Ezekiel

Part One: Introduction to Ezekiel

The Prophet

Ezekiel, whose name means "God strengthens," was "the priest, the son of Buzi" (1:3). He was taken to Babylon in 597 BC with King Jehoiachin and about 10,000 of Jerusalem's leading citizens (2 Kings 24:14-16), and lived among the exiles at Tel-abib by the river (canal) Chebar (1:1; 3:15). He was called to be a prophet "in the thirtieth year" (1:1), probably his own age, the age at which priests began their service (Numbers 4:3), in the fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity, 593 BC (1:2). He was married, and his wife's death became one of his prophetic signs (24:15-18). His ministry lasted at least 22 years; his last dated prophecy was in 571 BC (29:17).

Ezekiel was a contemporary of Jeremiah, who was preaching in Jerusalem, and of Daniel, who served in the Babylonian court and whom Ezekiel names as an example of righteousness and wisdom (14:14, 20; 28:3). Jeremiah warned those still in Jerusalem; Ezekiel warned the exiles, who hoped the city would never fall.

Author and Date

Ezekiel wrote the book himself, mostly in the first person. It is the most precisely dated of the prophetic books, with about thirteen dated messages, giving year, month and day, counted from Jehoiachin's captivity (for example 1:1-2; 8:1; 20:1; 24:1; 33:21; 40:1). The messages span from 593 to 571 BC.

Key Phrases

• "Son of man" (about 93 times): God's usual name for Ezekiel, stressing his humanity before the glory of God. Jesus took this title for Himself (Daniel 7:13; Mark 2:10; 14:62).
• "They shall know that I am the LORD" (over 60 times): the purpose of both God's judgments and His restorations is that people will know Him.
• "The glory of the LORD": Ezekiel sees God's glory, watches it leave the temple, and sees it return.
• "The hand of the LORD was upon me" and "the spirit entered into me": the source of his visions and power.
• "For mine holy name's sake": God acts to vindicate His holy name (20:9; 36:22).

Purpose and Theme

Ezekiel's message to the exiles had two halves, divided by the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC:

• Before the fall (chapters 1-24): Jerusalem will be destroyed because of its idolatry and wickedness; God's glory will depart from the defiled temple. False hopes must be abandoned.
• After the fall (chapters 33-48): God will restore His people, gather them from the nations, give them a new heart and His Spirit, raise up one Shepherd from David's line, defeat their final enemies, and dwell among them again in a renewed temple. Between the halves stand oracles against the nations (25-32).

The book begins with a vision of God's glory by a river in Babylon and ends with the name of the restored city: "The LORD is there" (48:35).

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you

Ezekiel 36:26-27

The Departure and Return of God's Glory

Ezekiel's Sign-Acts

Ezekiel acted out many of his messages:

Outline of Ezekiel

Part Two: Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis

Section I: Ezekiel's Call (Chapters 1-3)

Chapter 1 — The Vision of God's Glory

"Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God" (1:1). In a foreign land, far from the temple, God revealed Himself. A whirlwind came from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing and brightness like amber (1:4). Out of it came four living creatures, each with four faces (a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle), four wings, straight legs with feet like a calf's, and human hands (1:5-11). They moved straight ahead wherever the spirit went, and "ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning" (1:12-14). Beside them were wheels, "as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel," with rims full of eyes, moving in any direction without turning, "for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels" (1:15-21). God's throne is mobile; He is not confined to Jerusalem.

Above them was a firmament like terrible crystal (1:22), and the sound of their wings was "like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty" (1:24). Above the firmament was a throne like sapphire, "and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it" (1:26), surrounded by fire and brightness like a rainbow (1:27-28).

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

Ezekiel 1:28

Notice the careful wording: "the appearance of the likeness of the glory." Ezekiel saw only reflections of God's glory. The figure "as the appearance of a man" on the throne points forward to the incarnation of the Son of God. John's visions in Revelation echo this chapter: the four living creatures with faces of lion, calf, man and eagle, the rainbow around the throne, the sea of glass like crystal (Revelation 4:2-8), and the Son of man whose voice was "as the sound of many waters" (Revelation 1:13-15).

Chapter 2 — Sent to a Rebellious House

"Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee" (2:1). The Spirit entered him and set him on his feet (2:2). God sent him to "a rebellious nation... impudent children and stiffhearted" (2:3-4). "And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them" (2:5). Success would be measured by faithfulness, not results. "Be not afraid of them... though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions" (2:6). God held out a scroll written on both sides with "lamentations, and mourning, and woe" (2:9-10).

