Today we are studying the rest of Chapter 3. The section opens with the spirt of God once again lifting Ezekiel up to his feet after he had fallen prostrate at the sight of Yahweh’s glory (3:11). As the Spirit transported him to the colony of exiles in Tel Abib, Ezekiel heard the commotion of the living creatures’ wings and the rumbling of the chariot wheels (3:11-12). When Ezekiel had faced the throne chariot head-on, the visuals overwhelmed him. When the throne chariot was behind him, he realized the high decibels. 

In a rare moment of personal expression, Ezekiel confessed the anger he felt about his burdensome assignment. He said, “I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit” (3:14). Rarely in the book does Ezekiel give insight into his interior state, but this confession shows why the prophet required a long prompting from God. During his commissioning, the prophet listened to Yahweh’s presentations and speeches without pushing back. How could he argue with a gleaming figure sitting atop a supernatural throne surrounded by four-faced beasts? Only when he returned to the colony of exiles did the reality of his depressing message hit him.

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