In 597 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, sent his army against Jerusalem and captured it for the sec­ond time. And again, he took many captives back to Babylon. One of these captives was a young Hebrew priest named Ezekiel.

Ezekiel didn't know it at the time, but God had a special assignment for him in the land of captivity. He was to be God's prophet to the Jewish captives.

During this national crisis, Jeremiah brought God's words to the people still living in the land of Jerusalem and Judah; Daniel was God's spokesman to Nebuchad­nezzar, king of Babylon; and Ezekiel delivered God's messages to the Jewish captives.

The book of Ezekiel is replete with symbols and allegories. Its imagery, sometimes reflected in the book of Revelation, is not always easy to interpret. So it has become one of the most neglected books of the Bible.

Why, then, do we concern ourselves with this book? Because it has something to say about such important subjects as individual responsibility, the justice of God, forgiveness, and the origin of sin.