EZEKIEL, NATIONAL RENEWAL AND HEALING
The Rev. Harold Shepherd, CD, M.A., S.T.M., LL.B., LL.M., Ph.D.
Sermon from March 15, 2005

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, "Mortal, can these bones live?" I answered, "O Lord God, you know." ...

'Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act," says the Lord. Ezekiel 37: 1-14

Ezekiel’s name in Hebrew means “God strengthens.” He was an important voice of hope and encouragement during a time of national challenge brought about by exile to Babylon. Born into the family of Zadok, he was a priest in the Southern Kingdom who was deported to Babylon by Nabuchadnezzar in about 597 B.C. (See Ex. 1:2, 33:21). The Babylonian exile was brought about in a number of stages. As a result of rebellion by a hitherto client state (and against Jeremiah’s counsel to the contrary), the Babylonian army conquered the Southern Kingdom and deported the leadership of Jerusalem in 597 B.C. A vassal king was put in power, only to rebel ten years later. This time, the Babylonian king destroyed Jerusalem, including the Temple, and exiled the general population to Babylon in 587 B.C. Ezekiel settled in the village of Tel-abib near Nippur (3:15), and had his own house (3:24) where elders would consult him (8:1, 13;1, 20:1). He began his prophetic ministry in 592 B.C. when he was 30 years old (1:1-2). It is estimated that the exilic community numbered about 10,000 strong, and was settled along the Chebar river. A significant question that Ezekiel addressed concerned where God was in the midst of national calamity. Given the historic belief that the Temple was God’s throne on earth, have the people been abandoned in exile? Ezekiel’s vision of the throne-chariot that travels to Babylonia symbolically represented God’s relocation from the Temple to Babylon to be with his people. God is not restricted geographically, but is the God of all nations. Ezekiel presents a strong voice for the omnipresence and omnipotence of God. He was not defeated by the Babylonians, nor has he been vanquished. Rather, God has used the experience to purge, correct and restore his people that all may know that the God of Israel is Lord. One theme that runs through the Book of Ezekiel is that of individual responsibility. There is not such thing as inherited righteousness, and by turning from sin and observing God’s ordinances, one can avoid accountability for the sins of one’s ancestors. Chapters 33-48 date from 585 B.C. to about 573 B.C. and concern the restoration of Israel to it land, the rebuilding of the Temple, and spiritual renewal of the land and people. Today’s reading from Ezekiel 37 is part of this material.

The experience of Israel in exile in Babylon is one that is common to many refugees today who were forced to flee their homes because of racial, religious, political, gender or other persecution. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there were about 17 million refugees or other persons of concern last year. Of those, about 6.2 million have been in exile for over five years. According to Immigration and Refugee Board statistics, there were about 44,000 refugee claims in Canada in 2001, 39,500 in 2002, 32,000 in 2003, and 25,750 in 2004. In 2003, about 50% of claims that had a hearing were accepted. In 2004, this decreased to about 45% During the same period, the number of withdrawn or abandoned claims declined from about 16% to 13% Nine countries had over one thousand refugee claimants last year. Beginning with the most claims, they are Pakistan, Colombia, Mexico, China, Costa Rica, Sri Lanka, India, Nigeria and Turkey. In 2003, Canada resettled 7,504 government assisted refugees, 3,254 privately sponsored refugees, and landed 11,267 people granted refugee protection in Canada, plus 3,959 dependents, for a total of about 26,000. Preliminary numbers for 2004 indicate that 33,000 refugees were landed in Canada last year- a significant increase over 2003. Ezekiel knew what it was to be a refugee and to be part of a people that had lost its land, homes, political autonomy, religious institutions and Temple. However, rather than becoming depressed and despondent, he caught a vision from God of national renewal and restoration back home. God had not abandoned or forsaken his people. God used the Persian King Cyrus to re-establish the nation. Today, God uses many Canadians, including our Churches through refugee resettlement, to be an instrument of hope, renewal and restoration. Many persons, families and communities have found healing in our land.