Lesson Fourteen: Jeremiah and Ezekiel
For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your G-d.
Ezekiel 36-24-28
Introduction
- Jeremiah and Ezekiel were contemporaries. Their ministries were before and during the Babylonian Exile.
- Since Jeremiah begins before the final siege of Jerusalem, it contains significant portions that preach repentance. In contrast to that, Ezekiel has significant portions that deal with the reason for the exile, preaching repentance from a different angle.
- Both books have end times prophecy, and deal with the New Covenant in some detail.
Jeremiah
- Jer 1:5: Jeremiah is not only a prophet to Israel, he is a prophet to the nations.
- Jeremiah begins with his prophetic warnings about the coming Babylonian siege.
- When Israel is taken captive to Babylon, Jeremiah’s message shifts to one of comfort and judgment for the nations that persecuted Israel.
- Overall, the consistent message is that in repentance and surrender to HaShem’s will and plan is the only hope.
- At the end of the book, Jeremiah details what was taken from the Temple by Babylon.
Ezekiel
- Ezekiel’s visions are sometimes like Isaiah’s. He sees things that are yet to be explained concerning HaShem’s chariot, and the angels that attend to Him.
- Whereas Jeremiah was prophesying in the Land, Ezekiel was prophesying in Babylon.
- Ezek 8:1-18: A depressing view “behind the scenes.
- 11:13-20: A glimpse of repentance.
- The book ends with profound comfort and hope.
- Chapters 40-48 are a detailed description of a Temple that is much larger than the Temple Mount. It has Levitical priests serving in it, and a “Prince” over the city and the Temple.
The New Covenant
- Jer 31:31-40:
- For Judah and Israel
- Not like the covenant that they broke
- Torah in their minds, write it on their hearts
- All with know HaShem, and sins forgiven and forgotten
- Seasons, tides, sun and moon as witnesses
- Irrevocable
- Ezek 36:20-38; 3714-28:
- Uses language from Deut 30:6
- A new heart, His Spirit within
- Will obey His statutes and ordinances
- Gathered and dwelling in the Land in peace
- Israel and Judah united under King David forever
- Completely obedient to HaShem
- An everlasting covenant of peace, and HaShem’s dwelling place established among them
Summary
- Although we are participants in the New Covenant in advance, it has not yet been fulfilled because it requires Israel to be in the Land, dwelling in peace, obedience to HaShem’s Torah, His Spirit dwelling within, and His Sanctuary eternally in our midst.
- Repentance is coming. Jeremiah and Ezekiel preached it – one day it will arrive completely and nationally. Ezekiel ends with, “and the name of the city from that day shall be: HASHEM IS THERE.” Ezekiel 48:35b