His desires for a holy nation. a. He gets an up-close, interior view, and he shares it with us. This supernatural encounter with the heavenly realm began a new school of thought called merkabah (chariot mysticism). Beside each of the living creatures is a wheel of sparkling beryl, wheels that move at the direction of the living creatures, since the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels (Ezek. 33:2122). The veil that once separated the people from Gods Divine Presence in the Holy of Holies was torn down when Yeshua (Jesus) conquered sin and death. And nowhere in the Bible are Gods initiative and control expressed more clearly and pervasively than in the book of Ezekiel. It doesnt take Ezekiel up to heaven; it brings heaven to earth. These visions can even be applied today in the modern day church and show how much God loves His people despite repetitive sin. Ezekiel has the broad three-fold structure found in a number of the prophetic books: oracles of woe against the prophet's own people, followed by oracles against Israel's neighbours, ending in prophecies of hope and salvation: The book opens with a vision of YHWH (.mw-parser-output .script-hebrew,.mw-parser-output .script-Hebr{font-family:"SBL Hebrew","SBL BibLit","Taamey Ashkenaz","Taamey Frank CLM","Frank Ruehl CLM","Ezra SIL","Ezra SIL SR","Keter Aram Tsova","Taamey David CLM","Keter YG","Shofar","David CLM","Hadasim CLM","Simple CLM","Nachlieli",Cardo,Alef,"Noto Serif Hebrew","Noto Sans Hebrew","David Libre",David,"Times New Roman",Gisha,Arial,FreeSerif,FreeSans}). Ezekiel had his vision in Babylon as one of the captive exiles ( Ezek 1:1-3 ). Watch. He appears to have spent the rest of his life in Mesopotamia. However, while we are seeing a physical fulfillment at this time, the spiritual restoration seems like it is yet to come since many are coming in unbelief of both God and their Mashiach, Yeshua. (Jewish Israel). God is free to judge, and he is equally free to be gracious. Each creature is accompanied by a wheel. Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. 3:10). 28:12; Ps. The chariot can rise from the earth (Ezek. Ezekiel appears only briefly in the Dead Sea Scrolls, but his influence there was profound, most notably in the Temple Scroll with its temple plans, and the defence of the Zadokite priesthood in the Damascus Document. Ezekiel 2:1-7 (ESV) Sometimes God calls us into a difficult situation. The body of Amasis' mummified flesh was burned, and the ashes were spread on the mountains where it was cremated. The Greek (Septuagint) version[18] of Ezekiel differs slightly from the Hebrew (Masoretic) version[19] it is about 8 verses shorter (out of 1,272)[20] and possibly represents an earlier transmission of the book we have today (according to the masoretic tradition) while other ancient manuscript fragments differ from both. Here he shows them lost in reverence as they acknowledge the power and unshakable moral purpose of God. These visions can even be applied today in the modern day church and show how much God loves His people despite repetitive sin. Please Follow us on Twitter and receive Breaking News, Bible Teachings and Feature Articles from the Holy Land. This passage gives an answer of how the Lord expects the Israelites to respond to His message of repentance. The four plagues Chapter 5 Chapter 6:1-8 4. Luke, Galatians, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Romans, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon, God inspired the prophets to tell the people what they needed to know and do in order to follow His will. The Greek version of these books is called the Septuagint. 1:19), but the wheels are on the earth (Ezek. What is amiss with the nation is that it is corrupt at this center, that as repudiated the God who made it a people and has replaced him by the gods of the surrounding countries. 4] I will put my ruach within you. For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Instead of affecting change through Gods righteousness, they were swept away by the sins of the nations and worshiped idols and sacrificed their own children in the fire. The visions, and the book, are structured around three themes: (1) Judgment on Israel (chapters 1-24); (2) Judgment on the nations (chapters 25-32); and (3) Future blessings for Israel (chapters 33-48). [16] While the book exhibits considerable unity and probably reflects much of the historic Ezekiel, it is the product of a long and complex history and does not necessarily preserve the very words of the prophet. 1:6). Mom, Your Pain Is Realbut So Is Gods Comfort, Manage His Household Well: A Challenge for All Dads, When Your Difficult Boss Is Also Your Pastor. The Lord had descended on Sinai in a storm cloud (Ex. 9. Throughout the book of Ezekiel, he writes of the symbolic actions the Lord asks of him. Not as slaves, but having a real relationship with Him. 3.9K views, 177 likes, 38 loves, 20 comments, 75 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Lion and Lamb Ministries: Join Monte as he looks at the visions given to the #prophet #Ezekiel. 