Chapter 3 — The Watchman

"Son of man... eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel" (3:1). "Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness" (3:3; compare Jeremiah 15:16; Psalm 119:103; Revelation 10:9-10). God's Word must be taken in before it is given out. He was not sent to foreigners, who would have listened, but to Israel, who would not (3:5-7). God made his forehead "as an adamant harder than flint" (3:8-9). Carried by the Spirit, "I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me" (3:14). He sat stunned among the exiles at Tel-abib for seven days (3:15). Then came his commission:

Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning... the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness... he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

Ezekiel 3:17-19

The watchman's duty is to warn faithfully; the hearer is responsible for his response. Paul said, "I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God" (Acts 20:26-27). God then bound Ezekiel's tongue so that he would be silent except when God opened his mouth to speak His word (3:24-27).

Section II: Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem (Chapters 4-24)

Chapter 4 — The Siege Acted Out

Ezekiel drew Jerusalem on a clay tile and set up a model siege against it, with an iron pan as a wall between him and the city (4:1-3). He lay on his left side 390 days, bearing the iniquity of Israel, and on his right side 40 days for Judah, "each day for a year" (4:4-6). He ate rationed bread made from mixed grains, measured by weight, and water by measure (4:9-11, 16-17), a picture of the famine to come. God told him to bake it over human dung, signifying the defiled food of exile; when Ezekiel protested that he had never eaten anything unclean, God allowed cow dung instead (4:12-15).

Chapter 5 — The Shaved Hair

Ezekiel shaved his head and beard with a sharp sword and divided the hair into thirds: one third burned in the city, one third struck with the sword around it, and one third scattered to the wind (5:1-2). A few hairs were bound in the edge of his garment, and even some of those were burned (5:3-4): a small remnant, still tested. "This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations" (5:5), yet she had been more wicked than the nations around her (5:6-7). Because she defiled the sanctuary, God would not spare her (5:11). Famine would be so severe that parents would eat their children (5:10; Leviticus 26:29).

Chapter 6 — Against the Mountains of Israel

God would destroy the high places where idols were worshipped on every hill (6:1-7). A remnant would remember Him among the nations: "I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me" (6:9), revealing God's grief over His people's unfaithfulness. They would loathe themselves for their evils, "and they shall know that I am the LORD" (6:9-10).

Chapter 7 — The End Has Come

"An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land" (7:2). "Behold, the day, behold, it is come" (7:10). Wealth would be useless: "they shall cast their silver in the streets... their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD" (7:19). "Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none" (7:25). "They shall seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest" (7:26).

Chapter 8 — Abominations in the Temple

In the sixth year (592 BC), as the elders of Judah sat before him, Ezekiel was lifted by a lock of his hair and carried in visions to Jerusalem (8:1-3). There he saw the glory of God, and four increasing abominations in the temple:

• The image of jealousy at the north gate of the altar (8:3-6).
• Seventy elders, led by Jaazaniah son of Shaphan, secretly burning incense to images of creeping things and beasts painted on the walls of a hidden room, saying, "The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth" (8:7-12).
• Women weeping for Tammuz, a Babylonian fertility god, at the north gate (8:13-14).
• Twenty-five men with their backs to the temple, worshipping the sun toward the east (8:15-16).

"Have ye seen this, O son of man?... they have filled the land with violence" (8:17). God's people had brought pagan worship into His very house. Secret sin was exposed (Luke 12:2-3).

Chapter 9 — The Mark on the Foreheads

Six executioners came, and with them a man clothed in linen with a writer's inkhorn (9:2). "And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house" (9:3): the first stage of God's departure. God commanded the man in linen:

Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

Ezekiel 9:4

The executioners were to spare those with the mark and slay the rest, "and begin at my sanctuary" (9:5-6). Judgment begins at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). God knows and protects those who grieve over sin, as He seals His servants in Revelation (Revelation 7:3; 9:4; 14:1). Ezekiel cried, "Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel?" (9:8).

Chapter 10 — The Glory Leaves the Temple

The man in linen took burning coals from between the cherubim and scattered them over the city (10:2, 6-7). "Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD'S glory" (10:4). Ezekiel recognised the cherubim as the living creatures he had seen by the river Chebar (10:15, 20-22). "Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims," and they rose and stood at the east gate (10:18-19).

Chapter 11 — A New Heart Promised; the Glory Departs

At the east gate, Ezekiel saw twenty-five leaders giving wicked counsel and saying, "This city is the caldron, and we be the flesh" (11:1-3), believing themselves safe inside the city. As Ezekiel prophesied their judgment, one of them, Pelatiah, fell dead (11:13). Ezekiel cried out for the remnant. God answered with a promise for the exiles, whom the people in Jerusalem despised: "yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come" (11:16). God Himself would be their sanctuary in exile. He would gather them and give them the land again (11:17), and:

I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes... and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

Ezekiel 11:19-20

"And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city" (11:23), the Mount of Olives. God's glory had left Jerusalem. Centuries later, the glory of God came in Jesus Christ (John 1:14), who wept over Jerusalem, said "your house is left unto you desolate" (Matthew 23:38), and ascended from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:9-12), and will return there (Zechariah 14:4; Acts 1:11).

