TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Names (Author/Deity)

Chronology

Recipients

Some Themes

YHWH's Chariot Throne

The Cherubim -- Coming

The False Elders -- Coming

The Name of the LORD

Judgment Against Tyre

Judgment Against Egypt -- Coming

The New Covenant -- Coming

Gog's Invasion -- Coming

The Millennial Temple

1. INTRODUCTION

1. Names

1. Author

The text indicates that Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi is the one who received the prophesies recorded in this book. In Hebrew, his name, laqzxy, may mean "God strengtheneth (Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, & Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament with an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic, page 306)."

However, only twice is his formal name mentioned (1:3; 24:24). Most often the Lord addresses him as "son of man." This more used name occurs 93 times in Ezekiel! "Son of man" refers to Ezekiel's part in humanity, as a descendant of Adam (C. W. Carter, Son of Man, The, Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, volume 5, page 485)."

His father, Buzi, is unknown to us except that, as a priest, he was ultimately from the family of Zadok. From Solomon's time priests were only selected from the family of Zadok (A. A. MacRae, Zadok, Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, volume 1, page 1028).

2. Deity

The personal name of God, hwhy, depicted by captalizing all the letters of the Name, as in LORD and GOD, appears around 150 times by Itself in Ezekiel. The Name means something like "He Which Is (H. B. Kuhn, God, Names of, Zondervan Pictorial Enclopedia of the Bible, volume 2, page 761)."

In the name Yahweh are combined the two motifs of transcendence and immanence. On the one hand, He was a God of power and ability . . . but at the same time, One who was vitally operative in human events. . . . (Ibid., page 765).

Another name of God is ynda. It is used 214 times in Ezekiel and has the meaning, lord, master, or owner (Robert L. Alden, 'adon. Lord, Lord, LORD, master, owner, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, volume I, pages 12-13).

The expression, Lord GOD, hwhy ynda, appears over 200 times in Ezekiel. This is significant because the expression is only used another 100 times in the rest of the Old Testament (Charles H. Dyer, Ezekiel, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, volume 1, page 1230). The New International Version translates the expression as "Sovereign LORD."

God is called Almighty twice (1:24; 10:5).

The phrase, ". . . know that I am the LORD," occurrs more than 60 times.

3. Conclusion

Applying "the law of repetition," it is obvious that there is heavy emphasis in Ezekiel on God's control over the principal players in the prophecies. In contrast to the emphasis on the sovereignty of God, the prophet is normally addressed with a term ("son of man") that emphasizes his submissive position as a creature of the Sovereign.

This study gives a clue that Ezekiel's prophecies were designed to give Jewish exiles confidence that it is YHWH Who is in control of their circumstances, not the human kings in whose lands they were exiled.

2. Chronology

There are many chronological indicators in Ezekiel. The following table relies heavily on Ralph H. Alexander, Ezekiel, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, volume 6, page 741.

Lime highlights Egyptian history. Yellow highlights Babylonian history. Aqua highlights Greek history.

(1) Unless otherwise noted, the reference is to chapters in Ezekiel. (2) Ezekiel 1:1 may indicate that Ezekiel's age was 30 years when he received the first vision. According to 2 Kings 24:12, Jehoiachin's exile began in June 597 BC. (3) Ezekiel wrote while in Babylonian exile. (4) See K. A. Kitchen, Egypt, Land of, Zondervana Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, volume 2, page 246. See Ezekiel 29:6-7. (5) See Jeremiah 37:5-10 and Ezekiel 29:6-7. (6) For the most part, Ezekiel's prophecy against Tyre was realized with Alexander the Great's destruction of the city in 332 BC. However, there was a "measure of recovery" with the city disappearing from history after Augustus absorbed the city in 20 BC (E. M. Blaiklock, Tyre, Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, volume 5, page 835). (7) The River Cebar was a canal. Both ends of the canal flowed into the Euphrates River. The Cebar flowed parallel and south of the Euphrates. Check out the map at http://home.achilles.net/~sal/icons/mesopotamia.gif. Although the River Cebar is not found on the map, it would be south of the city of Babylon. For information on the Cebar, see Tyndale Handbook of Bible Charts & Maps, page 208, and Ralph H. Alexander, Ezekiel, Expositor's Bible Commentary, volume 6, page 742. Alexander indicates that the Babylonians treated the Jews more as colonists rather than slaves (page 743). (8) It may be that chapter 24 (against Israel) takes place prior to King King Zedekiah's rebellion and chapter 25 (against the nations) after the seige against Jerusalem began.

