Ezekiel
The glory of the LORD: its departure from Jerusalem, the judgment of Judah and the nations, and its return to a restored Israel.
Ezekiel was a priest carried to Babylon in 597 BC with King Jehoiachin, eleven years before Jerusalem fell. In the fifth year of his captivity, by the river Chebar, the heavens opened and he saw visions of God: living creatures, wheels full of eyes, a firmament like crystal, and above it a throne and “the likeness as the appearance of a man” surrounded by the brightness of the rainbow. “This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD” (1:28).
The book is carefully dated and arranged. Chapters 1–24, before the fall of Jerusalem, pronounce judgment on Judah; in chapters 8–11 Ezekiel sees the glory of God depart from the temple by stages because of the abominations there. Chapters 25–32 judge the surrounding nations. Chapters 33–48, after the news of the city’s fall, turn to restoration: a new heart and spirit, the valley of dry bones raised to life, the reunion of Judah and Israel under David their king, the defeat of Gog, and a new temple to which the glory returns.
Ezekiel ministered by vision, parable, and dramatic action. More than seventy times God says, “they shall know that I am the LORD.” The captivity cured Israel of idolatry, and the book’s closing name for Jerusalem expresses its final hope: “The LORD is there” (48:35).
Writer: Ezekiel
Written: About 595–574 BC in the traditional chronology, during the Babylonian exile.
Name: God strengthens
Title and authorship
Yechezqel means “God strengthens” or “God will strengthen.” God strengthened His prophet for a hard people with a hard forehead (3:8–9).
Ezekiel, son of Buzi, a priest, wrote the book, speaking in the first person throughout (1:3; 24:24). God addresses him as “son of man” more than ninety times.
Historical background
Tel-abib by the river Chebar, a canal of Babylon, from 595 BC (Ezekiel’s call in the traditional chronology) to about 574 BC. Daniel was already famous in the royal court (14:14; 28:3), while Ezekiel lived among the exiles.
The exiles in Babylon, especially the younger generation, who hoped for a quick return and needed to understand the reasons for judgment and the certainty of restoration.
The exiles at Chebar
The Chebar was a large navigable canal near Nippur in Babylonia. Records of the Murashu business firm from Nippur, a century later, include many Jewish names, showing that the exiles settled and prospered there, as Jeremiah had told them to (Jeremiah 29:5–7).
Dated oracles
Ezekiel dates his messages more precisely than almost any prophet, by the year of Jehoiachin’s captivity. The news that the city was smitten reached him in the twelfth year of the captivity (33:21), and the final temple vision is dated in the twenty-fifth year (40:1).
Tyre
Ezekiel foretold that Tyre would be scraped like the top of a rock and become a place to spread nets (26:4–5, 14). Nebuchadnezzar besieged the mainland city for thirteen years; Alexander the Great later used its rubble to build a causeway to the island city. The site of the old city is now a place where fishermen spread their nets.
Key passages
Ezekiel 36:24–26
God will gather Israel from all countries, cleanse them, and give them a new heart and a new spirit.
Ezekiel 37:21–22
One nation in the land, one king over them all, no more two kingdoms.
Ezekiel 43:2–5
The glory of the God of Israel returns by the way of the east and fills the house.
Ezekiel 36:33–36
The restoration makes the Lord’s work known beyond Israel.
Outline
1–24 · Judah’s judgment
The prophet’s call, signs, visions, and accusations explain why Jerusalem must fall.
25–32 · The nations judged
Neighboring powers are held accountable for pride, hostility, and corruption.
33–39 · Israel restored
A renewed commission, the true Shepherd, cleansing, regathering, and victory announce hope.
40–48 · The restored sanctuary and land
The temple, worship, river, boundaries, and city display the ordered life of restoration.
Original language
כָּבוֹד (kavod, H3519) — “glory”
Literally weight or heaviness, then honor and splendor. The glory of the LORD appears at Chebar (1:28), departs from the temple (10:18; 11:23), and returns to the new temple (43:2–5).
בֶּן־אָדָם (ben adam, H1121) — “son of man”
God calls Ezekiel “son of man” about 93 times, stressing his frailty before the glory of God. Daniel 7:13 uses the Aramaic equivalent for the heavenly Son of man, the title Christ chose for Himself.
