Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel

INTRODUCTION

The study of a prophetic book is rewarding, but not easy. The serious student must be willing to take time to immerse himself in the historical context that gave birth to the book. He must attempt to walk awhile in the sandals of the prophet who wrote the book—to understand his motives and manners, his actions and attitudes. He must come to grips, not only with what the book says to and about men, but also with what men have said about the book. All of this takes years of study. But, as the wise one has said, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. This first chapter contains an historical, biographical, and literary introduction to the Book of Ezekiel.

STEPPING INTO EZEKIEL’S WORLD

Do men make the times, or do the times make the men? That is the age-old question. History is replete with examples of ordinary men catapulted into prominence by circumstances over which they had no control. So it was with Ezekiel. For him the crucial moment came on March 16, 597 B.C. On that day King Jehoiachin opened the gates of Jerusalem to the mighty Nebuchadnezzar. The king and some ten thousand of his subjects—including Ezekiel— were carried away to Babylon. But for that event and the subsequent prophetic call that came to this priest-in-exile, history probably will not have accorded to Ezekiel so much as a footnote. Therefore, to evaluate the historical context of this man of God, one must look backward and then forward from the crucial date March 16, 597 B.C.

Judah Prior to the Deportation of Ezekiel. Ezekiel was born in the eighteenth year of Josiah, 621 B.C. Those were bright and promising days for tiny Judah. The shock of seeing their sister kingdom to the north carried away into the far corners of the Assyrian empire a century earlier had now largely disappeared. Young King Josiah had successfully thrown off the oppressive yoke of those same Assyrians. A vigorous religious reformation led by the prophets Zephaniah and Jeremiah, the priest Hilkiah, and the king himself seemed to be correcting the basic moral and religious flaws of the nation. Visible signs of idolatry had been purged from the land, but, as it turned out, not from the hearts of the people.

The heroic efforts of that mighty coalition of crown, priest and prophets proved to be in vain. The reformation came to an abrupt halt in 609 B.C. That was the year when Josiah met his untimely death as a result of the wounds received in the unfortunate and ill-advised battle of Megiddo. The good king’s second son Shallum was elevated to the throne by the people of the land. Shallum assumed the throne name of Jehoahaz.

At the end of three months Jehoahaz was deposed by Pharaoh Neco. The Egyptian was still encamped at Riblah about two hundred miles from Jerusalem. Neco placed Eliakim, an older son of Josiah, on the throne of Judah as his vassal. Eliakim ruled under the throne name Jehoiakim. When Neco was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish on the Euphrates (Jeremiah 46:1), Jehoiakim shifted his allegiance to the Babylonian sovereign. Daniel and several other prominent hostages were sent to Babylon at this time (Daniel 1:1).

Jehoiakim served Nebuchadnezzar for three years (2 Kings 24:1), probably the years 604-601 B.C. When the Babylonian king received a setback on the borders of Egypt, Jehoiakim withheld tribute and declared himself to be independent. To punish the infidelity of his Judean vassal, Nebuchadnezzar marched against Jerusalem.

Jehoiakim died a natural death or was assassinated before the arrival of the Chaldean troops. His son, the eighteen-year-old Jehoiachin, had to face the wrath of Nebuchadnezzar’s army. After three months or so of siege, Jehoiachin surrendered himself and his capital. The king and ten thousand of his chief people—Ezekiel among them—were carried away to far-off Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar installed Mattaniah, another son of Josiah and uncle of the most recently deposed king, on the throne of Judah. His name was changed to Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:10-17).

Judah After the Deportation of Ezekiel. One will think that the stroke that fell against Jerusalem in 597 B.C. will have cured the country of its vice and immorality. Such was not the case. The inhabitants of Judah continued to be a rebellious and impudent people (Ezekiel 2:4; Ezekiel 3:7). They refused to walk in the statutes of God (Ezekiel 5:6-7). They had defiled the sanctuary of the Lord with idolatrous paraphernalia (Ezekiel 5:11) and practices (ch 8). Pagan high places, altars and images were conspicuous “upon every high hill, and under every green tree” (Ezekiel 6:13). In ch 22 of Ezekiel the Lord recites against Judah a catalogue of abominations that will make a pagan people blush— idolatry, lewdness, oppression, sacrilege and murder. Such sin permeated all classes of society. Perhaps Ezekiel 9:9 best summarizes the complete corruption of Jerusalem in its last decade: The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness.” For they say, The Lord has forsaken the earth, and the Lord does not see.

That Ezekiel in no way exaggerated the corruption in his native land painfully is attested by Jeremiah who lived through those dark days. In a vision the subjects of King Zedekiah were represented to the mind of this prophet as a basket of rotten figs (Jeremiah 24:8). By intellectual madness and spiritual sophistry, the inhabitants of Judah had convinced themselves that they were the special favorites of heaven to whom the land of Palestine had been given for a possession (Jeremiah 11:15); that their city was impregnable (Jeremiah 11:3). These delusions were stoked by false prophets. In Zedekiah’s fourth year, exactly one year before Ezekiel began his ministry, one of these false prophets dramatically announced in the temple that God will shatter the yoke of the Babylon within two years (Jeremiah 28:1-4). In vain Jeremiah warned of the imminent overthrow of Jerusalem and the final deportation of its population (Jeremiah 21:7; Jeremiah 24:8-10; Jeremiah 32:3-5; Jeremiah 34:2-3).

Encouraged by the optimistic predictions of his favorite prophets, Zedekiah got involved in a treasonous coalition against Nebuchadnezzar. An embassy from the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon assembled in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 27:3). Unfortunately for Zedekiah, the plot was reported to the great king in Babylon. Zedekiah was required to make a trip to Babylon to set things straight with his overlord (Jeremiah 51:59) and renew his vassal pledge.

Five years later Zedekiah reneged on his vassal pledge and openly broke with Babylon (2 Kings 24:20). Tyre and Ammon joined Zedekiah in this revolt. He probably was supported by promises of aid from Pharaoh Hophra (Jeremiah 27:15). Nebuchadnezzar was swift to move his army into Palestine to punish Zedekiah and the other rebellious vassals. The siege of Jerusalem was a gruesome ordeal that, with one brief interruption, lasted for eighteen months.

On July 3, 586 B.C. the supposed impregnable fortress fell. Zedekiah was captured as he attempted to flee the city. Zedekiah was taken in chains to Riblah where he watched his sons executed. He was then cruelly blinded, bound in chains, and carried off to Babylon (cf. Jeremiah 32:4; Ezekiel 12:13).

A pitiless massacre of Jerusalem’s inhabitants followed the successful capture of the city. A month later the great king had the city walls and palaces razed and burned. Those who escaped the slaughter were herded off to join the captives on the river Kebar in Babylon. Only a handful of the poorest sort were left on their native soil (2 Kings 25; 2 Kings 2 C 36; Jeremiah 39, 40, 52).

The Situation on the Kebar. Reactions among the Jews taken captive in 597 B.C. were mixed. Some of the more pious may have realized that their removal from their homeland was a divine stroke against an apostate nation. They sat down by the rivers of Babylon and wept as they remembered the sacred precincts of Jerusalem (Psalms 137:1). Others continued in the old idolatrous ways of their fathers (Ezekiel 20:30). While they pretended to be interested in the revelation of God’s prophet, they were setting up idols in their hearts (Ezekiel 14:4). They enjoyed Ezekiel’s preaching (33:32), and pondered his parables (20:49), but they never intended to do as he directed them.

On one point virtually all members of the exilic community agreed. The stay in Babylon will be short. God will not abandon His chosen city and people to the Babylonians. This delusion was promoted by a bevy of false prophets who predicted peace for Jerusalem (Ezekiel 13:16), and thus caused the people to trust their lies (Ezekiel 13:19).

From distant Jerusalem Jeremiah did what he could to combat these pretenders. A letter from his pen was carried by royal ambassadors to Babylon. The prophet wisely counseled the exiles to settle down quietly in their new home. They should try to make the most of their situation. Jeremiah categorically denied that there will be any speedy deliverance. Only after seventy years had expired will God intervene on behalf of his people (Jeremiah 29:5-14).

The delusions of speedy deliverance and the inviolability of Jerusalem were not easily dislodged. One prophet by the name of Shemaiah fired back a letter to the high priest in Jerusalem suggesting that Jeremiah was mad; he should be taken into custody (Jeremiah 29:24-29). Jeremiah’s letter may have been one external stimulus that caused a young priest named Ezekiel to step forth as a prophet of the Lord. In any case, Ezekiel waged valiant battle against the delusion of speedy deliverance during that decade before the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem.

Time of Writing (592 BC):

Ezekiel 1:1-2 gives us a time frame for our study. Jehoiakim’s son (Jehoichin ) reined in his father’s place in Judah at the year 597 BC. Jehoichin’s reign lasts for three months and 10 days (2 Chronicles 36:9). He did that which was evil and Nebuchadnezzar came up against him besieging Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:10 ff). Jehoichin is conquered and deported as a prisoner to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar took most of the treasures of the Kings palace and the house of Jehovah. He too took the most affluent people of Jerusalem captive (10,000 people) among whom was Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:1-2 and 2 Kings 24:13-14). Ezekiel was twenty five years old when he was deported with the others to Babylon and thereby born in the year 622 BC. Five years after his deportation to Babylon (592 BC), God appears to Ezekiel at the river Chebar and calls him to the office of prophet being thirty years old (Ezekiel 1:1).

Ezekiel the Man

The name “Ezekiel” means “God will strengthen” and seems to be fitting for his work of encouraging the captives of Babylon. Ezekiel was a priest (Ezekiel 1:2) . He was married yet we are not told whether he had children (Ezekiel 24:15-18). Ezekiel lived on the banks of the Chebar River at a city called Telabib (Ezekiel 3:15). Telabib is “an unidentified place in Mesopotamia by the Chebar canal between ancient Babylon and Erech, near ancient Nippur. Here Ezekiel made his first contact with the Jewish exiles in 597 BC... it was allocated by the Babylonian government, it became a Jewish settlement." God had assigned a special task to Ezekiel, he was to act as a watchman unto the house of Israel (Ezekiel 3:17; Ezekiel 33:7). The prophet was told to speak to the sinful house of Judah even though they would give him scary looks and speak harshly to him (Ezekiel 2:6-7). Ezekiel was unlike Jeremiah in that he worked with those who were exiled to Babylon while Jeremiah prophesied directly to the remaining rebellious people of Judah. Ezekiel, at times, expressed concern for the people of Judah as he saw God’s awful judgments against them (Ezekiel 9:7-11; Ezekiel 11:13). The captives went from hating Ezekiel to loving him; however, God warns the prophet against a renewed surface interest (Ezekiel 33:30-31). Overall, Ezekiel was faithful to all God’s commandments (Ezekiel 23).

A brief look at the ruling kings and

political events during the days of Ezekiel:

Josiah (640 B.C.) - Reforms Judah of its sinful practices. 640 B.C. marks the end of Josiah’s life, Pharaoh Necho was heading to Haran to war against the Assyrians at Carchemish. Josiah decided to get involved in the battle hoping to establish Judah’s independence. When Necho sees Josiah, he calls for his archers and they kill him. At the death of Josiah, all Judah mourned for him including Jeremiah the prophet (2 Chronicles 35:25).

Jehoahaz (609 B.C.) - Pharaoh Necho dethrones Jehoahaz and places the throne of Judah as a vassal king. Necho took Jehoahaz to Egypt where he remained as a prisoner and eventually died there. Jehoahaz reigned in Judah for only 3 months.

Jehoiakim (609 B.C.) - In the year 609 BC, Jehoahaz is replaced by his older brother Eliakim by Pharaoh Necho of Egypt. Necho then changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim to show his subordination to the Egyptian king. Necho put a tribute over Judah of 100 talents of silver and 1 talent of gold. Jehoikim did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah and reigned for 11 years in Judah. During the days of Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, warred with Egypt and defeated them (Jeremiah 46:2). Evidently, on his way home, Nebuchadnezzar came up against Judah. Jehoiakim surrenders and becomes a vassal king for three years. At the end of three years Jehoiakim rebels against Nebuchadnezzar. Jehovah God is not pleased with this revolt since He is the one who is punishing Judah by the Babylonians (2 Kings 24:3.) God sends bands of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites and Ammonites to weaken Judah. Apparently during one of these battles, Jehoiakim is killed and drug out of the city of Jerusalem (Cf. Jeremiah 22:19 and Jeremiah 36:30).

Jehoiachin (597 B.C.) – Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachim reigned in his father’s place in Judah. Jehoiachim’s reign lasts for three months and 10 days (2 Chronicles 36:9). He did that which was evil and Nebuchadnezzar came up against him besieging Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:10 ff). Jehoiachin is conquered and deported as a prisoner to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar took most of the treasures of the King’s palace and the house of Jehovah. He took the most affluent people of Jerusalem captive among whom was Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:1 and 2 Kings 24:13-14).

Zedekiah (597-586 B.C.) – Nebuchadnezzar replaced Jehoiachin, King of Judah, with his uncle Mattaniah. Mattaniah was the youngest son of Josiah (Jeremiah 1:3; Jeremiah 37:1). His name was changed to Zedekiah by Nebuchadnezzar to make him a vassal king (2 Kings 24:18). Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar in the ninth year of his reign (588 B.C. – 2 Chronicles 36:13). 2 Chronicles 36:12 states of Zedekiah, “ and he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah his God; he humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of Jehovah.” This rebellion on the part of Zedekiah led to the Chaldean army besieging the city of Jerusalem in Zedekiah’s ninth year as King of Judah until the 11^th and final year of Zedekiah’s reign (2 Kings 25:1-2).

Gedaliah (586 B.C.) – Vassal governor placed over Judah by Nebuchadnezzar.

Babylon’s Rise to Power:

The Lord rose up Babylon as a world power to punish His people who had degenerated into sin (cf. Jeremiah 25:9 ff; Ezekiel 7:10-11; Ezekiel 21:1; Ezekiel 21:13; Ezekiel 21:19; Habakkuk 1:6; Zephaniah 1:12-18). At 612 BC, the Babylonians (led by Nebuchadnezzar) marched on Nineveh and gained supremacy over the then world power Assyria. At 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar defeats Pharaoh Necho at Carchemish (Jeremiah 46:2). Nebuchadnezzar then travels southward to Palestine and subjects all of Judah thus making Babylon the new world power (II Kg. 24:1). Jehoikim, King of Judah, became a vassal king to Babylon yet later rebels. Ezekiel was seventeen years old when Nebuchadnezzar made his first invasion of Judah. Jeremiah had prophesied that the people of Judah would be captured and spend seventy years in Babylonian captivity (cf. Jeremiah 25:11). Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Judah was the first of three and so began the seventy years. At this time, Daniel was deported to Babylon (cf. Daniel 1:1-7). Six years later (599 BC), Nebuchadnezzar would invade Judah again carrying away 10,000 captives including Ezekiel, King Jehoiachin, nobles, priests, and the better class of the population (II Kg. 24:14ff; Jeremiah 29:1) . Ezekiel was now 25 years old (cf. Ezekiel 1:1-2). The final invasion of Babylon into Palestine occurred during the reign of Zedekiah during the year 590 BC. Nebuchadnezzar’s army besieged Jerusalem and the inhabitants die gruesome deaths for their sin (cf. Jeremiah 16:3-4).

Jeremiah spoke much regarding the people of the “North” (Babylon). Babylon would be God’s battle axe (Jeremiah 51:20) as He fought against Judah (Jeremiah 21:5). Babylon was to be a golden cup in the hands of God whose contents were described as “the wine of his wrath” (Jeremiah 51:7). Babylon would be Jehovah’s servant to punish His rebellious people (Jeremiah 25:8-9; Jeremiah 51:20). Ezekiel refers to Babylon as God’s “rod” (Ezekiel 7:10-11) and “sword” for correcting the erring in Judah (Ezekiel 21:1; Ezekiel 21:19). Let us consider Judah’s sin:

Judah’s Spiritual State:

• ·    Allied themselves with Egypt rather than calling upon the help of God during the days of Hezekiah (II Kg. 18:19-35; Isaiah 30:1-3; Isaiah 31:1; Jeremiah 2:36-37; Lamentations 4:17).

• ·    Judah was voluntarily led by false teachers (shepherds) (Jeremiah 5:31; Jeremiah 10:21; Jeremiah 13:25; etc.).

• ·    Rejected God’s laws (Ezekiel 5:5-6) and followed the laws of the foreign nations around them (; Ezekiel 11:12).

• ·    Did not know God’s word (Jeremiah 8:7).

• ·    Completely forgot God (Ezekiel 22:12; Ezekiel 23:35).

• ·    Were lovers of money rather than lovers of God (Ezekiel 7:19). Judah’s prophets were greedy for riches (; Ezekiel 22:23-25) (see study # 11).

• ·    Priests perverted God’s laws (Ezekiel 22:26) and practiced idolatry (; Ezekiel 44:10).

• ·    The elders (Ezekiel 8:11), priests (; Ezekiel 8:16), and princes (Ezekiel 11:1-2) were in sin.

• ·    The people of Judah vexed the poor and those in need (Ezekiel 22:29).

• ·    Did not exercise justice (Jeremiah 21:12).

• ·    Practiced idolatry and sacrificed their sons to Moloch (Jeremiah 16:10-11; Jeremiah 19:5; Ezekiel 6:1 ff; Ezekiel 8:10; Ezekiel 16:20-21; Ezekiel 22:4; Ezekiel 23:37).

• ·    They were liars (Jeremiah 9:1-3), deceitful (; Jeremiah 9:4-6), and rebellious (Jeremiah 6:16).

• ·    Judah had altogether forgotten God (Jeremiah 18:15; Ezekiel 22:12; Ezekiel 23:35).

• ·    Jeremiah had warned Judah of their sins for 23 years yet they ignored him (Jeremiah 25:1-3) and said of God’s word, “we will not walk therein” (; Jeremiah 6:16).

• ·    Judah had a false since of security (Ezekiel 22:14).

• ·    Rebelled and rejected God’s commandments (Ezekiel 2:3; Ezekiel 5:5-6).

• ·    Hard hearted (Ezekiel 2:4; Ezekiel 3:7).

• ·    Defiled Jehovah’s sanctuary (Ezekiel 5:11; Ezekiel 23:38).

• ·    Judah’s worship was profane (Ezekiel 23:38-39; Ezekiel 44:4-9).

God in Ezekiel

• ·    Omnipotent (more powerful than idols) (Ezekiel 1:24-25; Ezekiel 6:4-7).

• ·    Omniscient (Ezekiel 1:18-21; Ezekiel 11:5; Ezekiel 33:10; Ezekiel 35:12-13).

• ·    Omnipresent (Ezekiel 1:13-14).

• ·    Would have no pity on the disobedient and rebellious people of Judah (Ezekiel 5:11).

• ·    Filled with anger and wrath against the ungodly (Ezekiel 5:15; Ezekiel 7:8).

• ·    God can be provoked to anger (Ezekiel 16:26).

• ·    Anger is only abated when His judgment is accomplished against the ungodly (Ezekiel 16:42).

• ·    God will judge all “according to their ways” (Ezekiel 7:3).

• ·    He is the God of the world and thereby the world will give account (Ezekiel 25:11). All souls belong to Him (; Ezekiel 18:4).

• ·    God is merciful (He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. God would that sinful men would repent) (cf. Ezekiel 18:23; Ezekiel 33:11).

• ·    God calls upon all men to repent of sins (Ezekiel 18:29-32).

• ·    God moves men to loath (Ezekiel 6:9; Ezekiel 7:16) and have shame (; Ezekiel 7:18) against themselves for their sin.

• ·    God’s relationship to His beloved people is compared to a marriage (Ezekiel 16:8).

• ·    God is jealous when those He loves run to sin (as a husband who looses a wife to adultery would be jealous and angry) (Ezekiel 16:38).

70 years of Babylonian Captivity (Jeremiah 25:11):

Due to Judah’s sins listed above, the Lord determined to punish them using the Babylonian empire as His weapon of choice. Seventy years would be needed to cause God’s people to repent. Though they would be captives in a foreign land for these years, God would not forget them (cf. Isaiah 41:10) . The prophet Isaiah wrote 27 chapters (i.e., Isa. 40-67) to comfort the captives 115 years before they would even go therein. Approximately 170 years before the Medo-Persian Empire would defeat Babylon for her sins, the prophet Isaiah named the king that would lead them (i.e., Cyrus, Isaiah 44:28). Cyrus was a Persian military leader that defeated the Medes and brought the two nations together in 549 BC. At 539-536 BC, Cyrus defeats Babylon. As the Lord used Babylon to destroy a sinful people, even so, He uses the Medes and Persians to defeat Babylon for all her evil (Isaiah 13:1-5; Isaiah 13:17; Jeremiah 25:11-12).

Babylon was filled with pride (Jeremiah 50:29), covetousness (Jeremiah 51:13), and idolatry (Jeremiah 50:2; Jeremiah 51:44; Jeremiah 51:52). Babylon had considered their actions against Judah justified because of Judah’s sins; however, they refused to see their own folly (Jeremiah 50:7). Because of Babylon’s happiness and joy over the conquering of Judah, the Lord would punish them (Jeremiah 50:11-13).

Jehovah Promises a Return to Judah (Isaiah 14:1-2):

Apparently, Ezekiel never lives to see the return to Judah and spends his last days prophesying in Mesopotamia. At 536 BC, Cyrus allows 50,000 captives to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple under Zerubbabel (Ezra 1:1 ff). Seventy eight years later (458 BC), Artaxerxes I allows 1,800 people to return under the guidance of Ezra to reestablish worship to Jehovah (Ezra 8). At 444 BC, Artaxerxes allows Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem that the walls of the city may be rebuilt (Nehemiah 2:1-8).

Outline of Ezekiel by Chapter:

I. Ezekiel Chapter One: Ezekiel sees the glory of Jehovah God in the form of the cherubim, wheels, expanse, and throne.

A. The common circumstances of the prophecy now to be delivered.

1. The time when it was delivered (Ezekiel 1:1),

2. The place where (Ezekiel 1:2), and

3. The person by whom, Ezekiel 1:3.

B. The uncommon introduction to it by a vision of the glory of God,

1. In his attendance and retinue in the upper world, where his throne is surrounded with angels.

a. Here called "living creatures," Ezekiel 1:4-14.

2. In his providences about the lower world, represented by the wheels and their motions, Ezekiel 1:15-25.

3. In the face of Jesus Christ sitting on the throne, Ezekiel 1:26-28.

II. Ezekiel Chapter Two: Jehovah speaks to Ezekiel and tells him of the hostile environment that he is to enter.

A. The people of captivity from Judah would try to intimidate him with their “looks” and “words.”

1. God encourages Ezekiel not to be afraid of them.

2. Ezekiel is commissioned to go as a prophet to the house of Israel, now captives in Babylon, and to deliver God’s messages to them from time to time, Ezekiel 2:1-5.

B. He is cautioned not to be afraid of them, Ezekiel 2:6.

C. He is instructed what to say to them, and has words put into his mouth, signified by the vision of a roll, which he was ordered to eat (Ezekiel 2:7-10), and which, in the next chapter, we find he did eat.

III. Ezekiel Chapter Three reveals Ezekiel’s work. He is to be a watchman over God’s people. The prophet is to warn both wicked and erring righteous of their sinful ways. In this chapter we have the further preparation of the prophet for the work to which God called him.

A. His eating the roll that was presented to him in the close of the previous chapter, Ezekiel 3:1-3.

B. Further instructions and encouragements given him to the same purport with those in the previous chapter, Ezekiel 3:4-11.

C. The mighty impulse he was under, with which he was carried to those that were to be his hearers, Ezekiel 3:12-15.

D. A further explication of his office and business as a prophet, under the similitude of a watchman, Ezekiel 3:16-21.

E. The restraining and restoring of the prophet’s liberty of speech, as God pleased, Ezekiel 3:22-27.

IV. In Ezekiel Chapter Four the Lord instructs Ezekiel to lay on his left side for 390 days and then his right side for 40 days as a symbolic act of the burden of both Israel and Judah’s sin. The consequences of Judah’s sins were to be portrayed in Ezekiel eating rationed and unclean food. Two things are here represented to him in vision:

A. The fortifications that should be raised against the city; this is signified by the prophet’s laying siege to the portraiture of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 4:1-3) and laying first on one side and then on the other side before it, Ezekiel 4:4-8.

B. The famine that should rage within the city; this is signified by his eating very coarse fare, and confining himself to a little of it, so long as this typical representation lasted, Ezekiel 4:9-17.

