u/Sad-Platform-7017

Hope for the Mountains of Israel

36 “Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. ^(2) This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The enemy said of you, “Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession.”’ ^(3) Therefore prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because they ravaged and crushed you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and the object of people’s malicious talk and slander, ^(4) therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and the deserted towns that have been plundered and ridiculed by the rest of the nations around you— ^(5) this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland.’ ^(6) Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I speak in my jealous wrath because you have suffered the scorn of the nations. ^(7) Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I swear with uplifted hand that the nations around you will also suffer scorn.

^(8) “‘But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. ^(9) I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, ^(10) and I will cause many people to live on you—yes, all of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. ^(11) I will increase the number of people and animals living on you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ^(12) I will cause people, my people Israel, to live on you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance; you will never again deprive them of their children.

^(13) “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because some say to you, “You devour people and deprive your nation of its children,” ^(14) therefore you will no longer devour people or make your nation childless, declares the Sovereign Lord. ^(15) No longer will I make you hear the taunts of the nations, and no longer will you suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Israel’s Restoration Assured

^(16) Again the word of the Lord came to me: ^(17) “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a woman’s monthly uncleanness in my sight. ^(18) So I poured out my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols. ^(19) I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions. ^(20) And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, ‘These are the Lord’s people, and yet they had to leave his land.’ ^(21) I had concern for my holy name, which the people of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone.

^(22) “Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. ^(23) I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.

^(24) “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. ^(25) I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. ^(26) I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ^(27) And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. ^(28) Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. ^(29) I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. ^(30) I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. ^(31) Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. ^(32) I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, people of Israel!

^(33) “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. ^(34) The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. ^(35) They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.” ^(36) Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.’

^(37) “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Once again I will yield to Israel’s plea and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep, ^(38) as numerous as the flocks for offerings at Jerusalem during her appointed festivals. So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

 

Questions/Discussion

1. What are the “mountains of Israel”?

2. Why is Edom particularly targeted in verse 5? What other nations are being addressed in verse 7?

3. Is the end of verse 12 addressing something specific with regard to “never again deprive them of their children”, or is this a more general allusion to less death, famine, war, and destruction?

4. Why do you suppose the defiling actions of the Israelites which ultimately led to the split of Israel and the exile would be compared to a woman’s monthly cycle?

5. How did the people of Israel profane the name of God (v. 20)? How are we at risk of doing the same?

6. Verses 24-28 seem to suggest God is placing the Holy Spirit back in His people (or maybe for the first time?). Is this how you read these verses? If not, what do you suppose “And I will put my Spirit in you” refers to?

7. What day is Ezekiel 36:33 talking about?

Pharaoh as a Felled Cedar of Lebanon

31 In the eleventh year, in the third month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me: ^(2) “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes:

“‘Who can be compared with you in majesty?
^(3) Consider Assyria, once a cedar in Lebanon,
with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest;
it towered on high,
its top above the thick foliage.
^(4) The waters nourished it,
deep springs made it grow tall;
their streams flowed
all around its base
and sent their channels
to all the trees of the field.
^(5) So it towered higher
than all the trees of the field;
its boughs increased
and its branches grew long,
spreading because of abundant waters.
^(6) All the birds of the sky
nested in its boughs,
all the animals of the wild
gave birth under its branches;
all the great nations
lived in its shade.
^(7) It was majestic in beauty,
with its spreading boughs,
for its roots went down
to abundant waters.
^(8) The cedars in the garden of God
could not rival it,
nor could the junipers
equal its boughs,
nor could the plane trees
compare with its branches—
no tree in the garden of God
could match its beauty.
^(9) I made it beautiful
with abundant branches,
the envy of all the trees of Eden
in the garden of God.

^(10) “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because the great cedar towered over the thick foliage, and because it was proud of its height, ^(11) I gave it into the hands of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. I cast it aside, ^(12) and the most ruthless of foreign nations cut it down and left it. Its boughs fell on the mountains and in all the valleys; its branches lay broken in all the ravines of the land. All the nations of the earth came out from under its shade and left it. ^(13) All the birds settled on the fallen tree, and all the wild animals lived among its branches. ^(14) Therefore no other trees by the waters are ever to tower proudly on high, lifting their tops above the thick foliage. No other trees so well-watered are ever to reach such a height; they are all destined for death, for the earth below, among mortals who go down to the realm of the dead.

^(15) “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day it was brought down to the realm of the dead I covered the deep springs with mourning for it; I held back its streams, and its abundant waters were restrained. Because of it I clothed Lebanon with gloom, and all the trees of the field withered away. ^(16) I made the nations tremble at the sound of its fall when I brought it down to the realm of the dead to be with those who go down to the pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below. ^(17) They too, like the great cedar, had gone down to the realm of the dead, to those killed by the sword, along with the armed men who lived in its shade among the nations.

