Great Bible Truths Podcast Episode 149
Lessons from their lives Talk 15 – Ezekiel
Welcome to talk 15 in our series lessons from their lives. Today our subject is Ezekiel. In our last talk we were looking at Jeremiah who was called by the Lord to minister to God’s people in Jerusalem. Ezekiel lived at the same time in Babylon and prophesied to God’s people who were exiled in captivity there.
Ezekiel 1:1-3
- In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the River Kebar, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
- On the fifth of the month – it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin –
- the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the River Kebar in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the Lord was on him.
Note:
Ezekiel and the people exiled with him were in a bad situation
Psalm 137:1-3
- By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.
- There on the poplars we hung our harps,
- for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’
Despite this, he experienced amazing manifestations of God’s presence
- the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
- the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, …the hand of the Lord was on him.
But this didn’t happen immediately
- …it was the fifth year of the exile…
God sometimes keeps us waiting before the heavens are opened
As we shall see, there are many parallels between the situation then and the situation in which we find ourselves as Christians today.
We will be concentrating on the first three chapters of the book of Ezekiel and will be considering:
- The people to whom he was called to minister
- The nature of his call
- The outworking of his call
The people to whom he was called to minister
Notice how God describes them in Ezekiel 2:3-8:
- He said: ‘Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day.
- The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says.”
- And whether they listen or fail to listen – for they are a rebellious people – they will know that a prophet has been among them.
- And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.
- You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.
- But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you.’”
So Ezekiel’s audience were rebellious, obstinate and stubborn.
God describes them as briers, thorns and scorpions.
Some people are like that today, but by no means everyone. Some are just waiting to hear the good news. We must speak God’s word to all, whether they listen or not (v7).
The nature of his call
In chapter 1 Ezekiel describes an awesome vision of the chariot throne of God. This is one of the hardest passages of scripture to understand. But it’s clear that he saw a vision of God’s transcendent power and majesty.
- …the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
- Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings.
- Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man.
- I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.
- Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell face down, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
Note:
The frequent repetition of the word like
The reference to God appearing like a man
The effect this had on Ezekiel
The disciples had similar experiences in the NT (Acts 2 tongues like fire)
So there’s no reason that we can’t too.
However, God does not always call in such a dramatic way (fishermen in Matthew 4).
Today the God’s glory has been revealed in the person of Jesus
John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
2 Corinthians 3:18
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 4:6
For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
The outworking of his call
Ezekiel was called to speak for God whether or not the people listened. So are we.
To do this he would need:
Strength – an equally stubborn determination to stand for the truth
Ezekiel 3:7-9
- But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate.
- But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are.
- I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.’
The Spirit
Ezekiel 2:2
As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
Ezekiel 3:12, 14, 24
- Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound as the glory of the Lord rose from the place where it was standing.
- The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord on me.
- Then the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet. He spoke to me and said: ‘Go, shut yourself inside your house.
Until the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost few people had any personal experience of the Holy Spirit. Ezekiel says twice in this passage the Spirit came into me. However, as Christians we have the privilege of being indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
The effect of the Spirit coming to Ezekiel was to put him on his feet.
Note also how the Spirit is connected with Ezekiel hearing God speak.
The Scroll
Ezekiel 2:8-3:4
- But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you.’
- Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which he unrolled before me.
- On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.
- And he said to me, ‘Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.’
- So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
- Then he said to me, ‘Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.’ So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.
- He then said to me: ‘Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them.
The scroll contained God’s words. We need to feed on God’s word every day. We need to be filled with it. Whatever we speak to other people must be based on his word. The message contains a warning of judgment, which to many is unpalatable, but to us it is sweet!
To sit among the people
Ezekiel 3:15
I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the River Kebar. And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days – deeply distressed.
If we really want to reach people for Jesus we must:
Come to them
Sit among them
Identify with their predicament