Ezekiel 1-12: On the move

I have written much of the dialectical tension that shape the biblical narrative, the push and pull between the word of God and the will of humankind. Intertwined with this plot-forming device is the device of movement. Throughout much of Israel's history, it has moved toward and away from the promised land. Now, long after conquering the promised land, Israel finds itself again out of God's favor and out their proper space.

At this point in the biblical narrative, it seems that God's people are permanently removed from the promised land. After they are given the land of Canaan, they fail to fulfill their contract and are expelled. In popular parlance, they blew it. (But that's human nature, as the bible widely attests.) The Babylonian exile represents the first time that Israel feels the bitter pull toward the land they possessed for so long.

The literature that developed during the time preceding and following the expulsion deals with the sense of loss in different ways. The Book of Job teaches how to deal with injustice. Lamentations mourns present conditions and looks to God for a panacea. Psalms offers myriad interpretations of punishment and reward. Prophets, like Jeremiah and Isaiah (First, Second, and Third), bring to light improper worship practices and preach social justice, while they deliver both predictions of terror and prophecies of salvation.

Ezekiel responds to the plight of the exile, and as a part of this offers the reassuring image of God in motion. Judah, home of God's people and God's residence on earth, is destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE. Therefore in his tenure as a prophet from 593 to 571 BCE, Ezekiel can be seen as comforting the exiles from the deportations from Jerusalem. Part of this comfort comes from Ezekiel's particular vision of God as a mobile deity.

God in Motion
The Book of Ezekiel opens with Ezekiel's vision of God's chariot, but before turning to that, it is important to note the setting. Ezekiel receives his vision "in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was on him there." (Ezekiel 1.3)

Jeremiah is the first prophet we encounter that prophesies redemption explicitely  from captivity, delivering a distinct message to his audience. Jeremiah was in Israel for his entire tenure, Isaiah 1 and 3 prophesied from Israel, and Isaiah 2 consists of God's direct message to Israel (without the explicit medium of a prophet).

God's Chariot
Ezekiel's vision of God's chariot takes place in 593 BCE, five years after the first exile, and still six before the second in 587.
 
I recommend reading the entire vision sequence of Ezekiel 1-3.11 to get the full effect of the literature. For those of you who would rather not, here is an artist's rendition, courtesy of Wikipedia:

A stormy wind from the north (the direction of Babylon) blows in a phantasm that can only be described using the noncommittal mystical terms such as like and as. The four living creatures of the vision have legs and arms for mobility, and for whatever reason only move directly straight, without turning. Never mind exactly why, as Ezekiel is trying to put into words an ineffable mystical experience. (A description of mystical experience is not part-for-part allegory, by the way, but a "translation" of a mystical encounter).

That being said, we may focus on the prominent images of movement throughout the vision to guess at what exactly Ezekiel is trying to say. Ezekiel writes of his encounter:

"As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them."
(Ezekiel 1.15)

One wheel or four? Both? In a vision, it doesn't really matter. The image is that of a wheel, which might signify completeness or more likely movement.

As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl; and the four had the same form, their construction being something like a wheel within a wheel. When they moved, they moved in any of the four directions without veering as they moved. Their rims were tall and awesome, for the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When they moved, the others moved; when they stopped, the others stopped; and when they rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
(Ezekiel 1.16-21)

These wheels are capable of special locomotion, made possible by a wheel within a wheel. Four sets of tall and awesome double wheels propel the cart/chariot wherever it goes, forward and backward, up and down. The device is free to move in any direction in three dimensions. Additionally, the wheels function as a symbol of divine attentiveness. Eyes adorn all four wheels, indicating God's ubiquitous knowledge and presence. God is not only mobile, but all-seeing as well.

Ezekiel's Second Vision: Transportation
After this encounter, Ezekiel heads to Tel-abib, to reveal God's message to the exiles there. Here again Ezekiel encounters God. A year later in Judah (592 BCE), Ezekiel encounters God in a vision:

...and the spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north...
(Ezekiel 8.3)

The vision is very similar, a fact that is even made explicit:

And the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I had seen in the valley.
(Ezekiel 8.4)

Again, Ezekiel faces north, the direction from which the Babylonians attack. He is then transported to various parts of the city, where he encounters the abominations that still occur in Jerusalem. Ezekiel is warned of the future hardships before being brought back.

This section is notable because again God has a remarkable range of motion. He is not limited to the Jerusalem temple, but can observe and even interact with his people in captivity.

