The Word of the Lord Says

The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel offers us a mystical look at God as well as giving some very profound insights into God’s love, plan for salvation, and into the work of the promised Messiah.  Ezekiel also offers us some very specific insights into the Word of God, and also into the Scriptures.

In this blog we look at a few passages from Ezekiel and why they are so significant to our  experience of and understanding of the Word of God.  For Ezekiel the word of God is not equated with the Scriptures, for the Word of God is not a written text, but rather speaks to us and is heard by us.  In Ezekiel, “the word of the Lord” is not merely an object which comes forth from God  but more importantly “the word of the Lord” is a personal subject who himself acts in the world.  For example at the very beginning of the Prophecy, the Book states:

“…the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.”  (Ezekiel  1:3)

The text has “the word of the Lord” coming to Ezekiel which is a different image than God speaking a word to Ezekiel, for the text says the Word Himself acts and comes to Ezekiel.  What the text suggests is that while the Word comes from God, the Word of the Lord is distinct from the Lord but also a person.  We find this same theology in Psalm 33:6, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth.”     In the New King James translation of the Bible, as in the Orthodox Study Bible,  we read both the Prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel  dozens of times using this phrase:   “The word of the Lord came to me saying...”   It is an interesting phraseology for it is not saying it is the Lord who comes to the prophets, but the word of the Lord,  giving us the image that the Word of the Lord is a person who speaks to the prophets as a person would speak.  God’s word is not a thing which God says, but a divine person who speaks!  This is the basis for our theological doctrine of the Holy Trinity.  And, not only this but also God comes fully present in the divine Word.  This is the basis for our understanding of theosis as defended by St. Gregory Palamas.  God comes fully present in the Word and we receive not a word from God but God present in His Word, thus enabling us to participate in God.

The Word of the Lord comes to Ezekiel

 

That God comes present in the Word of the Lord, and that the Word is a fully divine person is the theology found the Prologue of John’s Gospel:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.  …  He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.” (John 1:1-3, 1114)

The Word of the Lord who creates all things in the beginning and who becomes incarnate in Jesus Christ and comes to the people of God is the same Word of the Lord who speaks to the Prophets.

Again he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.”   (Ezekiel 37:4-6)

The dry bones of the people of Israel are to listen to the Word of the Lord, for He speaks to them the divine, life-giving message.  In hearing the Word the dry, dead bones are vivified.  Union with God’s Word gives life to the body.

The idea of the Word of the Lord speaking, rather than God speaking a word,  is found in the Prophet Jeremiah:

Prophet Jeremiah

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see a rod of almond.” Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.” The word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” Then the LORD said to me, “Out of the north evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.    (Jeremiah 1:11-14)

The Word is capable of speaking because the Word is  a divine Person;  in the above text,  the Word of the Lord speaking is God speaking.  The phrases “the word of the LORD came… saying” and “the Lord said to me”  parallel and enrich each other giving us the Trinitarian sense of the Lord and the Word of God being distinct divine Persons.

Then in Ezekiel 3:1-3 we find another image of the Word of God, this time in the written Scriptures:

And he said to me,  “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.”  

The Word of God is not only spoken to us by God, but is a Person.  The Word of God is not only something to which we listen, nor even only someone who speaks to us, for the Word comes to us to be consumed by us, entering into our very being.  We not only hear the Word of God with the ear, but we commune with the Word in our very being, physically and spiritually.

Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.(Jeremiah 15:16)

We consume the Word in order to commune with God in our hearts.

Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man,  all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears.  (Ezekiel 3:10)

The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart…”  (Romans 10:8)

The Word of the Lord enters into our hearts and unites us to God the Trinity.

Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.(Psalm 119:11)

For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.(Isaiah 57:15)

When the Word of God enters into us, physically and spiritually, we are transformed, becoming partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).  God does not only speak the Word, but the Word Himself speaks to us in our hearts uniting us to God thus bringing about our salvation.

In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power. (Hebrews 1:1-3)

 

 

 

Holy Prophet Ezekiel

In the Orthodox Church we commemorate Holy Prophet Ezekiel (563BC) each year on July 21.  God spoke to us through His prophet Ezekiel, saying:

“But if a wicked man turns away from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness which he has done he shall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?  . . .  When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die for it; for the iniquity which he has committed he shall die. Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is lawful and right, he shall save his life. Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions which he had committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.  . . .  Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, says the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of any one, says the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.”     (Ezekiel 18:21-23, 26-28, 30-32)

The Temple and a New Vision

This is a continuation of the previous blog, Envisioning the Temple (II).

