Book of ezekiel themes

Some of the symbolism is obscure, and some of it extremely offensive to modern readers, such that much of the vocabulary, especially in chapters 16 and 23. Book of ezekiel overview insight for living ministries. There are different themes explored in the book of ezekiel. Ezekiel describes his vision as an elaborate and complex image that symbolizes the majesty of yahweh and proclaims yahwehs sovereignty over all the nations of the earth. The pervasive theme throughout ezekiel is the judgement of judah by god through babylon as his agent and judahs eventual spiritual. The overall theme of the prophecy of ezekiel is the glory of god. The first reason to study ezekiel is that it will help you see yourself, and especially your sin, more clearly. In the first two ezekiel announced judgment on jerusalem ezek. Upwards of 75 times god expresses his own concerns in the book as for my names sake or that ye shall know that i. Key personalities include ezekiel, israels leaders, ezekiels wife. It is intended to help you better understand some of the background and issues in ezekiel s prophecy.

The prophets wrote over a period of 250300 years, spanning the decline, the exile, and the return of the children of israel. The book of ezekiel is set in the tumultuous period of the early sixth century, when successive babylonian invasions devastated judah and jerusalem. Interestingly, the phrase house of israel occurs in 78 verses in the book, while house of judah is found in only. The poems of nissim ezekiel study guide contains a biography of nissim ezekiel, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Although ezekiel is a pretty wrathintensive book, it also has compassion and forgiveness in evidence. It opens with a vision of the priest where he is visited by god. Ezekiel lived and prophesied among the jewish exiles in babylon immediately after the fall of jerusalem in 586 b. Gods holiness appears in visual form in the awesome throne 1. The book s theological center is the unfolding of gods saving purposes in the history of the worldfrom the time in which he must withdraw from the defilement of his covenant people to the culmination. God doesnt punish a person for another persons singod is the sovereign judgegod finds great pleasure when his people repent and turn to him god will never allow his people to be utterly destroyed. After the fall of jerusalem ezekiel was recommissioned to show the necessity and inevitability of judahs restoration to fellowship by god chaps. The book of ezekiel is one of the major prophetic books in the old testament and had more influence on revelation than any other book. The book of ezekiel is filled with global significance, both for the world of ezekiel s time and for our own world today israels failure.

Egyptian gods, assyrian gods, babylonian gods pretty much. However, ezekiel s version of god isnt really merciful in the commonly accepted, modern day sense of the word mercy. According to the book itself, it records six visions of the prophet ezekiel, exiled in babylon, during the 22 years from 593 to 571 bc, although it is the product of a long and complex history and does not necessarily preserve the very. It introduces ezekiel himself as one of the judahite exiles to babylonia of 597 b. The book of ezekiel is the twentysixth book in the old testament. For most, ezekiels message is a mystery, but you can understand gods message for. His name means strengthened by god, which, indeed, he was for the propheti. This book portrays much symbolism which john refers to often in revelation. The book of ezekiel is the third of the latter prophets in the tanakh and one of the major prophetic books in the old testament, following isaiah and jeremiah. Ezekiels concern with sin also accounts for the many places where the book echoes the laws given in the pentateuch, as well as the. The people to whom i am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Even though it proves difficult, every time i read and study ezekiel my appreciation for it grows. God would send someone from davids family to be their leader ezekiel 37. When the book of ezekiel opens, the prophet is purported to be in babylon, and the implications of 1.

In contrast to various other prophets ezekiel has not been criticised as much. Ezekiel spoke to a people forced from their home because they had broken faith with their god. Ezekiels call is recorded in chapter 1 to chapter 3, verse 15. With vivid and often disturbing language, the prophet reminds his hearers of yhwhs. We are limited to the book itself in seeking biographical information about ezekiel, but there is more provided here than is usual among the prophetic writings. The prophet ezekiel is one of four major prophets along with isaiah, jeremiah, and daniel in hebrew scripture, our old testament of the bible.

Ezekiels priestly lineage shines through in his prophetic ministry. A new heart will i give you and a new spirit will i put within you, and i will take away the stony heart out of. If ezekiel was 30 years old when his ministry began, the final vision of the book came when he was about 50. Biblical literature biblical literature prophetic themes and actions. Knowing god is the basic theme of the book of ezekiel. A commentary on the book of ezekiel by pastor galen l. Ezekiel god will strengthen, or prevail was, like jeremiah, a priest as well as a prophet. It records seven visions of the prophet ezekiel, exiled in babylon, during the 22 years from 593 to 571 bc. Ezekiel was a priest in judah who in the year 597 bc, at the apparent age of 25, was taken into exile along with king jehoiachin and about 10,000 other upper class judeans see 2. The most popular bible verses from ezekiel found 1,273 verses ezekiel 36. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. As the spokesman for the lord, ezekiel spoke oracles that defended his reputation as a holy god see especially 36. In ezekiel, human powers no match for divine power.

