FROM AMONG a depressed and humbled. The faithful of old. studied by the young. Ezekiel: the watchman of Israel. Exposition

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1 The faithful of old studied by the young Ezekiel: the watchman of Israel Exposition Matt Davies Ezekiel prophesied in momentous times. The godly days of King David and King Solomon had long gone. The children of Israel had turned from serving Yahweh to serving the gods of the heathen around them. FROM AMONG a depressed and humbled group of His people, captive in Babylon, Yahweh in His mercy chose a man to be a watchman. This man was selected to deliver a message of warning and hope to the captives, to exhort them, uplift them and give them a vision of the future onto which they could hold tightly and so endure the trials and tribulations in which they found themselves. The watchman was to see wonderful visions and terrifying judgements, but he was also to foresee the final restoration of his people under the rulership of Christ and the great temple which is to be built in the Land. That man was Ezekiel. Ezekiel s prophecy opens abruptly with a statement of how Ezekiel in his thirtieth year saw visions of God (1:1). We read that this was the fifth year of Jehoiachin s captivity and that Ezekiel was amongst the captives by the River Chebar. We know little about his life before this point. However, he was a priest (v. 3), and we may assume that this gave him some status, as we read in 2 Kings 24:14-16 that Ezekiel s deportation consisted mainly of the higher ranks of the people. As he grew up, doubtless he was preparing himself for a role in the temple, but this hope would have long left him as he settled down far away from his homeland. At the age of thirty when, under normal circumstances, he would have begun his work as a priest (Num. 4:3) he was called to another work. After being called and seeing his first vision of the cherubim, Ezekiel sat stunned amongst his fellow-captives for seven days (Ezek. 3:15). Considering that a priest had to be consecrated for seven days before he could start his ministry (Ex. 29:30,35; Lev. 8:33), perhaps here we have Ezekiel s consecration, his preparation for his The Testimony, August

2 Among the visions that Ezekiel saw were visions of the cherubim... the case of Ezekiel) within our own community. As Jude exhorts us, we should all earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (v. 3). God s exhortations to Ezekiel show that he was a man like any of us, chosen for a high commission but with similar feelings and emotions to us. Bearing this in mind, when we read of some of the things Ezekiel had to do, and how he set about to do them faithfully, it should make us realise how wonderful a brother he was, and what an example he is to each of us. Ezekiel was divinely strengthened for his work. His name means God will strengthen and he was to be the tool which God would use to strengthen the captives that were with him. His book can be split loosely into five parts. chapters 1 3 deal mainly with his call chapters 4 24 deal with prophecies against Judah and Jerusalem chapters deal with prophecies against the nations chapters are prophecies about the restoration of Israel chapters are a prophecy of the future of the Land of Israel and worship in the Millennium. future role amongst the captives, though not as a priest but as a prophet. We can discern a few things about Ezekiel s character from the way God exhorts him for his commission. He is told not to be afraid (2:6), not to rebel (v. 8), and that if he did not warn the people then their blood would be required at his hand (3:18). This seems to indicate that Ezekiel was not naturally courageous, and that his instinct might cause him to rebel against God s commission. If these exhortations apply to a great man like Ezekiel, how much more do they apply to us? We must not be afraid to stand up for the doctrines of the Word of God, both in the world outside and (as in who were bearing the glory of God. The watchman of Israel Ezekiel is told (3:17; 33:1-9) that God has made him a watchman. He had a responsibility to warn the people of danger and to tell them God s message. Repentance had to be forthcoming from the nation to allow them to be restored under the terms of the covenant made to them in Deuteronomy 30:1-3. One of the most remarkable things about Ezekiel is that he knew that the message he had to deliver would not be listened to by the people (Ezek. 3:7). Ezekiel was not to worry about the results of his teachings (2:5). The reason for his ministry is told us here: so that when Israel looked back, they would see that God had indeed warned them through His prophet. Ezekiel had a huge personal responsibility in this role (3:20). He had many restrictions placed on him dumbness, The Testimony, August 2012

3 being tied up, being locked away but he still had to be a watchman, and his blood would be required if he did not speak God s warnings to the nation. What a lesson to us! We have to preach to those outside the Brotherhood, and, like Ezekiel, sometimes we need to warn those within, even if those we are speaking to do not want to listen! Being a servant of God does not necessarily mean that we should expect to see great results. God s Word does not return void (Isa. 55:11); people either accept it or reject it. It is our job to ensure that we take to others that Word and the doctrines we believe, and strive to keep them in our lives. We may feel restricted; we may feel that our message will not be heard; but we still have to witness to it (1 Pet. 3:15). Although the way we communicate the message might change according to circumstances we are in, we are not to change the message itself (Gal. 1:8). If we do not witness to the message, then an opportunity might be lost, and the blood of one with whom we were in contact may be required of us. As a man of sign, Ezekiel was a human representative of the whole nation. The man of sign After being commissioned as a watchman, Ezekiel was made dumb by God (Ezek. 3:26). He could speak only when God made him speak. He had to act out a number of the signs and prophecies given to him, and for this reason he is described in the record as a man of sign (4:3; 12:6,11; 24:24,27). He was to remain dumb until Jerusalem fell (24:27; 33:21,22). Another lesson for us: would others still recognise that we were God s people if we couldn t speak? Do we walk the walk as well as talk the talk? The signs Ezekiel had to act out came with burdens so great that it is hard for us to imagine how he coped. He willingly put himself in uncomfortable positions to warn his people, as God had commanded him. Some of these signs were extremely personal to Ezekiel, such as when his wife died and he was not to mourn her loss. Ezekiel often represented either how Yahweh wanted Israel to be (for example, riding with the cherubim and manifesting God s glory in vision) or how Israel actually were (for instance, with the He shaved himself with a razor, weighing and dividing the hair to represent the judgement of Israel. The Testimony, August

