Ezekiel: The glory departs and returns

Where Ezekiel sits

In the story

Act IV, Israel · Exile, c. 605–539 BC

In the Bible

Old Testament · Prophets · book 26 of 66

Before it in the story

Obadiah

After it in the story

Daniel

Among the exiles, Ezekiel explains Jerusalem's fall and promises the new life and lasting presence that God gives through Christ.

Ezekiel summary

Ezekiel sees the LORD's glory among the exiles and receives a commission to speak to a rebellious people. Signs, visions and indictments expose Jerusalem's guilt before the siege and fall confirm the warning. Surrounding nations also face judgment for pride, violence and false security. The LORD then promises to gather and cleanse His people, give them a new heart and His Spirit, and unite them under one Davidic shepherd. Their enemies will not defeat His purpose. The closing sanctuary vision shows His returning glory, life flowing into the land and a city named for His lasting presence.

Ezekiel in context

Written by

Ezekiel son of Buzi, the priest and prophet identified in the opening verses.

Written to

Judean exiles in Babylonia hear God's word concerning Jerusalem, Israel and surrounding nations.

Setting

Ezekiel ministers among those deported with King Jehoiachin in 597 BC. His dated prophecies span the years before and after Jerusalem's destruction, conventionally dated 586 BC.

When

The dated ministry extends approximately 593–571 BC. The final temple vision is dated approximately 573 BC; exact modern calendar conversions remain qualified.

Why

To explain the justice of Jerusalem's judgment, call the people to repent and announce the renewal and lasting fellowship God will give for His holy name.

Themes of Ezekiel

• The LORD's glory and presence
• Knowledge of the LORD
• Responsibility and repentance
• A new heart and Spirit
• One shepherd and one people
• Holy worship and justice

Key verses in Ezekiel

• Ezekiel 36:26–27

  I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.

• Ezekiel 37:24–28

  My servant David will be king over them, and there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow My ordinances and keep and observe My statutes. They will live in the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They will live there forever with their children and grandchildren, and My servant David will be their prince forever. And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be My people. Then the nations will know that I the LORD sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is among them forever.’”

• Ezekiel 48:35

  The perimeter of the city will be 18,000 cubits, and from that day on the name of the city will be: THE LORD IS THERE.”

Ezekiel chapter by chapter

Part 1 · Glory and commission 1–3

1. 1
   Ezekiel 1: The LORD’s glory appears among the exiles

   The LORD reveals His sovereign glory in exile and prepares Ezekiel to hear His word.

2. 2
   Ezekiel 2: Speak God’s word to a rebellious people

   The Spirit raises Ezekiel to receive God’s word and speak it faithfully despite Israel’s rebellion.

3. 3
   Ezekiel 3: Receive the word and give the warning

   God equips Ezekiel to speak His word and holds him responsible to warn the people faithfully.

Part 2 · Signs of Jerusalem's judgment 4–7

1. 4
   Ezekiel 4: The coming siege is acted out

   Ezekiel’s enacted signs announce Jerusalem’s siege, guilt, hunger and defilement in exile.

2. 5
   Ezekiel 5: Jerusalem must answer for her rebellion

   Jerusalem’s privileges cannot shield her from the judgment her rebellion and defiled worship deserve.

3. 6
   Ezekiel 6: Idols fall, and a remnant remembers the LORD

   The LORD destroys idolatrous worship but preserves survivors who remember Him and grieve over their sin.

4. 7
   Ezekiel 7: The announced end is near

   The LORD’s approaching judgment strips away the false security of wealth, power and religious privilege.

Part 3 · The defiled temple and departing glory 8–11

1. 8
   Ezekiel 8: The LORD exposes abominations in His sanctuary

   The LORD sees the idolatry and violence that His people hide and exposes their guilt within His own sanctuary.

2. 9
   Ezekiel 9: Judgment begins at the sanctuary

   The LORD judges Jerusalem’s great guilt while marking those who grieve over its abominations for protection.

3. 10
   Ezekiel 10: The glory moves from the temple toward the east gate

   The LORD orders judgment upon the city and moves His glory away from the temple threshold.

4. 11
   Ezekiel 11: God promises a new heart as the glory departs

   The LORD judges false security, promises His scattered people inward renewal, and withdraws His glory from the city.

Part 4 · False assurances exposed 12–14

1. 12
   Ezekiel 12: The warning will no longer be delayed

   God’s signs announce exile and distress, and His word will come true despite dismissive proverbs.

2. 13
   Ezekiel 13: False assurances collapse under God’s judgment

   The LORD exposes invented prophecies and rescues His people from deceptive promises and practices.

3. 14
   Ezekiel 14: Hidden idols cannot evade the LORD

   The LORD demands repentance from hidden idolatry and shows why Jerusalem’s judgment is just.

Part 5 · Unfaithfulness and responsibility 15–19

1. 15
   Ezekiel 15: The unfaithful vine is fit for burning

   Jerusalem’s unfaithfulness makes her liable to judgment despite her privileged place among the nations.

2. 16
   Ezekiel 16: The LORD remembers His covenant with the unfaithful

   Jerusalem has betrayed the LORD’s generous care, yet He promises atonement and an everlasting covenant.

3. 17
   Ezekiel 17: God will plant the royal shoot that flourishes

   Judah’s ruler cannot escape his broken oath, but the LORD will establish the kingdom human rulers cannot secure.

4. 18
   Ezekiel 18: Turn from sin and live

   The LORD judges justly, rejects excuses based on ancestry and calls each hearer to repent and live.

