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INTRO TO EZEKIEL
ICEBREAKER
I have to say that I’m a little sad that we only get to spend one week studying Ezekiel. It’s a really fun book. Just like the rest of the prophets in the Old Testament, Ezekiel has his own personality and style. To help my students understand a unique aspect of that style, I like to do the following icebreaker to introduce the entire book. Look at the following picture. Can you tell what it is? This is an extreme close-up picture of a specific everyday object. What is it? It’s a toothbrush. What about this one? And this one? And you can go through each of these with your students having them guess what they think the object is. You could also do it as a video and just pause it before the camera pulls back and reveals what the object is. I’ll provide a link to the video in the description below. But I find this is kind of a fun way to introduce the book of Ezekiel.
TRANSITION
And that’s because the Book of Ezekiel is a very visual book. A book that invites you to look closely at some specific images and visions. Today we might say Ezekiel was a very visual learner. That’s the way the Lord chose to teach Ezekiel and it’s the way Ezekiel chose to teach his people. Now we’ve seen visual language before in the writings of other prophets this year, such as Isaiah. But Ezekiel’s visual language is different from Isaiah’s. Isaiah was a poet and he described things with visual imagery—but he didn’t necessarily see the things that he’s describing. He uses figurative language. But Ezekiel has visions, and he describes what he actually sees. And then Ezekiel was the king of object lessons, like he was a prophetic street performer. He does a bunch of them with the people, and they’re quite interesting. He builds a little model of Jerusalem and then pretends to attack the city, almost as if he were playing with little plastic army men. He lies on his left side for 390 days, and then he switches over to his right for 40. He bakes his bread with cow dung in front of everyone. He shaves his beard off and then does a number of different things with the hair. And then, probably one of the most difficult object lessons he gives is when his wife dies, he doesn’t mourn or cry for her.
If you’re curious about reading some of these object lessons, you can find them in the following references:
4:1-3
4:4-6
4:12-15
5:1-4
12:3-7
12:18-19
24:16-18
Now all of these object lessons were intended to teach the people. To catch their attention and prompt them to ask him why he was doing these seemingly strange things. He was then able to use that as an opportunity to teach them in a much more memorable way. And God continues to teach his people in this way. He uses imagery, objects, stories, parables, and symbolism to prompt us to ask questions and ask ourselves things like, “Why that object?” “Why that image?”. And then he can help us to answer those questions through our own ponderings and inspiration from the Spirit. This method of teaching is particularly evident in the temple, where visual symbolism abounds. As we study the book of Ezekiel this week, look for the visuals, and ask yourselves questions. Then allow the Spirit to teach you. You’re sure to come away with some very memorable messages.
WATCHMEN
ICEBREAKER
So let’s take a look at a few of these here. Ezekiel gives us one of the greatest visuals for the role of prophets in God’s church. What does the Lord compare Ezekiel to in Ezekiel 33:7?
7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
What does he call him? A watchman unto the house of Israel.
Why is that a good analogy, in your opinion? How are the prophets like watchmen?
As a part of this icebreaker you could show your classes the following church video and have them consider how latter-day prophets have fulfilled this role. It’s called, “Watchman on the Tower” and I’ll include a link to it in the video description below.
SEARCH
So where would be the most ideal place to put a watchman? Inside the palace? Outside the city gates? In the horse stables? No, high on the walls of the city or in a tower. In an elevated position where they could have a greater perspective and a higher likelihood of seeing approaching dangers. Now turn to Ezekiel 33:1-9 and answer the following questions using this handout study guide. As a teacher you could then correct it to help spark a discussion about the significance and responsibility of prophets.
What specific phrases describe a prophet’s responsibility?
Here’s what I see. In verse 3 it says that they are to “blow the trumpet and warn the people.” Prophets are called to raise a voice of warning if they see danger. And they need to give this warning in a very obvious and forceful way, so that the warning would be unmistakable, like blowing a trumpet. And then in verse 9 we learn that prophets are to warn the wicked of their way, and encourage them to turn from it.
What specific phrases describe our responsibility?
