16-01-2005
Ardleigh Green Baptist Church

Psalm 96
Ezekiel 2.1-3.4
Galatians 1.11-24

The prophet Ezekiel lived at time when, for his people, the world must have seemed to be falling apart. Ezekiel was born somewhere around the year 632 BC. His family were hereditary priests in the great temple which had been built by Solomon in Jerusalem and from his early years Ezekiel would have been trained to take on the family responsibilities. When he was about twenty six years old the land of which he was a part lost its political independence and came under the rule of the regional superpower of that time, the land of Babylon and in the year 597 BC about ten thousand of the leading citizens of Jerusalem were deported to Babylon to live out their lives in exile. The idea was to remove the people who gave the nation its unique identity so that it would be absorbed into the single identity of the empire and give up any ideas of independence and rebellion.
Ezekiel seems to have been amongst the 10,000 who were deported. As his book opens we find him in Babylon, beside the river Chebar. The book opens with a vision of the power and majesty of God who then goes on to call Ezekiel to a new ministry. He has been trained to be a priest but God calls him to the ministry of a Prophet – someone who will proclaim God’s message to his people. It will not be an easy task for Ezekiel to undertake. The people to whom he is sent will be stubborn and defiant. They will not listen to the words Ezekiel proclaims to them. Nevertheless, says God, Ezekiel is be persistent in his proclaiming of what God has to say. “Tell them what I say”, says God, “whether they choose to listen or not”.
Ezekiel then has a vision of a scroll from God. It is not a very cheerful book, on both sides a written “lamentations, groanings and woes”. The scroll seems to represent the message from God that Ezekiel is given to deliver to the people and Ezekiel is told to eat it. By eating the scroll Ezekiel takes the message from God into himself. The message becomes a part of who he is. And despite the discouraging nature of the contents of the scroll Ezekiel finds that it tastes “as sweet as honey”.
For the next twenty years and more, Ezekiel carries out his prophetic ministry amongst the exiles. For much of that time the message that he proclaims is one of unremitting condemnation. It is truly a message of “lamentations, groanings and woes”. Whilst the people seemed to believe that “it would all come out right in the end” Ezekiel amongst the exiles proclaims the same message that Jeremiah is proclaiming at the same time in Jerusalem. The message that there is worse to come; the city will fall and it’s temple be laid waste. This will happen, says Ezekiel, because the people have failed to listen to God and act according to his will.
These messages and visions of judgement fill almost the whole of the first half of Ezekiel’s book. Then in Chapter 25 there is a change. A first the message continues to be one of judgement but now it is aimed, not at the people of Judah but at the nations around them. Seven nations which seem to have taken special delight in Judah’s destruction are themselves warned that is not just Judah that God will judge but them too.
And then, in the final part of the book of Ezekiel we get a different message. This is a message, not of judgement, but of hope and restoration. God’s judgement is not for the destruction of his people but for there cleansing and one that has been accomplished there will renewal and restoration. In this part of the book we have the well known vision of the valley of dry bones. The message is clear – the situation may appear to be hopeless but God’s power can restore even when all hope seems lost.
In these chapters, chapters 33 to 48, Ezekiel tells of God’s concerns in two areas. The first is the area of leadership. Up until now the nation has been lead by people who have put their own interests first but now, God says, he raise up new rulers who will rule after God’s heart. They will take care of the people and nurture them. Indeed, God says, he himself will be the shepherd of his people to seek out the lost, bind up the wounded and care for them. Christians have seen in this promise a prophecy of the coming of Christ.
Ezekiel’s second great concern towards the end of his book is for worship. In the early part of his book Ezekiel sees God’s glory abandon the temple and leave it an empty shell. In the latter part of the book Ezekiel foresees the rebuilding of the temple and the renewal of its worship.
Towards the end of the book of Ezekiel comes one of my favourite passages in the Bible. In a vision Ezekiel stands near the entrance of the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem and sees a stream of water flowing from it. As the stream flows away it becomes broader and deeper. Wherever the water flows it brings life and healing. On its banks grow trees whose fruit is good for food and whose leaves bring healing. Eventually the stream, now a broad river, empties itself into the stagnant waters of the Dead Sea. Those waters are transformed, made fresh and filled with life. It is a vision of the power of God to transform a stagnant and dying world and bring new life and hope.
The Book of Ezekiel is one of the more difficult books of the Bible but it is a book which is of great value to us. There are lessons for us to learn from Ezekiel’s life and we can prophet by them.
Firstly for example, Ezekiel was a man who had his life planned out. He was to be a priest in the temple. But God had a different plan for him. We need to be careful not to ask God to bless our plans but rather to seek to do what he wills, which may be very different from anything we would plan for ourselves.
Secondly, Ezekiel reminds us of the need to stubborn and hard-headed in pursuing God’s will. The message we have to proclaim will probably not be a popular one. We must proclaim it all the same.
Finally, Ezekiel speaks to us of the hope and life the God’s message means for stagnant and dying world.