Chapter 12 — Signs of Exile

The people had "eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not" (12:2). Ezekiel packed his belongings by day, dug through the wall at evening, and went out with his face covered (12:3-7), a sign that the prince in Jerusalem would flee by night through a hole in the wall and be captured: "I will bring him to Babylon... yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there" (12:12-13). This was fulfilled when King Zedekiah fled, was captured, had his eyes put out, and was taken to Babylon (2 Kings 25:4-7). Ezekiel ate his bread with trembling as a sign of coming fear (12:17-20). God rejected the people's proverbs that visions never come true or are for the distant future: "none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done" (12:21-28; 2 Peter 3:3-9).

Chapter 13 — False Prophets and Prophetesses

"Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!" (13:3). They were like foxes in the ruins (13:4). "Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle" (13:5). They "seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace" (13:10). They covered the people's flimsy wall with whitewash ("untempered morter"), and God's storm would bring it down (13:10-16). False prophetesses sold magic charms to hunt souls for handfuls of barley and pieces of bread (13:17-19). "Ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked" (13:22). False teaching discourages the righteous and comforts the wicked.

Chapter 14 — Idols in the Heart

Elders came to inquire of God, but "these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face" (14:3). God would answer them Himself in judgment (14:4-8). "Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols" (14:6). Judgment on Jerusalem was certain: "Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness" (14:14, 20). God's "four sore judgments," sword, famine, wild beasts and pestilence (14:21), would come, though a remnant would survive to show the justice of His acts (14:22-23).

Chapter 15 — The Useless Vine

A vine is good only for fruit; its wood cannot even make a peg (15:2-3). Once burned, it is useless (15:4-5). Jerusalem, a fruitless vine, would be given to the fire (15:6-8). Jesus used similar imagery: "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire" (John 15:6).

Chapter 16 — The Unfaithful Bride

In the longest chapter of the book, God describes Jerusalem's history as a story of grace and betrayal. She began as an abandoned baby girl of Canaanite origin, unwashed and cast out in the open field, unwanted (16:3-5). "And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live" (16:6). When she grew up, "thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee... yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine" (16:8; compare Ruth 3:9). God washed her, anointed her, clothed her in fine garments and jewels, and made her famous for her beauty, "for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee" (16:9-14).

But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown

Ezekiel 16:15

She used God's gifts to make idols, sacrificed her children (16:20-21), and pursued Egypt, Assyria and Babylon, even paying her lovers instead of being paid (16:26-34). God would bring judgment by the very nations she courted (16:35-43). She was worse than her "sisters" Samaria and Sodom (16:46-52):

Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me

Ezekiel 16:49-50

Yet the chapter ends with grace: "Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant" (16:60). She would be ashamed and silent "when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD" (16:63). This is a picture of salvation by grace: God finds us helpless, gives us life, makes us His own, adorns us with His beauty, and forgives our betrayal through an everlasting covenant (Ephesians 2:1-10).

Chapter 17 — Two Eagles and a Cedar

A riddle: a great eagle (Nebuchadnezzar) took the top of a cedar (King Jehoiachin) to a land of merchants (Babylon) and planted a seed (Zedekiah) that grew into a low, spreading vine (17:3-6). The vine turned toward another great eagle (Pharaoh of Egypt) (17:7-8). Zedekiah broke his oath to Babylon, sworn in God's name, and would die in Babylon (17:11-21). Then a Messianic promise:

I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high and eminent mountain... and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing

Ezekiel 17:22-23

God would raise a tender shoot from David's royal line and make it a great tree sheltering all nations. Christ is the "Branch" (Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5), and Jesus' parable of the mustard seed that becomes a tree where birds lodge echoes this image (Matthew 13:31-32). "And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree" (17:24).

Chapter 18 — The Soul That Sinneth, It Shall Die

The exiles quoted a proverb blaming their suffering on their ancestors: "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge" (18:2; Jeremiah 31:29). God rejected it:

Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Ezekiel 18:4

Three generations illustrate the principle: a righteous man lives (18:5-9); his violent son dies for his own sins (18:10-13); and that son's righteous son lives, not punished for his father's sins (18:14-18). "The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son" (18:20; Deuteronomy 24:16). A wicked man who turns from his sins will live, and his past sins will not be remembered against him (18:21-22). A righteous man who turns to wickedness will die (18:24).

Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?

Ezekiel 18:23

"Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin... make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye" (18:30-32). God does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:4). Each person is accountable to God for his own response (Romans 14:12).

Chapter 19 — A Lament for the Princes

A lioness (Judah) raised cubs who became young lions (kings): one (Jehoahaz) was taken in chains to Egypt (19:1-4; 2 Kings 23:33-34); another (Jehoiachin) was caged and brought to Babylon (19:5-9). Judah was a fruitful vine plucked up in fury, now planted in the wilderness, with no strong branch left to be a sceptre (19:10-14).

