Has Wheels, Will Travel

Reading: Ezekiel 1

Have you ever tried explaining something complicated and that you are excited about to someone who wasn’t at all interested? This is especially difficult when the person you are attempting to share with is close to you. Really, they make their best effort, but it just takes too much energy for them to keep all the intricacies of what you are talking about straight, and frankly, in spite of their love for you, they just don’t care about what you’re talking about as much as you do. This is something I often encounter when trying to discuss the internal politics of the Jedi Council with those close to me (notable exception: my sister, Martha): the groans, the glazed over eyes. Masses of detail are overwhelming, even when you want to grasp them. I can attest to this as a person who has attempted to cram a reading of the Silmarillion, JRR Tolkien’s hefty history of Middle Earth, into one weekend in order to finish a book report.

The first chapter of Ezekiel, despite our best efforts and intentions, might hit us a bit like the obscure lore of a far-off time and place, and you may find yourself a bit overwhelmed by its details. Portions of Scripture like this can be easy to skim or to skip over entirely, but this text is an important one for our times. But don’t feel concerned if this looks overwhelming at first, because it truly is a lot to handle: a giant throne, multi-faced celestial beings, it is a lot to take in. I admit that I had to Google what beryl was in writing this.

But if we look a little more closely, there is a message of hope and a call to faithfulness in this passage. The who, what, when, and where of the text give us insights into its message for its original audience and its application for us today. Ezekiel, we learn from the first verses of the chapter, is one of the captives taken by the Babylonian Empire. 

Here is where our eyes could start to glaze over, but it is important to get these details. We know of the history of Israel, the united monarchy under David and Solomon, the splitting of the 12 tribes into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. We know that the kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrian Empire which eventually fell to the Babylonian Empire, which expanded on Assyrian territory, conquering Judah as well. Ezekiel’s beginning of prophetic ministry comes at the beginning of the Babylonian period of control of Judah. This is roughly the situation: Babylon has taken Judah’s rightful King Johoiachin into exile along with many of the young people in Judah, Ezekiel included. Things only escalate from there, culminating in the destruction of the Temple seven years later, but the disaster has begun. The people are desperate from a word from God and that word comes to Ezekiel. 

And the place in which it comes to Ezekiel is significant. The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel by the Chebar canal, a canal in Babylonian, Gentile territory. In the midst of exile and all the pain that comes with it, God speaks. God is not bound by the geography and the politics of the exile.

And then there is the vision of the Glory of God seated upon God’s throne. There is a lot here, but I want to draw attention to two things: the wheels and the eyes. 

Wheels within wheels! The way they are described almost make them sound like puzzles, but notice the emphasis on their design is that they provide easy and precise movement. Wherever God wants this throne to go, it will go. Now imagine you are an exiled Jew, separated from the beloved and holy city of Jerusalem, separated from the Temple, the place where God’s glory dwells (a feeling all too familiar to us in our days of coronavirus). Imagine you are heartbroken at the thought of not being able to worship in God’s presence and here comes Ezekiel, saying that he’s seen the glory of God by the Chebar canal, saying that God’s throne is mobile, saying that God is on the move. God can reach you where you are. 

And then, verse 18 says that the rims of the wheels are covered in eyes. Not only is God on the move, not only can God meet you in spite of your circumstances, God has seen the injustice that has been done to you. God has seen the suffering that you have experienced. God has seen your faithfulness in spite of it all. 

God is on the move and God sees all. This is both an encouragement and a warning. God brings solidarity with the faithful and judgement for the unrighteous. Those in exile will be tempted to fall into idolatry, whose end is judgement, and reading on in the book of Ezekiel, we will see that judgement is not reserved for those outside of Judah alone. 

If there is any day that we need this double dose of encouragement in our suffering and the reminder to stay faithful, it is these days. Pandemic isolation has left us exhausted and lonely, ripe to divide ourselves into the political sides of the crisis, all in an election year that was seeking to divide us already. The recent killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd highlight the racial wounds and inequities that are still all too real for our brothers and sisters of color. If there is a time that those who are in exile need to hear that God is both watching and with us, it is now. If there is a time that the world needs to be reminded that the Righteous One is coming to judge righteously what is good and what is evil, it is right now. 

This can be so overwhelming in a world that seems so far gone, in an exile that seems so insurmountable. And we wonder: where do we start? What do we do? Like Ezekiel, we are called to the ministry that God has given us. Returning to the first verse of the chapter, scholars have suggested that the mention to the thirtieth year refers to Ezekiel’s age, that he was thirty years old (Wright). This is significant because Ezekiel was part of the priestly line and, according to Numbers 4, priests were to begin their priestly service at the age of thirty. Exiled in Babylon, with no way to reach the Temple in which he was to serve, Ezekiel would be forgiven for thinking that his calling was on hold. But God had other plans. His term of service, his ministry was to begin right on time, and it was needed more than Ezekiel could have imagined. 

If we think that now is not the right time for us to live out our calling, we need to be reminded that God is calling us here and now. He is not somewhere far off and removed, but in spite of our circumstances he is here with us. He is watching us. 

So even when it feels like it is you versus the world, live as a citizen of the Kingdom of God. Don’t turn to the idolatrous calls of the world. Be faithful, as he has been faithful to us.

Sources

Thompson, D. L. (2010). Ezekiel. In P. W. Comfort (Ed.), Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Ezekiel & Daniel (Vol. 9, p. 47). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

 Wright, C. J. H. (2001). The Message of Ezekiel: A New Heart and a New Spirit. (A. Motyer & D. Tidball, Eds.). Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press.