Purkey's Bible Study Outlines

KEY VERSES: Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears (Ezekiel 3:10)

INTRODUCTION:

First, In 609 B.C. the Babylonians crushed combined Assyrian and Egyptian forces at Carchemish, on the Euphrates River. Unchallenged, Babylonian armies under Nebuchadnezzar then swept southward, invading Syria-Palestine in 605 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar made Judah a vassal state (i.e., slave state), and took a number of young nobles to Babylon, including the future prophet, Daniel.

Second, Later, when Jehoiakim of Judah rebelled, Nebuchadnezzar returned with another army. He sacked Jerusalem early in 597 B.C. and took Jehoiachin, the 18-year-old successor of Jehoiakim, to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoichin’s uncle Zedekiah Judah’s ruler, and at that time deported a larger group of Judah’s upper and middle class to Babylon. This group, which included a young priest named Ezekiel, was settled in the region of Tel Aviv, along a wide canal linking two branches of the Euphrates known as the “Kebar River.”

Third, The settlers were treated as colonists rather than slaves, and enjoyed many privileges. But, encouraged by false prophets in Judah, they looked for the early downfall of Nebuchadnezzar and a quick return to their homeland. Back in Judah, Jeremiah continued to shout his strident warnings to submit to Babylon. And then, among the captives, a new prophetic voice joined in.

Fourth, In June/July of 593 B.C., Ezekiel was called by God and delivered his first message to the captives. Between 593 B.C. and the final destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., Ezekiel uttered a number of carefully dated prophetic messages predicting the judgment of Judah. After the fall of that city the prophet fell silent for a dozen years, and then resumed his ministry with a new and different message. God intended to restore Judah, and Ezekiel spoke glowingly of the glories of a future messianic kingdom.

Fifth, Ezekiel remains one of the most fascinating of prophetic books, in part because of the varied means used to communicate its message. Visions, symbols, allegories, and parables all are found in the prophet’s vital ministry. Ezekiel casts himself as a watchman, responsible to warn his community of impending doom. His book reminds Christians that we too are watchmen, called to urge others to turn to the Lord while there is still time.

A. Ezekiel Was Called To Preach To The House Of Israel.

(Ezekiel 3:4-5) And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel.

1. Ezekiel was not sent to speak to foreigners but to his own people.
2. He would not go as a missionary who has to learn a foreign tongue and a hard language -- God sent him “to the house of Israel.”

B. Ezekiel Was Called To Preach To Rebellious People.

(Ezekiel 3:6-7) Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee. But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent  and hardhearted.

1. “Ezekiel, I am sending you to a congregation that is disrespectful and in rebellion against Me. 
2. They won’t hear Me, and they are not going to hear you, either.”

C. Ezekiel Was Called To Preach The Word Of God.

(Ezekiel 3:8-9) Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

1. The Lord tells Ezekiel, “You are to go ahead and give them My Word, and I am going to make your HEAD hard.” 

INSIGHT: Now God didn’t make Jeremiah’s head hard. Jeremiah had a soft heart, and he could not stand up against all the trouble he faced. At one time Jeremiah even went to the Lord and resigned. But God wouldn’t let Jeremiah resign!

2. God says to Ezekiel, “The children of Israel are hardheaded, and I am going to make your head harder than theirs.”

D. Ezekiel Was Called To Take A Stand Against Sin.

(Ezekiel 3:10-11) 10 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears. 11 And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord God; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.

1. Two groups of exiles had already been brought to Babylon, one in 606 b.c., and another in 597 b.c.
2. Ezekiel was sent to them to show God’s justice in their being chastened.
3. The very fact of Ezekiel being sent to them indicates God’s love and compassion by pleading with them to repent and turn to God.

INSIGHT: Sometimes we hear somebody say concerning another group of people, “They are the scum of the earth.” Do you want to know what God says? He says your sin and my sin is the scum of the earth. Listen carefully: We are all in the same pot. The pot of Jerusalem is the pot of the world for you and me today. I get a little weary of all this talk about different “ethnic groups.” We’re all in the same pot, and we are the scum of the earth—that is, our sin is the scum of the earth. I don’t know how you could say it more strongly than that.

I the Lord have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord God. Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down (Ezekiel 24:14–16).

