Encountering the Old Testament, 3rd Edition
A Christian Survey
series: Encountering Biblical Studies
Chapter
29. Ezekiel 1–24: Rough Days Are Coming!
Chapter Intro Video
Chapter Objectives
- Outline the basic contents of Ezekiel 1–24
- Describe the details of Ezekiel’s commission
- Describe the four symbolic acts of Ezekiel (4:1–5:17) that showed how seriously God takes sin
- Summarize Ezekiel’s vision of God’s glory departing Jerusalem (8:1–11:25)
- Describe the attitude of Ezekiel’s audience as they listened to him
Chapter Summary
- The book of Ezekiel is written in an autobiographical style.
- Ezekiel’s four symbolic actions (4:1–5:17) demonstrated how seriously God took the people’s sin (playing a game with a brick, lying on his right and left sides for a specific number of days, cooking bread using small rations and using human dung for fuel, and dividing his hair into three parts and performing different actions with each part).
- The concept of the day of the Lord includes the judgment of God against sin, the cleansing and purging of God’s people, and the salvation of God’s people.
- The people of God sinned greatly against him; led by the elders, they practiced idolatry on the temple grounds, worshiping a pagan agricultural god and worshiping the sun.
- In preparation for the judgment, Ezekiel denounced the false prophets and the people’s idolatry.
- Ezekiel described God’s people with analogies in which he compared them to a vine, an unfaithful wife, and two eagles.
- In his lament for Judah, Ezekiel analogously used cubs to represent Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin.
Study Questions
- What was the historical setting for Ezekiel’s prophetic ministry?
- What do we know about the prophet himself from his book?
- List the various symbolic prophetic actions Ezekiel performed for the people. In general, how do you think the people responded to those actions?
- Describe Ezekiel’s vision of chapters 8–11. What was the significance of God’s glory departing Jerusalem?
- How would you characterize the general attitude of Ezekiel’s audience? What seems to have been the viewpoint of the people who stayed behind in Jerusalem after the second deportation?