Ezekiel

     God tries to bring his people to repentance, but they continue to turn their back on Him.  So they are carried away into captivity.  Ezekiel is among these exiles when he sees a vision from God.
     The priest looks up to see a storm wind coming from the north.  There is a great cloud with fire flashing and light all around.  In the middle is something like glowing metal.
     There are also four living beings with human forms.  But each has four faces and four wings.  Their legs are straight and their feet like calves' hooves.  And they gleam like polished bronze.  Under their wings are human hands.  Each has the face of a man, the face of a lion, the face of a bull and the face of an eagle.
     Although Ezekiel identifies them in the first chapter of his book as simply, "the living beings," in chapter 10 he explains that they are the cherubim.  There are four wheels beside the cherubim, allowing them to move in the four directions.
     "And their whole body," Ezekiel 10:12-13 explains, "their backs, their hands, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all around, the wheels belonging to all four of them.  The wheels were called in my hearing, the whirling wheels."
     "Now over the heads of the living beings there was something like an expanse," Ezekiel 1:22 explains, "like the awesome gleam of crystal, extended over their heads."
     Above this expanse there is something resembling a throne, with someone seated upon it.  It is this figure who gives the prophet his instructions.
     "Son of man," Ezekiel is informed in verses 3-4 of the second chapter, "I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.
     "And I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children; and you shall say to them 'Thus says the Lord God.'"
     All preachers would benefit from listening to the next words that the Lord has to share with Ezekiel.  Today, as always, people are too concerned about being popular.  We want others to like what we say.  And we are disappointed when they pay no attention.
     "As for them," God points out, "whether they listen or not-for they are a rebellious house-they will know that a prophet has been among them.  And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house.  But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious."
     Ezekiel is handed a scroll with lamentations, mourning and woe written on front and back.  He is instructed to eat the scroll, which is sweet as honey in his mouth.
     In Ezekiel 3:8-9 God tells the prophet how he has been equipped for his task.
     "Behold," the Lord says, "I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.
     "Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead.  Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, though they are a rebellious house."
     Beginning in verse 16, God compares the job of a preacher with that of a watchman.
     "Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel;" God says, "whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me."
     The Lord then discusses various possibilities.  If Ezekiel is told to warn the wicked to repent and he does not speak to them, they will still die in their iniquity.  But Ezekiel will also bear some responsibility for their condition.  This answers an age-old question about the fate of those in remote parts of the world who do not hear the Gospel.  We should always remember that, as we read in Romans 6:23, spiritual death is what we deserve.  Eternal life is a gift through Jesus.  According to 2 Thessalonians 1:8 God will punish both those who disobey Him and those who do not know Him.
     Of course, God is free to do whatever He wishes.  But we are free to teach only what He tells us.  How does it effect our attitude about reaching others with the Gospel if we really believe that ignorance will be no excuse?  It's too easy, isn't it, to sit back and think that what they don't know won't hurt them.  According to the passage in Ezekiel, this just isn't true.  In fact, God repeats the same comparison in Ezekiel 33:1-9.
     The second possibility is that Ezekiel will warn the wicked but they will not listen.  They will be lost, but the prophet has fulfilled his assignment.
     God goes on to discuss what will happen if a righteous person turns away from Him and the watchman does not try to turn him back.  He will perish, but the watchman will bear part of the guilt.  Of course, if the watchman gives the warning but the man who has turned from righteousness does not listen, the guilt remains entirely with him.

     God uses various avenues to try to reach the people through Ezekiel.  Sometimes the prophet is permitted to see scenes such as the one recorded at the beginning of the book.  Other times he is instructed to do some rather strange...and physically demanding...things in order to get the point across.
    This is the case in chapter four when God tells him to get a brick and inscribe the name of Jerusalem upon it.  He is instructed to set up a siege wall around it and go through a process that is much like a child playing with toys.  One difference is the grave consequence of what is being communicated.  Another is the physical requirements made of Ezekiel.  He is to lie on his side 390 days, corresponding, the passage says, to the iniquity of Israel.  Then he is to lie on his right side 40 days, corresponding to the iniquity of Judah.  The prophet even receives orders about what he is to eat, how much he may have and how he is to prepare it.  This is to impress upon the people the horrible nature of being under siege.
     After this, Ezekiel is commanded to use a sharp sword to shave the hair from his head and beard and then to weigh it out into thirds.  One third is burned, one third is struck with a sword and one third is scattered in the wind.
     "One third of you will die by plague or be consumed by famine among you," the Lord explains in verse 12, "one third will fall by the sword around you, and one third I will scatter to every wind, and I will unsheathe a sword behind them."
     Six executioners are sent out by God in chapter nine to mark the foreheads of those who are upset by the disobedience and to strike the others.
     "Then it came about as they were striking," Ezekiel notices in verse eight, "and I alone was left, that I fell on my face and cried out saying, 'Alas, Lord God!  Art thou destroying the whole remnant of Israel by pouring out Thy wrath on Jerusalem?'"
     If there were only one faithful follower of God left in Watertown, who would it be?  If there were only one left on the earth, who would it be?  Would we be standing all alone, or would we be following the crowd?  Jesus says in Matthew 7:13 that the way to destruction is broad and many people are on it.  In the following verse He notes that the way to life is narrow, and few find it.  Look around.  Are we standing with the crowd or with the faithful?
     As we have noticed in the writings of other prophets, much of the blame for the wide-spread disobedience lies with the false prophets.  The Lord discusses them in chapter 13.  But God also points out that the people are responsible for their own decisions.
     "Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem," the prophet writes in Ezekiel 16:3, "'Your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite, your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite."
     Of course, this is not intended as a compliment for the Jews.  God goes on in this passage to describe the spiritual harlotries of the people.  The same comparison is made in other places, including chapter 23.
     As Ezekiel has asked in chapter nine, verse eight, is God planning on destroying the entire remnant of Israel?  God replies in chapter 11 that He will eventually gather His people from the nations.
     "And I shall give them one heart," God promises in verses 19-20, "and shall put a new spirit within them.  And I shall take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances, and do them.  Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God."
     Chapter 18 contains a critical lesson for all of us.  In this passage God explains that a son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, neither will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity.  What does this tell us about "original sin"?
     "The soul who sins will die," God instructs in Ezekiel 18:4.
     This chapter also tells us that the evil of a sinner will be forgotten when he repents and obeys God.  At the same time, the righteousness of a good person will be forgotten when he turns away from the Lord.  We cannot coast into heaven.
     God sums up His feelings in verse 23.
     "Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked," He asks, "rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?"
     Much of the book contains pronouncements of judgment against the nations who take advantage of Israel's situation.  Toward the end of the book, Ezekiel is told to measure the temple.  In prophecy, something is measured to see how it compares with the pattern provided by God.  Of course, God is not concerned about the physical dimensions of the building.  What He wants to know is how closely the people have been following His commandments.  Then the Lord repeats some of the instructions that the people have been ignoring.
     How do we measure up?  There are many religious plans and blueprints.  But only the truth will set us free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.lockman.org)