Ezekiel, the son of a priest so a priest himself, lived and served in the late seventh century and early sixth century B.C. He was not able to work as a priest becasue he was exiled far from Jerusalem, among upper-class Judean exiles in southern Mesopotamia. Ezekiel is outstanding in the prophetic books because of its many dated oracles, with dates given in terms of Jehoiachin's exile.
The book of Ezekiel has an apparent strong personality throughout, though during the middle of the 20th century scholars have started disputing the authorship and the individual oracles. The disputes are mostly based on the specificity of Ezekiel's prophecies and his apparent knowledge of intimate details of temple worship in Jerusalem. Other questions that frequently come up in dealing with Ezekiel is the prophet's mental health. Ezekiel seems to have extremely vivid visions and engages in rather a lot of very striking object lessons, often doing things which would make him appear insane, or at least a social outcast. Then again, we see that the prophecies of Ezekiel serve to tell people why they are outcasts.
In common with Isaiah, Zephaniah, and the LXX of Jeremiah, Ezekiel starts with oracles of judgment pertaining to his historical movement, turns to oracles against foreign nations, then concludes with prophecies of blessing. There is an extended narrative about a temple which does not coincide with any temple ever known to be constructed, presumably a heavenly temple.
Ezekiel's theological concerns are God's holiness, God's transcendence, his grace, mercy and sovereignty, and the responsibilities of individuals to repent and obey God.
As we consider the New Testament, we see that both Ezekiel and the Gospels speak to a people who are in distress, whose sins have separated them from God. The vision Ezekiel records of the water coming from the altar of God is easily related to Jesus' statements about himself providing living water. The water is seen as that which transforms and heals the world.
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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com and http://alex-kirk.blogspot.com
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