Ezekiel 1–34

The thirtieth year is, as most take it, the prophet's own age. That was the age when a priest entered his office. It was also the age at which Christ, the true Priest Himself, chose to begin His public ministry.

The thirtieth year of Ezekiel 1:1 is surely the thirtieth year of the Babylonian kingdom. Nabopolassar founded that kingdom in 625 B.C., so the thirtieth year would be 595 B.C. That agrees with the fifth year of King Jehoiachin's captivity.

Ezekiel is among the captives at the river Chebar. There he sees the glory of the Lord, the glory that rested on the cherubim, those mighty agents of divine power. These are the real cherubim, not the golden models made for the temple. Far from the land, out by the distant Chebar, a prophet whose own name does not carry God's covenant name sees visions of God outside Israel.

The circumstances in which Ezekiel was called to prophesy were new and strange. It was not in Judah, nor in Israel, but among the captives by the river Chebar. So the Lord chose to send His word to him with marks of unusual power. Of no one else in the Old Testament does Scripture say that the heavens opened and he saw visions of God. But here the heavens opened in judgment on Israel's wickedness. They did not yet open to show the Father's delight in the Son of God on earth, and still less for the Christian to see the Son of Man in heaven.

Man had hemmed the prophet in on earth, with no way out. But heaven had not hemmed him in, and he knew it. Man may place any restriction on him. Still, he must learn this: heaven always stays open to the man who is ready to move on earth under heaven's direction.

The judgment is not removed. Yet this is what we find here: a man bows under it and accepts God's judgment, and over his head the heavens open and he sees "visions of God." How blessed to know, by the voice of nature itself, that it is night and not day that opens the heavens.

Ezekiel mentions four things: the heavens were opened — he saw visions of God — the word of the Lord came to him — the hand of the Lord was upon him. Notice the order: an opened heaven, a vision, the call, and power from God for the work. That is still the order for the servants of the Lord.

The "opened heavens" would secure his attention to the movements of God. The "visions of God" would strengthen his faith despite the conditions around him. "The word of the LORD" would teach his mind, so he could pass what he learned on to others. "The hand of the LORD" being consciously upon him would encourage his heart in view of much conscious weakness within and strong opposition without.

Ezekiel had been carried into captivity with king Jehoiachin. At least, he was one of those made captive at that time. He regularly dates his prophecies from that period. This is an important thing to notice if we are to understand the revelations made to him. For himself there is no longer any question of dates or of kings, of Judah or of Israel. The people of God are in captivity among the Gentiles.

He was a contemporary of Jeremiah and Daniel, and his prophecy seems to open about the fifth year of his captivity, B.C. 594. This we learn from Ezekiel 1:2. You will remember Jehoiachin, king of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar carried him into captivity in his eighth year, along with a great many of his subjects.

The thirtieth year of Ezekiel 1:1 is doubtless the year of the Babylonian kingdom which Nabopolassar founded in B.C. 625: the thirtieth year would be 595, which agrees with the fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity.

This fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity shows us Israel's present relationship to God. That relationship is marked by the taking away of the man whose name falsely promised "establishment by Jehovah." ... The false confidence must be taken away before God can come in for blessing. And when His "judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness" (Isaiah 26:9). These are principles of God's very nature which no grace He shows can ever change. Grace itself can only reign through righteousness.

The fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity is not without special reason either. There had been plenty of time for those left behind in the land to repent of their empty hopes, as well as of their rebelliousness and their idolatry. They had had the warning of their brothers removed from the land: had they taken it to heart?

This throne of the supreme and sovereign Lord God is seen in Chaldea — in the place where the prophet then was — among the Gentiles. It is no longer seen at Jerusalem in connection with the land... So the voice of God speaks to Ezekiel as to a "son of man." That title suited the testimony of a God who spoke outside of His people. He was no longer among them. Instead He was judging them from the throne of His sovereignty.

Notice the change of person. This is, so to speak, the official account; before, we had the personal one. So the message must be one of sorrow and judgment... the word that now comes is the word of Jehovah, this unchangeable God. It comes to Ezekiel the priest, whom "the Mighty One makes strong" to proclaim it. The son of Buzi, "my contempt," marks the fruit of that contempt of God. The people showed it fully in all that had happened, and in all that was still happening, in Israel.

God chose Ezekiel the priest to be the judge of the leprous condition of the people, following the law of Leviticus in its spiritual meaning. God takes him to witness their wilful, deep-rooted turning away from Jehovah. Then, once the proof is complete, the leper goes outside the camp, as Leviticus commands.

In verse 3 Ezekiel is called "the priest." Idolatry was rampant throughout the land. Yet God had kept a true seed for Himself, a priestly seed — men who had gone on with the service of God.

Outside the land, far away by distant Chebar, a prophet whose name does not suggest the covenant God sees visions of God outside Israel.

As a priest his normal service was to minister to the Lord. Now, in this special situation, the Lord ministered to him in exactly the same way as He ministers to us in our day. The word of the Lord "came alive" to him in a very special way, a new revelation. We do not need any new revelation today. But we do need to gain the real good of what God has already laid up for us in the precious pages of His holy Word.

Before he passed these messages on to others, they first came home to his own heart... We can only help others with the precious truths of God as we ourselves are subject to the Word and shaped by it.

That hand of omnipotence rests on each one of us and will not be lifted from us until we are safe home in the glory. Perhaps he had often felt that hand resting on him as he did his priestly work in the temple. But now God is saying, as it were: I am as much with you here by the river Chebar as I was with you in the temple. What an encouragement this must have been to him!

So he was in the land of the Chaldeans (perhaps "the robber-like" or "the encroachers"), by the river Chebar. And now the hand of Jehovah is there upon him, molding him to His will while sustaining him for all that His will may involve.

Notice the order: an opened heaven, a vision, the call, and enabling by the power of God. Such is still the order for the servants of the Lord. The phrase "the hand of the LORD was upon him," or "came upon me," is found seven times in Ezekiel, in chapters 1:3, 3:14 and 22, 8:1, 23:22, 37:1, 40:1.

Heaven has his attention. God has strengthened his faith. The Word of the LORD has instructed his mind, and his heart is encouraged. So he is ready for the vision of the living creatures.

A fresh storm-cloud of divine indignation was about to burst on Judea out of the north, that is, from Babylon.

The north is not just the direction the invaders come from. The judgment they carry out truly is God's judgment. But the north also has its deeper meaning, as always: it is the place of darkness, and so of mystery — a mystery that God's coming must dispel.

First, what was that whirlwind out of the north? It was Nebuchadnezzar's invasion of Israel. Ezekiel had suffered badly in that wind, and that is why he is where he is. But he has yet to see that God was in the whirlwind too.

Notice that in this vision the fire folds in on itself. It folds in, rather than unfolding. Soon God's judgments, in Ezekiel's day and in our own, will unfold for all to see. What destruction He will do in this poor world! But in the meantime God's secret is with those who fear Him (Psalm 25:14).

Fire is always kept alive by whatever it takes hold of. Here it takes hold of itself — it is kept alive by its own nature. This fire is not pure wrath. As a symbol it speaks of the holiness of God. That holiness is indeed a consuming fire to sin. But judgment is not what the fire is at heart, and not what it seeks or enjoys. Judgment is what the perfection of God Himself makes necessary.

It is a storm — the wrath of God — but God shows Himself in it, and so there is brightness all around. Soon we will see that brightness take on the rainbow colours in which the light breaks out into a band of many-coloured glory... It looks ahead to what we find in Revelation: the rainbow around the throne.

This probably refers not to the mineral we now call amber, but to a mixed metal. Ancient writers described it as four parts gold to one part silver. The Hebrew word is chashmal. It has to do with fire, and refers to its colour and brightness.

Here the nature of God Himself is seen, what is at the heart of the judgment. It carries the fixedness that brass always stands for, and it is the display of the glory of God, which gold always signifies.

It suggests conditions so bad and so stormy that from the outside no one could quite see what was happening. Unless we could see inside that whirlwind, we would be completely baffled about its purpose... We today must not let outward things rule us. When God lets us see what He is doing at the centre of the matter, we take heart and move on in faith.

If any doubt remains in the reader's mind, Ezekiel 10 shows plainly that the living creatures are the cherubim. Here they are not two but four. The two were the figures made out of the ends of the pure beaten gold that formed the mercy-seat, where God sat as on a throne. The four, I take it, relate to the creature. The God of Israel dwelt between the cherubim on the ark. He was in the midst of His people, and people came to Him by blood, according to divine righteousness. The witness of His judicial authority guarded that righteousness. Ezekiel was given to see His judgments in providence from outside. He would judge His guilty people by Babylon as His instrument.

They are, strictly, "living ones." The word "creatures" is not used, though it is certainly implied in the four forms in which they appear: man, lion, ox, and eagle. The human form, however, dominates and gives them their character. Yet each one still has four faces and four wings to match these forms. So it is not a likeness of God that they present — and all likeness of Him is expressly forbidden. They are creatures of His, no more: in His hand, obedient to His will, used for His purposes.

The face of a man would convey supreme intelligence. The face of a lion, supreme power. The face of an ox, supreme endurance. The face of an eagle, supreme movement... Satan and rebellious men have great intelligence, and they use it against God. But here are beings who excel in intelligence. Whatever the power, endurance, or speed with which the enemies move to reach their goals, these living creatures will wear them down. They will out-think, out-last, out-wear and out-distance every opposing power. They will never fail to carry out every detail of the will of God in the universe.

At the time of this vision, Ezekiel was in a very trying position. The people of Israel were in captivity, and it seemed that all hope was gone for these prisoners of war. You could hardly find a more hopeless condition. Yet it was exactly there, in those very circumstances, that God gave him this vision. Need we wonder that his name means "God strengthens"?

The wind may blow as hard as it can. But while those four living creatures are inside that whirlwind, we can be sure that God is in supreme control.

We could not say that these four living creatures were a picture of Christ Himself. The expanse was above them, but the man was above the expanse. The words "they had a human likeness" suggest that they were intelligent beings.

The prophet is shown the four living creatures coming out of the cloud. They picture the powers God uses to carry out His will in heaven and on earth... These powers described by the living creatures are held by the angels, those beings who serve the heirs of salvation. There were four living creatures, and that suggests these powers reach everywhere; not one spot in the whole universe is outside God's control. Their four faces suggest that they understand every movement in the universe. Their four wings speak of activity everywhere, for they reach every point in creation.

The number "four" is used again and again in that chapter because God's government of the earth is the subject.

They looked like a man, though each had four faces and four wings (v. 6)... The hands of a man seem to stand for activity, for skill in doing. The wings stand for swift action from above, never turning aside for a moment from the task in hand; and there are four sides, so the creatures can move in every direction... These make up the symbolic supports of the throne. They are the heads of the creatures kept safe in the ark through the flood. The man stands for intelligence, the lion for strength, the ox for patience or stability, and the eagle for speed of action — the attributes of God, or the qualities of His judgments.

In Ezekiel (chapters 1—10) it is clear that the cherubim are majestic, awe-inspiring pictures of the power of judgment and how it advances. From Isaiah 6 we can see that the seraph pictures the power of mercy and how it advances. The cherub has four wings, the seraph six. So mercy is swifter than judgment.

In the account given by the prophet of the captivity, each of the four living ones had four faces and four wings (Ezek. 1:6). The seer of Revelation shows only the third living creature with a man's face, and each of the four with six wings (Rev. 4:7-8). Ezekiel's creatures had wheels; those in Revelation have none... One thing explains many of these differences: Ezekiel deals in particular with the judgment of Judah and Jerusalem. That judgment was to come from the north (Babylon), so the wheels would run on earth, picturing the course of judgment on earth.

In the vision of Revelation the four forms are separate; here we find them united in each living creature... Of these different forms, the man alone speaks of a moral agent.

The face of a man speaks of supreme intelligence; the face of a lion, supreme power; the face of an ox, supreme endurance; the face of an eagle, supreme movement... Satan and rebellious men have great intelligence, and they use it against God. But here are beings whose intelligence is greater. Whatever power or endurance the enemies have, and however fast they move to reach their goals, these living creatures will wear them down. They will out-think, out-last, out-wear and out-distance every opposing power.

Throughout the Old Testament, wherever the cherubim act, they have to do with the judicial power of God, or they carry out the will of that power. In Revelation they usually have to do with providential judgments, and they belong to the throne.

Their feet are straight and like a calf's. This speaks of the evenness of their course, and of the endurance with which they press on towards their goal. The wings would speak of their activity in heaven, and the feet of their movements on earth.

They have in general the likeness of a man, but their feet are like the feet of an ox, "upright," and not extended, as a man's foot is. They sparkle, giving the look of glowing brass. This reminds us once more of Revelation, but there it is said of Him who appears to John, who is the Lord Himself: "His feet like fine (or glowing) brass, as if they burned in a furnace." The treading down in wrath is plain. The sole of the foot is like that of a young bullock, for patient labour is manifest in the exercise of righteous judgment.

Looking at the details, I think there are two judgments of God here. First, the judgment of God about our responsibility where we are. Then, the judgment of God about what can come near Him where He is, and as He is. Both are His judgments, but the difference is the difference between the brass and the gold. The brazen altar was judgment about the responsibility of man where he was. He had to bring a sin offering, and meet God according to his responsibility and his failure in it. But the cherubim on the mercy-seat were all of gold, and that was approaching God according to what He was in Himself. "His feet like unto fine brass" — that is the firmness of His judgment as regards human responsibility.

Brass typifies God meeting man in his responsibility according to divine righteousness. The brazen altar of the tabernacle shows this. There God met man in his sins, and the offered sacrifice met His claims in righteousness.

Ezekiel 1:7 and Daniel 10:6 say the same thing, though the English versions read differently. But here we have "passed through the fire." I understand this to mean that God applied righteousness in judgment to man according to the full, absolute trial of the fire of God — that is, judgment that allows no evil.

The God of Israel, who lived between the cherubim on the ark, was among His people. People came near to Him by blood, according to divine righteousness, and that righteousness was guarded by the witness of His judicial authority. God let Ezekiel see His judgments in providence from outside. He would judge His guilty people by Babylon as His instrument.

The hands of a man seem to stand for activity, or skill in doing. The wings stand for swift action from above, with never a moment's turning aside from the task in hand. The four sides let them move in every direction.

Their faces were like a man's — intelligence and authority; a lion's — majesty and vengeance; an eagle's — knowing everything and being everywhere; a calf's — patience and stability; and they have hands — the executive faculty.

The wings would speak of their heavenly activity and the feet of their earthly movements. The hands under the wings would assure us that they are capable of serving God both in the heavens and on the earth.

FOUR. Completeness in what is created or ordained by God. Four winds from the four quarters of heaven. Jer. 49:36. Four quarters of the earth. Rev. 20:8. In the arrangement of the camp of Israel there were four standards. Num. 10:14-25. Ezekiel saw four living creatures, each had four faces, four wings, and four hands. Ezek. 1:5-8: compare the four living creatures in Rev. 4:6.

This reminds us of what we have seen before: there was the form of a man's hand under the wings of the cherubim. Human hands, we need not doubt, are to carry out that judgment. Still, that judgment is itself the wrath of God.

So they are also seen with spread wings under the God of Israel (Ezek. 1). The Lord of Israel was about to leave His sanctuary, because His people had turned away from Him and disturbed His rest in Jerusalem. Here they also reach out their hands to take fire and throw it over the city, because the Lord had commanded the judgment of its sins.

They come out of this cloud to assure us of this: many clouds cross our pathway, but God is behind them all. He is using them to perfect His work in each one of us. That cloud had meant bloodshed, fire, captivity; yet the prophet has to learn that God was accomplishing His will by that very disaster. There were four living creatures. That suggests these powers are universal, for there is not a spot in the whole universe beyond the control of God.

Meanwhile the prophet is one among a band of captives by the river Chebar — the "great" or "abundant" river... Babylon has taken Assyria's place, and the oppressing hand gives no relief. Yet, though the judgment is not removed, this is what happens: over the head of a man who bows under it and accepts God's judgment, the heavens are opened and there are "visions of God."

These verses do not seem to give us a figure of Christ. What they do give us, in picture form, are the powers under His control that carry out the will of God.

The hands of a man seem to stand for activity, or skill in doing. The wings stand for swift action from above, without a moment's turning away from the task in hand. And there are four sides, so they can move in every direction.

Their movement was united. They were not flying off at tangents. They were not moving apart from one another. All was under the control of God Himself. Because they were "joined one to another," nothing could come between them to disrupt their movements.

Their wings were joined together, so there was perfect unity of action among all four living ones. The face guided them in a straight course with no turning aside. A higher Spirit than that of the living creature itself guided and governed everything.

They are four in number — they work everywhere. They have four faces — they look every way... Their feet are straight, like a calf's, and shine like polished brass — their progress is always steady and judicial. Their wings are joined — every act of judgment locks together with every other act of judgment, and they did not turn as they went.

Generals fighting a war would have what is called "a major plan". If that failed, they would fall back on "a secondary plan". But no secondary plan is suggested here: "each one of them went straight forward". God needs no secondary plan. They are invincible; nothing can deflect them or turn them aside. Nebuchadnezzar with all his power could not turn them aside.

In 2 Corinthians 4:7 we read, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay"... We not only have the light of these things. We are also fully assured of the power God has at His disposal, so we can go steadily on in our service for God.

Each living creature had four faces. The first was the face of a man, which speaks of "intelligence." The second was the face of a lion, which symbolises "strength." The third was the face of an ox, representing "patient endurance." The fourth was the face of an eagle, which implies "swiftness of execution." All show perfect organisation for carrying out the government of God according to His righteous judgement.

I take verse 10 to mean this: the face of a man was in front and the face of an eagle behind, with a lion's face to the right and an ox's or steer's face to the left. These make up the symbolic supports of the throne. They are the heads of the creatures kept safe in the ark through the flood.

The cherubim, I believe, are judicial power. After the garden of Eden they became the throne. In the tabernacle they stood in connection with the law or covenant. In Ezekiel they stand for providential government and judgment. In Revelation 4 they are still the attributes the throne rests on: stability, strength, speed of judgment, intelligence. But they also refer to the creation; they are the heads of creation on earth — government too is on earth, and refers to this creation.

In every sphere in the whole creation these beings are supreme... Satan and rebellious men have great intelligence, which they use against God. But here are beings who excel in intelligence. Whatever the power, or the endurance, or the speed with which the enemies move to reach their goals, these living creatures will wear them down. They will out-think, out-last, out-wear and out-distance every hostile power. They will never fail to carry out every detail of the will of God in the universe.

Man's face speaks of intelligence and spiritual discernment here. It has a wisdom and knowledge that can put to good use the great strength of the lion, the plodding feet of the ox on the earth, and the speed and height of the eagle's flight, sweeping through the heavens. Confirming all this, the throne, which seems to rest on this complex structure, is occupied by a MAN.

The four Gospels present our Lord Jesus in this fourfold way. In Matthew we see Him as "the Lion of the tribe of Judah," Israel's King. In Mark we see Him in service, bearing, as the patient ox does, His burden, the load of human need. In Luke we see the face of the Man throughout — human intelligence, sympathy, love and example. John shows us the eagle from heaven, soaring back to the place where He was with the Father before the world was.

The four living creatures picture the powers God uses to accomplish His will in heaven and on earth. There were four of them, and that would suggest that these powers are universal, for there is not a spot in the whole universe beyond God's control. Their four faces would suggest that they understand every movement in the universe. Their four wings speak of their universal activity, for they reach every point in the created world. The wings would speak of their activity in heaven and the feet of their movements on earth. The hands under the wings would assure us that they are capable of serving God both in the heavens and on the earth.

Verse 9 says of those wings, "Their wings were joined one to another." They moved together. They were not flying off in all directions. They were not moving on their own, apart from one another. All was under the control of God Himself. Because they were joined one to another, nothing could come between them to disrupt their movements.

As to the wings of the living creatures, they are four, not six as in Revelation. With only two of these they fly, and these two are joined one to another in perfect unity of action. The other two cover their bodies, as in a higher Presence. In Isaiah's vision the seraphim have six wings, like those in Revelation. Two cover the face, two cover the feet, and with two alone they fly. Can there be any true work for God, or wisdom for it, if the creature does not take its place of nothingness before Him in the presence of His glory?

In Ezekiel the cherubim were the support of the expanse above which the God of Israel was. It was a throne of executive judgment. They were like burnished brass, and like fire. They had four wings: two to fly with, two to cover themselves. From Ezekiel 10 it appears they were full of eyes, and it is not said that the eyes were within. This was to govern what was outside according to God; it was not divine intelligence within. In Isaiah 6 the seraphim (or burners) have six wings, as in Revelation; they are above the throne, and cry, Holy, holy, holy!

So the throne of God was no longer in Israel. The God of heaven was pleased to use the Gentiles to do His will, and was about to use them in punishing guilty Jerusalem. It is His throne from heaven, not yet His throne in heaven, as in Revelation 4, where we have no wheels, but six wings to each. So the living creatures there are not cherubim only, but seraphim, crying, Holy, holy, holy… They are not the mere base of God's throne when He judges the Jew, in His providence, through the Gentile. They are joined with and identified with the throne of Him who judges all according to His nature.

God lets the prophet see the four living creatures coming out of the cloud. They picture the powers God has at His disposal to do His will in heaven and on earth… Because they come out of this cloud, they assure us of this: many clouds cross our path, but God is behind them all, and He is using them to perfect His work in each one of us. That cloud had meant bloodshed, fire and captivity. Yet the prophet has to learn that God was doing His will through that very disaster.

