The Things of the Spirit, Part 4

Introduction

For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.  Romans 8:5

We’ve covered specific things (of the Spirit) that can be done, or must be done in the Spirit or through the Spirit.

1. Beginning in the Spirit
2. Praying in the Spirit
3. Worshipping in the Spirit
4. Waiting in the Spirit
5. Sowing to the Spirit & Reaping of the Spirit
6. Speaking and Preaching in the Spirit

We add one more to our study:  Carried Away in the Spirit.

And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,  Revelation 21:10

Carried away in the Spirit.  There’s three areas (or people) in the bible that this concept or idea present itself:  Ezekiel, Jesus, and John.  And all three are almost supernatural, out of body type experiences.  There’s no doubt about that.  I’m not going to try to diminish that aspect of it.  The focus must be not on the experience itself, but the means of that: the Spirit of Almighty God.  By studying these things and learning about being “carried away” in the Spirit, we learn about the character and workings and ways of the Holy Ghost.  In other words, we cover these things not so that we can endeavor to have some miraculous spiritual experience, but that we endeavor to know God, to know God the Holy Ghost.

Ezekiel

The first of the three people in the bible I want to look at is the prophet Ezekiel.  In the book of Ezekiel, chapter 39, the passage regarding the valley of the dry bones, Ezekiel says, “The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD…”  So we’re going to look at Ezekiel and this passage to learn more of the Holy Ghost.

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

First, before we get into this passage.  I want to give you a little bit of information regarding Ezekiel.  Ezekiel is one of the five major books of the prophets; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Daniel being the others.  Ezekiel is probably best know for it’s prophetic imagery throughout the book:

• (Chapter 1) The four living creatures.  They had the likeness of man, had four faces and four wings; they had calf’s feet that shone like brass; they had the face of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle; their appearance was like burning coals of fire.
• (Chapter 8) The hole in wall.  Ezekiel digs through the hole in the wall and finds the worship of every creeping things, the women weeping for Tammuz, and the worship of the sun.
• (Chapter 9) The six men with the slaughter weapon and the man with the inkhorn.  Before God sent out the six men to slaughter he sent out the man with the inkhorn to set a mark on the foreheads of those that lamented and wept over the sins of Israel and they were all spared from the men of slaughter.
• (Chapter 17) The riddle of the great eagle.  The great eagle with great wings, longwinded, full of feathers, and divers colours.
• (Chapter 23) Aholah and Aholibah.  The two daughters that represented both Judah and Israel.
• (Chapter 24) Ezekiel’s wife.  The Lord told Ezekiel “…behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke..”  The bible says that in the morning Ezekiel spoke and in the evening his wife died.
• (Chapter 28) The king of Tyre.  Long has this passage been used to describe the fallen angel, Lucifer.  Whether it is or not, we remember the king of Tyre.
• (Chapter 33) The watchman.  The bible says, “But if the watchmen see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned… blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.”
• (Chapter 36) The stony heart.  The wonderful intentions of God upon the sinful:  “A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.”
• (Chapter 37) The valley of the dry bones.  This is the passage that we’re looking at today.  “Oh ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.”
• (Chapter 38) Gog and Magog.  These are always associated with endtime prophecy.  Brings to mind visions of the book of The Revelation, and the battle of Armageddon, and the Day of the LORD.
• (Chapter 40-48) Visions of the temple, the prince, the rivers of water, and the holy city.  Not as well known, but nevertheless a major portion of the book of Ezekiel.

We recognize all these images from the book of Ezekiel.  We don’t ever really hear a lot of preaching out of this book.  It’s very similar to the book of The Revelation.  People are somewhat hesitant sometimes to get into these.  It is beneficial to understand the history of the kings, and of the captivity, and of other prophets, and other lands like Assyria and Babylon, and things like that in order to get a better understanding of the book.  It’s not a must, but it’s helpful.  There’s some amazing lessons and topics in this book.  One thing to consider is that all these images (There’s many more that what I just listed) were given to Ezekiel while, as the bible says, “the hand of the Lord” was upon him.  In fact, an overall consideration that should dictate our understanding of this book is the very first verse:

Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

Do you remember what Stephen, filled with the Holy Ghost, said as they stoned him there?  He said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”  What happened when Jesus came up out of the River Jordan, and the Holy Ghost descended upon him?  The bible says that the heavens opened; and the voice of God came out of there.  Ezekiel said, “I saw visions of God.”  Let ask you this:  Does God reveal himself to his people today?  Ezekiel was given all these visions of God and the visions of things to come, while under heavy influence of the Spirit of God.  Ezekiel was “under the influence” so to speak.  However, he was not filled with wine wherein is excess, but he was filled with the Holy Spirit.  Remember, what did Peter tell us in the New Testament regarding the prophets?

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

So when we read the book of Ezekiel we should mind the fact that this is a recording of a personal powerful experience with God.  The heavens were opened, and Ezekiel looked into heaven and God revealed these things to him; gave him these visions, these images.  And Ezekiel lived to tell us about it!  This is what happened to Ezekiel in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month.  What we are reading is Ezekiel’s personal experience with God and the Spirit of God on that day.

So we look at the book of Ezekiel today, not necessarily to know the interpretations of all the historical details of the prophecies; or to understand which prophecy has come to pass or will come to pass; or to guess about the future and things to come. Not today, at least.  We look at the impact of the Spirit of God on the prophet Ezekiel.  What can we learn about the Spirit of God through the experiences of Ezekiel?  What kind of things happen to Ezekiel when he’s “carried away” in the Spirit?  Why do need to know this?  Because, they walk after the Spirit, mind the things of the Spirit.

The Hand of the LORD

With this in mind, we go back to the valley of the dry bones, where Ezekiel was carried away by the Spirit of the LORD.  The first thing I want us to cover is something you see through out all of Ezekiel’s experience.  There’s eight different places through out the book of prophecy that speak directly concerning Ezekiel’s experience.  The valley of the dry bones is just one of them.  Five out of the eight times something happens, Ezekiel always seems to mention something:  “the hand of God.”  It must be important for him to mention it so much.

The Word of the LORD Comes Expressly

The very beginning of the book, when the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, when the heavens were first opened to him, the bible says that the “hand of the LORD was there upon him.”  I want to bring your attention to how the word of the LORD came.  The bible says in verse three, “The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river of Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.”  The word of the LORD came expressly.  What does that mean?  It means clearly, directly, plainly, distinctly, unambiguously, unequivocally, absolutely, emphatically.  When God is speaking to you, and the hand of God is upon you, you will know without a shadow of a doubt that God is talking to you.  The word of the LORD came expressly.  The Hebrew word for “came” is hayoh.  The Hebrew word for “expressly” is the same word pronounced hayah.  There really isn’t a word in Hebrew for expressly.  By repeating the word, it conveys the meaning “expressly.”  So in Hebrew “expressly came” is translated hayah hayoh.  They just repeat the word.  In Hebrew you’re actually saying the word of the LORD came came.  The word of the LORD double came!  It’s like when we say, “I DOUBLE dare you!”  You are actually saying I emphatically dare you.  Or I expressly dare you.  When God touches you, when God puts his hand upon you, you’re gonna know it.  One effect of the hand of God, is the word of the LORD comes expressly.

Those two on the road to Emmaus, after Jesus had spoken to them, they said, “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way and while he opened to us the scriptures?”  They knew there was something different when Jesus talked with them along the way.  All I’m saying is that God is not going to reveal anything to you until he places his wonderful, powerful, merciful, blessed hand upon you.  Isaiah said, “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?”  Do you know what’s at the end of the arm of God?  The hand of God.  Can I say this:  No arm, no report.  No hand, no word.  When you put the hand of God to the word of God, then you’ll have the work of God.  What are saying preacher?  You’ll know when God takes hold of the word of God.  Let me put it like this:  You’ll know when hand of the LORD wields the sword of the LORD.

