What if we as Christians were to change our lives and learn from the book of Ezekiel how to live godly? What if God’s Word is applicable in our everyday lives—goals, motives, relationships and more. What if you could learn how to apply prophet Ezekiel? You can with Lessons from the Book of Ezekiel by Pastor Richard Beasley.
This is a great book for anyone who is seeking to understand the Book of Ezekiel. It will help you with your understanding of the powerful and esoteric messages that were being revealed in this book by God through the prophet Ezekiel.
what is the summary of the book of ezekiel
Ezekiel was a priest (Ezek. 1:3), but he never served in that office because he was taken captive to Babylon during the reign of Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:10–16), who was the king of Judah who followed Jehoiakim. It was during the eleven–year reign of Jehoiakim that the first deportation took place when Daniel was taken captive. Jehoiachin then came to the throne and reigned only three months. In 597 B.C. the second deportation took place, and Ezekiel was taken captive.
Ezekiel was a contemporary of Jeremiah and Daniel. Jeremiah was an old man at this time. He had begun his ministry as a young man during the reign of young King Josiah. He had remained with the remnant in the land and then was taken by them down into Egypt. Therefore his ministry at this time was confined to the remnant in Egypt. Daniel had been taken into the court of the king of Babylon and had become his prime minister. Ezekiel, then, was with the captives who had been brought down to the rivers of Babylon. The captives had been placed by the great canal that came off the River Euphrates, which was several miles from Babylon itself. Ezekiel’s ministry was among those people.
Psalm 137 is the psalm of the remnant in Babylon: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof” (Ps. 137:1–2). But at the same time Ezekiel writes: “The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God” (Ezek. 1:1). What a contrast! While these people had already put their harps on a willow tree and sat down to weep, this man Ezekiel was seeing visions of God!
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel were all prophets, but each had a particular and peculiar ministry to a certain group of people, and apparently they never came into contact with each other. From the record in the Book of Daniel you would not gather that Daniel ever visited his people in Babylon where Ezekiel was; yet he had a great concern for them and he actually defended them. But did Daniel and Jeremiah know each other? Well, we know from his book that Daniel was acquainted with the prophecies of Jeremiah. I have a notion that as a young man in his teens he listened to Jeremiah in Jerusalem. Ezekiel also was a young man when he was taken captive, and he too had probably heard Jeremiah, but had no personal acquaintance with Daniel.
The message of Ezekiel is the most spiritual of all the prophets because he dealt particularly with the Person of God. Someone has said, “Ezekiel is the prophet of the Spirit, as Isaiah is the prophet of the Son, and Jeremiah the prophet of the Father.”
During the first years of the captivity the false prophets were still saying that the people were going to return to Jerusalem and that the city would not be destroyed. The city was not destroyed even at the time of the second deportation. It was not until about 586 B.C., when Nebuchadnezzar came against the city the third time, that he burned and destroyed Jerusalem. Therefore for a period of about ten years, these false prophets were saying that the people would return and the city would not be destroyed. Jeremiah had sent a message to Babylon saying the city would be destroyed, and Ezekiel confirmed his message. He warned the people that they must turn to God before they could return to Jerusalem. When the time came, a very small remnant did turn to God, and they returned to Jerusalem very discouraged.
Ezekiel began his ministry five years after he was taken captive at about the age of thirty. In many ways, he spoke in the darkest days of the nation. He stood at the bottom of a valley in the darkest corner. He had to meet the false hope given by the false prophets and the indifference and despondency begotten in the days of sin and disaster. The people would not listen to his message. Therefore, he resorted to a new method. Instead of speaking in parables, as the Lord Jesus did, he acted out the parables. He actually did some very interesting stunts. We read in Ezekiel 24:24, “Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.” The people would not listen to his words, so he would act them out, and he attracted a great deal of attention that way.
We have folk who use this very same method today. We have placard carriers, flagpole sitters, and walkathons. People do these things to attract attention and gain publicity. This, too, was Ezekiel’s method. One time he walked into a house, locked himself in, and then started digging himself out. When he came out, he came out in the middle of the street! Here in Pasadena, California, it is nothing new to be digging in the middle of the street, for the city workers keep digging up the streets all the time. But in Ezekiel’s time, when a man came up out of the middle of the street one day, people naturally gathered around and said, “What’s the big idea?” Ezekiel had a message for them, and he gave it to them (see Ezek. 12:8–16).
Ezekiel is the prophet of the glory of the Lord. There were three prophets of Israel who spoke when they were out of the land. They are Ezekiel, Daniel, and John (who wrote from the island of Patmos). All three of these men wrote what is called an apocalypse. They all used highly symbolic language; yet they saw the brightest light and held the highest hope of all the prophets. Ezekiel saw the Shekinah glory of the Lord leave Solomon’s temple, but he also saw the return of the glory of the Lord which was projected into the future and will come to pass during the Kingdom Age, or the Millennium.
The meaning of Ezekiel is seen in this coming of the glory during the Kingdom Age. Ezekiel looked beyond the sufferings of Christ to the glory that should follow. As Peter said of the prophets, they saw the sufferings and they saw the glory that would follow (1 Pet. 1:11). I think Ezekiel saw it better than any of the other prophets.
(McGee, J. Vernon. Thru the Bible Commentary, Vol. 25: Ezekiel. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991.)
