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The Bible Speaks Today: Old Testament
The Message of Ezekiel: A New Heart and a New Spirit
Ezekiel comes to us as a stranger from a distant time and land. Who is this priest who, on his thirtieth birthday, has a dazzling vision of God on a wheeled throne? Who is this odd prophet who engages in outlandish street theater and speaks for God on international affairs? Who is this seer who paints murals of apocalyptic doom and then of a restored temple bursting with emblems of paradise? Are we bound to take this literally, reading prophet and newspaper side by side? Or is there a better way? Christopher Wright is a proven interpreter and communicator of the Old Testament, and in this commentary he masterfully opens our eyes to see and understand the message of Ezekiel. Ezekiel's vision of the glory of God--its departure and return--is first set within Israel's history and then in the culmination of God's promises in Christ. Embedded in the pattern of the strange, the bizarre and the wonderful is a word that still speaks to God's people today.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 2, 2001
43 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Christopher J.H. Wright
102 books206 followersChristopher J.H. Wright, (born 1947) is a Anglican clergyman and an Old Testament scholar. He is currently the director of Langham Partnership International. He was the principal of All Nations Christian College. He is an honorary member of the All Souls Church, Langham Place in London, UK.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 31, 2024
Reading the entry on Zechariah in this series took me to the entry on Revelation, which in turn took me to this commentary/exposition by Christopher Wright on Ezekiel (since John's Revelation is so redolent of Ezekiel's visions). I've read a number of Wright's books now, including his lengthy THE MISSION OF GOD and his shorter treatment of Daniel (HEARING THE MESSAGE OF DANIEL), but this was a bit different from either of those. It's more focused than the one and less popular in tone than the other. It was great to see him bring his approach to biblical theology to bear on a book of the Bible, and I really appreciated his insights. I came away feeling like I have a better grasp on a notoriously difficult work of prophecy.
The book is 368 pages, and felt much denser and with more scholarly apparatus than the ones on Zechariah and Revelation; Wright seems to engage more regularly with academic debates and to refer a lot more to other commentaries in his prose and in his footnotes. But this doesn't mean it's a dry read. Like the other entries in the series, it has a devotional purpose and is divided into logical and accessible parts. I'm not usually able to spend substantial chunks of time reading, so I'm grateful for the way the editors have chosen to format the books; it allows me to read section by section, finishing the author's thought and not leaving it hanging when I have to stop reading for the day.
There is a lot in both Ezekiel and in this treatment of Ezekiel, so it's hard to know how to write a review except to pick and choose the parts that most stood out to me. I marked a good number of passages and inserted a good number of book tabs, because there are many insightful, helpful, even thrilling sections. At a foundational level, perhaps the most helpful thing is to have Ezekiel-the-prophet contextualized for the first time (beyond just "he was an exilic prophet"). Wright is explicitly at pains to make the reader see Ezekiel as a real person and to introduce you to his lived experience as the unexpected (and, it seems from Ezek. 3:14, unhappy) vessel of God's messages of wrath and then of restoration. He wants you to see the course of Ezekiel's career among the Babylonian exiles as it unfolds prior to, during, and after the completion of the siege of Jerusalem. Ezekiel itself is such a long book, with so many different - often shocking - prophesies and visions, that it can be hard to grasp its layout just by reading it through. It was helpful to see how Wright treated the book as a whole, even something as simple as seeing how the messages of judgment lasted up to the actual fall of Jerusalem and how after that, the message finally changed to one of forgiveness and wholesale restoration.
