LIFE-STUDY OF EZEKIEL
Message 2
Introduction (2)
WEEK 1 – WEDNESDAY
Scripture Reading: Ezek. 1:1-3; Num. 4:2-3; 1 Chron. 23:3a; Luke 3:23a; Ezek. 40:17; 41:6a; 46:22; Num. 8:24; Gen. 11:6, 31
Read and pray: “And it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.” (Ezek. 1:1)
In this message we will continue to consider Ezekiel 1:1-3, of which these three verses are the introduction to this book. We have seen the date of the visions, and now we will continue to see the place of the visions, the person who saw the visions, and the conditions for seeing the visions.
THE PLACE
The second point in the introduction is the place where Ezekiel saw the visions. Verse 3 tells us that the visions came to Ezekiel when he was “in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river Chebar.”
In Chaldea
The place—the land of the Chaldeans—was not a good place, for Chaldea was the place where Babel began. The name Babel, in Hebrew, is equivalent to Babylon in Greek. Thus, we can say that Chaldea was actually Babylon, and that Babylon was Babel, the place where Satan gathers fallen people to rebel against God.
The same place where Ezekiel saw the visions was the place where Satan instigated the greatest rebellion against God among fallen people. This was also the place from which God called Abraham so that He might have a chosen people (Gen. 11:6, 31).
Unfortunately, in Ezekiel’s time, most of God’s chosen people had been brought back to that place. Their captivity was their fall. They had fallen into the same place from which their forefather Abraham had been called by God.
I ask you to consider the situation of Christians today. Are most Christians in the land of Canaan or in the land of the Chaldeans? Certainly, most Christians are not in the good land but in a place of degradation. Therefore, the book of Ezekiel fits exactly the situation of Christians today.
By a River
When Ezekiel saw the visions, he was by a river. He says in verse 1, “as I was among the captives by the river Chebar.” The river Chebar signifies the power of the enemy to damage God’s people (cf. Isa. 8:7-8). Chebar means “strong,” “many,” “mighty.” This river, the river of Babylon, indicates that Babylon was strong and mighty and therefore signifies the power of Babylon to be against God’s people. Today, the “river Chebar” is the satanic tide of the age that carries people away from God, to Babylon.
There are two rivers in the book of Ezekiel: the river Chebar in chapter one and the river that flows from the temple in chapter forty-seven. The river Chebar carries God’s people away from God, but the river that flows from the temple brings people back to the life of God. We need to realize that these two rivers are still on the earth today. One river is the trend, the course, the tide, of this world. This is the river of Babylon, the river in the fallen world, which carries people away from God.
We praise the Lord that there is another river and that everything lives wherever this river goes. Two rivers are flowing today. One river is of this world; the other river is of the holy land. One river carries people away from God; the other river brings people back to God in life.
One river destroys God’s building; the other river builds up God’s habitation. By which river are you—by the river Chebar or by the river that flows from God’s habitation? You may say that you are by the river of living water that comes out from God’s habitation, but you may still have something to do with the course of this age, the trend of the present world. If you are still in the trend of the present world, you are not by the river of living water but are by the river Chebar, and you are not in the holy land but in the land of the Chaldeans.
When the heavens were opened to Ezekiel, he was by the river Chebar; however, he was not in that river. Many of the people of Israel had been killed by the Babylonian army; others had died because of famine, diseases, and wild animals.
However, the situation was not altogether hopeless, for God still left some “dry land” by the river that had carried His people away. By giving them this “dry land,” God allowed them, enabled them to remain alive and to be preserved. This indicates that God’s grace remained with Ezekiel, with King Jehoiachin, and with many others who had been carried away into captivity.
If they had not been by the banks of the river Chebar but instead had been in the river, all would have perished. Because of God’s grace, they could still live by the river, in the land of captivity. Although they could not live in Canaan and therefore could not enjoy the abundance of grace in Christ, they could still enjoy some mercy in the land of captivity.
The visions recorded in the book of Ezekiel are urgently needed for Christians today and for the church today. The more I contact the Lord and have fellowship with Him and the more I observe the present situation, the more I realize that Ezekiel’s visions are God’s messages for the present age.
