Ezekial

Theme 1: (1-24): Judgment against Israel for neglecting the covenant. Ezekiel had a vision of the Lord appearing on a throne and saw his power. ( 1:10-28). In his commissioning as a prophet , he is told that he is being sent to a rebellious and sinful people who had not obeyed the covenant. ( 2:3-7). Ezekiel is told to eat a scroll containing the words of the covenant , which he does ( 3:3-4) and then he is empowered to be the Lord's messenger ( 3:24-27).

Ezekiel portrayed the coming siege of Jerusalem for disobeying the covenant. (4). He was told by God to preach a judgment of pestilence against the city for disobedience (5) and preached another message of judgment for their idolatry. (6). He preached against trusting in their wealth for salvation (7) and pronounced further judgment for their disobedience. (8-9). The Temple had lost the Lord's presence and was now a place of idols , Ezekiel told them, (10-11). He brought further warning against the nation focusing on their leaders (12), prophets and teachers (13) , idols (14-16) , military ( 17) and social justice and integrity ( 18-19). The end result being that they lost the Lord's blessing (20) and were judged and disciplined . (21: 1-17). The cause of the exile that has occurred is disobedience to the Lord and his covenant. ( 22:1-6). Forgetting the Lord results in judgment ( 23:46-49) and through this judgment the people of Israel would know that the Lord alone was God. ( 24:27).



Theme 2:( 25-32):): Pride and self reliance and the neglect of the Lord results in punishment. The Lord pronounced judgment against Amon (25:1-7), Moab ( 25:8-12) , Edom ( 25:13-14) and Philistia ( 25:15-17). After each of the judgments , Ezekiel noted that after experiencing the Lord's wrath they would know that the Lord is God of all ( 25: 7, 11, 14 &17). Tyre is judged for its pride ( 26-28) and the Phoenicians are told that they will not be a nation ( 26:21). The oracles against Egypt ( 29-32) , note that being proud and equating one self as equal to the Lord would be judged. ( 29:11-16, 30:26 & 31:10-11).




Theme 3: ( 33-48): The Lord's restoration and giving hope to his people Israel. The Lord appointed Ezekiel as a watchman over his people , to bring them to repentance and allow them to return to him. (33). The Lord promised them that they would again be known as his people. ( 34:29). He promised to restore the nation, to what it was before the exile ( 36:10-11). The Lord again will restore the covenant promising to give them new hearts. ( 37:24-28). The surrounding nations are judged for warring against Israel ( 38: 1-7) and the Lord again promised to restore the nation. ( 39:25-29). Chapters 40-48 described the Temple worship being restored and emphasized the theme of renewing the nation's relationship with the Lord. Thus the central theme of the book is restoration