The first in ongoing series about lesser known parts of The Bible
By Eric Hatch
A note by way of introduction – many readers are at this blog because they like to study The Holy Bible.  Others of us have only skimmed that Childrens’ Bible gifted to us by religious relatives.  Hopefully, some of us only know bits and slivers of scripture.  Whatever level of familiarity we have in our Bible studies, know this – I consider it a high honor to share about God’s revelation of Himself to Humanity.  For your time, I say “Thanks for your consideration!”, and after you read, please share your Comments below.
 
Let’s take a trip back to earlier times… maybe last year, for some of us!
Look back to the moments when you were a new reader of The Bible, whether a seeker in younger (or older) ages or a preschooler whose parents selected some of the most kid-friendly stories of the “picture Bible” or (a personal fav!) The Old Testament of “The Brick Bible”, where the dioramas are made of LEGO’s… yes, it exists!
Got those moments in your mind, Ms. or Mr. Reader?
Show of hands, now — how many of you started reading of The Bible in the book of Ezekiel? (Looking… shielding eyes from the spotlights…) None? Is that a grand total of zero?
Show of hands, once more — raise an arm and hand if you can remember any more than two stories in Ezekiel. (Squinting… hearing crickets … hmm, even the praying mantis in the back has her arms down!)
So, among an audience who wants to study The Bible, we don’t read Ezekiel much, we likely only know two of the stories from Ezekiel, and for 99% of you, there are parts of Ezekiel you have NEVER read.
You may have read all of Ezekiel, Mr. / Ms. 1%.  However, do you remember how Ezekiel wrote with vulgar, graphic, maybe even pornographic language to describe his people’s shameful activity? Yes, I’m serious; it is in Chapters 16 and 23.
Now, I know that, even after reading this series, pastors won’t plan a sermon series on Ezekiel for the next 48 Sundays.  The book presents some difficult passages to interpret from the pulpit or even a seminary.  However, as adult Christians, we create a level of dangerous ignorance when we don’t read The Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.  If we neglect reading this important part of God’s Word to us, we fail to recognize some of the attributes of God.
Similarly, we do not understand or proclaim all of God’s story when we study and share about His grace without describing His holiness and His Law.  For example, why would we even mention His grace if we have not disobeyed His Law?  As well, what makes sacrifice, including the perfect death of The Lord Jesus Christ on His Cross, even necessary?  It is the active rebellion in sin by humanity.  Because we fail to follow God’s Law, we require His grace to stand in His presence and to receive eternal life.
So, please join me as we study Ezekiel, as it will provide us with a clearer view of God’s plan and love for us.  As we grow in our awareness of Ezekiel and all of scripture, we will move away from Satan’s deceptions and our preconceived notions of God.  Then, instead of false ideas about God, we will more fully know His character, Law, and grace, which will point us to their perfect revelation in Christ.

The Detailed Yet Unstudied Picture of God by Ezekiel

Now, looking to Ezekiel’s writings, most of us, even those among us who have read the whole Bible, rarely remember more from Ezekiel outside “The Valley of The Dry Bones” vision in Chapter 37 and what I would call “The Wheel Within a Wheel” vision in Chapters 1 & 2 (when God choose and called Ezekiel as His prophet). These two could become the front and back covers if anyone wrote a novel about Ezekiel.  For some Christians, we may have also heard the “Stand In The Gap” verse (22:30), which pastors and other leaders sometimes use to encourage prayer ministry.
All of these passages exemplify Ezekiel’s recorded visions and commands from God: larger than life, almost psychedelically vivid, waking dreams of God’s terrifying power, righteous judgments against His rebellious people, and promises of sovereign restoration for those who repent.  Still, these tiny portions only make up about 5% of the Book of Ezekiel!  Let the author confess here: I have often misquoted and used as pretexts these and other scriptures to support my own “pet doctrines”.  This misinterpretation, called “eisegesis” in technical terms, occurs when we go to The Holy Bible with our own presuppositions, instead of seeking The Lord’s direction.
As a consequence to our use of the Book of Ezekiel as a pretext, and even then only knowing a few verses from his stories, we end up acting like so-called “Christmas and Easter Christians”, nominal believers who attend congregational worship at our convenience or out of tradition.  Sadly, when we only try to learn about spiritual reality occasionally, we do a great disservice both to God (you become a less faithful steward of your talents and responsibilities) and to your family, friends, and acquaintances (they don’t see the need or benefits of seeking God’s discipline and training).
Neglecting to study Ezekiel, other Major (Jewish biblical) Prophets, and any part of The Bible doesn’t just mean we miss an artistic and cinematic portion of God’s words for us. We don’t just lose a portion of scripture, which would cross cultural boundaries in a media-soaked world. No, we most importantly hide some of God’s revelation of Himself from Humanity.  If you haven’t read and studied Ezekiel, Isaiah, or other prophets, sadly, you can unwittingly accept false ideas about God, such as The Prosperity Gospel or what I would call “One God under Nationalism”.  These deceptions keep you from experiencing the just discipline, true grace, and full love of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, which Israel’s prophetic writings foretold… but for many of us, we don’t know much of what the prophets said of Jesus!
Thank you for your consideration… and receive this blessing in my prayer for you:  Lord Jesus Christ, let all who read this seek you, drawn by You, Holy Spirit, embraced by You, Heavenly Father, and saved to Your holy discipline, Lord Jesus Christ!  Make those who read this siblings in You: Lord of Lords, Señor Jesucristo, Yeshua HaMashiach, Isa ibn Miriam (عيسى ابن مريم), Eesus Hristos (Иисус Христос).  In Your name I pray; Amen!”

Lastly, here’s a preview of the next three posts about the obscure and more well-known parts of Ezekiel.

The Hard-Edged Gloom of Ezekiel (Posted on June 27, 2018)
The Powerful Storytelling and Drama of Ezekiel, and how they tell who God is (To Be Posted June 30, 2018)
The Visions of Ezekiel, the Most Colorful Old Testament Prophet  (To Be Posted July 3, 2018)