The Wiersbe Bible Study Series: Ezekiel: Bowing Before Our Awesome God
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The Wiersbe Bible Study Series delivers practical, in-depth guides to selected books of the Bible. Featuring insights from Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe's Be Reverent commentary, this eight-week study includes engaging questions and practical applications that will help you connect God's Word with your life.
Warren W. Wiersbe
Warren W. Wiersbe, former pastor of the Moody Church and general director of Back to the Bible, has traveled widely as a Bible teacher and conference speaker. Because of his encouragement to those in ministry, Dr. Wiersbe is often referred to as "the pastor’s pastor." He has ministered in churches and conferences throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Central and South America, and Europe. Dr. Wiersbe has written over 150 books, including the popular BE series of commentaries on every book of the Bible, which has sold more than four million copies. At the 2002 Christian Booksellers Convention, he was awarded the Gold Medallion Lifetime Achievement Award by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Dr. Wiersbe and his wife, Betty, live in Lincoln, Nebraska.
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The Wiersbe Bible Study Series - Warren W. Wiersbe
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Introduction to Ezekiel
A Lack
One thing that is lacking in the church today is a sincere reverence for the name and glory of the Lord. At least a dozen times in the book of Psalms you find the psalmist praising God’s holy name. In fact, God’s people are identified in Scripture as those who reverence God’s name (Rev. 11:18).
Associated with God’s name is God’s glory, for His name is a glorious name (1 Chron. 29:13). When God’s people glorify Him, they bring honor to His name, just as obedient children bring honor to their family name. Hallowed be your name
is the first petition in the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9), and one of the reasons God answers prayer is that His name might be glorified.
And an Answer
The messages of the prophet Ezekiel focus on the glory of God, the throne of God, and the honor of God’s name. God is called Lord GOD
(or Sovereign LORD
) over four hundred times in this book, and you find the solemn phrase I am the LORD
fifty-nine times. In all that God says and does, He has one purpose in mind: You will know that I am the LORD
(Ezek. 6:7).
When Ezekiel lived, spoke, and wrote his book, the Jewish people were captives in Babylon, and Ezekiel was there with them. He was not only a servant sent to speak to his people, but also a sign to the people (Ezek. 24:24, 27). God asked him to do many unusual things in order to get the attention of the people so they would hear the word of God. His spoken messages and his sign messages
were both needed because the people had blind eyes and hard hearts. Ezekiel was a master of metaphor and imagery.
Is the prophecy of Ezekiel a book that’s needed today? The eminent Jewish writer Elie Wiesel said, No generation could understand Ezekiel as well—as profoundly—as ours.
One thing is sure: Our generation needs the message of Ezekiel, for we are a people who lack the reverence we should have for the glory of God and the name of God.
—Warren W. Wiersbe
How to Use This Study
This study is designed for both individual and small-group use. We’ve divided it into eight lessons—each references one or more chapters in Warren W. Wiersbe’s commentary Be Reverent (second edition, David C Cook, 2010). While reading Be Reverent is not a prerequisite for going through this study, the additional insights and background Wiersbe offers can greatly enhance your study experience.
The Getting Started questions at the beginning of each lesson offer you an opportunity to record your first thoughts and reactions to the study text. This is an important step in the study process as those first impressions
often include clues about what it is your heart is longing to discover.
The bulk of the study is found in the Going Deeper questions. These dive into the Bible text and, along with helpful excerpts from Wiersbe’s commentary, help you examine not only the original context and meaning of the verses but also modern application.
Looking Inward narrows the focus down to your personal story. These intimate questions can be a bit uncomfortable at times, but don’t shy away from honesty here. This is where you are asked to stand before the mirror of God’s Word and look closely at what you see. It’s the place to take a good look at yourself in light of the lesson and search for ways in which you can grow in faith.
Going Forward is the place where you can commit to paper those things you want or need to do in order to better live out the discoveries you made in the Looking Inward section. Don’t skip or skim through this. Take the time to really consider what practical steps you might take to move closer to Christ. Then share your thoughts with a trusted friend who can act as an encourager and accountability partner.
Finally, there is a brief Seeking Help section to close the lesson. This is a reminder for you to invite God into your spiritual-growth process. If you choose to write out a prayer in this section, come back to it as you work through the lesson and continue to seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance as you discover God’s will for your life.
Tips for Small Groups
A small group is a dynamic thing. One week it might seem like a group of close-knit friends. The next it might seem more like a group of uncomfortable strangers. A small-group leader’s role is to read these subtle changes and adjust the tone of the discussion accordingly.
Small groups need to be safe places for people to talk openly. It is through shared wrestling with difficult life issues that some of the greatest personal growth is discovered. But in order for the group to feel safe, participants need to know it’s okay not to share sometimes. Always invite honest disclosure, but never force someone to speak if he or she isn’t comfortable doing so. (A savvy leader will follow up later with a group member who isn’t comfortable sharing in a group setting to see if a one-on-one discussion is more appropriate.)
Have volunteers take turns reading excerpts from Scripture or from the commentary. The more each person is involved even in the mundane tasks, the more he or she will feel comfortable opening up in more meaningful ways.
The leader should watch the clock and keep the discussion moving. Sometimes there may be more Going Deeper questions than your group can cover in your available time. If you’ve had a fruitful discussion, it’s okay to move on without finishing everything. And if you think the group is getting bogged down on a question or has taken off on a tangent, you can simply say, Let’s go on to question 5.
Be sure to save at least ten to fifteen minutes for the Going Forward questions.
Finally, soak your group meetings in prayer—before you begin, during as needed, and always at the end of your time together.
Lesson 1
The Prophet
(EZEKIEL 1—3)
Before you begin …
• Pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal truth and wisdom as you go through this lesson.
• Read Ezekiel 1—3. This lesson references chapter 1 in Be Reverent. It will be helpful for you to have your Bible and a copy of the commentary available as you work through this lesson.
Getting Started
From the Commentary
Like Jeremiah (1:2), Zechariah (1:1), and John the Baptist (Luke 1:5ff.), Ezekiel (God strengthens
) was called by God from being a priest to serving as a prophet. As God’s spokesman to the Jewish exiles in the land of Babylon, he would rebuke them for their sins and expose their idolatry, but he would also reveal the glorious future the Lord had prepared for them. He was thirty years old at the time of his call (Ezek. 1:1), the normal age for a priest to begin his ministry (Num. 4:1–3, 23).
It would have been much easier for Ezekiel to remain a priest, for priests were highly esteemed by the Jews, and a priest could read the law and learn everything he needed to know to do his work. Prophets were usually despised and persecuted. They received their messages and orders from the Lord as the occasion demanded and could never be sure what would happen next. It was dangerous to be a prophet. Most people resent being told about their sins and prefer to hear messages of cheer, not declarations of judgment.
—Be Reverent, page 13
1. Why did God choose a priest to become a prophet? What was unique about