The Chapters – Quick Access
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| 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 |
Basics
BOOK: Ezekiel
Description: The third of the so-called ‘major’ prophets
Author: Ezekiel
Date written: possibly over a period between 593 and 571
Chapters: 48
Brief Synopsis
- Prophecies:
- Against Israel warning if impending destruction of Jerusalem
- Against surrounding nations
- Consoling Israel (probably after the fall of Jerusalem)
Why Read Ezekiel
Along with Jeremiah, Ezekiel is the most amazing testimony to the Lord warning His people in Jerusalem and in the rest of the Land to come to their senses and turn away from their idolatry and turn back to Him and become the true holy people of God. What is remarkable about it is that it all occurs in Babylon where Ezekiel is already in exile. He is thus addressing his people both there in exile in Babylon and those back in the Land of Israel.
As the reader will see from the Contents lower down the page, the structure of Ezekiel is quite obvious:
- Part 1 – the first three chapters introduce Ezekiel’s call.
- Part 2 – chapters 4 to 7, are a block of general warnings from the Lord.
- Part 3 – chapters 8 to 11, are a vision of the state of idolatry in the temple in Jerusalem.
- Part 4 – chapters 12 to 24, the biggest block, are the many prophetic warnings coming in Zedekiah’s reign up until the fall of Jerusalem.
- Part 5 – chapters 25 to 32, step out of Israel and are warnings against other nations and people, of God’s coming judgment on them as He cleans up the region.
- Part 6 – chapters 33 to 39, bring, first of all, hope for the future of Israel [ch.33-37] and then two apocalyptic chapters revealing God’s intent to bring a judgement on a godless people from the north who will invade Israel but be destroyed by the Lord. Some suggest these last two chapters were the original conclusion to the book.
- Part 7 – chapters 40 to 49, are start with detail of a temple seen in a vision by Ezekiel, considered by some as an Appendix to the book but it also contains a revelation of the glory of the Lord returning to the temple, and then numerous descriptions pertaining to worship – land allocated, priests re-established, etc. etc. See the Introduction to this Part before chapter 40.
The reader is advised to see the Contents below and catch this structure and see the wonder of these messages coming again and again before the destruction of Jerusalem AND after it. The fall of Jerusalem, hinted at in chapter 24 and then recorded in chapter 33, is the centre-piece of the book and what it is really all about – God’s warnings against destruction and calling for repentance, and then afterwards, explanations of why it has happened and the Lord’s long-term intent to restore His people to the Land.
Chapters & Dating
Dates referred to are seen in:
- 1:2 the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin
- 8:1 the sixth year (presuming the next year to follow on the 1:2 reference)
- 20:1 the seventh year (presumably the next year)
- 24:1 the ninth year (presumably two years later)
- 26:1 the twelfth year (presumably three years on)
- 29:1 the tenth year (an earlier prophecy)
- 29:17 the twenty-seventh year
- 30:20 the eleventh year
- 31:1 the eleventh year
- 32:1 the twelfth year (also 32:17 and 33:21 – recording the fall of Jerusalem)
- 40:1 the twenty-fifth year (the fourteenth year after the fall of the city)
The siege of Jerusalem would appear, therefore, to be the eleventh or twelfth year of Ezekiel’s reckoning. What seems remarkable is that Ezekiel was still prophesying about sixteen years after the fall of Jerusalem.
