Ezekiel

Moab (25:8-11). The Lord would also punish the Moabites, Ammon's neighbors to the south, because they too rejoiced over Jerusalem's fall. The "people of the East" would conquer the fortified cities guarding Moab's northern border, opening the land up to invasion.

Edom (25:12-14). Judgment would also fall on Edom (already mentioned in 25:8; compare "Seir"), located south of Moab. When Judah fell, Edom displayed a vengeful spirit (compare Obad.). The Lord would take vengeance on Edom through His people Israel.

Philistia (25:15-17). The Lord would also take vengeance on the Philistines (also referred to here as Kerethites), Judah's neighbors to the west, because they had opposed God's people for centuries.

Tyre (26:1-28:19). The Downfall of Tyre (26:1-21). Tyre, located on the Mediterranean coast north of Israel, was a prominent commercial center. Despite its wealth and defenses, it would be unable to withstand the Lord's judgment. Many nations would rage against it, like the turbulent waters of the sea. In the immediate future Nebuchadnezzar's armies would besiege and conquer the city. Tyre would be reduced to a heap of rubble which that never again be rebuilt. All along the Mediterranean coast Tyre's trading partners would lament its demise.

Harmonizing this prophecy with history is difficult. Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre for thirteen long years (about 586-573 b.c.) and finally made it a vassal state. However, he did not destroy the city to the degree described by Ezekiel (even 29:18 acknowledges this). Many subsequent conquerors (including Alexander the Great in 332) took the city, but it continued to exist into the Christian era.

Several solutions have been offered, none of which is entirely satisfactory. One possibility is that the description of Tyre's downfall is somewhat stereotypical and purposely exaggerated to emphasize that it would be subjected to the Babylonians and experience a significant decline in prestige. Another possibility is that the description of 26:12-14 moves beyond the time of Nebuchadnezzar and encompasses later attacks on the city. Such subsequent attacks ultimately brought the final downfall of the city. Such a blurring of the immediate future with more distant events is typical of prophetic literature.

The Prophet's Lament over Tyre (27:1-36). To emphasize the certainty of Tyre's judgment, the Lord told Ezekiel to lament the city's doom in advance. Tyre is compared to a large commercial ship made from the best wood, adorned with beautiful sails, and manned by skilled sailors. Tyre bought and sold every conceivable product, including precious metals and stones, slaves, animals, fabric and clothing, food, and even ivory tusks. Its list of trading partners included virtually every nation and city in the known world. However, a storm (the Lord's judgment) would destroy this great ship. All of its sailors and merchants would sink into the sea, causing its trading partners looking on from the shore to lament over its fate.

The King of Tyre Denounced (28:1-19). Singling out the king of Tyre as representative of the city, the Lord announced that this proud ruler and his city would be humiliated. Because of the city's great success and wealth, its king fancied himself a god and took great pride in his wisdom. (Though some see the "Daniel" of 28:3 as the legendary Canaanite King Danel, the reference to his ability to disclose secrets suggests the biblical Daniel, a contemporary of Ezekiel, is in view. Compare comments on 14:14,20.) When the day of judgment arrived, the king would stand humiliated before his executioners, his delusions of grandeur replaced by the painful reality of his mortality.

In anticipation of the king's downfall Ezekiel pronounced a taunting lament against him. He compared the king to a wise, beautiful, and richly adorned cherub who once dwelt in the garden of Eden and enjoyed access to God's holy mountain. This cherub eventually lost his prestigious position because of his arrogance and oppressive economic practices (Tyre's commercial empire is alluded to here). The Lord threw him down from the sacred mountain and destroyed him with fire in the sight of the nations.

The background for the imagery of this lament is uncertain. The mountain of God has parallels in Canaanite mythology. Use of such mythological imagery might be expected in an address to a Phoenician king. (See Isa. 14:4-21, where mythological themes and imagery are used in a taunt directed to the king of Babylon.) Verse 13 appears to refer to the garden of Eden of biblical tradition, but the only cherubim mentioned in the Genesis account are those placed as guardians at the gate of the garden following the expulsion of Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:24). Perhaps Ezekiel drew his imagery from an extrabiblical Eden tradition.