You can't really read Ezekiel without noticing the refrain, "Then they will know that I am Yahweh." As Wright points out, the burning passion of Ezekiel-the-prophet is for Israel and the nations to know the Lord in his sovereign, just rule. Wright reflects interestingly on the fact that in this particular prophecy, there doesn't seem to be much indication that that knowledge on the part of the nations is necessarily a saving knowledge (it seems to be mainly a knowledge of God via his judgment); but we do get that side of things from other prophets, especially Isaiah, and there are sections in Ezekiel that speak of Israel sharing her restoration with some of her most despised neighbors, Sodom and Samaria (as Wright discusses in chapter 4). So there is definitely a universal dimension to God's mercy even in amidst the judgments of Ezekiel. "...in the light of the preceding insistence that the sin of Jerusalem is so depraved as to make Sodom look righteous, the point being made is more like, 'If God is able and willing to pardon and restore you, then Sodom will be no problem to him.' Humbling, shaming, disillusioning words. Yet words that are of the very essence of the gospel. The grace of God is good news for all or it is good news for none. Saved sinners don't get to select their travelling companions" (pg. 153).
There's a lot in the book of Ezekiel about God's covenant faithfulness (and grim imagery about Israel's covenant faithlessness), about his justice, and about human responsibility. I appreciated Wright's handling of the attitude of the exiles, ranging from misguided confidence in the inviolability of Jerusalem (shattered when the city eventually fell), to anger against God for allowing these things to happen, to recognition of their own sin and despair that any recovery was possible. I especially loved the point that, while Israel had always affirmed the universal sovereignty of God, He revealed that sovereignty in a new way with the exile. They thought His place was in the land and especially in the Temple; through Ezekiel's vision, we see the terrible truth of God abandoning that Temple because of His people's idolatry, but also the wonderful truth that He is present among the exiles even in the pagan land of Babylon. This extends to Ezekiel seeing the glory of God beside a Mesopotamian canal:
"As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal... Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." (Ezek. 1: 4, 28)
Wright notes that those perplexing creatures and wheels-within-wheels that Ezekiel sees are reminiscent of Mesopotamian deities, but that this vision is "transformed, mainly by the addition of wheels, hands, eyes, and the prevailing Spirit of Yahweh, into a dynamic portrayal of the sovereign, roving freedom of Yahweh. Yahweh's presence, power and glory were in Babylon..." (pg. 29). The power of the presence of the Spirit in Ezekiel, along with its promise of the outpouring of the Spirit as the basis for the restoration of God's people, is one of the most spectacular aspects of the biblical book.
The end of Ezekiel, with its picture of a restored Israel, is at once amazing and confusing. I admit I get drowned in the dimensions of the Temple. But Wright walks through these portions of Ezekiel's vision very helpfully, applying some good doses of common sense. Thus, for instance, he emphasizes that the temple vision isn't meant to be literal, it's eschatological: the Second Temple wasn't built to these specifications anyhow; the exact symmetry highlights the perfection of God's dwelling place. "...we can see that Ezekiel's temple vision pointed to a more complete fulfilment than simple the physical rebuilding of the temple by people whose human failings continued to defile it in the post-exilic period" (pg. 339). In keeping with his biblical-theology approach, Wright draws out how Jesus came as the ultimate fulfillment of this temple vision, "the messianic embodiment of the temple" (pg. 340). These passages late in Wright's book where he draws out the NT blossoming of these promises are especially lovely. He shows Jesus - NOT a future state of Israel or rebuilt physical temple! - as the goal toward which Ezekiel was pointing through "the Spirit of Christ" (I Peter 1:11), the out-poured Spirit as the river flowing from the temple for healing, and the Church as the new people of God, with the old barriers torn down and complete equality in Jesus.
Wright's devotion and love for God's Word and His people really shine through, and the book is great. If I have a quibble, it's with his tendency to slip into academic assumptions that I think are unnecessary and sometimes problematic. It is hard for academic theologians, even the most orthodox and evangelical, to avoid adopting critical theories! Sometimes he'll mention arguments in the footnotes, giving the impression of trying to avoid stepping on toes, and I wish he'd either engage head-on so I can know what he thinks or not bring it up at all. He also talks a lot about Israelite "tradition" without being clear on what he means by the word. I know he believes in the authority of Scripture, but by using the word "tradition," I think he's at risk of creating the impression that these are man-made notions concocted over a long period of time rather than the self-revelation of God. Similarly, he talks about Ezekiel drawing upon/borrowing from other prophets, like Jeremiah or Amos. I don't necessarily have a problem with that - certainly the NT writers drew upon the OT even as they were inspired by God - but it can have the effect of diminishing the reality that God was entrusting Ezekiel with a message and with visions - the same God who entrusted the other prophets with their messages and/or visions. You can come away thinking Ezekiel created the message himself. I don't really have an issue with the idea that he or someone else, likewise through divine inspiration, put together the edition of the prophecies into the book we have now; but again, we can put too much weight on the editorialization and forget the immediate nature of God's revelation to Ezekiel.
