Reading for November 9th

 Read Ezekiel 6.1-10. In 6.1-14: Oracle against the mountains of Israel. The mountains of Israel: The homeland of Israel in the hills of Samaria and Judah. In verses 1-7: Ezekiel identifies the cause of punishment in the various altars and high places where the people worship, which compromise the sanctity of the land. As a Zadokite priest, Ezekiel holds that legitimate worship of God must take place only in Jerusalem Temple (Deut 12). The scattering of dead corpses around the altars renders the land impure (Num 19; see also Lev 21.10-12). The prophet employs the prophetic "proof saying," then you shall know that I am the Lord, throughout the book to identify God as the source of the prophet's words (Ex 20.2; Lev 19.3-4; see also Ex 3.13-22; Deut 5.6). In verses 8-10: Ezekiel relies on Isaiah's concept of a remnant of Israel (Isa 4.2-6; 6.13; 10.20-23) to demonstrate God's power to destroy and punish. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 8th

 Read Ezekiel 5.5-17. God sums up the theology of punishment that Ezekiel's symbolic actions illustrate. Charging that Israel acts like the nations (see 1 Sam 8.4-5) by defiling the Temple, God states that the people will suffer war and exile, and will perish by pestilence, famine, and sword. God's threat to make Israel a desolation and an object of mocking among the nations and to unleash famine, wild animals, etc., against the people recalls the threats made in Jer 24.9-10 (see also Deut 28.34;  1 Kings 9.7). Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 7th

 Read Ezekiel 5.1-4. The sword or barber's razor (Isa 7.20) symbolizes the weapons of the Babylonians. One third of the hair is burned to represent those who die when the city is burned; one third is struck with the sword to symbolize those killed around the city; and one third is scattered symbolize those who escape to be pursued by the Babylonians. Some of the hair is burned once again to symbolize the suffering of the people. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 6th

 Read Ezekiel 4.9-17. Ezekiel uses a variety of grains to demonstrate that there is insufficient grain to make an entire loaf. Twenty shekels: About ten ounces. One-sixth of a hin: About two-thirds of a quart. In order to demonstrate the difficult conditions of the coming siege, God commands Ezekiel to bake bread using human dung as fuel. When he protests that this is a breach of priestly purity, God allows him to use cow dung. In verses 16-17: See Isa 3.1. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 5th

 Read Ezekiel 4.1-8. Prophets perform symbolic actions to dramatize their statements and enable them to take effect (Isa 20; Jer 13; 19). Ezekiel builds a model of Jerusalem under siege. The action draws upon the imagery of Jer 1.18. The background of three hundred and ninety and forty is not entirely certain, and the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible) contains entirely different figures. If one counts backwards from the destruction of the Temple in 587 BCe, the total of 430 years points to the time of the establishment of the united monarchy of Israel under Saul in 1017 BCE. Counting forward 390 years from that date takes one to 627 BCE, the twelfth year of Josiah's reign, the year in which the reforms begin (2 Chr 34.3; compare 2 Kings 22.3). Josiah failed in his attempt to reunite Israel and Judah. The remaining 40 years accounts for the time between the beginning of Josiah's reform and the destruction of the Jerusalem. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 4th

 EZKIEL'S INITIAL ORACLES AND SYMBOLIC ACTIONS

In 3.16-7.27: These oracles and symbolic actions are concerned with the destruction of Jerusalem and fall of the land of Israel.

Read Ezekiel 3.16-27.  In verses 16-21: God describes Ezekiel's role as the sentinel or "watchman" for Israel, who is responsible for the lives and moral guidance of the people (Jer 6.17; Hos 9.8; compare Isa 21.6). Like sentinels posted on the city walls to watch for danger (2 Sam 18.24; 2 Kings 9.17), gatekeepers are appointed from among the priests to guard the Temple (1 Chr 26). This role, which is developed more fully in ch. 35, is consistent with ch. 18. The prophet's responsibility is presented in four cases. In verses 22-27: Ezekiel's isolation resembles that of Moses, who spoke directly to God in the tent of meeting (Ex 33.7-34.35; Num 11), and the high priest, who appears alone before God and the ark at Yom Kippur or the day of Atonement (Lev 16). Ezekiel's dumbness derives from his priestly role. The priests perform their duties on the altar in silence (Lev 16). Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 3rd

Read Ezekiel 2.-3.15. In 2.8-3.3: Ezekiel eats the scroll to internalize the divine message. The scroll represents the Torah scroll stored in the ark of the covenant and read to the people (Deut 31.9-13, 24-27; Neh 8-10). Although the scroll is inscribed with words of lamentation and mourning and woe, Ezekiel states that it was as sweet as honey (compare Jer 15.16). In verses 4-11: Many peoples of obscure speech and difficult language: Many peoples were incorporated into the Assyrian and Babylonian empires (Isa 33.19). God stresses that the message is for Israel, not the nations. In verses 12-15; Tel-abib, "hill of barley," may derive from the Babylonian expression "til abubi," "hill of the flood"; Babylonia is prone to flooding in the spring. Comments or Questions..