Monday, June 16, 2008

ZEKE

I have begun. I've started Ezekiel. I've read it before, but I feel like I've got a better grip on naked Isaiah and imprisoned Jeremiah. But our friend Ezekiel who cooks his food over cow dung, he has eluded me. I'm in chapter 8 or 9 and already I know I'm in over my head, but I see consistencies that prod my spirit and give me more hope for understanding what in the heck he is saying.

Here are several things I've noticed so far.

Ezekiel says often that he sees or experiences the glory of God. This is likely the glory related to the Temple. This seems to be a helpful reference point. Also, God tells him to go to an obstinate and stubborn people and tell them, "Thus says the Lord." I love the authority behind that. Another repeated phrase is God explaining that he does things so that a certain person or persons "will know that He is YHWH."



I'm trying to see how all of this ties together to the post-exilic people of God longing for their Messiah's kingship. I know the New Covenant and Ezekiel's Temple-theology are pretty important to keep in mind as well. If you have any Ezekiel pointers, I'm all ears.

2 comments:

Jacob Stokes said...

Jim I just discovered your site and it is great. Please keep posting and I will keep reading. God has blessed you, as he has blessed me. I hope all is going well.

Pray for Lori and I please, we are having a baby Thanksgiving Day.

Jake Stokes

Anonymous said...

I sat down and read Ezekiel in one sitting last summer.

After someone rebuilt my brain, I started musing on the centrality of God in the lives of the prophets. Their entire lives were lived as a call for Israel to come back to God, and oftentimes that caused the prophets a lot of grief.

To be honest, it made me wrestle with God a little over the hardship that the prophets had to endure.

-Andrew Pritchett