The Prophet Ezekiel.

by Arno C. Gaebelein.

INTRODUCTION

I know of no expounder of Holy Scripture on this side of the Atlantic in the same cla.s.s as Mr. Gaebelein. His work on the Old Testament prophets especially is unique. To understand and expound them not for scholars but for the people, calls for a combination of gifts bestowed upon very few.

Such a teacher must believe in the inerrancy of the autographs of Scripture. He must interpret it literally except where it clearly indicates to the contrary. He must apprehend the dispensational scope of its teaching. He must know and rely upon the Holy Spirit as the revealer of the truth whose record He has inspired. He must have a working knowledge of the Hebrew text and be able to pa.s.s intelligently on questions of Biblical Criticism. He must be familiar with the writings of others who have preceded him. He must be a platform man in constant communication with the people whom he would instruct. He must be no dreamer, but wide-awake to current events and capable of looking upon and dealing with them in a practical way. He must use simple terms and express himself in plain speech.

Mr. Gaebelein meets all these demands, for which we who reap the benefits give G.o.d the praise.

Circ.u.mstances have prevented my reading all the chapters of this present volume on Ezekiel, and hence I do not undertake to endorse every detail of interpretation it contains, but a general acquaintance with the author's point of view as expressed in his volumes on Daniel, Joel, Zechariah, Matthew and Revelation leads me to commend it strongly.

Pastors, evangelists, Bible teachers and Christians generally who would be counted among the wise who understand, need such helps as this as an antidote to the false teaching flooding the church today, and to enable them to stand up against the wiles of Satan on every hand. Familiarity with the revelation of G.o.d in the Old Testament is simply indispensable to the Christian witness in this twentieth century, and to the soldiers of Christ in this crucial hour of spiritual combat.

JAMES M. GRAY

The Moody Bible Inst.i.tute, Chicago, Ill.

The Prophet Ezekiel.

INTRODUCTION.

From the opening verses of the Book, which bears the name of the prophet Ezekiel, we learn that he was the son of Buzi the priest, and belonged consequently to the much honored Zadok family. That he knew the n.o.bility of Jerusalem well and was intimate with them may be indirectly learned from the eleventh chapter. Rabbinical tradition identifies Buzi (which means "contempt") with Jeremiah and makes him a son of that prophet.

There is, however, no positive evidence for this. Eleven years before the complete ruin of the city and the temple was effected by the King of Babylon, Ezekiel was carried away into the captivity. This deportation is recorded in 2 Kings xxiv:14. "And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths, none remained save the poorest sort of the people of the land." Before Ezekiel with the princes and the mighty men were taken into captivity, others had been removed to Babylon, notably Daniel and his three companions. This was in fulfillment of Isaiah x.x.xiv:6-7. Ezekiel must have known Daniel personally. His name is found three times in this book (chapters xiv:14, 20; xxviii:3).

Ezekiel was not a youth, as generally supposed, when he was deported to Babylon, for the matured character of a priest which appears in his writings and his full and intimate acquaintance with the temple service, render such a supposition highly improbable. Jewish tradition declares that he exercised already the prophetic office before he was carried away. The much disputed phrase "in the thirtieth year" (chapter i:1) we hope to examine more closely in our exposition.

The name Ezekiel means "strengthened by G.o.d." It has been stated by some that this is not the original name of the prophet, but his official t.i.tle, which he adopted on account of his ministry among the people.

Very interesting on this controverted point is the statement of a rabbinical comment. The declaration is made that the prophets of G.o.d received their significant names, so closely linked with and expressive of the character of their messages, from above and not according to the will of their earthly parents. G.o.d called them to their work and had them named accordingly before they ever entered upon their offices as prophets. We believe this may be correct, especially in view of Jeremiah i:5.

The place where we find Ezekiel is the river Chebar. This river is now known by the name _Kabour_. It emptied into the Euphrates north of Babylon and was also called _Nar-Kabari_, the great ca.n.a.l. Here Nebuchadnezzar had started a colony of captives. In chapter iii:15, the name of the place is given, it was at Tel-abib. In this settlement the prophet seems to have lived. Two pa.s.sages in the book tell us that he had his own house (iii:24; viii:1). We also know that he was married (xxiv:16-18). The death of his wife is the only event he mentions of his personal history and that would probably have not been recorded if it were not connected with his prophetic office. The prophecies he uttered among the captives are carefully dated. The first date is found in chapter i:1-2. He began his prophetic office on the fifth day of the fourth month (Tammuz) in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin's captivity.

