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Agape Bible Study
Isaiah 39-40
Chapter 39: The Babylonian Embassy to Jerusalem
See the same account in 2 Kings 20:12-19.
Isaiah 39:1-2 ~ Hezekiah receives the Babylonian Embassy
Most scholars believe this event happened prior to Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem. According to the text, the visit of the king of Babylonian's ambassadors occurred after the Babylonians heard of Hezekiah's illness and recovery. They arrived with a letter from King Merodach-Baladan and a gift. Hezekiah, the king of a relatively small kingdom, was flattered by the attention of the Babylonian king. Since Merodach-Baladan was also in rebellion against the Assyrians, he was probably seeking an alliance with Judah. He ruled as king of Babylon from 721-710 BC before being deposed by the Assyrians. When Sargon II died and Sennacherib assumed the throne of Assyria in 705, he led another successful revolt and was king of Babylon again in 703 BC. This may be the year of his ambassadors' visit. Hezekiah was so intent on impressing his visitors that he foolishly showed them all his nation's treasures.
Isaiah 39:3-8 ~ Isaiah rebukes Hezekiah
The prophet has already warned against forming foreign alliances (Is 30:1-2; 31:1). Now he confronts the king who admits what he has done.
Question: What two warnings does Isaiah give the king from Yahweh? See 39:5-7.
Answer:
- Someday Babylon will become the dominant regional power and when it does, it will remember all the riches of Judah.
- They will return and some of Hezekiah's own descendants will pay the price of exile to Babylon.
Hezekiah's response in verse 8 sounds selfish, but it is also likely that he recognizes that what God has pronounced will happen, and he is grateful that God will delay the Babylonian conquest until after his death. Actually, God will delay the Babylonian conquest for over a century.
So why is it that in this section of Isaiah's book that the events do not unfold in a chronological order with the story of Hezekiah's illness and the visit of the Babylonian delegation told after the Assyrian invasion when it seems clear that those events happened prior to the invasion and siege of Jerusalem? Perhaps it is intentional on Isaiah's part to have Part II of his book, that began in Part I with the Assyrian threat that became an invasion, but through the mercy of God the salvation of the king and his people from exile in Part II, now come to an end by looking ahead to the Babylonian conquest that will lead to exile and seemingly to the end of the Davidic kings with the promise of a return in Part III.
With the defeat of the Assyrian Empire by the Babylonians in 605 BC and the supremacy of the Babylonians over the region, Judah and her king will have to face the same questions they faced during the years of the Assyrians' dominance: Should they fight the Babylonians? Should they make peace with them? Should they form an alliance with Egypt and other nations? Or should they trust in the Lord Yahweh and be obedient to His voice through the mouths of His prophets? Isaiah's prophecy at the end of chapter 39 sets the stage for Part III of Isaiah's book. Babylon will become the dominant regional power, and Judah will be sent into exile, but God will not forget His people, and they will come home again as He promised in Isaiah chapter 14. In chapters 40-66, Isaiah consoles God's people and announces that the day will come when Judah will return and God will bless His covenant people beyond their wildest expectations.
Part III: Prophecies of Consolation (Chapters 40-66)
1. Prophecies of Israel's Deliverance (Chapters 40-48)
The title "the Book of Consolation" is commonly given to this third part of the Book of Isaiah.
The title is based on the opening verses of chapter 40. Consolation is the main theme of these chapters in contrast to the generally foreboding prophecies of Isaiah Part I in chapters 1 — 35. Some Bible scholars assign this part of the Book of Isaiah to another, unknown prophet they refer to as "Second Isaiah," but other scholars believe the entire book was written by the one prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. In the New Testament Jesus and the New Testament writers assign the writing from the Book of Isaiah, including from these last sections, to one Isaiah and to no other prophet.
This third part of the Book of Isaiah focuses on three major themes:
- God's covenant people have been sent into exile in Babylon because of their sins.
- Their captivity in Babylon proves God's God’s omniscience and sovereignty over the history of mankind because He predicted it through His prophet Isaiah.
- God promises to redeem His people through a man named Cyrus and other mighty works.
The first two themes appear more often in the earlier chapters and the third appears throughout.
