The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1911-09-28
Prophet Ezekiel
a Watchman
sunday School Lesson for Oct. I, 1911
Specially Arranged for This Paper
Lesson TEXT-Ezekiel Q.

my mouth, and give them warning from
me."-Ezek. 3:i7.
TIMG-EzelSiel was carried into exll,
b. G. 59I in the second deportation b,
Nebuchadnezzar from Jerusalem whei
10000 were carried to Babylon with Kin,
Jeholachiu.
The prophecy OF this lesson was writer
b. c. SOP, five years later.
The tSct "A chapters Of Ezekiel, concern
'hs the destruction Of Jerusalem wer,
written during the 4 years 5g2-5Ss. B. C
oS was the beginning Of the last siege oi
/ Jerusalem which ended in It's complete
! destruction.
PLACE-The Book Of Ezekiel was writ.
ten at Tel-abib G. CornhnD on the river
Chebar, one OF the large irrigating canals
/ OF Babylonia, running across the plain
between the Euphrates and the Tlgris.
EzekieIs name means God
strengthens" He was a priest, the
son of Buzz probably a family name.
lie was also one Of the greatest OF
the prophets He was probably 80
years old when he began to prophesy
in B. c. 597, which would put the date
of his birth in Joslah's reign. about
the time jeremiah began to prophes,
and five years before Josiah's great
reformation and the finding Of the
book Of the law.
He was a married man: and the
sudden death of his wife was made by
divine instruction a lesson to the peo-
pie He went on with his work with
a broken heart, but an unbroken pur.
pose" He was man Of power and
courage, holding his face as adamant
against wrong, but attractive and per.
suasiye in encouraging the people to
prepare for their return from exile.
He was a man of great imagination.
using smile, allegory, parallels in ac.
tion, symbols, symbolic actions. He
saw visions, and dreamed dreams.
He had spiritual experiences. But he
was also the most practical of men.
Ezekiels model heroes were Noah,
Job, Daniel. They all had lost their
world, but Noah inaugurated a new
world; Job ended by seeing God in
the whirlwind." Daniel did great
things for his native country in his
new country. Ezekiel was an exile,
but in that exile was mighty force
in the renewal Of his native land.
The God of Israel was an invisible
God, without any representation to
the senses. 1t was hard for the peo-
pie to realize his existence and his
presence. 1t is hard for us, but much
harder for them The temple and its
ritual were an aid. Gods works in
nature were his manifestation. The
visible effects of obedience, and dis.
obedience, were revelations OF Gods
nature. But times of trial and dis.
aster at first hid his face from them
as storm clouds hide the sun
Hence in this darn period Ezekiel
was taught to express Gods presence,
power, glory, goodness, providence, by
apocalyptic symbols, |. e., by symbols
which expressed ideas, but could not
be put into any pictorial form which
might lead to idolatry The first
chapter is a vision to these symbols,
to make God real to the people; as
to Job God made himself known in
the whirlwind and the storm.
Nothing is more suitable than that
the voice of God should come from
the whirlwind. For air wind, is one
Of the chosen symbols of God working
through his holy spirit, as at Pente,
cost 1t is invisible. as are the great
natural forces of the earth.
The prophet was presented with a
Hebrew roll. the form in which their
books were made, and was hidden to
Eat It. The roll represented the word
II God, his message to Israel. The
prophets eating the roll meant that
lie was to become so saturated with
iod's message that It would become
part of his very being. This gives
Is some guidance in forming a prop.
n estimate of what is involved in in
riration. The prophet is to absorb
nto himself what is given him from
bove, and then give II out with his
wn lips and in his own language.
1T was in my mouth as honey for
weetness," that is it was good in It.
elf. But afterwards II became bitter |
Or 1t was terrible message to give
his people, so that God made his
ace as adamant harder than flint, for
II the house of Israel were impudent
nd hard-hearted.
Ezekiel welcomed the watchman on
ne walls. He went from trance to
ction, coming out of the trance, like
eter on the housetop when he went
own to the messengers OF Cornelius.
And | went in bitterness OF
" spirit" sharing with God his
ghteous Indignation against Israel.
the bitterness of having to deliver
ich an awful message as he uttered
the following chapters, to his
lends and Deighbors and country,
EN- SO that when he came to them
remained here asronshed. in a
upor of grief, seven days.
The watchman's duty is clearly set
rth. He must warn the people Of
eir danger, as by the voice of God.
lille his business was to warn, the
suits were with God and the free
III he has given his children.
God warns us in love in various
nys that we may not go heedlessly
to our ruin. He gives warnings in
II bodies, by sicknesses pains and
eakness, against courses that will