Introduction
Overview
Ezekiel is similar to the other prophets in proclaiming the standard prophetic message of repentance, judgment, and hope for restoration. About halfway through Ezekiel’s ministry, the terrible destruction of Jerusalem actually occurs (judgment), so Ezekiel shifts from focusing on warning and judgment to focusing on the future restoration. Within this context, two primary themes emerge out of the book of Ezekiel. One of the themes is the sovereignty of God. As Jerusalem and the spectacular Solomonic temple crumble into dust, Ezekiel proclaims that God is sovereign over all the nations and over all history, and thus God will ultimately be glorified. Connected to the sovereignty of God is the repeated phrase “I am the LORD.” This phrase occurs seventy times in Ezekiel. God often says something or does something significant “so you will know that I am the LORD.”
The second primary theme of Ezekiel relates to the glory of God. The most spectacular and wonderful benefit that Israel had from the old covenant was that God promised to actually dwell among the people. Under the covenant of Moses, God’s glory dwelt among the people, first in the tabernacle and then later in the temple. Due to repeated idolatry and other sin right in front of the glory of God, his glory is finally driven away from Jerusalem, a devastating loss. However, as Ezekiel looks to the future time of restoration, he describes it as a time when God’s glory will once again be a central element in his relationship with his people. This is stressed in the closing words of the book, as Ezekiel identifies the name of the new city as “The LORD Is There” (48:35).
Ezekiel the Prophet
There are not many biographical details about Ezekiel in the book that bears his name. We know that the name of his father was Buzi (1:3). This is a strange name; the only Hebrew root we know of with which that name can be connected is the word for “shame.” Buzi means literally “My Shame.” But what parent would name a son “My Shame”? Perhaps “Buzi” is related to another Semitic root that we cannot identify. Like Jeremiah (see Jr 1:1), Ezekiel is a son of a priest but is called to be a prophet. Unlike Jeremiah, however, Ezekiel’s priestly heritage is prominent throughout his prophecy.
Ezekiel is contemporary with the latter years of Jeremiah’s ministry, but Jeremiah prophesies in Jerusalem, while Ezekiel prophesies in Babylonia.
There are no such problems with Ezekiel’s own name. It means either “God Shall Strengthen” (a statement) or “May God Strengthen” (a prayer). In the opening chapters God reveals to the prophet why his name is Ezekiel.
We may safely surmise that Ezekiel belonged to the aristocracy. It was the policy of the Babylonians, when they invaded and conquered a country, to exile only the upper levels of leadership. This would deprive subjugated peoples of effective leaders. Hegemony was maintained by silencing (and exiling as necessary) outspoken leaders of the resistance movement.
Ezekiel is unique among the prophets in that his entire ministry is conducted outside of Palestine. Every date in Ezekiel (a total of thirteen), outside of the problematical “thirtieth year” of 1:1, is reckoned from the year in which Judah’s king Jehoiachin was carried into Babylonian captivity. The earliest date we find in Ezekiel is 593 BC (1:2; 3:16). The latest date in the prophecy is 571 BC (29:17). Thus, Ezekiel’s ministry spans approximately twenty-two years.
Ezekiel carries out his ministry while in captivity. He lives and preaches among his fellow exiles by the Chebar Canal. Ezekiel has his own parsonage (“Go, shut yourself inside your house,” 3:24). On numerous occasions the elders in exile come to talk with him or watch him at his house (8:1; 14:1; 20:1; 33:21), indicating that Ezekiel more than likely was a religious leader in Jerusalem before 597 BC and has carried that stature with him into exile.
Ezekiel is married (24:15–18), but we never hear of any children. In 4:14 he offers the protest “from my youth until now I have not eaten anything that died naturally.” That Ezekiel would use such a phrase indicates that he is no youngster. He is definitely older than Jeremiah.
Structure
The arrangement of the prophecy of Ezekiel is clear. After a brief section describing Ezekiel’s call (chaps. 1–3), we find prophecies/oracles of doom and destruction against Judah/Jerusalem (chaps. 4–24). These must have been spoken prior to the fall of Jerusalem, for every date provided by these chapters is before 587/586 BC (1:2, 593 BC; 8:1, 592 BC; 20:1, 591 BC; 24:1, 588 BC).
The second section is composed of chapters 25–32, Ezekiel’s prophecies/oracles to the nations. In so preaching, Ezekiel falls in line with Amos (1:1–2:5), Isaiah (chaps. 13–23), and Jeremiah (chaps. 46–51). The distinctive thing about Ezekiel’s foreign oracles is his special focus on Tyre and Egypt. Seven of the thirteen dates in Ezekiel are in this section (26:1, 587 BC; 29:1, 587 BC; 29:17, 571 BC; 30:20, 587 BC; 31:1, 587 BC; 32:1, 585 BC; 32:17, 586 BC). Four of these dates refer to a day and month in 587 BC, very close to the time of Jerusalem’s destruction.
The third section is prophecies/oracles of salvation directed to the exiles (chaps. 33–39). It is in this unit that Ezekiel is inspired by God to share with his exiled congregation the revivification, restoration, regeneration, and reunification of God’s scattered people as they return to Israel from exile. It is Ezekiel’s hearing of the fall of Jerusalem that allows him to shift from prophecies of doom to prophecies of hope (33:21).
