EZEKIEL Bible Study 1 Paphos 27 October 2005

Introductory study

Read Ezekiel Chapter 1:1-5:17

List 5 or more questions that come to your mind as you read this section.

Then read all the first chapter again

Finally concentrate of Chapter 1:1-3

Questions
1. What does the name Ezekiel mean? How is it related to the name Hezekiah?

2. 1:1 What was the date in our dating system? What was the significance of that
date for Ezekiel?

3. Where was Ezekiel? Use an atlas. Who were the exiles? See 2 Kings 24:15-17.

4. What was the Hebrew word for God in chapter 1 verse 1?

5. ‘The heavens were opened’. Where is this sentence found in the

Gospel of Matthew and something similar in Mark? Whom did Ezekiel
see? What is the name used for God here?

6. 1:2. What do we learn about Ezekiel’s family, social and educational

background? What 2 other momentous experiences did he have on that
day?

In the rest of the chapter Ezekiel describes the indescribable.

Recommended book The Message of Ezekiel: A new heart and a new spirit
Christopher J H Wright in The Bible Speaks Today series
IVP Leicester, 2001 reprinted 2002, 2002, 2003, 2004
pp.368 £9.99 ISBN 0-85111-548-9

EZEKIEL Bible Study No.2 Paphos 3 November 2005

Reading Ezekiel chapter 1

Questions

1. Review chapter 1 :1-3. Who? When? Where? What was the effect on Ezekiel?
Read Ezekiel 3:15.

2. 1:4-28. Give a heading to this section. Look up Mark 9:2-13 and Revelation 1:9-20.

3. What did Ezekiel see at the beginning of these visions and what at the end? John
Calvin said ‘If someone asks whether the vision is clear, I confess it is very obscure
and I do not profess to understand it.’ Today we have more knowledge of the cultural
context of Ezekiel’s ministry but even so we must be careful not to get caught up in
trying to give a meaning to all the details.

4. Ezekiel 1:4-14. The four living creatures.

How were the four living creatures different from the cherubim of Western art but
like the guardian creatures that stood outside Mesopotamian temples?

5. What was the significance of

the human?
the lion?
the eagle?
the ox?

6. Ezekiel 1:15-21. The wheels.

What phrase has Ezekiel contributed to the English language? Note that the wheels
interlocked.

7. What is said of the spirit in this chapter?

8. Ezekiel 1:22-28. The throne.

What was the climax of Ezekiel’s visions? What could he see in verse 26?

10. Ezekiel 1 is a manifestation of the glory (Hebrew kabod) of Yahweh. What does
kabod mean?

11. What 4 other dimensions of the glory of Yahweh did Ezekiel see in these visions?
Clues:
a. Compare with Isaiah 6:1.
b. See Ezekiel 1:12, 20,21.
c. List the references to spirit in this chapter?
d. See Ezekiel 1:13, 14, 27, 28.

EZEKIEL Bible Study No.3 Paphos 10 November 2005

Reading: Ezekiel 2:1-3:15

Subject: Ezekiel’s call
Questions

1. Ezekiel 1:28 & 2:1. What was the significance of Ezekiel’s different
postures?

2. Ezekiel 2 – 3:15. Which verses indicate that when God calls he enables?

3. Ezekiel 2:3. What does the phrase ‘son of man’ signify?

4. Ezekiel 2:3-7. Why was Ezekiel’s call so difficult for him? What were three
features of Israel’s hardness of heart?

5. Ezekiel 2:5-7. What was the mission of God’s prophet? How could Ezekiel
be sure of God’s call?

6. Ezekiel 2:1-3:15. In what ways did Ezekiel suffer because of the Israelites’
opposition to God? Why the ‘strong’ hand of the Lord?

7. Ezekiel 2:8 – 3:11. What was the significance of the scroll?

8. Why did the Sovereign Lord repeat the call in greater detail?

9. Ezekiel 3:12-14. What does this passage indicate about Ezekiel’s spiritual
struggles?

10. How did the Lord deal with Ezekiel’s fear?

11. Ezekiel 3:12-15. How do you explain Ezekiel’s experience and locations
during this momentous week? Read Acts 8:39 and 1 Kings 19:1-18.