4 tongue cleaving to the roof of the mouth because they had forgotten Jerusalem [Ps. 137:6] and not mourning the death of his wife as the captives would not mourn the destruction of Jerusalem). In this sense Ezekiel was a sign of Israel, a human representative of the whole nation (Ezek. 4:5). The enactment of some of these signs would have been very uncomfortable, especially if those around ridiculed him; so in his commitment to them we see Ezekiel s total dedication to serving God. He put God first, far above personal dignity. Would we do the same? A man with a vision of the future How did Ezekiel get through the trial of these signs that he had to perform? How did he bring a message which would fall upon deaf ears and be aggressively resisted? To get through difficult times there is only one remedy: to have a vision of the future; to know that the burdens of today are of no consequence when compared with the glory promised in the future (Acts 14:22). Other men with a vision of the future include Abraham, who rejoiced, Jesus said, to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad (Jno. 8:56). The writer to the Hebrews, too, tells us that Abraham looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God (11:10). This faith in the evidence of things not seen (v. 1) is a hallmark of a man of faith, and such a vision will help him to overcome the everyday trials he finds himself in. We know our Lord Jesus Christ had a very clear vision of the future in his mind s eye, for we are told: for the joy that was set before him [he] endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God (12:2). In a world where visions of sin are pushed into our minds, we must be careful to ensure that our vision of God s Kingdom is bright that His visions are more real to us than anything we see on digital screens or in glossy magazines. This is essential to us, for Where there is no vision, the people perish (Prov. 29:18). Ezekiel was a man with a vision. Son of man Ezekiel is referred to as son of man just over ninety times in the book. As a man of sign to Israel, it is interesting to see his work pointing forward to the Son of man, Jesus Christ. Ezekiel s role was to attempt to bring Israel back to God. In this he was a type of the man Christ Jesus. As Ezekiel represented Israel, so he represented us, having sin-cursed nature (2 Cor. 5:21). He 294 was indeed the son of man whom God would strengthen (Ps. 80:17). The table opposite gives some of the parallels between Ezekiel and the Lord Jesus Christ. The nation s revival From some of the visions God gave him, Ezekiel had to learn very hard lessons as he was shown the wickedness of his people and the consequent departure of God s glory from them. Although this may have been depressing for Ezekiel, one of the most encouraging things revealed to him was the re-establishment of the nation of Israel and the future time when the glory of God would return to His people. We have been privileged in our lifetimes to see some of these restoration prophecies starting to come to pass. When I visited Israel it was exciting to read a verse from Ezekiel s prophecy printed on a monument to Holocaust survivors at the entrance of Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust museum. The quote is from Ezekiel 37:14: And [I] shall put My breath in you, and you shall live again, and I shall set you on your own soil. We know that the Jews return to their Land is a huge sign to us that the return of Christ is at hand. Israel have to dwell on the mountains of Israel for the invasion of Gog, with his great host coming out of the uttermost parts of the north (38:15, ESV), to take place. They have to be in the Land dwelling in safety (vv. 8-11,14), yet also dwelling in transgression (39:24), rejecting the Messiahship of Jesus, for it is only when the nations which gather against Jerusalem are destroyed that Israel will look on the one whom they pierced and mourn (Zech. 12:10). This will spark the process of the nation s return to Yahweh and their acceptance of Jesus as their Messiah. How wonderful it is for us to see this being fulfilled before our very eyes! How excited Ezekiel was when he saw these things when they were still in the distant future; and yet how much closer they are to us living in these latter days! Surely, then, the exhortation for us is to learn the practical lessons from Ezekiel s experiences and apply them in our lives, remembering that the hardships and pressures of today are nothing compared with what we shall enjoy, in God s mercy, when Jesus returns; and not being ashamed of the Word of God which we speak forth, but doing all we can to manifest the character of the Father in our lives. Let us, then, uphold the hope of Israel, and continue on our way with a vision of the future The Testimony, August 2012

5 Feature Ezekiel Jesus Christ Called Son of man 2:1 and throughout the book Mt. 8:20; Mk. 8:31; Lk. 5:24; Jno. 1:51 and throughout the Gospels Divinely strengthened Name means God will strengthen ; strengthened by visions (1:3) A priest 1:3 Heb. 4:15; 6:20 Began ministry at the age of thirty 1:1 Lk. 3:23 Despised by men Son of Buzi (1:3) meaning despised Ps. 80:17: God would strengthen the man of His right hand (Christ), the Son of man Isa. 53:3 Message unpopular 2:3; 3:7 Jno. 1:11 Man of sign 4:3 Lk. 2:34; Jno. 14:9; 17:6 The Spirit of God was with him 2:2 and at other times Lk. 3:22; the Holy Spirit remained with him Prophesied to Jews who associated themselves with Abraham 33:24 Jno. 8:33 God s representative to Israel 3:7,27 Mt. 1:23 Israel sins laid on him, suffering on behalf of the people as their representative 4:5 Isa. 53:6 Spoke God s word 1:3; 3:4 Jno. 3:34: Jesus was the Word made flesh (1:14) Noted for speaking in parables 20:49 Mt. 13:10-13 Had a vision of the future burning brightly before us. Let us be conscious of the hope that we share with Ezekiel, who concludes his wonderful prophecy concerning Chapters 33 48; other prophetic visions throughout his ministry Mt. 16:28 17:2; Heb. 12:2 the future position of Zion with the words: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there (48:35). The Testimony, August