Ezekiel’s main prophecy in today’s passage is a very short one. It is found in only 3 verses, from 18 to 20. Compared to the earlier prophecies we have read, there is no violence, no bloodshed, no gorging of eyes, and no deaths. Yet I believe this sign-act is one of the most haunting imageries in the bible. Eating and drinking are basic elements of our lives. They are often our main concern for the day. Where to eat? What to drink? And this is why this sign-act is an impactful one. It uses eating and drinking as part of the imagery. And eating and drinking in this case has gone all haywire. We can imagine how Ezekiel dramatically acts out this entire prophecy. The words used in the passage are “tremble as you eat” and “shudder in fear as you drink”. These Hebrew words ‘tremble’ and ‘shudder’ invoke a reference to an earthquake; the shaking is of an earth-shattering magnitude. So, Ezekiel is there shaking violently, and he is doing this while trying to eat and drink. With hands shaking like this, how much food can you put into your mouth? With a body shaking like this, how much water can you swallow? And so as Ezekiel trembles and shakes, he slowly acts out the desperation and helplessness expressed in the prophecy.
For the onlookers, they might have found it funny at the beginning. The scenario of dropping crumbs of food and spilling splashes of water is amusing. The guy is trying to finish a meal, but the audience soon surmise that it is an effort in vain. It feels like watching the often hopeless antics of Mr Bean. It is a comical situation. But as they continue watching, in their hearts, their amusement may slowly turn into sympathy. And eventually this sympathy slowly transforms into fear. Why the change? These changes in feelings come about because what they are witnessing is actually very sad. It is a sad predicament. To be unable to eat and drink is sad. In a way, I guess we can all appreciate this. Eating and drinking may be something we often take for granted. But when you suddenly lose the ability to eat and drink, it is then when you realise that eating and drinking are actually signs of a peaceful life. When you can’t eat, and you can’t drink, you are deprived of a basic element of normal life. Something is very wrong. You know you need to eat and drink to survive, but that is no longer something that is effortless. It is now a struggle to go through. And it is sad when you see somebody going through something like this. It is a life gone awry. Sometimes it is depression. Sometimes it is physical sickness. In the prophecy today, it is fear and anxiety.
And so watching a drama like this stirs up compassion from the audience. They may feel sorry for the mental torture experienced by the trembling man. He is unable to eat and drink in peace. He worries about the enemy at the gates of the city. He is overwhelmed by a bleak future without hope. He is so terrified that he is unable to control his body. The trembling is merely an outward manifestation of a soul that is crumbling. And compassion turns into fear, when the audience realizes that this is the future they might experience one day. Will I ever come to this pathetic state one day? It is a horrifying thought. This prophecy from Ezekiel is a sign for them, of what they will eventually become. This is why compassion turns into fear. As humans, we crave for peace. We seek out security in all ways so that we can continue our normal lives. But if we see that our future is a state of daily paranoia, when even eating and drinking becomes an impossible task, I think it is scary. And this is the way Ezekiel dramatizes the future of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. It is a haunting image of doom for them. It is a day when life is turned upside down. It is a simple but powerful warning of the judgment that lies ahead.
I really appreciate the way God used Ezekiel to speak to his people. Ezekiel must have been a talented and bold actor in expressing all these prophecies in such dramatic forms. We remember him cooking with cow manure as fuel, rationing his food, shaving his head and beard, and chopping up his hair. Two weeks ago, we talked about him packing his belongings and covering his face. Today, we see him trembling while eating, and shuddering while drinking. I am thankful to Zaneta’s team for doing the scripture reading for this sermon series on Ezekiel. We are privileged to experience God’s word in dramatic forms, just like it was in the times of Ezekiel. You would think that such great efforts of communication would have touched the hearts of the audience and made them repent. But they responded to Ezekiel’s message with scepticism and disbelief. They had two responses to Ezekiel. Firstly, some believed that the prophecies would be proven false. So they said “The days go by and every vision comes to nothing” (v.22). They believed that given time, all these prophecies of Ezekiel would turn out to be untrue just like all the other prophecies. Secondly, some believed that the prophecies would not materialise in their lifetime, so they did not have to care about them. So they said “The vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophecies about the distant future”. Unlike the first group, they might have believed that the prophecies were true. But these prophecies were for future generations, and not for them. This was because they currently felt safe and secure.
