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Ezekiel 1-4   Listen Podcast

An introduction to Ezekiel
The Babylonian army began their attack on Jerusalem in 598 B.C. King Jehoiakim died, and his eighteen-year-old son, Jehoiachin, became the new king (II Kings 24:8, see notes). He surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar just three months after his reign began. The king, his mother, his wives and his officials along with the leading men of the land were exiled in 597 B.C. Ezekiel was a priest and was among the exiles (Ezekiel 1:1-3). That's when Zedekiah, Jehoiachin's uncle (Josiah's son) was elevated to the throne of Jerusalem/Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. However, Zedekiah was just a puppet, a regent vassal, over Judah. While in Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar kept Johoiachin in prison for 37 years, but according to administrative documents found in the excavations at Babylonia (Babylonian text 28122, ANET, p. 308), was still regarded by Nebuchadnezzar to be the King of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar's successor, Evilmerodach, released Jehoiachin from prison and took care of him until his death.

Ezekiel's prophecies were given from exile in Babylon. Unlike Jeremiah, Ezekiel is quite meticulous in giving us the dates of his prophecies.

Ezekiel gets a supernatural visitor (Ezekiel 1)

1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
2 On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity,
3 the word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.
4 ¶ Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
5 Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man.
6 Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings.
7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled like the color of burnished bronze.
8 The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings.
9 Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward.
10 ¶ As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle.
11 Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and two covered their bodies.
12 And each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.
13 ¶ As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning.
14 And the living creatures ran back and forth, in appearance like a flash of lightning.
15 ¶ Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, a wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces.
16 The appearance of the wheels and their workings was like the color of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
17 When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went.
18 As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims were full of eyes, all around the four of them.
19 When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
21 When those went, these went; when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
22 ¶ The likeness of the firmament above the heads of the living creatures was like the color of an awesome crystal, stretched out over their heads.
23 And under the firmament their wings spread out straight, one toward another. Each one had two which covered one side, and each one had two which covered the other side of the body.
24 When they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings.
25 A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings.
26 ¶ And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it.
27 Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around.
28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. ¶ So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.

Now, don't see things that aren't in this chapter; there are no flying saucers. Ezekiel describes the sensational appearance of the glory of God with his best metaphors. What these beings and wheels were is clear in verse 28 - the glory of God. As we see in verse 1, Ezekiel was 30 years old when he had this vision, and he places himself in the land of the Chaldeans (aka Babylonians). King Jehoiachin's captivity is used to date this vision; he was deported to Babylonia in 597 B.C. Therefore Ezekiel’s commission here in chapter 1 was received in 593 B.C., 7 years before the final fall of Jerusalem. The fact that he received his first vision five years after the deportation is probably significant, inasmuch as that was the year Ezekiel turned 30. We see in verse 3 that he was a priest. Traditionally, according to Numbers 4 (see notes), Levite priests began ministering at age 30. And keep in mind, Ezekiel is ministering and prophesying to the exiles in Babylonia while Jeremiah is back in Jerusalem prophesying to the inhabitants there.

Ezekiel's very detailed description of the glory of God extends from verse 4 through the end of the chapter. Some have sought to equate his vision here with something tangible and contemporary, but it's neither; it's his glimpse of God's glory - nothing more. So, why all the detail from Ezekiel here? Well...he's just reporting what he saw. Volumes have been written trying to break this vision down into components with an attempt to rationalize each speculation. Let's face it, the manifestation of the glory of God is beyond comprehension.

Of course, God has been manifested before Israel previously in the form of the Shekinah Glory. We have far less detail given to us in those manifestations. See the article to the right of this window for more explanation. This much is for certain, verse 4 says, "Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire." That certainly fits the description of the Shekinah Glory. Then, the last verse of chapter 1, verse 28 says, "Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking."

Within this description of the glory of God, beginning in verse 5, Ezekiel gives us the details of four living creatures. We'll see them again in Ezekiel 10 (see notes) where they appear as cherubim (angels). These fit the same basic description found in Revelation 4 (see notes) describing the living creatures around God's throne.

