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.

How synagogues began

This is a fascinating little insight into life among the exiles from Israel who were living in settlements scattered around Babylon. Ezekiel reports it as a word from God; “My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well”.

The first house-meeting

This is the first mention of a ‘house meeting’ in the Bible. No date is given for this report, but it comes before the formation of synagogues. The reference to some of Ezekiel’s group being “greedy for unjust gain” indicates that they had been in Babylon long enough to be involved in the local economy, where we know that many of them became rich merchants or prosperous farmers.

This is the first mention of a ‘house meeting’ in the Bible. No date is given for this report, but it comes before the formation of synagogues.

We know that a little group of elders used to come regularly to sit at Ezekiel’s feet to hear any word he had recently received from the Lord, and to listen to his teaching. This enabled the elders to go back to teach what they had received in their village communities. In this way the whole community in exile would receive teaching that would keep their heritage alive and enable people to memorise portions of the Torah, which they could teach to their children.

Local community

The meeting that is described here, however, is not a gathering of the elders; it is a coming together of people in Ezekiel’s own local community at Tel Abib for what could be genuinely described as a ‘house meeting’. This is the first record of such a meeting in the Bible before we reach the Early Church in the New Testament. Ezekiel is reminded that he is becoming quite well known in the local town and his house meetings were growing in popularity.

People all around the area among the exiles were talking about him, and his regular group leaders were urging other people among their friends and neighbours to come to hear this amazing man. He was not only a good speaker; he was also a musician with a lovely voice. No doubt Ezekiel had learned to sing the Psalms when he was an active priest in the temple in Jerusalem. Now he was doing this on a regular basis in his house-group community.

No doubt Ezekiel had learned to sing the Psalms when he was an active priest in the temple in Jerusalem. Now he was doing this on a regular basis in his house-group community.

Popular preacher

This personal word he received from God would certainly have been a damper if he was beginning to feel pleased with his growing popularity. The word was, “They listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice.” That is the sort of bad news that no preacher wants to hear! No one wants to be known as ‘popular’ when their words aren’t taken seriously. In fact, some of the people listening to Ezekiel were not only ignoring his teaching but they were “greedy for unjust gain”.

Another reason for believing that this little incident occurred early in the exile is that from all the information we have available about the growth and development of the exile population, house fellowships were the earliest form of community meetings before the formation of knessets (meeting places), which later developed into synagogues. The practice of lighting candles on Friday evenings began very early in the exile, where families observed the Sabbath meal and had times of prayer for family members, for those left behind in Israel and of course for Jerusalem and the temple.

Family meetings

One or two families then began to meet together, and from these informal gatherings, several families began meeting together on Shabbat, creating the demand for meeting places. This paved the way for the formation of the synagogue in each of the settlements which became very precious. In fact, they were so loved that when the exiles returned to the land and rebuilt the temple, they also built a synagogue in each of their local communities, which became a lasting legacy of the exile in Babylon.

So churches, like synagogues began, not in Jerusalem, but in Babylon, and the first home-based community meeting was in Ezekiel’s home at Tel Abib, near Babylon.

Christian gatherings

The synagogues played a large part in the life of every village or town in Israel and were of far greater local significance than the temple. Jesus spoke in local synagogues and Paul made a practice everywhere he went of first visiting the local synagogue. But all these synagogues started as house fellowships – just as churches began in house meetings of Christians through the ministry of the Apostles from the earliest days after Pentecost. So churches, like synagogues began, not in Jerusalem, but in Babylon, and the first home-based community meeting was in Ezekiel’s home at Tel Abib, near Babylon.