Day 249. Ezekiel 32-33

The prophet Ezekiel is a singularly fascinating individual; he stands out even among the prophets of ancient Israel, who make an interesting set, to say the least. In his prophecies he defers completely to the word of the LORD. He never presumes to speak for himself, but always puts himself in the submissive role as the passive mouthpiece of God. Yet Ezekiel is in his own right a splendid poet, an actor and a mime, and a brilliant visionary—arguably the greatest dreamer of dreams in all of scripture. Our reading for today contains the last two of his seven oracles against Egypt, both neatly dated for our benefit.
Oracle 6 March 3, 585 B.C.
This "lamentation" over Egypt is intended as a global dirge to be "chanted." God commands that "the women of the nations shall chant it" (32:16). The whole world is called to witness the drama of its fall and to contemplate its meaning. In the very near future Egypt will fall "by the swords of mighty ones, all of them most terrible among the nations" (32:12)—the Babylonian army. The pharaoh, who considers himself "a lion among the nations," will instead prove to be a dragon—this time a sea serpent, not a Nile crocodile (29:3)—over which the LORD "will throw [his] net." He will "haul [Pharaoh] up with [his] dragnet" and fling him "on the open field" (32:4) to die. And there his body will be devoured by birds and beasts and his remains will fertilize the whole earth. The downfall of Egypt will take place in the midst of apocalyptic darkness. Creation is being symbolically un-made. When the nations see that the dragon
has been slain, the spectacle will spread confusion over the whole earth. "Kings will shudder" (32:10) when they see how the LORD will use "the sword of the king of Babylon" to "bring to ruin the pride of Egypt" (32:12). By the banks of the Nile, both human beings and animals will perish, and the land will be left depopulated and its waters, with men or beasts to roil then, will be untroubled "like oil" (32:14).
Oracle 7 April 7, 586 B.C.
This passage is interesting because of the light it shines on the developing concept of the afterlife in Judaism. It is a dirge in which Ezekiel, as God's representative, is commanded to send down "the hordes of Egypt" into "the world below." In spite of their "beauty," they are to be "laid to rest among those who go down to the Pit" (32:18). The Pit is visualized as the lowest level of the underworld-- the place where "the uncircumcised"—those who are outside the covenant-- who have been "killed by the sword" go at death. They are consigned to oblivion and utter darkness. Ezekiel contrasts the Pit—the place of those who have died violently-- to "Sheol," the place of the peaceful dead, where "the mighty chiefs" already there say of these latecomers—"They have come down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, killed by the sword" (32:21).
In the Pit lie the "company" of Assyria, "who spread terror in the land of the living" (32:23). The dead of Elam, a nation east of Babylon in modern Iraq (32:24), are there. The "bear their shame with [the rest of those] who go down to the Pit" (32:25). There also are the dead of Meshech and Tubal, long vanished peoples living in Asia Minor; they also are consigned to the Pit, because "they spread terror in the land of the living" (32:26). They are without honor in death. They do not rest like those righteous, respectfully-buried warriors "who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads, and whose shields are upon their bones" (32:27). The dead of Edom, Israel's old enemy are in the Pit, as are "the princes of the north, all of them," together with the Sidonians, "those [who have been] killed by the sword" (32:30). There are so many there in the Pit already that "when Pharaoh sees
them, he will be consoled for all his hordes" who lie there "among the uncircumcised" (32:32). At least they are not alone among such a vast multitude!
With chapter 33 the second phase of Ezekiel's mission begins. And at this juncture the LORD renews the prophet's call to be "a sentinel for the house of Israel" (33:7). He is reminded of a sentinel's responsibility to warn the people if he sees "a sword coming upon the land" (33:2). If Ezekiel faithfully warns Israel of the consequences of their sinfulness and the certainty of God's coming judgment, he himself will be acquitted of responsibility if they fail to heed his warnings. If the sentinel is negligent, the people's "blood [the LORD] will require at the sentinel's hand" (33:6).
God is a just God, doing justice and demanding that justice be done. But here, as the fall of Jerusalem becomes imminent certainty, God again reminds his people through his prophet that he has "no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live" (33:11). Each person is responsible individually before God—no one can claim another's righteousness or be punished for another's sin. Furthermore, if the wicked repent and change the direction of their lives—"give back what they have taken by robbery, and walk in the statutes of life, committing no iniquity"—they will surely live and not die (33:15). God is not only able to forgive their sins but also to forget them—"none of the sins that they have committed shall be remembered against them," says the LORD of those who repent (33:16). So Israel cannot say—as some apparently had--that "the way of the LORD is not just"—it is not only just but
also merciful and forgiving (33:20).
As was promised on January 19, 585 B.C. a lone survivor newly arrived in Babylon came to tell Ezekiel-- "The city [of Jerusalem] has fallen" (33:21). Ezekiel says that he had felt the LORD's presence in a particular way "the evening before the fugitive came. He had apparently been unable to speak for some period of time, perhaps since his wife had died. But "by the time the fugitive came to [him] in the morning, his mouth was opened, and he is "no longer unable to speak" (33:22).
And the first words he is given by the LORD are addressed to those who remain in "the waste places" in Judah after the destruction of Jerusalem. They are claiming the land for their own by right of possession. But Ezekiel is called to remind them of their sins which have caused Jerusalem's destruction. When they have lived flagrantly contrary to his Law, the LORD asks them—"shall you then possess the land?" (33:26). God's answer is no. He has determined that those who remain "in the field" will be "devoured by wild animals and those in the strongholds and in caves shall die by pestilence" (33:27). The whole land will be a desolate waste "because of all their abominations that they have committed" (33:29).
The prophet Ezekiel was certainly a fascinating individual—enthralling to listen to—so enthralling that people apparently did not take him quite seriously. They sat before him listing in rapt attention as he spoke the words of the LORD in the most colorful language, but "they will not obey them" (33:31). For them the prophet was a poet, "a singer of love songs, one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument" (33:32). They heard the beautiful words, but were not changed by them. Now the LORD warns what "when this comes—and come it will!—then they shall know that a prophet has been among them" (33:33), not just a singer of love songs.