Archive for the ‘Ezekiel 25’ Category
Above: Malachi
Image in the Public Domain
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READING MALACHI, PART II
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Malachi 1:2-3:12
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As I wrote in Reading Malachi, Part I, the dating of the Book of Malachi is vague–perhaps prior to 445 B.C.E., when the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah began (Ezra 7-10; Nehemiah 1-13; 1 Esdras 8-9)–or perhaps not. Clear, however, are the sense of spiritual crisis and the religious decline in the Book of Malachi.
Consider 1:2-5, O reader. We read divine assurance of love for the people. We may assume safely that the population (much of it, anyway) needed this assurance. The proof of divine love for Jews in Judea in Malachi 1:2-5 is their continued existence in their ancestral homeland. The contrast with their ancient foe and cousin people, the Edomites, is stark.
I have read and blogged about divine judgment on the people of Edom in Amos 1:11-12; Isaiah 21:11-12; Jeremiah 49:7-22; Ezekiel 25:12-14; Ezekiel 35:1-15; Obadiah; and Isaiah 34:5-17.
The designated portion of the Book of Malachi continues with the condemnations of priests and the population. We read of priests offering defiled food as sacrifices. We read that God objected strongly to such disrespect, and preferred no ritual sacrifices to the offerings of blemished animals. (See Exodus 12:5; Exodus 29:1; Leviticus 1:3, 10; Leviticus 3:1; Leviticus 22:22). We read that God was really angry:
And now, O priests, this charge is for you: Unless you obey and unless you lay it to heart, and do dishonor to My name–said the LORD of blessings into curses. (Indeed, I have turned them into curses, because you do not lay it to heart.) I will put your seed under a ban, and I will strew dung upon your faces, the dung of your festal sacrifices, and you shall be carried out to its [heap].
–Malachi 2:1-3, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Furthermore, we read that (much of) the population of Israel has failed to keep the covenant, too. We read that God objected to Jewish men divorcing Jewish wives to marry foreign women. One may recall that this was also an issue in Ezra 10. As prior to the Babylonian Exile, idolatry is in play. Deuteronomy 7:25-26; Deuteronomy 12:31 permit divorce, but Malachi 2:16 begins:
For I detest divorce….
—TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Context is crucial; statements never arise in a vaccum.
Malachi 3:5 specifies offenses:
But [first] I will step forward to contend against you, and I will act as a relentless accuser against those who have no fear of Me: Who practice sorcery, who commit adultery, who swear falsely, who cheat laborers of their hire, and who subvert [the cause] of the widow, orphan, and stranger, said the LORD of Hosts.
—TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Faithless members of the Chosen People remain “children of Jacob,” we read. And God (as in Zechariah 1:3) expects them to express remorse for their sins and to repent:
Turn back to Me, and I will turn back to you–said the LORD of Hosts.
–Malachi 3:7b, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
The text continues by explaining another way (other than not committing the previously listed sins) the people could return to God: to support the Levites (Leviticus 27:30; Numbers 18:21-31; Nehemiah 13:10-13). The text challenges the people to respond faithfully and generously to the extravagant and generosity of God.
Malachi 3:11 mentions locusts in the present tense. This clue does not reveal as much as one may guess. Does Malachi 3:11 date the Book of Malachi approximately contemporary with the Book of Joel, whenever that was? The case for this is tenuous and circumstantial. One may recall that swarms of locusts were a frequent threat in the region. Malachi 3:11 may tell us one reason many people were not paying their tithes, though.
The formula in Malachi 3:10-12 exists within a context, of course. Taking it out of context distorts its meaning. Recall Malachi 2:17, O reader. We read there that people have been wearying God by saying:
“All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and in them He delights,” or else, “Where is the God of justice?”
—TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
The formula in Malachi 3:10-12 rebuts that wearying statements and that wearying question.
