Old Testament Survey: The Book of Ezekiel

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Old Testament SurveyThe Book of Ezekiel
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Background

• His name means God strengthens.
• Ezekiel lived during the last years of the
  kingdom of Judah.
• In 597 BC (2nd stage), Nebuchadnezzar carried
  Ezekiel, along with King Jehoiachin, away into
  Babylonian captivity.
• Nine years after Daniel was taken and eleven
  years before Jerusalem fell.

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Background

• He was 30 years old when God called him to
  prophesy continued for 20 years.
• In the ninth year of Ezekiels captivity, his
  wife died. (2418)
• Among the exiles, he preached the same message
  that Jeremiah had taughtpunishment and a
  promised return.
• Sought to convince them that they must first
  return to the Lordbefore they could return home!

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Background

• Prior to the captivity, Ezekiel had been a
  priest.
• Called by God during the fifth year of his
  captivity.
• Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the
  house of Israel therefore hear a word from My
  mouth, and give them warning from Me when I say
  to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you
  give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked
  from his wicked way, to save his life, that same
  wicked man shall die in his iniquity but his
  blood I will require at your hand. (317,18)

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Background

• Political and social conditions
• The Jews were living as captives in Babylon where
  they were treated as colonists and not as slaves.
  Increased in number and accumulated wealth. Some
  (Daniel) rose to high offices.
• Religious conditions
• Religious freedom in Babylon. Because of false
  prophets, the people first rejected the prophets
  message of repentance. Ultimately, he convinced
  them, and they returned to the Lord.

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Background

• Their fall and restoration
• Because of the abominations in Jerusalem, Gods
  glory departed from the temple and the city (93
  104,18,19). Jerusalem was destroyed and the
  people taken into exile. After the captivity, a
  remnant of the people was restored, the temple
  and city were rebuilt, and the glory of the Lord
  returned to the new sanctuary. Foreseen by
  Ezekiel, 431-5.

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Keys to the Book

• Key word
• Glory
• Key phrases
• They shall know that I am the Lord God. (26)
• Key chapter
• 37 Steps of Israels future

• Behold, all souls are Mine the soul of the
  father as well as the soul of the son is Mine
  the soul who sins shall die. (184)

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Keys to the Book

• Key verses
• God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked

• Say to them 'As I live, says the Lord GOD, I
  have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but
  that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn,
  turn from your evil ways! For why should you die,
  O house of Israel? (3311)

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Keys to the Book

• Key verses
• God would give them a new heart.

• For I will take you from among the nations,
  gather you out of all countries, and bring you
  into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean
  water on you, and you shall be clean I will
  cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all
  your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a
  new spirit within you I will take the heart of
  stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of
  flesh. (3624-26)

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Message

• Ezekiels message
• Divine justice and mercy.
• Describes Gods goodness and severity. Sin must
  be punished it destroys both men and nations.
• Sin, Punishment, Repentance, and Blessing

• Therefore consider the goodness and severity of
  God on those who fell, severity but toward you,
  goodness, if you continue in His goodness.
  Otherwise you also will be cut off. (Romans
  1122)

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Three Main Parts

• Ezekiels prophecies before the siege of
  Jerusalem (ch.1-24)
• Predictions during the siege of Jerusalem
  (ch.25-32)
• Messages after the fall of Jerusalem (ch.33-48
• Denunciation of Judah
• Judgment of the nations
• Restoration of Israel

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Ezekiels Divine Inspiration

• Gods spokesman from beginning to end
• And He said to me, Son of man, stand on your
  feet, and I will speak to you. Then the Spirit
  entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my
  feet and I heard Him who spoke to me. And He
  said to me Son of man, I am sending you to the
  children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that
  has rebelled against Me they and their fathers
  have transgressed against Me to this very day.
  For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am
  sending you to them, and you shall say to them,
  'Thus says the Lord GOD. As for them, whether
  they hear or whether they refuse-for they are a
  rebellious house-yet they will know that a
  prophet has been among them. (21-5)

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Three Outstanding Events

• Gods glory departs from the temple.
• (1016-18)
• Jerusalem falls.
• (3321)
• Gods glory returns to His house.
• (444)

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Ezekiels Methods

• Various visual methods to symbolize Jerusalems
  destruction and Gods forthcoming judgment
  against the city
• Portrayed siege of Jerusalem on a brick
• Shaved his head to use hair to show the fate of
  Judahs inhabitants
• Zedekiahs captivity by digging a hole in the
  wall, packing his bags, and pretending to flee
• Used parables to denounce the sins of the people

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Ezekiels Methods

• Various visual methods to symbolize Jerusalems
  destruction and Gods forthcoming judgment
  against the city
• Visions that revealed Judahs degradation
• Exposed false prophets, idolaters, and the
  general wickedness of the people
• Portrayed Judah as the Lords unfaithful wife
• Charged her with spiritual adultery

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Ezekiels Methods

• In particular, Ezekiel emphasized Gods holiness.
• The heathen, Jerusalems fall was a sign of their
  Gods lack of military power.
• God was punishing Israel for her sins.
• God could not close His eyes to their conduct.
• Such conduct defiled the relationship He had with
  them!

