42 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
42 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
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title = "Ezekiel 1:1–4"
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date = "2023-02-27"
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### Introduction
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Now that the study of Luke has concluded, I want to switch to an Old Testament
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book. The pastor at my church has been going through Revelation recently, and
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that book uses a lot of the same imagery and themes as Ezekiel, so it seems
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good to me to study it in parallel.
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ezekiel1.1-4)
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The prophet Ezekiel served during the Babylonian Exile, when the kingdom of
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Judah had been conquered and deported because they had failed to uphold the
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covenant God had made with them through Moses. Again and again God sent
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prophets to warn the people that this would happen and to call for repentance.
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Sometimes the people would respond, but never fully or wholeheartedly, and so
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the time finally came for God's judgement to be fulfilled upon His people.
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The book of Ezekiel starts with a time reference. It has more than any of the
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other prophetic writings, which scholars have determined to fall between 593
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and 573 B.C. Generally, Ezekiel uses the date of the exile of King Jehoiachin,
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the last of the Davidic line to rule in Judah. (Technically Jehoichin's uncle
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Zedekiah ruled after him, but he isn't considered a legitimate heir as he was
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installed by the Babylonian conquerors.)
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Ezekiel was a priest, hundreds of miles away from the temple in which he should
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serve. Normally, priests would begin to serve in the temple when they reached
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thirty years of age. Ezekiel, however, gets a different call from Yahweh, and
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sees a vision of His glory. He sees a stormy wind, a great cloud brimming with
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light and lightning as if it were made of metal. All of these things are very
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common descriptions of God manifesting His glory before human beings. All of
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Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah were brought into the presence of God to receive
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their prophetic calls, and because Ezekiel experienced this too, we can know
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that he has been delegated the authority to speak on God's behalf.
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* * *
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When our lives have not gone the way we expected, You are still in control,
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ready to use us as You see fit.
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