Generals fighting a war would have what you might call a major plan. If that failed, they would fall back on a secondary plan. But nothing here suggests a secondary plan: "each went straight forward". God needs no secondary plan. They are invincible. Nothing can deflect them or turn them aside. Nebuchadnezzar with all his power could not turn them aside.

There was no unsteadiness or changeableness in their movement. Each one went in the direction of its face. They obeyed the spirit that lived in them, and they had all the ability they needed to reach their goal. Wherever the spirit was to go, they went, with simple directness of purpose. They did not turn as they went.

Can there be any true work for God, or wisdom for it, where in the presence of His glory the creature takes not its place of nothingness before Him?

Here the Spirit seems to be the power working inside them and controlling them. Then in verse 24 the noise of their wings is like the voice of the Almighty — He was commanding them. Finally, in verse 26, the One who has the administration in hand appears as a man above the throne. So while everything springs from God Himself, administration is in the hands of Christ, and the power that works within to bring it all about is the Spirit of God. These are truths we have learned from the New Testament, and they give us a link with the vision we have here.

Intelligence, strength, stability and swiftness in judgment — and with them the movement of the whole course of events on earth — depended on the throne. This living energy drove the whole. It moved the cherubim that support the throne, themselves full of eyes. The same spirit moved the wheels of God's government, and they went straight forward. Everything served the will and purpose of Him who sat on the throne judging right… But all the instruments of His glory were below the expanse; the One they glorified was above (Synopsis of the Bible).

In 2 Corinthians 4:7 we read, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay." What we have in view today is this: we have light on the glory of God, the government of God, the purpose of God and the will of God, so that we may be strengthened to go on. We not only have the light of these things. We are also quite sure of the power God has at His disposal, and so we can go steadily on in our service for God.

The look of the living creatures as a whole witnesses to a judgment that is coming — a judgment God does not want, and one the people have brought on themselves. Yet that judgment is not the heart of what is shown here. Their appearance is indeed like burning coals of fire. Still, the fire is not the living creatures themselves. It looks like torches, and it goes up and down among them — not only destroying, but giving light too. But the judgment is plain: the fire is bright, and lightning comes out of the fire. The movements of the living creatures match this. They go and return like a flash of lightning.

The God of Israel lived between the cherubim on the ark. He was in the middle of His people, and they came to Him by blood, as divine righteousness required — a righteousness guarded by the witness of His judicial authority. God let Ezekiel watch, from outside, how He judges in His government of the world. He would judge His guilty people, using Babylon as His instrument. So here it is fire that marks out this display of His destructive judgment as the God of heaven.

Then we see the throne in its full executive character, under the likeness of glowing creatures. Their appearance was like burning coals, compared to lamps with lightning coming out of them. But over it all, the features of a Man ruled the picture.

The cherubim on the mercy seat, which these living creatures explain for us, cover the throne of God. Taking form in the living creatures, the fire of God ran up and down among them. From this fire, in the tenth chapter, the man clothed in linen took the coals to scatter over the city, in judgment for the way the sanctuary had been defiled.

This is the exact opposite of events left to blind chance. Whatever the upheavals or changes among people, a knowing hand guides it all, even where you would least expect it.

The throne of God is, so to speak, made up of seraphim and cherubim. God must purify by the burning seraphim, by the fire of the altar, or else consume by the cherubim judgments of that same fire. In other words, some have refused the mercy of God that comes through the atoning death of Jesus on the altar. They must endure the same wrath against sin that consumed that holy sacrifice for sin on the altar. My reader, you and I must be either purified by that fire, or judged by it forever.

If the reader of this account still has any doubt, Ezekiel 10 shows plainly that the living creatures are the cherubim. Here there are not two of them, like the figures made from the ends of the pure beaten gold that formed the mercy seat, where God sat as on a throne. There are four — in relation, I take it, to creation. The God of Israel, who dwelt between the cherubim on the ark, was in the midst of His people... Ezekiel was given to see His judgments in providence from the outside. He would judge His guilty people by Babylon as His instrument.

The hands of a man seem to stand for activity, or skill in doing. The wings show swiftness in carrying out what comes from above, without a moment's turning aside from the task in hand. And they have four sides, so they can move in every direction.

The judgment is clear: the fire is bright, and out of the fire goes lightning. The movements of the living creatures agree with this: they go and return like the appearance of a flash of lightning.

"The living creatures darted to and fro, like the appearance of a flash of lightning" (v. 14). "His ministers a flame of fire." This is instant, swift obedience to the control of the Spirit (v. 12).

In that verse the Spirit appears to be the inner power controlling them. Then in verse 24 we read, "I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty." He was commanding them. Finally, verse 26 shows the One who has the administration in hand: above the throne, "a likeness with a human appearance". So everything springs from God Himself. Administration is in the hands of Christ. The inner power that carries it all out is the Spirit of God.

From the scriptures we have looked at, we conclude three things about these figures. They are symbols of God's intelligent creatures, since they give Him worship. They have untold powers, since they go and return with the speed of the lightning. And they are closely tied to His governmental throne and to the judicial carrying out of that throne's righteous judgment.

The blood on the mercy seat fixes the gaze of these ministers of justice and judgment. It is the blood of the sacrifice sprinkled there on the great Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:14). That blood speaks of judgment already carried out on the Substitute, and it holds the adoring gaze of these holy servants of God. They do not fly with the speed of the wind, or like the lightning flash, against the enemies of God. Instead they bend in adoring worship over what speaks of "Righteousness and peace kiss each other" (Ps. 85:10).

Now we have another thing, which is completely outside the vision of Revelation. There, as already said, someone in heaven sees the vision. Here the prophet is on earth, and the wheels appear on earth too. They are tied to earth more closely than the living creatures are. Yet they move in unison with the living creatures — no, the living creatures move them, for the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels. Their character is reflected in them. The wheels are also gem-like. Their appearance and their work is like the look of a topaz, for in them there is a display of the attributes of God.

In Ezekiel the wheels are a symbol, linked with the living creatures of God's providential rule on earth. The Spirit was in the wheels. The wheels looked like beryl, and they were full of eyes. This pictures the controlled but intelligent motion of events. Wheels were within wheels, which marks the control of the events as mysterious and hidden.

It is the exact reverse of circumstances left to blind chance. On the contrary, whatever the upheavals or changes among men, God guides everything knowingly, and where you would least expect it. The instruments of that providential government, below the expanse, agreed fully with what was above. Over this was the likeness of a throne.

In Ezekiel we see His judgment on Jerusalem. God comes, and Nebuchadnezzar is the instrument. God comes on the cherubim in the way of providence — those wheels were so high that they were dreadful. He spares His own whom He has marked, and gives up the rest to destruction. He executes judgment, leaves them, and goes into heaven.

But how could these wings and wheels, and the living creatures they were joined to, work together toward this great end? The answer comes in chapter 1:26. Above the expanse, above those wheels and wings, there was a throne. On it was the likeness of the appearance of a man, and His voice controlled everything. It was a vision of a present great reality. There is a throne. It is the Father's throne, the supreme throne in the universe. On that throne there is a Man, and that Man is Jesus.

Do the times seem out of joint and the wheels always turning against them? Do they begin to think, like those who do not know God, that they are at the mercy of uncontrolled and fickle chance? Let them consider that the Saviour is on the throne, above all the wings and wheels that puzzle them… He is above all circumstances. He controls every wing and wheel that has a part in your life.

Ezekiel uses wheels as symbols, in connection with the living creatures of God's providential rule on earth. The Spirit was in the wheels. The wheels looked like beryl and were full of eyes. They picture the motion of events — controlled, yet intelligent. Wheels were within wheels, and these show that the control of events is mysterious and hidden.

No one knows for certain which stone the word tarshish means. The Septuagint, the early Greek translation, uses different words for it. In Ezekiel 1:16 and Ezekiel 10:9 the "wheels" are compared to its colour, without stating what that was. Some suppose it was the golden topaz; others that it was the chrysolite. It was the first stone in the fourth row of the high priest's breastplate. It also appears in the foundation of the heavenly Jerusalem.

Here the prophet is on earth, and he sees the wheels on earth too. They have a closer connection with the earth than the living creatures themselves. Yet the wheels move in step with the living creatures — indeed, the living creatures move them, for the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels, and their character is reflected in them. The wheels are also gem-like. Their appearance and their work look like a topaz. God's attributes are on display in them, as in the jewels of the high priest's breastplate. Those jewels are the Urim and Thummim, the divine "lights and perfections" — the glory of the refracted light, which God is.

"The appearance of the wheels and their construction" is a more hopeful colour, beryl. It connects with the rainbow that in Revelation 4 always rises in divine promise above the fearful prospects of judgment. Their construction was "as it were a wheel within a wheel" — indirect and side results, alongside the leading feature of going straight ahead.

The four wheels are alike, and have one basic meaning. Their appearance and their structure is "as it were a wheel within a wheel". So they go on four sides, one wheel set into the other, crossing it at right angles. Like the living creatures, they have no need to turn, whatever direction they go.

It is the exact reverse of circumstances left to blind chance. On the contrary, whatever the upheavals or changes among people, God guides it all knowingly — even where you would least expect it. The instruments of His providential government, below the expanse, were in complete agreement with what was above. And over this was the likeness of a throne.

Do the times seem out of joint, and the wheels always turning against them? Are they inclined to think, as those who do not know God think, that they are at the mercy of uncontrolled and fickle chance? Then let them consider that the Saviour is on the throne, above all the wings and wheels that puzzle them… He is above all circumstances, and controls all the wings and wheels that have their part in your life.

The four wheels are alike, and have one basic meaning. Their appearance and their structure is like a wheel in the middle of a wheel. One wheel sits inside the other and crosses it at right angles, so they go on four sides. So, like the living creatures, they have no need to turn, whatever direction they may go.

It is the exact opposite of circumstances left to blind chance. Instead, God knowingly guides every revolution and change among people, even where you would least expect it. Below the expanse, the instruments of His government over events were in full accord with what was above. Over this was the likeness of a throne.

We talk about the "flight of time" and "the wheels of fortune." Sometimes life seems so complicated that we talk of "wheels within wheels" — just what Ezekiel saw in his vision. To some, time and circumstances may seem so out of gear that they conclude they are the victims of blind chance. But these wings and wheels that Ezekiel saw were not blind or out of control. They were attached to living creatures that had great intelligence, and they were under very definite control.

Generals fighting a war would have what we would call "a major plan." If that failed, they would fall back on "a secondary plan." But there is no secondary plan suggested here. God needs no secondary plan. They are invincible; they cannot be deflected or turned aside. Nebuchadnezzar with all his power could not turn them aside.

Here the prophet is on earth. The wheels are seen on earth too, and they have a closer connection with it than the living creatures themselves. Yet they move in unison with the living creatures — indeed, the living creatures move them, for the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels, and their character shows in them. The wheels are also gem-like. Their appearance and their work is like the look of a topaz, for they display the attributes of God.

Intelligence, strength, stability and swiftness in judgment all depended on the throne. So did the movement of the whole course of events on earth. This living energy animated the whole. The wheels of God's government moved by the same spirit, and went straight forward. All was subservient to the will and purpose of Him who sat on the throne judging right. Majesty, government and providence united to form the throne of His glory.

Do the times seem out of joint and the wheels always turning against them? Anyone who thinks that way should consider that the Saviour is on the throne, above all the wings and wheels that confuse them… He has not forgotten you, nor the apparent tangles in your life… He is above all circumstances. He controls all the wings and wheels that have their part in your life.

It is the exact opposite of circumstances left to blind chance. On the contrary, whatever the revolutions or changes among men, all is knowingly guided where it might be least expected. Below the expanse, the instruments God uses to govern events were in full agreement with what was above.

And here the wheel rises so high that it is frightening. A man can see only a brief portion, and follow it only a short way. If he sees no more, the light dies out again.

The Spirit was in the wheels. The wheels looked like beryl and were full of eyes. This pictures the motion of events as controlled but intelligent. There were wheels within wheels, which mark the control of events as mysterious and hidden.

They are full of eyes — they see everything before and behind, judging not only results but causes.

The supreme control is not in man's hands, and still less can it be in the wheel itself. The eyes in it speak of a wisdom that mere machinery cannot have. If the wheel is only what God has appointed, we may learn hope from Him. His heavens tell us of their control over the earth, and show how He can bring light out of darkness, summer out of winter, life out of death.

Being full of eyes reminds us of the eyes in the rims of Ezekiel's wheels (Ezekiel 1:18). This teaches us that the eyes of the Lord are in every place. He discerns perfectly every detail of every matter that He deals with.

Above the expanse and above those wheels and wings there was a throne. On it was the likeness of the appearance of a man, and His voice controlled everything. It was a vision of a present great reality. There is a throne. It is the Father's throne, the supreme throne in the universe. On that throne there is a Man, and that Man is Jesus.

Do the times seem out of joint and the wheels always turning against them? Are they inclined to think, as those who do not know God think, that they are at the mercy of uncontrolled and fickle chance? Then let them consider this: the Saviour is on the throne, above all the wings and wheels that puzzle them... He has not forgotten you, nor the apparent tangles in your life. He cannot forget you, for you are engraved on the palms of His hands.

This is the exact opposite of circumstances left to blind chance. On the contrary, whatever the upheavals or changes among men, God knowingly guides it all, even where you would least expect it. The instruments of providential government, below the expanse, agreed completely with what was above. Over this was the likeness of a throne. And above all was the likeness of a man carrying out judgment, though with the unfailing pledge of mercy to an evil world.

Ezekiel uses wheels as symbols, tied to the living creatures of God's providential rule on earth. The Spirit was in the wheels, and the wheels had the appearance of a beryl, and were full of eyes: a picture of the controlled but intelligent motion of events. Wheels were within wheels, which marks the control of events as mysterious and hidden.

Here the prophet is on earth, and he sees the wheels on earth too. They have a closer connection with it than the living creatures themselves. Yet they move in step with the creatures. In fact the creatures move them, for the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels, and their character shows in the wheels. But the wheels are also gem-like. Their appearance and their work is like the look of a topaz, because they display the attributes of God.

There is no hitch or jarring in the divine machinery, if we may say so with all reverence. The chariot of God's government never turns from its straight course. Ezekiel's first chapter gives a magnificent description of it: all its parts move together; wheel within wheel; everything directed by "the Spirit of Life" in the wheels.

In Ezekiel, they are accompanied by wheels, but in the vision of Revelation by crowned and enthroned elders. In the prophet, one spirit animates both them and the wheels... For in those days of Ezekiel, the throne, whose purpose they express, was about to remove itself from the sanctuary, and wheels were suited to it; but in the day anticipated by this vision, the throne is at rest.

Divine power does indeed order and control all things... but it all works through a mysterious combining and overseeing of events that natural men know nothing about. Faith recognises it. Faith sees the hand of God in many things and confesses it in all. But the world at large sees and admits nothing beyond the course of events, and the human agents people credit them to.

It is the exact opposite of circumstances left to blind chance. Whatever the upheavals or changes among men, God guides it all with full knowledge, even where you would least expect it. The instruments of His providential government stood below the expanse, and they agreed completely with what was above. Over this was the likeness of a throne.

In Ezekiel the wheels stand as symbols, linked with the living creatures of God's providential rule on earth. The Spirit was in the wheels. They gleamed like a beryl stone and were full of eyes: a symbol of the controlled but intelligent motion of events. There were wheels within wheels, which mark the control of events as mysterious and hidden.

Here the prophet is on earth, and the wheels appear on earth too. They have a closer link with the earth than the living creatures themselves. Yet they move in unison with the creatures — no, the creatures move them. The spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels, so the character of the creatures shows in them.

Intelligence, strength, stability and swiftness in judgment all depended on the throne. So did the movement of the whole course of events on earth. This living energy animated the whole. It moved the cherubim who support the throne and are full of eyes. The same spirit moved the wheels of God's government, and they went straight forward. Everything served the will and purpose of Him who sat on the throne, judging rightly. But all the instruments of His glory were below the expanse. He whom they glorified was above.

In Ezekiel the living creatures appear more in connection with the earth. That may be why they are said there to have wheels as well as wings. In Revelation, God has set His earthly people aside for a time and called a heavenly people. So there the creatures have only the wings suited for heaven, and not the wheels suited for earth.

All things are ours. The sun stands still, and the moon stays its course. They witness to the power of God, and to the interest He takes in blessing His people. We may be sure that, wherever the Spirit will go, there the wheels will go (Ezek. 1:20).

Are any tempted to think that their circumstances are a hopeless tangle? Do the times seem out of joint, and the wheels always turning against them? Do they think, as those who do not know God think, that they are at the mercy of uncontrolled and fickle chance? Let such a person consider that the Saviour is on the throne, above all the wings and wheels that perplex them. He is above all circumstances, and He controls all the wings and wheels that have their part in your life.

It is the exact opposite of circumstances left to blind chance. On the contrary, whatever the upheavals or changes among people, everything is guided on purpose, and in the places you would least expect. The instruments of God's providential government were below the expanse. They agreed fully with what was above. Over this was the likeness of a throne, and above it all the likeness of a man carrying out judgment, yet with a sure pledge of mercy to an evil world.

In Ezekiel these wheels are a symbol, linked with the living creatures of God's providential rule on earth. The Spirit was in the wheels. The wheels looked like beryl and were full of eyes. This pictures the controlled but intelligent motion of events. Wheels were within wheels, which mark the control of the events as mysterious and hidden.

Intelligence, strength, stability and swiftness in judgment all depended on the throne. So did the movement of the whole course of events on earth. This living energy drove the whole vision. The cherubim who support the throne are full of eyes, and this energy moved them. The wheels of God's government moved by the same spirit, and went straight forward. All was subservient to the will and purpose of Him who sat on the throne judging right. Majesty, government and providence united to form the throne of His glory. But all the instruments of His glory were below the expanse; He whom they glorified was above.

In that verse the Spirit seems to be the inward power in control of them. Then in verse 24 we read, "And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty" — He was commanding them. Then verse 26 shows the One who had the administration in hand: "the appearance of a man above upon it." So while everything springs from God Himself, the administration is in Christ's hands, and the inward power that carries it out is the Spirit of God.

So the throne of God was no longer in Israel. The God of heaven saw fit to use the nations outside Israel, and He was about to do His will through them in punishing guilty Jerusalem. It is His throne from heaven, not yet His throne in heaven, as in Revelation 4, where we have no wheels, but six wings to each.

Do the times seem out of joint and the wheels always turning against them? Are they tempted to think, as those who do not know God think, that they are at the mercy of uncontrolled and fickle chance? Let such people remember that the Saviour is on the throne, above all the wings and wheels that puzzle them... He has not forgotten you, nor the apparent tangles in your life... He is above all circumstances, and controls all the wings and wheels that have their part in your life.

The Hebrew word is raqia, meaning 'expanse.' It is used for the sky you see when you look up, and also for the air in which the birds fly... The living creatures in Ezekiel 1 move amid the firmament... showing them to be executors of God's judicial government.

It is the exact reverse of circumstances left to blind chance. On the contrary, whatever the revolutions or changes among men, all is knowingly guided where it might be least expected. The instruments of God's providential government, below the firmament or expanse, were completely in accord with what was above. Over this was the likeness of a throne. And above all was the likeness of a man carrying out judgment, though with the unfailing pledge of mercy to an evil world.

Intelligence, strength, stability, and swiftness in judgment all depended on the throne. So did the movement of the whole course of events on earth. This living energy animated the whole. The creatures who support the throne, full of eyes themselves, were moved by it. The wheels of God's government moved by the same spirit, and went straight forward. Everything served the will and purpose of Him who sat on the throne judging rightly. Majesty, government, and providence united to form the throne of His glory. But all the instruments of His glory were below the firmament; He whom they glorified was above. He is the One the pagan nations did not know.

The "sea of glass like crystal" pictures fixed purity, in contrast with the sea of water in the court of the temple. On earth there was need of purifying; in heaven there is not. So the sea is no longer of water, but of crystal — that "terrible crystal," the spotless purity of holiness. Ezekiel saw the throne of God standing on it. (Ezek. 1:22, 26.)

As soon as we look up there, the attitude of the living creatures makes us aware that they are themselves in deep subjection to the higher power above. Their harmony with one another turns out to be only the result of a common subjection to One who controls all... This is the plain meaning of the living creatures themselves. The monuments of Babylon show us that the pagan nations worshipped them in such forms, grotesque ones there. They saw only what was under the firmament. They could not see through to the Throne above it, and so they exchanged "the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things" (Rom. 1:23).

At the time of this vision, Ezekiel was in a very trying position. The children of Israel were in captivity and it appeared that all hope was gone for these prisoners of war. Yet it was just there, in those very circumstances, that God gave him this vision. Need we wonder that his name means "God strengthens"? In all our lives there are times when we, like Ezekiel, need a fresh impression of the greatness and glory of God.

As soon as we look up there, the posture of the living creatures tells us something. They are themselves in deep subjection to the higher power above them. Their harmony with one another shows only one thing: they are all in subjection to One who controls all… Now their wings sound like many waters. It is a waterfall of sound, and we soon realise it is the voice of the Almighty. The noise is that of a multitude, yet not disorderly. It is the sound of an army in ordered ranks… At His voice they move before Him, wrapped in their wings. At His voice they are stilled to complete rest, with their wings let down.

For Ezekiel 1:24, Fuerst gives "voice of speech" and "sound of a multitude"; Henderson gives "tumult"; Rosenmüller gives "falling rain." The same word occurs in Jeremiah 11:16, where it is translated "tumult."

