In the Old Testament, Israel was God's chosen and elect people. God had delivered them out of Egypt and brought them into the good land. His putting the people of Israel into the good land typifies that God has put us into Christ. Our good land is Christ. Ezekiel 20:6 says that the good land is the glory of all the lands. Christ is the glory on this earth. God has put us into the glorious Christ Who is flowing with milk and honey.
The people of Israel experienced three stages of the enjoyment of Christ. In the first stage, they enjoyed Christ in Egypt as the Passover lamb with the unleavened bread and bitter herbs. In the second stage, they enjoyed Him in the wilderness as heavenly manna and as the living water. Finally, in the third stage, they enjoyed Christ as the land, full of rich produce. These three stages match our experience. When we were saved, we enjoyed Christ as the Passover lamb. Afterward, we began to enjoy Christ as our daily manna. However, the ultimate enjoyment is to enjoy Christ as the good land with all His unsearchable riches in the church life. Eventually, Israel, God's chosen people, were living in the good land with the temple and the city. The temple signifies God's house, and the city signifies God's kingdom. God's presence is in His house, and God's authority is in His kingdom. Today in the church life, we have God's presence and God's authority because we are God's elect, living in Christ and enjoying all that He is.
We need to consider the rights, the privileges, and the standing of the people of Israel. First, the people of Israel were God's elect, His chosen people. Among all the peoples of the earth, Israel was chosen by God to be His unique people.
Israel was also God's vine for the accomplishing of God's economy. God always grants His rich visitation with sunshine, air, rain, rich soil, and many other things which are necessary so that the vine can grow and produce something. The vine in God's economy should produce grapes and wine which can satisfy God and can cause people to rejoice. As God's elect and chosen people, Israel was also God's vine for His economy. Today, Christ and the church are God's vine.
Israel was also God's Bride for His satisfaction. Genesis 2:18 says that it is not good for man to be alone. Likewise, it is not good for Christ, for God, to be alone. Christ desires to have a Bride. According to Ezekiel 16 and 23, Israel was God's Bride in the Old Testament. Today the church is Christ's Bride for His satisfaction (Rev. 19:7).
The house of Israel was also God's flock. In the Old Testament, Israel was God's flock under His shepherding. Today the church is God's flock, under His care (1 Pet. 5:2).
The people of Israel were also chosen by Him to be a precious and peculiar treasure (Exo. 19:5). How marvelous was Israel's standing before God! They were His elect, His vine, His Bride, His flock, and His treasure.
These were the rights, privileges, and the standing of the people of Israel. But unfortunately, their actual condition was very poor. If you read the long record from chapter two to chapter twenty-four, you will weep for their condition. They were God's elect, but they became rebels against God. Many times in these twenty-three chapters, God said Israel was a rebellious nation, a rebellious house. He told Ezekiel He was sending him to a rebellious house. They were God's elect, but they became God's rebels.
They were God's vine, but they became briars and thorns (2:6). The vine should produce grapes as fruit to eat and for making wine. Instead, they became briars and thorns. They became a pricking, damaging, injuring plant which yielded no fruit and no wine.
God's Bride became a whore, a harlot (6:9). What a miserable situation! In Ezekiel 16 and 23, God said that His heart was broken because of their whorish heart. God, as a dear Husband, was grieved because of His whorish wife.
Furthermore, God's flock became scorpions (2:6). The sheep of the flock should produce milk to nourish people, wool to warm people, and meat for people to eat. But scorpions produce only continual stinging. They produce no milk, no wool, no skin, no meat—only stinging.
God's treasure of gold and silver became dross, the waste material which remains from the refining of gold and silver.