Chapter 20 — A History of Rebellion

In the seventh year (591 BC), elders came to inquire, and God reviewed Israel's history of rebellion: in Egypt they clung to idols (20:5-9); in the wilderness they rejected His statutes and profaned His sabbaths, which He gave "to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them" (20:10-26); in the land they worshipped on every high hill (20:27-32). A refrain explains God's mercy: "But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen" (20:9, 14, 22, 44). God promised to bring them out of the nations into "the wilderness of the people," and there "I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: And I will purge out from among you the rebels" (20:35-38). Then all Israel would serve Him on His holy mountain, and they would loathe themselves for their sins (20:40-44).

Chapter 21 — The Sword of the LORD

(In the English Bible, 20:45-49 introduces this message.) God would kindle a fire in the forest of the south (20:45-49). "A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished" (21:9). The king of Babylon stood at a fork in the road, using divination, shaking arrows, consulting idols and examining a liver, and the lot fell on Jerusalem (21:19-22). To Zedekiah, "thou, profane wicked prince of Israel":

Remove the diadem, and take off the crown... I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.

Ezekiel 21:26-27

The throne of David would be overturned and left empty until the coming of the One to whom it rightfully belongs, echoing Genesis 49:10, "until Shiloh come." No descendant of David has reigned in Jerusalem since Zedekiah. The rightful King is Jesus Christ, to whom God will give "the throne of his father David" (Luke 1:32-33). The chapter ends with judgment on Ammon (21:28-32).

Chapter 22 — No One to Stand in the Gap

Jerusalem is "the bloody city" (22:2). Its sins are listed: bloodshed, idolatry, contempt for parents, oppression of strangers, orphans and widows, profaning the sabbath, slander, sexual immorality, bribery, usury and forgetting God (22:6-12). God would melt them like dross in a furnace (22:17-22). Every class had failed: the prophets conspired like roaring lions (22:25); the priests "put no difference between the holy and profane" (22:26); the princes were like wolves (22:27); the prophets whitewashed sin (22:28); the people oppressed the poor (22:29).

And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

Ezekiel 22:30

God looked for an intercessor and found none (compare Isaiah 59:16). Only Christ perfectly stands in the gap between a holy God and sinful humanity (1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:25).

Chapter 23 — Two Sisters: Aholah and Aholibah

Two sisters, Aholah ("her tent," Samaria) and Aholibah ("my tent is in her," Jerusalem), played the harlot in Egypt in their youth (23:1-4). Aholah lusted after the Assyrians and was destroyed by them (23:5-10). Aholibah saw this but became even more corrupt, pursuing Assyria, then Babylon, then Egypt again (23:11-21). God would bring her former lovers against her (23:22-35). Political alliances and idolatry were spiritual adultery against her divine Husband.

Chapter 24 — The Boiling Pot and the Death of Ezekiel's Wife

"In the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month," God told Ezekiel, "write thee the name of the day... the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day" (24:1-2). Hundreds of miles away, Ezekiel was told the exact day the siege began (2 Kings 25:1). He gave a parable of a rusty pot filled with meat and set on the fire until even the pot was consumed, a picture of Jerusalem's judgment (24:3-14).

Then God said, "Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep" (24:16). "So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded" (24:18). When the people asked why he did not mourn, he explained that God would profane His sanctuary, "the desire of your eyes," and their children would fall, yet they would be too stunned to mourn (24:20-24). On the day a fugitive arrived with the news of Jerusalem's fall, Ezekiel's mouth would be opened (24:25-27). His personal grief became a message; few servants of God have paid a higher price.

Section III: Judgment on the Nations (Chapters 25-32)

Chapter 25 — Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia

God judged Judah's neighbours for their attitudes when Jerusalem fell: Ammon, which rejoiced and clapped its hands (25:1-7); Moab, which said Judah was like all the other nations (25:8-11); Edom, which took vengeance on Judah, "And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel" (25:12-14); and Philistia, with its perpetual hatred (25:15-17). God holds nations accountable for how they treat His people (Genesis 12:3).

Chapters 26-28 — Tyre and Sidon

Tyre's destruction (26). Tyre, the great Phoenician trading city, rejoiced at Jerusalem's fall, expecting to profit (26:2). God declared, "I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up" (26:3). Note "many nations," like successive waves. Nebuchadnezzar would besiege it (26:7-11); he besieged mainland Tyre for thirteen years (around 586-573 BC). "And they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water" (26:12). In 332 BC, Alexander the Great built a causeway to the island city using the ruins of old mainland Tyre, scraping its rubble into the sea. "I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more" (26:14). The site of old Tyre has often been cited as a place where fishermen dried their nets.

