avatar
Cole Feix
avatarCole Feix3 min read  

Podcast: The Book of Ezekiel

(Photo: Unsplash)

Check out the So We Speak podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Ezekiel is one of the strangest of the major prophets. His life became his message, and he prophesied through the worst period of Israel’s history. But Ezekiel’s message wasn’t all lament and woe. Captured by the glory of God, he foretells the restoration and redemption of Israel, a time when they will have new hearts and spirits to live with God forever.

To understand the prophets, one must read them as “contextual parable tellers” – that is to act out a message with a visual action or prompt from God. Isaiah and Jeremiah also do this. This is how their lives reflected their messages. For example, Jeremiah smashed clay pots as a demonstration to Israel if they did not repent (Jeremiah 19).

Ezekiel was a contemporary of King Josiah who reformed the worship of Israel. Ezekiel was exiled to Babylon from 597 to 571 BC and viewed the exile as one away from the land of Israel. However, Jeremiah remained in Israel during the Babylonian exile. They were viewing the same events from two different perspectives.

The book of Ezekiel is outlined below:

  • Ch. 1-24: Coming Judgment

  • Ch. 1-2: Vision of God’s glory

  • Ch. 8-11: Judgment in the Temple

  • Ch. 16: Jerusalem the Prostitute

  • Ch. 24: Leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem

  • Ch. 25-32: Oracles against the Nations

  • Ch. 33-48: Kingdom and Restoration

  • Ch. 36: New covenant – new heart and spirit

  • Ch 37: Valley of Dry Bones

  • Ch. 40-48: Vision of the new Temple (Ch. 43: The glory of God returns to the Temple)

Two major themes emerge from this book: God’s holiness and majesty and God’s plea for Israel to return.

Underneath the sense of God’s holiness and majesty in this book, we understand and appreciate God’s sovereignty over the nations and Ezekiel’s individual life. God’s sovereignty is not just corporate, but it is personal.

Finally, God’s desire is for Israel to return to him. This plea is recorded 65 times in Ezekiel. Ultimately, as New Covenant believers, we know we can only have a relationship with Christ through his blood and by his intercession. Just as God wanted his people to be with him, we see this same desire in the heart of Christ.

Jesus’ prayer echoes this beautifully:

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me…” (John 17:24).

If the Father and the Son both strongly desire to be with their people, we are eternally secure and not even Israel’s exile into Babylon could stop their sovereign God from being faithful to his promises.

Brittany Proffitt lives in Dallas, TX, holds a BA in Religion, and is a student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Give

Subscribe to the Daybreak Devotions for Women

Be inspired by God's Word every day! Delivered to your inbox.

More from Cole Feix

  • avatarCole Feix
    featureImage

    The Temptation to Do Good: When the Kingdom Comes with Strings Attached

    Whether you're reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, there's a key theme you can't miss: the story is about Christ bringing about his kingdom.Right from the opening chapter of Luke, we’re introduced to this idea. An angel appears to Mary before Jesus is even born and says:“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:32-3

    11 min read
  • avatarCole Feix
    featureImage

    Christ is Risen: The Identity of Jesus

    Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!The resurrection of Jesus is the pillar of our faith and the foundation of our hope. The resurrection confirms Christ’s identity as the Son of God and gives believers hope that we will one day be resurrected as he was. This Easter Sunday article will focus on how the resurrection confirms Christ's identity.Christ’s IdentityAccording to Romans 1, the resurrection confirms Christ’s identity as the Son of God.“[Christ] was descended from David according to the fl

    4 min read
  • avatarCole Feix
    featureImage

    Christ’s Fulfillment of the Old Testament Feasts

    Have you ever wondered where the Old Testament feasts fit into the New Testament? So much attention is given to them under the Law, yet the New Testament does not mention them often. Do the feasts have a place in Christian worship today?If you are unfamiliar with the Old Testament feasts, pause here and read Leviticus 23. You will read about seven feasts that the Israelites were charged to keep throughout the year. God gave the feasts to the people so they would remember God’s provision and reen

