Ezekiel Ezekiel, a priest and prophet, was born around 623 BC. He was probably raised in Jerusalem, and he was married (24:16-18). He went into exile in Babylon with Jehoiachin in 597 BC, where he lived by the Kebar River. He was called to be a prophet in Babylon on July 31, 593 BC (1:1). All that we know of his personal life is from the book named after him. Ezekiel often reinforced his prophetic words with strange actions, such as illustrating his message about the dire lack of food in the final siege of Jerusalem by eating food cooked over dung (4:12). Another time, he lay motionless for 430 days, one day for each year of Israel’s and Judah’s sin (4:4-7). When Ezekiel’s wife died suddenly, he was forbidden to mourn her in public (24:16-18); her death was a solemn warning of what would happen in Judah (24:15-27). Ezekiel’s strange actions were designed to grab people’s attention. At first, Ezekiel’s messages were rejected, but his prophecies were later vindicated as they began to come true and the nation was purged of idolatry. His teaching emphasized holiness, purity, resurrection, and the ritual law. His message of hope encouraged the exiles to remain faithful during t...

Temple Legislation as Theology The rabbis of Judaism spent a great deal of time seeking to harmonize the laws of Ezekiel 44–48 with the laws of the Torah. They were unsuccessful because the legislation in these chapters was no more intended to match that of Moses than the vision of the Temple building (Ezek 40–43) was designed to match the design of the Tabernacle or the Temple of Solomon. The description of the Temple regulations conveys a theological message of change, as did the earlier description of the Temple’s architecture. These regulations highlighted the need for proper separation between the Temple and the palace. The sacrificial rituals would become more numerous and more focused on purification. Holy offerings would once again be made by holy people to the holy God. These practices were completely devoted to the separation of the holy from the unholy and to the cleansing of God’s people. Since defilement of the Temple and idolatrous worship had driven the Lord out of his house (Ezek 8–11), an entirely new situation was necessary if God was to dwell once more among his people. Thus, the function of this legislation was to convict the prophet’s hearers of their pas...

Temple Architecture as Theology The Temple plan given in Ezekiel 40–43 does not seem physically buildable, nor was it intended to be. The details given in the plan are not sufficient to guide construction, as can be seen from the varying diagrams created by scholars. The materials to be used are not specified, as they were in great detail for the Tabernacle (Exod 25:10–40:33). Neither is there evidence that any attempt was made later to build the Second Temple according to this plan. Thus, Ezekiel’s plan for the Temple is evidently not a blueprint for future construction. Instead, Ezekiel’s Temple vision is a theological statement in the form of an architectural plan. The vision’s message is intended to shame Ezekiel’s generation for their past and motivate them to be faithful in the future (Ezek 43:10-12). The vision describes a new world in which boundaries between the holy and the unholy are established and standards are raised, so that God may return to his Temple to dwell among his people once again (see 10:3-4, 18; 11:22-23). Access to the realm of the holy is considerably restricted. Those who were faithful in the past are granted renewed access, while those who had be...