Ezekiel
Introduction
We usually recall this prophet as we remember Lent. He lived and prophesied during the Exile and while he announced a promising future to his devastated people, he did so after having denounced, for years, the false hopes to which his companions were clinging. God himself had subjected him to lengthy fasts and trials in addition to the humiliation of his belonging to marginal groups in a city that was self-assured. While “second Isaiah” seemed to look at the group of exiles from the height inspired by his great perspectives, Ezekiel was living in a squalid suburb where every day he faced the skeptical or hostile looks of the exiles.
God called Ezekiel, a priest, when he was thirty-three, the legal age to begin to serve at the temple. Like Jeremiah, Ezekiel was both a priest and a prophet, which invites us not to set these two complementary functions against each other. The ministry of a priest does not pertain only to the temple. A priest teaches, judges and defines the application of the laws. On the other hand, a prophet is a charismatic with the ability to discern the most current word of God through dreams, visions and various signs. Usually, the prophets of God had individualistic personality. Jeremiah, for example, was a solitary man; and, other than his first preaching, he was barely perceived as a priest. Ezekiel, on the contrary, was always very concerned about what is pure and impure. He exercised a pastoral activity; and, for him, the restoration of the temple was an essential element of the new Israel.
Ezekiel had been among the first groups of deportees in the year 597 B.C. He lived practically his entire life in Babylon. Some commentators thought that he received God’s call when he was still in Jerusalem; and that this call, that we can read in 2:9–3:9, was later combined with the vision of Chapter 1. However, this is merely a hypothesis. The great vision of the New Israel (Chaps. 40–48) took place 25 years later in the year 572 B.C.
Since his writings developed in a community of exiles, the exiles, living in a prosperous city, protected Ezekiel’s teachings better than the other prophets. Ezekiel was speaking to “old people,” most of whom were among his acquaintances; and his objective was to provide them with an adequate formation. The first people who came back from the Exile had undoubtedly taken his teaching as their rule of life; and they had no reason to modify it.
Ezekiel in our History
Both Ezekiel and Jeremiah left in the Scriptures one of the loftiest perspectives from which we can look at the history of the people of God. Being unfaithful and rebellious seemed to form part of the vocation of this people. Likewise, part of God’s action consisted of destroying what had been built with him, from the moment the people wanted to settle in this world, by following in the footsteps of other peoples.
Periods in history exist when everything seems to collapse, when only death is seen everywhere. But, in those moments that God sheds light on a new stage of his always unforeseeable plan. Although there are risks in the making of too specific applications to the times in which we live, presently, especially in the Catholic Church, we have the sensation of a collapse, that seemingly affects essential sectors of the Church itself; reminding us of a similar time when the kingdom of Judah disappeared. For many believers, the time of the Exile has already started, whether they are referring to the Babylon of this world, being blinded to the truth, or to the Church itself, being changed into Babylon. As a result, many people are looking everywhere as they are waiting for a prophet, or a ray of light.
Jeremiah and Ezekiel complement each other. Jeremiah belonged to the group of Jews who had the good fortune of escaping deportation. Jeremiah understood that nothing could be expected of his group; hence the assumption why he disregarded the next stage, that of the return. Jeremiah went directly to what was of the essence, namely, the new Covenant. This Covenant would always reach beyond tomorrow and beyond institutions. On the other hand, Ezekiel accompanied the exiles, who would form part of the offshoot of the new Israel. Ezekiel was firmly grounded in his pastoral work, preparing the next stage, that of the return. By doing this, he might have been running the risk of thinking that those returning from the Exile would behave better than their predecessors; that a people of God would be built with laws, as well as with stones and cement. Ezra and Nehemiah are to be Ezekiel’s heirs and they will build up the religion of the Jews: Judaism.
Jeremiah became the great figure of the persecuted prophet. On the contrary, Ezekiel shows no brilliance or beauty; and, at times, we wish that he were a little less excessive and crude. Yet, this cannot conceal the strength that animates him. As in the case of Elijah, the Spirit filled him with zealous love for the God who was not accepted.
