Ezekiel, in Babylon, receives another prophecy. This vision is in the ninth year of the exile of Jehoiachin, about 588 BC, about two-and-a-half years after Ezekiel's last message. It is a turning point in the book for finally Nebuchadnezzar has attacked Jerusalem. Mackie covers this chapter in session 15 of his video class.
Ezekiel 24:1-2, Siege of Jerusalem
In the ninth year, in the tenth month on the tenth day, the word of the LORD came to me:
"Son of man, record this date, this very date, because the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.
The beginning of Nebuchadnezzar's siege is announced. The king of Babylon is described as "laying siege" but the Hebrew word, samach, is literally "laying hands on". Duguid sees echoes of Leviticus 1:4 and 3:2, in which priests laid hands on a sacrificial animal. Here Jerusalem is the sacrificial animal.
Ezekiel 24:3-5, Meat in a pot
Tell this rebellious house a parable and say to them: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
"`Put on the cooking pot;
put it on and pour water into it.
Put into it the pieces of meat,
all the choice pieces--
the leg and the shoulder.
Fill it with the best of these bones;
take the pick of the flock.
Pile wood beneath it for the bones;
bring it to a boil and cook the bones in it.
The sign-act Ezekiel is to do here requires that he begin to cook choice pieces of meat, in a pot, over a fire. Jerusalem, as a pot of meat, was an earlier metaphor (Ezekiel 11:2-3) used by the leaders of Jerusalem to justify their claims to security.
Ezekiel 24:6-8, Dump out the pot
"`For this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
"`Woe to the city of bloodshed,
to the pot now encrusted,
whose deposit will not go away!
Empty it piece by piece without casting lots for them.
"`For the blood she shed is in her midst:
She poured it on the bare rock;
she did not pour it on the ground,
where the dust would cover it.
To stir up wrath and take revenge
I put her blood on the bare rock,
so that it would not be covered.
The cooking pot of Jerusalem, with all the best meats, will be poured out.
The disposal of blood is an important part of the Mosaic Covenant. Killed animals were to have their blood drained into the ground and then covered with dust. (See Leviticus 17:12-14.) Here Jerusalem is accused of shedding blood and then not even disposing of the blood correctly. And so Jerusalem's blood will also be laid bare on a rock, uncovered.
Ezekiel 24:9-12, Impurities melted in the pot
"`Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
"`Woe to the city of bloodshed!
I, too, will pile the wood high.
So heap on the wood and kindle the fire.
Cook the meat well, mixing in the spices;
and let the bones be charred.
Then set the empty pot on the coals
till it becomes hot and its copper glows
so its impurities may be melted
and its deposit burned away.
It has frustrated all efforts;
its heavy deposit has not been removed,
not even by fire.
The pot is to be set on the hot fire long enough that the impurities begin to melt out of it. Eventually the pot contains a charred mess that cannot be removed.
Ezekiel 24:13-14, Impurity could not be cleansed
"`Now your impurity is lewdness. Because I tried to cleanse you but you would not be cleansed from your impurity, you will not be clean again until my wrath against you has subsided.
"`I the LORD have spoken. The time has come for me to act. I will not hold back; I will not have pity, nor will I relent. You will be judged according to your conduct and your actions, declares the Sovereign LORD.'"
Jerusalem itself is impure; its impurity is "lewdness."
Ezekiel 24:15-17, A personal blow
The word of the LORD came to me:
"Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears. Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover the lower part of your face or eat the customary food [of mourners]."
Ezekiel is about to suffer grief, but he is to hide his grieving. The grief will come as a "blow", a sudden strike (Hebrew maggephah) that will take away the "delight" of Ezekiel's eyes. Both Alexander and Mackie says that the Hebrew word translated "blow" was typically used to describe a sudden military defeat or a sudden plague.
The identification of the upcoming grief is unclear. Certainly one delight for Ezekiel is the temple in Jerusalem, where he was trained to fulfill his calling as a priest. But there is another delight that will also be taken away.
Ezekiel 24:18-24, My wife
So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded. Then the people asked me, "Won't you tell us what these things have to do with us?"
So I said to them, "The word of the LORD came to me:
Say to the house of Israel, `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am about to desecrate my sanctuary--the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection. The sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword. And you will do as I have done. You will not cover the lower part of your face or eat the customary food [of mourners]. You will keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep but will waste away because of your sins and groan among yourselves.
Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.'
This is horrible! Ezekiel's wife dies, apparently as part of one more sign-message. This death represents the desecration, by enemy soldiers, of the sanctuary in Jerusalem. Just as Ezekiel's wife, the delight of his eyes, is taken away, so too the temple, the delight of Ezekiel and all Jews, with be taken away. In that process, the exiles currently in Babylon will lose sons and daughters.
In Leviticus 10:1-7 two of Aaron's sons are struck down for some type of disobedience and Aaron and his other sons are required to stay silent in mourning. In Leviticus 21:1-4, 10-12, a priest cannot touch a dead body but must keep himself clean during funeral rites. An exception is given if the dead person is a family member, but that exception is not granted to the high priest. Ezekiel is being required to act as a (silently grieving) high priest.
Ezekiel 24:25-27, A fugitive coming
"And you, son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes, their heart's desire, and their sons and daughters as well--on that day a fugitive will come to tell you the news. At that time your mouth will be opened; you will speak with him and will no longer be silent.
So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD."
The tragedy coming upon the remnant in Babylon will be the shocking news of the destruction of Jerusalem. When that news arrives, Ezekiel will be able to speak again. And then people will be reassured that Ezekiel's actions have reflected the genuine actions of YHWH.
Alexander argues that this episode ends the silence forced on Ezekiel in 3:24-27, in which he was mute except when required to speak prophetically. For seven years Ezekiel has said that Jerusalem will fall; now he has been proved right. The next chapter begins a new term in Ezekiel's ministry.
No comments:
Post a Comment