Trusting in God liberates. It liberates populations and individuals. It liberates them to become their best possible selves in God, who is extravagantly generous.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 18, 2021 COMMON ERA
PROPER 11: THE EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF BARTHOLOME DE LAS CASAS, “APOSTLE TO THE INDIANS”
THE FEAST OF ARTHUR PENRHYN STANLEY, ANGLICAN DEAN OF WESTMINSTER, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF EDWARD WILLIAM LEINBACH, U.S. MORAVIAN MUSICAN AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF ELIZABETH FERRARD, FIRST DEACONESS IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND
THE FEAST OF JESSAMYN WEST, U.S. QUAKER WRITER
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Above: Woods, Ben Burton Park, Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, October 29, 2017
Photographer = Kenneth Randolph Taylor
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READING SECOND ZECHARIAH, PART II
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Zechariah 9:1-11:17
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Zechariah 9:1-8 may be the original portion of Second Zechariah. This opening oracle names enemies of the Hebrews:
- Aram (Zechariah 9:1-2a; Amos 1:3-5; Isaiah 17:1-14; Jeremiah 49:23-27);
- Tyre and Sidon (Zechariah 9:2b-4; Amos 1:9-10; Isaiah 23:1-18; Ezekiel 26:1-28:26); and
- Philistia (Zechariah 9:5-7; Amos 1:6-8; Isaiah 14:28-32; Jeremiah 47:1-17; Ezekiel 25:15-17).
One may read about the Jebusites (Zechariah 9:7) in Judges 19:10; 2 Samuel 5:6, 8; 2 Samuel 24:16, 18; 1 Kings 9:20; 1 Chronicles 11:4.
The development of Zechariah 9:1-8 is complicated. The original version of it may predate the Babylonian Exile. The reference to the rampart of the fortress (9:3) may allude to a military campaign of Alexander the Great in 333 B.C.E. Zechariah 9:1-8 seems to have passed through various editorial hands before settling down into its current state.
Regardless of the number of editorial stages of development of all the segments of Zechariah 9:1-11:17, the final version is about an ideal future when the full-realized Kingdom of God is evident on the earth and when the Messiah, a descendant of King David, is triumphant and victorious. The arrangement of material is odd. YHWH is triumphant in chapter 9. The promise of restoration fills chapter 10. Chapter 11 concludes with the desperate situation extant in First Zechariah (chapters 1-8). The editing seems backward, from a certain point of view. Anyway, the present day of Second Zechariah, obviously far from ideal, has much in common with 2021.
Time passes. Technology changes. Social mores and norms change, also. Locations vary. Yet much remains the same. False prophets abound (10:2). [Note: The reference to teraphim in 10:2 is to household cultic objects, as in Genesis 31:19, 30-35; Judges 17:5. Deuteronomy 18:9-14 condemns divination. Also, Deuteronomy 13:6 and Jeremiah 23:25-32 are suspicious of dreams.] Many leaders–shepherds, metaphorically–are oppressors and predators (10:3; 11:4-17). In this case, prophets and leaders are the same. This makes sense; one is a leader if one has followers. The text is sufficiently ambiguous to apply to those who are false prophets or predatory political leaders without being both, though.
Zechariah 11 concludes on a hopeful note: Those leaders responsible for social ills will fall from power. This is good news the metaphorical sheep.
I, as a Christian, pay especially close attention to Zechariah 9:9-10. This is a vision of the Messiah, sometime in the distant future, approaching the glorious, restored Jerusalem after God’s victory. The image of the Messiah–“your king”–triumphant, victorious, and humble, riding on a donkey, occupies the background in accounts of Christ’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Matthew 21:1-9; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:28-40; John 12:12-15). Understanding Zechariah 9:9-10 helps one grasp the imagery of Christ’s self-presentation in the Gospels’ accounts of that event.
The placement of the oracles in Zechariah 9-11 in the future, without claiming,
Do x, and God will will do y,
in such a way as to date the prophecies, works. One may recall that Haggai made the mistake of being too specific (and objectively wrong) in Haggai 1 and 2. The prediction of the restoration of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel of Israel (9:17-10:12), therefore of the restoration of the unity of Israel and Judah, remains unfulfilled. One may doubt that it will ever come to pass, but one cannot legitimately criticize the text for establishing a temporal marker already past (from the perspective of 2021) and being objectively wrong, by that standard.