רוּחַ (ruach, H7307) — “spirit, wind, breath”
In chapter 37 the same word is translated breath, wind, and spirit. The prophet prophesies to the wind, the breath enters the bodies, and God says, “I shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live” (37:14).
יְהוָה שָׁמָּה (YHWH shammah, H3074) — “The LORD is there”
The new name of the city at the close of the book (48:35). The glory that departed has returned to dwell permanently.
Doctrinal study
Israel restored in unbelief, then regenerated
The dry bones come together and are covered with flesh before the breath enters them (37:7–10). Israel is regathered to its land in large measure before its national conversion; the new heart comes when God pours out His Spirit and they look upon Him whom they pierced (Zechariah 12:10).
Gog and Magog
Chapters 38–39 describe an invasion of restored Israel from the far north, led by Gog of the land of Magog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, with Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer, and Togarmah. God destroys the invaders on the mountains of Israel; the burying of the dead takes seven months and the burning of weapons seven years. Many Bible believers have identified the northern power with Russia.
The anointed cherub
The lament over the king of Tyrus (28:11–19) goes beyond any earthly king: he was in Eden, the garden of God, was “the anointed cherub that covereth,” and was perfect until iniquity was found in him. Together with Isaiah 14, this passage reveals the origin and fall of Satan.
Commentary notes
Twelve symbolic acts
Ezekiel drew Jerusalem under siege on a tile, lay on his left side 390 days and on his right side 40 days, ate defiled bread, shaved his head and divided the hair, dug through a wall, trembled while eating, and did not mourn his wife’s death (4–5; 12; 24). He became a living sermon.
Individual responsibility
The exiles quoted a proverb: “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” God answered, “the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (18:2–4). Each generation and each person is accountable to God, and the wicked who turns from his sin shall live.
A right heart toward God’s word
Elders came to inquire of the prophet with idols set up in their hearts. God said He would answer them “according to the multitude of his idols” (14:1–4). A man who comes to the Bible with a wrong heart will get the answer he wants and be deceived.
Christ in the book
- The likeness of a man upon the throne (1:26)
- The tender twig planted on a high mountain (17:22–24)
- The one “whose right it is” to wear the crown (21:27)
- The one Shepherd, David the prince over Israel (34:23–24; 37:24)
Applications
Historical
- Ezekiel preaches to the exiles in Babylon, telling them there is no hope of immediate deliverance. He details the destruction of Jerusalem, the judgment of Judah and the Gentile nations, and the future hope, glory, and reign of the Messiah and the restoration of Israel.
- Ezekiel ministers among exiles while Jeremiah addresses the crisis in Judah and Daniel serves within imperial government.
- The prophet’s message corrects premature hopes: a lasting restoration requires that the nation face the cause of its captivity.
Doctrinal
- Ezekiel foretells the Jew under the control of the Antichrist, the invasion of Gog and Magog (38–39), the Second Coming, the restoration of Israel as one nation in its land, and the millennial temple and worship (40–48).
- The promises concern Israel’s regathering, cleansing, unity, and future life under the Lord’s rule.
- The departing and returning glory organize the book’s theology; the restored temple vision belongs to its expectation of the Lord dwelling among his people.
Devotional
- God is always chastening and conforming His children into the image of His Son. We want the change immediately, but God works until His glory is restored in us. A complete and lasting change is required.
- Ezekiel’s restoration promises connect relief from captivity with cleansing, a new heart, and renewed knowledge of the Lord.
- The warning concerning idols in the heart requires self-examination among those seeking God’s guidance.
Answering the critics
Critics point to the book’s range of styles—poetry, prose, visions, parables, and technical temple descriptions—and argue for composite authorship over a long period.
Ezekiel’s authorship is consistent throughout. He speaks in the first person, uses the same phrases (“son of man,” “they shall know that I am the LORD,” “the hand of the LORD was upon me”) in every section, and dates his oracles carefully. A dramatic writer addressing a captive audience naturally varies his style. The Bible is not understood by human intellect alone (14:1–9).