^(18) “‘Which of the trees of Eden can be compared with you in splendor and majesty? Yet you, too, will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth below; you will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.

“‘This is Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

 

Questions/Discussion

1. Why is Pharaoh compared to Assyria? How is this metaphor fitting?

2. What do the height, depth , and thickness of the cedar represent?

3. In the cedar metaphor, what ultimately leads to the tree’s ruin and what does this say about Pharaoh?

4. What does it mean that the trees went down to the realm of the dead?

5. How is passage directly applicable to the world today?

Judgment on the Idolaters

9 Then I heard him call out in a loud voice, “Bring near those who are appointed to execute judgment on the city, each with a weapon in his hand.” ^(2) And I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. They came in and stood beside the bronze altar.

^(3) Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side ^(4) and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”

^(5) As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. ^(6) Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple.

^(7) Then he said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!” So they went out and began killing throughout the city. ^(8) While they were killing and I was left alone, I fell facedown, crying out, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”

^(9) He answered me, “The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice. They say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land; the Lord does not see.’ ^(10) So I will not look on them with pity or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done.”

^(11) Then the man in linen with the writing kit at his side brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded.”

 

Questions/Discussion

1. Who are the six men in the vision in verse 2.

2. Who was the man clothed in linen and what is the significance of the writing kit?

3. What do you think the “glory of God” means in verse 3? Is this something physical, a being, or something indescribable?

4. What does this passage tell us about the holiness and sovereignty of God?

5. How does this passage relate to the Passover described in Exodus?

6. Does any part of this passage specifically point to the coming of Jesus or our need for a savior?

Jesus Before Pilate

^(28) Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. ^(29) So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

^(30) “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”

^(31) Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”

“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. ^(32) This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.

^(33) Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

^(34) “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

^(35) “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

^(36) Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

^(37) “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

^(38) “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. ^(39) But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

^(40) They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.

 

Questions/Discussion

1. Verse 24 of yesterday’s reading left off with Annas sending Jesus to the Caiaphas. The next we hear about Jesus’ whereabouts is in verse 28 saying the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the Roman governor. What happened while Jesus was with Caiaphas and why is it not detailed here?

2. Why would entering the Roman palace make the Jewish leaders unclean, but trying to have Jesus executed did not? Isn’t the Passover to celebrate what God did through Moses for the Jewish people in Egypt, and here they are seemingly teetering on the edge of breaking the 10 commandments? Does this irony have any significance?

3. Was it customary for the Jewish community at the time to hand their prisoners over to the Roman government? It seems so odd that Pilate tried to hand Jesus back over to the Jews but then kept him as a Roman prisoner because the Jews could not physically execute him themselves.

4. Why would the Roman governor say he had no basis for a charge against Jesus and then still agree to keep him as prisoner and have him executed?

5. Jesus tends to not directly answer Pilate’s questions. Why does Pilate seem to have a nonchalant attitude for these types of responses, where Jesus was slapped for this kind of response to Annas in yesterday’s reading?

6. As with much of what Jesus says, it seems that Jesus was talking about something spiritual and significant in response to Pilate’s questions while Pilate was asking and answering with worldly interpretation. What does this teach us about how to read Jesus’ words and what we should be focused on?

7. Is there anything else you gain from this passage or any other questions?

16 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. ^(2) They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. ^(3) They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. ^(4) I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, ^(5) but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ^(6) Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. ^(7) But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ^(8) When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: ^(9) about sin, because people do not believe in me; ^(10) about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ^(11) and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

^(12) “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. ^(13) But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ^(14) He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. ^(15) All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

 Questions/Discussion

1. Jesus seems to suggest in verse 1 that the disciples are at risk of falling away. Is this what that verse meant, and are Christians today at risk of falling away?

2. Are the times in history, biblical or extra-biblical where those killing Christians thought they were offering a service to God?

3. Jesus said the Spirit’s presence is even better than His physical presence. How and why is this possible? How do we differentiate between the Holy Spirit and Jesus today?

4. What do verses 8-11 mean? What is the Holy Spirit going to prove, and how? Did we see this happen in a biblical event, and is it something also happening now?

5. Verse 12 almost seems to contradict what we read in John 15:15. What is the difference between these verses and what Jesus is saying?

6. What truth is the Holy Spirit to guide the disciples into? Is this the same job of the Holy Spirt today? What does 'he will speak only what he hears' mean?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, my King and Savior, thank you so much. Thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to us, to teach us, to guide us, to allow us to know you. Lord, please open our hearts to see you, hear you, receive you, and let us not become distracted by the things of this world. May we tune in to the Holy Spirit every moment, every day, that we might stay connected to the true vine and bear much fruit. There is no greater joy or honor than bearing fruit for you, Jesus. We love you Lord, and we thank you for your Word and your Spirit. Amen.