The First Exile_ was written after the initial Babylonian exile (586-573 B.C.), when Ezra arrived in Jerusalem and initiated reforms designed to return Israel to its former high standards of worship. In the second half of his vision, a second exile is mentioned that has to do with the persecution of a remnant of Israel who refuse to assimilate or yield to the pagan ways of Babylon. As part of the vision, Ezekiel was told that God's people will be restored to their own land and not to exile, and that among the survivors would be those who turned to God from their former idolatry. **1:2 _Son of man._** Ezekiel was given this distinctive title in 23:3, 14; 27:2; 28:3. The term was used of the pre-Israelite generic ancestor (Gen. 5:1), the firstborn of Egypt (Hos. 11:1), and, in this verse, for one like Daniel, apparently of any member of the human race, to emphasize the prophet's humanity (cf. Ezek. 17:22). In the NT it is used for Christ (Matt. 8:20; John 12:27; Heb. 2:6). It is also used in the sense of "humankind" (Acts 7:56). **_a watchman._** Ezekiel was to be a living, though symbolic, watchman for his people. He acted as the sentinel of God's people, reminding the exiles of the Lord's presence (cf. Hos. 12:6; _see note on Ezek. 3:17_ ). He was to warn of impending judgment and to praise the Lord when His people repented. **1:3 _puts a mark on a clean person_.** Ezekiel was to mark those who were faithful in the face of temptation. He marked them because God would then know them by name (cf. Dan. 6:27; Rev. 3:12). **1:4 _rebellious house_.** During the 70 years of captivity (cf. Jer. 29:1-14), the Lord's patience with Israel ran out. God was going to judge the nation for idolatry, ritual, and social sins—and it would be severe. The expression, "to make them pass under the rod," indicates God was not to use the rod but to act on His own. The rebellious house included first and foremost the nation's religious leaders, who were responsible for the people's sin (cf. 2 Sam. 7:14; Ps. 106:34; Jer. 3:20; Ezek. 34:2, 8). **1:5 _shepherds . . . owners of livestock_.** The leaders and rulers of Judah (represented by "shepherds") are condemned as if they were thieves and robbers (represented by "owners of livestock"). All leaders who claim to be good shepherds but fail to feed and care for God's flock are thieves. God Himself became a shepherd to Israel (Ezek. 34:23), and He fed them (Jer. 23:3; Zech. 11:4-17). The exiles would not have seen it, but their own shepherds had stolen and murdered their livestock. **1:6 _the people of the land_.** This refers to the land of Israel, which included all twelve tribes who lived in the north and in the land of the two kingdoms (Judah and Israel). Idolatry and social injustice were universal in Judah. **1:7 _seers . . . prophets._** Seers were diviners and interpreters of omens, seeking through various ways and methods to fathom or divine the purposes of God. The word _prophet_ occurs twenty-four times in Ezekiel, emphasizing the need for God's people to hear God's message from the prophet. **1:8 _your brothers, your own countrymen_.** This refers to idolatrous foreigners who were in the land and were a part of the society. Because they were from within the nation, they were more dangerous than any Gentile from outside who might invade (cf. Jer. 3:1; 7:23; 9:16; Zech. 7:13; 8:19). The fact that they might have been part of the nation and had family ties made them all the more dangerous. **1:9-10 _the proclamation . . . against . . . Jerusalem._** In a visionary panorama, Ezekiel saw the invader coming from the north (v. 1) and surrounding Israel's capital, Jerusalem. The invading armies were like four winds—hot (most likely referring to desert peoples), southern, western, and eastern. Their combined attack left no escape, and they took captives with them to Babylon (vv. 11-14). **1:11 _siege ramps . . . shields_.** God graphically demonstrated to Ezekiel the impossibility of escape. When an enemy attacked Jerusalem by siege, these devices allowed them to scale the wall and get inside the city. Ezekiel used similar graphic language to describe the invaders' approach to Jerusalem in 37:16-17. Ezekiel used these siege ramps and shields to show the people that God was using the invader to discipline His people. The city would be taken by storm rather than surrender. God Himself would deliver His people. The prophet called this vision _marzeah_ , meaning a warlike act of God in judgment ( _see note on Ezek. 33:21_ ). **1:12-13 _sword is against . . . they will fall._** The vision showed that Jerusalem would be completely taken, leaving no survivors ( _see note on Ezek. 3:12_ ). No one would escape the siege; all the warriors would die. Some of the prophets had suggested that Babylon's fall would result in the salvation of Judah (Jer. 27:8; _see notes on Jer. 50–51_ ). But there would be no salvation for Jerusalem in 586 B.C. A remnant was to be delivered, however (v. 14), and God would fulfill His promises to Abraham that He would make a great nation of the remnant (Gen. 12:1-3). **1:14 _they will know that I am the L ORD._** God's response to Judah's plea to deliver them from Assyria was to lead them to a greater captivity to Babylon. But this time God would demonstrate to the Jews His holiness and His own glory in preserving a remnant for the sake of His name. This name of God has caused His people to be judged, as they deserved (see 2:3; 14:14; Ezek. 16:1, 42; 23:47; Hos. 1:4; Rev. 15:4). This will be the salvation and glory of the remnant, a cause for praise (cf. 36:18-19; 37:21). **2:1** This chapter is written from the prophet's own point of view as he watched the siege unfold before him. He did not record information, but personalized the divine message. **_Mount . . . field of vision_.** The mountain, or the high place, was an elevated spot for pagan worship (cf. v. 4). The country surrounded the mountain. Mount Zion was the holy city of Jerusalem (see 23:14; 31:9-14; Rev. 11:8; 21:2). **_house . . . city wall_.** Jerusalem had been fortified by God, whose people lived in the city. The prophet stood on the Mount of Olives with a view of the entire city, including the temple, the Court of the Gentiles, the temple mount and its surrounding wall, the palace, and the entire city. God had promised David, when his son would be old enough to rule, that He would place the kingdom under his son's control (2 Sam. 7:12-13). But the sin of the people demanded judgment, not God's keeping of the covenant. As a result, God would discipline His people by taking away the prosperity He had given them, and they would fall (cf. 2:5). **2:2** God used four symbolic objects to describe the nature of His judgment on Jerusalem. The city would become an object lesson of divine punishment, and all nations would watch and learn how wicked people can be punished for their sins. **2:3 _shepherds . . . rulers._** The leaders of Judah were portrayed as robbers and murderers ( _see note on v. 5_ ) and shepherds who mistreated the flock God had given them. **the elders and nobles . . . all their men._** Again, this indicates the whole leadership of Judah was held responsible. These were the ruling elite—the leadership of Judah. There was no one except the prophet Ezekiel who even remotely approached the spiritual integrity of Noah, Abraham, Moses, or David. **2:4 _an example of the flock._** The Lord used the flock to communicate a principle of law to His people—just as a shepherd may use an animal to symbolically teach a lesson, so the Lord used Jerusalem as an example for the other nations. As a shepherd uses the sheep as an example to teach others how to act rightly toward sheep (cf. Num. 19:2-9; John 10:1