This book can easily be divided into six sections:
- THE VOCATION OF THE PROPHET: 1:1–3:27
- PROPHETIC ACTIVITY BEFORE THE SECOND SIEGE OF JERUSALEM: 4:1–24:27
– the siege and judgment (4:1–8:2)
– the abominations in the temple (8:3–11:25)
– the lies of the prophets and personal responsibility (12:1–14:23)
– a ccumulated sins in the history of Israel (15:1–24:27)
- PROPHECIES AGAINST THE NATIONS: 25:1–32:32
- THE SALVATION OF ISRAEL: 33:1–37:28
- GOG AND MAGOG: 38:1–39:29
- THE VISION OF THE NEW ISRAEL: 40:1–48:30
– the new temple (40:1–43:27)
– the new worship (44:1–46:24)
– the new Israel (47:1–48:35)
1.1 The book begins with two different introductions. Nobody knows the meaning of the year thirty in the first verse. It may be a copyist’s mistake. The fifth year of Jehoiachin brings us to the year 594 before Christ.
There the hand of the Lord was upon me (v. 3). This means that Ezekiel was drawn into ecstasy: as if having left his body, he mysteriously encountered God. He learned something of God’s mystery, received his mission and was transformed into another man.
4. A windstorm came from the north. Ezekiel was overwhelmed by the vivid images accompanying God’s words. We will find the vision of the Chariot of the Lord again in Chapter 10 where the Lord is shown leaving his temple in Jerusalem to live in Babylon among the exiles.
People of those days thought that their gods were confined to specific sanctuaries and places. Thus, the Jews exiled in Babylon, far from their homeland and their temple where they could worship God, succumbed to despair. They felt that God had abandoned them and that only the people who stayed behind in their country enjoyed God’s care.
Precisely for that reason, the Lord teaches Ezekiel that though he dwells in the temple of Jerusalem he is not less present in distant Babylon. the Lord follows his people and dwells among them.
In a vision, Ezekiel sees four creatures with four faces and four wings. This suggests—in images of those times—the greatness of God. In Chaldean palaces, there were magnificent statues of fantastic beings called “Cherubs” combining features of the strongest of beings: humans, the eagle, the lion, and the bull. Here, they become impetuous living creatures surrounding and protecting the mystery of God. The intersecting wheels moving in every direction show God’s action throughout the universe. They have eyes which see everything and are in constant movement. In Revelation 4, the apostle John will use images from this vision.
Over the heads of the creatures was a kind of platform; it looked like crystal (v. 22). The rainbow and the transparent vault supporting the throne also suggest the mystery of the Lord. The same is true of the fire where the Lord alone can live and where everything, which is not God, is destroyed.
A figure similar to that of a man (v. 26). Having reached the most intimate part of God, the last image will be a figure of a human because God’s power comes from his mysterious and personal being in whose likeness the human being was created.
I am sending you to the Israelites, to a people who have rebelled against me (2:3). This is similar to what has been expressed by earlier prophets. When the Lord sent Isaiah, he told him only about the counter-productive effect of his mission: the people will become hardened. In Ezekiel’s case, there is more optimism: sent to rebels, he must be firmer and more persistent than they are to break through the shell of their hardened hearts. In fact, Ezekiel will be constantly arguing and fighting. Paul will say later that those who evangelize must teach whether the time is right or not (2 Tim 4:2) without ever losing heart.
3.1 Eat this scroll. The vision of the scroll symbolically describes the call from the Lord, giving Ezekiel his mission.
Fill yourself with this scroll that I’m giving you (v. 3). The prophet is not a parrot that repeats words dropped from heaven: he has been given a global view of events, an understanding of the meaning of history. He is possessed with fury, which is the fury of God against sin. All this is signified by the scroll (such were the ancient books) which he had to eat.
For several years Ezekiel gives only predictions of death. This explains why the book centers on woes and lamentations.
It tasted as sweet as honey (v. 3). Ezekiel eats these predictions of misfortune which seem sweet to him: the prophet has taken the Lord’s side and he totally accepts his plans, however terrible they may seem to the people. In sharing the Lord’s anger, Jeremiah kept his human heart and he suffered because of the suffering of his people. Ezekiel, on the contrary, does not feel torn.
Thus, with the examples of several prophets, Scripture shows us how God’s Word separates believers from their own people (Mt 10:34). All who are called to speak to others or lead them, begin to experience this conflict. They do not say what people want to hear, nor are they disturbed by the complaints of cowards, and of the comfortable who ask to be left alone to live the way they want. It will always be hard to lose the security we have from agreeing with everyone else. True believers willingly take God’s side, which means, at times, going against the grain.
16. The story of Ezekiel’s vocation, which we read in verses 1-15, will follow in verses 22-27. Here, it is interrupted by a paragraph (vv. 16-21) expressing one of the great themes of Ezekiel’s preaching: God does not wish the sinner to die, but to be converted and live (see Chap. 18).