Outline focusing on prophecies/visions
- Ch.1-24 Oracles of Judgment against Israel
- Ch.1-3 Ezekiel’s Inaugural Vision
- Ch.4-5 Symbolic Acts Portraying the Siege of Jerusalem
- Ch.6-7 Oracles Explaining Divine Judgment
- Ch.8-11 Vision of the Corrupted Temple
- Ch.12 Symbolic Acts Portraying Jerusalem’s Exile
- Ch.13-24 Oracles Explaining Divine Judgment
- Ch. 25-32 Oracles of Judgment against the Nations
- Ch.25 Against Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia
- Ch.26-28 Against Tyre
- Ch.28 Against Sidon
- Ch.28 A Note of Promise for Israel
- Ch.29-32 Against Egypt
- Ch.33-48 Oracles of Consolation for Israel
- Ch.33 The Watchman
- Ch.33 Jerusalem ‘s Fall Reported and Explained
- Ch.34 The Lord as the Good Shepherd
- Ch.35 Oracles against Edom
- Ch.36 Consolations for the Mountains of Israel & Summary of Ezekiel’s Theology
- Ch.37 Vision of National Restoration
- Ch.38-39 The Final Battle
- Ch.40-48 Vision of Renewed Worship
Broader Contents Detailed Perspective
- Part 1: The Call of Ezekiel, the exile in Babylon
- [Time & Location 1: 593BC by the Kebar River, the plains of Babylon & Ezekiel’s home]
- Ch.1 – Ezekiel’s Inaugural Vision
- Ch.2 – Ezekiel’s Call to Be a Prophet
- Ch.3 – Ezekiel sent to the Exiles
- Part 2: The first set of waves of warnings and condemnation
- Ch.4 – Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized
- Ch.5 – God’s Razor of Judgment
- Ch.6 – Doom for the High Places of Israel
- Ch.7 – The End has come
- Part 3: Revelations of Idolatry in Jerusalem
- [Time & Location 2: 592BC Ezekiel’s home but in the Spirit in a Vision]
- Ch.8 – Idolatry in the Temple
- Ch.9 – Judgment on the Idolaters
- Ch.10 – God’s Glory Departs from the Temple
- Ch.11 – God’s Sure Judgment on Jerusalem
- Part 4: Prophecies of warnings up to the fall of Jerusalem
- [Time & Location 3: The closing years of Zedekiah’s reign, Ezekiel still in Babylon]
- Ch.12 – The Exile Symbolized & Zedekiah warned
- Ch.13 – False prophets & prophetesses condemned
- Ch.14 – Divided-heart Prophet-Seekers condemned
- Ch.15 – Jerusalem as a useless vine
- Ch.16 – Jerusalem as an adulterous wife & a prostitute
- Ch.17 – Two eagles and a vine
- Ch.18 – Teaching: The one who sins will die
- Ch.19 – A lament over Israel’s princes
- Ch.20 – Rebellious Israel’s Failures & Purging
- Ch.21 – Babylon as God’s sword of judgment
- Ch.22 – Judgment on Jerusalem’s sins
- Ch.23 – Two adulterous sisters
- Ch.24 – Jerusalem as a cooking pot & Ezekiel’s wife dies, Jerusalem’s impending fall
- Part 5: Prophecies of warnings against other peoples
- [Time & Location 5: These prophecies come at various times – see below]
- Ch.25 – Prophecies against Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia
- Part 5a: Tyre – given in 12th year [? time of siege/fall]
- Ch.26 – A prophecy against Tyre
- Ch.27 – A lament that will be sung over Tyre
- Ch.28 – A prophecy against the king of Tyre
- Part 5b Egypt– given in the tenth year [? time of siege]
- Ch.29 – Prophecies, Parts 1 & 2 against Egypt
- Ch.30 – Prophecies, Parts 3 & 4 against Egypt
- Ch.31 – Prophecy, Part 5 against Egypt
- Ch.32 – Prophecies, Parts 6 & 7 against Egypt
- Part 6: Prophecies after the fall of Jerusalem
- [Time & Location 6: The first one comes in the 12th year after the fall of Jerusalem]
- Ch.33 – Renewal of Ezekiel’s call & why Jerusalem has fallen
- Ch.34 – The Lord will be Israel’s shepherd
- Ch.35 – A prophecy against Edom
- Ch.36 – Hope & Restoration
- Ch.37 – A Vision (Dry Bones) & a Prophecy (Two Sticks)
- Ch.38 – The Lord’s great victory over Gog & the nations
- Ch.39 – Continuation of the prophecy against ‘Gog’
- Part 7: Vision for a new day: Temple, lands & worship
- [Time & Location 7: Given in the 14th year after the fall of Jerusalem]
- Ch.40 – Measuring the Temple: [1] Outer & Inner Courtyards
- Ch.41 – Measuring the Temple: [2] Main Building
- Ch.42 – Measuring the Temple: [3] Rooms for the Priests
- Ch.43 – The Glory Returns & Instructions given
- Ch.44 – The Priesthood restored
- Ch.45 – Sacred areas, honesty & justice and sacrificial worship
- Ch.46 – The worshipping prince and priests
- Ch.47 – The river from the temple; land boundaries
- Ch.48 – Division of the land, new city gates
Support Information
a) Key Dates
- 597 Ezekiel deported to Babylon
- 593 Receives his call to be a prophet (1:1)
- 587 Fall of Jerusalem (33:21)
- 571 last dated oracle of Ezekiel (29:17)
b) Ezekiel’s Life
- He was among the Jews exiled to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 B.C.
