Ezekiel, the Mentally Ill Prophet

There is no Old Testament prophet who has received more diverse, diametrically opposed interpretations and critiques than Ezekial. He is a constant subject of scrutiny and has been psychoanalyzed and found to be a victim of catatonic schizophrenia, unconscious sexual regression, schizophrenic withdrawal, and having delusions of grandeur and episodic persecutions.

Yet, he is considered one of the greatest spiritual figures of all times. The truth is that no Hebrew prophet would have been considered normal as they spoke the words of God against the behavior of the status quo. All prophets found themselves alienated. For instance, Jeremiah was an agitator constantly trying to shake up the establishment. He was always rebuking on behalf of God. In order to draw attention to himself would lie around the city gates naked. In today’s world he would have been fitted for a straight-jacket and force-fed heavy doses of Thorazine and Prozac.

In Ezekiel we find the perfect blend of prophet and priest, theologian and poet, as well as an organizer of institutionalized religion. He is a charismatic preacher and a promoter of mystic morality. He is a relentless advocate of the presence and transcendence of the Ancient of Days, God the Creator.

Ezekiel often presented himself as a watchman for the Israelites and the one charged by God to lead them back on the straight and narrow. He heard the voice of God commissioning him to warn the Chosen ones and keep them in a state of red alert. He believed himself to be a direct pipeline to the house of Israel.

Mosaic of the Prophet Ezekiel in the facade of Basilica of Saint Paul outside the walls, Rome, Italy. File Photo

God told him, “If I tell the wicked man that he shall surely die, and you do not speak to dissuade the wicked man from his evil ways, he (the wicked man) shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death. But if you attempt to warn the wicked man, endeavoring to turn him from his licentious and ungodly ways, he shall die for his guilt, but you will attain everlasting life.”

Israel was in deep trouble. Ezekiel was their prophet and was bent on working on an intensified, individual basis leading them one step at a time, even if those steps were baby steps. Sadly, Ezekiel realized that there was no salvation for Israel but only for each according to his merits.

These words from God to Ezekiel foreshadow the New Testament account of the Evangelist Matthew. In Chapter 18 of his Gospel, Matthew records these word of Jesus, “If your brother sins against you go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.”