V. Ezekiel Chapter Five: The siege and punishment of Judah was to be horrendous. This destruction of Judah and Jerusalem is here,

A. Represented by a sign, the cutting, and burning, and scattering of hair, Ezekiel 5:1-4.

B. That sign is expounded, and applied to Jerusalem.

1. Sin is charged on Jerusalem as the cause of this desolation—contempt of God’s law (Ezekiel 5:5-7) and profanation of his sanctuary, Ezekiel 5:11.

2. Wrath is threatened, great wrath (Ezekiel 5:8-10), a variety of miseries (Ezekiel 5:12; Ezekiel 5:16-17), such as should be their reproach and ruin, Ezekiel 5:13-15.

VI. Ezekiel Chapter Six paints a picture of God’s people abhorring themselves for their sin. In this chapter we have,

A. A threatening of the destruction of Israel for their idolatry, and the destruction of their idols with them, Ezekiel 6:1-7.

B. A promise of the gracious return of a remnant of them to God, by true repentance and reformation, Ezekiel 6:8-10.

C. Directions given to the prophet and others, the Lord’s servants, to lament both the iniquities and the calamities of Israel, Ezekiel 6:11-14.

VII. Ezekiel Chapter Seven depicts justification for God’s fearful judgment against His people. They will be judged according to their ways (Ezekiel 7:3; Ezekiel 7:8; cf. Ezekiel 24:14; Ezekiel 33:12 ff; Ezekiel 39:23). Their idolatry, silver, and gold will not save them from God’s anger and wrath. In this chapter the approaching ruin of the land of Israel is most particularly foretold in affecting expressions often repeated, that if possible they might be awakened by repentance to prevent it. The prophet must tell them,

A. That it will be a final ruin, a complete utter destruction, which would make an end of them, a miserable end, Ezekiel 7:1-6.

B. That it is an approaching ruin, just at the door, Ezekiel 7:7-10.

C. That it is an unavoidable ruin, because they had by sin brought it on themselves, Ezekiel 7:10-15.

D. That their strength and wealth should be no fence against it, Ezekiel 7:16-19.

E. That the temple, which they trusted in, should itself be ruined, Ezekiel 7:20-22.

F. That it should be a universal ruin, the sin that brought it having been universal, Ezekiel 7:23-27.

VIII. Ezekiel Chapter Eight begins a vision given to Ezekiel where he sees the abominations of Judah. The vision continues to the 11^th chapter of Ezekiel. God shows Ezekiel four abominations that Judah was involved in; i.e., idolatry, worship of beast, worship of Tammuz, and the priest participating in sun worship. Here God, in vision, brings him to Jerusalem, to show him the sins that were committed there, though God had begun to contend with them (Ezekiel 8:1-4), and there he sees,

A. The image of jealousy set up at the gate of the altar, Ezekiel 8:5-6.

B. The elders of Israel worshipping all manner of images in a secret chamber, Ezekiel 8:7-12.

C. The women weeping for Tammuz, Ezekiel 8:13-14.

D. The men worshipping the sun,Ezekiel 8:15-16. And then appeals to him whether such a provoking people should have any pity shown them, Ezekiel 8:17-18.

IX. In Ezekiel Chapter Nine God shows Ezekiel the punishment of His people for the abominations mentioned in chapter eight. Six men are used by God to “slay utterly the old, young, virgin, children, and women.” The seventh man is instructed to place a mark upon the foreheads of the faithful that the six destroyers touch them not. Here is,

A. Preparation made of instruments that were to be employed in the destruction of the city, Ezekiel 9:1-2.

B. The removal of the Shechinah from the cherubim to the threshold of the temple, Ezekiel 9:3.

C. Orders given to one of the people employed, who is distinguished from the rest, for the marking of a remnant to be preserved from the common destruction, Ezekiel 9:3-4.

D. The warrant signed for the execution of those that were not marked, and the execution begun accordingly, Ezekiel 9:5-7.

E. The prophet’s intercession for the mitigation of the sentence, and a denial of any mitigation, the decree having now gone forth, Ezekiel 9:8-10.

F. The report made by him that was to mark the pious remnant of what he had done in that matter, Ezekiel 9:11. And this shows a usual method of Providence in the government of the world.

X.Ezekiel Chapter Ten: The period of God’s longsuffering with Judah had ended. God commands the seventh man to take burning coals from the midst of the throne and burn Judah. The prophet had observed to us (Ezekiel 8:4) that when he was in vision at Jerusalem he saw the same appearance of the glory of God there that he had seen by the river Chebar; now, in this chapter, he gives us some account of the appearance there, as far as was requisite for the clearing up of two further indications of the approaching destruction of Jerusalem, which God here gave the prophet:

A. The scattering of the coals of fire on the city, which were taken from between the cherubim, Ezekiel 10:1-7.

B. The removal of the glory of God from the temple, and its being on the wing to be gone, Ezekiel 10:8-22.

C. When God goes out from a people all judgments break in on them.

XI. Ezekiel Chapter Eleven reveals that the people of Judah, elders, priest, and princes of the people (governors) were corrupt. Ezekiel is overwhelmed by the destruction of his people and God reminds the prophet that a remnant will be saved. Ezekiel’s vision ends and he is returned to his body (Ezekiel 11:24). This chapter concludes the vision which Ezekiel saw, and this part of it gave him two messages:

A. A message of wrath against those who continued still at Jerusalem, and were there in the height of presumption, thinking they should never fall, Ezekiel 11:1-13.

B. A message of comfort to those who were carried captives into Babylon and were there in the depth of despondency, thinking they should never rise. And, as the former are assured that God has judgments in store for them notwithstanding their present security, so the later are assured that God has mercy in store for them notwithstanding their present distress, Ezekiel 11:14-21. And so the glory of God removes further, Ezekiel 11:22-23. The vision disappears (Ezekiel 11:24), and Ezekiel faithfully gives his hearers an account of it, Ezekiel 11:25.

XII. Jehovah will no longer defer His judgments. In this chapter,

A. The prophet, by removing his stuff, and quitting his lodgings, must be a sign to set forth Zedekiah’s flight out of Jerusalem in the utmost confusion when the Chaldeans took the city, Ezekiel 12:1-16.

B. The prophet, by eating his meat with trembling, must be a sign to set forth the famine in the city during the siege, and the consternation that the inhabitants should be in, Ezekiel 12:17-20.

C. A message is sent from God to the people, to assure them that all these predictions should have their accomplishment very shortly, and not be deferred, as they flattered themselves they would be, Ezekiel 12:21-28.

XIII. In Ezekiel Chapter Thirteen the Lord identifies the false prophet as one who speaks from his own heart and spirit while calling his teaching inspired. The Lord is against such a one who would do so. The prophet here shows the sin and punishment,

A. Of the false prophets, Ezekiel 13:1-16.

B. Of the false prophetesses, Ezekiel 13:17-23.

XIV. Chapter Fourteen: Ezekiel ignores questions posed by the idolatrous elders and calls upon them to repent as he reminds them of personal accountability.

A. The elders of Israel come to hear the word, and enquire of the prophet, but, because they are not duly qualified, they meet with a rebuke instead of acceptance (Ezekiel 14:1-5) and are called on to repent of their sins and reform their lives, else it is at their peril to enquire of God, Ezekiel 14:6-11.

B. Noah, Daniel, and Job, are supposed to pray for this people, and yet, because the decree has gone forth, and the destruction of them is determined by a variety of judgments, their prayers shall not be answered, Ezekiel 14:12-21. And yet it is promised, in the close, that a remnant shall escape, Ezekiel 14:22-23.

XV. In Ezekiel Chapter Fifteen Judah is compared to a useless vine that cannot be used for furniture or even a wall peg. Here, in this short chapter, he shows him (probably with design that he should tell the people) that it was as requisite Jerusalem should be destroyed as that the dead and withered branches of a vine should be cut off and thrown into the fire.

A. The similitude is very elegant (Ezekiel 15:1-5), but,

B. The explanation of the similitude is very dreadful, Ezekiel 15:6-8.

XVI. Ezekiel Chapter Sixteen: Judah is compared to an unfaithful wife that causes her husband grief and pain. In this long discourse are set forth,

A. The despicable and deplorable beginnings of that church and nation, Ezekiel 16:3-5.

B. The many honors and favors God had bestowed on them, Ezekiel 16:6-14.

C. Their treacherous and ungrateful departures from him to the services and worship of idols, here represented by the most impudent whoredom, Ezekiel 16:15-34.

D. A threatening of terrible destroying judgments, which God would bring on them for this sin, Ezekiel 16:35-43.

E. An aggravation both of their sin and of their punishment, by comparison with Sodom and Samaria, Ezekiel 16:44-59.

F. A promise of mercy in the close, which God would show to a penitent remnant, Ezekiel 16:60-63.

XVII. Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar depicted as an eagle that swoops down upon the rebellious house of Judah and takes her captive. Hope is given to the house of Israel in that the Messiah and His Kingdom, the church, would be established. God was, in the previous chapter, reckoning with the people of Judah, and bringing ruin on them for their treachery in breaking covenant with him; in this chapter he is reckoning with the king of Judah for his treachery in breaking covenant with the king of Babylon; for when God came to contend with them he found many grounds of his controversy. The thing was now in doing: Zedekiah was practicing with the king of Egypt underhand for assistance in a treacherous project he had formed to shake off the yoke of the king of Babylon, and violate the homage and fealty he had sworn to him. For this God by the prophet here,

A. Threatens the ruin of him and his kingdom, by a parable of two eagles and a vine (Ezekiel 17:1-10), and the explanation of that parable, Ezekiel 17:11-21. But, in the close,

B. He promises hereafter to raise the royal family of Judah again, the house of David, in the Messiah and his kingdom, Ezekiel 17:22-24.

XVIII. Ezekiel Chapter Eighteen: Apparently some of those in Judah believed that they were being punished for their father’s sins. The Lord reminds them that it is the soul that sins that shall die. Here is,

A. The corrupt proverb used by the profane Jews, which gave occasion to the message here sent them, and made it necessary for the justifying of God in his dealings with them, Ezekiel 18:1-3.

B. The reply given to this proverb, in which God asserts in general his own sovereignty and justice, Ezekiel 18:4. Woe to the wicked; it shall be ill with them, Ezekiel 18:4; Ezekiel 18:20. But say to the righteous, It shall be ill with them, Ezekiel 18:4; Ezekiel 18:20. But say to the righteous, It shall be well with them, Ezekiel 18:5-9. In particular, as to the case complained of, he assures us,

1. That it shall be ill with a wicked man, though he had a good father, Ezekiel 18:10-13.

2. That it shall be well with a good man, though he had a wicked father, Ezekiel 18:14-18. And therefore in this God is righteous, Ezekiel 18:19-20.

3. That it shall be well with penitents, though they began ever so ill, Ezekiel 18:21-23 and Ezekiel 18:27-28.

4. That it shall be ill with apostates, though they began ever so well, Ezekiel 18:24; Ezekiel 18:26. And the use of all this is,

a. To justify God and clear the equity of all his proceedings, Ezekiel 18:25; Ezekiel 18:29.

b. To engage and encourage us to repent of our sins and turn to God, Ezekiel 18:30-32.

XIX. In Ezekiel Nineteen the Kings of God’s people are depicted as lions that coach among lions (other nations) and was influenced by them. The scope of this chapter is much the same with that of the 17th, to foretell and lament the ruin of the house of David, the royal family of Judah, in the calamitous exit of the four sons and grandsons of Josiah—Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah, in whom that illustrious line of kings was cut off, which the prophet is here ordered to lament, Ezekiel 19:1. And he does it by similitudes.

A. The kingdom of Judah and house of David are here compared to a lioness, and those princes to lions, that were fierce and ravenous, but were hunted down and taken in nets, Ezekiel 19:2-9.

B. That kingdom and that house are here compared to a vine, and these princes to branches, which had been strong and flourishing, but were now broken off and burnt, Ezekiel 19:10-14.

XX. Ezekiel Chapter Twenty: The elders of Israel inquire of Jehovah sitting before Ezekiel. Rather than giving these men the time of day, Jehovah rebukes them for their sin. In this chapter,

A. The prophet is consulted by some of the elders of Israel, Ezekiel 20:1.

B. He is instructed by his God what answer to give them. He must,

1. Signify God’s displeasure against them, Ezekiel 20:2-3. And,

2. He must show them what just cause he had for that displeasure, by giving them a history of God’s grateful dealings with their fathers and their treacherous dealings with God.

a. In Egypt, Ezekiel 20:5-9.

c. In the wilderness, Ezekiel 20:10-26.

b. In Canaan, Ezekiel 20:27-32.

3. He must denounce the judgments of God against them, Ezekiel 20:33-36.

4. He must tell them likewise what mercy God had in store for them, when he would bring a remnant of them to repentance, re-establish them in their own land, and set up his sanctuary among them again, Ezekiel 20:37-44.

5. Here is another word dropped towards Jerusalem, which is explained and enlarged on in the next chapter, Ezekiel 20:5-49

XXI. Ezekiel Chapter Twenty-One: Jehovah sends His sharp sword (Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans; cf. Ezekiel 21:9; Ezekiel 21:19 ff) against Jerusalem for her sins. In this chapter we have,

A. An explication of the prophecy in the close of the previous chapter about the fire in the forest, which the people complained they could not understand (Ezekiel 21:1-5), with directions to the prophet to show himself deeply affected with it, Ezekiel 21:6-7.

B. A further prediction of the sword that was coming on the land, by which all should be laid waste; and this expressed very emphatically, Ezekiel 21:8-17.

C. A prospect given of the king of Babylon’s approach to Jerusalem, to which he was determined by divination, Ezekiel 21:18-24.

D. Sentence passed on Zedekiah king of Judah, Ezekiel 21:25-27.

E. The destruction of the Ammonites by the sword foretold, Ezekiel 21:28-32.

XXII. Jehovah calls upon Ezekiel in Chapter Twenty-Two to expose all of Judah’s sins (i.e., idolatry, murder, profaning the Sabbath, lewdness, adultery, greed, dishonest gain, etc.). God’s people are pictured as the dross of the earth. Here are three separate messages which God entrusts the prophet to deliver about Judah and Jerusalem, and all to the same purport, to show them their sins and the judgments that were coming on them for those sins.

A. Here is a catalogue of their sins, by which they had exposed themselves to shame and for which God would bring them to ruin, Ezekiel 22:1-16.

B. They are here compared to dross, and are condemned as dross to the fire, Ezekiel 22:17-22.

C. All orders and degrees of men among them are here found guilty of the neglect of the duty of their place and of having contributed to the national guilt, which therefore, since none appeared as intercessors, they must all expect to share in the punishment of, Ezekiel 22:23-31.

XXIII. In Ezekiel Chapter Twenty-Three the Lord gives names to the two sister nations that committed adultery against Him (i.e., Oholah [Israel and Samaria] and Oholibah [Jerusalem and Judah]). Both these sisters committed adultery with Assyria and Egypt. The younger, Oholibah, went further and committed adultery with Babylon. Here is,

A. The apostasy of Israel and Samaria from God (Ezekiel 23:1-8) and their ruin for it,Ezekiel 23:9-10.

B. The apostasy of Judah and Jerusalem from God (Ezekiel 23:11-21) and sentence passed on them, that they shall in like manner be destroyed for it, Ezekiel 23:22-35.

C. The joint wickedness of them both together (Ezekiel 23:36-44) and the joint ruin of them both, Ezekiel 23:45-49.

XXIV. Jehovah takes Ezekiel’s wife to teach Judah a lesson. Ezekiel is commanded not to mourn over the death of his wife. The event symbolizes the coming dread upon Judah. They would loose their loved ones and their response would be as Ezekiel’s; i.e., no mourning because they had heard the warnings and now are left with no excuse. Judah would be judged “according to thy doings” (Ezekiel 24:14; cf. Ezekiel 7:3; Ezekiel 7:8).

A. By the sign of flesh boiling in a pot over the fire are shown the miseries that Jerusalem should suffer during the siege, and justly, for her filthiness, Ezekiel 24:1-14.

B. By the sign of Ezekiel’s not mourning for the death of his wife is shown that the calamities coming on Jerusalem were too great to be lamented, so great that they should sink down under them into a silent despair, Ezekiel 24:15-27.

XXV.Ezekiel Chapter Twenty-Five: Prophecies against Ammon, Moab, Edom, and the Philistines to illustrate that God is the God of all flesh (cf. Jeremiah 32:27) In this chapter we have his prophecy,

A. Against the Ammonites, Ezekiel 25:1-7.

B. Against the Moabites, Ezekiel 25:8-11.

C. Against the Edomites, Ezekiel 25:11-14.

D. Against the Philistines, Ezekiel 25:15-17.

.

XXVI. Prophecies against Tyre. In Ezekiel Chapter Twenty-Six we have,

A. The sin charged on Tyre, which was triumphing in the destruction of Jerusalem, Ezekiel 26:2.

B. The destruction of Tyrus itself foretold.

1. The extremity of this destruction: it shall be utterly ruined, Ezekiel 26:4-6; Ezekiel 26:12-14.

2. The instruments of this destruction, many nations (Ezekiel 26:3), and the king of Babylon by name with his vast victorious army, Ezekiel 26:7-11.

3. The great surprise that this should give to the neighboring nations, who would all wonder at the fall of so great a city and be alarmed at it, Ezekiel 26:15-21.

XXVII. The pride and ruin of Tyre. In this chapter we have,

A. A large account of the dignity, wealth, and splendor of Tyre, while it was in its strength, the vast trade it drove, and the interest it had among the nations (Ezekiel 27:1-25), which is designed to make its ruin the more lamentable.

B. A prediction of its fall and ruin, and the confusion and consternation which all its neighbors shall thereby be put into, Ezekiel 27:26-36.

XXVIII. In Ezekiel Chapter Twenty-Eight, the king of Tyre deified himself (Ezekiel 28:2). Sins separate man from God (Ezekiel 28:15). In this chapter we have,

A. A prediction of the fall and ruin of the king of Tyre, who, in the destruction of that city, is particularly set up as a mark for God’s arrows, Ezekiel 28:1-10.

B. A lamentation for the king of Tyre, when he has thus fallen, though he falls by his own iniquity, Ezekiel 28:11-19.

C. A prophecy of the destruction of Zidon, which as in the neighborhood of Tyre and had a dependence on it, Ezekiel 28:20-23.

D. A promise of the restoration of the Israel of God, though in the day of their calamity they were insulted over by their neighbors, Ezekiel 28:24-26.

XXIX. Ezekiel Chapter Twenty-Nine: Prophecies against Egypt. Pharaoh deifies himself (29:3). The beginning of seven “words of Jehovah” against Egypt. In this chapter we have,

A. The destruction of Pharaoh foretold, for his dealing deceitfully with Israel, Ezekiel 29:1-7.

B. The desolation of the land of Egypt fore told, Ezekiel 29:8-12.

C. A promise of the restoration thereof, in part, after forty years, Ezekiel 29:13-16.

D. The possession that should be given to Nebuchadnezzar of the land of Egypt, Ezekiel 29:17-20.

E. A promise of mercy to Israel, Ezekiel 29:21

XXX. Ezekiel Chapter Thirty: Babylon named as the power that would bring down Egypt for her pride. In this chapter we have,

A. A continuation of the prophecy against Egypt, which we had in the latter part of the previous chapter, just before the desolation of that once flourishing kingdom was completed by Nebuchadnezzar, in which is foretold the destruction of all her allies and confederates, all her interests and concerns, and the several steps which the king of Babylon should take in pushing on this destruction, Ezekiel 30:1-19.

B. A repetition of a former prophecy against Egypt, just before the desolation of it begun by their own bad conduct, which gradually weakened them and prepared the way for the king of Babylon, Ezekiel 30:20-26.

XXXI. Egypt warned by the illustration and fate of Assyria. The prophecy of this chapter, as the two chapters before, is against Egypt, and designed for the humbling and mortifying of Pharaoh. In passing sentence on great criminals it is usual to consult precedents, and to see what has been done to others in the like case, which serves both to direct and to justify the proceedings. Pharaoh stands indicted at the bar of divine justice for his pride and haughtiness, and the injuries he had done to God’s people; but he thinks himself so high, so great, as not to be accountable to any authority, so strong, and so well guarded, as not to be conquerable by any force. The prophet is therefore directed to make a report to him of the case of the king of Assyria, whose head city was Nineveh.

A. He must show him how great a monarch the king of Assyria had been, what a vast empire he had, what a mighty sway he bore; the king of Egypt, great as he was could not go beyond him, Ezekiel 31:3-9.

B. He must then show him how like he was to the king of Assyria in pride and carnal security, Ezekiel 31:10.

C. He must next read him the history of the fall and ruin of the king of Assyria, what a noise it made among the nations and what a warning it gave to all potent princes to take heed of pride, Ezekiel 31:11-17.

D. He must leave the king of Egypt to apply all this to himself, to see his own face in the looking-glass of the king of Assyria’s sin, and to foresee his own fall through the perspective glass of his ruin, Ezekiel 31:18.

XXXII. Ezekiel Thirty-Two: A lamentation is given for Egypt. Seven nations are representative of God’s thorough judgment against the world of unrighteousness. The destruction of Egypt is here represented under two similitudes:

A. The killing of a lion, or a whale, or some such devouring creature, Ezekiel 32:1-16.

B. The funeral of a great commander or captain-general, Ezekiel 32:17-32.

XXXIII. In Ezekiel Chapter Thirty-Three God reminds Ezekiel of the responsibilities of the watchman to watch and warn against sin. The Lord will have no pleasure in those who sin unto death. Each man is responsible for his own actions. One may live a life of faithfulness yet falter in the end and the Lord will reject him. God’s people viewed this as “not equal” (not fair) when in all reality the Lord was very merciful and fair. The prophet has now come off his circuit, which he went as judge, in God’s name, to try and pass sentence on the neighboring nations, and, having finished with them, and read them all their doom, in the eight chapters foregoing, he now returns to the children of his people, and receives further instructions what to say to them.

A. He must let them know what office he was in among them as a prophet, that he was a watchman, and had received a charge about them, for which he was accountable, Ezekiel 33:1-9. The substance of this we had before, Ezekiel 3:17, etc.

B. He must let them know on what terms they stand with God, that they are on their trial, on their good behavior, that if a wicked man repent he shall not perish, but that if a righteous man apostatize he shall perish, Ezekiel 33:10-20.

C. Here is a particular message sent to those who yet remained in the land of Israel, and (which is very strange) grew secure there, and confident that they should take root there again, to tell them that their hopes would fail them because they persisted in their sins, Ezekiel 33:21-29.

D. Here is a rebuke to those who personally attended Ezekiel’s ministry, but were not sincere in their professions of devotion, Ezekiel 33:30-33.

XXXIV. Ezekiel Chapter Thirty-Four: Though the current shepherds of Judah are wicked the Lord would set up a future shepherd that would reign in righteousness (David; i.e., Jesus). Here is,

A. A high charge exhibited against them for their negligence, and their unfaithfulness in the management of public affairs, Ezekiel 34:1-6 and Ezekiel 34:8.

B. Their discharge from their trust, for their insufficiency and treachery, Ezekiel 34:7-10.

C. A gracious promise that God would take care of his flock, though they did not, and that it should not always suffer as it had done by their mal-administrations, Ezekiel 34:11-16.

D. Another charge exhibited against those of the flock that were fat and strong, for the injuries they did to those that were weak and feeble, Ezekiel 34:17-22.

E. Another promise that God would in the fullness of time send the Messiah, to be the great and good Shepherd of the sheep, who should redress all grievances and set every thing to rights with the flock, Ezekiel 34:23-31.

XXXV. In Ezekiel Chapter Thirty-Five we find a prophecy against Edom for her trespasses and glorying over the fall of Judah and Jerusalem. Now here we have,

A. The sin charged on the Edomites, and that was their spite and malice to Israel, Ezekiel 35:5; Ezekiel 35:10-13.

B. The ruin threatened, that should come on them for this sin. God will be against them (Ezekiel 35:3) and then their country shall be laid waste (Ezekiel 35:4), depopulated, and made quite desolate (Ezekiel 35:6-9), and left so when other nations that had been wasted should recover themselves, Ezekiel 35:14-15.

XXXVI. God’s promise to restore Israel for His name’s sake.

A. Here is one that seems chiefly to relate to the temporal estate of the Jews, in which their present deplorable condition is described and the triumphs of their neighbors in it; but it is promised that their grievances shall be all redressed and that in due time they shall be settled again in their own land, in the midst of peace and plenty, Ezekiel 36:1-15.

