Ezekiel 7 – Bible Study Questions

Ezekiel 7 – Bible Study Questions
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Introduction Biblehub: Despite the sobering account of divine judgment, Ezekiel 7 serves as a poignant reminder of the gravity of turning away from God and the dire consequences of sin. The chapter emphasizes the necessity of righteous living, obedience to God’s commands, and the importance of not placing faith in worldly riches but in God alone.
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The Judgment. –Ezekiel 7:1-13

• v1: An End! indicates what for Israel?
  Enduringword: Prophetically, Ezekiel could see the end for the entire land of Israel. No place would be spared. There would remain no land under the control of the tribes of Israel. Their “party” of rebellion and idolatry was over.
• v4,8-9: What was the purpose of this judgement?
  Enduringword: Then you shall know that I am the LORD: This great judgment had a purpose, and a good purpose. It would be the way that God’s people would return to a true relationship with, and knowledge of, their covenant God.
• v5-7: what disaster is coming?
  Enduringword: The future disaster brought by the Babylonian armies was revealed to Ezekiel. The short, excited phrases were spoken as if they were in the mouth of someone watching this overwhelming army do its damage.
• v10: What will be exposed to all in this day of judgement?
  Enduringword: Behold the day! Behold, it has come: In Ezekiel’s time, there were many false prophets who said God would rescue Judah and Jerusalem. These hopeful lies made it hard to believe that the day of great judgment would actually come, but it did. Ezekiel tried to prepare them for this.
• v10: Which rod has blossomed? What other rod blossomed? What does this mean?
  Enduringword: The rod has blossomed, pride has budded: This is an interesting reference to Aaron’s rod that budded (Numbers 17). That miraculous blossoming was a supernatural demonstration of God’s favor and His approval of Moses and Aaron. The judgment to come upon Jerusalem would also be supernatural, but it would demonstrate God’s anger and the pride of His disobedient people.
  *Smith gives an example of those who identify the rod with Babylon: “The day of Jerusalem’s judgment would begin with the blossoming of the arrogant superpower Babylon, God’s judgment ‘rod.’ The wickedness and violent deeds of the citizens of Judah created the need for this rod of correction.”

Shame and Horror Upon All. –Ezekiel 7:14-18

• v14: Why does it appear that no one answer the trumpet call?
  Enduringword: No one goes to battle: There would be very little resistance to the coming Babylonian conquest. Perhaps the people took comfort in the idea, “Our soldiers will fight bravely to save our land from the Babylonians.” Ezekiel told them they would not fight at all, much less bravely.
  *“Its first manifestation would be the paralysis of the people, so that when the trumpet was blown for the battle, and all was ready, none would move forward, being overcome by terror and grief.” (Morgan)
• v14-18: What does the shame and horror look like on each group{in the field, in the city, those who escape to the mountains}?
  Enduringword: Whoever is in the field will die by the sword: Ezekiel methodically described the fate of those in the field, those in the city, and those who survive. Each would experience the coming calamity in their own way, but none would escape it.
  * Like doves of the valleys: “What the prophet seems to be envisaging is the total destruction of the towns and cities of Judah, forcing those who survive to seek refuge in the mountains. The sound of their mourning would resemble the plaintive cooing of ordinary pigeons.” (Block)
  * Every knee will be as weak as water: “There is a vivid account of the panic that will follow. The RSV’s ‘all knees [are] weak as water’ means ‘all knees will run water’: a euphemism for the loss of bladder control in moments of terror.” (Vawter and Hoppe)
• v16: Like doves of the valleys forcing those who survive to seek refuge in the mountains. Why might there be refuge in the “mountains”?
  From the Ezekiel 6 Study we saw the “mountains” the closest points to heaven referred to places of worship. The doves here must be the remnant who seek refuge in the Lord through repentance!

Hope that Fails. –Ezekiel 7:19-27

• v19: Why will silver and gold be thrown away?
  Enduringword:  They will throw their silver into the streets: “As burdensome, and not beneficial to them.Thus Judas threw away his wages of wickedness; and many, on their deathbeds, detest their cursed hoards of ill gotten goods, saying unto them, as once Charles V did, Abite hinc, abite longe, – Away from me, away, away.” (Trapp)
  * “Generally silver and gold stand for much among the children of men; they are the keys to the unlocking of the treasures of life. But when the supreme crises come; when all hands are feeble, and all knees weak as water; when the day of the wrath of the Lord breaks—there is no help in silver and gold; they cannot satisfy or save.” (Meyer)
• v22: Why will God turn His face away{withhold His favor}?
  Enduringword: God blessed Israel with wealth and resources, but they used those things to further and promote idolatry. Fittingly, all that wealth would be given as plunder into the hands of strangers.
• v23: Make a chain: Why this symbol? What does it indicate?
  Enduringword:  “Ezekiel was commanded to perform a symbolic act by making a chain which was emblematic of the captivity awaiting them (see Jeremiah 27:2; Nahum 3:10).” (Feinberg)
  * “In Nahum 3:10 this word describes the treatment of prisoners of war, in this instance consisting of persons from the upper class. The ‘chain’ would have been used to tie the captives together to form a long train headed for exile.” (Block)
  =>Captivity was coming because of the wrath and no human could stop it = break that chain!
• v25-26: They will seek peace and a vision: What were the people trusting in here? Will it help?
  =>Trusting in human strength to create peace will fail. Trusting the prophets who previously prophesied “peace, peace{Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11}” will fail.
• v27: What will the people finally know when everything they put their hope in fails?!
  => Based on their behavior I will deal with them, and by their standard of justice I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the Lord!”

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Tags: Ezekiel 7 Study, Ezekiel Bible Study