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Wednesday Morning Summer 2006

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The Book of Ezekiel

1) Background: The World of Ezekiel

A) Political Environment

Ezekiel was born into a turbulent world. For centuries the neo-Assyrians had maintained their

imperial grip on the region, at times reaching as far as Egypt. By the time of Ashurbanipal’s death

in 627 B.C., however, it had become evident the Assyrians had lost their imperial heart. Meanwhile,

the Babylonians were waiting to take revenge. Babylonia had been an important political center for

more than a thousand years, having produced figures like Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.) and

Nebuchadrezzar I (1133-1116 B.C.). But since 8th century the Babylonians had been dominated by

the Assyrians.

The collapse of the Assyrian empire coincided with the emergence of another genius of

Chaldean descent, Nabopolassar (625-605 B.C.). he laid the foundation for one of the most brilliant

empires of the ancient world. In 616 Nabopolassar attacked the Assyrians. However, alarmed by the

rising of the Babylonians, the Egyptians joined the Assyrians to stall the Babylonian advance.

Nevertheless, in 614 the Medes joined the Babylonians. The allies continued their pressure on the

dyeing empire, laying siege to Nineveh in 612 and bringing about its fall after three months. They

drove the Assyrians and Egyptians out of the city. Seven years later, in the battle of Carchemish

(Jer. 46:2), the Assyrians were driven off of the map, never to be heard of again, and the Egyptians

were forced to retreat to their homeland.

One of the generals of the Babylonian forces in the spectacular victory at Carchemish was

Nabopolossar’s son, Nebuchadrezzar II; and the fabled glory of the Babylonian empire must be

credited to him. After his father death, he focused on consolidate his power and from this time
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onward, the affairs of Judah become so intertwined with Babylonian activities that for our purposes

they may be examined together.

In spite of the apparent later-day conversion of Manasseh (2Chr. 33:10-20), who reigned

687-642, the historian branded him as the worst king to sit on David’s throne and the kingdom of

Judah never recovered from the spiritual degradation to which he had brought the nation. After

forty-five years of court-sponsored paganism, Judean apostasy was so deeply established that the

sweeping reforms of the good king Josiah (640-609) could do no more tan scratch the surface. His

attempt to break out of a half century of paganism by pursuing the nation of pagan cult object,

eliminating divination and magic, centralizing public worship in Jerusalem, and restituting the
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Passover are laudable (2Ki. 23; 2Chr. 34). But it was too little too late. His tragic death leaves one

wondering what might have been.

Following the untimely death of Josiah, the people installed his middle son Jehoahaz, on the

throne. But his reign was only three months, just long enough to demonstrate that he had inherited

more personal qualities from his grandfather Amon than from his father. Pharaoh Necho took

advantage of the political uncertainties in Jerusalem after the death of Josiah and placed Eliakim,

Josiah’s oldest son, on the throne, renaming him Jehoiakim as an act of sovereignty over the

Israelite (2Ki. 23:31-37).

Sometime after 605, when Nebuchadrezzar had consolidated his control in Babylon, his

forces returned to Palestine to continue the offensive against the Egyptians. They were driven out of

Judah, and Jehoiakim became a vassal of Babylon. To maintain Judean loyalty, Nebuchadrezzar

took some of the nobility, like Daniel and his friends, to Babylon. But Jehoiakim was not inclined to

obey the Babylonian demands and in 598/597 he rebelled. The Nebuchadrezzar’s forces marched

against Jerusalem and after a three-month siege, the city collapsed. Jehoiakim was captured and

apparently executed (Jer. 22;18-23; 36:30), and his son Jehoiachin installed in his place (2Ki. 24:8-

17). But he ruled only long enough to establish a pattern of evil, and he could not lead his people

into submission to the Babylonians. Nebuchadrezzar responded to his overtures to Egypt for aid

(2ki. 24:7) with severe indignities: the king, the queen, royal officers, leading citizens, and vast

amount of booty, including the temple treasures, were removed to Babylon. Many of these captives,

including Ezekiel, were settled in a separate Jewish colony near Nippur on the Chebar canal.

In Jehoiakim’s place Nebuchadrezzar installed Josiah’s youngest son, Mattaniah, whom he

renamed Zedekiah (2Ki. 24:17-18). Zedekiah joined with his neighbors on several occasions to

throw off the Babylonian yoke. In 589, together with Tyre and Ammon, and under the sponsorship

of Edom, they launched an open revolt. This time Nebuchadrezzar responded with a vengeance.
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Judah was invaded, and Jerusalem under siege. After more than a year, the walls were finally

breached. Zedekiah fled, but he was soon captured and presented to Nebuchadrezzar at Riblah.