B. Here is another that seems chiefly to concern their spiritual estate, in which they are reminded of their former sins and God’s judgments on them, to humble them for their sins and under God’s mighty hand, Ezekiel 36:16-20. But it is promised,

1. That God would glorify himself in showing mercy to them, Ezekiel 36:21-24.

2. That he would sanctify them, by giving them his grace and fitting them for his service; and this for his own name’s sake and in answer to their prayers, Ezekiel 36:25-38.

XXXVII. Israel will be made a nation again and ruled by David (Jesus) with an everlasting covenant of peace.

A. They were so dispersed among their enemies, so destitute of all helps and advantages which might favor or further their return, and so dispirited likewise in their own minds; on all these accounts they are here, in vision, compared to a valley full of the dry bones of dead men, which should be brought together and raised to life. The vision of this we have (Ezekiel 37:1-10) and the explication of it, with its application to the present case, Ezekiel 37:11-14.

B. That they were so divided among themselves, too much of the old enmity between Judah and Ephraim remaining even in their captivity. But, as to this, by a sign of two sticks made one in the hand of the prophet is foreshown the happy coalition that should be, at their return, between the two nations of Israel and Judah, Ezekiel 37:15-22. In this there was a type of the uniting of Jews and Gentiles, Jews and Samaritans, in Christ and his church. And so the prophet slides into a prediction of the kingdom of Christ, which should be set up in the world with God’s tabernacle in it, and of the glories and graces of that kingdom, Ezekiel 37:23-28.

XXXVIII. According to Ezekiel Chapter Thirty-Eight, God will bring Gog and Magog against His people in the latter days that He may crush them and restore His name among the nations that all may know His divinity and power. But, in both, the Old-Testament prophecies had their accomplishment in the Jewish church as the New-Testament prophecies shall have when the time comes in the Christian church. In this chapter we have intermixed,

A. The attempt that Gog and Magog should make on the land of Israel, the vast army they should bring into the field, and their vast preparations (Ezekiel 38:4-7), their project and design in it (Ezekiel 38:8-13), God’s hand in it, Ezekiel 38:4.

B. The great terror that this should strike on the land of Israel, Ezekiel 38:15-16; Ezekiel 38:18-20.

C. The divine restraint that these enemies should be under, and the divine protection that Israel should be under, Ezekiel 38:2-4 and Ezekiel 38:14.

D. The defeat that should be given to those enemies by the immediate hand of God (Ezekiel 38:21-23), which we shall hear more of in the next chapter.

XXXIX. The actions against Gog and Magog will cause the nations to know that when God’s people are punished it is because of their own sins and not His weakness to protect them. This chapter continues and concludes the prophecy against Gog and Magog, in whose destruction God crowns his favor to his people Israel, which shines very brightly after the scattering of that black cloud in the close of this chapter. Here is,

A. An express prediction of the utter destruction of Gog and Magog, agreeing with what we had before, Ezekiel 39:1-7.

B. An illustration of the vastness of that destruction, in three consequences of it: the burning of their weapons (ver. 8-10), the burning of their slain (ver. 11-16), and the feasting of the fowls with the dead bodies of those that were unburied, Ezekiel 39:17-22.

C. A declaration of God’s gracious purposes about his people Israel, in this and his other providences about them, and a promise of further mercy that he had yet in store for them, Ezekiel 39:23-29.

XL. Measurements and a description of God’s future temple (the church). In Ezekiel Chapter Forty we have,

A. A general account of this vision of the temple and city, Ezekiel 40:1-4.

B. A particular account of it entered on; and a description given,

1. Of the outside wall, Ezekiel 40:5.

2. Of the east gate, Ezekiel 40:6-19.

3. Of the north gate, Ezekiel 40:20-23.

4. Of the south gate (Ezekiel 40:24-31) and the chambers and other appurtenances belonging to these gates.

5. Of the inner court, both towards the east and towards the south, Ezekiel 40:32-38.

6. Of the tables, Ezekiel 40:39-43.

7. Of the lodgings for the singers and the priests, Ezekiel 40:44-47.

8. Of the porch of the house, Ezekiel 40:48-49.

XLI. Measurements of the holy and most holy place in the temple. An account was given of the porch of the house in the close of the previous chapter; this brings us to the temple itself, the description of which here given creates much difficulty to the critical expositors and occasions differences among them. Those must consult them who are nice in their enquiries into the meaning of the particulars of this delineation; it shall suffice us to observe,

A. The dimensions of the house, the posts of it (Ezekiel 41:1), the door (Ezekiel 41:2), the wall and the side-chambers (Ezekiel 41:5-6), the foundations and wall of the chambers, their doors (Ezekiel 41:8-11), and the house itself, Ezekiel 41:13.

B. The dimensions of the oracle, or most holy place, Ezekiel 41:3-4.

C. An account of another building over against the separate place, Ezekiel 41:12-15.

D. The manner of the building of the house, Ezekiel 41:7; Ezekiel 41:16-17.

E. The ornaments of the house, Ezekiel 41:18-20.

F. The altar of incense and the table, Ezekiel 41:22.

G. The doors between the temple and the oracle, Ezekiel 41:23-26.

XLII. Further measurements and descriptions of the temple and surrounding area. This chapter continues and concludes the describing and measuring of this mystical temple, which it is very hard to understand the particular architecture of, and yet more hard to comprehend the mystical meaning of. Here is,

A. A description of the chambers that were about the courts, their situation and structure (Ezekiel 42:1-13), and the uses for which they were designed, Ezekiel 42:13-14.

B. A survey of the whole compass of ground which was taken up with the house, and the courts belonging to it, Ezekiel 42:15-20.

XLIII. Ezekiel Chapter Forty-Three: The glory of Jehovah enters into the temple. In this chapter we have,

A. A Possession taken of this temple, by the glory of God filling it, Ezekiel 43:1-6.

B. A promise given of the continuance of God’s presence with his people on condition of their return to, and continuance in, the instituted way of worship, and their abandoning idols and idolatry, Ezekiel 43:7-12.

C. A description of the altar of burnt- offerings, Ezekiel 43:13-17.

D. Directions given for the consecration of that altar, Ezekiel 43:18-27.

XLIV. According to Ezekiel Chapter Forty-Four, the sanctuary is not to be profaned. In this chapter we have,

A. The appropriating of the east gate of the temple to the prince, Ezekiel 44:1-3.

B. A reproof sent to the house of Israel for their former profanations of God’s sanctuary, with a charge to them to be more strict for the future, Ezekiel 44:4-9.

C. The degrading of those Levites that had formerly been guilty of idolatry and the establishing of the priesthood in the family of Zadok, which had kept their integrity, Ezekiel 44:10-16.

D. Divers laws and ordinances about the priests, Ezekiel 44:17-31.

XLV. Land set apart for the Priests, Levites, and Prince (a new order of worship revealed. In Ezekiel Chapter Forty-Five is further represented to the prophet, in vision,

A. The division of the holy land, so much for the temple, and the priests that attended the service of it (Ezekiel 45:1-4), so much for the Levites (Ezekiel 45:5), so much for the city (Ezekiel 45:6), so much for the prince, and the residue to the people, Ezekiel 45:7-8.

B. The ordinances of justice that were given both to prince and people, Ezekiel 45:9-12.

C. The oblations they were to offer, and the prince’s part in those oblations, Ezekiel 45:13-17. Particularly in the beginning of the year (Ezekiel 45:18-20) and in the Passover, and the feast of tabernacles, Ezekiel 45:21-25.

XLVI. Ezekiel considers set days of worship in the new temple and a dividing of the land. In this chapter we have,

A. Some further rules given both to the priests and to the people, relating to their worship, Ezekiel 46:1-15.

B. A law about the prince’s disposal of his inheritance, Ezekiel 46:16-18.

C. A description of the places provided for the boiling of the sacrifices and the baking of the meat-offerings, Ezekiel 46:19-24

XLVII. The river that gives life. In this chapter we have,

A. The vision of the holy waters, their rise, extent, depth, and healing virtue, the plenty of fish in them, and an account of the trees growing on the banks of them, Ezekiel 47:1-12.

B. An appointment of the borders of the land of Canaan, which was to be divided by lot to the tribes of Israel and the strangers that sojourned among them, Ezekiel 47:13-23.

XLVIII. Ezekiel given instructions regarding dividing the holy land. In this last chapter (Eze 48) we have particular directions given for the distribution of the land, of which we had the metes and bounds assigned in the previous chapter.

A. The portions of the twelve tribes, seven to the north of the sanctuary (Ezekiel 48:1-7) and five to the south, Ezekiel 48:23-29.

B. The allotment of land for the sanctuary, and the priests (Ezekiel 48:8-11), for the Levites (Ezekiel 48:12-14), for the city (Ezekiel 48:15-20), and for the prince, Ezekiel 48:21-22. Much of this we had before, ch. 45.

C. A plan of the city, its gates, and the new name given to it (Ezekiel 48:30-35), which seals up, and concludes, the vision and prophecy of this book.

GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH EZEKIEL

The only source of information concerning the life of Ezekiel is the book that bears his name. Outside of his own book, he is mentioned only by Josephus¹ and Ben Sira,² neither of whom add any significant detail to the prophet’s biography.

The Name Ezekiel. The fourth book of the Major Prophets, like two of its predecessors, takes its name from its principal prophetic figure and author. The Hebrew form of his name (y¯xezqEíl) means God strengthens, or perhaps God is strong. In the Greek Old Testament the name appears as Iezikiei, and in the Latin Vulgate Ezechiel from which the English spelling is derived.

Ezekiel is not mentioned by name by any other writer of Scripture. His name is used only twice in the book that he wrote. Another Ezekiel—a priestly dignitary of David’s day—is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 24:16. It is possible, though not likely, that the prophet Ezekiel was named for the earlier namesake.

It cannot be determined whether the name Ezekiel was the prophet’s birth-name conferred on him by his parents, or an official title assumed by himself when he commenced his prophetic vocation. In either case the name is appropriate to the character and calling of this man of God. Ezekiel was to preach to a people who were stiff-hearted and of a hard forehead. But the Lord gave assurance that He had made the prophet’s face hard against their faces, and his forehead hard against their forehead (Ezekiel 2:5; Ezekiel 3:7-8).

Ezekiel’s Family and Station

Like Jeremiah, Ezekiel was a priest before he was a prophet. Nothing is known of his father Buzi. Circumstantial evidence in the book will suggest that Ezekiel was of the Zadokite line of the priesthood.⁴ This line of priests was descended from Zadok, the great priest of Solomon’s day (1 Kings 2:35), and ultimately from Eleazer the son of Aaron. The Zadokites came to prominence during the reformation of Josiah (621 B.C.). They were considered part of the Jerusalem aristocracy. This accounts for the fact that Ezekiel was carried off to Babylon in 597 B.C.

Did Ezekiel have a ministry in Jerusalem prior to being carried away to Babylon? No certain answer to this question can be given. It has been suggested that Ezekiel became a temple priest, or at least a priestly trainee, during the reign of King Jehoiakim (609-598 B.C.). However, positive evidence that Ezekiel performed priestly functions before his deportation is lacking. The rabbinic tradition⁵ that Ezekiel already had commenced his prophetic activity in Palestine likewise finds no support in the biblical materials.

Unlike Jeremiah who was under divine directive not to marry, Ezekiel had a wife whom he tenderly cherished as “the desire of his eyes.” It is not clear whether he was married at the time of his deportation. The likelihood is that he married in Babylon. He may have chosen a wife in response to Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles instructing them to settle down and marry.

In the ninth year of his captivity, four years after he had begun his prophetic ministry, Ezekiel’s wife died (ch 24). There is no indication that any children were born to this union.

The Shaping of Ezekiel

It is impossible to ascertain all the factors that made Ezekiel the man he was. However, it is clear from his writings that this prophet was deeply influenced by four circumstances in his early life.

Ezekiel must have been deeply stirred by the heroic reform efforts of good King Josiah. This reformation began in the eighth year of the young king’s reign, intensified in his twelfth year, and climaxed in his eighteenth year (621 B.C.). This was the year Hilkiah the high priest found a lost law book in the temple. That law book became the basis for the most thoroughgoing reform movement ever launched in Judah. Ezekiel’s childhood (up to about age thirteen) coincided with this vigorous governmental effort to bring tiny Judah back to the paths of spiritual fidelity.

Ezekiel was also deeply impressed by the elaborate temple services in Jerusalem. Like the young Samuel, he may have spent many of his boyhood hours assisting the priests in their temple duties. In any case, large blocks of his book betray his interest in priestly ritual.

During his youth, Ezekiel will have been exposed to the energetic ministry of the prophet Jeremiah. The priestly prophet from Anathoth may have been the teacher of Ezekiel. The two men lived in close proximity to one another for a quarter of a century. The stamp of Jeremiah can be seen in the form of words, phrases, sentences and even complete paragraphs in the Book of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel’s deportation to Babylon in 597 B.C. must have had a major influence on his life. Like the other captives, he was treated humanely. Ezekiel was among those captives who settled in the city of Tel Aviv (Ezekiel 3:15) in the midst of a fertile district near the river Kebar (Ezekiel 1:3).

Unlike his fellow exiles, Ezekiel did not view the exile as a temporary and inconsequential setback for Judah. He had been indoctrinated by Jeremiah too thoroughly to accept that superficial view of the situation. Ezekiel knew the servitude to Babylon will last seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11). He knew that the deportation of 597 B.C. was the first stage of a process that will climax in the overthrow of the Judean state.

For five years Ezekiel kept silent in Babylon. He listened to others who claimed to be prophets— Ahab, Zedekiah, Shemaiah—proclaim speedy deliverance. He surely must have read the letter written by Jeremiah to Babylon rebuking these deceivers and pronouncing God’s judgment upon them for presuming to speak in the name of the Lord when they had received no message from God (Jeremiah 29). His confidence in the truthfulness of Jeremiah’s message must have been strengthened when two of that trio of false prophets were seized by Nebuchadnezzar and roasted in a fire. The point is that Ezekiel had five years in Babylon to pray and meditate, to sift and sort, to ponder and evaluate and to seek to comprehend the full theological significance of what already had happened in 597 B.C., and what was about to happen in 586 B.C.

The Ministry of Ezekiel

Ezekiel appears to have been thirty when he received his call to the prophetic ministry (1:1). With few interruptions, he continued to carry out his assigned mission until his fifty-second year. How long after that he lived cannot be determined. Did he live to see King Jehoiachin released from prison in 562? (2 Kings 25:27 ff.; Jeremiah 52:31). There is no way to tell. A Jewish legend—and it is nothing more than that—has Ezekiel executed by a Jewish prince on account of his prophecies. According to this legend, he was then buried in the tomb of Shem and Arphaxad.

Ezekiel was a contemporary of Jeremiah, and yet he never mentions the name of his co-laborer. He does mention Daniel three times (Exe 14:14, 20; 28:3). The early sixth century before Christ saw a flowering of the prophetic institution the likes of which had not been seen since the mid-eighth century when Hosea, Amos, Isaiah and Micah were all flourishing. If the mid-eighth century has been called the golden age of Hebrew prophecy, the early sixth century could just as well be dubbed the silver age of the prophetic movement.

The tone of his Ministry

Ezekiel understood his mission as being primarily, if not exclusively, to the Judean exiles in Babylon. His preaching was meant for their ears. He worked among them as their prophet. The fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. was the pivotal event in the prophet’s career. That disaster served to divide Ezekiel’s ministry into two distinct phases.

In phase one of his ministry (593-586 B.C.) Ezekiel was a prophet of doom. In various ways, both by deed and word, he announced that Jerusalem must fall. His threat seems unconditional. The exiles had to be freed from their dependence on the existence of Jerusalem and the temple by destroying their confidence in the inviolability of the Holy City. Again and again he dashed to pieces the desperate hope of the exiles to return swiftly to their homeland. Ezekiel’s basic thesis during these years was that sin had severed the union of Yahweh and Jerusalem. For the exiles to have faith meant to free themselves from their dependence on the temple city, to understand the judgment upon it, and to accept that judgment as being the will and purpose of God.

Following the destruction of Jerusalem, the tone of Ezekiel’s ministry changed. His audience was crushed, despondent and spiritually shaken. The primary tenet of their man-made theology had been demonstrated to be false. Their faith was shattered. Ezekiel sought to comfort those who had lost hope by raising their vision to see the glorious future that God had in store for his people. He sought to guide those who wished to return to the Lord. Like Jeremiah, Ezekiel followed the path from a demand for repentance to a promise of deliverance.

The preaching of Ezekiel

As with most prophets, preaching played the primary role in the ministry of Ezekiel. "Prophets were not writers in the study, but rather impassioned speakers in the market-places." Twice Ezekiel was told to write something—the name of the day (Ezekiel 24:2), and names on two sticks (Ezekiel 37:15-16)—but in so doing he was only underscoring or illustrating the spoken word. Once he was told to draw (Ezekiel 21:18-23), but the sketch that he made in the sand only served as a visual aid to his preaching. However, dozens of times in the book Ezekiel is instructed by God to verbalize the divine message; Prophesy . . . say (Ezekiel 6:2-3; Ezekiel 13:2; Ezekiel 34:2; Ezekiel 36:1); Speak . . say (Ezekiel 14:4; Ezekiel 20:3; Ezekiel 33:2); Propound a riddle, speak an allegory . . . say (Ezekiel 17:2-3); Take up a lamentation. . . say (Ezekiel 19:1-2). Like Jeremiah, Ezekiel probably had a scribe to date and record the various oracles that he delivered.

An oracle is a type of prophetic speech in which the prophet becomes the mouthpiece for God. In an oracle Yahweh speaks in the first person. By way of contrast, in a sermon the prophet speaks about God in the third person. An oracle is normally introduced by the formula Thus says Yahweh (the LORD). In Ezekiel the oracles usually conclude with one of three formulas: (1) oracle of Yahweh, the standard oracular conclusion; (2) the affirmation formula, I, Yahweh have spoken; (3) the recognition formula, And you/they will know that I am Yahweh. The book of Ezekiel is rich in the variety of the prophetic oracles that it contains.

The symbolic actions of the prophet

More than any other prophet, Ezekiel communicated his message through symbolic actions. The purpose of such actions was twofold: (1) they were designed to illustrate or render the oral word more concrete; and (2) they were sufficiently bizarre to arouse interest on the part of the audience. As a rule the prophet appended to his symbolic action an interpretative oracle that expanded upon the meaning of what he had done.

The symbolic act was considered to be “the word of the LORD” as much as any oral discourse that the prophet delivered. Each of the mini-dramas is introduced by the expression “The word of the LORD came to me.” These actions are not to be attributed to the creative genius of Ezekiel. The prophet himself bears testimony to the fact that God directed him in the execution of these acts. All these dramatic prophetic actions in Ezekiel concern future events.

The visions of the prophet

Visionary experiences were also a prominent part of the ministry of Ezekiel. Each vision in the book is introduced by the technical phrase the hand of the LORD was upon me. There is no hint that Ezekiel experienced any traumatic physiological reaction to these visions as did Isaiah (ch 21), Habakkuk (Habakkuk 3:16), and Daniel (Daniel 10:7-8). Each vision account contains relevant interpretative oracles that are intended to convey a divine message to the prophet and /or his audience. Dialogue between God and the prophet in the visionary experience is common.

While the vision itself was an individual experience, the telling of it was a prophetic revelation (cf. Ezekiel 11:25). Presumably Ezekiel related to the captives all of the visions that he received from God. The prophetic vision was similar to, but not identical with, a dream experience. Categories of time and space become meaningless. Ezekiel could be physically in Babylon, but then suddenly be in Jerusalem (Eze 8:33) or on a high mountain (Ezekiel 40:2), or in the midst of a valley (Ezekiel 37:1). Scenes change rapidly and illogically. Time is compressed. The measuring of the new temple will have taken considerable time, but in vision this is compressed into but a moment.

Unlike a dream, the vision did not occur while sleeping (Ezekiel 8:1). The prophet was conscious of entrance into and departure from the visionary state (cf. Ezekiel 8:1 with Ezekiel 11:24 b). Ezekiel’s visions occur in four sections of the book. The book opens (Ezekiel 1:1 to Ezekiel 3:15) with the vision of the magnificent throne-chariot of God. This was Ezekiel’s inaugural vision, the basis for his prophetic ministry. Chapters 8-11 contain the prophet’s visions of the terrible abominations being practiced back in the Jerusalem temple. The most famous vision in the book is undoubtedly that of the valley of dry bones (ch 37). This vision sets forth in bold symbolism the resurrection of the nation Israel following the Babylonian exile. The Book of Ezekiel closes with a lengthy vision of a future temple in a new era (chs 40-48). Ezekiel devotes more space to recording his visionary experiences than any other prophet in the Old Testament.

The Character of Ezekiel

Ezekiel was endowed with high intellectual capacity, clear perception, lively imagination, and eloquent speech. He certainly was acquainted with the sacred books, institutions and customs of his own people. He also was acquainted with the learning and culture of the world in which he lived. So accurate is his knowledge of Egypt and Tyre that one wonders if perhaps he had traveled to these places in his youth.

Ezekiel possessed boundless energy, firm resolution, and amazing self-control (Ezekiel 3:15; Ezekiel 3:24; Ezekiel 3:26; Ezekiel 24:18). He evidently was a man of deep personal humility as is indicated by the title applied to him some ninety-three times in the book, son of man. This title as used in Ezekiel sets forth man’s finite dependence and lowliness in the presence of God’s infinite power and glory.

Ezekiel was a man of intense moral earnestness (chs 22, 23). He was a powerful orator (Ezekiel 33:32) and a poet of the first rank (Ezekiel 15:1-5; Ezekiel 19:14-14; Ezekiel 21:14-21). Though perhaps not as intense as Jeremiah, Ezekiel nonetheless was a warm and sympathetic soul (Ezekiel 9:8; Ezekiel 19:1; Ezekiel 19:14). A deep undertone of pity for the fallen nation of Judah is discernible throughout the third main division in the book. While earlier prophets focus on the people taken collectively, Ezekiel was concerned for individual souls.

Wellhausen referred to Ezekiel as a "priest in a prophet’s mantle. ” So he was. From the moment he was told to eat the scroll containing God’s word, this man was endowed with the spirit and message of the Lord. From that point on he became the very embodiment of the word that Yahweh will have the exiles hear. His overt actions were fully as significant as the words he spoke.

Ezekiel immersed himself in his prophetic duties for some twenty-two years. Like his two illustrious contemporaries Jeremiah and Daniel, Ezekiel possessed an invincible fortitude that kept him faithful through long years of rejection and dejection.

Ezekiel had a propensity for visions, dramatized signs and trance-states. His visions are on occasion couched in stories of angelic transmigration and include somewhat bizarre symbolism. Some of his actions—his dumbness (Ezekiel 3:22 ff.) and symbolic lying on his side (Ezekiel 4:4-8)—have been interpreted as symptoms of a more or less profound mental disturbance. Albright, for example, states that Ezekiel became one of the greatest spiritual figures of all time "in spite of his tendency to psychic abnormality."⁷ Others see evidence of schizophrenia or catalepsy in his personality.

It is ridiculous in the extreme to attempt amateur psychoanalysis on a person of another culture and age who has been dead for twenty-five hundred years. One is on safer ground to speak of Ezekiel as “a highly developed mystic who was able to utilize channels of communication not normally available to others." The fallacy of suggesting that Ezekiel was in some sense deranged can be easily demonstrated from a study of his words. His thought processes are normal, his ideas are completely comprehensible, his sentences are coherent and the sequence of ideas yield a meaningful continuity.

Fohrer has observed three paradoxes in Ezekiel: (1) burning passion on the one hand, pedantic casuistry on the other; (2) bold hopes for the future, but also a sober sense of reality; (3) on occasion he speaks coldly and bluntly, while on other occasions he feels full sympathy for the devout and the wicked.

The Message of Ezekiel

The fall of Jerusalem and captivity were necessary measures for God to employ if He was to correct his disobedient people. It was Ezekiel’s prophetic duty to explain that Judah—the theocracy in its outward form—must come to an end because of sin. Exile, however, will not be the end of the story. God will one day re-gather a penitent remnant of his chastened people and bring them back to their homeland where they will share in a glorious latter-day theocracy. Thus the basic message of Ezekiel is that God is faithful to his eternal purpose. The sinful nation must be destroyed, yet God will not forsake his own. Ezekiel has been called the “father of Judaism” because of the influence he is said to have exerted on the later worship of Israel. At first his messages were not well received (Ezekiel 14:1; Ezekiel 14:3; Ezekiel 18:19; Ezekiel 18:25). But in time his prophecies brought about a fundamental change in the idolatrous tendencies of the nation.

