Without this, his exhortations and condemnations would not be heard or heeded. This leads to a third possibility for the essential purpose of his prophecies against the foreign nations -- that of strengthening his position within the community of exiled Israelites.
Despite the commonality of oracles and prophecies condemning and predicting the downfall of foreign nations in the prophets of the Old Testament, it is highly unlikely that these words ever reached the leaders or the people of these foreign nations, or that the prophets or writers of these texts ever intended them to (Tuell 2009, pp. 167). Using these nations as examples not only provides greater room for explanation and imagery for various purposes, as explained above, but it also simply and directly adds to the legitimacy of the prophet as a whole. The question of Ezekiel's position within his community has been the subject of no small amount of scholarly debate, and linguistic parsings of his prophecies and the minute details of the different sections and the organization of his text all arrive at different conclusions as to how the prophet was trying to present himself, and the degree to which he claimed divine inspiration, guidance, and even communicative abilities with God (Ward 2006; Zaspell 1985). Regardless of the exact nature of the prophet's position or projected self-image, however, it is clear that Ezekiel was attempting to bolster the power of his message by presenting the legitimacy of his prophesying abilities as best as he was able.
Ezekiel's main purpose throughout his text is to steer the people of Israel back onto a righteous path, one that is both pleasing to God and will lead to the security and prosperity of the people in this world as well. He will definitely be assisted in this objective by increasing his own personal power and legitimacy as a prophet. Addressing the sins and punishments of the other nations before describing Israel's return to glory accomplishes exactly this.
The continued scholarly and lay fascination with the text and prophecies of Ezekiel are a testament to the personal power with which his prophecies are conveyed. The prophecies against the foreign nations form a large part of this power, and attempts to ascribe modern place names to those used in the Book of Ezekiel during...
In the context of these visions, any admixture of Jewish identity with foreign ways represented not only just such a hypocritical failure to trust God in all things but, ultimately, a decision to vanish from history. First, Ezekiel reminds his audience, the nations closely related to Israel failed through jealousy, pride, and treason. Next, he prophesies that the great merchant cities of Phoenicia are eventually doomed to ruin in the fullness of
164-72). Though this dramatization is rather simple, it is still quite deeply meaningful and profound, according to Block; the depiction of Jerusalem that Ezekiel is commanded to draw on the tablet, his rigidly controlled dietary intake, and the lying in two directions signifying his lamentation are all effective means of making more visceral and more physical the siege of the city and the collapse of the Hebrew people due
In verses 40-44, we can see that there is the potential for a reconciliation, when a purified people will worship in the land to which they have returned (91). God ends by saying that it will be obvious when He shows pity for the desperate and that He will be showing that pity for the respect of His own name. This really signifies that His mercy is the highest
The scene is reminiscent of Egyptian burial chambers; the walls were covered with brilliantly painted images of deities in animal form, including Anubis, the jackal-headed god who weighed the soul of the dead. This second phase of the prophet's vision of Jerusalem illustrates a number of important points with respect to the state of religion in the capital city. The nation's leadership was actively engaged in the pursuit of
Luther's concept of the "liberated Christian" allows for both an almost existential responsibility and an odd passivity on the other hand. Humans are responsible for creating faith within themselves, but having once accomplished the achievement of faith, they can simply allow themselves to exist in the cocoon of divine love. Christ has done the work for others through his life and death. (Countering this is the idea of Luther's that
Judgment oracle Usually introduced by formula, "I am against you" 21:1-5 Aftermath or restoration oracle Reversing judgment formula, "I am for you" 34:11-15 Command formula Especially "Son of man, set your face ... 6:2-3; 20:46-47 "Woe" oracle of indictment 13:3-7; 34:2-6 Demonstration oracle Usually containing "because ... therefore" clauses 13:8-9; 16:36-42 Disputation oracle IN which popular proverb is recited and then refuted by prophetic discourse (e.g., "sour grapes" proverb) 18:1-20; cf. 12:22-25 Lament Over Tyre Over Pharaoh 26:15-18 32:1-16 Wailing lament Introduced by "wail" 30:1-4 32:17-21 Riddles, parables, allegories E.g., parable of the vine Allegories of the
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