It is true that the catastrophe resulting from their mistakes is coming upon all Ezekiel’s hearers. Yet, this is no cause for despair; if even only one person becomes aware of his wickedness, it would not be in vain, for it will give life, to at least this one person.
I have made you a watchman (v. 17). The prophet has been given an insight into the sin of individuals and of society which the rest do not have. He alone can see the dangers which are approaching; as God, who judges sin, has planned. The prophet struggles, not only against those who do not believe, but also against God the Judge, calling upon his mercy (Ex 32:11; Jer 14:11) as Moses and Jeremiah had done.
He shall die, and I will hold you responsible for his death (v. 18). The responsibility of one who has received insight from God: he receives it to save others and must not keep quiet.
When the righteous man turns from what is good (v. 20). Everybody suffered equally in the crisis which ruined Judah. Ezekiel states that these common sufferings will bring life or death to everyone as they deserve. This is because to be alive or to be dead does not have the same meaning for God as it does for us (Rev 3:1).
The same parable of the sentinel will be used again and developed in 33:1. Let us remember the comparison of Ezekiel which characterizes the prophets (and the believer):
– be vigilant, keep in mind what God says in order to understand what he thinks of our way of acting;
– to be attuned, to feel responsible concerning the problems of our milieu instead of ignoring them in order not to be disturbed.
22. Following, are Ezekiel’s prophecies in Chaldea during the six years prior to the siege and fall of Jerusalem.
For a while Ezekiel is dumb, then paralyzed. This strange illness serves as a lesson. By every possible means, Ezekiel insists that the Lord has decided on the ruin of Jerusalem because the Israelites have not repented nor become more faithful.
Ezekiel is in Chaldea but is concerned about Jerusalem. In these chapters, his teaching is close to Jeremiah’s during the same time. The form, however, is very different. Jeremiah spoke first, and later his statements were written down; whereas Ezekiel writes in a more formal and orderly way. Unfortunately, his style is sometimes very elaborate and complicated, but we must reflect on these long parables full of marvelous images.
In verse 25, Ezekiel seems to be affected by a strange paralysis whose duration will be symbolic: 190 days plus 40 days. We do not know the meaning of these figures.
In 6:8-10, as many other prophets did, he announces that the Lord will save a remnant. “They will loathe themselves for the evil they committed.” This statement is typical of Ezekiel and it shows that the wicked will arrive at a sincere conversion; to be disgusted with oneself because of one’s sins is what brings God’s grace.
8.1 Chapters 8–11 include a long vision of the sins of Jerusalem and the punishment that will follow. Everything happens in the temple. What appalls the priest Ezekiel most is that they have despised God and rejected him from their hearts in favor of false gods.
In verse 2, we find some flashes of the vision of the first chapter. There is always something to indicate that the Lord is present to the prophet who does not see him. Ezekiel is drawn into ecstasy again: his spirit will contemplate the sins of Jerusalem.
In verse 4, Ezekiel sees the glory of the Lord in the temple. Since its inauguration by Solomon (see 1 K 8:10), God was present among his people even when they were building altars and statues to false gods in the very patios of the temple. Now, however, the Lord abandons his temple before it is destroyed by the Chaldeans; his glory leaves for Babylon, where the exiles are. God takes three steps before leaving:
– 9:3, he leaves the Sanctuary and remains on the threshold;
– 9:4. A letter T which then had the shape of a cross, was to protect the “remnant.”
– 9:8. Ah, the Lord! Are you going to destroy…? A true prophet threatens the people because he wants to save them.
– 10:19, he crosses the patios and remains at the east gate, facing the Mount of Olives;
– 11:22, always going to the East, to Chaldea. The Lord crosses the Kidron valley and lingers over the Mount of Olives.
While the Lord is abandoning his temple, the fire of his holiness becomes punishment and death for the godless people who set up their idols and engaged in adultery, according to the different meanings given to this word by the prophets (see Chap. 16).
Among the collective condemnations, there are others aimed at individuals. Ezekiel cooperates with the Lord and, with him, must pronounce the words of condemnation causing the death of the guilty ones.
12.1 At nightfall in Babylon, people gather at the doors of their houses. Ezekiel appears. Without saying a word he behaves as a solitary actor in a performance which captures the people’s attention. When his act is over, he leaves without giving any explanation. The next day he reveals the meaning of this parable in action.
