The
Book of Ezekiel Chapters 16-18
I. The Harlotrous City Chapter 16
1. Jerusalem's Unclean Birth. 16:1-5 (city, not people)
a. Parents were Canaanites: Father and Amorite & mother a Hittite.
b. Born in the uncleanness of blood and not washed or rubbed with salt.
c. Thrown in the open field and abhorred.
2. Jerusalem's Marriage. 16:6-14________
a. God Chooses Jerusalem as a wife.
b. God cleanses her and adorns her for marriage.
c. God makes her famous and beautiful as His wife.
NOTE: Saved by Grace. Eph. 2:8-9
3. Jerusalem's Harlotry. 16:15-34
a. Jerusalem trust in her own beauty and played the harlot.
NOTE: Trust in their own righteousness. Phil. 3:9-12
b. Clothes in high places.
c. Riches to make images and play the harlot with them
d. Offered God's oil and incense to idols, along with bread and flour
e. Sons and daughters sacrificed to idols (time of Manasseh was prominent__2nd Kings 21:6; 2nd Chron. 33:6; 16:20-21).
f. Forgot the days of uncleanness and abhorrence of infancy, 16:22.
g. Built high places.
h. Harlotry with Egypt. 16:26
i. Harlotry with Assyria. 16:28
j. Harlotry with Babylon. 16:29
k. Adulteress wife who gives gifts to lovers instead of receiving gifts.
NOTE: Porneia and Moicheia are used interchangeably.
4. Punishment of the Harlot. 16:35-43
a. Expose her nakedness to her lovers. 16:35-37
b. Allow her lovers to punish her with the wrath of God's jealousy. 16:38-43.
5. Jerusalem's Harlotry Compared to Samaria & Sodom. 16:44-59
(Parents and Sisters)
a. Like mother like daughter: mother was a Hittite
b. Older Sister: Samaria
c. Younger sister: Sodom
d. Sin of Sodom: arrogance, wealth, didn't help the poor; committed abominations.
e. Sin of Samaria: less than the abominations of Judah. (Judah makes Samaria look good. 16:51-52).
f. Sodom and Samaria to be restored. 16:53-59_______
This may very well refer to their conversion to Christianity, among the Gentiles. The wicked of the Gentiles come to Christ and become part of God's people. Thus the natural branches are broken off and the wild olive branches are grafted in (Romans 11:20-21). The conversion of the Gentiles should humiliate the Jews who reject Christ and move them to shame and jealousy (Rom. 11:11-14), thus provoking the to repentance and salvation (Rom. 11:14-14). Jews became despised as Jews once despised Sodom and Samaria.
6. Jerusalem's Future Reconciliation__16: 6-63
___everlasting covenant to be established with Israel (the new covenant of Hebrews 8)
___In the new covenant both Sodom and Samaria will be united with Israel.
___In the new covenant there will be forgiveness. Heb. 8:12.
II. Chapter 17____The Faithless City.
1. Parable of the 2 Eagles and the Vine. 17:1-10
a. First Eagle 17:1-6
(1) Takes the top of a cedar of Lebanon and plants it in another land.
(2) Takes some of the seed of the land, plants it and it becomes a vine.
b. Second Eagle. 17:7-10
(1) The vine bends its roots toward the second Eagle
(2) The vine yields branches and bears fruit in the land of the second Eagle.
(3) Second Eagle pull up its roots and cuts off its fruit.
2. The Interpretation of the Parable. 17: 11-24
a. First Eagle: Babylon took the king and princes of Jerusalem and brought them to Babylon, forcing him to submit to Babylon. 17:11-14.
Vine: Exiles of Judea
b. Second Eagle:Egypt is relied on by the vine (Judea) and as a result the first Eagle (Babylon) will destroy the vine (Judea) and punish the king of Babylon. 17: 15-22___2nd Kings 24:17
(1) Second Eagle (Egypt will not help the vine when the first Eagle (Babylon) comes to punish the vine.
(2) For despising the oath the king make to Babylon, the king will be punished and brought back to Babylon.
3. Promise of a Future New Israel. 17:22-24
a. From a sprig of the same tree from which the vine grew, a new planting made by God.
b. This sprig will grow and bear fruit as a strong cedar.
This begins in the return from Exile but did not become a "strong cedar" until Christ and the church, the ultimate fulfillment of the "New Israel."
III. The Responsible City. Chapter 18
1. Proverb of Irresponsibility: sons punished for father's sins. (18:1-3).
a. Father eats sour grapes: children's teeth set on edge.
Children suffer the consequences of the father's sin.
b. Proverb will not be used in Israel any more.
2. Principle of Responsibility. 18: 4-9
a. Principle: Souls that sin die. 18:4
b. Principle: Souls that do righteousness will live. 18:5-9
c. Principle: All Souls belong to God: therefore "all" are responsible to God.
3. Principle of responsibility applied to Fathers and Children. 18: 10-20.
a. Wicked children of righteous fathers will die. 18: 10-13.
___Prodigal Son__Lk. 16
___Children must not be judged righteous or wicked because of their fathers.
___Righteous fathers are not to blame for wicked children. Proverbs 22:6 can have some exceptions or it may mean train " in his own way." Train your child in the right way so they will have something to come back to later.
b. Righteous children of wicked fathers. 18:14-17_______
___Children can break out of the Freudian theory of slavery (1st Peter 1:18-19).
c. Wicked fathers of righteous children will die. 18:18-19.
d. Conclusion: "son will not bear the punishment for the father's sin nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's sin. The righteousness of the righteous will be on himself (18:20).
Reconciliation with Deut. 5:9___Even so, Children suffer the consequences of the sins of their fathers when they do not suffer the guilt. (example, a son with a drunken father)
4. Principle of Responsibility Applied to the Penitent wicked and the Apostate Righteous. 18: 21-32 (Repentance)
a. Repentant (penitent) wicked will live. 18: 21-23.
___God's love for the wicked. 2nd Peter 3:9; Romans 8:13
b. Repentant righteous who turn wicked will die. 18:24-26.
___warnings to the righteous in Gal. 5:19-21.
c. The plea for Repentance. 18:27-32_________
(1) It brings life 2nd Cor. 7:9-10
(2) God's ways are correct and not man's
(3) Make a new heart and spirit and live.