Reality falls short of God’s ideal future. Yet we may legitimately hope and trust in God. Details of prophecies, bound by times and settings of their origin, may not always prove accurate. So be it. We moderns ought to read these types of texts poetically, not as what they are not–technical manuals for the future in front of us. We should focus on major themes, not become lost in the details. We ought not to try to match current events and the recent past to details of ancient prophecy. The list of books whose authors did that and whom the passage of time has proven inaccurate is long. One can easily miss the forest by focusing on the trees.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 17, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM WHITE, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
THE FEAST OF THE CARMELITE MARTYRS OF COMPIEGNE, 1794
THE FEAST OF BENNETT J. SIMS, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF ATLANTA
THE FEAST OF SAINT NERSES LAMPRONATS, ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF TARSUS
THE FEAST OF R. B. Y. SCOTT, CANADIAN BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, HYMN WRITER, AND MINISTER
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Above: Valley of Hinnom
Image in the Public Domain
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READING THIRD ISAIAH, PART V
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Isaiah 63:1-66:24
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Isaiah 63:1-6 depicts God as a warrior taking vengeance on Edom (Amos 1:11-12; Isaiah 21:11-12; Ezekiel 25:12-14; Ezekiel 35:1-15; Jeremiah 49:7-22; Obadiah; Isaiah 34:5-17). For more about Edom, follow the links. Divine judgment and mercy remain in balance, as in the previous section.
Most of Isaiah 63 and 64 consist of a grand tour of Biblical history, in the form of a lament in the voice of Third Isaiah. It is a recounting of divine faithfulness, human faithlessness, and divine punishment. Third Isaiah’s questions of why God has allowed terrible events to occur and not prevented them stand the test of time. One may ask them, for example, about millennia of anti-Semitic violence, especially the Holocaust.
Nevertheless, Isaiah 64 concludes on a combination of trust and uneasiness. This makes sense, too.
The divine response, at the beginning of Isaiah 65, is consistent with Covenantal Nomism. Those who disregarded the mandates of the covenant consistently and unrepentantly dropped out of the covenant and condemned themselves. God will punish sins, we read. We also read that God will also regard faithful servants. Divine judgment and mercy remain in balance.
In the new divine order (65:1-66:24), circumstances will be idyllic and the relationship between God and the faithful population will be close. The process of getting to that goal is underway, we read. The old prophecies of heaven on earth will come to pass, we read. And Jews and Gentiles will recognize the glory of God, we read. Yet not all will be puppies and kittens, we read:
As they go out they will see the corpses of those who rebelled against me, where the devouring worm never dies and the fire is not quenched. All mankind will view them with horror.
–Isaiah 66:24, The Revised English Bible (1989)
Isaiah 66:24 refers, literally, to Gehenna, in the Valley of Hinnom, outside the walls of Jerusalem. Commentaries tell me that, when Jewish Biblical authors (perhaps including Third Isaiah) sought a properly terrifying metaphor for Hell, they used the Jerusalem garbage dump, where corpses of criminals either burned or decomposed, without receiving burial. Yet, in Isaiah 66:24 (perhaps of later origin than 66:22-23, the bodies of those who rebel against God will neither burn nor decompose.
Regardless of when someone composed 66:24, as well as whether 66:23 originally ended the chapter, I push back against the desire to end the Book of Isaiah on an upbeat note. I read that, in Jewish practice (as in The Jewish Study Bible), people reprint 66:23 after 66:24, to have an upbeat ending:
And new moon after new moon,
And sabbath after sabbath,
All flesh shall come to worship Me
–said the LORD.
—TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Yet 66:23-24, taken together, balance divine judgment and mercy. Brevard S. Childs, conceding the possibility of the later composition of 66:24, argues that 66:24 fits the theme of
the division between the righteous and the wicked.
—Isaiah (2001), 542
This division exists elsewhere in Third Isaiah, too.
In spite of God’s new heavens and death, the exaltation of Zion, and the entrance of the nations to the worship of God, there remain those outside the realm of God’s salvation.
–Brevard S. Childs, Isaiah (2001), 542
They remain outside the realm of God’s salvation because they have condemned themselves. As C. S. Lewis wrote, the doors of Hell are locked from the inside.
