Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel 4

Verses 1-23

XV

PROPHECIES ON THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM

Ezekiel 4-14

Jeremiah was preaching in Jerusalem while Ezekiel was preaching in a similar strain to the exiles in Babylon. Jeremiah found that the people thought that Jerusalem, the center of Jehovah worship, could not and would not be destroyed. Ezekiel found the same conditions in Babylon. In the time of Isaiah, when the Assyrians were close at hand, God protected them and swept away 185,000 of their army and saved Jerusalem with the Temple. Their confidence in the perpetuity of their city seemed to be fixed. So they did not believe their city, their Temple, and their country would be destroyed. "It is God’s nation, God’s people, and God’s Temple," they said. Moreover, they had false prophets in Jerusalem, prophets who were preaching the safety of the city, also false prophets in Babylon among the exiles, preaching the same thing. They preached that the exiles should speedily return; that the power of Babylon would be destroyed. There was one lone man in Judah, and one lone man in Babylon, preaching the destruction of the nation. This gives us some idea of Ezekiel’s task, the tremendous task that he had, to make those people believe that their nation, their city and their Temple were going to be destroyed. In order to get them to believe that, he made use of all these symbols, metaphors, and other figures which we have in this great section. He made use of these symbols, or symbolic actions, to make his preaching more vivid and more impressive, and he began this series of symbolic actions about four and a half years before the city was surrounded by Nebuchadnezzar, about six years before it fell, for the siege lasted one and a half years.

The symbol of the siege of Jerusalem and its interpretation are found in Ezekiel 4:1-3. The great truth he wanted to impress upon them was that Jerusalem would be besieged and would be taken and destroyed; so he was commanded by Jehovah to take a tile, or a brick, a tablet in a plastic condition, and to draw thereon a picture of a city, representing mounds cast up against the city on every side, from which the enemy could shoot their arrows down into the city and at the defenders on the walls. He was also told to set a camp round about it representing the soldiers encamped; he was to place battering rams there. These were huge beams of wood with iron heads which were pushed with great force by a large number of men, and thus driven against the walls and would soon make great holes in them. Then he was told to take an iron pan and put that between himself and this miniature city to represent the force that was surrounding it, and as that iron pan was impenetrable, so this besieging force was impenetrable, hard, and relentless, and would inevitably take and destroy the city without mercy.

Then he was told to lie upon his left side as if a burden was upon him. He was to do this according to the number of the years of the iniquity of Israel. He was to be bound while lying thus on his left side and he was to remain in that position 390 days. Then he was to lie upon his right side and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days, representing the forty years of their iniquity; these, of course, are symbolic numbers in both cases. The commentators have been greatly baffled to figure out these periods which apply to Israel and Judah. The best explanation seems to be that of Hengstenberg who makes the 390 years refer to Israel’s sin of idolatry beginning with Jeroboam and going down to the final captivity; likewise, the forty years, to Judah’s iniquity beginning forty years prior to the same captivity. According to this reckoning Israel’s period of iniquity was much longer than that of Judah and this accords with the facts of their history.

The scarcity and pollution of their food during the siege and after is symbolized in Ezekiel 4:9-17. Ezekiel was to take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, various kinds of cheap grains that the very poorest of the people ate, mix them together and cook them on a fire made with the most disgusting and loathsome kind of fuel possible, and eat about twenty shekels per day and drink a little more than a pint of water. Twenty shekels would be probably about a pound of our bread, one pound of this cheap, coarse bread, and a little over a pint of water a day. His soul revolted at such loathsome fuel and he was promised a better kind of fuel used by very poor people at that time. This again is a literary symbolism, the idea being to bring before those people the fact that terrible scarcity was before them, great depredation, and almost starvation, and when they were carried into the various nations their food would be unclean and polluted and they would be compelled to eat this unclean food.

The fate of the population by the siege and their dispersion is symbolized in Ezekiel 5:1-4. Ezekiel was told to take a sword, make it as sharp as a barber’s razor, cut off the hair upon his head, take balances and divide it into three equal portions. Evidently Ezekiel must have resembled Elijah more than he did Elisha. A third part of it was to be put in the fire in the midst of the city; a third part, to be smitten with the sword round about, evidently hacking it to pieces; and a third part, to be scattered to the winds, and the sword was to go after it and hack it to pieces.