The fourth section (actually part of the third) is about the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem, and especially the reconstruction of the temple (chaps. 40–48). There have been a number of different interpretations of how these chapters are to be understood. One view suggests that the nation of Israel will be reestablished in the messianic age along with all the accoutrements of the temple and temple worship. Such interpreters still look for the building of the temple. A second line of interpretation treats chapters 40–48 symbolically and applies them to the Christian age and to the church. The first approach reads Ezekiel literally, and the second reads it symbolically. Perhaps between the two there is a mediating position that sees in Ezekiel a word of God to and for his people that has not yet transpired but does not insist on the implementation of all the data from a to z. Suffice it to say, the return and resettlement of postexilic times had virtually nothing in common with Ezekiel’s vision and temple agenda. If anything, the rituals, personnel, and laws of that community were more Moses-like than Ezekiel-like.
Theological Themes
At three critical points Ezekiel sees the glory of God. First is his own personal experience of that glory (chap. 1), which nerves him with boldness for his own ministry. Second is his vision of the departure of that glory both from Jerusalem and from the temple (chaps. 8–11). Third is his vision of the return of the glory of God to Jerusalem and to the temple (chap. 43).
While it is the people’s persistent sin that drives the glory of God from the temple, it is not the people’s return to righteousness and repentance that lures God back. Surprisingly perhaps, a clarion call to repentance is minimal in Ezekiel. The reason is that for Ezekiel the fate of Jerusalem is sealed. This explains the reason for the many occasions (3:1–4:17; 5:1–4; 12:1–7, 17–20; 21:11–17, 18–20; 24:15–27) on which Ezekiel pantomimes Jerusalem’s demise.
Ezekiel’s major concern is to establish beyond a shadow of a doubt to the exiles the justice of God. What is about to happen, or has already happened, to Jerusalem is not due to the whim of an unpredictable God who one day on the spot decided to withdraw his favor from his people. At the same time, preaches Ezekiel, let not those in exile be infested with false confidence. Their survival in Babylon is not evidence of superior moral quality.
The most common phrase in Ezekiel is “they/you will know that I am the LORD” (e.g., 6:7, 10, 13, 14; 7:4, 27; 11:10, 12). The “they/you” may be the survivors left in Jerusalem or the deportees in Babylon. The prophet’s concern is that God’s children, who are supposed to know him already, really know him. At one level this means that the exiles, when they see or hear about the catastrophe of 587/586 BC, will indeed know that the Lord is a God of power and is quite capable of fulfilling his promises and threats. At a deeper level, Ezekiel, through this phrase, yearns (and so does God) for a faithless and unknowing people to come to covenant allegiance and consciousness of their God’s lordship.
It is also important to recognize the major shift in Ezekiel’s thought in chapters 1–32 and 33–48. Ezekiel may start in the black of night, but he ends in the glow of a morning dawn. For Ezekiel the most spectacular and precious thing is not the rebuilt city, the rebuilt temple, or even the reassembled people of God. These are good, but not the best. What makes it all so perfect is the presence of God in the midst of all this renovation: “The LORD Is There” (48:35). That is the cause for Ezekiel’s ecstasy.
Outline
1. Prophecies of Doom and Judgment (1:1–24:27)
A. A Vision of the Glory of God (1:1–28)
B. Ezekiel’s Call (2:1–10)
C. Exhorter, Sentry, and Arbiter (3:1–27)
D. The Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized (4:1–5:17)
E. A Further Description of Judgment (6:1–14)
F. The End of Jerusalem (7:1–27)
G. Idolatry in the Temple (8:1–18)
H. The Execution of the Idolaters (9:1–11)
I. God’s Glory Leaves the Temple (10:1–22)
J. Lost and Saved (11:1–25)
K. The Exile Symbolized (12:1–28)
L. False Prophets (13:1–23)
M. Idolatry (14:1–23)
N. A Useless Vine (15:1–8)
O. A Foundling Turned Harlot (16:1–63)
P. Two Eagles and a Vine (17:1–24)
Q. Individual Responsibility (18:1–32)
R. A Dirge for Israel’s Kings (19:1–14)
S. Rebelliousness (20:1–44)
T. The Sword of Judgment (20:45–21:32)
U. A City of Blood (22:1–31)
V. Oholah and Oholibah (23:1–49)
W. A Steaming Cauldron (24:1–27)
2. Oracles against the Nations (25:1–32:32)
A. Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia (25:1–17)
B. Tyre (26:1–28:26)
C. Egypt (29:1–32:32)
3. Restoration and Renewal (33:1–39:29)
A. Accepting Responsibility (33:1–33)
B. Shepherds and Sheep (34:1–31)
C. Edom (35:1–15)
D. Restoration and Regeneration (36:1–38)
E. Resurrection and Reunification (37:1–28)
F. Gog (38:1–39:29)
4. The New Temple (40:1–48:35)
A. The Temple Area (40:1–49)
B. The Temple Proper (41:1–26)
C. Holy Chambers (42:1–20)
D. God’s Glory Returns (43:1–27)
E. Enterings and Exitings (44:1–31)
F. Division of the Land (45:1–25)
G. Worship Protocol (46:1–24)
H. The River of Life (47:1–23)
I. Division of the Land (48:1–35)