Ezekiel

OBJECTIVE

• The objective of this lesson is to introduce the book of Ezekiel, overview the theme of repentance and restoration, and teach the children the various types and symbols in the book.

HOOK - 5 Minutes

• Let's begin by looking at the two attached images
  • Have your class describe the images
  • How would you react and think if you saw these visions in front of you?
  • Now what if someone explained to you that these events teach us about the glory of God presented in readying the Bible?
• Today we will be discussing the Major Prophet Ezekiel, who wrote about visions including this one, which we will discuss
• Bible Project videos on Ezekiel

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 10 Minutes

Scripture is used throughout the Lesson.

• "For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you**,** and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." (Ez. 36:24-27)
• "The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" So I answered, "O Lord God, You know." Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord Thus says the Lord God to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.'" (Ez. 37:1-14)
• "Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut. And the Lord said to me, "This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut" (Ez. 44: 1-2)

Memory Verse

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh" (Ez. 36:26)

CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 25 Minutes

Life of the Prophet Ezekiel

• While Daniel was in the royal courts of Babylon, Ezekiel lived among the exiles in Nippur, a Jewish settlement by the Kebar River near Babylon
• Ezekiel was taken captive from Judah to Babylon in 597 BC, about eight years after Daniel was taken in 605 BC
• All we know about Ezekiel was that he was married and at some point his wife died (cf. Ez. 24:18)
• God called Ezekiel to be a "watchman" (Ez. 3:17; 33:7), which meant he was warning the Jews of the danger of judgment just as a watchman would warn a city of an impending attack
• Ezekiel tried to warn the people by using unusual imagery like shaving his head and baking bread over a fire with cow dung (Ez. 4:15; 5:1)
• After the fall of Jerusalem, Ezekiel's message shifted from judgment to hope
• Therefore God gave Ezekiel a vision of a valley of dry bones springing to life with new flesh
• Although Ezekiel didn't live to see the restoration of Israel, which meant freedom from exile and building the Temple, he prophesied about it

Structure

• The Call of Ezekiel (Ez. 1-3)
• The Judgment of Jerusalem (Ez. 4-24)
• The Judgment of the Nations (Ez. 25-32)
• The Restoration of God's People (Ez. 33-39)
• The Restoration of Worship (Ez. 40-48)

Themes of Repentance and Restoration

• Throughout the book of Ezekiel, God calls His people to repent
• God speaks in this book, saying that if a wicked person turns from his evil ways, he shall live (cf. Ez. 18:21) because God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked (cf. Ez. 18:23), but that the wicked may turn from his way and live (cf. Ez. 33:11)
  • We pray this in the "Conclusion of Every Hour" of the Agpeya, in which we say "Who does not wish the death of a sinner, but rather that he returns and lives" (cf. Ez. 33:11)
  • God urges the sinner to return with gentleness and kindness, not refusing His fatherly devotion even to sinners
  • Therefore the time to repent is now, and repentance should not be delayed
• God calls us to have a new mind and new spirit to repent (cf. Ez. 18:31), which is the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit
  • Therefore God offers to give us a new heart (cf. Ez. 36:26) through the waters of baptism and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in chrismation
• His glory is present in the church, where He sanctifies us through worship and participation in the sacraments
• As the Temple would be restored and its worship would return, so too would heavenly worship be restored to humanity in Christ

Types in the Book of Ezekiel

Types of Christ

• To review, we study types of Christ within the Old Testament to learn more about Him through hidden images that weren't recognized until the coming of Christ
  • This is an example of using the New to read the Old Testament
• Ezekiel is a Type of Christ
  • He is the only prophet who is referred to as "Son of man," which is the same title Christ used to refer to Himself
  • Ezekiel is sent to the house of Israel who are in captivity to preach salvation, but he is rejected, just like Christ called the Jews to salvation but was rejected (cf. Ez. 3:4-11)

Types of Incarnation (Ez. 44:1-2)

• Ezekiel was shown a door towards the East that "shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut" (cf. Ez. 44:1-2)
  • This is a type of Virgin Mary, who remained a Virgin before, during, and after the birth of Christ

Types of Baptism (Ez. 1:1)

• Ez. 1:1 mentions the river Chebar, and the heavens were opened, and he saw visions of God
• Ez. 36:36:24-27 also points to baptism, by which we are recreated in the Image and Likeness of Christ, and by which our hearts are transformed

Resurrection (Ez. 37:1-14)

• God asked Ezekiel to prophesy to dry bones in Ez. 37:1-14, which is a type of the resurrection
  • In the Creed, we say "We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen," which is the root of every kind of good work, and is the expectation and reward to those who labor in Christ through His grace

Types of Holy Scripture

• The Four Creatures and the Four Evangelists (Ez. 1:4-14)
  • In Ez. 1:4-14, Ezekiel sees a vision of four creatures that were in the appearance of man, having four wings and four face: a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle
  • These are the same four creatures in Rev. 4:6-8 and are associated with the four Evangelists who wrote the Gospels:
    • Matthew with the man because he presents Christ as man;
    • Mark with the lion because his gospel begins with "A voice crying in the wilderness;"
    • Luke with the ox because Christ is the priest and sacrifice (and also the Gospel begins with the birth of John to priest Zachariah); and
    • John with the eagle because He speaks of the divinity of Christ
  • As the four creatures declare the glory of God, so do the evangelists present the glory of Christ who is God
• Two wheels are the unity of the Old and New Testaments (Ez. 1:16-17)
  • As Ezekiel sees the vision of the wheel within the wheel (Ez. 1:16), so the Church understands the relationship of the Old and New Testaments
    • The Old moves within the New, and the New within the Old
• Ezekiel eats the Scrolls (Ez. 2:8-3:3)
  • Ezekiel consumes a scroll, which is sweet to his mouth
  • The scroll is a symbol of the Old and New Testament, which is sweet in the mouth of Ezekiel, and which satisfies his soul
  • We are to read the entire Scripture so that we may be made full in Christ

DISCUSSION - 10 Minutes

• How does God encourage us to return to Him?
• What may discourage us from repenting or confessing our sins?
• What is the relationship between Scripture and repentance?

LIFE APPLICATION - 10 Minutes

• We read in Ez. 1:28: "...This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord."
  • The reality was that during this time, the temple in Jerusalem had been overrun with Idol worship and so the Lord chose to appear outside of the temple.
• Just like God found Ezekiel the righteous man, God also looks for the good in us and works to bring us back to Him.
• If we fall into sin or if we fall away from God, we must never think that God would reject or abandon us. He always wants us to come back to Him.

SERVANT RESOURCES

• Bible Project videos on Ezekiel
  • Overview: Ezekiel 1-33

• Overview: Ezekiel 34-48

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

• Encourage your child every night to take five minutes or so to consider their day, both the positives and the negatives, and then have your child lift these up to God in prayer
• Confession nights are good, and it's great when the servants are able to organize these, but it's good practice as parents to talk to our children confession and make an appointment with Abouna to confess

LESSON ATTACHMENTS