We are to “Hear the warning: (verses 4-5),” “take the warning (verses 4-5),” and “turn from our way (verse 9). It’s not enough to just listen to a prophet. We must act on their counsels and turn from our current course when we’re asked to turn.
What if a prophet decided not to fulfill his responsibility to warn us?
What would be the consequence? Then whatever bad thing happened to us as a result, would be on his shoulders. That’s what these verses are saying. If a watchman could see the danger coming and decided not to do anything about it, and the people were attacked, then their blood would be on his hands. And rightly so. He knew what was coming and said nothing about it. This explains at least one reason for why prophets do what they do. If they don’t warn us, then they could be held responsible.
Where do prophet’s get their words?
In verse 7, it tells us that prophets “hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.” Prophets speak the words they’ve been given by the mouth of God. They don’t preach their own ideas or philosophies but the things they’ve heard directly from the mouth of God.
What will be the promised result of heeding the prophet’s warnings?
It says it in verse 5. We will deliver our soul. We will be delivered from the dangers. We’ll be saved from the attacks of the enemy.
What is the promised consequence of not heeding the prophet’s warnings?
He shall be taken away in his iniquity in verse 6, or worse “die in his iniquity” in verse 8. When the prophet’s do their job of warning us and we look up and ignore those warnings. When we disregard their counsel, when we criticize their leadership, when we think we know better, then we shouldn’t be surprised when their prophecies come true. And I know it’s tempting sometimes to look up from the bottom of the tower and say, “What are they so worried about? Why are they sounding the alarm? I don’t see anything. I don’t see any danger out there. I don’t see why that’s a big deal. I don’t see why they want us to do that. I don’t see the reason to make that change.” And I think the Lord would respond to us by saying, “You’re right! You don’t see. You don’t see the things the prophets see. So trust them! Trust the vision of the seers. The watchmen on the tower.
Can you think of any examples of how a latter-day prophet has warned us of coming dangers before they arrived?
There are so many we could point to, but allow me to give you a few examples:
Joseph Smith received Doctrine and Covenants 89 in 1833, which contains what we refer to as the Word of Wisdom or the Church’s law of health. In that revelation he warned of “evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days”. So to keep us healthy and free from addiction and poor health, the prophet warned us long before these industries really began to form, strengthen, and plot to capture as many people in their addictive web as possible. We were warned as a people long before nutritionists and doctors and surgeon generals banded together to also warn people of the dangers of these things. We’ve had that instruction since 1833. The prophet saw the coming danger and sounded the trumpet for us.
David O. McKay emphasized the importance of protecting the home and making family values a priority during the 1950’s when family values were generally supported and upheld in the media and popular culture of the day. But what could he see off in the distance? The 60’s where there would be a massive counter-culture rebellion against those family values. The nature of many movies, tv shows and music changed. General standards changed, and values that were once considered universal and obvious were questioned and defied. Things have never been the same. The prophet saw the coming danger though, and raised a warning voice.
Under Gordon B. Hinckley, The Proclamation on the Family cemented and reiterated the Church’s position on certain social issues in a day when those things were challenged but not necessarily generally opposed. What did he see? A much more concerted and broad attack on those issues that has only greatly intensified over the past 25 years. I believe he and other church leaders saw these things coming and prepared us a church to commit to those values and strengthen our resolve to stand up for them.
Russell M. Nelson significantly altered the teaching program and schedule of the Church in 2019 to encourage more at-home study and gospel instruction. How prophetic was that change when in 2020 all we could do was at-home gospel instruction. Therefore, we as a church were far better prepared for the circumstances we found ourselves in during the pandemic because of the prophet’s counsel.
And then, all prophets in any age teach commandments and standards that are designed to help us live happy and meaningful lives. When they warn us of the dangers of dishonesty, prejudice, anger, materialism, pride, immodesty, pornography, or any number of other vices, they are doing it from a raised perspective of what these things will bring to our futures. They protect us from these negative consequences and deliver our souls.
TRUTH
Prophets are like watchmen on a tower. If we heed their warnings, we will deliver our souls. If we ignore their warnings, we will be taken away in our iniquity.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
To help us liken the scriptures, I’ve included the following questions on our “Watchman on the Tower” activity. On a scale from 1-10, with 1 being the lowest, and 10 being the highest, where would you put yourself in relation to the following statements.