Thank you, O reader, for joining me on this journey though Third Isaiah. I invite you to remain by my side, so to speak, as I move along next to the Book of Joel. This journey through the Hebrew prophetic books is much closer to its conclusion than to its beginning. Nevertheless, much to learn remains.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 16, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE RIGHTEOUS GENTILES
THE FEAST OF CATHERINE LOUISA MARTHENS, FIRST LUTHERAN DEACONESS CONSECRATED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 1850
THE FEAST OF GEORGE ALFRED TAYLOR RYGH, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF HENRY WILLIAMS, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY IN NEW ZEALAND; HIS WIFE, MARIANNE WILLIAMS, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY AND EDUCATOR IN NEW ZEALAND; HER SISTER-IN-LAW, JANE WILLIAMS, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY AND EDUCATOR IN NEW ZEALAND; AND HER HUSBAND AND HENRY’S BROTHER, WILLIAM WILLAMS, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF WAIAPU
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY MAGDALEN POSTEL, FOUNDER OF THE POOR DAUGHTERS OF MERCY
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Above: Icon of Obadiah
Image in the Public Domain
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READING OBADIAH, PART II
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Obadiah 1b-21
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For the sake of succinctness, I will not repeat all I have written about Edom in posts based on the following passages:
- Amos 1:11-12;
- Isaiah 21:11-12;
- Jeremiah 49:7-22;
- Ezekiel 25:12-14; 35:1-15; and
- Isaiah 34:5-17.
I provide links to those posts instead.
Consider these words from a prophet after Obadiah’s time, whenever Obadiah’s time was, O reader:
I have shown you [Israel], love, says the LORD. But you ask, “How have you shown love to us?” Is not Esau Jacob’s brother? the LORD answers. Jacob I love, but Esau I hate, and I have reduced his hill-country to a waste, and his ancestral land to desert pastures. When Edom says, “We are beaten down, but let us rebuild our ruined homes,” these are the words of the LORD of Hosts: If they rebuild, I shall pull down. They will be called a country of wickedness, a people with whom the LORD is angry for ever. Your own eyes will see it, and you yourselves will say, “The LORD’s greatness reaches beyond the confines of Israel.”
–Malachi 1:2-5, The Revised English Bible (1989)
Edom not only rejoiced at the Fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.E.), but moved into former Judean territory afterward. These points came up in Obadiah 12-14. The sentence of judgment followed:
You will be treated as you have treated others;
your deeds will recoil on your own head.
–Obadiah 15b, The Revised English Bible (1989)
Turnabout seems to be fair play in divine justice.
Obadiah 17-21 contrasts the restoration of the Jews to the fate of the Edomites. Historical evidence indicates that many Edomites assimilated with the Nabateans and that others became Idumeans. Historical evidence indicates the existence of survivors (contra Obadiah 18). Yet hyperbole is a rhetorical device, so one can may legitimately abstain from being overly critical of the line about there being no Moabite survivors in Obadiah 18.
The book concludes:
…and dominion will belong to the LORD.
–Obadiah 21b, The Revised English Bible (1989)
This element is commonplace in visions of restored Israel/Judah in its homeland after the Babylonian Exile. In a broad sense, dominion always belongs to God; God is always sovereign. One may recall C. H. Dodd‘s theology of Realized Eschatology: The Kingdom of God does not come; it is. Certain events, from a human, temporal perspective, make it more evident than it was. One may also recall that, in the New Testament, the Kingdom of God is both present-tense and future-tense; it is partially realized (at least from a human, temporal perspective), with the fully-realized version yet to come (at least from a human, temporal perspective).
Thank you, O reader, for joining me on this journey through the brief Book of Obadiah. I invite you to remain by my side, figuratively, as I continue to the composite work of Haggai-First Zechariah.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 10, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MYLES HORTON, “FATHER OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT”
THE FEAST OF SAINTS EUMENIOUS AND PARTHENIOS OF KOUDOUMAS, MONKS AND FOUNDERS OF KOUDOMAS MONASTERY, CRETE
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH OF DAMASCUS, SYRIAN ORTHODOX PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1860
THE FEAST OF SAINT NICHOLAS SPIRA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF RUED LANGGAARD, DANISH COMPOSER
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Above: Icon of Obadiah
Image in the Public Domain
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READING OBADIAH, PART I
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Obadiah 1a
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The prophecy of Obadiah.