The lament over Tyre (27). Tyre is pictured as a magnificent merchant ship, built with the finest materials and trading with the whole world (27:1-25), which sinks in the heart of the seas while merchants and sailors mourn (27:26-36), much like the lament over Babylon in Revelation 18.

The prince and king of Tyre (28). The prince of Tyre said in his pride, "I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas" (28:2). "Thou art wiser than Daniel" (28:3), yet he would die like a man (28:6-10). Then a lament for "the king of Tyrus" uses language that goes far beyond any human king:

Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering... Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God... Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee... Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground

Ezekiel 28:12-17

Many Bible teachers, alongside Isaiah 14:12-15, see here a description of the power behind the king of Tyre: Satan, a created cherub, perfect until pride corrupted him, cast down from God's mountain (1 Timothy 3:6; Luke 10:18; Revelation 12:9). Sidon would also be judged (28:20-24). The section ends with a promise that Israel will be gathered and "dwell safely therein" (28:25-26).

Chapters 29-32 — Egypt

Egypt, the "broken reed" Judah trusted (29:6-7; Isaiah 36:6), receives seven oracles.

• Pharaoh the great dragon (29:1-16). Pharaoh boasted, "My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself" (29:3). God would drag him out like a crocodile with hooks (29:4-5). Egypt would be desolate forty years and then restored, but "It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations" (29:15). Egypt never again became a world-ruling empire; it was ruled by Persians, Greeks, Romans and others for many centuries.
• Egypt given to Nebuchadnezzar (29:17-21). In the 27th year (571 BC), God said that because Nebuchadnezzar's army had laboured hard against Tyre without spoil, He would give him Egypt as wages, "because they wrought for me" (29:18-20). "In that day will I cause the horn of the house of Israel to bud forth" (29:21).
• The day of the LORD on Egypt (30:1-19) and Pharaoh's broken arms (30:20-26).
• The fallen cedar (31). Assyria had been like a magnificent cedar of Lebanon, greater than any tree in Eden, yet God cut it down for its pride (31:1-14). "This is Pharaoh and all his multitude" (31:18).
• Laments for Pharaoh (32). Egypt would go down to the pit to join Assyria, Elam, Meshech, Tubal, Edom and Sidon, the mighty nations who "caused their terror in the land of the living" (32:17-32).

Section IV: The Restoration of Israel (Chapters 33-48)

Chapter 33 — The Watchman and the Fall of Jerusalem

God renewed Ezekiel's commission as watchman (33:1-9; compare 3:17-21). The people said, "If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?" (33:10). God answered:

Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

Ezekiel 33:11

A righteous man's past righteousness will not save him if he turns to sin, and a wicked man's past sins will not condemn him if he turns to righteousness (33:12-20). "In the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month," a fugitive arrived: "The city is smitten" (33:21). That evening God opened Ezekiel's mouth, and he was no longer silent (33:22). The survivors in Judah still claimed the land like Abraham while living in sin (33:24-29). The exiles enjoyed Ezekiel's preaching as entertainment: "thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice... for they hear thy words, but they do them not" (33:32; James 1:22). "And when this cometh to pass... then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them" (33:33).

Chapter 34 — The Good Shepherd

"Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?" (34:2). Israel's leaders had exploited the sheep: "The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost" (34:4). The sheep were scattered (34:5-6). So God Himself would shepherd them:

Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out... I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick

Ezekiel 34:11, 15-16

He would judge between sheep and sheep, and between the rams and the goats (34:17-22; compare Matthew 25:31-33).

And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them

Ezekiel 34:23-24

Written centuries after David died, this promises the Messiah, the Son of David. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11-16), and "the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). He is "that great shepherd of the sheep" (Hebrews 13:20) and "the chief Shepherd" (1 Peter 5:4). God would make with them "a covenant of peace," send "showers of blessing" (34:25-26), and raise up "a plant of renown" (34:29). "And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD" (34:31).

Chapter 35 — Mount Seir (Edom)

Edom had "a perpetual hatred" and shed Israel's blood in her calamity (35:5), and claimed Israel's land, saying, "These two nations... shall be mine" (35:10). God would make Mount Seir perpetually desolate (35:9, 15).

Chapter 36 — A New Heart and a New Spirit

God spoke to the mountains of Israel, promising they would again bear fruit for His people, be tilled and resettled, and no longer bear the shame of the nations (36:1-15). Israel had defiled the land and profaned God's name among the nations (36:16-21).

Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen

Ezekiel 36:22

God would gather them from all countries (36:24) and transform them:

Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Ezekiel 36:25-27

This is the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31:31-34 described from another angle: cleansing, a new heart, and the indwelling Spirit who enables obedience. Jesus told Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel who should have known these things, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5, 10). Salvation is "by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 3:5). The restored people would remember their sins and loathe themselves (36:31), and the desolate land would become "like the garden of Eden" (36:35).