I am grateful to be led by living prophets and apostles.
I watch every session of General Conference.
I go back and revisit the talks of General Conference.
I seek to apply the lessons I learn from General Conference.
I have seen blessings in my life from heeding the counsels of the prophets.
CONCLUSION
Well I love that metaphor. It’s one of the best for prophets. It stands as a powerful visual reminder of the purpose and power of prophets. We are so fortunate to have them at our head, and I know it’s easy to take them for granted. I’m glad that we get the reminder of their prophetic leadership every six months as they sound the warning for all the world. My advice to you then is, don’t ignore them! Don’t ignore their perspective and vision. If we heed their call, we will always be prepared for the dangers that surround us.
VALLEY OF DRY BONES
ICEBREAKER
Now let’s take a look at another fantastic visual lesson from the Book of Ezekiel. And this next one is a great one for Halloween time because it has to do with skeletons. It’s got a fun, spooky element to it perfect for this time of year. So for an icebreaker, let’s talk about bones.
The activity is “Can you name the bone?” I’ll show you a picture of a bone from the human body and you tell me the name of it, or at least where it’s found in the body.
Let’s start easy and get progressively harder:
This is a skull of course
Femur-the largest bone in the body
This is a rib
Patella-kneecap
This is a vertebrae bone-our backs are made up of these.
This is the smallest bone in the human body-the stapes. And it’s found in the ear.
TRANSITION
Well the prophet Ezekiel had a really interesting vision where bones played a big part in helping him to understand a truth about our Heavenly Father’s power. We find that vision in Ezekiel chapter 37.
SEARCH
Now this is one of those stories that just really has to be visualized to have the most impact. So what I would do as a teacher is just read the story to my students. But you’ve really got to perform it. Read it with voice and emphasis and enthusiasm to give them a more vivid sense of what Ezekiel is seeing here. It’s just a really fun story.
37 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
So can you picture that. I live in the Salt Lake Valley, so I kind of imagine a pre-pioneer Salt Lake Valley full of bones. But notice, he says that they are very dry bones. Which means they’ve been dead for a long time. I hike a lot in the desert, and I’ve sometimes come upon dry animal bones that are sun-bleached, bright wight, and have obviously been baking in the hot sun for years. Now picture an entire valley filled with human skeletons just like that.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.
But I imagine in Ezekiel’s mind he’s thinking, “I don’t think so”. Bones don’t come back to life. Especially not these bones, that are dry and long gone. The people whose bones these belong to, are not just mostly dead, they are all dead and have been so for a very, very long time. But, he still gives God a really safe answer: God, thou knowest. You know, you are God, after all, and have been known to do some pretty amazing things.
4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
5 Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
Oh, isn’t that a fantastic description? Can you hear the rattling of those bones echoing in your imagination there. An entire valley full of them, shaking and clattering together. And they start to move together, and attach themselves back into full skeletons bone by bone. Like I said, this is a great story for Halloween time.
8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
So not only do the bones come together, but now what happens? Muscles, and organs, and skin covers the bones. Can you visualize that one? Or hear it? What does that look like, what does it sound like. It’s another vivid and evocative image. But they’re not alive. So now it’s just a valley full of bodies. But no breath in them.
9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Can you see them now waking up, their eyes flicking open all of a sudden and their mouths drawing in that first breath of life. Like those movies where people are receiving CPR and they start breathing again. And then these newly brought to life people stand up on their feet and begin to look around. And they’re clothed in armor, swords attached to their hip belts, helmets, breastplates, shields. What a sight that must have been for Ezekiel. Sounds like something out of a Lord of the Rings movie, right? For something to have been so dead and hopeless, and bleak, to then be transformed into living, breathing, powerful soldiers, must have been an unforgettable vision for Ezekiel to behold.
Now before we hear the Lord’s interpretation of this vision, which he is going to give us in the following verses, what do you get from that? What do you think was the message God was trying to communicate to Ezekiel and to all of us? As a teacher, allow your students to just mull that one over for a bit and share their thoughts. Remember that these Old Testament prophecies have multiple interpretations and fulfillments. Then, read verses 11-14 together as a class to see if their interpretation matches in any way the Lord’s explanation given to Ezekiel. And the Lord says:
11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
13 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.
