Exegesis:
· Then, 1:4-28 introduces
us to one of the major themes of the book, God’s glory[1] and
sovereignty, as we see a dazzling imagery[2] of
Yahweh in the midst of a motion filled “windstorm” in the land of the exiles. God
is sovereign, not restricted to the temple, but is living, active and on the
move.[3]
· The windstorm itself is
in motion, while the living creatures it contains not only have legs but wings
as well. Torches are moving back and forth between the creatures (1:13).
Alongside the creatures are various wheels, with each “wheel intersecting a
wheel” (1:16). Everywhere the prophet looks, there is bustling activity.
· The wheels are said to
be full of “eyes,” Hebrew ‘ayin. However,
the Hebrew word can also be used for ‘sparkle gleam.” The traditional view is
that the ‘ayin symbolises the all-seeing
and all-knowing character of God. However, others believe that Ezekiel’s use of
‘ayin reflects Babylonian influence,
denoting an “eye-shaped pebble (of precious stone).[4]
· The vision has
traditional ANE element: The Lord rising on the storm, surrounded by fire and
lightening, was a common way of describing the coming of the divine warrior (Ps
18:9-14).
· The Lord’s
throne-chariot is supported by living creatures, which are instantly
recognisable as cherubim from their role as throne-bearers (Ps 18:10). They
have four faces each a man, a lion (the highest wild animal), an ox (the
highest domestic animal) and an eagle (the highest bird):[5] they
embody within themselves all the highest attributes of living creation.
· The cherubim are the
guardians of God’s holiness, God’s heavenly bodyguard, and enforcers of divine
judgment (Gen 3:24).
· While the emphasis of
Ezekiel 1 is almost exclusively on the gathering clouds that threaten rain, yet
the mention of the rainbow (1:28) allows the possibility of a ray of hope even
in the midst of gloom.[6]
· This glory made Ezekiel
fell on his face (1:28).
Theological
implications:
· The vision proclaims
the transcendent glory of God.[7]
· The vision proclaims
the transcendent holiness of Yahweh: the absolute distinction between Yahweh
and all of creation is clearly recognised. Unlike the pagan gods, who mix
freely with lesser beings and are often indistinguishable form them, Yahweh
sits alone on his throne, separated from all inferior creatures.
· The vision proclaims
the sovereignty of Yahweh. All his attendants are noble creatures, but he is
enthroned, the King over all!
· The vision proclaims
Yahweh’s interest in his people: Whereas Gen 1:26-27 describes humankind as
being created as the “image” and “likeness” of God, here God appears in the
likeness of humankind.[8]
· The vision proclaims
the presence of Yahweh among the exiles. God is with his people. God’s people
are in Babylon. More particularly, God is with Ezekiel.
· The vision hints the
impending judgment of Yahweh.[9]
· This vision serves
notice that whoever would enter into divine service must have a clear vision of
the one into whose service he or she is called.[10]
Bridging:
· God is not tied to the old ways of doing things. Just as
Ezekiel’s contemporaries put their trust in the temple rather than in the God
of the temple, in our days there are many who place their faith in the gifts of
God rather than in the giver.
· The true and living God is not a tame God. He cannot be
comfortably manipulated into a box and made to do our bidding.
· A lady reputedly asked Abraham Lincoln during the dark days
of the Civil war if he was confident that God was on their side. “Madam,” he was
said to have replied, “I am less concerned whether God is on our side than
whether we are on his side.”
· No matter what our past history, we cannot assume God is on
our side unless we are constantly and faithfully on his side.
· To those tempted to place their hope in fallible earthly
institutions, a warning note of judgment needs to be sounded.[11]
God is not merely a distant observer of our struggle. Nothing escapes his
observation, and now he is ready to act.
Modern day:
· The message of judgment is never popular to proclaim. Some
contemporary churches have completely removed any mention of sin and its
consequences from their messages.[12]
· This does not mean that
all bad things happen because of our individual sins. eg. John 9:3 the man born
blind did not sin, nor did his parents, “but this happened so that the work of
God might be displayed in his life.”
