Monthly Archives: June 2024

Ezekiel 20 Retelling Israel’s Story in a Negative Light

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Ezekiel 20: 1-32

1 In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain elders of Israel came to consult the LORD, and sat down before me. 2 And the word of the LORD came to me: 3 Mortal, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD: Why are you coming? To consult me? As I live, says the Lord GOD, I will not be consulted by you. 4 Will you judge them, mortal, will you judge them? Then let them know the abominations of their ancestors, 5 and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob — making myself known to them in the land of Egypt — I swore to them, saying, I am the LORD your God. 6 On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands. 7 And I said to them, Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the LORD your God. 8 But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me; not one of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.

Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 10 So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 I gave them my statutes and showed them my ordinances, by whose observance everyone shall live. 12 Moreover I gave them my sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, so that they might know that I the LORD sanctify them. 13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness; they did not observe my statutes but rejected my ordinances, by whose observance everyone shall live; and my sabbaths they greatly profaned.

Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make an end of them. 14 But I acted for the sake of my name, so that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. 15 Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands, 16 because they rejected my ordinances and did not observe my statutes, and profaned my sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols. 17 Nevertheless my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or make an end of them in the wilderness.

18 I said to their children in the wilderness, Do not follow the statutes of your parents, nor observe their ordinances, nor defile yourselves with their idols. 19 I the LORD am your God; follow my statutes, and be careful to observe my ordinances, 20 and hallow my sabbaths that they may be a sign between me and you, so that you may know that I the LORD am your God. 21 But the children rebelled against me; they did not follow my statutes, and were not careful to observe my ordinances, by whose observance everyone shall live; they profaned my sabbaths.

Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. 22 But I withheld my hand, and acted for the sake of my name, so that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, 24 because they had not executed my ordinances, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their ancestors’ idols. 25 Moreover I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live. 26 I defiled them through their very gifts, in their offering up all their firstborn, in order that I might horrify them, so that they might know that I am the LORD.

27 Therefore, mortal, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: In this again your ancestors blasphemed me, by dealing treacherously with me. 28 For when I had brought them into the land that I swore to give them, then wherever they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and presented the provocation of their offering; there they sent up their pleasing odors, and there they poured out their drink offerings. 29 (I said to them, What is the high place to which you go? So it is called Bamah to this day.) 30 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your ancestors and go astray after their detestable things? 31 When you offer your gifts and make your children pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be consulted by you, O house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord GOD, I will not be consulted by you.

This chapter in Ezekiel is one of the most uncomfortable passages I have wrestled with in the twelve years since I began this discipline of working through scripture on signoftherose. My goal was to pay particular attention to the passages of scripture I was less familiar with. For me this was more difficult than Ezekiel 16 with its portrayal of Jerusalem as God’s faithless bride because that imagery has resonance with imagery used in Jeremiah, and I was able to view it through my personal experiences of heartbreak and the emotions that evoked. I was glad to find I was not alone in my assessment of this passage, for example Katheryn Pfisterer Darr states:

Ezekiel 20: 1-44 is one of the Bible’s most troubling texts. What are we to make of an oracle that intentionally portrays a people’s history in the most pejorative of terms, in order utterly to erode any sense of integrity, any basis of hope? (NIB VI: 1290)

This text goes against many modern notions of independence. Israel cannot be Israel without living in the covenantal relationship with God. God chose them and the critical verse which forms the pivot for this chapter is verse thirty-two, “What is in your mind shall never happen — the thought, “Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, and worship wood and stone.”  Ezekiel has throughout the previous nineteen chapters attempted to demonstrate the apostasy of Israel as the cause for the LORD’s just action of condemnation. Now this rhetorical retelling of the history of Israel attempts to portray the total depravity of Israel throughout its history.

The prophet Ezekiel may be a poet, but he has little interest in ideas expressed in Emily Dickinson’s poem “Tell All the Truth But Tell It Slant”

Tell all the truth but tell it slant —

Success in Circuit lies

Too bright for our infirm Delight

The Truth’s superb surprise

As Lightning to the Children eased

With explanation kind

The Truth must dazzle gradually

Or every man be blind —[1]

Ezekiel’s message to a people who no longer have ears to hear is not told with an explanation kind, instead it is a brutally direct confrontation with the long running patterns of disobedience which have, in Ezekiel’s view, characterized the relationship between the people and their God. Or as Daniel Block states:

Far from being a story of election and salvation, Israel’s story is one of apostasy…Ezekiel’s “theology of history” is revisionist in the extreme. Other prophets had recognized the historical roots of Israel’s sins, but Ezekiel perceives the nation as corrupt as no other prophet did. (Block, 1997, p. 614)

Nor is Ezekiel’s primary concern at this point repentance, from early on God has communicated to Ezekiel that his role is to communicate the message so that, “Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house), they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.” (Ezekiel 2:5)

The prophecy is dated August 14, 591 BCE based on the information in verse one. This is two years before the siege of Jerusalem, almost a year after the prophecy in chapter eight, and two years after Ezekiel’s initial call. (Ganzel, 2020, p. 146) There have been several suggestions for why the elders approach Ezekiel at this point. One suggestion is that words of the false prophet Hananiah’s prophecy[2] had reached the exiles which suggested that the exile would be ending at this point. This is possible, but it is also possible that the elders are attempting to seek the LORD as mentioned in Deuteronomy 4:29, “From there (exile among the nations) you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him if your search after him with all your heart and soul (nephesh-life).” Yet, in Ezekiel’s view these elders are not wholeheartedly turning to the LORD. Like in chapter fourteen when certain elders come and the LORD considers whether he will answer them, only to answer in judgment, now the prophet is commanded to judge or arraign[3] the elders and the people.