While Zedekiah watched, his sons were executed, then his eyes were gouged out, and he was taken

in chains to Babylon (2Ki. 25:1-21; Jer. 52:9-11). Two months later Nebuchadrezzar’s general,

Nebuzaradan, torched the city, reducing even the temple to a pile of rubble and leaving only a few

survivors to try to eke out a living among the ruins. The nation of Judah had vanished.

The Last Kings of Judah

The numbers attached to some of these kings refer to the order among the sons of Josiah, not the order
in which they came to the throne. Read the chart from left to right, and note the dates.

Josiah

sons: Jehoahaz (#2) Eliakim/Jehoiakim (#1) Mattaniah /Zedekiah (#3)

(609) (609-598) (597-586)
[exiled in Egypt] [first deportation: Daniel] [installed by Babylon]
2Ki. 23:29-33 2Ki. 23:34-24:7 2Ki. 24:18-25:7

Jehoiachin
(597)
[2d. deportation: Ezekiel]
2Ki. 24:1-8

An explanation of this chart: Jehoahaz was named king by the people of Judah, after his father
Josiah died at Megiddo at the hands of the Egyptian armies that were heading north to Haran. Neco
installed Jehoiakim on the throne in his place upon his return through Palestine. Jehoiakim was the
first king under Babylonian rule, which began in 605. In 597 he refused to pay the tribute to
Babylonia, an act that signaled rebellion. He was executed and his son, Jehoiachin, was put in his
place, but he lasted only until the empire’s armies arrived. The Babylonians replaced him with
Mattaniah, Josiah’s third son and Jehoiachin’s uncle, and renamed him Zedekiah. He is the king of
Judah until July, 586, when Jerusalem fell.
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B) Social Environment

At the time of Ezekiel as a prophet Jews were found in three different locations: Judah,

Egypt, and Babylon. Only some of the poorest of the land were left behind in Judah after the

deportations. Of the few were left, many fled to Egypt in the wake of the assassination of Gedaliah,

the governor installed by the Babylonians (2Ki. 25:25-26; Jer. 41:1-2). In general, the people who

remained suffered from severe depression expressed in economic poverty, political lethargy, and

spiritual numbness. Although a new class of noblesses emerged and they exhibited the same

proclivity toward arrogance and spiritual bankruptcy as they predecessors. According to Ezek.

11:14-16, they had not understanding of their rich religious heritage and no sensitivity or pity for

their deported compatriots.

According to Jer. 44:1, Jewish settlements were established in Egypt at a series of sites:

Pathros, Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis. They have some autonomy in internal social affairs and

the religious climate was syncretistic. The Passovers and Sabbaths were celebrated to Yahweh but

many other deities were also invoked: Ishumbethel, Anathbethel, Sati, Nabu, Bel, etc.

Ezekiel’s primary audience was the community of Jews in Babylon. According to neo-

Assyrians records hundreds of thousands of citizens from the northern kingdom had been dispersed

throughout the empire. Nebuchadrezzar continued this policy with the Judeans, bringing the cream

of the population to Babylon and settlements nearby. These deportations policies were driven by

several objectives: to break down the bonds of nationality and resistance; to destroy political

structures by removing civil and religious leaders; to provide conscripts for the Babylonian army; to

strengthen the economy of Babylon.

Many questions remain concerning the exilic social scene, but some features may be pieced

together. First, although Jehoiachin lasted on the throne of David only three months, after the initial
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humiliation of deportation, he seems to have fared relatively well in Babylon. Babylonian

inscriptions referring to him as “the king of the land of Judah” report that he and his sons received

rations from the royal storehouses. Other inscriptions suggest that Jehoiachin continued to hold title

to ruler. In addition, Ezekiel insisted on dating his oracles after the time of the deportation, rather

than the date of Zedekiah’s ascension (Ezek. 1:2; 33:21; 40:1). But evidence that pride in the

Davidic stock was maintained even after the exile is provided by the identification of Sheshbazzar

as “prince of Judah” (Ezra 1:8). In fact, despite Jeremiah’s pronouncements against Jehoiachin

(Coniah, elsewhere also Jeconiah) in 22:24, the prophets never lost hope in the continuation of the

line, and Jehoiachin remained the critical link.

Psalm 137 locates the Judean exiles generally “by the rivers of Babylon.” Ezekiel’s ministry

focused on one specific community, Tel Abib, by the Chebar canal. Although humiliated by the

experience of deportation, the exiles do not appear to have suffered economic hardship. Daniel

indicates that some Judeans soon distinguished themselves and rose to the top in the Babylonian

court. Documents of the 5th century B.C. suggest that Jews quickly got involved in mercantile and

banking enterprises. Many of them also engaged in agriculture. In fact, they flourished so well that

when Cyrus issued his decree in 539 permitting the Judeans to return to Jerusalem, many apparently

preferred not to go.