–Obadiah 1a, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
The Book of Obadiah, the shortest book in the Hebrew Bible, consists of twenty-one verses in one chapter. It contains divine oracles of divine judgment against the nation of Edom. The Book of Obadiah is also one of the two Hebrew prophetic books omitted from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL); the other one is Nahum, about God taking out the Assyrian Empire. The shortest book in the Hebrew Bible is also absent from the Roman Catholic lectionaries for Masses on weekdays, Sundays, and major feast days.
Since I have started this project of reading the Hebrew prophetic books, roughly in chronological order (with some exceptions), I have read the material regarding Edom in Amos 1:11-12; Isaiah 21:11-12; Jeremiah 49:7-22; Ezekiel 25:12-14; Ezekiel 35:1-15; and Isaiah 34:5-17.
Dating the Book of Obadiah is difficult. Comparing eight commentaries and study Bibles, I detect no consensus about when Obadiah (“servant of YHWH”) prophesied in Jerusalem. Robert Alter (2019) proposes that Obadiah prophesied during the final years of the Kingdom of Judah. Five sources published between 1992 and 2015 insist that the book dates to after the Fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.E.). The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VI (1956), favors composition after the Babylonian Exile. The Catholic Study Bible, Third Edition (2016), states that Obadiah prophesied either during or after the Babylonian Exile.
We know almost nothing about Obadiah. Even his name is common; the Hebrew Bible refers to twelve Obadiahs. If we add “Obed” (a variant) to the list, we arrive at eighteen Obadiahs/Obeds. Composition in Jerusalem after the fall of the Kingdom of Judah to the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire is feasible. History tells us that the conquerors did not deport everyone. The text indicates that Obadiah received religious training and read other Hebrew prophetic books. Commentaries point to similarities to Jeremiah 40; Ezekiel 25:12-14; Joel 1:15; Joel 2:5, 32; Joel 3:3, 17; and Amos 9:12. Of course, some of these similarities may be due to later prophets having read the Book of Obadiah. Obadiah also seems to have been one of those men called to prophesy for a brief period of time.
Anger against Edom marks the Book of Obadiah. This makes sense, given the persistent hostility between the Jews and the Edomites. This hostility is also evident in Malachi 1:2-5, from after the Babylonian Exile. Consistent with this hostility and echoing Isaiah 34-35 (or the other way around), the Book of Obadiah pronounces divine doom on Edom and a bright future for the Jews.
For more on that point, read the next post in this series, O reader.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 10, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MYLES HORTON, “FATHER OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT”
THE FEAST OF SAINTS EUMENIOUS AND PARTHENIOS OF KOUDOUMAS, MONKS AND FOUNDERS OF KOUDOMAS MONASTERY, CRETE
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH OF DAMASCUS, SYRIAN ORTHODOX PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1860
THE FEAST OF SAINT NICHOLAS SPIRA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF RUED LANGGAARD, DANISH COMPOSER
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Above: Map Showing the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire
Image in the Public Domain
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READING SECOND ISAIAH, PART II
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Isaiah 34-35
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The Hebrew prophetic books are repetitive. I recall, recently, reading Ezekiel 25-32, in which YHWH denounced various Gentile nations for opposing the Jewish people. I read that same theme in Isaiah 34. The chapter opens by addressing the nations and peoples of the (known) world.
For the LORD is angry at all the nations,
Furious at all their host;….
–Isaiah 34:2a, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
In the fifth verse, however, the focus narrows to Edom, that frequently hostile cousin people of the Hebrews.
I have already read the oracles of divine judgment against Edom in Amos 1:11-12; Isaiah 21:11-12; Jeremiah 49:7-22; Ezekiel 25:12-14; and Ezekiel 35:1-15.
The oracles against Edom in the Book of Obadiah awaits me, after I complete my blogging through Second Isaiah.
