Ezekiel
The prophet Ezekiel was
truly an amazing man. He was carried to Babylon eleven years before Jerusalem
was destroyed. There had been some captives taken to Babylon along with Daniel.
Then nine years later more captives were taken including Ezekiel. By this time
Daniel had risen to great fame in the palace.
Ezekiel may have been the
disciple of Jeremiah. He preached among the exiles the same things that
Jeremiah was preaching in Jerusalem: the certainty of Judah's punishment for
her sins. Visions and symbolic acts are characteristic of the prophet Ezekiel.
That's why I say that he was truly an amazing man. Some of his symbolic actions
were accompanied by the most painful personal sufferings and most bitter of
sorrows.
He had to go long periods of
time without speaking. "And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of
thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover; for
they are a rebellious house." (Ezekiel 3:26)
He had to lie on his side in
one position for over a year; in fact, for 390 days. And then, guess what!
After lying on his left side for 390 days he had to turn over and lie on his
right side for 40 days.
By lying on one side, as if
helplessly bound for many, many days, he symbolized the exile of the northern
kingdom. Then by lying on the other side in a similar way he represented the
remaining years of captivity for Judah. As a sign of famine he lived on
loathsome bread of mixed grains, ten ounces of clay, and a quart of water. The
bread was baked over the refuse of animals. Throughout the siege he lay on one
side with the famine diet. It meant great personal discomfort to him.
In a striking symbol by
means of his hair and beard being cut off and separated into three parts; he
made clear by scattering one part of the hair, that a small remnant would
survive whose hearts would be refined and purified.
It is said of Ezekiel that
he was stern and inflexible, relentlessly condemning the sins of the people. He
is said to have been rigid and unyielding in his zeal for righteousness and his
declaration of the truth. But it cost him something. He endured the most
excruciating personal hardship and deepest personal grief. He was a man of
strong personal discipline who was eager to do whatever God called him to do,
no matter the cost.
Ezekiel's faithfulness to
God is one of the highlights of the book. He was commissioned as a watchman and
he faithfully discharged his duty. It was not an easy task. The captives about
him were under the delusion that the power of Babylon would be broken, that the
doom promised for Judah would be averted, and that they would be returned to
their land.
He had to make them realize
that what was prophesied would be fulfilled and it was useless to believe that
Egypt would come to their rescue. He lived to make them realize that it was
their flagrant, presumptuous and persistent disobedience that was responsible
for their present state.
Although Ezekiel was a man
of strong personal discipline, stern and inflexible in his personality, he was
frequently on his face crying out to God. "And it came to pass, while they
were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and
said, Ah, Lord God! Wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring
out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?" (Ezekiel 9:8) "And it came to pass,
when I prophesied, that Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, died. Then fell I down
upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah, Lord God! Wilt thou
make a full end of the remnant of Israel?" (Ezekiel 11:13)
The dominant note of the
Book of Ezekiel is "they shall know that I am God." This occurs over
60 times. Other nations had been blotted out because of their abominations, but
God's purpose, through it all, was to help His people know Him.
© Copyright 2002, LeRoy Eims