(2) EZEKIEL 2: 1 - 10; EZEKIEL 3: 1 - 4; EZEKIEL 4: 4 - 13
(2) EZEKIEL 2: 1 - 10; EZEKIEL 3: 1 - 4; EZEKIEL 4: 4 - 13
In the first chapter what the prophet saw was the glory of Jehovah. Above the expanse over the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of a throne and the appearance of a man upon it, and in verse 27 we read, “I saw as the look of glowing brass, as the appearance of fire, within it round about; from the appearance of his loins and upward, and from the appearance of his loins and downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire”. The man has reference to Christ as He is now in heaven, and the appearance from the loins upward would suggest all that Christ is God-ward, and the appearance from His loins downward would refer to what He is man-ward; the fire is in keeping with the fact that we are in the presence of the governmental dealings of God. It is a wonderful scene and it enters into the present dispensation in a way that perhaps no other part of the Old Testament does, because it is heaven brought into view and what is in it, and its actions [p. 378] in relation to earth. The heavens are opened and the Son of man is in evidence. Stephen said, “Lo, I behold the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God”. What that involved was that Israel’s hopes were to be deferred, and God was about to operate in a wider domain than that of Israel.
Chapter 2 brings in the adjustment necessary for the vessel. There was no adjustment necessary in the case of the Lord Jesus Christ; He was ever in accord with His testimony. Where there is a type of Christ there is always that which refers to our training ground, with a view to our having part in God’s great service. Ezekiel as son of man is brought into accord with the man whom he sees in the vision, by whom the position is held in heaven while Ezekiel is ministering on earth.
The thought of the Son of man as unfolded in John’s writings may be linked like the expression, “greater things than these”. The Son of man lifted up makes way for the bringing in of eternal life for “whosoever”. The gospel comes in to unfold the thought that God so loved the world; and that is a greater thing than the promises to the fathers. It is morally greater because it culminates in the tabernacle of God being with men. The promises made to Abraham do not go beyond the millennium, and they are provisional; they become the means of working out God’s primary thoughts. The promise of life precedes the promises to Abraham, and in John’s gospel the first thing mentioned after the deity of the Lord is asserted, is that “in him was life, and the life was the light” not of Israel, but “of men”. If we go back in Scripture we see in Proverbs 8 that God had man before Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ in becoming a Man brought in life for man. Before that is developed He in faithfulness presents Himself to Israel as the Messiah, and we read that “he came to his own, and his own received him not”. They had an opportunity to do so. The lifting up of the brazen serpent would indicate that the ground must be cleared for God to bring in His original thought. The serpent brought in the distance and it goes back beyond the promises; it is a matter of God dealing with the problem of sin so that all should live. Israel will come in after God’s universal thought is completed; that is a great help in understanding John; it is a question of the life being the light of men. It is the greatest thing from the standpoint of God’s love and compassion. John deals with our own time and so does Ezekiel, who sees things according to God. He gets a vision of the city, then of the house, and of the land. The glory returns at the end and the last words of the book are “Jehovah is there”.
Ezekiel is called upon to endure terrible conditions. We are reminded that to be a servant of God, we must go through things as they are. The failure of the assembly involves sorrow. We read that “in all their affliction he was afflicted” (Isaiah 63: 9), and every servant has in some measure to go through things in this way. His personal sufferings in connection with the testimony that he rendered would give special power to the ministry of Ezekiel. In chapter 3: 15, he says, “I came to them of the captivity ... and I sat where they sat; and I sat there astonied among them seven days”. There was complete identification with the people and his demeanour would demonstrate to them that he was humbled about things. The seven days would suggest a perfect spiritual experience, and they would be impressed by his attitude; he was astonished at the conditions under which they were.
