INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL

Ezekiel was a priest and a younger contemporary of Jeremiah. When the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem in 597 BC, they took the best people of the land to Babylon to live in exile. Ezekiel was among these. Jeremiah remained in Jerusalem to minister to the people there. God called Ezekiel to be his prophet and speak his word to the exiles. The Babylonian captivity ended in 539 BC, when Cyrus the Persian conquered Babylon.

The hope of the exiles had been to return to Jerusalem and worship God in his temple. But this was not to be. In 586 BC, while Ezekiel was living in exile in Babylon, Jerusalem was razed and the temple destroyed.

God's hope, however, was not in the corrupt city of Jerusalem, nor in the temple, but in the faithful remnant of his people who were in exile. Ezekiel 11:16 is a key verse. It says that though the exiles have no temple, God himself is their sanctuary. God told Ezekiel about the fall of Jerusalem and about the death of his wife, the delight of his eyes, at the same time. He is told not to mourn for his wife, and not to let the people mourn for Jerusalem (24).

Chapters 1-24 (written before 586 BC) are about God's judgment against Jerusalem; 25-32, God's judgment against seven nations; 33-48, the hope of all nations--the coming Messiah.

1. Ezekiel's vision (1:1-28)

Ezekiel was living as an exile in Babylon. God showed him a wonderful vision of the Holy, Sovereign God. He saw a vision of a living chariot in which God himself was riding. The four living creatures represent the strongest, wisest, and most beautiful of the living things which God has created--man, lion, ox and eagle. The Lord, radiant and glorious, was not in the temple in Jerusalem. He was riding in his great chariot to visit his people in exile.

3. Ezekiel's call (2:1-9)

God called Ezekiel to be a Bible teacher to the exiles. They were stubborn and rebellious, but Ezekiel must not be afraid; he must not compromise. He must speak God's word. Whether they listened or not, they would know that a prophet had been among them. God gave him a scroll containing his words.

Application: Lord, in the worst and most corrupt of times, help me to look up and see a vision of you. Help me to receive your word and teach it faithfully to the people of my times.
One Word: God visits his people and calls his servant