By this symbolic act, the prophet announces the deportation of the residents of Jerusalem and of their king.
21. The days pass and the visions do not come true (v. 22). We are surprised by the lack of faith of the Jews, because, looking back at Sacred History, it seems to us that it is filled with miracles and the words of the prophets were fulfilled. This is not the way it appeared to the prophets’ contemporaries. In almost two centuries, there were only Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and a few minor prophets; besides, miraculous liberations like that of Jerusalem in the year 701 B.C. did not often occur. History was not only miracles; prophetic words were not fulfilled immediately. Moreover, side by side with the true prophets, there were false prophets, whose visions often failed to come true. Thus, the Jews’ unbelief is quite understandable.
There are times, in the course of history, when changes occur rapidly, and other times when God does not seem to be doing anything. In the Gospel itself, we are told not to become materialistic when the Lord seems absent from the affairs of the world (Lk 21:34; 17:26; 2 P 3:3).
13.1 Truth and lies are spread in the world. In this, the prophets were no more privileged than we are, since all had opponents (see 1 K 22; Is 28).
Here, Ezekiel tells us the difference between the false and the true prophet. The true prophet usually says something contrary to what the majority would like to hear (see also Jer 14:13); instead of keeping quiet about sin, he takes the risk of denouncing it (see Jer 23:14); he points out the causes of evil instead of proposing superficial solutions which only hide evil for a time; he is on top of the rampart, as a sentinel, seeing clearly the approaching judgment of God, namely, the inevitable consequences of sins and errors. He defends his people from the anger of the Lord (Ezk 22:30).
Ezekiel mentions the prophetesses and their practices, whose precise meaning escapes us; they caused the people to become preoccupied with dreams, superstitions, and illusory remedies while remaining blind to crime and sin.
14.1 Am I to allow them to consult me? (v. 3). Here, we have a warning for those who come to consult the Lord through the prophet to solve their most pressing concerns: Must I marry this woman? How will I be cured of my illness? The Lord does not want to answer those who are not willing to obey him; rather, he will punish them for their wickedness: this will be “God’s answer.”
If the prophet lets himself be seduced (v. 9). If, for gain, the prophet agrees to answer questions which have nothing to do with his religious mission, the Lord will punish the one consulting as well as the prophet.
This implies the responsibility of people who let themselves be deceived by false prophets. People prefer to go to false prophets because they know that they will not force them to see clearly the faults in their lives. In the end, they will all be lost.
15.1 In Chapters 15–23 the sins of Judah throughout history are denounced four times, in different ways: Chapters 16, 20, 22, 23.
In this chapter, the image of the vine is used to depict the necessary conclusion of Judah’s history: the nation is to be destroyed and its capital burned. Like the wood of the vine when the Lord chose it, Israel did not stand out from other people, neither in number, nor in quality. Since they did not fulfill their mission, they can neither continue as God’s people, nor, again, become a people like the rest.
16.1 The story of the unfaithful wife, already told by Hosea and Jeremiah, is expanded to include all of sacred history. Here it begins with the conquest of Canaan. When David conquered Jerusalem, the common people there were Amorites and the upper class, Hittites.
We can see the stages of this history:
– Israel was nothing when God chose her: verses 4-5;
– God enriches her: verses 8-14;
– the fall: verses 15-22;
– the promise: “I will remember my Covenant with you.”
In speaking of prostitution, Ezekiel is dealing with three sins at the same time, just as Isaiah and Jeremiah did:
– giving oneself to the worship of idols in spite of being “the bride of the Lord;”
– organizing sacred prostitution as practiced in pagan cults;
– submitting to powerful nations to gain their political protection instead of remaining independent.
Ezekiel does not forget a single detail of what can humiliate his people and put them to shame. Such strong criticism of their national history has never been heard by any other nation. By hitting at the pride of his compatriots, the prophet teaches us how to bring all the stupidity and wickedness of our hearts into the open.
59. When I take your sisters and give them to you as daughters (v. 61). After being punished and corrected, Israel will receive the mission to teach and lead other people. This can also be seen in the Church, which is holy in some sense, but also experiences human weakness. The people who have sinned and experienced forgiveness often show more compassion and more eagerness to save sinners.
17.3 Ezekiel himself explains this long comparison. The conclusion is that the line of kings descending from David is coming to an end. Another descendant of David will be chosen by God himself to be the Messiah. Verses 22-24 refer to Christ and the Church.
