Introduction of Book of Ezekiel

Song: Great is thy Faithfulness (Tremaine Hawkins)

How can I say thanks, for the things you have done for me.

Things so undeserved, yet you gave to prove your love for me.

The voices of a million angels, cannot express… my gratitude.

All that I am, and ever hope to be… I owe it all to you.

To God, be the glory.

To God, be the glory.

To God, be the glory.

For the things, he has done.

Just let me live, my life.

Let it be pleasing lord to thee, and if I gain any praise.

Let it go to Calvary, with his blood… he has saved me.

With his power, he has raised me… to God be the glory.

For the things he has done.

Prayer: Choose Someone

Scripture: Brother Darrel Hawkins- Ecclesiastes 9:8-10

Give Scripture: Ezekiel 1:1-3

Ezekiel 1:1–3 KJV 1900

1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, 3 The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him.

Opening

We have been in the book of 2 Chronicles for more than a year at this point and I was asking God what direction he wanted us to go into going forward.

For a time, I wanted to go into Proverbs because the book of Proverbs deals with so many practical things that pertain to each of us as the people of God. Issues from marriage to friendships, and even budgeting and other things that we all need to address. Because many of us like to put God in a box or his Word in a box, when the reality is that God’s Word is quite vocal about issues which the Church is completely silent on.

However, the reality is that we are living in a prophetic season where God is trying to speak to his Church out of the mouths of prophets but we have allowed the state of the world we live in to block our ears to the World we are called to. What do I mean. We spend so much time in a depression because of the news we ignore opportunities to minister the Word of God to people. Furthermore, we spend so much time listening to people and ourselves that we fail to ask God his will concerning the things of God. However, through the mouths of even dead prophets we can learn and get a glimpse of where we are going based on where our forefathers had been.

Put simply, their is nothing new under the Sun and through Ezekiel, I think many of us can see the state of our Church and learn to get back to our assignment as the Called out One’s that God is asking us to be.

Disclaimers

First, the book of Ezekiel is one of the more difficult books to understand/ or comprehend because it is one of the prophetic books.

The prophetic books; Ezekiel, Daniel, Revelation are many times difficult to understand because of the complex imagery which they are designed to convey but is difficult to fully explain.

Put simply, in some (if not many cases) these prophets were confused concerning the images and visions that God gave them) so it is reasonable that we encounter this same problem.

Especially because they were limited in their ability to read and know the entirety of the Word and did not know the ending of the Abrahamic Covenant.

However, we have the advantage of having unfettered access to the entirety of the Word of God with a large number of study materials to choose from.

In addition, we know the end result of the Adamic prophesy in the form of Jesus Christ, who was prophesied even in the midst of the Garden.

And yet, the prophesies are made further complicated by the revelations which take place, but cannot be clarified or given because they are beyond lawfulness to utter, which means we miss key details.

Here, many of us are disadvantaged because we frankly do not spend enough time with God to receive these types of revelations.

This gives rise to interpretation because everyone believes they have the correct interpretation/ or self driven revelation of a scripture and many people impose their own meaning onto the scripture which is not only wrong but potentially dangerous.

All of that to say, if you have an interpretation of a scripture/ or passage that is different from someone that does not make you wrong or right… but the purpose of bible study is to have dialogue about these things so we can get on one accord with the spirit and one accord as a body.

Furthermore, just because I am teaching or some others are preachers and you may not be does not make me or anyone else infallible, so I encourage everyone to have conversation… be respectful to one another, but have conversation. Amen.

My Second Disclaimer, the book of Ezekiel can be graphic and a bit much, but the Word is the Word so we will be covering every single verse lest God say otherwise. I therefore encourage you to brace yourself because it is a lot to take in at some instances.

I will provide disclaimers for anyone because I do not want to offend anyone and do not want to alarm anybody as most of the book is perfectly fine, but when we reach contentious areas I will make that clear but I also want to be clear we will proceed. Amen.

Finally, the final piece is that the book of Ezekiel overlaps, in large extent, with the book of Jeremiah and even 2 Chronicles, to some extent, so expect conversation around those topics but also know we may not cover everything from the multiple perspectives.

Put simply, it is tough enough to teach and learn Ezekiel without adding all of Jeremiah on top of it. Amen.

Allow for Questions?

Write some of the questions down if possible.

Introduction to Ezekiel

Ezekiel 1:1–3 KJV 1900

1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, 3 The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him.

Critical Questions

Who is Ezekiel?

Where does Ezekiel come from?

When is the book taking place on the timeline of history?

What role does he play in the “Grander Scheme of Things”?

These are all important questions that I want us to get a basic understanding of before we get lost into the Book of Ezekiel. I think to many times, we look at scripture in isolation and do not give each verse due consideration as one small piece of a much larger puzzle. And because we look at the pieces independently from one another, we never get an accurate understanding of the whole scripture.

Who Is Ezekiel

We find the answer to this question primarily in verse 3

Ezekiel 1:3 KJV 1900

3 The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him.

Ezekiel is a Priest

Ezekiel is the Son of Buzi, who was also a priest

As best we can tell from theological analysis, at this time in the scripture, Ezekiel is likely around 32.

His last prophecy is given at the age of about 52 based on dates given related to events we know are historically accurate.

We also know his prophetic career was about 20 years long.

Which lends itself to him being about 30-32 when his prophetic careers begins

We also know based on the information he gives us that Hilkiah the High Priest had discovered and given the law to King Josiah 30 years prior to Ezekiel 1:1, again based on historical and archaeological research.

This tells us Ezekiel had likely just been born, and was as old as 2 years old, when Josiah encountered the law and forced the entire Kingdom to recommit themselves to holding up God’s law.

