So far we’ve had the chance to talk about what prophets do and why they usually don’t actually want to do it. This week, I want to focus more on the “how” question. How do prophets do it? How are prophets actually empowered to be prophets? How are they “inspired” to share what they believe God is telling them? How are they made bold enough to speak what they believe is God’s word to a society that generally doesn’t want to listen and that might not take kindly to what they hear? Those are all valid questions. I want to take up this subject by looking at two more prophets: Elijah and Ezekiel. We’ll start with Elijah.
Elijah was a very early prophet. His story gets told in bits and pieces, mostly found in the 1st and 2nd Books of Kings. There are, by my count, 71 references to Elijah in the Old Testament and 65 of those are in either 1st or 2nd Kings. There’s also an additional 30 references to Elijah in the New Testament, usually revolving around the idea that John the Baptist was “Elijah” who had come to announce the coming of the Messiah. I don’t think those references in the New Testament are meant to suggest that Elijah had been resurrected or in some way re-incarnated as John - just that John was considered to be like Elijah. There’s also the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus, where Jesus appears on a mountaintop with Moses and Elijah. There are other references to Elijah in the Koran and in the Book of Mormon, and even in some Baha’i writings. He is, in other words, a significant figure, sometimes referred to as Israel’s greatest prophet, and he does seem to have attracted followers and became the head (for lack of a better word) of a movement known as “the sons of the prophets.” Just a point of interest: since 1752, Elijah has also been “Saint Elijah” - designated by the Roman Catholic Church as the Patron Saint of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Elijah prophesied in the 9th century BC, during the reign of King Ahab. Ahab is portrayed as an evil and wicked king in the biblical stories about him, so perhaps it isn’t surprising that God would raise up a prophet to call the people back to faith. Specifically, for background to what Elijah would prophesy against, Ahab was the King of Israel - the northern kingdom (Judah was the southern kingdom.) Because Jerusalem was in Judah, Omri (who preceded Ahab) had encouraged the people of Israel to build local temples which in essence competed against the “real” Temple of Jerusalem. Because most of the Levites (the tribe of priests) were also located in Judah, Omri also allowed the consecration of priests from non-Levite families in violation of the Law of Moses. Ahab continued both of those practices. I spoke about Elijah very briefly in church maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago in the story of Jesus being almost driven off a cliff after speaking in the synagogue at Nazareth, because Jesus infuriated the people of Nazareth by using the story of Elijah being sent to a widow in Zarephath as a sign that God does not call prophets to go to their own people. Broadly speaking those 65 references to Elijah in the Books of the Kings together comprise 6 stories about Elijah - starting with this one and leading up to the final one when Elijah is taken to heaven in a whirlwind; in other words, he doesn’t die. For most Christians, that’s probably what they know most about him.
Elijah was said to have been born in Tishbe (so he’s “the Tishbite”) which was located in a region called Gilead, which is northeast of the Dead Sea. We don’t know much about his background, but this is the story that introduces him, and it’s interesting that he simply appears in the overall story very suddenly, appearing before King Ahab, telling the King that he stands before the Lord, and giving a warning to King Ahab that there will not be either “dew or rain, except by my word.” So aside from his hometown we learn nothing specific about him, and we hear nothing about his call to be a prophet. He appears on the scene as a prophet already apparently, and presumably one who was well known or had a significant following to be able to approach the king so boldly. He’s obviously a man with great confidence, quite certain in the calling he’s been given by God (even if it’s never described to us) and quite certain about the power he’s been given by God. There will be no rain or dew in Israel, Elijah says, unless I say so - he doesn’t even say “unless God makes it happen.” It’s “except by my word.” That’s pretty bold. After speaking to the king, Elijah is immediately told by God to go to the “Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.” A “wadi” is a kind of seasonal stream, and since it’s east of the Jordan it’s getting into what you might call frontier territory. We don’t know exactly where it is - nothing by that name exists anymore - but it’s probably in what was known as the Land of Manasseh - so a part of Israel, but as I said, very much a frontier part; a buffer area between the main part of Israel west of the Jordan and the hostile nations to the east. The wadi provides him with drinking water (remember, there’s a drought!) and ravens bring him food to eat.
The use of ravens is interesting. Ravens are not generally considered very human-friendly. They’re thought to be among the most intelligent of birds, having a very large brain, but they can also be very aggressive at times toward humans. Throughout history the appearance of a raven has often been considered a sign of bad fortune to come; possibly even a sign of a pending death. I looked at some accounts of folklore involving ravens. In Sweden, ravens are considered the ghosts of the dead, and in Germany they’re considered spirits of those damned to hell! There are other cultures that considered them trickster spirits; and even some that revere them as gods. A raven is said to have been the first animal released by Noah from the ark, but it seems to have never returned to Noah. Generally, the raven has a negative image, which is probably significant to the story. This bird, not usually looked on kindly, serves Elijah. It’s a sign of Elijah’s strength and of God’s presence and power being with him to care for him.