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Ezekiels Methods

• Ezekiel emphasized that each man is personally
  accountable for his own sins.
• Popular proverb (182)
• Was Jehovah punishing Judah for the sins
  committed by the previous wicked generation?
• Answers (1820)

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Great Lessons From Ezekiel

• Grave duty of the Lords watchman
• Warn the wicked
• Failure could cost him his life!

• Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the
  house of Israel therefore hear a word from My
  mouth, and give them warning from Me When I say
  to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you
  give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked
  from his wicked way, to save his life, that same
  wicked man shall die in his iniquity but his
  blood I will require at your hand. (317,18)

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Great Lessons From Ezekiel

• You also, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay
  it before you, and portray on it a city,
  Jerusalem. Lay siege against it, build a siege
  wall against it, and heap up a mound against it
  set camps against it also, and place battering
  rams against it all around. (41,2)

• The clay and iron plate
• The sketch on the clay tablet symbolized the
  siege of Jerusalem, and the iron plate the
  obstacle the people erected between themselves
  and God.

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Great Lessons From Ezekiel

• And you, son of man, take a sharp sword, take it
  as a barber's razor, and pass it over your head
  and your beard then take scales to weigh and
  divide the hair. You shall burn with fire
  one-third in the midst of the city, when the days
  of the siege are finished then you shall take
  one-third and strike around it with the sword,
  and one-third you shall scatter in the wind I
  will draw out a sword after them. (51,2)

• Cutting off his hair and beard
• By scattering part of his hair, he showed the
  survival of a remnant, whose hearts would be
  cleansed.

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Great Lessons From Ezekiel

• Prostitution of Gods people
• The most graphic description of spiritual
  adultery in the Bible. Jehovahs bride had paid
  the heathen to commit sacrilege with her!

• You built your high places at the head of every
  road, and made your beauty to be abhorred. You
  offered yourself to everyone who passed by, and
  multiplied your acts of harlotry. You also
  committed harlotry with the Egyptians, your very
  fleshly neighbors, and increased your acts of
  harlotry to provoke Me to anger. (1625,26)

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Great Lessons From Ezekiel

• Valley of dry bones
• A vision of restoration. The bones were the
  whole house of Israel. God was going to give
  these bones new life!

• Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says
  the Lord GOD Behold, O My people, I will open
  your graves and cause you to come up from your
  graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
  Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I
  have opened your graves, O My people, and brought
  you up from your graves.. (3712,13)

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Two-Fold Theme

• Ezekiels theme in the first partJerusalem must
  be destroyed.
• False teachers encouraged peace and security.
  They were wrong!
• In the second part, to combat despair, he taught
  that they had a future hope--returning.
• When the calamity came, the people needed hope.
  The second part of Ezekiel gives them that hope.

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Unique Messages From Ezekiel

• Individual responsibility
• God desires the sinners repentance but each
  will stand or fall on his own!

• Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel,
  every one according to his ways, says the Lord
  GOD. Repent, and turn from all your
  transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your
  ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions
  which you have committed, and get yourselves a
  new heart and a new spirit. For why should you
  die, O house of Israel? (1830,31)

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Unique Messages From Ezekiel

• Son of man, these men have set up their idols in
  their hearts, and put before them that which
  causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I
  let Myself be inquired of at all by them? (143)

• Idolatry
• Ezekiel shows that idolatry was the abandoning of
  the reason for Israels existenceto worship and
  serve God!

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Unique Messages From Ezekiel

• Messianic hope
• Ezekiel shows many prophecies concerning the care
  and welfare, spiritually speaking, of the coming
  Messiah!

• As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he
  is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out
  My sheep and deliver them from all the places
  where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark
  day. And I will bring them out from the peoples
  and gather them from the countries, and will
  bring them to their own land I will feed them on
  the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in
  all the inhabited places of the country.
  (3412,13)

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Ezekiel and Revelation

• The four living creatures
• Ezekiel 15Revelation 46
• Rainbow around the throne
• Ezekiel 128Revelation 43
• Eating the scroll
• Ezekiel 31Revelation 1010
• Sealing of Gods servants
• Ezekiel 94Revelation 73

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Ezekiel and Revelation

• Burning the city
• Ezekiel 102Revelation 85
• Fall of Tyre and Babylon
• Ezekiel 26-28Revelation 18
• God dwelling in the midst of men
• Ezekiel 3727Revelation 213
• Gog in the land of Magog
• Ezekiel 382,3Revelation 208

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Ezekiel and Revelation

• The seer placed on a high mountain
• Ezekiel 402Revelation 2110
• The city measured
• Ezekiel 403Revelation 111, 2126
• The river issuing from the temple
• Ezekiel 471,12Revelation 221,2
• The gates of various tribal names
• Ezekiel 4831-34Revelation 2112

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Prophecies Against the Nations

• Ezekiel, like Isaiah and Jeremiah, saw Gods hand
  controlling all the nations. Book denounces the
  wickedness and foretells the Lords judgment.
• Ammon
• Moab
• Edom.
• Egypt
• Sidon and Tyre
• Philistia