Orthodoxy. Interpretation of the Bible, book of the prophet Ezekiel I

Contents, division and origin of the book. The Prophet Ezekiel can be called a divinely inspired interpreter of the Babylonian captivity, its meaning and significance in the system of God's providence for Israel. Originally a priest taken into captivity with Jehoiachin, the prophet Ezekiel acted among the rural colonists of Jewish captives, leaving Babylon for his great co-worker, the court prophet Daniel. The result of over twenty years of activity of the prophet (and cf. 12) was his great book. But unlike Isaiah and Jeremiah, Ezekiel, a captive removed from his compatriots scattered throughout Chaldea, probably simply wrote (rather than spoke) his prophecies for dissemination among the people (): we only sometimes see him speaking directly to the people () or elders (and even then to those who came to him) (); in addition, he performed symbolic actions in front of the people, in general “his tongue was tied to the larynx and he was mute” (), opening his lips only in exceptional cases (). Therefore, in the book he often cites passages from previous writers - a technique more likely to be a writer’s than an orator’s. But in view of this, one cannot agree with the rationalist interpreters of Ezekiel that he is a writer rather than a prophet: one can prophesy in writing; and thanks to the nature of the prophetic gift, which can be called literary, the book of Ezekiel compares favorably with other prophetic books by its strict unity of content, consistency and systematicity.

Through a series of prophetic speeches, visions and symbolic actions, Ezekiel first, denouncing the wickedness of Judah, predicts the fall of Jerusalem and the final captivity of the people, and after the destruction of the kingdom, he predicts the death of the direct and indirect culprits of this destruction, the old and modern enemies of Israel (the surrounding pagan peoples), and comforts Israel bright pictures of a great future, i.e. the book naturally falls into two completely equal parts, 24 chapters each: accusatory and consoling, of which the second is almost equally divided into speeches against pagan peoples (chap. XXV-XXXII), indirectly comforting for Israel, and predictions directly comforting for him (chap. XXXIII-XLVIII). As for the particular division of the book, it is given by the prophet himself in the form of dates for his speeches. He dates his speeches by the years of Jeconiah’s captivity, which was also his captivity, and he named the following years: 5th (), 6th (), 7th (), 9th (), 10th ( ), 11th (; ; ), 12th (; ), 25th (), 27th (). Next, individual prophecies are arranged in the book in chronological order, excluding , which, obviously, is inserted into the finished book. In view of this, it is closest to assume that the book arose gradually from individual passages written in the indicated years.

Features of the book of the prophet Ezekiel are a) mystery and abundance of visions. The Prophet Ezekiel is rightly considered the founder of Jewish apocalypticism, the emergence of which was facilitated by the then bleak situation of Israel, which involuntarily directed all aspirations to the distant future, to the end of times (eschatology chapters XXXVII-XLVIII). Hence, the book of the prophet Ezekiel is filled with visions, one more majestic than the other, which impart to it an extraordinary sublimity of content (Divine revelation resorts to visions when the secret communicated to man does not fit into words and concepts). Blazh. Jerome calls the book of the prophet Ezekiel an ocean and a labyrinth of the mysteries of God (on Ezekiel XLVII). The Jews forbade those under thirty years of age from reading the first and last chapters of this book (Mishna, Schabb. I, 13b.). But with such a lofty content of the book, the Christology of the prophet Ezekiel is not rich and is significantly inferior to Isaina. This is because Ezekiel, in his prophetic contemplations, deals with only two so separated in time, but obviously close in essence, moments in the history of Israel: the era of the Babylonian captivity and the era of the final restoration of Israel at the end of time; the long intermediate period, when Israel lost the glory of God (Shekinah), which dwelt in the temple on the cherubim, and thanks to this was reduced to the level of an ordinary people, as if it did not exist for the eyes of this great Jew, although during this period something so important for all mankind happened event as the appearance of the Messiah. Therefore, the prophet Ezekiel could not speak much about the time of the first coming of the Messiah, Who became the joy of the tongues rather than of Israel, which rejected Him; his thought was more directed to the time close to the second coming, when all Israel would be saved.

A characteristic feature of the book of Eze is further b) its priestly flavor. The author's touching love for the temple, its worship and rituals (see special chapters VIII and XL-XLIV), zeal for the law and ritual purity (). c) Seal of Babylonian origin. Cherubim ch. I in many ways reminiscent of Assyro-Babylonian winged oxen and lions. XL et c. The chapters, with their artistic architectural details, take us vividly into the environment of Nebuchadnezzar’s enormous buildings. Depending on life in Babylon, which was then the center of world trade, where upper and lower Asia, Persia and India met, there is also what no prophet describes like Ezekiel, peoples and countries (Schroeder, Lange Bibelwerk, Der Propheth Jeesekiel 1873, § 7).

The syllable of the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel often amazes the reader with brilliant and lively images, having no equal in this regard. It is difficult to imagine anything more stunning than his vision of a field filled with “dry green” bones, anything more majestic than the description of the glory of God in Chapter I. anything more vivid than his picture of the port of Tire (XXVII ch.). The attack of Gog (XXIII-XXIX ch.), the blasphemous service of idols in the temple and God’s wrathful vengeance for him (VIII-XI ch.) are pictures that are not erased from memory (Trochon, La Sainte Bible, Les prophetes - Ezechiel 1684, 9) . called Ezekiel the most amazing and sublime of the prophets. Schiller (according to Richter) read Ezekiel with great pleasure and wanted to study Hebrew in order to read it in the original. Grotius compared him to Homer, and Herder called him the Jewish Shakespeare.

Nevertheless, in places the language of the prophet Ezekiel is “dark, rough, drawn out; expressions turn out to be insufficient for his rapid thoughts” (Trochon, ib). Already blessed. Jerome finds in the style of the prophet Ezekiel very little grace, but without vulgarity (letter to Paul). Smend, Bertholet (Das Buch Jesekiel 1897) and others point out the following shortcomings of Ezekiel's style. This is a writer who loves to spread, and these spreads sometimes get in the way of plasticity and force. Many stereotypical phrases (such as, for example, “I, the Lord, have said,” “you will know that I am the Lord”), which should sound especially solemn, tire the reader. The songs and allegories in which Isaiah was such a master are somewhat artificial in Ezekiel (chap. VII, XXI, XIX); Of the songs, he is quite successful only in lamentable ones; in allegories, the subject and the image are gradually mixed up, it is not carried out to the end; images turn to different sides (; ; ); often he turns to the same images (cf. chapters XVII, XIX and XXXI; XVI and XXIII). Reflection in Ezekiel prevails over intuition; he is too rational and balanced to be a poet; Moreover, his adherence to established, objective values ​​of the cult is little reconciled with poetry. – Since divine inspiration does not change a person’s natural talents, but only directs them to serve revelation, then admitting Ezekiel to the full extent of such shortcomings of style would not harm faith in his divine inspiration. But it seems that the prophet’s newest critics are making demands on him that were completely unattainable for his era. Moreover, as Bertolet says, in modern times they are realizing more and more that Ezekiel was unfairly reproached with many things that should be attributed to damage to the text.