Chapters 40-66 can also be divided into three sections:
- Prophecies of Israel's Deliverance (40:1-48:22)
- Prophecies of Israel's Promised Redeemer-Messiah (49:1-57:21)
- Prophecies of Israel's Restoration and the Glorious Future in God's Divine Plan (58:1-66:24)
Chapter 40: Isaiah Predicts Deliverance
Isaiah 40:1-11 ~ Yahweh's Promise of Deliverance for His Covenant People
Isaiah chapter 40 can be divided into two major parts:
- Isaiah announces the good news that God will redeem His people and lead them back home (verses 1-11).
- Isaiah proclaims God's sovereignty and His power to do what He promised in verses 1-11 (verses 12-31).
In Isaiah chapter 13, God has warned the people of Judah that their future enemy will be the Babylonians who, as God's instrument of judgment against a sinful covenant people, will conquer Judah and take the people into exile. But in chapter 14 God also promised through His prophet that He would take pity on His people and would redeem them and escort them home (14:1-2). Then, at the end of chapter 39, Isaiah told King Hezekiah that the Babylonians he so unwisely entertained would in the future come against Judah to carry off everything to Babylon and "Not a thing will be left..." (39:5-8). Now the third part of the book opens with an announcement that one day the nation's servitude will be over and a new Exodus will begin under God's leadership.
1 Console my people, console them, says your God. The double use of the words "console, console" constitute a double imperative. The imperatives are in the plural (Beyer, page 164). The repetition emphasizes the urgency of the command and the plural may indicate that God is calling upon Isaiah and His heavenly court or upon Isaiah and all who are in a position to give comfort to God's people "priests, prophets, elders and other leaders.
2 "Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and cry to her that her period of service is ended, that her guilt has been atoned for, that, from the hand of Yahweh, she has received double punishment for all her sins."
The same expression "speak to the heart" occurs elsewhere in Scripture to denote gentle, loving words (Ruth 2:13; Hosea 2:16/14). In verse 2 we hear that God's covenant people have paid for their offenses twice over. Perhaps they have paid double for their sins like the punishment for a thief under the Law (see Ex 22:6). But the "double" payment can also have the sense of completeness. Because they have fully atoned for their sins, it is now time for God's promised redemption.
In verses 3-11, God will show His glory by preparing a way for His peoples' return. An unidentified prophetic voice will proclaim the return of the covenant people, not just to the Promised Land but to a renewed relationship with God. In the New Testament Sts. Matthew, Mark, and John quote Isaiah 40:3 from the Septuagint.
Question: Who do Sts. Matthew, Mark, and John identify as the prophetic voice and what is it that he announces? See Mt 3:1-3; Mk 1:1-8; and Jn 1:19-23.
Answer: We learn that St. John the Baptist is the mysterious, unidentified prophetic voice from the prophecy of the 8th century BC prophet Isaiah. His is the voice that announces the coming of the Redeemer-Messiah and His Kingdom among His people. John also tells the people of the wondrous, all-encompassing change the Lord's coming will have on the world when all obstacles will be set aside and nothing will hinder the Messiah's coming or the message of His gift of salvation to all mankind.
3 A voice cries, "Prepare in the desert a way for Yahweh. Make a straight highway for our God across the wastelands. 4 Let every mountain and hill be levelled, every cliff become a plateau, every escarpment a plain.
This is a good description of the land around Jerusalem. The rugged Judean Mountains and hills with narrow valleys extended from Jerusalem, c. 2,500 feet above sea level, down to Jericho and the Jordan River Valley that was below sea-level "from the Jordan River to Jerusalem was approximately a climb of 3,100 feet. But God promises it will not be a difficult journey because He will be with them to make the journey possible. Not only will He be with them on the journey, He will also reveal His glory to them: 5 then the glory of Yahweh will be revealed and all humanity will see it together, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.
