Title: Visionary Prophet Ezekiel/Ezekiel 1:1-3
Content Title ： Visionary Prophet Ezekiel/Ezekiel 1:1-3
Ezekiel was the son of Bush, a priest of the Zadok line, and was among those taken captive when King Jehoiachin surrendered to Babylon.
1. The Age of Ezekiel
1) The Jews at that time were in a miserable situation like prisoners and slaves because they lost everything and lost their independence as a nation.
2) Before they were taken into captivity, there was Jerusalem and there was a temple, so they called on the name of God whether they liked it or not, and they were free to make sacrifices to God whether they wanted it to be good or formal.
3) But now things have changed. In the absence of a temple and no priests, they had to call on the name of God. In addition, as God's holy people, he had to realize that the land God had given him had disappeared.
2. Ezekiel's calling
1) God's calling came while Ezekiel was earnestly longing for his country while he was living in exile.
2) Ezekiel saw a vision of God, and among them, he saw God's chariot moving wherever he wanted to go. The chariot with wheels in wheels showed that God was not bound or fixed in one place, but that He could move wherever He wanted.
3) God is the God of the land of Canaan, and God's house was a temple, but through this vision Ezekiel realized that no boundaries or barriers on earth could be the place where God dwells.
4) Ezekiel, like most other prophets, became a prophet reluctantly. The symbolic scrolls he had to eat were at first bitter in taste, but after a while they became as sweet as honey, so the things he had to preach on God's behalf were at first hesitant to proclaim, but now they are delightful.
3. Ezekiel appointed as watchman
1) Ezekiel was appointed as a watchman for the people of Israel who was responsible for the spiritual survival of Israel. But his calling did not matter whether the people listened to Ezekiel or not. It was only so that the people might know that a prophet was among them (3:16-21; 33:32-33).
2) This gave the Israelites an opportunity to repent to God and could no longer excuse or complain about God's judgment on the unrepentant.
3) The people of that time thought that they had no responsibility because the country had been destroyed because of the sins of their ancestors. However, Ezekiel said that individual descendants are also responsible for that and also have the responsibility to restore them. If you live according to the laws that guarantee life and do not do wrong things, you will live without death. You will forget all your previous mistakes, but if you believe in your own righteousness and do evil, you will die in those sins (33:10-16).
4) Although Ezekiel proclaimed God's judgment, he also looked forward to the future of Israel with great hope. For the Spirit of God could bring life to life over death, and in the restored earth “God was there” (chapter 37).
5) This hope prophesied that Israel would be revived just as living things flourished wherever the water reached through the vision of water flowing from the threshold of the temple (47:1-12).