For it is the LORD’s day of retribution,
The year of vindication for Zion’s cause.
–Isaiah 34:8, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Isaiah 34 and 35 contrast the fates of Edom and the Hebrew exiles in the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire. We read of the destruction of Edom (which happened). We also read of the renewal and return of Hebrew exiles. We read of the impending end of the Babylonian Exile. We read of a reverse exodus, an exodus from Babylon:
And a highway shall appear there,
which shall be called the Sacred Way.
No one unclean shall pass along it,
But it shall be for them.
No traveler, not ever fools, shall go astray.
No lion shall be there,
No ferocious beast shall set foot on it–
These shall not be found there.
But the redeemed shall walk it.
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,
And come with shouting to Zion,
Crowned with joy everlasting.
They shall attain joy and gladness,
While sorrow and sighing flee.
–Isaiah 35:8-10, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Second Isaiah introduces the themes of the end the Babylonian Exile, the return to the homeland, and the restoration of the covenant relationship with YHWH. These themes, not unique to Second Isaiah, permeate other portions of Hebrew prophetic literature, too. And they are on the forefront of Second Isaiah.
I also notice the presence of the themes of exile and exodus. Walter Brueggemann writes that exile and exodus are the two major themes in the Hebrew Bible.
Just as the Hebrew prophetic literature is repetitive, so must I be. I come to this point by a reading project that has taken me through, in order:
- Hosea,
- Amos,
- Micah,
- First Isaiah (1-23, 28-33),
- Zephaniah,
- Nahum,
- Habakkuk,
- Jeremiah,
- Lamentations, and
- Ezekiel.
I am not parachuting into Isaiah 34 and 35. I do not pretend to know what that balance is or where it should be. I will not get too big for my theological britches, at least not in that matter.
Neither am I a fundamentalist. I acknowledge that Second Isaiah and other prophets projected their attitudes onto God some of the time. As Rabbi Abraham J. Heschel wrote, prophets were people, not microphones. I admit that I project my attitudes onto God. I confess that I need to know that I do this, and to stop doing that, as much as possible.
I also acknowledge that divine mercy upon and deliverance of the oppressed may be catastrophic for the oppressors and their allies. One may describe this in several ways, including divine judgment and karma. As the Bible teaches, people will reap what they have sown.
Nevertheless, I take no pleasure in the fate of Edom.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 7, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS RALPH MILNER, ROGER DICKINSON, AND LAWRENCE HUMPHREY, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS, 1591
THE FEAST OF FRANCES FLORENTINE HAGEN, U.S. MORAVIAN MINISTER AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF SAINT HEDDA OF WESSEX, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF LEO SOWERBY, EPISCOPAL COMPOSER AND “DEAN OF CHURCH MUSIC”
THE FEAST OF THOMAS HELMORE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND ARRANGER AND COMPOSER OF HYMN TUNES
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Above: Ezekiel, from the Sistine Chapel, by Michelangelo Buonaroti
Image in the Public Domain
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READING EZEKIEL, PART XIII
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Ezekiel 26:1-28:26
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I have written about oracles against Phoenicia in Amos 1:9-10 and Isaiah 23:1-18.
As in Ezekiel 25, the charge of rejoicing over the Fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.E.) applies against Tyre and Sidon, the two main cities of Phoenicia, and to the rest of Phoenicia.
Tyre, located on an island, was a Mediterranean port city and a center of commerce. Tyre had a monopoly on trade within its zone of commercial influence, which spread as far west as Spain. The city also allied itself with Egypt, and thereby survived a siege (586-573 B.C.E.) by the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire. That siege ended with the city’s surrender, contrary to the prediction of conquest (26:8f). Tyre knew how to enrich itself, but was foolish (28:4-5).
These oracles use imagery of the geography and commerce to pronounce doom upon Phoenicia.
Do not trust in status and wealth, we read. Do not be arrogant:
Because you are haughty of heart,
you say, “I am a god!
I sit on a god’s throne
in the heart of the sea!
But you are a man, not a god;
yet you pretend
you are a god at heart!