The "straight highway for our God" in verse 3b recalls the prophecy of the Sacred Way in Isaiah 35:8, And through it will run a road for them and a highway which will be called the Sacred Way; the unclean will not be allowed to use it; He [God] will be the one to use this road... Using poetic language, Isaiah describes a triumphal procession of the people on the "highway for our God" in 40:3-5. It is the road by which Yahweh will lead his people through the wastelands on a new Exodus just as He led the children of Israel on the journey through the desert wilderness to the Promise Land. And like the procession of the children of Israel in the wilderness journey, all the other nations will witness the journey of God's people in their return to their homeland. Jesus' last journey to Jerusalem and His Passion was from Jericho to Jerusalem.
Isaiah already wrote about comparisons with the wonders of the Exodus journey in an allusion to the Glory Cloud in 4:5-6, the miracle of the Sea of Reeds (Red Sea) crossing in 10:25-27, and he will continue to compare the promised return to the first Exodus journey:
- Referring to the miracle of parting the sea in the first Exodus in 43:16-21, 51:10 and 63:11-13
- In 63:9 by quoting from Exodus 19:4
- Referring to the Exodus journey miracle of water from the rock in 43:21 (see Ex 17:1-7; Num 20:6-11 )
- Yahweh's Glory Cloud that led the children of Israel in 52:12
Other prophets will elaborate on this same theme, making the connection between the first Exodus journey and the journey of the covenant people back to their homeland after the Babylonian exile. For a few examples see:
- In Micah 7:14-15, the prophet will recall the crossing of the Sea of Reeds (Red Sea).
- In Jeremiah 16:14-15 and 31:12, the prophet will recall the miracles of the first Exodus journey.
- In Ezekiel 16:1-14 the prophet speaks of the Exodus journey as a nuptial procession of Israel the Bride and Yahweh her divine Bridegroom.
In verses 6-8 God promises to encourage the discouraged: 6 A voice said, "Cry aloud!' and I said, "What shall I cry?" ""All humanity is grass and all its beauty like the wildflowers. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of Yahweh blows on them. (The grass is surely the people). 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God remains forever."
This is the prophetic voice's second announcement; he tells Isaiah to give a message to humanity.
Question: What comparison is Isaiah told to make between humanity and God?
Answer: Humanity is fragile and impermanent, but God is eternal; He has power over life and death, and the people can rely on His word because it remains forever.
God's "word" refers to His creative acts "what God speaks comes about in human history. God has kept His word of judgment and they can also count on Him to keep His word of redemption and salvation.
9 Go up on a high mountain, messenger of Zion. Shout as loud as you can, messenger of Jerusalem! Shout fearlessly, say to the towns of Judah, "Here is your God." 10 Here is Lord Yahweh coming with power, his arm maintains his authority, his reward is with him and his prize precedes him. 11 He is like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against his breast and leading to their rest the mother ewes.
Isaiah, God's messenger to Zion (the covenant people) is to announce the coming of God. It will be a new theophany, like the theophany of God on the holy mountain of Mt. Sinai in Exodus chapter 20, but this time the theophany will be on Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem.
Question: What announcement does Jesus make in Jerusalem to the covenant people in John chapter 10 that is the fulfillment of the prophecy of the 6th century prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 34:11-16, 23-24; also see Mt 1:1 and Lk 1:32-33.
Answer: Jesus, the descendant of the great King David, will tell His disciples that He is the Good Shepherd who has come to redeem the "lost sheep" of the house of Israel.
Isaiah 40:12-17 ~ The Majesty and Wisdom of God the Creator
Isaiah 40:12-31 provides a broader view of God, giving a description of God's wisdom and power. God is a wise creator, as the people can see on the earth over which God exercises His sovereignty. And God is all powerful. He is the source of His people's strength and His has the power to determine their destiny.
In verses 12-14 Isaiah contrasts God's creative power and wisdom with mankind's inability to contribute anything to God's awesome work of creation.
Question: How many rhetorical questions does he ask to make his point?
Answer: He asks ten questions:
- Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand?
- Who marked off the heavens to the nearest inch?
- Who has gaged the dust of the earth to the nearest bushel?
- Who has weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?
- Who has understood the spirit of the Lord?
- Who instructed the Lord as his counselor?
- Whom did the Lord consult to teach Him wisdom?
- Who taught the Lord about justice?
- Who taught the Lord knowledge?
