The City of God's Name - Part 1

By Dan & Brenda Cathcart

The video version of this teaching is available at: https://youtu.be/7QseLfccs9I

The scripture reading is Ezekiel 22:1-22

There is something special about the city of Jerusalem.  Jerusalem is referred to in the scriptures by many titles, not the least of which is the City of God’s name.  In Zachariah it is known as the City of Truth.  The prophet Isaiah uses several euphemisms for Jerusalem; the Faithful city in 1:25; Joyful City in 22:2 and the Lion of God in 29:1 among many others. It doesn’t take much reading of the Bible to realize that Jerusalem is central throughout history and ground zero for the events of the Bible. Israel had made a covenant with God at Mount Sinai.

Exodus 24:3-7 NKJV 3 So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, "All the words which the LORD has said we will do." 4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. 6 And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, "All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient."

This covenant was between God and the entirety of the people as a nation.  In our Haftarah this week Ezekiel lays out a series of condemnations against the people phrased in terms as if the city of Jerusalem is the one who sinned.  Why is it that the city of Jerusalem is referred to as a person? What does the city represent and why is it that the city faces judgment?

Just as the people of Israel are set apart for service to God with the sons of Aaron, the Levitical priesthood, and the common people, so too is the land of Israel with the Temple mount, the city of Jerusalem and the entirety of the Land of Israel. These form three divisions of sanctity just like the Temple itself with the holy of holies, the holy place and the outer courts.  The city of Jerusalem is considered to be a holy place and is identified as the holy city in Revelation 21:2.

Revelation 21:2 NKJV 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Holy simply means to be set apart. Jerusalem was set apart within Israel to be the place where God dwells among His people. With their pledge at Mount Sinai, the people had committed themselves to follow God’s commandments and had accepted His invitation to be His chosen people. Yet time and again the people sinned! Moses warned the people of the consequences of breaking the covenant they entered into.

Leviticus 18:26-28 NKJV 26 'You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you 27 '(for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), 28 'lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you.

Ezekiel was a Levite and a priest which uniquely qualifies him to comment on the topic of holiness and sanctification. His writings are at the time of the beginning of the Babylonian exile and he himself was included among the first to be deported to Babylon in 597 BCE.

Ezekiel opens this section of prophecy with a denouncement of Jerusalem. No longer is it a holy, set apart city, but Ezekiel now calls it a bloody city.

Ezekiel 22:1-3 NKJV 1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Now, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations! 3 "Then say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "The city sheds blood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself.

The Hebrew phrasing of verse 2 indicates that much blood was shed in the city. This marks a sharp contrast to the purpose God intended for Jerusalem.

God does not mince words here! Bloodshed was rampant. There was an enormous difference between this bloodshed and that which provides for redemption. And corruption among the leaders of Judah was beyond intolerable. King Jehoiachin of Judah had led the people into deep idolatry.

Jerusalem was to be the city of holiness and was now the city of the shedding of innocent blood.  Through Ezekiel, God lays out their sins for all to see!

The city had indeed backslidden! The shedding of blood was the main crime but only one of many. Ezekiel enumerates no less than twenty specific sins in this short passage that were part of the daily lives of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. We will look at just a few of them here.

Ezekiel 22:4 NKJV 4 "You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries.

Idolatry was one of the first sins listed in the Torah. The people of God were to set no other god before Him.

Exodus 20:4-6 NKJV 4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Because of their backslidden status, they lost the respect of the rest of the world around them.  How could they be held in high esteem if they forsook the God of their fathers?

Ezekiel 22:5-8 NKJV 5 "Those near and those far from you will mock you as infamous and full of tumult. 6 "Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you. 7 "In you they have made light of father and mother; in your midst they have oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the fatherless and the widow. 8 You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.”

Verses seven and eight are particularly to the point. The Israelites were to honor their mothers and fathers and keep the sabbaths as clearly stated in the ten commandments or the ten words.

