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Ezekiel Was Taken to Babylon in 597 BC with the Second Group of Exiles Who Believe That God Will Soon Bring Them Home

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Ezekiel Was Taken to Babylon in 597 BC with the Second Group of Exiles Who Believe That God Will Soon Bring Them Home One Page Bible Summary Ezekiel was taken to Babylon in 597 BC with the second group of exiles who believe that God will soon bring them home. He preaches against this, that instead Jerusalem will be destroyed but with a future restoration. His ministry lasted 22 years from 593 BC to shape the Jewish faith in exile, eliminating idolatry which last till today. Thus he is often called the Father of Judaism. Theme: The restoration of Israel. KV: 36:24-26; 33-35 Ezekiel 1: Ezekiel’s encounter with the glory of God and His throne. KV 28 In Ezekiel’s calling, he saw the throne of God but it was on earth in Babylon. 1. Introductory particulars on Ezekiel’s calling. 1-3 Like many of God’s servant including Jesus, Ezekiel was called at 30 years of age and the date in today’s equivalent was 31st July 593 BC (1-2). Kebar, described in Babylon’s texts as an irrigation canal, was probably where the exiles resided. He was a priest and the calling must be intense for not only God’s word but His very hand was upon him (3). 2. The description of the cherubim. 4-21 What follows is the most vivid description of God’s glory on earth. It came to him like a great storm cloud with radiating lights but in the centre is something like glowing metal (4-5). Ezekiel seems to enter right into the center and there he saw the cherubim which are the angels guarding the holiness of God before His throne (6-11). He describes them as human forms with four sides, each having the face of a man, a lion, a bull and an eagle (10). Ezekiel must be really close to see them in their entirety and even the pair of hands on each side under their wings. This explains the apparent discrepancies with John’s and Isaiah’s descriptions (Rev. 4:6-8 and Isa. 6:2). They only saw them from the front and thus John mentioned only one face per cherubim and also six wings instead of four. As the wings in front and back cover their bodies, it must be rather large (11). So from the front they could each appear as two wings. Two of their wings touch one another and are described as spread out above in v11 and straight in v23. This must be their up and down movement, as they flip it in flight. Their four sides allow them rapid movements like bolt of lightning as the spirit leads them (12-14). In v20 it clarifies that it is the angels’ spirit, not God’s but still they move precisely as He directed. In v15-21 are the descriptions of wheels, not mentioned by John or Isaiah. The cherubim must be specially equipped with these as they are moving on earth. Study of the Hebrew shows that there is one wheel for each face and thus four wheels per angel. They are as beryl, a pale bluish-green stone and they must be like nothing on earth for the rims are described as lofty and awesome (18). 3. The description of God’s throne. 22-28 The cherubim’s platform has an “expanse” above them and the sound of wings must be as they fly. It is like abundant waters, like a large waterfall (22-24). On the expanse is God’s throne which is like lapis lazuli or blue sapphire (25-28). God is seen in v27 with two kinds of glowing above and below the loins, just as John uses two different precious stones in Rev. 4:3, which also mentions a rainbow. Amazingly this is also seen in v28. Lesson to Ponder: God’s throne on earth is exactly as in heaven (Rev. 4:1-11). It is unbelievable but God bought His actual throne along when He came to dwell with man. This is the seriousness of His commitment. As Ezekiel we must fall on our face and obey. ©2012 Dr. Seto Wing Hong One Page Bible Summary Ezekiel 2:1 to 3:11: Ezekiel’s call to proclaim to a rebellious people. KV 2:4 Chapter 2-3 describe Ezekiel’s call in three encounters with God and it is best to study it by these divisions. The first continues from 1:26-28 as God speaks from His throne. 1. The first encounter - the commission to a rebellious people. 