Scholars do not agree where the word shaddai comes from, or what it means. Some give it as 'all bountiful,' others 'all sufficient,' others 'all mighty,' and so on. This is no surprise. Any name of God must be above mere human learning or definition, yet it was the ground of faith to those who had the revelation. The name first occurs in Genesis 17:1, where God said to Abraham, "I am the Almighty God." This links it with the patriarchs: it is the name by which they knew God.

Earlier in the chapter, the Spirit appears to be the power in control of them. Then in verse 24 we read, "And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty" — He was commanding them. Finally, verse 26 shows the One who had the administration in hand: "the appearance of a man above upon it." So while everything springs from God Himself, the administration is in the hands of Christ, and the Spirit of God is the power that brings it all about.

"And His voice was as the sound of many waters." This figure is a striking expression of majesty and power… In Ezekiel 1:24 the wings of the cherubim make a sound like "the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty." Later comes this: "the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east, and His voice was like a noise of many waters" (Ezekiel 43:2). So a voice like the sound of many waters is a Scriptural figure of the glory and majesty of God. Christ, though man, now appears in that glory.

"And the sound of the cherubim's wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when He speaks." The glory was departing, not coming to dwell there… The Lord is driven away — not by force, but by the wrongdoing and unfaithfulness of His own people. Ezekiel's prophecy is clear: He will return and dwell there. He will never leave His home again as long as the earth lasts.

All was under the control of the will and purpose of Him who sat on the throne and judged rightly. Majesty, government, and providence united to form the throne of His glory. But all the instruments of His glory were below the expanse; He whom they glorified was above it. He is the One the nations did not know.

Ezekiel does not see only the wheels, or the living creatures. Over their heads he sees the likeness of an expanse, with the look of terrifying crystal, stretched out above them. And above the likeness of the expanse itself there is the likeness of a throne. On the likeness of the throne there is something strange and wonderful to see: the appearance of a Man above upon it.

Then a voice spoke — not the voice of a cherub. In Revelation the cherubim speak; in Ezekiel they are silent.

As soon as we look up there, the posture of the living creatures makes something clear. They are themselves in deep subjection to the higher power above them. They act in harmony with one another, and that harmony shows itself to be only the result of a common subjection to One who controls everything… Here they are in their place, and serving. At His voice they move, wrapped in their wings before Him. At His voice they are stilled to complete rest, with their wings let down.

It is the exact opposite of circumstances left to blind chance. On the contrary, whatever the upheavals or changes among men, everything is guided with full knowledge, right where you would least expect it. The instruments of the providential government, below the expanse, were in full accord with what was above. Over this was the likeness of a throne. Above all was the likeness of a man carrying out judgment, though with the unfailing pledge of mercy to an evil world.

So the throne of God was no longer in Israel. Instead, the God of heaven chose to use the Gentile nations to carry out His will in punishing guilty Jerusalem, and He was about to do it. It is His throne from heaven, not yet His throne in heaven. In Revelation 4 there are no wheels, but six wings to each… There the living creatures are in the circle of the throne and in its midst, no longer under it as in Ezekiel.

This throne of the supreme and sovereign Lord God is seen in Chaldea — in the place where the prophet then was — among the Gentiles. It is no longer seen at Jerusalem in connection with the land... So the voice of God speaks to Ezekiel as to a "son of man." That title suited the testimony of a God who now spoke from outside His people. He was no longer among them. Instead He was judging them from the throne of His sovereignty. It is Christ's own title, seen as rejected and outside of Israel. Yet He never stops thinking of the blessing of the people in grace.

First, however, as to the throne: it is as the appearance of a sapphire stone... And when we hear God's own voice claiming the heavens as His throne, how suited is the likeness of a sapphire stone! The word comes from one (saphar) which means "to number," and so "to tell, declare." It is the same word used when Scripture says that "the heavens declare the glory of God" (Ps. 19:1). This sapphire throne, then, is a picture of the starry vault. The vision of God upon Mount Sinai shows it in the same way (Ex. 24:10).

How striking it is, when we lift up our eyes with the prophet to that awesome throne above the expanse, to find there too (Ezek. 1:26) "the likeness of the appearance of a Man"! It is the first time in Scripture that we find even the "appearance" there.

Here also, how beautiful it is to see that on the heavenly throne is the "appearance of a man" (Ezek. 1:26). The Lord Himself tells us that the Father "has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man" (John 5:27). It is by a Man that man is to be judged. He is One who knows everything that belongs to man. He was no stranger to a path of obedience, in every condition the fall brought in... Ezekiel is but the mere shadow of such an One in whose hands judgment is safe, and the divine pity shines all through it.

In the last place I mentioned, Ezekiel, His likeness is "the appearance of a man." From now on, however, this Glory, this Angel-Jehovah, takes the form and character of man. It is the risen Son of man who is now carried up to His place on high. It is not just "the appearance of a man." He is One whose manhood is assured and proved. As such He now ascends. The glory has taken His abiding form.

When Ezekiel saw it in vision there was "the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it" (Ezek. 1:26), yet he had no boldness but rather fell upon his face. At best his vision only pointed forward to what our own day would see fulfilled. Thank God it is now realized, but do we realize it? The Son of God sits on the throne, but it is the Son of God in true and tender and sympathetic Manhood. Realizing this, all fear vanishes and we draw near with boldness.

Fire, then, is a symbol of God's judgment... The angel of the Lord appeared to Moses "in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush" (Ex. 3:2)... When God gave them the law, He descended upon Sinai in fire (Ex. 19:18)... In Ezekiel, the prophet saw the glory of the Lord in connection with the fire (Ezek. 1:4, 27). "The Lord your God is a consuming fire" (Deut. 4:24).

This probably does not refer to the mineral we now call amber, which carries a strong electric charge, as its Greek and Latin names show — elektron, electrum. It refers instead to a mixed metal. Ancient writers described it as four parts gold and one part silver. The Hebrew word is chashmal. It is linked with fire, and points to its colour and brightness. Ezek. 1:4, 27; Ezek. 8:2.

From the waist upward this appears in the fire — the glory of the Person who is revealed there. From the waist downward it is more His acts that are in view. There it is more the pure fire, but with a brightness all around, showing the colours of the rainbow of promise, for the work of righteousness carried out is peace.

The judgment is, of course, God's judgment. So how striking it is, when we lift up our eyes with the prophet to that awesome throne above the expanse, to find there too (Ezek. 1:26) "the likeness of the appearance of a Man"! This is the first time in Scripture that we find even the "appearance" there.

The instruments of God's providential rule, below the expanse, were in full agreement with what was above. Over this was the likeness of a throne. And above it all was the likeness of a man carrying out judgment, yet with the unfailing pledge of mercy to an evil world.

The wind that "came out of the north" points to the invasion by Nebuchadnezzar. It led to the captivity of God's people and the carrying away of the holy vessels of the sanctuary. From the outside it looked as if God had been defeated. This was in some ways a national disaster, but the priest has the privilege of seeing from the inside what was really happening under the hand of God. Verse 27 shows us that above all circumstances is a blessed Man!

Ezekiel saw "the likeness of the glory of the LORD" (Ezek. 1:28). John, on the island of Patmos, saw One seated on the throne who had "the appearance of jasper and carnelian" (Rev. 4:3). In the same way Moses and those with him saw God shown to them. Notice that the account never tries to describe Him.

The glory of Jehovah is revealed, but it has to be revealed in symbols. In fact every vision of divine glory must be, apart from "Christ come in flesh." How wonderful, then, to have the deepest revelation here, in the sweet and tender speech of Him who has become Man to bring it to us!

Ezekiel 1 opens with Ezekiel seeing a vision of God's throne. It is not seen in Jerusalem now, as it once was, but outside the city and with no connection to it… This is clearly the universal sovereign throne of God, shown here in relation to the nations. From that throne He judges the people He had owned as His own until then. He is no longer among them.

Above them was the likeness of a throne. On the throne was the likeness of a man, and the man was in the middle of the divine glory… No doubt this whole chapter teaches us how God keeps His glory safe, and shows the divine principles that always order His government. But do we not also see, in a hidden way, that the divine glory is secure in the Man in heaven who now sits on the throne of God?

When Ezekiel watched God about to give Jerusalem up to ruin, he saw "the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain." So God shows that in judgment He remembers the covenant He has made with the earth.

When the throne of the Lord leaves Zion, and the most holy place loses the glory… we see the throne and the glory carrying the rainbow with them. The Lord leaves the earth as the scene of His power and praise for a time, but He still keeps it in mind… He has thrown the very pledge of the earth's safety around His throne on high. The earth no longer holds that throne and cannot see it, yet that throne sees the earth and remembers it.

He has no sense of any right to be there. He falls down on his face. He cannot stand, and there is no place for him to stand on. So his falling on his face only expresses his moral standing, his true condition.

God takes account of how weak His instrument is, and that weakness calls out Jehovah's might to hold him up. We see it at the very start here: "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you." And more than that, the Spirit enters into him to make him stand. He cannot even listen to the message while he lies face down. That condition may rightly express that the creature is nothing in the presence of God, but it cannot express God's grace towards him. We see this all through the history of the prophets, in Daniel, and again in John the beloved. God cannot speak His thoughts to one lying in the dust before Him.

He has no sense of any right to stand. He falls down on his face. He cannot stand. There is no place for him to stand on. So his falling on his face only shows his moral condition… Each of these servants of God — Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel — declared their own unfitness, and felt it, in the presence of the glory of God. With each and all of them, it is never for a moment a question of what they had done, but of what they were, and this as told out to themselves by the glory of God.

God takes account of how weak His instrument is, and that weakness calls out Jehovah's might to sustain it… And not only that: the Spirit enters into him to make him stand. He cannot even listen to the message while lying face down. That posture may truly express how the creature is nothing in the presence of God. But it cannot express God's grace towards him… God cannot speak His thoughts to someone lying in the dust before Him. This does not suit the blessed Speaker.

God gives a title to the prophet fallen on his face, in chapter 2 and from then on. When the voice spoke from the likeness of the glory of Jehovah, the words were, "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you." Daniel was called this once (Dan. 8:17), and Ezekiel more than a hundred times. It is the title Jesus took as the rejected Messiah who would suffer, be exalted, and return in glory as the Son of man.

Jehovah applies it to two of His prophets, Daniel and Ezekiel (Dan. 8:17; Ezek. 2:1). Both men stood as witnesses at a time when the nation was under foreign rule, because it had turned away from the worship of Jehovah… So the Lord, in describing Himself as the Son of man, took up a title carried until then only by prophets in exile. Even then it was a title of reproach.

The title given him is itself proof that the people he goes to have lost their special place with God. At the same time it proves that if Israel will not hear, grace will not be stopped from reaching its goal. The message will only go out more widely, and with a deeper, sweeter, fuller word, as we fully prove today… With Ezekiel the term speaks simply of his identification with men. He is not the Son of man Himself. He is reminded of the lowliness of his condition, and this only magnifies the grace which has taken him up. So he is well fitted to carry the message he is charged with — not an angel, but a man with human sympathies and a human understanding gained among human conditions.

God is rejected. His prophet takes this place, with the throne, to judge the whole nation, and Jerusalem above all. At the same time he announces (to faith) their re-establishment in grace. Jehovah sends him to a rebellious people, to say, Jehovah has spoken, whether they would hear or not… His first testimony is made up of lamentations, mourning and woe. Still, God's giving of His word is always full of sweetness, seen as a revelation from Him.

"Son of man, stand upon your feet and I will speak to you," was the word spoken to Ezekiel by the river Chebar. Why? Because a man standing up feels quite different from one lying down. He is in a posture of alertness, attention, and to such a one God can communicate His will.

The Spirit followed the Word that spoke — "and the Spirit entered into me when He spoke to me." So the Word and the Spirit are always connected. Then Ezekiel received his commission. He is sent to a defiant, hard-hearted people. His message is to begin with: "Thus says Jehovah-God." The sender is the Lord; the message is from Him.

God recognizes how weak His instrument is, and that weakness calls out Jehovah's might to sustain it. We see this at the very start here: "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you." And not only that, but the Spirit enters into him to make him stand. He cannot even listen to the message while lying face down. That posture may truly express the nothingness of the creature in the presence of God, but it cannot express God's grace towards him. We see this all through the history of the prophets — in Daniel, and again with John the beloved. God cannot utter His thoughts to one lying face down in the dust before Him. This does not suit the blessed Speaker.

This is already a foretaste of what lets us say we have not received the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" That cry has not yet come in Ezekiel's case, since he belongs to an earlier time. Still, the spirit of fear is told to depart, so that God's words may have their fitting character.

"Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you," was the word spoken to Ezekiel by the river Chebar. Why? Because a man standing up feels quite different from one lying down. He is in a posture of alertness, attention, and to such a one God can communicate His will.

God shows this new attitude in another way too — by the title He gives the prophet who has fallen on his face, here in chapter 2 and from then on. The voice spoke from the likeness of the glory of Jehovah, and the words were, "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you." God called Daniel this once (Dan. 8:17), and Ezekiel more than a hundred times. It is the title Jesus took as the rejected Messiah who should suffer, be exalted, and return in glory as the Son of Man. His servants carry the same title, because they are tied to the glory of God — the God who now declares Himself outside Israel, and even judges Israel by the Gentiles.

Among such a people the prophet lives, as briars and thorns wound and entangle those who touch them, as scorpions are poisonous in their sting; yet he who has been allowed to see the glory of Jehovah need not be afraid among them. How unfitting any fear of man would be in such a person, and what a poor picture he would give of the majesty of Him with whom they had to do!

We see the throne of the supreme and sovereign Lord God in Chaldea — among the Gentiles, in the place where the prophet then was. We no longer see it at Jerusalem, tied to the land; and the throne no longer holds the law, so to speak, by which He governed them directly. So God's voice speaks to Ezekiel as to a "son of man." The title suited the testimony of a God who now spoke from outside His people. He was no longer among them, but judged them from the throne of His sovereignty. It is Christ's own title as One rejected and outside of Israel. Yet He never ceases to think of the blessing of the people in grace.

Jehovah addressed Ezekiel as son of man; the title which is found exactly one hundred times in this book. Besides Ezekiel, only Daniel bears this name. Our Lord called Himself by that name. He used it of His suffering, His exaltation, His glory, and His coming again. Ezekiel also passed through much suffering. In symbol he went through the sufferings the whole nation was to face. He is, therefore, in a measure a type of the Messiah, who took Israel's sin and shame upon Himself.

The Spirit strengthens the prophet, and he receives his mission to the children of Israel — though, yes, because, they had rejected God. His mission is "to rebellious Gentiles, Goyim [for that is what they truly were: no better than the heathen in their morals, and much worse in guilt], that have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day."

Their heart showed in their faces, so that they could hide it no longer. God sends to them knowing this fully. Against their blasphemous words He sets the speech of the Unchangeable One whom they have refused.

What is most obvious here is the moral unity of the generations that followed one another. The evil is perfectly monotonous all the way through, from the nation's birth in Egypt to Ezekiel's time. We can expect nothing else until God acts in the sovereignty of His own grace and at last fulfils His promises, despite this continuous rebellion.

Now we have the charge given to the prophet. As we see at once, he is to speak to a people who will not hear. We can only hope that here and there ears may be open to receive it. There is no encouraging hope about the success of the message. Yet whether they would hear or refuse, they should know that there had been a prophet among them. If he is not to have the encouragement of visible success, all the more must he find it in knowing that the Lord is with him — the Lord whom Israel would reject in rejecting His messenger. ... The title given him proves that the people he goes to have lost their special place with God. Yet if Israel will not hear, grace will not be thwarted in its purpose: the message will only go out more widely.

The Spirit followed the Word which spoke — "and the Spirit entered into me when He spoke to me." So the Word and the Spirit are always connected. Then Ezekiel received his commission. God sends him to an impudent and hard-hearted people. His message is to begin with: "Thus says the Lord God." The sender is the Lord; the message is from Him. Then the sender also gives assurance and encouragement.

"I send you to the children of Israel," He says — to Gentiles — for they are none other than these. They are only "the rebellious who have rebelled against Me. They and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day." So they are children as shameless in face as they are hard in heart. Their heart spoke in their faces, so that they could hide it no longer. God sends to them knowing this full well. Against their blasphemous words He sets the speech of the Unchangeable One, whom they have refused.

The name has a clear application right at the start. God gives him his charge against a people "hard of brow and stiff of heart." He declares that He has made the prophet's face hard against their faces, and his forehead hard against their foreheads. This means more than the strength Ezekiel needed for his difficult position. It shows, much more, the attitude of Jehovah Himself towards them.

Strengthened by the Spirit, the prophet receives his mission to the children of Israel, though — yes, because — they had rejected God.

God is rejected. His prophet takes this place, with the throne, to judge the whole nation, and Jerusalem above all. At the same time he announces, to faith, their re-establishment in grace. Jehovah sends him to a rebellious people to say, Jehovah has spoken, whether they would hear or not.

Then Ezekiel received his commission. God sends him to a shameless and hard-hearted people. His message is to begin with: "Thus says Jehovah-God." The sender is the Lord; the message is from Him.

"Thus says the LORD" was the credential of all His messengers in days gone by. And in divine things, "thus says the LORD" is the only Court of Appeal today.

There is no encouraging hope about the success of the message. Yet whether they would hear or refuse, they should know that a prophet had been among them. If he cannot have the encouragement of visible success, he must find it all the more in knowing that the Lord is with him. In rejecting His messenger, Israel would be rejecting Him.

He needs no apology for the message he carries. He carried no responsibility in the matter. His part was to deliver the message, whatever the consequences to himself... But he was to deliver God's word, "not in words which man's wisdom teaches," but in the words which God had given him to say.

God is rejected. His prophet takes this place, with the throne, to judge the whole nation, and Jerusalem above all. At the same time he announces, to faith, that God will restore them in grace. He is sent from Jehovah to a rebellious people, to say, Jehovah has spoken, whether they would hear or not. The judgment would make it known that a prophet had been among them.

Strengthened by the Spirit, the prophet receives his mission to the children of Israel — though, or rather because, they had rejected God — "to rebellious Gentiles [that is what they truly were: no better than the nations in their conduct, and much worse in guilt], that have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. And the children are hard of face and stiff of heart. I send you to them, and you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord Jehovah."

Now we have the charge given to the prophet. As we see at once, it is to speak to a people who will not hear. The most that can be hoped is that here and there ears may be open to receive it. There is no encouraging hope about the success of the message. Yet, whether they heard or refused to hear, they should know that there had been a prophet among them. If he is not to have the encouragement of visible success, all the more must he find it in knowing that the Lord is with him — the Lord whom Israel would reject in rejecting His messenger.

So they will know that there has been a prophet among them, even if they only learn it by the judgment carried out. The prophet lives among a people who wound and entangle those who come near them, like briars and thorns, and who sting like poisonous scorpions. Yet the man who has been allowed to see the glory of Jehovah need not be afraid among them. How out of place any fear of man would be in such a man, and how poorly he would represent the majesty of the God they had to deal with!

Prophets come out from God among the people. There they are; and whether the people hear, or whether they refuse to hear, they shall know that prophets have been among them. They cannot deny the fact, or escape its application.

We ought to be ready to speak out God's grace, "whether men hear, or whether they refuse to hear." But there was a sweet fragrance of Christ to God both in those who were saved and in those who perish. Stephen bore the testimony though they would not receive it, and he suffered the consequences. If he had been silent, he would not have been stoned.

God addresses him at once by the title that marks his prophecy: "Son of man." That title is itself a proof that the people to whom he goes have lost their special distinctive place with God. But at the same time it proves that if Israel will not hear, grace will not be stopped from reaching its goal. The message will only go out more widely... With Ezekiel the term speaks simply of his identification with men. He is reminded of the lowliness of his condition, and this only magnifies the grace which has taken him up. So there is in him a special fitness to carry the message he is charged with — not an angel, but a man with human sympathies and a human understanding, gained and used among human conditions.

Hebrew has several words for thorns. They show how abundant the fruits are of the curse pronounced in Eden because of the sin of man. God will remove that curse in the millennium, when the myrtle and other such plants will take its place.

These words refer to the well-known animal armed with claws like a lobster, and having its sting in its tail. In the East it inhabits desolate places, hides under stones or logs of wood, and comes out at night. It eats other creatures... Ezekiel 2:6 compares the children of Israel to scorpions, and among them Ezekiel had to work.

The prophet lives among such a people. Briars and thorns wound and entangle those who come near them, and scorpions carry poison in their sting. Yet the man who has seen the glory of Jehovah need not be afraid among them. How out of place any fear of man would be in such a man! How badly he would represent the majesty of the God they had to deal with! And how badly, alas, do we represent Him if we show that fear — we into whose mouths God has put a sweeter message, and to whom He has shown His glory more wonderfully than Ezekiel saw it here!

Therefore the prophet was commanded (verses 6, 7) not to fear them, or their words, or their looks, however rebellious they might be. Instead he was to speak Jehovah's words to them, whether they would listen or refuse, for they were rebellious (or most rebellious).

Such a sight might well have troubled the spirit of the lonely monk. He had spent most of his days in the quiet of a peasant's cottage or a monastery cell. But One was standing by his side who was more than enough for these things. It was the One who had said to Ezekiel long ago, "Be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words... nor be dismayed at their looks." In that One was Luther's trust.

