Making Sense of Ezekiel
Today we’re going to talk about my favorite prophet. The most psychedelic, performance art truth-teller in the Bible. Ezekiel is a trip. I love this guy for so many reasons, I’ll get to some of them as we go. Jesus must have been pretty fond of him, too—He used the same title to refer to Himself that Ezekiel uses. Son of Man. Literally Son of Adam. Ezekiel refers to himself as Son of Man 93 times. Jesus uses the phrase 81 times in all four Gospels combined. I’ve always thought it was amazing that Jesus’ favorite name for Himself was “Son of Man.” Like, “This is sooo cool! I’m a son of Adam! I became part of my creation! Very God of very God made flesh.”
For Ezekiel, the title means he’s nothing special. A son of Adam. A member of the human race. Not son of Israel, or son of Aaron. Not the anointed prophet of God. Just a Son of Man. No one in particular. When Jesus uses this title for Himself, He’s also emphasizing that by coming to earth as a man, He represents all who are descended from Adam. He’s emphasizing His humanness.
The only other person in the Bible to use this phrase is Daniel, and even though He’s referring to the Messiah yet to come, it means something very different for him—we’ll get to that next week. Read Daniel chapter seven if you want a preview.
Ezekiel lived 600 years before Jesus walked the earth. He was born into a priestly family and would have been raised in preparation of becoming a priest his whole life. His father’s name was Buzi, which is funny considering how trippy Ezekiel’s visions were. Ezekiel would have grown up during the very exciting reformation and revival of Josiah’s reign. It was probably inspiring to have such a devout king who was about his same age. He was probably looking forward to being a priest for as long as he could remember. He’d become a full-fledged Temple worker at 30 years old but would start his official apprenticeship at 25.
Guess what happened when Ezekiel was twenty-five. All his dreams were shattered. The Babylonians arrived at the gates of Jerusalem and took all the prominent citizens into exile. Ezekiel was in that first group. All that study of the Pentateuch he had done in preparation, all his training, it was all for nothing. He was never going to see Jerusalem or the Temple again. He was going to die in Babylon.
Five years later is where the Book of Ezekiel begins. He’s very specific about the dates:
Chapter one, verse one:
“In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.” Ezekiel 1:1
Most of the Book of Ezekiel is written in the first person. It’s like a memoir. Another thing I love about Ezekiel. I wrote a book a few years ago, a memoir, it’s called “Joyride: A beginning in every end.” Ever wonder why God closed a door to something you were looking forward to? His dreams of being a priest in the Temple were crushed but God had bigger plans for our boy Ezekiel. “A beginning in every end.”
He was to be the prophet of God for the exiles in Babylon—for the people of God in a foreign land. They didn’t know what was going on back home in Jerusalem, there wasn’t cable news or internet service in Babylonia. No one had a cell phone. So, God was going to give Ezekiel a series of visions to keep them informed of what was happening with the people who were left behind and the Temple. Jeremiah’s like our reporter on the front lines, Daniel’s our insider undercover in the Babylonian palace—Ezekiel was like CNN for the Jewish people in exile.
The book is mostly in chronological order. There’s symmetry between early chapters and later chapters—like chapter 3 is answered in chapter 33, chapters 8-11 are answered in chapters 40-48. It’s a brilliant book.
Chapter one starts off with this amazing vision of the Glory of God in the heavenly throne room on His flying chariot powered by angelic creatures worshiping Him. I’m just going to read it and let you try to picture it in your mind.
Verse 4:
“I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human, but each of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides, they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved. Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. They each had two wings spreading out upward, each wing touching that of the creature on either side; and each had two other wings covering its body. Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went. The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning. As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like topaz, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not change direction as the creatures went. Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around. When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still, they also stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome. Under the vault their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body. When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings. Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking. He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.” Ezekiel 1:4-28
I remember reading that when I was fourteen and thinking “this is why I will never need to take drugs—Jesus is all the trip I’ll ever need.” Everyone hearing Ezekiel’s description of the Glory of God for the first time was probably like, “This is the son of Buzi, right?”
I called my worship music band the Living Creatures, based on this passage and the one like it in Revelation. The cover of my Living Creatures Project has a symbol of the four faces—except I made the ox a Texas longhorn. Ha.
Remember how Isaiah’s mouth was touched by a white-hot coal from the altar? And Jeremiah’s mouth was touched by the hand of God? Ezekiel was handed a scroll, it had God’s Word written on it on both sides—everything written on it was “lament and mourning and woe.” God told him to eat it. “Eat the book, Ezekiel.” He opens his mouth and God puts the scroll directly in it. Even though the words on the page were bitter, it tasted sweet as honey.
If you’ve read Revelation, this should sound familiar. John is also given a scroll to eat by an angel that tasted sweet but John was warned that it would turn his stomach sour. I think Ezekiel could have been given the same warning.
For the next seven years, Ezekiel had a very strange ministry to the people of God who had been carried away to Babylon. He was not able to speak unless he was delivering a direct prophecy from God. For seven years, if Ezekiel was speaking, it was God speaking through him. God also gave him these “action prophecies”—symbolic activities that God had him do in front of a crowd. It was like street theater. Performance art. See why I like this guy?
One time he had to build a model of Jerusalem and the Temple, then built a little soldier army complete with catapults, then God told him to play with his action figures attacking his Jerusalem Lego set. He also had to tie himself up, lie on his side and eat the kind of rations of food that people in a city under siege would have.
