Ezekiel study notes

Important Concepts

• The Glory of God: The visible presence of God, which departs the defiled temple and returns to a renewed one, frames the book and points to Christ, the glory of God among us.
• Judgment and the Refrain of Knowing: God’s judgments on Judah and the nations aim at a saving end — that they “know that I am the LORD” — revealing His holiness and His desire to be rightly known.
• Individual Responsibility: Ezekiel insists that each person answers to God for his own conduct, and that God delights not in the death of the wicked but in their repentance.
• The New Heart and Spirit: God’s promise to give a new heart and put His Spirit within His people is the heart of the new covenant, fulfilled in the regeneration Christ brings.
• The True Shepherd: Against false shepherds, God pledges to seek and feed His flock Himself through “my servant David,” fulfilled in Jesus the Good Shepherd.
• God’s Presence Restored: From glory departing to glory returning, and a city named “The LORD Is There,” the book moves toward the dwelling of God with His people, consummated in the new creation.

Practical Application

Ezekiel confronts us, first, with the holiness and glory of God. The prophet’s overwhelming vision, and the sobering picture of God’s glory departing a temple defiled by idolatry, teach us that God will not share His glory or be worshiped carelessly, and that hidden sins matter to Him. The book calls us to take our own idols seriously — the things we secretly bow to with our backs to God — and to be among those who “sigh and groan” over sin rather than grow comfortable with it. Its insistence on individual responsibility strips away every excuse: we cannot blame our parents, our culture, or our circumstances, for each of us must answer to God and heed His gracious plea, “Turn, and live.”

Yet Ezekiel is finally a book of astonishing hope, and it lifts our eyes to Christ. To a people spiritually dead in exile, God promised what they could never produce in themselves: a new heart, a new spirit, His own Spirit within, and resurrection life breathed into dry bones. This is the gospel — that God saves not by demanding we make ourselves new but by making us new Himself, cleansing us and giving us hearts of flesh through Christ and the Spirit. And the book’s final vision, of God’s glory returning and a city called “The LORD Is There,” assures us of the end of the whole story: the God who once seemed to abandon His people will dwell with them forever. For the believer, that promise is guaranteed in Christ, in whom God has drawn near, and it will be consummated when the dwelling of God is with man and the river of life flows freely forever.

Questions for reflection

1. Ezekiel saw hidden idolatry in the temple and God’s glory departing. What “hidden idols” might you be tempted to keep, and do you grieve over sin as he was called to?
2. God promised a new heart and His Spirit to a people who could not change themselves. How does that shape the way you understand salvation and your own transformation?
3. The book moves from glory departing to “The LORD Is There.” How does the hope of God dwelling with His people, secured in Christ, encourage you now?