With Jeremiah and Ezekiel we have the Lord's own testimony that their predictions were inspired. To Jeremiah God said, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth" (Jer. 1:9), so he would speak God's words. To Ezekiel the Lord declared, "And you shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house" (Ezek. 2:7).

Now we have the charge given to the prophet. As we see at once, he is to speak to a people who will not hear. We can only hope that here and there some ears may be open to receive it. There is no encouraging hope about the success of the message. Yet whether they listened or refused to listen, they would know that a prophet had been among them. All the more, if he is not to have the encouragement of visible success, he is to find it in knowing that the Lord is with him — and Israel, in rejecting His messenger, would be rejecting Him.

The word itself establishes this. "And you shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house," Ezek. 2:7... "He who believes has the witness in himself": this is the inward power of the testimony. "He who does not believe has made God a liar": here is the guilt of the one who does not believe. So the authority of testimony from God does not depend on the judgment man may pass on it. The testimony will itself judge man.

The word of God cannot be useful if it is not received, but it still has all authority, because it is the word of God... unbelief does not destroy the authority of the word, for the rebellion of man does not destroy the authority of God.

The prophet lives among such a people. Briars and thorns wound and entangle anyone who touches them, and scorpions carry poison in their sting. Yet the man who has been allowed to see the glory of Jehovah need not be afraid among them. How out of place any fear of man would be in such a man! How poorly he would represent the majesty of the One they had to deal with!

The prophet was commanded (verses 6, 7) not to fear them, or their words, or their looks, however rebellious they might be, but rather to speak Jehovah's words to them, whether they might hear or forbear, for they were rebellious (or most rebellious).

So preach, in season and out of season, as a faithful servant, but God must give the increase. No preacher is responsible to convert anybody, but he is responsible to deliver his Master's message, in his Master's spirit. The preacher can do no more, but he can know that God will bless His own declared word, whether the preacher sees that result or not. Nothing gives a preacher more sense of power in his work, or more earnestness, than this simple looking to God, first for His message, and then to God alone for fruit.

God warns Ezekiel too not to be rebellious like them, but to open his mouth and eat what He gives him. Then a hand reached out, holding a scroll. He spread it open before the prophet. It was written on the front and on the back, full and overflowing. Written in it were lamentations, mourning, and woe. That was the character of his earlier testimony. We shall see how grace triumphs to God's glory in the end.

The prophet eating the book is no harder to understand than Jeremiah eating the words of the Lord. To eat is to make the thing one's own, to take it into one's own being. John eating the roll, and finding it both sweet and bitter, reminds us of a similar symbolic act by Ezekiel.

The Bible — and this widens the application — is not a book of information to gather and then repeat. It is the voice of God to the soul that reads it. So each of us must hear it for ourselves before we can rightly pass on what we have heard. A well-known servant of the Lord once said that he never read a chapter in the Bible in order to speak from it. When someone asked why he read it, he replied that it was for his own profit and building up. In other words, his habit was to eat and digest the Word before he preached it… we are not qualified to be the living channels of divine truth until we have made it our own.

Even eating — making the Word our own — is not enough. We must also digest what we have taken in… So there is a great difference between the two things mentioned in Ezekiel: holding the roll in his mouth and enjoying its sweetness, and eating it with his belly and filling himself with it. For the second we need to be alone in the presence of God. There we learn that His Word is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. Then the mind of God is truly given to us. Taken in deep within, it shapes and controls us, so that our character is formed according to what He has revealed to our souls.

When one stands before the Lord, then like Jeremiah, one hungers for His word; one eats it. Then one can pass it on to others: "You shall be as my mouth." In Revelation 10:10 John cannot prophesy until he has taken the little book and eaten it. Ezekiel speaks out God's words when he has eaten the roll.

The Lord sends him to a rebellious people to say, the Lord has spoken, whether they would hear or not. The judgment would make it known that a prophet had been among them. His first testimony is made up of lamentations, mourning, and woe. Still, God's word always comes full of sweetness, seen as a revelation from Him and as something passing between God and man.

Notice the thought underneath. Whatever the servant of God gives out as prophecy or teaching, he must first eat it, digest it, and take it in himself. Nothing does more spiritual damage than parading our knowledge of truth we have not yet made our own in meditation, in prayer, in experience. Gaining fresh truth is sweet and thrilling as honey. But once it is digested and absorbed, it always pushes out flesh and self and the world, and that is a bitter process.

Ezekiel too is warned not to be rebellious like them, but to open his mouth and eat what God gives him (v. 8). Then a hand reached out holding a scroll and spread it open before the prophet. Writing covered the front and the back, full and overflowing, and what it said was: lamentations, mourning, and woe (vv. 9, 10). That was the character of his earlier testimony. We will see how grace triumphs, to God's glory, in the end.

Ancient books took the form of a long roll with a roller at each end. The reader held one roller in each hand and unrolled the book off one and onto the other as he read. He then had to wind it back before he could read it again. These rolls were made of skins, and the writing usually went on one side only. Writing on both sides showed a full record, as in Ezekiel 2:9-10 and Revelation 5:1.

The book in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne was written on the inside and on the back. That is, it was full to overflowing. It was not written like an ordinary scroll, on the inside only. There was so much to say that it was written on the back as well. So too in Ezekiel 2:9-10, where the Jewish prophet was shown a scroll of a book, spread open before him and written on the inside and the outside.

The scroll is written on the inside and on the outside. This does not simply mean that its contents are full, as people usually take it. It speaks, I would say, of things that are outward and open, and also of things of a deeper and more hidden kind. What is open meets the need of a soul that can see nothing but the outside. But there are also things within, and for those who have hearts to grasp them, these go far beyond all that.

A hand presented a scroll to Ezekiel and spread it out before him. What was written on it? It was written on the inside and the outside, and written in it were lamentations, mourning, and woe (Ezekiel 2:10). A fitting emblem of the testimony he was called to bear!

By eating — taking the act in its scriptural meaning — we understand that the Word was to be taken in and made one's own. These prophets were to make the messages they were sent to deliver their own. To widen the application: the Bible is not a book of information to collect and then repeat. It is the voice of God to the soul that reads it. So it must be heard for yourself before you can rightly pass on what you have heard... If Ezekiel and John may be taken as examples, we are not fit to be living channels of divine truth until we have made it our own.

Compare this scroll with the one in Zechariah 5:1-4, with the scroll of Revelation 5 that the Lamb receives and opens, and with the little scroll in Revelation 10:9-10. These scrolls all mean the same thing: the Word itself, and the message of tribulation and judgment written in it.

Ancient books were long rolls with a roller at each end. The reader held one roller in each hand and unrolled the book from one onto the other as he read. The rolls were made of skins, and people usually wrote on one side only. Writing on both sides showed a full record, as in Ezekiel 2:9-10 and Revelation 5:1.

"I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back": that is, it was full to overflowing. It was not written like an ordinary scroll, on the inside only. There was so much to say that it was written on the back as well. Ezekiel was shown the same kind of roll, written on the front and on the back.

The roll of the book is written inside and outside. This does not only speak of how full its contents are, as people usually take it. It speaks of things that are outward and open to sight, and also of things that are deeper and more hidden. The open things are needed by a soul who can see nothing except what is on the surface. But there are things inside as well, and for those with hearts to take them in, they go far beyond all this.

A hand was stretched out, holding a roll of a book, and he spread it before the prophet. It was written on the front and on the back, full and overflowing, and written in it were lamentations, mourning, and woe. Such was the character of his earlier testimony. We shall see how grace triumphs to God's glory in the end.

God sends him to a rebellious people to say, the LORD has spoken, whether they will hear or not. The judgment would make it known that a prophet had been among them. His first testimony is made up of lamentations, mourning, and woe. Still, God's word is always full of sweetness when you look at it as a revelation from Him, and as something that passes between God and man.

What a fitting picture of the testimony he was called to carry! True, like Jeremiah's, it was addressed mainly to the nation of Israel... But in the later part of the book he looks out beyond Israel. He looks beyond anything that was happening, or about to happen, when he wrote. He prophesies judgments on all the surrounding nations, and even on the far more distant ones.

Prophecy is, in part, God's testimony to the world — a testimony of warning and of terror, well pictured by Ezekiel's roll, written inside and outside, and full of mourning, lamentation, and woe. And one of the saddest results of the way Christians have neglected the prophetic word is this. Instead of sounding this solemn and mournful warning in the world's ears about the world's course and end, we have joined in with Satan's lullaby of "Peace, peace."

The Bible is not a book of information to collect and then repeat. It is the voice of God to the soul that reads it. So you must hear it for yourself before you can pass on what you have heard. A well-known servant of the Lord once said that he never read a chapter in the Bible in order to speak on it. When someone asked him why he read it, he replied that it was for his own profit and building up.

The throne of the supreme and sovereign Lord God is seen in Chaldea — in the place where the prophet then was — among the Gentiles. It is no longer seen at Jerusalem in connection with the land... So the voice of God speaks to Ezekiel as to a "son of man." The title suited the testimony of a God who spoke from outside His people. He was no longer among them; He was judging them from the throne of His sovereignty. It is Christ's own title, looked at as rejected and outside of Israel, although He never ceases to think of the blessing of the people in grace.

Eating, in its meaning throughout Scripture, tells us that the Word was to be taken in and owned. These prophets had to make the messages they were sent to deliver their own. The Bible — to widen the application — is not a book of information to gather and then repeat. It is the voice of God to the soul that reads it. Each of us must hear it for ourselves before we can rightly pass on what we have heard.

And now the prophet must make fully his own what he is sent to proclaim among them... The scroll of the book is written within and without. This does not simply speak of the fulness of its contents. It speaks of things outward and obvious, and also of things of a deeper and more hidden nature. A soul that can see nothing except what is external needs what is obvious. But there are things within, and for those who have hearts to take them in, these go beyond all this.

In Ezekiel's case we are told that when he ate the book, it was in his mouth as sweet as honey. The same is said of John, with this added: as soon as he had eaten, his stomach turned bitter. This difference probably disappears once we look at the exact wording about Ezekiel. God told him to make his stomach eat, and to fill his body with the scroll given to him. But he only tells us how it tasted in his mouth. Putting the two cases together, three things are clearly indicated — eating, digesting, and the effect of digesting.

Gaining fresh truth is sweet and thrilling as honey. But once it is digested and taken in, it always displaces flesh and self and the world. That is a bitter process. This is so even if, as here, the little book is concerned with judgment that is to fall on others and not on oneself.

The Word must be received and eaten — that is the spiritual lesson. Ezekiel obeyed. It was self-surrender, and though the message was a hard message, yet it was sweet to him... "But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to Me." It was to make no difference to the prophet. His commission was to speak Jehovah's words.

There are two unmistakable marks of the witness who has eaten, digested, and found the bitterness of the truth in its self-application. The first is humility. Death works in him, while life flows out through his testimony towards others. In practice, self is set aside and held under the cross... The second is love. In proportion as death ("bitterness") works in us, the divine nature is active; and God is love.

Prophecy is both bitter and sweet. We are dealing here with symbols. There should be no more difficulty in understanding the prophet eating the book than in Jeremiah eating the words of Jehovah (Jer. 15:16). To eat is to make the thing one's own, to take it into your own being (John 6:49-58).

And now the prophet is told to make fully his own what he is sent to proclaim among them… The roll is written inside and outside. That does not just speak of the fullness of its contents. It speaks of things outward and plain to see, and of things deeper and more hidden. What is plain is needed by a soul that can see only what is external. But for those who have hearts to grasp them, there are things within that go far beyond this… What was plain to see was only cause for "lamentation and mourning and woe," yet in the prophet's mouth it tasted sweet as honey. The judgment does not stand alone: the glory of the Lord is shown in it, and in the end His purposes are carried out — purposes that are in His heart and that display His heart.

The Word must be received and eaten — that is the spiritual lesson. Ezekiel obeyed. It was self-surrender, and though the message was a hard message, yet it was sweet to him.

By eating — taking the act in its scriptural meaning — we understand that the Word was to be made one's own. These prophets were to make the messages they were sent to deliver their own. The Bible, to widen the application, is not a book of information to gather and then repeat. It is the voice of God to the soul that reads it. So you must hear it for yourself before you can pass on rightly what you hear… we are not qualified to be the living channels of divine truth until we have made it our own.

In Ezekiel's case we are told that when he ate the book, it was in his mouth as sweet as honey. So it was with John too. But we are told that as soon as he had eaten, his stomach turned bitter. This difference probably disappears when you look at the exact language used with Ezekiel. He was told to make his stomach eat, and to fill his inner parts with the roll given to him. But he only tells us how it tasted in his mouth. Put the two cases together, and three things stand out — eating, digesting, and the effect of digesting.

Nothing ruins us spiritually like proclaiming and parading a knowledge of truth we have not yet really made our own in meditation, in prayer, in experience. Gaining fresh truth is sweet and thrilling as honey. But once you digest and absorb it, it always displaces flesh and self and the world, and that is a bitter process.

The eaten roll proves sweet as honey. The prophet was sent to Israel, and it was certain they would not listen. They were shameless and hard-hearted. But the prophet faced them with a forehead as hard as stone. He received God's word in his heart, and he was to go and say, "Thus says Jehovah."

There should be no more difficulty in understanding the prophet eating the book than in Jeremiah eating the words of the Lord. To eat is to make the thing one's own, to incorporate it into one's being.

And now the prophet is instructed to make thoroughly his own that which he is commissioned to proclaim among them.

In Ezekiel's case we are told that when he ate the book, it was in his mouth as sweet as honey. The same was true for John, but with him it is added that as soon as he had eaten, his stomach was bitter. This difference probably disappears once you look at the exact wording used of Ezekiel. God told him to feed his belly and to fill his stomach with the scroll given to him, but he only tells us the effect of its taste in his mouth. Put the two cases together and three things stand out — eating, digesting, and the effect of digesting.

Most of us know from experience that digesting the truth we have really received is often slow work. The truth is never effective in us, or through us, until we have digested it... For that we need to be alone in the presence of God.

What was open to view was simply matter for lamentation, mourning and woe. Yet in the prophet's mouth there was the taste of honey for sweetness. This fits what we have seen throughout the vision: the judgment does not stand alone. The glory of the Lord is revealed in it, and the outcome is the carrying out of the purposes in His heart — purposes that display His heart.

Such is the double action of God's word in judgment. Looking at God and His glory, the Psalmist says, "The rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb." But when you look at man, the effect is sadly the opposite. His guilt and rebellion turn the sweet into bitter, the food into poison, life into death.

The Bible — and this applies more widely — is not a book of information to collect and then repeat. It is the voice of God to the soul that reads it. You have to hear it for yourself before you can rightly pass on what you have heard. So a well-known servant of the Lord once said that he never read a chapter in the Bible in order to speak from it. When someone asked him why he read it, he said it was for his own profit and building up... If Ezekiel and John are examples — and others could be added — we are not qualified to be the living channels of divine truth until we have made it our own.

He was commanded to eat the little book that was in the angel's hand — that is, to meditate on it, to make it thoroughly his own. Someone has said that meditation, in these busy days of ours, is a lost art... For it is not only that God would have John and Ezekiel eat the book; He wants you to eat it likewise.

The title given to him proves that the people he goes to have lost their special place with God. At the same time it shows that if Israel will not hear, nothing will stop grace from reaching its goal. The message will only go out more widely, and with a deeper, sweeter, fuller message, as we prove in abundance today. This title is itself a foreshadowing of One still to come. He would stand among Israel in a day then still future, and take the title as His own.

It is the title Jesus took as the rejected Messiah who would suffer, be exalted, and return in glory as the Son of man. His servants have the same title, since they are identified with the glory of God. God now declares Himself outside Israel, and even judges Israel by the Gentiles.

With Ezekiel the title speaks simply of his identification with men. He is not the Son of man. He is reminded of how low his condition is, and this only magnifies the grace that has taken him up. It also makes him fit to carry the message he is charged with: not an angel, but a man with human sympathies and a human understanding gained and exercised in human conditions. He is himself the proof of the heart of God behind the hand of the One who is love and cannot change His nature, even when He executes judgment.

Notice the thought underneath: what the servant of God gives out, whether prophecy or teaching, he must first eat, digest and make his own. Nothing ruins us spiritually more than to proclaim and parade knowledge of truth we have not yet made our own in meditation, in prayer, in experience.

Eating, in its scriptural meaning, tells us that the Word was to be taken as one's own. These prophets were to make their own the messages they were sent to deliver. The Bible — to widen the application — is not a book of information to gather and then repeat. It is the voice of God to the soul that reads it. You must hear it for yourself before you can pass on properly what you have heard.

Of Jeremiah and Ezekiel we have the Lord's testimony to the inspiration of their predictions. To the first God said, "Behold, I have put my words in your mouth" (Jer. 1:9); he would therefore speak the words of God. To the second, the Lord said, "You shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house" (Ezek. 2:7).

When one stands before the Lord, then, like Jeremiah, one hungers for His word and eats it (Jer. 15:16). Then one can pass it on to others: "You shall be as my mouth" (Jer. 15:19). In Revelation 10:10 John cannot prophesy until he has taken the little book and eaten it. Ezekiel speaks out God's words once he has eaten the roll.

The Lord testifies that Israel is even more hardened than any of the heathen nations. The people are shameless and hard-hearted. Ezekiel needed his forehead made as hard as diamond to speak to them the word he had to declare, saying, "whether they hear or refuse to hear."

Ezekiel was to speak the words of the Lord to them, and the sender predicts failure. "The house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me." It was to make no difference to the prophet. His commission was to speak the Lord's words.

The Lord testifies that Israel is even more hardened than any of the other nations. The people are "impudent and stubborn." Ezekiel needed a forehead made as hard as the hardest stone, so that he could speak to them the word he had to declare: "Whether they hear or refuse to hear."

But Israel have in fact already fully proved what they are. Apart from the privileges they have twisted, they are no different from the nations around them. So God marks them here: "I send you to the children of Israel," He says — to Gentiles — for that is exactly what they are. They are only "the rebellious who have rebelled against Me. They and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day."

When the people of Nineveh heard God's word, they believed it, and put on sackcloth... Then we read, "When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that He had said He would do to them, and He did not do it." How very sad it is to see God's people Israel reject God's offers of mercy. They were just as evil as the people of Nineveh, and they had less excuse, for they had more light. Yet they refused to turn from their evil ways.

We now have the charge given to the prophet. As we see at once, he is to speak to a people who will not hear. The most we can hope is that here and there ears may be open to receive it. There is no encouraging hope about the success of the message. Yet, whether they would hear or whether they would refuse, they should know that there had been a prophet among them. If he is not to have the encouragement of success he can see, all the more must he find it in knowing that the Lord is with him — the Lord whom Israel would reject in rejecting His messenger.

He knew that they would reject the prophets and messengers He used to speak to them, offering them forgiveness and mercy if they would only repent. (See Ezek. 3:7-9.) Still, He kept on sending them, again and again. Did God's foreknowledge of the way they would treat the messengers of His mercy make them less responsible? Surely not. So when, last of all, He sent His Son, sent Him as the One born to be King of the Jews, He knew all that they would do to Him.

"And you shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house," Ezek. 2:7... So the authority of a testimony from God does not depend on the verdict that man may pass on it. The testimony will itself judge man.

Ezekiel 3. The Lord testifies that Israel is even more hardened than any of the heathen nations. The people are "impudent and hard-hearted." Ezekiel needed a forehead made as hard as the hardest stone to speak to them the word he had to declare, "whether they will hear or whether they will refuse."

Strengthened by the Spirit, the prophet receives his mission to the children of Israel, though — indeed, because — they had rejected God: "to rebellious Gentiles [for that is what they truly were: morally no better than the nations, and much more guilty], that have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day."

But Israel have in fact already proved thoroughly what they are. Except for the privileges they have perverted, they are no different from the nations around them.

He knew they would reject the prophets and messengers He spoke to them through. Through those messengers He offered forgiveness and mercy, if only they would repent. (See Ezek. 3:7-9). Still He sent them, rising early and sending them again and again. Did God's foreknowledge of how they would treat the messengers of His mercy make them any less responsible? Surely not.

The prophet is now given his charge. We see at once that he is to speak to a people who will not hear. The most that can be hoped is that here and there some ears will be open to receive it. There is no encouraging hope about the success of the message. Yet whether they heard or refused, they would know that a prophet had been among them. If he is not to have the encouragement of visible success, he is all the more to find it in knowing that the Lord is with him — the Lord whom Israel would reject in rejecting His messenger.

It was bad enough for the cities Chorazin and Bethsaida. Mighty works had been done in them, and they had not listened. The Lord said, "If the works of power which have taken place in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes." Israel was more guilty than the heathen nations, and the Israel of Christ's day most of all. No heathen had ever listened to such a testimony. To refuse the Word of God is to expose yourself to the judgment of God… privileges despised or misused bring only a deeper ruin on those who reject or pervert them.

And these were not the heathen; the heathen were never so bad as that. It is God's people when in a bad state that are worse than anybody. That is a thing that many cannot understand and do not believe. … The more light there is, if people are not faithful, the worse they are. … And therefore the nearer you are to the blessing, if the blessing is not yours, the more guilty you are.

The Lord truly sends a servant, who does His will and stands for Him. To reject that servant is to reject the Lord Himself... Blessed is the servant who, through grace, is so hidden behind his Lord that he loses himself in the Lord's aims and interests. He thinks only of HIS honour and HIS claims. Such a person will learn, as Samuel did, that when people refuse his message, they are rejecting God's word and not his own.

