Three things stand out in these opening chapters of Ezekiel. First, there is the dramatic vision of the four creatures and the four wheels. There is not time or room in this blog to dscuss much of the detail of scholarly interpretation of these opening verses, but even a casual reading makes pretty clear that the creatures and the wheels in some way represent God’s divine action. No matter what is going on among people, God is in control and using the events of human history to accomplish his purposes.
Second, the hard heartedness and stubborness of Israel is glaring. Four times the Lord says, “they are a rebellious house.” Twice he calls them stubborn. And two other times he refers to their rebellion. It could not be more clear. Israel is suffering judgment because of their constant and belligerent turning away from God.
Third, the relentless love of God–more than a match for their belligerence– continues to try and reach them bysending messengers. This time, the messenger is Ezekiel. He is to deliver the bad news knowing that the people would not listen, and would mistreat him. His own actions would act out the judgment that was about to fall on Jerusalem.
It is a hard message and a hard vision. There is not much hope in sight. But as we know from all the prophets we have read so far, God always keeps for himself a remnant of believing people. Ezekiel is one of them. He gives his life to obedience even at great cost. He IS part of the remnant of Israel who continue to put their faith and trust in the Lord no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the cost. There is a glimmer of hope in these opening chapters but we will have to wait until almost the end of the book to see it clearly.