Ezekiel
-
Seeing the state of the Davidic kingdom in ruins, Ezekiel delivers his message against Judah as a lament, expressing grief rather than merely pronouncing judgment. In his lament, Ezekiel compares Judah to a lioness raising powerful cubs, its kings who were meant to rule responsibly and in keeping with the covenant the LORD made with their ancestor David. Ezekiel is mourning not the loss of power itself, but the ruin of something precious that cannot be recovered. What a lioness was your mother among the lions!She lay down among them and reared her cubs.She brought up one of her cubs,…
-
The people of Jerusalem who were the audience to Ezekiel’s prophetic messages—displayed an unwillingness to engage in introspection and examine their deteriorated relationships with God. Despite the numerous parables and illustrations presented by Ezekiel, they remained resolute in their refusal to change their ways or acknowledge the sin that resided within them. They had long concluded that their struggles stemmed from the transgressions of their ancestors, rather than recognizing the implications of the current state of affairs in Jerusalem. God rebuked those who blamed earlier generations for their own wrongdoing, as well as those who assumed they could rely on…
-
The word of the LORD came to Ezekiel, and on this occasion the message was to be delivered as a parable, because the people of Jerusalem had become hardened and unresponsive to direct confrontation over their sins. A parable draws the listener in, engages the conscience, and exposes the heart before pride can defend itself. It invites the hearer to judge the story—and in doing so, to judge themselves. God uses parables throughout Scripture to confront hardened hearts that have grown cold towards Him. God confronted David with a parable of a stolen lamb, leading David to condemn his own…
-
Jerusalem was the city set on a hill, chosen by God as the capital of the promised land that He had given to the descendants of Abraham. Jerusalem was a stronghold known for its fortifications and seemingly impregnable position, and it became both the political and spiritual center of Israel. Yet over time, the inhabitants of this ancient city grew cold and hardened their hearts to ignore the will of God in their lives. The people began to trust in its walls rather than in their Provider, placing greater importance on their heritage and lineage. In doing so, the city…
-
One day, some elders of Judah came to meet Ezekiel, perhaps hoping to hear what the LORD had to say about their present condition or the exile that awaited them. As they sat before him, the word of the LORD came, revealing that these men claimed to belong to Him yet had built idols within their own hearts. They had placed stumbling blocks before their faces, choosing to ignore the LORD’s warnings while giving others a false sense of security that everything was acceptable as long as they continued to offer praise. Because they had grown accustomed to dismissing His…
-
God reminds Ezekiel that he is living among a rebellious people who refuse to see or hear His warnings. To deliver His message, God instructs Ezekiel to enact a prophetic sign of exile. Before the people’s eyes, he is to pack his belongings, dig through a wall, and carry his things away at dusk, symbolising the coming captivity of Jerusalem. This acted sign serves as a warning to the prince of Jerusalem and to all who remain in the city. Just as Ezekiel moves into exile, so the people—together with their prince—will be taken away. The prince will attempt to…
-
Ezekiel is once again taken by the Spirit to witness the true condition of Jerusalem—not as the people imagine it to be, but as God sees it. At the eastern gate of the temple, the prophet was shown twenty-five influential men, those entrusted with guiding the city. Yet these leaders were not anchors of righteousness rather they became architects of corruption. They plotted evil under the guise of stability, reassuring the people with the false confidence that Jerusalem was secure, “a pot” that will protect the “meat” within. Their words sounded reassuring, but their counsel lead the people further away…
-
One day, while Ezekiel was sitting with the elders of Judah, the LORD’s hand came upon him. In a vision, the Spirit lifted him to the temple in Jerusalem, where he saw the idol of jealousy standing at the north gate. God showed him that the people were committing detestable acts in His sanctuary. And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the utterly detestable things the Israelites are doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable.” Ezekiel 8:6 (NIV) Ezekiel…
-
The Prophet Ezekiel is commanded to speak not merely to the people, but to the very mountains of Israel—the high places where idolatry had taken deep root in the land. These heights, once meant to reflect the glory of the Creator, had become platforms of spiritual betrayal. Through this vivid prophetic message, we see both the severity of God’s wrath against persistent idolatry and the tenderness of His faithfulness in preserving a remnant. It calls us to examine the loyalties of our own hearts, to recognise how easily worship can be misplaced, and to remember that the LORD alone is…
-
Ezekiel was chosen by God to bring the message of repentance to a generation that had hardened their hearts. Even in exile, these people were not ready to aim the corrective lens at themselves, but, armed by false prophets who lied through their teeth, the people were awaiting God to bring down the mighty Babylonians. To make these people understand the severity of their offence and the weight of God’s judgment that was upon them, Ezekiel was instructed to dramatise the coming judgment, communicating through symbolic actions rather than spoken words about what God’s judgment upon Jerusalem would be. Even…
-
Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, was both a priest and a prophet taken into Babylonian exile around 597 BC during King Jehoiachin’s deportation. His prophetic visions began in 593 BC and continued for about twenty-two years among the Jewish exiles living by the Kebar River in Babylon. A contemporary of Jeremiah, who prophesied from Jerusalem, Ezekiel ministered from within captivity itself, addressing a disheartened people who believed they had been forsaken by God. The once-prosperous kingdom of Judah had fallen under Babylonian domination, and by 586 BC, both Jerusalem and the temple lay in ruins. The exiles wrestled with despair,…
The Jordan Valley 