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A Life-Changing Encounter with God's Word from the Book of Ezekiel
By The Navigators Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Copyright © 2014 The Navigators
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-61521-736-6
CHAPTER 1
EZEKIEL 1–3
Encountering God and His Call
1. One of the best guidelines for getting the most from Ezekiel is found in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, words which Paul wrote with the Old Testament first in view. He said that all Scripture is of great benefit to (a) teach us, (b) rebuke us, (c) correct us, and (d) train us in righteousness. Paul added that these Scriptures completely equip the person of God "for every good work." As you think seriously about those guidelines, in which of these areas do you especially want to experience the usefulness of Ezekiel? Express your desire in a written prayer to God.
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2. In Jeremiah 23:29, God says that His Word is "like fire" and "like a hammer." He can use the Scriptures to burn away unclean thoughts and desires in our hearts. He can also use Scripture, with hammer-like hardness, to crush and crumble our spiritual hardness. From your study of Ezekiel, how do you most want to see the fire-and-hammer power of God's Word at work in your own life? Again, express this longing in a written prayer to God.
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3. Think about these words of Paul to his younger helper Timothy: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). As you study God's word of truth in Ezekiel, He calls you to be a "worker." It takes work — concentration and perseverance — to fully appropriate God's blessings for us in this book. Express here your commitment before God to work diligently in this study of Ezekiel.
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4. Glance ahead through the pages of Ezekiel. If your Bible has headings added into the text, scan these headings as you turn the pages. What overall impressions of this book do you gain?
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5. Now go through the first three chapters of Ezekiel in one continuous read. Again, what overall impressions do you gain?
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Begin your concentrated study with a careful verse-by-verse reading of Ezekiel, and use the following questions and notes to help you process your discoveries.
Ezekiel 1
In my thirtieth year (1:1). Young men descended from Aaron, the brother of Moses, were destined to be priests. Priests offered sacrifices at God's temple in Jerusalem, and they served in other leadership and teaching functions in the community as well. Young men were trained for this role, and then they took up their priestly duties at age thirty (see Numbers 4:3,23,30,39,43; 1 Chronicles 23:3). So Ezekiel received his first vision, commissioning him to be a prophet, in the year when he would have taken up his priestly duties if he had not been exiled from Jerusalem. He was unable to offer sacrifices in Jerusalem, but now he had another task from God. The timing of his calling underlines the book's "priestly atmosphere."
Visions of God (1:1). See also 8:3 and 40:2.
On the fifth of the month — it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin (1:2). July 593 BC.3 More than ten times, Ezekiel tells us the precise date on which he received a vision. No other prophet does this. He was aware of how his visions were relevant to precise events back in Jerusalem. The visions came between 593 and 573 BC. They cover the last seven years of Jerusalem's survival as a place of life and worship, and then the first thirteen years of the Jews' grief over Jerusalem's destruction.
6. a. In the opening chapter of Ezekiel, verse 1 and verses 2-3 to some degree appear to be two parallel statements reinforcing each other. What do we learn about Ezekiel here in 1:1-3?
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b. In what way did Ezekiel encounter or experience God?
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c. How would you relate Ezekiel's phrase "I saw visions of God" in verse 1 with the phrase "the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel" in verse 3?
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The hand of the Lord was on him (1:3). A similar phrase is used repeatedly in passages describing Ezekiel's visions. See also 3:14,22; 8:1; 37:1; and 40:1.
7. Describe what Ezekiel sees first in 1:4.
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Four living creatures (1:5). These are later called "cherubim" (see Ezekiel 10:1-5,15,20). Cherubim guard God's holiness and enforce His judgment. For instance, when Adam and Eve were exiled from the Garden of Eden, cherubim were sent to guard the way back to the Tree of Life (see Genesis 3:24).4 Ezekiel would have seen cherubim depicted in the Jerusalem temple (see Exodus 25–26; 36–37; 1 Kings 6; 2 Chronicles 3).
8. What seem to be the most important features of the four living creatures that Ezekiel sees in 1:5-14?
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Wherever the spirit would go, they would go (1:12). In this context, a vision of God's glorious presence, the "spirit" is probably the Holy Spirit, God Himself.
9. What seem to be the most important features of the wheels that Ezekiel sees in 1:15-21?
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10. a. In 1:22-25, what else does Ezekiel see in regard to the four living creatures?
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b. What does Ezekiel hear in these verses?
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11. What is most significant in what Ezekiel sees and hears in 1:26-28?
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Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day (1:28). The rainbow was a symbol of hope, of God's mercy and faithfulness despite a storm of judgment (see Genesis 9:12-16). In the midst of this terrifying vision, there His people, and that covenant says He must judge sin. But He will not destroy His people completely.
This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord (1:28). The "glory" of the Lord was His radiant presence. In the days of Moses He manifested His glory in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. This vision isn't a face-to-face experience of the glory, but the appearance of its likeness — an echo of it — and even that is enough to flatten Ezekiel. The revelation of God's glory is a theme running through this book.
I fell facedown (1:28). Terror and falling down are a common response to beholding the holy God (see Isaiah 6:1-5; Revelation 1:10-18). It's right to be terrified of God's judgment. Falling facedown also indicates humility — Ezekiel doesn't obstinately resist the revelation, but takes a lowly posture.
12. Look back over Ezekiel's vision in 1:4-28. In what specific ways does Ezekiel see motion here?
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Ezekiel 2 and 3
13. Ezekiel's call is presented to us in chapters 2 and 3. What specific things does God tell Ezekiel to do or to not do?