The book of ezekiel, written by the prophetpriest ezekiel, who lived both in jerusalem prior to the babylonian. In the english mind, when we think of glory, we usually think of something that is bright, something that has a radiance to it, something or someone with magnificence and splendor, like a king, for example. Nov 24, 2016 thousands of years ago, ezekiel recorded warnings and promises of god that are intended for our time, now. The book of ezekiel from the holy bible king james version kjv authorisedauthorized version book 26 please note we have slowed the speed of the or. Feb 01, 2011 one of the major themes of the book of ezekiel is the glory of god. He was of the great company of captives carried to babylon, with the young king jehoiachin, by nebuchadnezzar, b. It is composed of 48 chapters divided almost half before and after the fall of jerusalem. Ezekiel study guide for growing christians ministries. The pervasive theme throughout ezekiel is the judgement of judah by god through babylon as his agent and judahs eventual spiritual and. Divine holiness demands that evildoers and idolaters be punisheda central theme in ezekiel s prophecies against. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

The book of ezekiel begins with a bang as the prophet reveals the heavens opening to unveil a vision of god. The book of ezekiel is narrative history, prophetic and apocalyptic in genre and even contains parables. The holiness of the lord is a constant theme of this book, a background belief manifested in many ways. Ezekiel sees the establishment of the rule of god the kingdom over israel through judgment for covenant violations, establishment of the new. Remember, the designation major or minor simply refers to the length of the book, not its importance.

In ezekiel, the house of israel betrays god by metaphorically cheating on him with other gods. God eventually promises that hell be a kind shepherd who will lead his people out of darkness. Title the book has always been named for its author, ezekiel 1. Structure, themes, and contested issues oxford handbooks. A commentary on the book of ezekiel southside christian.

God himself would return to this temple ezekiel 43. The glory of god may well be viewed as the theme of the book, because ezekiel s ministry begins with a vision of gods glory and emphasizes it throughout the book 1. Biblical literature prophetic themes and actions britannica. Themes of ezekiel jesus religious belief and doctrine scribd. Dyer, notes on the book of ezekiel, unpublished class notes in 304 preexlic and exilic prophets, dallas theological seminary, fall 1993, 4. This is important to remember when discerning the meaning of this great vision. Book of ezekiel themes betrayal in ezekiel, the house of israel betrays god by metaphorically cheating on him with other gods. Ezekiel with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Block, new international commentary on the old testament nicot, eerdmans, 19971998, 1,757 pp. The book of ezekiel, written by the prophetpriest ezekiel, who lived both in jerusalem prior to the babylonian exile 586 the literary history of the book is much debated, but its final form exhibits a threefold theme. The bible handbook by joseph angus makes this comment in its introduction to the book of ezekiel. What are the themes in the book of ezekiel answers.

Most of the book of ezekiel contains prophecies that were given before the final fall of jerusalem to the babylonians. So unless youre one of those people that are into figuring out arcane prophecy, why study the book of ezekiel. The book of ezekiel is unique in that, with occasional exceptions, it is entirely autobiographical, that is, written in the first person, from the viewpoint of ezekiel himself. The book opens with an account of the vision that summoned ezekiel to his prophetic calling. According to the book itself, it records six visions of the prophet ezekiel, exiled in babylon, during the 22 years from 593 to 571 bc, although it is the product of a long and complex history and does not necessarily preserve the very words of the prophet. Here are seven lessons from my latest study of this important book.

Gce religious studies themes in the book of ezekiel this view is extreme and there is no conclusive or persuasive evidence to doubt that ezekiel was carried away from jerusalem in the first. Its themes include the concepts of the presence of god, purity, israel as a divine community, and individual responsibility to god. The books theological center is the unfolding of gods saving purposes in the history of the world from the time in which he must withdraw from the defilement of his covenant people to the culmination of his grand design of redemption. Ezekiels major commission was to act as a watchman on gods behalf. The later chapters of the book of ezekiel provide the constitution for the new commonwealth. Analysis of book of ezekiel themes by phd students from stanford, harvard, berkeley. Book of ezekiel known to be written by prophet ezekiel and is placed immediately after lamentation in ot. Ezekiel was given prophethood at an age thirty after he saw a majestic vision. Should the reason for it be that the book does not.

