April 14, 2005

Reading through the Bible in one Year: Joshua 22:10-Judges 2:23; Luke 9:1-36

Weekly Memory Verse: Joshua 24:15

Good Afternoon Brothers and Sisters,

Ezekiel is one of the major prophets of the Old Testament.  His name is interesting because depending upon how it is translated, it can mean either "God will strengthen, or God will harden," (Bible Knowledge Commentary.)  The idea of tempering metal comes to mind, this can either cause metal to have extreme strength, or it can cause metal to be brittle to the point of breaking.  The first part of the book focuses on the coming judgment of God.  During this study, I am going to attempt to keep the pace at one chapter each day, but if it becomes impossible, I will slow down the study to compensate for the content.

Ezekiel 1 (NASB95)
¹ Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. ² (On the fifth of the month in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, ³ the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and there the hand of the Lord came upon him.) ⁴ As I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire. ⁵ Within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human form. ⁶ Each of them had four faces and four wings. ⁷ Their legs were straight and their feet were like a calf’s hoof, and they gleamed like burnished bronze. ⁸ Under their wings on their four sides were human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, ⁹ their wings touched one another; their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward. ¹⁰ As for the form of their faces, each had the face of a man; all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle. ¹¹ Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and two covering their bodies. ¹² And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went. ¹³ In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches darting back and forth among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was flashing from the fire. ¹⁴ And the living beings ran to and fro like bolts of lightning. ¹⁵ Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living beings, for each of the four of them. ¹⁶ The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like sparkling beryl, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship being as if one wheel were within another. ¹⁷ Whenever they moved, they moved in any of their four directions without turning as they moved. ¹⁸ As for their rims they were lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were full of eyes round about. ¹⁹ Whenever the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. And whenever the living beings rose from the earth, the wheels rose also. ²⁰ Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction. And the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. ²¹ Whenever those went, these went; and whenever those stood still, these stood still. And whenever those rose from the earth, the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. ²² Now over the heads of the living beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads. ²³ Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had two wings covering its body on the one side and on the other. ²⁴ I also heard the sound of their wings like the sound of abundant waters as they went, like the voice of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army camp; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings. ²⁵ And there came a voice from above the expanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings. ²⁶ Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. ²⁷ Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. ²⁸ As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.^[1]

To make a long story short, it was during the time of the kings of Israel.  Jehoiachin's grandfather had made an attempt to reform Israel and to return them to temple worship.  He also attempted to re-institute the feast days and to turn the people back to God.  They did not listen to him though, and the people of Israel then went into captivity.  His dad was an evil king, ruling from captivity.  He re-instituted the pagan worship, along with adding heavy taxation to the people and eradicating the reforms that his father had made.  He tried to break the yoke of Babylon, and failed in his attempt, then his son, Jehoiachin also attempted the same thing, it took about three months before Nebuchadnezzar squashed the attempt and removed him from office.  All the affluent of Israel and all the fighting men were taken captive in Babylon.

2 Kings 24:14-17 (NASB95)
¹⁴ Then he led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land. ¹⁵ So he led Jehoiachin away into exile to Babylon; also the king’s mother and the king’s wives and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ¹⁶ All the men of valor, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all strong and fit for war, and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon. ¹⁷ Then the king of Babylon made his uncle Mattaniah king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Jeremiah 28 (NASB95)
¹ Now in the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, ² “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. ³ ‘Within two years I am going to bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. ⁴ ‘I am also going to bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’ ” ⁵ Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, ⁶ and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord confirm your words which you have prophesied to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house and all the exiles, from Babylon to this place. ⁷ “Yet hear now this word which I am about to speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people! ⁸ “The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms, of war and of calamity and of pestilence. ⁹ “The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.” ¹⁰ Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. ¹¹ Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Even so will I break within two full years the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’ ” Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way. ¹² The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ¹³ “Go and speak to Hananiah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “You have broken the yokes of wood, but you have made instead of them yokes of iron.” ¹⁴ ‘For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they will serve him. And I have also given him the beasts of the field.” ’ ” ¹⁵ Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. ¹⁶ “Therefore thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to die, because you have counseled rebellion against the Lord.’ ” ¹⁷ So Hananiah the prophet died in the same year in the seventh month.^[2]

This gives us the background for this story.  God was already dealing with Israel because they were in captivity in Babylon when Ezekiel was making his prophecies.  It is also interesting because of the tremendous prophecies that were made in Babylon at the time regarding the release of Israel and the removal of the yoke of Babylon.  This makes this book an interesting study because although Ezekiel was focused upon the present time in his prophecies, they also had much longer reaching ramifications, reaching even to our present day, and then to the return of Christ.  Notice also that the false prophet that was prophesying prosperity in the house of God was judged as a false prophet.  Consider that there are many such prophets in our day that prophesy good things, riches and glory for the Christian people.  They speak lies that lure believers into false hopes that are based upon the whims and wishes of men.  As we study this book, bear with me as I try to figure out the symbols, and prophecies that he spoke about.  Enough of the background, let's look at the chapter.