Now that God has Ezekiel's attention (Ezekiel 2)

1 And He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.”
2 Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me.
3 And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.
4 For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD.’
5 As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.
6 ¶ “And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house.
7 You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious.
8 But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”
9 ¶ Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it.
10 Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.

God called Ezekiel to the prophetic ministry. Ezekiel was already a displaced priest; being a prophet of God was not a stretch for him. God told Ezekiel (paraphrased), "I'll give you the words, and you give them to the rebellious people of Israel." Keep in mind, Ezekiel's audience is living in Babylon here. Ezekiel is prophesying to these exiles about their rebellion and the resulting judgment of God. God is using Ezekiel to make certain these exiles know why the demise of Judah happened. God clearly gives Ezekiel direction in verse 8, "But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you."

Verse 1 is the first time in his prophecy that Ezekiel refers to himself as the "son of man." However, for the balance of the book, he does so 93 times altogether. That particular title gave the Jewish leaders in Jesus' day fits. Jesus frequently referred to himself as the "son of man" in his earthly ministry; the term is used 84 times in the Gospels. These Jewish leaders wanted to charge and convict Jesus on grounds of blasphemy, but since Ezekiel had consistently referred to himself as "the son of man," it was impossible for them to charge that Jesus was claiming anything more than being a prophet...just like Ezekiel. In fact, Jesus was very God in the flesh, but the term "son of man" suggested, but stopped short of proclaiming the same. However, Daniel used the term "son of man" to refer to the Messiah:

Daniel 7:13-14 (see notes) - I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.

You can see the dilemma for those Pharisees and Sadducees who wanted to entrap Jesus for blasphemous words.

We see beginning in verse 8 that Ezekiel was to symbolize his complete acceptance of the Lord’s message by eating the scroll containing the words of the prophecies he was to administer. This eating-of-the-roll symbol continues down through 3:3.

Ezekiel was speechless for seven days (Ezekiel 3:1-15)

1 Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.”
2 So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll.
3 ¶ And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.
4 ¶ Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them.
5 For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel,
6 not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you.
7 But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted.
8 Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads.
9 Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.”
10 ¶ Moreover He said to me: “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears.
11 And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, “Thus says the Lord GOD,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.”
12 ¶ Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: “Blessed is the glory of the LORD from His place!”
13 I also heard the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, and a great thunderous noise.
14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.
15 Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.

Ezekiel had just experienced an awesome call to the prophetic ministry, topped off by the eating of the scroll containing the prophetic words he was to utter. What do you even say after you've talked with God and seen the glory of God? Ezekiel had his mission from God, but he was simply speechless. He went to the exiles, but he just sat with them without speaking for seven days. Two unidentified locations are mentioned here in Babylonia, Telabib and a river named Chebar. That's where Ezekiel joins the Jewish exiles.

Incidentally, what is the probability that Ezekiel's prophetic messages will be received by these exiles. There's your answer in verse 7, "But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted." Whoa...that's gotta be a tough call to the ministry; Ezekiel knows in advance that his message will not be heeded by his audience. Oh...well...a call is a call. GOD TOLD HIM TO GO!

The scroll ("roll") contained the prophecy that Ezekiel was to speak. Ezekiel's prophecy was not his own, but had come directly from God. It is interesting that John, in Revelation 10 (see notes), is also told to eat a scroll containing the prophecy that was to follow.

Then God spoke again (Ezekiel 3:16-27)

16 ¶ Now it came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me:
18 When I say to the wicked, “You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.
19 Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.
20 ¶ “Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.
21 Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.”
22 ¶ Then the hand of the LORD was upon me there, and He said to me, “Arise, go out into the plain, and there I shall talk with you.”
23 ¶ So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face.
24 Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and spoke with me and said to me: “Go, shut yourself inside your house.
25 And you, O son of man, surely they will put ropes on you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them.
26 I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and not be one to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious house.
27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.

