Psalia.The prophets / About this book
Ezekiel’s visions confront a people in exile with the loss of Jerusalem and the depth of their unfaithfulness. Later images of a new heart, restored life and a renewed dwelling place open a future. The striking symbols call for patient reading within each vision.
EDITORIAL REFLECTION · NOT SCRIPTURE
Ask who is speaking, who is being addressed, and what concern the passage names. Prophetic writing can move between warning, accusation, promise, and hope. Notice these changes rather than giving every paragraph the same tone.
Give images room to work within their setting. Read the surrounding section before applying a line to a present-day event, and keep a note of references or questions that need more study. An honest question is more useful than a hurried certainty.
Use the outline to see the larger movement before settling into a chapter. Each section opens at its first chapter in the reader.
1Now in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
2In the fifth of the month, which was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity,
3the LORD’s word came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the LORD’s hand was there on him.
4I looked, and behold, a stormy wind came out of the north: a great cloud, with flashing lightning, and a brightness around it, and out of the middle of it as it were glowing metal, out of the middle of the fire.
5Out of its center came the likeness of four living creatures. This was their appearance: They had the likeness of a man.
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Keep this question beside you
How does the promised renewal reach beyond a change of circumstances to a change of heart?
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