Whose treaty he has broken (vv. 15-20). Zedekiah’s submission to the Chaldeans was the just price for the previous errors denounced by the prophets. God does not accept every liberation, nor the use of any means whatsoever.
18.1 The parents have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge (v. 2). The primitive people of Israel had a strong sense of common responsibility within a group, family, or nation. In Joshua 7:24, we have an example of the culprit’s family being condemned to death along with him, and also the example of the entire people being punished for the fault of one of their members.
However, in the last years of the kingdom of Judah, a sense of personal responsibility became stronger:
– The prophets declared that human justice cannot punish children for the crimes of their parents (Dt 24:16). How could God act otherwise and punish innocent people?
– In ancient times, any error, even unintentional, was considered a “sin.” Now the prophets teach that only wickedness is a sin, and misfortunes, which are not a consequence of this evil, are not punishment from God.
The destruction of Jerusalem seemed to punish everyone without differentiating between good and evil people. Ezekiel does not deny the fact that, on that occasion, God struck everyone; but to him, this was a thing of the past, and it was fitting for a people who had completely gone astray. He looks to the future and teaches how God will act henceforth with genuine religion:
– Justice will be for the just, and disgrace for the unfaithful: everyone will receive what he or she personally deserves.
– If the sinner turns from his sin, he will live (v. 21): everyone will have time to decide freely. If people are evil and then decide to do good, God will wait for their conversion and will take their last orientation into account.
In later times, wise people will note that oftentimes evil people do not receive their punishment, nor good people receive their reward in this life (see Job 21); it will become obvious to them that God’s justice will be achieved in the next life.
19.1 In this comparison, the lioness is the Jewish nation. The cubs are the kings: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah.
20.1 Another presentation of the sins of Israel throughout its history. Here Ezekiel constantly speaks of profanation. Being the people of a holy God, Israel cannot live in the same way as other nations that are profane, that is to say, that do not belong to God. The land of Israel, its laws, its feasts: everything is holy and cannot be used as the people please.
In verse 22, the Lord makes sure that his name is not profaned. If he were to punish Israel and allow it to be destroyed, other nations (according to the mentality of the time) would despise God for they would think he was not able to save his people. Thus, his name would be “profaned.” When the Lord gathers his people (v. 41), all the nations will see his power: thus his name will be “sanctified.”
I gave them statutes that were not good (v. 25). Ezekiel interprets history in his own way and points out what can humiliate his people as we noted in 20:25. At times the Israelites used the Law of Leviticus (18:21) regarding the offering of the firstborn to God, to justify the sacrifice of children as practiced by the pagans. Ezekiel suggests that the law actually required such sacrifices and that the Lord had allowed it (he says: “had given” using a common Hebrew expression) to punish his people by letting them accumulate the crimes which pleased them.
22.1 In this chapter, from his place of exile, Ezekiel addresses the people of Jerusalem.
In you… in you… in you… (vv. 7, 9, 10). All kinds of crimes are committed in Jerusalem. Your princes, your priests, your leaders, the people: they all took part in evil.
The blood you have shed (vv. 9 and 13). The bloodshed by the murderer stained the earth until the blood of the murderer was shed (Dt 19:12). The Hebrews, violent as they were, had a keen sense of justice and of the sacred character of life. Today there are ways of causing death quietly and without soiling the hands of entire nations: the day will come when blood will cry out for vengeance against affluent people who considered themselves innocent.
Israel has become for me like dross (v. 18). The trials that we endure are like a furnace used to purify gold and other metals (1 P 1:7). In the case of Jerusalem, he uses the comparison of the furnace to make a different point: the siege of the city allows the destruction of a people who did not carry out their mission. What cannot be purified is to be burned (Mt 3:10).
I looked for a man among them to build a wall (v. 30) between them and me. Note verse 30 which brings to mind 13:9. Not everyone has the same understanding of the mystery of God, nor is everyone called to the same responsibilities. There is a need for intercessors who are in solidarity with others, feel compassion for them and become responsible for them before God. Thus prayer appears crucial. All prophets discover that this is to be their role.
This understanding of how God saves has led many friends of God to “withdraw” into solitude; surrendering to the love of God through prayer and suffering.
23.5 As he did in Chapter 16, Ezekiel teaches his compatriots, who are indifferent to the love of the Lord, by starting with what they know: jealous love and prostitution.
Ezekiel mentions three forms of idolatry: with the Egyptians, the Assyrians and the Babylonians:
– The idolatry of the Egyptians: confidence in a super-organized state that gives food to everyone, but deprives them of freedom.