Again we see the details of movement in his encounter:

I looked, and there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like gleaming beryl. And as for their appearance, the four looked alike, something like a wheel within a wheel. When they moved, they moved in any of the four directions without veering as they moved; but in whatever direction the front wheel faced, the others followed without veering as they moved. Their entire body, their rims, their spokes, their wings, and the wheels—the wheels of the four of them—were full of eyes all around. As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing “the wheelwork.” Each one had four faces: the first face was that of the cherub, the second face was that of a human being, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle. The cherubim rose up. These were the living creatures that I saw by the river Chebar. When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them; and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise up from the earth, the wheels at their side did not veer. When they stopped, the others stopped, and when they rose up, the others rose up with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in them.
(Ezekiel 10.9-17)

God's capability of movement is a remarkable development, and has a great influence on prophets and God's people, as we shall see in future chapters and later books.

Jeremiah 19-52: A history of prophecy

The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.
(Jeremiah 28.8-9)

So Jeremiah told Hananiah in his prophecies of the Lord's wrath against his unfaithful people. The postulate is remarkably accurate. Prophecies of peace are  uncommon and are often unfulfilled (see further, the book of Revelation). It is easier for a prophet to prophesy war, famine, and pestilence because this is the most common denominator of human existence. A prophet may easily look at political situations and make an informed oracle about the future. But what makes a prophecy truly compelling is the divine input. God is all-powerful and yet gives his people the freedom to break their covenant with him. If all obey God, the prophets contend, there will be no war, famine or pestilence. If the Israelites disobey God, they will be destroyed by their enemies, who are of course controlled by an all-powerful and wrathful God. Such is life.

In the first two posts on Jeremiah, we explored Jeremiah's personal persecution vis-a-vis Israel's, and examined some of the prophet's laments. Today's post takes a look at Jeremiah in a historical context. It is clear that his prophetic messages changed over time to address evolving political realities. Read one way, Jeremiah seems to even execute an about-face on earlier prophecies. In any case, Jeremiah worked in a very difficult time, and seemed to adapt his message to reject the status quo while still maintaining a certain amount of care for his fellow Israelites.

Jeremiah prophesied in a tumultuous time in Jewish history. His career as a prophet began in 627, the "thirteenth year of King Josiah of Judah's reign. This is the same year that Judah joined the other vassal nations of Assyria in revolting against the empire (a fact not mentioned in Kings). Josiah, who had ostensibly discovered the book of the Law of Moses (probably Deuteronomy), wished to reestablish the Davidic monarchy. Jeremiah firmly opposed this through his entire life, in favor of the older, God-centric expression of faith.

The Assyrians until this point had an adversarial relationship with the Jews. In 724 Hoshea, the last king of Israel, was carried away to Assyria for refusing to pay tribute as a vassal of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser and instead seeking the protection of Egypt. That same year the Assyrians began a three-year siege of Samaria, capturing the city and deporting its residents in 722 (2 Kings 17.1-6). By divine intervention (and creating a remarkable historical reality if this is in fact true), Judah avoided paying tribute to Assyria altogether, and continues to exist as a nation until 597.

Unfortunately for Judah, the Assyrian empire collapsed in 605, and Babylon showed interest in taking what Assyria could not. Though King Jehoiakim initially supported the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar beginning in 604, his tribute switched around 601 as Babylon's enemy Egypt seemed to gain power. Babylon grew in strength and conquered Jerusalem in 597. Wealthy and influential residents of the city were deported to foreign lands. The city was completely destroyed ten years later, and a second deportation exiled many of the remaining residents.

This is the political situation that Jeremiah found himself working in, adapting his message as times changed. Initially his oracles are against personal enemies and the corruption of Judah. The second theme is expanded upon over time so that the Babylonian conquest of Judah becomes seen as God's divine punishment on a wicked people. In fact, Jeremiah  initially urges his audience to acquiesce to Babylonian rule. "It will all get better if we wait it out," the prophet seems to say. Babylon is simply acting as an agent of God, who wishes to punish his people for failing to fulfill their terms of the covenant with him. Later in his career, however, Jeremiah begins to prophesy against Babylon, framing the empire as malignant oppressors who are now the enemies of God, not simply a tool that God used to discipline his people. In a great reversal of fortune, the conquerors will be conquered. These oracles are messages of hope, for the Lord's wrath will be guided away from God's people, back to the pagan nations.

