Some Key Chapters in the Book

Chapters 33 through 37 contain a message of restoration. The opening chapter recalls earlier passages and moves one into a new age for Israel. The prophet as watchman (33,1-9) harks back to 3, 16-21 and Ezekiel's initital call; the passage on individual retribution (33, 10-20) has relevance for chapter 18, which treats sin, guilt, and punishment; the arrival of the fugitive from Jerusalem and the end of Ezekiel's muteness (32, 22) alludes to 3, 22-27 and 24, 25-27. Ezekiel 33, 23-33 insist that salvation is reserved for those in exile who have been transformed. It anticipates 36,16-38. Chapter 34, the divine king as shepherd, stands in the tradition of referring to kings as shepherds: 2 Sm 5, 2 Mi 5,4; Jer2,8; 3,15; 23, 1-6. Ezekiel's passage in turn in fluenced Zec 11, 4-17, and together they helped to form New Testament passages on the divine shepherd like Mark 6,34 and John 10.

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Some Key Chapters in the Book

One is prepared for the concentration on Egypt by the lengthy oracles against Tyre (26-28). The placement of the oracles in this part of the book contributes to the meaning of the prophet's message in at least three ways: (1) since the Lord of all the world has judged Judah and Jerusalem, surrounding nations are affected by that judgment; (2) the punishment of the nations that persecuted Judah is the first step in the restoration of Judah, which will be announced in more positive form in chapters 33-37; (3) chapters 25 through 32 prepare for chapters 38 and 39: just as the defeat of the nations makes possible the restoration of Judah upon its land, so the defeat of all human and cosmic evil in chapters 38 and 39 makes possible the definitive kingdom in chapters 40 through 48.

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Some Key Chapters in the Book

Geographically, one would expect the list to end with the north, the direction from which the enemy of Israel at this time. Babylon, would invade. Jeremiah 25, 9 even calls Babylon the "the enemy from the north." For Ezekiel, however, Babylon is not the enemy but the instrument of the Lord's judgment, even exercising judgment against the seven nations (e.g.,Ez 26,7;19,18;30,10). Instead, the book places Egypt in the seventh and climactic arrangement. Moreover, there are seven oracles against Egypt (29-32).

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Some Key Chapters in the Book

The oracles against the foreign nations are in chapters 25 through 32, the center of the book, the same placement as Isaiah (chapters 13-27) and the Greek text of Jeremiah (25, 13; 31). Ezekiel's arrangement is careful: chapters 25-28 are oracles against six nations (Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, and Sidon), beginning with the nation directly east (Ammon) and then proceeding clockwise ending in the directrion of northwest (Sidon).

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Some Key Chapters in the Book

Unlike chapters 16 and 23, chapter 20 speaks without allegory about the people's past and future. The occasion for this essay is an inquiry to Ezkiel by some of the elders for an oracular response. Instead, the Lord tells the prophet to indict them, to make known to them the abominations of their ancestors (v.5). To indict them, he tells the history of the people in four stages: Egypt (vv.5-10), the first wilderness generation (vv. 11-17), the second wilderness generation (vv. 18-26), and in the land (vv. 27-29). Verses 30-44 are the application and consequences: God refuses again to respond to an inquiry (vv. 3-31) and then reveals a new exodus (vv32-44): "I will lead you to the desert of the peoples, where I will enter into judgment with you face to face: (v.35), and the people will finally come into the land and serve the Lord on the holy mountain (v. 40). The prophet retells the history in such a way as to take away all cause for pride. The people's task is to allow the Lord in the future to redo the Exodus so that the result will be a faithful people.

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Some Key Chapters in the Book

Furthermore, either Ezekiel or an editor in 23, 46-49 goes on to make the story a warning against all women's lewd behavior. The warning, of course, makes a legitimate point: lewd conduct is wrong in women (as well as in men). One must be careful, however, not to imply that women are usually unfaithful. In speaking about such biblical passages, it is pastorally advisable to speak of the marriage metaphor as a favored metaphor for the relationship of the Lord and Israel. The metaphor expresses a relationship that is mutual, passionate, self-giving, nurturing, and faithful.

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Some Key Chapters in the Book

Ezekiel's retellings of the story in chapters 16 and 23 can offend modern readers. Two things must be noted. First, Ezekiel has a peculiar strategy of dramatizing a reality and, to modern tastes, exaggerating it. His use of the marital metaphor for the relationship of the Lord and Israel is an example. The metaphor was at least as old as Hosea 1---3; Ezekiel makes it concrete far beyond any usage in Hosea, drawing out the personification and dwelling on its sexual aspect. Second, Ezekiel describes the infidelity of Israel as flagrant sexual misconduct: she is a prostitute and deserves to be humiliated and punished. The prophet is a child of his time, portraying the broken relationship as a woman's betrayal of a man, and the deity's act of justice as satisfying his male rage and jealousy (e.g., 16, 23-24).

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Some Key Chapters in the Book

  Other chapters of the book are long essays detailing the history of the Lord's relationship with the people---chapters 16 (the Lord's relationship with personified Jerusalem), 20 (the retelling of the Exodus), and 23 (the story of the two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, respectively Samaria and Jerusalem). In the two allegories (16 and 23), the Lord came upon helpless women and made them noble, yet they fought him every step of the way. What is the purpose of these exceedingly negative retellings of Israel's history? One must be aware that Israel found its identity by telling its national story. A comparison may be helpful. A modern person's identity arises largely from his or her own story: who one's parents were and of what social class; where one grew up, went to school, where one worked , and whom one married. If one becomes unhappy or dysfunctional, one examines one's story and seeks to find a new and more productive way of telling that story. Similarly, Ezekiel felt the people misunderstood their national story; they had to be shown that their version no longer made sense; it was not uniformly glorious as the people commonly believed. So Ezekiel retold the story in new and perverse ways. He said that the people were unfaithful from the beginning; their history gave them no reason for pride.

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