Journal Through the Bible: Week 82 Wednesday

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Ezekiel 19:1-20:9

Does God issue any commands?

• God told Ezekiel in chapter 19 to mourn for the princes of Judah, the rulers of the tribe of Judah, lion's whelps that were being destroyed by Babylon. Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah, was the mother of both princes Jehoahaz and Zedekiah, the sons of Josiah. Jehoahaz was taken off the throne of Judah and taken to Egypt to die by Pharaoh Nechoh. Zedekiah was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar who killed Zedekiah's sons in front of him and then put out Zedekiah's eyes. (See II Kings chapter 24.) God described Hamutal as a vine that produced rods for scepters which were then destroyed as by a fire. (This is because the other ruling son of Josiah, Jeconiah, was not her son. His line would be the one cursed by God and is also the line through whom Joseph, the adopted father of Jesus, descended.)
• God had a message for the elders of Israel that consulted Ezekiel in the 7th year concerning the word of the LORD. God told them that He would not be consulted by them.

Does God make any promises?

• God would not be consulted by the elders of the people. Instead He gave them a history lesson detailing the sin of the nation since its inception.
• God said that the only reason Israel achieved the measure of success that it did was because He did it for His own name's sake as a witness before the other nations. There is an implied promise in this. We are not worthy of any of the good we receive, but God blesses His children for His own name's sake as a testimony before others and He will continue to bless His children for the same reason!

Does this passage teach anything about Jesus?

• Not that I identified except to say that the Scepter would never depart from Judah, the lion's tribe, but it would not come through Hamutal, a woman not in the lineage of Christ.

Does this passage teach anything about yet-future events?

• Not that I identified.