The Holt County sentinel., 1911-09-29
Prophet Ezekiel
"a Waterman a
soiay ssLssl Lsssss fs Ga, I. 1911
SPECIALLY Arranged ~ ms Ptpss
Lesson TExT-Esekiei ;.

my mouth. and give them warning from !
me"-Ezek. All.
TfME-Esekiei was carried into exile
b. c. 5s7 In the second deportation BY
Nebuchadnessar from Jerusalem; when
1900 were carried TO Babylon with King
Jehoiachin.
The prophecy Of this lesson was written
y. c. 5o2. Ave years later.
The hrst "a chapters Of Exekiel. concern
Ing the destruction OF Jerusalem we're
written during the years 5ez-sss. Il. G.
$50 was the beginning Of the last siege OF
Jerusalem which ended In its complete
destruction.
PLACE-The Book OF Esekiel was writ
ten at Tei-abib & Cornhil) on the river
Chebar. one OF the large irrfGating canals
OF Babyionia. running across the plain
between the Euphrates and the Ttgris.
Esekiel's name means God
strengthens" He was . priest, the
son Of Busi. probably . family name.
He was also one Of the greatest Of
the prophets. He was probably 30
years old when he began to prophesy
In B. c. 5s7. which would put the date
Of his birth In Josiah's reign. about
the time jeremiah began 10 prophesy.
and I've years before Josiah's great
reformation and the finding Of the
book Of the law
He was o married man: and the
sudden death OF. his wife was made By
divine instruction o lesson to the peo-
pie. He went on with his work with
q broken heart. but an unbroken pur.
pose" He was . man Of power and
courage. holding his face a. adamant
against wrong. but attractive and per.
suasive In encouraging the people to
prepare for their return from exile.
He was . man Of great Imagination.
using simile. allesory. parallels In &C.
ton. symbols. symbolic actions. He
saw visions. and dreamed dreams.
He had spiritual experiences. But he
was also tho most practical Of men.
Ezekiei's model heroes were Noah.
Job. Daniel. They all had lost their
world, but "Noah inaugurated . new
world; Job ended by seeing God 10
the whiriwind." Daniel did great
things for bis native country 10 his
pew country. Ezekiel was an exile.
but In that exile VAS . mighty force
IN the renewal Of his native land.
The God Of Israel was an Invisible
God. without any representation 70
the senses. Il was hard for the peo'
pie to realize his existence and bis
presence. II Ia hard for us. but much
harder for them. The temple and its
ritual were an aid. Gods works Ia
nature we're bis manifestation. The
visible effects Of obedience. and dis
J obedience. were revelations Of God'l
nature. Hut times Of trial and die
aster at hrst hid his face from then
- storm clouds hide the sun.
! Hence In this darn period Esskis
was taught to express Ood's presence
power. glory. goodness. providence. b.
apocalyptic symbols. I. O.. By symbolic
which expressed ideas. but could NO,
be put into any pictorial form which
might lead to idolatry. The nrs
chapter 10 . vision to these symbols
to make God real to the people: q
to Job God made himself known II
the whirlwind and the storm.
Nothing Ii more suitable than tina
the voice Of God should come from
tho whirlwind. For air. wind. Ia ont
Of the chosen symbols Of God workinl
through his holy spirit. as at Pents
cost. II Is invisible. AZ are the grea
natural forces OF the enrth.
The prophet was presented with
Hebrew roll. the form In which thei
books were made. and was hidden /
eat II. The roll represented the wor
OF God, his message to Israel. Th
| 49, tl,. roll q Ian
no was to become so saturated wit
Gods message that II would bccom
a part Of his very being. This give
us some guidance In forming q prof.
err estimate Of what IL involved In II
SEPARATION, The prophet Is to absOr
, Into himself what Is given him fror
Q above. and then give II out with hi
= own lips and In bis own language.
1T was In my mouth a. honey Il
sweetness" that 10 II was good In
self. But afterwards II became bite
- for II was . terrible message to CIV
to his people. SO that God made HI
=. face a. adamant harder than flint. Il
e all the house OF Israel were impudeI
4 and hard.hearted.
Y
A the walls. He went from trance
/, action. coming out Of the trance. III
Peter on the housetop when he wei
down to the messengers Of Corneliu
= And went In bitterness
my spirit" sharing with God h
righteous Indignation against lsra,
or the bitterness Of having to deliv,
i such an awful message a. he utter'
Is In the following chapters, to h
10 friends and neighbors and countr
N men. So that when he came to thel
he remained there astonished. In
stupor Of grief. seven days.
The watchman's duty is clearly Q
forth. He must warn the people
their danger, as by the voice Of Go
A. While his business was to warn, q
d, results were with God and the r.
" will he has given his children.
r. God warns US In love In vario
v ways that We may not go needless