They are children whose faces are as shameless as their hearts are hard. Their heart showed in their faces, so nothing could be hidden any longer. God sends to them knowing this full well. Against their blasphemous words He sets the speech of the Unchangeable One whom they have refused.

Ezekiel 3. The Lord testifies that Israel is even more hardened than any of the heathen nations. The people have "a hard forehead and a stubborn heart."

And these were not the heathen; the heathen were never so bad as that. It is God's people when in a bad state that are worse than anybody. That is a thing that many cannot understand and do not believe... The more light there is, if people are not faithful, the worse they are... And therefore the nearer you are to the blessing, if the blessing is not yours, the more guilty you are.

God knew that they would reject the prophets and messengers He sent to speak to them. Through them He offered forgiveness and mercy, if only they would repent. (See Ezek. 3:7-9.) Even so, He sent them, rising up early and sending them. Did God's knowing in advance how they would treat the messengers of His mercy make them less responsible? Surely not.

Now we have the charge given to the prophet. As we see at once, he is to speak to a people who will not hear. The only hope is that here and there some ears may be open to receive it. There is no encouraging hope about the success of the message... If he is not to have the encouragement of visible success, all the more must he find it in knowing that the Lord is with him — and in rejecting His messenger, Israel would be rejecting the Lord.

Though the house of Israel was hardened, God marked out a remnant... The prophet was to warn people one by one... Israel had revolted, but the one who listened to the word would still live. God was acting in His patient grace.

Ezekiel 3. The Lord testifies that Israel is even more hardened than any of the nations around her. The people are "impudent and hard-hearted." So Ezekiel needed a forehead made as hard as the hardest stone, to speak to them the word he had to declare, saying, "Whether they will hear, or whether they will refuse."

The prophet's name means "the Mighty One makes strong" or "firm." That name marks the whole book. God applies it plainly at the very start. He gives Ezekiel his charge against a people "hard of brow and stiff of heart," and declares that He has made his face hard against their faces, and his forehead hard against their foreheads. This means more than the strengthening Ezekiel needed for his difficult position. It shows the attitude of Jehovah Himself towards them.

Forehead… used as a symbol of manifest character. Israel in apostasy is described as having a harlot's forehead, refusing to be ashamed (Jeremiah 3:3). God made Ezekiel's forehead as hard as the hardest stone, because Israel's forehead was hard, and he had to contend with them (Ezekiel 3:8-9)… God set a mark on the foreheads of those who sighed and cried over the abominations done in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people were to be killed (Ezekiel 9:4, 6).

The prophet lives among a people who are like briars and thorns, wounding and entangling anyone who comes near them, and like scorpions with a poisonous sting. Yet the man who has been allowed to see the glory of Jehovah need not be afraid among them. How out of place any fear of man would be in such a man! How badly he would represent the majesty of the God they were dealing with! And how badly, sadly, do we represent Him if we show such fear at all. God has put a sweeter message in our mouths. He has shown us the glory of the Lord more wonderfully than even Ezekiel saw it here.

The godly dependence is there. So are the tears for the church of God, and the deep, honest self-searching of a man who feels completely unable to meet the storm. Where this character is in the man of God, there follows: "God has not given us a spirit of cowardice."… Be not afraid of their faces! There is nothing to fear! The position is a difficult one. You cannot hold it except in dependence. But once you are in it, there is not one single enemy to dread.

Shamir. Ezekiel 3:9; Zechariah 7:12. Translators once rendered it "diamond" in Jeremiah 17:1, but it stands as a symbol of extreme hardness, "harder than a flint." The same word elsewhere appears as "briars." It means any "sharp point" — so a diamond point, or anything hard.

Metsach, "forehead," stands as a symbol of open, visible character. Scripture describes Israel, in her turning away from God, as having a prostitute's forehead and refusing to be ashamed (Jeremiah 3:3). God made Ezekiel's forehead as hard as the hardest stone, because of the hardness of Israel's forehead — these were the people he had to struggle with (Ezekiel 3:8-9).

The prophet's name means "the Mighty One makes strong," or "firm." That name marks the whole book, and it is plainly applied at the very start. God gives him his charge against a people "hard of brow and stiff of heart," and declares that He has made his face hard against their faces, and his forehead hard against their foreheads. This means more than the strength he needed for a hard position. Much more, it shows the attitude of the Lord Himself toward them.

The Lord testifies that Israel is even more hardened than any of the surrounding nations. The people are "defiant and hard-hearted." So Ezekiel needed a forehead as hard as the hardest stone, in order to speak to them the word he had to declare, "whether they hear or refuse to hear."

The prophet lives among such a people. They wound and tangle anyone who comes near them, as briars and thorns do, and they sting like poisonous scorpions. Yet the man God has allowed to see His glory need not be afraid among them. How unfitting any fear of man would be in such a man, and how poorly he would represent the majesty of the God these people had to deal with! And how poorly we represent Him if we show any such fear — we, into whose mouths God has put a sweeter message, and to whom He has revealed the glory of the Lord more wonderfully than Ezekiel saw it here.

Do not be afraid of their faces! There is nothing to fear! The position is a difficult one, and you cannot hold it except in dependence on God. But once you are in it, there is not one single enemy to dread. This is true liberty and confidence — standing in the gap for the Lord, an unusual service, but no less safe.

Knowing this fully, our blessed Saviour says, "Therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near" (verses 7-8). He stood in the place of man, but He relied completely on God's help (verses 7 and 9). Still, the path meant not only the shame, the beating and the spitting we have spoken of, but death itself. With His heart full of love and His face firm like a flint, He pressed on with holy resolve, and He was put to death.

It is most important to see that a lack of spiritual perception is the result of deadness of feeling in the heart. Spiritual sight, hearing and memory are all affected by a coarse, dull heart. When the Lord commissioned Ezekiel as His messenger to the house of Israel, He said to him, "All my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears."

Of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, we have the Lord's testimony to the inspiration of their predictions. To Jeremiah God said, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth" (Jer. 1:9). So he would speak the words of God. To Ezekiel the Lord declared, "You shall speak My words to them, whether they will hear or whether they will refuse; for they are most rebellious" (Ezek. 2:7).

We must receive and eat the Word — that is the spiritual lesson. Ezekiel obeyed. It was self-surrender, and though the message was a hard message, yet it was sweet to him.

Eating, in its scriptural sense, means taking the Word and making it your own. These prophets were to make the messages God gave them to deliver their own. To widen the application: the Bible is not a book of information to collect and then repeat. It is the voice of God to the soul that reads it. You must hear it for yourself before you can rightly pass on what you have heard. A well-known servant of the Lord once said he never read a chapter of the Bible in order to speak on it. When asked why he read it, he replied that it was for his own profit and building up.

Note the thought underneath it. What the servant of God gives out as prophecy or teaching he must first eat, digest and take in himself. Nothing does more spiritual damage than to proclaim and parade knowledge of truth we have not yet made our own in meditation, in prayer, in experience. Fresh truth tastes sweet and thrilling as honey. But once it is digested and taken in, it always displaces flesh and self and the world, and that is a bitter process.

God sent the prophet to Israel, certain that they would not hear. They were shameless and hard-hearted, but the prophet faced them with a forehead as hard as stone. (Verses 1-9) Receiving God's word in his heart, he was to go with a "Thus says the Lord." (Verses 10, 11)

There is no encouraging hope about the success of the message. Yet whether they would hear or refuse, they should know that a prophet had been among them. If he is not to have the encouragement of visible success, all the more must he find it in knowing that the Lord is with him — the One whom Israel would reject by rejecting His messenger.

"And you shall speak My words to them, whether they will hear, or whether they will refuse; for they are most rebellious" (Ezek. 2:7)... So the authority of a testimony from God does not depend on the verdict man may pass on it. The testimony will itself judge man.

By eating — taking the act in its scriptural sense — we understand that the Word was to be taken in and made his own. These prophets were to make the messages they were sent to deliver their own. The Bible, and this applies more widely, is not a book of information to collect and then repeat. It is the voice of God to the soul that reads it. So a man must hear it for himself before he can pass on rightly what he has heard.

Tel-abib means "the mound of green corn." What a picture that name gives of their hopes springing up again in this land of captivity — a mere green mound by the waters of the destroying river... How complete their ignorance, how childish the self-confidence of this hope against hope, a hope with no faith to support it!

The prophet lives among a people who wound and entangle those who come near them, as briars and thorns do, and whose sting is poisonous, as a scorpion's is. Yet the man who has been allowed to see the glory of Jehovah need not be afraid among them. How out of place any fear of man would be in such a man, and how badly he would represent the majesty of the One they had to deal with!

There is no encouraging hope about the success of the message. Yet whether they heard or refused, they would know that there had been a prophet among them. If he is not to have the encouragement of visible success, all the more must he find it in knowing that the Lord is with him — the Lord whom Israel would reject in rejecting His messenger.

It is true, and wonderfully true, that God is glorified and Jesus Christ magnified when the truth is unfolded, whether men hear or refuse. But should that fact be allowed to weaken, in the smallest degree, the eager desire for results in souls? We do not believe it for a moment. The preacher should look for results, and should not be satisfied without them.

Although the house of Israel was hardened, God marked out a remnant, and in this way. The prophet was to warn people one by one; this was the work he was given. If his word was received, the one who listened would be spared... So the people are no longer judged as a whole, as they were when everything depended on the public conduct of the nation or of the king. Israel had revolted, but still the one who listened to the word would live. God was acting in keeping with His patient grace.

The prophet has now been qualified and given strength for his work. So he is brought into it — lifted by the Spirit, with the sound of the wings of the living creatures that kissed one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them.

The Spirit took him up, with the noise of the glory going with him. After seven days among the captives at Tel-abib, the word came that Jehovah had made him a watchman to Israel, with the most solemn charge and responsibility to be faithful at his own risk. It was no longer a question of the nation, but of personal faithfulness.

This sound is heard behind him, at his back, because in the path where God leads, the movement of the living creatures — the whole machinery of government, as it were — follows the man who is walking in it. So it becomes spoken praise of the glory that shines out, whatever the place it shines from. That glory was now seen not in what had been its dwelling place on earth, not in Israel's temple, set apart for it for so many generations, and not yet in its own proper home in heaven. It was seen in an activity called for not simply by its own nature, but by the needs of man, of the creature, and so of creation everywhere.

In Ezekiel the prophet's place is completely outside Jerusalem, by the river Chebar. He is carried there to see the judgment carried out. But the glory of the Lord goes there (it led Nebuchadnezzar in judgment) to judge, and it shows that, come what may, His throne on the cherubim is always there, far beyond the special way it once stood among the people. He had placed Himself among the people in stooping grace and wisdom, but that was only a special showing of Himself in great favour and to display His glory. His people had been unfaithful to it, and that took away the seat of the Throne — the Throne, and not Jehovah off His Throne.

And we know that the Spirit was like a chariot, carrying the prophet of old from place to place, either in reality or in vision. (See 1 Kings 18:12; Ezek. 3:12; Acts 8:29.)

Ezekiel says that in these visions God "brought me to the land of Israel." That is, Ezekiel was carried there only in spirit. The apostle John speaks in the same way in Revelation: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day"; "he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness."

Here is another link with the book of Revelation, where it says of these same living creatures that "day and night they never cease to say, 'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!'" It is beautiful to see the perfect harmony here as their wings, in the prophet's striking word, "kiss" one another. On earth the darkness of night may hang low, and lightning may flash from the threatening storm; yet here there is no storm and no conflict, but peace — the wings even taking on, according to the Hebrew, a tender character, like "a woman with her sister."

In chapter 3 this is followed up. The eaten scroll proves sweet as honey. God sent the prophet to Israel, certain that they would not hear. They were shameless and hard-hearted, but the prophet faced them with a forehead of adamant... Then the Spirit took him up, with the noise of the glory going with him. After seven days among the captives at Tel-abib, the word came that Jehovah made him a watchman to Israel.

He was "in the Spirit" (Revelation 1:10). And we know that the Spirit was like a chariot to carry the prophet of old, either really or in vision, here and there. (See 1 Kings 18:12; Ezekiel 3:12; Acts 8:29.)

In Ezekiel these stand as symbols of God's attributes, tied to His throne. They also picture how He acts on earth in His judicial government and providence. There were wheels on earth, and there was a wheel within a wheel. These wheels acted together with the living creatures. The spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels... Each living creature had four faces. The face of a man speaks of intelligence. The face of a lion symbolises strength. The face of an ox represents patient endurance. The face of an eagle implies swiftness of execution.

It is the exact opposite of circumstances left to blind chance. On the contrary, whatever the revolutions or changes among men, God guides it all with full knowledge, where you would least expect it. The instruments of that providential government stood below the firmament, or expanse. They were in full accord with what was above. And over this was the likeness of a throne.

He hears this sound behind him, at his back. In the path where God leads, the movement of the living creatures — the whole machinery of government, as it were — follows the man who walks in it. So that movement turns into spoken praise of the shining-out glory, wherever that glory shines from. And now the glory showed itself in a new place. Not in what had been its dwelling place on earth, Israel's temple, set apart for it for so many generations. Not in its own proper home in heaven either. It showed itself in activity — activity called out not simply by its own nature, but by the needs of man.

Here is another link with the book of Revelation. It says of these same living creatures that "they never cease to say, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" (Revelation 4:8). It is beautiful to see the perfect harmony here. Their wings, in the prophet's strong wording, "kiss" one another. On earth the covering of night may hang, and lightning may quiver from the threatening storm. Yet here there is no storm and no conflict. Here there is peace, plain and clear.

So, driven by the same energy, the prophet says: "The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the LORD being strong upon me." He still feels the bitterness of God's judgment on His people. This is no discord, once we know the heart behind that judgment — a heart the judgment does not slacken, but drives on... The hand of Jehovah is strong upon him. He is the unchangeable One, known as the Unchangeable in His very covenant name. His hand enables the prophet to carry out the commission he has been given.

Notice the thought underneath. What the servant of God gives out as prophecy or teaching must first be eaten, digested, and made his own. Nothing does more spiritual damage than to proclaim and parade knowledge of truth we have not yet made our own in meditation, in prayer, and in experience. Getting fresh truth is sweet and thrilling, like honey. But once we digest it and take it in, it always displaces the flesh, self and the world — and that is a bitter process.

The bitterness of God's judgment on His people is still felt. This is no discord, once we know the heart behind the judgment — a heart not slowed by that judgment, but driven on. The anger against the rebellion of the people of God burns all the hotter in the man who realises that these are the people of God, and that God is robbed of His glory in them. The hand of Jehovah, the Unchangeable One, known as the Unchangeable in His very covenant name — this hand is strong upon him to equip him for the work God has given him to do.

He was "in the Spirit" (Revelation 1:10). And we know that the Spirit was like a chariot to carry the prophet of old, from place to place, either in reality or in vision. See 1 Kings 18:12; Ezekiel 3:12; Acts 8:29.

All through the book we meet that characteristic expression, seldom found elsewhere: "The hand of the LORD was upon me." Again: "The hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me" (Ezekiel 8:1). And even "the hand of the LORD being strong upon me," where Hebrew uses the same word, chazaq (Ezekiel 3:14). So Jehovah abides, and His word abides, though it is now in judgment.

The prophet's name, "the Mighty One makes strong" or "firm," is characteristic of the book. God applies it plainly at the very start. Giving him his charge against a people "hard of brow and stiff of heart," He declares that He has made his face hard against their faces, and his forehead hard against their foreheads. This means not only the strength he needed for his hard position. It means much more: the attitude of Jehovah Himself towards them.

The character of this prophecy is worth noticing — it is judgment, unlike Jeremiah 15. In Jeremiah, bad as their ways were, God still reasons with their heart. He speaks. Jeremiah is never told that he will be silent. But the strong hand of God, in His majesty, rests on Ezekiel.

Notice this: however high the prophet is raised, he never leaves the plain ground of right and wrong that the conscience sees; see verses 17, 18. High claims to prophetic testimony are more than suspect if they depart from basic moral truth instead of giving it strong support.

God gives the prophet all the time he needs to take in these true human feelings. The weight of his charge does not press him too hard. It lets him feel it all fully in his soul before, at last, he takes it up. Only at the end of the seven days does the word of Jehovah come to him. But what follows shows that, as a nation, there is no hope at all. Their case is closed. For the mass of the people his mission is only to announce that judgment is certainly coming. Yet because God is in it, it is a judgment that discriminates. It separates a remnant, those who do hear, from the crowd that pays no attention.

Tel-abib means "the mound of green corn." What a vivid picture the name gives of hopes springing up again in this land of captivity — and it is only a green mound beside the waters of the destroying river... The sight strikes the prophet's heart and overwhelms him with astonishment for seven days. How complete their ignorance is, and how childish their self-confidence. It is hope against hope, with no faith to support it.

He sat for seven days in their presence without opening his lips. (See Job 2:13.) Then the Lord broke Ezekiel's silence. He spoke to him and gave him a new charge: to be a watchman to the house of Israel. His duty had two parts. First, to hear the word of the Lord from His own lips, and then to give the warning. It is a solemn message and charge, making known to the prophet his great responsibility.

The Bible — and this applies more widely — is not a book of information to collect and then repeat. It is the voice of God to the soul that reads it. So you must hear it for yourself before you can rightly pass on what you have heard... If Ezekiel and John are examples — and we could add others — we are not fit to be living channels of divine truth until we have made it our own.

Although the house of Israel was hardened, God marked out a remnant, and He did it like this. The prophet was to warn people one by one; that was the work God appointed him to. If a person received his word, that listener would be spared. Ezekiel was responsible for carrying out this duty. But each person would bear the consequences of his own conduct after hearing the word. So God no longer judges the people as a whole. Once, everything depended on the public conduct of the nation or the king. Israel had revolted, but still the one who listened to the word should live. God was acting according to His long-suffering grace.

But these divine words come first of all to the prophet himself. God sets him in charge as His watchman for the people. He is to put every soul on its own responsibility before God. And his own responsibility stays the same, whatever the result, or the apparent lack of result... This matters for us at all times. We are so quick to argue from results. Results can never be our guide, because they cannot come first; they only follow. They cannot settle the question of duty for people who are to walk by faith and not by sight.

God allows the prophet full time to realise these true human feelings. The weight of his charge does not press him too hard. It lets him take it all in within his own soul before, at last, he takes it up. Only at the end of the seven days does the word of the Lord come to him.

The throne of the supreme and sovereign Lord God now appears in Chaldea — in the place where the prophet then was — among the nations. It is no longer at Jerusalem, tied to the land... So God speaks to Ezekiel as to a "son of man." The title suited the testimony of a God who spoke from outside His people. He was no longer among them, but judged them from the throne of His sovereignty. It is Christ's own title, seen as rejected and outside of Israel, though He never stops thinking of the blessing of the people in grace.

The Lord broke Ezekiel's silence. He spoke to him and gave him a new charge: watchman to the house of Israel. His duty was twofold: first, to hear the word of the Lord from His own lips, and then to give the warning. It is a solemn message and charge, making known to the prophet his great responsibility.

These passages all combine to show one thing. In His work as the Lord's Spokesman to the nation, the Servant-Prophet was Himself first of all the Hearer of God. This shows for all time the essential nature of true and approved service.

The house of Israel was hardened, yet God marked out a remnant, and He did it in this way. The prophet was to warn each person — this was the work he was appointed to. If anyone received his word, that listener would be spared. Ezekiel would be responsible for carrying out this duty. But each person would bear the consequences of his own conduct after he had heard the word. So God no longer judges the people as a whole. Once, everything depended on the public conduct of the nation or of the king. Israel had revolted, but still, whoever listened to the word would live. God was acting according to His patient grace.

Under the figure of a watchman, God sets Ezekiel to warn the house of Israel. If any ignored the sound of the trumpet, their blood would be on their own head. If the watchman did not blow it, his blood would pay the penalty.

This is an important point for us at all times. We are so ready to argue from mere results. But results can never be the right guide, since they cannot come first — they only follow. And they cannot settle the question of duty for those who are to walk by faith and not by sight.

They themselves could bear witness that he was pure from the blood of all men. No one could accuse him of failing to warn them and to set before them the truth that would deliver them. He had been a faithful watchman (compare Ezekiel 3:17-21). He did not hold back from declaring the entire counsel of God.

Then the Spirit lifted him up, with the sound of the glory going with him. After seven days among the captives at Tel-abib, the word came that Jehovah had made him a watchman to Israel. The charge and the responsibility were of the most solemn kind: he had to be faithful, and it was at his own risk if he failed. It was no longer a question of the nation, but of each person's faithfulness.

Although the house of Israel was hardened, God marked out a remnant, and He did it this way. The prophet was to warn people one by one; this was the work God gave him. If someone took his word in, that listener would be spared. Ezekiel was responsible to carry out this duty, but each person had to bear the consequences of his own conduct once he had heard the word. So the people are no longer judged as a whole, as they were when everything depended on the public conduct of the nation or of the king. Israel had revolted, but anyone who listened to the word would still live. God was acting in keeping with His patient grace.

Notice that everything before us here belongs to God's open, visible government of the world, which stands out so clearly and fits so well in Ezekiel's prophecy. So the death threatened to the wicked is not simply the death we all live under. Nor is it, as people commonly assume, eternal death as the doom of every unrepentant soul. It is removal from the earth, under the government of God.

This passage, and the matching one in chapter 33:1-20, has often been used to defend what people call "falling from grace" — the idea that a true believer, who is saved by grace, may sin and so become unsaved again, and then perish in his sins like the wicked... The message God gave to Ezekiel fits completely with the character of the law-covenant, though grace also shows itself in it. Righteousness does not have the same meaning here as in the New Testament. God makes us righteous through faith in Jesus Christ.

