The next movement in our series on difficult bible stories comes from the life of Ezekiel.
Ezekiel, by all accounts, was a normal Israelite priest before God called him into being a prophet. He was part of the Israelite exile to Babylonia in 597 B.C. They had been exiled because of their idolatrous and wicked behavior despite centuries of God-established laws and provision. And there was more judgment to come if they did not turn back to God who loved them. The NIV Study Bible states: “More than any other prophet he was directed to involve himself personally in the divine work by acting it out in prophetic symbolism.”[1]
Let’s define what a Biblical prophet is first. Compton's Interactive Bible NIV helps us with the definition.
The Biblical prophet is one who is spokesperson for God, whether by vision or otherwise, and is given insight into the mind of God, and declares what he/she has “seen” as a message to the people. It is not the mysterious mode of reception of the prophetic revelation that is emphasized, but rather the deliverance of the message itself for God.
Artists find that symbols communicate with special power. When Spanish artist Pablo Picasso painted his massive Guernica, he attempted to express what had happened in war-ravaged Spain on April 28, 1937. He created a work of art, not a photographic record. The painting does communicate the tragedy at Guernica, but artfully, symbolically.
In a similar way, the Biblical prophets poetically render human events so strange and climactic as to be otherwise inexpressible.”[2]
In the case of Ezekiel, God guided him into visually and physically demonstrating the judgment of their behavior beyond even the exile. God began by giving Ezekiel visions to lift him into the holy realm and to encounter the power and presence of God. Just like some artists try to depict things that are overwhelming or indescribable, God gave to Ezekiel images that were hard to understand. Many of the images that are represented in Chapter 1 are similar to the Babylonian gods that Ezekial and the exiles would have encountered on a daily basis. But the visions given were more powerful, more dominant, more terrifying and more glorious than what Ezekiel would have seen in Babylonian sculpture, paintings and temples. What we see in Ezekiel Chapter 1 is mind-boggling and glorious. In this Old Testament book are pictures of the most powerful God in high contrast to what the Babylonians attempted to convey in their idolatrous, partial and pitiful images. God gave to Ezekiel reclaimed and full images to demonstrate his glory and power—far above any military might of the Babylonians who had taken them captive. What a wonder to behold!
Read Ezekiel 1.
For the purpose of this study, I don’t wish to try to attempt to interpret what Ezekiel saw. Let’s simply try to comprehend the power and glory of God through the vision that was given to him. I am more focused on the specific call to action that God gave to Ezekiel as one of his prophets. So, let’s keep moving forward.
The Israelites had suffered incredibly from war and exile and continued in their disobedience despite that great trouble. They had been taken some 600 miles away from their homes and been made subject to a pagan nation. A few of the weakest of Israelites had been left in the homeland and Jerusalem, but most of the rest had been thrown into slavery. But a few, like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, from the royal and noble families, had been selected to serve because of their aptitudes, appearance and intelligence. (Daniel 1:1-21) Ezekiel was not one of these selected by the Babylonians. Ezekiel was hand-picked by God.
At the end of Chapter 1 we see Ezekiel fall face down in humility before the image and the voice of God. Then that same voice raised him to his feet and gave him a mighty and heavy commission.
Read Ezekiel 2:1-6.
God addresses Ezekiel as a “son of man” and in the NRSV this is translated as “mortal”. Biblical commentators make it clear that from the original language and the context that God was identifying Ezekiel as a mere mortal man and not divine. Jesus described himself a Son of Man, but as part of the pure and perfect divine nature. The designation of the non-divine son of man occurs over 90 times in the book of Ezekial—perhaps as a reminder that the prophet was a servant of the most-high God and never as a divine creature.
What was God’s commission? “I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day . . . You must speak my words to them.” After God had previously reached out to the Israelites through the harsh judgment of exile, God had to extend his reach further through a prophet. He had not given up on them yet! Even as they stumbled 600 miles to a place that would be oppressive, God was hovering over them every step of the way, longing for them to return to him. Now he would be calling out to them again through another prophet.
How did God describe the Israelites—which Ezekiel surely must have known about anyway—and why would he identify their sins?
· Rebellious nation
· Revolting Trangressors
· Obstinate and Impudent
· Stubborn
· Defying and Ignoring God’s guidance
· Briers
· Thorns
· Scorpions
· Terrorizing
God made clear he was aware of every one of their sins. There is no hiding from God. As a newly called prophet, perhaps Ezekiel needed to find some consolation that God was not looking the other way. As he walked beside his brothers and sisters for 600 miles, what rebellious and awful things did he hear them saying about God? Is it a comfort to you to know that God is aware of the sins of this world?
God commanded Ezekiel to initiate and respond to the Israelites in the following ways:
· Going to them—not standing outside of the community, but in the community
· Speaking God’s words—not his own
· With courage—not being afraid of them, their looks, or their intentions
Would you want to confront these kinds of people in these ways? Could this be done without the help of God? Indeed not. What God calls us to do he will enable us to do.
How did God enable Ezekiel?
Read Ezekiel 2:7-3:3
We have already seen in Chapter 1 that God had given Ezekiel wondrous images of God’s power, strength, dominion and glory. Those were external things viewed. But now God wanted to have his word thoroughly, as Joseph Coleson describes it, internalized, ingested and digested.[3] Ezekiel needed to have God’s word thoroughly embedded into him to sustain him as well as strengthen him. And God warned him to not be like the other Israelites. Fair warning for those who are called by God. Do his will!