We might be tempted to judge Ezekiel’s audience for their audacity to respond to such powerful imageries from God’s prophet with such doubt and disregard. This is no frivolous matter. Couldn’t they feel the impact of the dramatic acts? Didn’t they sense the gravity of the powerful proclamations? It seems incredulous to us that they would be deaf and blind to Ezekiel’s ministry, especially given the extreme lengths that Ezekiel went to in performing his task. Yet it would be beneficial for us to step into their shoes, to understand what lies at the core of their hardened hearts. The truth is that this wasn’t the first time they have heard a doomsday message from a doomsday prophet. At the very least, by the time Ezekiel began his ministry, they would have heard a similar message from Jeremiah for almost 30 years. If they were shocked in the beginning, they must be numb to it by now. Furthermore, for many of them, they had experienced a siege of Jerusalem just 5 years ago. Though the siege was bad, it was nowhere near the degree of destruction described by Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Having survived through it once, it was understandable that they were doubtful about how bad a siege could really be. Also, let us not forget that so far we are only considering the prophecies that are known to us as recorded in the bible. We can imagine, given the culture in those days, that prophecies and visions were a dime a dozen coming from prophets of all sorts. For decades, they had witnessed many of these so-called prophecies failing. It is a reasonable assumption for them to say that “The days go by and every vision comes to nothing.” The siege 5 years ago was precisely such a false alarm. Even if they believed Jeremiah to be God’s true prophet, his prophecies have yet to be fulfilled completely after 30 years. These prophecies did seem to be about “a distant future” that would never ever arrive for them.
This is why Ezekiel directly addressed their doubts by saying that, unlike all that they have experienced so far, this time his prophecy would be without delay. Unfortunately for them, in less than 5 years, this turned out to be true. Another siege of Jerusalem happened and this time, it was total destruction. The temple was destroyed and all the inhabitants were slaughtered and scattered. For those who thought that Ezekiel’s prophecies were just like the many false visions, Ezekiel’s prophecies were swift, true and deadly. The prophecies must be fulfilled because it is the word of the Lord. God is as good as his word. We can read that this is the conclusion at each of Ezekiel’s pronouncement.
20 Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
25 But I the LORD will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, you rebellious people, I will fulfil whatever I say, declares the Sovereign LORD.’”
28 None of my words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign LORD.’
The words of the Lord shall be fulfilled. That seems blatantly obvious. But in practice, it is never that simple. If not, the audience of Ezekiel would not have missed his message despite his determined and animated delivery. They assumed he was just like one of the many false prophets. Yet, this one turned out to be true. Their doubts were misplaced. Yet, we can imagine many moments in time where we would have labeled their doubts as healthy skepticism. The practice of doomsday messages from doomsday prophets has never ceased throughout history. Many of them, such as the recent Harold Camping incident, did turn out to be duds. How then do we choose which to trust and which to distrust? The reality remains that God’s judgment is never time specific. Nobody knows the exact moment they will be fulfilled. Even though Ezekiel said this time there will be no delay, it still took some years before the siege actually happened. In the gap between the proclamations of God’s word to its actual fulfillment, speculations abounded. Jeremiah, who was previously deemed a false prophet, was proven true after 30 years. Those who predicted safety for Jerusalem were only discredited years after they were honored and celebrated for their “flattering divinations” (v.24). The fact is that we can only tell the true prophets from the false ones only after the events have happened. So, how then should we deal with a prophecy today? After a series of false prophecies, would our complacency lead us to dismiss a true prophet when one really comes along?
The good news is that we do not always need to determine which prophecies are true or false. Instead, what we need is to have a strong grasp of the nature of prophecy. Pastor Wilson touched on this issue in his sermon on Ezekiel 4 [1], and today I would like to continue the reflection. Prophecy is less about foretelling than it is about forth-telling. This means that it is less about predicting the future than it is about a message for the situation today. On the surface, the prophecy of Ezekiel is about a prediction of doom. But Ezekiel also reveals the underlying cause that substantiates his message: “19 They will eat their food in anxiety and drink their water in despair, for their land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who live there.” Ultimately, the issue is with the violence in the land. That is the reason for the impending judgment. In other situations, the reason may be the oppression of the poor or the worship of foreign idols. The purpose of the prophecy is not for them to speculate about when it will happen, but rather to do something about the situation now. Do something about the violence. The foretelling is meaningless unless it comes along with a forth-telling. In this sense, it is immaterial whether God’s final judgment comes in five years or thirty years or even 2000 years. Do we choose to obey God’s will, and remove violence from our land? If we do, even if judgment comes tomorrow, we should have no fear.
And this is the attitude we should adopt regarding doomsday prophets with doomsday messages. I believe this fascination to predict the future is an unhealthy obsession. Instead, we can choose to focus on always doing the right thing, and the prophets are there only as reminders. If we obey God’s will, God’s plan can unfold whenever he wishes, and we are always ready to act along. Whether Harold Camping is a true prophet should not affect how I continue to live my Christian life. Today, we have prophecy coming in many forms, and not just regarding spiritual matters. For example, we have economists who make predictions on financial matters, or environmentalists who study climate trends. We should treat their work not as foretelling, but forth-telling. If we are prudent with our wealth, and we are responsible with our natural resources, we need not be alarmed or cynical about every prophecy. The error of the Israelites lies in their willingness to gamble with their fate. They fell prey to false prophecies and became indifferent when a real one comes along.
Today’s passage is about judgment on those who disobey God. They will experience a day where they shall eat and drink without peace. It is a message relevant to us even if we do not know exactly when the final judgment will arrive. Our response is to seek that which is true peace. And this is what Jesus says:
John 14: 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
A life dependent on Jesus is a life without fear. Today’s message began with a prophecy from Ezekiel. But the lesson for us is always a timeless one.
