Crazy Old Ezekiel

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Crazy Old Ezekiel

• The Vision of Dry Bones
• Prophets Project Spring 2005
• Kenrick-Glennon Seminary

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Crazy Old Ezekiel

• Project Members
• Sean Burbach
• Robert Favazza
• Brian Hecktor

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Crazy Old Ezekiel

• Ezekiel the Prophet
• Brief introduction to the prophet his book
• Chapter 371-14 The Valley of the Bones
• Our main focus

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Ezekiel the Prophet

• For the people of Yahweh, Ezekiel was a key
  figure in the survival of the Judean identity.
• He was a major transitional figure in the move
  from an Israelite religion to what became the
  religion of Judaism.

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Ezekiel the Prophet

• Ezekiel was taken to Babylonia around 598 B.C.E.
  in the first major deportation of Judeans to the
  land of their conquerors.
• It appears that he was taken in that early
  deportation because he was a priest.
• In all, almost 5,000 Judeans were taken to
  Babylonia in that early displacement.
• Those taken were the leaders of the community,
  including royalty, scribes, counselors,
  craftsmen, and religious leaders.

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Ezekiel the Prophet

• Ezekiel stayed in Babylonia for his entire
  career, being a prophet until at least 571 B.C.E.
  
• He was unable to perform the traditional priestly
  functions in exile, which included offering
  sacrifices of atonement and guarding the holiness
  of the community.
• Still, his vocation shaped his perspective on
  virtually everything, including religious
  obligations and relationships to God.

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Ezekiel the Prophet

• Being a priest from Jerusalem meant that he was
  thoroughly familiar with the rituals and
  procedures of temple service.
• This familiarity is evident in his visions, many
  of which center on the temple.
• A priestly orientation also meant he was
  profoundly shaped by the experience of serving in
  the presence of Yahweh in the temple.

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Crazy Old Ezekiel

• 1 In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the
  fourth month, while I was among the exiles by the
  river Chebar, the heavens opened, and I saw
  divine visions. 2 On the fifth day of the month,
  the fifth year, that is, of King Jehoiachinss
  exile, 3 the word of the Lord came to the priest
  Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, in the land of the
  Chaldeans by the river Chebar. There the hand of
  the Lord came upon me.

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Crazy Old Ezekiel

• Time
• What does the 30th year mean?
• There is no definitive consensus on what this
  means.
• Our contention is that this refers to the time
  when he received his prophetic call

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Crazy Old Ezekiel

• Because he was born into a privileged priestly
  class, this date (30th year) indicates a
  significant milestone (cf. Numbers 430) in his
  life.
• For Ezekiel, far removed from Jerusalem and the
  temple, the privilege of priestly service would
  have seemed a hopeless dream. But Yahweh had not
  forgotten him. Suddenly, on the fifth day of the
  fourth month of his thirtieth year, at the time
  he would normally have been commissioned for
  temple ministry, God breaks into this exiles life
  and calls him to an alternative, and perhaps even
  higher, service.
• --Daniel Block

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Crazy Old Ezekiel

• In light of the forgoing, it can be concluded
  that the date has additional significance
• 622 was when he was born (originally proposed by
  Origen) and it was into a priestly class.
• This is during Josiahs reign, when the law book
  was founded in the temple (cf. Deuteronomy)

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Crazy Old Ezekiel

• The 5th year of the exile of King Jehoiachim
• What does this imply?
• Hes five years removed from his rootedness in
  the priestly life of the temple in Jerusalem
• Hes had five years to contemplate this and be
  formed for prophecy
• Might have contributed to his craziness

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Crazy Old Ezekiel

• Geographical locale
• In Babylon, near Nippur.
• Branch of a canal system that delivered water
  from Tigris and Euphrates.
• A sight where Nebbie deported significant exiles.
• Mound where ancient flood supposedly occurred.

Ezekial by the River Chebar http//breadsite.org
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Ezekiel the Prophet

• Template

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What does his name mean?

• Combination of verb to strengthen (hazak) and
  God (El).
• Lives up to the name. In the face of rejection
  and hardship, Yahweh does strengthen him.

