Week #37 | "Citizens of the Coming King"

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Ezekiel 29-30, 40-48; Daniel 4, 7, 8-10; Jeremiah 52; Haggai 1-2; Zechariah 1-3; 1 Chronicles 3, 9; 2 Kings 25:27-30; 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-5:2

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

There's quite a variety of readings this week, as Steinmann's chronological plan takes us into the books of five biblical prophets and four historical books. We can't possibly cover everything in this space, but we can take a look at a few highlights.

Ezekiel's Temple (Ezekiel 40-48). The following notes come from the ESV Study Bible: "With the last date formula in the book appearing at 40:1, Ezekiel arrives at the beginning of the end. The post-destruction oracles of chs. 33-37 concluded with a promise of divine presence that anticipates the final words of the book (cf. 37:26–28; 48:35). The oracle against Gog in chs. 38-39 appeared to interrupt the movement toward realizing that presence. That interpretation, however, assumes a reading of the book that focuses on the human plane, which is not Ezekiel’s perspective. The most important thing is not human hope but divine glory. The Gog oracle established God’s absolute supremacy among the nations. The book’s final vision accomplishes this same purpose, but within the community of God’s own people. Understood this way, the details of Ezekiel’s vision (which may strike the modern reader as mundane or obscure) take on their proper vitality and significance. The vision of chs. 40-48 is a direct counterpart to the pre-destruction vision in chs. 8-11, in which the abominations practiced in Jerusalem drove the holy God from his temple. In chs. 40-42, Ezekiel is again taken on a tour, this time of the new temple, which culminates with the return of the glory of God (43:1–5). The voice of the Lord now instructs Ezekiel in the regulations for Israel’s renewed worship life (43:6-46:24). When the “tour” resumes, Ezekiel witnesses the river flowing from the temple, which brings life to the world (46:19-47:12). The book concludes with the division of the land among the tribes with the new city and new temple at its heart, with equal access for all (47:13-48:35). 

     With regard to the meaning of this passage as a whole: (1) Some interpreters understand this vision as a prophecy that will be fulfilled literally, with a rebuilt temple and Israel dwelling in the land according to its tribes–a future millennial kingdom on the earth (see notes on Rev. 20:1–6). Many who hold this position believe that literal animal sacrifices will be offered, but that in the future millennial kingdom they will function as reminders of the complete and sufficient death of Christ, a function different from what they had in the OT. (2) Other interpreters see this vision of a new temple and a renewal of the land of Israel as an extended, detailed metaphor predicting the presence of God among his people in the new covenant age (that is, his presence in the church). (3) Another view is that the vision predicts God’s presence among his people in the new heavens and new earth (cf. Isa. 66:17; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1), not as physical details that will be literally fulfilled but as symbolic indications of the great blessings of that future age. In this interpretation, the details about worship and sacrifices are symbols of the centrality of worship of God: the temple represents the orderliness and beauty of God’s heavenly dwelling place; the priests and their sacrifices represent the service and worship of all God’s people; the division of the land represents the allocation of places to live for all God’s people; and the river represents the outward flow of God’s blessings to his people forever. (4) Finally, it is possible that there are both literal and symbolic elements in this vision, and that, as with the visions in Ezekiel 1, this vision describes future realities that cannot be fully expressed in terms of Ezekiel’s present realities.

     Almost all interpreters agree that Ezekiel 40-48 is one of the most difficult passages in the entire Bible. No matter which interpretation one adopts, certain primary emphases are quite clear. The whole vision may be understood as describing the actual presence of God within the temple of the new community: chs. 40-42 prepare for it; ch. 43 realizes it; chs. 44-46 provide the rules for it; ch. 47 describes its effects; and ch. 48 lays out access to it. The vision thus also presupposes threads and themes of earlier oracles: the supremacy of God; the requirements necessitated by his holiness; revitalization by the Spirit of God; honoring God by living in accord with his holiness; and ensuring the sanctity of the community by maintaining divine justice." -ESV Study Bible

