Major Prophets · Old Testament
Ezekiel
c. 593–571 BC
- Section
- Major Prophets · Old Testament
- Events span
- c. 593–571 BC
- Written
- c. 571 BC, from exile in Babylonia (in modern-day southern Iraq)
- Author
- Ezekiel the priest
Ezekiel, a priest exiled to Babylon, receives dramatic visions and acts out God's messages. He declares judgment on Jerusalem before its fall, then judgment on the nations, and finally hope: dry bones coming to life and a restored temple where God dwells.
Historical setting: Among the exiles in Babylon; the book spans the First Temple's destruction (586 BC), after which no temple would stand until the Second was built.
Key themes
- The glory of God
- Judgment for idolatry
- Individual responsibility
- The valley of dry bones
- God's presence restored
Key events
Judgment on Jerusalem (Ezekiel 1–24)
- Ezekiel sees a vision of God's glory on a chariot-throne of wheels and is called as a prophet
- He acts out the coming siege of Jerusalem with signs and symbols
- In a vision he sees the idolatry in the temple and God's glory departing from it
- "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" — each person is accountable for their own sin
- Ezekiel's wife dies as a sign, and he is told not to mourn
Judgment on the Nations (Ezekiel 25–32)
- Oracles of judgment against Ammon, Moab, Tyre, Egypt, and other nations
Hope & Restoration (Ezekiel 33–48)
- Ezekiel is made a watchman; God himself will be the good shepherd who seeks his sheep
- The valley of dry bones comes to life, picturing Israel's national resurrection
- The defeat of Gog of Magog, who comes against God's restored people
- A vision of a new temple, with God's glory returning to fill it
Key lessons
- God’s presence, not the building, is what makes a place holy; when Israel persists in idolatry, his glory departs the temple before the enemy ever arrives. Ezek 10:18
- Each person is accountable to God for their own life: “the soul that sinneth, it shall die,” bound neither by a parent’s guilt nor saved by a parent’s righteousness. Ezek 18:20
- God can bring life out of what is utterly dead; the valley of dry bones promises he will revive a people who seem beyond all hope. Ezek 37:5–6
- One aim runs through the whole book, “they shall know that I am the LORD”; God judges and restores so the world will recognize who he is. Ezek 36:22–23
“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.”