- Who showed the Lord the path of understanding?
Question: What is the answer to Isaiah's first four questions? What is the answer to his last six questions?
Answer: The answer to Isaiah's first four questions is "God." The answer to the last six questions is "No one."
One only needs to read Genesis chapters 1-2 to see that God has a plan and knew exactly what He was doing from the first moment of Creation.
Isaiah 40:18-20 ~ God cannot be compared to Created Things
Isaiah challenges the people to find a created thing that can compare to God (verse 18). Later in 41:21-29 Isaiah will challenge the gods of the pagan nations to demonstrate their power compared to Yahweh's power, and, of course, they can't. People are foolish to put their faith in created things, as were the Israelites of the Exodus generation in the rebellion of the Golden Calf (Ex 32).
Question: How do people today make the same mistake of putting their faith in the material instead of in the God of Creation?
Answer: Today's idols are money and status. These things gives a false sense of protection and cannot save one's soul or offer the kind of peace one's relationship with God can offer.
Isaiah 40:21-26 ~ God is Sovereign
God has told us from the beginning in the Book of Genesis how the earth was formed. God has displayed His glory through the workings of the cosmos, the change of seasons, and the creatures of the earth. In contrast the inhabitants of the earth are like "grasshoppers" that only live for a season and then pass away. He even determines the lifespans of the rich and powerful and directs the successes or failures of their activities. Therefore, the answer to the fourth question in verse 25 where God challenges the people to find any one equal to Him in any way is that no one can be compared to the eternal God, who has the power to create and give of life, and the power to judge and destroy.
Isaiah 40:27-31 ~ God is His People's Source of Strength
Isaiah now presents an argument from the greater to the lesser. His question in verse 27 essentially asks: "If God has done all of these amazing things, how could anyone think He could not do something as simple as bringing His covenant people back from exile? How could they believe that a just and all powerful God could not see the justice of their cause and remember His covenant with them?"
Then in verse 28 Isaiah brings this part of his message to a climax by asking two more rhetorical questions: "Do you not know? Have you not heard?" The answer is "Of course!", the people should have understood the nature of God, His goodness, and His acts of mercy. Isaiah contrasts the normally strong of the covenant people "the physically strong young of Israelite society, with those who hope in Yahweh. Physical endurance only lasts so long, even in the young and strong. But those who put their hope in the Lord will find the strength they will need because He will not let them falter.
Introduction
Ezekiel is the third of the Major Prophets whose book comes after the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah in the Christian canon. Ezekiel was the son of a chief priest named Buzi (Ez 1:3). His Hebrew name, yehezqel (1:3; 24:24), like most Hebrew names, represents either an affirmation of faith in Yahweh or an appeal of faith. Therefore, his name can mean either "God strengthens," or "May God strengthen."His name expresses his parents' faith in Yahweh, and Ezekiel more than lives up to his name. In experiencing the rejection of his prophetic ministry by his fellow exiles, Yahweh strengthened him in the midst of his trials and sufferings, telling Ezekiel, "I am making your resolution as hard as a diamond, harder than flint. So do not be afraid of them, do not be overawed by them, for they are a tribe of rebels." (Ez 3:8).
Ezekiel was a younger contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah, and like him was a descendant of Aaron, Moses' brother and the first high priest of the Sinai Covenant. He was born into a priestly family, and therefore he probably had a good education. As all male descendants of Aaron, Ezekiel was destined to serve in the ministerial priesthood as a chief priest in Yahweh's holy Jerusalem Temple. Like Jeremiah, he grew up during the reforms of a Davidic descendant, King Josiah of Judah (640-609 BC), and, like Jeremiah, he lived through the greatest crisis in the history of ancient Israel.
In his youth, Ezekiel rejoiced with his countrymen when the Assyrian capital, Nineveh, fell to the Babylonians (612 BC), signaling the beginning of the end the Assyrian Empire's rule over the region. He mourned when good King Josiah died at the Battle of Megiddo, trying to stop the Egyptians from reinforcing the Assyrians (609 BC). He must have cheered with his people when the Babylonians defeated the Egyptians in fierce hand-to-hand combat at the Battle of Carchemish (605 BC) only to experience the uneasiness of knowing that the Babylonians were the new overlords of the entire region, including the Kingdom of Judah.
