Reason #3 – The terms of the contract between God and Israel in the context of Ezekiel 18 refer to physical punishment.
The phrase “house of Israel” occurs 140 times in the Old Testament. In the Book of Ezekiel, we find this phrase an amazing 79 times!
Here are the occurrences in Ezekiel 18:
(Ezekiel 18:6) And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour’s wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman,
(Ezekiel 18:15) That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour’s wife,
(Ezekiel 18:25) Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
(Ezekiel 18:29) Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
(Ezekiel 18:30) Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
(Ezekiel 18:31) Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
This is a prophetic book about a nation – the house of Israel!
Terms of the Contract = Physical
Ezekiel is a book about the consequences of a broken contract between Jehovah and Israel and the restoration of the nation. In Leviticus 26, a series of blessings and curses upon the nation Israel are laid out in orderly fashion. Verses 1 through 13 detail the blessings while verses 14 through 39 list the curses. These are conditional blessings and curses. Israel contracted to receive them based on her performance in obedience or disobedience to the commandments of God. Israel’s heart as God’s chosen people turned against God. The curses, given in five separate courses, turn out to be a prophetic history of the nation. Ezekiel’s ministry occurred in the beginning of the 5th course of punishment. This is THE KEY to understanding why Ezekiel prophesied such condemnation against Israel. Ezekiel prophesied the details of the curses Israel agreed to in her contract with God!
God uses Ezekiel the priest (Ezek 1:3) to prophesy using the contract found in Leviticus, the book of the priesthood. Leviticus is a book about God’s holiness. Ezekiel is a book about Israel’s ungodliness. Leviticus presents a sacrificial system which outwardly demonstrates an inward communion between God and His people. Ezekiel condemns the nation because their sacrifices are a false manifestation of broken communion.
The curses in Leviticus 26 do not reveal individual condemnation for failure to perform the Law. It’s important to remember these punishments resulted from a corporate agreement between Jehovah and Israel. While there were certainly righteous individuals in the nation at any given time, Israel as a whole continued to prove they were a hard-hearted and disobedient people. Just as the four courses of punishment are given in a series of cumulative installments, the fifth course of punishment itself is in cumulative installments. Without going into much more detail, here are just a few examples of the parallels between Leviticus 26 and the prophecy of Ezekiel.
|
Prophecy |
Leviticus 26 |
Ezekiel’s Prophecy |
| Famine | (Leviticus 26:26) And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. | (Ezekiel 4:16) Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: |
| Cannibalism | (Leviticus 26:29) And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. | (Ezekiel 5:10) Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds. |
| Slain men’s carcases laid upon the destroyed idols | (Leviticus 26:30) And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. | (Ezekiel 6:13) Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols. |
| Cities laid waste, idolatrous temples destroyed, refusal to accept offerings | (Leviticus 26:31) And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours. | (Ezekiel 6:6) In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. |
| Judgment in a foreign land | (Leviticus 26:33) And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. | (Ezekiel 5:2) Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.
(Ezekiel 12:14) And I will scatter toward every wind all that are about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them.[1] |
The Book of Ezekiel is about a nation (Israel) who broke her vows to Jehovah in the contract she agreed to fulfill and was destined to destruction as a result.
(Leviticus 26:46) “These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.”
In the chapters leading up to Ezekiel 18 and those immediately after, page after page is filled with promises of physical destruction because of Israel’s disobedience to her covenant vows. The wrath of Jehovah has already been executed in some course, but much still remained as Ezekiel penned the book.
But, just as Leviticus 26 concludes with the promise of restoration with repentance in verses 40-45, Ezekiel also looks forward to the time when Jehovah Himself will fulfill the promises that Israel could never keep. There will be restoration and blessing because Jehovah’s mercy and grace will replace the blind attempt of a sinful nation to maintain a righteous standing before Him. This is the context of the book of Ezekiel, including chapter 18.
Therefore, we must keep in mind the contractual blessings and curses in Ezekiel are physical in nature as a result of a physical contract with physical consequences. It is recommended the Bible student go back to Leviticus 26 to find anything except physical blessings and cursing promised. Throughout history, this is the way the Lord manifested Himself to His nation.
[1] In all four OT occurrences of the phrase “draw out the sword” (here, Ezek 5:2, 12; 12:14), it is preceded by the use of “scatter” and it is always a reference to Israel. It is in three other passages but always in reference to the judgment of a nation outside Israel (Egypt: Exod 15:9, Ezek 30:11; Tyre: Ezek 28:7).
