Introduction to Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel reveals God’s Word given through the prophet Ezekiel during the early years of the Babylonian Exile of Judah. Ezekiel was carried into exile with the Judean king Joachim around 597 BC. Ezekiel was a priest and was likely a contemporary of Jeremiah and Daniel, though there is no evidence that they knew each other or worked together.
Ezekiel’s writing has a strange, sometime otherworldly feel placing it in a category with books like Daniel and Revelation. Interestingly, Ezekiel shares many prophetic themes with Daniel and Revelation as well. Generally speaking, the Book of Ezekiel is best studies slowly and with great care.
As with all Bible studies, commentaries or guided studies are useful resources to help keep the study on track. A good place to start is with the People’s Bible Commentary available from the Northwestern Publishing House of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
BibleGatway.com is the source of the Bible references used in these Bible studies.
This study is part of the three-year Bible study available from the WELS and begun on 1 January 2006 on this weblog.
Context for Ezekiel 1
Ezekiel was a priest among a band of Judeans carried into exile with King Joachim in the years before the final siege and sacking by the Babylonians, insinuating at least that he was in service to the royal house. One can imagine the great deal of despair among those Judeans as they wondered about the fate of their land, their city, and God’s promises to them. God chose to answer that despair through Ezekiel.
Ezekiel saw, through his prophetic vision, the coming of the King of Heaven. There in a cloud of fire, reminiscent of the Exodus, and surrounded by fantastic creatures, he saw the Son of God enthroned.
Why did God choose this vision to begin His revelation to Ezekiel? Perhaps simply because God wanted there to be no doubt about the source of such a vision. The people of Judah were in exile because of their idolatry and apostasy, so the false visions of the priests of Baal and Asher probably followed them to Babylon.
Further, God’s revelation to Ezekiel unites it with His revelations to others of His chosen prophets. Within Ezekiel’s words, we can see common themes found throughout the Old Testament, once again assuring God’s people that He was still with them even in their time of discipline.
And how does all of this apply to us a Christians? In Ezekiel’s words, we also catch a glimpse of a promise made to us as well, a glimpse of the Kingdom of Heaven that is our inheritance through faith. In God’s revelation to Ezekiel, we see the promise we share with those ancient Jews, the promise of a Savior and of the redemption He brings.