The Gospel According to Daniel. The Book of Daniel has an interesting structure that, rightly understood, shows Jesus (or, at least, the divine "son of man" figure that we will later find out is Jesus) as the main figure and central theme of the book. It's written in two languages. Chapters 1 and 8-12 are written in Hebrew, while chapters 2-7 are written in Aramaic. The transitions are intentional, which shows that this is meant to be written in two languages--it's a clue to the intentional structure of the book. It's written in two genres. Chapters 1-6 of Daniel are written as a third person narrative, while chapters 7-12 are written as first-person visions. The Aramaic chapters, 2-7, clearly mirror each other. Chapters 2 and 7 are about visions of four human kingdoms that are then overthrown by God's kingdom; chapter 3 and 6 are about God's miraculous rescue of his faithful servants from the hands of violent government persecution (the fiery furnace and the lion's den); and finally, chapters 4 and 5 are about God's miraculous humbling of two separate kings of Babylon. What do you get when you tie it all together? There is one specific chapter, Daniel 7, which acts as a hinge chapter for the whole book. It clearly kicks off the first-person visions that will carry on throughout the rest of the book, and it introduces themes that continue on through that section. But it also clearly belongs to the previous section as well--it's written in Aramaic, not Hebrew, and it fits neatly into the parallel structure of chapters 2-7.  All of this makes us put specific attention on Daniel 7 as a focal point of the book. And in that chapter, the central figure is one "like" a son of man (appearing to be a man, but in reality there's more to him), who comes "with the clouds of heaven" (something that only God does in the Old Testament), and receives a kingdom, glory, honor, and worship. Though modern Jewish interpretation judges this figure to be the people of Israel, the interpretation shows that it is speaking of a specific figure: "his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him" (Daniel 7:27).

The Gospel According to Haggai. This comes from Michael Barrett's commentary on Haggai, focusing on the very last verse of the book: "After announcing the fall of earthly kingdoms, Haggai pointed to the certainty of the coming Messiah. The reign of Christ was the guarantee of the fall of every other kingdom. This certitude is heightened because it comes from the Lord of Hosts, the Commander of all armies who has all of creation at his disposal to accomplish his will. There could be no doubt: Messiah was coming. Haggai makes the point, however, by referring to Zerubbabel whom God designates as a type or picture prophecy of David’s greater Son, the Messiah. In his capacity as God’s servant in the role of leadership, Zerubbabel pictured the Ideal Servant to come. The signet was a symbol of authority and privilege belonging to the royal office. When God removed the signet from Jehoiachin (Jer 22:24), it appeared that hope for a Davidic kingdom was gone. God stripped Jehoiachin of honor and excluded any of his descendants from inheriting the throne (Jer 22:30). Since Zerubbabel was a descendant of Jehoiachin (1Chr 3:17–19), he could never himself sit on the throne. But the Lord’s making him a signet was the guarantee of the unconditional certainty of God’s covenant promise that David’s greater Son would rule. Kingship was transferred to another line of David, vouchsafing the promise that was realized in Jesus. There could be no better way for Haggai to end his series of sermons than with the assurance that Christ was coming. Over 500 years remained before he would come, but he was coming, and the best was yet to be."

The Return From Exile (Ezra 1-5). Ezra is a very hopeful book--the people of God have returned to their home! But, since this is not yet the time when God returns to bring all of history to its culminating point, there is an air of disappointment in these passages. The work is hard. There is opposition. The list of exiles who actually travel back to Jerusalem are few. There are political barriers. Importantly, Judah is not its own kingdom anymore, but one territory in a much bigger foreign kingdom. The people may be home, but they are still arguably a people in exile; they are simultaneously returned to Jerusalem, but the king that rules over them is the king of Persia. In the way that the Old Testament is organized in Jewish Bibles, this is the note that things leave off with. There is a clear sign of incompleteness, and a calling out that God would overthrow the nations, provide a king of his own from the line of David, and bring his own kingdom about on earth as it is in heaven. In that sense, even if there were no messianic prophecies in the Bible -and there are many- we would still be left expecting someone very much like Jesus; the open ending of the Old Testament anticipates him at a deep, visceral level. And, on the other end of Jesus' life, crucifixion, and resurrection, so are we. And so we, like the people in Ezra's day, are called to be a people of hope and patient anticipation.

DO | HOW DO WE RESPOND?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? I won't lay out exact responses in this space because the possibilities are often endless. But it is worth it to think about application in the categories of worship, attitude, and actions. Does this reading direct me to God in worship and thanksgiving and praise, or does it direct me towards a change that I need to make here and now? If it's about a change that I need to make, is this something inward in my attitude, or outward in my actions? This helps to rescue application from just being a series of how-to tips, or one-size-fits-all instructions that go beyond what the Bible actually states. Sometimes, the most helpful application we can make is to get a different perspective on what's the most important thing, or about how we should respond inwardly to the things going on around us.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US TO GOD?

Whether in response to anything pointed out here, or to something else in your Bible reading time, take a few moments before you close up your Bible to pray in response to God. If you need a format for prayer, both the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication), CALL (Confess, Ask, Love, Listen), and PRAY (Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield) methods are helpful ways to stay consistent.

-Sean