Both the Old and New Testaments recognized the legacy of Ezekiel's prophetic mission. Sirach 49:8 mentions Ezekiel's mission in the Old Testament. The New Testament does not mention Ezekiel by name, but New Testament writers refer to his prophecies and their fulfillment in Jesus. For example, compare Matthew 22:32 to Ezekiel 17:23, Mark 16:16 to Ezekiel 36:25-27, and John Chapter 10 to Ezekiel Chapter 34. The Book of Revelation, the last of the Bible books, especially alludes to Ezekiel's prophecies. No other Bible book has as many links to the Book of Revelation as the Book of Ezekiel. For example, compare Revelation Chapters 18-21 with Ezekiel Chapters 27, 38, and 47.
In this study, we divide the Book of Ezekiel into four major sections that reflect different aspects of Ezekiel's ministry:
- Chapters 1-3 contain Ezekiel's heavenly vision and divine call to ministry.
- Chapters 4-24 contain judgment oracles against Israel/Judah.
- Chapters 25-32 contain judgment oracles against seven Gentile nations.
- Chapters 33-48 contain oracles of salvation promised to Israel.
Part I contains Ezekiel's call to a prophetic ministry and the most bizarre vision of the Divine witnessed by any prophet. In Part II, it was God's plan that Ezekiel's oracles of judgment would help the Judeans understand why God let the city of Jerusalem fall to the Babylonians, bringing about the end of the earthly Davidic Kingdom. The oracles for the pagan, Gentile nations in Part III serve as a prelude to the establishment of the new Davidic Kingdom in the Messianic Age and has two parts:
- The promise of a "new exodus" and "new conquest" of the land in Chapters 33-39.
- A new division of the land and rebuilding of the holy city and its Temple in Chapters 40-48.
The oracles in Part IV demonstrate that Yahweh did not abandon His people; they will return to the Promised Land and their covenant relationship with the God of Israel.
| Biblical Period | # 8 THE EXILE | |||
| Covenant | Sinai Covenant | |||
| Focus | Ezekiel's Call to a Prophetic Ministry | Judgment of the Covenant People | Judgment of the Nations | Oracles of Salvation and Promised Restoration |
| Scripture | 1:1-------------------------------------4:1--------------------25:1----------------33:1-----------------48:35 | |||
| Division Of Text | Ezekiel's first visions and divine call to service | Ezekiel's mission -Signs -Visions -Parables | Judgment on 7 Gentile Nations | -Salvation for Israel (33:1-39:29) -The New Israel (40:1-48:35) |
| Topic | Before the siege of Jerusalem | During the siege of Jerusalem | After the destruction and fall of Jerusalem | |
| Location | Babylon | |||
| Time | 593 BC " 587/6 BC | c. 587/6 BC | c. 585 BC " 571 BC | |
TIMELINE B.C. WORLD EMPIRES:
--ASSYRIA "-BABYLON-----------------------------------------PERSIA-----------------------
Divided Kingdom---Southern Kingdom
722 605 597 587 539 517
Assyria Babylon 2nd Babylon Persia Jerusalem Temple
conquers conquers deportation destroys conquers rebuilt
Israel & Assyria Jerusalem Babylon
exile of 1st Judahites & Temple - Edict of Cyrus allows
citizens deported to Babylon 3rd deportation exiles' return to Judah
(the 70-year exile)
| Year BC | Scripture | Historical Event | Ezekiel's Life |
| 930 | 1 Kng 12:20-24 | The United Kingdom of Israel divides into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. | |
| 732 | 2 Kng 15:29 | The Assyrians invade the Galilee and deport the entire population to Assyria in the first Israelite deportation. | |
| 722 | 2 Kng 17 | The fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to the Assyrians and completion of the exile of the people of the Northern tribes into Assyria. | |
| 640 | 2 Kng 22:1 | The accession of King Josiah of Judah, and the birth of Jeremiah. | |
| 628/7 | Jer 1:1-2 | Jeremiah's prophetic call | |