Exodus 20:8-9,12 NKJV 8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,… 12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

The inhabitants of Jerusalem were engaged in lewd sexual sins against their own family members and their neighbors.

Ezekiel 22:9-11 NKJV 9 "In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed; in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness. 10 "In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity. 11 "One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter.

Ezekiel’s warning in these verses again points directly to the ten commandments. With further details found in Leviticus chapter 18.

Exodus 20:13-17 NKJV 13 "You shall not murder. 14 "You shall not commit adultery. 15 "You shall not steal. 16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."

These are not petty crimes. They were clear violations of the covenant made with God at Mount Sinai! It is important to reiterate that this covenant was a national covenant, and this is reflected in the manner in which Ezekiel phrases this warning from God.  Ezekiel addresses these violations by always referring to the city rather than the people committing the crimes.  Verse six clearly states that it was the leaders engaging in these acts, not the lower members of society.

The leadership of Ezekiel’s day was not leading the people to holiness and righteousness, but into sin! The Hebrew word for prince used by Ezekiel in verse six is Nassi, number 5387 in the Strong’s lexicon meaning king, prince or ruler. These kings and rulers were themselves the murders and violators causing the shedding of innocent blood.  Rabbi C.F. Kiel in his commentary on Ezekiel comments:

“By princes of Israel we are to understand primarily the profligate kings, who caused innocent persons to be put to death, such, for example, as Jehoiakim (2 Kings 24:4-6), Manasseh (2 Kings 21:16), and others.”[i]

Jerusalem was to be a holy city, the place where God dwells with His people. Jehoiakim was the father of king Jehoiachin, the king at the time of Ezekiel, Jehoiakim began the evil practices carried on by his son. Manasseh was the king who set up the abomination of desolation in the holy place analogous to the city of Jerusalem. These unholy leaders of Ezekiel’s day had sinned before the face of God in His dwelling place!  It’s as if they were performing their abominations in the Temple itself! They were the ones entrusted with, and were responsible for, maintaining the sanctity of the city!  They had severely backslidden and corrupted the entire city, so Ezekiel addresses his warning to the city.

Jerusalem was broken and beaten. They had a fair warning in the Torah about what would happen if they constantly committed these sins without repentance.  Remember in our last few teachings where we discussed King David, we found many of these same sins committed by him.  But the difference was that David was convicted of his sins, repented of them, and returned to God.

But these leaders did not heed the warnings of either the Torah, the prophet Ezekiel or his contemporary Jeremiah.  What was to happen to them? The first thing is what we already read in verse four where they would become fodder for ridicule from their neighboring kings.

Deuteronomy chapter four tells us that God chose Israel to be a shining light to the nations.  First fruits of Zion in their work, “Torah Club, Volume three, the Haftarah” comments.

“… the other nations of the world would observe their (Israel’s) wisdom and desire both their wisdom and their God. But Jerusalem (and the rest of Israel) had become the object of scorn and gossip instead.”[ii]

God was deeply disturbed by their behavior and lack of repentance. God’s righteousness would prevail, and judgment was coming upon the great city!

Ezekiel 22:13-14 NKJV 13 "Behold, therefore, I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst. 14 "Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and will do it.

The consequences of Israel’s sins as outlined in the Torah in Deuteronomy are progressively worse the longer Israel sins and refuses to repent. This is reflected in our Haftarah reading this week. In verse thirteen, God said that He would “smite them with His hand.” What does that mean?  Several times in Israel’s history we see a smiting taking place. Usually in the form of a plague or a major military defeat, etc.  But they were about to face something much worse.

The God of Israel is a holy God and demands holiness from His people and even more holiness among His chosen priesthood. Something that becomes defiled or unclean must be cleansed. The princes of Israel had defiled the city, Jerusalem itself had become unclean. The remedy was clear. What had defiled the city must be removed!  The inhabits of Jerusalem faced exile and ruin and the city would be left in flames!

