Ezekiel

Ezekiel’s theodicy

Radical personal responsibility

Rejects collective punishment

Rejects intercession

Rejects intergenerational punishment

Warning

Idealistic

Exile: it’s a good thing

Jerusalem is purified by destruction

The good are protected by being removed (cf. Noah)

Very different from Jeremiah or obvious

The divine Winnebago

Where in the world is the God of Israel?

In Babylon

• Appears to Ezekiel outside the borders of Israel
• God on wheels

Not in Jerusalem

• Explains destruction of temple
• Harsh implications for those not exiled

Transition from local culture to a mobile religion

Priestly orientation

Purity

Proper temple practice

Proper priesthood

Visionary experiences

Majestic detail strengthens claims

Influences mysticism

Influences apocalyptic symbolism and interpretation

Today would be diagnosed as mental illness