But God's words come first of all to Ezekiel himself. He is set in charge as God's watchman for the people, to put each soul on its own responsibility before God. His own responsibility stays unchanged, whatever the result, or whatever looks like a lack of result... This is an important point for us at all times. We are so quick to argue from results alone, and results can never be a proper guide. Results do not come first; they follow. They cannot settle the question of duty for those who are to walk by faith and not by sight.

They themselves could bear witness that he was pure from the blood of all men. No one could accuse him of failing to warn them, or of holding back the truth that would deliver them. He had been a faithful watchman (compare Ezekiel 3:17-21), and he did not avoid declaring the whole counsel of God.

Men might call him brutally abrupt, lacking in tact... those today whose work it is to reason with sinful and lost men must not tone down God's truth, or hold back from telling a sinful world what lies ahead of it.

God set apart a remnant, and He did it in this way. The prophet was to warn people one by one. That was the work God gave him. If someone received his word, that listener would be spared. Ezekiel had to carry out this duty. But each person would bear the consequences of his own conduct once he had heard the word. So God no longer judges the people as one body. Before, everything depended on the public conduct of the nation or of the king. Israel had revolted, but still the one who listened to the word should live. God was acting in accordance with His long-suffering grace.

God's words are now first of all to Ezekiel himself. God puts him in charge as His watchman for the people. His task is to place every single soul on its own responsibility before God. His own responsibility stays unchanged, whatever the result or apparent lack of result. Warned or unwarned, the wicked man who stays obstinate in his wickedness will die... This is an important point for us at all times. We are so apt to argue from mere results. Results can never be our right guide. They cannot come first; they only follow. They cannot change the question of duty for those who are to walk by faith and not by sight.

Notice that everything before us here belongs to God's outward, visible government. That is prominent and fitting in the prophecy of Ezekiel. So the death threatened to the wicked is not simply the death we all face. Nor is it, as many suppose, eternal death as the doom of every unrepentant soul. It is a removal from earth, under the government of God. Even now, that government works for the blessing of the upright with Him.

People have often used this passage, and the matching one in chapter 33:1-20, to defend what is called "falling from grace." The idea is that a true believer, saved by grace, may sin, become unsaved again, and then perish in his sins like the wicked... God's message to Ezekiel fully matches the character of the law-covenant, though it also shows grace. Righteousness does not have the same meaning here as in the New Testament. We are constituted righteous by faith in Jesus Christ.

The elders at Ephesus could themselves bear witness that Paul was innocent of the blood of all. No one could accuse him of failing to warn them. He set before them the truth that would deliver them. He had been a faithful watchman (compare Ezekiel 3:17-21). He never held back from declaring the whole counsel of God.

Many go to hear the gospel or a sermon as a religious duty. Having done that, they think themselves the better for it. They are satisfied that they were there. But the thought that they are responsible to accept or refuse the message never enters the mind. This is the sad condition of thousands. But we must add that the fault may not lie only with the hearers. What they heard may do little to catch their attention or touch the heart and conscience. Everything the preacher said may be true, yet unsuited to the unconverted and unfit to wake a soul asleep in sin. So the preacher carries a solemn responsibility!

The prophet had to warn each person. God appointed him to this work. If a man received his word and listened, he would be spared. Ezekiel was responsible for carrying out this duty. But each person had to bear the consequences of his own conduct after he had heard the word. So God no longer judges the people as a whole. Before, everything depended on the public conduct of the nation or of the king.

Warned or not warned, the wicked man who is stubborn in his wickedness will die. So will the man who turns from his righteousness to do wrong. It makes no difference whether anyone gave him the warnings that should have kept him in the path of righteousness. This is an important point for us at all times. We argue too easily from results alone. Results can never be our guide. They do not come first; they only follow. They cannot change the question of duty for those who are to walk by faith and not by sight.

Notice that everything now before us belongs to God's outward, visible government. That government stands out in Ezekiel's prophecy, and it fits it well. So the death threatened to the wicked is not simply the death we all live under. Nor is it eternal death, the doom of every unrepentant soul, as people commonly think. It is a removal from the earth under the government of God.

Ezekiel 3:20, and many similar passages, present man in responsibility under the government of God. They cannot, therefore, be applied to one who is the subject of free, sovereign and unqualified grace. The gospel meets me as an utterly lost sinner, as one condemned under the law. It brings me a full and unconditional salvation. It gives me eternal life, not temporary or conditional life.

"Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God." The apostle could declare in all seriousness that he had been faithful to the trust the Lord gave him. (Compare Ezek. 3:18-20.) At least twice he openly rejects that kind of holding back. Some who bear the Christian name are not ashamed to claim it as a merit. With such teaching, no wonder that "the hungry sheep look up and are not fed."

Although the house of Israel was hardened, God still marked out a remnant, and He did it in this way. The prophet was to warn each person: that was the work he was given. If they received his word, the one who listened would be spared. Ezekiel was responsible for carrying out this duty. But each person had to bear the consequences of his own conduct after he had heard the word. So the people are no longer judged as a whole. In the past everything depended on the public conduct of the nation or of the king.

Notice here that everything now before us belongs to God's outward, visible government. That government stands out clearly in Ezekiel's prophecy, and it fits the book. So the death threatened to the wicked is not simply the death we all lie under. Nor is it eternal death as the doom of every unrepentant soul, as people commonly suppose. It is a removal from earth under the government of God — a government that even now works for the blessing of the upright who are with Him.

God is not speaking of absolute righteousness. He means those who in heart are His own. The Old Testament especially calls such people "the righteous" again and again. Nor does He mean the righteous by faith, since God had not yet clearly announced that principle.

God's words now come first of all to Ezekiel himself. He is set in charge as God's watchman for the people. His task is to put every soul on its own responsibility before God, while his own responsibility stays the same, whatever the result or apparent lack of result… This is an important point for us at all times. We argue too easily from mere results, and results can never be our guide. They cannot come first; they only follow. They cannot change the question of duty for those who are to walk by faith and not by sight.

"I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God." In this way the apostle could bear solemn witness that he had been faithful to the trust the Lord gave him. (Compare Ezekiel 3:18-20.) At least twice he plainly denies any such holding back — something some who bear the Christian name have not been ashamed to claim as a virtue.

What is in view here is the restoration of a believer who has wandered from God… Saving a soul from death does not always mean saving it from eternal death. It means saving it from that judgment of God we saw at Corinth, where many among them were weak and ill, and many had died.

The heavens were opened — he saw visions of God — the word of the Lord came to him — the hand of the Lord was upon him... Notice the order: an opened heaven, a vision, the call, and enablement by the power of God. Such is still the order for the servants of the Lord. The phrase "The hand of the LORD was upon him," or came upon me, is found seven times in Ezekiel.

The hand of Jehovah — the unchangeable One, known as the Unchangeable in His very covenant name — is strong upon him. That hand gives him strength to carry out the commission God has given him.

Moses at Horeb, Elijah at Cherith, Ezekiel at Chebar, Paul in Arabia, and John at Patmos, all show in a striking way how important it is, in practice, to be alone with God. And when we look at the Divine Servant, we find He spent nearly ten times as long in private as He spent in public.

Preparation for active service happens in secret with God, as we learn what we are in fellowship with Him. That is where the battle is truly fought. Power for active service does not come from active service. It comes from time with God in secret.

Jehovah now calls the prophet into the valley to speak with him. The word used here means "cleft," though it is sometimes used for a plain, as in Genesis 11:2, "plain of Shinar." It is also used for the valley of Jericho, the deep Jordan cleft where the river runs into the Dead Sea. In all that we have seen, God is indeed splitting open the mountains of man's pride. He breaks in on everything that seems most stable. There He makes His own people recognize a judgment that abases them before Him. Yet there also His glory can appear to them, as it now does to the prophet. A man must always be abased before he can be exalted.

Outside the land, far away by distant Chebar, a prophet whose name does not point to the covenant-God sees visions of God outside of Israel. Turn to the third chapter of the same book, verse 23: "Then I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory that I had seen by the Chebar canal, and I fell on my face." It is the glory of God.

The prophet again sees the glory of Jehovah alone. The Spirit tells him he is not to go out among the people. Instead he will be a prisoner in his house, and God will make his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth. They were a rebellious people, and as a people they were not to receive the warning. God would open the prophet's mouth when He pleased.

The people are not ready to receive God's message. So, as he is told, their condition will put bands on him. He can speak among these stubborn people only as God opens the way for him — a way nothing can stop, for the Spirit of God refuses to be hindered... anyone who would be fruitful in this work must know he depends on God entirely, and must watch for the doors that open under the Hand that guides.

Ezekiel does not only show the holiness I spoke of; it also tells us that God is outside the people. Ezekiel is among the captives at the river Chebar. While he is there he sees the glory of the Lord. It is the glory that was on the cherubim, those mighty agents of divine power — the real cherubim, not the typical golden ones. Outside the land, far off by distant Chebar, a prophet sees visions of God outside of Israel, and his own name does not point to the covenant-God.

In Ezekiel the prophet's place is quite outside Jerusalem, by the river Chebar. He is carried there to see the judgment carried out. But the glory of the Lord goes there to judge, and it led Nebuchadnezzar in judgment. It shows that, come what will, His throne on the cherubim is always there... He had taken His place among the people in grace and wisdom that stooped to them. Yet that was only a special showing of Himself, in great favour, to display His glory. His people had been unfaithful to it, and that took away the seat of the Throne — it moved the Throne, but it did not take Jehovah off His Throne.

The word used here is "cleft." It is sometimes used for a plain, as in Genesis 11:2, "a plain in the land of Shinar." Yet even there it points to its strict meaning: a cleft between the mountains. It is used for the valley of Jericho, the deep Jordan-cleft through which it enters the Dead Sea. Its meaning here should be plain. In all that we have seen, God is indeed splitting the mountains of man's pride. He breaks through everything that seems most stable. There those who are truly His own come to recognise a judgment that humbles them before Him. But there too the glory of God can appear to them, as it now does to the prophet. A person must always be brought low to be lifted up. And because of what we are, we must stay low to stay in that lifting up.

Ezekiel and Daniel, fellow prophets, both fail completely in the divine presence. Only afterwards can they stand, and that through the gracious intervention of the Son of Man. (Ezek. 3; Dan. 10.)

Moses at Horeb, Elijah at Cherith, Ezekiel at Chebar, Paul in Arabia, and John at Patmos are all striking examples. They show the great practical importance of being alone with God.

The prophet again sees the glory of Jehovah by himself. The Spirit tells him that he is not to go out among the people. He is to be a prisoner in his house, and God will make his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth. They were a rebellious people, and God would not give them the warning as a people. When He pleased, He would open the prophet's mouth.

And not only that, but the Spirit enters into him to make him stand. He cannot even listen to the message while flat on the ground. That posture may rightly express how small the creature is in God's presence. But it cannot express God's grace toward him. We see this everywhere in the history of the prophets, most clearly in Daniel, and again in the case of John the beloved. God cannot speak out His thoughts to someone lying face down in the dust before Him. This is already a first taste of what enables us to say that we have not received the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" That cry has not yet come in Ezekiel's day, but even so the spirit of fear is told to leave, so that God's words may have their proper character.

The prophet again sees the glory of Jehovah by himself. The Spirit tells him that he is not to go out among the people. He will be a prisoner in his house, and God will make his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth. They were a rebellious people, and as a people they were not to receive the warning. God, when He pleased, would open the mouth of the prophet.

He was shut up in his house; they were to put bands on him and bind him. He was not to go among the captives, and God made him dumb (verses 25-26). Yet this dumbness was not complete or constant. Finally it stopped altogether. That was after Jerusalem had fallen (33:21-22). The dumbness was a sign to the nation — the sign of God's displeasure and of the coming judgment on Jerusalem (24:27).

God would make his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth to enforce his silence. The reason: He would no longer plead with them in love, as He had done through Jeremiah, until He opened the prophet's mouth again.

Prostrate the prophet falls again; for who can stand before this holy, holy, holy God? But again the Spirit raises him and sets him on his feet. He now receives an instruction which at first seems almost to contradict the call he has received. In fact it is meant to guide him in obeying that call. He is to shut himself in his house. There is no readiness on the people's part to receive what God has to say... he can only speak among these stubborn people when God opens the way for him. Nothing can resist that opening, for the Spirit of God refuses to be hindered... that is why the apostle says we must "redeem the time" (Eph. 5:16) — the word really means "the opportunity." We are to take the openings which God makes for speaking His message among men, "because the days are evil." For it is He who "opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens." His commission of grace is world-wide. Still, the one who would be fruitful in it must realize complete dependence, and watch for the doors that open under the Hand that guides.

God has made all His servants know and experience this truth. Moses at Horeb, Elijah at Cherith, Ezekiel at Chebar, Paul in Arabia, and John at Patmos are all striking examples. They show how important it is in practice to be alone with God. Look at the Divine Servant: the time He spent in private was nearly ten times as long as the time He spent in public.

Then the Spirit lifted him up, with the sound of the glory going with him. After seven days among the captives at Tel-abib, the word came that the LORD had made him a watchman to Israel. He was given a most solemn charge and responsibility: to be faithful at his own risk. It was no longer a question of the nation, but of each person's faithfulness. The chapter closes with a final command, when he sees the glory again on the plain, as he had by the Chebar. He was to be a prisoner in his house, with his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth, because they were rebellious.

The prophet sees the glory of the LORD again, alone. The Spirit tells him that he is not to go out among the people. He is to be a prisoner in his house, and God will make his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth. They were a rebellious people, and God would no longer give them the warning as a nation. God would open the prophet's mouth whenever He pleased.

God is with the captives, not with the house, and so He has withdrawn to His sovereign place on the Throne. He treats them as rebellious there, and He visits Jerusalem now in judgment. He acts on it from outside. So Ezekiel is son of man, and he is silent, because the Spirit of God is not speaking from His place within, but speaking to them in His majesty from outside.

After that, he was shut up in his house. They were to put cords on him and bind him. He was not to go among the captives, and God made him unable to speak. Yet this silence was not complete or constant. In the end it stopped altogether. That was after Jerusalem had fallen. The silence was a sign to the nation — the sign of God's displeasure and of the judgment coming on Jerusalem.

He is to shut himself in his house. The people are not ready to receive God's message. So their condition, as he is told, is what puts the cords on him. He can speak among these stubborn people only as God opens the way for him. Nothing can block that opening, because the Spirit of God refuses to be hindered. … While the commission of His grace reaches the whole world, anyone who wants to be fruitful in it must know his complete dependence on God, and watch for the doors that open under the Hand that guides.

God commanded this great prophet to do certain things in front of the people. They were living in deception after listening to the false prophets. In chapter 3:24-26 he had to shut himself in, bind himself, and then God made him silent. Next God told him to lie on his right side and on his left for 430 days. In chapter 4:9 he had to eat unclean bread. Then he had to shave his head and beard. He had to carry a captive's baggage. When his wife died, he was not to mourn. And again he lost his speech.

The prophet again sees the glory of Jehovah by himself. The Spirit tells him that he is not to go out among the people. He is to be a prisoner in his house, and God will make his tongue cling to the roof of his mouth. This is because they were a rebellious people, and as a people they were not to receive the warning. God, when He pleased, would open the mouth of the prophet, and he would speak firmly to the people, declaring the word of Jehovah. Let anyone hear who was willing. Jehovah would no longer plead in love, as He had done.

They were so rebellious that God would not have them warned. God would make Ezekiel's tongue cling to the roof of his mouth (Ezek. 3:26) to enforce his silence. He would no more plead with them in love, as He had done by Jeremiah, until He again opened his mouth.

He has no reasoning with them in the spirit of bringing them back. But note this: however high the prophet is raised, he never departs from the plain ground of right and wrong that any conscience can see. See verses 17, 18.

He is to shut himself in his house. The people are not ready to receive God's message. So their condition, as he is told, will put bands on him. He can speak among these stubborn people only as God opens the way for him, and nothing can hold that opening back, for the Spirit of God refuses to be hindered. We cannot help seeing that what was true of Israel in that day is true now of the world at large. That is why the apostle says we must "redeem the time" (Eph. 5:16) — "the opportunity," as it really is. Take the openings God makes for speaking His message among men, "because the days are evil."

After that, he was shut up in his house; they were to put bands upon him and bind him. He was not to go among the captives, and God made him mute (verses 25-26). Yet this muteness was not complete or constant. Finally it ceased altogether. That was after Jerusalem had fallen (33:21-22). The muteness was a sign to the nation — the sign of God's displeasure and the coming judgment upon Jerusalem (24:27).

The siege lasted nearly a year and a half. Then came the message that the enemy had taken the city. In that day, when at last all was over and no one could hold on to a false hope any longer, God would open the prophet's mouth. He would speak, and be mute no more... When judgment has had its way, and God has fully vindicated His holiness, God opens the prophet's mouth again — not for more judgment, but to announce blessing to come. In His unchanging goodness that blessing is still reserved for them, however much their persistent sin has delayed it.

After that, he was shut inside his house, and people were to put ropes on him and tie him up. He was not to go among the captives, and God made him unable to speak (verses 25-26). Yet this silence was not total, and it was not constant. In the end it stopped completely. That was after Jerusalem had fallen (33:21-22). The silence was a sign to the nation — the sign of God's displeasure and the coming judgment upon Jerusalem (24:27).

They were so rebellious that Ezekiel was not to warn them. God would make his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth (Ezek. 3:26) to force him to stay silent. He would plead with them in love no longer, as He had done through Jeremiah, until He opened his mouth again.

Our prophet sees the people completely hardened. No moral appeal reaches them any longer. They are not even open to rebuke. So in Ezekiel the time has come to announce that the Lord could not act on the principles of His old dealings with Israel. He sets out a new line of conduct. He appeals to the conscience of each person, and each one is judged by his own ways.

He is to shut himself in his house. The people are not ready to receive God's message. So their condition, as he is told, puts bands on him. He can speak among these hardened people only as God opens the way for him, and the Spirit of God will not be held back. We cannot help seeing that what was true of Israel in that day is true now of the world at large. That is why the apostle says we must "redeem the time" (Eph. 5:16) — "the opportunity," as it really is. Take the openings God makes for speaking His message among people, "because the days are evil."

Note well how Ezekiel sees the glory and is sent to Tel-abib. Then he says nothing. He is sent into his house, with bands on him so that he does not go out among them. He speaks only when God opens the prophet's mouth with "He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse." He does not reason with them with the aim of bringing them back. But note this: however high the prophet is raised, he never leaves the plain ground of right and wrong that any conscience can see; see verses 17, 18.

Here the Lord fills the place of Ezekiel, as He had filled the place of Jeremiah in the Gospel... There He was the sorrowing, sympathizing Prophet. But here He stands as the Son of Man, like Ezekiel in the place of judgment, saying in spirit, "He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse." "Let the filthy still be filthy, and the holy still be holy." There was no tear in the eye of Ezekiel, though rivers of water ran down the cheeks of Jeremiah.

As a nation there is no hope at all. Their case is closed. For the mass of the people, his mission is only to declare that judgment is certainly coming. But because God is in it, that judgment makes a distinction. It separates a remnant of those who do hear from the crowd that pays no attention.

Judah's power was broken and Jehoiachin was carried away captive. But Jerusalem was not destroyed then. The king of Babylon set Jehoiachin's uncle over it and changed his name from Mattaniah to Zedekiah. He reigned eleven years in Jerusalem, doing evil in the sight of the Lord. In the end he broke his covenant and rebelled against the king of Babylon. That led to the sack of the city in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. During these eleven years Ezekiel lived by the river Chebar, a captive.

The word tile means "brick." The Babylonians used them to preserve their records, and many have turned up marked with building plans and so on. The sign of the tile foretells the siege of Jerusalem and Jehovah's opposition to the city.

Parable language appears again here. The Lord fully explains what it means, in relation to His own use of it (Matt. 13:13). It is only the remnant from whom anything can now be expected. The call of the parable is to "him who has ears to hear." And so we now have four signs, in which the prophet is to address himself to those around him.

The first sign is a simple one, but how significant! God tells him to take a brick, lay it before him, draw a city on it — Jerusalem, in fact — lay siege against it, and set battering rams against it all round. Simple enough, in view of what was then threatening the people. But there is a deeper meaning. This is a sign indeed, for the prophet represents God Himself, and God is at work through these strange hostile hands of His people's enemies. There is, as it were, a wall of iron between the prophet and the city. The picture of the separation their sins had caused is not too strong. But there is more. Separation from God is never a matter of indifference to Him… If He separates Himself from the people, it is not simply to cast them off, but to lay siege Himself against them. Jerusalem is where the hopes of the people and the promises of God come together. Jerusalem is under siege, and God, seen in the attitude of the prophet, lays siege against it Himself. That is a sign to the house of Israel that should stir them to the very depths.

This throne of the supreme and sovereign Lord God appears in Chaldea — the land where the prophet then lived — among the Gentiles. It is no longer seen at Jerusalem in connection with the land… So God speaks to Ezekiel as to a "son of man." That title suited the testimony of a God who now spoke from outside His people. He was no longer among them. He was judging them from the throne of His sovereignty. It is Christ's own title, seen as rejected and outside of Israel, although He never ceases to think of the blessing of the people in grace.

How solemn is God's testimony about man, who is responsible to walk by the light given him! Man does not only drift further and further from God. He breaks down from the very first. Every fresh means of calling him back only proves how completely his heart and will have turned away. So no flesh can glory in His presence. May we glory in the Lord! Not the first man, but the second, has glorified God.

