The Book of Ezekiel, Part 2 – Discussion Questions
Questions for Discussion:
What do you make of Ezekiel’s vision of the temple in Chapter 8? Clearly, Ezekiel thinks that the people who have remained are misusing the temple. What do you think?
For Ezekiel, the salvation of Israel is not to save the people for their own sake, but so that God will glorify God’s name. How does this make you feel? Why do you think Ezekiel considers the people to be so irredeemable?
What do you think about the idea of transgenerational punishment? Does it seem fair to you? Or just? Why or why not?
The Book of Ezekiel shows YHWH declaring he will effectively perform a heart surgery on Israel, and give them a new heart of flesh to replace the stone of their current hearts. How does this imagery make you feel? Is it invasive, or is it encouraging? Something else?
In the ancient world, the heart was the organ of thought, rather than the organ of feeling. Does that change the way you read parts of Ezekiel, or any other part of the Hebrew Bible, that talk about the heart?