Ezekiel was a priest as well as a prophet. In many passages the interest of a man of priestly origin is apparent. His concern with the cult, priesthood and sanctuary doubtlessly influenced the attitude of the post-exilic Jews toward the temple. But Ezekiel was not a priestly ritualist whose only concern was with the minutiae of liturgy and worship. He makes important contributions to biblical theology. Perhaps in no other book of the Old Testament do the theological views of the author shine out with greater clearness.

Ezekiel’s doctrine of God. In Isaiah the focus is on the salvation of the Lord; in Jeremiah, the judgment of the Lord; in Daniel, the kingdom of the Lord; and in Ezekiel the focus is on the glory of the Lord.¹¹ To Ezekiel God was the supreme, self-existent, almighty (1:24) and omniscient (1:18) One.¹² The God of Israel was no mere local or national deity. He was infinitely exalted above the earth, clothed with honor and majesty. Yahweh was the ruler of the celestial hierarchies as well as all that dwell on earth. Men and nations yield to his sovereign decisions. Egypt, Babylon and all heathen peoples were bound to obey Him. The mighty Nebuchadnezzar was but a tool in his hand.

To Ezekiel God was the Holy One (Ezekiel 39:7) whose name was holy (Ezekiel 36:21-22; Ezekiel 39:25). He was a God who could make no compromise with sin, who could not overlook the guilty, whether individual or national. Because of the sin of his people, Yahweh withdrew his glory from Jerusalem and the temple (Ezekiel 10:18; Ezekiel 11:23). This holy God placed in the mouth of his prophet terrible denunciations against the wickedness of Israel and Judah. In fact, Ezekiel’s denunciation of the spiritual waywardness of Judah is more severe than that of his contemporary Jeremiah.

On the other hand, the God of Ezekiel was a God of boundless grace who had no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23; Ezekiel 18:32; Ezekiel 33:11). Amidst the threats of judgment, He woos them to repentance (14:22; 16:63; 20:11), Though his people were undeserving of his mercy (Ezekiel 36:32), yet Yahweh promised to them a glorious future.

Ezekiel’s doctrine of the Messiah

The Messiah is not so prominent in Jeremiah and Ezekiel as in Isaiah. Nonetheless, there is some striking teaching about the promised one in this book. The Messiah is represented as a ‘‘tender twig” taken from the highest branch of the cedar of Judah’s royalty, planted upon a high mountain (Ezekiel 17:22-24). He is the one to whom the diadem of Israel’s sovereignty rightfully belonged, and to whom it will be given after it had been removed from the head of the wicked Zedekiah (Ezekiel 21:27). The messianic David will be a faithful prince among God’s restored people. He will perform all the functions of a true and faithful Shepherd (Ezekiel 34:23-24), ruling over them as king (Ezekiel 37:24). This Prince will eat and drink before the Lord in his capacity of special representative of God’s people (Ezekiel 44:3).

Ezekiel’s doctrine of man. Ezekiel viewed man as God’s creature and property (Ezekiel 18:4). He shows awareness of the biblical teaching of the original innocence of man (Ezekiel 28:15; Ezekiel 28:17). But man had fallen; man is sinful (Ezekiel 18:21-30). His heart needs to be softened and renewed (Ezekiel 18:31). For his wickedness he is held individually accountable (Ezekiel 18:4; Ezekiel 18:13; Ezekiel 18:18). He is a free moral agent and is therefore responsible for his own reformation of life and purification of heart (Ezekiel 33:11; Ezekiel 43:9). To those willing to receive it, God will give a new heart (Ezekiel 11:19; Ezekiel 36:26; Ezekiel 37:23). Among the Old Testament prophets, Ezekiel has earned the title “the champion of individualism.”

Ezekiel’s doctrine of the kingdom of God

Though the book never uses the terminology “kingdom of God,” the book certainly points to the concept of God’s reign over the hearts of redeemed men. Ezekiel stressed one point that was considered rank heresy by his countrymen, viz., that the kingdom of God was not inseparably connected with the political existence of Judah. He saw an inner spiritual kernel of the nation existing in the lands of the dispersion (Ezekiel 12:17). This nucleus was constantly growing as penitent men were added to it (Ezekiel 34:11-19). Eventually Ezekiel saw a new Israel with Messiah as its prince (Ezekiel 34:23-24; Ezekiel 37:24), That new Israel will walk in the law of the Lord (Ezekiel 11:20; Ezekiel 16:61; Ezekiel 20:43; Ezekiel 36:27) and dwell in the land of Canaan (Ezekiel 36:33; Ezekiel 37:25). God will enter into a new covenant with that people (Ezekiel 37:26-28). He will walk in close fellowship with them (Ezekiel 39:29; Ezekiel 46:9). Upon them He will pour out his Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 36:27; Ezekiel 39:27).

The Mission of the Prophet

Ezekiel’s special task was to act as a watchman to the house of Israel (Ezekiel 3:17; Ezekiel 33:7). He was to warn the wicked of the danger of persisting in wickedness. He warned the righteous of the peril of turning from the path of fidelity. To be more specific, Ezekiel’s task can be seen as having a four-fold thrust.

He was to demolish delusions—to refute the shallow theology which argued that Jerusalem could not be destroyed. He was to defuse the potentially dangerous deception that the exile will soon end with the overthrow of Babylon. Ezekiel had a clear and accurate assessment of the moral and religious situation both in Judah and in Babylon.

He was to expose apostasy, and thereby present God’s rationale for the judgments that already had befallen Judah, and those more terrible judgments that were about to fall. He was “to interpret for Israel in exile the stern logic of her past history.” He was to awaken repentance, and thereby raise up from the ruins of the old Israel a new people who might inherit the promises that had been given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He was to stimulate hope for a better tomorrow with the promise of restoration after the seventy years of Babylonian supremacy had ended.

Ezekiel’s mission was in stark contrast to that of Daniel, his illustrious contemporary and fellow captive. Daniel was God’s messenger to the mighty monarchs of Babylon and Persia. He rubbed elbows with royalty and never, so far as is known, preached to his fellow exiles. Ezekiel, on the other hand, conducted most of his ministry from his home. He apparently never undertook journeys to distant colonies of exiles, but restricted his prophetic utterances to those who sought him out at his dwelling (Ezekiel 8:1; Ezekiel 14:1; Ezekiel 20:1; Ezekiel 24:19). However, some of his sermons may have been delivered before larger audiences.¹⁶ Most of his utterances were first spoken before being written. His foreign nation oracles (chs 25-32) and his elaborate description of the messianic temple (chs 40-48) were probably never spoken orally.

Like most of the prophets, Ezekiel was commissioned by God to deliver a series of oracles against foreign nations. The messages were intended to sound a note of warning to the nations that were harassing Israel and exulting in her overthrow. Ezekiel argued that the destruction of Israel was nothing over which the nations should gloat because Israel’s destruction was a pledge of their own doom. These foreign nation oracles also served the purpose of beginning the consolation that Ezekiel had for his own people. Israel should derive comfort from the thought that God was preparing for their recovery by pouring out his wrath upon their foes.

THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL

Before undertaking an exegesis of the prophecies of Ezekiel, some introductory and critical matters pertaining to the book must first be treated.

Authorship of the Book

The view that Ezekiel the son of Buzi, the sixth century exile, authored the entire book that bears his name is supported by good evidence. First, this book throughout claims to be by this Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:1; Ezekiel 8:1; Ezekiel 33:1; Ezekiel 40:1-4). A unity of theme is observable throughout the forty-eight chapters—God’s vengeance in Israel’s destruction and God’s vindication in Israel’s restoration. Thirteen prophecies are dated and localized in such a way as to point to the life and times of Ezekiel. Similarity of thought, style, phrasing and arrangement make it clear that the entire book is the work of one mind. The evidence for the authenticity and unity of Ezekiel is so convincing that some scholars who otherwise take a critical view toward the Old Testament have written in support of the essential Ezekielian authorship (e.g., Cornill, and Driver). The work as a whole bears the decided imprint of a single personality.

The traditional view of Ezekielian authorship is clouded by two curious statements in Jewish literature. The first is in the Talmud (fifth century A. D.) where it is said that “the men of the Great Synagogue wrote Ezekiel and the Twelve.”¹⁷ A second curious statement is found in Josephus (first century A.D.): “But not only did he [Jeremiah] predict to the people [the destruction of Jerusalem], but also the prophet Ezekiel who first wrote two books about these things and left them [for posterity.] The Talmud statement probably means nothing more than that the men of the Great Synagogue in the days of Ezra edited and copied the original writing of Ezekiel, The two books referred to by Josephus probably is a reference to two major divisions of the present Book of Ezekiel. Young suggests that chs 1-32 may have constituted the first book, and chs 33-48 the second.

Bentzen contends that “the book as it now stands is no authentic work of the prophet Ezekiel."²⁰ One basis for such an assertion is the dogmatic contention that a prophet cannot hold forth both doom and promise. They imagine that the historic Ezekiel must have been a preacher of doom who offered the nation no ray of hope. Unfortunately for the critics, nearly all Old Testament prophets who speak of doom also hold out some hope of restoration for God’s people. The mixture of gloom and discouragement on the one hand, and hope and optimism on the other can be observed in the discourses of any great preacher of the word.

Canonicity of the Book

The Book of Ezekiel was one of five antilegomena —books spoken against—in the Hebrew canon. Certain rabbis were convinced that the teaching of this book was not in harmony with Mosaic law. The Torah (Law), for example, prescribed that two bullocks and seven lambs and one ram be offered at new moon celebrations (Numbers 28:11). On the other hand, Ezekiel speaks of only one unblemished bullock, six lambs and one ram (Ezekiel 46:6). Rabbi Hananiah vigorously defended the book before those who argued that it should be removed from the canon. Legend has it that he burned the midnight oil—300 jars of it—in harmonizing Ezekiel with the Pentateuch.²¹ Hananiah’s effort at harmonization must not have satisfied all Jewish scholars. The Talmud (Menach. 45a) states that when Elijah comes (cf. Malachi 4:5) the discrepancies between Ezekiel and the Pentateuch will be explained.

Modern scholars are not concerned about the differences between the worship system described in Ezekiel and that set forth by Moses. Ezekiel was describing the worship of a new age and a new covenant.

The Book of Ezekiel certainly belongs in the Old Testament canon. It apparently was found in Nehemiah’s collection of “the acts of the kings, and the prophets, and of David, and the epistles of the kings concerning holy gifts” (2 Maccabees 2:13). Ezekiel was included in the Septuagint translation that was initiated about 280 B.C. Josephus, the famous Jewish historian, numbered this book among the books held sacred by the Jews in his day. The majority of the rabbis defended the book against the disparagement of those who were concerned about the discrepancies with the Pentateuch. The Book of Ezekiel was listed in the Talmud (Baba Bathra 14b) as belonging to the canon. Among early Christian scholars the book was acknowledged by Melito (A.D. 172) and Origen (A.D. 250). In Christian circles the canonicity of Ezekiel never has been questioned seriously.

Ezekiel in Modern Criticism

Modern criticism of the Book of Ezekiel goes back to the Dutch Jewish philosopher Spinoza in the seventeenth century. From that time to the present, the attacks on the book have taken four forms.

Attacks upon the authenticity of the whole book. In the nineteenth century some critics began to argue that the entire Book of Ezekiel was a literary fraud. One group of critics dated the book to the Persian period (Zunz, Geiger), and another group to as late as the Maccabean age (Seinecke). C.C. Torrey, with his characteristic propensity for out radicalizing the radicals, proposed in his book Pseudo-Ezekiel (1930) that the whole book was a pseudepigraphic work composed centuries after the time of Ezekiel. Another critic, James Smith [no relation to the present writer], argued that the book was actually written in the time of King Manasseh early in the seventh century, a century earlier than Ezekiel. In response to these conjectures, the opinion of another respected critic needs to be heard. Fohrer thinks Ezekiel was active in the period defined by the dates given in his utterances. “There is no evidence in favor of a date different from that suggested in the book of Ezekiel."

Attacks on the unity of the book

In the eighteenth century, questioning the unity of ancient documents came in vogue. The unity of nearly every Old Testament prophetic book became suspect at this time. G.L. Oeder suggested that chs 40-48 were added to the Book of Ezekiel long after the prophet was dead.

Attacks upon the integrity of the text

Modern critics will not allow that Ezekiel was responsible for the arrangement and assembling of the utterances and reports that make up his book. Others must have done this work. These critics disagree among themselves as to whether this rather extensive editorializing was a long process (Freedman), a single editor (May) or a particular circle of disciples (Zimmerli). In any case, the critics believe that the evolution of the book continued even after the editors put it together. They postulate later “literary accretions” by scribes who copied the work. Most critics will allow that the sixth century Ezekiel wrote some part of the present book; but they attribute to him only a bare minimum of the total verses in the book. This trend began with Jahn (1905) who proposed that scribal notes from the margin of ancient manuscripts were later inserted into the text of the Book of Ezekiel. Hoelscher (1942) wielded the knife of literary criticism mercilessly, arguing that only 170 verses of the 1273 in the book actually belonged to Ezekiel 26 William A. Irwin (1943) did a little better for the prophet, giving him 251 verses of the book. H.G. May in the Interpreter’s Bible generously assigns about half the book to Ezekiel.

On what basis do these critics deny these large chunks of material to Ezekiel? Hoelscher and Irwin take the distinction between poetry and prose as the criterion of genuineness. They deny Ezekiel’s authorship of everything that cannot be fitted into a pre-determined poetic style. Fohrer takes to task other critics for denying large sections of the book to Ezekiel. He then asserts:

“Nevertheless, the material preserved under the name of Ezekiel contains a series of later passages deriving from various authors and various periods."²⁷ Fohrer himself denies about 111 verses to Ezekiel. Each critic seems to have his own criteria for deciding what is genuine and what is not. The subjectivity of this approach is manifest. Harrison raises an appropriate question: "How is it possible to establish canons of genuineness, and what in fact constitutes an oracle thus defined?”

Attacks upon the setting of the book

In 1932 Herntrich introduced the suggestion that Ezekiel actually lived and ministered in Palestine rather than in Babylon as the book plainly states. Later editors were responsible for the literary framework of the book that makes it appear that Ezekiel lived in Babylon. Other critics have suggested that the locale shifted during Ezekiel’s ministry. Ezekiel is said to have returned to Palestine from Babylon (May) in 591 B.C., or to have commenced his ministry in Palestine and subsequently to have gone to Babylon (Bertholet). Some complicate the matter further by postulating a double shift in Ezekiel’s ministry. Pfeiffer will have Ezekiel first in Babylon, then back in Jerusalem, and finally back among the exiles in Babylon.

Five arguments have been advanced in support of the view that Ezekiel spent part of his time ministering in Palestine.

(1)Many of the oracles in chs 1-24 are relevant to Jerusalem and Judah rather than to the exiles. Answer: Very little is known about the religious attitudes of the exiles apart from the Book of Ezekiel. How then can one be so sure that what Ezekiel says was not appropriate to the situation in Babylonia? The exiles apparently considered themselves still a part of Jerusalem society. They optimistically expected to return to the homeland shortly. Therefore, invectives against Jerusalem society are far from meaningless to the exilic audience. Furthermore, some of Ezekiel’s utterances may actually have been carried back to Jerusalem by travelers.

(2) In ch 16 Ezekiel is told to "make known to Jerusalem her abominations." Answer: A message to a society does not demand the physical presence of the prophet. Numerous examples can be cited of prophets who resided in Jerusalem, and yet addressed oracles to foreign nations they had never seen or visited. Therefore, the fact that one or two prophecies are directed to Jerusalem and Judah is no evidence that Ezekiel must have been in Palestine at that particular moment.

(3) Prophecies are directed to "the house of Israel," the "rebellious house" that might refer to the inhabitants of Palestine. Answer: The exiles considered themselves a part of the house of Israel. The concept of national solidarity made the exiles corporately part of the rebellious house.

(4) Ezekiel betrays an intimate acquaintance with what is going on in the temple in chs 8-11. Answer: Ezekiel’s priestly background will have provided him with vivid recollection of the temple structure and worship. Furthermore, Jeremiah 29 proves that contacts between Jerusalem and Babylon were greater than one might think. News of recent developments in Jerusalem could have reached the prophet’s ears by means of those who traveled between the two places. Finally, Ezekiel may have received his knowledge of the temple idolatries through divine revelation.

(5) Chapter 11 will demand clairvoyant powers on the part of Ezekiel if he were living in Babylonia. How could he have known that Pelatiah had died immediately in response to the oracle that he had just given? Answer: It may be that the statement in Ezekiel 11:13 that Pelatiah died immediately in response to the oracle is itself a part of the vision. If so, no problem exists. On the other hand, through divine revelation Ezekiel may have known immediately that Pelatiah died in accordance with the prophetic word.

The theory of a Palestinian ministry for Ezekiel creates more problems than it solves. Far-reaching textual alterations are necessary in order to support the theory. Whole sections of the book must be pronounced spurious. Fohrer, himself a radical critic, has stated: “Nothing suggests Jerusalem as one or the only location of Ezekiel’s ministry; on the contrary, everything points to Babylonia." Of the utterances of Jeremiah, he is familiar essentially with those from the period before 597 B.C. Not one shred of evidence can be produced to suggest that Ezekiel spent the crucial years under Zedekiah in Jerusalem, or experienced the bitter siege of that city. Besides, no one has ever successfully explained what an editor possibly could have gained by transferring the ministry of a Palestinian prophet to Babylon.

The critical studies of the Book of Ezekiel over the past fifty years or so have largely cancelled out each other. The situation now is much the same as it was prior to 1924 (the work of Hoelscher) when the unity and integrity of the book were generally accepted by the critics. H.H. Rowley (1953) defended the essential unity of the book and took issue with those who will transfer the prophet from Babylon to Palestine or from the sixth century to some other time-frame.

Literary Characteristics

Most modern critics give Ezekiel low marks on literary style. Driver referred to him as the most uniformly prosaic of the earlier prophets. However, it is wrong to analyze the book on the naive assumption that the author was essentially a poet as some critics have done (e.g., Hoelscher and Irwin). It is true that the book is characterized by what moderns might consider excess verbiage. The sentences are often long and involved. But Ezekiel’s style is enriched by uncommon comparisons. The straight forward and unembellished narration is at times punctuated by passages sublime in both thought and expression. If at times Ezekiel smothers his readers with comparatively dry and uninteresting details (e.g., 40:6-49), at other times he overwhelms them with a barrage of scintillating images (e.g., ch 27). At times he halts and staggers (ch 17); at other times he emotionally plunges forward. To be specific, the Book of Ezekiel is marked by at least seven stylistic characteristics.

(1) The book is permeated with the supernatural. It is impossible to reduce Ezekiel to an ordinary or even an extraordinary man of genius. The book is not the result of the subjective meditations of Ezekiel about the condition of his people. Ezekiel insists that every vision, every symbol, every oracle be understood as divine communication of which he was merely the intermediary.

(2) The book is marked by highly idealistic coloring. Challenging visions, allegories, parables and the like are found throughout. God no doubt chose to communicate his word in forms suitable to the poetic temperament of this prophet. This type of imaginative discourse is eminently suited for capturing the attention of reluctant listeners. It impresses vividly upon their minds the truths of God. Scholars differ among themselves as to the source of Ezekiel’s imaginary. Was he influenced by the art of Babylonia? Many sculptured shapes found in that area present points of analogy to Ezekiel’s cherubim. However, Keil has argued that all the symbolism in the book is derived from the Israelite sanctuary and is the logical outcome of Old Testament ideas and views.

(3) Ezekiel makes extensive use of earlier Scriptures. He displays an intimate knowledge of the works of the eighth century prophets—Hosea, Amos and Isaiah—as well as those of his own century— Jeremiah and Zephaniah.³³ Most certainly Ezekiel was acquainted with the Pentateuch.

(4) The book reflects a cosmopolitan outlook. Ezekiel exhibits a remarkable acquaintance, with several foreign lands. Some critics have even suggested that he may have visited these lands in his youth.

(5) Ezekiel employed cultured diction. He was an aristocrat, and there is something aristocratic about his style.

(6) The book is marked by originality. Ezekiel freely reproduced the sentiments of the earlier writers “with the stamp of his own individuality upon it."³⁶ Among the expressions and thoughts original in the book are the following: son of man; rebellious house; hand of Yahweh was on me; the word of Yahweh came unto me; set your face against; they will know that I am Yahweh; they will know that a prophet is in their midst; thus says Yahweh Elohim (God). A long list of Hebrew verbs and nouns peculiar to Ezekiel could also be produced.

(7) The book is full of repetition and deliberate redundancy. If his visions are obscure and mystical, Ezekiel’s sermons are simple. He believed in the technique of emphasis by repetition. He wanted to make it impossible for his hearers to misunderstand his prose discourses.

The Interpretation of Ezekiel

The interpreter faces his greatest challenge in the first ten and in the last nine chapters of the book. Ezekiel was the great mystic among the prophets. It is probably because of the difficulty of interpreting his visionary and symbolic prophecies, that Ezekiel is the most neglected of all the prophets. Hall has put his finger on the reason for the difficulties in Ezekiel. He regards the book as “a transition from regular prophetic literature with its annunciations and denunciations to the highly figurative apocalyptic literature of works such as Daniel and Revelation.”

Ezekiel is a mixture of prosaic and poetic, historical and prophetical, literal and symbolic, realistic and idealistic discourse. Each type of literature must be interpreted according to its own hermeneutical principles. Ordinarily it is not too difficult to identify clearly these various types of literature. Obviously, the visions and symbols are the most difficult. Ezekiel’s visions seem to have been based on actual scenic representations that were present to his mind’s eye during moments of ecstasy. But what of his symbolic acts? Were they actual occurrences, or were they merely carried out mentally by the prophet and reported to the captives? Were they external (Plumptre) or merely internal occurrences (Keil; Hengstenberg)?

There is no reason to doubt that Ezekiel did physically perform some of his symbolic acts, e.g., carrying stuff from his house (Ezekiel 11:7); sighing bitterly before the eyes of the people (Ezekiel 21:6). In other instances the question is not so easily answered. This much is clear: If Ezekiel did not actually perform the actions before his auditors in his own house, it at least seemed to him while in the ecstatic state that he did.

The Text of Ezekiel

Harrison describes the Hebrew text of Ezekiel as “poorly preserved." He attributes the difficulties in the Hebrew text to the obscurities, technical expressions and hapax legomena that led subsequent copyists into frequent error. It is interesting, however, that the fragments that could be detached from the Ezekiel scroll found in Cave 11 at Qumran show that the Hebrew text was fixed in a form similar to the standard Masoretic Text by the middle of the first century B.C. at the latest.

The Septuagint (Greek) text of Ezekiel was translated by a fairly literal translator, although he occasionally paraphrases when the text is difficult. At times he gave such a literal rendering of the Hebrew that his translation makes for impossible Greek. He often omitted repetitious words and phrases so as to make for a simpler form of the text. Sometimes he appears intentionally to change the text in accordance with a different point of view.

Structure and Arrangement

The Book of Ezekiel has been carefully constructed. It is to Ezekiel himself that the credit for this arrangement belongs. The fall of Jerusalem was the mid-point in the ministry of the prophet and also in the book. Chapters 1-24 come from the period prior to the fall of Jerusalem; the last twenty-four chapters in the main are post-fall. In terms of subject matter, the book breaks down into three divisions—oracles against Israel (1-24), oracles against foreign nations (25-32); and a second section pertaining to Israel (33-48).

Whatever interruption of strict chronological sequence that the book displays is best accounted for as the work of Ezekiel himself, not some perplexed editor. The prophet at times desired to group his prophecies by the subjects to which they related rather than by the dates on which they were spoken.

The Book of Ezekiel displays a chronological system unparalleled in any prophetic book, save Haggai. Sixteen dates are given in fourteen passages. In two cases (Ezekiel 1:1-2; Ezekiel 40:1) a double dating is employed, utilizing two different counting systems. In the following chart, the chronological references are tabulated and converted into the mdern calendrical system.

Since the month is not given in the Hebrew text, the date is conjecture. See discussion at the relevant passage. The conversion column is based on the assumption that Ezekiel used the Spring calendar that was common in Babylon rather than the Autumn calendar that at various times was employed in Palestine. Ezekiel here is using the dates of Zedekiah for this event as in 2 25:1. The dating in the Book of Ezekiel is based on the years of the deportation of King Jehoiachin. This young king went captive in 597 B.C.