Modern day
example of someone born disabled to brought glory to God: Nick Vujicic.
· God’s character has not
changed. God continues to act in judgment on sin as well as to bring justice to
the oppressed.
· God continues to reveal
himself to his people in the exile that they merited for themselves.
· The challenge to the
church: The cities of Europe are filled with many great cathedrals and churches
which are empty. The church is Ephesus was warned that it had lost its first
love.[13] We
should therefore pray continually for the Spirit’s life-giving power to be at
work within our churches.
· There is no magic
formula for measuring and maintaining the life of a church.
· God is not tied to the past. God is living and active and
constantly doing new things. Should the existing structures of the church grow
moribund and useless, he can and does rise up for himself new organisations and
denominations to achieve his purposes.
· Likewise, not everything that is new is of God. Christians
need to adopt a balance between progressivism and traditionalism. Christians
need to be discerning in their evaluation of movements and trends, measuring
all things against the yardstick of the Scriptures.[14]
Like Abraham Lincoln, we need to be constantly asking ourselves, “Am I on the
Lord’s side?”[15]
Recently
there had been an election in Taiwan. Some people nearly had a heart attack
while others are overjoyed. This election not only included the mayoral and councillor
seats, it also included referendum votes for same sex marriage etc. From this
election, we see a strong swing towards the “Blues”/ the Republican party which
got exiled from China onto Taiwan in WWII, whose goal is to "unify the whole
China." We also see that the Taiwanese population supports a “one man, one woman”
marriage. However, these outcomes only reflect a glimpse of the current
transient phase of the people’s thinking. If these values and opinions are not
backed up by firm foundations, they will continue to fluctuate. For instance,
if people cannot witness the value of a family formed by “one man one woman” in
their everyday lives, then people’s views on this value can swing towards the
opposite spectrum very easily in a few years’ time. That’s why in times of
instability, we see more frequent swings in leadership. Sometimes people take
Romans 8:31 out of context when the political party/ issue they support gains
favour and claim that, “this party/ issue has won favourable status because God is on
our side.” This is extremely arrogant and takes things out of order. In actual
fact, if we are not aligning ourselves with God spiritually on a regular basis,
we cannot even claim to be on God’s side.
There
are some events which appear like “victories” on the surface, but eventually
turn out to be failures. For instance, Christianity spread throughout the Roman
Empire, which seemed like a great victory. Then, the crusaders killed off many
middle-eastern people and believe they were glorifying God in the process.
Several hundreds of years later we see that this event left a gigantic open
space for the enemy to attack, with disastrous consequences on the middle
eastern region which continues until today. The schism brought about by the Roman
Catholic church also continues until today.
Today,
churches in Taiwan consists mostly of the middle and upper class people. Most
of these people remain in their comfort zones and do not reach out to the
working class people. Most of these people are already relatively successful in
their lives. If they keep claiming that it is God who made them “successful” in
everything they do, made them earn lots of money, and made them “victorious” in
everything they do, it is highly likely that they will spread the message of a “deformed
gospel” (another words, the message is no longer the gospel, ie. the prosperity "gospel"). I do not see this
as a “victory.”
Revival
does not refer to large crowds of people rushing into the church. Instead, it
refers to a large amount of Christians stepping out of the church to build up
relationships with people in local community and supporting community organisations
which are helping the weak and vulnerable.
[1]
Brad E. Kelle, Ezekiel: A Commentary in
the Wesleyan Tradition (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 2013), 56. The “glory/presence
of Yahweh” plays a key role throughout Ezekiel, appearing nearly 20 times in
the book.
[2]
Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24,
106.
[3]
Joyce, Ezekiel: A Commentary, 58.
[4]
Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24,
100-101.
[7]
Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24,
106.
[8]
Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24,
107.
[9]
Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24,
108.
[10]
Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24,
109.
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