Chapter 37 — The Valley of Dry Bones

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones... and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.

Ezekiel 37:1-3

God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones: "O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD" (37:4). As he spoke, there was a noise and a shaking; the bones came together, sinews and flesh came on them, and skin covered them, "but there was no breath in them" (37:7-8). Then God commanded him, "Prophesy unto the wind... Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live" (37:9). "And the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army" (37:10). The Hebrew word ruach means breath, wind and Spirit, all at once.

God explained: "these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost" (37:11). "I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel... And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live" (37:12-14). The vision promises the national resurrection of Israel from the "grave" of exile, in two stages: first the physical regathering (bones and flesh), then spiritual life (the Spirit). Many Bible teachers see the modern return of Jews to the land and the founding of the State of Israel in 1948 as part of the first stage, with the spiritual stage still to come (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:26). The vision also pictures the regeneration of every sinner "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1-5; John 5:25), and points to the bodily resurrection (Daniel 12:2; John 5:28-29).

Then God told Ezekiel to take two sticks, one for Judah and one for Joseph (Ephraim, the northern tribes), and join them into one in his hand (37:15-17). "I will make them one nation in the land... and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations" (37:22). "And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd... and my servant David shall be their prince for ever" (37:24-25). God would make "an everlasting covenant" with them: "My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (37:26-27; quoted in 2 Corinthians 6:16; compare Revelation 21:3).

Chapters 38-39 — Gog and Magog

In "the latter years" (38:8), after Israel has been gathered from the nations and is dwelling securely in "unwalled villages" (38:11), a great northern power will invade. "Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal" (38:2). (The Hebrew can also be read "the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.") His allies include Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer, "and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters" (38:5-6). Many of these names come from the table of nations in Genesis 10:2-3. They come "like a cloud to cover the land" to take spoil (38:9-12), from "the north parts" (38:15).

But God Himself fights for Israel with a great earthquake, confusion among the invaders so that "every man's sword shall be against his brother," pestilence, blood, overflowing rain, great hailstones, fire and brimstone (38:19-22). "Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD" (38:23). The invaders fall on the mountains of Israel (39:1-5). Israel will burn their weapons for seven years (39:9-10) and spend seven months burying the dead in "the valley of Hamon-gog" (39:11-16). God calls the birds and beasts to a great feast on the slain (39:17-20; compare Revelation 19:17-18). "So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel" (39:7). God will "have mercy upon the whole house of Israel" (39:25), "Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel" (39:29).

Christians differ on the timing of this invasion: some place it before or during the tribulation, others at the end of it, and some identify it with the rebellion of "Gog and Magog" after the millennium (Revelation 20:7-9), though Revelation's account differs in several details. What is certain is the message: God will defend His people and display His holiness to the nations.

Chapters 40-42 — The Vision of the New Temple

"In the five and twentieth year of our captivity... in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten" (573 BC), God brought Ezekiel in visions to a very high mountain in Israel (40:1-2). There stood a man "whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed" (40:3). He told Ezekiel, "declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel" (40:4). The man measured the temple complex in detail: the outer wall, the gates with their chambers and porches (east, north and south), the outer and inner courts, the altar area, the temple building and its Most Holy Place, side chambers, and priests' chambers (40:5-42:14). Finally he measured the outer wall, five hundred reeds square, "to make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place" (42:15-20). Measuring in Scripture marks something as God's possession and protects its holiness (Zechariah 2:1-5; Revelation 11:1; 21:15-17).

Chapter 43 — The Glory Returns

And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory... And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east... and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.

Ezekiel 43:2, 4-5

The glory that departed eastward (11:23) now returns from the east. God declares, "Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever" (43:7). Israel must no longer defile His name (43:7-9). Ezekiel is to show them the design so they will be ashamed of their iniquities (43:10-11). "This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy" (43:12). The altar of burnt offering is described and its consecration over seven days (43:13-27).

Chapter 44 — The Closed Gate and the Priests

"This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it" (44:2). Only "the prince" may sit in the gateway to eat bread before the LORD (44:3). Foreigners "uncircumcised in heart" may not enter the sanctuary (44:9). The Levites who had gone astray into idolatry would serve in lesser roles (44:10-14), but "the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray" would minister before God (44:15-16). Faithfulness is rewarded. The priests are to "teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean" (44:23), the very thing Israel's priests had failed to do (22:26). "I am their inheritance... I am their possession" (44:28).

Chapter 45 — The Holy Portion and Just Rulers

A holy portion of land (the "oblation") is set apart for the sanctuary, the priests, the Levites, the city and the prince (45:1-8). The princes must stop oppressing the people: "Execute judgment and justice... take away your exactions from my people" (45:9), and use honest weights and measures (45:10-12). The people bring offerings to the prince, who provides the sacrifices for the feasts (45:13-17). Annual purification of the sanctuary, the Passover (45:21-24), and the Feast of Tabernacles (45:25) are described. Notably, the Day of Atonement and Pentecost are not mentioned.