Apparently he was still considered by many of that time the legal ruler of Judah vis-à-vis Zedekiah who was looked upon as a mere regent of Nebuchadnezzar.

 

Harrison follows Brownlee in suggesting that the Book of Ezekiel is “a literary bifid,” i.e., the book reveals a two part arrangement. Harrison puts a great deal of emphasis on the statement of Josephus (Ant. 10:5.1) that Ezekiel left behind two books. These books, originally separate productions of the prophet, have been combined in the present book. Harrison thinks that chs 1-23 constitute Book One and chs 24-48 Book Two.

Table 1: Dated Prophecies in Ezekiel

PASSAGE

EVENT

EZEKIEL’S DATE MONTH DAY YEAR

JULIAN CALENDAR

Ezekiel 1:1-2	Ezekiel’s call to be a prophet	4	5	30[5]*	July 593 b.c.
Ezekiel 3:16	Ezekiel’s commission in exile	4	12	30[5]*	Aug. 593 b.c.
Ezekiel 8:1	Visions of judgment for polluting the temple	6	5	6	Sept. 592 b.c.
Ezekiel 20:1	Inquiry of the elders	5	10	7	Aug. 591 b.c.
Ezekiel 24:1	Siege of Jerusalem begins	10	10	9	Jan. 588 b.c.
Ezekiel 26:1	Prophecy of Tyre’s destruction	?	1	11	Feb. or Mar.(?) 586 b.c.
Ezekiel 29:1	Prophecy of Egypt’s destruction	10	12	10	Jan. 587 b.c.
Ezekiel 29:17	Prophecy of Tyre and Egypt reinforced	1	1	27	Apr. 571 b.c.
Ezekiel 30:20	Prophecy of Pharaoh’s destruction	1	7	11	Apr. 587 b.c.
Ezekiel 31:1	Prophecy of Pharaoh’s destruction	3	1	11	June 587 b.c.
Ezekiel 32:1	Lamentation of Pharaoh	12	1	12	Mar. 585 b.c.
Ezekiel 32:17	Pharaoh in Sheol	12	15	12	Apr.(?) 585 b.c.
Ezekiel 33:21	Lament over fall of Jerusalem	10	5	12	Jan. 585 b.c.
Ezekiel 40:1	Vision of the new temple/Jerusalem	1	10	25	Apr. or Oct. 573 b.c.

*The thirtieth year probably refers to elapsed time since the discovery of the law in 622–21 b.c. and resulting reforms of Josiah (see comments on Ezekiel 1:1). Bracketed years and all years in this column refer to the years of captivity beginning with 598/597 b.c.

Table 2: Chronology of Exile and Restoration

640 b.c.	Reign of Josiah begins over Judah (2 Kings 22:1 ff.).
627 b.c.	Prophetic call of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:1-3)
626 b.c.	Babylonian independence from Assyria
622 b.c.	Book of the law found in the temple; Josiah attempts religious reforms (2 Kings 22:8-14).
612 b.c.	Fall of Nineveh to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
609 b.c.	Josiah killed at Megiddo by Pharaoh Neco (2 Kings 23:28-30).
605 b.c.	Battle of Charchemish established Babylon as world power; Jeremiah writes first scroll in fourth year of Jehoiakim; Nebuchadnezzar makes first attack on Jerusalem; first group of captives taken into exile; Daniel taken captive.
601 b.c.	Jehoiakim rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:1-7).
597 b.c.	Jehoiakim taken captive; Jehoiachin reigns three months. Zedekiah follows Jehoiachin as king of Judah; second group of captives (2 Kings 24:8-20); Ezekiel taken captive with this group.
589 b.c.	Zedekiah attempts an alliance with Egypt, provokes the anger of Nebuchadnezzar.
587/586 b.c.	Siege and final destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar; third group of captives taken from Judah; Gedaliah appointed governor; Jeremiah goes to Egypt (2 Kings 25:1-30).
582 b.c.	Fourth group of captives taken from Judah to Babylon (Jeremiah 52:30)
539 b.c.	Fall of Babylon to Medo-Persians
538 b.c.	Decree of Cyrus; first captives return, arriving ca. 535.
535 b.c.	Foundation of the second temple laid (Ezra 3:8-13)
520 b.c.	Completion of the temple work commenced (Ezra 5:1-17)
516 b.c.	Second temple dedicated

Table 3: Rulers of Judah during Ezekiel’s Lifetime

The following rulers led Judah during the fifty-four years from 640 b.c. to the final fall of Jerusalem in 586 b.c. Ezekiel was taken captive in 597 b.c. and lived under the ministry, rule, and misrule of these men.

Josiah 640–609 b.c.	Josiah was a godly man who genuinely wanted to see a spiritual renewal in Judah. He instituted numerous religious reforms (2 Kings 23:4-23; 2 Chronicles 34:3-33) in an attempt to suppress idolatry and restore true worship of Yahweh. The law found in the temple in 622 became the basis for his reform. He was killed in 609 at Megiddo by Pharaoh Neco. Jeremiah was called to be a prophet during Josiah’s reign.
Jehoahaz 609 B.C	Jehoahaz was the son of Josiah. He reigned only three months (2 Kings 23:31 ff.). He was an evil king who immediately set out to undo the works of his father. He was captured by Pharaoh Neco, who replaced Jehoahaz with Jehoiakim.
Jehoiakim 609–597 b.c.	His real name was Eliakim. Pharaoh Neco made him his puppet by placing him on the throne of Judah and giving him the name Jehoiakim. When Pharaoh Neco was defeated in the Battle of Carchemish in 605, Jehoiakim declared his independence. It was short-lived because in the same year Nebuchadnezzar, who having defeated the Egyptians at Carchemish, controlled the whole ancient Near East. Jehoiakim was an evil king who burned the Word of God that had been written and delivered to him by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 36:11-32). In 598/97 he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar and along with his family was taken captive to Babylon where he died, was executed, or was assassinated (2 Kings 24:1-7). He continued his wicked policies initiated after Josiah’s death.
Jehoiachin 597 b.c.	He was an eighteen-year-old son of Jehoiakim. He ruled only three months after his father was deposed. Nebuchadnezzar dethroned the young king and took all the temple treasures from Jerusalem to Babylon (2 Kings 24:8-17). Jehoiachin also was an evil ruler (2 Kings 24:9) who led the people away from God. Ezekiel probably was taken captive at this time.
Zedekiah 597–586 b.c.	His real name was Mattaniah. Jehoiakim was his brother (so he was Jehoiachin’s uncle; 2 Kings 24:17). He was the final wicked ruler over Judah. Jeremiah urged him to be submissive to Nebuchadnezzar, but in 587 he rebelled. Nebuchadnezzar reached his point of tolerance and came to Jerusalem, captured Zedekiah, blinded him, destroyed the city including the temple, and took him and the populace captive to Babylon (2 Kings 25:1-21).
Gedaliah 586 b.c.	Gedaliah was appointed governor of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:22; Jeremiah 40:5). He was assassinated by the leaders of those few who were left in Judah. The refugees fled to Egypt (2 Kings 25:22-26).

EZEKIEL 1

THE INAUGURAL VISION

Before a prophet could speak to others, God had to speak to him. A special call vision catapulted the apprentice priest Ezekiel into the prophetic ministry. The vision of the divine chariot—the Merkabah as it is known in Jewish literature—is a fitting introduction to his career. Jewish mystics have always been fascinated with this material. More recently science fiction writers have subjected the Merkabah to the most detailed scrutiny in search of evidence that spaceships from other worlds have landed on this planet. Much has been written on this chapter of Scripture. Often the discussion has centered on the mechanics of the Merkabah rather than the message that God is trying to communicate through this vision. In ch 1 of his book, Ezekiel discusses (1) the setting (Ezekiel 1:1-3) and (2) the substance (Ezekiel 1:4-28) of his inaugural vision.

SETTING OF THE VISION

Ezekiel 1:1-3

The first three verses are a preface to the Book of Ezekiel. Two distinct statements can be identified here. Ezekiel 1:1 is in the first person and Ezekiel 1:2-3 are in the third person. Some critics think two distinct superscriptions are used here, superscriptions that at one time headed separate collections of Ezekiel’s writings. It is better, however, to regard Ezekiel 1:2-3 as a parenthetical insertion by Ezekiel himself designed to explain the puzzling, indefinite expressions in Ezekiel 1:1.

That Ezekiel 1:2-3 are an integral part of this book can be seen in the fact that they provide, in addition to the date for the book, the customary information about the author. The preface to the Book of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:1-3) presents the setting for the inaugural vision of the prophet. These verses set forth information regarding (1) the recipient; (2) the time; (3) the place; and (4) the nature of the vision.

First Preface (Ezekiel 1:1)

Personal dating (Ezekiel 1:1 a): Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, the fourth month, the fifth day of the month... Ezekiel’s inaugural vision receives double dating. In Ezekiel 1:1 the vision is dated in terms of Ezekiel’s own life; in Ezekiel 1:2, according to the captivity of King Jehoiachin. Ezekiel was thirty years old when he received the divine call to be a prophet. From Ezekiel 1:2 it can be computed that the call vision fell in the year 593 B.C. This means that Ezekiel was born about 622 B.C. during the reign of good King Josiah. He was born four years after Jeremiah began his ministry, and one year before the discovery of the lost book of the law in the temple. The dated prophecies in this book cover a span of twenty-two years. Thus Ezekiel engaged in his prophetic ministry between the ages of thirty and fifty-two.

It is strange that nothing is said in the Old Testament or in Jewish tradition about the age at which a priest began to serve. However, under the law of Moses, Levites entered into their service at the age of thirty (Numbers 4:23; Numbers 4:30). The probability is rather strong that this was the normal age for entering priestly service as well. If this is so, then Ezekiel never functioned as a priest prior to his deportation in 597 B.C., for as Ezekiel 1:2 clearly shows, his thirtieth year fell in 593 B.C.

While he never officiated in the temple, Ezekiel must have studied for years the intricate details of priestly ritual. His thirtieth birthday will have been particularly sad for the son of Buzi because he knew he will never succeed his father in the sacred vocation for which he had prepared throughout his youth. This was a crucial time in the life of Ezekiel. Since it will not be possible for this godly man to serve the Lord as a priest, God called him to another and even more vital sphere of service.

Some scholars regard the thirty years as reckoned from some fixed point in Babylonian or Jewish history. Thus in one scheme the thirty years are counted from the accession of Nabopolassar in 626 B.C. This will yield a date of 596 B.C., one year after the deportation of Ezekiel and ten thousand of his countrymen. This computation will not square with the fifth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin mentioned in Ezekiel 1:2. Even less justification exists for counting the thirty years from 621 B.C. when the lost law book was discovered in the Jerusalem temple. As important as this event was in the history of the monarchy, no example of reckoning time from this year can be adduced in the Old Testament.

So important was the inaugural vision in the life of Ezekiel that he dates it as to month and day as well as year. The call came in the fourth month. Ezekiel here follows the normal pre-exilic custom of numbering rather than naming the month. In post-exilic times the fourth month was known as Tammuz. Converted into modern day equivalents, Ezekiel’s call vision occurred on August 1, 593.

Place of the vision (Ezekiel 1:1 b)

“that I was in the midst of the captives beside the river Kebar.” Ezekiel was in the midst of the captives when he received his majestic vision. What a mixed group they were! Some had given up on God because of the misfortunes that had befallen them. They had compromised with the materialistic culture of Babylon. Others clung desperately at the outset to the illusion that God will never let Jerusalem be destroyed—that God will shortly bring them back to their homeland.

Ezekiel was by the river Kebar at the time God called him to the prophetic ministry. The Jewish captives were not in confinement, but were restricted to a certain area of the land. It is now known that the river Kebar was not actually a river, but an enormous irrigation canal known as Naru Kabari, the grand canal.. The remains of this canal are known as Shalt en Nil. The canal started at the Euphrates above Babylon. It flowed southeasterly sixty miles through Nippur, and reentered the Euphrates near Uruk. Evidence of one large Jewish settlement near Nippur has come to light.

Manner of the vision (Ezekiel 1:1 c)

“The heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.” In the preface of his book, Ezekiel states in a general way what he will amplify in the rest of chs 1-3. The vision began when the heavens were opened revealing the unseen spiritual world. Whether to the prophet’s mental “eye” or to his physical eye, the heavens unfolded like curtains of a stage to reveal to him the divine glory. The phrase visions of God could legitimately be understood in more than one way. Often the Hebrews will add the name of God to a noun to express greatness or majesty. Thus, Psalms 36:6 in the Hebrew refers to the mountains of God by which is meant great mountains. Thus, visions of God could be translated great or majestic visions. But Currey is correct when he observes that “the visions were not only supremely majestic, but visions of the majesty of God.” The Hebrew, then, may also be translated “divine visions,” i.e., visions concerning God, or devised by God.

Amplified Preface (Ezekiel 1:2-3)

The national dating (Ezekiel 1:2): In the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the captivity of King Jehoiachin) The vision is further dated to the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity. Jehoiachin was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar when he surrendered to the Chaldean conqueror on March 16, 597 B.C. The fifth year of the captivity will thus fall in 593 B.C. Most of the dates in Ezekiel are given in terms of the captivity of Jehoiachin. It has been suggested that Ezekiel regarded Jehoiachin as the legitimate ruler of the Jews even though he had reigned only for three months after the death of his father Jehoiakim (2 Kings 24:8). However, this may be reading too much into Ezekiel’s dating system. The captivity of Jehoiachin involved Ezekiel as well, and may simply have been the most convenient way of measuring time for the captives.

Manner of the vision (Ezekiel 1:3 a)

“the word of the LORD came most assuredly...” The visions of God are further identified as being the word of the LORD Ezekiel 1:3). The expression appears some fifty times in Ezekiel. This is the most frequently used expression in the Old Testament to affirm that a prophet had received direct communication from God.⁵⁹ The phrase is not to be restricted to the oral directions that came to Ezekiel in ch 2. Rather the word of the LORD embraces all the revelatory experiences of the prophet. The messages Ezekiel preached were not of his own choosing—not necessarily of his own liking. What he spoke came from above.

The problem of authority was crucial for Ezekiel. The somewhat shocking nature of his message required that his credentials be impeccable. For this reason, Ezekiel makes the strongest possible claim that he was commissioned of God. The word of the LORD came most assuredly to him. No doubt existed in his own mind that he had in fact received a heaven-sent vision. The claim to have heard the divine word is found often in Old Testament prophecy (cf. Amos 7; Hosea 1).

Recipient of the vision (Ezekiel 1:3 c)

“to Ezekiel son of Buzi, the priest...” The author of the book identifies himself for the first time in Ezekiel 1:3. He is Ezekiel the son of Buzi. The name Ezekiel means God strengthens. Nothing further is known of his father beyond what is said here. The title the priest properly belongs to the name Buzi as is indicated by the Hebrew accent marks. Ezekiel will also be a priest, however, as the Old Testament priesthood was hereditary.

The first three chapters of Ezekiel describe that moment when the young priest was called to be a prophet. A prophet is one who speaks for another (Exodus 7:1; Exodus 4:16). This involved speaking for God to man through sermon and oracle. It also involved speaking for man to God in intercessory prayer. While the priesthood was hereditary, one could only become a prophet when he was divinely chosen to be so. Priests interpreted the law of God. They led in the divinely ordained temple rituals.

Prophets (1) interpreted history in the light of the law; (2) urged compliance to the spirit of the law; and (3) announced God’s plans for the near and distant future. While both priest and prophet fulfilled vital functions, the ministry of prophet was somewhat broader and less affected by time. Priests were concerned with old covenant law and ritual-— the types and shadows that according to God’s grand plan were to pass away. Prophets were concerned with basic timeless principles and with the ultimate developments of God’s program for this earth. While the names of even the greatest priests are scarcely known today, the prophets through their writings continue to instruct, challenge, guide and rebuke the sons of men.

Location of the vision (Ezekiel 1:3 d)

“in the land of the Chaldeans beside the river Kebar;” The inaugural vision took place in the land of the Chaldeans. Although originally the Chaldeans and Babylonians were ethnically distinct groups, at this stage of history the two terms were used interchangeably. The land of the Chaldeans is the southern Mesopotamian basin. It is not altogether certain when the Chaldeans began to filter into this region from the Syro-Arabian desert, but the Assyrian kings found the Chaldeans a formidable force under the leadership of Merodach-Baladan in the late eighth century. Under Nabopolassar (626-605 B.C.) the Chaldeans were able to extricate southern Mesopotamia from the grip of the Assyrians. They founded what was destined to become the most powerful and wealthy empire that had heretofore existed on the face of the earth.

Empowerment of the messenger (Ezekiel 1:3 e)

“and the hand of the LORD came upon him there.” God not only gave this captive priest a message, He also endowed him with the power to deliver that message. Such is the import of the sentence, the hand of the LORD was there on him. The hand of the Lord designates something felt rather than seen. Proclaiming the unpopular word of God is never easy. Furthermore, relatively young men like Ezekiel were to be seen, not heard. All wisdom resided in the elders of the nation! Thus Ezekiel needed the reassurance of the hand of the Lord. He needed that unseen hand to guide, strengthen and protect him.

Reference to the hand of the LORD (or God) is frequent in the Old Testament. This anthropomorphism refers to the authority, power or protection of the Lord. In reference to individuals, the expression is used somewhat sparingly. The hand of the Lord is said to have come upon Elijah (1 Kings 18:46) and Elisha (2 Kings 3:15). In the former case, the hand of the Lord bestowed upon the prophet unusual physical power and endurance; in the latter case, oracular power was imparted.

Elsewhere in Ezekiel the expression the hand of the LORD is used four times to introduce a visionary experience (Ezekiel 3:22; Ezekiel 8:1; Ezekiel 37:1; Ezekiel 40:1). In two passages the hand of the LORD refers to the divine constraining or sustaining power as it manifested itself in the physical stamina of the prophet (Ezekiel 3:14; Ezekiel 33:22).

The evidence points to the following definition for this expression: The hand of the LORD refers to the supernatural manifestation of divine power in the life of a prophet such as will enhance his physical abilities and enable him to see that which the unaided human mind could never ascertain. The expression appears in the Book of Ezekiel seven times.

Ezekiel 1:1-3 contains dating for the beginning of Ezekiel’s ministry. Ezekiel 1:1-3. The book begins with a typical introductory formula – “and it came to pass.” The formula is typical of narrative, but introduces only the books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Esther, and Jonah. It focuses attention on the date and circumstances surrounding Ezekiel’s call.

The meaning of the 30th year is unclear. It may refer to the time elapsed since the beginning of the exile, but this does not fit in well with the chronology in the remainder of the book. The rabbinic interpretation was that it referred to the time elapsed since the last observance of the Year of Jubilee, which was observed after seven sabbatical years (Leviticus 25:8-17). It may refer to the 30th year since the discovery of the law by Hilkiah the priest. (622 BC.) It may refer to Ezekiel’s age at the time of his call.

Some reject this because it is not the normal manner of dating prophetic writing; well known historical evens are more common. See, Isaiah 1:1; Isaiah 6:1. But see, Genesis 7:6; Genesis 7:11. The 30th year would be significant to a man with priestly connections. Numbers 4:3; Numbers 4:23; Numbers 4:30; Numbers 4:39. It is also the year that Christ entered upon his public ministry. Luke 3:23. The year was also the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin. This was a crucial time in the history of Judah. Inhabitants in both Jerusalem and Babylon taught that the captivity was only short-term, and they plotted against Babylon to restore independence to Israel.

Both Ezekiel and Jeremiah warned that the exile would be much longer and that Jerusalem would be destroyed, not restored. Ezekiel was a captive by the River Chebar. No man is a captive unless he chooses to be. The Cheber was a man-made canal used for irrigation. It brought water from the Euphrates for irrigation. Excavations at Babylon have revealed evidence of Jewish settlements along such a canal. There Ezekiel saw the heavens opened and saw visions of God. While this was a special vision, one of the mark’s of God’s people is that they are able to see the invisible. Hebrews 11:27; 2 Corinthians 4:18. Ezekiel was able to lift his eyes above the miseries of exile and see visions of God.

It was at this time and in this place that God called Ezekiel. The word of the Lord came (Heb. justifies “indeed came”). The emphatic marks a point of absolute beginning. Ezekiel the priest became Ezekiel the prophet of God. Those who declare today that God has spoken to them do not have Ezekiel’s credentials. The hand of the Lord was upon him. This expression occurs seven times in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 3:14; Ezekiel 3:22; Ezekiel 8:1; Ezekiel 33:22; Ezekiel 37:1; Ezekiel 40:1) and suggests a state of divine possession in which the prophet received his supernatural revelation – he was a man seized by God. It may also denote the divine compulsion of the call of God upon Ezekiel.

SUBSTANCE OF THE VISION

Ezekiel 1:4-28

Ezekiel’s call vision is replete with strange and even grotesque figures. Ancient rabbis warned teachers not to expound the mystery of creation in the presence of more than one person, and the mystery of Ezekiel’s chariot-throne not even to the one, unless he was unusually wise and discreet. The point of the vision is that God is arriving to be with his people. This visionary account creates a sense of awe, mystery, and irresistible power. If only this much can be learned from the account, the prophet will have accomplished his purpose. If the reader misses this in the reading of ch 1, detailed analysis of the vision will be of little value.

The interpretation of the details of the throne-chariot description is notoriously difficult. The Jewish rabbis declared that if anyone could master the secrets of the merkabah (chariot) he will know all the secrets of creation. The difficulties involved here are not in the English translation. The problem lies in (1) the poverty of human language when it comes to describing the celestial and supernatural; and (2) the lack of spiritual imagination on the part of the interpreters of this book. In any case, it is the message of the throne-chariot, not the mechanics of it, that is important.

Ezekiel’s inaugural vision is discussed under its five chief aspects: (1) the storm cloud (Ezekiel 1:4); (2) the cherubim (Ezekiel 1:5-14); (3) the wheels (Ezekiel 1:15-21); (4) the platform (Ezekiel 1:22-25); and (5) the throne (Ezekiel 1:26-28).

The Storm Cloud (Ezekiel 1:4)

Direction of the cloud (Ezekiel 1:4 a): “I looked, and behold a stormy wind was coming from the north...” The words I looked and behold is the common introductory formula to visions that occurs nine times in the book. Two kinds of visions are found in the Old Testament. In the objective vision, the prophet is led to discover some meaning in an object upon which he is meditating, Any other person present could have seen the same object; only the significance of the object is given through special revelation. In the second type of vision—the subjective type—the vision is purely internal. It is something that only the prophet experiences. Ezekiel’s vision of the throne-chariot is the subjective type.

The first sight to meet the eyes of Ezekiel was a stormy wind. Association of deity with storm phenomena and fire is quite common in Hebrew thought. The mighty thunderstorm is but the attendant of the throne of God. This storm must be a symbol of God’s omnipotent power. Within six more years, Jerusalem will be destroyed by this stormy wind. Chapters 4-24 recount in detail Ezekiel’s description and prediction of that forthcoming judgment.

The stormy wind comes from the north. The direction of the storm is unusual for either Palestine or Mesopotamia. Jeremiah spoke of an enemy coming from the north against Judah (Ezekiel 1:14; Ezekiel 4:6). God will employ a ruthless foe from the north—the Chaldeans—to bring about the final destruction of Jerusalem.

Description of the cloud (Ezekiel 1:4 b)

Coming from it (Ezekiel 1:4 b): “a great cloud with fire flashing forth... “Accompanying the stormy wind was a great cloud. The cloud may be a portent of impending calamity, or perhaps better, a symbol of approaching deity. God will be present in the judgment that was coming on Jerusalem. Ezekiel does not dwell on the blackness of the cloud. He emphasizes rather its radiance. From that cloud fire was flashing forth. The Hebrew phrase is literally a fire taking hold of itself, i.e., a succession of outbursts of flame. The fire here is probably lightning streaking across the blackness of the heavens. Those who see in this fire an indication that the Jerusalem temple was to be burned are probably reading too much into this descriptive detail.

Surrounding it (Ezekiel 1:4 c): and a radiant splendor round about. A radiant splendor surrounded the black storm cloud. This dazzling sight is not to be explained with Taylor as the brightness of the desert sun lighting up the edges of the cloud. Still less was the radiant splendor produced by the fire that was flashing forth from the cloud. It is rather the splendor of the glory of God that is being observed by Ezekiel in connection with the great cloud and stormy wind. It is almost impossible to talk about God for any length of time without mentioning light.