- There among the exiles, as a priest, he received his call to become a prophet (see 1:1-3).
- He was married (see 24:15-18).
- He lived in a house of his own (see 3:24; 8:1) and, along with his fellow exiles, had a relatively free existence.
c) Four visions
- chs. 1-3 – Vision of the Cherubim
- 8-11 – Vision of Glory and Godlessness
- 37:1-14 – Vision of Valley of Dry Bones
- 40-48 – Vision of the Temple being measured
d) 12 symbolic acts:
- 3:22-26 – to be silent except when a ‘word’ comes
- 4:1-3 – the clay tablet picture
- 4:4-8 – laying on his side
- 4:9-11 – measuring out food
- 4:12-14- eating defiled food
- 5:1-3 – shaving his head
- 12:1-16 – packing for exile
- 12:17-20 – shuddering when eating & drinking
- 21:6-7 – groaning before the people
- 21:18-24 – marking out two roads
- 24:15-24 – groaning before the death of his wife
- 37:15-28 – writing on sticks
e) Note the Departing (and returning) Glory of God
- 9:3 & 10:4 from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple.
- 10:18,19 from over the threshold of the temple and stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the LORD’s house.
- 11:23 from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it.
- 43:1-5 coming from the east…entered the temple through the gate facing east and filled the temple.
- 44:4 glory fills the temple.
f) Difficulties
The biggest difficulty (others may disagree) is in respect of the last nine chapters of the book, all about the ‘future'(?) temple. Here is an expanded section of the Outline above:
Ch. 40-48 Vision of Renewed Worship
- Ch.40 Wall around the temple
- Ch.41 Temple exterior
- Ch.42 Temple interior
- Ch.43 The return of God’s glory
- Ch.44 The priesthood
- Ch.45 Land allotment
- Ch.46 The duties of the prince
- Ch.47-48 Life-giving water & Land allotment
The big question is that of interpretation: when does all this refer to? The problem is that we are really not given any clue and perhaps for this reason various schools of thought have arisen as follows:
a) Literal prophetic interpretation – supposed to be a blueprint for the rebuilding of the temple when the exiles returned.
b) Symbolic Christian interpretation – the vision had its fulfilment symbolically in the Christian church.
c) Dispensationalist interpretation – literalist and futurist – refers to the last days when prophecies of Israel ‘s glorious future are fulfilled.
d) Apocalyptic interpretation – Ezekiel’s pattern for the Messianic age that was to come.
We simply mention these for those who wish to do their own research. Whether any or all of these are true, only time will tell. Perhaps the safest thing to say is that when so many pages are given to a subject, even though we may not understand it, it does signify it is important to God. The temple and the future of Israel are important in God’s economy, and it appears that His intent is that His glory will return to His temple. (Now of course that has happened in the Christian church – we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.)
Concluding Comments
- Ezekiel is a book full of different sorts of revelation – visions and words (spoken and acted) nd revelations through pictures.
- Although there was a lot of historical narrative in Jeremiah, the things that happened to him (persecution, imprisonment etc), the ‘actions’ in Ezekiel are all about different ways of conveying the message of the Lord, i.e. action prophecies.
- While Jeremiah prophesied in Jerusalem, Ezekiel was an exile carried into Babylonia by one of Nebuchadnezzar’s earlier expeditions and it was there he prophesied, mostly about Jerusalem, in the midst of the exiles there.
- Although Isaiah has a brief revelation of heaven (Isa 6), Ezekiel has more than one revelation of the heavenly experience.
- Ezekiel is a fascinating book. The fact that much of it arose about the critical time of change for Jerusalem should make it particularly significant in our understanding.
- As with Jeremiah, the number of warnings about the impending doom of Jerusalem shows a God of patience and compassion and the Lord’s declaration (3 times) should always be before us: “I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!” (Ezek 18:32 & 18:23 & 33:11)
- The prophetic words to the surrounding nations remind us that God holds nations accountable for the way they treat His chosen people.
- Mix these in with the many action snippets here and we have a book that is like a rainbow of prophetic colours; beautiful and mysterious, and definitely worth reading (and worth the effort that will be required with it!).