In 2009 I began to read the Bible alphabetically (see here for my rationale), reading each book at least three times and trying to get into the mind of the original author and readers as well as listen to God’s message for today. Here’s what I’ve discovered from reading Ezekiel.
God is angry with Israel for not treating him with due respect, so he is going to kill them all.
That, at least, is my first impression. Yes, God also issues similar pronouncements of doom against the surrounding nations, especially Tyre and Egypt. And yes, there are some more positive prophecies about the restoration of the nation and about individual responsibility. And yes, there are some mysterious and profound descriptions of an awe-inspiring God. But the overwhelming emphasis is on God's disgust and anger and his intention to destroy. There is little in the way of advice or instruction. Most of the prophecies are God's declaration about what he will do so that people will know he is God.
So my first question is how I am supposed to approach the book of Ezekiel. Here are some options:
a) This is not the inspired word of God, but the misguided ranting of some self-styled prophet; God would disown this book and prefer us not to read it.
b) This is the inspired word of God, who it turns out is a much nastier and more vindictive God than we thought.
c) This is partially the inspired word of God; amongst the dross of human misconceptions about God's intentions there are some nuggets of gold which give real insights into God's nature and his love. God wants us to ignore the unpleasant parts and seek out the passages which can inspire and encourage us.
d) The book of Ezekiel says what God wants it to say; he intends it to be read and taken seriously. This is the option which makes most sense to me, though it still leaves me wondering what God is trying to tell us today through this book. Perhaps he wants to remind us that he is more than a soft-hearted easy-going father-figure who smiles down on us benignly whatever mischief we get up to. We need to know that he is an awesome, frightening God who is angry when his love is rejected. We need to know that he is a powerful, active God who rules the fates of nations. And of course we need to know that he is a forgiving and more than fair God who is ready to restore the fortunes of those who amend their ways.
The book is a collection of written prophecies from around the time of the exile in Babylon. It also contains descriptions of various enacted parables through which Ezekiel put across his message – laying siege to a brick; shaving his head; burying his underwear; digging a hole through the wall of his home; shedding no tears over the death of his wife. As we would expect, all these prophecies share some common themes, but over the years Ezekiel seems to shift his emphasis from divine retribution to divine restoration.
The book also records a number of visions. The opening chapters describe Ezekiel's first encounter with God, surrounded by a heavenly retinue so strange that some have suggested Ezekiel was visited by an alien UFO. In later visions Ezekiel seems insistent that the glory of God was manifested in the same way as in his initial vision. Perhaps his most famous vision is of the valley of dry bones which came to life as Ezekiel prophesied, and were given the breath of life by the Spirit of God. It's good to know that the piles of corpses which God vowed to reduce Israel to are not the end of the story. Even dead nations can be resurrected.
The longest vision comes at the end of the book and describes in great detail a new temple and the rituals which take place in it. The angel who accompanies Ezekiel in this vision measures out all the buildings precisely so that Ezekiel can record the figures. He also shows Ezekiel a river of life flowing out from the temple. So the book ends on a much more hopeful note than the majority of its content. God is respected and worshipped. The holy place is at the centre of a restored nation with each tribe given a strip of land reaching from the sea to the Jordan river.
The reasons for the destruction of Israel and other nations are not spelled out in nearly as much detail as the manner of destruction. In fact it was only on a second reading that I began to notice the reasons at all. Mostly Israel had done wrong by worshipping idols, profaning the sabbath, and oppressing the poor. Tyre was rich and self-satisfied, but would ultimately be pulled down – a warning not to place our trust in how safe and secure our riches make us. The main fault of Tyre and Egypt (and Assyria) was their pride, with rulers thinking of themselves as gods. Surprisingly this is still a fault of people today, seeing themselves as 'god' of their own lives. "I'm in charge. I rule supreme over my life. I'm a self-made man/woman." We still need to acknowledge that God, not us, is God.
I must admit I'm having difficulty with the relevance of this particular aspect of the book. God seems to be motivated much more by wanting people to know he is God than by any thought for their well-being and prosperity. The best message I can take from this is that real well-being relies not on material blessings but on an acknowledgement of God as our creator, our Father, and the holy one who is worthy of our worship. God knows this and will not be satisfied with anything less.
In chapter 3 Ezekiel is given a scroll to eat. The contents are harsh words against Israel, but it tasted as sweet as honey in his mouth. This is not a bad description of the whole book. It contains plenty of unpleasant prophecies, but if we work hard to digest it and take it to heart we can find enough in it to delight us.
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