Let's take a look at Jeremiah's evolving prophecy.

Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I am going to turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls; and I will bring them together into the center of this city. I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and mighty arm, in anger, in fury, and in great wrath. And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both human beings and animals; they shall die of a great pestilence. Afterward, says the Lord, I will give King Zedekiah of Judah, and his servants, and the people in this city—those who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine—into the hands of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, into the hands of their enemies, into the hands of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword; he shall not pity them, or spare them, or have compassion.
(Jeremiah 21.3-7)

 This prophecy, delivered by Jeremiah to King Zedekiah of Judah, accurately predicts the destruction of Judah by the Babylonians. He attributes the disaster not to King Nebuchadrezzar, but rather the Lord, who is seeking vengeance on his unfaithful people by destroying them with pestilence, sword, and famine. Always it is the Lord's hand that guides Babylon in defeating his people. And because it is the Lord acting against the Judahites, it is okay, even honorable to surrender. The only real shame that Jerusalem will face is their humiliation before God. The city is doomed, but the people may keep their lives if they surrender:

And to this people you shall say: Thus says the Lord: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Those who stay in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but those who go out and surrender to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have their lives as a prize of war. For I have set my face against this city for evil and not for good, says the Lord: it shall be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
(Jeremiah 21.8-10)

The oppression will not last forever, and Jeremiah indicates this in a prophecy from the Lord predicting the forthcoming righteous king of Israel:

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.” Therefore, the days are surely coming, says the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, “As the Lord lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of Egypt,” but “As the Lord lives who brought out and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the land of the north and out of all the lands where he had driven them.” Then they shall live in their own land.
(Jeremiah 23.5-8)

The new united monarchy (though monarchy may be the wrong word because the oracle champions worship of God over an earthly leader) will mark a great new era in the history of Israel, the second return to the homeland. Interesting - no matter where the Israelites end up, they always return to the same place. Since the days of Abraham this family has been drawn to this area, the land that God promised them.


By chapter 30 we discover that not only will the house of Jacob return to its homeland, but the punishment it suffered at the hands of its oppressors will be redirected at the oppressors.

But as for you, have no fear, my servant Jacob, says the Lord, and do not be dismayed, O Israel; for I am going to save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and no one shall make him afraid. For I am with you, says the Lord, to save you; I will make an end of all the nations among which I scattered you, but of you I will not make an end. I will chastise you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.
(Jeremiah 30.10-11)

For thus says the Lord: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good fortune that I now promise them.
(Jeremiah 32.42)

That disaster will be redirected against a slew of enemies, peoples in whose lands the exiled Israelites have resided: Egypt, the Philistines, Moab, the Amonites, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, Hazor, Elam, and most especially Babylon. It is Babylon, of course, that gets the greatest and longest prophecies against it. Initially drones acting out the will of the Lord, they are viewed at the end of Jeremiah's career as harsh oppressors who must be punished for their vile deeds. And indeed they will be punished. By 538 King Cyrus of Persia will defeat the Babylonians and issue a decree allowing Israelites to return to their homeland and worship their God. Jeremiah's prophecy of restoration is partially fulfilled, but after the second exile, Israel will never be the same.

Jeremiah 11-20: Laments

One of the primary themes of the Hebrew Bible is persecution and suffering, a theme that was given extensive treatment from Job onwards, through Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiates, and especially through the prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah. During the time of the divided monarchy, the Israelites suffer perpetual persecution. In this time, people turn to prophets, who offer an alternative (though politically well-informed) worldview. The Israelites, say the prophets, are persecuted by God for their apostasy. How is this situation rectified? Laments give us a view into this process. This traditional form of writing - like a dirge or a sonnet, is comprised of a few different elements that express suffering and call on God to intervene. Elements include:

• Invocation (call to God)
• Complaint
• Plea for help
• Condemnation of enemies
• Affirmation of confidence in the Lord
• Confession of sin
• Acknowledgement of divine response
• Praise for God

The enemies are generally an outside force, such as the Babylonians, but the doubly-oppressed Jeremiah sees persecution at the hands of others as well. These people say to one another:

Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
let us cut him off from the land of the living
so that his name will no longer be remembered!
(Jeremiah 11.19)

Jeremiah's enemies seek to destroy the prophet (tree) along with his children (fruit). To eliminate the offspring would essentially wipe Jeremiah from history by removing all traces of him form the collective memory. This is significant because memory - either passed down through stories or expressed physically through offspring - was the only sort of afterlife an Israelite could hope to enjoy. Hence the promise of land and progeny to the patriarchs.

