Day 236, Ezekiel 1-4

Introduction

Ezekiel, a prophet and priest, was exiled to Babylon in 597 B.C. His ministry extended over at least twenty-three years. The book opens with his first dramatic vision of the “likeness” of the Lord himself.

Ezekiel was keenly aware of God’s presence and power in human affairs. He addressed both the exiles and the people left in Judah with messages of warning and judgement, predicting the fall of Jerusalem.

After Jerusalem’s fall (in 586), Ezekiel prophesied hope and reassurance for the people of Judah, who had then lost the focus of God’s covenant, the temple in Jerusalem. His vision of the valley of dry bones is a classic picture of God’s ability to renew his people.

Ezekiel means “God is strong,” “God strengthens,” or “God makes hard.” He is best known for: the visions of destruction he received and his graphic early prophecies; the many ways that God used this prophet’s life as an analogy for Israel; and proclaiming God’s consolation to the exiles.

What is going on?

I read today’s assignment and was so lost and confused by pretty much all of it, I’m just sitting here processing the absurdity that I read before I can even continue on and attempt to summarize it.

How am I supposed to summarize and explain the reading when I have no clue what the hell is going on!?

I understand that the Lord went to Ezekiel, but the way it is described I cannot even begin to follow what it is saying, let alone picture any of it. Even trying to search for images online I am still so confused. Can anyone explain this to me or have a better image that can help me understand?

Then, it went on to discuss completely off the wall “tests” or symbolic acts that God had Ezekiel complete. At least in that section I somewhat understand what was happening, but have no idea why!

I don’t get why God chose people and then would torment them. I would think if “the hand of the Lord was upon them” they would be better off than the misery, pain, tests, destruction, absurdities, etc. that God chose to do to them.

I’m re-reading today’s assignment in my NIV Study Bible just trying to understand a little of what it is talking about. That helps some with reading the notes, information, and explanations. Is this just me, or is it as bizarre and confusing for other people?

Ezekiel in Babylon

On the fifth day, of the fourth month, in the thirteenth year Ezekiel was among the exiles by the Chebar canal in the land of the Chaldeans when the heavens were opened, and he saw visions of God. The word of the Lord went to Ezekiel the priest, and the hand of the Lord was upon him.

The Glory of the Lord

Ezekiel looked and saw a windstorm coming out of the north with an immense cloud, with flashing lightning and surrounded by a brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the center of the fire was what looked like four living creatures.

*Four, which stands for completeness (the four directions in Genesis 13:14 and the four quarters of the earth in Isaiah 11:12), is used often in this chapter–and over 40 times in the book.

In appearance their form was that of a man, but each of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf (perhaps indicates agility) and gleaned like burnished bronze.

Under their wings on their four sides they had the hands of a man. All four of them had faces and wings, and their wings touched one another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.

Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle.

*Living creatures, called “cherubim” in chapter 10 are throne attendants, here representing God’s creation: “man,” God’s ordained ruler of creation; “lion,” the strongest of the wild beasts; “ox,” the most powerful of the domesticated animals; and “eagle,” the mightiest of the birds.

*These four creatures appear again in Revelation 4:7 and often are seen in the paintings and sculpture of the Middle Ages, where they represent the four Gospels.

Their wings were spread out upward; each had two wings, one touching the wing of another creature on either side, and two wings covering its body.

Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went.

The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning.

As Ezekiel looked at the living creatures, he saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature. This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like chrysolite, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel.

*A wheel intersecting a wheel: Probably two wheels intersecting at right angles in order to move in all four directions. The imagery symbolizes the omnipresence of God.

As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheel did not turn about as the creatures went. Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.

*Full of eyes: Symbolizes God’s all seeing nature.

When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when they rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked like an expanse, sparkling like ice, and awesome. Under the expanse their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body.

*Expanse: The same word occurs in Genesis 1:6-8, where its function is to separate the waters above from the waters below. Here it separates the creatures from the glory of the Lord.

When the creatures moved, Ezekiel heard the sound of their wings, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.

Then there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man.

Ezekiel saw what appeared to be his waist up and he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire; and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.

Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When Ezekiel saw it, he fell facedown, and heard the voice of one speaking.

*Likeness: When God’s glory was symbolically revealed, it took the form of brilliant light (see Exodus 40:34, Isaiah 6:3). What is remarkable about Ezekiel’s experience is that God’s glory had for centuries been associated with the temple in Jerusalem.