– The idolatry of the Assyrians: worship of power and male-centeredness.
– The idolatry of the Babylonians: the longing for money and routine work invaded all their lives. People have no time to live and do not question the meaning of their lives.
What offends God is not only that individuals forsake the God of justice—without whose knowledge nothing befalls us—to trust in stones, images, and horoscopes. What offends God more is that the whole nation is sinning. God wanted to develop within it a new faith, lifestyle and culture able to save humankind. Instead of that, their pleasure is to import all that is most alienating in foreign cultures. We too continue to import all that is alienating: advertisements, erotic dances, and videos.
Oholibah (means my tent is in her): this refers to the southern kingdom, with Jerusalem, where Yahweh established his dwelling and to which he gave his promises.
Oholibah (means her own tent): this is the North which was separated from Jeroboam to form a kingdom of its own.
24.15 Once again, the prophet uses his own situation to announce the fall of Jerusalem which will lose its wealth and its inhabitants.
The prophet’s personal trial in his marriage can be compared to similar occurrences of other prophets. See the commentary on Jeremiah 16:1.
25.1 Chapters 25–32 contain the “messages against the pagan nations” similar to what is found in other prophets.
After announcing the nearly total destruction of Israel, the prophet predicts the final destruction of Israel’s enemies, when the time of justice arrives. The prophet’s words are inspired by an urgent sense of justice. The Ammonite, Edomite… etc. nations have no right to survive as nations since they have no part in preparing for salvation and the Lord used them only to purify his people. So, they must disappear in the turmoil of history.
It would be a misunderstanding of the Scriptures if we were led to ask God to punish people who do not believe and who even persecute the Church (see 1 Peter). Neither can we now wish for the destruction of an oppressor since the grace of Christ is at work everywhere. All we can affirm is that any institution, which is closed to the Gospel message, will disappear: “Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted, shall be uprooted” (Mt 15:13).
Ezekiel announces the destruction of Tyre through shipwreck images. Compare with the fall of Nineveh (Nh 2–3) and of Babylon (Jer 51).
In Revelation (18:9) these words would be remembered and applied to the Roman Empire and to its capital, Rome, which was the center of the world at the time of the apostles. What a condemnation for our civilization, which always places economic success as a top priority, even if it praises cultural and spiritual values. One may well see the shipwreck of entire nations, families, and individuals in a flood of unemployment, shops stocked with sophisticated articles that have become useless.
27.1 Phoenicia with its ports, Tyre and Sidon, was on the coast of Palestine. A very small country, its people were dedicated to sea trade and were in contact with all the nations on the Mediterranean. From Phoenicia, pagan influences reached Israel, especially in the days of Ahab (1 K 16:29).
31.1 Note the beautiful literary image of the cedar, Chapter 31: it represents Egypt.
33.1 Jerusalem has been captured. While all the illusions of the Jews and their false prophets are shattered, Ezekiel understands that they have come to the end of the trial. In the future, perhaps remote, there is the glimpse of a resurrection. The prophet reveals many promises of God in Chapters 34–39. This chapter (33), marking the capture of Jerusalem, serves as an introduction.
In verses 1-20 we have a different version of what we commented on in 3:17 and 18:21.
Verse 11. In time of misfortune, the wicked lose all hope; but the prophet, who always announced misery, raises his voice to encourage conversion and to share God’s thinking: I do not want the wicked to die, but, rather, that they turn from their ways and live!… Why, O Israel, should you die?
34.1 The Lord God gathers his scattered flock.
There are two parts to this long comparison in which the Lord promises to become the shepherd of his flock:
– a revolution,
– a judgment.
Speak on my behalf against the shepherds of Israel (v. 2). Here the Lord announces a radical change in the social life of Israel: he will replace all the shepherds. The expression “shepherd” applies to all civil authorities, and thus includes the king, the magistrates, and the judges. It does not include the priests and the prophets. This is contrary to modern usage since, for us, the word “pastor” (shepherd) refers only to the spiritual leaders of a community.
Should not the shepherds feed the flock (v. 2)? The flock does not belong to the shepherds. The Lord condemns the leaders of his people who find it normal to enjoy power and wealth without first seeing themselves as the servants of the people. We can easily imagine the misery of the Jewish people in the days about which Ezekiel writes, immediately after the catastrophe in Jerusalem:
– weak, hungry, sick sheep (cf. v. 4);
– stray sheep (v. 4): wandering without home or work, isolated, alienated by the lies of their rulers;
– they became the prey of all the nations, they were taken into exile, or left their homeland looking for work.
