We are reconvening our gathering on Tuesday, January 7. During this Epiphany season, we will be reading through excerpts from the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a priest during the Babylonian captivity in the 6th century B.C. and prophesied to the Israelite exiles in Babylon. Ezekiel forms the bridge between the ordinary Old Testament prophet, such as Amos or Jerimiah, calling God’s people to repentance, and the more apocalyptic visionaries such as Daniel, Zechariah, or Revelation concerning the great restoration and victory of God’s people. The reason to read through Ezekiel during Epiphany is because both the prophet himself and his teachings prefigure the person and teachings of Jesus Christ. For example, the terms “Son of Man,” “Good Shepherd,” and “Living Water” are first used in Ezekiel. His visions include the separation of the sheep and the goats, the Valley of the Dry Bones prefiguring the resurrection, and the great last battle between Gog and Magog which is resolved in Revelation.
For Tuesday, please read Ezekiel’s first vision and his call as set forth in Ezekiel 1:1-3:15, in which Ezekiel, while in Babylon, sees the Glory of the Lord coming to him upon the four-faced cherubim and wheels within wheels. Also, read Psalm 137 which gives us a good sense of the spiritual suffering encountered by the Israelites during their exile and helps to set the tone for Ezekiel’s prophesy. If you have a study Bible, please read its introduction to the book. I have attached a copy of the ESV study bible’s introductory commentary and chapter 32 of James Kugel’s How to Read the Bible on Ezekiel. These readings, of course, are not required. As you read through the first chapters of Ezekiel, try to see the similarities between Ezekiel and Jesus and where the former prefigures the latter.
Ezekiel saw the wheel
Ezekiel Saw the Wheel, Ezekiel 1:16
Way up in the middle of the air
Ezekiel saw the wheel
Way up in the middle of the air
And the little wheel run by faith
And the big wheel run by the grace of God
A wheel in a wheel
Way up in the middle of the air