Ezekiel 24; 33-39: The New Way

Signs of the Times
Ezekiel 24, which concludes a long section of visions and oracles against Jerusalem, terminates with two signs, both of which anticipate later events. Both of these signs consist of a symbolic act suggestive of the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, followed by the event itself.

The first sign is the death of Ezekiel's wife, which the prophet is prohibited from mourning. Accomplished by God, this vignette serves as a metaphor for the impending fall of Jerusalem.

Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and your heart's desire; and your sons and your daughters who you left behind shall fall by the sword. And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your upper lip or eat the bread of mourners. Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and groan to one another. Thus Ezekiel shall be a sign to you; you shall do just as he has done. When this comes, then you shall know that I am the Lord God.
(Ezekiel 24.21-24)

The sudden destruction of the temple will comes as a hard blow, yet will not be lamented, a circumstance that has both ritual and psychological implications. As a site of ritual, the temple served as the very center of daily life, and united the community under one God. Its destruction shatters the hope of proper worship practice that has already fragmented under apostasy and the deportations of the elite and priests. Without the temple and diligent obedience of the covenant, mourning practices lose much of their meaning. Forbidding orthopraxy simply serves to reinforce the peoples' distance from God.

The second sign of chapter 24 will not be fulfilled until 33.21-22, with the actual fall of Jerusalem. It is forecast that on the day that God conquers Jerusalem through his proxy Babylonian army, one person will escape the destruction to report the news to Ezekiel. On that day, the prophet's mouth will be opened and he will report the news to the exiles. In this way he will serve as a sign to the people that the word of the Lord will be accomplished.

Since chapters 25 through 32 consist entirely of oracles against and laments over foreign nations, let's skip over to chapter 33, which picks up again on God's addresses to Israel.

What do you mean, "You People?"
God's language in Ezekiel serves to distance himself from the prophet as well as his own people Israel. Ezekiel's moniker throughout the Book is "mortal" and the exiles are referred to as "your people." Ezekiel therefore acts as sort of a probation officer of sorts, the intermediary between the Law and the people. Ezekiel clearly serves as the spiritual leader on earth. In 33.1-9 he is named the sentinel of the Lord's people, a position of great responsibility. If he warns people of the bad things to come and they take no heed, he is blameless. If he fails to warn them, however, their blood is on his head. But even the Lord acknowledges that getting people to actually listen is futile - and the Lord has plenty of experience in this area.

To them you are like a singer of love songs, one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; they hear what you say, but they will not do it.
(Ezekiel 33.32)

Which begs the questions: How many will ever believe a prophet in his/her own time?

Leader though he is, Ezekiel still answers to a higher authority. This is made clear through a number of images and instructions, the most prominent of which is God as the true shepherd, explicated in Ezekiel 34.The false shepherds of God's people are excoriated and God places himself as the true shepherd of all his flock. Though the Davidic line will be reestablished, the ruler of the Israelites will serve in a new capacity, with a greater emphasis on God. This idea is discussed further in Ezekiel 37, when the prophet executes a sign that Judah and Israelite will one day be united in one place under one Davidic ruler, and that all will be under God's jurisdiction.

Ezekiel 36 elucidates God's sovereignty, and sees a time when Israel will be restored:

Thus says the Lord God: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the towns to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt....Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places, and replanted that which was desolate; I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.
(Ezekiel 36.33; 36)

But God also is sure to emphasize the role of his people within the renewed city. God's people their proper place within creation:

It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. I will sanctify my great name...
(Ezekiel 36.22-23)

It is not for your sake that I will act, says the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and dismayed for your ways, O house of Israel.
(Ezekiel 36.32)

And now, remarkably, there is a change in the nature of God's blessing. To the patriarchs, God promised to create a great nation of their offspring. After all the Israelites have done, they must now ask for what they were once given:

Thus says the Lord God: I will also let the hose of Israel ask me to do this for them: to increase their population like a flock.
(Ezekiel 36.37)

The Valley of Dry Bones and the Two Sticks
The renewal of the city is imagined as the reanimation of the dead in Ezekiel 37, an apt image for a conquered territory. In a vision, Ezekiel commands the divine spirit to animate the bones of the slain that rest in a valley. The bones come back together, attached by sinews and covered in skin. The message: through the help of the Lord, even a seemingly helpless situation can be rectified.

Both Israel and Judah will come together then under one king and Under God, and a new covenant will be established.

Gog and Magog
Anyone who has read the Book of Revelation or will be familiar with Gog and Magog, and it is from Ezekiel 38-39 that they are drawn from. Gog is a fictional ruler over the fictional land of Magog, and together they symbolize Israel's oppressors. After Israel is reestablished, it is said, Magog will attack Israel with the support of many other nations,  and will be soundly defeated. In this way, Israel symbolically will pay back the pain that other nations have caused it.

The images of destruction seem to serve a cathartic purpose. Led by the lord to Israel, Gog and his supporting armies will be defeated, and their weapons shall be burned by the Israelites as firewood. Israel's victory will be so great that all of Israel will spend seven months burying the dead in order to purify the land. And, as all the residents of the kingdom take part, it serves as a cleansing action for the community as well.

The deaths of Israel's enemies is even imagined in terms of a sacrificial feast - though for the birds and wild animals of the land. The slaughter holds a ritualistic connotation, one that is nevertheless very far removed from the Israelite idea of sacrifice. The fat and blood that the Israelites do not eat in their sacrifices is instead devoted to the animals and birds, who fulfill for Israel another sacrificial feast, another cleansing of the land.

Next week: Israel's return.