Language The prophet Ezekiel presents many phenomena that clearly belong to a later time. Smenda takes up 2 pages with a list of Ezekiel's phrases that bear the stamp of later times. In particular, his language turns out to be heavily imbued with Aramaisms (Selle, De aramaismis libri Ez. 1890). The language of the prophet does not resist the invasion of the degenerate popular dialect. Numerous anomalies and grammatical deviations reveal the decline and intimacy of the Hebrew language and remind us that the prophet lived in a foreign country (Trochon 10). At the same time, the language of the prophet testifies to the great originality of his mind with a large number of words and expressions not found anywhere else (΄απαξ λεγομενα).

Authenticity The book of the prophet Ezekiel is not disputed even by those rationalists whose critical knife did not leave a living place in the Bible. Ewald says: “The slightest glance at the book of Ezekiel is enough to convince us that everything in it comes from the hand of Ezekiel.” DeWette agrees with him: “that Ezekiel, who usually speaks of himself in the first person, wrote everything himself, this is beyond doubt” (Trochon 7). However, isolated objections to the authenticity of the book have been made for a long time. This is, for example, what was said in 1799 by an English anonymous author of the Revue biblique against chapters XXV-XXXII, XXXV, XXXVI, XXXVIII and XXXIX. Of the newest objections to the authenticity of the book (eg Geiger, Wetzstein, Vemes), the most significant are Zunz (Gottedienstliche Vortrage der luden 1892, 165–170), who dates the book of Eze to the Persian era between 440 and 400, and Zeinecke (Geschichte des Volkes Israel II 1884,1–20), relating it to the Syrian era - 164. Both assumptions caused serious refutation in rationalistic science itself (Kuenen, Hist. - crit. Einl. II, § 64). It is curious that in St. canon, the book of Ezekiel was accepted by the Jewish synagogue not without hesitation, the reason for which was, mainly, disagreement with the Pentateuch of the rites of the future ideal temple, chapters XL-XLVIII: “if not for Ananias ben Hezekiah (a rabbi contemporary to Gamaliel, the teacher of Apostle Paul) , then the book of Ezekiel would be considered apocryphal; what did he do? They brought him 300 measures of oil and he sat down and explained it” (i.e., he sat over the explanation for so many days that 300 measures of oil burned out, Chagiga 13a; cp. Menahot 45a. Schab. 13b.). But according to Baba Batra (14b) “the men of the great synagogue (Ezra and others) wrote the book of Ezekiel, along with the 12 prophets, Daniel and Esther” (i.e., of course, they included it in the canon). – The testimony of Josephus (Ant. 10:5, 1) that Ezekiel wrote two books presents many difficulties for biblical criticism. Perhaps Joseph considers the two parts of the book to be independent: the book about the destruction of Jerusalem and the book about its restoration. It is less likely that Josephus is explained in such a way that chapters XXV-XXXII or XL-XLVIII were a separate book.

Text The books of the prophet Ezekiel are ranked, together with the text of 1 and 2 Kings, as the most damaged in the Old Testament. Although discrepancies between the Hebrew-Masoretic text and the LXX translation in the book of Ezekiel are not as frequent as in the Psalter, where they exist, they are very significant; often in both texts a completely different thought is given (see; ; and esp. -), so that the interpreter has to choose between two readings. Since the time of Hitzig (Der Plophet. Ezechiel erkiart. 1847), Western biblical scholars of all directions have considered the text LXX in the book of Ezekiel, or rather the Masoretic. Cornille says that while he was reading the book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew text, this prophet made a heavy impression on him and he could not deal with him; when he began to read it in the Greek text, “the fog that shrouded the meaning of the book began to clear and a text of unique rare beauty and majesty with a powerfully fascinating originality appeared to the amazed gaze” (Das Buch. d. Pr. Ez. 1886, 3) . Providing a smoother text in comparison with the Hebrew, the LXX translation in the book of Ezekiel is distinguished by its extraordinary accuracy, much greater than in other books, thanks to which it can be a reliable corrective to the Masoretic text.

Prophet Ezekiel and his book.

The personality of the prophet Ezekiel.

“Ezekiel” translated means “God will strengthen, give strength.”

Ezekiel was a Jerusalem priest, the son of Busius, and in his homeland belonged to the city aristocracy. He fell into Babylonian captivity with Jeconiah and the first party of Israelites consisting of 10 thousand people around 597 BC. In Babylon, he lived in the town of Tel Aviv (not far from the Babylonian city of Nippur) near the river Khobar (Kebaru), which, in fact, was not a river, but a canal. According to legend, it was dug up by Jewish settlers by order of Nebuchadnezzar and used for irrigation, channeling water from the Euphrates River through it.
In captivity he was not constrained: he had a wife (she was a great consolation to him, but she died in the 9th year of captivity - around 587. God forbade him to mourn her - 24:16-23), had his own house (3:24) , received the Jewish leaders there and conveyed to them the will of God (8:1) [Mitskevich V. Bibliology]. Also, Jews gathered in his house to talk about faith and listen to his speeches.

Around 593, in the 5th year of the captivity, Ezekiel was called to prophetic ministry (1:2), apparently at the age of 30 (Num. 4:30).

In his book, Ezekiel indicates the exact dates of events, considering the beginning of his captivity as the starting point. The last date in the book is 571 (29:17), after which, apparently, he died soon. From the book nothing more is known about the life of the prophet.

Tradition (told by St. Epiphanius of Cyprus) says that Ezekiel was a miracle worker: he delivered the settlers of Tel Aviv from the angry Chaldeans, transferring them like dry land through Chebar. And also saved me from hunger. Tradition has preserved the name of the prophet’s hometown – Sarir. In his youth (testifies St. Gregory the Theologian) Ezekiel was a servant of Jeremiah, and in Chaldea he was the teacher of Pythagoras (St. Clement of Alexandria. Stromata, 1, 304). Tradition also describes the death of the prophet: killed by the prince of his people for denouncing idolatry, buried in the tomb of Shem and Arphaxad on the banks of the Euphrates near Baghdad [A.P. Lopukhin].

Unlike many other prophets, Ezekiel's ministry took place from beginning to end outside the Holy Land.

Ezekiel was a divinely inspired interpreter of the Babylonian captivity and its meaning in the system of Divine Providence for Israel. He most likely wrote (rather than spoke) most of his prophecies for distribution to the people (2:9). Only sometimes does the prophet speak (24:6; 8:1; 14:1). But in general, “his tongue was tied to his throat and he was dumb” (3:27). Much more often he resorted to symbolic actions.

Call to ministry.

