Catching Up

Ezekiel 28-39

            I’m sorry I’ve been very lax about this blog. Here are some notes from the last several days’ readings.

            In chapter 28, there is a reference to Noah, Job, and Daniel as proverbial figures of wisdom (also in chapter 14). The odd man out here is Daniel, because the only Biblical character of that name is not a proverbial wiseman, but one of Ezekiel’s contemporaries who at the time of Ezekiel is only just starting his memorable career. I think most commentators understand this Daniel to not be the Biblical character. There is a reference to a Danel in the literature of Ugarit, a city northwest of Israel, north of Tyre and Sidon, which was influential before the time of David. Now, here’s the interesting thing, to me, at least. If Daniel is non-biblical secular character, what of the other two? The way the story of Job is framed in the Bible, I would think it likely that he was a more widely known character outside the Bible. (For example, while no one knows exactly where Uz is, it’s definitely outside of Israel.) As far as Noah is concerned, many ancient cultures have a flood story of some sort; only in the Bible is the main character named Noah, but this could be a reference to that person named in many civilizations and by many names. It strikes me that this is evidence that Ezekiel (and Israel) lived in the real world. A thing I've often said about the Bible that makes it stand out from other religion's sacred texts is that the Bible so clearly fits into what we know of the world from other sources.

            In chapters 29-32, Egypt comes under the Lord’s judgment because she is a “reed staff,” that is, one that cannot support a person’s weight and does damage when she fails. Remember that the kings of Israel on several occasions looked to Egypt as an ally against either Assyria or Babylon. But by this time in human history, Egypt is past her prime and can’t provide the assistance that Israel and Judah imagine.

            Chapter 33 brings back the idea of Ezekiel as a watchman, calling out the warning of approaching enemies. These are passages that make me personally uncomfortable, because there are prophetic elements in a pastor’s call. So, verses like, “I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood,” (v. 6) stand out for me, as if to say, “Make sure that you preach the law, point out people’s sins, call them to repentance.” That is a part of my work I don’t love to do and certainly not as bluntly as Ezekiel does! I tend to take a gentler approach to calling people out of their sin, and verses like this make me nervous, like I should be more forceful. Still, verse 11 shows us the heart of God, that He does not desire the death of a sinner, so He doesn’t love the work of condemning and punishing, either. Oh, well, those are not your problems, they’re mine.

            Chapter 34 compares the rulers of Israel to bad shepherds. While there is plenty of evidence that the people themselves embraced and engaged in idolatry, very often the leaders of Israel, especially the kings, are blamed for it. Leaders bear greater responsibility (which plays into my unease in the paragraph above!) The good news here is that this language is grabbed up by the Lord, in Psalm 23, for example, who is a shepherd who provides and protects. Also, in the Gospels, especially John 10, in which Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who loves His sheep enough to die for them, and Matthew, in which the crowds are like sheep without a shepherd, but Jesus has compassion on them.

            Finally, chapter 35 is last of the oracles against the nations, this time highlighting Edom, the historical descendants of Esau. The common criticism of Edom is that they should have acted like Israel’s brother, but they did not. We’ll talk about that a little more when we get to Obadiah.