Above: A well-known modern attempt to depict one version of the angels from Ezekiel. This drawing became part of a widely-spread joke about “biblically accurate angels” in Ezekiel—a joke known by nearly all young people—which began in 2020.
And it happened in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar river, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
Ezekiel 1:1
In today’s reading we begin the third and last of the books of the three great classical Israelite prophets. As we read in the text cited above, Ezekiel’s ministry began in the “thirtieth year.” This probably refers to the author’s own “thirtieth year,” which was the year that priests “qualified for induction into their office” (Block; cf. Number. 4:30). Ezekiel was himself from a priestly family, and so would have been expected to participate in worship in the Jerusalem temple. After the destruction of the kingdom in 586 BC, however, that was no longer possible. Instead, God called Ezekiel to a new and much more difficult ministry in his thirtieth year.
In the first chapter of Ezekiel, the prophet sees a vision of heavenly beings culminating with a vision of God himself. These visions are highly fantastical, and the description of God especially should be taken as symbolic rather than literal. We know, for example, that no one can see God directly and live (Ex. 3:30). But the symbolic description does convey the sense of the “appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yahweh” (1:28).
In the next chapters, God commissions Ezekiel with his prophetic mission. He tells Ezekiel that the prophet must speak God’s words to the “rebellious” Judeans. God also prepares Ezekiel for the fact that many, if not most, of them will ignore his prophetic message. But, he adds, whether they repent or not, they will know that a prophet was among them (2:5). God thus sought a final confrontation with the Judeans—whether or not it led to repentance and restoration. The text symbolizes this prophetic commission with a vision in which the prophet was commanded to eat a scroll containing words of “lamentation and mourning and woe” (2:10). By eating the scroll, Ezekiel ingested God’s words—implying that Ezekiel’s later prophecies would come from God.
Finally, God tells Ezekiel about his prophetic ministry using the analogy of a watchman (3:16-21). A watchman was an important part of every ancient city’s defenses. His role was to watch out for dangers approaching the city, especially for invading armies. If he saw such an approaching army, the watchman’s job was to raise an alarm in the city, so that defenses could be prepared. Ezekiel, too, was a watchman for the Israelites. He was commissioned to ring the alarm for the approach of God’s judgment (3:17). Ezekiel was to warn the Judeans to repent of their sins, and thus to save themselves from God’s impending wrath.
But, crucially, it was not the watchman’s job to actually defend the city. His role was only to raise the alarm for defenses to be prepared. In the same way, Ezekiel was not called to make the people repent. He was only charged with warning them to repent. Whether or not the people obeyed his teaching, Ezekiel’s only job was to make God’s truth known.
The same is true for pastors today. We can only make known God’s teaching and expectations, as well as warning of God’s impending judgment. But a pastor cannot make you repent of your sins and live for the Kingdom of God. Their job is merely to speak as one speaking God’s own words (1 Pet. 4:11). It is up to the people themselves, whether in ancient Judah or modern America, to follow the voice of the Shepherd when it is faithfully communicated by his undershepherds.
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.