Other themes include the sovereignty of god over the entire world, gods holiness, right worship, corrupt leaders, the restoration of israel, and the coming of a messiah. Doughty southside christian church december 2014 introduction. The visions, and the book, are structured around three themes. Son of man, i am sending you to the israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me. But the book of ezekiel along with most of the old testament makes us wonder if humans will ever be the kind of people fit for this king. His message was directed to jerusalem mentioned 23 times in the first 24 chapters and judah then, as well as to israel. Ezekiel ezekiels name means god will strengthen, and that is a fitting name for a prophet who was called to minister to impudent and stiffhearted people eze. The glory of god may well be viewed as the theme of the book, because ezekiels ministry begins with a vision of gods glory and emphasizes it throughout the book 1. The book as a whole serves as a source of symbols and imagery for the book of revelation, such as the eating of the scroll ezekiel 2. The initial fall of jerusalem to the babylonians took place in 598 bce and resulted in the first deportations see 2nd kings 24.

The book of ezekiel he will be strengthened of god. And nowhere in the bible are gods initiative and control expressed more clearly and pervasively than in the book of ezekiel. The ot in general and the prophets in particular presuppose and teach gods sovereignty over all creation, over people and nations and the course of history. Ezekiel ministered to his generation who were both exceedingly sinful and thoroughly hopeless. The prophet wastes no time dropping his readers right into the thick of the life and times of judah immediately following the fall of jerusalem. The book of ezekiel, written by the prophetpriest ezekiel, who lived both in jerusalem prior to the babylonian exile 586 bce and in babylon after the exile, and also by an editor or editors, who belongs to a school of the prophet similar to that of the prophet isaiah, has captured the attention of readers for centuries because of. The priest ezekiel was the first prophet to be called by the lord outside of israel during the babylonian captivity. A series of studies in the old testament book of ezekiel. Few can handle ezekiel s relentless denunciations, his unconventional antics, his repetitive style, and his bewildering array of topics.

What makes the book of ezekiel so popular, and fascinating to you and i, is that 2500. Chapter and verse numbers refer to the book of ezekiel unless otherwise attributed. Not only does the book present a striking picture of the resurrection and restoration of gods people ezekiel 37, it. The book of ezekiel is in the old testament section of the bible. The prophet is so overcome by the vision that he falls on his face. Overview of the book of ezekiel third millennium ministries. This is not only the concise overview of the book of isaiah, but also of the book of ezekiel, except that ezekiel adds one more principle, the principle of individual responsibility which was also touched by the prophet, jeremiah. Other themes include the sovereignty of god over the entire world, gods holiness, right worship, corrupt leaders, the restoration of israel, and the coming of a. Throughout the book the phrase that is repeated over and over again is, that you may know that i am the lord. Throughout the book his main theme was the sovereignty and glory of god. The glory and sovereignty of god the book of ezekiel opens and concludes with visions of the glory of god. God eventually promises that hell be a kind shepherd who. The theme of the book of ezekiel often changes dramatically from chapter to chapter, returning in a later chapter to a previous theme.

What are the themes that the book of ezekiel explores. It came in a vision of four heavenly cherubim, who appeared in a wind from the north, a cloud, and flashing fire lightning. To most modern readers the book of ezekiel is a mystery. Upwards of 75 times god expresses his own concerns in the book as for my names sake or that ye shall know that i am the lord.

God also showed ezekiel a picture of a new temple in the future ezekiel chapters 4048. The book of ezekiel was likely written between 593 and 565 b. An extensive introduction helps to orient readers of ezekiels prophecies to the times, methods, and message of the prophet and to the special literary features of the book. Egyptian gods, assyrian gods, babylonian gods pretty much whoevers around. The book of ezekiel is filled with global significance, both for the world of ezekiels time and for our own world today. Book of ezekiel bible wiki fandom powered by wikia. Key personalities include ezekiel, israels leaders, ezekiel s wife. The testimony of jesus is the spirit of prophecy revelations 19. According to dates given in the text, ezekiel received his prophetic call in the fifth year of the first deportation to babylonia 592 bc and was active until about 570 bc.

The prophet ezekiel is the author of the book ezekiel 1. Ezekiel cliffsnotes study guides book summaries, test. The initial fall of jerusalem to the babylonians took place in. The book of ezekiel, one of the major prophetical books of the old testament. The first section of the book chapters 124 contains prophecies against judah and jerusalem. The book of ezekiel contains the visions, revelations and warnings given to the prophet ezekiel by yahweh during the exile of the people of judah away from their homeland in the land of babylon.

Ezekiel was given prophethood at an age thirty after he saw a majestic vision of gods glory during his captivation in babylon. The book of ezekiel pronounces judgment on both israel and surrounding nations, but it also provides a vision of the future millennial kingdom that complements and adds to the vision of other old and new testament texts. Its great news that a new davidic king was coming to shepherd gods people. The phrase, theyyou shall know that i am the sovereign lord is used around 70 times in this book.