Imagery And Symbolism

by NEELY, E. | Category: Getting To Know God Through Ezekiel | Apr 2007

Ezekiel, directed by the Spirit of God, used nearly every possible literary method of reaching the people of Judah with whom he was in captivity. They were a people who preferred lies to the truth, who would not accept the inevitability of Jerusalem's overthrow and their own lengthy exile. Symbolism and imagery were among the most widely utilized of those methods; Ezekiel himself was to be mute. A brick, an iron plate, cakes baked over cows' dung, a razor, a cross on the forehead, baggage, a battle axe, a sword, a cauldron, a flowing river, a valley full of dry bones, a couple of sticks - the book seems full of object lessons, concrete examples of the mind of God outlined in detail for an obstinate people. Our purpose is spiritual rather than literary, but the technique is interesting nonetheless. To their shame and sorrow the general population of Judah was unreceptive no matter what the presentation. Ezekiel was �to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not practice them� (Ezek.33:32). To their sorrow, unheeded warnings resulted in the lamentations, mourning and woe that God had shown Ezekiel the people would have to bear. By the fulfilment of his prophecies they would know that a prophet had been in their midst (Ezek. 33:33). There were ten of these object lessons that applied before Jerusalem was sacked. We'll examine some of these in more detail in a future article, but look at them now briefly, what they should have meant to the captives and what we can learn for ourselves.

Ezekiel was to be generally struck dumb, albeit able to speak when God spoke, for four and a half years until Jerusalem fell (3:26,27; 24:27), but the actions of his life must be an epistle, known and read by all, and that very fact is a strong lesson about our own lives and deeds. Actions often speak even louder than words. Christ is the brilliant example of one who went about doing good: even �Christ did not please Himself� (John 5:20; 8:29; Rom.15:3). Ezekiel's first sign was at great discomfort to himself (chapter 4), as were some that followed, a clear indication that the way of the servant of God, like the way of the transgressor, can be hard. The end is not yet. If in the world we have tribulation, the time is fast approaching when He will manifest Himself who has overcome the world (John 16:33). Lying restrained on one side and then the other each day for well over a year had to bring all its own pain, to say nothing of disruption to his normal life. There was little to comfort save the knowledge that he was being obedient to his God. (Paul speaks of being comforted in his own hardships (2 Cor.1:3,4); personal comfort, however, is not granted to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters.) Personal discomfort, even anguish, borne submissively can be a striking testimony in itself (Ezek.12:9; 24:19). 2 Corinthians 11:23ff further exemplifies the point that as servants of the Lord we may suffer hardship. Not only must Ezekiel's suffering be physical, but emotional as well (4:14), and the total amount of food offered was about eight ounces of bread and two-thirds of a quart of water per day. All this was to be prepared by himself with only a fire of cows' dung to help. Obvious in the sign was an impending shortage of food. Its baking procedure, though Ezekiel achieved some reprieve in the matter of cleanliness, indicated defilement in the foods of the nations to which Israel would be driven - a fact that Daniel and his friends ran into even in high places (Dan.1:8). But if God's provision for us, though seemingly meagre, accomplishes His purposes, should we not be satisfied? He has promised not to forget us in our need.

A sharp sword shaving the hair of Ezekiel's head and beard must have cut a man groomed for the priesthood very deeply (Lev.19:27; 21:5). But in Ezekiel 5 the shaving was as much a testimony to errant Israel as the hair of the head had been to the nation when more obedient. A sword, rather than a razor, would teach the observers of the sword that would bring about their disaster in the hands of the Chaldeans. A third of the hair burnt in the city indicated the population who would be consumed with famine. A third was to be scattered to the winds. Fewer than a third of the people would survive even to the captivity, and only a very few become a preserved remnant in the eventual return to the land. The people heard, but did not believe. Ezekiel's message must go forth anyway, �whether they listen or not� (2:5,7; 3:11).

Chapter 12 provides Ezekiel with further discomfort. He must pack his belongings by day, so that all may see what he is about. Previous captivity would have ensured that they understood Ezekiel's inference. Then he must dig through the wall with his hands as night fell upon him and with hidden and unseeing face depart as though into exile. His explanation to the people described how King Zedekiah would try to escape, be caught, and go blinded into his captivity and imprisonment (2 Kings 25:1-7; Jer. 52:4-11). The prophet must also eat and drink in front of the people with a tremor in his hand and anxiety upon his face just as those in Jerusalem and Judah would do. His every action must show what his belief was concerning the fulfilment of the promises of God. Ezekiel is not only a sign to the people of Israel, he is an example to servants of God in every generation!

Whitewashing walls when they should have been thoroughly prepared, mortared, established, only invites disaster when the floods come (13:10-14). This lesson described the action of the false prophets who could only envision and speak of peace in a world bound for judgement, and speaks loudly to God's people today as well. This poor old world will not 'every day in every way get better and better' (2 Tim.3:1-4)! To live as though it were permanent and the thing that is our greatest treasure, would be every bit as wrong as the false prophecies of old.

Somewhere along the line Ezekiel took to himself a wife. We don't often think of his life as portraying a man in loving relationship, but the testimony of God concerning him, as siege was laid to Jerusalem and that great city began to fall, bore beautiful witness to a successful marriage. In spite of the stringencies of captivity, in spite of idiosyncrasies of a man whose life was impacted by his desire to accomplish the will of God for him, the upset to house and home, the upset to a �normal� home life, God describes in Ezekiel the secret of a happy marriage. His wife was �the desire of your eyes� (24:16). He was to lose even her to the will of the LORD. What is more, mourning and tears were not to be apparent. His groaning must be internal only; his demeanour must not betray the loss of the affection that he had cherished. His actions would demonstrate what would follow to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; they would rot away in their iniquities, and they would groan to one another. As Ezekiel had done, so they would do, that the nation would know that God was Lord (24:24). Ah, that our actions might demonstrate the same! The sign that followed, that the dumb man spoke, would also show that God was Lord (24:27).

Once the fall of Jerusalem was accomplished and reported, once those already in captivity realized that Ezekiel's message had been true, God began to reveal something of future blessings in restoration. There was only one sign sermon shown in the book that portrayed something of the restoration of the nation. Ezekiel 37:16ff instructs the prophet to take two sticks illustrative of Judah and Joseph, write their names upon them, and join them into one stick as a sign of future blessing and unity (see also Hos.1:11). When Israel was brought into existence in 1947, Ezekiel 37 was the scripture that David Ben Gurion, the Prime Minister, used, but there is to be a still fuller fulfilment to the prophecy. David, their ancient king, will again be their prince and their shepherd. God will be their God. God's promise to David of one forever sitting upon his throne and to Israel of eternal forgiveness and blessing will shortly come to pass.

Interspersed with these sign lessons were direct prophecies, visions and parables lending conviction to the message.

NEELY, E. | Apr 2007
Getting To Know God Through Ezekiel