God calls Ezekiel in the 5th year of captivity, around 592 BC. The last date indicated in the book is 571 (29:17). That. The length of the prophet's ministry was about 22 years.
Ezekiel's calling is described in chapters 1-3. Here we see an incredibly complex description of what he saw on the Chebar River, namely a vision of the likeness of the Glory of God. After the vision, the Lord calls Ezekiel to serve and says: “I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a disobedient people...with a hardened face and a hard heart...” (2:3-5). A hand stretches out to him, holding a scroll, which unfolds in front of him and on which is written: “weeping, and groaning, and grief.” The prophet receives a command to eat this scroll, and he ate it, and it was “sweet as honey” in his mouth. And again the Lord turns to the prophet: “Arise and go to the house of Israel, and speak to them in My words; For you are not sent to the nations with unintelligible speech and an unknown tongue, but to the house of Israel... and the house of Israel will not listen to you... do not be afraid of them and do not be afraid of them, for they are a rebellious house” (3:4-9).

After the prophet spends seven days in amazement, the Lord says that from now on he is the guardian of the house of Israel, that he will speak and reprove. If he convicts the wicked of his sins, and he does not turn away from his sins and perishes, then the prophet is clean from his blood. But if he does not tell him the words of the Lord, and he perishes, then his blood is on the prophet, the iniquity of the sinner will turn on him. The Lord makes the fate of the prophet dependent on the fate of those people to whom he is sent, and says that the fulfillment of what is entrusted to him is beyond his power, but to speak and prophesy, i.e. he must risk his life, even without any hope of being heard [Jer. Gennady Egorov. Holy Scripture of the Old Testament].

Purpose of service.

In determining the main purpose of the ministry of the prophet Ezekiel, it is necessary to identify two periods of this ministry, for in each of them the purpose changed. The first period was before the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple: the captives considered themselves innocent, did not realize the reasons for such a severe punishment for them, and hoped for a quick end to their suffering. Here Ezekiel rebels against vain hopes, predicts the destruction of Jerusalem, and shows that the Jews themselves are to blame for their troubles.

After the fall of the city and the Temple, Ezekiel tries to console his dispirited fellow tribesmen, preaching the imminent end of captivity, the future renewal of Jerusalem and the Temple, where the Lord Himself will then be.

Ezekiel was a “sign” to Israel (24:24) in words, in deeds, and even in personal trials (like Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah). But above all, he is a visionary. Although only four visions are described in the book, they occupy a significant place (chap. 1-3, ch. 8-11, ch. 37, ch. 40-48).

The origin of the book of the prophet Ezekiel.

The book was born, obviously, throughout the entire period of the ministry of the prophet Ezekiel: during his life he “wrote” (24:2), but finally collected it no earlier than the 27th year of captivity (29:17 is the latest date of the book).

Jewish tradition says that the book was collected and published by the great synagogue.

The wise Sirach refers to Ezekiel (49:10-11 – Ezek. 13:13, 18:21, 33:14, 38:22).

The book itself contains evidence of the authorship of Ezekiel: a first-person narrative, language with signs of Aramaic influence and the presence of Jews in captivity (in historical reviews of the language of biblical writers, special features are attributed to the period of the Babylonian captivity, which are also present in the writings of Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and also in Ezekiel), the content corresponding to the modern prophet’s era.

Features of the book.

1) One of the most important features of the book - its symbolism and description of unusual visions - is visible from the first lines: chapter 1 is written in an apocalyptic style. Ezekiel is considered the founder of Jewish apocalypticism.

Apocalypse is a type of prophecy that has the following features [holy. Lev Shikhlyarov]:

Special language: symbols, hyperboles, fantastic images;

Writing in moments of greatest suffering, catastrophes, persecution of faith, when the present is so bleak that all the aspirations of people turn to the distant future and even to the end of time (eschatology chapters 37-48).

Conveying the atmosphere of expectation for the speedy end of history, God’s judgment over the nations and the visible reign of Yahweh “on earth and in heaven.”

There is an opinion that apocalyptic allegories were invented for the sake of encryption from “outsiders.”

The book of the prophet Ezekiel anticipates the so-called. apocalyptic literature of later times (Dan., Rev.), replete with mysterious symbols, peculiar speeches (33:32), contemplation of the mysteries of the Lord in a state of “rapture,” parables (20:49), symbolic actions that Ezekiel performed more often than all other prophets (4:1-5:4, 12:1-7, 21:19-23, 37:15).

2) The priestly flavor of the book: love for the Temple, worship and ritual (chap. 8 and 40-44).

3) Seal of Babylonian origin:

The language is replete with Aramaicisms, revealing the decline of the Hebrew language, which reminds us that Ezekiel lived in a foreign country;

There is a controversial opinion that Ezekiel's cherubs appear under the influence of Assyro-Babylonian winged lions and oxen.

4) Sublime style (Ezekiel is even called the “Jewish Shakespeare”).

Symbolism of speeches and actions.

The Prophet Ezekiel widely and not partially, not fragmentarily uses symbols; he brings the symbolic image to the end and reveals the most perfect knowledge of the symbolized and the symbolized. For example, knowledge of Tire and shipbuilding (chap. 27), architectural design (40:5-ch. 43), the last war and a description of the military field with the bones of the fallen (ch. 39).

Sometimes its symbols are supernatural and divinely revealed (chapter 1), so you need to be very careful in understanding them; you cannot understand the book of the prophet Ezekiel literally. According to the testimony of the blessed Jerome and Origen, among the Jews the book of Ezekiel was forbidden to be read until the age of 30.

For its mystery and symbolism, Christian interpreters called it “the ocean or labyrinth of the mysteries of God” (Blessed Jerome).

Ezekiel is “the most amazing and highest of the prophets, a contemplator and interpreter of great mysteries and visions” (St. Gregory the Theologian).

Blzh. Theodoret called the book of this prophet “the depth of prophecy.”

Among apologetic scholars, there is a point of view according to which Ezekiel deliberately introduces symbolism in order to contrast it with the Assyro-Babylonian symbolism that surrounded the Jews in captivity. Orthodox interpreters do not agree with this, arguing that the symbols and images of Ezekiel, while of a biblical nature, are written in the Old Testament language, are explained from the Old Testament, and not with the help of pagan symbols.

And the prophet’s love for symbols, manifested both in style and in speech, is most likely explained by the specifics of his listeners, who did not want to listen. Therefore, Ezekiel does not stop at any images that are unpleasant to the ear, just to distract listeners from vice, just to frighten the lawless, just to get through (chap. 4, ch. 16, ch. 23).

Canonical dignity of the book.

The canonicity of the book of the prophet Ezekiel is evidenced by:

The Wise Sirach, who mentions Ezekiel among other sacred Old Testament writers (Sir.49:10-11 = Ezek.1:4,13:13, 18:21,33:14);

New Testament: often refers to Ezekiel, in particular the Apocalypse (chap. 18-21 - Ezek. 27:38; 39; 47 and 48 ch.);

In further Christian conciliar and patristic calculations, the book of the prophet Ezekiel takes its place in the canon of Holy books;

The Jewish canon also recognizes the book of Ezekiel.

