Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• The linen waistband 13:1-11
  This is the first of several symbolic acts that Jeremiah performed to communicate divine messages (cf. 16:1-4; 18:1-12; 19:1-2, 10-11; 27:1-28:17; 32:1-15; 43:8-13; 51:59-64). Other prophets did the same thing (cf. Isa. 20:2-...
• Jeremiah's prediction of Nebuchadnezzar's invasion of Egypt 43:8-13
  43:8 The Lord continued to give prophetic messages to Jeremiah in Egypt.43:9 Yahweh instructed Jeremiah to perform another symbolic act (cf. 13:4-7; 19:1-13; 27:1-28:16; Ezek. 4:1-12; 5:1-4; 12:3-6, 18; 37:15-17). He was to h...
• A. A plea for remembrance 5:1-18
  5:1 Jeremiah called on Yahweh to remember the calamity that had befallen His people and to consider the reproach in which they now lived (cf. 3:34-36). The humbled condition of the Judahites reflected poorly on the Lord becau...
• Audience and Purpose
  Ezekiel ministered to the Jews in exile. He probably wrote this book for the benefit of the exiles and the other Jewish communities of his day and beyond his day. In some of his visions (e.g. chs. 8 and 11) the Lord carried t...
• Structure
  There are two major structural peculiarities that set Ezekiel off as distinctive.First, the book is a collection of prophecies arranged in almost consistent chronological order. No other prophetical book is as consistently ch...
• Message42
  Ezekiel began prophesying when he was 30 years old, and he had gone into captivity five years before that. Thus Ezekiel was familiar with Jeremiah's preaching and ministry. Ezekiel shows quite a bit of similarity to Jeremiah ...
• Outline
  I. Ezekiel's calling and commission chs. 1-3A. The vision of God's glory ch. 11. The setting of the vision 1:1-32. The vision proper 1:4-28B. The Lord's charge to Ezekiel chs. 2-31. The recipients of Ezekiel's ministry 2:1-52...
• 3. The nature of Ezekiel's ministry 2:8-3:11
  This pericope contains 10 commands, and it is the center of the chiasm in chapters 1-3."The Lord's charge to Ezekiel emphasized the absolute necessity of hearing, understanding, and assimilating God's message prior to going f...
• 6. Ezekiel's muteness 3:22-27
  3:22 While Ezekiel was among the exiles in Tel-abib, the Lord directed him to go out to the nearby plain where the Lord promised to speak with him (cf. ch. 1; Acts 9:6; Gal. 1:16-17).3:23 Ezekiel obeyed the Lord. While he was...
• A. Ezekiel's initial warnings chs. 4-7
  In this section, Ezekiel grouped several symbolic acts that pictured the destruction of Jerusalem (4:1-5:4) and several discourses that he delivered on the subject of Jerusalem's destruction (5:5-7:27). Most of the exiles bel...
• The hair 5:1-4
  Ezekiel was also to do something else during the time he was dramatizing the siege of Jerusalem with his model (ch. 4)."After Ezekiel represented the factof the siege (first sign [4:1-3]), the lengthof the siege (second sign ...
• The interpretation of these acts 5:5-17
  Evidently Ezekiel's verbal explanation of this drama came at the very end of the drama, at the time of the real destruction of Jerusalem. Ezekiel was no longer silent then.5:5-6 The Lord explained that the center of the drama...
• 2. The judgment coming on Judah chs. 6-7
  The Lord commanded Ezekiel to announce prophetic messages to the Jews in captivity after his time of imposed silence ended (cf. 3:26-27). In these messages the prophet elaborated some of the symbols he introduced in chapter 5...
• The destruction of pagan shrines ch. 6
  ". . . the focus of chap. 6 is on the individual responsibility of the people and prepares the way for the subsequent spoken messages."1216:1-2 The Lord directed Ezekiel to pronounce an oracle of judgment against "the mountai...
• C. Yahweh's reply to the invalid hopes of the Israelites chs. 12-19
  "The exiles had not grasped the serious consequences of Ezekiel's warnings. They still hoped for an early return to Palestine, for they viewed the continued preservation of Jerusalem and Judah as signs of security. After all,...
