Ezekiel 1:1-3--Ezekiel in Babylon

Ezekiel 1:1-3
English Standard Version

Ezekiel in Babylon
1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), 3 the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.

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We start the book of Ezekiel with Ezekiel being taken away into exile.  As he was being taken away, he had a vision.  Like Jeremiah, Ezekiel was also a priest.  He was taken into Buzi, the land of the Chaldeans, which is by the Chebar canal (where this vision occurred). We'll look at the vision next time.  However, a few more notes of introduction are probably in order before we jump into studying this book together.

Here's a link to the Introduction from the ESV Study Bible for the book of Ezekiel:  Introduction to Ezekiel | ESV.org.  A key theme of the book will be the glory of the LORD which we saw visibly represented in a visible manifestation called the Pillar of Cloud and Pillar of Fire when the children of Israel were wandering through the wilderness and this glory has rested between the cherubim of the Ark of the Covenant in both the Tabernacle and the Temple.  With the destruction of the Temple, where will the glory of the LORD reside?  Why has it departed and will it ever return?

Ezekiel will call the LORD people back to holiness and to be a people who would be under His covenant, but Ezekiel will see the need for a new a New Covenant.  He will see the need for the LORD to put His Spirit within His people if they are to live again and echoes of the New Covenant of Jeremiah are here in Ezekiel as well.  There is also a call for all people of all nations to turn to the LORD and worship Him.  He is God not just for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles that would fear Him and worship Him.  There is much prophecy in the book of Ezekiel of God-fearing Gentile nations and how they will be a blessing to the nation of Israel in the future.  There is also much about the end times, though the prophecies of Ezekiel are like he was seeing past, present and future concurrently.  Yet, this shows us much about the God who is the same yesterday, today and forever and is outside of time and has a plan for all of it, even though it is hard for us to understand the smallest slice of space-time in the present moment.  God is in sovereign over all people in all places at all times, even the pagan peoples who think they are fighting against Him, but are really doing exactly what He knows they are going to do.  Though the LORD's people still have much trial and tribulation to go through (the Tribulation is called the Time of Jacob's Trouble here), the LORD has a plan in all of it to save a people unto Himself and to bring much glory unto Himself.

Eventually, there will be no more need for an earthly Temple, because the heavenly Temple will be here on earth (this is also seen and described to the best of Ezekiel's abilities, and he, being a priest, had a special ability to describe what it was he was seeing).  Sometimes, Ezekiel will see things of the heavenly realm for which there are not appropriate words here in any earthly language.  The apostle John many centuries later would have the same issues putting into words what he saw when he had similar visions.   One day, our faith will be sight and we will know everything it was that Ezekiel and John were trying to describe to us.