Chapter 46 — Worship and the Prince

The prince and people worship at the east gate of the inner court on sabbaths and new moons (46:1-8). Worshippers entering by the north gate must leave by the south, and vice versa: no one turns back, but goes straight through (46:9). The prince's inheritance is protected, and he may not take the people's property (46:16-18). Kitchens for boiling the sacrifices are described (46:19-24).

Chapter 47 — The River of Life

Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward

Ezekiel 47:1

The man measured the river at intervals of a thousand cubits: first ankle-deep, then knee-deep, then waist-deep, then "a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in" (47:3-5). Very many trees grew on both banks (47:7). The water flowed east toward the desert and into the Dead Sea, healing its waters: "every thing shall live whither the river cometh," and fishermen would spread their nets from En-gedi to En-eglaim (47:8-10). Only the marshes would remain salt (47:11).

And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.

Ezekiel 47:12

The river flowing from God's presence brings life and healing wherever it goes. Joel (3:18) and Zechariah (14:8) foretell the same river. Jesus promised that "out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:37-39), speaking of the Spirit; and Revelation shows "a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb," with the tree of life on either side, "and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations" (Revelation 22:1-2).

The borders of the land are described (47:13-20), and strangers who live among Israel and have children there are to receive an inheritance among the tribes "as born in the country among the children of Israel" (47:21-23), a remarkable inclusion of Gentiles.

Chapter 48 — The Tribes, the City and "The LORD Is There"

The land is divided into parallel east-west strips for the twelve tribes, seven to the north and five to the south of the holy portion (48:1-29). The city has twelve gates, three on each side, named after the twelve tribes (48:30-34; compare Revelation 21:12-13). The book ends:

It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.

Ezekiel 48:35

In Hebrew, Jehovah-shammah. The glory that left in chapter 11 has returned to stay. This is the goal of all God's work: "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them" (Revelation 21:3).

How should chapters 40-48 be understood? Christians hold three main views:

• A literal future temple during Christ's millennial reign on earth, where worship and memorial sacrifices point back to Christ's finished work (compare Isaiah 56:7; 60:7; Zechariah 14:16-21). Many Baptist and dispensational interpreters hold this view, noting the detailed measurements and the distinction between this temple and the New Jerusalem, which has no temple (Revelation 21:22).
• A symbolic picture of God's presence with His people, fulfilled in Christ and the church and in the eternal state described in Revelation 21-22.
• An ideal pattern given to the exiles which was never fully realised after the return.

Whatever view is taken, the vision teaches God's holiness, His desire to dwell with His people, the life-giving power of His presence, and the certainty of His purposes.

Part Three: Christ in Ezekiel

Prophecies and Pictures of Christ

The Glory of God in Christ

Ezekiel watched God's glory depart from a defiled temple. Six centuries later, John wrote, "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). "For God... hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). The glory returned in a Person. And in the New Jerusalem, "the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" (Revelation 21:23).

The Good Shepherd

Ezekiel 34 is the background of Jesus' teaching in John 10. Israel's leaders were the false shepherds who fed themselves; Jesus is the Shepherd God promised, who seeks the lost, binds up the broken, heals the sick, and gives His life for the sheep (John 10:11). He gathers one flock under one Shepherd (John 10:16; Ezekiel 37:24).

Part Four: Fulfilled Prophecies

Prophecies still awaiting complete fulfillment include the full spiritual restoration of Israel (36-37), the defeat of Gog (38-39), and the vision of the temple, river and city (40-48).

Part Five: Key Passages in Depth

Ezekiel 1 — The Glory of God

Ezekiel's ministry began with a vision of God's overwhelming glory: living creatures, wheels within wheels, fire, a sapphire throne, and the likeness of a man upon it. Before he could speak for God, he had to see God, and he fell on his face. Every true ministry begins with a vision of God's holiness and majesty (Isaiah 6:1-8; Revelation 1:12-17).

Ezekiel 3:17-21; 33:1-11 — The Watchman

God's servants are responsible to warn people faithfully. If they warn and are not heeded, they are free of guilt; if they fail to warn, they share responsibility. This applies to pastors, teachers and every believer with the gospel (Acts 20:26-27; 2 Corinthians 5:20).

Ezekiel 18 — Personal Responsibility and God's Desire to Save

No one can blame parents or circumstances for their own sin, and no one is condemned for another's sin. God judges each person by his own response, and He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. "Wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye" (18:32). This is one of the clearest Old Testament invitations to repent.