In its midst (Ezekiel 1:4 d): From its midst there was something that appeared like polished bronze from the midst of the fire. In the midst of the great cloud was something that appeared like (lit., as the eye of) polished. The Hebrew word occurs only three times in Ezekiel (cf. Ezekiel 1:27; Ezekiel 8:2). Some uncertainty exists as to its precise meaning. The Septuagint and Vulgate have electrum, a substance composed of silver and gold. Cooke, however, traces xaHmal back to an Akkadian word meaning polished bronze.

The Cherubim (Ezekiel 1:5-14)

General description (Ezekiel 1:5-6): “From its midst [I saw] the likeness of four living creatures.” This was their appearance: they possessed the likeness of a man. (Ezekiel 1:6) Each of them had four faces and four wings. Ezekiel observed four living creatures emerging from the midst of the flashing cloud. These grotesque creatures supported the platform (Ezekiel 1:22 f.) on which stood the throne of Yahweh. The living creatures were basically human in appearance (Ezekiel 1:5). The Greek version uses the word zoon (animal, living creature), the same word employed of the four living creatures of Revelation 4:6.

The number four has special significance in Ezekiel and throughout the Bible. It suggests primarily the idea of completeness and totality. As a secondary import, this number stands for the created world. Thus the Old Testament speaks of “the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:12), “the four winds” (Ezekiel 37:9) and so forth. Ezekiel’s predilection for the number four can be seen in the four wings, four faces, four hands, four sides and four wheels of the inaugural vision. In ch 8 he presents four scenes of false worship and in ch14 he refers to four plagues.

Each of the creatures had four faces and four wings (Ezekiel 1:6). These will be described in more detail in the following verses.

Specific aspects (Ezekiel 1:6-9)

Their feet (Ezekiel 1:7): Their feet were straight feet, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot, and they glistened like the appearance of polished bronze.” Probably in Ezekiel 1:7 the first use of the term feet (regel) is used in the wider sense of legs. These legs are said to be straight, i.e., unjointed.⁷⁷ Such at least is the old Jewish understanding of the word. The creatures then, did not bow, crouch or lie down. Throughout the vision they remained perfectly erect. The feet of the creatures resembled the hoof of a calf. This probably means nothing more than that their feet were rounded.⁷⁸ This will enable creatures to move freely in every direction. The feet are said to glisten (nOc¯cÓm) like polished brass.

Their hands (Ezekiel 1:8): “Under their wings upon their four sides were hands of a man.” In addition to the four wings, each creature had hands (v 8). Some doubt exists as to whether each creature had four hands or two hands. Probably the latter is correct. These hands will be put to good use a bit later (cf. Ezekiel 10:7).

Their wings (Ezekiel 1:8-9): Now as for the faces and wings of the four of them, (Ezekiel 1:9) Their wings were joined together, they did not turn when they moved, each went straight ahead. Since each creature had a face on four sides, they did not turn around when their course was altered. The face toward the intended course moved forward in that direction. Wherever they went they always moved forward, since each creature had a face in the appropriate direction (Ezekiel 1:9). This detail may point to the resoluteness of purpose that these creatures manifested.

The living creatures had their groundwork in the Old Testament cherubim. Little is known about the angelic order of cherubim, although they are frequently mentioned in the Bible. The description of the cherubim in Revelation 4 differs from that found here. Later in Ezekiel 41 the cherubim are depicted as having only two faces instead of the four that are mentioned in the present passage. The cherubim of the Mosaic ark and the Solomonic temple probably did not resemble those that are here in view. This will account for the circumstance that when Ezekiel first saw these creatures on the bank of the Kebar he did not recognize them as cherubim. This identification he was able to make in 10:20 when he saw the creatures in connection with the temple.

The cherubim as they appear throughout the Bible are symbols, not likenesses. This is why the appearance of these creatures differs from passage to passage. In place of the four-faced, four-sided figures seen by Ezekiel, John saw each living creature having only one face. But if these living creatures are symbols, of what are they symbolical? The oldest and probably the correct explanation is that the living creatures are symbolic representations of heavenly beings.⁸¹ This is not to say that the living creatures represented any four particular angels. Certainly no one should expect that they will meet creatures in heaven resembling those that Ezekiel saw. These cherubim are symbols, not likenesses. The main point is this: heavenly beings serve the king; how much more should the sons of men.

The general import of the living creatures is not difficult to ascertain. Their facial features (see following discussion) suggest that they have the specific function of representing the earthly creation before the Lord. Yahweh, the God of creation and redemption, holds sway over all the earth. It is most appropriate that the throne-chariot of the heavenly Sovereign should be borne by those who represent the whole earth over which the Lord holds sway.

Focus on their faces (Ezekiel 1:10): “The likeness of their faces was as the face of a man, and the four of them had the face of a lion on the right, and a face of a bull on the left, and the four of them had the face of an eagle.” Each of the living creatures had four faces (cf. v 6). Something of great importance is thus signified. Those creatures associated most intimately with God could see in all directions. The shape of the face differed on the four sides: the face of a man in front, of a lion on the right side, of an ox on the left side, and of an eagle behind (v 10).⁸² At the very least, these faces symbolized the highest forms of life that are found in the various realms of creation.

The Jewish rabbis commented:

Man is exalted among creatures; the eagle is exalted among the birds; the ox is exalted among domestic animals; the lion is exalted among wild beasts; and all of them have received dominion, and greatness has been given them yet they are stationed below the chariot of the Holy One.

There may be more to the quadruple faces. Representations of the lion, ox. and eagle were common in Babylonian art, and so will be particularly suggestive to the mind of the exiles there. Four-faced statuettes of gods have also been found in Babylon. I.G. Matthews suggested that these were common symbols for the chief deities of Babylonia in Ezekiel’s day. The vision may then be proclaiming that Yahweh, not the gods of Babylon, control history.

The living creatures formed a square. The human face of each creature faced outward. The effect was that whatever way one looked at the four creatures, a different face was seen from each. All four faces were visible at the same time from any angle.

Their movements (Ezekiel 1:11-14)

Disposition of their wings (Ezekiel 1:11): Their faces and their wings were separated above. Each had two that joined another, and two covering their bodies. The creatures had four wings (cf. Ezekiel 1:6). For the sake of modesty, two of these wings were used to cover the naked bodies of these creatures. The other two wings were in the act of flying. They were so stretched out that the tip of each touched the wing tip of a fellow living creature on the right and on the left (cf. Ezekiel 1:9). This symbolized their unity of purpose. When the throne-chariot came to a stop, the second pair of wings was let down (cf. Ezekiel 1:24). Although the creatures appeared at times to be connected to one another at the wing tips, yet their faces and their wings were separated above (Ezekiel 1:11), i.e., they were not physically connected.

Set of their faces (Ezekiel 1:12): “Each went straight ahead wherever the spirit was to go, they went; they did not turn as they went.” The creatures did not need to turn their heads as they moved in various directions (cf. Ezekiel 1:9). Apparently the living creatures were not capable of independent movement. The entire throne-chariot of which they were a part moved as a single unit under the impulse of the spirit, i.e., the Holy Spirit.

Swiftness of their movements (Ezekiel 1:13-14): As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches. Fire was going to and fro between the living creatures. The fire had a radiant splendor, and from the fire lightning was going forth. (Ezekiel 1:14) The living creatures were running back and forth like lightning bolts. Ezekiel compares the appearance of the living creatures to (1) coals of fire and (2) torches. They must have had a pulsating or glowing quality about them. In the midst of the hollow square formed by the four cherubim, Ezekiel observed a bright fire that seemed to move back and forth among the living creatures. Periodically lightning flashed forth from the interior of the “chariot" (Ezekiel 1:13). This fire no doubt symbolized the judgment that at that moment of history was in the center of God’s concern.

Initially the movements of the living creatures seemed to Ezekiel to be erratic. The creatures were seen running back and forth like lightning bolts, i.e., the throne-chariot moved to and fro with the speed of lightning (Ezekiel 1:14).

A vision of the glory of God provides

the necessary context for Ezekiel’s call.

Ezekiel 1:4-28.

Israel became a theocracy at Mt. Sinai. Exodus 19:1-8. It became a theocratic state in the days of Samuel. 1 Samuel 8:4-22. During its history an exclusive nationalism developed that viewed God as absolutely tied to Israel. Jonah rejected the idea of preaching to foreigners, and fled Israel to get away from God. Jonah 1:3. Ezekiel and the exiles had been removed from Israel, leading them to conclude that in some sense they had been removed from the Lord’s presence.

So where was God?

If he was in Israel, how could he allow foreign armies to occupy the land? If the occupation was allowed to stand, it would mean that the gods of Babylon were greater than the God of Israel. Thus, the exiles could not believe that the exile would be long. Ezekiel declared Jehovah to be God of the whole world, that he cared for his people, and that he was with them even in exile. Ezekiel declared Jehovah to be free to use whomever he chose, including pagan kings (cf. Isaiah 45:1; Habakkuk 1:5-11), to accomplish his purposes.

Five elements of the vision of the glory of God.

Ezekiel 1:4-14

(1) The Windstorm. Ezekiel 1:4. When Ezekiel saw God, the revelation came in a great thunderstorm. (cf. Job 38:1; Job 40:6; Psalms 29:3-5; 1 Kings 19:11-13.) The display of nature captured Ezekiel’s attention as the burning bush captured Moses’ attention. (Exodus 3:1-5.) In the wilderness God led the Hebrews by a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud. (Exodus 13:17-22.) When God came down on Sinai, he came in lightning, smoke, and fire. (Exodus 19:16-18.) God is characterized as a consuming fire. (Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:28-29.) Fire not only represented the presence of God, but it also was a symbol of the refining and purifying elements of judgment (e.g., Malachi 3:1-6). The captives had lost their sense of the awe and majesty of Jehovah, so Jehovah presented himself to the prophet in power, majesty, and holiness so that Ezekiel could sense God’s character as he communicated his message to the captives. The storm was immense – not only large, but intense. It came from the north. God is the God of the north. It was from the north that the invasion and destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army would come. (cf. Jeremiah 1:14.)

(2) The four living creatures. Ezekiel 1:5-14. The four living creatures emerged from the storm as Ezekiel watched. (They return in Ezekiel 10:5 and Ezekiel 10:20 where they are called “cherubim.”) The cherubim were appointed to guard the holiness of God. Their mission was to prevent anything unholy from coming into the presence of God. They were indicators of the presence of God in the storm. Most familiar with them as guardians of Eden to prevent the reentry of sinful humanity. (Genesis 3:22-24.) Their likeness was embroidered on the curtain of the tabernacle to guard the holy of holies against unauthorized entry. (Exodus 26:31.) Within the holy of holies, their likeness stood atop the ark of the covenant, and they affirmed God’s presence there. (Exodus 25:18-22.)

(3) The wheels. Ezekiel 1:15-21. Associated with each cherubim there were wheels described more in terms of function than of construction. They were described as the lowest part of the chariot-throne and sat on the ground beneath the cherubim (Ezekiel 1:15). Their appearance was like chrysolite (perhaps topaz or other semi-precious stone). Each wheel was actually two in one, with one apparently set inside the other at right angles, permitting movement in any direction. The wheels had outer rims had an outer edge that was inset with eyes (Ezekiel 1:18). The wheels gave mobility to the chariot-throne of God. When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved, activated by the spirit. Ezekiel 1:21 is a recap of Ezekiel 1:19-20 and forms a conclusion to the section, emphasizing the unity and coordination between the cherubim, the wheels, the spirit, and the throne-chariot. The mobility of the wheels represents God’s omnipresence; the eyes represent his omniscience; the elevated position represent his omnipotence.

(4) The platform. Ezekiel 1:22-27. The “expanse” (Ezekiel 1:22) is the same word used in Genesis 1:6 to describe the creation of the heavens. Here it refers to some kind of platform above the cherubim; it’s appearance was like ice and it supported God’s throne. Under the platform, the wings of the cherubim produced a sound like that of a rushing river like the voice of God (Ezekiel 1:24). Parallel to that sound, the voice of God came from above the firmament. (See Revelation 1:15.) Positioned on the platform was a throne that appeared like sapphire. The vision was similar to that of Moses and the 70 elders. (Exodus 24:10.) The throne is mentioned again in Ezekiel 10:1. Upon the throne was a figure like that of a man whose appearance was like fire described in other theophanies. (See Exodus 3:2-15; Exodus 24:17; Revelation 4:1-5.) This vision portrays two important concepts about God that his people seemed to have neglected, if not forgotten. He is a God of splendor and great power. His is not bound to the land of Israel. God came to Ezekiel and thus to his people in their exile and reminded them of his holiness and power as the Lord of creation. They were not overlooked; they were not forgotten. As terrifying as the vision was, it had a redemptive function – God uses and permits crises to draw people to him.

(5) The prophet’s response. Ezekiel 1:28. When people are consumed by insurmountable problems and buffeted by the storms of life, they usually do not need another perspective on their problems, they need a new perspective on God as Lord of life and larger than all difficulties. Humanity in peril needs a sense of the majesty of God. There needs to be an awareness that God is greater than adversity, that he is with his people in the midst of their problems. This was the need of both Ezekiel and his hearers – they needed a new vision of and commitment to the holiness and majesty of God. This need was met in the first revelation of God in the call of Ezekiel to be a prophet to the exiles.

The cherubim, as protectors of God’s holiness, were a reminder that humankind was sinful. People often want to blame God for the storms of life and forget that human sin brought chaos into the world. The only hope for humanity is to recognize God in the midst of the storms as the one who can restore the calm. (See Luke 8:22-25.) Ezekiel fell on his face when he saw the vision of God. (See Isaiah 6:1-9.) Ezekiel may have wondered who could speak for God to such a people in such a place. The answer came in his call. The opening vision of Ezekiel affirmed three significant truths about God that are summarized in Ezekiel 1:28. It reaffirmed the nature of God as holy, powerful, and majestic. It reaffirmed in the rainbow God’s promise-making and promise-keeping character. (Genesis 9:16.) It reaffirmed that nothing, including geographic location, separated one from God (cf. Romans 8:38-39.)

Through this vision Ezekiel received a message of hope. God was still at work among the exiles. This meant that he knew about them and was concerned about their plight. People need a vision of hope, but such hope is always dependent on a willing response and a humble, repentant attitude.

This passage lists ten characteristics of the cherubim.

(a) They had the form or appearance of a man. (Ezekiel 1:5.) They were not human. (Ezekiel 1:6-7.) Their human qualities reminded that humans are the crown of God’s creative work (Genesis 1:26-28) and the central focus of his creation (Genesis 2:8-25).

(b) They had four faces, one on each side (Ezekiel 1:8), that are described in detail (1:10). Each face represented the highest form of life in a general category – lion, undomesticated animals; ox, domesticated animals; eagle, winged creatures; human, the crown of God’ creation that exercised dominion over the rest of God’s creation (Genesis 1:28). These creatures show God as the Lord of all of his creation.

(c) They had straight legs (Ezekiel 1:7) with feet like a calf. “Straight” apparently means unjointed; the feet were rounded for easy turning (?). This characteristic may suggest stability in the performance of God’s will.

(d) They had hands like a human under their wings (Ezekiel 1:8). Each of the four wings touched those of the creature next to it. The wings of the creatures in the holy of holies also touched (Ezekiel 1:11; cf. 1 Kings 6:27). Each was related closely to his neighbor and united as one in performing assigned tasks.

(e) They went straight when they moved (Ezekiel 1:9; Ezekiel 1:12). Since there was a face in any direction, they went straight in whichever direction they moved. This suggests a sense of purpose, commitment, and availability for assignments.

(f) They had four wings each (Ezekiel 1:11; cf. Ezekiel 1:8). Two were extended up to support the throne and/or in praise to God (these two touched the wings of each neighboring creature (cf. Ezekiel 1:8; Ezekiel 1:23)). The other two were used to cover the body, a sign of humility and modesty. Isaiah 6:2 and Revelation 4:1-11 describe the creatures with six wings.

1. The additional two wings were used to shield the face of the creatures from the face of God.

2. One commentator suggested that Ezekiel’s creatures did not need the additional wings since they were under the platform (Ezekiel 1:22) and looked straight ahead (Ezekiel 1:9), thus being unable to see the face of God.

(g) They followed the “spirit” in their movement. (Ezekiel 1:12; Ezekiel 1:20.) This refers to the divine spirit of the one who sat on the throne above them and who directed and enabled their movements. The cherubim were divinely appointed and empowered to do the will and work of God.

(h) They appeared like burnished bronze (Ezekiel 1:7) and coals of fire or torches (Ezekiel 1:13).

(i) This characteristic, mentioned again in Ezekiel 10:7, was associated with a theophany. The brightness of their appearance suggests their close relation and proximity to Jehovah. The skin of Moses’ face was radiant with light after having been in the presence of God. (Exodus 34:29-35.) They moved as quickly as a flash of lightning (Ezekiel 1:14), Suggesting instantaneous action that resulted in immediate implementation of God’s will.

(j) Their wings made an awesome sound (Ezekiel 1:23-25) like rushing waters. To Ezekiel this was like the voice of God. This further confirms that this was a theophany.

The Wheels (Ezekiel 1:15-21)

Location of the wheels (Ezekiel 1:15): Now as I saw the living creatures, behold [I saw] a wheel on the earth beside each of the living creatures on its four sides. Beside (i.e., under) each of the living creatures was a wheel (Ezekiel 1:15). The wheels of the throne-chariot were not functional. In fact, the only reason the wheels are mentioned is so that the chariot imagery could be maintained. That the wheels were not essential to the movements of the throne-chariot is seen in the fact that the vehicle traveled in the air and not on the ground. Ellison suggests that the wheels symbolize inanimate nature, just as the four cherubim represent the living creation. In ancient Jewish teaching, the wheels were thought to symbolize some order of heavenly beings.

Appearance of the wheels (Ezekiel 1:16)

Color (Ezekiel 1:16 a): The appearance of the wheels and their works was like the color of topaz. The four of them had one likeness. In appearance the wheels resembled topaz (Heb., TarHÓH). They were so constructed as to facilitate movement in any direction. They were omni directional wheels. Each wheel actually consisted of two wheels, i.e., a wheel in the middle of a wheel. The two wheels were probably solid discs that bisected each other at right angles (Ezekiel 1:16).

Construction (Ezekiel 1:16 b): Their appearance and their works were as a wheel in the middle of a wheel. This is Ezekiel’s way of describing what today would be called caster wheels.

Movement of the wheels (Ezekiel 1:17): When they went, they went toward their four sides. They did not turn about in their going. The caster-like wheels allowed movement of the chariot in any direction without the wheels being turned. Apparently there was no steering mechanism connected to the wheels.

Rims of the wheels (Ezekiel 1:18): As for their rims, they were high and awesome. Their rims were filled with eyes round about the four of them. The rims (GaBBOT) of the wheels were high, i.e., the wheels were huge in comparison to the entire chariot. Because they were full of eyes, the rims were awesome, i.e., terrifying (Ezekiel 1:18). The eyes may have been no more than dazzling spots that added to the brilliancy of the wheels. But it seems more likely that they had a symbolical meaning.⁹⁷ The eye in the ancient world was a symbol of intelligence. God sees and knows what is happening throughout his world, including the camps of Jewish captives in Mesopotamia.

Focus on wheel movement (Ezekiel 1:19-21)

Linked to the creatures (Ezekiel 1:19): When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them. When the living creatures were lifted up from upon the earth, the wheels were lifted up. The wheels themselves had no capacity for independent movement. They always moved in conjunction with the living creatures.

Empowered by the Spirit (Ezekiel 1:20): Wherever the Spirit was to go, they went; thither was the spirit to go and the wheels lifted up opposite them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. The creatures in turn were under the control of the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God was in the creatures, and the spirit of the living creatures, as it were, was in the wheels (Ezekiel 1:20). Apparently God from his throne exercised an influence upon the spirits of the living creatures, thus coordinating their movements. Amid all the uncertainties and tragedies of life, the Spirit of God is at work providentially directing all discordant aspects of life.

Independent of the creatures (Ezekiel 1:21): In their going, they went, and in their standing still, they stood still. When they were lifted up from upon the earth, the wheels were lifted up opposite them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. There is no indication that the wheels were attached to the living creatures. To emphasize the co-ordination of the wheels and creatures, Ezekiel 1:21 repeats and amplifies the thought that when the creatures moved in any direction, the wheels moved with them. The effortless mobility of God’s throne-chariot is a way of depicting the grand theological theme of God’s omnipresence.

The Platform (Ezekiel 1:22-25)

General appearance (Ezekiel 1:22): Over the heads of the living creatures was something like a platform, gleaming terribly like ice, stretched forth over their heads above. Over the heads of the creatures was what appeared to be a platform (rAqÓëa). It is not certain how this platform was supported, whether by the wings of the cherubim or by some other means.¹⁰¹ The platform was gleaming like terrible ice (qerax). The ice was terrible in the sense of being awesome because of its glittering brightness (Ezekiel 1:22).

In this dazzling platform the glories of heaven are symbolized. In Revelation 4:6 this platform becomes a “sea of glass.” Many commentators feel that this expanse (KJV, firmament) was dome-shaped. There is, however, no proof of this in the word itself, or in the context.

The sound under the platform (Ezekiel 1:23-24): Under the platform their wings were straight, one to another. Each one had two wings covering his body on either side.¹⁰² (Ezekiel 1:24) Then I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of great waters, as the sound of the Almighty as they went, the sound of noise like the sound of an encampment. When they stood still they let down their wings. The entire persons of the living creatures including their outstretched wings were under the platform. Each creature had one pair of wings stretched straight out, and another pair modestly covering their bodies (Ezekiel 1:23).

The audio portion of the vision is referred to in Ezekiel 1:24-25. The four pairs of outstretched wings vibrated powerfully as the throne-chariot moved. Three similes are employed to try to depict the awesome sound produced by the theophonic chariot. The noise was like that produced by great (or many) wafers; (2) by the voice of the Almighty, i.e., rolling thunder, and (3) by an army on the move. When the movement of the chariot ceased, the living creatures lowered their wings (Ezekiel 1:24). Consequently the dreadful noise ceased.

The voice above the platform (Ezekiel 1:25): From above the platform that was over their heads came a voice when they stood and let their wings down. The movement of the throne-chariot was directed by a voice that came from above the platform. This voice must be that of God.¹⁰⁴ No words are attributed to Him at this point, but the author here prepares the way for the later words of that One who was enthroned above the living creatures (Ezekiel 11:25).

The Throne (Ezekiel 1:26-28)

Location of the throne (Ezekiel 1:26 a): Above the platform that was over their heads was what appeared to be a sapphire stone, the likeness of a throne. With obvious hesitation the prophet describes what he saw above the platform. Since God can be visualized only in terms of "likeness," the vision abounds in terms like "as" (K¯); "resembling"; "looked like" (D¯m˚T); "like" (K¯mareh); and "appearance" (mareh).

Ezekiel saw what resembled a throne of sapphire. What Ezekiel saw may be compared to the vision of Moses who saw under God’s feet “a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness” (Exodus 24:10). The throne is an obvious symbol of universal sovereignty.

Occupant of the throne (Ezekiel 1:26-27): Upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness of the appearance of a man upon it above. (Ezekiel 1:27) I saw as the color of polished bronze, as the appearance of fire, as an enclosure to it round about, from the appearance of his loins and upward. From the appearance of his loins and downward I saw the appearance of fire. There was a radiant splendor round about him. He who sat upon the throne had the likeness of the appearance of a man (Ezekiel 1:26). Ezekiel is careful to place as much distance as possible between the deity and a mere man. The upper portion of this human-like figure flashed like polished bronze. These bright flashes resembled fire (lightning?). Similarly, the lower half of the figure flashed like fire. A radiant splendor characterized the whole being (Ezekiel 1:27).

Anthropomorphism—describing God in human terms—is quite common in the Old Testament. The use of this literary device has occasioned the charge that the concept of God in the Old Testament is primitive. However, anthropomorphism serves a useful function. It aids in describing the indescribable; but it does more than that. Anthropomorphism underscores the basic theological proposition of the Old Testament, viz., God is living. Furthermore, anthropomorphic description causes men to appreciate even more the truth that man bears in his person the divine image. In such theophanies as has been described in Ezekiel 1, only the human form was appropriate to represent the Lord.

Over the throne (Ezekiel 1:28 a): As the appearance of a bow that is in a cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the radiant splendor round about. The brightness was multi-colored, much like the beautiful colors of a rainbow. This rainbow is more than simply a token of glory and splendor. It is a token of mercy and promise as well. Ezekiel was to preach about the coming storm of judgment; but he was to look beyond that dark hour to the dawning of a new day and the resurrection and restoration of the people of God (Ezekiel 1:28).