Interpretations.

Origen: only 14 homilies have survived (not translated into Russian), the rest of his works on the interpretation of Ezekiel have been lost;

St. Ephraim the Syrian interpreted the book (but not all) in a literal-historical sense;

Blzh. Theodoret interpreted, but also not the whole book, and his work was not translated into Russian;

Blzh. Jerome interpreted the entire book historically and tropologically;

St. Gregory Dvoeslov wrote a mysteriously prophetic interpretation of chapters 1-3 and 46-47.

In Russian theological literature:

Article by F. Pavlovsky-Mikhailovsky. The Life and Work of the Holy Prophet Ezekiel (1878);

Article by archim. Theodora. Holy prophet Ezekiel. (1884);

Exegetical monographs for the first chapter:
Skaballanovich (1904) and A. Rozhdestvensky (1895).

Composition.

A) Four parts [Viktor Melnik. Orthodox Ossetia]:

1) prophecy about the judgment of Jerusalem (chap. 1-24);

2) prophecy about seven pagan nations (chap. 25-32);

3) prophecies written after the fall of Jerusalem in 587 (chap. 33-39);

4) prophecy about the new Jerusalem (chap. 40-48), written in the 70s of the 6th century.

B) Three parts [P.A.Yungerov]:

1) 1-24 chapters: 1-3 chapters - calling and 4-24 - speeches delivered before the fall of Jerusalem in order to show the legality and inevitability of death;

2) chapters 25-32: speeches against foreign nations after the fall of Jerusalem, delivered in different years of Ezekiel’s life;

3) 33-48 chapters: speeches and visions about the Jewish people after the fall of Jerusalem in order to console the Jews with the promise of future theocratic gifts and benefits.

IN) Five parts [Jer. Gennady Egorov]:

1) Vocation (chap. 1-3);

2) The denunciation of the Jews and the prediction of the fall of Jerusalem (4-24);

3) Prophecies about other nations (25-32);

4) The promise of return from captivity, the giving of the New Testament (33-39);

5)Vision of a new structure of the Holy Land, Jerusalem and the Temple (40-48).

G) Researcher E. Young, in addition to dividing into parts, made a detailed analysis of the content of the chapters of each part, which can be very useful when studying the book:

1)Prophecies spoken before the fall of Jerusalem (1:1-24:27):

1:1-3:21 – introduction – vision of the Glory of the Lord in the 5th year of the captivity, about 592 BC;

3:22-27 – second vision of the Lord’s Glory;

4:1-7:27 - a symbolic image of the destruction of Jerusalem: the siege (4:1-3), punishment for sins (4:4-8), symbolism of food as the consequences of the siege, what awaits the city and what is its fault (5: 5-17), additional prophecies about punishment (chap. 6-7);

8:1-8 – divinely inspired transfer to Jerusalem and contemplation of its destruction;

9:1-11 – punishment of Jerusalem;

12:1-14:23 – The Lord leaves the city for unbelief and following false prophets;

15:1-17:24 – the inevitability and necessity of punishment;
-18:1-32 – God’s love for sinners;

19:1-14 – lamentation for the princes of Israel;

2) Prophecies against foreign nations (25:1-32:32):

Ammonites (25:1-7);

Moabites (25:8-11);

Edomites (25:12-14);

Philistines (25:15-17);

Inhabitants of Tire (26:1-28:19);

The inhabitants of Sidon (28:20-26);

Egyptians (29:1-32:32);

3) Prophecies about restoration pronounced after the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (33:1-48:35):

33:1-22 – about the New Testament, about God’s love for sinners; as well as official instructions about the prophetic mission;

34:1-31 – the time will come when the people will recognize the Lord and a true prophet will appear in their midst;

35:1-15 – devastation of Edom;

36:1-38 – revival of the Israeli people;

37:1-28 – about the prophet’s vision of a field of bones as a symbol of the resurrection of Israel and the world;

38:1-39:29 – prophecy about Gog and Magog.

Chapters 37-39 are a unified whole: after chapter 37 the question arises, can someone break the Jews' connection with God? The answer can be found in chapters 38 and 39: there will be such enemies, but the Lord will not abandon the Jews, for there is an eternal covenant with them, and God will destroy the enemies. Those. These chapters should serve as a consolation to the people.

38:8 describes the time of the appearance of enemies (as does 38:16) (cf. Acts 2:17, Heb. 1:1-2, 1 Pet. 1:20, 1 John 2:18, Jude 18). That is, when the last days come and Israel is established in its land (38:8), the promised Messiah will appear, and God’s Tabernacle will be among people (48:35), when the incarnate Son of God brings peace at the cost of the Cross, then the enemy will appear, who will try to destroy those for whom He died. But God will help you win.

The prophet Ezekiel speaks in Old Testament language, using appropriate imagery: he writes about the enemy after the promised redemption through a symbolic description of the great union that absorbed the forces of evil, playing up the contemporary union of states that sought to destroy the people of God (led by Gog). This union became a symbol of those who would oppose the Lord and His redeemed ones.

A symbol depicting the defeat of these enemies: Israel will burn the weapons of their enemies for seven years and bury their dead for seven months.

The nations united against Israel are interpreted ambiguously: perhaps Ezekiel means Gagaia (or Carchemish) when speaking of the head of the conspiracy, deriving from this name the names “Gog” and “Magog.” Perhaps these are the Moschi and Tibaren peoples. Or maybe Ethiopia, Libya, Homer (or the Cimmerians), Togarm (present-day Armenia).

Most likely, the prophet is not describing any historical event here, but simply means to comfort God's people by implying that God is much stronger than the most powerful enemy.

40:1-48:35 – a vision of the Church of God on earth, symbolically represented by the picture of the temple.
The prophet had to not only denounce, but also console. Therefore, it reminds us of the coming salvation. And being a priest, he uses the symbolism of priestly service, describing in detail the structure of the temple and worship.

This passage, like the entire book of the prophet Ezekiel, does not need to be taken literally (otherwise, say, from chapter 48 one can conclude that the temple must be outside Jerusalem).
The climax here at the end is in the words “The Lord is there.” These words express the essence of the time when God will be worshiped in truth.

The prophet does not say a word about an earthly temple in this place, about an earthly high priest: worship will be in spirit and truth.

That. here is described the messianic age when the Lord will dwell in the midst of His people. This is the place of the prophet's book - a sermon about Christ.