Ezekiel 22:30 — Standing in the Gap

God looks for intercessors who will stand between His judgment and a sinful people. Moses did (Psalm 106:23). In Ezekiel's day, none was found. Christ is the perfect Intercessor, and believers are called to pray for their nation and for the lost (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

Ezekiel 36:25-27 — The New Heart

Religion cannot change the heart; only God can. He cleanses, replaces the heart of stone with a heart of flesh, and puts His Spirit within to produce obedience. This is the inner work of the New Covenant, experienced by every believer through the new birth (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Ezekiel 37:1-14 — Can These Bones Live?

To human eyes, Israel's hope was dead and dry. But God's Word and God's Spirit bring life where there is none. The vision assures Israel of national restoration and every believer of God's power to give life to the spiritually dead and, one day, to raise the bodies of the dead.

Ezekiel 47:1-12 — The River from the Sanctuary

The river grows deeper the further it flows and brings life wherever it reaches, even to the Dead Sea. It pictures the life-giving work of God's Spirit flowing from His presence, beginning small and becoming overwhelming, healing and making fruitful.

Part Six: The Major Teachings of Ezekiel

1. The Glory and Holiness of God

God's glory fills the book: revealed by the river, departing from defilement, returning to dwell for ever. His holiness cannot tolerate sin (8-11; 43:7-12).

2. "They Shall Know That I Am the LORD"

Both judgment and restoration have one ultimate purpose: that Israel and the nations will know God (6:7; 36:23; 38:23; 39:7).

3. God Acts for His Name's Sake

God restores Israel not because they deserve it but to vindicate His holy name (20:9; 36:22-23).

4. God's Sovereignty over Nations

Babylon, Tyre, Egypt and Gog are all under God's control and judgment (25-32; 38-39).

5. Sin and Judgment

Idolatry, injustice, false prophecy and spiritual adultery bring judgment (8; 16; 22-23).

6. Individual Responsibility

Each person is accountable for his own sin and his own response to God (18; 33).

7. God's Desire for Repentance

"I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked" (18:23, 32; 33:11).

8. The New Heart and the Holy Spirit

God will give a new heart and put His Spirit within His people (11:19-20; 36:26-27; 37:14; 39:29).

9. The Messianic Shepherd-King

God will raise up one Shepherd, His servant David, to rule His people for ever (34:23-24; 37:24-25).

10. The Restoration and Reunification of Israel

God will gather Israel from the nations, give them life, reunite them and dwell among them (36-37).

11. The Faithful Watchman

God's servants must warn faithfully, whatever the response (3; 33).

12. God's Presence with His People

From "a little sanctuary" in exile (11:16) to "The LORD is there" (48:35), the book's goal is God dwelling with His people.

Part Seven: Connections — How Ezekiel Links to the Rest of the Bible

Ezekiel in the New Testament

Ezekiel in the Old Testament

Themes That Run from Ezekiel Through Scripture

Part Eight: Practical Lessons

• Let a vision of God's glory humble you (1:28).
• Be faithful whether people listen or not (2:5-7).
• Take in God's Word before giving it out (3:1-3).
• Warn others faithfully (3:17-21; 33:7-9).
• God sees what is done in secret (8:12).
• Grieve over sin in God's house (9:4).
• God can be your sanctuary wherever you are (11:16).
• Beware of false prophets who cry "Peace" (13:10).
• Remove the idols of your heart (14:3-6).
• Remember what God has done for you, and don't trust in your own beauty (16:6-15).
• Pride, excess and neglect of the poor were Sodom's sins too (16:49-50).
• Take responsibility for your own sin (18:20).
• Turn and live; God has no pleasure in death (18:32).
• Stand in the gap in prayer (22:30).
• Obey even when it costs you deeply (24:15-18).
• Don't just enjoy sermons; do them (33:31-32).
• Leaders must serve the flock, not themselves (34:2-4).
• Ask God for a new heart and His Spirit (36:26-27).
• No situation is too dead for God's Word and Spirit (37:3-10).
• Let the river of God's life flow deeper in you (47:3-5).
• Live for the day when "The LORD is there" (48:35).

Part Nine: Key Verses to Memorize

Conclusion

Ezekiel is the book of the glory of God. A priest in exile by a river in Babylon saw the heavens opened and the likeness of a Man on a throne of fire. He was called to be a watchman to a rebellious people, to act out the coming siege, and to watch in vision as God's glory left a temple defiled by idols, rising from the Mount of Olives. He paid a heavy price, even losing his wife as a sign. When Jerusalem fell, his message turned to hope: God Himself would seek His lost sheep and set over them one Shepherd, His servant David; He would cleanse His people, give them a new heart and put His Spirit within them; He would breathe life into dry bones, reunite His people, defeat their last enemies, and return in glory to dwell among them for ever, with a river of life flowing from His presence. All these promises meet in Jesus Christ, the Son of man and Good Shepherd, in whom God's glory dwelt among us, who gives the new heart and the Spirit, who raises the dead, and who will bring His people to the city whose name is "The LORD is there."

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26