Ezekiel 22:15-16 NKJV 15 "I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and remove your filthiness completely from you. 16 "You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; then you shall know that I am the LORD."'"

Some scholars have proposed that in their scattering and exile, Israel is absolved of their covenant with God made at Mount Sinai.  On the contrary, this exile is promised in the covenant and is part of the process of cleansing.  Not only does the city need a cleansing from the filthiness which has infiltrated it, but the people as well. Verse fifteen indicates that this dispersal is a part of that cleansing and that they are still under the terms of the covenant. In their exile, they will be cleansed!

As we read on in our Haftarah, we see the process of cleansing taking shape.  In their exile, Israel is refined as in a furnace.

Ezekiel 22:17-18 NKJV 17 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18 "Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a furnace; they have become dross from silver.

Time and again we see in scripture where fire is used to purify and perfect the things of God. In the refiner’s fire the impurities are striped away from the pure metals.

These verses hint at the hope of Israel.  Yes, the refining process is sometimes painful.  Through the fire, they are refined and purified, and God is glorified! Again, from First Fruits of Zion Torah Club Volume Three:

“Israel would suffer because of their covenant unfaithfulness. Yet, the Israel that would emerge would be a refined, seasoned, tempered, and beautiful metal. God Himself would do it!”[iii]

Ezekiel continues with a promise of a return to the city but first is the furnace of refinement.

Ezekiel 22:19-22 NKJV 19 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 'As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you. 21 'Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst. 22 'As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have poured out My fury on you.'"

Israel has faced many such trials by fire throughout their thirty five hundred years of history, the most recent being the Holocaust of Nazi Germany. The city of Jerusalem, like the people needs cleansing and refining under the covenant and God Himself will do it. The prophet Zechariah speaks about this refining process.

Zechariah 13:8-9 NKJV 8 And it shall come to pass in all the land," Says the LORD, "That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one -third shall be left in it: 9 I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, 'This is My people'; And each one will say, 'The LORD is my God.'"

If we have learned anything by our studies of the prophets of the Bible, it is that God is always faithful to His obligations to His covenant with Israel.  They will always be His people regardless of their iniquity and failures. They will be refined until only the LORD is their God. The process is ongoing even today. Jerusalem and Israel are still in the midst of the fire. Since their reemergence and rebirth as a nation in the aftermath of World War Two, many have returned to their religious roots and many have recognized their Messiah Yeshua.  In just the last few years, for the first time in more than two thousand years, there are more of the Jewish people living in the land of Israel then the rest of the world combined.  More are returning every day.

In addition to the refining of God’s land and people, we too face a personal refining. The apostle Paul speaks of our works being tested in a refiner’s fire.

1 Corinthians 3:12-15 NKJV 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

God is in the midst of repairing the land and renewing the hearts and minds of His people.  Those of us who have joined with them in Messiah will also one day join them in the land and rejoice before the LORD on His mountain and in His holy city.

Study Questions:

1. Discuss the connection of this teaching to the Torah Portion Acharei Mot, Leviticus 16:1-18:30.

2. Besides those listed in this teaching, what are the other violations of the Torah by Israel’s leaders does Ezekiel point out?

3. Compare Ezekiel’s prophecy of judgment against Israel and Judah with other times in their history?  How does Yeshua’s words against the Scribes and Pharisees of His day compare to these times?

4. Identify and discuss God’s intended purpose for the City of Jerusalem.  How is it that people who did not sin against God in the city were also exiled from it?

5. Reflecting back on the last two week’s teachings, how are the sins of king Jehoaichin and the other leader’s of Jerusalem a violation of the Threshold Covenant?

6. What new insight did you gain from this teaching? How do you respond to this new insight? How will you realign your life based on this new understanding?

© 2019 Moed Ministries International. All rights reserved.

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[i] C.F. Keil & F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol 9, P 311

[ii] FFOZ, Torah Club Volume Three, The Haftarah. P471

[iii] FFOZ, Torah Club Volume Three, The Haftarah. P472