I see these as slight flaws, but I don't think they seriously detract from the value of the book as a commentary and devotional walk through the book of Ezekiel!
The book is 368 pages, and felt much denser and with more scholarly apparatus than the ones on Zechariah and Revelation; Wright seems to engage more regularly with academic debates and to refer a lot more to other commentaries in his prose and in his footnotes. But this doesn't mean it's a dry read. Like the other entries in the series, it has a devotional purpose and is divided into logical and accessible parts. I'm not usually able to spend substantial chunks of time reading, so I'm grateful for the way the editors have chosen to format the books; it allows me to read section by section, finishing the author's thought and not leaving it hanging when I have to stop reading for the day.
There is a lot in both Ezekiel and in this treatment of Ezekiel, so it's hard to know how to write a review except to pick and choose the parts that most stood out to me. I marked a good number of passages and inserted a good number of book tabs, because there are many insightful, helpful, even thrilling sections. At a foundational level, perhaps the most helpful thing is to have Ezekiel-the-prophet contextualized for the first time (beyond just "he was an exilic prophet"). Wright is explicitly at pains to make the reader see Ezekiel as a real person and to introduce you to his lived experience as the unexpected (and, it seems from Ezek. 3:14, unhappy) vessel of God's messages of wrath and then of restoration. He wants you to see the course of Ezekiel's career among the Babylonian exiles as it unfolds prior to, during, and after the completion of the siege of Jerusalem. Ezekiel itself is such a long book, with so many different - often shocking - prophesies and visions, that it can be hard to grasp its layout just by reading it through. It was helpful to see how Wright treated the book as a whole, even something as simple as seeing how the messages of judgment lasted up to the actual fall of Jerusalem and how after that, the message finally changed to one of forgiveness and wholesale restoration.
You can't really read Ezekiel without noticing the refrain, "Then they will know that I am Yahweh." As Wright points out, the burning passion of Ezekiel-the-prophet is for Israel and the nations to know the Lord in his sovereign, just rule. Wright reflects interestingly on the fact that in this particular prophecy, there doesn't seem to be much indication that that knowledge on the part of the nations is necessarily a saving knowledge (it seems to be mainly a knowledge of God via his judgment); but we do get that side of things from other prophets, especially Isaiah, and there are sections in Ezekiel that speak of Israel sharing her restoration with some of her most despised neighbors, Sodom and Samaria (as Wright discusses in chapter 4). So there is definitely a universal dimension to God's mercy even in amidst the judgments of Ezekiel. "...in the light of the preceding insistence that the sin of Jerusalem is so depraved as to make Sodom look righteous, the point being made is more like, 'If God is able and willing to pardon and restore you, then Sodom will be no problem to him.' Humbling, shaming, disillusioning words. Yet words that are of the very essence of the gospel. The grace of God is good news for all or it is good news for none. Saved sinners don't get to select their travelling companions" (pg. 153).