5. 19
   Ezekiel 19: A lament for Judah’s fallen rulers

   Judah’s royal strength collapses in captivity, and the loss must be mourned rather than denied.

Part 6 · The reckoning arrives 20–24

1. 20
   Ezekiel 20: The LORD acts for the sake of His name

   Israel repeats its ancestors’ rebellion, yet the LORD will purify His people and make His holiness known.

2. 21
   Ezekiel 21: The LORD’s sword exposes false royal security

   The LORD brings judgment upon Jerusalem and its ruler; neither royal privilege nor neighboring power can resist Him.

3. 22
   Ezekiel 22: Jerusalem’s bloodshed and corruption face judgment

   The LORD exposes Jerusalem’s pervasive injustice and brings judgment upon a society that has forgotten Him.

4. 23
   Ezekiel 23: The sisters’ unfaithfulness leads to devastation

   Samaria and Jerusalem abandon the LORD for idols and foreign powers, and their chosen lovers become their judges.

5. 24
   Ezekiel 24: The siege begins, and the prophet bears a costly sign

   The siege confirms God’s warning, and Ezekiel’s bereavement becomes a sign of the sanctuary’s coming loss.

Part 7 · Neighboring nations judged 25–28

1. 25
   Ezekiel 25: The LORD judges the surrounding nations

   The LORD answers the neighbors’ contempt and vengeance by bringing judgment upon them.

2. 26
   Ezekiel 26: Tyre’s expected gain becomes its downfall

   Tyre welcomes Jerusalem’s fall as an opportunity for gain, but the LORD announces its own devastation.

3. 27
   Ezekiel 27: The magnificent trading ship is wrecked

   Tyre’s wealth and international reach cannot prevent the ruin that brings its trading partners to grief.

4. 28
   Ezekiel 28: The proud ruler falls; the LORD gathers His people

   The LORD humbles Tyre’s self-exalting ruler, judges Sidon and promises security to His scattered people.

Part 8 · Egypt's power brought down 29–32

1. 29
   Ezekiel 29: Egypt’s false strength is brought low

   The LORD humbles Egypt’s proud ruler and removes the false security Israel has sought in Egypt.

2. 30
   Ezekiel 30: Egypt’s strength fails on the day of judgment

   The LORD brings Egypt and its allies under judgment and places the sword in Babylon’s hand.

3. 31
   Ezekiel 31: The great cedar falls

   Assyria’s fall warns Pharaoh that greatness received from God cannot protect a proud empire from judgment.

4. 32
   Ezekiel 32: Egypt joins the fallen nations

   The LORD brings Pharaoh’s power to an end and places Egypt among the nations that once spread terror.

Part 9 · Warning and renewed life 33–37

1. 33
   Ezekiel 33: Hear the warning and turn to live

   The fall confirms Ezekiel’s warning; God calls His people to repent and obey rather than merely enjoy listening.

2. 34
   Ezekiel 34: The LORD rescues His flock through one shepherd

   The LORD judges self-serving shepherds, rescues His scattered sheep and places them under His promised shepherd.

3. 35
   Ezekiel 35: Edom’s lasting hostility meets the LORD’s judgment

   Edom’s hatred, violence and claim upon God’s people and land bring a corresponding judgment upon Mount Seir.

4. 36
   Ezekiel 36: The LORD cleanses His people for His holy name

   The LORD restores His people, cleanses them and gives His Spirit so that His holy name is known among the nations.

5. 37
   Ezekiel 37: The LORD gives life and gathers one people

   God raises a hopeless people to life by His Spirit and unites them under His servant David in lasting peace.

Part 10 · The final enemy defeated 38–39

1. 38
   Ezekiel 38: The LORD defeats the assault upon His people

   Gog’s vast alliance cannot overturn God’s purpose; the LORD defeats the aggressor and displays His holiness.

2. 39
   Ezekiel 39: The defeated enemy leaves a cleansed land

   The LORD destroys Gog’s power, vindicates His holy name and assures His people of restored fellowship by His Spirit.

Part 11 · A holy dwelling and living inheritance 40–48

1. 40
   Ezekiel 40: A measured sanctuary promises restored worship

   The LORD shows Ezekiel an ordered sanctuary and commands him to report the vision to the house of Israel.

2. 41
   Ezekiel 41: The sanctuary’s interior is set apart

   The measured rooms, boundaries and decoration present a sanctuary ordered for the LORD’s holy presence.

3. 42
   Ezekiel 42: Holy service has appointed places and boundaries

   The chambers and enclosing wall distinguish the sanctuary’s holy service from the common space around it.

4. 43
   Ezekiel 43: The glory returns to a holy dwelling

   The LORD fills the temple with His glory and appoints holiness and atonement for His people’s accepted worship.

5. 44
   Ezekiel 44: Faithful ministry guards the LORD’s holy house

   The LORD excludes defilement, distinguishes faithful priestly service and provides for those who minister before Him.

6. 45
   Ezekiel 45: Justice and worship belong together

   The LORD provides for holy worship and requires rulers to protect His people from oppression and dishonest dealing.

7. 46
   Ezekiel 46: Ordered worship protects the people’s inheritance

   The LORD orders the worship of prince and people while forbidding the ruler to dispossess those entrusted to him.

8. 47
   Ezekiel 47: Life flows from the sanctuary

   The LORD gives life through His sanctuary’s waters and a shared inheritance that includes resident foreigners.

9. 48
   Ezekiel 48: The LORD is there

   The restored people receive their appointed inheritance, and the city’s final name declares the LORD’s abiding presence.

See the outline of Ezekiel