| 626 | Nabopolassar is king of Babylon. His son, Nebuchadnezzar, is the commanding general of his armies. | ||
| 623 | 2 Kng 24:10-12 Ez 1:1 | If Ezekiel was 30 years old in the 5th year of the exile of King Jehoiachin (exiled in 598/7 BC), he was born in c. 623 BC. | Birth of Ezekiel (?) |
| 614 | The Assyrian city of Asshur falls to the Medes. | ||
| 612 | Assyrian capital city of Nineveh falls to the Babylonians. | ||
| 609 | 2 Kng 23:29-35; 2 Chr 36:1-2 2 Kng 23:36 2 Chr 36:3-4 | The Battle of Megiddo, death of King Josiah, and accession of King Jehoahaz of Judah. Judah becomes an Egyptian vassal state. The Egyptians exile King Jehoahaz to Egypt and make Jehoiakim King of Judah | |
| 605 | 2 Kng 24:1 Dan 1:1-7 | The Battle of Carchemish and fall of the Assyrian Empire. The Babylonians become the regional superpower. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon succeeds his father as king and marches on Jerusalem. Judah becomes a vassal state of Babylon, and Nebuchadnezzar orders the first Babylonian exile of the citizens of Judah. | |
| 604 | 2 Kng 24:1-5; 2 Chr 36:5-7 | King Jehoiakim revolts against the Babylonians and dies. | |
| 598-97 | 2 Kng 24:8-17; 2 Chr 36:9-10 2 Kng 24:17; 2 Chr 36:9-10 | King Jehoiachin succeeds his father.* The Babylonians depose Jehoiachin/Jechoniah, and he is sent into exile to Babylonia in the 2nd mass exile of Judahite citizens to Babylon. The Babylonians make Zedekiah king of Judah. | Ezekiel is sent into exile to Babylon with the other Judahite captives. |
| 593 | Ez 1:1-3:21 | Ezekiel's first vision and prophetic call. | |
| 590 | Zedekiah revolts against the Babylonians | ||
| 589/88 | 2 Kng 25:1; 2 Chr 36:13; Jer 52:3-11 | The siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army begins. | |
| 587 | 2 Kng 25:2-10; 2 Chr 36:19 | The fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple. | |
| 586 | 2 Kng 25:11; 2 Kng 25:22-25; Jer 40:7; 41:2 | 3rd mass exile of Judahites to Babylon. Babylonians appoint Gedaliah governor of Judah, but he is assassinated, and the remaining Judahites flee to Egypt. | |
| 585 | Ez 33:21-22 | Word of the fall of Jerusalem reaches the exiles (Dec 586/Jan 585). | Ezekiel announces the fall of Jerusalem to the exiles. |
| 582 | Jer 46:13 | Nebuchadnezzar invades Egypt. | |
| 570 | Death of Ezekiel (?) | ||
| 550 | Cyrus becomes king of the Medes. | ||
| 559 | Cyrus becomes king of Persia. | ||
| 539 | 2 Chr 36:22-23 Ezra 1-4 | King Cyrus conquers the Babylonians. The Edict of King Cyrus allows all peoples conquered by the Babylonians, including the citizens of Judah, to return to their homelands. | |
| 517 | Ezra 5:1-2 | The rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple. | |
| Michal E. Hunt © 2017 | |||
Chapter 1
Chapter 1 divides into five parts:
- The introduction and historical background (verses 1-3)
- The vision of Yahweh's chariot-throne and the four living creatures (verses 4-14)
- The wheels of the chariot-throne (verses 15-21)The platform of the chariot-throne (verses 22-25)
- The glory of God (verses 26-28)
Ezekiel 1:1-3 ~ Introduction and Historical Background
It is Ezekiel's custom to open accounts of his prophetic experiences with a date based on the year of King Jehoiachin's exile to Babylon in the first year of his reign (2 Kng 24:10-12). Deposing King Jehoiachin put an end to the revolt against Babylonian domination that his father, King Jehoiakim, began a few years earlier. 2 Kings 24:8-17 records how Nebuchadnezzar arrived in Jerusalem to order the deportation of the young king with his mother, members of the aristocracy, and military elite. Nebuchadnezzar then installed Jehoiachin's uncle, Mattaniah, whom he renamed Zedekiah, as his vassal king of Judah. Babylonian chronicles support these events and assign them to the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign in the spring of 598 BC to spring 597 BC.
