Ezekiel

Ezekiel was a great man. He was a priest and a prophet. He served a certain group of Jews. They were exiles in the land of Babylon. His messages were in word pictures and signs. But anyone who had studied with a priest would understand his words.

Ezekiel the Prophet

What he did

He had wise words of authority. But there were several dramatic actions too. Ezekiel did not just speak. He did something to explain his message. But it was more than an explanation. And a Jew would understand this. An action that used this method of signs had a special meaning. It was this. The events that the sign described were beginning.

Other prophets used this method too. Isaiah is an example (20). He acted like a prisoner. Jeremiah is another example (13). His clothing became a sign. But Ezekiel used it more than any of them. (Some examples are: 4:1-3, 4-8, 9-13; 5:1-4 and 12:3-7.)

What he Saw

God sent Ezekiel with a message. God also made him see visions. God showed himself to the prophet by visions. God ‘took him to see’ things. An example is the time when God chose him (Ezekiel 1. Compare 8:3-16; 9:2-11 and 10:1-22).

As well as the visions, God made him see other things. There were some great stories with special meanings. And God also showed him very clear lessons from ordinary objects. (Here are some examples: 15:1-5; 17:1-8; 19:1-14.)

What he Heard

The all-powerful God admitted Ezekiel to the place where God's throne was. Read 1:26-2:10. God told him that the people would not want to hear his message (2:5; 3:7). But Ezekiel must be like the watchman of a city (3:17-21). A watchman is a guard. He would stand on the city wall and look for enemy soldiers. He would then be able to warn the people who were in the city.

God knew the people's attitude. It was an attitude of resistance to God. So God let Ezekiel hear the truth about them. He heard it in several ways. And it was so clear that he could not mistake it. God used statements. He warned what he would do. And God used special descriptions. He used word pictures too (3:27). Once, the leaders were sitting in front of Ezekiel. And, while they were there, he heard God's word for them (14:1-11).

Notice something in chapter 18. There were things that people already knew. But God gave new meanings to them. So to hear God's word and to tell God's word was not always the same.

It is not easy to divide the book. But there are some main divisions. They were in the prophet's message. His message was for God's people.

The God who was beside them (Chapters 1-3)

The Jews were exiles. Soldiers from the land of Babylon had defeated them. And they forced the Jews to leave their own land. The soldiers took them to Babylon. But it was vital that the exiles continued to believe in Yahweh. (Hebrew was the Jews’ language.) And Yahweh is the Hebrew word for Jehovah or God]. He was still the all-powerful God. And all power belonged to him. God had not stayed in Jerusalem. He was with them in Babylon.

Ezekiel's first vision is in chapter 1. It showed a special throne for God. Some special angels were in the vision too. There were images of these angels in the Temple. They were part of its furniture. Remember that the Temple was in Jerusalem city. So this showed important things. God was in control. He was with the exiles. And nobody could ever defeat God.

Chapters 2-3 tell us about how God chose Ezekiel. The chapters show two things. The prophet did not feel excited about his new job for God. And God warned him about the people's resistance to his messages. Ezekiel would be speaking God's words. But the people would not accept them.

The Sin that was in them (Chapters 4-24)

Ezekiel served in the land of Babylon. But he said much about Jerusalem city.

Jehoiachin was king there. But he became a prisoner in 597 BC (Before Christ).

Then the enemy ruined the city. The prophet Ezekiel spoke about the time between these two events.

In that period, the enemy made Hezekiah king. And he stayed in Jerusalem. But he had to obey the enemy. Some people pretended to be prophets. And they said that the city would soon be free. They promised that the first exiles would return to Jerusalem in two years. (Read Jeremiah 28 and 29:8.) Both Jeremiah (chapter 29) and Ezekiel (chapter 4) knew that this would not happen. The exiles were in the land of Babylon. But Ezekiel still spoke to them about Jerusalem. Some people wonder why he did that.

H. L. Ellison is a writer. And he had a good idea. He thought that the solution was in Jeremiah 24. This says that the time of exile was an act of God's grace. The real sinners were those who were still in Jerusalem. They were there for punishment. Ezekiel's message was not for them. It was for the Jews who were in Babylon. These people needed to understand something. It was this. Jerusalem's punishment was certain. This was hard for both groups to accept.

There was one main message in this section. It was about Judah's sins.

[Note: Judah became the Southern Kingdom. This group wanted King David's family to rule them. The other group was Israel. Israel became the Northern Kingdom.]

Ezekiel's message had three subjects:

God must punish their sin (4-7).

The people must see their sin (8-17). Much sin happened in secret (8:3-18). And it must be plain who the sinners were. It would be those who did not have God's special mark on them (9:4-6). God clearly showed the wicked people to Ezekiel (1:2-3). Then Ezekiel showed:

• the sins of their king (12)
• the sins of the prophets (13)
• the sins of the leaders (14)
• the sins of the citizens (15-17).

The people must confess their sin (18-24). Details about the coming punishment continued. There was something else too. God wanted his people to return to him. He said, ‘I do not want to kill you! Please come back to me and live!’ (18:32. Read 18:21-23, 30-32 and 20:41-44). However, punishment was certain. It had to happen.

The section ends with a very sad story. Ezekiel's wife died (24:15-27). He is very sad. And God used this event as a sign. The people would hear about Jerusalem. Then they would feel even sadder. The armies from the land of Babylon would come. They would ruin the city completely.

The Nations who were near them (Chapters 25-32)

Many prophets wrote wise words. There was Isaiah. There was Jeremiah. And there was Amos. In Ezekiel, the words have special meaning. The exiles were now living in a foreign country. The citizens there did not know God. And they did not want to know him. So, there was a danger for the Jews. They might think that God did not care about them. They might think that God did not even know about the awful events.

These words would comfort the Jews who were in Babylon. They would emphasise Ezekiel's first message. It was this. God is all-powerful. He is Lord of the whole world. And he is Lord of space (the universe).

The Future that was ahead of them (Chapters 33-48)

These chapters urged the exiles to think about the future. This was something new about Ezekiel's work. Now he had a message of hope, not punishment. There were many wonderful messages:

• The watchman (guard) who had responsibility (33)
• The shepherd who would not fail (34) [Note: A shepherd looks after sheep.]
• The enemies who were evil (35)
• The Spirit who would give new life (37)
• The cruel people who were coming (38-39)
• The Temple of the future (40-46)
• The river that produced much (47). There were fish in it. And there were fruit trees on both sides of it.
• The land that God promised (48).