LESSON 2 - Ezekiel’s Call—Ezekiel 1-3

After a short introduction to give the setting of the book, Ezekiel immediately describes a vision he received (1:4—3:15). It is a strange vision, full of creatures and strange objects and unusual actions.

Elements of the vision include:

• A large windstorm, with lightning and brilliant light and an immense cloud (1:4)
• Four living creatures with the general form of a man, but having four different faces and four wings (1:5, 10)
• A wheel intersecting a wheel beside each of the living creatures that followed them (1:15, 16)
• An expanse above the living creatures with a throne and a figure like a man high above the throne (1:22)
• A voice from the throne which called to Ezekiel, charging him to be a prophet (spokesman) of God (2:1-5)
• A scroll that Ezekiel is commanded to eat (2:9—3:3)

This odd vision has provoked all manner of wild and fanciful interpretations, including the view that Ezekiel thought the “Wheel in a wheel” (KJV) was a spaceship bringing aliens to earth. But there are very reasonable explanations for the imagery.

Parts of the vision remind us of the awe of other prophets when taken to the presence of God, such as Isaiah (see Isaiah 6) or John (Revelation 4).

In order to understand the symbolism, one must first know that the people of that era believed in many gods. Very few would have been monotheistic. There were gods connected to any significant area of life: sun, rain, fertility, etc. The power of the gods was also generally believed to be localized. The gods in one area did not necessarily have any power in another area. A god of people who lived in hill country may not have power over those who lived in the plains. The gods of the Edomites would not (could not) significantly affect the gods or people of Egypt. This view might change somewhat if one people exercised influence over another, through a battle or winning a war. Then the victor’s gods would be deemed more powerful than the gods of the defeated.

Since Ezekiel was now a captive of Babylon living in exile from his nation, Ezekiel and the other exiles undoubtedly believed that their God had been trumped by the more powerful gods of the Babylonians. Even though the Israelites had received a covenant from the Lord of the universe many years before, and had been exhorted by Yahweh to put aside the gods of the nations surrounding them (see Joshua 24), this had been a terrible problem of unfaithfulness for them over the centuries. They constantly brought in the false gods around them (Baal, Asherah, Chemosh) and adapted their worship to include the false gods (syncretism).

A study of the gods of the nations at that time will show that they took on the appearance of the creatures in Ezekiel’s vision. In other words, these creatures that the other nations worshipped were no more than the servants and throne-bearers of Yahweh, the one true God of Israel!

If reading the vision and imagining what it was like strikes awe in you, that is what it was supposed to do. You are reading of an encounter with the Lord (see Ezekiel 1:28). Ezekiel fell face down. The College Press NIV Commentary gives the following meanings to the parts of the vision:

• The windstorm is meant to convey power—who has not seen the awesome power of a storm?
• The creatures are cherubim (angels) and they are the throne-bearers of God, depicted as the gods of the Babylonians, whom the Israelites likely understand to be more powerful than their God, Yahweh.
• The wheel in a wheel signifies the omnipresence of God and the expanse is the wagon carrying the throne of God. The wheels enable the creatures to go in any direction very rapidly without turning (thus God can be anywhere). Even the fact that Ezekiel is having this vision in Babylon shows that God has come there.
• Notice that Ezekiel eats a scroll which tastes sweet. He is commanded to go and speak to the captives. Obviously, he is to speak the message of God which he has been given (3:1-4).
• The glory and awe from which the voice spoke was meant to impress Ezekiel with the importance and gravity of the charge that was being given to him.
• Ezekiel knows what he is seeing has taken him to the very presence of God and it overwhelms him, but he is careful not to say that he has seen God (see 1:28).

The last half of chapter 3 is not part of the vision, but it is very important for understanding his mandate from God. God appoints him as a watchman, a position with heavy responsibilities. It is one of two places in Ezekiel about his role as watchman (see also Ezekiel 33).

There is a good amount of evidence that Ezekiel is a reluctant prophet. God says that he will bind him in his own house and literally open Ezekiel’s mouth to say the words that he is to say (3:24-27). Ezekiel admits that the hand of the Lord was upon him, forcing (?) him to do his bidding (3:22). In 2:8, Ezekiel is exhorted not to rebel against God. God tells Ezekiel he will make him hardened (stubborn) in order to speak his message (3:4-8).

The message that God gives Ezekiel to relay to the captives in the first 24 chapters is a very unpleasant one. It will not be an easy job to do.

Class Discussion

Open

• Some people think that they would like to have a vision from God, to receive special knowledge. In the Bible, however, the people who do receive that special vision or opportunity are burdened by it. The vision or message is often terrifying and disturbing. Compare Ezekiel’s call to be a prophet with other callings or visions you know of in the Bible (Isaiah, Paul, Moses, John the apostle, Samson’s father in Judges 13, Mary and Joseph). What are the similarities? What are the differences?

• Many who are deeply involved in service to the Lord feel that they have received a special calling from God (not miraculous) to be doing what they are, if only in the sense that they want to use their gifts in a way that will honor him. Does that relate in any way to Ezekiel’s call?

Examine

1. We would point to the unfaithfulness of the Israelites, dismayed at how they would assimilate foreign gods into their worship and culture, when God had been so good to them. Are there not many ways in which we do the same thing? Our false gods are not in the shape of a totem or an image of a god, but do we not sometimes allow culture to capture more of our thinking than we should? How do we do this? Give examples of things that we allow to come between us and God.

2. In the vision, God uses the false gods of that age as his servants, his throne-bearers. Do we see this in any way today? How does God show us that the things of this world that we sometimes hold in high esteem are really worthless and of no importance (see Philippians 3:7-11)?

3. Are there ways in which we shrink the power of God and make him ineffective in certain areas of life just as the Israelites localized his power and thought God would be impotent in Babylon? Is God truly omnipresent, or do we think he does not follow us to another city?

Reflect and Apply

• How difficult is it to live for God or speak his message among people who will not be favorable to that message? Can you understand why Ezekiel was likely a reluctant prophet? What do we do when considering talking to someone about the gospel if we think they will not want to hear it?
• Is the word of God “sweet” to you as it was to Ezekiel in the vision? In what ways is God’s message “sweet”?
• God told Ezekiel that he was a “watchman.” Those duties are serious, and can mean the difference between life and death for those inside a protected fortress. Do we have responsibilities as watchmen today? How serious are our duties? Are we fulfilling them?
• The message God gave Ezekiel was a difficult one, a message of judgment for unfaithfulness that resulted in the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in 586 B.C. What message do you think God has for us today? What is your role in sharing this message?