Apparently, the prophet had married a lovely, young Israelite girl, and they loved each other. But down there in captivity, she became sick and died. I imagine it was a heartbreak to Ezekiel, but again he must act a part.

Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men (Ezekiel 24:17).

God told him, “Don’t act like you’re mourning at all.” And the people didn’t understand it. The people came to Ezekiel and said, “What in the world does this mean? Your wife has died, and you are not mourning at all! What kind of man are you?”

All of this Ezekiel is doing to get a message through to the people. Verse 24 is the key to this entire Book of Ezekiel:

So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded. And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so? Then I answered them, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 21 Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword. And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another. Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord God (Ezekiel 24:18-24).

At that very moment, Jerusalem was being destroyed, and later on word came to the captives about its destruction: “And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten” (Ezek. 33:21). Into the camp came these stragglers; they must have looked terrible. They said, “We’ve escaped from the city. The false prophets were wrong. The city is burned. The temple has been leveled, and the city is debris and ashes.”

Ezekiel was right in not mourning. The reason they were not to mourn is found in verse 27.

In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the Lord (Ezekiel 24:27). 

 By J. B. Schuldt 

Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? – Ezekiel 18:31.

First, When my son acquired a small robot, he had fun programming it to perform simple tasks. He could make it move forward, stop, and then retrace its steps. He could even get it to beep and replay recorded noises. The robot did exactly what my son told it to do. It never laughed spontaneously or veered off in an unplanned direction. It had no choice. 

Second, When God created humans, He didn’t make robots.God made us in His image, and this means we can think, reason, and make decisions. We’re able to choose between right and wrong. Even if we have made a habit of disobeying God, we can decide to redirect our lives. 

Third, When the ancient Israelites found themselves in trouble with God, He spoke to them through the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel said, “Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. . . . Get a new heart and a new spirit.” (See Ezekiel 18:30–31).

Fourth, This kind of change can begin with just one choice, empowered by the Holy Spirit (See Romans 8:13). It might mean saying no at a critical moment. No more gossip. No more greed. No more jealousy. No more ___________. (You fill in the blank.) If you know Jesus, you’re not a slave to sin. You can choose to change, and with God’s help, this personal revolution can start today.

“Dear God, all things are possible with You. Through the
power of Jesus’s resurrection help me to take the first step
 toward a life of greater devotion to You.”

-- Adapted from Jennifer Benson Schuldt, Our Daily Bread, October 24

CONCLUSION: God’s Word endures after the memory of visions fades (see 2 Peter 1:16–21). Ezekiel had all the qualities that make for success in serving the Lord.

First, Ezekiel set his face to do God’s will (Ezekiel 3:4–11). Several times in the book the Lord tells him to “set his face” against something. Ezekiel depended on the hand of God to strengthen him (Ezekiel 3:12–14). He sat with the people and identified with their pain (Ezekiel 3:15), and he waited patiently for God’s Word to come to him (Ezekiel 3:16–23).

Ezekiel KNEW that he had been called at a difficult time to do a difficult work with a difficult people, and yet he obeyed the Lord. Little did he know the price he would have to pay to be a watchman, BUT HE WAS FAITHFUL!

Second, Ezekiel heard of the death of God’s city (Ezekiel 24:14- 24, 27). Ezekiel was far away in Babylon, yet he knew what was happening in Jerusalem (Amos 3:7; John 15:15). The parable of the pot (Ezekiel 11:3) revealed the city’s wickedness. As the fire of judgment grew hotter, only the scum appeared, and then the pot and everything in it were destroyed. The date was January 15, 588 B.C., when Nebuchadnezzar began the siege of Jerusalem.

The death of Ezekiel’s wife. During his years of ministry, Ezekiel had paid a price to “act out” some of his sermons (chapter 12), but none was as costly as this one. The life you live is the greatest sermon you can ever preach. The city of Jerusalem was the delight of the Jews, but she would be buried—and that was what the nation deserved.

Ezekiel told the people in the morning that his wife would die, just as he had told them for years that their beloved city would be destroyed; in the evening, his words came true.

INSIGHT: If the people wanted to mourn at all, they should have mourned over their sins and not over the loss of their city and temple. But it was too late. They should have heeded this advice: “Seek the Lord while He may be found" (Isaiah 55:6).

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: “Honor the Lord in all you do, share the Word of God with others, and put the Lord first in your life.”