Jeremiah 49:34-39, 34:1-22 | Ezekiel 1-3

Please note, this entry was originally scheduled for August 13.

These prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel occur during the years of the 2nd captivity, when Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) was in exile in Babylon, but before the final siege in the days of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah.  Jeremiah remained in Jerusalem, but Ezekiel was called by God to prophesy to the children of Israel in Babylon.  He was a contemporary of Daniel, who also lived in Babylon and Persia his entire life.  Ezekial begins his prophetic ministry after being deported to Babylon, but before Jerusalem is destroyed in the final siege of Nebuchadnezzar.

These first three chapters of Ezekiel mark a very elaborate series of visions, however they are associated with his being called by God to prophesy on His command to the exiles in Babylon.  In chapter 3 God tells him that he will be held accountable for the consequences that fall upon the guilty if he fails to tell them the Word of God beforehand.

In chapter 3 Ezekiel is shown a vision of heaven, and the throne room of God, which can be compared to what Isaiah saw in chapter 6 of his book, and what the apostle John saw in Revelation 4.  The same living beings described by Ezekiel also appear in these other visions.