Ezekiel Who?

Passage: Ezekiel 1

The Book of Ezekiel opens with vivid and elaborate imagery that proves to be the prophet’s signature throughout the book. Ezekiel prefaces his prophecy with the account of how he received it. Rob Bell says, “The message of this chapter is simple: ‘Kids, this is why you never do drugs.’” Ezekiel 1 reads like a bad acid trip.

And it’s easy to get distracted by the details of Ezekiel’s heavenly vision. For centuries scholars have picked apart each image and each character from the vision, claiming each to be a metaphor or symbol for something else. Whereas some of these analyses have more merit than others, they all run the risk of distracting from the main focus of the passage.

The key point to take from Ezekiel 1 is this: Ezekiel has caught a glimpse of the throne room of Heaven. He has encountered the living God. And here is what Ezekiel has seen: that God is overwhelming in majesty and power; that God is attended and worshiped by the most amazing and majestic creatures in Heaven and Earth; that therefore God is Lord of all Creation. In other words, says Ezekiel, I saw God, and God is everything he says he is. Ezekiel’s prophecy is given credibility because his vision is beyond even what he can describe. It’s truly a glimpse into the realm of God and the angels. Ezekiel bears witness that God is real, and God is who he says he is. Furthermore, God is the one who has commissioned Ezekiel to speak. Anything Ezekiel says henceforth is God’s word, given by God’s authority.

Here’s why this is important. Ezekiel has been commissioned to bring God’s word to the Israelites living in exile. They believe either that God has been a myth all along, or that God has abandoned them. Ezekiel comes to them and says, “God’s real. How do I know? I have seen him.” Ezekiel comes to them and says, “God hasn’t forgotten you. How do I know? Because he gave me this message specifically for you.” Finally, most importantly, Ezekiel says, “God is with you. How do I know? Because here I am.” Here’s the connection. Way back in Deuteronomy, God gave this promise. It was early on in the life of the Israelites, so they may not have been paying attention. But now all of a sudden it’s more important than ever. Here’s what God said, through Moses, way back then:
The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.” The LORD said to me: “What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him.” (Deuteronomy 18:15-18)
God promised always to provide his people a human representative – someone to act as a go-between; someone to speak to his people on his behalf. Here, even though they’ve been ripped from their homeland and placed among pagans, God’s people have God’s voice speaking in their ears. Who is Ezekiel? God’s prophet. God’s mouthpiece. The physical reminder of God’s constant presence.