Please Father Help Us Come Together in Christ

“Now it came to pass in the 30th year, in the 4th month, on the 5th day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.” Ezekiel 1:1

The 30th year either refers to the thirty years since the Babylonian empire began to rule the known world, or the 30th year of Ezekiel’s life, or both. Priests usually commenced their office after their 30th birthday.

“In the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign (Jeremiah 51:59), Jeremiah sent by Seraiah a message to the captives (Jeremiah 29:1-32) to submit themselves to God and lay aside their flattering hopes of a speedy restoration. This communication [Ezekiel’s prophecy] was in the next year.” (Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary)

Ezekiel was among the northern captive tribes by the Chebar River. The Chebar river flows into the Euphrates near Carchemish, 200 miles north of Babylon. The ten northern tribes of Israel had been carried to this location by two Assyrian kings. (See 2 Kings 17:6; 1 Chronicles 5:26)

“On the 5th day of the month, which was in the 5th year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, the Word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.” Ezekiel 1:2-3

King Jehoiachin’s captivity was the first carrying away of Jewish captives to Babylon. Among that first group was Daniel. Ezekiel was among the second wave of captives to be carried away. The third and final carrying away happened when Jerusalem was totally destroyed.

In Ezekiel 1:4-28, Ezekiel sees a divine vision of four winged creatures flying. They fly side by side. They go where the Spirit leads them. Each has two intersecting wheels. The wheels have eyes all round their rims. Each had the face of a man. Each had the face of a lion on the right side. Each had the face of an ox on the left side. Each had the face of an eagle.

“The four living creatures of the cherubim answer by contrast to the four world monarchies represented by four beasts, Assyria, Persia, Greece, and Rome (Daniel 7:1-28). The early church fathers identified them with the four Gospels: Matthew the lion, Mark the ox, Luke the man, John the eagle.” (Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary)

If you think about it, this makes sense because the ruling empires of the world want to project themselves as the answer to solving the world’s problems, but they are false gods. The four Gospel point to Jesus Christ as the Savior and Lord of the world, which He is, and in due season this truth shall be manifest for all people to see.

The Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary notes, “The ox is selected as chief of the tame animals, the lion among the wild, the eagle among birds, and man the head of all, in his ideal, realized by the Lord Jesus.”

Revelation 4:6-8 also speak of these four living creatures. They are “full of eyes and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” They honor God.

In Revelation 6:6, the four living creatures are involved in announcing the judgment of God, “And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, ‘A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see you hurt not the oil and the wine.”

In Ezekiel 1:26-28, Ezekiel sees the glorious and beautiful appearance of One sitting on a throne above these four living creatures. His appearance is like fire with a rainbow about Him. His “appearance was of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.” Ezekiel said, “So, when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.”

“And He said to me, ‘Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.’ Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. And He said to me: ‘Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, thus says the Lord God. As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.” Ezekiel 2:1-5

The Holy Spirit empowered Ezekiel to hear God’s voice and understand Him. The Lord detailed the task before him. He was speak to a rebellious nation that stepped over God’s boundary lines. Whether they listened to him or not, people would know that he was a prophet.

“And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house. You shall speak My Words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” Ezekiel 2:6-8

Ezekiel was commanded not to fear them though they were like thorns and scorpions stab and poison their victims. Ezekiel was to listen to God and not be like them. He was to eat what God gave him to eat, namely, the Word of God.

“Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe. Moreover He said to me, ‘Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.’ So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll. And He said to me, ‘Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.’ So, I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.” Ezekiel 2:9-10, 3:1-3

In this vision from God, Ezekiel literally eats the Word of God, and although it is a message of lamentations and woes, it tastes sweet in his mouth like honey. God’s judgments mean that He is destroying the old regime of tyranny and corruption to raise up a better new community.

“Then He said to me: ‘Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My Words to them. For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel, not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted. Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.” Ezekiel 3:4-9

I found the word above to be true in my experience. For all the evil I heard about life in atheistic and idolatrous countries, I found among them people who were eager to hear the Word of God. While in China, I had hearers who would pedal their bikes for miles to come and join a Bible study with me. Our meetings seldom lasted less than three hours, but the time seemed to fly by because of their delight in God’s Word. On the other hand, I have seen in multiple locations where “Christians” do not want too much Bible or talk about Jesus when they come together.

“Moreover He said to me: ‘Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears. And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, thus says the Lord God, whether they hear, or whether they refuse.’” Ezekiel 3:10-11

Nevertheless someone must listen to God and must speak for God to warn them. It is a task that demands self-denial and self-sacrifice.

“So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me. Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and I sat where they sat and remained there astonished among them seven days.” Ezekiel 3:14-15

In Revelation 10:10-11, John was given a similar prophecy as Ezekiel by the Lord. He wrote, “I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then I was told, ‘You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.’” Receiving a Word from God is sweet, but the way rebellious people respond to it is a bitter experience.

In Ezekiel 3:16-21, the Lord tells Ezekiel his role among His people is to be as a watchman. He is to warn the wicked of death, and if he does, he will not be held accountable for their blood, but if he fails to warn them, he will be. And if a righteous man ceases to do right, Ezekiel is to warn that man to turn back to the Lord. The Lord will deliver from death the souls of those who listen to Ezekiel and turn to the Lord.

In Ezekiel 3:22-4:17, the Lord directs Ezekiel to meet with him in the plain. Ezekiel sees the glory of the Lord there. Then, the Lord tells Ezekiel to shut himself up in his house, and to be bound with ropes, and not to speak until the Lord opens his mouth. When he opens his mouth, he is to say, “Thus says the Lord God, He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse.” It is though he is reenacting the captivity experience for them, and asking them, “Are you going to listen to God or not?”

In Ezekiel 4:1-17, the Lord has Ezekiel reenact the siege of Babylon against Jerusalem. He lays on one side for 390 days, one day for each year that the northern ten tribes rebelled against God. Then, he lays on the other side for 40 days, one day for each year that the southern two tribes rebelled against God. During this reenactment, the Lord gives Ezekiel a precise menu of what to eat and how much of it. He also tells Ezekiel how much water he will be allowed to drink each day. These rationed amounts symbolize how the people will have small rations of food and water during Jerusalem’s last days before the city is destroyed.

In Ezekiel 5:1-17, the Lord tells Ezekiel to cut his head and beard hair, then to take the clippings and weigh them. He is to divide the hairs into three equal amounts, then, burn a third of them, strike a third of them with a sword and scatter a third of the hairs to the wind. He is to retain a small number of the hairs in his garment, and then, burn some of those in fire as well. He is demonstrating for his listeners what God will do to their nation because they have rejected His Word to them.

Ezekiel 5:11-12, the Lord says, “Surely, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you. My eye will not spare, nor will I have any pity. A third of you shall die of the pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst; and third shall fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.”

How’s your community? Are neighbors communicating, working, praying, and studying the Bible together. Have you gathered together to get to know each other, and problem solve together? Are you divided? Are powerful and corrupt leaders taking advantage of you? I have been daily asking our Abba Father to send forth His angels to help us win the battle for the soul of our neighborhood, our nation and world. “Please Father, help us come together in Christ!”