THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL A. The Prophet Ezekiel
Ezekiel, the last of the major prophets, was the only one of the three actually carried away captive to Babylon. The "son of Buzi," of the family of Zadok, of the tribe of Levi: Ezekiel was by family heritage, a "priest" (1:3). then called of God to be a prophet (the Lord gave him special visions and messages to deliver to the people). He had his own "house" and "wife" while in Babylon (3:24; 8:1; 24:16-18).
"The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him." (Ezekiel 1:3)
"Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house." (Ezekiel 3:24)
"And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me." (Ezekiel 8:1)
"(16)Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. (17)Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. (18)So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded." (Ezekiel 24:16-18)Much of Ezekiel's prophesy agrees with Jeremiah's in subject matter, although the latter is never mentioned by name.
Ezekiel preached against the false prophets among the captives in Babylon. Jeremiah mentioned the same in Jeremiah 29, in his letter to Babylon. Ezekiel also foretold the total destruction of Jerusalem at a time when the captivity was only partial. As Jeremiah rebutted Hananiah's false prophecy of a 2 year captivity, so Ezekiel spoke against those who similarly prophesied in Babylon.Although the message and subject of Ezekiel's writings generally coincide with much of Jeremiah's, and they, in fact, were contemporaries, Ezekiel has a style and personality all his own. It is agreed that Ezekiel's manner is more straight- forward, less compassionate and more energetic than Jeremiah's (remember the weeping prophet). It has been said that Ezekiel was well suited to oppose the "rebellious house" of Judah in their captivity.
Two points of special interest are:
1. The many acts that God had Ezekiel perform.
2. Ezekiel is constantly called "son of man" in his book.B. Historical Setting
Ezekiel prophesied from a totally different vantage point than the other major prophets -- that of a captive in a strange land. In the opening verses of his book, we learn that he was among some of the early "captives", possibly with Daniel.
In Ezekiel 1:1, "the thirtieth year" is in reference to Babylonian time -- 30 years since the rise of Nebo-poleser, founder of the New Babylonian empire and father of Nebuchadnezzar. It was about this time (the founding of the empire -- 30 years past) that Jeremiah began his prophecies -- approx. 626 B.C.
So, the estimate of 595 B.C. is the supposed time frame for Ezekiel 1:1; 5 years after the second, partial captivity -- "Jehoiachin's" captivity. (The first occurred under Jehoiakim, see Jeremiah 24-25, especially 25:1; 52:28.)"Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God." (Ezekiel 1:1)
Ezekiel prophesies from the banks of the river "Chebar" in the land of the "Chaldeans". (The "Chebar" is located north of Babylon and empties into the Euphrates River.)
Contemporaries of Ezekiel: Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Daniel.
Contemporary Kings: Nebuchadrezzar, Evil-Meradach, Jehoiachin, Jehoiakim.