Explanation of the throne (Ezekiel 1:28 b): This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. The final verse of ch 1 interprets what Ezekiel has described in the previous verses. He has been describing the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. God revealed his magnificent person to Ezekiel to prepare him for ministry. The Lord would continue to appear to Ezekiel in this same fashion throughout the book to encourage him that he was a servant of almighty God.

The term glory was a technical term used to denote the presence of the Lord among his people. To look on the face of God meant death (Exodus 33:20). But God’s presence could be described in terms of blinding light or dazzling fire, within a protective cloud (Exodus 19:16-18; Exodus 40:34-38). At the dedication of Solomon’s temple, the glory of the Lord filled the sanctuary. It took up permanent residence in the Holy of Holies (1 Kings 8:10). As time went on, God became linked more and more to Judah and the temple. It was left to the prophets of God to champion the ancient doctrine that Yahweh was Lord of all the earth.

Ezekiel’s vision of the glory of God is truly remarkable in that he sees this manifestation at a spot far removed from the Jerusalem temple. Those who were captive in Babylon felt cut off from the Lord because geographically they were unable to participate in temple worship. This vision gives evidence that God’s presence could be experienced in a foreign land.

Ezekiel’s vision centers on God, not the cherubim or the wheels, as interesting as they may be. However symbolic this vision may have been, it was a genuine vision of God. Ezekiel saw as much of God as is permitted to mortal man. The true spiritual significance of Ezekiel 1 is ascertained when the various details of the vision are interpreted as revealing theological truths. The search for spaceships and visitors from other planets in this chapter is ludicrous, if not down right blasphemous!

In contemplating God under the form of a man, Ezekiel helps pave the way for that grand revelation of God in Christ Jesus. Paul describes Jesus as the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15) and the brightness of God’s glory and the express image of his person (Hebrews 1:3). John declares that the word was made flesh and dwelled among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). Currey is correct when he argues

We are therefore justified in maintaining that the revelation of the divine glory here made to Ezekiel has its consummation or fulfillment in the person of Christ, the only begotten of God .. .

Ezekiel’s reaction (Ezekiel 1:28 c): When I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice speaking. The whole vision of the throne-chariot and the divine Presence had a marked effect upon Ezekiel. He fell to his face. He was thus prepared to hear the word of the Lord (Ezekiel 1:28). The experience of Ezekiel was akin to that of Isaiah (Isaiah 6) and Daniel (Daniel 7:9 ff.).

EZEKIEL 2

THE CALL OF THE PROPHET

Heavenly visions were not granted to biblical saints merely to excite their (and our) curiosity. The visions were intended to incite them to proclaim the divine word. Chapters 2-3 contain the commission that came to Ezekiel in connection with his inaugural vision. As in the case of Jeremiah, the commissioning came in stages, separated presumably by some time intervals. For the most part, these intervals cannot be determined. At each stage of the process, Ezekiel was given time to assimilate the message before the commissioning continued.

The material in chs 2-3 can be discussed under the following four heads: (1) the call to service (Ezekiel 2:1-7); the preparation for service (Ezekiel 2:8 to Ezekiel 3:15); (3) the responsibilities of service (Ezekiel 3:16-21); and (4) the restrictions on service (Ezekiel 3:22-27).

CALL TO SERVICE

Ezekiel 2:1-7

Following his mind-boggling visionary experience, Ezekiel heard the call of God to prophetic service. He was told in no uncertain terms where and how he was to serve. In this paragraph Ezekiel is (1) strengthened (Ezekiel 2:1-2); (2) warned (Ezekiel 2:3-5); and (3) charged (Ezekiel 2:6-7).

Ezekiel Strengthened (Ezekiel 2:1-2): And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon your feet, and I will speak to you. (2) And the Spirit came into me as he spoke unto me. He caused me to stand upon my feet. Then I heard one speaking unto me. The Lord took the lead in the commissioning of the prophet. It was his voice (1:28), rather than that of one of the cherubim, that Ezekiel heard giving him the first command (v 1). The title son of man occurs over ninety times in the Book of Ezekiel. In most cases it precedes a command of God. The term “son” often is used in Hebrew to denote membership in a class. Thus a son of man will be a member of the class of man, i.e., a mortal. The designation emphasizes human frailty as over against the awesome might and majesty of God who had just revealed himself to Ezekiel. By this title, Ezekiel was reminded continually that he was dependent on the Spirit’s power. The Spirit enabled him to receive the message of God (Ezekiel 2:2) and to deliver it in the power and authority of the Lord.

Though he had been privileged to see the majestic, heavenly vision of God’s throne-chariot, Ezekiel was nevertheless nothing more than a human being. Within a few years Daniel will use the title son of man in a technical sense of that divine-human one who will receive a kingdom from the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:13). Jesus’ application of the title son of man to Himself seems to be based more on Daniel’s usage than on Ezekiel’s.

The first command given to Ezekiel in the book is the command to stand upon your feet. The standing position is apparently the correct posture from which to hear the divine commission (Ezekiel 2:1). It is service, not servility, that God desires most. Davidson comments: “It is man erect, man in his manhood, with whom God will have fellowship and with whom He will speak."

Even as the Lord issued this command to Ezekiel, spirit came into him. The term rax (wind/spirit) occurs about fifty-three times in this book. In the light of Ezekiel 3:24, it is best to understand this spirit as the Spirit of God. The Spirit came into the prophet compelling him and enabling him to comply with the command just issued. That Spirit supplemented and revived Ezekiel’s physical powers, like a fresh breath of life. What a blessed truth is intimated here. Frail and feeble man can be empowered and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. God supplies the power to perform his special service.

Ezekiel Warned (Ezekiel 2:3-5): God sets forth the difficulties that Ezekiel will confront in his ministry, and the duty that will be his as God’s spokesman. He likewise seeks to encourage Ezekiel in the discharge of his ministry.

Their record of rebellion (Ezekiel 2:3): “And he said unto me, Son of man, I am sending you unto the children of Israel, unto rebellious nations that have rebelled against me.” They and their fathers have transgressed against me until this very day. Ezekiel was to be God’s representative to the children of Israel. In earlier prophets the term Israel is used of the Northern Kingdom that was carried away captive in 722 B.C. The kingdom of Israel, as distinct from the kingdom of Judah, had long since ceased to exist by the time of Ezekiel. Thus Israel here is not the Northern Kingdom.

The term Israel is used two ways in the Book of Ezekiel. Sometimes Ezekiel employs the name Israel for all of the people who had joined in the covenant with God at Sinai. In other words, Israel is the entire Hebrew community of faith. On other occasions Ezekiel refers to the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem as Israel. After the destruction and deportation of the Northern Kingdom, the inhabitants of the Southern Kingdom claimed this honored title for themselves.

Ezekiel’s mission was ultimately to the whole contemporary generation of Israelites, both those who were in Judah and those who were in exile. To be sure his ministry had impact back in Judah, at least in the period between 593 and 586 B.C. But Eze 2:11 indicates that his immediate audience was near at hand—his fellow exiles. However, Ezekiel does not clearly distinguish between Israelites in Judah and those in Babylon. Often he seems to ignore the miles that separate the two groups.

The present generation had rebelled against the Lord. They had refused to adhere to strict monotheism. In their apostasy the present generation was but following the example of their fathers, for they too had transgressed against the Lord. The rebellion of Israel was intergenerational (Ezekiel 2:3).

The audience is described as rebellious nations that have rebelled against me. The plural nations may be a reference to Israel and Judah.¹¹² However, the term nations (GÙyim) usually is restricted to the heathen peoples as over against God’s people. Perhaps the word is here used contemptuously. Israel and Judah had become, by virtue of their rebellion against God, no better than heathen nations. The plural also points to the fact that the children of Israel at this time are not one nation, but are scattered and disunited.

Their intransigence (Ezekiel 2:4): “The sons are hard of face and stout of heart. I am sending you unto them, and you will say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD! The sons, i.e., the present generation, are further described as being hard of face and stout of heart. The first phrase describes the brazenness of the hardened sinner who displays no shame. The second phrase describes that stubborn, unyielding disposition that continues in the path of error in spite of repeated warnings and harsh chastisements.

Ezekiel’s mission field did not look promising! God wanted him to have no illusions about this work. There was little prospect for success. The important thing, however, was that Ezekiel was to preach only the word of God. His message was to be characterized by, and punctuated with, the phrase thus says the Lord GOD. This so-called messenger formula is common in the prophets. It also appears in a secular context (Genesis 32:3-4; 2 Kings 19:9-10).

Lord GOD (Ezekiel 2:4) is YHWH, “My Lord Yahweh.” Ezekiel frequently makes use of the double term. In English versions when the word LORD or GOD is written in all caps it is an indication that the personal name of God—Yahweh—is being used.

Their opportunity for enlightenment (Ezekiel 2:5): But as for them, whether they will hear or refuse (for they are a house of rebels), then they will know that a prophet is in their midst. In the word rebels there may be an allusion to the insane and suicidal rebellions that foolhardy patriots were continually plotting. Nebuchadnezzar was the God-ordained ruler of the world. To rebel against him was to be in rebellion against the will of God. Over a dozen times Ezekiel refers to his auditors as a house of rebels, lit., house of rebellion.

Ezekiel was not required to be successful, only faithful. The recognition formula, they [or you] will know, appears in the book about sixty times. It underscores how Israel and the nations will come to recognize Yahweh as Lord of history. Here the people come to realize that a prophet had been in their midst. They will be forced to recognize Ezekiel as a true prophet when the calamities predicted by him came upon them (Ezekiel 2:5).

Ezekiel Charged (Ezekiel 2:6-7)

Be fearless (Ezekiel 2:6): “But as for you, son of man, do not fear them or be afraid of their words; for thorns and thistles are with you. You are sitting upon scorpions! Do not fear their words. Do not be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” Unlike Moses and Jeremiah, Ezekiel had no opportunity to protest his inability and timidity. God moved to forestall such excuses with earnest exhortation: Do not fear them or be afraid of their words. Ezekiel will face terrible opposition. Four times in v 6 God tells his prophet not to be afraid. Such words of reassurance are part of the calls of other prophets (Joshua 8:1; Jeremiah 1:8). They usually occur, however, only after the candidate has expressed reluctance. Though Ezekiel has given no indication of hesitation about his mission, the Lord may be addressing his unspoken fears.

Such an exhortation is in order because his hearers are thorns and thistles. This preacher must have a tough hide to endure the digs, scratches, abrasions and stinging sarcasm that a hostile audience heaps on him.

Dwelling among those thorns and thistles are scorpions with deadly stings. There will be threats to his life. He will be pierced through on many occasions by this ungrateful and irresponsive crowd. At such times he must remember that this kind of conduct is entirely in character as far as these exiles are concerned for they are a rebellious house. For this reason, Ezekiel must not fear their words or be dismayed (lit., shattered) at their looks (Ezekiel 2:6).

Be faithful (Ezekiel 2:7): But speak my words unto them, whether they hear or refuse, for they are rebellious. This section of explanation and exhortation closes with renewed appeal to be faithful to his preaching ministry regardless of the audience reaction (Ezekiel 2:7).

PREPARATION FOR SERVICE

Ezekiel 2:8 to Ezekiel 3:15

Following the call to service, God begins a process of education to prepare this man for the assigned task. Three steps can be distinguished in this educational process. The prophet needed to (1) assimilate the message of God (Ezekiel 2:8 to Ezekiel 3:3); (2) have assurance of divine power (Ezekiel 3:4-9); and (3) have a correct assessment of his future congregation (Ezekiel 3:10-15).

Appearance of a Scroll (Ezekiel 2:8-10)

A test (Ezekiel 2:8): As for you, son of man, hear what I am about to speak unto you. Do not be rebellious like the rebellious house. Open your mouth, and eat what I am about to give you. God addresses Ezekiel with four imperatives: hear, be not rebellious, open, eat. Ezekiel must not be rebellious like the house of Israel. He must eat what God gives him. Once again God forestalls any reluctance on Ezekiel’s part by these words of warning. Disobedience will mark Ezekiel as no better than the rebellious people to whom he was to preach.

A scroll (Ezekiel 2:9-10)

It was extended (Ezekiel 2:9): I saw, and behold a hand was extended unto me, and behold in it the roll of a book. The stage was set for this initial test of obedience. To his surprise (behold!), Ezekiel saw a hand (cf. Jeremiah 1:9) come forth to him from the throne-chariot. The hand was either that of one of the cherubim, or that of the One on the throne itself. The hand contained a roll of a book, i.e., a scroll (Ezekiel 2:9). This scroll was probably made of papyrus, rather than animal skins. Papyrus is edible, and could easily be cut in pieces column by column. By sewing many pieces of these materials together, a scroll of twenty feet or more in length might be constructed.

It was unrolled Ezekiel 2:10 a): He spread it before me... Unlike the sealed scroll in Revelation 4, this scroll was open. It was no mystery what God was about to do to Jerusalem.

It was full (Ezekiel 2:10 b): and it was written on front and back. The scroll contained writing. The ancients regarded the written word as far more definite and unalterable than the spoken word. The writing on the scroll was God’s authoritative word for the children of Israel. The writing was on the scroll before Ezekiel received it. The message he will preach originated with God. It was a written word—a fixed and unchangeable divine declaration.

The scroll was somewhat unusual in that it contained writing on both sides. Normally scrolls were inscribed on only one side. Is there symbolic significance in this fact? Perhaps it simply means that God had a lot to say to his people through Ezekiel. On the other hand, maybe the scroll was completely inscribed so as to eliminate the possibility of Ezekiel adding anything to the divinely received message. Then again, perhaps the writing on front and back symbolized the abundance of the calamities that will befall Jerusalem.

It was sad (Ezekiel 2:10 c): There was written on it lamentations, mourning and woe. Until the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., Ezekiel preached a message of doom such as might be characterized as lamentation, mourning and woe. The scroll thus set forth prophetically what will shortly befall Jerusalem and Judah.

EZEKIEL 3

THE COMMISSION

Assimilation of the Word (Ezekiel 3:1-3)

The Lord’s directive (Ezekiel 3:1): He said unto me, Son of man, eat what you discover; eat this roll and go speak unto the house of Israel. Again God addresses four imperatives to Ezekiel. He is to eat, eat, go, and speak. He is to eat this roll. The word of God must be internalized, digested and assimilated by one who will serve as God’s messenger. Ezekiel himself must become the message. Coming on the heels of the command to eat the scroll is the command to go speak unto the house of Israel. Immediately following the reception of the word there must be the proclamation of it.

Ezekiel’s submission (Ezekiel 3:2): I opened my mouth, and he fed me this roll. Ezekiel attempted to comply with the Lord’s command. He opened his mouth. At this point the gracious God intervened and aided in the consumption of the document.

The Lord’s explanation (Ezekiel 3:3 a): He said unto me, Son of man, your belly will eat and your inward parts will be full with this roll that I am giving unto you. Further encouragement came from the Lord to the effect that Ezekiel should swallow and digest the scroll that he had been given. Ezekiel complied. Ezekiel himself becomes the embodiment of the divine word.

Ezekiel’s experience (Ezekiel 3:3 b): So I ate it, and it became in my mouth like honey for sweetness. Much to his surprise, Ezekiel found that the scroll tasted sweet like honey (cf. Jeremiah 15:16; Psalms 119:103). This sweetness in no way indicates that Ezekiel took some morbid delight in his message of doom. Rather the sweetness of the scroll lay in the privilege of knowing and proclaiming the word of God.

Ezekiel did not eat a literal scroll. This action was done in a vision. A person does strange things in dreams, and so it was also in this heaven-sent vision. The point is that Ezekiel must familiarize himself with the word of God by reading the scroll as eagerly and attentively as one eats food to satisfy hunger. The fact that God caused him to eat the scroll may point to supernatural aid that the prophet received in comprehending and mentally preserving the minutest detail of this unpleasant message.

Assurance of Divine Power (Ezekiel 3:4-9)

Need for divine power (Ezekiel 3:4-7)

His field is needy (Ezekiel 3:4): He said unto me, Son of man, go unto the house of Israel and speak with my words unto them. The ingested scroll symbolizes empowerment to preach. The command to go to the captives with the word is repeated in Ezekiel 3:4 : Go . . speak. He is to preach with my words. He is to convey God’s message to them in the very tongue in which he had received it. The exiles were beginning to use the Aramaic tongue of the Chaldeans, but they will still be familiar with the Hebrew.

His field is near (Ezekiel 3:5): For you have not been sent unto a people of obscure language and heavy tongue, but unto the house of Israel. Unlike Jonah, Ezekiel is not being sent to a people whose language was utterly incomprehensible. The expression obscure language means literally, deep of lip. The same expression is found in Isaiah 33:19 where it refers to a foreign language that cannot be comprehended. Heavy tongue is a tongue that is sluggish and dull (cf. Exodus 4:10), or one that is tiresome to understand. Many foreigners were in Babylon. Communication with them will not be easy.

His field is focused (Ezekiel 3:6): Not unto many people of obscure language and heavy tongue whose words you cannot comprehend. Surely if I had sent you unto them, they would hearken unto you. Lack of communication between Ezekiel and his audience will not be due to any language barrier. It was to the house of Israel—his own compatriots—to whom he is sent (Ezekiel 3:5). But this in no way will aid the communication process. Sometimes the home missionary has a more difficult task than he who ventures into foreign lands to preach the gospel in exotic tongues. Strange languages are more easily mastered than the technique of communicating with those with unbelieving hearts. Ezekiel’s chances of “getting through” to his audience will have been greater if he were speaking to people with a hard language rather than a hard heart.

His field is difficult (Ezekiel 3:7): But as for the house of Israel, they are not willing to hearken unto you, because they are not willing to hearken unto me; for all the house of Israel are strong of forehead and hard of heart. Nothing personal will be involved in Israel’s rejection of the message of Ezekiel (cf. 1 Samuel 8:7-8). The basic problem with the house of Israel was that they had no interest in hearing what God had to say. The people will show an aversion to Ezekiel simply because he was the bearer of the divine word. Therefore, the opposition that Ezekiel was warned to expect was not to be regarded as unusual, or directed against him personally. The exiles were deaf to the voice of God that had spoken through various natural disasters, as well as through his human spokesmen. It was therefore unlikely that they will give any heed to Ezekiel.

Provision of divine power (Ezekiel 3:8-9)

Endowment of courage (Ezekiel 3:8-9 a): “Behold, I have made your face strong against their face, and your forehead strong against their forehead.” (Ezekiel 3:9) Like a diamond harder than flint I have made your forehead. The first hurdle for Ezekiel’s ministry was the natural fear that will arise over the prospects of preaching an unpopular message to an unsympathetic multitude. For this task God will endow Ezekiel with courage. The Lord will make Ezekiel’s face strong against their face, and his forehead strong against their forehead (Ezekiel 3:8). The latter figure is taken from horned animals that vie for supremacy by butting heads. Ezekiel will be able to match their obstinacy with sanctified stubbornness of his own. He will be as zealous for truth as they were for falsehood. They were as hard as flint; he will be as hard as a diamond. Ezekiel’s firmness will cut like a diamond into the flint-like hearts of the men of Israel.

Exhortation to courage (Ezekiel 3:9 b): “Do not fear them. Do not be dismayed before them, for they are a rebellious house.” Ezekiel need have no fear or be dismayed before that rebellious people. Given the circumstances that he faced, how appropriate was this prophet’s name, Ezekiel—“God strengthens” or “God hardens.”

Assessment of the Congregation (Ezekiel 3:10-15)

The words of God (Ezekiel 3:10-11)

He must hear them (Ezekiel 3:10): “And he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I will speak unto you, receive into your heart. With your ears hear.” The first priority of any preacher is to be in harmony with the word of God. God called upon Ezekiel to hear all the words that He will speak to him. He must not only hear them with the ears, he must also receive them into his heart. He must understand and believe the message he is to preach. All my words that I will speak suggests that there will be future revelations that the prophet will also have to assimilate and subsequently announce. It is interesting to note that God will communicate to Ezekiel in words, not just in abstract thought and ambiguous visions. Here is verbal revelation.

He must speak them (Ezekiel 3:11): “Then go unto the captives, unto the children of your people. Speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they desist.” Once Ezekiel understood the divine word and personally yielded to it, he will be prepared to undertake his mission to the Babylonian captives. He must go to them and speak what God had spoken to him. He was not to be influenced by their reactions to his words. His job was to faithfully proclaim the word. He was to speak authoritatively. A thus says the Lord was to characterize all of his preaching. He was to preach on regardless of whether or not they gave heed. There may be a touch of irony in the expression your people, rather than my (God’s) people.

The sounds from the chariot (Ezekiel 3:12-13)

Occasion of the sounds (Ezekiel 3:12 a): “Then the Spirit lifted me up. I heard behind me the sound of great shaking—“ At this point the Holy Spirit lifted Ezekiel up to whisk him from this mountain-top visionary experience to the valley of prophetic service (cf. Ezekiel 2:2). This is the first of several places where the prophet describes his supernatural transports. Ezekiel was still in the midst of his visionary experience. Neither psychic levitation nor physical transposition is being described here. In his vision Ezekiel experienced a subjective feeling of being airborne, much like the feeling one has in a dream of soaring through the air.

The prophet had been in the presence of the theophany—the visionary throne-chariot— during all that has been narrated to this point (Ezekiel 1:4 to Ezekiel 3:12). When he was lifted up and carried away it seemed to Ezekiel that he was leaving the theophany behind. Simultaneous with the Holy Spirit entering Ezekiel, the magnificent throne-chariot departed the scene. As it did so, the sound of a great shaking was heard.

The praise in the sounds (Ezekiel 3:12 b): “Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place—“ A voice pronouncing a blessing on the glory of the Lord accompanied the shaking noise. This voice is unidentified. It may be the voice that was heard from above the firmament in Ezekiel 1:24-25; or it could be the voice of the cherubim praising the Lord. The phrase from his place (Ezekiel 3:12) is problematic. It probably refers to the place where the glory of God revealed itself in the vision. To state the matter differently, the glory of the Lord yet remained in the place from which it was departing because his place is universal.

Significance of the sounds (Ezekiel 3:13): “even the sound of the wings of the living creatures touching each other, and the sound of the wheels beside them, even the sound of great shaking.” The sound of great shaking of Ezekiel 3:12 is identified in Ezekiel 3:13. As the throne-chariot departed, Ezekiel heard the whirring of the wings of the living creatures and the rumble of the wheels. When the throne-chariot was stationary, the living creatures did not touch each other. But when they were in flight the cherubim raised their wings so as to touch each other. See on Ezekiel 1:11.

The transmigration of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 3:14): “And the Spirit lifted me up, and took me so that I came with bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; and the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.” After the departure of the throne-chariot Ezekiel describes what happened to him in these words: the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away (Ezekiel 3:14). This does not mean that Ezekiel was miraculously transported from one spot to another in Mesopotamia. Rather it means that Ezekiel, guided and impelled by the Holy Spirit, went forth among his countrymen. This suggests that the site of the vision was some distance from the exile settlement, for it is to the latter place that Ezekiel now returned.

In Ezekiel 3:14 Ezekiel describes his feelings as he departed the scene of his visionary experience. He went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit. Anger, then, was the dominant emotion in his heart at this moment. Why did he feel this way? Was he resentful at having been thrust into such a terrifying task? Possibly. It is more likely, however, that the word of the Lord that had been eaten and digested had created within him a righteous anger against the sin of Israel.

Not only was Ezekiel filled with God’s indignation, he was conscious of being strengthened and guided by the hand of the Lord (Ezekiel 3:14). Even though the vision was over, he still felt that the unseen hand was upon him.

Ezekiel among the captives (Ezekiel 3:15): And I came unto the captives at Tel Aviv who were dwelling beside the river Kebar, and to where they dwelled. And I sat there seven days astonished in their midst. Following the visionary experience, Ezekiel rejoined his fellow captives in Tel Aviv, the chief center of the exiles in Babylon. The name Tel Aviv means "heap of grain ears." The place probably got its name from the fertility of the area.

For seven days Ezekiel sat astonished among the exiles. Keil understands the term to mean motionless and dumb. This was a time for reflection, meditation and readjustment. Various explanations of the seven days have been given. This was the period of pre-scribed mourning in certain periods of Old Testament history (Job 2:13). The period for the consecration of a priest was also seven days (Leviticus 8:33). Thus Ezekiel may have regarded this period as his time of personal consecration to the prophetic office. The simplest explanation, however, is that Ezekiel was waiting for further instruction. There will then be no particular significance in the number seven.