The narrative begins in Egypt when the LORD chose (Hebrew bahar) Israel, swears to them and makes Godself known to them. The use of the Hebrew bahar reflects the language of Deuteronomy 7: 6-8:

For you are a people holy to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession. It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you — for you were the fewest of all peoples. It was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your ancestors, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Being chosen by the LORD involves casing away the detestable things and the ‘idols’[4] of Egypt but from the very beginning they failed, in Ezekiel’s retelling of the story, to change their practices or to turn away from the idols they had in Egypt.

Throughout the narrative, their disobedience evokes a strong reaction from the LORD and God considers pouring out his wrath and spending his anger against them but refrains so that the name of God will not be profaned among the nations. The idea of God acting so that God’s name may be recognized and honored among the nations is reflected in the aftermath of the golden calf when Moses interceded for the people (Exodus 32: 11-14) and in the LORD’s declaration of identity in the thirteen attributes of God (Exodus 34: 1-9). A similar pattern is repeated when the people refuse to enter the promised land for fear of its occupants and Moses again has to intercede with the LORD (Numbers 14: 13-25). Throughout this retelling of history, the refrain reoccurs, Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. But I withheld my hand, and acted for the sake of my name, so that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. This points to the LORD’s continual forbearance with the people in the past, but also highlights the anger and pain that the LORD bears from this continued pattern of disobedience.

Ezekiel’s retelling of Israel’s story continues from God’s choosing of the people in Egypt, even in their disobedience, to the leading of the people out of Egypt into the wilderness to give them the law and to lead them to the promised land. Ezekiel views this period as a time of continued rebellion[5] but now as the LORD makes the covenant expectations clear the rebellion takes on a more strident stance. The LORD has provided the statutes and ordinance by which everyone should live and gave them the practice of sabbath as a sign between God and the people. The people did not observe the statutes, rejected the ordinances, and greatly profaned the sabbath. In addition to the pursuit of idols and detestable things they have now added disobedience to the laws, decrees, and practices that are a part of the covenant. Yet, God’s anger is once again restrained by acting for the sake of the name of the God. Even though one generation never emerges from the wilderness their children inherit the promised land. Yet, the LORD warns them in the wilderness, probably referencing Deuteronomy where Moses warns the people before entering the land, to not follow the ways of their parents or to defile themselves with idol. Instead, they are charged to live by the law (statutes and ordinances) and to hallow the sabbath day.

The children who enter the promised land and the generations that follow fail in these practices. Ezekiel’s narration of God’s response produces a passage that, “Students of Scripture have struggled with…through the centuries.” (Block, 1997, p. 637)

because they had not executed my ordinances, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their ancestors’ idols. Moreover I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live. I defiled them through their very gifts, in their offering up all their firstborn, in order that I might horrify them, so that they might know that I am the LORD. (v. 24-26)

This is a difficult group of verses, and we are going to slow down and spend some time with this discomfortable passage. As Ellen Davis explains,

The statement resists all attempts at domestication. Its power lies precisely in the fact that it cannot be conformed to human reason. The verse reasserts, indeed, carries to its illogical extreme what is Ezekiel’s constant theme: the indisputable authority of God to determine and interpret the course of human history. (Davis, 1989, p. 114)

As I mentioned in my reflection A Split in the Identity of God, one of the difficult things for most Christians readers of scripture to reconcile is the all-encompassing view of the prophetic witness of God being responsible for all things. The adoption of idolatrous practices and non-covenant rules, and even the offering of children are now placed within the divine purview. The law was a gift, and now these not good laws become an anti-gift. The accusations of Ezekiel 16:20 of child sacrifice are now a way in which the LORD can horrify[6] the people. Throughout the narration of the Deuteronomic history[7] the people of Israel adopt idolatrous practices, fail to live according to the covenant, and at some points appear to engage in child sacrifice to Molech. It is impossible to know whether child sacrifice is occurring in the context of the exile in Babylon or in Jerusalem at the time. Yet, the theological implication of assigning the disobedience of the people, even to the point of, in the best light, misreading the provision for redeeming firstborns in Exodus 13: 11-16 or Exodus 22:29 to God is theologically troubling. Ezekiel is not a systematic theologian, nor is his message one of logical coherency. Ezekiel is providing a way to make sense of the future cataclysm for the people of Jerusalem while attempting to maintain God’s justice. Yet, most readers throughout history have struggled to reconcile these verses.

One of the insights I had in studying Jeremiah was that the God of Jeremiah, and by extension Ezekiel, is a brokenhearted God. The God portrayed in the bible has a surprisingly human set of emotions including anger, pain, desire, and loss. The LORD loves deeply and hurts deeply at the unfaithfulness of the people, and this hurt has been constrained by the concern for the honor of the divine name. Yet, generations of pain have compounded and the release of the pain—at least in words—is not always logical or easy to understand. The prophet stands between the wounded God and the wounding people and is the mediator of that pain from God to the people. The language of pain is attempting to shake the people from their long pattern of disobedience, or at least to give them language to explain the consequences when the LORD no longer saves them from the consequences of their actions. As modern people we might narrate this history differently from a different theological perspective, but Ezekiel (like his contemporary Jeremiah) has no choice but to pour out the emotion he receives from a brokenhearted God to a people who refuses to hear.