What is the meaning? One-third of the inhabitants of their beloved city should perish with famine and pestilence; one-third should be slain in the siege; the other third should be scattered among all the nations of the earth, and even this third the sword should pursue and nearly all of them should be cut off. These arc striking symbols, full of meaning. They must have had some effect upon the hearers.

The interpretation of the foregoing symbols, as given by the prophet in Ezekiel 5:5-17, is that this is Jerusalem. Ezekiel 5:5 says: "I have set her in the midst of the nations, and countries are round about her." The remainder of this section goes on to show how Judah had sinned, how she had revolted, how she had forsaken God, and Ezekiel 5:8 says, "Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I, even I, am against thee; and I will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations." Verse Ezekiel 5:10: "Therefore the father shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments on thee; and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter unto all the winds . . . and will draw out a sword after them." Verse Ezekiel 5:13: "Thus shall mine anger be accomplished . . . and I shall satisfy my fury upon them."

The prophecies of Ezekiel 6:1-7; Ezekiel 6:11-14 are prophecies against the mountains of Israel, that is, the seats of idolatry. All the kings that sought to create a reformation among the people had to deal with the high places. Hezekiah removed many of them, and at last Josiah removed all of them. They were renewed in the reign of Jehoiachim and doubtless in the reign of Zedekiah. It was against these high places that the prophets had been uttering their denunciations for centuries. Ezekiel, from the plains of Babylon, looks across the vast distance and sees the mountaintops and the hills with their shrines and altars and idols and he utters his prophecies against them. In the latter part of Ezekiel 6:3 he says, "I will destroy her high places," and in Ezekiel 6:5 he gives a terrible picture: "I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones around about your altars," and then he pictures the destruction of the idolatrous symbols of worship.

But hope is held out to Israel. In Ezekiel 6:8 is the gleam of hope through this awful picture of destruction: "Yet will I leave a remnant, in that ye shall have some that escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries." And then he says that many of those scattered through the countries shall remember God and regent, verse Ezekiel 6:9: "And those of you that escape shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captive," and the last part of Ezekiel 6:9 says, "And they shall loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations." There was hope for the people throughout the countries that some of them would survive. There was scarcely a ray of hope for the city that any should escape. So Ezekiel preaches the doctrine of the remnant as does Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, Jeremiah, and all the other prophets of this period.

Ezekiel 7 is a lament, or dirge, over the downfall of the kingdom of Judah, and it is divided into four parts, thus:

1. The end is come upon the four corners of the land (Ezekiel 7:1-4)

2. The end is come upon the inhabitants of the land (Ezekiel 7:5-9)

3. The ruin is come unto all classes and is universal (Ezekiel 7:10-13)

4. The picture of the dissolution of the state (Ezekiel 7:14-27) The theme of Ezekiel 8 is, Israel’s many idolatries, which have profaned the Lord’s house and have caused him to withdraw from it. The date of this prophecy is fourteen months after the previous sections we have studied, in the sixth month, 591 B.C., which corresponds to our October.

Then the prophet sees what he calls the image of jealousy in the Temple (Ezekiel 8:1-6). He sees a new vision of the Lord, and the one who sat above that firmament whose appearance was like unto fire, appears to Ezekiel again and, strange to say (we have to interpret this as a vision in symbol), took him by a lock of the hair of his head and carried him all the way from Babylon to Jerusalem. The Spirit took him thus and set him down at the door of the gate of the inner court and there he saw what he calls an "image of jealousy." It was not jealousy pictured, but an image of some of their deities, some form of Baal set up in the very Temple of Jehovah, which provoked him to jealousy. Thus, he pictures the idolatry of the people as existing in the very Temple and its sacred precincts made place for their idols.

The prophet now sees another vision, the secret idolatry of the elders in the chambers of the gateway (Ezekiel 8:7-13). The images there were worshiped by the people at large. Now the elders, the leaders, are engaged in it, and he says in Ezekiel 8:10, "So I went in and saw; and behold, every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about." Ezekiel 8:11: "And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel; and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, every man with his censor in his hand; and the odor of the cloud of incense went up." All this is used to represent the elders, the leaders of the people of Jerusalem, who were idolaters in secret, if not openly.

