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Ezekiel — A Prophet for All Time
While Ezekiel lived about six hundred years before Christ Jesus taught, he remains relevant today. Ezekiel was born into a family of priests, and that was his professional training. When Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, captured Jerusalem and drove Jews including Ezekiel into exile, God called upon Ezekiel to give prophecy to the exiled communities. His role as a prophet continued for about 22 years. The book of Ezekiel covers that entire time period.
Many prophets came before Ezekiel with less harsh statements from God. Jeremiah was a contemporary of his and seems to have influenced Ezekiel’s thinking, though there’s no proof that they ever met in person.
Ezekiel is different from other documented prophets in multiple ways. First, he didn’t offer a warning about the distant future, but rather insisted that God’s judgement is underway. Second, he highlighted that individuals may be spared from the condemnation of the entire community, if they made the individual choice to follow God’s laws. Third, Ezekiel spoke in detail about the mechanics of living in Spirit. Fourth, the promise of redemption after destruction was given.
JUDGEMENT DAY IS TODAY
In Ezekiel 7:1–27, God is telling his people that their time is up. This prophecy is not a warning about future events nor stern counsel to avoid sinful behaviors. The time for fulfillment of God’s law has arrived and the community will witness this judgement. The destruction of the temple in Jerusalem is the focal point of God’s wrath, but the scattering of the community of Jews is the difficulty that will be suffered for many years.
INDIVIDUALS MAY TURN TO GOD TO BE SAVED PERSONALLY
Since the destruction of the temple specifically and the nation of Israel overall was a foregone conclusion. Ezekiel counsels individuals to focus on their personal relationship with God. Each of God’s children should not be concerned with the judgement that has come to pass on the whole community. Through their personal relationship with God, individuals may be saved by God directly.
Chapter 18 covers God’s promise to judge each person individually and to not hold them accountable for the failures of the community. Individuals will be held responsible for their own actions. Leadership will…