The Spirit of the LORD is Strong

One of the more popular passages in Ezekiel is the one concerning the watchman. This is found in Chapter 3 and also Chapter 33.  We’ll be in Chapter 3:14.  I’m not going to read the warning to the watchman.  What I’m going to read is what happened right before Ezekiel was delivered this warning.  In fact, this is before God gives Ezekiel any of these visions and prophecies.  God’s just getting started.  Ezekiel just been called to preach.  He’s seen the four living creatures; he’s seen the throne of God and the glory of God; he had to eat that roll (not a bread roll, but a scroll roll).  God has told him to “go, get thee to them of the captivity… and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord God…”  He told them not to worry about their looks.  Don’t be afraid.  Now, he hadn’t done any preaching yet.  In fact, I want you to hear this (vs 12,13):  “I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing… I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures… the noise of the wheels… and a noise of a great rushing.”  What was it that Peter and the disciples heard in the upper room as they were endued with power on high?  What was it that they heard as they were filled with the Holy Ghost?  “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.”  Let me ask you this:  Is it possible that they heard what Ezekiel heard?

It was the first time that Peter preached.  Jesus told them to “tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high.”  So with power from on high, Peter preached his first sermon.  What’s another word for power?  Strength.  I want you to see this in verse 14:  “So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.” Another characteristic of the hand of God is strength and power from on high.  Now this power manifests itself differently at different times in different people.  When Peter was endued, he stood up and preached.  But look what happened to Ezekiel (vs 15,16) “Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.  And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me…”  Verse 14 said while the hand of the LORD was strong upon him, he was in bitterness and in the heat of his spirit.  That means, in the anger of his spirit, the fury and wrath of his spirit.  He sat there at the river and sat where they sat and was astonished seven days.  That means to be filled with consternation, dismay and distress.  They say that the power of God will give you holy boldness like Peter.  But Ezekiel, it wasn’t boldness, it was bitterness.  He didn’t stand up and preach.  He sat down and wept.

What was the impact of the Spirit of God on the prophet Ezekiel?  I’ll say this: everybody’s experience with God is different, but it’s the same hand of God; the same Spirit of strength and power.  God’s power is going to manifest itself differently at different times in different people.  Interestingly, look at the message that God gave him after those seven days.  After that great experience with God, after he saw the glory of God and God told him to go, and after he sat seven days with the sinful people of the captivity, waiting to give them the word of God, when finally the message came, it wasn’t a message for them.  It was a message for Ezekiel himself.  God said, “You better warn the wicked to turn from their wicked ways, or I’ll require their blood from YOUR hands!”  To whom much is given, much will be required.  Yes, the hand of God is strong and powerful, but to be carried away in the Spirit is to be brought to a purpose and with it comes responsibility.

The Glory of the LORD is Remembered

This really gets more interesting as we look the hand of the Lord in Ezekiel’s experiences.  So he’s been commissioned to go the people of the captivity, and tell them, “Thus saith the LORD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.  And the first message he gets to preach is not to them, but to himself.  That alone ought to be a message to us.  Nevertheless, his experience with God goes on.  The next one, (3:22) begins with hand of the LORD.  “And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.  Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.”  Now I don’t know how much time passed between verse 21 and 22, but apparently some time has passed.  What we see here is that he’s now come to a place in the plain where the glory of the LORD is.  And he makes it known that it’s “as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar…”  He said “It’s just like it was back when I was at the river.”  He remembered back when the heavens were opened up before him at the river of Chebar.  He remembered the four living creatures, and the wheels in the sky, and the throne of God and glory of God.  (1:28) “This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.  And when I saw it, I fell upon my face…”  And when the hand of the LORD was upon him and brought him to that plain, the bible said, “…behold, the glory of the LORD stood there.”  And he said, “Hey, that’s the glory of God and it’s just like it was before.”

Can I say this:  God doesn’t change.  “Jesus Christ is same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”  Hey I remember that day I got saved.  I remember when I had a head on collision with glory of God.  I remember in the wretchedness of my sin, I met God.  I remember when I fell on my face.  It was horrible to be lost.  It was horrible to be without hope.  It was terror to before a Holy God.  But can I say this:  It was glorious.  It was an experience filled with the glory of God.  Oh it was glorious when Jesus whispered in my ear that he loved me and wanted to save me.  It was glorious to finally, for the first time in my life, fall on my face and call upon the name of the Lord; and cast myself on the mercy of God.   It was glorious.  And I thank God that sometimes, the hand of the LORD still brings me to a place where I find God and I can say, “That’s the same glory which I saw by the river of Chebar.”  And I can still fall on my face before the glory of God.  We can grow cold on God.  It’s easy to do.  Ah!  Like that old songs says: “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love…”  But by the hand of God, he brings us back to that place; a place where we can worship him before his glory.  And we need to go to a place like that.