The word "tile" means "brick." The Babylonians used bricks to keep their records. Many have turned up marked with building plans and the like. The sign of the tile foretells the siege of Jerusalem and the Lord's opposition against the city.

The first sign is a simple one — but how significant! God tells him to take a brick, lay it before him, and draw a city on it — Jerusalem, in fact — then lay siege against it and place battering rams against it all around. All simple enough, given what was threatening the people at that time.

The machine used in ancient times for knocking down gates or walls. A heavy beam hung by chains, with an iron head at the end shaped something like a ram. The name (which in both passages is simply "ram") may have come from its shape. Or it may have come from the likeness of its action to the butting of a ram. It was pulled back from the wall and then swung hard against it. Ezekiel 4:2; Ezekiel 21:22.

This great prophet had to do certain things God commanded, in front of the people. They were living in deception after listening to the false prophets. In chapter 3:24-26 he had to shut himself up and bind himself, and then God made him mute. Then God commanded him to lie on his right side and on his left for 430 days (4:4-8). In chapter 4:9 he had to eat unclean bread. Then he had to shave his head and beard (5:1). He had to carry a captive's baggage (12:3-7). When his wife died, he was not to mourn (24:15-20). And again he lost his speech (24:27).

God is with the exiles, not with the house. So He has withdrawn to His sovereign place on the Throne… He now visits Jerusalem in judgment. He acts on it from outside… So, after God brought him among them mute, Ezekiel is taken into his house and besieges Jerusalem.

God had pronounced a general judgment on the condition of Israel. Besides that, Jerusalem now appears before the God she had despised. All the iniquity of the people lay on her, and it had come to its height. In acting out the siege of Jerusalem, the prophet was also to point out the years of iniquity that had led to this judgment.

How solemn is God's testimony about man, who is responsible to walk by the light God gives him! He does not only go farther and farther from God. He breaks down from the very start. And every fresh means of calling him back only proves his total alienation in heart and will. So no flesh can boast in His presence. May we boast in the Lord! Not the first man but the second has glorified God.

Some of these were made of iron, as Ezekiel 4:3 mentions, and people used them for baking cakes and similar things (Leviticus 2:5; 1 Chronicles 23:29). The writer probably means the iron plates laid on the small ovens, where bread and cakes were baked.

The word "tile" means "brick." The Babylonians used bricks to preserve their records, and many of them turn up marked with building plans and so on. The sign of the tile foretells the siege of Jerusalem and the Lord's opposition to the city.

This is indeed a sign. The prophet stands as the representative of God Himself, and it is God who is at work through these strange hostile hands of His people's enemies. There is, as it were, a wall of iron between the prophet and the city. The picture here is not too strong for the separation their sins had caused. But there is more. God never separates Himself with any indifference, for He is the living God, always moving in the activity of His own nature. If He separates Himself from the people, it is not simply to cast them off. It is to "lay siege" Himself against them. In Jerusalem the hopes of the people and the promises of God come together. For Jerusalem to be under siege, and for God Himself — seen in the attitude of the prophet — to lay siege against it, is indeed a sign to the house of Israel that should stir them to the very depth.

God pronounced a general judgment on the condition of Israel. Besides that, Jerusalem appears before God, whom she had despised. All the iniquity of the people lay on her, and it had now come to its height.

Nebuchadnezzar had not yet destroyed Jerusalem completely. So the captives, who had listened to the false prophets, expected a speedy return to their own land… Ezekiel also worked to break down this false hope, preached by prophets whom the Lord had not sent. He had to deliver the message that there was no hope for Jerusalem. He did it by his stern and solemn words, and by actions and symbols that God commanded.

Not only would the Lord give the inhabitants of Jerusalem to the fire as fuel like the vine, but He would "set His face against them." And what does this not mean to those who know His name and His necessary hatred of evil!… Escape there was none, for no real repentance followed, and God was not mocked… The Lord had two options. He could accept His own dishonour by keeping Jerusalem safe even though it had turned away from Him. Or He could make them know that He is the Lord when He set His face against them. A sorrowful choice! The first could not be. So the second was the only course their sins deserved. It was the only road open until Messiah came. He bore their judgment, and so made it righteous for the mercies of God to begin again on the ground of sovereign grace.

He is to lie on his side, the left one, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel on it. He is to bear this 390 days, each day of penalty matching a year of their iniquity... The siege of Jerusalem is, we may say, the object-lesson running through it all. As he lies under the burden of their sin, he is to bare his arm and prophesy against the city. He is not to turn from one side to the other until he has completed the days of the siege.

The word always used for bearing the consequence of our own or a father's sin... is not bearing it in another's place, but as a consequence falling on oneself... in Ezekiel's case he clearly did not bear it in another's place. He stood as their representative, just as in the ordinary case.

Israel's sin was greater than Judah's, but Israel is seen here as a whole. The prophet does more than keep the whole nation in view. He is to identify himself with their iniquities. However little the guilty nation felt it, this godly prophet surely felt his nation's sin. He owned it before God and accepted the consequences of it. No doubt God sustained him; otherwise he could never have stayed like that for so long.

By grace, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we must put ourselves in the place of those whose case we want to bring to God... Nothing shows the Spirit of Christ more clearly than this: sharing fully in the sorrowful state of God's people caused by their sins. It is in this way that saints may bear one another's burdens.

I have no doubt that a sounder view counts the 390 years of Israel from Jeroboam. It was to Jeroboam that the prophet Ahijah announced from Jehovah the gift of the ten tribes, torn out of Solomon's hand. And the forty years of Judah point to the reign of Solomon himself, which settled the ruin even of that most favoured part of the people.

There is no reason why the 390 years should not be years of God's forbearance with the nation as a whole. Date them from the split of the kingdoms under Jeroboam to the fall of Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar, and we get almost exactly this length of time... It is striking also that the actual siege of Jerusalem lasted about the 390 days of the prophet's burden.

The prophet's position reminded the captives of the shameful history of their long unfaithfulness. But there was more. The Lord told Ezekiel that He had laid the years of their iniquity on him, and that he would bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. So the sign pictured the real punishment that was now to fall on the nation.

God pronounced a general judgment on the condition of Israel. Besides that, Jerusalem appears before God whom she had despised. All the iniquity of the people, now at its height, was resting on her. The prophet was acting out the siege of Jerusalem. He was also to point out the years of iniquity that had led to this judgment: for Israel in general, 390; for Judah, 40.

In his own person Ezekiel had to experience the great degradation and judgment that was to fall on all the people. The critical school has invented all kinds of theories to explain, or rather explain away, the divine command given to the prophet. They say he may have suffered from some form of epilepsy or catalepsy. They also say no man could lie on his left side for 390 days without a break. But the text nowhere says the prophet was to be in that position day and night through those allotted days. The 390 and 40 days are symbolic. They mean years, giving a total of 430 years. This reminds us of Exodus 12:40-41, where Israel's stay in Egypt is given as 430 years.

The symbolic siege of Ezekiel is another witness called to support the system (Ezek. 4:4-9). Here again we have to note that the argument built on it is not for the dates in Ezekiel's prophecy, where it is recorded, but for Daniel and John, where it is not. From such special instances, so carefully explained, it would seem safe to conclude that a day not so applied was to be taken literally.

The only apparent exceptions I am aware of, and they are only apparent, are Leviticus 16:22, the scapegoat, and Ezekiel 4:4-5, 6... in the case of Ezekiel it was clearly not vicarious, but representative, and the same as the ordinary case.

The sin of Israel exceeded that of Judah. But Israel is looked at as a whole. The interests of the whole nation are not only before the prophet's eye; he is to identify himself with their iniquities. The guilty nation may have felt little. Yet this godly prophet surely felt deeply and owned before God the sin of his nation, and accepted its consequences... He bore their iniquities in spirit before God, in the remarkable position these verses describe. God sustained him; otherwise he could never have stayed like that for so long.

I have no doubt that the sounder view counts the 390 years of Israel from Jeroboam. It was to Jeroboam that Ahijah announced from Jehovah the gift of the ten tribes, torn out of Solomon's hand. On this view the forty years of Judah point to the reign of Solomon himself, which settled the ruin even of that most favoured part of the people.

Date them from the separation of the kingdoms under Jeroboam to the fall of Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar, and we have almost this exact length of time... Judgment had already begun, while the long-suffering of God tempered it through all this period. It is striking too that the actual siege of Jerusalem lasted about the 390 days of the prophet's burden.

How solemn is the testimony God gives about man, seen in his responsibility to walk by the light given him! He does not only go farther and farther from God. He breaks down from the very first. Every fresh means of calling him back only proves how completely alienated he is in heart and will. So no flesh can glory in His presence. May we glory in the Lord! Not the first man, but the second, has glorified God.

He is to lie on his side, the left one, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel on it. He is to bear this 390 days, each day of penalty corresponding to a year of their iniquity. But this is not all. When he has finished this, he is to lie again on his side, the right one. Now he is to bear the iniquity of the house of Judah 40 days, each day once more given for a year. Through it all, we may say, the siege of Jerusalem is the object-lesson.

Those who insist on a literal reading often raise another point, and it deserves notice — days put for years. They deny this, even though both Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6 plainly suggest the idea.

The symbolic siege of Ezekiel is another witness called to support the system (Ezek. 4:4-9). Here again we must note something. Men build an argument on it, not for the dates in Ezekiel's own prophecy, where we find the key recorded, but for Daniel and John, where we do not. Scripture explains these special cases with care. So it seems safe to conclude that a day not used this way was meant literally.

I have no doubt that a sounder view counts the three hundred and ninety years of Israel from Jeroboam. It was to Jeroboam that Ahijah announced from the Lord the gift of the ten tribes, torn out of Solomon's hand. And the forty years of Judah point to the reign of Solomon himself. His reign decided the ruin even of that most favoured part of the people. Hardly anyone could see, under the wealth and wisdom of the king, where the idolatry then practised would lead.

The 390 days probably run from the division of the kingdom in B.C. 975 to 588, the destruction of Jerusalem — 388 full years, or 390 in round numbers. "Israel," as often, stands for the ten tribes. It is not so clear what the 40 years for Judah refer to. They were for the iniquity of Judah. They may refer to the reign of Manasseh before his captivity and reformation. That reign is pointed out as the crowning sin of Judah, and the reason they were sent into captivity. 2 Kings 21:11-13.

The only apparent exceptions that I am aware of, and they are only apparent, are Leviticus 16:22, the scapegoat, and Ezekiel 4:4-5, 6. But the first is "he shall carry them into a land not inhabited," and in Ezekiel's case it was plainly not substitution but representation, the same as the ordinary case.

The sin of Israel exceeded that of Judah, but Israel is looked at as a whole. The interests of the whole nation are before the prophet's eye, and he is to identify himself with their iniquities. However little the guilty nation may have felt it, this godly prophet without doubt felt it deeply and owned the sin of his nation before God. He accepted the consequences of it. Whether for three hundred and ninety days for Israel or forty days for Judah, he bore their iniquities in spirit before God. God sustained him, without doubt; otherwise he could never have stayed like that for so long.

This is a sign indeed. The prophet stands as the representative of God Himself, and it is God who is at work through the strange hostile hands of His people's enemies. There is, as it were, a wall of iron between the prophet and the city. The picture of the separation their sins had caused is not too strong. But there is more. Separation from God cannot happen with any indifference on His part. He is the living God, always moving in the activity of His own nature. If He separates Himself from the people it is not simply to cast them off, but to lay siege Himself against them. Jerusalem is where the hopes of the people and the promises of God come together. For Jerusalem to be under siege, with God Himself laying siege against it as we see in the attitude of the prophet, is indeed a sign to the house of Israel. It should stir them to the very depths.

The arm is the part of the body that lifts burdens and defends the person. Scripture uses it as a picture of the power and strength of God on behalf of His saints.

The siege of Jerusalem is, we may say, the object-lesson running through it all. As he lies under the burden of their sin, he is to uncover his arm and prophesy against the city. He is not to turn from one side to the other until the days of the siege are complete.

He is to identify himself with their iniquities. The guilty nation may have felt little. But this godly prophet, without doubt, felt the sin of his nation deeply and owned it before God, and he accepted its consequences... God without doubt held him up. Otherwise he could never have stayed like that for so long.

God pronounced a general judgment on the condition of Israel. Besides that, Jerusalem appears before God whom she had despised. All the iniquity of the people lay on her, and it had now come to its height. The prophet acted out the siege of Jerusalem. He was also to point out the years of iniquity that had led to this judgment: for Israel in general, 390; for Judah, 40.

From the destruction of the temple to its rebuilding, according to Ezra 3:8, exactly 40 years pass. This cannot be denied. These years refer clearly to Judah, whose captivity was then at an end. Those 40 years of captivity should have convinced them where their only hope lay. Under the solemn teaching of men like Ezekiel they should have received the sentence of death in themselves, so that they would not trust in themselves, but in God who raises the dead.

How solemn is the testimony God gives about man, seen in his responsibility to walk according to the light given him! Man does not only go farther and farther from God. He breaks down from the very start. And every fresh means of calling him back only proves how far his heart and will have turned away. So no flesh can boast in His presence. May we boast in the Lord!

He is to lie upon his side, the left one, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. He is to bear this for 390 days, each day of penalty standing for a year of their sin. But this is not all. When he has finished this, he is to lie again on his other side, the right one. Now he bears the iniquity of the house of Judah for 40 days, each day once more given for a year. Through it all the siege of Jerusalem is, we may say, the object lesson. As he lies under the burden of their sin, his arm is to be bare, and his prophecy is to be against it. He is not to turn from one side to the other until the days of the siege are accomplished.

Whether for the three hundred and ninety days for Israel, or the forty days for Judah, he bore their iniquities in spirit before God in the remarkable position these verses describe. God Himself, without doubt, held him up. Otherwise it would have been impossible for him to stay like that for so long. He could never have obeyed the strict command, "so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed the days of your siege," or lived on the scanty diet described in Ezekiel 4:9-11.

God in effect makes him an object lesson for Israel. He must himself feel the bitterness of the things he prophesies about. So here is another priest who, in a deeply practical way, "eats the sin offering." He has to feel not only the sin of God's people, but also the judgments God brings in His government against that sin.

The 390 days, a day for a year, are the time when the sins of the people are remembered. The prophet stands as representative of the godly remnant, and in this way he also shows the attitude of God Himself. All that time he has been suffering under those sins.

They say Ezekiel probably suffered from some form of epilepsy or a trance-like condition. They also point out that no man could lie without a break for 390 days on his left side. But nowhere does the text say the prophet had to be in that position day and night through all those days. The 390 and 40 days are symbolical. They mean years, giving us a total of 430 years. This reminds us of Exodus 12:40-41, where the sojourning of the children of Israel in Egypt is given as 430 years.

It would appear that the longer period is counted from the time the ten tribes broke away under Rehoboam. The years are counted as Israel's, because from that moment Israel existed on its own and made up the great body of the nation. Judah, on the other hand, was everything during the reign of Solomon, which lasted forty years.

It is striking also that the actual siege of Jerusalem lasted for about the 390 days of the prophet's burden. It ran from the 10th day of the 10th month in the 9th year of Zedekiah to the 9th day of the 4th month in his 11th year… So the reference to the actual siege of Jerusalem agrees exactly with what really happened.

The prophet must show in his own person what is coming on the people because of their sin — the shame of it as well as the judgment.

God makes him a living object lesson for Israel: he must himself feel the bitterness of the things he prophesies. Here is another priest who "eats the sin offering" in a very practical way. He has to feel the sin of God's people. He also has to feel the judgments God brings on that sin as He governs them.

The common and well-known bean. It grows well in Palestine. People eat it with rice, or mix it with wheat and barley to make bread for the poor. 2 Samuel 17:28; Ezekiel 4:9.

The word is taken to mean "spelt", a kind of grain like wheat. Exodus 9:32; Isaiah 28:25. The same Hebrew word in Ezekiel 4:9 is translated "fitches", with "spelt" in the margin.

The prophet is to put all this mixed grain into one vessel and make bread of it. He is to eat it for as many days as he lies on his side. But notice, the limit given here is 390 days only, not 430 as we would have imagined. So there is clearly a distinction of some sort between this period and the 40 days that follow.

This third sign shows the state of the people even more than the distresses of the siege do. It signifies the destruction of their sanctification — their standing as a people set apart. This polluted bread eaten among the Gentiles is no longer the result of being shut up inside the walls of the besieged city.

The sign of the famine and the bread baked in an unclean way point the same way. They predict the horrors of hunger during the siege of Jerusalem. They also predict that the people would later live in defilement among the Gentiles.

The guilty nation may have felt little. This godly prophet felt the sin of his nation, confessed it before God, and accepted its consequences... He identifies himself with the sin of his nation. He is ready to bear what that sin deserves, and to bear it without a complaint.

Ezekiel is to taste, in his measure, what Israel suffers under the righteous dealings of God. This is not because he had fallen out of God's favour. The opposite is true: he was near enough to God to enter into the reality of their misery. Yet only the Son of man could go down in grace into its depths, take it up in full, and suffer to the end... Never did He shield Himself, as Ezekiel does here, from a full taste of Israel's ruined state.

The prophet must set forth in his own person the degradation as well as the judgment coming because of the iniquity of the people. So another sign follows.

However little the guilty nation may have felt it, without doubt this godly prophet deeply felt and owned before God the sin of his nation, and accepted the consequences of it. Whether for three hundred and ninety days for Israel, or forty days for Judah, he bore their iniquity in spirit before God in the remarkable position these verses describe. He himself was without doubt sustained by God. Otherwise it would have been impossible for him to remain so long, or to live on the scanty diet detailed in Ezekiel 4:9-11.

In his own measure Ezekiel is to taste the condition of Israel under the righteous dealings of God. This is not because he was personally out of God's favour. It is because he was near enough to God to enter into the reality of their misery. Only the Son of man could in grace go down into its depths, take it up perfectly, and suffer to the full — far beyond anything that ever was, or can be, their portion. In His zeal for God and love for His people, Jesus alone could bear the burden.

The "pair of scales" in the rider's hand recalls Ezekiel's prophecy about the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar's army: "I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment" (Ezek. 4:16). It is a figure strongly suggestive of scarcity.

This third sign shows the state of the people more than the distresses of the siege do. It points to the destruction of their sanctification as a separate people. This polluted bread eaten among the Gentiles is no longer a consequence of being shut up inside the besieged city.

Daniel resolved in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's food or his wine. He would drink water and eat vegetables, and nothing more. He kept his separation to God in the land of captivity, and he kept it according to the thoughts of God (compare Ezekiel 4:9-13). The time came when God stood by him and made him the vessel of His mind and will.

Here it is a different matter. The prophet must show in his own person the degradation as well as the judgment coming because of the people's iniquity. So another sign follows.

In representing the coming siege of Jerusalem, God points out the years of iniquity that led to her judgment — for Israel in general three hundred and ninety, and for Judah forty… However little the guilty nation may have felt it, this godly prophet without doubt deeply felt and owned before God the sin of his nation, and accepted the consequences of it. God Himself sustained him. Otherwise he could never have stayed there so long, obeyed the strict command not to turn from one side to the other till the days of his siege were ended, or lived on the scanty diet described in Ezekiel 4:9 to 11.

In his measure Ezekiel is to taste the condition of Israel under the righteous dealings of God. It was not because he was personally out of divine favour. It was because he was near enough to God to enter into the reality of their misery, though only the Son of man could in grace go down into its depths, take it up perfectly, and suffer to the full.

The black horse means mourning and dismay. Destructive wars have brought in famine. The "pair of balances" in the rider's hand recalls Ezekiel's prophecy about the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar's army: "I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment" (Ezek. 4:16). It is a figure strongly suggestive of scarcity.

Both the sign of the famine and the bread baked in an unclean way predict the horrors of famine connected with the siege of Jerusalem, and how the people in the later captivity among the Gentiles would live in defilement.

The siege of the city is, on the people's part, their bearing the iniquity of the earlier time. Yet, as we know, that is not the whole matter. Scattered then among the nations that led them captive, they are in fact still bearing their iniquity before God. What we have here hints at more: the character of the siege reaches into the time that follows, for the unclean bread they eat under the pressure of the siege is to be eaten also among the nations where the LORD drives them.

They were at this time captives in Babylon; the need for faithfulness seemed to have passed away. Where was the profit of standing firm when all their hopes were gone? But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's food or his wine. He would drink water and eat vegetables, and nothing more. He kept his separation to God in the land of captivity; and he kept it according to the thoughts of God (compare Ezekiel 4:9-13).

Here it is a different question. The prophet must show in his own person the humiliation as well as the judgment coming because of the sin of the people. In his measure Ezekiel is to taste the condition of Israel under the righteous dealings of God. This is not because he was personally out of God's favour, but on the contrary because he was near enough to God to enter into the reality of their misery.

God makes him a living object lesson for Israel: he must feel for himself the bitterness of the things he prophesies. So here is another priest who, in a very practical way, "eats the sin offering." He has to feel not only the sin of God's people, but the judgments of God's government against that sin.

Both the sign of the famine and the bread baked in an unclean way predict the horrors of famine during the siege of Jerusalem. They also predict how the people would live in defilement during the later captivity among the Gentiles.

Scattered among the nations that led them captive, they are still bearing their iniquity before God. What we have here shows that the character of the siege reaches into the time that follows. The unclean bread they eat under the pressure of the siege is to be eaten among the nations where the Lord drives them too.

