Sabbath, February 15 – Lamentations 5, Ezekiel 1
Study Questions:
1. Describe in your own words the condition of those who remained in Jerusalem after the captivity. (Lamentations 5:8-15)
2. Where did Ezekiel have his first vision? (Ezekiel 1:1)
Commentary and Reflection:
The poem in Lamentations 5 was written after the Babylonians’ final conquest of Jerusalem and Judah. It describes the dire situation of those who remained. Families were separated, homes and lands were occupied by strangers, and the people worked as slaves in their land. They had to purchase water, and their ancestors’ attempts to preserve the nation by seeking help from Assyria and Egypt only led to ruin. Now, they were subjected as slaves to Babylonian guards.
Those who remained risked their lives searching for food while facing bandits. Women in Judah were violated, leaders were tortured, and children were enslaved. The previous way of life was gone; joy and celebration had disappeared. The people were discouraged and ashamed, recognizing that their sins brought this calamity.
This poem is offered as a prayer of lament and plea. The people asked the Lord to restore them as His own, promising to return to Him. They begged not to be forgotten.
It is striking how trials lead people to turn to the Lord. What they did not do during times of prosperity, they now sought to do in times of distress. The 70 years of captivity prophesied felt unbearably long. Pain and tears poured out from their hearts.
Meanwhile, in exile, Ezekiel was a young man from a priestly family who was taken during the first group of captives sent to Babylon. He lived in a Jewish settlement near the River Chebar. Five years later, he had his first vision there.
“The God who rules in the heavens is not an absentee Lord. Ezekiel saw the firmament and the throne directly above the heads of the living creatures. These, in turn, were in position beside each of the wheels that, when at rest, touched the ground. What a comfort to know that He who sitteth above the cherubim is in control, that He guards His people still, and that every earthly power that seeks to exalt itself against the God of heaven will be subdued, and God will be all in all!” (SDA Bible Commentary, Ezekiel 1:26)
“Overpowered by the heavenly brilliance of the scene, Ezekiel fell on his face, but a voice bade him arise and hear the word of the Lord. The rainbow encircling the throne of God is our assurance of His eternal love. “The throne arched with the rainbow of promise, [is] the righteousness of Christ. … The rainbow encircling the throne represents the combined power of mercy and justice” (EGW RH Dec 13, 1892). It is “a token of the mercy of God toward the repentant sinner” (PP 107).” (SDA Bible Commentary, Ezekiel 1:28)
“The living creatures represent heavenly beings (see 5T 751). As already noted, it is not necessary to imagine that in the service of God are four-headed, four-winged beings. Inspiration nowhere requires such a conclusion. The forms chosen for this prophetic presentation were doubtless designed to symbolize heavenly messengers in their plentitude of offices, capabilities, and adoptabilities.” (SDA Bible Commentary, Ezekiel 1:10)
“To men it oft appears that the divine purposes are long delayed. True there has been some delay, but “the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). One day and soon, with ominous swiftness, bursting forth as an overwhelming surprise, the end will come, more quickly than men expect.” (SDA Bible Commentary, Ezekiel 1:14)
“According to PK 535, 536 and 5T 751–754 the wheels, so complicated in their arrangement, represent human affairs and the events of history in all their play and counterplay. What to the unskilled observer appears to be hopeless confusion, the outworking of chance, the result of human ambition and caprice, is here presented as a harmonious pattern wrought out and guided by an infinite hand toward predetermined ends. For comment on the hand of God in history see on Dan. 4:17.” (SDA Bible Commentary, Ezekiel 1:19)
Let us trust in the supreme wisdom of the Lord. Earthly matters may seem difficult and complicated, but not to Him. He sees everything, knows everything, and understands everything. His Spirit is present. We must trust in His love and providence amid our fears and doubts.
May God grant you a very blessed day.
Pastor Abel Paulin