The land was awash with false gods and groaning under all kinds of social evil. The inevitable happened; God’s horrific judgment on his people started to unfold. A young Ezekiel, carried off to exile in Babylon, was commissioned by the Lord to warn of a more devastating and unthinkable judgment.
When the most traumatic event in Israel’s whole biblical history did happen – the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple – Ezekiel’s ministry took a new turn as the bulk of the displaced population joined the existing exiles. He struggled to bring some kind of meaning, comfort and hope to a shattered, decimated and totally demoralised rump of God’s people, Israel.
Chris Wright vividly explores Ezekiel’s varied and dramatic mission at several levels: his unwilting preparation for the task; the social and political background to his work; the character of his ministry as watchman, evangelist and pastor; and the wider mission context of Ezekiel’s vision – the knowledge of the Lord in Israel and amongst the nations.