Ezekiel and the Exilic Prophets
By Pastor Kris Minefee, Calvary Baptist Church
Ezekiel and a Company of Prophets
There are three major exilic prophets, Ezekiel, Daniel and Jeremiah.
Jeremiah was the last prophet of Judah before the exile and it is possible that Ezekiel and Daniel heard him preach.
Each prophet was called and used by God in different places and to different Jews during the Exile.
Irving Jensen writes - Daniel was taken captive in 605 B.C., in Nebuchadnezzar’s first invasion of Jerusalem, and he began his prophetic ministry in that same year. Ezekiel was deported to Babylon in 597 B.C., along with King Jehoiachin and hosts of citizens, when Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem the second time. Ezekiel was not called to prophesy until after he had been in Babylonia for about five years. Thus, Jeremiah was the lone prophet in the land of Judah for the last twenty years before Jerusalem’s fall.
The different ministries of the three contemporary prophets may be identified thus: 1. Jeremiah: prophet mainly to the Jews in Jerusalem, before the city fell.
2. Daniel: prophet mainly to the court of King Nebuchadnezzar, in Babylonia.
3. Ezekiel: prophet mainly to the exiles in Babylonia, before and after the fall of Jerusalem. Ezekiel was the prophet of the captivity. - Irving L. Jensen, Jensen’s Survey of the Old Testament: Search and Discover, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1978), 360.
A comparison of the main themes of the four “greater prophets”:
Isaiah: salvation of the Lord
Jeremiah: judgment of the Lord
Daniel: kingdom of the Lord
Ezekiel: sovereignty and glory of the Lord - Irving L. Jensen, Jensen’s Survey of the Old Testament: Search and Discover, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1978), 364.
The Man Ezekiel:
His Name: in Hebrew is Yehezqe’l and it means God strengthens. A name he would need as he stood strong for the Lord bearing the burden of being a Prophet of God.
His Birth: If the phrase “thirtieth year” of 1:1 refers to Ezekiel’s age at that time (593 B.C.), then he was born in 623 B.C., during the reign of the good King Josiah. Ezekiel was a child when the book of the Law was recovered in the course of renovating the Temple in 621 B.C. The years of his boyhood and youth were thus spent in the bright reformation period that followed that recovery. - Irving L. Jensen, Jensen’s Survey of the Old Testament: Search and Discover, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1978).
His Family: Ezekiel, like Jeremiah, was born of a priestly heritage. His father’s name was Buzi, a priest possibly of the Zadok line. Ezekiel was married, but it is not known if he had any children. The darkest day of his life may have been when the Lord announced to him two tragic events: the siege of Jerusalem (24:2), and the death of his beloved wife (24:15–18).
In Exile: When Ezekiel was about eighteen years old (605 B.C.), the Babylonians (also known as Chaldeans) made their first invasion into Judea, carrying away some captives, among whom was Daniel. Eight years later (597 B.C.) they came again, and this time Ezekiel was among the captives, which comprised the upper classes of Judah. Some of the exiles were incarcerated; others were made slaves; many were allowed to settle down in their own homes in various settlements of the exiles. It was of divine providence that Ezekiel was among those granted such liberties. His home was in Tel-abib (Ezek 3:15), a principal colony of exiles near the fabulous city of Babylon. Tel-abib was located by the canal Chebar (“Grand Canal”) which flowed from the Euphrates fork above Babylon through Nippur, winding back into the Euphrates near Erech.
Ezekiel’s home was a meeting place where the Jewish elders often came to consult with him. It may be that his home was open to any of the exiles who wanted spiritual help.
His Call and Commission: Five years after his arrival in the strange land of Babylon, Ezekiel received his call to the prophetic office, to minister to the exiles in Babylonia. What he experienced and heard in this call is recorded in the first three chapters of his book.
Twenty-two years later, when Ezekiel was around fifty-two years old, he was still prophesying to the exiles. It is not known how much longer his ministry continued.
His Character: Ezekiel the prophet was strong and fearless. This is what God made him, and this was his dominant characteristic. He had boundless energy, and a love for the simple, clear and direct. Though his disposition was firm, he had a shepherd’s heart for his countrymen.
Ezekiel’s book reveals that he was methodical, artistic, and mystic. With a deeply introspective nature, he must have studied the message of God a great deal as it applied to himself and his brethren. He was truly a practical theologian, and for this he has been called “the first dogmatist of the Old Testament” and “the prophet of personal responsibility.”
His Message: Ezekiel stressed three points in his preaching.
1. It was sin which brought the people’s judgment of exile. The people must repent and return to God.
2. The exile would last for seventy years, even though false prophets were preaching an early return. The people had a letter from Jeremiah which concurred with Ezekiel’s preaching. The seventy-year captivity began in 605 B.C., with the first deportation of Jews. Before the Jews could return to Jerusalem, they must return to the Lord.
3. There would be a future restoration of Israel, for a believing remnant. The general impression of these consolatory messages was that this restoration was in the far-distant future. Most of the adults of Ezekiel’s audience had no other hope than this, for seventy years of captivity precluded their returning to Jerusalem in their lifetime.
The tone of Ezekiel’s preaching was austere and impressive, for the prophet constantly stressed the Lord’s sovereignty and glory. The phrase “glory of the LORD” or its equivalent appears eleven times in the first eleven chapters of his book. The statement of God, “They shall know that I am the LORD,” or its equivalent, appears about seventy times in the book. - Irving L. Jensen, Jensen’s Survey of the Old Testament: Search and Discover, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1978), 363–364.
