Ezekiel chapter 3.
3:1 Ezekiel was commanded to eat this roll (or scroll). This depicted the fact that he was first to receive the Word of
God. He who would communicated God's Word must first assimilate it (Revelation 10:9-11). The fact that it was
"written within and without" (i.e., on both sides, 2:10) is a picture of the extensive content of what God intended to
communicate through him.
3:4 Speak with my words unto them sets forth the second aspect of Ezekiel's calling. Not only was he to receive
God's Word, but he was also to deliver it faithfully to Israel.
3:7 Ezekiel was warned at the outset of his ministry that the people would not listen to him.
3:14 The hand of the Lord was strong upon me pictures the divine enablement given to Ezekiel to sustain him
during his difficult ministry.
3:1 Tel-abib was located in Babylonia and is not to be confused with the modern city of Tel Aviv in Israel.
3:17 The watchman was a familiar figure in the ancient Near East. Itwas his duty to watch for approaching enemies
and to warn the city of danger. In the same way Ezekiel was God's watchman who was called to warn both the
"wicked" (verses 18, 19) and the "righteous" (verses 20, 21). See the note on Jeremiah 6:17.
3:23 Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord a second time, resulting in his prostrate submission.
3:24 Shut thyself within thine house refers to limited fellowship with the people in order to maintain his role as
leader.
3:26 Thou shalt be dumb was a prophecy that Ezekiel would be unable to speak except by divine permission. This
would be a sign to Israel that when Ezekiel did speak his words were certainly from God.
Ezekiel chapter 4
4:1 Beginning with this verse, and continuing through chapter 24, Ezekiel fulfills his divinely appointed task, given
in chapter 3, of being a watchman to the house of Israel. Israel's destruction is predicted in these chapters, and
the reasons for it are given. Remember that Ezekiel had been taken into captivity in 597 B.C., and prophesied
these chapters in Babylon before the destruction of Jerusalem took place in 586 B.C. Four key signs of the
certainty of judgment are used in chapters 4 and 5. The first is the sign of the tile, or brick (verses 1-3). Ezekiel
was instructed to draw an outline of the city of Jerusalem on the brick, then build ramps around it as a picture of its
inevitable capture. It amounted to a model of Nebuchadnezzar's later destruction of the city.
4:4-8 A second sign was given when Ezekiel lay on his sides: on his left side for 390 days and on his right side for
40 days. He probably lay in the specified position for only a portion of each day for the period of time commanded
by God. The precise reasons for these particular numbers are not given, but they are related, in any case, to
Israel's past sin. We do not have enough chronological information to determine their application with accuracy.
4:9-17 The third sign was that of defiled bread (verse 13). It represented the fact that food would be scarce and
the people defiled during the siege of Jerusalem. Dried animal dung is still used for fuel in the Middle East, but the
use of human excrement would be both repulsive and polluting.
Ezekiel chapters 5 and 6.
5:1-17 The fourth sign was shaved hair. Ezekiel was commanded to shave his head and beard. Then the pile of
hair was weighed and divided into four parts, three equal piles and a few additional strands. The three equal piles
were to be burned, chopped up with a sword, and scattered to the wind, respectively. This action represented the
people being killed by plague of famine, by the sword, and taken away in exile. The remaining few hairs symbolized
a believing remnant. Even some of these would suffer oppression, since some of these hairs were also tossed into
the fire.
6:1-3 The word of the Lord came unto me introduces a scathing sermon against the sin of idolatry because the
people went "a whoring after their idols" (verse 9). For high places, see the note on 1 Kings 3:2, 3.
6:8 God's promise to preserve a believing remnant for Himself recurs in Ezekiel (5:10; 11:13; 14:22). For the
remnant in an eschatological setting, see the note on Jeremiah 31:7.
6:14 Diblath was probably miscopied for Riblath. Due to their similarity in form, the Hebrew letters d and r are
easily confused. Several instances of such an interchange have been verified in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Ezekiel chapters 7 and 8.
7:1 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me introduces another sermon that describes the natures of the
judgment to fall on the nation. It will be exhaustive: "The sword is without, and the pestilence and famine within"
(verse 15).
8:1 chapters 8-11 are a unit, though the subject matter may be divided. These chapters constituted a vision that
the prophet had while transported by the Spirit of God from Babylon to Jerusalem (verse 3). The first thing Ezekiel
witnessed was the presence of loathsome, idolatrous figures and detestable pagan practices within the temple
confines itself, "the wicked abominations" (verse 9).
8:14 Tammuz is the Semitic equivalent of the Sumerian Dumuzi whose ill-fated love of Inanna (Semitic Ishtar) the
goddess of love is recounted in the Sumerian myths of Inanna's Descent to the Netherworld and The Death of
Dumuzi. Betrayed by Inanna and consigned to the underworld, his demise was limited in the fourth month, which
was named after him. Evidently the women of Judah lamented Tammuz on the fifth day of the sixth month. The
worship of Tammuz was on of the many fertility cults of the ancient Near East that had several local variations.
Weeping for Tammuz was an act of worship intended to bring him back from the netherworld. Thus, these women
were worshiping this Assyrian diety.
Ezekiel chapters 9 and 10.