It is analogous to the state of things at the present moment, in that what should be here for God in separation has been captured by the world. There [p. 380] are those who feel the position, those “that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that are done” (chapter 9: 4), and they are spared the judgment; corresponding in a way with, “I also will keep thee out of the hour of trial”, Revelation 3: 10. Ezekiel dates things from the captivity showing that he had accepted that as a definite judgment of God. Those who come into the light at the present moment would do likewise. Revelation 2 and 3 give us the history of the assembly and its captivity and we date from that. We do not date from Pentecost, but from the time of the recovery when captivity was recognised. The denominations around us do not recognise the captivity, there is no such thing with them, but those in the light of God recognise it, and that is where God begins to work on the line of recovery. Everyone in human organisations is in captivity; he is not free. There is a date given in the beginning of Ezekiel which is not definite, but the captivity is very definite (see chapter 40: 1). Any spiritual person would recognise the date. We constantly hear a reference to the last ninety years; it dates back to an occurrence that the world takes no notice of, but we take notice of it, because it has a definite bearing on spiritual history. It is clear that Ezekiel does not go back to David nor to Exodus, he goes back to the captivity. In its bearing on ourselves we acknowledge that everything was lost on the side of man’s responsibility; we study the addresses to the assemblies to get at the spiritual dates. The truth dates from Pentecost, but in our experience it is from the recovery. There is a lack of power as compared with the early part of the Acts, for although the Spirit is still here, the vessel is limited. He operates through a vessel, and if the vessel is narrow and limited. He is restricted. In the preparation of a vessel there is a vision of the glory; it was so with Ezekiel, and if you go back to the recovery you will find that the Lord [p. 381] gave manifestations. He impresses the servant in some way and the servant gives out the truth accordingly, and the Holy Spirit can enlarge upon it and apply it to the varied needs of the moment.
The vessel has to be brought into accord with what he has seen. He was so affected in chapter 1 that he fell upon his face, and note (chapter 2: 2) he is raised and the Spirit which was in the wheels enters into him so that he is consciously in the power of God, he knows subjectively how the thing has to be carried out. “They went every one straight forward: whither the Spirit was to go, they went; they turned not when they went” (chapter 1: 12). Then he is enjoined to eat the roll, “Thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house, open they mouth, and eat that I give thee. ... And I ate, and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness” (see chapter 2: 8 and 3: 3). He appropriated the thing; it became part of him; it was sweet because it was the mind of God. John goes further, “I took the little book out of the hand of the angel, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth as honey, sweet; and when I had eaten it my belly was made bitter”, Revelation 10: 10. It was bitter because he saw the consequences. This would indicate the difference between the two dispensations. The truth has to be appropriated and become a part of us, so that one may be what one says. You have not only the thing in your mind, it is part of you; you are like the Lord in your measure. He was altogether that which He said.
“I will speak with thee” it says in chapter 2: 1; then the Spirit enters into him, and he heard Him that spake. It goes without saying that the Lord should be listened to; the Lord’s word has authority. Then the Holy Spirit takes up the word and enlarges upon it, and emphasises it through different vessels, and you are to hear them. It is a serious thing to [p. 382] despise what a man may be ministering, because he may be ministering in the Spirit.
Chapter 3: 17 - 21 shows the seriousness of having light from God. If the Lord has given light to us, and He has, we are under obligation to all to make it known, and if we fail in that it will be required of us. The Lord may take away the light if we are not faithful. There is a time to speak, and this is the time. What we have here shows how serious a matter service is in our day. Ezekiel had to testify to those who were hard-hearted. John ministered in Jerusalem more than all the other evangelists; it corresponds with the character of things at the present time.
Chapter 4 brings out what the prophet has to experience and reminds us of the vicarious death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ezekiel was bound down three hundred and ninety days bearing the iniquity of the house of Israel; he is identified figuratively with the death of Christ. It indicates how we are to impress upon men that Christ had to die if men were to be saved. A great deal is said in these days of man’s own vicarious work in view of salvation. It is a lie. There is no way out for man except by the death of Christ, and this passage would emphasise that fact. The different kinds of grain the prophet was to take for food would suggest what Christ is as man, in His perfection. The foods are cereals, what the earth had yielded for man, typifying the Lord Jesus in His acceptability as Man to God and His being food for man. The prophet has to bake it with that which came out of man, man in all his awfulness and pollution. All came to light at the cross. I know of nothing which corresponds with this remarkable passage save the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ, where on the one hand man in perfection is represented before God, and on the other hand man is seen in all his [p. 383] offensiveness. The more you enter into the meaning of the cross of Christ the more effective you are in dealing with men. Paul says, “But far be it from me to boast save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world”, Galatians 6: 14.