|
|
Ezekiel
was born in Jerusalem to a priestly
family. His father's name was Buzi.
Ezekiel, was taken captive in the
second deportation from Jerusalem by
Nebuchadnezzar in 597 B.C. along with
10,000 statesmen, craftsmen and young
men of the Aristocracy (Ezekiel was a
member of the Zadok family) Ezekiel was
twenty five when taken into Babylon
where he lived in his own house with
his wife, near the river
Chebar
|
|
He began his ministry at age thirty, just as
Jesus and John the Baptist began their ministry.
"Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in
the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month,
as I was among the captives by the river of
Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw
visions of God" (Ezek. 1:1).
Ezekiel
describes the Heavenly Chariot and the visions
which he saw when the heavens opened to him. It
was then that God made him a prophet and ordered
him to carry the message of God to the people.
Whether the people listened to him or not, even
if they placed obstacles in his way, the prophet
was to carry out his mission without
fear.
When the spirit
of the prophecy came upon Ezekiel, he was
standing by the river Chebar, a tributary of the
Euphrates in Babylon. It was in the fifth year
of the Babylonian Exile.
In
Jerusalem Nebuchadnezzar had set up Zedekiah on
the throne, and made him swear allegiance to
Babylon. The exiles in Babylon now settled
down to a new life in captivity. Ezekiel kept
the spirit of Judaism alive among them. But the
practices of idolatry that had proved Judah's
undoing were deeply rooted among the exiles.
Ezekiel had a difficult task in convincing his
fellow exiles that the captivity was but
temporary punishment for their disloyalty to
God.
Ezekiel's
strongest prophecy was the Valley of the Dry
Bones. The prophet found himself in a valley
where dry bones were strewn all about. He was to
prophecy that the dry bones would be
resurrected. Soon an amazing sight evolved
before his eyes. A storm broke out and caused
the bones to join limb to limb until they became
skeletons. Presently the skeletons were
clothed with flesh and skin. The dead bodies
were revived by the spirit of God, and a mighty
host row on its feet before the prophet's
eyes. In this way the prophet told his
fellow exiles that the Jewish people were to be
revived to new life and glory. Ezekiel
prophesied that the breach between the Kingdom
of Judah and that of Efraim (the Ten Tribes)
would be healed. There would be one united
nation, restored to its land. The Temple would
be rebuilt, and Israel would enjoy unity with
God as never before. The prophet also described
in detail the new Jerusalem, the new Temple and
the new priesthood which would eventually
flourish under the reign of Jesus the
Messiah.
Ezekiel
was a great teacher. He taught that the revival
of the whole nation could come only through the
revival of each individual. Every Jew
individually was responsible for his life and
conduct and had at the same time a
responsibility towards the entire nation. God is
always ready to forgive the sinner who returns
to Him in sincere repentance. "I delight not in
the death of the wicked, says the Lord, but that
he return from his evil way and live," Ezekiel
taught this again and again.
Under
Ezekiel's influence, the exiles built synagogues
and houses of Torah study in Babylon, and the
spirit of Judaism was kept alive. When Ezekiel
died, he was sadly mourned but his prophecies
remain to inspire us forever.
Ezekiel's
Tomb in Iraq
After
Nebuchadnezzar's death, his son Evill Merodach
ascended the throne of the mighty Babylonian
empire. He released King Jehoiachin from prison
and treated him kindly. Jehoiachin remembered
the prophet Ezekiel who was buried between the
rivers Chebar and Euphrates. Accompanied by
thousands of Jews, Jehoiachin went to his grave.
There he built a tomb, and nearby a
synagogue. From far and near Jews made an
annual pilgrimage to Ezekiel's tomb and prayed
at the Synagogue of Ezekiel and Jehoiachin.
Every year on the Day of Atonement a special
scroll of the Torah, written by the prophet's
own hand, was taken from the Ark in that
Synagogue and read, and a perpetual light was
kept burning there for many years. The Ezekiel
Tablets, found in the tomb of Ezekiel in Kafr
Al-Kafil south of Birs Nimrud. (in Iraq ) are
now housed in the Institute of Ben Zvi, Yitzhak
in Jerusalem Israel.
Ezekiel
frequently used illustrated sermons to convey
the message of God.
EZEKIEL'S
ILLUSTRATED SERMONS
"THE
BRICK TILE AND THE IRON
PAN"
illustrated the coming siege of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 4:1-3
"LYING
THREE HUNDRED NINETY DAYS ON HIS LEFT
SIDE"
illustrated the three hundred ninety years of
punishment from the dividing of Israel to the
fall of Jerusalem.
"LYING
FORTY DAYS ON HIS RIGHT
SIDE"
illustrated forty years of iniquity of
Judah.
"THE
BARE ARM BOUND"
illustrated that Jerusalem will be helpless to
avert her doom.
"EATING
UNCLEAN BREAD"
illustrated that Israel will eat defiled bread
in captivity.
"EATING
FOOD AND DRINKING WATER IN SMALL
MEASURE"
illustrated famine coming on
Jerusalem.
"DIVIDING
HIS SHAVEN HAIR INTO THREE
PARTS"
illustrated the destruction of Judah.
"STRIKING
HIS HANDS TOGETHER AND STOMPING HIS
FEET"
illustrated the certain impending judgement of
Jerusalem.
"THE
CHAIN"
illustrated the impending capivity of the people
of Jerusalem.
"DIGGING
OUT THROUGH THE WALL WITH HIS POSSESSIONS ON HIS
SHOULDERS"
illustrated the impending third and final
carring away into Babylon.
"EATING
BREAD AND WATER WITH TREMBLING
HANDS"
illustrated that Jerusalem was to be
desolate.
"NO
MOURNING FOR THE DEATH OF HIS
WIFE"
illustrated that in the coming destruction of
Jerusalem the people would be too stunned to
mourn.... His wife died on the day the final
siege of Jerusalem began.
|
