Ezekiel: Part 1
Babylon In Action
Moving on to our next major prophet, we will be looking at the book of Ezekiel. As the Bible Project tells us, “Ezekiel was a priest who had been living in Jerusalem during the first Babylonian attack on the city. The city itself was spared, but the king of Babylon took a first wave of Israelite prisoners into exile. Ezekiel was among them.” This book is unique because in this story, we see that the captivity of Jerusalem isn’t being prophesied about, but is actively happening as Ezekiel is having these visions. Beyond all of this, we see that one of the biggest points of emphasis for the first half of this book is the disrespect being shown to the temple of God. A vision of God’s house is used to describe multiple issues with the people of Jerusalem in the very beginning of this book and we see how this points out flaws in God’s people. So how will this book help us in our own personal lives? When we see how God’s house is mistreated, we must take an inward look at ourselves and the church that we attend and ask ourselves if God is pleased with how holy we keep His house. Even more, than this, we must ask ourselves if we are willing to do this even in the midst of suffering. As we know from previous major prophets, the suffering of God’s people is definitely justified, however, it is still worth noting that even in the midst of suffering, they are still called to honor God and keep His house holy, despite what those around them may think. With this in mind, let’s dive in.
Profane The Temple
To start, this post like the others will be broken down into two parts. The book of Ezekiel as a whole is 48 chapters, so we will digest the first 24 in this post. As mentioned earlier, a massive part of these opening chapters has to do with how God’s people treat His temple. But before we even get into that, we must see how God speaks to Ezekiel and how He calls him to warn Jerusalem. At the beginning of chapter one, God reveals a vision to Ezekiel of this holy creature being carried on what seems to be 4 other creatures that formed a cart to carry the larger one. Ezekiel 1:10-12 describes it as this, “As for the form of their faces, each had a human face; all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and two covering their bodies. And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went.” Ezekiel later mentions that this figure is the glory of God. So what does this creature want with Ezekiel? God tells him in Ezekiel 2:4-5 “So I am sending you to those who are impudent and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says:’ “As for them, whether they listen or not—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.” God has grabbed Ezekeil’s attention in the midst of being taken over by Babylon to tell him that Jerusalem is still meant to follow the Lord, even amid their persecution.
Speaking of persecution, one of the top reasons Jerusalem is being persecuted is because of the sin that God’s people have brought into the temple. Chapters 8-11 cover this in detail, and what we see is very wicked stuff. Idols and the worship of these idols have taken over the temple and God is severely displeased. Ezekiel 9:7 states, “He also said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courtyards with the dead. Go out!” So they went out and struck and killed the people in the city.” Our Lord undeniably takes the mistreatment of His house very seriously. Those that mistreated the house of the Lord, paid for it with their lives. Not only that but, chapter 10 takes it a step further. Ezekiel 10:18 tells us, “Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim.” God left His temple when He saw all of the wickedness and sinfulness that was being practiced in His house. He not only punished those who defiled His house, but He left His house overall because of the unholy atmosphere that He could not abide in.
A Painful Sign
Furthermore, look at what God says will happen to the false people who inhabit the temple and allow this wickedness to continue. Ezekiel 13:2-3 says “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, ‘Listen to the word of the LORD! ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing!” The false prophets that continued to spew out lies in God’s name will be unsurprisingly punished by Him as well. What does this reveal to us about the temple of God? Quite simply, when the house of God is not in order, it loses all accountability to hold others in order as well. Who cares if you’re spewing out lies when you worship false gods anyway? This leads us to chapter 24. One of the most sorrowful depictions of God’s hurt is about to be put on display. God is about to let Ezekiel’s wife die… As harsh as this seems, this is only a glimpse of the sorrow that God experiences when His bride turns away from Him to follow idols. Ezekiel 24:21 says “‘Speak to the house of Israel, “This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, that which is precious in your eyes and the longing of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword.” God is telling His people that through this slavery to Babylon, family members will die and there will be nothing that they can do about it. And this is seen firsthand by Ezekiel’s wife’s passing. Ezekiel 24:24 “‘So Ezekiel will be a sign to you; according to all that he has done, you will do. When it comes, then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’” Again, as sad and ruthless as this seems, these Israelites have brought this judgment upon themselves. They cannot be upset when they sin and have to face the consequences. God warned Jerusalem of the coming persecution that will come because of how His temple was profaned, and He held to His word. And as sad as this is, there is a tad of comfort that can be found in this closing verse. ‘When it comes, then you will know that I am the Lord God.’ When this discipline takes place, yes you will be in pain, but you will also know that I am the one true God who you alone have sinned against.
Sources
[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/
[2] BibleProject. (2024a, August 8). Guide to the Book of Ezekiel. BibleProject. https://bibleproject.com/guides/book-of-ezekiel/
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