1)Vision of the Glory of the Lord and calling to ministry (1-3);

2) 13 diatribes against the Jews and symbolic actions depicting the fall of Jerusalem (4-24);

3) Accusatory speeches against the pagans: neighbors of the Jews (25), Tire (26-28, and in 28:13-19 the king of Tire is presented as the personification of the devil (cf. Is. 14:5-20);

4) Prophecy about Egypt (29-32);

5) Ezekiel’s new responsibilities after the fall of Jerusalem as consolation and reinforcement (33);

6) The Lord is the Shepherd of the reborn Israel (34);

7) About the punishment of Idumea;

8) About the revival of Israel (36);

9) The revival of dry bones as a prototype of the revival of Israel and the general Resurrection (37);

10) Apocalyptic prophecies about the enemies of the Church, about the extermination of the hordes of Gog (38-39, cf. Rev. 20:7);

11) About the new eternal Kingdom of God and the new temple (40-48; Rev. 21);

12) The prophecies of the last 14 chapters - about the last times - have common features with the mysterious visions of Daniel and the Apocalypse; they have not yet been fulfilled, so these passages should be interpreted with extreme caution.

Some visions, prophecies, symbolic actions.

Vision of the likeness of the Glory of God :

This was the first vision of the prophet Ezekiel. Immediately after this, God calls him to ministry. Described in the initial section of the book (chap. 1-3). The vision of the likeness of the Glory of God and the vision of the renewed Holy Land (in the final part of the book of the prophet) are extremely difficult to interpret.

This is how Bishop Sergius (Sokolov) describes what the prophet Ezekiel saw:

“The Prophet saw a large, menacing cloud moving from the north, around it there was an extraordinary radiance, inside - “like the light of a flame from the middle of a fire” and in it - the likeness of four animals with four faces and four wings and arms for each animal, with one head . The face of each was like that of a man (in front), that of a lion (on the right side), the face of a calf (on the left side), and that of an eagle (on the opposite side of the human face)” [Jer. Gennady Egorov. Holy Scripture of the Old Testament].

The prophet Ezekiel contemplates God Himself on the throne (1:26-28). Moreover, in contrast to similar visions of Isaiah (chapter 6) and Micah (the son of Iamlay - 1 Kings 22:19), the vision of the prophet Ezekiel is striking in its grandeur and symbolism.

As for the interpretation of this mysterious vision, after which the prophet Ezekiel “was amazed for seven days” (3:15), as mentioned above, one must be extremely careful and be guided by the teachings of the Church. Thus, according to the tradition of the fathers and teachers of the Church, by the four faces of animals and the eyes of unearthly chariots facing the four cardinal directions, it is customary to understand the omniscience and power of God, who rules the world through His servants - the Angels. And also the four faces are the four Evangelists.

The vault of heaven and the firmament are the firmament of heaven, which God created on the second creative day to separate the waters of heaven and earth (Gen. 1:6). The Throne of God was above or beyond this firmament. The rainbow is a symbol of God's Covenant with all mankind, not only with the Jews (Gen. 9:12).

The meaning of the vision in relation to the prophet’s contemporaries was to encourage, for the vision made it possible to realize the greatness and omnipotence of God, which is not limited by limits. This was to remind the captives that even in the land of resettlement they were under His authority and therefore must remain faithful to Him, not lose hope of salvation, keeping themselves clean from pagan wickedness. [Jer. Gennady Egorov].

The Church also sees a messianic meaning in this passage, according to which “he who sits on the throne” is the Son of God, the chariot is the Mother of God, which in church hymns is called the “chariot of the Intelligent Sun,” the “Fire-shaped chariot.”

After the vision, the Lord calls Ezekiel to serve. A hand reaches out to him, holding a scroll, which unfolds in front of him and on which is written: “weeping, and groaning, and sorrow” (2:10). The prophet receives a command to eat this scroll, and he ate it and it was “sweet as honey” in his mouth, despite the fact that such terrible words were written on this scroll.
M.N. Skaballanovich notes that in the book of the prophet Ezekiel there is a lot of material for biblical theology:

In particular, Chapter One provides important information on Christian angelology. The scientist claims that no one has spoken in such detail about cherubim;

The Prophet Ezekiel speaks about God like no one before him, revealing Him from the side of His “holiness” and transcendence. In the prophet Isaiah, God draws the heart to Himself and gives joyful hope. In the prophet Ezekiel, God makes human thought go numb before Him, but there is something sweet in this sacred horror. Also, Ezekiel is the first to so precisely distinguish between what in God is accessible to human understanding and what is not even accessible to name: chapter 1 describes God, and in 2:1 it says that the prophet saw only a vision of “the likeness of the glory of the Lord”;

The prophet Ezekiel contemplates “the radiance around God” (1:28). Skaballanovich says that only from this vision of Ezekiel is it possible to talk about God as Light;

God makes Himself known first of all as a voice, sound, indefinable by anything or anyone. The divine noise (“voice from the firmament” 1:25) is different from the noise of the appearance of the cherubim.

Philosophical and historical significance of chapter 1 of the book of the prophet Ezekiel: coverage of the Babylonian captivity as a sublime turning point in Old Testament history, which, along with the loss of paradise, the giving of the Sinai legislation and the end of the visible world, causes the appearance of God on earth, and differs from other appearances of God in that here He appears accompanied by cherubim.

Vision of the lawlessness of Jerusalem. Second Vision of the Glory of God :

The peculiarity of the book is that the prophet lives constantly in Babylon, but the action regularly takes place in Jerusalem. At the beginning of this vision, he says that the hand of the Lord took him by the hair and carried him to Jerusalem (Ezek. 8:3). There again the likeness of the glory of God appears to him. And so, he sees what is happening in the temple. He sees through a hole in the wall of the temple that in the temple, in hidden places, various animals are depicted, which were worshiped in Egypt and Assyria, he sees that there the elders of the house of Israel, known to him, perform incense for them. Then he sees how, after sunrise, these elders turn their backs to the altar of God and worship the sun. He sees women sitting at the gates of the house of the Lord and performing a ritual lament for the Canaanite god Tammuz. The prophet sees that everything is rotten from top to bottom. Then seven angels, six of whom hold weapons in their hands, and the seventh has writing instruments, go around the city: first, the one with the writing instruments marks with the letter “tav” on the forehead (i.e., a sign similar to the Cross) those who mourn about the abominations that are happening. After this, the remaining six angels, holding weapons in their hands, walk through the city and destroy all those who do not have this cross-like sign on their faces.

Then the prophet again sees the appearance of the Glory of God: as the prophet contemplates the idolaters and wicked leaders of the people, he sees the Glory of God departing from its usual place where it was supposed to dwell, between the Cherubim in the Holy of Holies. He first departs to the threshold of the temple (9:3), where he stops for a short time, then from the threshold of the temple he departs to the eastern gate (10:19) and from the middle of the city rises to the Mount of Olives, to the east of the city (11:23). Thus, the temple and Jerusalem find themselves deprived of the Glory of God. Here is a prediction of gospel events, of what will precede the establishment of the New Testament (Luke 13:34-35; Matt. 23:37). This is also the fulfillment of the Lord's warning given to Solomon and the people at the dedication of the temple (2 Chron. 7), as well as the warning of chapter 28 of Deuteronomy.

Those. the details of what will happen have already been set a long time ago, and when Ezekiel prophesies, he does not just announce something new, he recalls, sometimes literally repeating, what was said to Moses [Jer. Gennady Egorov].