The latest date is recorded in chapter xxix:17. Here we have the twenty-seventh year, so that the prophecies of Ezekiel cover a period of about twenty-two years.

Ezekiel's great prophetic ministry is closely connected with that of Jeremiah. When Ezekiel had his first great vision on the banks of the river Chebar, Jeremiah had already been a prophet for thirty-five years. Only a few years more remained for this great man of G.o.d. That Ezekiel must have been acquainted with Jeremiah and his messages of warning and exhortation is more than likely. Yet it is strange there is not a single reference to Jeremiah in the entire book of Ezekiel. It is strange in view of the fact that the messages of these two men have so much in common. Critics make the a.s.sertion that Ezekiel as a prophet was moulded by the teaching of Jeremiah. Kuenen claims that Ezekiel must have been for many years the close student of Jeremiah's writings.

Before Ezekiel proceeded to write his own prophecies, his mind, it is claimed, had become so saturated with the ideas and language of Jeremiah that every part of his book betrays the influence of his predecessor.

This view would make Ezekiel an enthusiastic admirer and copyist of Jeremiah. But in the book of Ezekiel the phrases "Thus saith the Lord G.o.d"--"The Word of the Lord came unto me"--occur over and over again.

The words he spoke, the mighty messages he delivered, were not produced by the influence of Jeremiah nor by his example, but by the Spirit of G.o.d. Other critics have even done greater dishonor to this chosen instrument of the Lord and to the Word he preached. We quote from _The New Century Bible_: "It would appear that there runs through all the prophet's activities, at least in the earlier period, a strain of mental abnormality--perhaps of actual malady. By some writers this has been supposed to be a form of catalepsy. Probably Ezekiel was no more a cataleptic than Paul; with equal probability he was what would now be called a 'psychical subject,' and as such liable to trances--and perhaps a clairvoyant." Such are the ridiculous things invented by men, who claim scholarship, and whose aim is to deny the supernatural origin of the words and the visions of the prophets of G.o.d.

The fact is that Jeremiah and Ezekiel were called by Jehovah to specific ministries. In their character and natural temperament they differed greatly. Jeremiah a.s.suming, as a very young man, his prophetic office during the reign of Josiah, was called to deliver the messages of the awful judgments which were to come upon Jerusalem and he had to witness these in their execution. He was an extremely kind, gentle and tender-hearted man. Jeremiah is the prophet of a dying nation; the agony of Judah's prolonged death struggle is reproduced with ten-fold intensity in the inward conflict which rends the heart of the prophet.

Ezekiel was of a different temperament. The deep soul exercise we find so often in Jeremiah, his tender, loving sympathies are almost entirely absent in Ezekiel. He lacked the emotional character of Jeremiah. He was a man of great energy and vigor; he was stern and had a deep sense of his human responsibility. Both prophets uncover the corrupt conditions of Judah and condemn them. The condemnations in Ezekiel are far more severe than those of Jeremiah. The style of Ezekiel is also different from that employed by his contemporary.

"The whole of his writings show how admirably he was fitted, as well by natural disposition as by spiritual endowment, to oppose the 'rebellious house,' the 'people of stubborn front and hard heart,' to whom he was sent. The figurative representations which abound throughout his writings, whether drawn out into lengthened allegory, or expressing matters of fact by means of symbols, or clothing truths in the garb of enigma, all testify by their definiteness the vigor of his conceptions.

Things seen in vision are described with all the minuteness of detail and sharpness of outline which belong to real existence. But this characteristic is shown most remarkably in the entire subordination of his whole life to the great work to which he was called."[1]

[1] F. W. Gotch.

In all this he differs from Jeremiah; and more so in the greater and more complete visions concerning the future.