Jeremiah begs the Lord to intercede from these oppressors:

But you, O Lord of hosts, who judge righteously,
who try the heart and the mind,
let me see your retribution upon them,
for to you I have committed my cause.
(Jeremiah 11.20)

Who are these mysterious oppressors who wish to kill Jeremiah? His own family! "The people of Anathoth were friends and relatives of Jeremiah in his home town (Jeremiah 11.21, 12.1). Not only does Israel stand on the brink of destruction, but Jeremiah's own family want to suppress his message.

Yet the righteous Jeremiah continues to prophesy, and his persecutors in fact will face a penalty for the evil they plot against the man. The very evil they wished upon him will be inflicted on them:

Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: I am going to punish them; the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine; and not even a remnant shall be left of them.
(Jeremiah 11.22-23)

"Why does the way of the guilty prosper?" Jeremiah asks God.

You plant them, and they take root;
they grow and bring forth fruit;
you are near in their mouths
yet far from their hearts.
(Jeremiah 12.1-2)

Jeremiah here uses the language of his oppressors against them As they seek to destroy good and righteous trees along with their fruit, Jeremiah asks the fundamental question of why these people are allowed to exert their malicious wills. The Lord acknowledges the problem, and commiserates with Jeremiah, revealing a striking parallel between Jeremiah's situation and his own. The Lord's own "family" of Israel  has turned against him and forced him to make some difficult decisions:

I have forsaken my house,
I have abandoned my heritage;
I have given the beloved of my heart
into the hands of her enemies
(Jeremiah 12.7)

God has come to this decision because idol worship has wrought such havoc on the faithful:

Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard,
they have trampled down my portion,
they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
They have made it a desolation;
desolate, it mourns to me.
(Jeremiah 12.10-11)

Thus we transition into the larger problem of Israel's inevitable exile at the hands of their oppressors. God's people will face dispersion for their apostasy, and the righteous Jeremiah will be show oppressed in two ways, first as a prophet and secondly as an Israelite. He is righteous in both capacities, and therefore is something of an anomaly. His parallel stories, however, help illustrate Israel as it collapses simultaneously from outside and internal pressures. Both of these are expressed though the same prism of God's wrath. The Lord's people must be punished for their sins.

Retribution comes first in the form of a drought, which is relayed by the people of the land in the form of a lament in Jeremiah 14.1-10.

Although our iniquities testify against us,
act, O Lord, for your name's sake;
our apostasies are indeed many,
and we have sinned against you.
(Jeremiah 14.7)

The lament continues in Jeremiah 14.19-22:

Have you completely rejected Judah?
Does your heart loathe Zion?
Why have you struck us down
so that there is no healing for us?
We look for peace, but find no good;
for a time of healing, but there is terror instead.
We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,
the iniquity of our ancestors,
for we have sinned against you.
Do not spurn us, for your name’s sake;
do not dishonor your glorious throne;
remember and do not break your covenant with us.
Can any idols of the nations bring rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Is it not you, O Lord our God?
We set our hope on you,
for it is you who do all this.
(Jeremiah 14.19-22)

We see the elements of lament here: complaint, confession of sins, and a plea for help. In this way the lament moves from accusation to confession to supplication. This parallels part of the cycle of dialectical tensions following a severe blow to the Israelite people, the subsequent recognition that this harm was in fact the result of apostasy.

The Lord offers a harsh response to the Israelites through Jeremiah, suggesting that not even the great leaders of Moses and Samuel would be able to turn God's heart toward his people. Sin has reached a tipping point, and now punishment is inevitable. Jeremiah will survive, but the people will hate him for his true words against them. The prophet's agony is so great that in one lament he wishes he had never been born. Yet he plays an integral role in the history of Jerusalem, and as we will see, forecasts the future of God's people.

Along the way, though, Jeremiah continues his laments, as he balances the persecution of himself and his family with that of the people of Israel.

