Ezekiel - episode 1

Eat this scroll

«In the fifth of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, the word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there on him» (Ezek 1,2-3). Ezekiel belongs to the first group of Hebrew exiles who were deported to Babylon after Jehoiakin’s surrender to Nebuchadnezzar (597 BC; see 2Kgs 24,10-17). The Chebar is one of the canals that flow into River Euphrates; the year of the prophet’s vocation is 593 BC.
Here are the «visions» he had: «I looked, and behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, a great cloud, with flashing lightning, and a brightness around it, and out of its midst as it were glowing metal, out of the midst of the fire. Out of its midst came the likeness of four living creatures. This was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man. Everyone had four faces, and each one of them had four wings. […] As for the likeness of their faces, they had the face of a man; and the four of them had the face of a lion on the right side; and the four of them had the face of an ox on the left side; the four of them also had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above. Two wings of each one touched another, and two covered their bodies. Each one went straight forward: where the spirit would go, they went; they didn’t turn when they went. As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches: the fire went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. The living creatures darted back and forth, like the appearance of a flash of lightning. Now as I saw the living creatures, behold, there was a wheel on the ground beside each living creature with its four faces. […] There was a voice above the expanse that was over their heads: when they stood, they let down their wings. Above the expanse that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and on the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man on it above. I saw as it were glowing metal, as the appearance of fire within it all around, from the appearance of his waist and upward; and from the appearance of his waist and downward I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. As the appearance of the rainbow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice speaking» (Ezek 1,4-6.10-15.25-28). I point out the repetition of number four (like the four cardinal points, it indicates fullness), the great mobility of the Lord’s Glory (given by the mysterious creatures and by the wheels close to them), the appearance of the creatures (it recalls the Babylonian animal-gods named karibu). Indeed, we have the image of a God who rules the entire world (even those who are considered gods by the pagan); furthermore, He knows how to be close to the suffering people in exile: His glory is not confined to a temple. The rainbow is a symbol of the Covenant between God and man: «It will happen, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature» (Gen 9,14-15). Christian Tradition took the appearance of the «living creatures» who accompany the Lord’s Glory (even present in Rev 4,6-8) and it attributed them to the evangelists: to Matthew the winged man, to Mark the winged lion, to Luke the winged ox, to John the eagle.



Here the Lord’s Word to Ezekiel: «He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” The Spirit entered into me when he spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard him who spoke to me. He said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the children of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me even to this very day. The children are obstinate and hardhearted. I am sending you to them, and you shall tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ They, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house), yet shall know that there has been a prophet among them. You, son of man, do not be afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you, and you do dwell among scorpions: do not be afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house. You shall speak my words to them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear; for they are most rebellious. But you, son of man, hear what I tell you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house: open your mouth, and eat that which I give you.” When I looked, behold, a hand was put forth to me; and, behold, a scroll of a book was in it. He spread it before me: and it was written within and without; and there were written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe. He said to me, “Son of man, eat that which you find. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat the scroll. He said to me, “Son of man, cause your belly to eat, and fill your belly with this scroll that I give you.” Then I ate it; and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them. […] Behold, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads. As an adamant harder than flint have I made your forehead: do not be afraid of them, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.” Moreover he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. Go to them of the captivity, to the children of your people, and speak to them, and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD’; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great rushing, saying, “Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place.” I heard the noise of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, even the noise of a great rushing. So the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the anger of my spirit; and the hand of the LORD was strong on me. Then I came to them of the exiles at Tel Aviv, that lived by the river Chebar, and to where they lived; and I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days» (Ezek 2-3,1-4.8-15). The title «son of man» (which will often occur in the Book) simply means “man”: it indicates Ezekiel’s belonging to the human community and the distance between him and the Lord’s Glory. The prophet’s mission is really difficult: he has to announce «lamentations, and mourning, and woe» to a hardhearted people. Ezekiel and the Lord’s Word become one thing (he eats the scroll: we can find a similar scene in Rev 10,10) and the Lord makes him strong. The sweetness of the Word communicates us God’s fascination, the same that Jeremiah defined “seduction” (see Jeremiah - episode 4).
Follow of Ezekiel’s story in the next post.