So the Lord says that the bones specifically represent the house of Israel. And remember, this is after the Babylonian conquest. The people of Ezekiel’s day feel like their country, their kingdom, their nation is dead. They’ve been conquered. They lost. Their hope is lost. And here God is promising them that he can restore them to their own land once again. He can resurrect the House of Israel once again. Bring their nation from out of its grave and breath his spirit back into it. So one way of looking at this vision is as a prophecy of the gathering of Israel. The four fulfillments that we talked about last week would apply here as well. Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones shows us that Jesus Christ has the power to restore Israel to its promised land once again. But, I think that’s not the only intended message of this vision. More can be implied.
This story could also be pointed to as an illustration of the doctrine of resurrection. It’s a great illustration of what God can do with those who have literally passed away and have been dead for a long time. God can cause them to live. He will bring their bones back together, their muscles and sinews, and breathe the breath of life back into them again. Literally! We shall all live again. Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones shows us that Jesus Christ has the power to bring back physical life, where death once reigned. It’s a vision of hope for those who have lost loved ones.
I believe there could be another message taught here. The valley of dry bones is a great symbol for dead hope. Can you think of a bleaker, or dismal image than that depressing valley. It’s a situation where you would have no reason to hope. They’re dead. Long dead. Remember they are “very” dry bones. So the question God asks Ezekiel in the vision is meant to be rhetorical. Can bones this dry live again? The obvious answer: No, that’s impossible Lord. It’s over. There’s no reason to hope for these bones. Game Over. OR, if the bones are the bones of an army, then this army lost. The battle is ended, and they did not survive. But even in those conditions, what can the power of God do? He can do the impossible. He can bring light and life out of the most hopeless of situations. This is by far my favorite and most personal interpretation of the vision of the valley of dry bones. It’s a remarkable manifestation of God’s ability to heal and bring life to things that seem to be dead. God has the power to revive dead faith, he can revive dead hopes, he can revive dead relationships. There may be people out there that have lost all hope in their willingness or ability to change, or who feel that they are beyond redemption or the grasp of God’s mercy. But God can make those dead bones live. Everyone has a reason to hope
Yet, another possible way of looking at this vision. We’ve seen army imagery before in the Old Testament. You might remember that Isaiah spoke of a great latter-day army that would respond to the raised Ensign and call of the captain-prophet to fight the armies of darkness. Do you remember the young lions that we spoke of. This could also be what Ezekiel is being shown here. But in Ezekiel, this is an army that is raised up by God seemingly out of nowhere. A powerful army that restores hope to the lost house of Israel. So in that sense, this is an army of missionaries! Thousands of 18–20-year-old young men and young women raised up by God to go out and preach the gospel to the world. Now THAT’S an army of hope. The hope of Israel. And what do they have inside them? The Spirit of the Lord that has been breathed into them. And with that Spirit, they go out and unite Israel once again. They gather Israel back to their land—Zion.
Now in that sense and interpretation, let’s add some verses from Ezekiel 37. If they are soldiers, they must have weapons. And they do. They carry something with them. What will they fight with? Read Ezekiel 37:15-17. And a quick note, when these verses speak of “sticks”, they mean a scroll or a wooden writing tablet. So it says:
15 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
What do you think the Lord showing Ezekiel here? Again, multiple interpretations. But if the sticks are “writings”, what writings could we be talking about? Scripture! You have the stick of Judah, or the writings of Judah. And you have the stick of Ephraim, or the writings of Ephraim. And what happens with these two sticks in the latter-days? They become one in your hand. They are brought together, and their power magnified. The stick of Judah would be the Bible, the record of the Jews. The stick of Ephraim would be the Book of Mormon. Lehi, we know was of the tribe of Manasseh (one of the Northern Tribes, Ephraim) and all his descendants then. And, quite literally, this prophecy has been fulfilled! Some of you, right now, may be holding in your hands a physical manifestation of this! Do any of you have a quad? The two sticks have become one in your hand! And what does this army do with their “weapon”? A great cross reference you could share here from the footnotes is 2 Nephi 3:12
12 Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord.
