He was a prophet of both judgement and promise, prophesying God's judgement on Israel's sin but also God's readiness to forgive and restore those who turned to him with true repentance. God's absolute righteousness and power is emphasized. God's purpose in saving and preserving a remnant of his people so that his love for them and his divine plan for them may be seen, is affirmed. Ezekiel affirms that God is the judge of all nations and his power reaches everywhere. God's purpose and power are seen through the events of history. The teaching, 'You will be my people and I will be your God', presented so clearly in the book of Jeremiah but basic to the teaching of all the prophets, is re-affirmed by Ezekiel. The covenant which God made with his people will continue to be honoured by: him; God will renew his covenant with his people (Ezekiel 16:60, 62; 37:26).

Ezekiel develops the important idea of personal responsibility put forward by Jeremiah and speaks of the new heart and mind which God will put in his people (Ezekiel 36: 26-27). The idea of the future ruler of God's people who will be like a good shepherd to them, and a faithful descendant of David (Ezekiel 34:23 and 37:24), is part of Ezekiel's preaching and restoration. He uses the imagery of prostitution for Israel's unfaithfulness, which we have already met in the utterances of other prophets, particularly Hosea.

None of this is new, although Ezekiel presents these important prophetic teachings from a new situation. No other great prophet since Moses had spoken for God outside Palestine. This gives a particular significance to everything which Ezekiel affirms about God's power and character. The prophet speaks to a people who can no longer associate their God with a country, a city and a Temple. The prophetic claims for the universality of God's power and moral claims take on new significance. If what the prophets have said about God is true, he will reveal himself to the people in Babylonia just as powerfully as he did in the past when they were his people in the land he promised them. He will continue to be with them and to show them his gracious love, keeping his covenant with them and restoring them to their land, using them to show his power to all nations.