Ezekiel
For Thursday's class, please read Chapters 1-12, 33 and 37 of Ezekiel. What do you find here that suggests that Ezekiel's message was a burden? Are there any passages that particularly well reflect hope, beauty, faith in the triumph of justice, or anything else that would have made this burden worth bearing?
posted by Ancient Art at 10:00 AM
8 Comments:
Ezekiel 3:7 would certainly be a burden. Imagine being sent to prophesy to Israel by God and having God say "they will not listen to you". This probably did not encourage Ezekiel much. I also think it would be a burden knowing what God intends to do to Israel because of their behavior. Chapter 37 tells about the resurrection which would be a good thing to know.
Right away when you start reading there is a huge burden. In chapter 1, Ezekiel talks about his vision of God. He talks about what he saw, and describes it in some detail. It reminds me of the example we had in class. When we were asked if we knew anyone who had the spirit of the Lord. I know Woody knew a person, and someone else knew someone. When we were asked what we would think if this person was telling us these things, and a majority of the class would think the person was crazy. This is exactly what I would think if I heard Ezekiel talking about this. It makes it so difficult because he starts with this, it will be hard for people to listen to him from now on. When ever he says anything, they will just say that he is that crazy guy who thought he saw God. If he would have talked about it later, he would have then had some credibility. I see this as a huge hump that Ezekiel has to get over. He has to try to convince people that he seen God.
I think being a prophet is burden enough for Ezekiel, but there are a few things that stick out. In the second chapter, Ezekial sees a scroll and on the scroll is writtern "Lamentation and wailing and woe". This in and of itself is a burden because it means that Ezekiel is going to be forced to prophesy bad news and most people hate being the bearer of bad news.
Another burden is in the next chapter. Ezekiel is told that if he meets a wicked man, or a good man doing something he shouldn't, and does not warn him against his actions, then he will be responsible for the man's death. This is hard news to take in. Who wants to be responsible for another person's death. And here Ezekiel is told that if he does not warn people of their wickedness then HE is responsible for their death, and inevitably for the wickedness that caused their death.
Also, Ezekiel is told to tell people that they will die because of their wickedness and will receive no mercy from the Lord.
There is some hope in Ezekiel. Ezekiel is told that God will give people a new heart and write his commandments on their hearts. God also says that he rejoices more in the conversion of a wicked man over that of pious man who committs sin. This means that if Ezekiel's words do reach people's hearts and turn toward God, then he has achieved some good in the world, which can help outweigh some of the burden he bears.
Part of the burden of Ezekiel's message was that in 3:16-21, where God tells Ezekiel that if he does not warn his people about the consequences of their sin, God will blame Ezekiel when they die. However, if Ezekiel warns the people and they turn from their sin, Ezekiel can take the credit for saving them.
Part of the message of hope lies in the fact that God wants the wicked to repent of their ways and the righteous to not sin. God does not want us to simply pay "lip service" to God, but to actively hear the word of the Lord and act on the message.
Another burden is in 5:1-4, where God makes many requests for Ezekiel to shave his beard and his beard and gave him specific instructions about the hair. Going bald in itself is a burden but doing it for God is worth bearing.
The vision of the chariot described in 1:1-28 was one of the most spectacular events that represented a small glimpse of the glory of God. When Ezekiel saw it, he fell down because of its beauty and glory.
Finally, the message of hope goes to all, even thoughs that are dead and buried. Ezekiel 37:1-14 states that the Lord will lift up the dead and return them to the nation of Israel. God breathes life into these skeletons and they grow flesh and skin in the presence of Ezekiel. That must have been a truly remarkable scene to behold!
I think part of the burden Ezekial carried was the fact that his message was so different from everybody else. Right at the beginning of the book, Ezekial speaks of "four living creatures. In appearance their form was that of a man, 6 but each of them had four faces and four wings" With a message like this, are people going to believe it?
Another part of the burden is that he is told "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. 4 The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn." In my opinion, this is not very motivating. He is being told he's going to a rebellious nation that probably won't listen to him.
In the book of Ezekial, chapter 7 is a good example of a burden. It states, "Son of man, this i swhat the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: The end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. The end is now upon you an I will unleash my anger at you. I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices. I will no tlook on you with pity or spare you; It also states Disaster! Now to me that is a lot of a burden to talk and tell people about, that for their actions there is no forgiveness, just punishment and the punishment is disaster.
Chapter 6 has a burden that has an immense impact, "Son of man, set your face against the mountains of Israel; prophesy against them and say: O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: I am about to bring a sword against you, and i will destroy your high places. Your altars will be demolished and your incense altars will be smashed, and i will slay your people in front of your idols. They lay them in front of them. This is a burden to the people for not following the lord and seeing the way of others. This is how the lord will teach them a lesson that he is the almighty one.
There are a number of things in the book of Esekiel that suggest his prophecy will be a burden. Beginning with the first chapters and the vision he sees, I would imagine that must have been very terrifying. Second, along with the terror that must come with those visions is now the ability to get people to believe that he in fact is a man of God and not some lunatic
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