Ezekiel 1:1-3: Ezekiel the Priest
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Introduction
Introduction
Outline
Outline
Ezekiel 1-24 - Oracles against God’s People
Ezekiel 1-24 - Oracles against God’s People
Ezekiel 1:1-3 - Ezekiel the Priest
Ezekiel 1:1 - The Visions of God
Ezekiel 1:2-3 - The Word of the Lord
Purpose of Book
Purpose of Book
The purpose of Ezekiel is Yahweh rebukes His people for their sinfulness and He promises to restore His glory so all nations will know He is the one true Lord. In short, the purpose of Ezekiel is the glory of God.
The purpose of Ezekiel is Yahweh rebukes His people for their sinfulness and He promises to restore His glory so all nations will know He is the one true Lord. In short, the purpose of Ezekiel is the glory of God.
Main Point
Main Point
While in exile, Ezekiel the priest, is commissioned as a God-consumed prophet and he receives grand visions from the throne room of the Lord
While in exile, Ezekiel the priest, is commissioned as a God-consumed prophet and he receives grand visions from the throne room of the Lord
Ezekiel 1:1 - The Visions of God
Ezekiel 1:1 - The Visions of God
1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month
Approximately 593 BC between June-July
Ezekiel is 30 years old and this would have been the date he would have been commissioned for temple service
His prophetic ministry begins when his priestly would have began if he were able to pursue his priestly ministry - hopeless dream, but Yahweh hasn’t forgotten Ezekiel
As I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal
As an exile, Ezekiel is living outside his native land - away from the glory of Yahweh
Unlike Daniel, Ezekiel is not taken to Babylon - he is sent to the Nippur region
The Chebar canal is a man-made canal for irrigation that brought water from the Euphrates
4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris)
The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
The heavens were opened
16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;
56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
1 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
The door of the throne room of God is opened and Ezekiel is able to peer in to see realities that are not normally seen by mere mortals - based upon judgment
Visions of God
Ezekiel 1-3 - The Glory of God
Ezekiel 8-11 - Yahweh Abandons the Temple due to Wickedness
Ezekiel 37 - Reviving the Dry Bones
Ezekiel 40-48 - Renewed Temple and Land
Ezekiel 1:2-3 - The Word of the Lord
Ezekiel 1:2-3 - The Word of the Lord
2 On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), 3 the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.
2 On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), 3 the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.
2 On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin)
King Jehoiachin
9 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 10 In the spring of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, with the precious vessels of the house of the Lord, and made his brother Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.
12 and Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign
27 And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. 28 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table, 30 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived.
During this time, there were many in both Babylon and Jerusalem who thought the captivity would be short, but both Jeremiah and Ezekiel stated the exile would be long and Jerusalem would be destroyed not restored
Upon the exile of the King, the Israelites traditional understanding of themselves becomes confusing
They, as a nation, do not own any of the promised land per the Abrahamic Covenant
They, as a nation, do not have a king as promised per the Davidic Covenant
They, as a nation, are punished by God per the Sinai Covenant
As we shall see, Ezekiel believes the future of God’s people rests in the exiles, not those left behind - Jehoiachin NOT Zedekiah
3 The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal
The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel
The divine inauguration of Ezekiel as prophet
Introduces a divine message to the prophet
Chaldeans
Refers to the Babylonians
The Chaldeans were an Aramean group that won it’s independence from Assyria in 625 BC when the neo-Babylonian dynasty was formed
And the hand of the Lord was upon him there.
“Hand”
Yahweh has divine possession in a very real, physical way
The Spirit of God comes upon Ezekiel and more than all others he is a man possessed by the hand of God
The visions/prophecies come from the Lord, not Ezekiel
Christ Connection - Ezekiel was a priest, but we have one who is greater
Christ Connection - Ezekiel was a priest, but we have one who is greater
17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
How Should we Live in Light of Ezekiel 1:1-3?
How Should we Live in Light of Ezekiel 1:1-3?
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Like Ezekiel, we are royal priests unto God. Let the hand of the Lord fully consume our lives. As a priest, live a God-centered life being fully devoted to the Lord ONLY!
Like Ezekiel, we are royal priests unto God. Let the hand of the Lord fully consume our lives. As a priest, live a God-centered life being fully devoted to the Lord ONLY!
1 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.
Main Point
Main Point
While in exile, Ezekiel the priest, is commissioned as a God-consumed prophet and he receives grand visions from the throne room of the Lord
While in exile, Ezekiel the priest, is commissioned as a God-consumed prophet and he receives grand visions from the throne room of the Lord
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