There's a lot in the book of Ezekiel about God's covenant faithfulness (and grim imagery about Israel's covenant faithlessness), about his justice, and about human responsibility. I appreciated Wright's handling of the attitude of the exiles, ranging from misguided confidence in the inviolability of Jerusalem (shattered when the city eventually fell), to anger against God for allowing these things to happen, to recognition of their own sin and despair that any recovery was possible. I especially loved the point that, while Israel had always affirmed the universal sovereignty of God, He revealed that sovereignty in a new way with the exile. They thought His place was in the land and especially in the Temple; through Ezekiel's vision, we see the terrible truth of God abandoning that Temple because of His people's idolatry, but also the wonderful truth that He is present among the exiles even in the pagan land of Babylon. This extends to Ezekiel seeing the glory of God beside a Mesopotamian canal:
"As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal... Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." (Ezek. 1: 4, 28)
Wright notes that those perplexing creatures and wheels-within-wheels that Ezekiel sees are reminiscent of Mesopotamian deities, but that this vision is "transformed, mainly by the addition of wheels, hands, eyes, and the prevailing Spirit of Yahweh, into a dynamic portrayal of the sovereign, roving freedom of Yahweh. Yahweh's presence, power and glory were in Babylon..." (pg. 29). The power of the presence of the Spirit in Ezekiel, along with its promise of the outpouring of the Spirit as the basis for the restoration of God's people, is one of the most spectacular aspects of the biblical book.
The end of Ezekiel, with its picture of a restored Israel, is at once amazing and confusing. I admit I get drowned in the dimensions of the Temple. But Wright walks through these portions of Ezekiel's vision very helpfully, applying some good doses of common sense. Thus, for instance, he emphasizes that the temple vision isn't meant to be literal, it's eschatological: the Second Temple wasn't built to these specifications anyhow; the exact symmetry highlights the perfection of God's dwelling place. "...we can see that Ezekiel's temple vision pointed to a more complete fulfilment than simple the physical rebuilding of the temple by people whose human failings continued to defile it in the post-exilic period" (pg. 339). In keeping with his biblical-theology approach, Wright draws out how Jesus came as the ultimate fulfillment of this temple vision, "the messianic embodiment of the temple" (pg. 340). These passages late in Wright's book where he draws out the NT blossoming of these promises are especially lovely. He shows Jesus - NOT a future state of Israel or rebuilt physical temple! - as the goal toward which Ezekiel was pointing through "the Spirit of Christ" (I Peter 1:11), the out-poured Spirit as the river flowing from the temple for healing, and the Church as the new people of God, with the old barriers torn down and complete equality in Jesus.
Wright's devotion and love for God's Word and His people really shine through, and the book is great. If I have a quibble, it's with his tendency to slip into academic assumptions that I think are unnecessary and sometimes problematic. It is hard for academic theologians, even the most orthodox and evangelical, to avoid adopting critical theories! Sometimes he'll mention arguments in the footnotes, giving the impression of trying to avoid stepping on toes, and I wish he'd either engage head-on so I can know what he thinks or not bring it up at all. He also talks a lot about Israelite "tradition" without being clear on what he means by the word. I know he believes in the authority of Scripture, but by using the word "tradition," I think he's at risk of creating the impression that these are man-made notions concocted over a long period of time rather than the self-revelation of God. Similarly, he talks about Ezekiel drawing upon/borrowing from other prophets, like Jeremiah or Amos. I don't necessarily have a problem with that - certainly the NT writers drew upon the OT even as they were inspired by God - but it can have the effect of diminishing the reality that God was entrusting Ezekiel with a message and with visions - the same God who entrusted the other prophets with their messages and/or visions. You can come away thinking Ezekiel created the message himself. I don't really have an issue with the idea that he or someone else, likewise through divine inspiration, put together the edition of the prophecies into the book we have now; but again, we can put too much weight on the editorialization and forget the immediate nature of God's revelation to Ezekiel.
I see these as slight flaws, but I don't think they seriously detract from the value of the book as a commentary and devotional walk through the book of Ezekiel!
April 14, 2020
A fantastic commentary on the book of Ezekiel.
This is my first time considering a commentary in this series, so I cannot know how exemplary or consistent it is with other volumes.
Wright does a great job of setting forth the basic message of passages in Ezekiel in context, demonstrating associations among passages, and provides very well considered applications for Christians to consider.
The material is organized somewhat according to the chapter divisions, but the author will (understandably) discuss certain sections with parallel meanings together. Thus, in the middle of Ezekiel, the reader will have to "bounce around" the commentary to find material about what they are reading. Nevertheless, most everything in Ezekiel is covered somewhere.