This third sign shows the state of the people even more than the distresses of the siege do, because it points to the destruction of their sanctification as a separate people. The polluted bread they eat among the Gentiles is no longer the result of being shut up inside the besieged city.

Their bread became most fully defiled when they taught the doctrines of men as commandments, and once more put in place of the Word by which men live rules that were not good and judgments by which a man could not live. For a remnant of those who had returned from Babylon it was a time of famine of the word of God itself.

Daniel settled it in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's food or his wine. He would drink water and eat vegetables, nothing more. He kept his life of separation to God in the land of captivity, and he kept it according to the thoughts of God (compare Ezekiel 4:9-13). The time came when God stood by him and made him the vessel of His mind and will.

The prophet must show in his own person the shame as well as the judgment coming because of the people's sin… In his measure Ezekiel is to taste the condition of Israel under God's righteous dealings. This was not because he was personally out of God's favour. It was because he was near enough to God to enter into the reality of their misery.

The sign of the famine and the bread baked in an unclean manner predict two things. One is the horrors of famine during the siege of Jerusalem. The other is how the people would live in defilement in the later captivity among the nations.

Scattered among the nations that led them captive, they are still bearing their iniquity before God. What we have here shows how the character of the siege reaches into the time that follows. The unclean bread they eat under the pressure of the siege is to be eaten also among the nations where the Lord drives them. So in one sense the days of the siege stand apart from the period that follows. In another sense they belong with it.

Under law certain meats were forbidden to Israelites (Lev. 11). That was not because eating those meats was sinful in itself. It was a symbolic lesson to the Jews. It taught them to keep a distinct separation from the Gentile nations, and it impressed on them the rigidity of the legal covenant.

This third sign shows the state of the people even more than the distresses of the siege do. It points to the destruction of their sanctification as a separate people. This polluted bread eaten among the nations is no longer a consequence of being shut up inside the besieged city… their new hopes only reveal their condition more deeply. They despise the chastening of the Lord. They build themselves up on hopes that never lead them to a true separation of heart to God. Those hopes bring them down, in God's sight, to the level of the nations around them.

The idols and false gods of the nations so overshadowed the true God that they drew Israel's heart away. In fact Israel abandoned the God of Israel — kings as well as people and priests. They stopped keeping their separateness to the Lord. All discipline had failed to recover them, and there was no remedy. So nothing could be more righteous than that God should sentence them to public exile from Himself, and from all their old position of favour — people who had already gone away from Him morally. Such is always the way of God. He never sentences to a distance from Himself anyone who has not already gone away in heart. It is only His judicial hand sealing them in the place to which their own unbelief had consigned them.

Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's meat or his wine… He kept his separation to God in the land of captivity, and he kept it according to the thoughts of God (compare Ezekiel 4:9-13). In time God stood by him and made him the vessel of His mind and will.

The prophet must set forth in his own person the degradation as well as the judgment coming because of the iniquity of the people... In his measure Ezekiel is to taste the condition of Israel under the righteous dealings of God. This was not because he was personally out of divine favour. It was because he was near enough to God to enter into the reality of their misery. Only the Son of man could go down into its depths in grace and take it up perfectly... Never did He shield Himself, as Ezekiel does here, from a full taste of Israel's ruined state.

Death is sin's wages... So the touch of death defiled anyone; much more the priest. No Israelite was free to eat even what was torn by the beasts of the field, but was called to throw it to the dogs (Exodus 22:31). "I am Jehovah" shut out the sons of Aaron beyond all others. They were therefore to keep His ordinance, so that they would not bear sin and die by profaning it.

God ordered the prophet to bake his bread in this way and to shave off his hair. Both were a departure from ceremonial law. Nothing could justify such a departure except the authority of God Himself or the moral needs of His people. Here no doubt it could be justified, though Ezekiel as a priest would certainly feel it all deeply. The vision of Simon Peter is the opposite case. There we see the deep-rooted prejudices of the Jew, in a trance, overruled by God, who would save people from among the Gentiles.

The unclean bread they eat under the pressure of the siege they will eat among the nations too, where Jehovah drives them. So in one sense the days of the siege stand apart from the period that follows; in another sense they belong with it.

Both the sign of the famine and the bread baked in an unclean way predict the horrors of famine connected with the siege of Jerusalem, and how the people in the later captivity among the Gentiles would live in defilement.

This third sign shows the state of the people even more than the distresses of the siege do, for it signifies the destruction of their sanctification as a separate people... Their new hopes only reveal their condition more deeply. They despise the chastening of the Lord. They build themselves up on hopes that never lead them to a true separation of heart to God. In practice those hopes reduce them in God's sight to the level of the nations around them.

Their bread became most thoroughly defiled when, instead of the precious Word which God had given them, they taught "the commandments of men as doctrines," and once more put in place of that Word by which men live "statutes that were not good, and rules by which they could not have life."

The sign of the famine and the bread baked in an unclean way both predict the horrors of famine connected with the siege of Jerusalem. They also predict how the people would live in defilement among the nations, in the captivity that followed.

Scattered among the nations that led them captive, they are still bearing their iniquity before God. What we have here hints that the character of the siege carries on into the time that follows. The unclean bread which they eat under the pressure of the siege is to be eaten also among the nations where the LORD drives them. So in one sense the days of the siege differ from the period that follows; in another sense they belong with it.

This third sign shows the state of the people even more than the distresses of the siege do. It signifies the destruction of their sanctification as a separate people. This polluted bread eaten among the nations is no longer the result of being shut up inside the walls of the besieged city... But their new hopes only reveal their condition more deeply. They despise the chastening of the Lord. They build themselves up on hopes which, instead of encouraging a true separation of heart to God, in practice reduce them in God's sight to the level of the nations around them.

The God of Israel announced the dismal fate and unsparing destruction about to fall on the Jews. The form He used is all the more striking, because He ordered the prophet to bake his bread and to shave off his hair in ways that departed from the ceremonial law. Nothing could justify such a departure except the authority of God Himself or the moral needs of His people. Here no doubt it could be justified, though Ezekiel as a priest would feel it all deeply. We see the reverse of this in the vision of Simon Peter. There God overruled the deeply held prejudices of a Jew, because He would save people from among the nations and bring them into fellowship with believers from Israel. In our prophecy it is not grace going out to meet and welcome and bless the nations by proclaiming to them the only Saviour; it is judgment falling on Jerusalem.

In his measure Ezekiel is to taste the condition of Israel under the righteous dealings of God. This was not because he was out of divine favour. On the contrary, it was because he was near enough to God to enter into the reality of their wretchedness. Only the Son of Man could in grace go down into its depths, take it up perfectly and suffer to the full... He never shielded Himself, as Ezekiel does here, from a full taste of Israel's ruined condition. He never asked to be spared, except, if possible, that cup of unspeakable sorrow which was His alone to drink — and drink it He did to the last drop.

The prophet had to show in his own person both the degradation and the judgment that was coming because of the people's sin.

Both signs point ahead — the famine, and the bread baked in an unclean way. They predict the horrors of famine during the siege of Jerusalem. They also predict how the people would live in defilement in their later captivity among the nations.

In his own measure Ezekiel is to taste Israel's condition under God's righteous dealings. Not because he was personally out of God's favour, but because he was near enough to God to feel the reality of their misery. Only the Son of man could go down into its depths in grace and suffer to the full. Jesus alone could bear that burden, in His zeal for God and His love for His people.

The phrase "staff of bread" occurs in Ezekiel at 4:16, 5:16 and 14:12. Outside this book it appears only in the five books of Moses, at Leviticus 26:26… The phrase "pine away in their iniquity" occurs at Ezekiel 4:17, 24:23 and 33:10, and nowhere else except Leviticus 26:39.

Pair of Balances — accuracy in measure because of scarcity. (Ezekiel 4:16; 5:1, 10, 12; 14:13.)

The "pair of balances" in the rider's hand recalls the prophecy of Ezekiel about the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar's army… It is a picture that speaks plainly of scarcity. The prices given also imply that the most ordinary necessities of life had become very expensive. One calculation puts them at about eight times the going rate. This means extreme suffering. Not among the rich, whose oil and wine are still untouched — but among the poor, who find the cost of even the coarsest food, such as barley bread, almost out of reach.

The prophet hears an awful sentence. Three men are known for prayers that come at critical points in God's dealings with man. Yet when the last excess of evil brings one of God's strokes of judgment on a land, they could not save anyone but themselves by their righteousness. For the question here is government in this world, not grace for eternal life. If God sent famine, or wild beasts, or a sword, or a plague, not even Noah, Daniel or Job would save a son or daughter beyond themselves.

How solemn is the testimony God gives about man, seen in his responsibility to walk by the light God has given him! Man does not simply drift further and further from God. He breaks down from the very start. And every fresh call back only shows how completely his heart and will have turned away. So no human being can boast in God's presence. May we boast in the Lord! It was not the first man but the second who glorified God.

God pronounced a general judgment on the condition of Israel. Besides that, Jerusalem appears before the God she had despised, for all the iniquity of the people lay on her, and it had now come to its height. In acting out the siege of Jerusalem, the prophet was also to point out the years of iniquity that had led to this judgment: for Israel in general, 390; for Judah, 40.

The prophet must show in his own person the disgrace as well as the judgment that is coming because of the iniquity of the people. So another sign follows.

The whole book of Ezekiel is soaked in the language of the five books of Moses, as writers proved long ago. It stands out for its use of images and wording found only in those books. So the phrase "Pine away in their iniquity" (Ezek. 4:17; 24:23; 33:10) occurs only here and in Lev. 26:39... In the same way the phrase "Staff of bread," used by our prophet at Ezek. 4:16; 5:16; 14:12, is found only in the books of Moses, at Lev. 26:26.

Their own sin has brought about their calamity. It is their sin that they still pine away in; they feel some of its effects, no doubt, but not the iniquity itself. He who inflicted it is the One who feels what He has inflicted.

This third sign shows the state of the people even more than the distresses of the siege do. It points to the destruction of their sanctification — their being set apart as a people separate from the rest. This polluted bread, eaten among the Gentiles, is no longer the result of being shut up inside the walls of the besieged city.

Jerusalem still stands as the sign of the state of the whole people. It was the city where the house of God stood. To lose it was to lose the only place where the atoning blood could be brought to God, so setting Jerusalem aside left the nation with the full burden of its sins... Israel had gone beyond the nations themselves in wickedness, refusing His judgments and rebelling against His statutes... So God had to make their judgment as unique as their iniquity had been.

The sharp knife is the symbol of the king of Babylon. (See Isa. 7:20.) He was God's instrument in carrying out His wrath; the people are represented by the hair. The third part of the hair burned with fire pictures the fate of a part of the people during the siege. The pestilence and the famine were also to consume them.

Ezekiel was now to take a sharp sword and use it as a barber's razor. He was to mark his own head and beard with shame, where everyone could see it. A priest was forbidden to do this, and Ezekiel was a priest, so the loss of his priestly character is plain. But this forced shaving of the hair carries a further meaning as well. It shows the fate of the many Israelites scattered abroad, struck down in this way.

So we see clearly how God dealt with them. One third would die of plague and famine inside the besieged city. One third would fall by the sword around Jerusalem. The last third would be scattered to every wind, with a sword drawn after them by God. Here too the people of Jerusalem, in their situation, stand for "all the house of Israel." The ten tribes already carried off to the East are not counted here. Kings, priests and people had brought pagan practices into the Lord's sanctuary and defiled it. That is what made Jerusalem unbearable.

Another phrase found only in Ezekiel and the Pentateuch is, "I will draw out a sword after them." Compare Ex. 15:9, Lev. 26:33, with Ezek. 5:2, 12, Ezek. 12:14. In Lev. 26:33 and Ezek. 12:14, notice that the threat of drawing the sword comes together with "the threat of dispersion" both times. The original uses the very same words.

In our prophecy judgment is falling on Jerusalem, steadily and without letting up. That was a strange story for Israel to hear and believe. Until then their setbacks had been only temporary discipline. Pity kept flowing down its usual channel. Most Israelites hoped it must always be so, and that God at least was bound to them. Yet they knew well how often, and how regularly, the people dishonoured Him.

The sword pursues the scattered remnant, and only part of that remnant is spared. Some even of that part would be thrown into the fire. And this fire would reach the whole house of Israel. In other words, the judgment falling on the remnant who do not die in the city stands for the position of all Israel. That is why the prophet keeps speaking of the whole nation. For as long as there was a remnant at Jerusalem, the nation had a place on the earth.

The sharp knife is the symbol of the king of Babylon. (See Isaiah 7:20.) He was God's instrument in carrying out His wrath; the hair represents the people. The third part of the hair burned with fire pictures the fate of part of the people during the siege. The pestilence and the famine were also to consume them. Only a few in number, a small remnant, were to be preserved, as shown when Ezekiel took a few hairs and bound them in his skirt.

The way the God of Israel made known the grim lot and unsparing destruction about to fall on the Jews is all the more striking. The reason is that both orders — how the prophet was to bake his bread and how he was to shave off his hair — departed from ceremonial rule. Nothing could justify such a departure except the authority of God Himself or the moral needs of His people. Here there was no doubt it could be justified, though Ezekiel as a priest would feel it all deeply.

The final third part was to be scattered to the wind. Out of these, only a few in number were to be bound in the prophet's skirts and kept safe. And even of these few, some are taken and cast into the middle of the fire to be burned. This is the awful fire of the wrath of God, going out to all the house of Israel. The meaning here is so plain that it hardly needs comment. There is, as we see, the sparing of a feeble remnant — and how feeble it is now! But this is all that even the voice of mercy has any longer to say to them.

In the revelation given to Ezekiel, Jerusalem falls and almost all its people are destroyed. The scattered remnant are pursued by the sword, and only a portion of this remnant is spared. Some even of this portion would be cast into the fire. And this fire would reach to the whole house of Israel. That is to say, the judgment that would fall on the remnant who survive the city would represent the position of all Israel. This is why the prophet keeps speaking of the whole nation. For as long as there was a remnant at Jerusalem, the nation had a place on the earth.

Judgment is God's strange work, but it is a necessity. He knows how to preserve the righteous. He saved Noah from the flood, righteous Lot from the destruction of Sodom, and this remnant from the coming judgment on Jerusalem. In His ways we learn of the "kindness and the severity of God" (Romans 11:22). It will be the same when the Lord returns to this world: there will be a dreadful, consuming judgment, but a remnant will be saved.

Ezekiel was now to take a sharp sword and use it as a barber's razor. He was to put the brand of shame on his own head and beard, in full view of everyone. This was forbidden to a priest (which Ezekiel was), and so the sign makes clear the loss of his priestly character. But this forced shaving of the hair carries a further meaning: it shows the fate of Israel's scattered crowds, struck down in this way.

Scripture compares God's judgment on Israel to a beard consumed by a razor, Isa. 7:20; and the people were to be scattered like hair that is cut off. Ezek. 5:1-2, 12.

The sharp knife is the symbol of the king of Babylon. (See Isa. 7:20.) He was God's instrument in carrying out His wrath; the people are represented by the hair. The third part of the hair burned with fire pictures the fate of a part of the people during the siege. The pestilence and the famine were also to consume them. God would preserve only a few, a small remnant, as shown when Ezekiel took a few hairs and bound them in the fold of his robe.

In the revelation given to Ezekiel, Jerusalem is taken and almost all its people destroyed. The sword pursues the scattered remnant, and only a part of that remnant is spared. Even some of that part would be thrown into the fire.

"I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to settle there, and they shall all be consumed... I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence." Sadly, they had ears, but they did not hear. The remnant was rotten to the core.

And this fire should reach the whole house of Israel. In other words, the judgment falling on the remnant who do not perish in the city stands for the position of all Israel. This is why the prophet keeps speaking of the whole nation. For as long as there was a remnant at Jerusalem, the nation had a place on the earth.

It is the awful fire of the wrath of God which is going out to all the house of Israel... There is, as we see, the sparing of a feeble remnant — sadly, how feeble now! But this is all that even the voice of mercy has any longer to say to them.

In the midst of the nations, it should have been their part to keep a testimony for God among people who had turned their backs on Him. That testimony could have appealed to every heart in the lands around that was seeking God. But what was the result? Israel had gone further in wickedness than the nations themselves. They refused His judgments and rebelled against His statutes... So God had to make their judgment as unique as their sin had been.

God had His eye on the land, and He shaped His purposes around it before Israel was a nation at all... At the scattering of Babel, God settled each people exactly where His ways would need them once Israel appeared. God Himself drew the first map of the world, with the land and people of Israel as His centre.

But for what purpose had God set them in this place of privilege? They alone in all the earth received God's revelations. Right among the nations, it should have been their work to keep up a testimony for God among people who had turned their backs on Him. That testimony could speak to every heart that sought God in the lands around... God therefore had to make their judgment as unique as their sin had been.

She should have been a testimony among the nations. The house of Jehovah should have drawn them in, or at least held them answerable by a true testimony to the God who lived there. Instead her people went further in wickedness than the idol-worshipping nations. So God would carry out His judgments on her in the sight of all the nations — a just repayment for her sins.

Israel held a high and central position among the peoples and lands around, and Jerusalem above all. That is what made their rebellion and idolatry so serious. God could no longer overlook it or spare them.

Ezekiel 4 shows the coming siege of Jerusalem and the famine there. In Ezekiel 5 Jehovah says He "had set her in the center of the nations, with countries all around her" to give a true testimony to Himself. She fell far short of that. Her "wickedness more than the nations round about her" called for His severe judgment, a just repayment for her sins. So instead of being a witness to Him she would be "a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment to the nations round about."

But responsibility, great and heavy, belongs also to the place of witness-bearing. Privilege and responsibility go together... A people's shared standing, and the liability that comes with it, never had a fuller illustration than Israel. As a people they were blessed; as a people they were responsible. They were Jehovah's chosen people. In a world where every other nation worshipped idols, they were His only witness.

She fell because of her sin, and just as surely she will rise in the mercy and the glory of the Lord. He will fulfil His word to her: "This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries all around her."

People tried to make a name and a centre for themselves apart from God at Babel, and God broke them up into nations and languages. God measured out the nations' inheritance with Israel in view; Israel was meant to be the centre of His government in the world. It became unworthy of the trust.

She should have been a witness among the nations. The house of Jehovah should have drawn them in, or at least made them answerable by giving a true witness to the God who lived there. Instead, her people went even beyond the idol-worshipping nations in wickedness. So God would carry out His judgments on her in the sight of all the nations — a just repayment for her sins.

But look at the purpose God had in setting them in this place of privilege — this people alone in all the earth receiving God's revelations! Set in the middle of the nations, they should have kept up a testimony for God among people who had turned their backs on Him. That testimony might have appealed to every heart in the surrounding lands that was seeking God. But what was the result? Israel had gone beyond the nations themselves in wickedness. They refused His judgments and rebelled against His statutes. They copied the ways of the very people God had separated them from, and so became all the more strangers to God and given over to their abominations. God therefore had to make their judgment as unique as their sin had been.

In this prophecy grace is not going out to meet the nations, to welcome them and bless them by proclaiming the only Saviour to them. Instead judgment falls on Jerusalem, and it keeps falling without relenting — a strange tale for Israel to hear and believe. Until now their setbacks had been only temporary discipline. Pity kept flowing along its usual channel, and most Israelites liked to think it must always be so, and that God at least was bound to them — though they knew well how often and how regularly the people dishonoured Him.

And these were not the heathen; the heathen were never so bad as that. It is God's people, when in a bad state, who are worse than anybody. That is something many cannot understand and do not believe... The more light there is, if people are not faithful, the worse they are... And so, the nearer you are to the blessing, if the blessing is not yours, the more guilty you are.

What comfort it was to Ezekiel to be given this vision of heaven! In his day God's people had forsaken Him, and were marked by "wickedness more than the nations" (5:6). The vision included the "appearance of a man," and by it he knew that God had everything under control.

God had set Jerusalem in the middle of the nations, with the countries all around her. She should have been a testimony among them. God's house should have drawn them in, or at least placed them under responsibility by a true witness to the God who dwelt there. Instead, her inhabitants had gone even beyond the idolatrous nations in wickedness. Therefore God would carry out judgments on her in the sight of all the nations — a just repayment for her sins.

For what purpose had God set them in this place of privilege — this people alone in all the earth receiving God's revelations? What was the result? Israel had gone beyond the very nations in wickedness, refusing His judgments and rebelling against His statutes. They copied the ways of those from whom God had separated them. So they became all the more strangers to God and given over to their abominations — the necessary result of abusing their privileges. God therefore had to make their judgment as unique as their sin had been.

How little the nations of the earth learned from the actions of Israel about God and His word! Instead, their ways brought constant blasphemy on His name. They should have held the high and holy and happy ground of loving obedience to God's commandments. Instead they came down to the level of the nations around them, adopted their habits, worshipped their gods, and walked in their ways. So those nations never saw the lofty wisdom, purity, and moral glory of God's statutes. They saw only the weakness, folly, and moral degradation of a people who boasted of holding the very words that condemned themselves.

And these were not the heathen; the heathen were never so bad as that. It is God's people in a bad state who are worse than anybody. That is something many cannot understand and do not believe... The more light there is, if people are not faithful, the worse they are... They talked about how horrible Sodom and Gomorrah were. "It is you who are worse than they," said the Lord. "In the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah and Tyre" — the places people counted as especially wicked. "It will be worse for Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum." Capernaum was the town where He lived... And so, the nearer you are to the blessing, if the blessing is not yours, the more guilty you are.