Introduction + Ezekiel 1:1-10

Introduction

Ezekiel is one of the Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel)
- Length of time prophesying
- Length of book
- Written Prophets vs. Spoken Prophets
History of the Old Testament
- Pre-History: Creation, Adam/Eve, Cain/Abel, Noah, the Flood
- Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Twelve Tribes (70 individuals) ~ 2000 BC
- Law: Moses, Exodus, Passover, Red Sea, Tabernacle, Law (600,000 families) ~ 1500 BC
- Judges: Colonizing Promised Land, Joshua, Judges, Samuel the Prophet
- United Kingdom: Saul, David, Solomon, Temple ~1000 BC
- Divided Kingdom
  - Idolatry entered into the kingdom (there was idolatry before e.g. golden calf, time of judges, but now it becomes part of life esp. in the Northern Kingdom)
  - From 900-400 BC
  - The Books of the Prophets take place during this period
    - The Prophets overlapped time periods, but not always geographically
    - Most of the Prophets were killed in Jerusalem ("Oh Jerusalem Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets")
    - Prophets‘ message was to repent and to point to the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ
    - Even the last prophet - St John the Baptist - preached repentance and pointed to the Messiah Who was near
  - The Kings were mostly evil, the Southern Kingdom had some good kings
- Assyrians took over the whole world and came to Israel and overtook it. Then they attempted to take Judah but failed (Sennacherib + Isaiah + Hezekiah)
- Babylonians came and overtook Assyria and Egypt and the whole world and proceeded into Judah as well
- Daniel and Ezekiel were taken during the Babylonian Captivity
  - They witnessed to the Lord to the non-Jews
  - Ezekiel is taken in the Babylonian Captivity, and despite being from a priestly line, was never able to serve as a priest because he lived in captivity where there was no Temple
  - Daniel became a high rank in the government
  - Daniel lived the entirety of the captivity (that’s why he’s last in the four major prophets)
Prophet Categorization
- Pre-Captivity
- Captivity
  - Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel
- Post-Captivity
  - Zechariah, Haggai, Malachi
Ezekiel
- Approximately 600 BC
- Two messages: Repent and Christ is coming
- His main theme is HOPE
- The most difficult book in the Old Testament to study because it’s mostly visions (like Revelation)
  - Some people even accuse John of copying Ezekiel - in reality, they both saw the same heaven!
- Name: God strengthens
- From a Priestly Family
  - 30 Years old is the beginning of the priestly service and the first time he would offer a sacrifice
  - He was taken to captivity BEFORE he was 30
  - It’s VERY HARD for a priest to be away from the altar (even in the NT)

Chapter 1

¹Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. ²On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, ³the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.

”thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month”
- Thirtieth year of his life
- Prophets have to give their timeline based on the current ruler
The heavens were opened and I saw visions of God
- This is the most comforting thing for anyone - heaven!
- Nothing gives more comfort or hope than eternal life and heavenly reward
- God is telling him “why are you upset? Here, let me show you the heavens”
The son of Buzi
- Because he is a priestly line, it’s important for him to mention his father’s name
Land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar
- A small river in Babylon that was known
The hand of the Lord was upon him there
- These words of prophesy are from the Lord

⁴Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. ⁵Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man. ⁶Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. ⁷Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled like the color of burnished bronze. ⁸The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. ⁹Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward.

¹⁰As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle.

Whirlwind
- “ree7” and “ro7” in Arabic, and in the old language they are the same word
- Whirlwind typically refers us to the Holy Spirit
  - cf. John 3 (Christ with Nicodemus)
  - cf. Pentecost
  - cf. Job (God speaks from a wind)
  - cf. Elijah (Wind, Earthquake, Fire, small voice)
  - cf. Moses when God was going to speak to the people
Great Cloud
- Also the Holy Spirit
- Cf. The Cloud that moved 40 years with the Israelites
- Cf. The Cloud of the Transfiguration
- Cf. Cloud that filled the Tabernacle
- Cf. 1 Kings 8 - Cloud that filled the Temple
Raging Fire
- Also the Holy Spirit!!!
Brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire
- His feet are like brass (Revelation)
The Chariot of God
- Carried by four incorporeal creatures of light, constantly moving (not just parked on the land)
- Kingship of God
- Not “animals” (7ayawanat) but “creatures” (ka-enat) and even the word 7ayawanat in its old meaning “has 7ay” has life.
- Each creature has four faces
  - In Revelation its one face each!
  - That’s a perspective or what you would say from one angle or from far away!
- Each creature has four wings
  - Elsewhere it’s six wings…
  - They have two wings on the top which make a dome over them, so Ezekiel only discusses the four wings
- Legs feet and soles of feet; The hands of a man were under the wings
  - Hands and legs = service
  - Wings = prayer
  - Spirits that serve humanity
- They all moved straight forward
  - They are working together
- Their wings are touching
  - God told Moses when he makes the mercy seat to have the wings of the two cherubim touch each other
- The likeness of their faces: man, lion, ox, eagle
  - Each face
    - Eagle: Divinity (high up, can’t see him in heaven)
    - Man: Humanity
    - Ox: Sacrifice of Christ
    - Lion: Resurrection of Christ
  - Another interpretation
    - Man: Incarnation
    - Ox: Crucifixion
    - Lion: Resurrection
    - Eagle: Ascension
  - Another Interpretation
    - Gospel of Mark: Lion - Christ who is mighty
    - Gospel of John: Eagle - meanings that are high and heavenly
    - Gospel of Matthew: Man - focus on His humanity
    - Gospel of Luke: Ox - Christ offers Himself as a sacrifice
  - Another interpretation
    - Intercessors for the creation
    - Man - Humanity
    - Eagle - For the birds
    - Lion - The Beasts
    - Ox - The Cattle
  - Another Interpretation
    - The components of man
    - Man - Mind
    - Eagle - Spirit
    - Ox - Body
    - Lion - Strength
    - Consecration of my mind and my spirit and my body and my actions
    - As Christ said that we would be like the angels in the end of days
- The Chariot of God is an icon of the Church
  - St Macarius writes about how each Christian should be like these Creatures
    - Do you have zeal like fire?
    - Do you have the wind and cloud?
    - Do you have the hand that serves?
    - Do you have the prayer that doesn’t stop?
    - Do you have the ox that would die for someone?
    - Do you have the man in his perfection?
    - Do you have the wind, fire, cloud that guide you or you move in your own way?
    - Etc.