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Ezekiel the Prophet

• His craziness
• We must be reminded that the prophets were,
  almost by definition, not normal people.
• Ezekiel has been labeled with having emotional
  problems, psychosis, catalepsy, tempoporalisis,
  apharia, and he lacked balance, etc.
• Why do they say this?
• Lying on one side for 390 days (44-5)
• Conducting a mock siege against a city on bricks
  (ch. 4)
• Shaving off his hair (ch. 5)
• Showing no emotion at the death of his beloved
  spouse
• Based on what you know about Ezekiel, do you
  think this might be true?

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Ezekiel the Prophet

• Hermaneutical problem
• This book was written 2500 years ago when actions
  and words have different connotations than they
  do today. In other words, the actions have
  profound meaning and are meant to leave an
  impression on the audience.
• Message is primary. Visions and prophetic
  autodramatization stylized to help communicate
  it.
• This is from the prophetic actions and visions
  genre and it connects him with the pre-classical
  prophets, namely Elijah and Elisha
• Not to be read in strictly biographical form

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His Craziness

• If all religious activity is merely a defense
  mechanism, then Ezekiel (and Padre Pio) was
  abnormal but if visionsand other religious
  activityare plausible phenomena, though
  difficult for anyone but the visionaries
  themselves to validate, we should be cautious
  about making judgments about the prophets
  emotional healthRalph Klein.

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His Prophetic Role

• In order to fully understand a prophet you have
  to know their role.

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The Watchman

• The prophet gives the people of Israel the choice
  to live or die.

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What is a Watchman?

• They come from the people.
• Chosen for integrity and reliability.
• Station highest lookout in town.
• Used smoke signals (or horn)
• Call at first sign of danger.
• If failed, than the watchman is innocent of their
  blood.
• If heeded than they escape with their lives.

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The Watchman

• Appears in the first and second part (Chapters 3
  and 33).
• Metaphor particularly associated with Ezekiel.
  Vawter suggests that it comes from him, but
  probably not the case.
• Sitz im Leben-biblical case law
  (protasis/apodosis).
• Stresses the responsibility of the prophet- must
  warn and admonish to avert punishment.

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Book of Ezekiel

• The book of Ezekiel contains at least three major
  issues which interweave the book, surfacing in
  various ways.
• First, Ezekiel gives considerable attention to
  the continued presence of God among his people,
  along with the reasons for God's withdrawal and
  conditions under which he would reappear.
• Second, Ezekiel probes the issue of moral
  responsibility for the religious and political
  failures of Judah.
• Third, though getting less attention than the
  preceding two, Ezekiel examines the nature and
  legitimacy of religious and political leadership
  in Judah and in the restored community.

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Chapter 37 The Valley of the Bones
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The Vision of Dry Bones

• The Nature of Ezekiels Visions
• The difference of Ezekiels visions.
• What are his visions about?
• Where are they coming from (Sitz im Leben)?
• Why Ezekiel?
• The Dry Bones (371-14)

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The Vision of Dry Bones

• How do Ezekiels visions stack up to those of
  other prophets?
• Prior to Ezekiel, visions more parabolic
• Amos and over-ripe fruit (Amos 81-12)
• Jeremiah and the almond tree (Jer 111-12)
• After Ezekiel, visions more allegorical
• Zechariah
• During Ezekiels time, all allegory
• A transition

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The Vision of Dry Bones

• Substance of his visions/prophesies
• Prophecies of judgment against Israel (8-24)
• Prophecies of judgment against foreign nations
  (25-32)
• Prophecies of restoration of Israel (33-39)
• These visions were stronger and more vivid than
  those of other prophets
• Ezekiel was often moved by the Spirit to
  particular places such as the north gate of
  Jerusalem (83), to the east gate of the temple
  (111), back to the exiles in Babylon (1124), to
  the plain (371)
• He was an active participant in his visions

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The Vision of Dry Bones371-14

• Ezekiel 371 The hand of the Lord came upon me,
  and led me out in the spirit of the Lord and set
  me in the center of the plain, which was now
  filled with bones.
• Hand of the Lord is repeated throughout Ezekiel
• Formula that announces a vision or prophetic
  utterancea profound divine influence on his life
  (13 314 322 81 3322)
• Same setting as the first main vision
• Ch 1, the glory of Yahweh Ch 37, the forthcoming
  glory of Israel
• Plain full of bones
• Image of a battlefield full of decayed bodies
• Readers familiar with this imagedefeated army
  (Israel) slain in the plain
• Deuteronomistic covenant curse (Deut. 2825-26)
• Cf. Eccl 127 And the dust returns to the earth
  as it once was, and the life breath returns to
  God who gave it.
• A vision of death that is irreversible