The women were lamenting and weeping for Tammuz, or Adonis, a heathen solar mythical being, nature personified and represented in winter as perishing or languishing, and in spring, reviving. Some writers think it represents the hot season of the year, as nature is all dead and withered, and is revived later on. Here the women are described, the ladies, the society ladies of Jerusalem, weeping as the heathen women did, because the force of nature, represented in this physical being, was apparently dead. It was a strange sort of worship indeed. It is not known as to just what the nature of this worship was, but it was something like that.

Then Ezekiel was shown the sun worship (Ezekiel 8:10-18). The latter part of Ezekiel 8:16 says: "about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of Jehovah, and their faces toward the east; and they were worshiping the sun toward the east." This gives us some idea as to the depths to which the people had gone in their idolatrous worship, even in Jerusalem and the Temple.

The first act of divine judgment, the slaughter of the inhabitants, is presented in Ezekiel 9. Jehovah is represented as crying out and calling seven men, supernatural beings, six of them armed with a sword, and the seventh one armed with an inkhorn. These come forth into the Temple area and from there into the streets of the city. The man with the inkhorn set his mark upon all that should not be slain. Thus they entered the Temple; Ezekiel sat still in the vision and in a short while six supernatural men cut down a vast number. When they cut down all the Temple force they went out into the city and the slaughter went on. Ezekiel 9:8 says, "And it came to pass, while they were smiting, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord Jehovah! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy wrath upon Jerusalem?" Ezekiel saw that if these six angelic beings went through the city, not many would be left. He cried out but it was of no avail. The second act of divine judgment is symbolized in Ezekiel 10. Here Ezekiel sees the same glorious vision of God that he saw at first, and the voice came from him above the firmament saying to a man clothed in linen, "Take some fire" – from that central place among the cherubim – "take some of that divine fire and scatter it over the city." Then we have the description of how one of the cherubim, with one of those arms, took some of the fire and handed it out to this other being and he went abroad and scattered that fire over the inhabitants of the city. That is a symbol also. The latter part of Ezekiel 10 is simply an extended description of the same vision recorded in Ezekiel 1. We have a threat of destruction and a promise of restoration in Ezekiel 2. The occasion of the destruction of Jerusalem was virtually the revolt on the part of the princes against Nebuchadnezzar. It was the princes of Judah that led Zedekiah into revolt, the princes that were so obnoxious to Jeremiah, the princes of Judah that caused the downfall of the city and tried to put Jeremiah out of the way. Ezekiel, in vision, sees those princes and he sees them counseling and planning to make a league with Egypt and revolt against Nebuchadnezzar. He denounced them. Ezekiel 10:2 says, "And he said unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise iniquity and that give wicked counsel in this city; that say, The time is not near to build houses." If we are going to fight, this city will be a caldron and we will be the flesh, and it is better to be in the frying pan than in the fire. This city, the capital, may be destroyed; the time of war has come; let us fight and stay inside." They did so, and in the remainder of the chapter we have the denunciation of Ezekiel. He says, "I will bring you forth out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers." And that actually happened, for Nebuchadnezzar captured all these princes with Zedekiah; they were brought before him at Riblah and every one slain with the sword.

The latter part of the chapter states that there will be some left; a remnant will be saved among the exiles. There shall be a few found faithful, and in Ezekiel 10:17-19 is a marvelous promise: "I will gather you out of all the countries where you have been scattered," and in Ezekiel 10:19, he anticipates Christianity, saying, "I will give them a new heart, and put a new spirit within them, and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep mine ordinances, and do them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God." The hope of the nation was in the exiles, not in the people that were left in Jerusalem. Immediately following that, the cherubim that had appeared near the house of Jehovah, were removed east on the Mount of Olives and departed thus from the city, signifying that Jehovah had abandoned Jerusalem.

There are two symbolic actions described in Ezekiel 12. Ezekiel is told to gather up such things as be would require to take with him if he were going into exile, just as one would pack his trunk or grip to go to another place. So Ezekiel packs up his goods in the sight of the people in the daytime, and has them all ready. That night he goes to the wall of the city and digs a hole through, and with his goods upon his shoulder makes his way through that hole of the wall to go out. It was a symbolic action, performed to impress the people. He interprets his action thus: The people of Jerusalem shall take their belongings and go into exile, and Zedekiah, the prince of Jerusalem, will dig a hole through the wall of the city and with his goods upon his shoulders will try to escape. He actually tried to do that, but was taken. Ezekiel 12:11 says, "Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them; they shall go into captivity." Verse Ezekiel 12:12: "And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the dark and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, because he shall not see the land with his eyes." This is a mild way of expressing the truth that Zedekiah tramped all the way to Babylon with his eyes having been bored out by Chaldean spears.