• The interpretation of the riddle 17:11-21
  17:11-12 Ezekiel was now to tell his rebellious hearers what this story represented.250The first eagle stood for the king of Babylon (cf. Jer. 48:40; 49:22; Dan. 7:4). His invasion of Jerusalem (the specific identity of the L...
• III. Oracles against foreign nations chs. 25--32
  It is appropriate that this section appears at this point in Ezekiel, between the messages announcing judgment on Judah and Jerusalem for sin (chs. 4-24) and the messages announcing future blessings for Israel (chs. 33-48). I...
• IV. Future blessings for Israel chs. 33--48
  "This last major division of the book focuses on the restoration of Israel's blessing. Israel would be judged for her sin (chaps. 1-24) as would the surrounding nations (chaps. 25-32). But Israel will not remain under judgmen...
• A. A warning to the exiles 33:1-20
  Since this message is undated, it may have come to Ezekiel about the same time as the previous two in chapter 32, namely, in the last month of 585 B.C. If so, Ezekiel received it about two months after God gave him the six me...
• 1. An exhortation to heed the watchman 33:1-9
  This part of Ezekiel's message of warning to the exiles is similar to 3:16-21. Yahweh recommissioned Ezekiel to his prophetic task (cf. chs. 2-3)."Now that Ezekiel's original ministry of judgment was completed, God appointed ...
• 5. Reunification in the Promised Land 37:15-28
  37:15-17 The Lord also commanded Ezekiel to take two sticks (cf. Zech. 11:7-14). He was to write on one of them "For Judah and for the sons of Israel, Judah's companions."He was to write on the other stick "For Joseph and for...
• The enemy's intention 38:10-13
  38:10-12 At that time Gog would devise an evil plan against the Israelites. He would plan to invade the Israelites while they are at rest and to plunder them. Israel would seem to be completely defenseless relying on her God ...
• C. Ezekiel's vision of the return of God's glory chs. 40-48
  The Book of Ezekiel begins with a vision of God's glory (ch. 1), records the departure of God's glory (chs. 8-11), and ends with another vision of God's glory (chs. 40-48). This is the longest vision outside the Book of Revel...
• Bibliography
  Ackroyd, Peter R. Exile and Restoration. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1968.Alexander, Ralph H. Ezekiel. Everyman's Bible Commentary series. Chicago: Moody Press, 1976._____. "Ezekiel."In Isaiah-Ezekiel. Vol. 6 of The Expo...
• II. The first series of messages of judgment and restoration: Hosea's family 1:2--2:1
  Though we know nothing of Hosea's personal life before he began prophesying, we do know about a crisis that arose in his family while he ministered. This personal tragedy and its happy ending proved to be a lesson to the peop...
• 2. The might of Zion 4:9-5:1
  One of the events that would occur before the realization of these great promises of blessing was Israel's exile, but the burden of this pericope is also future restoration.4:9 Micah, speaking for the Lord, addressed the Jews...
• 2. The second description of Nineveh's fall 2:8-13
  The second description of Nineveh's fall is more philosophical than the first one and ends with a statement by Yahweh that gives the reason for its fall (v. 13).2:8 Nineveh had been as placid as the waters around the city for...
• The smiting of the Shepherd and the scattering of the sheep 13:7-9
  13:7 Zechariah now returned in a poem to the subject of the Shepherd that he had mentioned in chapter 11. He also returned to the time when Israel would be scattered among the nations because of her rejection of the Good Shep...
• 3. Jesus' temptation 4:1-11 (cf. Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13)
  Jesus' genealogy and virgin birth prove His legal human qualification as Israel's King. His baptism was the occasion of His divine approval. His temptation demonstrated His moral fitness to reign. The natural question a thoug...
• The first trumpet 8:7
  The scene shifts again, this time from heaven to earth. This first trumpet blast signaled the beginning of a judgment that involved hail, fire (lightning?), and blood (bloodshed? cf. Exod. 9:23-26; Ezek. 38:22). This judgment...