An essential commentary when exploring Ezekiel for preaching, teaching, and/or personal study.
This is my first time considering a commentary in this series, so I cannot know how exemplary or consistent it is with other volumes.
Wright does a great job of setting forth the basic message of passages in Ezekiel in context, demonstrating associations among passages, and provides very well considered applications for Christians to consider.
The material is organized somewhat according to the chapter divisions, but the author will (understandably) discuss certain sections with parallel meanings together. Thus, in the middle of Ezekiel, the reader will have to "bounce around" the commentary to find material about what they are reading. Nevertheless, most everything in Ezekiel is covered somewhere.
An essential commentary when exploring Ezekiel for preaching, teaching, and/or personal study.
January 25, 2020
Ezekiel is surely one of the least accessible books of the bible - the only part that is well known being the valley of the dry bones. On the whole this commentary volume does an excellent job of setting the context, of expounding the circumstances and clarifying the imagery. Christopher Wright also does an excellent job of drawing out the major themes and explaining overarching structure; and the many key ideas. Now in hindsight much of this seems obvious, but without this volume Ezekiel is opaque indeed.
Probably this series (BST- Bible Speaks Today) is designed with it in mind, but this is the only commentary that I have even considered reading cover to cover, and on the whole I am most satisfied with the result, including the ideas and interpretations that Wright's own thoughts prompted in me. Although the book is effectively a verse by verse commentary, unusually Wright has also organised by theme such that sometimes separate chapters are pulled together out of sequence and addressed together, and more peculiarly, but it actually works -a few chapters are missed or given only a cursory overview. That this works and doesn't detract, possibly is a reflection on one of the biggest accessibility issues with Ezekiel - that the prophet takes such an extended, long winded approach to all his themes. Moreover the addition of an index might have been a good idea.
However there are criticisms. If the book had sustained the insight and interest of its first half (or third), until the end it would have been easy five stars. Regrettably the pace drops off and Wright seems to simply run out of ideas. By the time he actually reaches the valley of the dry bones (ch 37) he really doesn't have anything worthwhile to add and curiously everyone - proof readers included, also seem to have run out of energy because there are two inexplicable misprints in the 'dry bones' sub headings where it refers to chapter 36 in error. Much of this important later part of Ezekiel is treated with waffle and verbiage when we are crying out for exposition.
Also there is the whole academic bias coming through in the later part. Wright has no trouble extrapolating anachronistic teaching points from Ezekiel to all manner of contemporary societal issues - including relating prophecy about economic injustices to the cost of Bill Gate's kitchen tiles. He also - and no argument here - relates Ezekiel appropriately to insights brought as to the Messiah, to the New Testament and God's overall plan for humanity. However - and this is surely a big issue - evangelical academics like Wright believe in Jesus, but perhaps don't believe in Satan, because chapter 28 with the prophecy relating to the king of Tyre has long been interpreted as the story of Satan's fall and this is relegated merely to a footnote. Similarly Ezekiel mentions Gog and Magog - also of Revelation fame, but Wright gives the most cursory dismissal to common eschatological interpretations (quite rightly perhaps) and barely anything more of his own.
The big problem is that New Testament references to the Old give ample grounds for spiritualizing and taking passages out of their original context. If ever a book was ripe for this (but little referred to in the New Testament) it is surely Ezekiel, with the above two examples as simply the most obvious. Ezekiel is a mystery which we cry out to decipher. Wright has clearly missed a trick here, or maybe he has simply buried his head in the sand through fear? It is one thing to criticise the clumsy attempts of others to do so, but if he can make conjectures about contemporary secular and church life, then he has no excuse for ignoring or not treating the weightier eschatological and spiritual issues. Surely there will never be a better opportunity missed, because Wright has simply abdicated the responsibility to the crackpot theories.
