EZEKIEL LESSON 1 We See That the Priest, the Prophet Ezekiel Is the Penman of This Book. Ezekiel Was from an Upper Middle-Class
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EZEKIEL LESSON 1 We see that the priest, the prophet Ezekiel is the penman of this book. Ezekiel was from an upper middle-class family. At the time of his prophecy, the northern kingdom had already been in captivity about 100 years. The first part of this is prophecy directed at Judah and Benjamin. We will discover that Ezekiel is in Babylon when this prophecy is given. Historians tell us that he lived in Tel-Abib in the land of the Chaldeans. He was, probably, about 30 years old when he began to prophesy. Those who worked in the temple, usually began at about 30 years of age. Jesus' formal ministry began when He was 30 years old. It is believed by many that Ezekiel began to prophesy in about 595 B.C. For the book of Ezekiel to be profitable for us to study, we must look beyond the literal happenings, and apply these things to our life today. These studies are looking into the spiritual, rather than the literal meaning of the Scriptures. The name, "Ezekiel", means whom God will strengthen. We will see Ezekiel speak with inspiration from God many times in the book. He uses "thus saith LORD" over and over. We will, now, begin with Ezekiel 1:1 "Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth [month], in the fifth [day] of the month, as I [was] among the captives by the river of Chebar, [that] the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God." As I said above, the 30 years I believe to be the age of Ezekiel when this happened. The setting is in captivity. It is strange to begin the book with the word "now". I believe that he is saying, there was a separation of his life up until this time. Now, he has accepted the role God intended for him all along. "The heavens were opened" is an expression stating that this was not Ezekiel's doing. This was a miraculous act of God. In the following Scripture, we see the heavens opened at the baptism of Jesus. Matthew 3:16 "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:" One other time, that is mentioned specifically, is at the stoning of Stephen. Acts 7:56 "And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on theright hand of God." We can easily see from these Scriptures, this type of thing seldom happens. When they do happen, God is revealing something to man. The visions of God were not night dreams, but something that happened while he was fully awake. These visions were to reveal something from God to Ezekiel. Ezekiel 1:2 "In the fifth [day] of the month, which [was] the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity," We will notice in Ezekiel that he did not recognize Zedekiah's reign. Zedekiah had been put into power by Nebuchadnezzar, and Ezekiel did not consider him, truly king. There had been many false prophets who said that Judah would not stay in captivity. They prophesied the fall of Babylon within 2 years. The true prophets, like Ezekiel and Jeremiah, were prophesying no such thing. Ezekiel 1:3 "The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him." 1 The word "expressly" shows us, that even if others were there, they did not hear the Word God sent to Ezekiel. This Scripture shows us that Ezekiel was not only a prophet, but priest, as well. This is the only mention of Buzi in the Bible. The "hand of the LORD" speaks of the power that came into Ezekiel from the touch of the LORD. The hand, also, symbolizes work. If the work is connected with God, then it is a holy work. The priests were anointed on the thumb of their right hand, showing that their work was to be holy. The land of the Chaldeans is Babylon. Ezekiel was a priest in exile. He was with his people. He did not prophesy in the palace, as Daniel did. He prophesied in the country in exile. Remember, Jeremiah remained in Jerusalem with the people who were left. All three prophesied the same thing, but to different people in different places. Ezekiel 1:4 "And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness [was] about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire." Many times, the presence of God is spoken of as being in the north. The Hebrews had always feared the power coming from the north. We see in the following Scripture, that God speaks from the whirlwind. Job 40:6 "Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said," We see in the following Scripture, the movement of the power of God in the whirlwind, as well. II Kings 2:11 "And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, [there appeared] a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." God revealed Himself in a fire by night, and a smoke by day to the Israelites. There is no question in my mind, that this is speaking of a presence of Almighty God. Hebrews 12:29 "For our God [is] a consuming fire." The word translated amber, here, means bronze. "Bronze" symbolizes judgment. The Lord is the Judge of all the world. This is speaking of God. Ezekiel 1:5 "Also out of the midst thereof [came] the likeness of four living creatures. And this [was] their appearance; they had the likeness of a man." We have studied in some of our other books, that these 4 living creatures are symbolic of the 4 gospels, and more specifically Jesus in the 4 gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This likeness of a man is speaking of Jesus in the book of Luke, which shows the manhood of Jesus. Notice, this likeness came from the middle. We will find that the middle of the wheel is Jesus in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The focal point of the entire Bible is Jesus in the 4 gospels. We must, also, look at the word "appearance". This reveals there is a symbolic meaning here. Ezekiel 1:6 "And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings." "Four" means universal. This message is for those in captivity everywhere, and not just for those of Judah captive here. The wings symbolize the rising above the earthly to the heavenly. "Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint." Everyone has a time in his life, when he would like to fly away from his troubles. This would be especially true of those in captivity. 2 Ezekiel 1:7 "And their feet [were] straight feet; and the sole of their feet [was] like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass." "Burnished brass" symbolizes judgment. The straight feet could be speaking of their walk before God on the straight and narrow path. The calf mentioned, here, is speaking of the book of Mark, which shows the miracles of Jesus. The calf symbolizes work. Ezekiel 1:8 "And [they had] the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings." The book of Luke is symbolized by the face of man. These 4 faces mean they were looking to all mankind, and not just the Hebrews. This shows the strength of the Lord to hold all of humanity up. It is Jesus in these 4 gospels, who lifts them up to the heavenlies. Each of the four gospels reach out to the 4 corners of the earth. These 4 faces in each appearance reach to the north, south, east, and the west. This just shows the universality of the gospel. Ezekiel 1:9 "Their wings [were] joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward." God's power to lift them up is not separated. All of God's children are united in their belief of God. They moved forward and not backwards. They were on the path which leads to God. Ezekiel 1:10 "As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle." Now we see the four faces. The "eagle" symbolizes God and therefore the book of John, which shows Jesus as God the Word. The "lion" symbolizes the Lion of the tribe of Judah in Matthew. The "ox" and the calf are the same. They both symbolize work in the book of Mark. The "face of the man" is seen in Luke, which shows the manhood of Jesus.