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Son of man (2:1). God calls Ezekiel "son of man" more than ninety times. The title means "human" and emphasizes Ezekiel's mere humanness — his frailty, mortality, lowliness — compared with God's holy glory and the cherubims' heavenly majesty. The title reminds Ezekiel that he is totally dependent on the Spirit's power, that in his mere humanness alone he couldn't hope to receive God's message and deliver it with authority. When Jesus calls Himself "Son of Man" in the Gospels, the title retains some of this humility — the Son of God has laid aside His divine privileges, humbling Himself to become fully human. But Jesus' use of the term owes more to Daniel 7:13-14, where the "one like a son of man" is given sovereign power and is served as Messiah.
14. a. In this lengthy passage on Ezekiel's call (chapters 2 and 3), in what ways does God demonstrate His grace?
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b. In what ways does He demonstrate His holiness in these two chapters?
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I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation (2:3). Instead of calling them "my people," the ones with whom He has a covenant, God calls them literally "sons of Israel," the true heirs of a rebellious man. This is not a happy sign.
They are a rebellious people (2:5). In this passage (2:1–3:15) that presents Ezekiel's call, Israel is called a "rebellious people" six times (in 2:5-8; 3:9; 3:26-27).
God often launched the ministries of Old Testament prophets with visions of His glory. These first visions stuck in their minds, and when they hit tough times, they drew strength from the memory. Today, too, we need to base our lives and ministries on a "divine confrontation," an understanding or experience of God's glory that is more than just intellectual. Only by knowing God's magnificence at our core can we humbly serve Him through the ups and downs of life. We may not have a vision or an emotional experience, but we need the Holy Spirit to stamp our hearts with a true awareness of God's reality and His character.
"Son of man, eat this scroll...." So I ate it (3:3). Throughout most of the vision, Ezekiel is just a spectator. In this moment he is told to act, and he acts. The scroll is God's Word, and not a very tasty Word, but he obediently digests it so that he can later speak it to the exiles.
Ezekiel is consistently humble and obedient to God's Word. God appears and he falls on his face. God speaks and he listens. God tells him to stand and he stands. He is able to obey — to stand and hear God — only because the Spirit enables him. He will be able to speak to the exiles because the Spirit will empower him. When the vision is over, he sits for a week (see 3:15), unable to do anything without the Spirit.
"More than any other prophet, Ezekiel is a prophet of the Spirit.... Ezekiel not only spoke of the power of the Spirit; he embodied the Spirit's power in his own person."
15. How would you summarize and explain Ezekiel's response to his calling, as we see it recorded in 3:14-15?
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The strong hand of the Lord on me (3:14). See also 3:22. Recall the similar wording in 1:3.
Bitterness (3:14). Anguish, distress. It gives Ezekiel no pleasure to convey the Word he's been given.
I came to the exiles.... I sat among them (3:15). He doesn't stand above or apart from the exiles. He doesn't speak from some safe, comfortable place. He shares the devastation of all they've lost and all they fear to lose.
16. When the Lord made Ezekiel a "watchman" for Israel, what significant responsibilities did this bring, according to 3:16-21?
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Watchman (3:17). A sentry who stands on the city wall, watching for dangers from outside or inside, so that he can warn the citizens.
Get up and go out to the plain (3:22). Or, "Arise, go out into the valley" (ESV) — the broad river valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. The vision of dry bones (see 37:1) will take place here.
17. In 3:22-27 ...
a. What does the Lord ask Ezekiel to do?
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b. What does the Lord say will happen to Ezekiel?
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c. How might these things deepen Ezekiel's calling as God's prophet and spokesman and his dependence on God?
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I fell facedown. Then the Spirit ... raised me to my feet (3:23-24). See Ezekiel's similar experience seven days earlier in 1:28 and 2:1.
Ezekiel has not been shown the promise of judgment for his own curiosity. He has been sent on a mission of life and death. Those who hear him and repent will live; those who reject him will die. He isn't responsible for results. He is responsible for obedience, for giving the warning, despite the price he may pay.
The Spirit ... spoke to me and said: "Go, shut yourself inside your house. And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes.... I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth" (3:24-26). Ezekiel is going to be a living picture of the exiles' captivity. His imprisonment will be self-inflicted ("Go, shut yourself") and inflicted by others ("they will tie") and caused by God ("I will make"). With all three of these causes at once, there will be no escape, no deciding to end it.
You will be silent.... But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth (3:26-27). For seven and a half years, until the destruction of Jerusalem, Ezekiel would be unable to speak — except on the handful of occasions when God gave him a message to deliver. His muteness would set him apart from the many prophets who spoke constantly, and it would make his rare speeches all the more dramatic in hopes of striking his hearers to the heart.
18. What would you select as the key verse or passage in Ezekiel 1–3 — one that best captures or reflects the dynamics of what these chapters are all about?
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19. List any lingering questions you have about Ezekiel 1–3.
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For the group
(In your first meeting, it may be helpful to turn to the front of this book and review together "How to Use This Guide" starting on page 5.)
You may want to focus your discussion for lesson 1 especially on the following issues, themes, and concepts (which are recognized as major overall themes in Ezekiel). How are they further developed in chapters 1–3?
• God's glory and sovereignty
• The depth of human sinfulness
• The certainty, nature, and purpose of God's judgment against sin
• The nature of God's covenant relationship with His people
• The promise of mercy and hope for the future
The following numbered questions in lesson 1 may stimulate your best and most helpful discussion: 4, 5, 11, 14, 16, 18, and 19.
Look also at the questions in the margins under the headings "For Thought and Discussion" and "Optional Application."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from A Life-Changing Encounter with God's Word from the Book of Ezekiel by The Navigators. Copyright © 2014 The Navigators. Excerpted by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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