OUTLINE OF THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL

By Gene McCarty

    Very little is known about the personal life of Ezekiel. He was one of the youth of Judea who was carried off into Babylon. He received this revelation about 597 B. C. which was probably about 5 years after he was carried off into captivity. He had probably heard Jeremiah, as the older prophet spoke to the people of Jerusalem. 
    Ezekiel shares with us the vision of the angels of God that brought him the message and in doing this he shows us a little of the grandeur of his life. There appears to be 3 reasons for his work. One is to remind the people of the reasons that they are in captivity. The second is to let the people already in captivity know what it happening at home. The third is to help prepare a few of the exiles to return to Jerusalem in a time of God's choosing. 
    This book is much like the book of Revelation as the prophet sees a vision, and relates the setting and details of the vision as well as the meaning or application.

1. In the 1st chapter we see the setting for the revelation from God. It is certainly a picture of glory and wonder. Chapter 2 challenges the prophet to stand up and receive a message from God and to not be afraid to declare it to men. The 3rd chapter directs the prophet to eat the scroll, which is symbolic for the need of men to feed on the word of God, and make it a part of their very body. He is then warned again to not be afraid to tell his words to the people. The prophet is also told of the persecution that he is to receive.
    

2. In chapter 4 the siege of Jerusalem is pictured for the captives already residing in Babylon. The message delivered in chapter 5 is a message of tremendous sin and disrespect for God by the Jewish people. Because of their great sin the prophet tells them of a terrible time in Jerusalem when the fathers will eat their children and children will eat their fathers. The dead bodies of these unfaithful Israelites will lie in front of the idols that they worship. In chapter 8 the prophet is taken in a vision to the temple in Jerusalem, and is shown the detestable things that the elders are doing in the temple. Chapter 9 is the story of the killing of those guilty of idolatry, and in the latter part of chapter 12 the Lord says that the day is near when all visions will be fulfilled because there will be no more false prophets. This prophesy of destruction continues and in the 16th chapter reveals the way that God views the evil of this nation of his people. He views them as a prostitute, yet as one who does not need to be encouraged or paid to sin. He says that the sins of Jerusalem are more vile than the sins of Sodom. Chapter 18 has a simple message. "The soul who sins is the one who will die." In chapter 23 the evil of prostitution is again the description of the sins of Israel. The sin of idolatry is so great that it has brought total destruction to the nation of God. In chapter 24 the Lord says "I will desecrate my sanctuary". In saying this he takes the credit for the destruction of this sinful people, and of the temple in which they worship.
    

3. Chapters 25 thru 35 are mostly prophesies against the nations that surround Judea. Of these the prophesy against the king of Tyre in chapter 28 is most interesting. Tyre is a city that was once faithful to God.
    

4. From chapter 36 to the end of the book most of the writing is describing Ezekiel's vision of Jerusalem, and a future when the people of God return and rebuild the city and the country in preparation for the Messiah. Of these writings chapter 37 is perhaps the most notable. The prophet is directed to prophesy to a valley of dry bones and at his speaking the bones come together and grew bodies. This is a wonderful picture of the salvation of the Lord. In the following chapters much attention is given to the temple and the way it is to be constructed and used in acceptable worship to God. The prophet even directs the people about how they will divide the land among the tribes when they return from captivity. The work of this prophet begins at one of the saddest times in the history of this world, yet by the end of his work there is a real message of hope.