Sour grapes

Ezekiel is considered one of the three major prophets of the Old Testament, along with Isaiah and Jeremiah. His warnings to his fellow-countrymen while they were in exile in Babylon, offer today's readers with ongoing insights. That's why writers encourage modern-day readers to stick with this book, despite its difficulties. The bottom line? That there is one God.

Perhaps one of the most famous passages from Ezekiel is that in Chapter 18 about the sour grapes. This passage teaches that God's law overrides the belief that the actions of a human parent govern the behaviour or symptoms of his or her offspring. The lovely promise is that "all souls are mine" (verse 4). We are all children of the one divine Parent, and we are each responsible for our own thoughts and actions. 

Mary Baker Eddy picks up on this passage in various areas of her writing, for instance in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures p. 211:19, she writes that "The transfer of the thoughts of one erring mind to another, Science renders impossible," and in her Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896 p. 72, "For the innocent babe to be born a lifelong sufferer because of his parents' mistakes or sins, were sore injustice..."

Readers might enjoy a poem called "Individual Proof", by Norman Aswald Walter in the April 4, 1983 edition of the Christian Science Sentinel. Interestingly this short and resonant poem mentions "cloth" - the subject of yesterday's blog post. Here is a snippet: "A father's stain, his cloth shows./ I know my fabric—uniquely mine—"

One commentator, writing in the Christian Science Sentinel August 3, 2009, concludes that 
"Ezekiel's words redeem the past and re-vision the future." I find that comment very helpful as I read this book.

Julie Swannell

Linen

Readers may be interested to read a very informative article from Biblical Training on the use of linen in Bible times. It was highly valued, and could be woven so finely that it looked like silk, almost translucent apparently. Linen is made from the flax plant, and both Egypt and Lebanon had skilled weavers of linen. It must have been expensive, because mostly the wealthy, including the priests, had access to this fabric, which was used not only for clothing, but also for curtains. It was generally bleached to a startling white, but could also be dyed in stunning colours.

Linen is mentioned 87 times in the Bible, including in the book of Ezekiel. For instance, the English Standard Version (ESV) has Ezek 44:18 "They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat." 

Unfortunately, it seems that sometimes pomp and circumstance overtook the people, and finery became more important than their obedience to God. The International Children's Bible (ICB) - Ezek 16:13: "So you wore gold and silver. Your dress was made of fine linen, silk and beautiful needlework. You ate fine flour, honey and olive oil. You were very beautiful and became a queen." Ezekiel was ready to warn them about the dangers of vanity in this regard, but it was Jesus who succinctly fashioned the counsel "Don't worry about the clothes you need for your body"(Matt 6:25). 

After the crucifixion, Jesus' body was wrapped in lengths of linen, as was usual at that period.

Julie Swannell

Showers of blessing

What a relief to come to chapter 34! No. I haven't read every word up to there! Skimmed is probably the right definition.

Someone must have been listening to all that prophesying from Ezekiel. Was it the humble shepherds? God uses their methods of seeking and finding the sheep - the ones willing to be obedient to God's law. In Ezekiel, we hear echoes of Psalm 23, the Psalm of David; even a direct reference to him: 

“And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd” (Ezek 34:23). 

Sounds like a prophecy about the Messiah, the Christ.

Oh! Here is a lovely promise for our country (and others) when having to cope with drought conditions: 

"I will cause the shower to come down in his season: there shall be showers of blessing” (Ezek 34:26).

This reminds me of an old hymn. According to one online source, it was written in 1883 by Daniel Whittle (1840-1901). Here are the words.

Showers of blessing

1. There shall be showers of blessing:
   This is the promise of love;
   There shall be seasons refreshing,
   Sent from the Savior above.
   • Refrain:
     Showers of blessing,
     Showers of blessing we need:
     Mercy-drops round us are falling,
     But for the showers we plead.
2. There shall be showers of blessing,
   Precious reviving again;
   Over the hills and the valleys,
   Sound of abundance of rain.
3. There shall be showers of blessing;
   Send them upon us, O Lord;
   Grant to us now a refreshing,
   Come, and now honor Thy Word.
4. There shall be showers of blessing:
   Oh, that today they might fall,
   Now as to God we’re confessing,
   Now as on Jesus we call!
5. There shall be showers of blessing,
   If we but trust and obey;
   There shall be seasons refreshing,
   If we let God have His way.

Joyce Voysey

"Ezekiel should not be overlooked"

Book club for November, 2018 - Ezekiel

Well, I didn't know much about Ezekiel, so have been gleaning information from various sources. One source, which was unexpected, is Ann Putcamp's Guide to Bible Teaching III. I did know about 2 of the parables: the measuring of the water, and the dry bones. Not that I fully understood them! And I wasn't exactly aware that they were in Ezekiel.

