Ezekiel 20:1

Ezekiel 20:1 says. And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the Lord, and sat before me.  Matthew Henry says that chapter eighteen dealt with the people of Israel's presumptions about God and this chapter deals with their hypocritical inquires to Him.  Neither is a good thing.  This occurred in the seventh year of the captivity of Israel by Babylon and about the second year of Ezekiel’s prophesying to the people.  Certain elders of Israel came to ask Ezekiel about something, which we will learn later on was that since they didn’t have a temple and worshipping God was forbidden if they would be right in worshipping other gods.  Even if all church buildings were to be destroyed and it was declared illegal to worship God, we as followers of Christ would never be justified in worshipping anyone but the one true God.   

Verse two adds, Then came the word of the Lord unto me, saying,  We aren.t even told what these elders had to ask at this point, but God was already giving Ezekiel the message to give to them.  I believe that as long as we are relying on the leadership of the Holy Spirit, He will always give us the message to speak to anyone who inquires of us about God.  

Verse three continues, Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be enquired of by you.  God told Ezekiel that he was to ask the elders if they came to inquire about Him and then told him to tell the elders that He would not be questioned by them.  They weren’t there to repent and seek God’s will for their lives and the nation but were there to question if what God had told them about His being the only God was true.  If we come to God to get Him to endorse what we want instead of seeking His will in our lives, He is not going to listen to us. 

Ezekiel 19:10

Ezekiel 19:10 says, Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.  God then said that their mother had been like a vine in the blood that was planted by the water and was fruitful.  For a time, this was true of Israel.  The people of Israel remained faithful to God because they were descendants of David and because of the covenant he had made with God.  We will never be saved by who our parents are but will only be saved by the blood of Christ shed for our sins if we accept Him as our Savior and Lord.   

Verse eleven adds, And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.  God basically said that for a time when the people of Israel were faithful to Him that she flourished.  If we are a born-again believer, then we should be flourishing spiritually.   

Verse twelve continues, But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.  God then said that instead of flourishing, that when the people of Isreal turned away from Him and started worshipping false gods that they were plucked up, cast down, and the east wind dried up their fruit.  The root was not plucked up, so God’s promise was still with them.  They were no longer a powerful nation to be feared, but they were a defeated nation that was doing nothing to bear fruit for God.  Even as followers of Christ, if we stop being obedient to Him, we may be defeated as witness for Him if we do not live by faith in Him.  Still, if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, we will never be forever defeated spiritually.   

Verse thirteen states, And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.  God said that now instead of being planted in the promised land thst Israel was once again planted in the wilderness, which is where their lack of faith had left them once before.  As followers of Christ, I believe that we are forever saved, but we may once more wander around in a spiritual wilderness if we are not obedient to God, and if we are in the wilderness of sin, we will stop bearing fruit for Him.   

Verse fourteen adds, And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.  God said that their strong rod, the prophets of God, were no longer with them.  When the people of Israel stopped listening to His prophets, God quit sending them, though at this time there was still a few prophets left.  If we are to be a Christian nation, we must always put God and His word first, and if we turn away from Him to follow other gods, we may find ourselves defeated.  Like the people of Israel then, if this happens, we should lament for what has happened. 

Ezekiel 19:5

Ezekiel 19:5 says, Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion.  God said that when the people saw that they had waited too long and were lost that they took another young lion to be their redeemer.  This was Jehoiakim, who was made king after Jehoahaz was taken away to captivity in Egypt.  Unfortunately, he was no better than Jehoahaz.  The people of Judah were still looking to find their own king instead of repenting and turning to God and allowing Him to appoint their king.  We can never be successful spiritually as individuals or as a nation if we look to our own ability in selecting our leaders instead of looking to God.   

Verse six adds, And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men.  God said that Jehoiakim became as a young lion who was good at catching its prey.  Like his brother, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim began to oppress his own people.  He did not return to God in a covenant relationship with Him.  If we are being overpowered in life, we need to look to God for strength and not to any man.   

Verse seven continues, And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring.  Jehoiakim began to plunder the people of Judah for his own glory and enrichment.  The leaders of the church and even of the nation if we are to be a Christian nation cannot use others to enrich themselves while those underneath them are in need.   

Verse eight starts, Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit.  God said that when Jehoiakim became too corrupt that the nations around him took him away captive as well.  We cannot look to an earthly leader to bring us salvation, and if we do, we will be led away captive by sin, no matter how many so-called deliverers we may raise up.  Jesus Christ is the only Deliverer there is, and if we don’t put our faith in Him, we will one day be taken away forever to everlasting punishment as captives of sin.   

Verse nine adds, And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel. Jehoiakim was taken away captive to Babylon, and his voice was no longer heard in Israel.  When we fail to put our faith in Jesus Christ, we will one day be taken away captive to sin and sent to everlasting punishment and our voice will no longer be heard in God’s kingdom, no matter how great and powerful we may have been in the world.