I myself will tend my sheep (v. 15). Now the Lord has rejected Israel’s leaders who have disappeared in the catastrophe and promises to become Israel’s pastor. The Lord will be the good shepherd and he names the responsibilities of a shepherd: to gather, protect, and feed everyone, and to hold back the very powerful.
A time of cloud and fog (v. 12), when God seemed distant and Israel was overwhelmed and without hope, are over. Now the Lord will gather his people from among the nations (cf. v. 13). The kingdom that God has prepared for this discouraged crowd will surpass all they could ever hope for. Not only will they enjoy material prosperity, but will also live in peace and rest with God. I, myself, will let them rest (v. 15).
As for you, I will distinguish between one sheep and another (v. 17). With these words, the second part begins: God’s judgment.
On one hand, the fat sheep: those that took advantage of the unjust social order. They were not satisfied with having a standard of living higher than the rest, but they trampled the rest of the pasture (v. 18): they grew nothing on the best land in the country; they deposited abroad the money which would have stimulated economic development; they prevented the access of many to education and culture.
Shoulder and horns you butt the weak sheep until you have driven them away (v. 21). They took advantage of their power and because justice was at their disposal, they imposed “their” order by force.
Over them I will put one shepherd, my servant David who will tend them, pasture them (v. 23). This shepherd is Christ, the new David. As we said with regard to Isaiah 11:1, the Messiah is not announced as another descendant of David, nor is he to resume the past. He will be another David and with him will begin something completely new.
We can easily see here some of the images and ideas on which Jesus reflected and which he used in his parables: the Good Shepherd (Jn 10:1), the parable of the lost sheep (Lk 15:4), and the Final Judgment (Mt 25:31).
35.1 The capture of Jerusalem was not the end of Jewish humiliation. After the conquerors of the year 587 B.C. withdrew, the small country of Edom took advantage of the situation to invade Palestine in an attempt to take over the Jewish and Israelite territories: the two nations.
36.22 I shall give you a new heart (v. 26). Many think it impossible to change the human heart. Because some have no hope of changing human beings, they accept people as they are, preferring to overlook mediocrity and sinfulness. Others become bitter about everything and everyone.
This new heart is precisely what God offers in this text, quite similar to Jeremiah 31:31 and Ezekiel 11:19. The experience of the Jewish people showed that human beings are weak and unable to follow the commandments. Yet if an individual knows God personally, to the point of sharing intimately in God’s life, is there no possibility of change and renewal?
This is the meaning of the word “conversion”. To be converted means to come back to God after having been away from him. First, there is a change that takes place in the heart, that is to say, in the innermost part of the human being. Then, there is a change in mentality and attitude. In fact, it is God who converts people, by loving them, attracting them and giving them his Spirit, which transforms them into new beings. I shall remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh (v. 26).] This will be the new Covenant.
Here may be seen the difference between Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Ezekiel received a pastoral task from God: he had to form over long years those who were to rebuild Israel. Ezekiel is preparing the near future. I will bring you back to your land: how often Ezekiel will repeat this. He is in the line of Moses; after him, Ezekiel is one who had to lead the people of Israel. His duties as a pastor prevented him from seeing that a new heart would mean a radical change in the history of Israel: even if the Jews re-entered their country, the time of their kingdom had passed and their national hopes would no longer matter. Jeremiah, on the contrary, who did not bear the same responsibility, lived the tragedy to the full, and in such moments could see that the history of Israel—God’s people on God’s earth—was nearing its end: the Gospel had to come.
37.1 Can these bones live again? (v. 3). This page announces the restoration of Israel which had been dead in every sense of the word.
Our bones are dry (cf. v. 2). The dry and scattered bones represent the Israelites, exiled and dispersed. For many years, the people of Israel believed that God would manifest his glory in the world by granting them prosperity and by working miraculous liberations on their behalf. These were nothing but human dreams. God’s plan is to teach his people through centuries of struggling, mistakes, and suffering. Nations, like people, cannot reach true maturity without passing through the death of their pride and their ambitions. This is precisely when God sends the word which makes the dead rise again.
I shall cover you with skin and give you my spirit that you may live (v. 6). First, God sent his prophets. Their words were not listened to during their lifetime, but they fell to the ground as seed. After a few years, some people would emerge to restore the nation with Ezra and Nehemiah.