Symbolic actions .

In addition to words, the prophet Ezekiel widely used preaching by deeds in his ministry. Thanks to this, his behavior bordered on foolishness, but it was a forced measure, applied by him at the command of God, when it was impossible to reach the people in any other way. His task was to convey the sad news about the upcoming long siege of Jerusalem and some of its details:

Prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem: Ezekiel places a brick in the middle of the village (chapter 4) and organizes a siege against it according to all the rules, with the construction of fortifications, a rampart, and battering machines. Then God tells him to lie first for 390 days on one side (as a sign of bearing the iniquities of the house of Israel) and 40 days on the other - for the iniquities of the house of Judah. God determines for him the measure of bread and water for these days as a sign of the measure of food in besieged Jerusalem (4:9-17).

God tells the prophet to “run the barber’s razor over the head and beard, then take the scales and divide the hair into parts. The third part shall be burned with fire in the midst of the city...the third part shall be cut up with a knife in its environs, the third part shall be scattered to the wind..." (5:1-2). This was done as a sign of what was to come for the inhabitants of Jerusalem: “a third part of you will die from the plague and perish from the city in your midst, a third part will fall by the sword in your neighborhood, and a third part I will scatter to all the winds and draw the sword after them.” (5:12).

Again the prophet hears the will of God: “go and shut yourself at home” (3:22), as a sign of the imminent siege of Jerusalem.

He breaks a hole in the wall of his house in front of everyone and takes things out - “this is a foreshadowing for the ruler in Jerusalem and for the whole house of Israel... they will go into captivity...” (12:1-16).

Proverbs.

1) Accusatory:

Jerusalem is compared to a grapevine (John 15:6), which is good for nothing, it can only be burned after harvesting, because it is of no value (chap. 15);

Chapter 16: Jerusalem is likened to a harlot, whom the Lord found abandoned as a child, “washed her with water, anointed her with oil, clothed and shod her... adorned her... But she trusted in her beauty and began to commit fornication... and the Lord for this will judge her with the judgment of adulterers... and betray her her bloody rage and jealousy...";

Chapter 23: Samaria and Jerusalem are presented as two harlot sisters.

2) Prophetic (17:22-24): the parable of the cedar tree, the top of which is King Jehoiachin, from his descendants will Christ come. And “exalted” is Mount Golgotha ​​(Blessed Theodoret).

Prophecies spoken after the fall of Jerusalem .

After the fall of Jerusalem, the prophet Ezekiel changed the direction of his preaching. Even at his calling, the Lord gave him to eat a scroll on which bitter words were written, but which turned out to be sweet to the taste (3:1-3). So in the destruction of Jerusalem, after 573, the prophet tried to show sweetness to his people: after 573, Ezekiel talks about the prospects for the future, that God did not forever reject the Jews, that he will gather them and console them with many blessings. Here are some prophecies from this period:

-Prophecy about God the Shepherd and the New Testament:

Due to the fact that the Old Testament priesthood, called to be the shepherds of God’s people, forgot about its purpose (“you did not strengthen the weak, and you did not heal the sick sheep, and you did not bandage the wounded ones... but you ruled over them with violence and cruelty. And they were scattered without a shepherd..." 34:4-5) thus says the Lord God: “I myself will seek out my sheep and look after them... I will gather them from the countries and bring them into their own land, and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel... in good pasture... and I will give them rest... Lost I will find the sheep and bring back the stolen ones...” (34:11-16). Those. through the prophet Ezekiel, God reveals Himself in the new guise of God - the Savior who forgives sins. The image of the Shepherd was supposed to make a special impression on the people of God. The fact is that sheep in the east are an object of love and care (John 10:1-18), therefore, by comparing the Jews with sheep, and declaring Himself their Shepherd (34:12), the Lord makes them understand how much He loved them and how from now on God’s relationship with His people changes: God the Shepherd is no longer the Old Testament, but something new.

“And I will make a covenant of peace with them (34:25); ...and I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be cleansed from all your filthiness...and I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; And I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone, and will give you a heart of flesh, and will put My spirit within you... and you will walk in My commandments, and you will keep My statutes and do... and you will be My people, and I will be your God..." (36:25 -28).

Here, according to researchers, the prophet foreshadows the giving of the New Testament, the result of which should be a change in man: the law will become the inner content of life, the Holy Spirit will dwell in man as in a temple [Jer. Gennady].

In the context of chapter 34 of the book of Ezekiel, John 10 sounds new: the leaders of Israel lost their functions as intermediaries, the sheep were no longer subject to them. Therefore, only spiritual blindness prevented Christ’s listeners from understanding His preaching [Jer. Gennady Egorov].

But there remained among those listening to the prophet those who did not want to believe in the promises. The answer to these people of little faith was Ezekiel's vision of the mystery of regeneration (chapter 37). This chapter is understood ambiguously in theological literature. From a historical perspective, one can see here a prophecy that the people will return to their land, and from a prophetic perspective, an image of the future Resurrection. Chapter 37:3,9-10,12-14 is a parimia, and a unique one at that: it is read at Matins (usually parimias are not allowed at Matins) of Great Saturday after the Great Doxology.

Great Battle.

In chapters 38-39, the prophet Ezekiel first introduced the theme of eschatological battle into the Holy Scriptures: at the end of times there will be a great battle of the faithful with the enemies of the Kingdom of God (Rev. 19:19). In addition to the representative meaning (i.e., such a battle should really take place), there is also a teaching here, the main idea of ​​which was well formulated by the Evangelist Matthew: “The kingdom of heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it away” (11:12).
The prophet most likely borrows the names of his enemies from legends about the warlike kings of the north: Gog - the Median king Gyges, Rosh - the king of Urartu Rusa, Meshech and Tubal - the tribes of the Caucasus and Northern Mesopotamia. They all represent a threat from distant lands.

Vision of the New Jerusalem (chapters 40-48).
This prophecy dates back to 573 (40:1). In the twenty-fifth year after our migration (40:1), the Spirit of God carried Ezekiel to Jerusalem “and set him on a very high mountain” (40:2). This mountain was not actually in Jerusalem, it is an image denoting that the ideal City of the Future is described here with the name “The Lord is there” (48:35) - i.e. there the highest goal of creation will be realized, there God will dwell with people. All the details given in the final part of the book have a hidden meaning.

From a historical perspective, these chapters were of great practical use: in the words of Jer. Gennady Egorov, the descriptions given served as instructions for those who returned from captivity when constructing a new temple and resuming worship. Ezekiel was a priest and remembered the old Temple.

But still, there is a much deeper hidden meaning here than just instructions for builders. This is a description of the Kingdom of God. It speaks of both Christ (43:10) and the return of the Glory of the Lord to the temple (43:2-4). The Revelation of John the Theologian borrows a lot from the text of Ezekiel, which means both sacred writers spoke about the same thing (for example, Rev. 4: 3-4).
The new temple has more slender forms, which indicates the harmony of the City of the Future: the outer wall is a perfect square (42:15-20) - an emblem of harmony and completeness, a cross on the four cardinal points means the universal significance of the House of God and the City.