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The Vision of Dry Bones371-14

• Ezekiel 372 He made me walk among them in every
  direction so that I saw how many they were on the
  surface of the plain. How dry they were!
• Ezekiels active participation in the vision
• Number and aridity of bones stressed (disgust
  with death and length)
• All was dead people, institutions, political
  systems, etc.
• Ezekiel 373 He asked me Son of man, can these
  bones come to life? "Lord GOD," I answered, "you
  alone know that."
• Tells us something about God (God, and only God,
  as life-giver (1 Sam 26))
• Ezekiel 374 Then he said to me Prophesy over
  these bones, and say to them Dry bones, hear the
  word of the LORD!
• Peculiar about Ezekiels prophecyinanimate
  objects (62to the mountains 212to the forest
  of the south to the winds379)

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The Vision of Dry Bones371-14

• Ezekiel 375 Thus says the Lord GOD to these
  bones See! I will bring spirit into you, that
  you may come to life.
• Messenger formula
• Yahweh speaking, but always through a messenger
• Different meanings of spirit (rûah)
• Spirit of the Lord, who brings Ezekiel into this
  ecstatic state (vv 1, 9, 10, 14)
• Breath, the animating principle of human life (vv
  5, 6, 8 cf. Isaiah 3816)
• Wind, the vehicle of the breath of life (v 9)
• Overall reference to Gen 12rûah that brought
  order and life to matter
• Tells us something about Godthe impossible will
  happen, re-animation of the dead
• God makes it happen

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The Vision of Dry Bones371-14

• Ezekiel 376 I will put sinews upon you, make
  flesh grow over you, cover you with skin, and put
  spirit in you so that you may come to life and
  know that I am the LORD.
• Again, spirit meaning breath (life)
• Ezekiel 377 I prophesied as I had been told,
  and even as I was prophesying I heard a noise it
  was a rattling as the bones came together, bone
  joining bone.
• First stageforming of the matter (Gen 2)

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The Vision of Dry Bones371-14

• Ezekiel 378 I saw the sinews and the flesh come
  upon them, and the skin cover them, but there was
  no spirit in them.
• God not in them, still no life, no restoration,
  until God wills it
• Ezekiel 379 Then he said to me Prophesy to the
  spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the
  spirit Thus says the Lord GOD From the four
  winds come, O spirit, and breathe into these
  slain that they may come to life.
• Only at the command of God will the restoration
  occur
• But why is Ezekiel commanded to prophesy?
• He is an integral part in the message to
  Israelites
• Prophesy twice repeated to confirm his role as
  prophet in the hope-filled future of Israel
• Essential prophesygive hope, maintain the name
  of Yahweh
• Begin transformation from prophet who warns to
  watchman providing pastoral care

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The Vision of Dry Bones371-14

• Ezekiel 3710 I prophesied as he told me, and
  the spirit came into them they came alive and
  stood upright, a vast army.
• Again, he prophesies
• Spirit brings life
• Second stage of life-giving cf. creation
  account of Gen 2
• Cf. 371the defeated and dead host of Israel
  will live again
• Ezekiel 3711-12 Then he said to me Son of man,
  these bones are the whole house of Israel. They
  have been saying, "Our bones are dried up, our
  hope is lost, and we are cut off." 12 Therefore,
  prophesy and say to them Thus says the Lord GOD
  O my people, I will open your graves and have you
  rise from them, and bring you back to the land of
  Israel.
• Messenger formulaagain, as in v 5, message of
  restored life, promise of hope, return to
  Jerusalem

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The Vision of Dry Bones371-14

• Ezekiel 3713-14 Then you shall know that I am
  the LORD, when I open your graves and have you
  rise from them, O my people! 14 I will put my
  spirit in you that you may live, and I will
  settle you upon your land thus you shall know
  that I am the LORD. I have promised, and I will
  do it, says the LORD.
• What is this telling us about God?
• He has chosen Israel, not only to be known to
  Israel, but through them, to be known to the rest
  of the world

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Ezekiel

• Conclusion
• Hes the bestaround.