The Lord reproves those shepherds who do not feed the flock. In the last days, the Lord will gather the lost sheep of Israel. The Messiah will be their Shepherd. The Lord will make his gospel covenant with them. Judgment will fall upon Mount Seir and all Idumea for their hatred of Israel. In the last days, all the house of Israel will be gathered to their own lands. The Lord will give them a new heart and a new spirit. They will have his gospel law. Israel will inherit the land in the Resurrection. The stick of Judah (the Bible) and the stick of Joseph (the Book of Mormon) will become one in the Lord’s hand. The children of Israel will be gathered and cleansed. David (the Messiah) will reign over them. They will receive the everlasting gospel covenant. The battle of Gog and Magog against Israel will usher in the Second Coming. The Lord will come amid war and pestilence, and all men will shake at his presence.
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Egypt and its helpers will be made desolate by Babylon. Pharaoh’s glory and fall are compared to that of the Assyrians. Ezekiel laments for the fearful fall of Pharaoh and of Egypt. Watchmen who raise the warning voice save their own souls. Repentant sinners are saved. The righteous who turn to sin are damned. The people of Judah in Jerusalem are destroyed because of their sins.
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The Lord’s vengeance will fall on the Ammonites, on the Moabites and Edomites, and on the Philistines. Because she rejoiced in the sorrows and fall of Jerusalem, Tyre will be destroyed. Ezekiel laments the fall of Tyre and the loss of her riches and commerce. Tyre and Sidon will fall and be destroyed. The Lord will gather the people of Israel to their own land. They will then dwell safely. Egypt will be overthrown by Babylon. When Egypt rises again, it will be the basest of kingdoms.
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"Through Ezekiel, the Lord gave wayward and backsliding Israel a message of warning and reproof, of justice and judgment, of mercy and love that left no doubt of His indignation at their unrighteousness nor of His desire for their repentance. Ezekiel taught that all are responsible for their own actions and will be rewarded or punished according to the way they use the agency given them. He taught that no one can reject the Lord’s counsel and escape the judgments that invariably follow justice and that are intended to purge the soul of iniquity. He taught also that no one who repents and turns from his iniquities will lose the blessings of God’s mercy, love, and forgiveness."
This is the introduction to the notes and commentary on Ezekiel chapters 1–24 in the church educational system's institute course on the Old Testament. If you wish to read this, please click on this link.
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Ezekiel 21; Ezekiel 22; Ezekiel 23; Ezekiel 24
Both the righteous and the wicked in Jerusalem will be slain. Babylon will draw a sharp and bright sword against Israel and will prevail. Ezekiel catalogs the sins of the people of Judah in Jerusalem. They will be scattered and destroyed for their iniquities. Two sisters, Samaria and Jerusalem, committed whoredoms by worshiping idols. Both are destroyed for their lewdness. The irrevocable judgment of Jerusalem is foretold. As a sign to the Jews, Ezekiel does not weep at his wife’s death.
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Ezekiel 18; Ezekiel 19; Ezekiel 20
Men will be punished for their own sins. Sinners will die, and the righteous will save their souls. A righteous man who sins will be damned, and a sinner who repents will be saved. Ezekiel laments for Israel because she has been taken captive by other nations and has become like a vine planted in dry and thirsty ground. From the time of their deliverance from Egypt to the day of Ezekiel, the people of Israel have rebelled and failed to keep the commandments. In the last days, the Lord will gather Israel and restore his gospel covenant.
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Ezekiel 14; Ezekiel 15; Ezekiel 16; Ezekiel 17
The Lord will not answer those who worship false gods and work iniquity. Ezekiel preaches repentance. The people would not be saved though Noah, Daniel, and Job ministered among them. Jerusalem, as a useless vine, will be burned. Jerusalem has become as a harlot, reveling in her idols and worshiping false gods. She has partaken of all the sins of Egypt and the nations round about, and she is rejected. Yet in the last days, the Lord will again establish his covenant with her. Ezekiel shows in a parable how Israel, while subject to Babylon, wrongfully sought help from Egypt. Yet the Lord will bring forth in the last days a goodly tree from the cedars of Lebanon.
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Ezekiel 8; Ezekiel 9; Ezekiel 10; Ezekiel 11; Ezekiel 12; Ezekiel 13
Ezekiel sees in vision the wickedness and abominations of the people of Judah in Jerusalem. He sees idolatry practiced in the temple itself. Ezekiel sees the marking of the righteous and the slaughter of all others, beginning at the Lord’s sanctuary. He sees in vision, as before, the wheels, the cherubims, and the throne and the glory of God. He sees in vision the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the Jews. He prophesies the latter-day gathering of Israel. Ezekiel makes himself a symbol of the scattering of the people of Judah from Jerusalem. He then prophesies their scattering among all nations. Ezekiel reproves false prophets, both male and female, who speak lies, to whom God has not spoken.
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