Some of the dates are from Ralph H. Alexander, Ezekiel, Expositor's Bible Commentary, volume 6, page 741.

The ministries of Jeremiah (627-580 BC) and Daniel (605-530 BC) overlapped with Ezekiel (John H. Walton, Chronological Charts of the Old Testament, page 68).

The purpose of this chronology is to show the exiled Jews that YHWH is successfully moving history along the course He pre-ordained.

3. Recipients

The book begins with Ezekiel in Babylon (1:1). There is nowhere an indication that he physically leaves Babylon although, in visions, he is taken back to Israel (e.g., 8:3; 40:1-2). It is logical to conclude that the original recipients of this book were Ezekiel's fellow Jews in exile.

2. Some Themes

1. YHWH's Chariot Throne

There is a fascinating account in 1 Chronicles 28:18: ". . . He also gave him the plan for the chariot, that is, the cherubim of gold that spread their wings and shelter the ark of the covenant of the LORD (NIV)." The verse indicates King David gave his son, Solomon, inspired plans for the ark of the covenant which David called a chariot. Furthermore, Ezekiel 43:7 indicates that the ark is God's throne. The ark of the covenant would then be YHWH's chariot throne. For a picture of the ark of the covenant model in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, click here.

1. Ancient Near Eastern Chariot Thrones

The representation of a god or a king riding on a throne supported by creatures was not unusual in the Ancient Near East. The motiff occurrs before, during, and after Ezekiel's lifetime. The other information on some of the following internet pages is not necessarily endorsed:

1. Some Descriptions

• 350 BC -- Phoenician Coin with a Bearded Divinity Enthroned Over a Winged Chariot Wheel -- http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/godd.gif.
• approx. 358 BC* -- Tomb of Median King Artaxerxes II Showing Throne Bearers -- http://www.oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/PA/IRAN/PAAI/IMAGES/PER/RTOM/7G8_4.html.
• approx. 681 BC* -- Assyrian King Sennacherib Seated on Throne with Reliefs of Non-Descript Figures Supporting It -- See the picture of the throne about three-quarters of the way down this page: http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/magazines/tj/docs/v15n1pierce.asp (bottom of page).
• Assyrian King in Presence of Two Gods Who are Held Aloft by the Backs of Creatures: http://www.bibleorigins.net/CherubStandupon.html.
• 1350-1150 BC** -- Prince of Megiddo -- An ivory plaque has been discovered in which the prince is pictured sitting on a throne flanked by winged creatures (H. G. Stigers, Art, Arts, Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, volume 1, page 329).
• 13th Century BC -- King Ahiram of Byblos Seated on Cherub Throne -- James B. Pritchard, The Ancient Near East, volume I, figure 126. "The stone casket shows the king with his feet on a three-stepped stool and the sides of his seat shaped like winged sphinxes (Edward Musgrave Blaiklock, Cherubim, The New International Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology, page 127)." See the picture of the casket at: http://www.prog.com.lb/bybloscity/history/pics/ahiram1.htm.
• 870 BC -- The Sun God, Shamash, Seated on Throne with Reliefs of Non-Descript Figures Supporting It. He was worshiped in Babylonia and Assyria (http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/s/shamash.asp) -- See the picture of the throne about two-thirds the way down this page: http://whyfiles.org/079writing/.
• 5th Century BC -- Phoenician Cherub Throne -- http://www.bibleorigins.net/IsisCherubThroneScarab.html.
• 1200 BC -- Canaanite Cherub Throne -- http://www.bibleorigins.net/MegiddoCherubthroneivory.html.
• "Among Israel's immediate neighbors -- Canaanites, Aramaeans, and Hittites -- deities were 'nearly always represented as standing on the back of an animal or as on a throne borne by animals -- but never as themselves in animal form.' (Merrill F. Unger, Archaeology and the Old Testament, page 237, quoting W. F. Albright, From the Stone Age to Christianity, page 229)."
• Ralph F. Wilson, Near Eastern Thrones and the Ark of the Covenant, http://www.joyfulheart.com/kingdom/thrones.htm.