Any of you buy Ezekiel Bread? I do, it’s my favorite. They claim to make it using the recipe God gave Ezekiel for the siege bread he was told to make in chapter four. This is the recipe:
Verse 9:
“Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side. Weigh out twenty shekels of food to eat each day and eat it at set times. … Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel.” Ezekiel 4:9-12
But this was too weird, even for Ezekiel. He was like, “Come on, God! I don’t want to eat bread cooked with my own poop!”
So God said,
“Very well, I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement.” Ezekiel 4:15
So anyway, I hope the makers of Ezekiel Bread don’t know their Bible very well.
All this was to show what was happening in Jerusalem. Verse 16:
“He then said to me: “Son of man, I am about to cut off the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair, for food and water will be scarce. They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of their sin.” Ezekiel 4:16-17
There are a bunch of these action prophecies—for seven years he’s doing all these strange things. The only time he speaks is when God is speaking through him. The people thought he was insane. They thought he needed to be locked up.
In chapter 37, an angel shows up, grabs Ezekiel by the hair, and drags him to Jerusalem. He’s shown all kinds of terrible things going on: rebellious worship taking place at the Temple. Sickening stuff. He sees that amazing chariot throne with the four living creatures again—with the glorious presence of God blazing on top—and he watches the glory of God exit the Temple.
He sees people in the city who are faithful and still holding on to their faith in God—those people are being marked by an angel on their forehead. The faithful who hate sin and evil. This is really cool: the word for “mark” is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the “tav.” I don’t want to make too much of this but I think it’s really interesting that the way they wrote the letter “tav” at that time was the shape of a cross. How about that?
After Jerusalem was destroyed, God returns Ezekiel’s ability to speak normally. He continues serving as a prophet but the content of his messages changes to hope and promise for the future. Just like Isaiah and Jeremiah, he paints a picture of the future that’s bright and joyful. God still has a plan for His people and the world. He hasn’t forgotten the promises He made to Abraham, Moses, and David. There will be a return to the Promised Land and there will be a new Messiah. An anointed prophet, priest, and king. A Christ.
But Ezekiel was still dedicated to keeping prophecy weird. His vision of the Valley of Dry Bones—where a pile of skeletons grow flesh and come back to life—is a fantastic picture of the restoration of Israel and a glimpse of the resurrection of the dead at the end of time. He spends eight chapters describing the New Temple that will be in the New Jerusalem when everything is re-created. He envisions perfect worship and divine blessings.
Some people have been really bothered that the dimensions of the New Temple Ezekiel describes don’t really make sense. It has measurements for width but not for height. It details sacrifices and worship but not according to what Moses had written in the law. What’s going on?
It’s baffling for the Jews. It’s not such a mystery for Christians. We know that Jesus fulfilled the sacrificial system on the cross. We know He is the New Covenant and His body the new Temple. The New Heavens and the New Earth will be complete with a New Jerusalem.
The Book of Revelation is largely a New Testament retelling of the Book of Ezekiel—the destruction of the old Jerusalem and old Temple, making the way for the New Jerusalem where the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world sits on that Glorious throne of God. As with all the prophets, when God shows them visions of the future, they’re never sure just how far into the future they’re actually seeing.
Chapter 3 and 33 talk about Ezekiel being God’s Watchmen. The person who’s supposed to warn people that trouble is coming. Tell them that continuing to sin against God and do things He said not to do—and not do what they’re supposed to do—this was going to bring judgment. In chapter 33 he picks up the theme again—we would be wise to listen to what he said and apply it to ourselves. We, the church, are also the Watchmen. 33:7
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. (listen to this, Christians) But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.” Ezekiel 33:7-9
We might want to take our vocation as a member of the Church, the Body of Christ—God’s Watchmen—seriously. Our job is to speak out and proclaim the Gospel. Repent and believe! Christ is coming!
The book ends with another amazing visual. This time it’s about how the kingdom of heaven is going to flow from the altar of God to re-create the world. Ezekiel sees the Gospel in the form of a river flowing from the New Jerusalem.
In chapter 47 an angel (called a “man”) is leading him around and measuring things. He sees the River of Life flowing from the altar in the New Jerusalem. It’s the same river we find at the end of Revelation.
It starts as a trickle. Then it gets deeper and deeper until it can’t be crossed. It flows into the Dead Sea and makes everything alive. Everything comes alive. Trees grow on both sides of the river, their leaves will not wither, their fruit will never fail, every month the fruit will serve for food and the leaves for healing.
This is the Gospel. This is Christ. He is the Living Water. The water of life that flows from the Rock. This is salvation and healing. Ezekiel is giving us a glimpse of the age to come when God will come again to dwell with His people—when His glory will not only fill the Temple but will fill the whole earth. When Christ comes again for all the people of every tribe and tongue and nation who are joined with Him as the people of God.
Ezekiel closes this section with a name for the New Jerusalem. He calls it “The Lord is There.” We understand this to be echoed in the name Immanuel “God with us.” St John’s vision of the New Jerusalem in Revelation is complete with the River of Life, the trees of healing and everlasting life, and the Lamb of God enthroned with the Father, who together “are its Temple.”
The Gospel is clear all through the Book of Ezekiel. The Lord desires to save you. He will give you a heart of flesh to replace your heart of stone. He will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be cleansed from all unrighteousness. If your hope is in the Lord, then you will always have hope no matter how dark and strange the world becomes. The old will pass away and the new will come. Christ is coming.
Meanwhile, you are the watchmen. It’s time to sound the alarm of the promise of salvation. People need to know. Preach the Gospel at all times, use words when necessary. All the world’s a stage. Every Christian life is an action prophecy of the Gospel. Worship God, love people. Act it out, but remember: Words are always necessary eventually. Turn from your sin, turn to the Lord, and wait for the Glory of God to return to the earth. And don’t be afraid to keep worship weird. AMEN.