Ezekiel

EZEKIEL

Scripture references:
Ezekiel

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EZEKIEL’S ROLE IN SCRIPTURE

Ezekiel was taken to Babylon with many other Jews in 597 b.c. He was God’s spokesman to the captive community before the final fall of Jerusalem in 586 b.c., and he warned the captives that Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed. After the fall of Jerusalem, God gave Ezekiel a message of hope and described a great new temple to be constructed in Jerusalem in the days of the Messiah (Ezek. 40–48).

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At their greatest extent the Assyrian and the Babylonian empires dominated the ancient Near East.

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One of the most striking aspects of Ezekiel’s experience is the stunning visions of Himself that God granted to this prophet. These visions of a transcendent God, glorious and all-powerful, strengthened Ezekiel for the many personal trials that lay ahead.

EZEKIEL’S LIFE AND TIMES

Only two verses in the Old Testament identify Ezekiel by name. Each is in the prophet’s own book (1:3; 24:24). At the same time many passages in Ezekiel’s book describe his experiences. Ezekiel was not only given towering visions of God; he also was called to act out God’s messages to the Jewish captives. While some in Babylon held out hope that Judah might be preserved and that they might return home, God’s words through Ezekiel emphasized the depths of Judah’s sins (see Ezek. 8–11), and the certainty of divine judgment. While God would restore His people to the Promised Land in the future, there was no hope for the present generation.

Two incidents reflect ways in which Ezekiel’s experiences were to mirror the fate God had in store for the people of Judah.

Ezekiel acted out the siege of Jerusalem (Ezek. 4; 5).God told Ezekiel to build a model city and lay siege works against it. Ezekiel then was to lie on his side for a fixed number of days and for over a year was to live on a daily ration of some eight ounces of food and a pint of water. Ezekiel’s diet represented the starvation diet of those trapped in Jerusalem by the Babylonian forces.

At the end of this time, Ezekiel shaved his head and beard, and divided it into thirds. Each third represented the fate of Jerusalem’s inhabitants when the city fell.

Ezekiel’s wife died suddenly(Ezek. 24). The prophet was called to do more than act out the fate of others. He was also called to experience the pain of judgment. Ezekiel was warned that his wife, “the desire of your eyes,” would die. God told His prophet, “you shall neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down. Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips, and do not eat man’s bread of sorrow” (Ezek. 24:16, 17).

This strange behavior at the death of a loved one provoked the wonder of the Jewish community, and Ezekiel explained that this fate—a disaster so great that it was beyond mourning—awaited the Israelites as God’s judgment on His people for their sins.

EZEKIEL: AN EXAMPLE FOR TODAY

Ezekiel reminds us that believers who live in times of national disaster will not be protected from the suffering associated with divine judgment. We may, in fact, be called to speak to our generation out of the pain of personal loss.

•     Ezekiel challenges us to be faithful to God when everything in our life seems to go wrong. God guarantees us an eternity of blessing but not a life of ease or pleasure in this world.

•     Ezekiel reminds us that we are citizens of heaven and of earth. We will not escape suffering when our nation undergoes a purging judgment, but God can use us to speak to our contemporaries at such times.

•     Ezekiel encourages us to keep our eyes fixed on the Lord. Only a clear vision of Him will give us the courage to face our own difficult times with peace and hope.

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