I don’t know about anybody else, but I had times I’ve told God, “I need to hear from you Lord!  I need something.  I need to see something or I don’t think can go on anymore like this.”  I remember when Patty was pregnant with Carina.  We didn’t know what we were going to do.  We didn’t have no doctor, no midwife, nothing.  We didn’t want a doctor.  We didn’t trust any.  We still don’t.  So I was scared.  I was scared we’d lose the baby; and with no doctor and no midwife, if something went wrong, I was scared we’d lose all our kids.  I didn’t tell God, “Thy will be done.  Whatever your will be Lord, I’ll be okay with it.”  No I didn’t say that.  I said, “Lord, if we lose this baby, I’m not gonna make it.  I won’t have the strength to press on.  I’ll be done.”  But by the hand of God, the glory of God stood there.  I couldn’t fall on my face, I was driving to work.  But if I could, I would have.  I needed that.  And God knows we need that.  I don’t know what you’re going through, but I know there’s no peace like the presence of God.  God knows we need that.  Ezekiel needed that.  Look at what happens next to him.

(vs 24-26) Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house. But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them: And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house.

Thou shalt be dumb?  If I was Ezekiel, I would have gone nuts.  Lord, you called me to preach!  Lord you told me to go!  Lord you even warned me of the consequences if I didn’t go!  Lord why are you making me dumb?  Why are you taking away my speech if you want me to preach?  But that’s not what he said.  Listen, it doesn’t have to make sense if the glory of God is there.  It doesn’t have to make sense if the hand of the LORD is there upon you.  That’s the only reason Ezekiel didn’t go mad; because he knew it was of God because he remembered the glory.

The Work of the LORD is Uncomfortable.

(8:1) “And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me.”  You know, we try to worship God in church.  We praise God in church.  People lift up their hands, they cry, they shout, they drop down to ground in prayer.  I mean there’s not a lot of that here, but in some churches, there’s a lot of what Jonathan Edwards called, religious affections.  Jonathan Edwards, one of the great preachers of the Great Awakening was greatly criticized because during his services they said there was much swooning, and emotional outbursts, and things like that.  And then we try to worship God alone in prayer.  Some people actually have a secret place, a place where they can get alone and talk to God.  And in your prayer closet, you can kinda open up and let go so to speak.  You don’t have to be self-conscience about how you behave before God; there’s nobody looking.  You can weep, shout, and lift up holy hands before the Lord.  You can be like Hannah; incoherent.  The Lord knows what you’re trying to say.

What I’m saying is that there’s an appointed time and place for all this. But that’s not the case for Ezekiel.  He had the elders of Judah over to his house. I really don’t know what they there for.  This was during the captivity.  Maybe they were having a political meeting.  Maybe they were discussing important concerns of the people: food, shelter, their captors, their condition.  Who knows?  Nevertheless, Ezekiel had these people over, and in the middle of this party, the hand of the LORD falls upon him.  Remember, God called Ezekiel to preach to these people.  Ezekiel was God’s servant.  And in the middle of this gathering, God said, “We’re going to have one of those visions right now!”  The work of the LORD is uncomfortable.  “We’re not going to do this in the temple, or by the river Chebar, or even out in a plain. No, in your house and before the elders of Judah that sit before you.  Right now, we’re going to open up heaven, and you’re going to get your vision right now.”

I want you to notice, that it says, “… the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me.” I don’t want you to think that God just gently touched Ezekiel on the back and whisper a little something in his ear.  No.  The hand of the Lord GOD fell upon Ezekiel.  That means it was sudden.  That means it was heavy.  That means it had weight.  That words means to collapse.  In other parts of the bible that word means to attack, like in the book of Job.  When Job lost all his cattle. The Sabeans fell upon them, and the servants were slain by the sword.  The hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon Ezekiel.  Walking after the Spirit, serving God in the Spirit, being carried away in the Spirit, is not necessarily going to take us places that are comfortable and put us in situations that are comfortable.  Ezekiel didn’t exactly blend in with the crowd.  No. We’re supposed to be a that city upon a hill, the candle upon the candlestick.  You’re out there where everyone can see.