Deuteronomy 12 states to the people when they enter the land that they were to destroy the high places and shrines that the nations they pushed out created. Yet here Ezekiel narrates that instead of destroying these high places and shrines they adopted them for their own idolatrous practices. The play on words of “What is the high place (bamah) to which you go? So it is called Bamah to this day” adds one more way the people give the honor due to the LORD to the other gods of the nations.  Ezekiel argues that all the practices of the past continue to be built upon and practiced by the people in the present. The narration of the story of Israel has gotten progressively worse until the LORD’s anger can no longer be contained and the consequences of disobedience can no longer be averted.

There is no hope, at this point in Ezekiel, that the people will repent and save Jerusalem, the temple, the king, and the land from the consequences of this long pattern of disobedience. He is attempting to help the people understand their current crisis. His rhetorical retelling of the story of Israel as a story of continual and progressive disobedience and depravity is a difficult piece of scripture, but it is also a window into the pain of a brokenhearted God who has long delayed the consequences of the disobedience of the people.  Yet, Israel does not have the free will to choose to follow the gods of Egypt, Canaan, or Babylon. As we will see in the section that follows this will never happen. Israel can only be Israel in relation to the LORD the God of Israel.

Ezekiel 20: 33-44

32 What is in your mind shall never happen — the thought, “Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, and worship wood and stone.”

33 As I live, says the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, I will be king over you. 34 I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out; 35 and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. 36 As I entered into judgment with your ancestors in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, says the Lord GOD. 37 I will make you pass under the staff, and will bring you within the bond of the covenant. 38 I will purge out the rebels among you, and those who transgress against me; I will bring them out of the land where they reside as aliens, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord GOD: Go serve your idols, everyone of you now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.

40 For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, says the Lord GOD, there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land; there I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred things. 41 As a pleasing odor I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. 42 You shall know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that I swore to give to your ancestors. 43 There you shall remember your ways and all the deeds by which you have polluted yourselves; and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. 44 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, or corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, says the Lord GOD.

There is no free will for Israel. They do not get to opt out of being the people of God or self-select into being a different people. As Ellen Davis states,

Israel cannot be like the nations, no matter how assiduously it seeks to deny the association with YHWH by departing from anything recognizable as the law of God. (Davis, 1989, p. 114)

On the one hand this is the gracious promise that they will be brought out from the people to be gathered. On the other hand, there is no escape from their identity as the people of God and the judgment that they will endure. They will be brought back under the covenant and the rebels among the people will be purged. The only future is as a people obedient to the LORD. They will be sanctified, and in the future they will practice the laws and statutes and ordinances in a way that brings honor to the name of God. They will remember and regret their practices of the past. Everything hangs on the LORD’s control over history and the future of Israel. There is hope in the future, but it does not rest upon the practices of faithfulness of the people. As Ezekiel has narrated the story of Israel is a story of apostasy and depravity. Yet, with the LORD there is the promise of a gracious new beginning where a purified people will return to the land and properly honor their God. God is remaining faithful to God’s promises for the sake of God’s name. It is a difficult justice for most modern people to comprehend, but it is still gracious. Israel will have a future as Israel because of God’s action to make that future manifest.

Ezekiel 20: 45-49

45 The word of the LORD came to me: 46 Mortal, set your face toward the south, preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land in the Negeb; 47 say to the forest of the Negeb, Hear the word of the LORD: Thus says the Lord GOD, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree in you and every dry tree; the blazing flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from south to north shall be scorched by it. 48 All flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it; it shall not be quenched. 49 Then I said, “Ah Lord GOD! they are saying of me, ‘Is he not a maker of allegories?'”

These final five verses of chapter twenty are related to the imagery that will come in chapter twenty-one and set the stage for a new set of imagery organized around a sword. Yet, since in our bible they are a part of chapter twenty I will address them as they stand in the chapter. Now Ezekiel is to set his face[8] towards the south. He is to set his face toward Teman (either a place name for a northern district of Edom or may simply refer to south), Darom (either a place name between Beersheba and Beth-Gubrin or another term for south), and the ‘scrubland’[9] of the Negeb (negeb as a common noun also means south, or dry) (NIB VI: 1294) and declare that a blazing fire is coming upon these lands and it will scorch the land from south to north. Ezekiel answers the LORD that he is being accused of being a “maker of allegories.” The Hebrew doubling of the word masal (proverb, parable) probably indicates to Ezekiel that his message is not being received as seriously as he believes it merits. He may feel that the people are failing to understand his message, or that perhaps they view his words and actions as entertainment, but they do not yet understand that a prophet has been among them. The people may be taunting Ezekiel because his words have not come to pass and that his view of reality seems too divergent from the views of others, even others who claim the title of prophet, in his time and previously. It is difficult to walk through the first twenty-four chapters of Ezekiel, and it is only in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, the ending of the line of Davidic kings, and the exile that the prophet’s words make sense. Even those in exile with Ezekiel are looking forward to a homecoming to Jerusalem rather than the extension of their exile to the entire nation. Ezekiel’s words are difficult to stomach in the aftermath of the Babylonian exile and were probably unpalatable beforehand. It is only afterwards that people will understand that this maker of allegories was the prophet in their midst they failed to listen to.