Because of the references to Eden and to the cherub's pride and fall, some have seen a veiled reference to Satan in 28:12-19. However, the allusion to Eden does not support this view. Satan is not specifically mentioned in Genesis 23, let alone portrayed as a cherub. Satan is traditionally associated with the serpent of the Eden account. But even if this interpretation is correct, the serpent is identified as one of the animals created by God (see Gen. 3:1,14), not as a cherub in disguise.

Sidon (28:20-26). Sidon, another prominent Phoenician city, would also experience divine judgment. Like Tyre it had treated God's people with hostility. The Lord would destroy the Sidonians with plague and sword.

The Lord would someday restore His people to their land, where they would live in peace, free from the threats of hostile neighbors like Sidon, Tyre, Philistia, Edom, Moab, and Ammon.

Egypt (29:1-32:32). The Lord's Opposition to Pharaoh (29:1-16). The Lord announced that He was also opposed to Pharaoh, the proud ruler of Egypt. Comparing the king to a crocodile in the Nile, the Lord warned that He would pull him from the river and drag him to the desert, where he would die and be eaten by scavengers. The Lord would turn the entire land (from Migdol in the north to Aswan in the south) into a ruin for forty years and scatter the Egyptians among the nations. Following the forty-year exile, the Lord would return them to their land, but Egypt would never again experience its former glory. God's people, who had once trusted in Egypt, would no longer rely on its help. When and how this prophecy was fulfilled is not certain. Historical records do not indicate that Egypt experienced desolation or exile to the degree described by Ezekiel.

Booty for Nebuchadnezzar (29:17-21). In 571 b.c., shortly after Nebuchadnezzar had lifted his long siege of Tyre, Ezekiel received another message pertaining to Egypt. Though Nebuchadnezzar had come away from Tyre with relatively little reward for his efforts, the Lord would give him Egypt, from which he would haul away an abundance of riches. This prophecy was probably fulfilled in 568 b.c., when, according to a Babylonian text, Nebuchadnezzar apparently conducted a campaign against Egypt.

The Day of the Lord on Egypt (30:1-19). Egypt's fall is associated with the Day of the Lord, an expression used elsewhere in the Old Testament of those times when the Lord comes as a warrior and swiftly and decisively destroys His enemies. Using Nebuchadnezzar as His "sword," the Lord would destroy both Egypt and its allies. Egypt's great river, the Nile, would dry up, its idols and princes would prove helpless, and all of its famous cities would be conquered.

Pharaoh's Power Broken (30:20-26). Ezekiel received a message concerning Pharaoh in 587 b.c., one year after Nebuchadnezzar had defeated Pharaoh Hophra in battle when the latter had tried to come and aid besieged Jerusalem (see Jer. 37:5-8). By allowing Nebuchadnezzar to defeat Hophra, the Lord had, as it were, broken Pharaoh's arm, a symbol of his military strength. However, the Lord was not finished with Egypt. He would energize the king of Babylon to conquer Egypt. Both of Pharaoh's arms would be broken. When the Egyptians were conquered and scattered among the nations, they would recognize the sovereignty of Israel's God.

A Fallen Cedar (31:1-18). The Lord challenged Pharaoh and his armies to learn a lesson from history. Assyria, the mightiest empire in the Near East from 745-626 b.c., had once been like a mighty cedar of Lebanon. It was well nourished and grew tall. Birds lodged in its branches, and animals sought shelter under its shade. Not even the trees of the garden of Eden could rival its majesty and beauty. However, because of its pride, God delivered it over to a ruthless nation (the Babylonians) who chopped it down. No other trees would ever grow so tall. Pharaoh also was like a great tree, but, like Assyria, he and his armies would come crashing to the earth.

