Exegetical and Theological Interpretation of Ezekiel 36:5 - Thesis Example

Exegetical and Theological Interpretation of Ezekiel 36:5 By, Exegetical and Theological Interpretation of Ezekiel 36:5 Ezekiel 36: 5 goes as follows, “this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland”. This paper gives an exegetical and theological interpretation of this verse in chapter five of the book of prophet Ezekiel. The exegetical and theological interpretation takes into account the historical and cultural context in which this verse was written. And for a thorough exegesis of this verse, every phrase in this verse is thoroughly analyzed exegetically and interpreted. After the exegetical interpretation of this verse is done, the connection between Ezekiel chapter thirty six in general, and verse five in particular, with the criminal justice concept of punishment is done. In the conclusion of the paper, I have shown how prophet Ezekiel address contemporary issues in today’s society. A thorough exegetical and theological interpretation of Ezekiel 36: 5 show that God guards his people and His land jealously, and that He punishes the enemies of His people and His land, the land of Israel. This fact will come out clearly after we do an exegetical and theological interpretation of Ezekiel 36: 5. The historical context in which the book of Ezekiel was written was during the fall of Jerusalem and the subsequent Babylonian Exile. Prophet Ezekiel was therefore called by God to prophesy to the Israelites during the Babylonian exile and his message revolved around the promise of hope and redemption of the Israelites by the Lord God, from their captivity in Babylon. During the Babylonian Exile, Israelites faced all manner of challenges, especially cultural and religious challenges. In the Babylonian Exile, the Israelites were not allowed to live according to their culture and practice their religion (Josephus, book X). The Jews therefore were demoralized and they had started crying and lamenting to God for abandoning them. It is in this context therefore that the book of prophet Ezekiel was written. Another important context to note in interpreting Ezekiel 36:5 is the preceding chapter of the book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel 35. A comparison between Ezekiel 35: 1-15 and Ezekiel 36: 1-15 shows a close relationship in content. In Ezekiel 35: 1-15, God had prophesied severe judgement upon Edom for mistreating and deriding God’s people. Ezekiel 36: 1-15, therefore is a continuation of oracles of divine judgement against Edom and other nations that mistreated the people of God, the Israelites. This context also is very important in arriving at the correct interpretation of Ezekiel 36: 5. Having looked at the historic-cultural and the textual context in which Ezekiel 36 was written, let us know do a thorough exegetical analysis of Ezekiel 36:5 so as to get the correct interpretation of this verse. One of the most important phrases in interpreting Ezekiel 36:5 is the phrase, “in my burning zeal ---”. To better understand the meaning of the meaning of this phrase, we need to look at Ezekiel 34. In Ezekiel 34, God laments against the shepherds of his people for abandoning his flock to be plundered by their enemies. In Ezekiel 34:26- 29, God promises to make a covenant of peace with his people, and the covenant is meant to ensure that God’s people remain His, and that they wouldn’t be plundered by their enemies. This fact therefore shows that God is jealous for his people. The adjective jealous in Hebrew is qanna from the verb qana, which can be interpreted to mean zealous (Gnilka, 1997). In Hebrew, the adjective qanna therefore is used to describe God who is jealous to protect what belongs to him. The ,“burning zeal’ therefore in Ezekiel 36:5 shows that God is jealous for his people, God doesn’t want His people to be plundered and derided by their enemies. This point is very important in interpreting Ezekiel 36:5. On this point, Bruce says that God is jealous for his people because derision of God’s people means derision of God himself (Bruce, 1940). This therefore explains the meaning of “the burning zeal” in Ezekiel 36:5. The second important point in correctly interpreting Ezekiel 36:5 is found in the phrase, “ … I have spoken against the rest of the nations…’’. As we have seen in the interpretation of the meaning of burning zeal, the Lord is jealous for His people and for this reason He will not hesitate to punish the enemies of His people who scoff, deride, scorn, and insult God’s people. For this reason, speaking against the rest of the nations means that God would punish all the other nations that disrespect and mistreat the people of God, i.e. the Israelites. The third important phrase in the interpretation of Ezekiel 36:5 is the phrase, “and against all Edom”. The punishment for Edom for disrespecting and mistreating the people of God had already been prophesied in Ezekiel 25, and Ezekiel 35. So here again, God is singling out Edom for punishment because of being notorious in the mistreatment of God’s people. Also, the phrase, “my land”, is instrumental in correctly interpreting Ezekiel 36:5. The phrase “my land” means that God is not only unhappy by the enemies of Israel for mistreating his people, but also for abusing His land, the land of Israel. This fact shows that God is very possessive of both His people and His land, and He jealously guards both His people and His land. In nutshell, the above exegetical analysis of Ezekiel 36:5 shows that the core message in this verse of Ezekiel 36, is that God guards His people jealously and that he punishes, severely, the enemies of his