Hi James and Ellen,
The Ezekiel Book is made up of three distinct discourses. The Ezekiel Book – which is named after the guy who had God – as God the Spirit, breathe on him what God – as God the Father, wanted him to scribe in a missive that His specially chosen guys and gals would always have, was scribed over a 22 year period. Ezekiel – whose name means ‘God strengthens’, was born in the city of Jerusalem. Ezekiel identifies himself as being a priest. As the Israelite people group priests were to be from the Levi tribal clan, your grandpaa believes that Ezekiel was from the Levi tribal clan. When the Chaldean army from the country of Babylonia first overran the city of Jerusalem – which was in 597 B.C., Ezekiel – who was probably a young guy, along with the then king – who was Jehoiachin, who was ruling at this time over the guys and gals who lived in the land of Judah, were taken – along with another 10,000 or so guys, gals and kids, from the city of Jerusalem to the country of Babylonia. This contingent of Israelite people group guys, gals and kids – who are God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids – were resettled as exiles in the vicinity of the Kebar irrigation canal in the country of Babylonia. The Kebar – which can be translated as Chebar, canal connected the Tigris River about 40 miles north of the city of Babylon with the Euphrates River. Ezekiel was or would become married. God used a vision on July 31, 593 B.C. to dramatically and vividly call Ezekiel to be a watchman for Him on planet Earth. Ezekiel quickly became an outspoken prophet spokesman and a prophetic writer. Ezekiel comes across through his writings in his Ezekiel Book’s 48 chapters as being a rather introspective, very religious dude who used allegories, illustrations and symbolism to reinforce the messages that God wanted him to communicate. God’s first charge to Ezekiel was for Ezekiel to send warning communiqués to His specially chosen guys and gals who were still living in the city of Jerusalem. After Ezekiel finished scribing on a scroll his first message to God’s specially chosen guys and gals – who were known as Jews or Hebrews or Israelites, who the Chaldean army had not taken from the city Jerusalem to be exiles in the country of Babylonia, God had Ezekiel eat the scroll. Ezekiel would then make a replica of the city of Jerusalem – using the replica to predict and depict how the city of Jerusalem would go through an extended siege before finally being razed. Ezekiel also acted out at this time in real life the rationing of food and water that God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids – who were left living in the city of Jerusalem, would end up doing before Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army would breach the city of Jerusalem’s walls to pillage and ravage the place. God – as God the Father, then used a vision that He was giving to Ezekiel through God – as God the Spirit, to rapture or transport Ezekiel’s spirit to the city of Jerusalem at which time Ezekiel eyeballed the apostate nature of God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were left living in the city of Jerusalem. Ezekiel saw God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were left living in the city of Jerusalem worshipping loathsome inanimate idol gods – using the temple of God that was in the city of Jerusalem to place these manmade forms that were made from chunks of wood, molded clay, chipped stone and melted metal – which desecrated and defiled God’s holy place of worship. The first part of the Ezekiel Book ends with Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army breaking through the city of Jerusalem’s walls and Ezekiel’s wife suddenly dying. Ezekiel uses his wife’s death as a teaching moment to show through not mourning for his wife’s death how the devastating destruction of the city of Jerusalem would not be mourned.
A series of indicting oracles that focus on specific nations and cities make up Ezekiel Book’s second part. The oracles are pending judgments that God – as God the Father, gave through God – as God the Spirit, to Ezekiel for him to scribe, has for the countries of Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia and Egypt and the cities of Tyre and Sidon.
Ezekiel Book’s final part is filled with hope. Ezekiel’s words that God – as God the Father, gave him through God – as God the Spirit, to pass on to His specially chosen exiled guys and gals in the country of Babylonia changes from being extolling to being consoling. Through Ezekiel’s ardent preaching – which has God speaking through Ezekiel, God’s specially chosen guys and gals returned to worshipping only God. Guys and gals came to internalize why God had no other recourse but to do the horrific number on them that He did. God told His specially chosen guys and gals through a vision that He gave to Ezekiel of a valley that was filled with dried bones that He was going to return them into being a nation again. After another vision that God gave Ezekiel in which He has Ezekiel see His specially chosen guys and gals one day annihilating two Gentile powers – Gog and Magog, God had Ezekiel see what His glory will be like when He restores His temple in the city of Jerusalem – which God had him measure, describe the temple’s contents and the living water that will run through His temple. Even though Ezekiel had a hot line to God’s future plans for guys and gals who have, are and will live on planet Earth, Ezekiel refers to himself as being a ‘son of man’ 70 times in his Ezekiel Book. Calling himself as a ‘son of man’ implies that Ezekiel knew his weaknesses and his need for God’s help. Ezekiel epitomizes what Christ-follower guys, gals and kids are to be like.
Ezekiel