 

[1] https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56824/tell-all-the-truth-but-tell-it-slant-1263

[2] Jeremiah 28:1-4.

[3] “The interrogative particle often conveys an indignant affirmation.” (Block, 1997, p. 618)

[4] Ezekiel’s frequently used term gillum which is a derogatory term best rendered as something like ‘shit gods.’

[5] Daniel Block notes that Jeremiah views the Exodus romantically while Ezekiel views this time in Israel’s story as a continued example of their total depravity and abandonment to sin. (Block, 1997, p. 630)

[6] Hebrew samen is actually harsher than horrify. Katheryn Pfisterer Darr suggests, “that I might desolate them.” (NIB VI: 1284)

[7] The books between Joshua and 2 Kings in the bible. Referred to as the Deuteronomic history because they share the theological perspective of Deuteronomy.

[8] Which indicates judgment.

[9] It is doubtful the Negeb, which is desert-like, was ever in its history forested.

Ezekiel 19 A Lamentation for the Princes of Israel: Violent Lions and a Lofty Branch

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 Ezekiel 19

1 As for you, raise up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, 2 and say:

What a lioness was your mother among lions! She lay down among young lions, rearing her cubs.
3 She raised up one of her cubs; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch prey; he devoured humans.
4 The nations sounded an alarm against him; he was caught in their pit; and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.
5 When she saw that she was thwarted, that her hope was lost, she took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.
6 He prowled among the lions; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch prey; he devoured people.
7 And he ravaged their strongholds, and laid waste their towns; the land was appalled, and all in it, at the sound of his roaring.
8 The nations set upon him from the provinces all around; they spread their net over him; he was caught in their pit.
9 With hooks they put him in a cage, and brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into custody, so that his voice should be heard no more on the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard transplanted by the water, fruitful and full of branches from abundant water.
11 Its strongest stem became a ruler’s scepter; it towered aloft among the thick boughs; it stood out in its height with its mass of branches.
12 But it was plucked up in fury, cast down to the ground; the east wind dried it up; its fruit was stripped off, its strong stem was withered; the fire consumed it.
13 Now it is transplanted into the wilderness, into a dry and thirsty land.
14 And fire has gone out from its stem, has consumed its branches and fruit, so that there remains in it no strong stem, no scepter for ruling.

This is a lamentation, and it is used as a lamentation.

This lamentation, or dirge, utilizes well known imagery for Judah is a manner that may be both mournful and satirical. The tragic situation of the kings of Judah are portrayed metaphorically through the imagery of captured lions and uprooted vines. The difference between what could have been for these rulers if they had lived within the limits assigned to them is great. Instead, their rapacious actions and attempts to rise above the vine resulted both in their own destruction but also the destruction of the land and the people. The violent lions of this chapter are judged on their own actions, like the violent son of the previous chapter. Yet, the actions of these rulers who have been raised up have implications for the entirety of the people of Israel.

Ezekiel is commanded to raise up a qina (lamentation, NRSV) the word that brackets this pair of metaphors. A qina is a lamentation or dirge sung for the death of an individual[1]  or the people.[2] Ten of the eighteen occurrences of this word occur in Ezekiel (three in this chapter). The lamentation is for the princes (nasi) of Israel. Throughout the book of Ezekiel, the prophet does not refer to the final kings in Jerusalem by the traditional term for king (melek) but instead uses this term from the tribal past of Israel. (Block, 1997, p. 598) The two images used in this lamentation share the common goal of mourning the ignoble end of the Davidic monarchy, particularly in the actions of two kings whose identity is hinted at in the imagery.

The source for the imagery and the vocabulary used in these metaphors comes from Jacob’s blessing of Judah in Genesis 49:8-12 (particularly 9-11 common vocabulary underlined although some are obscured in English).

Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches down, he stretches out like a lion, like a lioness — who dares rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and the obedience of the peoples is his. Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he washes his garments in wine and his robe in the blood of grapes; his eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.

 The lioness may be a woman (see below) but more likely she is Israel personified who lifts up one of her cubs. The young lion does what a young lion is expected to do until he devours humans. Once this lion transgresses this boundary the nations rise up against him and catch him in a pit, a traditional method of catching a lion, and bring him in ‘hooks’[3] to Egypt. The taking of the first lion to Egypt makes Jehohaz the king that the first lion represents since he is the only one of the last kings of Judah to be taken to Egypt. (2 Kings 23: 31-35). This son of Josiah only reigns three months but is viewed negatively by 2 Kings. His short but disastrous reign ends with his imprisonment and put Judah under a heavy tribute to Egypt.

The second cub raised up by the lioness follows a path identical to the first lion and then goes even farther. The Hebrew[4] indicates that he consorted with his widows (instead of ravaged their strongholds, NRSV) and extending the lion imagery this occurs in nature when a new male takes over a pride. Yet, the critical piece of the imagery is when the lion laid waste to the towns and even the land becomes appalled at this roaring and unrestrained lion. Now the nations once again lay a trap for the lion as these nations become the liberators of the mountains of Israel. This second lion is taken away to Babylon and not heard from again.

