Ezekiel, The Exiled Prophet —

The prophet Ezekiel was a stunning man. He witnessed God’s amazing movement in several different ways. First of all, like Jeremiah and Zechariah, he was a priest in the time of exile. This is fascinating because he had no Temple to minister within and worship. Ezekiel was exiled to Babylon until the Temple at Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah was still able to go and speak in the Temple. Later, in the middle of his twenty-second year of ministry, the Temple was burned and destroyed. This was just before the time that Ezekiel’s wife suddenly died! God used that event to explain to Ezekiel that the Temple would be taken away suddenly. This man was a priest, which causes me to consider us today: How many pastors working right now would suddenly not have a job if church was outlawed by the government? And how many of them would keep their priestly duty of preaching the Word of God like Ezekiel? Remember though, that it is God who allowed this to happen. These are remarkable times to read about because the LORD is making Himself known to His people Israel. So, when we finish off Isaiah and go on to read the books of Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Ezekiel, try to remember the times they are in. This will help us to understand why they wrote the way they did, as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.