Athey Creek: Audio Podcast

The people of Israel have vacillated between following God and their pagan idols since they departed Egypt, and God has finally given them over to their sin and subsequent destruction. But as we study their course in Ezekiel 19-20, we learn that God’s ultimate plan is always to bring redemption and that He is merciful even to the worst sinners.

After being scattered worldwide, the Jews are now regathering in Israel – just like the Lord promised in Ezekiel 20:23, 33-37. As we study how this prophecy has been fulfilled, is currently being fulfilled, and will be fulfilled in the future, we see why it is so important and how it figures into the End Times.

Ezekiel shares a parable and refutes a proverb in Ezekiel 17-18 to show the people in Jerusalem what will happen with the coming Babylonians and why they will be held accountable for their own sins. As we study how he implores them to instead turn from their sin and live, we gather insight into repentance, righteousness through Jesus Christ, and restoration.

Tapping into one of the major themes of the Bible, Ezekiel 18:30-32 implores the people of Jerusalem to repent – that is turn away from their sins - so that they may live and not fall into ruin. As we look into the topic of repentance, we see what it means to cast away our sin and what it should look like in our lives when we do.

Ezekiel 14-16 paints a grim picture of how despite being given every opportunity to be blessed by God, the Jews reject Him in favor of idolatry and set themselves up to incur His wrath. As we study, may we learn from their example and instead be those who humble ourselves, repent from our sins and turn to God for our salvation.

Throughout Scripture we see the Lord using imagery of a vine to typify His relationship with His people. Ezekiel 15 contains one of these instances and as we study, we learn why this illustration is so powerful, what it means for us today and what our lives should look like as a result.

Ezekiel was speaking the Word of the Lord and yet the people chose to straight-up ignore him, listen to false prophets instead, or scoff at what he was saying. As we study Ezekiel 12-13, may we be those who heed the Word and take prophecy seriously - especially in the days we live.

Ezekiel receives a vision in Ezekiel 8-11 concerning the judgment that has come upon the people for rejecting God and continually living in sin. Yet even as we watch God’s glory depart in what is perhaps one of the most gut-wrenching passages in the Bible, we see how God will never truly forsake His people and that He has a plan for their future still.

God gives Ezekiel a glimpse inside the minds of the leading elders in Ezekiel 8:7-12, and the thoughts he sees in their heads are nothing short of abominable. And we cannot claim that our thoughts are any better today. However, we can arm ourselves with tools that will help us combat our wicked thoughts and steer our minds to how God would have us to think.

God gave Ezekiel some very specific – and somewhat questionable – scenarios to show the people what they could expect to happen as the Babylonians closed in, as they are killed or carted off into captivity, and then what would become of them after these things. As we look at these object lessons in Ezekiel 4-7, we see God’s desire for repentance, the certainty of His wrath, and most importantly, His grace and mercy in offering salvation to all who will call upon the name of Jesus.

Ezekiel puts on a strange demonstration to show the Jews how long they will be cursed and driven from their land. As we do the math behind his illustration in Ezekiel 4:3-6, we see the Bible’s perfect predictability regarding past events and how they pertain to things yet to come.

Ezekiel had a clear calling on his life to minister to the Jews in Babylonian exile, but God had to equip him first. As we study his preparation in Ezekiel 2:8-3:27, we see the importance of knowing the Word, how the Holy Spirit works in our lives, and how our words should always reflect God’s truth and love.

Ezekiel has a remarkable -albeit somewhat confusing - vision of God that he describes in fascinating detail. As we dive into his account of the imagery, we begin to make sense of what he saw and how it paints a beautiful picture of God’s glory and His plan for humanity.

If you were in charge of planning Jesus’ grand entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, how would you do it? Riding in on a lowly donkey would probably be low on your list. But as we examine why God chose this particular mode of transportation, we see perfect reasons that fulfill prophecy, show us God’s character, and reveal the things He uses to accomplish His purpose.

If the people had only listened to Jeremiah’s heartfelt pleadings, they would have understood that their unrepentant continual sin would bring about God’s wrath. And, as we learn in Lamentations 3-5, they could have found compassion and mercy if that they just turned to God with repentant hearts and followed His ways.

A teaching from our through-the-Bible study in Lamentations.

God very specifically warned Israel time after time, for years and years, of the horrific calamity that would befall them if they failed to obey His Word - and it happened exactly how He said it would. As we study Jeremiah’s sorrowful recap of the situation in Lamentations 1-2, may we heed the Lord’s warning for us to repent before it is too late as well.

Jeremiah puts pen to paper in Lamentations 1:5-11 to express his sadness over the shocking and sorrowful fall of Jerusalem because of their sins. As we study the repercussions of their actions, we learn how our sin will destroy us in a very similar manner, but also that we can find forgiveness and mercy through Jesus Christ.

The Babylonians have inflicted great pain upon the Jews and left Jerusalem in a state of destruction and desolation. But Jeremiah 50:35-52:34 foretells that their reign of terror won’t last and their fall will come soon enough - bringing severe punishment upon them for their pride and sinfulness.

Jeremiah tacks on a interesting little addendum about the unexpected fate of Jehoiachin in Jeremiah 52:31-34. But why should we even care to hear about what happened to this seemingly insignificant minor character? It turns out we have more in common with Jehoiachin than we may realize.