Ezekiel never decodes this parable for us and although most readers are confident in the identity of the first lion, there is disagreement whether the second lion represents Jehoiachin or Zedekiah. Both have elements that make them intriguing candidates. Jehoiachin was deported to Babylon after a brief reign. Zedekiah and Jehohaz were brothers of the same mother (Hamutal)[5] and after his rebellion Zedekiah is also taken to Babylon. My personal opinion is that Ezekiel refers to Zedekiah as the second lion who is currently ruling in Jerusalem, and who Ezekiel views negatively. Yet, there are compelling arguments for both rulers being the second lion and there is no way to determine with certainty the object of this image. The exact historical reference is not as critical as the violent actions the metaphor communicates that these princes of Israel commit which lead to the collapse of the Davidic line of kings for a modern reader. From Ezekiel’s metaphor these princes of Israel were raised up to be lions, but the problem emerges when they become violent and do damage to their own land. The nations become the means of trapping and imprisoning these beasts and freeing the land of their terror.

The vine has already been used multiple times in Ezekiel to refer to Israel[6] and this imagery is used throughout the scriptures. Here a vine is planted in a place of abundant waters and produces strong branches which become the scepters of rulers. Yet, these branches do something very out of place for a vine, it becomes conspicuous for its height and towers high above the clouds.[7] These branches with their heads in the clouds provoke the fury of a passerby and it is cast out of its fertile place, dried up by the sirocco wind (east wind), stripped of its fruit, burned by fire, and transplanted into a desert. Both images point to the princes of Israel, and here these princes who have their heads in the clouds have risen beyond what was expected for the vine they were a part of.

Ezekiel was told to lift up a lamentation and concludes by telling us what we have read is a lamentation and is used as a lamentation. Although there may be a satirical or parody element to the imagery used, it is also a tragedy in Ezekiel’s usage. Ezekiel cares deeply about both the religious and the political institutions of Judah and their impact on the people, yet in this image he is critical of their violence and the way they have kept their head in the clouds. The behavior of these princes has imperiled not only their own reigns, but the city, the temple, the people, and the land. I am reminded of Richard Lischer’s words about the characteristic emotion of the prophet:

In rereading them, one is reminded that the emotion most characteristic of the prophet is not anger but sorrow. He tells the truth but rarely in bitterness of spirit and never with contempt for the Other. His truth-telling is pervaded by a sense of tragedy. (Lischer, 2005, p. 161)

The failure of these princes is a tragedy for the people, for Ezekiel, and for God. Their own actions brought about the punishment of the nations on these kings. Yet, the sorrow is shared by the people and the prophet who also bear the consequences of the arrogance and the violence of the princes of Israel.

[1] For example, David’s mourning of Jonathan (2 Samuel 1:26) or the mourning over the man of God from Judah (1 Kings 13:30)

[2] As in the book of Lamentations.

[3] There are different suggestions for the exact meaning of ‘hooks’ (hahim). It may be manacles, or some type of barb or piercing object, or a hook in the jaws or nose. (Block, 1997, p. 601) The exact meaning is not critical to the parable since the hooks perform the functional role in the imagery of bringing this lion to Egypt.

[4] The MT (Hebrew text), most English translations follow the Targum in parallel with the following line, but I agree with Block that using the lion imagery there the Hebrew wording makes sense and there is no reason to change it. (Block, 1997, pp. 596-597)

[5] If the lioness refers to a person it could refer to Hamutal who is mother to both Jehohaz and Zedekiah. I still believe the lioness is Israel, but it is a possible reading of the metaphor.

[6] Ezekiel 15 and 17.

[7] The term ‘abotim is translated in Ezekiel 31 as clouds, but here the NRSV renders it thick boughs. The NRSV translators are probably attempting to follow the vine imagery where vines do not reach to the clouds like the tree (in Ezekiel 31) would, but that is precisely the point of the metaphor. The vine branches are doing what vine branches should not do.

Ezekiel 18 Life for the Righteous Ones

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Grigory Mekheev, Exodus (2000) artist shared work under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

Ezekiel 18

1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge”? 3 As I live, says the Lord GOD, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4 Know that all lives are mine; the life of the parent as well as the life of the child is mine: it is only the person who sins that shall die.

5 If a man is righteous and does what is lawful and right — 6 if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman during her menstrual period, 7 does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, 8 does not take advance or accrued interest, withholds his hand from iniquity, executes true justice between contending parties, 9 follows my statutes, and is careful to observe my ordinances, acting faithfully — such a one is righteous; he shall surely live, says the Lord GOD.

10 If he has a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, 11 who does any of these things (though his father does none of them), who eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor’s wife, 12 oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, 13 takes advance or accrued interest; shall he then live? He shall not. He has done all these abominable things; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself.

14 But if this man has a son who sees all the sins that his father has done, considers, and does not do likewise, 15 who does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, 16 does not wrong anyone, exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, 17 withholds his hand from iniquity, takes no advance or accrued interest, observes my ordinances, and follows my statutes; he shall not die for his father’s iniquity; he shall surely live. 18 As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, he dies for his iniquity.

19 Yet you say, “Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?” When the son has done what is lawful and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. 20 The person who sins shall die. A child shall not suffer for the iniquity of a parent, nor a parent suffer for the iniquity of a child; the righteousness of the righteous shall be his own, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be his own.

