John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 1:3

"the word of Jehovah came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of Jehovah was there upon him." — Ezekiel 1:3 (ASV)

He does not repeat the copula which was placed at the beginning of the first verse, and we may perhaps wonder why the book should begin with a copula. For when he says, “and it came to pass,” it seems to denote something preceding it, and it appears out of place when nothing comes before it.

But an oblique antithesis or comparison is likely intended between those prophecies that had flourished for a long time at Jerusalem—which was their unique and true seat—and the prophecy arising in Chaldea. It is as if he would say, “even among Chaldeans,” for the particle ו (vau) is often used in the sense of gam, meaning “even.” The sense, therefore, is this: after God had tested His servants even to weariness, since many prophets had fulfilled their duties at Jerusalem, He now finally speaks in Chaldea.

He says, therefore, “the word of the Lord came to him.” I do not know why some imagine that Jeremiah is here called “Buzi,” unless it is because of a foolish belief among the Jews that the father of a prophet is never mentioned unless he himself were a prophet. Their ignorance is proven on other occasions. Here, indeed, their curiosity is shameful, for they decide this Buzi must be a prophet and, knowing of no one else, they fix upon Jeremiah. This is as if it were probable that the father was left at Jerusalem while the son was an exile—a notion that is entirely conjectural.

But because he was a priest, he says, “the son of Buzi.” Our Prophet ought to have some reputation, for if he had been of common obscurity, he would scarcely have been listened to. The priestly dignity, then, helped secure attention. Now he expresses what I have previously mentioned, in the land of Chaldea, as if he were saying: although God has not been accustomed to raise up prophets in lands so distant and polluted, yet now His rule is changed, for even among the Chaldeans is one endowed with the prophetic spirit.

And the particle שם (illic, meaning “there”) is emphatically added: “was there upon him,” he says. For otherwise, the Jews would have feared Ezekiel as if he were a monster when they found that the word of God had come from Chaldea. “What,” they would say, “will God pollute and contaminate His doctrine by its originating from such a place as that?

Who are the Chaldeans, that God should establish His seat there? Mount Zion is His dwelling-place; here He is worshipped and invoked. Here His lamp must burn by necessity, as He has often testified through His prophets.” To such taunts the Prophet replies: God has begun to speak in Chaldea—there His power is conspicuous. “The word of the Lord has come to me; for we know that God alone is to be heard, and that prophets are only to be listened to insofar as they utter what comes from Him.” Therefore, it is required that all teachers of the Church should first have been learners, so that God alone may retain His own rights and be the only Lord and Master.

Since, then, supreme authority resides in God alone, when prophets desire to be heard, they do not claim to offer their own comments but faithfully to deliver a message from God. Our Prophet does likewise. I touch on these points rather lightly now, as I have discussed them more fully elsewhere.

Finally, he adds, the hand of the Lord was upon him. Some explain the word “hand” as “prophecy,” but this seems weak and inadequate to me. I take “hand” to mean divine power, as if Ezekiel had said that he was endowed with divine power, so that it would be quite clear that he was chosen as a Prophet.

The hand of God, then, was a proof of new favor, so that Ezekiel might bring all the captives under his authority, since he carried with him the authority of God. This may also be referred to the efficacy of his doctrine. For the Lord not only suggests words to His servants but also works by the secret influence of His Spirit and does not allow their labors to be in vain.

The passage, then, may be understood in this sense. But since the Prophet only assumes for himself what was necessary, and so claims for himself the position and standing of a Prophet, when he uses the word “hand,” I do not doubt his meaning to be an inward operation. It is admitted that there is an inward efficacy of the Holy Spirit when He pours out His power upon hearers, so that they may embrace a discourse by faith. So also, even if all hearers were deaf and God’s word were to evaporate like smoke, there is still an intrinsic virtue in the prophecies themselves. Ezekiel points out this virtue as given to him by God. I will finish here, because I would be compelled to break off immediately, and we will be coming to the vision, which is the most difficult of all.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, since You blessed Your people with the continued grace of Your Spirit when it was cast out of its inheritance, and You raised up a Prophet even from the lowest depths, who should recall it to life when it had almost despaired—O grant that, although the Church in these days is miserably afflicted by Your hand, we may not be destitute of Your consolation. But show us, through Your pity, that life may be looked for even in the midst of death, so that we may bear all Your chastisements patiently, until You show Yourself to be our reconciled Father. And thus, at last, may we be gathered into that happy kingdom, where we will enjoy our full felicity, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

[Exposition continues from the previous day's lecture]

A vision will now occupy our attention. Its obscurity so deterred the Jews that they forbade any attempt to explain it. But God appeared to His Prophet either in vain or not in vain. It is most absurd to suppose the former. Therefore, if the vision is useful, it is necessary for us to attain at least a partial understanding of it.

If anyone objects that the vision was exclusively intended for the Prophet, the objection is easily answered: what the Prophet wrote was clearly for the use of the whole Church. Now, if anyone asks whether the vision is lucid, I confess its obscurity, and I can scarcely understand it. But yet, it is not only lawful and useful but necessary to inquire into what God has set before us. Indeed, our sloth would be shameful if we willingly closed our eyes and did not attend to the vision. We will perhaps only skim the surface of what God intends, yet this is of no small importance, and even a slight, not just a moderate, degree of understanding may be sufficient for this. Thus, I briefly finish my preface and come to the words of the Prophet.