The other passage I asked you to read this week was the opening chapter of Ezekiel (plus the first 2 verses of Chapter 2.) Ezekiel is one of the most interesting of the prophets. His visions are very graphic and detailed - and there are a lot of stories told in the course of the Book that we’re more or less familiar with - we’ve heard them, even if we’re not sure about the details. In our second last session, I”m going to be bringing us back to Ezekiel to look at one of the most well known of his stories - the valley full of dry bones. One of the most interesting things about Ezekiel’s prophecy is that it starts in the 1st person: “In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.” This is a unique feature of Ezekiel, not found in any other prophetic book. There are 15 other prophetic books in the Bible, and they all get introduced with some variation of “the Word of the Lord came to [the prophet]” or “this is the vision that [the prophet] received.” But Ezekiel starts in the 1st person: “I was among the exiles … I saw visions of God,” and in various places throughout the book (including the “Dry Bones” story) Ezekiel returns to the 1st person. The other 15 books sound more like someone else wrote them down; they’re stories about the prophet and his visions written by a third party. Ezekiel’s sounds more like Ezekiel’s own story. At least in its beginning, it sounds like something he, personally, wrote out. Does this give it a greater sense of authenticity? A bit more “gravitas?”
He gives us some interesting background about himself: he’s also the only prophet who is described as “a priest.” So he’s had some involvement with Jewish religious life; he’s not an outsider, in other words. He also puts the whole thing into context. This prophecy comes about during the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile - not his reign, but his exile. Jehoiachin was the last King of Judah, who reigned for only three months before Judah was forced to surrender to the Babylonians, and Jehoiachin and about 10000 of his subjects were sent into exile in Babylon. Ezekiel says that he received this vision “in the land of the Chaldeans” - which, if you remember from last week, was another way of describing Babylon - so he must have been among those 10000. So, once again, you have a book of prophecy that’s written in the shadow of Babylon. This one is written apparently during the relatively early years of the exile. It’s very important that the introduction to the book includes the words that “the hand of the Lord was upon him there.” Again, as most of the prophets do, Ezekiel makes the point that God is not a tribal or national deity; God is God. It doesn’t matter that Ezekiel is in Babylon, in exile in the land of the enemies of God’s people. God is still with him there; God is still God in Babylon as much as God is God in Israel or Judah. This is a theme you find in many of the prophets. Our God is God; our God is powerful; our God has power even in the lands of our enemies.
Basically, aside from the brief introduction that actually reveals a fair bit, the entire passage that I asked you to read revolves around this vision that Ezekiel says he has been given by God. It’s quite a vision! I don’t know if there are enough words to describe it: strange, confusing, frightening, majestic, bizarre. It sounds a little bit like something you might find in the Book of Revelation. I want to think for a moment about the purpose of the vision, and, really, of the entire prophecy. Remember that this is very early in the Jewish exile - only five years after Babylon’s conquest of Israel. The Jewish people in Babylon are the survivors of that war. They’re defeated, conquered, probably forlorn, torn from their homeland. They are a people with no hope for the future. So, the purpose of the prophet in this case is to somehow provide hope. It may not be a hope that this generation can embrace, but future generations who weren’t shattered by the fall of Jerusalem and who perhaps feel defiant more than defeated, might well be open to a vision of hope. So Ezekiel is writing to the people of his own generation, but with an eye toward the future, I think, and - if any Babylonians want to hear his words - to them as well.
This strange vision starts with “a stormy wind … out of the north.” Why does that matter? Why not just go right into the heart of the vision? What is to “the north” anyway? Simply put, directly to the north of the Babylonian Empire is the Persian Empire. Empires rise and fall. The Assyrian Empire had been powerful, but it declined and was conquered by the Babylonian Empire. Will Babylon last forever? Well, no empire lasts forever - and eventually the Babylonian Empire will decline, and what will take its place? It will be conquered by the Persian Empire who will invade from the north; the same Persian Empire whose Emperor - Cyrus - will allow the Jewish people to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
There’s a lot of speculation - almost unending - about the meaning of this vision that Ezekiel received. Many people want to interpret it as a vision of something real - so they see the living creatures that Ezekiel speaks of as heavenly beings working with God - angels perhaps; powerful angels. I don’t think this is a depiction of either angels or heaven. I think the living creatures - who are certainly portrayed as powerful beings - are meant to depict the Persians, who would come from the north, crashing into Babylon like a mighty storm. The vision is full of depictions of power. There’s fire and lightning and references to precious stones. The faces of the creatures were faces of humans, oxen, lions and eagles: powerful creatures. They had wings that touched when spread, apparently covering everything. The point to the Jewish people was to have hope - those more powerful than the Babylonians were surely coming; Babylon would fall; all would be well. I think it’s important that Ezekiel’s prophecy starts with this powerful vision of strength and hope - because it offers hope to the people; it makes them want to listen to what Ezekiel is going to reveal.
This part of the vision ends with a depiction of what stood over the living creatures: a magnificent figure, seated not on a throne but “above” a throne - more powerful than the kings and emperors of earth. “This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord,” says Ezekiel. Something will happen to set things right, is the point - and it will be your God’s doing! If you think back a couple of weeks - Jeremiah saw God using the Babylonians to pass judgement on Israel; now, Ezekiel sees God using the Persians to pass judgement on Babylon. God, again, doesn’t have to work through God’s own people; God works through whom God chooses to work. And the vision ends with God saying, “I will speak with you.” And then, Ezekiel says, “when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me.” The vision gets Ezekiel’s attention - apparently literally knocking him over because he had to be set back on his feet. And then, Ezekiel, receives God’s Spirit and is ready to hear the word to be proclaimed and presumably empowered to share it!
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