Another symbolic action is recorded in Ezekiel 12:18-19, as to the eating of bread and drinking of water, and then Ezekiel quotes a proverb, "The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth." They were saying that the visions and prophecies did not come true. He answers, "Thus saith the Lord God: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the fulfilment of every vision."

The false prophets and prophetesses are characterized in Ezekiel 13. Jeremiah had to contend with the false prophets, but Ezekiel had to contend with the false prophets and prophetesses. They are described thus:

1. The false prophets are described as jackals burrowing in the ground, and making things worse instead of better (Ezekiel 13:1-7).

2. They whitewash the tottering walls that the people built and they daub them with untempered mortar (Ezekiel 13:8-16). The people built up walls of defense by their foolish plans and the false prophets agreed with them. They tried to smooth the danger over, saying, "Peace for her."

3. The denunciation of the false prophetesses (Ezekiel 13:17-23). These women deceived the people. Verse Ezekiel 13:18: "Thus saith the Lord God: Woe to the women that sew pillows upon all elbows, and make kerchiefs for the head of persons of every stature to hunt souls!" These pillows were little cushions fastened on the joints of their hands and arms to act as charms. The custom exists today in the East. Ezekiel denounces them in verse Ezekiel 13:20: "Wherefore, thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly." These were the spiritualists of that day. They are with us yet, only their methods are different.

The answer of Jehovah to idolaters who inquire of him is found in Ezekiel 14:

1. The answer is this, Put away your idols or look out for the judgment of God. There is no use in coming to inquire of Jehovah through me if you are idolaters in heart (Ezekiel 14:1-11).

2. The principle of divine judgment is found in Ezekiel 14:12-23. It is this: Righteous men shall not save sinners, only their own souls. Notice verse Ezekiel 14:14: "Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness." Verse Ezekiel 14:16: "Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only should be delivered, but the land should be desolate." So no matter how many righteous men there may be, and how righteous they may be, only they themselves shall be saved in the terrible sack of the city. Thus, the righteous could not save Jerusalem, any more than Lot could save Sodom.

QUESTIONS

1. What the problem of Ezekiel in Babylon and what prophet with

2. What encouragement did the people have both in Jerusalem and in Babylon to believe in the safety of their holy city and nation, and what Ezekiel’s method of impressing upon the exiles the fallacy of such an argument?

3. What the symbol of the siege of Jerusalem and what its interpretation? (Ezekiel 4:1-3.)

4. How are the people bearing their sins here symbolized and what the interpretation? (Ezekiel 4:4-8.)

5. How is the scarcity and pollution of their food, during the siege and after, symbolized in Ezekiel 4:9-17?

6. How is the fate of the population by the siege and their dispersion symbolized? (Ezekiel 5:1-4.)

7. What is the interpretation of the foregoing symbols, as given by the prophet in Ezekiel 5:5-17?

8. What are the prophecies of Ezekiel 6:1-7; Ezekiel 6:11-14 and what is the history of these high places?

9. What hope is held out to Israel amid this awful picture?

10. What the theme of Ezekiel 7 and what its parts?

11. What was the theme and date of Ezekiel 8?

12. What was the "Image of Jealousy" seen by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 8:1-6), and what the particulars of this vision?

13. What is the prophet’s vision of the elders and what its interpretation (Ezekiel 8:7-13)?

14. What was the abomination of Tammuz? (Ezekiel 8:14-15.)

15. What of the sun worship? (Ezekiel 8:16-18.)

16. How is the first act of divine judgment and slaughter of the inhabitants represented? (Ezekiel 9.)

17. How was the second act of divine judgment symbolized? (Ezekiel 10.)

18. Explain the threat of destruction and the promise of restoration in Ezekiel 11.

19. What two symbolic actions described in Ezekiel 12, and what their interpretation?

20. How are the false prophets and prophetesses characterized in Ezekiel 13?

21. What is the answer of Jehovah to idolaters who inquire of him and what the divine principle of judgment? (Ezekiel 14.)