–Ezekiel 28:26, The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
The warnings against the commercial centers and major cities of Phoenicia remain relevant. Wealth and status continue to be popular idols for many people and peoples.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 1, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF LYMAN BEECHER, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST AND PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, AND ABOLITIONIST; HIS DAUGHTER, HARRIET BEECHER STOWE, U.S. NOVELIST, HYMN WRITER, AND ABOLITIONIST; AND HER BROTHER, HENRY WARD BEECHER, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN AND CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, AND ABOLITIONIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTONIO ROSMINI, FOUNDER OF THE INSTITUTE OF CHARITY
THE FEAST OF CATHERINE WINKWORTH, TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS, AND JOHN MASON NEALE, ANGLICAN PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF JOHN CHANDLER, ANGLICAN PRIEST, SCHOLAR, AND TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS
THE FEAST OF PAULI MURRAY, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY AND EPISCOPAL PRIEST
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Above: Icon of Ezekiel
Image in the Public Domain
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READING EZEKIEL, PART XII
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Ezekiel 25:8-17
Ezekiel 35:1-15
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The oracles against these nations–enemies of Judah and allies of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire–cited these nations’ rejoicing over the Fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E.
I have covered the backgrounds of these nations already:
- Moab–Amos 2:1-3; Isaiah 15:1-16:13; Jeremiah 48:1-47;
- Edom–Amos 1:11-12; Isaiah 21:11-12; Jeremiah 49:7-22; and
- Philistia–Amos 1:6-8; Isaiah 14:28-32; Jeremiah 49:1-7.
The oracles against Edom in Isaiah 34 and the Book of Obadiah await me, in due time.
The first oracle against Moab (Ezekiel 25:8-11) predates the Fall of Jerusalem. The second oracle against Moab (Ezekiel 35:1-15) postdates the Fall of Jerusalem.
And you shall know that I am the LORD,
repeats, following ominous oracles. God, who reserves the right of revenge, speaks in these oracles.
Another important aspect of Ezekiel 35:1-15 is the reference to Mount Seir. Deuteronomy 33:2 and Judges 5:4 speak of a tradition of divine self-revelation from Mount Seir. Here, God condemns Moabite ambitions to overrun former Hebrew lands, and announces that Mount Seir will become, by the divine hand,
an utter waste.
–Ezekiel 35:7, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Contrary to the widespread belief that Nation A’s military defeat to Nation B indicated the triumph of Nation B’s gods over those of Nation A, YHWH remained undefeated. YHWH remained sovereign. YHWH remained formidable.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 30, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHANN OLAF WALLIN, ARCHBISHOP OF UPPSALA, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT GENNERO MARIA SARNELLI, ITALIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MISSIONARY TO THE VULNERABLE AND EXPLOITED PEOPLE OF NAPLES
THE FEAST OF HEINRICH LONAS, GERMAN MORAVIAN ORGANIST, COMPOSER, AND LITURGIST
THE FEAST OF PAUL HANLY FURFEY, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, SOCIOLOGIST, AND SOCIAL RADICAL
THE FEAST OF SAINT PHILIP POWEL, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1646
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Above: Icon of Ezekiel
Image in the Public Domain
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READING EZEKIEL, PART XI
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Ezekiel 21:28-32 (Anglican and Protestant)
Ezekiel 21:33-37 (Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox)
Ezekiel 25:1-7
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Oracles of divine judgment against nations are staples of Hebrew prophetic literature. For example, they populate Isaiah 13-23; Jeremiah 46-51; Amos 1:3-2:3; and Ezekiel 25-32.
Since I began this long-term project of reading the Hebrew prophetic books, roughly in chronological order, I have read the material regarding Ammon in Amos 1:13-15; Jeremiah 49:1-16; and Ezekiel 21:28-32/21:33-37 (depending on versification).
Ammon was east of the River Jordan, and bordered the territory of the tribe of Gad (Joshua 13:8-10). Ammon’s capital was Rabbath-Amman (modern-day Amman, Jordan). Sometimes the Hebrews and the Ammonites were foes (Judges 3:13; Amos 1:13-15; Zephaniah 2:8; Judges 10:6-12:7; 1 Samuel 11; 2 Samuel 10; 2 Samuel 12:26-31). Sometimes they were allies (Jeremiah 27:3). After the Fall of Jerusalem, the Ammonites supported Ishmael, the Davidic claimant who rebelled against Gedaliah (Jeremiah 40:7-41:18). Before that, however, Ammon had occupied the territory of the tribe of Gad after the Fall of Samaria (722 B.C.E.).
