letting the people know that what he was speaking was the word of God that had come to him, and if we are sharing God’s word today, we need to make sure that it God’s word we are speaking and that people understand this.  For this to be true, what we say must be consistent with what God’s word teaches and not just be what we want to be true.   

Verse two adds, Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,  Ezekiel was told to face toward Jerusalem and to prophesy against the people of Israel.  This was the city of God, and the people of Israel were supposed to be His people, but since they would not hear His word calling them to Him, Ezkiel was now to prophesy against them.  If we as a nation that professes to be a Christian nation do not hear and obey God’s word telling us how we are to live as Christians, He may send His word of prophecy against us.  

Verse three continues, And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.  God told Ezekiel to tell the people of Israel that He was going to punish them for their disobedience. Matthew Henry says that the fire that was to destroy the forest is now clarified to mean the sword of their enemies would be used by God to destroy the nation of Israel.  We may profess to be a Christian nation, but if we are practicing things that are against the will of God, then He may allow us to be defeated because of this.  Even if this never happens before Jesus Christ returns in victory, it will happen then.   

Verse four states, Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:  As stated in the last verse, this coming defeat of Israel would be for both the wicked and the righteous.  Though we as individuals may be righteous because of our relationship with Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we may still suffer material defeat in this world just like those who aren’t, but that will never bring spiritual defeat.  The righteous people in Israel may have been taken away captive along with those who weren’t, but God would still redeem them, if not in this life, then when Jesus Christ comes to claim His people.   

Verse five adds, That all flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more.  God said that this was to be done so that people would know that He had sent His judgment on the nation of Israel.  God’s judgment would not end until all the people knew that Hec had sent His judgment on them, and for those who turned away from worshipping Him to worship other gods, since His judgment had now come, it was too late to return to Him.  God will always give everyone plenty of opportunities to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, but there may come a time when it is too late.  If this doesn’t happen in this lifetime, it will happen when God’s final judgment comes.   

Verse six continues, Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.  Ezekiel was called on to mourn for the fate of Israel, and as followers of Christ today, we should be mourning for the lost people of the world today, but too often we want to sit in judgment of them or even hope that they will be punished.  I don’t believe this is what God’s word teaches us.  We are to reach out to them with compassion and the love of God instead. 

Verse seven concludes, And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord God.  God said that when the people of Israel asked Ezekiel when this destruction of Israel and the exile of the people was coming, that he was to tell them that it would be soon and that when it came, all the people would be feeble and weak in their knees in opposition to their enemies.  They were weak in their spirit because of following other gods, and now they were going to be weak physically because they no longer had God fighting for them.  If we refuse to obey God and accept His gift of salvation when He calls us to repent and accept it, no matter how strong we may think we are, when God’s judgment comes, we will see how weak and powerless we are.  

Ezekiel 20:45

Ezekiel 20:45 says, Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, This was a separate message from what God had been saying to Ezekiel.   

Verse forty-six adds, Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;  Ezekiel was told by God that he was to look to the south and prophesy to the forests there.  Matthew Henry says that this next few verses might have fit better into the beginning of the next chapter since they don’t relate back to the previous verse, but as I have said before, Ezekiel did not put in the chapters, but they came later.  This forest to the south that is referred to is Judah and Jerusalem, which were south of Babylon, so this prophesy was to them.  Lost people today may be as numerous as trees in a forest, but God’s word will always come to them at some point in their lives, beginning with His call to accept His gift of salvation.  Matthew Henry said they were called a forest because the people of Israel were like trees that didn't bear fruit. They had stopped being God’s people in anyway other than in name.   If someone calls themselves a Christian, or if we as a nation call ourselves a Christian nation but are no different than lost people, then we will stop bearing fruit for God and will become useless to Him.

Verse forty-seven continues, And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.  God said for Ezekiel to tell the people that God was going to burn down this useless forest.  The nation of Isreal was no longer living by their covenant relationship with God, so He was going to burn them up.  If we have not entered into a covenant relationship with God, all our works will one day be burned up, and we will be sent away to everlasting punishment in the fires of hell.  

Verse forty-eight states, And all flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.  God said that everyone would see that He had kindled this fire and that no one could quench it. When a person goes away to everlasting punishment in the fires of hell, no one will be able to quench that fire.   

Verse forty-nine adds, Then said I, Ah Lord God! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?  The people that Ezekiel was prophesying to would not understand that he was speaking about them, but would ask if he was speaking a parable, because of their spiritual lack of understanding or because they had no respect for Ezekiel.  Many people today refuse to acknowledge the truth of God’s word because they do not have a covenant relationship with Him and have no respect for preachers or even individual Christians when they share the gospel with them.