Lamenting Pharaoh's Destruction (32:1-16). The Lord revealed to Ezekiel a taunting lament the nations would someday sing over fallen Pharaoh. Though he was like a mighty lion or a powerful crocodile, he would be captured, destroyed, and eaten by scavengers. Darkness would settle over his land as a sign of judgment and destruction. Babylon would invade Egypt, destroy its people, and steal its wealth.

Egypt's Armies Slaughtered (32:17-32). Pharaoh's armies would be slaughtered and descend into the land of the dead. They would join the armies of other nations who spread terror on the earth but eventually met their demise. These nations included Assyria, Elam (located east of Mesopotamia), Meshech and Tubal (northern nations; see 38:2), Edom, and Sidon.

Ezekiel's Commission (33:1-20). Shortly before the fall of Jerusalem, the Lord renewed Ezekiel's commission as the nation's spiritual watchman (see 3:16-21). One of a watchman's primary responsibilities was to warn his people of approaching danger. As long as the watchman carried out his duty, he was not responsible for those who failed to take his warning seriously and were unprepared when disaster arrived. Ezekiel was in a similar position. He was to warn both the wicked and backsliders of impending doom and call them to repentance. Even though the nation was weighed down with sin, it was God's desire that they turn from their evil ways and live.

A True Prophet (33:21-33). In January of 585 b.c., five months after the temple had been destroyed, a fugitive delivered the news to Ezekiel. The evening before, the Lord had opened Ezekiel's mouth, ending his long period of enforced silence (see 3:26; 24:26-27). Now that Ezekiel's prophecies of judgment had been fulfilled, his ministry would be primarily one of encouragement, and his messages would focus on the future restoration of the exiles.

However, he was to deliver one more judgment speech. The survivors who remained in Judah following the destruction of Jerusalem retained delusions of grandeur, thinking that the land was now theirs. Ezekiel corrected their faulty thinking, pointing out that their idolatry and hypocrisy precluded them from enjoying the land. Another wave of judgment would sweep them away. In the past they had not taken Ezekiel's messages seriously, but in the day of judgment they would finally realize that he was a true prophet of the Lord.

New Covenant (34:1-31). Israel's leaders, compared to shepherds, had not cared properly for God's flock. These leaders, who were consumed by self-interest, had actually oppressed and exploited the people. The sheep were now scattered and being ravaged by wild beasts (foreign nations such as Babylon). The Lord announced that these incompetent leaders would be eliminated and that He would take over the care of the flock. The Lord would gather His wandering and injured sheep back to Israel, where they would graze peacefully in rich pasturelands. He would reestablish justice among His people and raise up for them a new, ideal Davidic ruler. He would make with them "a covenant of peace," which would assure them of safety from danger and of agricultural prosperity.

Edom (35:1-15). God would judge those nations that had traditionally sought the destruction of His people. As a prime example of such a nation, Edom was singled out as an object of God's wrath. The Edomites participated in Jerusalem's downfall, with hopes that they might eventually acquire the land of Israel as their own. They arrogantly taunted God's people in their time of calamity. Edom would taste God's vengeance. He would treat them the same way they had treated His people. The Edomites would be slaughtered by the sword and their land left a desolate heap of ruins.

Prosperity Returns (36:1-15). Foreign armies had overrun the mountains of Israel and boasted of their conquests. The Lord swore that He would bring vengeance upon these nations (Edom is again singled out). He would also restore His people to the land. Once again crops would grow in the land, and cities would be populated.

Restoration (36:16-38). Israel had polluted the land with their sinful deeds and had brought dishonor to God's name. When Israel went into exile, the nations made wrong assumptions about the character of God. To vindicate Himself and restore His reputation among the nations, the Lord would restore the exiles to the land. He would cleanse their sins, create in them a desire for loyalty, and renew His agricultural blessings. At that time both the nations and Israel would recognize His sovereignty.