Now this is a great thing to teach your classes, especially if you’re teaching the youth. Help them to see that this is a vision of them that Ezekiel is seeing! They need to become a part of that army. They need to learn how to use that weapon—the sword of the word of God. That’s why they’re there in your class, right then, for that very purpose. To learn how to swing the sword of the word of God, to confound false doctrines, lay down contentions, establish peace and bring to all the knowledge of their fathers and the Lord’s covenants. They are to become an exceeding great army with the spirit of the Lord breathed into them, carrying those united sticks to bring hope to a dead, dark world of apostasy and ignorance. Will you be a part of that army? A wonderful primary song comes to mind here that maybe you could have them sing: “We’ll Bring the World His Truth”. Because, THEY are as the army of Helaman. Or in this sense, we could slightly adjust the words. We are as the army of Ezekiel.
Now that’s just one of way of looking at that prophecy. It’s ALSO another way of the Lord illustrating the prophecy that Israel will be united once again. It isn’t just talking about the Bible and the Book of Mormon becoming one. But the people becoming one. The two split kingdoms of Ephraim and Judah will once again be brought together and made into one nation. And we know the Lord intends us to interpret it in that way because he says it in verses 21-22
21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.
TRUTH
Remember, there are many ways we could express the truths taught by this remarkable vision of Ezekiel’s. But however you look at it, perhaps the main principle we could unite them all under could be: God has the power to bring life and hope to the lifeless and hopeless.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
What is your favorite interpretation of the vision of the valley of dry bones and how does it give you hope?
Is it the hope of the resurrection, that the Lord will bring back all our loved ones that have passed away to life again.
Is it the hope that comes from God’s power to breathe life and light into dying or dead faith.
Is it the hope that comes from the Lord’s mercy and the promise of forgiveness when sin and rebellion has caused our spirits to die and become dry bones.
Is it the hope of a united Zion throughout the world and the gathering of Israel into one in the latter-days.
Or is it the hope that the great army of missionaries provides us with, that have been sent forth to teach with the sticks or sword of the word of God in their hand.
Or is it some other interpretation?
CONCLUSION
No matter how you look at it, we know that God has power to raise anything back to glorious life. Maybe, this Halloween you can keep that truth in mind. Whenever you see a skeleton. The symbol of death and hopelessness. Remember this truth taught in Ezekiel. Remember the Lord’s question. Can these dry bones live? The answer: A resounding YES! They can.
Ezekiel 47 WATERS TO SWIM IN
Now, Ezekiel 47. My favorite chapter of the whole book. Such a beautiful message here. This is Ezekiel’s vision of the temple.
ICEBREAKER
To introduce it, I like to show my classes some pictures of the following temples and ask them what they notice they all have in common. Now obviously, they have a lot in common. They have spires. They’re wight. They’re beautiful. But there’s something else, especially these temples. They all have fairly significant water features in front of them. Many actually look like a river is flowing from them. And really, almost all temples have some kind of water feature associated with them. At least a fountain, or a reflecting pool in front. Did you know that that’s not by accident? That there is scriptural reason for those water features. This isn’t just good landscaping. But like most things in the temple, it’s symbolic. And it has everything to do with Ezekiel chapter 47.
SEARCH
In this chapter, Ezekiel has a vision of the temple. And what does he see in 47:1? Describe it for me.
He sees water flowing from the temple. Waters issue out from under the threshold. A river starts to flow from it. Now we’re going to skip verses 3-5 for a minute, but don’t worry, we’ll come back to them. What I want you to do is read verses 6-12 and mark everything you learn about that river.
And what do we learn?
There are trees growing on both sides. Very many trees in fact.
We learn that the river flows down into the East country, into the desert, and out into the sea. And then what happens to the sea? The sea is healed. What sea are we talking about here? We’ll come back to that question. There are some more hints to that later on.
What effect does the river have on the things that it touches? Verse 9, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live. So the river is a river of healing. “For they shall be healed and every thing shall live wither the river cometh.