1-5 Ezekiel is called “son of man” 93 times in the book. This is to differentiate him who is born of man from the angelic beings in the narrative. However, this term can also be used for the divine messianic king (Daniel 7:13). Jesus adopted it in the gospel because indeed He is born of man but it alludes also to His divinity if others want to so accept Him. This is how God addresses Ezekiel (1-2), telling him that his mission is to a rebellious people (3-5). It will be dependent on God’s strength. Even standing to receive the call in v2 is by the Spirit for he is stricken flat on the floor (1:28). Furthermore God will ensure Ezekiel’s recognition as His prophet (5). Yet there is no certainty that they will listen because the Jews are a rebellious house. The two words used to describe them in v4 have two Hebrew words each. Stubborn “qasheh panim” or literally “hard face” is their resistant appearance while obstinate “chazaq leb” or “strong heart”, speaks of their internal rebellious spirit. 2. Final preparation of the prophet for the task. 2:6-3:11 God prepares the prophet in three ways. Firstly God commanded Ezekiel not to fear (6- 7). It will be as difficult as thistles and thorns and he can be hurt like sitting on scorpions. However he must not be dismayed which in Hebrew is “chatat” or be shattered in terror. Note that the mandate to speak differs from Christ’s in the gospel. Ezekiel must speak whether they listen or not, while Christ’s command is to move on if there is resistance (Mark 6:11). It is God faithfully dealing with the Jews. They are His covenant people and He wants to ensure that they have undeniably heard the warning. In the NT, the time is up for a new covenant and if they resist God moves on, even to the gentiles (Acts 13:46). Secondly God wants Ezekiel to be obedient and not be rebellious like the Jews (2:8-3:3). Ezekiel demonstrates his obedience by his willingness to swallow an unpalatable scroll. It is noted in 2:10 that the scroll’s message is grim but yet it tastes like honey. This is vital, for God’s minister must really experiences the sweetness of His words before preaching it. It also happens to John in Rev. 10:10. Finally God will give Ezekiel a strong resolve to declare the message (3:4-9). The people will resist strongly even though they understand the message which is in their own language (5-6). It has nothing to do with Ezekiel’s preaching but rather it is because they will not listen to God (7). However God will ensure that Ezekiel will not give up by making his face as hard as theirs. In v9, emery is a very hard pebble like a diamond. Thus to be ready for the task Ezekiel must be fearless, obedient and persistent. These are three vital characteristics that are still important for God’s servants today. It is important to appreciate that the first two are commanded and when present, God granted Ezekiel the third, namely the ability to persist. God then repeated His call in v10-11, to declare the message irrespective of the people’s response. Lesson to Ponder: There are important lessons to learn for preachers of God’s word such as Ezekiel. He must really experience the “sweetness” of God’s word, having tasted it (3:3). Furthermore in 3:10, he must take it into his heart, meaning to embrace it seriously. Then he must take all of it. Securing only a portion is definitely unacceptable. Finally he must listen carefully which is to ensure that he accurately understands the words. ©2012 Dr. Seto Wing Hong One Page Bible Summary Ezekiel 3:12-28 – Responsibility to be God’s watchman to warn the people. KV 17 In his next two encounters with God, Ezekiel agonizes but resolves to fulfill his calling. 1. The second encounter – appointment and responsibility of a watchman. 12-21 At the end of the first encounter, Ezekiel was lifted up by God’s Spirit back to the Jewish settlement besides the river Chebar (12-15). He heard behind him the rumbling sound of the wheels and the wings touching, which was their flapping and thus the glory of God also took off at the same time. In v23, it is apparent that it was relocated to the “plain”. The settlement is called Tel-abib or Tel-aviv in English, same name as the capital city in Israel today. Indeed Ezekiel was bitter and angry in v14 and this is most likely against his own rebellious people. However he also stated that the “Lord’s hand was strong” and in this he must be feeling the immense burden of the call as he agonizes over the difficulty of the mission. This is inline with v15 when he sat overwhelmed among the people for seven days. The Hebrew for “overwhelm” is “shamen” which to be destroyed and laid waste as God would destroy a city.
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