124 teach that God will be revealed in the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple; chs. Ezekiel's Vision of God | Reformed Bible Studies & Devotionals at Ligonier.org | Reformed Bible Studies & Devotionals at Ligonier.org Although the term holy is not used in Ezekiel 1, the entire vision conveys the reality of the Lord's transcendence, His "set-apartness" as the Creator and ruler His appearance was the same as it had been before by the river Chebar (yet another link which this closing vision has with Ezekiels earlier work) and it prompted the same response of awe and adoration. C. S. Lewis and Mrs. Moore: Relationship of Sin or Sanctification? Not only does the book present a striking picture of the resurrection and restoration of God's people ( Ezekiel 37 ), it . Something like this has happened before. God consistently refers to Ezekiel as the Son of man, it shows that God trusts him and that He had a specific plan for him to serve Him. In the 1st century CE the historian Josephus said that the prophet wrote two books: he may have had in mind the Apocryphon of Ezekiel, a 1st-century CE text that expands on the doctrine of resurrection. Ezekiels directional indications may seem extraneous, but they hint at connections with other four-corner arrangements in the Bible. Livable, A Tale of Trees: How Arboreal Theology Pervades the Bible. This essay was written by a fellow student. Ezekiel also prophesied the coming destruction, but he focused his efforts on telling the Israelites why God was exiling them and how they could get right with the Lord again. Ezekiel's Vision of God. We may be tempted to think that David-plus-three-mighty-men form a human replica of the glory, and then we might recall that Jesus, the son of David, also has his three: Peter, James, and John. Therefore say to the Israelites, This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. Mostly, Israel saw Yahwehs glory from a distance and from the outside; Moses didnt record a description of the interior. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates, to seize spoil and carry off plunder [among] the people who were gathered from the nations. (38:1112). collected. Save time and let our verified experts help you. 48:2). Ezekiel's First Vision Whirlwind firestorm, four creatures, four wheels, a firmament, a man on a throne. [22], As a priest, Ezekiel is fundamentally concerned with the Kavod YHWH, a technical phrase meaning the presence (shekhinah) of YHWH (i.e., one of the Names of God) among the people, in the Tabernacle, and in the Temple, and normally translated as "glory of God". The seal on the Saint's foreheads The Prophet Ezekiel, whose Hebrew name means "God Strengthens," was the fourth of the five Major Prophets from Isaiah to Daniel. The main theme running through Isaiah is the message of salvation, even the name of the prophet means salvation of Yahweh. Here in the valley, God answers that question by clearly displaying His chesed (covenantal love) to His People. God is so serious about making people aware of this that He held Ezekiel personally responsible for making sure the People understood the consequences of iniquity in their own lives. As a "sentinel for the house of Israel" (Ezekiel 3:17), Ezekiel had repeatedly warned of God's pending penalty for Judah's transgressions, including its fondness for idolatry (Ezekiel 5:7-10). God uses metaphor throughout chapter 16 to describe Israels wickedness as a whoring bride, but these sinful acts are not metaphors. Ezekiel's commission would last for some 22 years and involve some challenging assignments. The Old Testament portion of the Bible, notably the most difficult portion of the Bible for most to study and follow, yields 39 books from multiple authors, and spans over 4000 years of crucial world and church history. Since September 30, 2015, Russia has stationed more than 50 aircraft and helicopters across Israels northern border in Syria, including the Sukhoi Su-34 and Su-24M bombers, Su-25 attack aircraft, Su-30SM fighters and Mil Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters as well as Caspian Flotilla ships, according to the Russian News Agency. As one writer wrote, taking such steps allows God to unearth the dry bones in our lives, to revive our hearts and to breathe new life into our souls. At the center of the vision is Yahweh himself, appearing as a glorified man to the prophet by the river Chebar. In the Old Testament, God chose very specific people to give His message to Israel. And their appearance and their workmanship was like a wheel . Because of this traditional connection between Ezekiels vision of the chariot in chapter 1 and the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai (which is celebrated on Shavuot/ Pentecost) Ezekiel 1:128 is read as the Haftarah (Prophetic) portion on this holy holiday. Ezekiel describes the Third Temple in detail throughout the final chapters 40 to 47. Notice the sequence of promised event. Hes the living chariot of God, come from heaven to live among exiles, his face shining with the light of Gods glory. Ezekiel describes these wheels (Ezekiel 1:15-21). You can use it as an example when writing 28:12; Ps. Its a remarkable rare occurrence in Scripture. Ezekiels vision will be fulfilled some day; only time will tell if todays scenario in the Middle East is a direct precursor to it. Ezekiel was one of the prophet who were taken into exile along with King Jehoiachin. First, you shall live. The vision of the whirlwind. he who is sent by the God of all grace to the convert sinners must be influenced by the Holy Ghost; otherwise he can neither be saved himself, nor become the instrument of salvation to others. Jesus is the Prophet (Luke 4:24; 7:16; 24:19), but hes more than a prophet. Soon after Jeroboams death, civil war broke out in Israel and in 721 BC the Assyrian armies completely subjugated the kingdom. As well, Russia, Iran, and Syria share a joint intelligence command center in Iraq to carry out their united war against ISIS. The messages he received from God were intense and different than other prophets of Israel. In application to my life, I think that the biggest lesson one can learn is how to submit to the Lord and listen to His voice no matter what it is saying. Notably, Ezekiel blames the Babylonian exile not on the people's failure to keep the Law, but on their worship of gods other than Yahweh and their injustice: these, says Ezekiel in chapters 811, are the reasons God's Shekhinah left his