21 But if the wicked turn away from all their sins that they have committed and keep all my statutes and do what is lawful and right, they shall surely live; they shall not die. 22 None of the transgressions that they have committed shall be remembered against them; for the righteousness that they have done they shall live. 23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord GOD, and not rather that they should turn from their ways and live? 24 But when the righteous turn away from their righteousness and commit iniquity and do the same abominable things that the wicked do, shall they live? None of the righteous deeds that they have done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which they are guilty and the sin they have committed, they shall die.

25 Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is unfair.” Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair? 26 When the righteous turn away from their righteousness and commit iniquity, they shall die for it; for the iniquity that they have committed they shall die. 27 Again, when the wicked turn away from the wickedness they have committed and do what is lawful and right, they shall save their life. 28 Because they considered and turned away from all the transgressions that they had committed, they shall surely live; they shall not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, “The way of the Lord is unfair.” O house of Israel, are my ways unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair?

30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, all of you according to your ways, says the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions; otherwise iniquity will be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord GOD. Turn, then, and live.

The eighteenth chapter of Ezekiel is one of the portions of Ezekiel that does get utilized in the readings of churches that follow the lectionary, particularly the first four verses combined with verses twenty-five through thirty-two. Many readers of the particular Ezekiel text have found the prophet advocating for an individualistic spirituality of responsibility, ignoring the corporate influence present throughout other portions of the book. In Ezekiel’s context where the destruction that comes in the aftermath of King Zedekiah’s rebellion against King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon appears imminent for those still in Jerusalem, the actions of individuals may seem futile. If society is going to be judged as wicked or bearing the sins of previous generations a malaise can set in where living according to the covenant seems pointless.

The theme of individuals attempting to live righteously in an unrighteous time is not new to Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 9 a scribal figure is sent out into the city of Jerusalem to mark the righteous and preserve them from judgment and in Ezekiel 14: 12-20 the themes of this chapter are prefigured when even Noah, Daniel, and Job can only save themselves by their righteousness. Here the prophet takes central ideas from the law (torah) and wrestles with the tradition. As Ellen Davis states,

Ezekiel appears primarily in conversation with the tradition. Like a creative archivist, he desires not only to preserve the treasures of the past but also to make them available and meaningful for the present. Even his disputation speeches are aimed as much at the tradition as at the people, purging it of its useless elements (12,22-28, 18.2-4) and correcting disastrous interpretations (33. 24-29. (Davis, 1989, p. 62)

The proverb spoken by the people about parents eating unripe grapes and the children’s teeth being blunted (or set on edge)[1] is also found in Jeremiah 31: 29-30 and both prophets answer in identical ways. Unlike Jeremiah, Ezekiel proceeds into a much longer discussion of the implications of righteousness and unrighteousness from a perspective of the law.

The proverb seems to derive from language of the second commandment:

You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. Exodus 20:4-6; Deuteronomy 5: 8-10

This people attempting to make sense of the impending destruction probably understood that they were bearing the judgment of previous generations and that they were powerless in their actions to change the course of events for the nation or for their own lives. Yet, throughout this chapter the LORD’s response is that the life of the parent and child belongs to the LORD and the LORD will judge each by their actions. The word translated life throughout is the Hebrew nephesh which is not the Greek idea of soul (which English translations sometimes render it) but is that which is the essence of life. As Daniel Block helpfully states,

“life” is not merely the absence of judgment, any more than šālôm, “peace,” is simply the absence of war. Ezekiel holds out life in all its fullness and blessing to the righteous person, even for those who are exiles in Babylon. (Block, 1997, p. 574)

This promise of life for the righteous is not merely survival. Like Moses in Deuteronomy, Ezekiel holds out before the people a choice between a way that leads of condemnation and death and a way that leads to life. Yet, one of the crucial differences within Ezekiel is there is a provision for the righteous surviving in the midst of an unrighteous people.

To wrestle with this multigenerational judgment outline in the commandment Ezekiel goes to another portion of Deuteronomy:

Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their parents; only for their own crimes may persons be put to death. Deuteronomy 24: 16

This portion of the law meant to restrain human judgments is now applied to God’s working with humanity. On one hand this is a surprising use of the law of interpersonal judgments in the relationship between God and the people. On the other hand, the justice of God is expected to be at least as fair as the justice of humanity. Now this pattern is examined over three hypothetical generations.

The first generation is a prototypical righteous man according to the law. Eating on the mountains was probably associated with the worship of the idols.[2] Defiling a neighbor’s wife would violate the commandment on adultery. Ezekiel shares the Levitical view of menstruation in particular (and blood in general) causing uncleanness. (Leviticus 18:19) The concerns for the proper economic treatment of the neighbor: not oppressing, restoring the pledge, not robbing, giving food and clothing to the needy, not taking interest, and living in justice are present throughout the law (for example Deuteronomy 24:6-22) and this is the pattern of a wise and righteous life. Ezekiel is following both the pattern of the law and wisdom literature which differentiate between wise choices that lead to life and foolish choices that lead to death.

The wise father has an unwise son who does all the things the father does not do in addition to being violent. The violations of idolatry, the neighbor’s household, and economic justice all are characteristics of an unrighteous life that leads to death. These are the type of people Ezekiel was informed he would have to warn at the Chebar River. (Ezekiel 2:17-21) Yet the sins of the father do not dictate the life of the child. When a third generation sees the folly of their parents and returns to the way of righteousness they are promised life.

