Dr Hill has just finished writing two volumes of commentary on Ezekiel which will be published at Easter-time under the title ‘Today with Ezekiel’. What appears in this series is a foretaste of these books.

He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” The young Ezekiel was lying face down worshipping God, following an amazing spiritual experience triggered by a spectacular storm that had led to him seeing visions that reminded him of the figures in the temple in Jerusalem where he had done his training as a priest. The climax of this experience led to the appearance of the glory of God, which caused him to lie face down in worship.

Hearing from God

As he lay there, he distinctly heard the Lord speaking to him – telling him to get up on his feet. This command signified the call to action that was to follow. He was given a strong warning of the prophetic task that lay ahead of him, which would be like walking through briars and thorns with attacks from scorpions.

Ezekiel’s mission was to say exactly what he would be told to say whether the people listened to him or not.

He was being sent by God to his fellow Israelites who were in rebellion against the Lord. They and their fathers had been in rebellion against God for a very long time and they were obstinate and stubborn. The message he was being given would bring great trouble upon him, but he was not to be afraid. “Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them.” Ezekiel’s mission was to say exactly what he would be told to say whether the people listened to him or not.

Call to ministry

This call to ministry was very similar to Isaiah’s call when he was told that the people would be “ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving” (Isa 6:9). Isaiah’s call to ministry some 200 years earlier had been preceded by an ecstatic experience in the temple, very similar to the vision given to Ezekiel.

All this would have flooded through Ezekiel’s mind, reminding him of his days as a student priest, learning about the ministry of the great Isaiah. This would surely have made him tremble at the enormity of the task he was being given. But God never gives a task without also giving the ability to fulfil it.

Eating the scroll

The command then came, “Open your mouth and eat what I give you!” He would be given the exact words that he was to speak to the people. At this point Ezekiel found a scroll in his hand. He reports, “I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.” It was at this point that Ezekiel then heard God say to him, “‘Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.’ So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.”

God never gives a task without also giving the ability to fulfil it.

This dramatic incident was Ezekiel’s call to ministry. It had to be a spectacular event because of the magnitude of the task to which he was being called to fulfil. It was five years since he had been captured by the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem and he was among the 10,000 forced to march the 1,000 miles to Babylon. In those five years he had shared the hardships they all experienced; the humiliation, the hunger, the helplessness, the trauma of defeat and the dismay that the God of Israel had been unable or unwilling to defend His people. The Babylonians were bragging that Marduk their God had triumphed over Yahweh. As a priest, he was under intense and bitter criticism from his fellow countrymen, but he was unable to give them answers to their questions.

Bowland

At the beginning of the exile, Nebuchadnezzar had done a deal with the exile leaders, which gave them land in exchange for skilled archers from the 7,000 strong army of Judah taken captive (2 Kgs 24:16) and serving a period in the Babylonian army.

The land became known as ‘Bowland’.¹ The exiles were able to build houses as Jeremiah had told them (Jer 29:5), and to establish village communities. Ezekiel was part of one of those communities and he would have shared in the toil of building houses and tilling the soil to grow food for their survival.

Jeremiah’s warnings had all been ignored and what the exiles were experiencing was the inevitable result of the idolatry and rebellious spirit that God was now calling Ezekiel to face.

During this time, Ezekiel would undoubtedly have been reflecting upon the words of Jeremiah that his fellow priests had dismissed: “From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practise deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. Peace, Peace, they say, when there is no peace.” Jeremiah’s warnings had all been ignored and what the exiles were experiencing was the inevitable result of the idolatry and rebellious spirit that God was now calling Ezekiel to face.

Jeremiah was right

It must have been a bitter experience for Ezekiel to accept that Jeremiah, who was hated by the priests, was absolutely right. Ezekiel was now being commanded by God to declare to the people that it was their own sinfulness that had resulted in God withdrawing His cover of protection and leaving them to face the enemy alone. Ezekiel’s whole life was turned upside down by the experience of God speaking to him but as the word of God came into him it was actually as sweet as honey.

Ezekiel’s whole life was turned upside down by the experience of God speaking to him but as the word of God came into him it was actually as sweet as honey.

Since the day of Pentecost, it has been possible for all believers in Jesus to hear from God. As in the case of Ezekiel, Peter and Paul both had their lives turned upside down.

This may not happen to every one of us, but we can all recognise when God is speaking to us. The more we study the word of God and how He has dealt with men and women in the past, the easier it becomes to recognise when God is speaking to us.

Endnote
1 For information on this deal and how it became known as ‘Bowland’ see: Clifford and Monica Hill, 'Living in Babylon', Handsel Press, Edinburgh, 2016 pp 26-28.