    10 min read
  • avatarCole Feix
    featureImage

    Jesus the True Passover Lamb

    Before the crown of thorns and before the cross, there was a table, a towel, and a garden. Maundy Thursday marked Jesus’ last night with his disciples. On this night, Jesus revealed himself as the true Passover Lamb, broke bread to begin a new covenant, and surrendered to God’s will. This night wasn’t just something that came before the crucifixion. This night was a window into the heart of Jesus and how he calls us to live today. The Mandate to Love One AnotherOn the night before his crucifixi

    5 min read
  • avatarCole Feix
    featureImage

    How to Spot a Fake: 3 Lessons from Judas’ Betrayal of Jesus

    When compared to the other days of Holy Week, Holy Wednesday is relatively quiet. It doesn’t contain any climactic events like Jesus’ cleansing of the temple from earlier in the week or any large teaching blocks like the upper room discourse that will follow. But this does not mean that the day is insignificant—each day in Holy Week plays a particular role in leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Holy Wednesday has traditionally been understood as the day when Judas Iscariot secured his p

    8 min read
See all from Cole Feix

Editor's Picks

  • avatarCole Feix
    featureImage

    The Temptation to Do Good: When the Kingdom Comes with Strings Attached

    Whether you're reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, there's a key theme you can't miss: the story is about Christ bringing about his kingdom.Right from the opening chapter of Luke, we’re introduced to this idea. An angel appears to Mary before Jesus is even born and says:“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:32-3

    11 min read
  • avatarSharon Jaynes
    featureImage

    Am I Enjoying God?

    There she lay in her beautiful box. A two-foot bride doll dressed in a white chiffon, pearl-studded wedding gown with matching veil. Her short-cropped, curly brown hair fell softly around her delicate face; her pink, plump skin felt amazingly soft; and her movable eyelids lined with thick black lashes opened and closed with her changing positions. The bride doll had perfectly shaped lips and crystal-blue eyes that appeared strangely real. Read more...

    5 min read
avatar

Cole Feix

More from Cole Feix

  • avatarCole Feix
    featureImage

    The Temptation to Do Good: When the Kingdom Comes with Strings Attached

    Whether you're reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, there's a key theme you can't miss: the story is about Christ bringing about his kingdom.Right from the opening chapter of Luke, we’re introduced to this idea. An angel appears to Mary before Jesus is even born and says:“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:32-3

    11 min read
  • avatarCole Feix
    featureImage

    Christ is Risen: The Identity of Jesus

    Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!The resurrection of Jesus is the pillar of our faith and the foundation of our hope. The resurrection confirms Christ’s identity as the Son of God and gives believers hope that we will one day be resurrected as he was. This Easter Sunday article will focus on how the resurrection confirms Christ's identity.Christ’s IdentityAccording to Romans 1, the resurrection confirms Christ’s identity as the Son of God.“[Christ] was descended from David according to the fl

    4 min read
  • avatarCole Feix
    featureImage

    Christ’s Fulfillment of the Old Testament Feasts

    Have you ever wondered where the Old Testament feasts fit into the New Testament? So much attention is given to them under the Law, yet the New Testament does not mention them often. Do the feasts have a place in Christian worship today?If you are unfamiliar with the Old Testament feasts, pause here and read Leviticus 23. You will read about seven feasts that the Israelites were charged to keep throughout the year. God gave the feasts to the people so they would remember God’s provision and reen

    10 min read
  • avatarCole Feix
    featureImage

    Jesus the True Passover Lamb

    Before the crown of thorns and before the cross, there was a table, a towel, and a garden. Maundy Thursday marked Jesus’ last night with his disciples. On this night, Jesus revealed himself as the true Passover Lamb, broke bread to begin a new covenant, and surrendered to God’s will. This night wasn’t just something that came before the crucifixion. This night was a window into the heart of Jesus and how he calls us to live today. The Mandate to Love One AnotherOn the night before his crucifixi

    5 min read
  • avatarCole Feix
    featureImage

    How to Spot a Fake: 3 Lessons from Judas’ Betrayal of Jesus

    When compared to the other days of Holy Week, Holy Wednesday is relatively quiet. It doesn’t contain any climactic events like Jesus’ cleansing of the temple from earlier in the week or any large teaching blocks like the upper room discourse that will follow. But this does not mean that the day is insignificant—each day in Holy Week plays a particular role in leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Holy Wednesday has traditionally been understood as the day when Judas Iscariot secured his p

    8 min read
See all from Cole Feix