The Book of Ezekiel moves along a timeline that shifts from silence to speech, from distance to love. Opening with a harsh atmosphere of detachment and silence, it moves to symbolic acts steeped in longing, finally closing with prophecies of salvation.
Silence and speech form a framework for the Book of Ezekiel. Once he is proclaimed a prophet, Ezekiel is commanded to remain silent (3:24-27), with the decree of total silence coming on the day when the siege around Jerusalem begins (24:25-27). From that time until the destruction of the Temple, Ezekiel has no prophecies for the nation of Israel, but only for the nations of the world (chapters 25-32). Only on the day that the refugee arrives from Jerusalem and shares the information about the Temple’s destruction, is Ezekiel finally commanded to open his mouth (33:21-22) to offer prophecies of salvation.
How are we to understand this behavior?
When Ezekiel is first chosen to be a prophet, the language that is used to describe the nation of Israel is extremely harsh. Over and over again they are called “a nation of rebels” (see 2:3-5). We hear nothing of God’s love for His people, only a series of angry curses and epithets.
After Ezekiel is commanded to remain silent, he is instructed to perform a series of symbolic acts. Chapters 4 and 5 contain commands to lie on his side, to eat certain kinds of food and drink, to shave his hair and so forth – all without a word of speech. In chapters 6 and 7, Ezekiel is told to speak – but not to the people. “O mortal, turn your face toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy to them” (6:2); “You, O mortal, [say:] Thus said the Lord GOD to the land of Israel” (7:2). Only in chapter 12 are the symbolic acts accompanied with a command to speak to the nation of Israel: “Say to them” (12:10).
Silence comes with the prophecies of exile, and it serves as a sort of Hester Panim – God is hiding His face from His people. This is like a parent whose child misbehaves and who rejects his child, abandoning him, saying: I want nothing to do with you. The child remains alone, and the parent retires to his room and cries: “My inmost self must weep” (Jeremiah 13:17). The parent, who declared that he has disowned his child, finds that he cannot sit at home without doing anything. Out of longing for his child, he tries to find ways to communicate with him without words. One he sees that his child, indeed, desires a relationship, he slowly, slowly, reciprocates and begins to speak with him.
That is how the Book of Ezekiel progresses. It begins with total silence and disconnect. Then the prophet receives commands to engage in symbolic acts without actual spoken communication. For 430 days Ezekiel performs these symbolic acts at home, paying no attention to his audience. When he does begin to speak, the prophet turns to the mountains and the land – but not to the people. The final symbolic act takes place in Chapter 12, but this time it is performed in front of the people and the prophet is commanded to speak with them. Throughout the years of siege around Jerusalem there was silence, but with the destruction of the Temple, Ezekiel begins to speak prophecies of redemption.
We can conclude that the Book of Ezekiel shifts along a timeline that moves from silence to speech, from distance to love.
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