If you have noticed the daily Bible reading links at the upper right corner of our blog, you have noticed that (as best we can keep up with the schedule,) Wesley and I have been in Ezekiel's long, confusing book for some time now. Next to Zechariah, I've always thought Ezekiel to be one of the most difficult books in the Bible (Revelation would probably be #3, Song of Songs #4, etc.). Though I have not made sense of many of the cryptic symbols in this prophecy, I've noticed a few patterns as we've plowed our way through it.
First, God is referred to quite often as "the Lord GOD," which translates two Hebrew words. The first, "Lord," is a straightforward translation of Adonai. [I might have misspelled that transliteration.] The second word, usually rendered in English as "LORD," here is rendered as "GOD" so as not to confuse readers with "the Lord LORD." The Hebrew word behind it is not really translatable! It was God's self-designation in Exodus 3:14 when he told Moses who he was. There, God said, "I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” So, based on that origin, many scholars have assumed that the Hebrew - YHWH - has some connection to the Hebrew verb that means "to be." The spelling is very similar but not exact. I'm no expert, but it seems that we can just say that this is something like God's first name (if he had one).
That Ezekiel (and God himself) refer to God as "the Lord GOD" is interesting at least, maybe even significant. It is not as common to see them together like that - and Ezekiel has it often.
Second, many of the prophecies about doom and destruction, salvation and restoration have a common ultimate goal stated. Why was God going to do all those things to Israel, to Jerusalem, to the leaders of Judah, to Tyre, to Edom, to Egypt, to Babylon, etc.? So that they (whomever the object of God's actions was) would "know that I am [he is] the LORD." An interesting point - whether in judgment and wrath, whether in rebirth and forgiveness, whether in pillaging and slaughter, whether in protection and victory of the underdog, the God of the universe wants people to recognize him in all that he does.
I still don't understand Ezekiel. What do you make of it?
1 comment:
Hi JM!
I agree that Ezekiel has been one of the most complex and hard to understand books in the Bible. And while I haven't studied the book in depth by any stretch, I can tell you that for reasons unknown to me, the book of Ezekiel invokes a passion for worship. It's as if this prophet screams that there is so much more to "the Lord God" that we can ever understand, and He is so much greater than we could ever express, yet God, the Lord God, longs for, even craves a relationship with His people. He longs to restore them to Himself even in the midst of their ignorance and rebellion.
So, that's the uneducated answer to your question about my feelings on Ezekiel....
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