Notice also the actual vision.  He saw a likeness as the appearance of fire.  It was fire in the shape of a man.  “And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven.”  I don’t know about you, but I don’t appreciate someone pulling me a long by my hair; much less lifting me up between heaven and earth.  Hey that hurts!  Wouldn’t you say that being lifted up by your hair is uncomfortable?  The flesh is comfortable.  The flesh is normal.  Walking after the flesh means nothing changes in your life.  It will always be that even keel.  There’s no rocking the boat.  I tell you this:  The bible says, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”  They that are after the Spirit mind the things of the Spirit.  The things of the Spirit are not for the natural man.  If you want to stay carnal, if you want to keep walking after the flesh, then just do nothing.  Believe nothing.  Don’t rock the boat.  Don’t put yourself into any discomfort.  Let the only thing that guides your “so-called” walk with God be your comfort.  Phillipians 3:18-19 “(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)”  Romans 8:7, Paul says that the carnal mind is enmity against God.  Follow after your own belly.  Follow after your own comforts, the earthly things, and you’ll be an enemy of God.  No. Walking after the Spirit, being carried away by the Spirit, is not comfortable.  It may even hurt.

And then look at the actual vision:  This was the vision of the seat of the image of jealousy.  This is where God took Ezekiel to that little hole in the wall.  And he dug, and he found a door, and Ezekiel went in.  What did he see?  He saw seventy elders of Israel worshipping ever creeping and abominable beast.  He saw Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan in the midst of them.  Who was Jaazaniah?  Shaphan was a scribe to Hilkiah the high priest during the reign of Josiah.  Josiah was the king that brought revival back to Israel.  They found the word of God again during the reign of Josiah.  Josiah tore down the altars to false gods and did good in the sight of the LORD.  Well, when they found that old bible and brought it to Hilkiah the high priest, he gave to Shaphan to read to the people.  Shaphan was there when Israel turned to God.  Shaphan knew hand of God and the mercy of God.  So what must have it felt, when Ezekiel looked into that door and saw the son of Shaphan, Jaazaniah worshipping beasts?  Jaazaniah was a ruler.  His father had done good in the sight of God.  But his son had forsaken God and gone after other Gods.  What else did he see?  He saw the women of Israel weeping for Tammuz.  Tammuz was a false god.  They were observing a ritual where they worshipped this god by weeping for Tammuz.  It was a funeral of this god.  In Babylonia, there’s even a month named after this god and that’s when they performed this funeral for Tammuz and wept over the false god.  Well Ezekiel found the women of Israel weeping for Tammuz.  What else did he see?  Verse 16 “And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD’S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.”

These were not from some foreign nation.  These were not the Assyrian or the Babylonians.  These were his own people.  These were the elders of Israel.  These were the rulers, the scribes.  These were the women of Israel.  These were not strangers, people that Ezekiel didn’t know.  They were people he knew, and people he saw every day.  He knew their names. It was people in his own house.  “I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me.”  There’s nothing more uncomfortable than the people of your own house that are strangers to God.  It’s one thing to see a stranger in sin; but it’s another thing when it’s your brother or your sister in the depths of sin, or your mother or father that is carried away in iniquity, or your own children in sin.  The bible says that judgement must begin in the house of God.  This country is in dire straits.  And the problems we face are not in white house. It’s not in the school house.  But it’s in the church house.  There isn’t anything comfortable about that.

The Servant of the LORD is Vindicated

(33:21) “And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten. Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.”  In the twelfth year of our captivity.  For twelve years, or at the most twelve years, God has given vision to Ezekiel.  And all these visions were concerning the nation of Israel and city Jerusalem.  There’s some visions of other nations.  But the primary subject were the nation of Israel.  The fall of the nation of Israel did not just happen overnight.  There were two halves of the nation.  There was the northern kingdom and then there was the southern kingdom.  The north was the first to fall.  Many of them were carried away into captivity.  And then the southern kingdom did not just fall overnight.  There was a time when they paid tribute to another nation.  That is a pictured of a conquered nation, but not necessarily a desolate nation.  The southern kingdom, Judah, with Jerusalem as her capitol with every king lost more and more power; lost more and more sovereignty, until finally, the city was smitten.

