EzekielEzekiels whose name means God will Strengthen or God Strengthens and was the son of Priest Buzi. Not all students and scholars agree that the book is in any degree a single effort of one person, for a considerable number understand it to be a composite from several sources (Harpers Bible Dictionary). Ezekiel and King Jehoiachin and 10,000 other craftsmen, military, and political leaders were taken captive by the King Nebuchandezzar and taken to Babylonia. Ezekiels call as to become prophet in Israel came in 593 BC the 30th year which probably refers to his age, and 30 was also the normal age to become a priest. Ezekiel was a man who chose to obey God. He was a priest, but he basically served as a Jewish street preacher in Babylon for 22 years.
He really just went around and tried to tell everyone that they needed to repent and obey God. God communicated to Ezekiel in visions and a vision is a miraculous revelation of Gods truth (Life Application Study Bible). The reason that the visions seem so strange to us is that they are apocalyptic and that means that he saw some symbolic pictures that vividly conveyed an idea and he took it from there (Life Application Study Bible). The first vision that Ezekiel saw was when he was called upon to become a prophet.
There was a huge cloud that flashed with lightning and was surrounded by a bright light. There were 4 living beings showed Ezekiel his first vision which was Jerusalems upcoming destruction by God for the punishment of sins. The beings that he saw were cherubim, which are powerful angelic beings created to glorify God, each had 4 faces, one of a human, one of an eagle, one of an ox and another of a lion (Life Application Study Bible). Ezekiel was angry at the attitudes and sins of the people and went into mourning for seven days which was the customary period for mourning the dead, but he was mourning the spiritually dead. Then God told Ezekiel to be the watchman for the city, but he wasnt going to be a watchman for the walls of the city but instead he was to be the spiritual watchman and warning them of the upcoming judgement. God made it to where Ezekiel could only speak when God had a message for him to deliver so that way they knew that everything he said was a message from God.
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