Ezekiel Explained?

[Summerset276]

I woke up this morning not knowing which book of the bible I should start reading today. I then found myself reading Ezekiel. I have studied scripture from Ezekiel but I have never actually sat down and read the book of Ezekiel. Anyways, I understand that Ezekiel is a book of prophecy and I have not yet read the whole book but I am not understanding what I am reading. I understand the vision in the first chapter and I understand the warnings the Lord is wanting him to give to Israel, but are these warnings for the future or were they for biblical times? This is where my confusion comes in.

I read Ezekiel through the 5th chapter but wanted to try to understand it better before I continued.

Thanks in advance for those who respond.

Your sister in Christ,
Ashli

[Wildcat81]

Well, here's a quick-and-dirty explanation: Ezekiel was written (mostly) just prior to the fall of Jerusalem, and a little bit after. The vast bulk of the book is devoted to predicting the coming exile of the Southern Kingdom. At the very end we get some predictions regarding the restoration of Israel after the exile, and the first hints of the theology surrounding the Messiah and the idea of a general resurrection of the righteous dead.

[Summerset276]

Thanks Wildcat. That is exactly what I was needing to know.

Thanks!

[Biblenuggetlady]

From my study notes...

Ezekiel can be divided into basically 3 sections:

Ezekiel 1-24 impending disaster of Jerusalem's fall
Ezekiel 25-32 the judgements pronounced on surrounding nations
Ezekiel 33-48 the future hopes and trials of God's people

The book can be described as threefold: 1. to show that Judah and Jerusalem were being judged for their sin; 2. to encourage the exiles with prophecies of God's future blessing on Israel, and 3. to emphasize God's glory and His character as that which should be host important to His people. This third reason is expressed over 75 times in the phrases "for mine holy name's sake" and "they shall know that I am the Lord". "Son of man" is used 45 times and it stresses the idea that one possesses the qualities and characteristics of his father. Consequently, when Jesus used the terms "Son of man" and "Son of God" to refer to Himself, He was showing that He had the characteristics of both diety and humanity. The "glory of the Lord" is a prominent theme, being mentioned over 15 times in the book.

The name Ezekiel means, "God stregthens", which is appropriate in light of the difficulties that Ezekiel would endure. Ezekiel was with Jeremiah and Zechariah, one of 3 prophets who were also priests. He was taken to Babylon from Jerusalem in the 2nd deportation (597BC) along with King Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:8-17; Jerm. 22:24-30). At the age of 30 (Eke. 1:1) when a priest would normally begin his ministry, Ezekiel received his prophetic visions of both contempaorary and future events relating to Jerusalem. As might be expected from a priest, Ezekiel was concerned about the pollution of the temple which existed in his time and the glory of the millennial temple of the future. The last date that Ezekiel records (Ezek. 29:17) is 22 years after his call.