Poems & Quotes
Ezekiel Introduction—1:4
“If anyone asks whether the vision is lucid, I confess its obscurity, and that I can scarcely understand it.”
–John Calvin
Ezekiel 1:4-28
“You want to be Christlike? Alright–take a look at Jesus. When we’d sing that song, ‘Take time to be holy; speak oft with thy Lord’ in chapel, Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer used to always stop us and say, ‘Change that first line. Let us sing it, Take time to behold Him.’” You want to be holy? Behold Him, then. ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.’ I need this. I hope you sense a need of seeing Jesus Christ on the pages of the Word of God so that you and I might grow like Him.”
–Dr. J. Vernon McGee
“The greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something and tell what it was he saw in plain language.”
–John Ruskin
Ezekiel 2:1—3:19
“Here in this second chapter, God says to Ezekiel: ‘Now, I want you to bring a message to the house of Israel, and very candidly, they’re not going to hear you, that is, they won’t believe you, they won’t accept it, but you’re to do it.’ And God says, ‘That’s alright, they don’t believe Me either.’ And I feel that we today are cast in very much that kind of a role in the day in which we live. It’s a day when many are hearing the Word of God, and we rejoice in that. But many do not hear the Word of God, and what about that? Well, Paul says that we’re a Savior of life unto those that are saved and a Savior of death unto those that are lost. In other words, there’s going to be a whole lot of people that listen to this program that are going to do nothing about it and, actually, the gospel is going to condemn them, instead of saving them, because they’d never be able to go into the presence of God and say ‘Look, I never heard it at all.’ But, many are responding, and right now, we’re in the thick of a theological debate or discussion, or controversy, or whatever you’d want to call it, in this country: What really happens when a person is born again? We’ve been talking about that so long. What are the steps, if there are steps in it? Is the first thing that takes place that you believe? And how can a lost man who has no capacity for God? They’ve all gone out of the way. Each one has turned to his own way. There’s none that seeketh after God. That’s the condition of any lost person. It was the condition of you, if today you’re a Christian. You at one time had no desire for God. That certainly was my condition, a time when I had no desire for God. Well, what is the first step? Well, we’re going to be saying a great deal about this later on, but right now let me say this, that I think that the first step is conviction and that conviction comes from hearing the Word of God, and that’s the thing that’s important.”
what is the main theme of the book of ezekiel
How hard is Ezekiel for you to read? It’s among the most challenging books I ever read. Even though it proves difficult, every time I read and study Ezekiel my appreciation for it grows. Here are seven lessons from my latest study of this important book.
A Hard Call for Ezekiel
Ezekiel received a very hard call from God. Here it is.
And he said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.
Ezekiel 2:1–7 (ESV)
Sometimes God calls us into a difficult situation. Whatever happens, we must be devoted to the word of God. We are always called to this devotion regardless of circumstance or opposition. Our devotion to the word of God then marks our lives and becomes a testimony to the faithfulness of God and his word. It also marks our lives as distinct.
God Equips us for the call
Even in the most difficult of circumstances, God equips us to handle the responsibility that he has given us.
But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.”
Ezekiel 3:7–9 (ESV)
Ezekiel was called to a hopeless mission. He was given a stubborn heart so he could be an unrelenting herald of truth. When we are called, we receive everything we need to complete that call.
God’s Word is Consistent
God sent Ezekiel and Jeremiah the same message about Jerusalem. While Ezekiel declared God’s word to the exiles, Jeremiah declared the same message to the people in Jerusalem. There is a consistency in what God declares for his people. God is a God of order. He will never contradict himself. Every word that is given to his servants to declare is consistent with the scripture. When the message contradicts the known word of God, we can be sure that it is not from God.
God’s Perspective on the Punishment of the Wicked
Does God want people to suffer? Listen to what he said.
Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?
Ezekiel 18:23 (ESV)
Here is what we need to understand about the consequences of sin and rebellion. It is God’s will that people would repent and turn to God. However, God’s integrity is displayed when the unrepentant are punished. He said it would happen. He has warned us and he will not violate his integrity.
The Power of Intercession
One of the ways God works is through the prayers of dedicated intercessors. He states quite clearly how much an intercessor means to the people.
And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.
Ezekiel 22:30 (ESV)
It seems so improbable that one man who is devoted to prayer could keep the judgment of God at bay but that is exactly what God says here! Sadly, we lack intercessors today.
An intercessor is not concerned with having his way or his traditions but only crying out to God for his people. What if we all would pray that God’s will would be done and that people would truly seek his face, not their own will and way?
Responsibility to Declare
When Jesus commissioned us to make disciples, he gave us the responsibility to teach everything he had taught. Jesus had some strong words of warning along with tremendous promises of eternal, abundant life.
In the narrower context of Ezekiel, we see a strong commission to declare the whole counsel of God, particularly warnings to repent or face harsh judgment and punishment.
So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.
Ezekiel 33:7 (ESV)
He also gave Ezekiel some consequences. As long as he issued the warning, those who did not repent would be punished. However, if he failed to sound the alarm, those who did not repent would still be punished and he would be accountable for their lack of repentance.
God’s Great Grace
Even in the midst of exile, judgment and punishment, we see the grace of God.
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Ezekiel 36:25–28 (ESV)
His promise is extended to a stubborn and rebellious people. And we know that he made good on his promise. He has poured out his Spirit for us so we can enjoy an intimacy and fellowship with him that is boundless!
