Bible Character Explorer
Exile • c. 622-570 BC (approximate)
Ezekiel
ProphetA priest called to prophesy among the exiles in Babylon, Ezekiel's vivid visions announced both judgment and the promise of a new heart and a new Spirit.
"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh."
Ezekiel 36:26 (KJV)
Overview
Ezekiel was a priest carried into exile with King Jehoiachin in 597 BC, settling among the Jewish captives by the river Chebar in Babylon. There, in the fifth year of the exile, he received an overwhelming vision of God's glory and was called to be a prophet and 'watchman' to the exiled house of Israel (Ezekiel 3:17). His early ministry announced the coming destruction of Jerusalem through dramatic sign-acts and visions, including the departure of God's glory from the Temple. After Jerusalem fell in 586 BC, his message turned toward hope: the valley of dry bones brought to life, the promise of a new heart and a new spirit, and a detailed vision of a restored Temple. Ezekiel's ministry combines priestly concern for holiness with prophetic urgency, insisting that Israel's restoration would come entirely through God's own initiative, 'not for your sakes... but for mine holy name's sake' (Ezekiel 36:22).
Gospel Connection
Ezekiel's promise of a new heart and God's own Spirit placed within his people (Ezekiel 36:26-27) is fulfilled directly in the new covenant secured by Christ's blood and poured out at Pentecost. What Ezekiel could only foretell as future hope, Jesus Christ accomplishes: a people no longer bound to an external law but transformed from within by the Spirit of God.
Discover More
See how this life points to Christ in the Gospel Connection section above.