Even though the Judean exiles integrated quickly into the Babylonian economy, they

managed to remain a distinct ethnic and social community. Israelite religious institutions like

circumcision and the Sabbaths were apparently maintained, at least externally (cf. Isa. 56:2-4;

58:13; Ezek. 44-46). From the prophecies of Ezekiel, however, we learn that the underlying

spiritual condition was much different. The people seem to have brought all their apostasizing

baggage with them, including their tendencies toward idolatry. Nevertheless, the prophets

denounced the people of Judah for their idolatrous ways, the people had maintained confidence in
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“Yahweh’s obligation” to rescue them. This sense of security was based on the conviction of an

inseparable bond among national patron deity (Yahweh), territory (land of Canaan), and people

(nation of Israel) as reflected in the following triangle, which they perceived to be inviolable:

Deity
(Yahweh)

Nation Land
(Israel) (Canaan)

More specifically, Israelite confidence in Yahweh was founded on an artificial orthodoxy,

resting on four immutable propositions, four pillars of divine promise: the irrevocability of

Yahweh’s covenant with Israel (Sinai), Yahweh’s ownership of the land of Canaan, Yahweh’s

eternal covenant with David, and Yahweh’s residence in Jerusalem, the place he chose for his name

to dwell. The nearer the forces of Nebuchadrezzar came, the more people clung to the promises of

God.
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C) The Author

All that we know of Ezekiel we learn from the collection of prophecies that bears his name.

Like many Hebrew names, Ezekiel represents either an affirmation of faith, “God strengthens,” or

an appeal of faith, “May God strengthen.” Therefore, the prophet’s name expresses the faith of his

parents at the time of his birth. Indeed, the prophet honored his name. In the face of cynism and

rejection of his ministry, Yahweh does strengthen him.

In 1:3 Ezekiel is identifies more precisely as a priest, the son of Buzy. His vocational

classification need not be doubted, and probably explains why he was included in the deportation of

597 B.C. His familiarity with the temple layout, orthodox and pagan cult forms, the spiritual

heritage of Israel, as well as his concern for a rebuilt temple, leave the impression of one thoroughly

prepared for spiritual leadership in the tradition of priesthood.

Ezekiel’s rhetorical agenda is clear: to transform his audience’s (the exiles’) perceptions of their

relationship with Yahweh and ultimately to change their behavior. But how does the prophet seek to

get this message across? No other prophet is so creative in his presentation of his message, and none

is as forceful. The rhetorical strategies reflected in this collection are both visual and auditory, all

designed to penetrate the hardened minds of his hearers.

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The Message and Method of Ezekiel

The Messenger of God 1:1-28a; 1:28b-3:15

The Watchman 3:16-21; 6:1-14; 7:1-27; 33:1-9
The True Prophet 12:21-28; 13:1-23; 14:1-11; 22:23-31
The Message Incarnate 3:22-27; 24:15-27; 33:21-22; 33:30-33
The Visionary 8:1-10:22; 11:22-25; 43:1-14
The Dramatist 4:1-5:17; 12:1-20; 21:23-32; 37:15-28
The Spinner of Parables and Riddles 17:1-24; 19:1-14; 21;1-22; 22:17-22
The Debater 11:1-13; 11:14-21; 18:1-32; 24:1-14; 33:10-20; 33:23-29
The Prosecutor 14:12-15:8; 16:1-63; 20:1-44; 22:1-16; 23:1-49
The Judge of the Nations 25:1-17; 26:1-21; 27:1-36; 28:20-23; 30:1-19; 32:17-32
The Conscience of Kings 28:1-10; 28:11-19; 29:1-16; 29:17-21; 30:20-26; 31:1-18; 32:1-16
The Pastor 34:1-31
The Herald of Good News 6:8-10; 11:14-21; 16:60-63; 28:24-26; 35:1-36;15; 36:16-18; 37:1-14
The Apocalyptist 38:1-39:29
The New Moses 40:1-48:35

Important Themes
 The glory and holiness of God: The book recounts the departure of Yahweh’s glory from the
Temple and his return to the new Temple. His presence there is based on his holiness: the sin
and idolatry force him to leave; with a new cleansed Temple and people he returns.
 The Mosaic (covenant curses) and New Covenant: Judah suffers the consequences of violating
the Mosaic covenant but is promised a new covenant, which is in continuity with that older
one even as it offers new dimensions.
 The knowledge of God (Israel and the nations): The goal of the judgment of Yahweh is that
his people and all the nations might know that he is God.
 The Spirit: The ministry of the Spirit is important in the call of the prophet and for the future
of the people.