Ammon, as a province of the Assyrian Empire, had a native ruler most of the time in the seventh century B.C.E. During the Assyrian civil war that started in 652 B.C.E., some of the remote peoples rebelled. They endangered the security of Ammon and other Assyrian vassals. With the fall of Nineveh (612 B.C.E.), Ammon briefly regained independence. Ammon allied with the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire against common foes, those pesky Arab tribes and the Kingdom of Judah. The alliance quickly turned into Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian domination of Ammon.
The Ammonite rebellion against their Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian overlords informed the material in Ezekiel 21. The Chaldeans/Neo-Babylonians struck Judah first then came back around for Ammon. After the failed Ammonite rebellion, the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire instituted mass deportations of Ammonites and, for a time, ended sedentary settlement in Ammon. Ammon became the abode of nomads until the Persian period.
Ezekiel 25:1-7 is consistent with this history. The text of the oracle condemns Ammon for opposing Judah and siding with the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire. The fitting punishment, we read, is to fall to that empire, too.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 29, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL, APOSTLES AND MARTYRS
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Above: Ezekiel, by Gustave Dore
Image in the Public Domain
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READING EZEKIEL, PART VIII
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Ezekiel 12:21-14:11
Ezekiel 15:1-8
Ezekiel 20:45-22:31 (Anglican and Protestant)
Ezekiel 21:1-22:31 (Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox)
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In the ancient Near East, certain assumptions were ubiquitous. Two of these were:
- the multiplicity of deities, and
- the defeat of B’s gods by A’s gods when A conquered B.
Yet YHWH remained unconquered when Judah fell. As the Fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.E.) approached, come claimed that the prophecies of this event were for the distant future. They were wrong (12:21-28). Some (false) prophets of peace predicted peace and security for Judah (13:1-16). They spoke for themselves, not for God. Many people resorted to sorcery (13:17-23). They were wrong. Idolatry abounded, as usual (14:1-11). Jerusalem was bound for destruction (15:1-8), regardless of what anyone said or desired in the final years before 586 B.C.E. And God remained sovereign, regardless of what any human power did. The Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire was the sword of the LORD, after all (20:45-21:17/21:1-22, depending on versification). Both Judah and Ammon were destined for destruction, but a remnant of Judah would survive (21:23-22:31/21:18-22:31, depending on versification).
I will return to the prophecies of divine judgment against Ammon (already in Amos 1:13-15; Jeremiah 49:1-16; Ezekiel 21:33-37/21:28-32, depending on versification) when I cover Ezekiel 25:1-7.
I, as a Christian, affirm that “God is love,” as I read in 1 John 4:16. Reading the entire verse is crucial, of course. In the context of the indwelling of Jesus, we read:
Thus we have come to know and believe in the love which God has for us.
God is love; he who dwells in love is dwelling in God, and God in him.
—The Revised English Bible (1989)
God is love, not a cosmic plush toy. Grace is free, not cheap.
In Jewish terms, salvation comes by grace, just as it does in Christian terms. In Jewish terms, salvation comes by birth into the Chosen People, the covenant people. The covenant includes moral mandates. Persistently and unrepentantly violating moral mandates causes people to drop out of the covenant.
God is love, not a cosmic plush toy. Grace is free, not cheap. And people read what they have sown.
JUNE 26, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ISABEL FLORENCE HAPGOOD, U.S. JOURNALIST, TRANSLATOR, AND ECUMENIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANDREA GIACINTO LONGHIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF TREVISO
THE FEAST OF PHILIP DODDRIDGE, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF THEODORE H. ROBSINSON, BRITISH BAPTIST ORIENTALIST AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF VIRGIL MICHEL, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ACADEMIC, AND PIONEER OF LITURGICAL RENEWAL
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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