Lesson One – Ezekiel – Handout
1) Ezekiel: the Man.
2) Ezekiel: the Ministry.
3) Ezekiel: the Message.
a) To many the book of Ezekiel is difficult and hard to
understand.
b) In its structure, however, if not in its thought and
language, the book has a basic simplicity, and its orderly
framework makes it easy to analyze.
c) Religious issues addressed by Ezekiel.
i) Debates over the meaning of the first deportation.
ii) Debates about the length of the exile and the
possibility of return to the land.
iii) Debates about the status of the exiles in Babylon
after the first deportation.
iv) Debates among prophets reflecting differing point of
view.
v) Debates about the relationship of God to Jerusalem.
d) Despite the complexity of the book, the message is
relatively simple and can be easily summarized.
i) The city of Jerusalem and the people of Judah would
inevitably be punished because of their sins, which were
both religious and social.
ii) No only was the current generation sinful and deserving
of punishment, but the entire history of Israel had been a
history of disobedience and rebellion against God. (ch.
20.)
iii) Repentance might still save individuals who lead a
righteous life (ch. 18), but the righteous few, if they
existed at all, could not save the rest of the nation.
iv) This message applied both to the deportees of 597 BC
and to the people who remained in the land.
v) Yet in spite of this unequivocal message of doom,
Ezekiel also prophesied that after the city had been
destroyed and the people punished, God would bring the
exiles back to the land, and the Temple would be restored
according to a divine plan (chs. 40-48).
vi) God will bring the people back in order not to profane
the divine name (ch. 26:16-32).
e) In addressing these issues, Ezekiel presents five
recurrent themes (others could be discussed, but these are
the highlights around which his message is built).
i) The otherness of God.
ii) The sinfulness of Israel.
iii) The fact of judgment.
iv) Individual responsibility.
v) The promise of restoration.