Ezekiel means the strength of God, he is one of the four major prophets of the Old Testament. Ezekiel was the son of a priest named Buzi. Not much is known about Ezekiel's childhood; much more is known after the age of twenty-five. Ezekiel was taken captive during Jehoiachin's captivity, about eleven years before the destruction of Jerusalem. He was one of many members of a community of Jews who settled on the banks of the Chebar, a river in Babylon. Ezekiel began prophesying in 595 BC and finished prophesying in 573 BC. Ezekiel prophesied for a period that lasted about twenty-two years. Ezekiel was a married man but little else is known about his family life, he also had a home in his place of exile. His wife died suddenly during the siege of Jerusalem. He lived among the best of his companions in exile, and their elders consulted with him on all matters. Ezekiel lived in a time of international crisis and conflict. Assyria was the world power in the area under the rule of Tiglath-Pilesar III. In 724 BC Israel waged war against Assyria, and Israel was no match for Assyria. In 627 BC the last able Assyrian ruler, Ashurbanipal, died. Soon after Ashurbanipal's death, Babylon under Nabopolassar wanted independence from Assyria. In 612 BC the Assyrians under Nineveh surrendered to the ascendant Babylonians. In 605 BC the Babylonians were at war against the Egyptians. The Babylonians won and established themselves as the major power in the area. During all this Judea allied itself with the Babylonians and thus maintained its independence. During the last century before Judea was destroyed, it was ruled by four rulers and of these rulers, all except Josiah were wicked. Josiah was committed to God and led Judea to him. Everyone else did not heed Ezekiel and Jeremiah's warnings from God, and the rulers of Judea chose to rebel against God. God punished Judea by sending Nebuchadnezzar's army to crush the nation of Judea and raze the city of Jerusalem. God first appeared to Ezekiel in a storm cloud; God was seated on a throne surrounded by cherubim. He commanded Ezekiel to go to "impudent and hard-hearted children" and gave Ezekiel a scroll to eat, showing Ezekiel complete identification with the Word of God. After Ezekiel returned to the people in Tel-Abib, God spoke again to Ezekiel, telling Ezekiel to stand guard... middle of paper... all the people Ezekiel was strange but God did not believe In the eyes of God Ezekiel was sincere, forgiving, obedient and persevering. He was reliable, patient, faithful and tolerant. Ezekiel was sincere in everything he said because all his words came from God. Ezekiel was forgiving and tolerant of God when God decided to take Ezekiel's wife away to make a point. Ezekiel was very obedient as he obeyed every single command from God including not crying when his wife died. God gave Ezekiel much perseverance as he prophesied for over twenty-two years. With his tenacity, he has proven to always be reliable and faithful. All God had to do was tell Ezekiel what to say or do, and Ezekiel would complete the task without complaint. Ezekiel was very patient even though God did not allow him to speak for seven and a half years and he obeyed. Ezekiel's death is unknown, but ancient Jewish tradition states that Ezekiel was killed by his own people because of his preaching. Ezekiel's body is believed to be buried on the banks of the Euphrates, in the modern city of Kifl, just south of the ancient city of Babylon. The tomb is said to have been built by Jehoiachin.