Ezekiel and Jeremiah engaged in the deconstruction of a Zion theology which focused on Jerusalem, the temple, the Davidic king, and the land as central symbols of the LORD’s relationship with Israel. Yet, the reorganization of faith without these central symbols was challenging and probably involved multiple attempts to reconstruct faith in the aftermath of disaster. The Deuteronomic history attempts to understand the destruction of Jerusalem and the loss of the land in terms of this multigenerational pattern of unfaithfulness, and this attempt to make sense of their world probably brought comfort to the people attempting to reorganize their life and faith as exiles in a strange land. In verse nineteen there appears to be resistance to Ezekiel’s message of a path forward for individuals who are righteous and a return to the way of thinking behind the proverb. The rhetorical question “should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?”  may seem strange to our individualistic mindset but it may have brought some comfort for people attempting to understand the time they were navigating. Blaming their situation on their ancestors also allowed the current generation to avoid an examination of their own practices. If God’s justice was unjust to them, but fair over the course of the generations, then they only had to wait for God’s wrath to pass and endure. Yet, Ezekiel is calling them to a path of examination in light of the covenant expectations. Ezekiel clings to the pattern of Deuteronomy 24:16 and presses forward with his claims that God’s ways are just.

The actions of individuals will not turn away the armies of Babylon from the walls of Jerusalem or save the temple, nor will they save the lives of the entire people. Ezekiel is committed to the idea of God delivering the righteous individuals from this situation and providing for them in the time of exile. Yet, the provision of God is dependent upon the actions of the individual in this portion of Ezekiel, and people are called to choose the way of life. Surprisingly, they are called to get for themselves a new heart and a new spirit, an action that will be God’s work in other parts of Ezekiel. Yet, the LORD as presented here is not a God who wants judgment, but who desires the people of Israel to individually and collectively adopt the practices of righteousness that will lead them to life.

Sometimes modern believers can break apart two ideas that ancient people had no problem holding together. I was formed by the Lutheran tradition of Christianity where there is a heavy focus on God’s gracious action and a discomfort with anything that seems to be legalistic or require a person to work out their own salvation. Other traditions focus exclusively on a person’s actions to be in a right relationship with God. Individual responsibility is a heavy focus of our modern age while corporate responsibility is often obscured. Ezekiel, like most authors of scripture, hold both God’s action and personal responsibility together as well as individual and corporate responsibility. At some points they may lift up one aspect, while at others they will lift up another. Sometimes multiple aspects can appear together baffling modern theological systems like Philippians 2: 2-13

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Ezekiel can appeal to the people to get a new heart and new spirit here, and then can point to God’s action to place a new heart and new spirit in the people. (Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26) Sometimes people need to hear, in Luther’s terms, law that causes them to take responsibility for their own actions and sometimes they need gospel to give them hope in their hopelessness of God’s actions. Ezekiel attempts to get his hearers to claim their own agency in how they live their life despite the destruction occurring around them. There is promise that if they persist in righteousness they individually can find life even if their society corporately is choosing unrighteousness and death. In all this Ezekiel want to demonstrate the justice of God in a way that highlights many previous themes in the prophet’s imagery.

 

[1] The Hebrew qaha is a rarely used word and outside of this proverb is only used in Ecclesiastes 10:10 for iron being blunt. (Block, 1997, p. 558)

[2] Again, Ezekiel’s derogatory term gillum which Block and others argue means something like “shit gods.” See comments in Ezekiel 6.

Ezekiel 17 A Parable of Two Great Eagles, Two Trees, and a Fickle Vine

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Golden Eagle Feathers (Aquila chrysaetos). Détail. Spécimen captif. Sud de la France from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Accipitridae_feathers#/media/File:Aquila_chrysaetos_02_wing.jpg Shared under CC 3.0

Ezekiel 17

1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 O mortal, propound a riddle, and speak an allegory to the house of Israel. 3 Say: Thus says the Lord GOD: A great eagle, with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to the Lebanon. He took the top of the cedar, 4 broke off its topmost shoot; He carried it to a land of trade, set it in a city of merchants. 5 Then he took a seed from the land, placed it in fertile soil; a plant by abundant waters, he set it like a willow twig. 6 It sprouted and became a vine spreading out, but low; its branches turned toward him, its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine; it brought forth branches, put forth foliage.

7 There was another great eagle, with great wings and much plumage. And see! This vine stretched out its roots toward him; it shot out its branches toward him, so that he might water it. From the bed where it was planted 8 it was transplanted to good soil by abundant waters, so that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine. 9 Say: Thus says the Lord GOD: Will it prosper? Will he not pull up its roots, cause its fruit to rot and wither, its fresh sprouting leaves to fade? No strong arm or mighty army will be needed to pull it from its roots. 10 When it is transplanted, will it thrive? When the east wind strikes it, will it not utterly wither, wither on the bed where it grew?

11 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 12 Say now to the rebellious house: Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them: The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and its officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon. 13 He took one of the royal offspring and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath (he had taken away the chief men of the land), 14 so that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and that by keeping his covenant it might stand. 15 But he rebelled against him by sending ambassadors to Egypt, in order that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Can one escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape? 16 As I live, says the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king resides who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke — in Babylon he shall die. 17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when ramps are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. 18 Because he despised the oath and broke the covenant, because he gave his hand and yet did all these things, he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, I will surely return upon his head my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke. 20 I will spread my net over him, and he shall be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for the treason he has committed against me. 21 All the pick of his troops shall fall by the sword, and the survivors shall be scattered to every wind; and you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken.