2. How did the chariot thone motif come into existence outside of YHWH worship?

There may be two explanations that believers in YHWH would accept:

1. Memory

There may have been a memory in the human race of YHWH's chariot throne. The ark of the covenant was built soon after 1440 BC for the tabernacle (the earliest date for the Exodus, Ryrie Study Bible, page 91). Perhaps the fame of the YHWH's chariot throne and His victories over Israel's enemies soon became commmon knowledge throughout the Ancient Near East. This was the case with Rahab (Joshua 2:9-11). Perhaps whenever artists designed thrones for their kings and gods, they sought to incorporate elements of the famous chariot throne of the powerful YHWH.

2. Culture

The motiff may have developed in the Ancient Near Eastern culture independent of YHWH. YHWH, Who is Spirit, may not represent Himself in this fashion at all times. But He so represented himself to Ezekiel in his lifetime so that the prophet and his readers might understand the concept in the vision. They would understand that YHWH was representing Himself as a sovereign because kings and gods in their culture were presented in similar scenes. The vision also revealed that YHWH was superior to any other god/king because of the extraordinary antimation and detail of the chariot and its Occupant. No other chariot-throne even began to produce the awe that resulted from Ezekiel's vision.

2. Depections of YHWH's Chariot Throne

1. Biblical Description

Ezekiel calls this, ". . . the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD (1:28b; 3:12; 9:3; 10:4, 18-19)." Ezekiel's appropriate reaction was to fall on his face (1:28c).

1. storm

• wind (1:4)
• great cloud (1:4; 10:3)
• flashing fire (1:4)
• bright light (1:4; 10:4)
• something like glowing metal (1:4)

2. cherubim

Here is a representation of one of Ezekiel's cherubim: http://www.bibleorigins.net/EzekielsCherubim.html.

• living beings (1:5; 10:15, 20)
• each had four immobile faces: man, lion on right, bull on left, eagle(1:6, 9-10; 10:21-22). Ezekiel 10:14 identifies the bull face with a cherub face. Use of the Google Image Search (images.google.com) reveals that Ancient Near Eastern Mythology had cherubim with female and male human faces, snake faces, eagle faces, and lion faces. But modern archeologists have not discovered everything that was available in the ancient days. Perhaps Ezekiel had seen artwork including cherubim with bull faces and thus identified the one in the vision as that of a cherub.
• each had four wings: two spread out above touch those of the others and two covering their bodies that made a sound appropriate for a powerful God when they moved, whenever the beings stopped moving, the wings dropped (1:6, 11, 23-24; 3:12; 10:5, 21)
• straight legs (1:7)
• calf's hoofs (1:7)
• gleamed like burnished bronze (1:7)
• human hands under wings (1:8; 10:7-8, 21)
• the would move without turning wherever the Spirit would move (1:12; 10:11, 22)
• burning coals darting between the beings so that they appeared to be bolts of lightning (1:13-14; 10:2, 6)
• they were cherubim (9:3; 10:1-22)
• they were filled with eyes (10:12)

3. wheels

• one identical wheel associated with each being (1:15-16; 10:9-10, 19)
• touched the earth (1:15)
• workmanship like sparkling beryl (1:16). Beryl is ". . . a mineral which is commonly pale green, but may be green, blue yellow, brown pink or white (D. R. Bowes, Beryl, Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, volume 1, page 525)."
• they gleamed like Tarshish stone (10:9). This is probably Beryl imported from Tarshish (http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/beryl.html). Tarshish may have been a Phoenician port in Spain (http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/tarshish.html).
• rims lofty and awesome and filled with eyes (1:18)
• moved with the beings even when they left the earth (1:19-21; 10:15-17; 19)
• spirit of the living beings were in the wheels (1:2-21; 10:17)
• made a rumbling sound when they moved (3:12-13)
• they whirled (10:2, 6, 13)

4. an expanse (1:22 10:1)

The expanse is above the heads of the beings and has the gleam of cyrstal.