Probably this series (BST- Bible Speaks Today) is designed with it in mind, but this is the only commentary that I have even considered reading cover to cover, and on the whole I am most satisfied with the result, including the ideas and interpretations that Wright's own thoughts prompted in me. Although the book is effectively a verse by verse commentary, unusually Wright has also organised by theme such that sometimes separate chapters are pulled together out of sequence and addressed together, and more peculiarly, but it actually works -a few chapters are missed or given only a cursory overview. That this works and doesn't detract, possibly is a reflection on one of the biggest accessibility issues with Ezekiel - that the prophet takes such an extended, long winded approach to all his themes. Moreover the addition of an index might have been a good idea.
However there are criticisms. If the book had sustained the insight and interest of its first half (or third), until the end it would have been easy five stars. Regrettably the pace drops off and Wright seems to simply run out of ideas. By the time he actually reaches the valley of the dry bones (ch 37) he really doesn't have anything worthwhile to add and curiously everyone - proof readers included, also seem to have run out of energy because there are two inexplicable misprints in the 'dry bones' sub headings where it refers to chapter 36 in error. Much of this important later part of Ezekiel is treated with waffle and verbiage when we are crying out for exposition.
Also there is the whole academic bias coming through in the later part. Wright has no trouble extrapolating anachronistic teaching points from Ezekiel to all manner of contemporary societal issues - including relating prophecy about economic injustices to the cost of Bill Gate's kitchen tiles. He also - and no argument here - relates Ezekiel appropriately to insights brought as to the Messiah, to the New Testament and God's overall plan for humanity. However - and this is surely a big issue - evangelical academics like Wright believe in Jesus, but perhaps don't believe in Satan, because chapter 28 with the prophecy relating to the king of Tyre has long been interpreted as the story of Satan's fall and this is relegated merely to a footnote. Similarly Ezekiel mentions Gog and Magog - also of Revelation fame, but Wright gives the most cursory dismissal to common eschatological interpretations (quite rightly perhaps) and barely anything more of his own.
The big problem is that New Testament references to the Old give ample grounds for spiritualizing and taking passages out of their original context. If ever a book was ripe for this (but little referred to in the New Testament) it is surely Ezekiel, with the above two examples as simply the most obvious. Ezekiel is a mystery which we cry out to decipher. Wright has clearly missed a trick here, or maybe he has simply buried his head in the sand through fear? It is one thing to criticise the clumsy attempts of others to do so, but if he can make conjectures about contemporary secular and church life, then he has no excuse for ignoring or not treating the weightier eschatological and spiritual issues. Surely there will never be a better opportunity missed, because Wright has simply abdicated the responsibility to the crackpot theories.
December 18, 2023
If you needed support for the thesis that the arts should be a key piece of Christianity today, consider that Ezekiel was a prophet as performance artist, parodying human cluelessness and spotlighting the doomsday clock for Jerusalem as a street performer in Babylon. And if that isn't enough to get you curious, consider further that the book concludes with a psychedelic vision of end of the world.
Today, I'm not sure whether Ezekiel would be an influencer with millions of viewers, or be considered unredeemable lunatic, consigned to the fringes of modern society --maybe someone you'd see on a street corner and disregard out of hand. In either case, the message is loud and clear: hard times are on their way, and it's not for no reason at all.
On the contrary, Ezekiel gives some insight into the state of affairs before Babylonian exile. I'd never known that Israel sank to the depths of murdering their children as blood sacrifices to idols. But considering this and other social norms of the day, the idea of God as a purifier of the nation Israel, an intervener in history through insanely flawed leaders and political movements perhaps isn't completely uncalled for.
This is a view that is not popular today. The idea that God would work through history, through flawed people frightens readers. The idea of one nation as the "right" one scares further. But it becomes clear through a reading of Ezekiel that Israel is in spite of itself a vehicle for saving others, and that the long-view of human history is one that astonishingly includes "aliens", people not of the 12 tribes. Further, Ezekiel doesn't even rule out those on blood thirsty rampages from having their hearts turned by God for his purposes.
And if all these things are true, then there's still hope for me and for you.