people who mistreat His people and abuse His land. This is the correct theological interpretation of Ezekiel 36: 5. A critical look at the theological message expressed in Ezekiel 36:5 show that the message is indeed related with the Criminal Justice theme of punishment for committing a crime. An evaluation of Criminal Justice concept of punishment will show that the concept of punishment is indeed in agreement with the theological message that we derive from Ezekiel 36:5. Criminal justice concept of punishment is premised upon the idea that criminals should be held accountable for their crimes because they are responsible for committing crime. The underlying presumption of the criminal justice concept of punishment is the idea that when criminals commit crime, they freely choose to do so, without having been forced or to do so by any external circumstances (Walker, 1980). Criminal justice concept of punishment assumes that human beings are free and rational, and that in the circumstances that they are aware of the consequences of their choices, then they should be held accountable for their choices. For this reason, the Criminal justice advocates for punishing criminals according to the gravity of the crime that the criminal commits; the greater the crime, the greater the punishment. Through the punishment of the criminals, criminal justice systems teach that the justice is done, and that the moral imbalance brought about by commission of crime is restored. This therefore means that failure to punish criminals would be an injustice to the offended party. A critical comparison of the Criminal justice concept of punishment and the concept of punishment that we learn from Ezekiel 36: 5 shows that two concepts of punishment are indeed in agreement. In Ezekiel 36:5, we learn that God punishes the enemies of His people for mistreating and scorning His people and His land. Implicit in this idea is the idea that when the enemies of God’s people choose to mistreat God’s people, they do so willingly, aware of the consequences of their actions. In Ezekiel 36:5, we are told, “…for with glee and with malice in their hearts…”. From this phrase, we learn that when the enemies of God’s people and land choose to mistreat God’s people and abuse God’s land, they are motivated by malice and they deliberately maltreat God’s people with glee, meaning that they are happy of their actions. This therefore shows that the Enemies of God’s people scorn and deride God’s people intentionally, and aware of the consequences of what they do. This ideal is perfectly in line with the criminal justice concept of punishment where criminal are punished for crimes that they cause deliberately, aware of the consequences of their actions. The theological message that we learn from Ezekiel 36: 5 and the criminal justice concept of punishment therefore are in agreement. A look at the theological message that we learn from Ezekiel 36, and particularly from Ezekiel 36:5 shows that in this chapter prophet Ezekiel addressed many issues that we face in the contemporary society. Prophet Ezekiel’s message in Ezekiel in Ezekiel 36 can be applied to many issues in the contemporary world. One of the clear area in which Ezekiel’s message can be applied to the contemporary world is in relation to the perpetual Israel-Palestine conflict. Just like in the time of prophet Ezekiel, the Israelites as the chosen people of God are being constantly scorned, and derided by the Palestinians, and by almost all the Arab world. The land of Israel is never seen as a Holy land given to the Israelites by God himself. The Jews of the contemporary world live in insecurity and in fear just like the Jews of Ezekiel’s time. Prophet Ezekiel’s message in Ezekiel 36:5 can be applied to the current Israel-Palestine crises to warn the Palestinians that mistreating of the Israelites and the abuse of Israel land, which is actually God’s land, can lead to severe punishment. Israel always remains the chosen people of God, and they should always be treated with respect as God’s specially chosen people (Ratzinger, 2006). Another contemporary issue in which Ezekiel’s message in Ezekiel 36 can be applied is in relation to the disrespect of modern day prophets, pastors and priests. The contemporary pastors and priests are indeed the God’s chosen people to shepherd the flock of God. For that reason, pastors and priests should be treated with respect as God’s chosen people. But on the contrary, we find pastors and priests disrespected in many ways, including levelling false allegations against them. Ezekiel’s message of in Ezekiel 36 therefore can be applied to the people in the contemporary society who do not give the pastors and priests in the contemporary society the respect that they deserve. The warning message of prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 36 can also be used to teach believers to respect the contemporary pastors and priests. In conclusion therefore, the message of prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 36 can be applied in many issues in the contemporary world. This fact shows that Prophet Ezekiel’s message in Ezekiel 36 is timeless and can be applied in any society, at any historic period. Referrences Bruce, F. (1940). “ The End of the First Gospel”. The Evangelical Quarterly 12. Print Gnilka, J. (1997). Jesus of Nazareth: Message and History. Peabody, Mass.:Hendrickson Publishers. Print Josephus. Book X. Google Books. Web Ratzinger, J (2006). Jesus ofNazareth. Nairobi: Paulines Publications Africa. Print Walker, S. (1980). Popular Justice: A History of American Criminal Justice. New York: Oxford University Press. Print Read More