While the messages themselves were lamentable and full of mourning and woe, God’s word—full of truth and power—was sweet. Jospeh Coleson wrote: “Ezekiel could experience emotional bitterness about all that without guilt, sin or remorse.”[4] Can a person come near to understanding the heart of God toward sin? Yes. And by that the prophet can embrace a great sense of purpose in declaring God’s truth and an unbending will to make sure that God’s message is spoken. Behind all judgment sits available mercy. Ezekiel’s task was both sweet and difficult. Jim Edelin wrote: “There is something satisfying about the truth, whether it encourages or condemns. Ezekiel’s messages would not be politically correct, but they would be correct. The truth is: sin destroys nations as well as individuals.”[5] And God did not want his people destroyed!
All of this had to be done despite the response from the Israelites—whether they listened or did not listen! This indeed is the call, the commission and the duty of God’s prophets and prophetesses. There comes great risks to being a prophet, but God’s word had to and would prevail! And God would make Ezekiel’s spine as strong as steel.
Read Ezekiel 3:4-11.
Ezekial’s commission was quite different than that of many missionaries. He did not have to overcome language barriers, nor enter a foreign land (he was already in one) and was called to his own people. Jesus declared the reality though, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” (Mark 6:4) Oh, what a difficult commission Ezekiel was given! And what God calls us to do he will enable us to do.
Verse 7 establishes Ezekiel’s authority as that coming from God. In some respects, Ezekiel the mortal is let off the hook for the prophesies. They are not his own. They are God’s! And if they are God’s then the responsibility for the words and the judgment are God’s as well. It is God’s work to convict people of their sins. All the prophet needed to do was to deliver the messages.
God provided the message as well as the strength to deliver his words. Verses 8-9 state: “I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint.” This was no game of rock, paper and scissors. This was the immovable Truth who was hard after their repentance. And his prophet would be equipped with the steel to withstand the impact of his rebellious neighbors.
There is a modern story that illustrates such strength. In the documentary “American Buffalo” Episode 2, the story is related of Buffalo Bill Cody who, after killing thousands of buffalo, tried to help restore the near extinction of this species by making the European and American public aware of their value and the need to bring them back from the edge of extinction. The documentary website stated: “By 1889, Buffalo Bill Cody was the most famous American in the world. ‘Buffalo Bill’s Wild West’ show promised ‘a year’s visit West in three hours’ complete with a stampede of buffalo – and the urban crowds couldn’t get enough of it. The show played an instrumental role in building a following in the country to save the buffalo from extinction.” Buffalo Bill even took his show to Europe and on one occasion was asked to have one of his buffalo bulls encounter one of their great Spanish bulls in the ring. Bull Buffalo can weigh up to 2,000 pounds and stand six feet tall. The massive buffalo stood in the ring and when the Spanish bull charged it, the buffalo pivoted, simply lowered his enormous head, and stopped the Spanish bull in its tracks, bringing it to its knees. After charging the buffalo two more times, the Spanish bull circled the outside of the ring searching for an exit. The Spaniards sent in two more of their own bulls with the same result and then refused to send out the matadors, as planned, to meet the mighty buffalo.[6]
An image like this of the strength of one of God’s creatures, that reaches its massive size only by eating grass, can help us to recognize the kind of strength that God’s word can give to those who follow him into proclaiming the truth. Earlier we thought that all that Ezekial needed to do was to deliver the messages. But with God’s word embedded in his life, the other reality was that his steely resolve came from understanding that God wanted to redeem and restore his people. Proclaiming God’s word was a privilege, a hard privilege for Ezekiel.
Read Ezekiel 3:12-15.
After giving his commission to Ezekiel, God reminded him of his first vision. The sound of the wheels surely must have helped him to recall the glorious power he had experienced. God’s voice raised him up and gave him more strength and courage to actually move toward the outworking of his call.
It was a difficult call. The NRSV translates verse 14 as “in bitterness and the heat of my spirit”. This likely means that Ezekiel was dealing with grief, sorrow and disappointment in response to his nation’s rebellion. This demonstrates the deep understanding he had of God’s sorrow over the lost. It compelled him to sit among them before speaking to fully connect to their need for repentance.
I challenge you to read the rest of the book of Ezekial. See how he guided Ezekiel to demonstrate God’s prophecies visually and symbolically. Ask the Lord to help you understand in those readings what you need to know today. It may not be clear, but it is God’s word. So, take it in, ingest it and find it sweet.
Not many of us are called to be prophets like Ezekial. But if you are, take his example as an encouragement to be strong and of good courage. Fulfill your commission. Be not afraid of those who oppose you. Speak the word of God boldly to the lost for God wants them to come home.
For those of us standing by, heed the words of the prophets, the Bible, and Biblical preachers in your area. Pray for them to be courageous and not grow weary in doing the good hard work of preaching the Gospel. Be obedient to the high calling of God to be his people and love the world as Jesus Christ did and does.
Amen
© M.R.Hyde 2023
[1] NIVSB, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1995, p. 1219.
[2] Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996, SoftKey Multimedia Inc.
[3] Illustrated Bible Life: Fall 2023, The Foundry Publishing, Kansas City, MO, 2023.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Faith Connections Bible Study Guide: Fall 2023, The Foundry Publishing, Kansas City, MO, 2023, p. 34.
[6] Ken Burns Documentary, Episode 2 “American Buffalo” aired on PBS October 2023.