The Temple is a heavenly concept whose primal architect is God.  In the Torah it is clearly God who offers the design (paradigm, blueprint) for the Temple to His people.  As we already saw Adolfo Roitman in his book,  ENVISIONING THE TEMPLE, says:

“…it was in the Tabernacle – the ‘Tent of Meeting’ – that the Divine Presence revealed itself to Moses (Exod 25:22; 30:6).   . . . Significantly, David like Moses at Sinai (cf. Exod 25:9), was said to have received a ‘blueprint’ in God’s own hand (1 Chron 28:19).”  (p 50)

Both Moses the God-seer and King David the Prophet were shown God’s plan for the Temple which they were to copy.  And yet God’s people were aware of a tension caused by the existence of the temple.  Solomon, the Prophet David’s own son already proclaims about the temple he has built:

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!”  (1 Kings 8:27; 2 Chronicles 6:18)

It is in the New Testament that we see a new understanding of the Temple emerge.  The Temple will serve all of the purpose God intended but in a new and unexpected way.

“For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They offer worship in a sanctuary that is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly one; for Moses, when he was about to erect the tent, was warned, ‘See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.’ But Jesus has now obtained a more excellent ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted through better promises.”   (Hebrews 8:3-6)

The prophets of Israel had warned Israel as to the role of the Temple in its midst.

“Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’”  (Jeremiah 7:4)

As Fr. Theodore Stylianopoulos explains:

“In Jeremiah the temple stands in opposition to God (Jer 7:4; 26:6-10), and against it stands God’s word represented by the words of his prophet (1:1-2;7:28; 26:12-13).     In contrast, the representative of the temple ideology insists that the god of the temple acts, much as Baal does, to protect his reserve.” (SACRED TEXT AND INTERPRETATION: PERSPECTIVES IN ORTHODOX BIBLICAL STUDIES, p 18)

The Temple in and of itself could not make the people holy, rather the people had to be and remain holy for the Temple to serve its function amidst the people.

“Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel for ever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their harlotry, and by the dead bodies of their kings, … They have defiled my holy name by their abominations which they have committed, so I have consumed them in my anger.  …  And you, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the temple and its appearance and plan, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, portray the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, and its whole form; and make known to them all its ordinances and all its laws; and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe and perform all its laws and all its ordinances. This is the law of the temple: the whole territory round about upon the top of the mountain shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.”  (Ezekiel 43:7-12)

That the Temple did not fulfill the purpose that God envisioned for His tabernacle from the beginning is something commented on by ancient commentators of the scriptures.

“Expounding further upon the differences between God’s Tent and the Jew’s Temple, Chrysostom suggests that the top of Mount Horeb  is heaven and the original Tent is that in heaven where Christ dwells.  Christ reveals to Moses that identical Tent when he ascended Mount Horeb and met with Him.    God entrusts to Moses the exact type, or model, of this Tent, so human beings may have a place to interact and communicate with Him, experience His saving action and miracles, and learn His laws.  The Tent of Witness is portable and not bound to any one fixed place, like Jerusalem.  Since the Tent of Witness represents the heavenly Church of God, it is not restricted to any locality; and because Christ resides there and invites man to join Him, Chrysostom implies that each Church established by the Apostles during their earthly ministry is the Holy Tent of Witness, the point of union between heaven and earth, heaven itself.  Each Tent, as that in the wilderness with Moses, bears witness to Christ’s Sonship with God, thus revealing that the one Church (the Tent of Witness) can be truly seen in the many Churches (Tents) and vice versa.

The Jew’s (God’s people) exchange the Tent of Witness and the living oracles that God gives to them through it for the Temple and sacrifices – a clear demonstration of their blasphemy against God the Holy Spirit – as far back as their forty-year sojourn in the desert following their liberation from Egypt.  At the provocation at Horeb, the Jews totally reject the Tent of Witness, and then introduce the sacrifices.  Prior to this provocation, Scripture recounts of ‘living oracles,’ life-giving precepts; after it, and as its consequence, Scripture speaks of sacrifices, those evil statutes, and ordinances by which a man shall not live as God desires.”  (Protopresbyter Gus Christo, THE CHURCH’S IDENTITY: ESTABLISHED THROUGH IMAGES ACCORDING TO SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, pp  334-335)

“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.”  (Revelation 21:22)

Next:  The Temple Envisioned Anew