Oct20

Ezekiel’s Acts of Obedience

by Scott Chafee on October 20th, 2010 at 8:38 am
Posted In: Obedience, Teaching

Ezekiel served as a prophet to the exiles in Babylon from 593-571 B.C. His book is an interesting read; there are quite a few things that might be termed as weird, but he acted in obedience to God.

Synopsys of his life:

  1. He was the son of Buzi the priest (Ezekiel 1:3).
  2. He was one of the Jewish exiles who settled at Tel-Abib, on the banks of the Chebar, “in the land of the Chaldeans.”
  3. He was probably carried away captive by King Nebuchadnezzar along with King Jehoiachin and 10,000 others, including political and military leaders and skilled craftsmen (Ezekiel 1:2; 2Kings 24:14-16) about 597 BC.
  4. His prophetic call came to him “in the fifth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity” (594 BC).
  5. He had a house in the place of his exile, where he lost his wife, in the ninth year of his exile, by some sudden and unforeseen stroke (Ezekiel 8:1; 24:18).
  6. He held a prominent place among the exiles, and was frequently consulted by the elders (Ezekiel 8:1; 11:25; 14:1; 20:1).
  7. His ministry extended over twenty-three years (Ezekiel 29:17), 595-573 BC, during part of which he was contemporary with Daniel (Daniel 14:14; 28:3) and Jeremiah, and probably also with Obadiah and Habbakkuk.
  8. The time and manner of his death are unknown. His reputed tomb is pointed out in the neighbourhood of Bagdad, at a place called Keffil.

Climate of the times: Ezekiel and his people are taken to Babylon as captives. The Jews become foreigners in a strange land ruled by an authoritarian government.

Main message: Because of the people’s sins, God allowed the nation of Judah to be destroyed. But there was still hope-God promised to restore the land to those who remained faithful to him.

Importance of message: God never forgets those who faithfully seek to obey him. They have a glorious future ahead.

Contemporary prophets:

  1. Daniel (605-536)
  2. Habakkuk (612-588)
  3. Jeremiah (627-586)

Ezekiel’s acts of obedience:

  1. Stood and received God’s message (Ezekiel 2:1, 3:24)
  2. Shut himself inside his house, tied with ropes, with his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth (Ezekiel 3:24-26)
  3. Faithfully proclaimed God’s message when I give you one (Ezekiel 3:27)
  4. Drew the city of Jerusalem on a clay tablet (Ezekiel 4:1-2)
  5. Placed an iron griddle between the city and himself (Ezekiel 4:3)
  6. Lay on his left side for 390 days (Ezekiel 4:4-5)
  7. Lay on his right side for 40 days (Ezekiel 4:6)
  8. Kept staring at the seige, and was bound with ropes (Ezekiel 4:7-8)
  9. Followed specific cooking instructions, baking it over fire made with dried human dung (Ezekiel 4:9-17)
  10. Shaved his head and beard, used the hair in symbolic actions (Ezekiel 5:1-4)
  11. Left home to demonstrate exile, packing his bags and even digging a hole in the wall, and covering his face (Ezekiel 12:3-7)
  12. Spoke against false prophets (Ezekiel 13:1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 16)
  13. Sang a lament concerning the leaders (Ezekiel 19:1, 2-14)
  14. Prophesied against Israel and the temple, God is their enemy (Ezekiel 21:1, 2, 3, 6, 7-17)
  15. Marked out two roads for Babylon’s king (Ezekiel 21:19-23, 24-27)
  16. The sign of the cooking pot (Ezekiel 24:1, 2, 3, 4-14)
  17. Did not mourn the death of his wife (Ezekiel 24:16-17, 18-19, 20-27)

Influence of Ezekiel on the New Testament:

  1. Allusions to Ezekiel in the New Testament are found mostly in the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation.
    1. Jesus’ presentation of Himself as the Good Shepherd in John 10 surely was intended as a contrast to the wicked shepherd in Ezekiel 34.
    2. His comparison of Himself to the vine in John 15 may have had in mind the parable of the vine of Ezekiel 15.
  2. Allusions to Ezekiel are found more frequently in the Book of Revelation than any other New Testament book.
    1. The living creatures of Ezekiel 1 reappear in Revelation 4:6-9.
    2. The throne of God (Ezekiel 1:26-28) is described very similarly to Revelation 4:2-3.
    3. “Gog, the land of Magog” (Ezekiel 38:2) becomes “Gog and Magog” in Revelation 20:8.
    4. The Temple vision of Ezekiel 40–48 has several parallels in Revelation 21–22, with its focus on the Holy City Jerusalem and the river flowing from the throne of God.
    5. Jesus’ frequent reference to Himself as the Son of man is generally considered to have its origin in Daniel 7:13, but he may have gotten it from the 93 times God addressed Ezekiel as “son of man.”

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