There is an evident connection between the communication which Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem unto the captives in Babylon and the beginning of Ezekiel's ministry. The letter of Jeremiah is found in chapter xxix of the Book of Jeremiah. It is an interesting doc.u.ment. It seems to have been occasioned by a number of false prophets who had appeared among the captives, and who encouraged the rebellious and disobedient spirit which prevailed among the exiles. They prophesied falsely, led the people away and awakened the delusive hope of an early return from the captivity.

While Jeremiah continued to minister to the feeble few and the poor, who were left behind, Ezekiel was engaged among the captives and contended against these false prophets and against the false hopes of the people who gave no evidences of repentance. Inasmuch as Jerusalem had not yet been completely destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, the captives, who had listened to the false prophets, expected a speedy return to their own land. To dispel this false hope Jeremiah had sent them the message, "For thus saith the Lord, that after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place" (Jere. xxix:10). Ezekiel then labored also to dispel this false hope preached by the prophets, whom the Lord had not sent. By his stern and solemn words, by divinely commanded actions and symbols, he had to deliver the message that there was no hope for Jerusalem. When the catastrophe came at last his ministry changed. He comforts the disappointed and heartbroken people and delivers his great restoration messages.

This great prophet had to do certain divinely commanded things in the presence of the people who were living in deception after having listened to the false prophets.

In chapter iii:24-26 he had to shut himself up, bind himself and then he was made dumb.

Then he was commanded to lie upon his right side and upon his left for 430 days (chapter iv:4-8).

In chapter iv:9 he had to eat unclean bread. Then he had to shave his head and beard (chapter v:1); to carry a captive's baggage (chapter xxii:3-7); when his wife died he was not to mourn (chapter xxiv:15-20); and again he lost his speech (chapter xxiv:27). The key to all this is found in chapter xxiv:24.

The visions of glory Ezekiel had belong to some of the greatest recorded in the Word of G.o.d. Much in the beginning of the book reminds of the last book of the Bible, the Revelation. We mention a few pa.s.sages to be compared: Ezekiel i with Rev. iv and v. Ezekiel iii:3 with Rev. x:10.

Ezekiel viii:3 with Rev. xiii:14, 15. Ezekiel ix with Rev. vii. Ezekiel x with Rev. viii:1-5. The critics declare upon this striking correspondency that "much of the imagery of Revelation is borrowed from Ezekiel."

THE a.n.a.lYSIS OF THE BOOK.

A careful reading of the Book of Ezekiel shows, in the first place, that the Prophet received messages and saw visions before the final destruction of Jerusalem, and after that catastrophe had taken place in fulfillment of his inspired predictions he received other prophecies.

The predictions preceding the fall of Jerusalem are the predictions of the judgment to fall upon the city and upon Gentile nations, the enemies of Israel. The predictions Ezekiel received after the city had been destroyed are the predictions of blessing and glory for Israel and Jerusalem in the future. The first part of the book has found a fulfillment in the destruction of the city by Nebuchadnezzar. The second part is awaiting its fulfillment at the close of the times of the Gentiles, when Israel will be regathered, restored and the glory of the Lord returns to another temple, which Ezekiel beheld in a magnificent vision. All will be accomplished when the Lord returns to dwell in the midst of His people, so that the name of the city will be "Jehovah-Shammah"--"the Lord is there" (chapter xlviii:35). These two main divisions are clearly marked in the book itself. In chapter x.x.xiii:21, after the Prophet had received a renewed call as watchman. We read: "And it came to pa.s.s in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten." This determines the two parts.

=Part I. Predictions before the Destruction of Jerusalem.= (Chapters i-x.x.xii.)

=Part II. Predictions after the Destruction of Jerusalem.= (Chapters x.x.xiii-xlviii).

To show the perfect and orderly arrangement of the whole Book of Ezekiel we shall give a complete a.n.a.lysis.

=Part I. Predictions before the Destruction of Jerusalem. Chapters i-x.x.xii.=

=Section A. Judgment Predictions concerning Jerusalem. Chapters i-xxiv.=

_1. The Vision of the Glory of the Lord and the Call of the Prophet_ (i-iii:14).

_2. The Judgment announced. Four signs and their meaning. The two messages. ("The Word of the Lord came unto me," chapters vi and vii; chapters iii:15-vii:27)._

_3. Visions in relation to Jerusalem (chapters viii-xi)._

a. The vision of abomination in the Temple. Chapter viii.