The Prophet EzekielQUESTION: Who was the prophet Ezekiel?ANSWER:
Ezekiel was God's chosen man and messenger. Ezekiel proclaimed the Words of God to the children of God, the Israelites. Ezekiel was both a prophet and a priest. Ezekiel went into exile with the Israelites as decreed by King Nebuchadnezzar to the city of Babylon. Historians and scholars agree that Ezekiel was a highly intelligent man.
Ezekiel denotes a couple different meanings - God is strong, God strengthens
or God makes hard.
These namesakes explain a significant amount about Ezekiel because of the calling, anointing, and purpose God had for Ezekiel. Ezekiel needed the Lord's strength throughout all his endeavors.
Ezekiel for the most part did his priestly duties to the best of his abilities. Because the Temple was in Jerusalem, he was not able to perform many of the customary rituals as required by a priest because Ezekiel was far removed from the Temple during the exile.
Ezekiel was also a married man. He did indeed proclaim many things of the Lord to the children of Israel. God gave Ezekiel visions which he would act out that were symbolic, providing different meanings to the people of Israel. They were specifically meaningful to the great city of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel proclaimed judgments of the Lord to the Israelites because of various sin related issues and the abominable condition of Jerusalem. Ezekiel also proclaimed hope to those Israelites who were in exile. One hard part for Ezekiel involved the passing away of his wife. He could not mourn for her; God did not want him to. God's point in doing this was to be an example of not mourning because of the state of Jerusalem.
God had Ezekiel proclaim judgments on the cities that surrounded Jerusalem because of sin related issues. Ezekiel and his book end with hope, restoration, and redemption of the Israelites and of God's promised city, Jerusalem.
Ezekiel was God's chosen man. He was obedient to the Lord, and no task was too difficult for him. The Lord was his strength and He carried him through the hard times. Ezekiel had a relationship with the Lord. Ezekiel the prophet faithfully prophesied or foretold the things of the Lord. He faithfully served the Lord, pointing the way to Christ, the redeemer of humanity.