I am planning on covering *all* of Ezekiel in one easy class on on Thursday, April 10. Please read my study questions on Ezekiel. Then read Chapters 1-12, 33, and 37 of Ezekiel itself.
What do you find here that suggests that Ezekiel's message was a burden? Are there any passages that particularly well reflect hope, beauty, faith in the triumph of justice, or anything else that makes that burden worth bearing?
The whole of Ezekiel is filled with weird, terrifying, and sometimes disturbing imagery, and all that certainly points to its message as being bleak and burdensome. The destruction of Jerusalem and its people is described in chapter 33: "As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to the beats to be devoured. . .And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and her proud might shall come to an end. . ."
ReplyDeleteBut within all this dismal prophecy, there's a message of hope and restoration for Israel, specifically in chapter 11: "Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone. . .I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel."
One major burden of Ezekiel is reading it. I personally found Ezekiel more difficult than Isiah. Another burden is the melancholy mood of the book for example Ezekiel 2:10 " which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe." It is a real buzzkill. One section of Ezekiel 37 lines 15-17 offer hope of a reunited kingdom of Israel and start to make Ezekiel a burden worth bearing.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a burden because he has to tell Israel who God says is a rebellious house a message that they will be condemned and he says their is a good chance they won't listen to you but do it anyway. It also a burden because he prophesies about desolation in Jerusalem and how everyone has gone astray like sheep. There is a message of hope at the end that these bones (of Isreal) will be brought to life and also that God will be with them forever as their God.
ReplyDeleteEzekiel 37:27 "My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
Also the almost psychedelic, bizarre nature of some passages makes it difficult as well.
ReplyDeleteI lost the specific place, but I believe I also read a verse in which God says that He Himself won't even be with the people because of their wickedness. That's an extremely dismal message for the Israelites, to hear that the Lord is going to abandon them. It probably served as an excellent wake-up call for them, though.
ReplyDeleteA burden would be one to all is corrected the unrighteous as if it were our duty. In one chapter the Lord says that he doesn't like to punish the wicked. Its a burden because we are not perfect and it stings to be called a hypocrite, just as much as it would be to be ignored. To be the bearer of such corrections is difficult in itself for the weight of something more than yourself is a heavy thing to carry.
ReplyDeleteBroc Kilber- Ezekiel 33:23-33 is a dreadful and burdensome passage. I speaks of the doom of the land of Israel and its people because of their sins. It speaks of making the mountains so desolate that none shall pass through and that those in the cave shall die of diseases. At the same time in Ezekiel 37:15-28 their is hope for the people of Israel for a brighter future. It speaks of a united Kingdom not longer divided ruled by a just and righteous king. It says that this will last forever and that if they obey the Lord's statues they shall be able to live in this kingdom. You have on one hand punishment and in the other great reward in these passages.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Ezekiel is a prophet suggests that he must have a message which is a burden. As stated in the lecture of Amos, whose name translates to “burden”, any news or prophecy that Ezekiel brings to Israel is likely burdensome.
ReplyDeleteOne passage that reflects the burden of the message but also hope in the statues of God is Ezekiel 6:9-11...
“...I (God) am broken with their whorish hear, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations; And they shall know that I am the Lord, and that I have not slain in vain that I would do this evil unto them; Thus saith the Lord god; Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! For they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.”
Though it seems as a harsh or frightening message to Israel, it is a deliverance of justice for the name of God and it parallels the victory that He will produce at the end of time, the complete destruction of sin and the restoration of His divine principles.
I think many things about Ezekial ooze burdensome. It's a burden to read, first of all. What in the world is he saying in the first couple chapters?? I also think it is a burden for Ezekial to explain this to people. If people asked him what he saw before he became a prophet of God, I think they'd view him as clinically insane. It was very difficult reading the first few chapters.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, Ezekial has intense burdens when it comes to dealing with the sins of Judah and Israel. He has to put himself through some very uncomfortable situations--cooking his bread over cow dung, shaving his head, laying in the same position for hours and days on end--and even then, the most of the people probably still won't listen! I can imagine how frustrated Ezekial must be, and he can't even say no! God tells him that if he refused to do or say something that God told him to, then blood would be on his hands. Being a prophet is definitely not for the weak.
-Lauren Bland
Dylan Schimke
ReplyDeleteEzekiel's message is a burden because the Lord told him the people won't listen to him, even after all of the sign acts he was doing. He also has the visions of the temple and all of the people worshipping other gods, which in turn made the Lord turn away from them. Even after the seeming doom and abandonment from our Lord, there still is hope. In chapter 11, God says that he will give them new spirit, an undivided heart, and give them a heart of flesh. Later in the book, chapter 36 echoes the same thing again. In chapter 34 God says that he will look over his sheep, the people that follow him, and He will give them good pasture and strengthen the weak. Overall, I think these passages of hope from the Lord gives great reason to bear any burden that is put unto anyone.
What do you find here that suggests that Ezekiel's message was a burden? Are there any passages that particularly well reflect hope, beauty, faith in the triumph of justice, or anything else that makes that burden worth bearing?