city and his people. Therefore, let us lookforward to Yeshuas soon return with ever increasing anticipation and expectation. Behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Macbeth Dreams Visions and Hallucinations Rereading, The Art of Paul Kane: Visions from the Wilderness, Turish Visions For Sustainable Renewable Energy Environmental Sciences Essay, The Visions of the Narrator in the Cathedral by Raymond Carver, Write When the Philistines destroyed the tabernacle at Shiloh, they took Yahwehs ark back home as a war trophy, where Yahweh made war on Israels enemies (1 Sam. In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south. (2016, Dec 30). Jeremiah. We can get so caught up in the strange details of Ezekiels vision that we miss the concrete setting. Ezekiel was obedient to the visions and listened to Gods voice and what He instructed him to do, no matter what the consequence was or how strange, terrifying, weird the message may have been for Israel. To the right of the man face is the lion face, facing west, and to the left is the bull face, turned east. The pendulum swung back in the post-war period, with an increasing acceptance of the book's essential unity and historical placement in the Exile. It would be extremely humbling to them for them to have to rebuild their worship place to God. Meanwhile, we await the construction of Ezekiels Temple, for which the Temple Institute and Temple Mount Faithful have already prepared blueprints, construction materials, utensils, adornment, furniture and priests who will reestablish ritual sacrifices. He later prophesied they would spend 70 years in exile beginning in the year 597 BC (Jeremiah 25:11). God choses whomever He wants to give His messages to His people. 1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.. 2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity,. In this film, created for Practical Matters by independent documentary filmmaker Sonia Narang, an Indian Jewish visual artist works with a group of high school students at the SAR Academy, a modern Orthodox day school in New York City. In this vision Ezekiel saw four brilliant, powerful angels in action . But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul. (3:1821). 1:1). Above the heads of the cherubim is an expanse, a firmament gleaming like ice (Ezek. This book is written at a time of great strife for the region of Israel. By comparing the sound of the wings to the sound of Shaddai, Ezekiel makes use of a divine appellation that is generally associated with the ancestral age (e.g., Genesis 17:1; Exodus 6:3; and passim in the archaizing book of Job). 2:1, 3, 8; 3:1, 3, 4, 10; etc.). Ezekiel, was a great man of God and very faithful to Him. As much as I knew this before, I think it is far too easy to assume that because you may not visually see God doing and working things out in your life, that He does not care or exist. This sovereign God resolved that he would be known and acknowledged. 1:1). 2:1, 3, 8; 3:1, 3, 4, 10; etc.). [33] Apart from Revelation, however, where Ezekiel is a major source, there is very little allusion to the prophet in the New Testament; the reasons for this are unclear, but it cannot be assumed that every Christian or Hellenistic Jewish community in the 1st century would have had a complete set of (Hebrew) scripture scrolls, and in any case Ezekiel was under suspicion of encouraging dangerous mystical speculation, as well as being sometimes obscure, incoherent, and pornographic. They are actual practices by a Chosen People whom God had set apart and given a role in sharing holiness with the neighboring nations, so they could come to know and worship the one true God as well. Sometimes it is hard to do all the work on your own. As God gives this message to His people, through Ezekiel, I think that Ezekiel also senses this great love for a disobedient people. The Visions of Ezekiel e) The Refuse (32:5) 32:5 "I will lay your flesh on the mountains And fill the valleys with your refuse. We are always called to this devotion regardless of circumstance or opposition. In chapter 18, the Lord tells the Israelites it doesnt matter how holy their father or mother may be; when we stand before the Lord, we will be held accountable for what we did. And so, throughout Christianity, individuals have stepped up to the, One day in about the year 95 A.D., a man named John had a vision from heaven. And centuries later, the heavens split open again as another prophet, another Son of Man, is commissioned at the age of 30 to see visions of God (Luke 3:21-24; cf. Ezekiel was a prophet to the exiles who were living in captivity in Babylo. Hes both commissioned prophet and commissioning glory, both Son of Man and the fiery One who sits on Yahwehs throne in the midst of the living creatures. . As the cloud approaches, he sees whats insideliving beings, later identified as cherubim (Ezek. They had become such a defiled nation, the Lord was determined to show them just how awful they had become. The visions, and the book, are structured around three themes: (1) Judgment on Israel (chapters 124); (2) Judgment on the nations (chapters 2532); and (3) Future blessings for Israel (chapters 3348). Visions of the slaughter of the guilty. Ps. ", "The Gog and Magog Tradition in Ezekiel 20:8", International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament, English Translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible: Ezekiel, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Book_of_Ezekiel&oldid=1132590694. The most influential modern scholarly work on Ezekiel, Walther Zimmerli's two-volume commentary, appeared in German in 1969 and in English in 1979 and 1983. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes. 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