The visions that God gave to Ezekiel were for people who were in captivity by the river Chebar. Today most of the children of God are also in the land of captivity. Instead of remaining in Christ as the good land of Canaan, they have fallen into the captivity of Babylon, where they do not live in Christ in a proper and continual way and where they do not enjoy the riches of Christ. This is the general condition of Christians today. For this reason, I believe that the visions in the book of Ezekiel meet the need of God’s people today.
THE PERSON
The next point to consider is the person—Ezekiel—who saw the visions.
Among the Captives
In verse 1 Ezekiel tells us that he “was among the captives by the river Chebar.” As a captive in the land of captivity, Ezekiel was tested and surely must have been perplexed, afflicted, and depressed. This also may be our experience today. Sometimes, when we meet with the brothers and sisters, we feel that we are in the land of captivity and we feel distressed and depressed.
A Priest
Verse 3 speaks explicitly of “Ezekiel the priest.” As a priest, Ezekiel was one of those who lived in the presence of God, serving God and being mingled with God. Ezekiel was this kind of person. Although he was in the land of captivity, he still lived in the presence of God and ministered before Him.
He was by the river Chebar, not in the holy temple, but as a priest he sought Him, prayed, contacted Him, had fellowship with Him, and waited for Him. Because Ezekiel was such a person and contacted God in such a way, the heavens were opened to him, and he “saw visions of God” (v. 1).
We encourage all the brothers and sisters in the Lord to serve Him as priests. We all need to learn to pray to God, contact God, have fellowship with God, and live before God. If we exercise the priesthood in this way, the heavens will be opened to us, and we will see visions of God.
The Son of Buzi, Yet Strengthened by God
Ezekiel was the son of Buzi. Buzi means “despise” or “despised.” Ezekiel was a prophet who was greatly despised by the people and who was treated with contempt. In his ministry he received no glory.
If you are an Ezekiel in the Lord’s recovery today, you should expect to be a despised person. Do not think that you will have any glory. Others will despise you and treat you with contempt.
Ezekiel means “God will strengthen.” It also means “the Almighty is your strength.” The name Ezekiel ends with the suffix “el,” which means “the Mighty One.” On the one hand, he was the son of Buzi, despised by others. On the other hand, he was Ezekiel, strengthened by God, the Mighty One.
In 3:8-9a the Lord said to Ezekiel, “Behold, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads. I have made your forehead like diamond, harder than flint.”
He was despised and treated with contempt, yet he was strengthened by God. For Ezekiel, being the son of Buzi meant that he was a son of shame, a son of humiliation. We might think that, as a prophet, his prophetic ministry would have been glorious. However, when we read the book of Ezekiel, we see that in carrying out his ministry as a prophet, he was constantly dishonored and put to shame.
God appointed Ezekiel to be a sign to the people of Israel, a sign for them to be put to shame (12:6, 11; 24:24, 27). God required him to carry out certain enactments, and in these enactments he became a prophet in dishonor.
For example, God told him to lie on his left side for three hundred ninety days and on his right side for forty days (4:4-6) and to eat bread prepared with cow’s dung (vv. 9-15).
God also told him to dig through the wall of the city and carry his belongings through the wall, and Ezekiel did as he was commanded (12:1-7). Furthermore, one day his wife suddenly died (24:16-18). Ezekiel surely was a son of dishonor.
Those who minister the word of the Lord today will also be sons of dishonor. When God’s people are in captivity, those who rise up to be God’s ministers, serving as His priests and seeing His visions, will have to bear the shame of God’s people. Since God’s captive people are in dishonor, God’s ministers will also be in dishonor as they minister the words of God.
Although Ezekiel was a son of dishonor who suffered shame and disgrace, the Almighty God was his strength. Since he was empowered and strengthened by God, Ezekiel could be strong in the midst of dishonor. As a man strengthened and empowered by God, he could bear all the shame and disgrace in order to carry out his ministry as a prophet of God, the oracle of God.
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