ReplyDeleteI feel like it's kind of easy to figure out why Ezekiel's message is a burden to bear. He has to eat food while tied up lying on the ground, made over cow dung for a year. I don't know what you think, but that doesn't seem like a particularly glamorous job. The sheer force of will it would require for this act is immense. I absolutely would not be able to do it. But Ezekiel does anyway for Israel's sake.
I would say that my favorite section is the valley of dry bones. It takes a situation of complete and utter hopelessness and completely turns it on its head. God says that despite everything, I will bring Israel back from the dead. I also find the visuals of the watchmen great illustrations of what Ezekiel is doing. He's telling Israel of the coming danger and absolutely nobody is paying attention of him. It's very reminiscent of Jeremiah saying, I can't stay quiet while all of this going on. Ezekiel knows the whole message is pointless, but he can't stay quiet.
One area in which makes Ezekiel's message a burden is expressed in Chapter 3:17-19 and again in chapter 33. God tells Ezekiel that if he doesn't try to turn the wicked people from their evil ways and they die, their blood will be on Ezekiel's hands and God will hold him responsible. If the just people turn to evil ways and die even if Ezekiel tried to warn them, their blood will be on Ezekiel's hands and God will hold Ezekiel responsible. This is a lot of pressure on Ezekiel's shoulders. He has to make sure he does God's work by trying to turn the hearts of those not following God and if he doesn't, their death is his fault. So okay, Ezekiel has to focus on saving the fallen. But he also has to make sure that he is keeping the good people on the right track with God because if they fall off, again Ezekiel is to blame. This is a big burden for Ezekiel. The only shimmer of hope I saw was in Chapter 37:15-28, where Ezekiel tells the people that some day Israel and Judah will be joined together again and God will make an everlasting covenant of peace with them. This promise of these two nations coming together as one again some day, should make the burden worth bearing.
ReplyDeleteThe entire chapter was particularly disturbing from the start. Yes, Ezekiel is introduced to the Glory of God and is tasked with delivering messages to the House of Israel, but the messages he is tasked to give are horrible and are intended to be revealed in horrible ways.
ReplyDeleteAt the start, Ezekiel makes a mock-up of Jerusalem and plays out its downfall. Then he is forced to lay on his sides for days on end, eating food cooked over dung. He has to physically go through these, no doubt appearing to be that of a madman to those around him.
The passages that reflect any form of hope for the future are towards the end, where it is discussed that God will return to the new place that the House of Israel will reside, and how grand it is. Admittedly, of course, the fact that their suffering ends at all could also be considered a glimmer of hope, but this is equally combated with the factor that 'the end' can either be 'ended by everyone dying' or 'ended by everyone being saved'.
At this point, it's a 50/50, for while God says he is ever-merciful, he is also quick to anger and has been given plenty of reasons to simply wipe out the entire House of Israel.
Andrew Brennan
ReplyDeleteEzekiel 2:9-10
Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, 10 which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.
Right away in the calling of Ezekiel we see the future message that is going to be proclaimed. A message of lament, mourning, and woe for the people of Israel. Similar to Jeremiah, Ezekiel knows what is going to happen and yet he still has to speak out and call for repentance. It doesn't get much burdensome than that.
Then dry bone story is probably the most hopefull the book gets. In chapter 37 there is a prophecy of spiritual life being brought back to the people. The Spirit of God will fill their hearts and live again. Although they are in a place of spiritual drought and death, one day someone will come and restore what is right.
Ezekiel 2:8–9
ReplyDeleteGod commands Ezekiel to eat a scroll, and what's more shocking is that the scroll is filled with words of lamentation and sorrow. Eating paper itself is a disturbing act, but the fact that it contains negative messages makes it an even heavier burden. Just hearing the prophecy of Israel’s destruction would be hard enough, but Ezekiel also had to endure this physically difficult task. This shows how weighty the burden of prophecy really was. It also seems to imply that even a prophet cannot escape the consequences of God’s judgment.
Ezekiel 11:17–20
Nevertheless, God promises that after the people of Israel are scattered, He will gather them again and give them a new heart. Even though the judgment is terrifying and destructive, the promise of restoration is filled with hope.
Sophia Lee
Ezekiel's burden is stated in Ezekiel 12:10, concerning the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel that were among them. This states that he was delivering an oppressive burden for the prince and the people of Israel.
ReplyDeleteThe passages of hope and beauty are said in chapter 37
The vision of dry bones coming to life is a powerful symbol of restoration and new beginnings. It depicts the revival of Israel as a nation and the return of God's favor.
-Brady Metzinger
Ezekiel 3:14-15
ReplyDelete"The spirit lifted me up and bore me away; I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of the Lord being strong upon me. I came to the exiles at Tel-abib... and I sat there among them, stunned, for seven days."
Ezekiel had a heavy message to deliver to the people of Israel, which came as a burden on his life. When the spirit gave Ezekiel the message that needed to be given to the people, he was shocked into silence. He knew what was going to happen if people do not listen to his warning, but he could not force others to follow his messages. This proved to be a burden on the life of Ezekiel because of his inability to force others to change their way of living.