EZEKIEL—NOTE ON EZEKIEL 33:1 After the Fall of Jerusalem. Following the central collection of foreign-nation oracles, the focus returns to Judah (or “the house of Israel,” as Ezekiel usually calls it). Before Jerusalem’s fall, Ezekiel’s message was primarily warning and doom, with occasional hints o... [ Continue Reading ]
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON EZEKIEL 33:11 I HAVE NO PLEASURE IN THE DEATH OF THE WICKED. The Bible is clear that God will punish sin and maintain his holiness and justice. At the same time, God feels sorrow over the punishment and death of creatures created in his image. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElements... [ Continue Reading ]
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON EZEKIEL 33:21 This brief report provides the hinge on which the book of Ezekiel 1:1 turns. Ezekiel’s muteness was first encountered in Ezekiel 3:22, and a precise date had been given when the siege of Jerusalem began (Ezekiel 24:1, Ezekiel 24:25). The date is now January 585 B.C., ab... [ Continue Reading ]
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON EZEKIEL 33:23 Ezekiel addresses those left in Judah after its fall. The Judeans’ logic of arguing (v. Ezekiel 33:24) from God’s blessings to the ONE (Abraham) to his presumed blessing the MANY (themselves) is deeply flawed. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); fo... [ Continue Reading ]
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON EZEKIEL 33:25 YOU EAT FLESH WITH THE BLOOD. The Hebrew is literally “you eat over the blood,” a saying used also in Leviticus 19:26. The reference is to improper sacrifice. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
EZEKIEL—NOTE ON EZEKIEL 33:30 Ezekiel’s fellow exiles may have liked his message against Israelites back home (vv. Ezekiel 33:23). Their enjoyment of the rebuke aimed at their land-grabbing relatives ends when Ezekiel accuses them of also being greedy (v. Ezekiel 33:31). They treat prophetic words a... [ Continue Reading ]