Presentation Transcript

1. God’s Spokesman in Exile

   Ezekiel

2. Babylon Ezekiel was deported to Babylon in 597 BCE, during Nebuchadnezzar’s first sweep through Jerusalem
3. Michelangelo's Ezekiel in Sistine Chapel
4. Ezekiel believes Babylon is the ‘instrument of God’ to punish Israelites for desecrating the Temple and Jerusalem with bad actions Babylon part of God’s Plan
5. Bewildering Visions The language in Ezekiel is not like other prophets. He describes the impact prophesying had on his mind and body ‘you will be bound with them and not able to mix with others’ 3:23
6. Visions of creatures with animal bodies, human faces, and eagles’ wings Cherubim Popular in Mesopotamian art Visions of the Throne Chariot
7. Yahweh Supreme One meaning: that Yahweh subjugates Babylonian divinities to pull his chariot-throne
8. Vision of the Chariot As for the appearance of their faces: the four had the face of a human being, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle; 11 such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies.
9. Typical in Mesopotamia
10. Chs 8-10, although in Mesopotamia, Ezekiel glimpses Yahweh departing Jerusalem ‘by the east gate’, heading northwest toward Babylon. Ezekiel believes that henceforth, Yahweh will be present to the Exiles, not to the Judeans left in Jerusalem Yahweh departing Jerusalem
11. ‘something that looked like a sapphire; it was shaped like a throne and high up on this throne was a being that looked like a man. . . . All around like a bow in the clouds on rainy days . . . EZ 1:26-28 Ezekiel struggles to describe what he sees
12. Like Moses, Ezekiel cannot see the Deity himself, but only the dazzling beauty that radiates from him Encounters with Yahweh
13. Unequal relationship between the immortal God and his human prophet is emphasized throughout the book Not Equals
14. After eating a scroll that tastes like honey, Ezekiel is appointing Watchman over the House of Israel “He said to me, O mortal, eat what is offered to you; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel. 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. 3 He said to me, Mortal, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it. Then I ate it; and in my mouth it was as sweet as honey.” 3:1-2 Sweetness of the scroll of god’s word
15. Former translations used the phrase ‘son of man’ Recent scholarship translates the ancient Hebrew word as ‘mortal’ Son of Man term used for Ezekiel
16. Cooks food over human waste to foreshadow people trapped in Babylon will be forced to eat ‘unclean’ food He does not mourn his wife’s death, like Yahweh will not mourn the loss of the Temple Tightly bound in ropes, he lies down on one side for 190 days symbolizing the duration of the northern kingdom’s exile Prophecy as Performance
17. Ezekiel feels himself lifted by the hair and carried from Mesopotamia to Jerusalem to see ‘filthy’ idols which disloyal priests have profaned the Temple. Ezekiel sees God’s ‘Glory’ leave Jerusalem and travel to the East (to those exiled in Babylon) Yahweh’s ‘Glory’ leaves Jerusalem
18. Ezekiel promotes a new ethic of responsibility Yahweh will no longer punish the people collectively for wrongdoings of ancestors Not so much individual responsibility, but that God will judge each generation Ezekiel reinterprets a Mosaic Tradition
19. Oracles against Foreign Nations Chapters 25-32 Tyre, a port island city, benefiting from Israel’s demise (26:1-6) Details of Tyre’s luxury trade in 27:10-25 Tyre was not destroyed for two and half centuries by Alexander the Great
20. Ezekiel 33 focuses on the ruination of Jerusalem After this, the prophet’s visions are all about restoration This is where the vision of the valley littered with human bones that reassemble themselves—the resurrection of Jerusalem Visions of A future restoration
21. Vision of the Valley of the Bones
22. Unidentified aggressors Ch 38-39 God’s violent intervention Yahweh’s slaughter of Gog’s armies enhances his international stature—it warns its aggressive neighbors Gog and Magog
23. Thus says the Lord God: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; 4 I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws, and I will lead you out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company, all of them with shield and buckler, wielding swords. Ch 38 Gog
24. Chapter 39, closes with a promise from Yahweh to return to Jerusalem all members of the covenant community who are scattered in foreign nations The scattered israelites
25. Chapters 40-48 describes a time when Yahweh will rule his people directly Ezekiel provides detailed measurements for a gloriously rebuilt Temple I saw the glory of the God of Israel approaching from the east. A sound came with it, like the sound of the ocean, and the earth shone with his glory. . . The glory of Yahweh arrived at the Temple by the east gate . . .43:1-6 Future Theocracy
26. Ezekiel’s Temple
27. Solomon’s Temple on Mount Zion in Jerusalem Destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar’s troops Second Temple rebuilt by Hebrews returning from exile in Babylon under Governor Zerubbabel---dedicated circa 515 BCE Herod’s splendid Temple rebuilt the former in 1st century BCE It was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE Israel’s Temples