Resurrection (37:1-14). Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones portrayed in a vivid way Israel's miraculous restoration. In this vision the prophet saw a valley full of dry, disconnected bones, representing the scattered people of Israel. However, suddenly the bones began to come together, and tendons and flesh appeared on them. The breath of life then entered into the corpses, and a multitude of living beings stood in the valley. In the same way the Lord would miraculously revive the nation of Israel. He would deliver them from the grave of exile, place His Spirit among them, and settle them once more in the promised land.

Reunited (37:15-28). The day of restoration would also be a day of reunification for Israel and Judah. To illustrate this the Lord told Ezekiel to take two sticks, one representing the Northern Kingdom and the other the Southern Kingdom, and hold them as one in his hand. In the same way the Lord would bring the exiles of both Israel and Judah back to the land and make them one kingdom again. He would raise up a new ideal Davidic ruler to lead them, establish a new covenant with them, and once more dwell in their midst.

Israel Invaded (38:1-39:29). These chapters describe an invasion of Israel by distant nations, led by "Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal." Attempts to identify Gog with a historical figure are unconvincing. Magog, Tubal, and Meshech are mentioned in Genesis 10:2 and 1 Chronicles 1:5 as sons of Japheth. In Ezekiel's day their descendants inhabited what is now eastern Turkey. According to 38:5-6 the allies of Gog included Persia, Cush (modern Ethiopia), Put (modern Libya), Gomer (another son of Japheth whose descendants resided to the far north of Israel), and Beth Togarmah (according to Gen. 10:3, Togarmah was a son of Gomer).

Ezekiel envisioned a time when the armies of these nations would attack unsuspecting Israel. The Lord would intervene in power and miraculously deliver His people. A mighty earthquake would shake the land, and the enemy armies would turn in panic on each other. The Lord would rain down hail and sulfur upon them. The slaughter would be comparable to a great sacrifice. Birds and wild animals would devour the flesh and blood of the enemy warriors. Even with this assistance from the animal kingdom, it would take the people of Israel seven months to dispose of all the corpses. The enemy's weapons would provide God's people with a supply of fuel that would last seven years.

Since this prophecy does not correspond to any known historical event, it is best to understand it as still awaiting fulfillment. Gog and his hordes are symbolic of the end time opposition to God's kingdom which will be violently crushed (see Rev. 20:8-9).

Pure Worship Restored (40:1-48:35). In this section the Lord gave Ezekiel a vision of restored Israel. He saw a detailed picture of the new temple and received lengthy instructions for the future leaders of the nations. The book concludes with a detailed description of the future geographical divisions of the land.

Scholars differ in their interpretation of this section. Some see its language as symbolic and as being fulfilled in the New Testament church, while others interpret the prophecy as applying to a literal Israel of the future. Some understand these chapters as giving a literal description of conditions in the millennial age. Others understand the vision as an idealized, perhaps exaggerated, portrayal of God's future restoration of His people that is filled with symbolic elements.

A New Temple (40:1-43:12). Through the medium of a vision the Lord gave Ezekiel a preview of the new temple. Beginning at the east gate of the outer court, he was given a tour that led into the inner court, its inner rooms, the temple portico, the outer sanctuary, and finally the most holy place. All along the way detailed measurements and descriptions are provided.

Most importantly, God would reside in the new temple. Almost twenty years earlier Ezekiel had a vision of God's glory leaving the Jerusalem temple (see chaps. 8-10). That temple was subsequently destroyed by the Babylonians. Now through another vision the prophet witnessed God's glory returning to the city and taking up residence in the new temple (see 43:1-9).

Regulations for the New Temple (43:13-46:24). These chapters contain several instructions and regulations for the priests and rulers who would function in the restored covenant community of the future.

The section begins with instructions for building the temple altar and for its dedicatory sacrifices. Once the appropriate sin offerings were made for seven consecutive days, the altar would be regarded as purified and would be ready for use. From the eighth day on the altar could be used for burnt and fellowship offerings, which expressed the worshiper's devotion to and communion with God.

Because the Lord's glory returned to the temple complex through the east gate of the outer court, this gate would remain shut. Only "the prince" could sit inside this gateway, where he would eat in the presence of the Lord. This prince is identified elsewhere as the ideal Davidic ruler, or Messiah, whom the Lord would raise up to lead His people (34:24; 37:24-25).

