One of the amazing things through the book of Ezekiel is the way the style of writing changes dramatically in different sections. We have visions, parables, exhortations to the people, tales of despair and judgement, descriptions of glory and hope, and explicit descriptive analogies of Israel and Judah's idolatry.
The book is written while Ezekiel has been taken away with the people in captivity to Babylon, and he is a contemporary of Jeremiah and Daniel, roughly the same age as Daniel, although he was taken to Babylon in a later group of captives than Daniel.
One of the key phrases in Ezekiel is "(that ye shall...) know that I am the LORD". This phrase occurs 77 times in the Bible, and 63 times this is in Ezekiel! So the glory of the Lord is certainly a big focus in this book.
The glory of the Lord is drawn out in His relations with His prophet, His people, and the promised restoration.
Time is brief in many ways, and there is so much in Ezekiel - it is one of those books that reading through I kept thinking - I've got to go back to that bit later! - but I will deal with some of the major points I contemplated during my daily readings.
The book starts with the focus on the glory of God, and the second chapter leads directly into his commission to a rebellious people, Israel. 'rebellious' is another key word in Ezekiel - the phrase 'rebellious house' is found 13 times, and 'rebellious' another 4 times in the book. There is quite a discussion about it in chapters 2-3, then the same thought is repeated in chapter 12.
In the commission of Ezekiel, and again this is repeated (in chapter 33), there is a strong emphasis given tot he requirement to warn the people of Israel/Judah and the responsibility of the prophet/witness of God. Sobering to consider, as we are all witnesses of God, commissioned by Him to bear witness to Him in all the world. Ezekiel (and by extension ourselves) is not responsible for the salvation/repentance of the people if he fulfils his duty and warns them, but if he does not warn them, he bears some responsibility for his failure to warn them that the might repent. Good to remember our role in God's process of salvation. He is the One Who prepares the heart, convicts by His Spirit, and provides justification and reconciliation, but He asks us to be watchmen to warn the people of their doom if they do not turn in repentance. He chooses to use our words either as a condemnation of their wickedness towards judgement, or a convicting message that leads to repentance - it is His work alone that saves, but He gives us that responsibility to witness through word and/or deed.
Ezekiel's description of angels is something to marvel at also - especially around Christmas, where we see the 'typical' angel depicted everywhere, the description we read sounds truly weird. Personally, I am of the view that the form of the angels (both Seraphim and Cherubim) must be marvellous in beauty, but the lack of human words to describe the creatures leaves uncertain how to picture these creatures that seem a conglomeration of different animal heads and features. There is certain symbolism with the animals present - and many have discussed the different characteristics these represent, which I do not have the time to go into now.
Chapters 16 and 23 describe Israel's and Judah's harlotry (prostitution) in vivid detail. Reading it, the detail seems to be there to lend wait to the truth of how God is hurt by their rejection. Describing it in terms of this intimate relationship that is broken, marred, and exploited, He inspires Ezekiel to write these analogies both so the people might be impressed with the seriousness of their transgression and rejection, and remember the lesson more clearly.
Being a contemporary of Jeremiah and Daniel, there are a number of themes coming through that are similar. We see warnings about false prophets that preach peace, and the analogy of Israel as a vine that the Lord will judge. We see the instruction to settle and live in the Babylonian lands, and to 'make the most of it.' We also see repeated prophecies about the nations round about. Egypt in particular receives a lot of prophecy against it in this book.
Restoration is a major theme, particularly in the latter part of the book. The picture of the Lord as Shepherd replacing the false shepherd who exploited and harmed the flock; the restoration of the land and purification of the people; the description of the Temple and the land boundaries - all are reminders that the Lord still has plans for them, for His purposes. An interesting note about the motivation though, in 36:32 - 'not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord' He is doing it for His glory and to show His character, not because of some special merit by the people. Indeed, As was seen in the case of Aholah and Aholibah, Judah was 'more corrupt in her inordinate love', and yet the Lord has chosen to deal more kindly with Judah than Israel.
For understanding the temple dimensions, it was helpful to watch through these videos instead of just reading through the numbers and trying to visualise it mentally:
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42&43
It is amazing the level of detail given here. The size of the temple, the descriptions of decorations and sacrifices - all arrayed to the glory of God! My understanding is this is a description of a future temple during the millennial reign of Christ on earth - although there may be a partial fulfilment of it during the tribulation period when the temple is rebuilt then. All the questions surrounding it are probably a study for another time, though - here just let us marvel at the detailed design God gives, that will be built for His glory.
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