Day 26 – Thursday -- The Book of Ezekiel

Day 26 – Thursday

The Book of Ezekiel

Ezekiel is a preacher without a church. What I mean is this: He was living in Jerusalem when the Babylonian army torn down the walls, came in and destroyed everything. Including the Temple. Ezekiel, along with several thousands of other Jews, were deported—forced to walk 1000 miles to Babylon—to live as exiles. (The city where they were taken, called Babylon, was about 50 miles south of modern day Baghdad.) Zeke had been a priest in Jerusalem. But since Ezekiel’s job was to offer sacrifices at the Temple, and since the Temple had been destroyed, Ezekiel is now a priest without a Temple.

He was 25 years old when he was deported with his wife (597 BCE). She died a few years after he began his prophetic ministry, which was when he turned thirty. (Hmm. Jesus began at thirty also.) Being a resourceful man, Zeke reinvented himself. Couldn’t be a priest anymore, so he took up prophesying.

His book is long and jagged. Don’t expect to find an orderly narrative. What you get are fragments, and all kinds of genres. The most interesting one is fantasy—much like our modern day cinematic science fiction genre. Approach Ezekiel like you would Star Wars or The Chronicles of Narnia.

He sees flying saucers. Well, something like that. There are actually people in our day who think that he saw a UFO with aliens. But those people don’t understand about literary genres in the Bible. The vision Ezekiel had (or was it a dream?) had flying wheels within wheels, and with it appeared four humanoids, each with four wings and four faces. The faces where human, lion, ox, and eagle. About 700 years later, the Christian writer named Irenaeus, said that the faces were symbols for the four Gospels. Matthew is the human, Mark is the lion, Luke is the ox, and John is the eagle.

A couple of small notes: Ezekiel refers to the Jewish community as “Israel,” although the northern kingdom (called Israel) no longer exists. Israel becomes Ezekiel’s name for all the Jews wherever they are. Second, Zeke is referred to as “a son of man,” which simply means a human being. Jesus referred to himself as the Son of Man, which may mean simply “human” or even “humanity” in a sense. But more about this when we get to Daniel.

So much of the symbolic and apocalyptic language used in Ezekiel is later borrowed by the author of the Book of Revelation. For example, God tells Zede to eat a scroll. Someone is Revelation does the same thing. Zede is also told to shave his head and beard, and part his hair in thirds (5.1). He is told to eat bread over a fire fueled by human dung (4.15). [I bet he wished there was a priest job open somewhere.] He is told to tremble while eating (12.18). Lots of strange things in this big book. Some of the early rabbis banned the Book of Ezekiel for anyone under the age of thirty because it is so scary and deep and multileveled.

The most famous strange thing is probably his vision of the valley of dry bones chapter 37. (Sing along: “The ankle bone is connected to the, shin bone; the shin is connected to the, thigh bone,” etc.) It is a vision of the “dead” Jewish people coming to life again by the power of God’s mercy. It comes about by the “breath/wind” of God. (Do you remember the east wind that blew the Red Sea apart so that the Israelites could escape?)

Christians think of Jesus breathing on the apostles so they can forgive sins (John 20). And the wind that blew through the upper room on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). And Jesus said that no one can be born again except by the Spirit/Breath of God being breathed into her (John 3).

God’s wind/breath seems to be extremely important for anything good to happen. Why, even in Genesis one there is the Spirit/Wind/Breath hoovering over the chaos at creation.

Oh, by the way, in chapters 36 and 37 we find that wedding vow again: You shall be my people, and I will be your God (36.28); and, They shall be my people, and I will be their God (37.23). It’s all about the union.

Now about Gog. No, that’s not a misspelling. Prophecy buffs have a lot of fun with Gog and Magog. See chapters 38 and 39. On second thought, don’t bother. The end-time preachers on TV like to say that Gog and Magog are Russia or Iran or Iraq, though mostly Russia, because Gog and Magog are the enemy “to the north.” However, you can make Gog whoever or whatever you want it to be. There is no such thing. There was no such place. Ezekiel is making up names (like the land of Oz) to make a point. This is symbolic language. It is a fictional story that makes the point that God will prevail over the enemies and Israel will be restored. That’s all. If you google Gog you will find that there is a Gog.com that has to do with computer games. You’ll also find a movie titled “Gog” from 1954 about two robots named Gog and Magog. But if you google “Gog in the bible,” you’ll find the prophecy nuts. Don’t go all agog over Gog.

In the closing chapters Ezekiel envisions a new Temple. Read these chapters (40 and following), then read Revelation 11, 21, and 22; you will see how John has borrowed images from Ezekiel. All of it is poetic and meaningful.

Jesus also picked up language from Ezekiel. Chapter 34 is about the shepherds—the bad ones and the divine one. God will appoint a shepherd (leader) from the dynasty of David, says Zeke. God says, I will make a covenant of peace.

Ezekiel is a book of hope. God will prevail. Dry bones resurrected. A new spirit and a new heart. God’s people will return to their land. Home again. Temple again. Peace again.


Can you pray this: O God, you are my true home. In you I belong. Yet, you dwell in me. I find my home within. Even when I die, I shall return home.