9:2 A slaughter weapon suggests the massive destruction of human life that was impending.
10:4 The saddest even witnessed by Ezekiel was the departure of the Lord's glory from the temple. The glory
moved from the cherubim in the holy of holies to the threshold of the house. Later, "the glory of the Lord departed
from off the threshold...and stood over the cherubim" (verse 18), when the cherubim went and stood "at the door
of the east gate" (verse 19). Next, the "glory of the Lord...stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the
city" (11:23), that is, on the Mount of Olives. Finally, the glory disappeared. The reluctant departure of God's glory
from the temple demonstrates that only with great long-suffering and hesitation did God's Spirit leave His abode.
The fact that the Spirit of God was not present in the temple explains how Nebuchadnezzar's men were later, in
586 B.C., able to destroy the temple completely, including the Holy of Holies, without divine judgment. For the
scriptural teaching on the shekinah glory, see the note on 1 Kings 8:10-12.
Ezekiel chapter 12
12:3 Prepare thee stuff for removing means "prepare your baggage." Later, Ezekiel is commanded to carry the
baggage through a hole in the wall (v. 5). The significance of these strange actions is clearly explained: preparing
the baggage represents the inhabitants of Jerusalem who must pack their bags and go into captivity (v. 11) the exit
through the hole in the wall pictured the vain attempt to King Zedekiah to escape from Nebuchadrezzar (vv. 12.13).
Both of these prophetic actions were literally fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 B.C. The people were
taken captive, and Zedekiah's attempted escape was foiled. He was compelled to watch his sons slain before his
eyes. His eyes were then blinded, and he was taken to Babylon (2 Kings 25:1-7; Jer. 52:4-11).
12:18 Eat thy bread with quaking introduces the second sign in the chapter. Ezekiel was to tremble as he ate and
drank, as a sign of the terror that would grip the nation back in Judah.
Ezekiel chapter 13
13:3 Woe unto the foolish prophets introduces a curse on false prophets. They were like workmen who tried to
cover a severely cracked wall with whitewash (vv. 11, 12).
13:18 The pillows sewn to the armholes have been interpreted to refer to either amulets placed upon the wrists
that supposedly conveyed magical powers to the enchanter, or bonds tied around the wrists of the enquirer that
symbolized magically that the accompanying spell or incantation was a binding one.
Ezekiel chapter 14
14:1-3 Certain of the elders of Israel..sat before me: Much of the content of this chapter is directed against these
men because they have set up their idols in their heart. Their idolatry, unlike that back in Jerusalem, was internal.
14:14. The situation in Judah is so desperate that even if three of the most righteous men in the history of God's
people (Noah, Daniel, and Job) were to intercede, they would be able to save only themselves.
Ezekiel chapter 15
15:2 What is the vine tree more than any tree? begins a vivid allegory picturing Israel as a grapevine that is no
longer bearing fruit. Since a grapevine is not good for wood or building (vv.2,3), once it has ceased to bear fruit, it
can only be cast into the fire (v. 4). The point was clear: the nation had ceased to bear fruit of righteousness and
was therefore destined for judgment. For Israel as God's vine, see Isaiah 5:1-7 and Hosea 10:1
Ezekiel chapters 16 and 17
16:1 In this chapter the nation is compared to a foundling, an infant that has been deserted by its parents. The
statement "thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite" (verse 3) is, of course, not to be taken literally. It is
like the statement that Sodom was a sister of Jerusalem (verse 46). Rather, it pictures the idolatrous character of
the people in Jerusalem. Though the Lord had compassion on her as one would have compassion on a foundling,
Jerusalem still loved her idols (verses 23-29) and became like a brazen prostitute (verses 30-34). Therefore, the
Lord says "I will judge thee" (verse 38). A striking contrast occurs here. Rather than reproaching the character of
God who had reclaimed her as an unwanted infant that had been exposed to death (verses 4-6), Israel had
degenerated so far in its pagan practices that it participated in the abominable rites of infant sacrifice (verse 20;
see the note on Jeremiah 7:31, 32).
16:59-62 In spite of the severity of His judgment on Israel, the Lord will not cast His people off forever, because He
says, I will remember my covenant. The everlasting covenant mentioned here is the same as Jeremiah's new
covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34). It will be ratified for Israel at the time when it will know that I am the Lord, which can
take place only during the Millennium.
17:1-21 The allegory of the two eagles and the vine is used to show the futility of the nation's dependence on
foreign powers. The first eagles, Nebuchadnezzar, had gone to Lebanon, which represented Jerusalem. Though
he took the highest branch of the cedar (verse 3), meaning that he took the king and nobles into captivity (597
B.C.), yet he left the seed of the land (verse 5), or a remnant. They, in turn, appealed to another great eagle
(verse 7), which was Egypt. This description refers to Zedekiah's vain attempt to get military assistance from Egypt.
This alliance forced Nebuchadnezzar to return later to Jerusalem and destroy it.
17:22-24 I will also take of the highest branch: The Lord is the speaker, ad He here promises to be like an eagle
Himself. Yet He will take a branch, one of the Davidic line, and plant it upon a high mountain (i.e., reestablish the
kingdom to Israel).
Ezekiel page 2