Lesson 2: Sinfulness "...with their backs toward the temple of the Lord" (Ezek. 8:16). Introduction: 1. Ezekiel had the unpleasant task of exposing the sins of the nation. 2. It was important to clearly delineate the sins in order to convince them of their utter unworthiness of any consideration before God. 3. The shame and guilt produced was designed to lead them to repentance. I. The Sinfulness of Israel: A. A rebellious people: 2:3, impudent, stubborn: 2:4; impudent, hard-hearted: 3:7; doing wickedness more than the nations: 5:6 (cf. Jer. 1:8) B. "As the thief is ashamed when he is found out, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they and their kings, and their princes, and their priests, and their prophets." (Jer. 2:26) C. Prophets: 1. (Ezek 22:25) ""The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst." (Ezek 22:28) ""Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD had not spoken." 2. (Ezek 13:8-10) "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you," says the Lord GOD. 9 "My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord GOD. 10 "Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, 'Peace!' when there is no peace; and one builds a wall, and they plaster it with untempered mortar;" (Ezek 13:22) ""Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life." 3. (Jer 23:16-17) "Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the LORD. 17 They continually say to those who despise Me, 'The LORD has said, "You shall have peace"'; And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, 'No evil shall come upon you.'"" (Jer 23:25-27) ""I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, 'I have dreamed, I have dreamed!' 26 "How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, 27 "who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal." (Lam 2:14) "Your prophets have seen for you False and deceptive visions; They have not uncovered your iniquity, To bring back your captives, But have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions." D. Priests: 1. (Ezek 22:26) ""Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them." 2. (Jer 5:31) "The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?" (Jer 6:13-15) ""Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is given to covetousness; And from the prophet even to the priest, Everyone deals falsely. 14 They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, Saying, 'Peace, peace!' When there is no peace. 15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; Nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time I punish them, They shall be cast down," says the LORD." (Lam 4:13-16) "Because of the sins of her prophets And the iniquities of her priests, Who shed in her midst The blood of the just. 14 They wandered blind in the streets; They have defiled themselves with blood, So that no one would touch their garments. 15 They cried out to them, "Go away, unclean! Go away, go away, Do not touch us!" When they fled and wandered, Those among the nations said, "They shall no longer dwell here." 16 The face of the LORD scattered them; He no longer regards them. The people do not respect the priests Nor show favor to the elders." E. Princes: 1. (Ezek 22:27) ""Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain." F. People 1. (Ezek 22:29) ""The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger." 2. (Jer 2:13) ""For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns; broken cisterns that can hold no water." (Jer 2:32) "Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number." (Jer 5:23-29) "But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart; They have revolted and departed. 24 They do not say in their heart, "Let us now fear the LORD our God, Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest." 25 Your iniquities have turned these things away, And your sins have withheld good from you. 26 'For among My people are found wicked men; They lie in wait as one who sets snares; They set a trap; They catch men. 27 As a cage is full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become great and grown rich. 28 They have grown fat, they are sleek; Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the fatherless; Yet they prosper, And the right of the needy they do not defend. 29 Shall I not punish them for these things?' says the LORD. 'Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?'" 3. (Ezek 5:6) "'She has rebelled against My judgments by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against My statutes more than the countries that are all around her; for they have refused My judgments, and they have not walked in My statutes.'" 4. (Ezek 14:1-8) "Now some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. 2 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 3 "Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them? 4 "Therefore speak to them, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, 5 "that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols."' 6 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations. 7 "For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, then comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I the LORD will answer him by Myself. 8 "I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. Then you shall know that I am the LORD." II. Abominations Revealed - Ezekiel 8, Ezekiel transported to Jerusalem in a vision. A. Go and see (Ezek 8:9) "And He said to me, "Go in, and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there."" 1. Animal worship (Ezek 8:10) "So I went in and saw, and there; every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed all around on the walls." 