BIBLE BOOK GUIDE
Ezekiel
48 chapters
In the midst of exile and unfaithfulness, the glory of the LORD departs—yet only temporarily—for He will judge the nations, restore Israel, and dwell among His people as their sanctuary and King.
Ezekiel
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Why this book was written
Ezekiel prophesied among the exiles in Babylon. He was appointed as a watchman to the rebellious house, announcing judgment for idolatry and covenant unfaithfulness (chs. 1–24). After the fall of Jerusalem, he brought comfort, assuring the remnant that God's glory would return, that Israel would be restored, and that the LORD Himself would dwell among them in a new temple and on a renewed earth (chs. 33–48).
Structure
- 1–3Ezekiel's Call and Prophetic Commission
- 4–24Judgment on Jerusalem and the Rebellious House
- 25–32Oracles Against the Nations
- 33–39Promises of Restoration: Shepherds, a New Heart, and Victory
- 40–48The New Temple, New Worship, and the Return of God's Glory
Major themes
The Glory and Holiness of the LORD
From the throne-chariot in chapter 1 to the return of the divine glory to the temple at the end, God repeatedly displays His transcendent holiness and calls His people to be set apart.
Judgment and Justice
The prophet pronounces judgment on Jerusalem, the nations, and the temple, because sin has reached its full measure and God will act according to His righteousness.
Identity and Obedience of the Prophet
God gives visions, words, and strange signs (such as swallowing the scroll, lying on his side 390 days) to shape Ezekiel as a watchman for the house of Israel.
Restoration and the New Covenant Promise
After judgment, God promises to give a new heart and new spirit, revive the dry bones, rebuild the temple, and cause life-giving waters to flow again.
Shepherding and Individual Responsibility
Chapter 34 condemns the false shepherds; the LORD Himself becomes the Good Shepherd who seeks the lost, and each person is judged according to his own deeds.
The Fate of the Nations and God's Sovereignty
Chapters 25–32 address Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, and Egypt, showing that all nations are under the sovereign rule of God.
How it points to Christ
Ezekiel foreshadows Christ in multiple ways: He is the Good Shepherd and the Davidic descendant (Ezek 34:23) and the center of the visions of the Glory of the Lord; His Spirit revives the dead bones (ch. 37), pointing to new life for sinners; the new covenant of cleansing water and new spirit (36:25–27) is fulfilled in Him; and the life-giving river flowing from the temple (ch. 47) points to the outpouring of the Spirit and the river of life in the new creation (cf. Rev 22:1).
Key verses
- 1:28Ezekiel's inaugural vision of the glory of the LORD establishes the book's central theme: divine glory that departs will also return.
- 3:17The watchman mandate defines Ezekiel's prophetic role: to warn the wicked faithfully, with personal responsibility for the warning given.
- 11:19God promises to give a new heart and a new spirit—a prophetic anticipation of the inward renewal later fulfilled in the new covenant.
- 18:31A call to make yourselves a new heart and spirit, grounding Ezekiel's theology of personal repentance and divine justice.
- 36:26–27The climactic restoration promise: God Himself removes the heart of stone, gives a heart of flesh, and puts His Spirit within.
- 37:14The valley of dry bones receives life when God's Spirit comes—prophesying the eschatological resurrection and restoration of God's people.
- 43:2The glory of the LORD returns to the new temple—the literary climax that resolves the departure seen in chs. 9–11.
- 48:35The city is named 'The LORD Is There,' fulfilling the book's theology that God's presence is the goal of all redemption.
People in this book
Questions for reflection
- ·How does the manifestation of God's glory in Ezekiel's vision shape your awareness of God's presence today?
- ·How does God's word, 'Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked?' (Ezek 18:23), challenge your view of repentance and mercy?
- ·How does the vision of the valley of dry bones (ch. 37) encourage you to declare God's power in situations that seem hopeless?
- ·'I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you' (36:26)—how does this promise motivate you to seek daily renewal by the Spirit?
- ·If the watchman does not warn the wicked, he is held accountable (3:18)—what does this say about believers watching over one another today?
Want to read Ezekiel start to finish? Open the reader for parallel Chinese/English text and ask anything as you go.
Start reading EzekielEzekiel
Chapter 10
1Then I looked, and behold, in the firmament that was over the head of the cherubim there appeared above them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.
2And he spake unto the man clothed in linen, and said, Go in between the whirling wheels, even under the cherub, and fill both thy hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight.
3Now the cherubim stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court.
4And the glory of Jehovah mounted up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of Jehovah's glory.
5And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of God Almighty when he speaketh.
6And it came to pass, when he commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim, that he went in, and stood beside a wheel.
7And the cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim unto the fire that was between the cherubim, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed in linen, who took it and went out.
8And there appeared in the cherubim the form of a man's hand under their wings.
9And I looked, and behold, four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside one cherub, and another wheel beside another cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like unto a beryl stone.
10And as for their appearance, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been within a wheel.
11When they went, they went in their four directions: they turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it; they turned not as they went.
12And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had.
13As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing, the whirling wheels.
14And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third face the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
15And the cherubim mounted up: this is the living creature that I saw by the river Chebar.
16And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels also turned not from beside them.
17When they stood, these stood; and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them: for the spirit of the living creature was in them.
18And the glory of Jehovah went forth from over the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim.
19And the cherubim lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight when they went forth, and the wheels beside them: and they stood at the door of the east gate of Jehovah's house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.
20This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim.
21Every one had four faces, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings.
22And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the faces which I saw by the river Chebar, their appearances and themselves; they went every one straight forward.
