READINGS FOR NEXT WEEK
Daniel 1-12
Background:
- Audience: Jews who were taken captive to Babylonia in 597 B.C.
- He writes over 22 year period between 593 and 571 B.C.
- Theme: Ezekiel the priest assures his fellow Jews that God will one day return them to Jerusalem and restore the temple.
- Only prophetic book written from exile.
- The Hebrew translation of his name is God will strengthen or God’s Strength.
- On August 14, 586 B.C., the city of Jerusalem and the temple were burned.
- The book of Ezekiel contains more dates than any other OT prophetic book—they can date his prophecies with considerable precision.
- Ezekiel was married, a priest, and a prophet. “As a priest-prophet called to minister to the exiles (separated from the temple of the Lord with its symbolism, sacrifices, priestly work and worship rituals), his message had much to do with the temple and its ceremonies.
Literary features: (major/minor prophets have to do with the length of the scrolls)
The three major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel) all have the same basic sequence of messages:
- prophecies against Israel
- prophecies against the nations
- consolation for Israel. In no other book is this pattern clearer than in Ezekiel.
Jehovah directed many prophets during this time: Ezekiel prophesied among the exiled community in Babylon, Jeremiah prophesied in Jerusalem, Daniel prophesied to the king of Babylon, Lehi left Jerusalem with his family and the records
Ezekiel began to prophesy only after arriving in Babylon, so prophets in Jerusalem, like Lehi and Jeremiah, may not even have known about Ezekiel.
Ezekiel’s Inaugural Vision - Imagery
“The bible also works on a micro-level. . . often when we read the bible, the thing which strikes us, that moves us, that shapes us is a single verse or a single image that we can carry with us and that can really shape and form our mental framework, our religious world view . . . . Individual verses can sometimes contain individual images that can fire the imagination.”
Dr. Kristian Heal - Abide Podcast - Maxwell Institute
Consider: As we work through Ezekiel, think about images that resonate with you.
Q: What is the Lord teaching here? How is the command not to mourn Ezekiel’s wife symbolic of the times?
“In chapter 24 we read that Ezekiel’s wife died on the very day Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem (see verses 1–2). Here was given the ultimate symbol or type of Jerusalem’s coming destruction. Isn’t that something? The Lord said in essence that the death of Ezekiel’s wife would serve as a type and symbol of Jerusalem’s destruction. When the people saw his wife die and saw that Ezekiel did not mourn, they asked why. In verse 22 the answer was given: “Ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.” And then in verse 24, the Lord explained: “Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do.” Jerusalem was the bride of Jehovah, but there could be no mourning, for her tragedy was just and fully deserved.”
Gerald Lund
Gerald N. Lund, “Ezekiel: Prophet of Judgment, Prophet of Promise,” in Isaiah and the Prophets: Inspired Voices from the Old Testament, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1984), 75–88.
Transition Point of Ezekiel’s Prophecies
“As the fall of Jerusalem marked an important transition in the life of the Israelites, it also marked an important transition in Ezekiel’s prophecies. No longer did he call Jews to repentance to avoid being overthrown. He addressed instead the questions that must have been on their minds now that their nation was no more. What future did they have now that they had offended God so grievously that he had allowed them to be driven from their land? Was he still their God? Were they still his chosen people? And even if he were willing, could he gather people so widely dispersed as the Israelites were in Assyria, Babylonia, Egypt, and elsewhere throughout the world?”
Keith H. Meservy
https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/ezekiel-prophet-hope
The River of Life from the Temple - 40-47
“After twenty-five years in captivity, Ezekiel had a homecoming of sorts: the Lord gave him a vision of his native Israel and a glorious, complete temple in the midst of the land (Ezekiel 40–48). [3] In this vision, Ezekiel is not alone—he is guided on a tour of the temple by an angelic figure (Ezekiel 40:3) who measures the temple’s dimensions. Ezekiel then describes in detail the appearance of this temple, as well as its inner workings and its rejuvenating effects on the surrounding land. Finally, his temple vision concludes with the city of Jerusalem receiving the comforting new name of “The LORD is there” (Ezekiel 48:35).”
Jacob Rennaker
https://rsc.byu.edu/ascending-mountain-lord/approaching-holiness-sacred-space-ezekiel-paper
The Glorious Vision of the Temple and the Waters Flowing Beneath - 47
In a vision, the prophet Ezekiel saw the house of the Lord, and as he approached the door of the temple, “behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward” (Ezekiel 47:1). A heavenly ministrant then brought Ezekiel through the waters until they reached his ankles and then his knees and eventually became “a river that [he] could not pass over” (Ezekiel 47:3–5).
The heavenly ministrant told Ezekiel, “These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that . . . everything shall live wither the river cometh” (Ezekiel 47:8–9).
I testify that this passage, in addition to being a geological prediction, is a sacred, metaphorical, and prophetic promise that all who drink of the living waters which issue from the holy temple can and will be healed. If the living waters issuing from the temple can heal the Dead Sea, the living waters can also heal an unhappy marriage, refresh a parched testimony, restore a broken heart, and mend a strained relationship with neighbors or family members. They can give us all a new heart.
Spencer Condie: Sperry Symposium 2017 - https://rsc.byu.edu/prophets-prophecies-old-testament/i-will-write-my-law-their-hearts
“But when the water departs, the salt is all left, and you still have a desert and you still have a place. So it's fascinating to me that he's not just describing the healing of the sea, but the desert around it, and everything about it, that it needs this healing. It's fun to think about what that water is. I mean there are so many things you could choose. The Word of God, or covenants, or temple relationships, and the eternal families, and the way God heals things.”
Dr. Jan Martin - Follow Him Podcast
Seeking the Presence of the Lord
The book of Ezekiel is full of visions and revelations from Jehovah. Joseph Smith advised we be prepared when encountering messages from God: “. . . because the things of God are of deep import, and time and experience, and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out, thy mind O man, if thou wilt lead a soul unto Salvation, must stretch as High as the utmost Heavens, and search into and contemplate the darkest abyss, and the broad expanse of eternity.”
“Our religion is one in which we are preparing to enter into the presence of God. Second, it’s clear that we are also invited to seek the Lord on a personal basis to cultivate our relationship, purify our lives and keep His commandments and as we do we, we are promised that he will appear to us. It seems that these experiences are deeply personal and sacred. As is that personal mystical journey back into the presence of our Heavenly Parents. So we want to cultivate an active spiritual life but I think one of the most wonderful guides and somebody worth spending time on this is Elder Richard G. Scott who really sought to help develop in the saints this experience of communing with God and of learning to receive revelation to act upon revelation and to receive more. Finally, we learn from this that we are not alone in this journey. Many of God’s children hear his voice and seek His face. Many believers desire to taste and see. So we are part of a community of seekers from many different traditions and to learn more about these fellow travelers we can read about their experiences of encountering God and that I think is worth doing.”
Dr. Kristian Heal - Abide Podcast - Maxwell Institute