When we speak about the resurrection, we always think about the resurrection of people. John spoke about it in 5:25-28 showing how Christ calls dead people to rise from sin or from death. History shows that God raises his people not once, but several times, and even daily as can be seen in the present history of our Church.
15. The Jewish nation’s “original sin” was its division since Solomon’s death.
In the restored Israel the division would be removed and healed: there would be one people and one shepherd (see Jn 10:16).
Even after the exiles came back from Babylon, Israel understood that she had to gather her children who had emigrated all over the world. Jesus, likewise, intended to gather all the scattered children of God (Jn 11:52), since he did not come for the Jews alone, but for all those who do not belong to the flock also (Jn 10).
If we reflect on this extensive mission of Jesus’ disciples, it becomes evident that the word “assemble” does not mean to gather together all the nations into one, or impose on them the same institutions. For them, it is a matter of forming one living body where all that is human and the uniqueness of each one may flourish. Such unity is a gift of God: to have reached it would mean that we have arrived at the end of history.
Meanwhile, to truly become the New People of God, the Church must be one even in its visible structure. To become divided is to revert to the sin of Jeroboam.
38.1 Chapters 38 and 39 predict an invasion of nations united against the kingdom of Israel after it is restored. Those countries are to the north, near the Black Sea. A miraculous victory of the Lord is predicted for that moment.
If we omit the end of Chapter 39 (vv. 17-29), it is almost certain that these pages were not written by Ezekiel, nor do they have anything to do with his mission but were inserted here at the time of the Maccabees. As the so-called “prophecies of Daniel,” they belong to apocalyptic literature which delighted the Jews during the two centuries before Christ and for a hundred years after him (see the introduction to Daniel).
This veiled description of the Syrian invasions in the time of the Maccabees is attributed to Ezekiel, when, in fact, a contemporary of those wars is the author. He expressed his conviction that soon God would crush the Syrian persecutors.
In apocalyptic books, it was customary to use complicated images, to speak emphatically and to announce spectacular divine interventions. This complicated style is always heartening to people with little education who want to see in it some true and ancient prophecy, applicable to our time. There will always be details which, if taken literally, could apply to planes, tanks, chemical warfare…. Even with little biblical knowledge, one can easily find the confirmation of one’s own dreams.
The apocalyptic pages of the Scriptures tell us that the history of the world will end with the clear division between those who accept God’s offer and those who reject it. The kingdom of God will not be the world we are building, although we must build it to prepare for the new and definitive world which God will bring about in his own way. To wait for God to do everything, however, can be illusory and deceptive. Some believers adopt a pessimistic attitude: they think that evil is stronger than good and that there is nothing to be done other than to wait for God to solve everything. Others are eager for “revelations” and predict “punishment and catastrophes.” Others see themselves and their sects as the reduced group of the saved, and live withdrawn from others, that is, they turn their backs on real life.
40.1 In the 25th year of his exile (or in the year 571 B.C.), Ezekiel received the vision which he presents in Chapters 40–48, regarding the new land in Palestine. It is an ideal vision, one could say: a utopian description of what the new Israel will be like.
In 43:4 the glory of the Lord returns from Babylon to Jerusalem to take over the temple (see 1:4). A river flows under the temple and expands, making the land fruitful: it is a sign of all sorts of blessings emerging from the presence of the Lord in the midst of his people. There is also a description of the division of the land among the twelve tribes, which restores the former structure of the people of Israel.
By this vision, Ezekiel assures his compatriots that there is hope for them: the people will come to life again and their mission will be essentially a religious one since the life of the nation will be centered around the temple. The abundance of details about worship makes these chapters tiring. Let us not forget that a nation cannot rise without commitment to a demanding mission. For their part, the Jews reorganized their community around the temple and their priests, with the conviction that perfect worship and the observance of the Law would consequently bring the kingdom of God (see Ezra and Nehemiah).
47.1 Note the vision of the river which makes the land fruitful and starts from the place where God is present. The invisible God manifests himself in the life which he gives to people. The Holy Spirit, imaged in the stream of living water (see Jn 7:38), makes all the seeds of life blossom again in the world.
The stream flows to the Salt Sea or the Dead Sea. (Its waters are so salty that there are no fish. No plants can grow on the shores.) This serves as an image of the healing that God brings to a world, sterile because of its sins. The fruit will be good to eat and the leaves will be used for healing (v. 12).