This of course also means that Ezekiel was reared and raised under the reforms of Josiah from 621 BC (the estimated time where the book of the law is found) until 609 BC when Josiah dies in the valley of Megiddo.

That is 12 years under Godly rule.

He then lives another 13 years under the rule of numerous Kings who are all called by people outside of the living God but are nonetheless allowed to rule without God’s direct interference.

At the end of that 13 years at around the age of 25 (as late as 27) the Babylonian King comes in to take him away to captivity… we will get to this later.

Where does Ezekiel come from

This is a two-fold answer because the place of his birth is not the place from which he gives and writes his prophecies.

But, this answer can be found throughout the three verses, but greater clarity can be found in 2 Chronicles 36 and 2 Kings 24, which I will not take time to read as we have just concluded that portion of our Bible study

2 Chronicles, if you recall, tells us of the last of the lineage to rule in Judah.

They were Josiah’s sons and grandsons.

One was placed on the throne by the people

Another as placed on the throne by Pharoah Neco

Another was placed on the throne by the Babylonian King, the King of Chaldeans (Nebuchadnezzar)

This was Jehoiachin

Nebuchadnezzar removed him a placed another King, who would be the last King, King Zedekiah.

But lets stop and look at Jehoiachin

He was placed on the throne by the Babylonian King as the Grandson of Josiah and he was likely eight years old (the KJV says eight but many commentaries and other translations say eighteen).

He gets placed on the throne and according to 2 Chronicles 36, he does that which was evil in the sight of the Lord for 3 months and 10 days, which was the time he served on the throne.

At the close of the year, Nebuchadnezzar removes him and has him brought to Babylon with some of the items of the Lords house.

But that is not all that comes to Babylon

2 Kings 24:11 KJV 1900

11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it.

2 Kings 24:14–16 KJV 1900

14 And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. 15 And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king’s mother, and the king’s wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

So Nebuchadnezzar lays waste to the city of Jerusalem and takes with him many of the people in leadership and power… creating instability and trying to incorporate Israel into his larger Kingdom… this was a common tactic at that time and still is today.

You create instability by removing existing leadership and continually change the leadership until you are able to put in the person of your choosing by virtue of the people becoming desensitized to the changes.

Among those people were Ezekiel, who as a man of Priestly lineage was a leader and therefore posed a threat to Babylonian rule.

So Ezekiel is placed in captivity and is now forced to live in Babylon

Ezekiel 1:1 KJV 1900

1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

Theologians debate the meaning of 30 years, it is either;

30 years since the discovery of the law by Hilkiah

Or 30 years that the prophet had lived until that point.

Either tag fits but it is likely a reference to the discovery of the law because time was harder to track then and therefore would be best associated with an event rather than a person.

But here, Ezekiel is giving us a sneak peek into his life that shows us he is living with other captives on the River of Chebar and it is in this season of his life that God opens his eyes and begins using him as a prophet.

He had to leave the lands of his people and only when he is in an unfamiliar place does God begin to use him in a new and profound way.

When is the book taking place in the timeline of history

We can see that in verses 1 & 2

Ezekiel 1:1–2 KJV 1900

1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity,

30 years since the discovery of the law

5 years since Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin and others away in chains

5 years since Zedekiah’s reign as King had begun with 6 years left in his 11 year reign

6 years before the 70 years of total captivity prophesied by Jeremiah would begin

12 years after Josiah’s death

It is important to note that both Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophesy, effectively, the same message but at different times. By the time Ezekiel’s ministry begins, Jeremiah would have fled to Egypt and ended his ministry.

That said, they were approximately the same age and lived in Jerusalem around the same time.

They also are both sons of Priests and therefore entitled to or responsible to the priesthood themselves.

However, some of the Israelites stole Jeremiah away to Egypt before he could be taken into captivity, which gives context as to why neither prophet references the other despite their similar circles, relative proximity, and other factors.

What role does he play in the grander scheme of things?

Ezekiel 1. Historical Background

Ezekiel was not taken seriously in the early years of his ministry because he, along with Jeremiah, forecasted the eventual fall and destruction of Jerusalem (Ezek 4:1–17; Jer 25:1–4; 29:1–9). Neither were optimistic about Judah’s immediate future. Jeremiah prophesied that Judah and Jerusalem were to be judged and destroyed and that their inhabitants would remain captives in Babylon for seventy years (Jer 25:11; 29:10). Ezekiel foresaw a future resurrection of the nation (Ezek 37:1–28), reunification of the Northern and Southern kingdoms, rebuilding of the temple (Ezek 40:1–42:20), and restoration of sacrificial worship (Ezek 44–48).

This is quote taken from the book Ezekiel by Lamar Eugene Cooper Sr. (no relation). I like it because it summarizes everything far better than I could. With that said, Ezekiel gives prophesy that shapes the future of the children of Israel.

Jeremiah told them their would be no return for 70 years

But it was Ezekiel who gave a blueprint for their return

Their would be no Nehemiah, Ezra, Zerubbabel, or Haggai without the prophetic words given to Ezekiel.

They each received a promise or prophecy concerning Jerusalem but it was Ezekiel’s prophesy that paved the way for these men of God to set the stage for the return of the people.

In that same way, it can be said, that Ezekiel helped set the stage for the people of Israel to return, so they could reject and crucify Jesus… as the Romans carried out the sentence of the Jewish people.

Provide Key Takeaways

Ezekiel is a priest called into the office of a prophet

Some of the people of Judah/ or Jerusalem are in exile but others still remain in Jerusalem

Ezekiel set the stage for the return to worship that was observed under Ezra, Nehemiah, Zerubbabel, and Haggai

Allow for Final Questions?

Write some of the questions down if possible.

Roll Call & Prayer Requests

Prayer: Do yourself unless otherwise led