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 6
1And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy unto them,
3and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.
4And your altars shall become desolate, and your sun-images shall be broken; and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.
5And I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.
6In all your dwelling-places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your sun-images may be hewn down, and your works may be abolished.
7And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
8Yet will I leave a remnant, in that ye shall have some that escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.
9And those of you that escape shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captive, how that I have been broken with their lewd heart, which hath departed from me, and with they eyes, which play the harlot after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
10And they shall know that I am Jehovah: I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
11Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Smite with thy hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas! because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel; for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.
12He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my wrath upon them.
13And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the places where they offered sweet savor to all their idols.
14And I will stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate and waste, from the wilderness toward Diblah, throughout all their habitations: and they shall know that I am Jehovah.