As far as Ezekiel is concerned, King Jehoiachin is Judah's only legitimate king and all other kings of Judah appointed by foreign powers are illegitimate. Ezekiel's custom of giving a date is a departure from the usual practice in prophetic books. Notice that verse 1 is a first person account while verses 2-3 are a third person account, perhaps recorded by Ezekiel's secretary or a later editor. The first person account continues in verse 4.
Ezekiel 1:4-14 ~ The Vision of Yahweh's Chariot-Throne and the Four Living Creatures
Standing by the Chebar River, Ezekiel witnesses one of the most bizarre visions recorded in the Bible. Gentile lands were considered ritually unclean because the people and their land were polluted with idol worship, while the land of Israel was pure and holy because it was the dwelling place of Yahweh (Amos 7:17; Ez 4:13; Hos 9:3-4; Ex 19:2; 2 Kng 5:17; Jer 12:7; 8:11; Hos 8:1; Zec 2:16; 9:8; 2 Mac 1:7). Flowing water provided the means for ritual purification and cleansing from exposure to the impure (see Lev 14:5, 50; 15:13; Num 19:17). Every town in Israel had a ritual purification pool for immersion called a mikveh, and Jerusalem had several, including the Pool of Siloam (Jn 9:6-7). Religious Jews immersed for ritual purification at least once a day and always before attending Temple worship. It is the reason St. John the Baptist's baptism was a ritual of immersion in water for the repentance of sins in preparation for the coming of the Messianic Kingdom (Mt 3:5). Ezekiel standing by the canal may have been because he was ritually purifying himself. The question is where was he looking when he saw the divine apparition? Was he looking at the sky or was he seeing the reflection of the vision in the water of the canal? If he was looking into the water, he was avoiding the danger associated with coming face to face with a Divine Being.
Ezekiel 1:15-21 ~ The Wheels of the Chariot-Throne
The chariot throne of Yahweh was supported by rather than drawn by the four living creatures and their wheels. Each of the creatures appears to have an identical set of wheels like but not like a four-wheeled chariot. The characteristic of the wheels include:
- The appearance of the huge wheel within a wheel for each creature was either a smaller and larger wheel on the same axle, or two wheels with one at right angles to the other like a gyroscope.
- The wheels are magnificent; they gleam with a brilliance of precious jewels, and there were eyes around their rims.
- The wheels seem to have a vitality of their own, and the movement of the wheels was in synchronization with the creatures.
Ezekiel 1:22-25 ~ The Platform of the Throne
The four winged creatures held up a glittering platform upon which Ezekiel saw a magnificent throne made of some precious material. The Hebrew wording suggests it was similar to sapphire or lapis lazuli (verse 26), and on the throne was a human form.
Ezekiel 1:26-28 ~ The Glory of God
The "someone" speaking to Ezekiel is the omnificent Creator, the omniscient Judge of the universe, Yahweh, the God of Israel who sits on His throne in the heavens. Enthroned on His heavenly chariot, He extends His Presence and His rule to the farthest corners of the earth. However, His chosen dwelling place is Jerusalem in the land of Israel (Dt 12:11-12; 1 Kng 8:10-13; Ez 48:35), among the people with whom He has formed a covenant relationship (Ex 24:3-8).
The covenantal basis of Yahweh's relationship with Israel is not only evident in His designation of the Israelites as "my people" ( ammi in Hebrew, used more than 25 times in the Book of Ezekiel), but in Yahweh's covenant formula pronouncement: "I will be your God, and you shall be my people," seven times in 11:20; 14:11; 34:24, 30, 31; 36:28; and 37:23 (with slight variations), and the many explicit references to Israel's covenant with Yahweh.