Imagine the wonder and amazement that Ezekiel had when he tried to put on paper the tremendous vision that God had given him.  The hardest part of all of it was probably that no one would believe him, the vision was too incredible. This vision was not for Israel though, it was for Ezekiel, God gave him the vision to prepare him for the ministry that He had for him.  Ezekiel would need this vision to stand on and to drive him forward.  Remember, his background was a hodge-podge of Judaism mixed with a wide variety of paganism and paganistic beliefs that were all based upon the whims of the people.  As a whole, Israel had walked away from the Lord, and that was the reason that they were faced with the Babylonian captivity.

Ezekiel 10:1-4 (NASB95)
¹ Then I looked, and behold, in the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim something like a sapphire stone, in appearance resembling a throne, appeared above them. ² And He spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, “Enter between the whirling wheels under the cherubim and fill your hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And he entered in my sight. ³ Now the cherubim were standing on the right side of the temple when the man entered, and the cloud filled the inner court. ⁴ Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub to the threshold of the temple, and the temple was filled with the cloud and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord. ^[3]

We often associate angels with the idea of men with wings.  Ezekiel gave us an entirely different view of the angels, these angels were amazing, incredible creatures that defy our imaginations. It sounds as if they rode on gyroscopes of sorts with intermingled wheels, and the ability to move in any direction effortlessly.  Later in the book, he identifies these angels as "cherubim", ones who have special access to God's throne. 

I wonder as we look at the text, did God give him the vision of the thunderstorm as a vision of what was to come, or was it to demonstrate that God is so awesome that when He enters into the earth's atmosphere, the very elements of the earth proclaim His glory.  Remember, when Moses when before the Lord the first time, the mountain was covered with dark clouds, thunder and earthquakes went on constantly.  Later though, after the ratification of the Mosaic covenant, God came to the mountain in His glory, an entirely different attitude which demonstrated the glory of God.  Ezekiel here speaks of an angry scene that emanates power and awesome glory that is ordered by God. 

Another interesting thought is that God's throne was above the cherubim.  Consider that the Mercy Seat had two cherubim hammered out of gold with their wings touching over the center of the Mercy Seat giving us a practical picture of the way that God is protected by these angels.  It also gives us a great picture of how closely guarded that the Mercy Seat has been through history.  Now it is covered with the blood of Jesus, our sins are forgiven and that is also protected by these angels.

There have been a lot of attempts to interpret the significance of the faces of the Cherubim.  Without going off into extremes, it is safe to say that the faces stood for power.  They demonstrated the intelligence of man and associated figures of power from nature.  God used all of these symbols to demonstrate the way that He looked at man. 

2 Chronicles 16:9 (NASB95)
⁹ “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.”

Proverbs 15:3 (NASB95)
³ The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Watching the evil and the good.

Revelation 4:3 (NASB95)
³ And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.

Revelation 4:6-9 (NASB95)
⁶ and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. ⁷ The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. ⁸ And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” ⁹ And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, ^[4]

Notice from the text that the wheels were covered with eyes all around.  These cherubim protected the throne of God that hovered above them and they symbolized the power of God, instantly being able to flash from one place to another with the speed of a bolt of lightening, in other words, possibly the speed of light.  The idea is that God is constantly watching, awesome in appearance, and all-seeing in His nature.  God the Holy Spirit seems to be driving these cherubim, moving them at His wish to where He desired.  Notice the similarities between the creatures that John observed and the creatures that Ezekiel observed.  In this picture, God's throne is levitated above the cherubim and moves at God's desire, almost like a chariot being carried by the cherubim.

When I read through the account of how that he heard an awesome sound that was "like the voice of the Almighty", I wondered as to how he would know that.  God verified with his spirit as to what the sound was, and what it meant.  God was also revealed to Ezekiel.  It is rather interesting, Ezekiel was discerning what the vision meant, then when it occurred to him that God was on the throne, he fell on his face before the Lord.  Considering that, Ezekiel knew first-hand what it meant to hear the actual voice of God. 

I am going to close here, all comments are welcomed.  One thing that stood out to me as I considered today's study was that God called Ezekiel to His service when everything looked impossible.  To a certain extent we have the same situation today, people want to worship everything but God.

Father, as we consider Your word today and strive to understand it, inspire each one of us with understanding and show us practical ways to apply this to our lives.

In Him,

Joe Turner.