Ep. 188. Ezekiel 1-3 | The Young Prophet

EPISODE 188

THE YOUNG PROPHET: EZEKIEL 1-3

Ezekiel starts recording his book for us in the fifth year of the exile of Jehoiachin (aka Jeconiah). Ezekiel is 30 at this point and, therefore, would have been 25 when he was taken into captivity. Daniel would have beaten Ezekiel to Babylon by eight years and been in leadership for seven years before Ezekiel showed up. Five years later, when Ezekiel began to have visions and recounted the word of God to the people, Daniel would have been in Babylon for 13 years (in Leadership 12). During this same time, the fifth year of Jehoiachin's exile, Jeremiah would have been a prophet for 34 years. Ezekiel was a prophet to the exiles, and Jeremiah was still in Jerusalem. As God commissioned Jeremiah to speak to the rebels in Jerusalem, Ezekiel would speak to the rebellious exiles in Babylon.

God tells Ezekiel from the beginning that the people are hard-headed and will not listen to him, but God will also make Ezekiel's head hard. This is similar to what we saw with God's call upon Jeremiah to be a "fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall." In both cases, the people would be against the prophets.

Ezekiel is also called a "watchman" for the people. It is his job to warn them of the coming judgment of God. Notice that the rebels die for their own sins, but Ezekiel is accountable for their blood if he hasn't warned them.

It will do you a lot of good to hold in mind that Ezekiel is in Babylon and not in Jerusalem. This will make the text much easier to understand.

ADDITIONAL READING: Jeremiah 1:16-19; Psalm 119:103; Revelation 10:9-10; Isaiah 52:15; Isaiah 53:1