Now unless you’ve been to the Holy Land and Jerusalem before, this imagery may not have its intended impact on you. So let me help you visualize this. We need to take a look at a map. Sometimes the Bible maps section can teach us powerful principles. I want you to go to Map 10 at the back of your Bibles which depicts a map of ancient Israel. Where was the temple first of all? Jerusalem. Can you find it? Here it is. Then which direction did Ezekiel say the river was flowing? To the East, so this direction. He said that river flowed out into the desert. Now this is where I need to give you some help. The area just East of Jerusalem is known as the Judean wilderness. I’ve been there. And let me tell you, it is a dead, dead land. I mean, I live in Utah and spend a lot of time hiking in the dessert, and yes, it is barren. But not even that is comparable to the Judean wilderness. At least there’s sage brush, and weeds, and cactus and a little bit of green. But the Judean wilderness. Nothing. Very, very little. Here’s a picture of what it looks like. When I visited, I remember seeing some Bedouins living in tents along the side of the road with their flocks of sheep, and I thought to myself. What on earth do their animals eat? Rocks? Because I couldn’t see anything green in the entire area. So this is the area that Ezekiel wants you to visualize. Now picture a river flowing through it. And what effect does the river have? It heals whatever it touches. And even in this dead, dead land, trees start springing up on both sides of it. It’s kind of sending a similar message to the vision of the valley of dry bones. If you were an Israelite, you would immediately understand the significance of that miracle. This is no ordinary river. For trees to grow up out of THAT kind of land is miraculous. And then that river flows down into the sea. What sea would we be talking about then? It’s not the Mediterranean. That would be west of Jerusalem. This river flows east. Verse 10 gives us some more clues. It gives us some place names. It says the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim. So can you find En-gedi on our map? Here it is down here. It’s on the banks of a sea. What sea lies east of Jerusalem? The Dead Sea. And that body of water is aptly named. IT IS DEAD. It’s actually quite a bit saltier than the Great Salt Lake. Nothing lives in the Dead Sea. At least little, tiny brine shrimp can live in the Great Salt Lake. The Dead Sea has so much mineral content, that you can actually float in it without even treading water. It’s my kind of swimming. No sea creatures to worry about, and basically impossible to drown in. But this incredible river flowing from the temple heals it! THAT’S really saying something! He says he sees fisherman standing on the banks, casting out their nets and bringing in all kinds of fish. As the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. Great fishing out of the Dead Sea? Incredible. You can imagine the impact that imagery would have on the people of Ezekiel’s day.
Then look at verse 12
12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat,
(meaning food, these are fruit trees)
whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
Ohhh. This is good. The trees generated by the river feed and heal.
All right, are we ready to interpret what this river symbolizes? What do you think it could be?
It represents the blessings that flow from the temple. From the doors of every temple on earth flows a healing, life-giving river. It’s not a river that you see with your eyes, but that you feel with your heart. This symbolism is not lost on Church architects who design these magnificent structures. Remember our pictures at the beginning. The temple in Hawaii uses this imagery. The Gilbert Arizona temple has this. Even some of the smaller temples are known to have this feature. Probably my favorite example of this that I’ve ever seen is the Snowflake Arizona temple, where you have this lovely red rock, desert landscaping with water flowing out from under the front entrance of the temple and then out over this cascading waterfall.
So what does that river bring us? What are those blessings? Let’s brainstorm that. The two key things this river does is that it brings life and healing. Remember the leaves of the trees are for medicine and that the waters, heal the desert and the Dead Sea. That’s the power of the temple. It can bring life and healing to all spiritually dry and dead places. The temple can give life to and heal dying faith, dying marriages, dying hopes, dying relationships. And one day, the combined rivers of life and healing that flow from all of God’s temples will combine into one and finally bring peace and healing to the entire world.
What else does that river bring? It’s a river of knowledge and truth that flows to all that enter therein. Remember the temple is referred to as a house of learning.
It’s a river of love.
It’s a river of joy
It’s a river of peace.
It’s a river of people that go out from its doors and provide life and healing to all those they encounter. Missionaries, before they serve, always go to the temple first. There they are given life and healing, and they in turn, go out and give those same things to the world.