2. Nature worship (Ezek 8:14-15) "So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the Lord's house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz. 15 Then He said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these."" 3. Sun worship (Ezek 8:16-18) "So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house; and there, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east. 17 And He said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose. 18 "Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them."" B. With Their Backs Toward the Temple: (Ezek 8:16) "So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house; and there, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east." C. How often are our backs toward the temple and our focus is on what the world has to offer? 1. Grand Canyon Illustration: family drove to the grand canyon and when they parked the family ran to the gift shop. 2. Today's Idolatry - a. materialism b. vain religion, traditions of men c. body worship, exercise, fitness, health d. nature worship, environmentalism e. sun worship, new age, occult, Eastern religions, astrology 3. (Ezek 20:32) ""What you have in your mind shall never be, when you say, 'We will be like the Gentiles, like the families in other countries, serving wood and stone.'" a. try to be as much like the world as we can and in doing so we turn our backs on God. b. (1 John 2:15) "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." III. Allegory of the Foundling: Ezek. 16 A. Israel characterized in their beginning (Ezek 16:4-5) ""As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 "No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born." B. God transforms them (Ezek 16:6-14) ""And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' Yes, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' 7 "I made you thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare. 8 "When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine," says the Lord GOD. 9 "Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil. 10 "I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 "I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists, and a chain on your neck. 12 "And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 "Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty. 14 "Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you," says the Lord GOD." C. The beginning of Israel's Unfaithfulness (Ezek 16:15) ""But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it." D. What they failed to remember. (Ezek 16:22) ""And in all your abominations and acts of harlotry you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, struggling in your blood." E. Compared To Sodom and Samaria (Ezek 16:47-51) ""You did not walk in their ways nor act according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you became more corrupt than they in all your ways. 48 "As I live," says the Lord GOD, "neither your sister Sodom nor her daughters have done as you and your daughters have done. 49 "Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 "And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit. 51 "Samaria did not commit half of your sins; but you have multiplied your abominations more than they, and have justified your sisters by all the abominations which you have done." F. They Broke the Covenant (Ezek 16:59) "'For thus says the Lord GOD: "I will deal with you as you have done, who despised the oath by breaking the covenant." G. The promise of a new covenant (Ezek 16:60-63) ""Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. 61 "Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed, when you receive your older and your younger sisters; for I will give them to you for daughters, but not because of My covenant with you. 62 "And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, 63 "that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done," says the Lord GOD.'"" Conclusion: 1. What is sin? (1 John 3:4) "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness." 2. Why do we commit sin? (James 1:14-15) "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." 3. Why does God put up with sin? (2 Pet 3:9) "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." 4. Conviction of sin. (Rom 3:23) "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," 5. (Rom 6:23) "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." 6. Making Light of Sin (Ezek. 8:17) a. as an attempt to excuse the sinner b. by the force of habit c. through the influence of example - judging by the standard of society and not God's word d. in the deadening of the conscience. 7. God Does Not Take Sin Lightly a. He sees it truly as it is b. He measures it by the law of holiness c. He forgives it, He does not make light of it 8. We can only judge of God's horror of sin by the darkness and agony of Gethsemane and Calvary. --------------------------------- Question: Lesson 2 1. What terms are used to describe the attitude of the children of Israel in Ezekiel's day. 2. Describe the sins of the following groups of people a. prophets b. priests c. princes 3. What is the danger of "untempered mortar"? (Ezek. 22:28) 4. What responsibility did the priests have (Ezek. 22:26)? How does that relate to Christians? 5. Are animal worship, nature worship, and sun worship a problem in 20th century America? Explain. 6. Who was Tammuz (Ezek. 8:14-15)? 7. How was the beauty of Israel made perfect? 8. Was there any beauty apart from God? 9. Why did Israel commit sin? Why do we commit sin? 10. Why does God put up with the sins of man? 11. What effect should the patience of God have on the sinner?