Prophet Ezekiel
July 23rd
Before all else, he was a prophet of hope – a voice that comforted his suffering people by reminding them that Almighty God would never abandon them, and that they would somebody be allowed to return to their beloved home in Judah, the southern kingdom of ancient Israel.
Born in Judah around 585 B.C., according to most Biblical scholars, Ezekiel (the name means “God will strengthen”) was the son of Buzi and destined to become both a holy priest of God and one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament.
Like the Israelis themselves during this turbulent epoch, Ezekiel was also destined to suffer enormously, after the victorious Babylonian despot Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the southern kingdom of Israel’s King Jehoiachin and took thousands of Jews as captives. Transported to Babylon as a child (around 597, according to historians of the period), the youthful Ezekiel had already begun to utter his fiery prophecies . . . all of which would eventually be set down in the Old Testament chapter that bears his name.
As the years of the “Babylonian captivity” slowly passed, this great Prophet continued to remind his fellow Jews that God would never forget them, and would someday restore the lost world for which they grieved. Ezekiel’s voice has entranced Christians and Jews alike for two and a half centuries, and for good reason: His extraordinary visions of the faithfulness of God loom as some of the most powerful and prayerful descriptions of the Almighty ever written. In Chapter 37, for example – a well-known section in which God promises to restore the life of Israel by breathing life into the “Dry Bones” of the desert – the prophet created a supremely lyrical vision of God’s saving grace:
The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered: “O Lord GOD, You know.”
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: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.”’” (Ezekiel 37: 1-6)
Thrilled by this promise from the Deity, Ezekiel quickly obeys . . . and finds that the promise is kept, as the bones take on flesh and breath and spirit – all of them gifts from a loving and merciful God:
So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.
Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”’”
So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves.
I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it,” says the LORD.’” (Ezekiel 37: 7-14)
Having uttered these ringing pronouncements through the voice of the Prophet Ezekiel, the God of the Old Testament then delivers a final promise that the bond between humanity and the Almighty will endure forever:
“Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.”’” (Ezekiel 37: 21-23)
The Book of Ezekiel contains 48 chapters, all of them written in this same eloquent style, and they have comforted humanity for the past 2,500 years, since they marvelously articulate a saving promise from God to man. In the same way, Ezekiel’s life as a courageous priest and prophet who dared to utter these sacred words can help each one of us to find the strength for life’s challenges.
Indeed, the very heart of that promise can be found right there in the name of this faithful prophet: God will strengthen!
Apolytikion in the Second Tone
As we celebrate the memory of Thy Prophet Ezekiel, O Lord, through him we beseech Thee to save our souls.
Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
O divine Ezekiel, as God's true Prophet, thou foretoldest unto all the Incarnation of the Lord, the Lamb of God, the Artificer, the Son of God, the Eternal made manifest.
