“When it was evening,
Jesus came
With the twelve.”
Καὶ ὀψίας γενομένης ἔρχεται μετὰ τῶν δώδεκα.
This is similar to Matthew, chapter 26:20, and Luke, chapter 22:14. Mark said that when it was evening or when evening arrived (Καὶ ὀψίας γενομένης), Jesus came (ἔρχεται) with the 12 apostles (μετὰ τῶν δώδεκα). Jesus and his 12 apostles were ready to celebrate the Passover in this large upper room in the city of Jerusalem.
“You!
O son of man!
Take a brick!
Set it before you!
Portray a city on it,
Jerusalem!
Put the siege works
Against it!
Build a siege wall
Against it!
Cast up a ramp
Against it!
Set camps also
Against it!
Plant battering rams
Against it all around!
Then take an iron plate!
Place it
As an iron wall
Between you
And the city!
Set your face
Toward it!
Let it be
In a state of siege!
Press the siege
Against it!
This is a sign
For the house of Israel.”
Here we have the one of the many symbolic actions by Ezekiel. A voice, either Yahweh or his Spirit, told Ezekiel to be an expert model Lego builder of the siege of Jerusalem. Ezekiel, the son of man, was to take a brick and portray the city of Jerusalem. He was to put the siege works with a siege wall against this city. He was to put a ramp and camps against this city with battering rams all around it. Then he was to take an iron plate and make an iron wall between himself and the city, looking at it. Thus there was a state of siege, a sign for the house of Israel. Ezekiel was part of the exiles from 598 BCE before the taking of Jerusalem and the second captivity in 587 BCE.
“On the ninth day
Of the fourth month,
The famine was
So severe
In the city
That there was
No food
For the people
Of the land.”
Once again, this is word for word from 2 Kings, chapter 25. The famine in the city of Jerusalem was so severe, that there was no food for the people there, after a mere 4 months.
“‘Fields shall be bought
In this land
Of which you are saying.
‘It is a desolation!
It is without humans!
It is without animals!
It has been given
Into the hands
Of the Chaldeans.’
Fields shall be bought
For money.
Deeds shall be signed,
Sealed,
As well as witnessed
In the land of Benjamin,
In the places about Jerusalem,
In the towns of Judah,
In the towns of the hill country,
In the towns of the Shephelah,
In the towns of the Negeb.
I will restore their fortunes.’
Says Yahweh.”
Yahweh said, via Jeremiah, that the time of the desolation of the land was over. Fields were going to be bought and sold. It is not clear who owned some of these fields, since they might have changed hands a few times, since the beginning of the exile. However, the land was desolate, since there were no humans or animals on them after the Chaldeans took over. Who was going to sell this land? However, there would be a legal process. Money would exchange hands with deeds signed, sealed, and witnessed. The example of Jeremiah buying a field in the preceding chapter may be an example of how things would operate. Now this restoration would take place in the Benjamin territory, around the city of Jerusalem, and the towns of Judah. However, there are places mentioned, like the towns in the hill country of Judah, the Shephelah, the old Dan territory next to Benjamin, as well as the Negeb, the semi arid land southeast of Jerusalem near the Dead Sea. There was no mention of the northern territory from the old northern Israelite kingdom and their tribal territory.
“‘I will give you shepherds
After my own heart.
They will feed you
With knowledge.
They will feed you
With understanding.
When you have multiplied,
You will have increased in the land.’
Says Yahweh.
‘In those days,
They shall no more say.
‘The ark of the covenant of Yahweh.’
It shall not come to mind.
It will not be remembered.
It will not be missed.
There will not be another one made.
At that time
Jerusalem shall be called
The throne of Yahweh.
All nations shall gather to it.
In the presence of Yahweh,
In Jerusalem,
They shall no more stubbornly follow
Their own evil will.
In those days
The house of Judah shall
Join the house of Israel.
Together they shall come
From the land of the north
To the land that I gave your ancestors
For a heritage.’”
Yahweh speaks via Jeremiah about what was going to happen in the future after they returned from the Exile. They would have good shepherd rulers with knowledge and understanding leading them. They would increase and multiply in the promised land of their ancestors. In a strange sort of comment, the Ark of the Covenant would be replaced by the city of Jerusalem as the throne of Yahweh. Somehow they were going to forget and not miss the Ark of the Covenant. Many nations would come to Jerusalem. This sounds like it was written at the time of the Exile about a future hope for Jerusalem. The returned Israelites would no longer follow their own evil ways, as the house of Judah would come together with the northern tribes of Israel. They would enjoy the land that was given to them as the heritage of their ancestors.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 