22 Thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender one from the topmost of its young twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar. Under it every kind of bird will live; in the shade of its branches will nest winged creatures of every kind. 24 All the trees of the field shall know that I am the LORD. I bring low the high tree, I make high the low tree; I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I the LORD have spoken; I will accomplish it.

This riddle and parable (NRSV riddle and allegory) incorporates several commonly used images in the Hebrew scriptures: eagles, vines, cedar trees, and even the east wind. The initial ten verses tell the riddle and parable that could be interpreted in several ways based on how the imagery had been used throughout scriptures. The riddle and parable is followed by the interpretation of the imagery for the hearers but then the chapter ends with a surprising image of hope and reversal. There is a parallelism in the form that begins with the announcement of what the prophet is to declare (riddle and parable) and then proceeds to a parable with two eagles, two plants, fable and interpretation, a message of doom and a coda of hope. (Block, 1997, p. 525)

The initial image is of a magnificent golden eagle, and the description of the wings and pinions enhance the image of this bird. The imagery of an eagle has been used as an image for the LORD’s protections of Israel as in Deuteronomy 32:11, “As an eagle stirs up its nest, and hovers over its young; as it spreads its wings, takes them up, and bears them aloft on its pinions,” Yet, the image of an eagle has also been used in the judgment of Israel by a foreign nation, for example Deuteronomy 28: 49, “The LORD will bring a nation from far away, from the end of the earth, to swoop down on you like an eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand,“ The interpretation of the image points to the second usage, where the magnificent eagle is the king of Babylon and this eagle taking the top of the cedar tree is the removal of king Jehoiachin (along with the elite of the people) and transplants them in Babylon (the city of merchants).

The land where the seed is planted is a good place for the vine to flourish. There is a transition from the great tree to a vine and this probably indicates the reduction of Israel by Babylon when Jeconiah and the elite are removed and the much weaker remnant under Zedekiah. Zedekiah owes his crown and allegiance to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon but is still in a place where his reign and the people can prosper. According to the image the seed can grow into a vine in this fertile soil. Initially this vine grows towards the magnificent eagle that harvested it from Lebanon and planted it in the fertile soil of Israel,[1] but the vine proves to be a fickle vine. When another great eagle (but lesser than the magnificent eagle) appears, the vine turns towards this new eagle in the hope that it will water it. The second bird is passive, but the vine has turned away from the first to the second. The image is fluid: vines emerging from the harvest of a cedar tree, vines orienting themselves towards eagles instead of the sun, but it does manage to integrate two horticultural images commonly used for Israel-the vine and the tree. The transformation of the tree to the vine also sets up the expectation for the wilting under the hot sirocco (east wind) which in combination with a worm killed Jonah’s gourd (Jonah 4:8).

The questions at the end of the image have expected answers for the hearers. Will the vine prosper? No, it will not. Will he not pull up its roots? The expectation is that the first eagle will do precisely that. When it is transplanted will it thrive, or will it wither in the bed? This fickle vine that reached towards the wrong eagle when the first eagle provided good soil and abundant water does not have a hopeful future in this initial image. Like the worthless vine of Ezekiel 15, the ungrateful vine in this image is good for nothing but burning.

The second eagle in the imagery refers to Egypt and the imagery points to the actions of King Zedekiah and others in the region to form an alliance with Egypt against Babylon. This may point to the events that Jeremiah wears a yoke to represent to the representatives of Edom, Moab, Ammon, and Tyre who are meeting with King Zedekiah as reference in Jeremiah 27. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel attempt to communicate to the leaders that they should bear the yoke of Babylon, but as the image here indicates, the vine reaches towards Egypt in this regional power struggle. Yet, Egypt fails to help in the war and Babylon responds to the rebellion in force. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel maintain the unpopular position that God was working through Babylon to judge Israel and that continued resistance to Babylon was resistance to God’s work. The soldiers[2]of the king Zedekiah will fall before the forces of King Nebuchadrezzar. The events which Ezekiel has pointed to throughout the initial sixteen chapters now see the critical event which will set the judgment executed through Babylon in motion.

Yet, the chapter ends with an image of hope where a transplanted sprig grows into a great tree. Isaiah used the image of a shoot coming out of the dead stump of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1) and here there is a similar image of hope where from a humble sprig a noble cedar emerges. Yet here the image is not about the reemergence of a Davidic ruler but about the reemergence of the nation of Israel. Ezekiel plugs into the widespread ancient image of ‘the cosmic tree’ which brings life to the world. Yet, the primary actor in this final section is not Babylon but the LORD who plants and lifts up the mighty tree from the humble origins. The LORD can bring down the great trees, dry up the trees filled with life, or bring new life into a dried-up tree and bring up the trees overshadowed by the great trees. The unfaithful vine being dried up by the east wind does not preclude the LORD from taking a shoot and remaking it into something both strong and lifegiving.

[1] My initial reading of this led me to link the vine to the exiles in Babylon, but the more I reflect on the imagery the more clear it is that Ezekiel’s image points to the remnant in Judah.

[2] The word could also mean fugitives.