|
Introduction to Ezekiel
Keith Sharp
Author
The book bears the name of its
author (1:1-5), who, as Jeremiah and Zechariah, was a priest as well as a
prophet (1:3). Ezekiel's claims to inspiration are striking. Forty-six times
he asserts, "the word of the Lord came to me." One hundred twenty-two
times he introduces a statement with "thus says the Lord God"(cf.
Ezekiel 1:3; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Date
Ezekiel is one of the most
precisely dated of the prophetic books. He was called to be a prophet at the
age of thirty (1:1) in the fifth year of his captivity in Chaldea (1:2), i.e., 592 B.C. His last dated
prophecy came in the twenty-seventh year of his captivity (29:17), i.e., 570
B.C. Thus, Ezekiel prophesied for at least twenty-two years.
Life of Ezekiel
The prophet was among the
captives taken into exile by Nebuchadnezzar with King Jehoiachin
of Judah
in 597 B.C. (1:1). He was placed by the River Chebar
(probably a large irrigation canal from the Euphrates) at Tel Abib (1:3; 3:15) not far from the great Chaldean capital, Babylon.
He was permitted to have his own home (3:24; 8:1). Ezekiel was happily
married to a woman he loved (24:16-18). On the very day Nebuchadnezzar began
to besiege Jerusalem
(24:1-2), the Lord told Ezekiel that his wife would die suddenly and that he
was not to mourn for her (24:16-17). She died the very next day (24:18), and
Ezekiel did as the Lord commanded (24:18). This was a sign of Jerusalem's impending
destruction and how the people were to react (24:19-24).
It is interesting that the
Lord characteristically addresses Ezekiel as "son of man" (cf.
3:17). Ninety-three of the one hundred seven Old Testament occurrences of
this phrase are in Ezekiel. This was the characteristic manner in which Jesus
referred to Himself, doing so in eighty passages. This phrase designates man
with his human weakness in contrast with almighty God.
Role of Ezekiel
Three great Old Testament
prophets were contemporaries with differing roles: Jeremiah, Daniel, and
Ezekiel. Jeremiah, the eldest of the three, was the prophet to the Jews in
the land of Palestine. Daniel was the prophet in
the court of Gentile kings and prophesied to mighty rulers of empires about
world rule. Ezekiel was the prophet to the Jews in exile (3:4-5). His role
was to preserve a faithful remnant to God from among the Dispersion
(33:10-11).
Ezekiel was "a watchman
for the house of Israel"
(3:16-21; 33:1-11). As such, he is a great example to preachers and elders
today (cf. Acts 20:28-31). His role was to warn of impending danger. He was
not responsible for whether or not the people would heed the alarm (3:11). In
fact, Ezekiel was warned that "Israel will not listen to
you" (3 :7), for they were "a rebellious
house" (3:9). But he was to be just as stubborn in proclaiming truth as
they were in opposing it (3:8-9). Indeed, the Jews liked to hear Ezekiel
speak, but they would not obey his admonitions (33 :30-31).
God told Ezekiel why: "But the house of Israel
will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me; for all the house
of Israel
are impudent and hard-hearted" (3 :7).
Message of Ezekiel
The Lord will prove to Israel and to
the nations that He is the Lord God. Sixty-three times either "you shall
know that I am the Lord" or "they shall know that I am the
Lord" occurs in Ezekiel (cf. Harkrider, 5-6).
No biblical writer is clearer
than Ezekiel in proclaiming individual responsibility. The Jews in exile
claimed God was holding them accountable for what their fathers had done
(18:2). Chapters eighteen and thirty-three are thorough refutations of this
fallacy and marvelous defenses of the justice of God (33:12-20).
Chapter eighteen is perhaps
the single most devastating blow to the whole system of Calvinism, which in
effect denies individual responsibility, in the entire Bible. The message of
Ezekiel in summary is: "The soul who sins shall die" (18:20). Each
person is individually accountable to God for his own action. The Jews cannot
rely on the temple or descent from Abraham. Neither Adam's guilt nor Christ's
righteousness is imputed to others. Each person is individually accountable
for his own life.
Method
Ezekiel is one of two Old
Testament books, along with Zechariah, that fits the category of
"apocalyptic" literature. Revelation in the New Testament is also
apocalyptic. This means that much of Ezekiel consists of symbols, allegories,
and visions (cf. 1:1; 4:1-3; 17:2; 20:49). A number of Ezekiel's visions,
such as his description of God on His throne (1:4-28) and the new Israel
(chapters 40-48), have their counterparts in the book of Revelation.
Apocalyptic literature was a kind of code language written by oppressed
people, so that the message was concealed from the oppressors.
Division
The book of Ezekiel is
naturally divided into two parts (chapters 1-32 and chapters 33-48), with the
fall of the city of Jerusalem
marking the division (586 B.C.). At the outset of each division Ezekiel is
commissioned to be a prophet (3:16-21; 33:1-9). Before Jerusalem's fall, Ezekiel warned a people
with false confidence of impending destruction (cf. 5:5-17). After the
destruction of the city, he comforted a broken people with promises of
restoration (cf. chapter 37).
Outline
I. The Call & Commission
of Ezekiel - 1: 1 - 3:21
II. The Sin of Judah &
Its Punishment - 3:22 - 24:27
A. The Doom of Jerusalem - 3:22 - 7:27
B. The Temple Abandoned By God - 8:1 -11:25
C. The Leaders Condemned -
12:1 - 15:8
D. God's Chosen
People Condemned - 16:1 - 19:14
E. The Last Full Measure -
20:1 - 24:27
III. Judgment Upon Gentile
Nations - 25:1 - 32:32
A. The Border Nations -
chapter 25
B. Tyre & Sidon - chapters
26 - 28
C. Egypt - chapters 29 - 32
IV. Restoration &
Salvation of Israel
- chapters 33-48
A. Hope of Restoration - 33:1
- 39:29
B. The New Israel -
40:1- 48:35
_______________
~ ~ ~
|