The Exile: A Transition to the New Covenant – Ezekiel

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There are many thematic elements to the book of Ezekiel. For example, there are ample depictions of the glory of God which take place in different fantastic forms (see Ezekiel 1.22-28 for one instance). These can be fun to read and to ponder on, but the major reason to consider the glory of God in this context is to understand the plan of God as consistent with the whole of canon, namely the Law, the Gospels and Revelation. In this light, the primary theme of Ezekiel is the new covenant. This covenantal change took place in three major phases: the exile, the post exilic period and the coming of Christ. All of these are reoccurring elements throughout Ezekiel. There was a great need for covenantal change due to the Israelites, as well as the whole of mankind, not fulfilling their responsibility to God.

The exile was a seventy year period which was caused by Israel’s consistent effort to serve themselves in worldly ways, rather than to serve God. As part of Ezekiel’s call into the ministry God chose him for, he was tested to eat a scroll containing the woes of the people (The MacArthur Study Bible, Ez. 2.8-3.3). He succeeded in this task, whereas the Israelites failed in theirs when they forsook the Lord. The exilic period existed to remove from Israel all of the blessing which they had because of God and to remove any uncleanliness from them so that a new Israel could be established. Ezekiel was assigned the task of being a watchman over Israel in order to guarantee the remnant. He was in direct control of bringing God’s word to the people so that all would hear and some would choose to follow. This was such a critical task that God made it clear that Ezekiel was personally responsible for the non-repentance of the people if God’s word did not reach them; their blood would be on his hands (The MacArthur Study Bible, Ez. 3.16-21).

Once the exile was used to establish the remnant, Israel was freed by Cyrus King of Persia to re-inhabit the promise land (The MacArthur Study Bible, Ezra 1). The priesthood was restored to the Levitical priests, who were preserved through the line of Zadok (The MacArthur Study Bible, Ez. 48). The rest of the Levites who presided over the temple would not be allowed to serve before the Lord because they defiled the Lord’s ordinances, however they would be allowed to serve in other ways within the temple (The MacArthur Study Bible, Ez. 44:9-31). One of the most important things which was restored to them at this point was God’s divine provision of food and shelter which they did not experience in abundance during the exile (The MacArthur Study Bible, Ez. 47.1-12).

The coming of Christ is the next major significant theme. In spite of Israel’s continued lack of obedience to God, even throughout the post exilic period, God allowed them enough religious establishment for the coming of the messiah. Possibly this was a demonstration of their need for a true shepherd as described by Ezekiel. There was established one Shepherd set over the new Israel (The MacArthur Study Bible, Ez. 3.23,24). This establishment was the new covenant. Ezekiel describes the new covenant in terms of peace and provision (The MacArthur Study Bible, Ez. 34.25-31). It is known that Christ came for all, so it can be speculated that Ezekiel focused on Israel because salvation for the Gentiles was for the glory of Israel (The MacArthur Study Bible, Luke 2:32). As part of this new covenant, the shepherd makes them spiritually clean with a new heart (The MacArthur Study Bible, Ez. 36.24-32). Christians know this new heart to be the Holy Spirit, sent as a helper after the resurrection of Christ.

The exile was important for the new covenant to take place. Therefore Christ’s coming was contingent on God’s knowledge that the nation of Israel would not be obedient and therefore the will of God, Christ’s coming, would be done through the nation of Israel in spite of their disobedience. God foreknew that there would always be a remnant which would carry on the Davidic line. He also used prophets like Ezekiel to ensure that His message would be upon the people that enough would repent, that the new covenant would be established and that ultimately a New Israel, Christ and the New Covenant would be established for the Glory of God.

Works Cited
The MacArthur Study Bible: Updated New American Standard Translation. MacArthur: Thomas Nelson
Inc., 2006.