Now God had left his temple and was appearing to his exiled people in Babylon. This was a major theme in the first half of Ezekiel’s message. In his vision of the restored Jerusalem the prophet saw the glory of the Lord returning.

Ezekiel’s Call

The Lord spoke to Ezekiel and told him, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak with you.” As he spoke, the Spirit went into Ezekiel and raised him to his feet and he heard Him speaking to him.

He said that Ezekiel was being sent to the Israelites, a rebellious nation that had rebelled against God. He was to speak to the people whether they listened or not, so they would know that a prophet was among them.

Ezekiel was told not to be afraid, and not to be rebellious like the rest of them. He was to listen and obey and not to rebel against the Lord or what He would speak to him. The Lord told Ezekiel to open his mouth and eat what He would give him.

Then, Ezekiel saw a hand stretched out to him, and in it was a scroll, which He unrolled before him. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.

*Normally, ancient scrolls were written on one side only. The implication here is that the scroll was surely saturated with words of divine judgment.

The Lord told Ezekiel to eat the scroll and then to go and speak to the house of Israel. So he opened his mouth and was given the scroll to eat. So he ate it and it filled his stomach, and it tasted as honey in his mouth.

Then the Spirit lifted him up, and he heard a loud rumbling sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them.

Ezekiel was lifted up and taken away by the Spirit, and he went in bitterness and in the anger of the spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord upon him. He went to where the exiles were living, and sat among them for seven days overwhelmed.

A Watchman for Israel

At the end of the seven days, the word of the Lord went to Ezekiel and said that he was made a watchman for the house of Israel. He was to hear the words of the Lord and give warning to the people.

When the Lord said to a wicked man, “You will surely die,” and if Ezekiel did not try to warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man would die for his sin, and the Lord would hold Ezekiel accountable for his blood.

But, if Ezekiel did warn the wicked man and he did not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he would die for his sin; but Ezekiel would have saved himself.

Again, when a righteous man turned from his righteousness and did evil, the Lord would put a stumbling block before him, and he would die for his sins. If Ezekiel did not warn him, the righteous things he did would not be remembered, and Ezekiel would be held accountable for his blood.

But, if he did warn the righteous man not to sin and he did not sin, he would surely live because he took warning, and Ezekiel would have saved himself.

The hand of the Lord was upon Ezekiel there, and he was told to get up and go out to the plain, and there the Lord would speak to him. He did as he was told and went out to the plain. The glory of the Lord was standing there, and Ezekiel fell facedown.

Then the Spirit went into him and raised him to his feet. He was told to shut himself inside his house, and they would tie him with ropes and he would be bound so he could not go out among the people.

His tongue would be made to stick to the roof of his mouth so that he would be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they were a rebellious house. But when the Lord would speak to him, He would open his mouth and Ezekiel would say to them,

“Whoever will listen let him listen, and whoever will refuse let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.

The Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

Now Ezekiel was to take a clay tablet, put it in front of him and draw the city of Jerusalem on it. Then he would lay siege to it. He was to erect siege works against it, build a ramp up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it.

Then he was to take an iron pan, and place it as an iron wall between himself and the city, and turn his face toward it. It would be under siege and he would besiege it. This would be a sign to the house of Israel.

Ezekiel was then told to lie on his left side and put the sin of the house of Israel upon himself. He was to bear their sin for the number of days he laid on his side. The Lord had assigned him the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days he would bear the sin of the house of Israel.

After Ezekiel had finished that, he was to lie down again, but this time on his right side, and bear the sin of the house of Judah. He was assigned 40 days, a day for each year.

He was to turn his face toward the siege of Jerusalem and with bared arm prophesy against her. He would be tied with ropes so that he could not turn from one side to the other until he had finished the days of his siege.

He was told to take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for himself. He was to eat it during the 390 days he laid on his side.

He had to weigh out 20 shekels of food to eat each day and eat it at set times. Also he was to measure out a sixth of a hin of water and drink it at set times. He was to eat the food as he would a barley cake by baking it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel.

The Lord said in that way the people of Israel would eat defiled food among the nations where He would drive them.

Ezekiel rebuked that though saying that he had never defiled himself. For his entire life he had never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No unclean meat had ever entered his mouth.

The Lord said that he could bake his bread over cow manure instead of human excrement. The Lord continued saying that He would cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem.

The people would eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair, for food and water would be scarce. They would be appalled at the sight of each other and would waste away because of their sin.