September 4, 2017

Insights on Today's Reading

Ezekiel 24 - God gave Ezekiel the vision of a boiling pot.  As the fire got hotter only the scum would appear.  This spoke of the death of Jerusalem.  Then God called on Ezekiel to go through an extremely difficult experience:  the death of his wife.  Someone so dear to him, but he was also told to keep his mourning to himself.  He would show no outward sign of sorrow.  This would be the way the people of Judah would act when Jerusalem was destroyed.

Ezekiel 25 - Prophetic statements of judgment were given against the people of Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia.  Each nation had committed its own sins and also were enemies to Judah and Israel.  They would face judgment from God and they would know who the Lord of Israel really was.

Ezekiel 26 - This is a judgment against the profitable seacoast city of Tyre.  Because of its rebellion against the Lord He would cause the city to be destroyed and "scraped...like a rock..." verse 4.  This would come when Babylon would attack Tyre.  The Babylonians would literally scrape the city off the rock upon which she was built.

Ezekiel 27 - The riches and splendor of Tyre is revealed in the first part of this chapter.  She was a city that so many merchants came to in order to conduct their business and make a profit.  But, Tyre would be like a ship that would sink taking her riches with her.  The closing verse speaks of the merchants hissing at her because she became a picture of horror, verse 36.