The resurrected Old Testament Church meets the Glory of Yahweh coming from the east, from where the exiles were supposed to return. God forgives people and dwells with them again - this is a prototype of the Gospel Epiphany, but distant, because the Glory is still hidden from the eyes of people.
Service in the Temple is a reverent testimony that God is close, He, the scorching Fire, resides in the heart of the City.

Equitable distribution of land means moral principles that should underlie human life on earth (48:15-29). The Gerim (foreigners)—the converted Gentiles—will also receive equal shares (47:22).

The “prince” is deprived of the right to own all the land, his power is now limited.

The Prophet Ezekiel is considered the “father of Judaism,” the organizer of the Old Testament community. But the City of God is something more, living water (47:1-9) is the mystical-eschatological plan of Ezekiel’s teaching: not only the order of the world in justice, but also a description of the Heavenly Jerusalem (Rev. 21:16).

The waters of the Dead Sea are stripped of their destructive power (47:8) to commemorate the Spirit's victorious power over imperfect nature and evil in the human race.
The structure of the New Testament land is accompanied by a clear liturgical charter (the same in the Apocalypse: elders, throne, worship). This speaks of the exceptional importance of worship in the new Heavenly reality, which is the harmonious worship and praise of God.

Introduction.

The book of the prophet Ezekiel can confuse the average reader of the Bible with seemingly incoherent visions, an incomprehensible kaleidoscope of spinning wheels and dry bones that require interpretation. Many readers are deterred by the first "scary" impression from trying to delve into the mysteries of this book. Jerome wrote about her that she “is the ocean and labyrinth of God’s secrets.” The extraordinary forms of Ezekiel's visions reflected the immensity of Divine glory.

And they testified to the incomparable intensity of the spiritual experience of this prophet in his knowledge of the “supra-universal” God. Cloaked in mysterious symbols, Ezekiel's visions lift the veil on the secret meaning of things. It is also important to note the following. If for Jeremiah God is, as it were, an “inner voice,” and Isaiah becomes the “mouth of God” after the shock he experienced in the temple, where he was privileged to contemplate His glory (Is. 6), then Ezekiel’s spiritual experience is reflected in a whole chain of visions , in which the will of God was revealed to him. This prophet lived in constant tension from the feeling of his closeness to other worlds. His distinctive style and language undoubtedly influenced later apocalyptic writers such as Daniel and the Apostle John.

Author.

Ezekiel was “the priest, the son of Buzzi,” whose activities took place “in the land of the Chaldeans” (1:3). His name meant "God will strengthen." Apart from Jeremiah and Zechariah, only Ezekiel was both priest and prophet; all three prophesied during and after the Babylonian captivity.

Ezekiel was taken from Judah to Babylon with the first group of migrants, along with King Jeconiah, in 597 BC.

The time of Ezekiel's ministry is determined based on chronological references in the book itself (1:2; 8:1; 20:1; 24:1; 29:1,17; 30:20; 31:1; 32:1,17; 33: 21; 40:1). All his prophecies are “placed” chronologically (beginning with the “fifth year of the captivity” (1:2) and ending with the twenty-fifth year; 40:1); the exception is the prophecies in 29:1,17.

According to Ezekiel himself, he was called to serve “in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month” in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s migration to Babylon (1:1-2). Jehoiachin became king in December 597 BC, after the death of his father Jehoiakim (2 Kings 24:1-12). But he reigned for only three months, after which he was taken away from Judea by order of Nebuchadnezzar. The fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity was thus 593 BC; the fourth month was the month of Tammuz, its beginning is dated to July 27, 593.

Ezekiel's instructions, therefore, make it possible to date his entry into ministry very precisely: July 31, 593. As for the “thirtieth year” (1:1), theologians were unable to unambiguously “decipher” this mysterious-sounding number; some are inclined to see in it an indication of the age at which Ezekiel began his ministry.

The last prophecy dated by Ezekiel was spoken by him “in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month” (Ezekiel 29:17). Based on a simple calculation, it is dated to the year 571 (March 26). Thus, Ezekiel's prophetic activity spanned at least 22 years (593-571 BC).

Historical setting.

This is described in detail in the Introduction to the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah. The book of the Prophet Ezekiel was written in Babylon, under King Nebuchadnezzar. Many Jewish exiles who lived in the Chaldean kingdom realized by that time how important it was for them to preserve their religious shrines in a foreign land. The way of life and language of the Chaldeans were similar to those of the Jews, so all that connected the exiles with their homeland was their faith. They eagerly read the messages of Jeremiah, who was right in everything, as they now understood. How could they now remain faithful to their religion? God responded to this urgent need for a true spiritual director. And that was Ezekiel.

Ezekiel faced more difficult tasks than Jeremiah and the other Palestinian prophets. After all, if for Jeremiah Babylon was the “scourge of God,” then Ezekiel lived in this center of world civilization, which did not know the true God. The time had come when the Old Testament Church had to test its stability in a foreign pagan world. Ezekiel and those who listened to him had to not only not be seduced by the greatness of this world and reject its false religion, but also carry their banner of true religion along the roads of exile.

The following four features can be distinguished in the structure of the book:

1. Construction of the book on a chronological basis. This has already been discussed above. Of the major prophets, Ezekiel is the only one who so accurately observed the chronological sequence in the arrangement of his prophecies. The same principle, however, applies to the books of Haggai and Zechariah.

2. Structural and thematic “balance”. The “focus” of the first 24 chapters is the trial of Judas; the “focus” of chapters 33-48 is its future “restoration”. These two themes, which begin and end the book, are “balanced” by the one that is revealed in its central part, this is the theme of God’s judgment of other nations. The glory of God leaves the temple "as a sign" of judgment (9:3; 10:4,18-19; 11:22-25) and returns to the temple again "as a sign" of blessing (43:1-5).

3. At the “epicenter” of the story is the glory of God. This theme runs throughout the book. The nature of God, incompatible with sin, determines His actions - this idea is emphasized in Ezekiel. On the pages of his book, God repeats 15 times that He will not allow His name to be “blasphemed” (defiled, dishonored) (20:9,14,22,39,44; 36:20-23; 39:7,25; 43 :7-8). And more than 60 times He says that His actions are aimed at making people finally understand that He is the Lord (for example, 6:7,10,13-14).

4. Stylistic features of the book. They are defined by an abundance of proverbs, sayings, parables (12:22-23; 18:2-3; 16:44; chapter 17; 24:1-14), visions (chapters 1-3; 8-11; 37; 40- 48), symbolic actions (chapters 4-5; 12; 24:15-27), and allegories (chapters 16-17). Through them, Ezekiel presented his prophecies in impressive dramatic forms, in order to attract the attention of his fellow citizens and provoke a response from them.

