Ezekiel 4:1-27

§ 2. The Overthrow of the Jewish Kingdom Foretold (Ezekiel 4-7)

The great theme of the first part of Ezekiel’s prophetic ministry was the certainty of the complete downfall of the Jewish state. Though Zedekiah had been set on the throne by Nebuchadrezzar after the first captivity, there was no hope for the kingdom. Zedekiah’s reign was viewed by Ezekiel, as well as by Jeremiah, only as a temporary respite, to be followed by a second captivity which would bring the state to an end. Ezekiel 4-7 contain the first group of Ezekiel’s prophecies to this effect. They are to be placed between the date of his prophetic call (June-July, 592 b.c.) and that of the next group of prophecies (August-September, 591 b.c.). The present group includes a series of symbolic prophecies of the siege and captivity of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 4, 5), a prophecy against the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 6), and a description, partly in the form of a poetic lament or dirge, of the final desolation of the land (Ezekiel 7).