Equip: Resources on the Book of Ezekiel

Ezekiel is one of the more bizarre books of the Bible. Filled with psychedelic images, graphic parables and overwhelming visions of the Almighty God, this book can be a challenge to preach and teach today. Nevertheless, its message about God’s incomparable glory, faithfulness and love is an important one for the church.

Preaching and teaching Ezekiel well means recognizing its original context was one of significant crisis.

At the end of the sixth century B.C.E., after centuries of God’s people ignoring prophetic warnings that their idolatry and injustice would lead to divine discipline, God allowed the Babylonian empire to conquer Jerusalem (see Deuteronomy 28; 2 Kings 21:10–15; Micah 3; Isaiah 5).

Ezekiel was a priest and one of the Judeans exiled to Babylon. He knew firsthand the devastating consequences human sinfulness had for the whole community.

Traumatic experiences of military conquest, deportation and forced labor hover just beneath the surface of the entire book. Desperate to get the attention of his community so worse things don’t happen, Ezekiel regularly turns to shock value in his preaching.

The book unfolds in three major movements:

• Chapters 1–24 include Ezekiel’s call to prophetic ministry and lots of different ways he warned the faith community about the judgment that was coming because of their disobedience.
• Chapters 25–32 are warnings about how God rules over and will hold accountable foreign nations as well.
• Chapters 33–48 bring the good news that God will shepherd God’s people, give them a new heart, restore the dead to life and ultimately make all things right.

As it did for its first audience, the book of Ezekiel continues to challenge us to see God and God’s plans as bigger and better than we ever have imagined. It forces us to consider whether our worship is pure, and it points us to hope in God’s promises of new covenant and new life.

Here are a few resources that help us hear the message of Ezekiel more clearly.

The Message of Ezekiel: A New Heart and a New Spirit by Christopher J.H. Wright

This commentary, part of The Bible Speaks Today series, is more concerned with the meaning and message of Ezekiel than with providing an in-depth exegesis of every verse. Wright won’t get down into the weeds of the Ezekiel, but he has done significant background work in order to present the material clearly for us.

As both an Old Testament scholar and a missiologist, Wright is equipped particularly to sift through the startling language and jarring imagery of Ezekiel and draw out the good news it communicates about God.

Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries: Ezekiel by Nancy R. Bowen

The Abingdon commentaries are geared toward pastors, with each section of the biblical book receiving literary and exegetical analysis, as well as theological and ethical analysis.

Nancy Bowen’s commentary on Ezekiel is a tremendous resource for understanding the relevance of this prophetic book for a world that continues to experience violence, injustice, death and theological disorientation. And for a book of the Bible that contains some really challenging images of women, I think it is important to hear a woman’s voice as we study it.

Ezekiel: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition by Brad Kelle

I’m as Baptist as they come, and I realize this is the Baptist Standard, but Brad Kelle is one of the top Christian scholars in the world when it comes to dealing with troubling, difficult Old Testament passages. So, his Wesleyan commentary on Ezekiel is well worth taking a look at, even for Baptists.

Kelle, an ordained pastor, is an excellent guide through the violence of Ezekiel. He will help you navigate the historical context, the language of the biblical text, and the challenge of determining the theological implications of this often-neglected book.

And if you want more

More technical, in-depth commentaries on Ezekiel can get long—often splitting into multiple volumes—and costly. Because of the complexity of the book, however, these resources can be very helpful when you begin wrestling with a particularly thorny passage.

Good options for this kind of detailed, Hebrew-language based research include Daniel Block’s two volumes in the New International Commentary on the Old Testament series and Leslie Allen’s two-volume study in the Word Biblical Commentary series.

John Goldingay’s Ezekiel: Evangelical Exegetical Commentary, expected in spring 2026, I anticipate being an excellent resource (and in a single—though expensive—volume).

A note of caution

Ezekiel has some incredible messages of hope, but some of its imagery is extremely harsh. In chapters 16 and 23, for example, the prophet tells stories about sexually promiscuous women as a way to describe the unfaithfulness of God’s people. Think of a more R-rated version of the Hosea and Gomer story.

As we minister in our 21st-century contexts, we need to be aware some in our congregations may be victims of sexual violence or intimate-partner abuse. If you’re led to preach or teach these passages, do so with extreme care. We never want to put unnecessary stumbling blocks in the way of people coming into the embrace of a God who loves them unconditionally.

A note of encouragement

Ezekiel can be difficult, but it’s really a profoundly beautiful book that always reminds me—in the very best ways—God is God, and I am not.

Much of the imagery gets picked up in the Gospels (read Ezekiel 34 and John 10 together, for example) and in Revelation (where the big enemy is once more Babylon, and God’s people are now a pure, spotless bride).

My prayer is these resources will enrich your study and proclamation of Ezekiel.

Rebecca Poe Hays is associate professor of Christian Scriptures (Hebrew Bible/Old Testament) at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary. An ordained Baptist minister, she has served congregations in Tennessee, Alabama and Texas. She is married to Joshua Hays, who serves as associate pastor of First Baptist Church in Waco, and is the mother of two young children. The views expressed in this resource article are those of the author.