After concluding (finally) my reading of Ezekiel, I walked away realizing just how good this book of the Bible is and saddened that most lectionary-based churches give it rather little overall value, as it rarely is featured in the lectionary and therefore is rarely featured for many preachers and hearers. But the book is worth the read. It is the perfect example of a book that is full of wrath and judgment and yet maintaining God's desire for the people and God's mercy and doing so in some really beautiful ways. So for those who can only think of the Valley of Dry Bones when reading Ezekiel, here are some other passages to turn to:
Ezekiel's Call Ch 2-3 You can definitely expand this if you want. For example, chapter 1 includes the acid-tripping, alien abduction vision of God's glory Ezekiel has (and no I don't actually think he was on acid or it was aliens, all I'm saying is it sure sounds a lot like a guy on acid meeting an alien). But for me, chapters two and three are the ones to make sure you catch. They feature words every preacher should hear about preaching even to the stubborn and hard-hearted (2:4-7) and a delicious diet of literally living not on bread alone but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God when he eats a scroll (2:9-3:9). Talk about being given words to share!
God's Exit from the Temple Ch 10-11 This really begins all the way back in chapter 8 when they journey to Jerusalem, but the heart of the activity are in these chapters where the key explanation of the defeat of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple come in Ezekiel. God's glory leaves the temple and in fact heads east out of Jerusalem, right to where the enemy army is coming from and the exiles have been taken to! In short, God was not defeated by the Babylonians and their gods, he had already moved out because he was so fed up with Israel's practices. As a symbol of hope, and receiving honorable mention for important passages in Ezekiel to look up, in his later visions of a new temple he sees the glory of the Lord returning in chapter 43:1-9. This earlier section of God's exit however already hints at God's return and Israel's restoration in a passage that includes a promise quite similar to the new covenant in Jeremiah 31. Ezekiel 11:17-21 includes promises of return from exile, internal renewal of heart and spirit, new obedience, and the Bible's oft-repeated graceful biblical declaration "they will be my people and I will be their God".
Parable of the Adulterous Wife Ch 16 I'm sure some won't like the image, seeing it as vilifying the woman or sounding morbid, but it is worth the read. In what may be the longest clear parable of the Bible (and I say clear parable so those arguing things like Jonah don't even try to object since whatever case one makes for it as a parabolic story, it was not written "clearly" as a parable) Ezekiel is to explain to Jerusalem the experience God has suffered of their practices through a parable of the people as a woman rescued by God, loved, married, and lavished with good things who loses it all because she acts like a prostitute. But as he notes, a prostitute is paid, instead she is paying to betray her husband (God) for other nations/gods. Therefore, God says all the lovers are going to come calling, take everything, and humiliate them, bringing their sin on their own head. There are so many wonderful parts to this parable and its explanation. It begins so intimately. It conveys betrayal because it conveys God's love. When no one cared for Israel, it said God had compassion on her in an almost parable of the Good Samaritan fashion, finding her bloody and abandoned. It also has this interesting note of hypocrisy that is very common even today: he notes how they saw Sodom as an object of scorn before their own wickedness was exposed. It's that two-faced nature to judge in a very looking-down fashion until we ourselves fall. For all its judgment it also ends with a promise of a new and everlasting covenant to be established (again, very Jeremiah-y).
Oracles Against the Nations Ch 28-31 Again, the oracles against the nations are actually longer than this, but the ones covered in 28-31 are by far the most intriguing theologically. What is so interesting is the development and use of Sheol and the pit as a place of judgment and the imagery of Eden used in these passages. The interpretation of the story of the garden of Eden, which usually resides primarily on individuals of its story (Adam and Eve) becomes different when nations are talked about in language as trees of God's garden. Eden is used here in comparing glory and in referring to the establishment/creation of nations. It to me is fascinating in the way these oracles use the garden to help us in our own interpreting and applying the garden story to our origins today. Yet sadly, I never in these discussions see Ezekiel's use and descriptions used to talk about how we look at the Garden of Eden narrative.
God's Judgment and Mercy Ch 33-34 These chapters really have it all. It has a clear command to call out sin. In fact, God warns Ezekiel that he is like a watchman with a responsibility to call out danger when he sees it or else he is accountable. Thus in 33:8 is a word every preacher better take to heart: "If I say to the wicked, 'Wicked one, you will surely die,' but you do not speak out to warn him about his way, that wicked person will die for his iniquity, yet I will hold you responsible for his blood." It is, you might say, the darker side of Paul's words in Romans "But how can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent?" Well, if you are sent like Ezekiel was, it is a responsibility. That's a hard word to hear as a pastor. That's just the beginning of this section. It also tells us we can't be saved by works, as the righteous man's acts will not save them from judgment for their transgressions. It conversely tells us, however, that God wants none to perish, all to turn to him and live, and the one who is wicked but turns away back to the Lord will be spared. So you have clear law and gospel. You even have God's response to those who don't like Law and Gospel in 33:17-20 beginning with a poignant judgment upon human judgment, "But your people say, 'The Lord's way isn't fair,' even though it is their own way that isn't fair." As the passage goes on there is a clear statement about God's concern for justice and faithfulness. Take verses 25-26 "This is what the Lord GOD says: You eat meat with blood in it, raise your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. Should you then receive possession of the land? You have relied on you swords, you have committed detestable acts, and each of you as defiled his neighbor's wife. Should you then receive possession of the land?" But the richness of these passages is not through yet. There is a great passage about the deaf ear syndrome again (see Ezekiel's call) to which at one point it is said to them the prophet is like a singer of love songs with a beautiful voice. They just love to listen. What preacher has never felt that way before? Then comes chapter 34, which lectionary readers will be acquainted with thanks to Good Shepherd Sunday. Here God condemns the leadership that has scattered his flock and led them astray, then promises to be their shepherd, to gather them, lie them down in good pasture separate rams from the goats, separate the fat sheep from lean sheep, appoint a single shepherd from the house of David, make a covenant of peace with them, and break the bonds of their yoke. It is a super-Jesus-y.
Last Verse Ch 48 As a bit of honorable mention, I will also throw this out there. The last many chapters are dedicated to a new temple in Jerusalem and the division of the land among the tribes. Along with the central theme phrase of Ezekiel "then you will know that I am the LORD" the major movement is first why did God leave Jerusalem. So upon visions of his return it is a powerful thing to end with the phrase: "The perimeter of the city will be six miles and the name of the city from that day on will be: The LORD Is There."
No comments:
Post a Comment