Ezekiel saw the "bow" hung above the throne of God. The sign of the rainbow is a manifestation of God and a sign also associated with His oath swearing as in Genesis 9:15-16. St. John also saw a rainbow in the heavenly Sanctuary:
- ...and the One who was sitting on the throne, and the One sitting there looked like a diamond and a ruby. There was a rainbow encircling the throne and this looked like an emerald (Rev 4:3).
- Then I saw another powerful angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in cloud, with a rainbow over his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were pillars of fire (Rev 10:1).
Another mention of the "bow" associated with the four living creatures occurs in Revelation 6:1-2, Then, in my vision, I saw the Lamb break one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures shout in a voice like thunder, Come!' Immediately I saw a white horse appear, and its rider was holding a bow, he was given a victor's crown and he went away, to go from victory to victory. In Revelation 6:1, John hears one of the four living creatures call out "Come!" The angel is not speaking to John but is calling forth the first of four horsemen of divine judgment. Christ the "rider on the white horse," armed for battle, carrying a bow and wearing a crown. The living creatures standing around the four corners of God's altar call for God's righteous judgments to come and destroy the wicked.
In the 6th century BC, when Ezekiel had his vision of the throne of God, he saw the bow hanging above the throne in 1:26-28. It was still there when St. John was lifted up into the heavenly throne room in the 1st century AD in Revelation 4:3 ... there was a rainbow encircling the throne. However, in Revelation 6:2 when Christ, the victorious Lamb, stepped forward to receive the Book (scroll) from the right hand of God, He also reached up and took down the bow to use it in judgment against His enemies in the Last Judgment (see the Revelation study, Chapter 6).
Ezekiel's vision proclaims the transcendent glory of God and His all-encompassing holiness and sovereignty over creation. Everything about the vision proclaims God's glory as He sits on a throne, separate from all inferior creatures, while His noble attendants move according to His will. However, perhaps the most important aspect of Ezekiel's vision is the affirmation that God cares about His people. That He appears to Ezekiel in human form is a reminder that all humanity is created in the "image" (selme) and "likeness" (demut) of God (Gen 1:26-27). He has come to an unclean land to appear before one of His exiled people, calling Ezekiel to be His prophet to deliver His words to His covenant people in exile. God is present among His people so they will know He has not abandoned them and that Yahweh is their God!
CHALLENGE: “Why can’t we explain the Resurrection appearances by saying that Jesus swooned on the cross? After all, Pilate was surprised he ‘died’ so quickly (Mark 15:44). If Jesus actually revived in the tomb, Pilate and the disciples might have thought he rose from the dead.”
DEFENSE: There are multiple problems with this hypothesis. Jesus did die quickly. Other crucifixion victims lingered for days. However, Jesus was subjected to severe stress and trauma in the hours before the Crucifixion.
This included sleeplessness (Matt. 26:42–46), emotional anguish (Matt. 26:38), being taken to multiple locations for various proceedings (Matt. 26:57, 27:2, 27:31; Luke 23:7, 11; John 18:24), and being physically beaten (Matt. 26:67), scourged (Matt. 27:26), and crowned with thorns (Matt. 27:29). By the end, he was so traumatized he could not carry the cross, so it was carried by Simon of Cyrene (Matt. 27:32).
“The severe scourging, with its intense pain and appreciable blood loss, most probably left Jesus in a preshock state. . . . The physical and mental abuse meted out by the Jews and the Romans, as well as the lack of food, water, and sleep, also contributed to his generally weakened state.
Therefore, even before the actual Crucifixion, Jesus’ physical condition was at least serious and possibly critical” (see Edwards, 1458, below).
Jesus then underwent the trauma of Crucifixion itself. He may have died due to a sudden cardiac event, as suggested by the loud cry he made immediately before dying (Matt. 27:50; Mark 15:37). Afterward, “one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water” (John 18:34)—the “water” being a clear fluid from the pleural cavity of the lung and/or the pericardial sac surrounding the heart.
If Jesus somehow managed to survive all this, he would not have been able to move the stone and escape his tomb (Mark 16:3), nor would he have been able to ascend into heaven in front of the apostles (Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9–11).
The swoon hypothesis thus does not explain how the apostles could have innocently thought they saw Jesus alive after the Crucifixion.
Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist
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