In the past rebellious Israelites had violated the Lord's covenant by allowing foreigners to bring their detestable practices into the temple. These foreigners were "uncircumcised in heart and flesh," meaning that they lacked devotion to the Lord as well as the physical sign of being part of the covenant community. Such foreigners were prohibited from entering the new temple.

Because the Levites had been unfaithful to the Lord, they would be demoted. They could tend the temple gates, slaughter sacrificial animals, and assist the people, but they were not allowed to handle the holy objects or offerings of the Lord.

As a reward for their faithfulness the Zadokite line of the Levitical family would function as the Lord's priests. Zadok was a descendant of Aaron through Eleazar and Phinehas (see 1 Chr. 6:3-8,50-53).

In the future allotment of the land a portion must be reserved for the Lord (and His priestly servants) directly in the center of the land. The prince (Davidic ruler) would possess the land bordering the Lord's portion on the east and west.

This mention of the future prince leads to an exhortation to the civil leaders of God's people in Ezekiel's day. They were not to oppress the people but were to promote justice and fairness in the socioeconomic sphere.

The Lord also provided detailed regulations pertaining to offerings and feasts, including the New Year festival, Passover, and Tabernacles. Various regulations pertaining to the prince highlight chapter 46. On Sabbath days and New Moons the prince would lead the people in worshiping the Lord by presenting offerings at the threshold of the east gate of the inner court.

The River Flowing from the Temple (47:1-12). Ezekiel envisioned a river flowing from the temple toward the east. The river became increasingly deeper as it flowed through the desert on its way to the Dead Sea. Its fresh water was filled with fish, and fishermen lined its shores with nets. Also lining the river's banks were nourishing fruit trees, the leaves of which possessed healing properties. This life-giving river flowing from God's throne symbolized the restoration of divine blessing which the land would experience.

Boundaries and Land Allotments (47:13-48:35). The Book of Ezekiel concludes with a detailed description of the land's future boundaries and allotted portions. The holy city, constructed as a perfect square in the middle of the land, would have twelve gates (three on each of its four walls) named after the tribes of Israel. The city would be named "Yahweh-Shammah," meaning the Lord is there.

Theological and Ethical Significance. Ezekiel was the priestly prophet of judgment and hope. His message to the exiles in Babylon still speaks to hurting, broken people in need of a God-given second chance. Jerusalem's destruction and its people's deportation to Babylon caused some to question God's ability to save and His commitment to His covenants. Ezekiel interpreted these events in light of God's character.

Ezekiel's strange, opening vision pictures God as without equal, perfect in holiness and power. Such a God would not abide with unrepentant people. Jerusalem fell not because God was unable to save it but because God abandoned His people to their chosen fate.

But judgment was only part of Ezekiel's picture of God. Even in exile, far from home, God was accessible to the prophet. God's faithfulness was Ezekiel's hope. God is the caring Shepherd of His people (Ezek. 34). God is the only hope for new life for the dead bones of the nation Israel (Ezek. 37).

Christians can learn responsibility from Ezekiel. Like Ezekiel, believers are to empathize with the hurt of those around them (3:15). Like Ezekiel, Christians are "watchmen," responsible for warning neighbors of sin's consequences (3:16-21). Ezekiel 34 warns believers not to seek their own interests at others' expense. Rather, Christians are to model God's love and care in their actions. Believers are to share the good news that God is still the Giver of new life and second chances to those who turn to Him in repentance and faith.

Alexander, Ralph H. "Ezekiel." The Expositor's Bible Commentary. Vol. 6. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986.

Block, Daniel. Ezekiel. 2 Vols. New International Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.

Cooper. Lamar. Ezekiel. New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1994.

Greenberg, Moshe. Ezekiel 1-20. Anchor Bible. New York: Doubleday, 1983.

Taylor, John B. Ezekiel. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1969.