Survey of Ezekiel
Style of Writing
Ezekiel recorded the direct addresses of the Lord, but with his own lofty personal style. He used prose and poetry to convey God’s message. The book abounds with visions, parables, allegories, apocalyptic imagery, and various symbolic acts.
Ezekiel was very methodical about recording events and dates, especially in connection with the messages from God. There are twelve such dated messages in his book: 1:1–2; 8:1; 20:1; 24:1; 26:1; 29:1; 30:20; 31:1; 32:1; 32:17; 40:1.
Visions of Ezekiel
Ezekiel is known as “The Prophet of Visions.” The very first verse of his book reads, “The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.”
A vision in Bible days was a miraculous experience of a man of God on a special occasion, whereby God revealed truth to him in some pictorial and audible form. Visions were of all kinds, differing in such things as length, intensity, number of symbols, and whether the vision was perceived in the spirit (as in a dream) or by the conscious physical senses.
These are the visions recorded in Ezekiel:
1. Vision of the Cherubim (vision of God): Ezekiel’s inaugural vision 1:4–28
2. Vision of the Roll or Scroll 2:9–3:3
3. Vision of the Plain 3:22–23
4. Visions of Jerusalem
a) Four abominations in the Temple 8:1–18
b) Inhabitants slain 9:1–11
c) City destroyed by fire 10:1–22
d) The Lord departs from the city 11:1–25
5. Vision of Dry Bones 37:1–10
6. Visions of the New Temple and Associated Scenes 40:1–48:35
Symbolic Acts
Ezekiel taught by symbolic actions in order that God’s messages might impress the people vividly and intensely. God told Ezekiel, “I have set you as a sign to the house of Israel.”
Following is a list of the main symbolic actions of Ezekiel:
1. Sign of the Brick, - Jerusalem’s siege and fall, - 4:1–3
2. Sign of the Prophet’s Posture, Discomforts of captivity - 4:4–8
3. Sign of Famine, Deprivations of captivity - 4:9–17
4. Sign of the Knife and Razor, Utter destruction of the city - 5:1–17
5. Sign of House Moving, Removal to another land - 2:1–7, 17–20
6. Sign of the Sharpened Sword, Judgment imminent - 21:1–17
7. Sign of Nebuchadnezzar’s Sword, Babylon the captor - 21:18–23
8. Sign of the Smelting Furnace, Judgment and purging - 22:17–31
9. Sign of Ezekiel’s Wife’s Death, Blessings forfeited - 24:15–27
10. Sign of the Two Sticks, Reunion of Israel and Judah - 37:15–17
Allegories
Allegories are stories intended to teach spiritual lessons. In Ezekiel the allegories have the same purpose as the symbolic actions. They differ in that the allegories teach by words; the symbolic actions teach by actual events.
The main allegories of Ezekiel.
1. The Vine, 15:1–8
2. The Faithless Wife, 16:1–63
3. The Two Eagles, 17:1–21
4. The Cedar, 17:22–24
5. The Two Women, 23:1–49
6. The Boiling Caldron, 24:1–14
Apocalyptic writings and prophesies. Told by means of symbols and imagery. Ezekiel’s apocalyptic passages. There are many resemblances between Ezekiel and Revelation.
6:1–14
28:25–26
38:1–23
7:5–12
34:25–31
39:1–29
20:33–44
36:8–15, 33–36
47:1–12
Poems
In Ezekiel the poems are lamentations, or elegies. They are found at 19:1–14 and 27:1–36.
Organization of the Book: Basically the book is made up of three main parts:
Fate of Judah (desolation)
Foes of Judah (destruction)
Future of Judah and Israel (restoration)
The first three chapters could be considered a separate introductory division in the book, recording the call and commission of Ezekiel.
Prominent Subjects
A. EZEKIEL’S CALL AND COMMISSION (2:1–3:27)
B. THE GLORY AND MAJESTY OF THE LORD
C. MESSIANIC PROPHECIES
The chief Messianic passages of Ezekiel, as listed by Anton T. Pearson in The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, are:
1. The Lord, the sanctuary, 11:16–20
2. The wonderful cedar sprig, 17:22–24
3. The rightful King, 21:26–27
4. The faithful Shepherd, 34:11–31
5. The great purification, 36:25–35
6. The great resurrection, 37:1–14
7. The great reunion, 37:21–28
8. The overthrow of Gog, 38:1–39:29
9. The life-giving stream, 47:1–12
D. FUTURE RESURRECTION OF ISRAEL (37:1–48:35)
Themes:
The attributes of God: His glory, sovereignty, name, holiness, justice, mercy
Man’s individual responsibility, corrupt heart
Israel’s idolatry, judgment, elect nation, hope
The Gentile nations’ accountability, judgment
The Last days a restored kingdom
Key Words and Phrase
“Son of man” appears over ninety times in Ezekiel. The prophet is the one so designated. The title was symbolic of Ezekiel’s identity with the people to whom he was sent, even as Jesus, the Son of man, was so identified. This title was Jesus’ favorite title of Himself. (It appears almost ninety times in the gospels.) Ezekiel has been called “The other Son of man.”
“The word of the LORD came unto me” appears forty-nine times.
“Glory of the God of Israel” or “glory of the LORD” appears eleven times in the first eleven chapters.
“LORD God” appears over two hundred times.
“I shall be sanctified through you” (or equivalent phrases) appears six times. Read 20:41; 28:22, 25; 36:23; 38:16; 39:27.
“The hand of the LORD was upon me” (or similar phrases) appears seven times: 1:3; 3:14, 22; 8:1; 33:22; 37:1; 40:1. - Irving L. Jensen, Jensen’s Survey of the Old Testament: Search and Discover, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1978), 364–371.
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