Ezekiel was an Old Testament prophet and priest who lived during the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BC. He is the author of the Book of Ezekiel in the Bible which bears his name. Ezekiel played a significant role in Judah’s history leading up to and during the exile.
Here is an overview of Ezekiel’s life and ministry according to the Bible:
Ezekiel’s Background
Ezekiel was born into a priestly family in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 1:3). His father’s name was Buzi. Ezekiel grew up serving in the Temple in Jerusalem until he was taken to Babylon during the first Babylonian invasion of Judah in 597 BC under King Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:10-16). At this time, many of Judah’s leaders, including Ezekiel, were deported to Babylon.
In Babylon, Ezekiel lived in a settlement along the Kebar River with other exiles from Judah (Ezekiel 1:1). He was married but his wife died during the siege of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 24:15-18). Ezekiel lived and prophesied in Babylon for at least 22 years, from 597-575 BC.
Ezekiel’s Call to be a Prophet
In 593 BC, at age 30, Ezekiel experienced a powerful vision of God’s glory while living as an exile by the Kebar River. This vision called him to be a prophet and communicate God’s messages to the people of Israel (Ezekiel 1:1-3:15).
Some key elements of Ezekiel’s vision and call include:
- Seeing images of four living creatures and God’s throne-chariot
- Hearing God commission him to be a “watchman” and warn the people
- Eating a scroll as a sign of consuming God’s message
- Being filled with God’s Spirit and power
This life-changing vision set the course for Ezekiel’s future ministry. He would speak God’s words to a rebellious people.
Ezekiel’s Prophecies and Messages
For at least 22 years in Babylon, Ezekiel functioned as a prophet by speaking messages from God to the Jewish exiles and those still in Judah. Ezekiel’s prophecies can be grouped into three periods:
- Prophecies of Jerusalem’s judgment – Before Jerusalem’s fall to Babylon in 586 BC, Ezekiel warned that the city would be destroyed because of the people’s idolatry and unfaithfulness to God (Ezekiel 4-24).
- Prophecies against the nations – As Nebuchadnezzar conquered the nations around Judah, Ezekiel pronounced judgments against these enemies of God’s people: Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, Sidon and Egypt (Ezekiel 25-32)
- Prophecies of future hope and restoration – After Jerusalem’s fall, Ezekiel encouraged the exiles with visions of Israel’s future restoration and the New Covenant under a coming Messianic King. These famous visions include:
- The valley of dry bones
- The new temple
- The river flowing from the temple
- The return of God’s glory to the temple
- The allotment of land to the restored 12 tribes of Israel
Throughout his prophetic career, Ezekiel emphasized three themes:
- God’s judgment on the house of Israel for breaking the covenant
- God’s sovereignty and transcendence
- The certainty of future salvation and restoration under God’s reign
Much of Ezekiel’s preaching used street theater, object lessons, and allegories to capture attention and drive home his warnings and promises from God.
Other Key Aspects of Ezekiel’s Ministry
- Watchman – Ezekiel was called to be a “watchman” who warned Israel of coming judgment and urged them to repent (Ezekiel 3:16-21; 33:1-9).
- Priestly background – As a priest, Ezekiel’s prophecies emphasized holiness, God’s glory departing and returning to the temple, and right worship.
- Grieving symbolically – Ezekiel enacted lamentation and grief in his ministry to symbolize God’s pain over the people’s sins (Ezekiel 4:1-17; 21:6-7).
- Disabled and then healed – For a time Ezekiel was unable to speak as a sign of Israel’s inability to hear God. Then his speech was restored as a sign of restoration (Ezekiel 3:26-27; 24:25-27; 33:21-22).
- Opposition from false prophets – Ezekiel contended with unfaithful leaders and false prophets who gave the exiles bad advice (Ezekiel 13).
In many ways Ezekiel served as both a foreteller and forthteller of God’s Word. He pronounced judgments that would happen while calling God’s people to faithfulness and hope.
Significant Stories About Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel records a few interesting stories that give insight into Ezekiel’s prophetic ministry during exile:
- Cooking food over dung (Ezekiel 4:9-17) – As a sign of coming hardship in the siege, God told Ezekiel to cook his food over burning human dung (instead of animal dung which was more commonly used as fuel at the time).
- Shaving his head and beard (Ezekiel 5:1-4) – Ezekiel shaved his head and beard and divided the cut hair into thirds as a symbol of God’s judgment on Jerusalem’s inhabitants who would perish by plague, famine, and sword.
- His wife’s death (Ezekiel 24:15-27) – Ezekiel’s wife, “the delight of [his] eyes”, died as a sign of God removing his delight from the temple because of the people’s idolatry.
- No mourning upon his wife’s death (Ezekiel 24:15-24) – God told Ezekiel not to mourn outwardly when his wife died to symbolize how the people would not be able to mourn when Jerusalem was destroyed.
- Lying on his side 390 + 40 days (Ezekiel 4:4-6) – God had Ezekiel lie on his left side for 390 days and his right side for 40 days to represent Israel and Judah’s punishment for sin.
Through strange symbolic actions and living object lessons, Ezekiel acted out God’s messages to shock the people and provoke repentance.
Key Theological Contributions
Ezekiel made some important theological contributions that deepened Israel’s understanding of God:
- Emphasized personal responsibility rather than corporate solidarity for guilt (Ezekiel 18).
- Presented elaborate visions of God’s supreme glory and holiness (Ezekiel 1, 10).
- Taught that God’s Spirit enlivens dry bones and can renew hearts of stone with flesh and breathe new life (Ezekiel 36-37).
- Revealed future blessings of restoration under a Davidic prince including: a united Israel with a fertile land, a rebuilt temple to worship in, and God’s permanent dwelling with his people forever (Ezekiel 40-48).
Ezekiel’s theology developed earlier biblical themes while adding unique contributions about Israel’s God and His redemptive plan.
Where Ezekiel is Referenced in the New Testament
The New Testament contains a few references to Ezekiel’s prophecies which are seen as fulfilled in Jesus:
- Jesus as the fulfillment of the vision of the glorious divine throne-chariot (Revelation 4; Ezekiel 1)
- Jesus as the shepherd leader prophesied by Ezekiel (John 10; Ezekiel 34)
- The promise of the Holy Spirit to give new life (John 3; Ezekiel 36-37)
- The New Covenant foreseen by Ezekiel (Hebrews 8; Ezekiel 34, 37)
Overall, the New Testament views Jesus and the Church as the fuller realization of the restoration hopes expressed by Ezekiel.
Ezekiel’s Enduring Legacy
Ezekiel left an incredible legacy for all generations as:
- A faithful prophet during a pivotal time of Judah’s exile and transition.
- A pastoral shepherd caring for the displaced Jewish flock.
- A righteous suffering servant who lost his wife but stayed obedient.
- A priest calling people to holiness and right worship of God.
- A theologian who illuminated new and deeper truths about God’s sovereignty, glory, justice, judgment, salvation, and knowledge of Himself.
- A visionary who saw pastjudgment to coming redemption and restoration.
In many ways Ezekiel’s life and message embodied both the death of one era and the difficult birth pangs of the next. He spoke warnings of judgement while standing on the promises of hope. Through it all, Ezekiel pointed people to the righteousness, justice, sovereignty, holiness, goodness, glory, and redemption of Israel’s God.