God gives Ezekiel a pretty strong commission here. He basically tells Ezekiel to do a good job speaking God's Word to his people. Doing so fulfills his responsibility whether they heed his word or not. However, if he does not prophesy to them as commanded by God, their blood is on his hands.

Some have taken these verses out of context and applied them as principles of witnessing by Christians. That's a reckless use of scripture. This is a specific commission given to a specific man for a specific people. God commissioned a ministry of prophetic reproof by his prophet Ezekiel to disobedient and exiled Israel/Judah. Likewise they have done the same with Ezekiel's comments about his responsibility to warn the Jews in Ezekiel 18 (see notes) and Ezekiel 33 (see notes).

Then we see some special instructions for Ezekiel; he is not to engage in idle conversation with the exiles of Israel. He is to remain in his house and silent until God gives him a word to speak to the people - talk about a lonely job! That's not all. We see in verses 26-27 that Ezekiel would experience muteness except when God spoke through him. That means he couldn't go back and elaborate on his prophecies. This muteness would last seven years until the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

Acting out the siege of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 4)

1 “You also, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay it before you, and portray on it a city, Jerusalem.
2 Lay siege against it, build a siege wall against it, and heap up a mound against it; set camps against it also, and place battering rams against it all around.
3 Moreover take for yourself an iron plate, and set it as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face against it, and it shall be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel.
4 ¶ “Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity.
5 For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
6 And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year.
7 ¶ “Therefore you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem; your arm shall be uncovered, and you shall prophesy against it.
8 And surely I will restrain you so that you cannot turn from one side to another till you have ended the days of your siege.
9 ¶ “Also take for yourself wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make bread of them for yourself. During the number of days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days, you shall eat it.
10 And your food which you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; from time to time you shall eat it.
11 You shall also drink water by measure, one-sixth of a hin; from time to time you shall drink.
12 And you shall eat it as barley cakes; and bake it using fuel of human waste in their sight.”
13 ¶ Then the LORD said, “So shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, where I will drive them.”
14 ¶ So I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Indeed I have never defiled myself from my youth till now; I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has abominable flesh ever come into my mouth.”
15 ¶ Then He said to me, “See, I am giving you cow dung instead of human waste, and you shall prepare your bread over it.”
16 ¶ Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, surely I will cut off the supply of bread in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and shall drink water by measure and with dread,
17 that they may lack bread and water, and be dismayed with one another, and waste away because of their iniquity.

Ezekiel was to act out the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem presumably in his front yard with a small constructed model of Jerusalem. The whole process was to attract attention...for 430 days. Whoa! Propheting, Ezekiel style, is hard work...and by many standards, a little weird also. Keep in mind, Jerusalem, at this time, had not yet been destroyed, but Ezekiel and others have already been captured and exiled to Babylon. Ezekiel is prophesying that the city will fall. The 430 days (390+40) are puzzling. Various theories have been taught regarding this time period representation. Each day represents a year; that much is clear. Are these future years or past years? Exodus 12:40 (see notes) fixes the Egyptian bondage at 430 years. Was he bringing up this past? Perhaps he was talking about the total number of years that Israel and Judah were in idolatry. Or maybe it had something to do with the timing of events that would be yet future to Israel/Judah. If so, that would take them to the Maccabean revolt era against the Syrians in the second century B.C. Whatever the years mean, the object lesson is clear; Jerusalem will experience famine and the onslaught of a tremendous army (Babylonian) before their fall.

This prophecy would have been about seven years before the actual fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. This must have been quite a sight for the people passing by - sort of like a guy sitting on a flagpole. Even his position of lying on his left side while prophesying against the sins of Israel and on his right side when prophesying against the sins of Judah was very specifically designated by God. As a priest, Ezekiel felt he had to draw a line with all of this imagery in verses 12-15, "Cook my food over a fire made with what!?" That was just more impression than Ezekiel wanted to make. God allowed Ezekiel to make a substitute. Still, you can imagine the odor coming from a fire fueled by manure! Well...there's no question about this: It was God's purpose for Ezekiel to be noticed and heeded by the Jewish exiles.