5. a voice (1:25, 28)

6. throne

• high above the expanse (1:26)
• made of something like lapis lazuli (1:26). "Lapis lazuli . . . was a well-known precious stone of the ancient Near East, bluish in color, having the appearance of a glaze (Ralph H. Alexander, Ezekiel, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, volume 6, page 760."
• made of something like sapphire stone (10:1). Sapphire has a blue color and the stone may be identical to a lapis lazuli (D. R. Bowes, Sapphire, Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, volume 5, page 274).

5. a figure

• like a man (1:26)
• loins and upward part of his body glowed like metal with a fire within (1:27; 8:2)
• loins and downward like fire (1:27; 8:2)
• a radiance like a rainbow surrounded Him (1:27-28)
• He hovered over the cherubim (10:19)

2. Artist Attempts

Artists have made attempts to depict the scene. The information on these sites is not necessarily endorsed:

• http://www.tanbible.com/images/sho_Ezekiel/Slide03.JPG
• http://www.williamjames.com/History/HEBREWS.htm
• Raphael -- http://sunsite.dk/cgfa/raphael/p-raphae26.htm
• Contemporary Folk Art -- http://www.folkartisans.com/books/reviews/myrtice-ezekial1-2.jpg

3. Interpretation of the YHWH Chariot Thone Passages

to prove/to Jews exiled in Babylon/that YHWH is a greater God than the gods of Babylon because He had a greater chariot-throne than that of the gods

4. Applications of the YHWH Chariot Throne Passages

• We should trust in the sovereign YHWH rather than in things (e.g., idols) created by man.
• We, believers, have the certain hope of being with the Sovereign God.

2. The Cherubim -- Coming

3. The False Elders -- Coming

4. The Name of the LORD

A reference to the Divine Name remaining holy or not being profaned or defiled appears a number of times in Ezekiel (20:9, 14, 22, 39, 44; 36:20-23; 39:7; 43:7-8).

• Ezekiel 20:4-9: In Egypt, Israel was told to get rid of her idols, she did not, so God was determined to pour out His wrath on her (verse 8). But He did not because He believed that pouring His wrath on the persons He had just brought out of Egypt would give Him a bad reputation among the nations (verse 9).
• Ezekie 20:10-17: In the wilderness, the first generation of Jews were told to keep the Sabbaths but they did not, so God was determined to pour out His wrath on them (verse 13). But He did not because He believed that pouring His wrath on the persons He had just brought out of Egypt would give Him a bad reputation among the nations (verse 14). He did enforce a penalty by not allowing them to enter Canaan (verses 15-17).
• Ezekiel 20:18-26: In the wilderness, the second generation of Jews were told to keep the Sabbaths but they did not, so God was determined to pour out His wrath on them (verse 21). But He did not because He believed that pouring His wrath on the persons He had just brought out of Egypt would give Him a bad reputation among the nations (verse 22). He did penalize them by (1) promising they eventually would be exiled from their new land (verses 23-24) and (2) allowing them to experience the natural consequences of their debased idolatry (verses 25-26).
• Ezekiel 20:27-31: In their land, the Jews worshipped false gods. If God had overlooked this infraction, He would have ruined His reputation among the nations from whom He had removed His people. The nations would expect Him to penalize Israel because she turned her back on Him. So, God refused to advise the elders of Israel (verse 31). And then He put them into exile.
• Ezekiel 20:32-44: God will take them out of exile (verses 33-34) and (1) judge them and isolate rebels (verses 35-37a, 38), (2) give them the benefits of the New Covenant (verse 37b), and (3) bring them into the Millennial Kingdom (verses 40-43). God will deal with Israel according to His reputation’s sake not according to how bad the Jews are (verse 44). From Ezekiel 36:20-24, it is discovered that God's Name is being profaned while the nation is in exile. Therefore, He will bring them out of exile in order to save His reputation.

These references to God's reputation are designed to encourage the Jewish exiles. The encouragement comes from the fact that God will return them from exile even though they are still in disobedience. Furthermore, they will be encouraged that, once they are taken back, He will change their nature in accordance with the New Covenant so that they will be obedient to Him (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

5. Judgment of Tyre -- Click on the title to go to this section.

6. Judgment of Egypt -- Coming

7. The New Covenant -- Coming

8. Gog's Invasion -- Coming

9. The Millennial Temple -- Click on the title to go to this section.

© 2002 Ken Bowles, September 20, 2002, Edition

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