Everywhere, I read that Ezekiel was a priest, as well as a prophet – an unusual pairing. And that he was a contemporary of Jeremiah.They both called attention to the same errors* made by the people of Israel. Ezekiel's call to prophesy** came while he was exiled in Babylon, where he was one of a group of privileged persons - leaders - deported from Jerusalem (597 B.C.). -

Putcamp writes (p. 65) 

"Ezekiel should not be overlooked by teacher or pupil. He lives at a time when his word should have been heeded. So do we” (my emphasis).

Graphic visions were presented to Ezekiel; all to teach lessons. For instance, he depicts various winged creatures, and creatures with wheels, e.g. Ez. 1:16. 

Putcamp notes that 

“Such creatures and symbols were depicted on the walls of many ancient cities of Mesopotamia (Babylon). Ezekiel was probably using what the captives were seeing to illustrate his theme...Ahead of his time in spiritual discernment, he has been both misunderstood and unappreciated, even as he was by his own people” (ibid). 

I will digress here to wonder if there are any prophets in Israel to-day. I found that two 20^th century men are considered by some commentators to have been modern-day prophets: Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903-1994), philosopher and academic; and Yehoshafat Harkabi (1921-1994), former head of Israeli military intelligence, and author of "Israel's Fateful Hour" (Ed). See the Shalom Centre website. 

(Ed. There are several other sites which offer insights into these two men.)

Of interest to Sunday School workers is Putcamp's reference to the Ten Commandments.  

She writes (p. 66)

“In Chapter 22, Ezekiel shows that the men of Judah have broken every Commandment; he refers to all ten.”  

She then invites us to 

“find each commandment within Ezekiel's references, analyse each, also the breaking of each, and specific results. Would not this be helpful in today's context?" (emphasis added) 

Putcamp insists that there are lessons to be learned today from this book. I haven't been able to find this reasoning in any other source. For now, I will leave you and me to work on that puzzle!  I have only found five so far...

Joyce Voysey

Ed.
* Ez 2:4 "they are impudent children and stiffhearted" King James Version
** Putcamp says: "His call is exciting, culminating in 2:1-3, 8, 9." (p. 64)

Ezekiel in Babylonian exile

This month our study is the book of Ezekiel. You'll find it after Lamentations in the Old Testament.

Ezekiel lived during the time of the Babylonian exile (586 BC). Some say things weren't so bad there in Babylon. When King Cyrus (who we learned about in our study of the book of Ezra, way back in July 2012*) allowed them to return to their homes, many decided they'd rather stay in Babylon. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York's brilliant web site has a great article (and fabulous images which I can't post here because of copyright) on Babylon. Here is a portion which mentions the "biblical prophets" of whom Ezekiel was one:

 At this time, Babylon is thought to have been the largest city in the world. Its population was surely very cosmopolitan: Nebuchadnezzar continued the Assyrian practice of moving large groups of people across the empire, in order to break up potential centers of opposition, to provide labor, or both. In the case of the state of Judah and the city of Jerusalem, such acts earned him biblical infamy. The powerful language used against Babylon by the biblical prophets would eventually be incorporated into Christian visions of the Apocalypse (18.65.8). By contrast, Babylonian kings saw and presented themselves as pious figures, 

Reference:
Seymour, Michael. “Babylon.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/babl/hd_babl.htm (June 2016)

There's even an hour-long video about the Cyrus Cylinder on the Met's site. All very exciting stuff.

And so we turn to the Bible and read how it all began Ezek 1:1 from the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) and the Contemporary English Version (CEV) - sourced from Bible Gateway's fabulous website:

AMPC

Now [when I was] in [my] thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was in the midst of captivity beside the river Chebar [in Babylonia], the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

CEV

I am Ezekiel—a priest and the son of Buzi. Five years after King Jehoiachin of Judah had been led away as a prisoner to Babylonia, I was living near the Chebar River among those who had been taken there with him. Then on the fifth day of the fourth month of the thirtieth year, the heavens suddenly opened. The Lord placed his hand upon me and showed me some visions.

Figure 1: Chebar River (Iraq) 

Reproduced from: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=chebar+river+iraq&rlz=1C1CHBF_en-GBAU810AU810&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=QYaPhm0ZxuNk-M%253A%252CrRzdAFIvuPSbxM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kQR5rr5OWW19sFpcbovrf7PBynw2g&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwimxaDin7_eAhWMPI8KHYVUASsQ9QEwAnoECAYQBA#imgrc=iHZ_mNGJ0Cf3QM:

So, let's see what this book will reveal to us in November 2018. Happy reading. We look forward to hearing from you.

Julie Swannell

* You can check out the blog posts from July 2012 by typing "Ezra" into the Search bar on the Web Version of our blog site.