From Ichabod To Ebenezer Series

SERIES: “EXCERPTS FROM EZEKIEL”

TEXT: EZEKIEL 8, 9, 10, & 11 **(8:6; 10:4, 18-19; 11:22-23) {Pew Bibles – p.825}

TITLE: “FROM ICHABOD TO EBENEZER”

INTRODUCTION: A. Paul Harvey told a story about an attractive female flight attendant who was being

hounded by two flirts – one at the front of the plane and the other at the back. She was

obviously put-off by the very forward advances being made by these two men, but she

kept right on doing her job.

Near the end of the flight one of the men became particularly bold. As the plane

was about to land he handed her a key to his apartment, a note with the address

and said, “See you tonight.” The flight attendant took them and walked directly to the

back of the plane. She handed the key and the note to the other flirt, winked and said,

“Don’t be late.”

--I’ll bet that there were two very confused men at that apartment that evening.

B. I’ll also bet that the title of this morning’s message has you just a little confused, too.

--“Ichabod” and “Ebenezer” are names from the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel

1. Ichabod – “the glory has departed”

a. In 1 Samuel, we read about a priest named Eli who had two sons – Hophni and

Phineas

b. The Israelites were at war with the Philistines and had been soundly defeated in

battle

--The Philistines captured the ark of the covenant and killed Eli’s two sons

c. When Eli heard what had happened, he fell out of his chair and broke his neck

e. 1 Sam. 4:19-21 – “His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and

near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been

captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into

labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. As she was dying,

the women attending her said, ‘Don’t despair; you have given birth to a son.’

But she did not respond or pay any attention. She named the boy Ichabod,

saying, ‘The glory has departed from Israel’-because of the capture of the ark of

God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband.”

2. Ebenezer – “God is my help”

--1 Sam. 7:12, the prophet Samuel named the place between two towns “Ebenezer”

because God had helped the Israelites there in their struggle with the Philistines

B. At first glance, today’s message may seem difficult to follow

1. But I promise you, if you’ll stay with me, you’ll hear a message that God wants you

to hear

2. As I summarize each chapter, have your Bible open, your mind ready to hear,

reading along with the verses as I talk about them

3. There are some very important lessons for our own times

a. Let’s look together at the events that transpire in these four chapters

b. Let’s covenant together this morning to open our hearts to what the Holy Spirit

says

I. GOD INDICTS THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL (Chapter 8)

--Ezek. 8:6 – “And he [God] said to me, ‘Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the utterly detestable

things the house of Israel is doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see

things that are even more detestable.’”

A. Ezekiel receives another vision from God

1. God shows Ezekiel the reason for judgment

2. He shows Ezekiel the spiritual condition of the people who are supposed to be HIS people

B. God takes Ezekiel and transports him from Babylon to the Temple in Jerusalem and shows him the

awful sinfulness of the supposed people of God.

1. vss. 5 – the idol of jealousy

a. Many scholars believe this idol to be an Asherah pole

--Asherah was a Canaanite goddess of sexual immorality and self-gratification

b. God referred to Himself as Israel’s husband. Israel was joined to him by covenant and God wanted

her exclusive devotion.

--However, Israel willingly and openly adulterates herself and becomes spiritually unfaithful

2. vss. 7-13 – Following God’s command, Ezekiel digs through a hole in the wall of the Temple

a. On the other side, he finds a hidden door.

--The door is hidden because those on the other side planned to keep hiding what they were doing

b. On the walls in this room are drawings of all kinds of animals and crawling things

1). Most likely, these were the creature idols worshipped in Egypt

2). The plagues that God brought against Egypt all dealt with a different form of their creature idols

--frogs, livestock, gnats, flies, locusts, and so on…

c. What Ezekiel finds is that the elders of God’s people are involved in hidden idolatrous practices