Book outline:

I. The Trial of Judas (Chapters 1-24)

A. Ezekiel's Preparation for the Ministry (Chapters 1-3)

1. Introduction (1:1-3)

2. Visions (1:4 - 2:7)

3. Ezekiel is called to prophetic work (2:8 - 3:11)

4. The Spirit leads Ezekiel to his place of service and makes him a “watchman” for the house of Israel (3:12-27)

B. Prophecies of Reproof (chapters 4-24)

1. The disobedience of Judah and Jerusalem makes judgment necessary (chapters 4-11)

2. On the futility of false optimism (chapters 12-19)

3. The Prophet on the history of the corruption of the chosen people (chapters 20-24)

II. On the judgment of the pagan nations (chapters 25-32)

A. The Judgment of Ammon (25:1-7)

B. The Judgment of Moab (25:8-11)

C. The Judgment of Edom (25:12-14)

D. On the judgment of the land of the Philistines (25:15-17)

D. On the judgment of Tyre (26:1 - 28:19)

1. About the destruction of the city (chapter 26)

2. Lament for Tyre (chapter 27)

3. About the death of the “commander” in Tire (28:1-19)

E. On the judgment of Sidon (28:20-26)

G. About the trial of Egypt (chapters 29-32)

1. About the sin of Egypt (29:1-16)

2. Prophecy of the defeat of Egypt by Babylon (29:17-21)

3. The destruction of Egypt and its allies (30:1-19)

4. About the "dispersion among the nations" of the Egyptians (30:20-26)

5. The Prophet compares Egypt with Assyria (chapter 31)

6. Lament for Pharaoh (32:1-16)

7. About the overthrow of the Egyptian people into the underworld (32:17-32)

III. On the Blessings on Israel (Chapters 33-48)

A. New life awaits Israel (chapters 33-39)

1. Ezekiel is a watchman for the house of Israel (chapter 33)

2. Contrasting the false shepherds of Ezekiel’s contemporaries with the true Shepherd (chapter 34)

3. Prophecy of the destruction of the enemy (Edom) - chapter 35

4. About the blessings coming to Israel (chapter 36)

5. On the restoration of the people (chapter 37)

6. The Wrath of God Will Fall on Gog and Magog (Chapters 38-39)

B. On the renewal of life in Israel, all its laws and orders (chapters 40-48)

1. About the new temple (chapters 40-43)

2. About the new service of God (chapters 44-46)

3. About the new earth (chapters 47-48)

The book of the prophet Ezekiel is a prophetic book of the Old Testament. At first glance, it is a collection of incoherent visions of the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel's visions, however, are a reflection of the immensity of the glory and power of the Lord. The symbolism of the prophet's visions is a way to comprehend the mystery of things. It is through visions that Ezekiel speaks with God, in visions the will of God is revealed to him.

Visions and prophecies are placed in the book in chronological order.

Read the book of Ezekiel.

The book of Ezekiel consists of 48 vision chapters:

The prophet Ezekiel served as a priest. His prophetic activity fell during the terrible times of the Babylonian Captivity. Ezekiel was taken to Babylon with the first group of captives. It is believed that his prophetic activity lasted at least 22 years from 593 to 571. BC e.

Interpretation of the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel.

The book of the Prophet Ezekiel was written under King Nebuchadnezzar. Jewish exiles in Babylonian captivity tried to preserve their religion in a foreign land. Now they had a new understanding of the prophecies of Jeremiah, who had previously been persecuted. They needed a new prophet, which Ezekiel became.

Ezekiel lived in difficult times and found himself in a difficult situation. On the one hand, he prophesied in a foreign land and not just among pagans, but among pagans who had their own culture and quite strong state power at that time. The entire Old Testament Church had to withstand and preserve itself in these conditions. The prophet Ezekiel clearly understood the importance of his tasks:

• Save your own religion
• Oppose the religion of the pagans, which seemed attractive to many.

At the center of the work is the glorification of the glory of the Lord. The same thought is repeated more than 60 times: God says that all his actions are necessary for man to realize the power and glory of the Lord.

And the slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.

...and they will know that I am the Lord; It was not in vain that I said that I would bring such disaster upon them.

And you will know that I am the Lord when the slain lie among their idols around their altars...

Ezekiel is often called the divinely inspired interpreter of the Babylonian captivity. An interesting fact is that according to many researchers, Ezekiel rarely prophesied among the people; he wrote down the prophecies and they were read.

Literary features of the book of the prophet Ezekiel.

The peculiarity of the presentation style is that the prophet Ezekiel lived in a special world - on the edge of the unknown sacred world. His poetic language influenced apocalyptic writers, especially the work of the Apostle John.

The Book of Visions of Ezekiel has the clearest chronology of any prophetic book.

In book 2, the central themes are the judgment of the Jews (chapters 1 - 24) and the future restoration (chapters 33 - 48). Between these themes there is a third – balancing one. This is the theme of God's Judgment of other nations. Ezekiel predicts death for those responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem.

The book of Ezekiel is replete with proverbs and sayings. Many passages are in the nature of parables, visions, and allegories. The high drama of the visions did not leave the prophet’s contemporaries indifferent.

Due to the fact that the prophecies of Ezekiel were originally conceived as a literary work, and not as a speech to be pronounced, they are distinguished by their integrity and unity of form and content, as well as the consistency of their presentation.

The following style features should also be noted:

• the mystery of visions,
• priestly coloring,
• living imagery.

Summary.

Chapters 1 - 3. Introduction to the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel's first visions, he embarks on the path of prophetic work. The Spirit makes the prophet the guardian of the house of Israel.

Chapters 4 – 11. Description of the sinfulness of Judea and Jerusalem. Reasoning about the necessity and inevitability of God's judgment over the people of Israel.

Chapters 12 – 19. Reasoning that one should not have false optimism in the current situation.

Chapters 20 – 24. History of the corruption of Judea and Jerusalem.

Chapter 25. The coming judgment on Ammon, Moab, Edom and the land of the Philistines.

Chapters 26 – 28. The coming judgment of Tyre. Future destruction. Lament for Tyre. Trial of Sidon.

Chapters 29 – 32. The coming judgment on Egypt. The sinfulness of the Egyptians. Prophecy of the fall of Egypt at the hands of Babylon. The destruction of Egypt. Taking the Egyptians into captivity. The fate of Egypt and Assyria in comparison. Prophecy about Pharaoh. About the death of the Egyptians.

Chapter 33. Ezekiel about his destiny.

Chapter 34. Prophecies about false shepherds.

Chapters 35 – 37. Prophecies about the death of the enemy and the deliverance of the people.

Chapters 38 – 39. The wrath of the Lord will be directed towards Gog and Magog.

Chapters 40 – 43. Prophecy about the new temple.

Chapters 44 – 46. About a new type of ministry.

Chapters 47 – 48. About a new land for God's chosen people.