However, his priesthood had been violently interrupted when he was taken as a captive to Babylon in the first deportation of Jews from Jerusalem in B. In Babylon, the Jewish community of exile was preoccupied with two questions: "Has God been unjust to us?
On the willows there we hung up our harps. For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, 'Sing us one of the songs of Zion! In exile in Babylon, Ezekiel receives a dramatic call from God. It is fitting that the vision in which he received his call includes political symbols such as chariot wheels Ezek. His last words in his book are the measurements of the temple.
The culture of the time during the exile was centered around fear and hope. During the exile, there was a cultural fear that things would be forgotten.
Ezekiel addressed that fear, and offered hope. He told the Israelites to keep track of the important things, because one day it might be gone. In the Book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel had a vision where he took down measurements of the temple, so that if the temple was destroyed, it could be rebuilt.
W hen Ezekiel heard the call from God to become his prophet he prophesized the destruction of the temples and the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. The Babylonian exile and the destruction of the temples made the Jewish people fear their faith would be forgotten over time due to the importance of the temple as a place to worship and make sacrifices to God.
The Israelites hoped of one day restoring the Judean Kingdom and reestablishing the Judean monarchy lead by a descendant of the royal house of David. Before the Jewish people could restore their kingdom they had to find ways to keep their faith from being forgotten. This fear of being forgotten started changes in Judaism such as making it more important to write down important aspects of Jewish culture and the building of Synagogues for prayer to temporarily replace the temple.
The challenges that Ezekiel and the Israelites faced were that of preserving their faith and culture to the best of their ability so that they might one day restore and return to Judea. Reverend David Bast reflecting on Ezekiel Ch. God has the power to renew us and those dry bones that we have can be revived with His everlasting love. However, there is still Hope for all nations! God said this during the exile and these words still resonate today.
At the beginning of the exile, the Israelites were hopeful that they would be able to return to their homes in a short period of time. Still, it took the destruction of the temple for the people to fully understand the extent of their sins. Ezekiel was then taken to a valley of dry bones in a vision. While the book of Ezekiel is a book rich with metaphors and symbolism, the vision of the dry bones is very memorable.
In the valley, Ezekiel was told by the Lord to prophesy that the skin and spirit would be returned to the bones. This symbolized that the Israelites would be forgiven, symbolizing a new hope for the people in exile. Hope is necessary in times of despair. For the Israelites, things were in despair. According to Ezekiel, men and women were rejecting the word of the Lord and instead were turning to kings who were leading the people astray. In Ezekiel , God stepped in and became the shepherd of the people.
Thus, the God in Ezekiel is an active God who will step in to shepherd his people. About us. Stay updated. Corporate Social Responsiblity. Investor Relations. Review a Brill Book. Reference Works. Primary source collections. Open Access Content. Contact us. Sales contacts. Publishing contacts. Social Media Overview.
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