Jeremiah 1-10: The Israelite Perspective

Jeremiah was a prophet who was first commissioned by God in the year 627 BCE. As a prophet, Jeremiah takes issue with the status quo. One of his primary causes is the belief that temple worship is not as important as strict obedience to the Lord's law. He has other causes as well, such as the great guilt of Judah and the general unfaithfulness of the people. But all these coalesce in the issue of temple worship. For Jeremiah, temple sacrifice has nothing to do with obedience to God. The prophet channels the Lord:

I did not speak to them or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this commandment I gave them, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you.
(Jeremiah 7.22-23)

Jeremiah here perhaps is attempting to censor history: Deuteronomy 16 explicitly calls for a Passover sacrifice. Numbers calls for sacrifices and offerings in many places. But Jeremiah's rebellion is not a simple matter of textual analysis. Rather, he may be arguing against an institution that supports the temple monarchy. Jeremiah is a descendant of Abiathar, a Levitical priest who was removed from power by Solomon for political reasons. Jeremiah therefore may be rebelling against the institution in general, and the sacrifice - which sustains the rival non-Levitical priests - in particular. Jeremiah goes so far as to reject the very centerpiece of the temple, the ark of the covenant:

I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, says the Lord, they shall no longer say, "The ark of the covenant of the Lord." It shall not come to mind, or be remembered, or missed; nor shall another one remain.
(Jeremiah 3.15-16)

Jeremiah has other reasons to hate the Davidic monarchy, centered in Jerusalem. A resident of Benjamin, he identifies with the plight of Israel, rather than that of Judah. Unlike Isaiah (1-39, 40-55, 56-66), who was from the southern kingdom, Jeremiah favors the northern kingdom for salvation.

This belief puts him in a difficult position. Israel fell first to invading armies, which by Isaiah's logic indicates that the kingdom was less faithful, or at least lost faith in the Lord sooner than the South:

She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce; yet her false sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore.
(Jeremiah 3.8)

Both Israel and Judah are in the wrong, and both are punished, but for some reason not explained, Judah is more in guilt:

Then the Lord said to me: Faithless Israel has shown herself less guilty than false Judah.
(Jeremiah 3.11)

This is set against a backdrop of general unfaithfulness, revealing in yet another biblical book the dialectical tensions that inform the entire corpus of the bible:

Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
for something that does not profit.
(Jeremiah 2.11)

Other peoples do not change their gods, but Israel, whose God is the one true God, does not remain faithful to its own God. Israel's unfaithfulness is examined in graphic terms: an ox that breaks it yoke, a whore, a choice vine that becomes wild, and a stain that cannot be washed out. God's people follow a winding path, and act like a wild donkey in heat, a notorious lover of strangers.

This is expressed in poetry through the imagery of husband and wife. In typical patriarchal fashion, God is the husband and his people the wife. Israel suffers "divorce" when it falls into apostasy, which means oppression or defeat. God poses the question to his people:

If a man divorces his wife
and she goes from him
and becomes another man's wife,
will he return to her?
Would not such a land be greatly polluted?
You have played the whore with many lovers;
and would you return to me?
says the Lord.
(Jeremiah 3.1)

And yet, in the Lord's mystery, he does accept the people that return to him. God takes back his whore of a wife, under the assumption that she will again become faithful.

There will be punishment for the loss of faith. Jeremiah in the end of chapter 10 warns that the exile is imminent:
I am going to sling out the inhabitants of the land at this time,
and I will bring distress on them,
so that they shall feel it.
(Jeremiah 10.18)

The doomed nation, having been conquered, is expressed in a return to the primordial chaos:

I look on the earth, and lo, it was a waste and void;
and to the heavens, and they had no light.
I looked on the mountains, and lo, they were quaking,
and all the hills moved to and fro.
I looked, and lo, there was no one at all,
and all the birds of the air had fled.
I looked, and lo, the fruitful land was a desert,
and all its cities were laid in ruins
before the Lord, before his fierce anger.
For thus says the Lord: The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.
Because of this the earth shall mourn,
and the heavens above grow black;
for I have spoken, I have purposed;
I have not relented nor will I turn back.
(Jeremiah 4.23-28)

Like the world before creation, the earth is "waste and void," the heavens shining no light upon it. There are no humans, no birds, and no plants. The imagery suggests strongly (and uses the language of) the first story of creation to express how the great building up of the Israelite people will be utterly undone.

But within chapter 10 we can also find a message of redemption. retribution will come to the persecuting nations after Israel has been conquered.

Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not know you,
and on the peoples that do not call on your name;
for they have devoured Jacob;
they have devoured him and consumed him,
and have laid waste his habitation.
(Jeremiah 10.25)

As we have seen in Isaiah, this is exactly what happens. Israel will one day be vindicated.