Bible Study: Ezekiel

Judgment against Tyre (26:1-6) – As we implied with Ammon (25:1-7), Nebuchadnezzar’s role is explicit here. Tyre stands out, like other Phoenician states, representing the Canaanite population before the Israelite arrival.

Judgment against Tyre (26:1-6) – As we implied with Ammon (25:1-7), Nebuchadnezzar’s role is explicit here. Tyre stands out, like other Phoenician states, representing the Canaanite population before the Israelite arrival.

Oracles against Other Nations – This type of revelation is comparable to Isaiah 13–23 and Amos 1– 2, along with Nahum, half of Obadiah, perhaps 15-20% of the OT. They are not critiques of the nationality of false prophets but proclamations of salvation for God’s people through eliminating their political and religious enemies.

The Cooking Pot and the Death of Ezekiel’s Wife – This is the central and pivotal chapter in the book, summarizing everything Ezekiel has been preaching in the last twelve chapters. The people’s illusions are that Jerusalem is secure, but the time of reckoning has come.

Two Lewd Sisters Whore Against Yahweh – Chapter 23 is a sort of sequel to chapter 16. As chapter 16 is the longest in the book, chapter 23 is the second longest.

Judgment on the Bloody City for Her Abominations – The chapter is a series of three oracles addressed to three audiences, although, in reality, they are identical: the bloody city, the house of Israel, and the unclean land. Each has di erent approaches or metaphors: (1) a general indictment of Jerusalem for moral and ceremonial violations; (2) the use of metallurgical imagery to describe “the house of Israel” as all dross that must be purged in the re of judgment; and (3) the o enses of all c…

Yahweh’s Punishing Sword is Drawn – The chapter is a series of four oracles united by the common subject: the sword. Mostly it is the sword of Yahweh, although sometimes personi ed and acting on its own.

Review of the Old Covenant and Promise of the New – For the rst time since 8:1, we encounter a precise date of August 14, 591 B.C., eleven months and ve days later. The tenth of the month of Ab is also the date of the destruction of the temple ve years later (Jer 52:12-14), and according to tradition, the destruction of the second temple in A.D.

A Lament for Israel’s Princes – After the individual judgment/justi cation of chapter 18, we’re back to the political circumstances of Judah’s last days, picking up where chapter 17 left o . Lament and dirges are usually associated with death, like David’s lament over the death of Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam 1:17) or for King Josiah at his death (2 Chr 35:25).

The Justification of the Individual – Theologically, this chapter must rank as one of the most important in the book. Its theme of the justification of the individual, expressed in 18:4 and 18:20, is coupled with the equally important truth that God desires all people to be saved in 18:23 and 18:32.