Today, I'm not sure whether Ezekiel would be an influencer with millions of viewers, or be considered unredeemable lunatic, consigned to the fringes of modern society --maybe someone you'd see on a street corner and disregard out of hand. In either case, the message is loud and clear: hard times are on their way, and it's not for no reason at all.
On the contrary, Ezekiel gives some insight into the state of affairs before Babylonian exile. I'd never known that Israel sank to the depths of murdering their children as blood sacrifices to idols. But considering this and other social norms of the day, the idea of God as a purifier of the nation Israel, an intervener in history through insanely flawed leaders and political movements perhaps isn't completely uncalled for.
This is a view that is not popular today. The idea that God would work through history, through flawed people frightens readers. The idea of one nation as the "right" one scares further. But it becomes clear through a reading of Ezekiel that Israel is in spite of itself a vehicle for saving others, and that the long-view of human history is one that astonishingly includes "aliens", people not of the 12 tribes. Further, Ezekiel doesn't even rule out those on blood thirsty rampages from having their hearts turned by God for his purposes.
And if all these things are true, then there's still hope for me and for you.
November 30, 2018
One of the harder books to preach through is the book of Ezekiel, due to its prophetic style of writing. This problem is also exacerbated by the sad fact many pastors and teachers are not as well versed in the Old Testament as well as the New. One of the better commentaries on the book of Ezekiel is in the Bible Speaks Today Commentary series produced by IVP, of which the author is famed author Christopher H. Wright.
This volume in the Bible Speaks Today commentary series is unusually large. This is partially due to the size of the book of Ezekiel, but also due to the problems mentioned above. Wright spends a great deal of time and effort to explain the cultural context of each passage as well as the prophetic nature and eventual fulfillment. This volume truly is a great aid to not the the Sunday School teacher or Bible Study leader, but also to the pastor.
As with all of the volumes in the Bible Speaks Today series, the passages are dealt with section by section instead of verse by verse. While this may be a problem in some circumstances, the overall value of this volume can not be understated. Each section deals with matters that are not only pertaining to the modern day reader but to the original audience hearing the prophecy and the original audience reading it written. This is truly one of the better commentaries on the market for Ezekiel. I will mention as I usually do that for a pastor intending to preach through the book of Ezekiel, I would add a exegetical commentary along side this fantastic commentary.
This book was provided to me free of charge from IVP Publishing in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.
This volume in the Bible Speaks Today commentary series is unusually large. This is partially due to the size of the book of Ezekiel, but also due to the problems mentioned above. Wright spends a great deal of time and effort to explain the cultural context of each passage as well as the prophetic nature and eventual fulfillment. This volume truly is a great aid to not the the Sunday School teacher or Bible Study leader, but also to the pastor.
As with all of the volumes in the Bible Speaks Today series, the passages are dealt with section by section instead of verse by verse. While this may be a problem in some circumstances, the overall value of this volume can not be understated. Each section deals with matters that are not only pertaining to the modern day reader but to the original audience hearing the prophecy and the original audience reading it written. This is truly one of the better commentaries on the market for Ezekiel. I will mention as I usually do that for a pastor intending to preach through the book of Ezekiel, I would add a exegetical commentary along side this fantastic commentary.
This book was provided to me free of charge from IVP Publishing in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.
June 1, 2020
This is an excellent commentary and exposition of the Old Testament book of Ezekiel. Christopher Wright provides a much needed context for the modern reader's understanding and helpfully show's the relevance of Ezekiel's message in the context of the New Testament and for the Christian Church today. This book sheds an enormous amount of light on what can be a very obscure text for most readers today.
May 10, 2024
Do not let the length of time it took me to make my way through this book impact my feelings about it content. This was a fantastic resource that walked through both the theological and pastoral implications of the book of Ezekiel. I walk away with a greater understanding of Ezekiel’s message to the people of God and its implications for modern believers.
July 24, 2024
Clear explanations and Beautiful Inspiration
I love how Chris Wright paints beautiful word pictures to describe what is happening in Ezekiel’s life and message. And he also draws out the bigger themes of God’s work through Israel for the blessing of all nations for the sake of the name of the LORD.