(2 Kings 25:8-11) And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem: And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire. And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about. Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away.

So all this time that Ezekiel was getting visions of God while he was in captivity, Jerusalem and the temple were still in alive and kicking.  But the visions that God gave him were foretelling the fall of Jerusalem.  You look at the two visions of the two sisters Aholah and Aholibah.  Ahola was the elder.  Ahola was Samaria, the northern kingdom.  She committed whoredoms and was judged, but the little sister Aholibah didn’t learn from the elder.  Aholibah which was Jerusalem also went after other gods.  There was time to repent.  There was time to turn from that wickedness.  Ezekiel wasn’t the only prophet.  They were warned not to go down that path, but they did anyway.  The visions that God gave Ezekiel were a foretelling of the fall of Jerusalem:

(12:17-20) Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness; And say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord GOD of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein. And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

So now (In Chapter 33) the hand of the LORD was upon Ezekiel again, and something happened.  One of those fugitives from Jerusalem escaped and came to Ezekiel and gave him the news:  The city is smitten.  He gave him the news that city of Jerusalem had fallen and was made desolate.  The word of the LORD had come to pass.  If we put our trust and faith in the word of GOD and believe what he’s telling us, we can rest assured that His word will come to pass.  Whatever God says will come, will come to pass.  One day, in that sweet forever, we’ll be on the other side of this bible.  We’re going to know it.  And they’re going to know it.  (33:33) “And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.”  There’s vindication by the hand of God.

All the people that looked down upon you because you didn’t want to go their way will know.  All the people that criticized you for trying to follow God will know.  Even all the people that agreed with you, but didn’t heed the warning will know.  (33:31) “And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them…”   All the times you doubted will be erased away.  All the times you questioned God and didn’t understand where all this was going will be washed away by the hand of the LORD.

Conclusion

This brings us back to Chapter 37, back to the valley of the dry bones where Ezekiel is carried out in the spirit of the LORD.  We’re using this passage as a sort of outline to detail and catalogue Ezekiel’s experience with God.  Remember the book of Ezekiel is a recording of a personal powerful experience with God.  The heavens were opened, and Ezekiel looked into heaven and God revealed these things to him; gave him these visions, these images.  This is what happened to Ezekiel in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month.  What we are reading is Ezekiel’s personal experience with God and the Spirit of God on that day.  We looked at the book of Ezekiel today, not necessarily to know the interpretations of all the historical details of the prophecies or to understand which prophecy has come to pass or will come to pass; but we looked at the impact of the Spirit of God on the prophet Ezekiel.  We learn about the Spirit of God through the experiences of Ezekiel because they that walk after the Spirit, mind the things of the Spirit.

Working Outline

Here’s a section of the my current working outline out of this study of Romans, just in case anyone is wondering how I got so far from Romans:

Romans 8:5 The Things of the Spirit

1. Beginning in the Spirit
2. Praying in the Spirit
3. Worshipping in the Spirit
4. Waiting in the Spirit
5. Sowing to the Spirit & Reaping of the Spirit
6. Speaking and Preaching in the Spirit
7. Carried Away in the Spirit
   1. Ezekiel (37) The Valley of the Dry Bones
      1. The Hand of the Lord “The Hand of the LORD was upon me…”
         1. The Word of the LORD Comes Expressly (1:3)
         2. The Spirit of the LORD is Strong (3:14)
         3. The Glory of the LORD is Remembered (3:22,23)
         4. The Work of the LORD is Uncomfortable (8:1)
         5. The Servant of the LORD is Vindicated (33:21)
      2. The Whereabouts of Ezekiel “…and set me down in the midst of the valley…”
      3. The Words of Ezekiel “And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.”
   2. Jesus
   3. John
8. Love in the Spirit