It’s a river of salvation that brings forgiveness, and sanctification to those who serve within it, and brings salvation and sanctification to those whose work is done within it. It flows straight into the Spirit World, where those who have waited for so long are finally able to drink deeply from its banks.
What more do YOU feel flows from the threshold of the temple?
Waters to Swim In
Now how deep is that river? Hmmm. Ezekiel has something to say about that as well. Now this is so much fun. I don’t want to give you too much of a leading question because I want you to ponder and personalize this image. You may come up with a completely different interpretation from mine. But all I want you to consider is this straightforward question. What do you feel Ezekiel 47:3-5 teach us about the temple? Oh, and by the way, when these verses speak about “the man”, they’re referring to the angel that is kind of leading Ezekiel through this vision.
3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward,
(the line here would mean an instrument of measuring. So kind of like a measuring tape, the angel is counting out a distance along the bank of the river)
he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
What do you feel the angel was trying to teach Ezekiel and all of us about the river of the temple? That’s what I would ask my class and then I would just let them share. You’re sure to get a number of great interpretations of this vision.
My thoughts? It’s saying something about the experience of the temple each time that I go. The more I go to the temple, the deeper the waters get each time. Every time I worship there, the blessings deepen. Now I don’t know about you, but I still remember the very first time I ever went through the temple to receive my endowment. It was a bit of an overwhelming experience. There was so much I didn’t understand. I was, in a sense, just getting my feet wet. The water was only to the ankles. But even then, on a hot day, can wading into a cool ankle-deep stream be refreshing? Yes. And that experience was good and uplifting, but I realized I had much to learn. Now I’ve been back to the temple many times since, and every time I’ve gone, that river has gotten progressively deeper and deeper for me. Now when I go, I go to swim, not just to wade.
Now the meaning of that deepening can change depending on what aspect of the river I choose to focus on.
If the river represents truth and knowledge, every time I go to the temple, I learn more. My understanding of God’s plan and my part in it, deepens as I go to ponder the symbolism, the words, and the meaning of the ordinances performed there. .
If the river is a river of the salvation of souls, of God’s children, the more temples that are built, the longer those temples operate, the greater the number of souls that are saved and brought exaltation. The river deepens with each ordinance performed.
If the river is a river of love, or peace, or joy. The more I go to the temple, the more deeply I will feel those things in my life.
In all these things, it comes to the point where I’m not just wading in that river, but I’m swimming. It becomes a river that cannot be passed over. It’s not one of our Utah rivers, small, not very wide, sometimes dry. But an Eastern United States river. It’s the Mississippi, or the Missouri river, rivers that almost look like lakes in some places. You can’t just easily swim across them.
Another possible thing to consider. I know of individuals who were not very well prepared to enter the temple for the first time who found their first experience with the house of the Lord confusing or off-putting. Nobody helped them to understand the symbolic nature of temple worship and they decided not to return because it wasn’t what they expected. Temple worship and ordinances are quite different from any other type of thing we do in the church, and that bewilders some. What a tragedy it is when members of the Church judge the temple to be shallow or unrefreshing after only one visit. Little do they know that life and healing await them just a little way downstream. If they will patiently persist in attending and seek understanding, they are sure to find the deeper holes and the waters to swim in.
TRUTH
A river of truth, love, peace, healing, and life flows from God’s temples. If I immerse myself frequently in the waters of the temple, these blessings will deepen every time I go.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
What waters of life and healing have flown into your life from the temple? Share some of the greatest blessings that you feel you’ve received from the temple and temple worship.
OR
Have you ever had a “swimming” experience in the temple? Please share. And no, I’m not talking about swimming in the baptismal font. That would be inappropriate. But have you ever had an experience where you felt you had been immersed deeply in the flowing blessings of God within the walls of the Lord’s house?
CONCLUSION
Well, I love to see the temple. I’m so grateful that we have these special places that represent a kind of heaven on earth. I feel fortunate to have so many so close to me. During the pandemic, when the temples were closed, I really came to understand the impact the temple had on my life. You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. And when we finally could return, and I was once again able to swim in those refreshing waters, I remembered just how invigorating and rewarding temple worship is. I pray that all of us can find that revitalizing, thirst-quenching, life-giving experience frequently as we wade into those deep waters again and again.
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