I love how Chris Wright paints beautiful word pictures to describe what is happening in Ezekiel’s life and message. And he also draws out the bigger themes of God’s work through Israel for the blessing of all nations for the sake of the name of the LORD.
May 18, 2018
My favorite commentary (clear and helpful) on Ezekiel (maybe until I read Block but anyway this one is the most accessible and concise). Great attention to the context, extrabiblical resources and great "biblical theology" and intertextuality insights.
August 27, 2020
A very good companion to Ezekiel
I like to have commentaries that are well researched but also devotional. This one landed more to the scholarly side, but was also somewhat devotional. I have a bit of a problem with him calling the land Palestine.
I like to have commentaries that are well researched but also devotional. This one landed more to the scholarly side, but was also somewhat devotional. I have a bit of a problem with him calling the land Palestine.
May 12, 2021
Largest frustration: Not exhaustive in the slightest. Strange ordering too. However, it is thoughtful enough in places to be helpful in a pinch.
May 26, 2021
Very relevant for 21st Century North American church
June 25, 2022
A bit more readable than most commentaries, but still a commentary. Comes at Ezekiel from a missiological perspective. Some interesting insights.
November 11, 2023
A dense study of a complicated book. Some of this was quite hard to get through but I'm glad I persisted.
September 2, 2015
The book with the Flying Saucer
7 June 2010
This is one of a series of books (and it is a very big series by the way) that explores books of the Bible and as the name indicates this book looks at the book of Ezekial. Now, this is not the type of book that you can simply read through (though there is nothing stopping you from doing that), but rather you will need to have your Bible open as it will help you understand the message much clearly. I wanted to read this book because I wanted another, non-premillenialist, interpretation of the Gog Magog passage, but instead of going straight to that section of the book, I decided to read the whole book instead.
What did I learn from it? Well, there are lots that I could write about, but I will simply mention that Ezekial was being groomed to become a member of the priesthood when his plans were rudely interrupted by the Babylonian invasion, and instead of joining the Jewish priesthood he found himself in Exile in Babylon. Instead of being a priest, God had selected him to be a prophet (which, in those times, was not the best way to win friend's and influence people). However, in one of his visions, God takes Ezekial on a tour of the temple in Jerusalem to discover that what actually went on inside the temple, out of sight of the population, was not a religion centred on God. I guess that after seeing this, Ezekial would have been much more grateful that he did not fall into the trap that his peers did.
7 June 2010
This is one of a series of books (and it is a very big series by the way) that explores books of the Bible and as the name indicates this book looks at the book of Ezekial. Now, this is not the type of book that you can simply read through (though there is nothing stopping you from doing that), but rather you will need to have your Bible open as it will help you understand the message much clearly. I wanted to read this book because I wanted another, non-premillenialist, interpretation of the Gog Magog passage, but instead of going straight to that section of the book, I decided to read the whole book instead.
What did I learn from it? Well, there are lots that I could write about, but I will simply mention that Ezekial was being groomed to become a member of the priesthood when his plans were rudely interrupted by the Babylonian invasion, and instead of joining the Jewish priesthood he found himself in Exile in Babylon. Instead of being a priest, God had selected him to be a prophet (which, in those times, was not the best way to win friend's and influence people). However, in one of his visions, God takes Ezekial on a tour of the temple in Jerusalem to discover that what actually went on inside the temple, out of sight of the population, was not a religion centred on God. I guess that after seeing this, Ezekial would have been much more grateful that he did not fall into the trap that his peers did.
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February 19, 2009To-Read
May 5, 2021
A very helpful book.
July 28, 2016
Good commentary.
More thematic than verse by verse.
More thematic than verse by verse.
December 4, 2016
This commentary is set up thematically.
I enjoyed the commentator's retelling of the various episodes, including how Ezekiel's poor wife must have felt during some of her husbands prophetic acts.
I enjoyed the commentator's retelling of the various episodes, including how Ezekiel's poor wife must have felt during some of her husbands prophetic acts.
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