RESPONSIBILITY OF SERVICE

Ezekiel 3:16-21

Beginning in Ezekiel 3:16 the focus shifts from the national to the individual aspects of Ezekiel’s mission. In the midst of the general visitation that will fall upon the nation as a whole, each individual was to stand before the Lord to have his faith and works rewarded or punished. This passage underscores the basic moral principle that each person is individually responsible for his own conduct. Another principle enunciated here is that God’s messengers must face up to the responsibility to warn all men of the consequences of their ways.

Ezekiel as Watchman (Ezekiel 3:16-17)

Revelation (Ezekiel 3:16): And it came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying... At the end of the seven days of silence, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, i.e., he had another revelation from God. This is the first of some sixty occurrences of the revelation formula in the book. The expression implies the experience of a possessing word or influence. In this word Ezekiel receives both instruction and further commission to carry out his ministry.

Installation (Ezekiel 3:17 a): Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel. Ezekiel learned in this revelation that God had appointed him to be a watchman for the house of Israel. Watchman was not a new name for the prophet of God, but it was not common. Yet it is used at the beginning of Ezekiel’s commissioning. It is repeated and amplified at his recommissioning in Ezekiel 33:1-9. Evidently the term brings out a prominent feature of Ezekiel’s ministry.

Ellison puts his finger on the significance of the title watchman when he notes that Ezekiel was not merely to be God’s messenger to the people in general; he was to be God’s messenger to the individual in particular.¹³⁸ He was to be a personal evangelist as well as a public orator. While it is true that only the facts of his public ministry have been preserved, this in no wise nullifies the conclusion here reached. Ezekiel was to engage in a pastoral ministry such as priests in Old Testament times were supposed to perform.¹³⁹ The chief contribution of Ezekiel to Old Testament theology is his emphasis on individual responsibility.

Obligation (Ezekiel 3:17 b): Hear the word from my mouth, and give them warning from me. In his capacity as watchman, Ezekiel was to wait and watch for the word from the mouth of God. He then was to warn the people of impending calamity. The life and safety of a community were in the hand of a city watchman. So also the life and safety of the people of God were in the hands of Ezekiel. Four different cases are discussed so that Ezekiel might clearly assess his responsibility as Israel’s watchman.

Various Watchman Scenarios (Ezekiel 3:18-21)

Case one: the unwarned wicked (Ezekiel 3:18): When I say to the wicked, You will surely die, and you do not warn him or speak to preserve his life, he is the wicked one who will die in his iniquity; but his blood I will seek from your hand In his role as Watchman, Ezekiel will encounter two types of individuals. First, he will encounter the wicked—those destined to die for the sin they had committed. Ezekiel’s job was to warn him of his wicked way, i.e., of the consequences of continuing his wicked course of conduct. The wicked will be those who do not serve God, but on the contrary, live in open defiance of Him.

God told Ezekiel that the penalty for the wicked is death. He will die in his iniquity (Ezekiel 3:18). Most commentators see nothing more involved here than the end of physical life. It should be noted that it is not Ezekiel who here speaks; it is the Lord. The question is not, then, what was the level of understanding of the doctrine of retribution or the doctrine of the afterlife in the sixth century B.C. Still less is the full meaning of the utterance to be determined by ascertaining how Ezekiel or his contemporaries may have interpreted the word die. The teaching of the Bible is that those who die unforgiven “die” for all eternity in a conscious existence elsewhere known as the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). That a premature death may also be involved cannot be denied. But to contend that premature death exhausts the meaning of the statement is to disregard the total biblical teaching that eternal retribution follows the physical death of the wicked.

If the prophet fails faithfully and forthrightly to sound the alarm, he will be held accountable for the death of that sinner— his blood I will seek from your hand (Ezekiel 3:18). The focus changes in Ezekiel 3:18 from them to him—the individual. The teaching here harks back to the principle expressed in Genesis 9:5 f. Just as the blood of a murdered man demanded retribution by the nearest kinsman, so a man dying unwarned will be regarded virtually as the victim of murder committed by the unfaithful Watchman. Ezekiel himself would have to die for his negligence. Though this utterance is metaphorical, it nonetheless emphasizes the enormous responsibility that was Ezekiel’s. The Christian responsibility to warn the lost is no less (1 John 5:16).

Case two: non-repentant wicked (Ezekiel 3:20): But as for you, when you warn a wicked one, and he does not turn from his wickedness and from his wicked way, he in his iniquity will die, but as for you, your life you have delivered. Nothing but good can result from the discharge of responsibility to warn the wicked. If he heeds the warning and alters his course of conduct, he will live, i.e., save his soul. If he refuses, he will suffer the consequences of death. But the messenger thereby has done his duty. Thus he has delivered his own life of blood-guiltiness. An important principle of Old Testament jurisprudence is illustrated in this passage: The failure to save life corresponds to murder.

Case three: the straying righteous man (Ezekiel 3:20): And when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I place a stumbling block before him, he will die; because you did not warn him in his sin, he will die; his righteousness that he has done will not be remembered; but his blood I will seek from your hand. On occasion Ezekiel will encounter a man whose basic orientation was righteous, but who momentarily had strayed from the path of fidelity. Sometimes God permits a stumbling block to be placed before such a one—some trial, some difficulty, some occasion for sin. For an example of such a stumbling block see Ezekiel 7:19 and Ezekiel 44:12. It is true that God tempts no man in order to bring about his destruction. Through his providence and permissive will, however, He allows men to be tried that their faith may be found true. Stumbling was not inevitable. A moral choice was always involved, Furthermore, God provided the Watchman to warn where the stumbling blocks were located.

Should one who was outwardly pious depart from the path of righteousness, the past righteous acts¹⁴⁰ of that man will not be remembered. To neglect to warn such a person will result in his death and the Watchman’s guilt.

Case four: the righteous man who heeds (Ezekiel 3:21): But as for you, if you warn a righteous man that a righteous man does not sin, and he does not sin, he will surely live because he has been warned. As for you, you have delivered your life. If a righteous man who had stumbled into sin repented, he will thereby save his soul. In any case, the Watchman is free from any responsibility so long as he sounded the alarm.

RESTRICTION ON SERVICE

Ezekiel 3:22-27

A New Meeting with God (Ezekiel 3:22-23)

A divine directive (Ezekiel 3:22): And the hand of the I.ORD came upon me there. He said unto me, Rise, go out into the plain. There I will speak with you. The protracted period of commissioning comes to an end with a second glimpse of God’s glory. Following the lesson at Tel Aviv, the hand of the Lord, i.e., the power and guiding influence of God, came upon Ezekiel. He was told to go out into the plain. There God will teach Ezekiel yet another lesson about his ministry.

The word plain means literally “valley,” the area between two mountains. This may well have been a site frequented by Ezekiel in his periods of solitude. It may well have been in this same “valley” that Ezekiel later received his vision of dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1).

An obedient response (Ezekiel 3:23): And I arose, and went out unto the plain. Behold there the glory of the LORD was standing like the glory that I saw beside the river Kebar. I fell upon my face. Ezekiel complied with the divine command. When he reached the designated spot, he saw a second vision of the glory of the Lord. The vision was very much like that which he had seen by the Kebar. Modern commentators seem to focus on the various aspects of the heavenly throne-chariot—the wheels and living creatures. Ezekiel, however, sums up the whole of that vision by his reference to the One who rode the chariot—the glory of the Lord. As on the earlier occasion, Ezekiel reacted to this majestic manifestation by falling on his face (Ezekiel 3:23).

New Instructions (Ezekiel 3:24-27)

Restriction of his movement (Ezekiel 3:24-25)

Strengthened by the Spirit (Ezekiel 3:24 a): And the Spirit came on me. He made me stand upon my feet. He spoke to me, and said... Again the Holy Spirit entered into Ezekiel, giving him the strength and confidence to stand on his feet.

What Ezekiel was to do (Ezekiel 3:24 b): Go shut yourself up in the midst of your house. Ezekiel now received a new command. He was told to shut himself within his house.

What would be done to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 3:25): And as for you, son of man, behold fetters will be placed upon you. You will not go out in their midst. In his house, Ezekiel will be bound with fetters. No evidence exists that Ezekiel was ever literally bound by his auditors. The fetters must be symbolic or metaphorical of self-imposed (or God-imposed) restraint. Perhaps the restraints were placed on the prophet by his fellow captives. It seems that Ezekiel’s movements outside his house were severely restricted, if not actually curtailed.

Restriction on his speech (Ezekiel 3:26-27)

His mouth closed (Ezekiel 3:26): And your tongue will cleave unto the roof of your mouth so that you will be dumb. You will not become to them a man of reproof, for they are a rebellious house. Divine restrictions were placed upon the speech of Ezekiel, as well as on his movements. His tongue will cleave unto the roof of his mouth. Because of the rebelliousness of the house of Israel, the prophet should (or will) be silent. During that period of self-imposed (or God-imposed) dumbness, he will not serve as a man of reproof to them. This ministry of silence seems to have been intended to demonstrate to the exiles that they were indeed a rebellious house (Ezekiel 3:26).

His mouth opened (Ezekiel 3:27): But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth. You will say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD. The one who hears, let him hear, and the one who desists let him desist; for they arc a rebellious house. Ezekiel will only communicate with his fellow exiles at such times as he had a divine communication to share with them. From time to time God will commit to his Watchman a revelation that was to be passed on to the captives. Ezekiel was to preface every spoken word with Thus says the Lord.

The silence of Ezekiel was to last for a limited time. When Jerusalem fell six years later, the restraints were removed from the prophet (Ezekiel 33:22). This was, to use the language of Taylor, ritual dumbness. Keil (BCOT, 1:65) suggests that the silence also was designed to help prepare Ezekiel for the successful performance of his ministry. There are two references along the way to the prophet’s silence—Ezekiel 24:27 and Ezekiel 29:21. Ezekiel did not suffer from catalepsy or some nervous disorder. Rather the idea is that he was to speak only when under a divine compulsion to do so. The reaction of men to these God-given pronouncements will confirm men in their attitude toward God. Men will either obey it, or they will despise it. In the former case, they will find grace; in the latter, condemnation. By his preaching and non-preaching, Ezekiel continuously confronted his auditors with the life and death alternatives.

SPECIAL NOTE ON Ezekiel 3:25-27

The interpretation of this paragraph is extremely difficult. The problem is not so much in what is said— though that is difficult enough—but in the timing of it. How can the previous commands to preach the word be squared with the thought that Ezekiel was to be dumb? How can his being bound with cords be harmonized with subsequent chapters that show him moving about freely? Those who have wrestled with these questions may be divided into two broad categories. First, some think in terms of a literal period of silence. Even among those who hold to a literal period of silence at least four different positions have been taken:

(1) Some think the episode is chronologically out of place. They think this command was issued after ch 24. The passage has been placed in its present position because of topical considerations. It does, after all, partake of the nature of a commission.

(2) Others suggest that there was a period of dumbness prior to the launching of the ministry of proclamation. This will be the obvious solution to the problem were it not for the difficulty of finding time for such a period of dumbness in the known chronology of Ezekiel’s life.

(3) David Kimchi offered the intriguing suggestion that the silence was divinely imposed so as to prevent Ezekiel from speaking until he had received the entire revelation that God reveals in chs 1-11. He was not to speak prematurely.

(4) Finally, some suggest that the silence was the first of a series of prophecies that Ezekiel acted out. Another approach to this passage regards the fetters on Ezekiel as symbolic or metaphorical. These scholars see the restraint upon the prophet as a symbol of the bitter opposition of his fellow exiles to his prophesying. Ezekiel preaches, but the exiles do not listen. Since no real communication will take place, it will be as though Ezekiel were dumb. Still others interpret the entire passage as saying simply that Ezekiel will refuse to speak to his neighbors about ordinary matters. He will speak only when he had a divine revelation.

EZEKIEL 4

DRAMATIC PARABLES

The use of symbolic actions by Old Testament prophets was a proven way of gaining an audience and underscoring a point. The prophets normally moved among their people, speaking God’s message as they observed the contemporary situation. Ezekiel, however, is to remain in his home, except to dramatize God’s messages (cf. Ezekiel 4:1 to Ezekiel 5:17). He is to remain mute (Ezekiel 3:26), except when God opened the prophet’s mouth to deliver a divine message (Ezekiel 3:27). Instead of Ezekiel’s going to the people, the people had to come to him. Early examples of the use of symbolic prophecy are 1 Samuel 15:27 f.; 1 Kings 11:29 ff; 1 Kings 22:11; 2 Kings 13:14-19.

The great prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah found the symbolic act a useful tool when they could no longer obtain a hearing for their message(E.g., Isaiah 20:2; Jeremiah 13:1-7; Jeremiah 19:1-2; Jeremiah 27:2-3). Ezekiel performs four dramatic parables in this section depicting (1) the siege of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 4:1-3); (2) national sin (Ezekiel 4:4-6); (3) the siege famine (Ezekiel 4:9-17); and (4) the nation’s fate (Ezekiel 5:1-4).

These dramatic parables were performed in the fifth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity. At that time any thought of Jerusalem’s overthrow will, according to any human prognostication, be highly improbable. Zedekiah ruled in Jerusalem as Nebuchadrezzar’s vassal. With his lands diminished and his military strength exhausted, no one could imagine that he will be so stupid as to provoke his overlord. Yet Ezekiel joined Jeremiah in affirming that destruction was the ultimate fate of Jerusalem.

PARABLE OF JERUSALEM’S SIEGE

Ezekiel 4:1-3

Preparation (Ezekiel 4:1-3 a)

The tile (Ezekiel 4:1): But as for you, son of man, take to yourself a tile and place it before you. Inscribe upon it a city, Jerusalem. In his first symbolic action, Ezekiel was to sketch a diagram of Jerusalem on a tile or brick (RSV). In Mesopotamia the clay tablet was the common writing material. While the clay was moist and soft, the inscription was engraved upon it with a stylus; then the tablet was exposed to the sun for hardening. Large numbers of such tablets have been recovered, some of which have diagrams of buildings upon them similar to what an architect might devise. It would be natural under the circumstances for a Hebrew exile to make use of the Babylonian writing material.

Siege equipment (Ezekiel 4:2): Lay siege against it, and construct a mound about it. Set against it encampments, and place battering rams round about. Ezekiel was instructed to lay siege against the city he had drawn. By a common figure, the prophet is here represented as doing what he portrays. Perhaps he drew on the tile the plan of a siege. On the other hand, it may mean that he was to model the various siege weapons around the brick. A third possibility is that the armament of the besieging troops was represented on other tiles. Four common siege techniques are named below:

(1) Assault towers (KJV, forts) denotes the towers manned by archers by which a besieged city was attacked. The Hebrew is actually singular. Sometimes these towers were of enormous height, as much as twenty stories. Such towers are frequently depicted in Mesopotamian art. According to 2 Kings 25:1, assault towers were used in the final siege of Jerusalem.

(2) Mounds, were banks of soil heaped up to the level of the walls of the besieged city. Such mounds could serve as observation posts, and, if close enough to the walls, ramps for the battering rams.

(3) Camps were military detachments that surrounded the city.

(4) Battering rams were iron-shod beams transported by a wheeled tower. Often the battering ram was found in the lower part of the siege towers mentioned above.

The iron pan (Ezekiel 4:3 a): As for you, take to yourself an iron pan. Place it as a wall of iron between you and the city. The prophet was to place an iron pan between himself and the inscribed tile. This was a kind of flat plan—virtually no more than a sheet of metal—such as was used for baking a thin cake of bread (cf. Leviticus 2:5). This pan represented a wall of iron. Normally walls provided protection or containment. The pan probably represents the siege wall around Jerusalem erected by the Babylonians. Others take the pan to be a symbol of one of the following possibilities:

(1) Jerusalem’s wall in which the Jews put so much trust;

(2) the iron-like severity of the siege against the city, i.e., no escape;

(3) the impenetrable barrier that had arisen between God (as represented by Ezekiel) and Jerusalem; and

(4) another siege implement—the shield that attackers will erect as protection for archers; and

(5) a symbol of Ezekiel’s protection (cf. Ezekiel 2:6) as he carries out his prophetic assignment.

Action (Ezekiel 4:3 b): Set your face against it. It will enter a state of siege, and you will besiege it. It is a sign to the house of Israel. With his symbolic objects in place, Ezekiel was to perform a symbolic action. He was (1) to set his face against the city; and (2) to lay siege to it. The prophet was to assume the part of the attacking army. The command set your face against occurs with variations eleven times in the book. This is a symbolic act in which the face is turned toward or against the object of judgment. The act regularly was accompanied by a judgment oracle.

Since Ezekiel was God’s representative, his actions underscored the point that God was fighting against Jerusalem. Perhaps the laying siege (RSV, press the siege) indicates the gradual movement of the clay models of siege instruments nearer and nearer the doomed city. The tile diagram and the objects pertaining to it were designed to be a sign to the house of Israel.

Ellison pictures Ezekiel silently acting out these parables much to the chagrin of the growing numbers who assembled each day to watch his antics. When the crowd was ready to listen, Ezekiel gave the verbal explanation of his actions (Ezekiel 5:5 to Ezekiel 7:27). The term house of Israel here embraces both those Jews who were in exile and those who remained in Judah.

PARABLE OF ISRAEL’S SIN

Ezekiel 4:4-8

In Ezekiel 4:1-3 Ezekiel impersonated Jerusalem’s enemies. His role is now reversed. Here Ezekiel symbolizes the apostate people of God. He is to lie first on his left side, then on his right side, to bear the iniquity of the house of Israel and the house of Judah. The Oriental habit was to face eastward when indicating points of the compass. Facing east one has north on his left side and south on his right. Hence the left side represented the house of Israel, the northern kingdom that had been carried captive in 722 B.C. The right side symbolized the house of Judah, the southern kingdom that was in its dying days at the moment Ezekiel received this revelation. The number of days that the prophet spent on each side symbolized the number of years that each kingdom stood under the condemnation of God.

Alexander (EBC, 770) takes the 390 + 40 = 430 years as a prediction of future punishment for Israel. Counting from Ezekiel’s chronological reference point (597 B.C.), the 430 years denote the punishment inflicted by conquering foreign powers on the children of Israel and Judah from the deportation of Jehoiachin, their recognized king, to the inception of the Maccabean rebellion in 167 B.C. During the Maccabean period the Jews once again exercised dominion over Judah.

General Observations. A few observations about this action parable need to be made before the difficult question of the numbers found here is taken up:

1. The action of the prophet in lying first on the one side, then on the other, was commanded by God. Therefore, there is no reason to suspect that Ezekiel suffered from epileptic seizures or catalepsy.

2. Ezekiel 4:4 seems to suggest that the time periods do not represent the time of Israel’s sinning, but the period during which the people of God had been, or will be, punished for their sins.

3. The longer period of punishment for Israel, the northern kingdom, indicates the greater guilt of that nation.

4. Part of the time Israel and Judah bore the penalty of their sin simultaneously. That is to say, the period of punishment overlapped.

5. The end of the period of punishment was the same for both kingdoms—539 B.C.

6. In dealing with prophetic numbers, one must allow for approximations or rounding off.

7. Such great diversity of opinion exists as to the terminus a quo of the figures in Ezekiel 4:5-6 that dogmatic assertions are out of place.

8. Inherent in these figures is a hint of hope. The period of punishment, though long and terrible, will not be interminable.

9. It is not necessary to assume that Ezekiel was in the prone position day and night. Other activities are said to have been performed during this period. Hence the symbolic prone position must have lasted only part of each day.

Ezekiel on the Left Side (Ezekiel 4:4-5): As for you, lie upon your left side. Set the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. The number of days in which you lay upon it you will bear their iniquity. (5) For I have appointed to you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of days, three hundred ninety days. So will you bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. In his prone position, Ezekiel was to bear the iniquity of the two kingdoms. The term iniquity in the Old Testament can refer to the sin itself, or the punishment that comes upon that offense. In the present passage, the term seems to have the latter connotation. Ezekiel is to symbolize through his personal suffering of physical restraint the punishment of God’s people in being cut off from the holy land and the temple. This symbolic suffering is by no means to be equated with the vicarious suffering that is set forth in Isaiah 53.

Ezekiel was to lie on his left side 390 days. If the Hebrew text be retained as is, there seems to be only one possible terminus a quo for this period, viz., the division of the Israelite kingdom in 931 B.C. Eichrodt (OTL, 85) points out that 390 + 40 = 430, the number of years the Israelites were in Egypt (Exodus 12:40). He suggests that the period of Egyptian servitude is used as a pattern for the exile. The larger figure for Israel may symbolize the longer exile of the northern kingdom. Van den Born (cited in ENH, 42) suggested that the technique of gematria has been applied to the words days of siege (y¯m m¯c˚r; 4:8). The numerical value of the letters of these two words is 390.

Allowing for round figures—something very common in prophecy—the 390 years terminate with the fall of Babylon in 539 B.C. Through that entire period the citizens of the northern kingdom were under the wrath of God because of their apostate activities. Many modern writers prefer to follow the Greek text that gives 190 as the figure here. From the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C. until the time of Ezekiel’s vision was about 150 years. Add to this the forty years mentioned in 4:6 and the figure 190 is reached However, it is more likely that the Greek translators deliberately altered the text. There is no logical explanation of how any accidental change in the text could have occurred here.

Ezekiel on the Right Side (Ezekiel 4:6): When you have finished these days, then lie a second time upon your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days; one day for each year I have appointed you. From what point are the forty years of Judah’s punishment to be counted? The figure forty is reminiscent of the period of Israel wandering in the wilderness (Numbers 14:34). In Ezekiel’s day, the nation came into "the wilderness of the peoples" (Ezekiel 20:35). From the final deportation of Jews to Babylon in 582 B.C. (Jeremiah 52:30) until the fall of Babylon and the end of the Babylonian exile in 539 B.C. is a period of forty-two years. The prophet is probably referring to this period with the symbolic number forty, the period during which God’s people, because of their sin, are denied access to the Promised Land.

Another view worthy of note is that of Currey. He sees in these figures a purely symbolic significance. The two figures combined yield 430 years. This may be a representation of the future in terms of the past. Just as Israel was 430 years in Egyptian bondage, so will they now be in bondage in Mesopotamia. Hosea had predicted already that Ephraim would again suffer the misery of bondage in a strange land. See Hosea 8:13.

Some scholars find difficulty in fitting the 430 days of this action parable into the chronology of the early ministry of Ezekiel. Ellison argues that this action parable must be fitted into the year and two months that elapsed between Ezekiel 1:2 and Ezekiel 8:1. According to the Jewish system of reckoning time, this is equivalent to 413 days. The Jewish year was a lunar year of 354 days. Periodically an extra month was intercalated so as to bring the lunar calendar into harmony with the seasons. If the year that elapsed between 1:2 and 8:1 was such a leap year, the maximum number of days will be 442.

Ellison therefore argues that the forty days on the right side must have been concurrent with the last forty days of the 390 days on the left side. In the fulfillment of this prophecy the forty years of Judah’s punishment were in fact concurrent with the last forty years of Israel’s punishment. In the symbolic action, however, the days seem to be consecutive—390 on the left side followed by forty on the right side. Therefore, one must conclude either (1) that during the period between Ezekiel 1:2 and Ezekiel 8:1 a month had been intercalated; or (2) that the symbolic prostration extended beyond the time stipulated in Ezekiel 8:1. Of course, if the prophet’s prostration occurred only in a vision, as some scholars contend, it will not be necessary to fit the 430 days into the chronology of Ezekiel’s life.

Other Details of the Parable (Ezekiel 4:7-8): So unto the siege of Jerusalem you will set your face. Your shoulder will be uncovered. You will prophesy against it. (8) Behold, I have placed bands upon you, and you will not turn yourself from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege. During the entire time that he was lying on his side, Ezekiel was to fix his gaze upon the tile that depicted the besieged city of Jerusalem. The fixing of the gaze indicates steadfastness of purpose. He was to have his arm uncovered like a warrior prepared for battle (cf. Isaiah 52:10). By these actions he was prophesying against Jerusalem (Ezekiel 4:7). Please not that Ezekiel 4:8 underscores the discomfort that Ezekiel must have experienced while carrying out this symbolic act. He was not to turn from one side to another. There may be a hint of special divine aid in the statement I lay bands upon you. Taylor (TOTC, 81) takes the expression literally, and pictures Ezekiel’s body trussed with cords during his daily period upon his side.

PARABLE OF JERUSALEM’S FAMINE

Ezekiel 4:9-17

How could Ezekiel be commanded to make bread while lying bound upon his side? Several commentators think that this inconsistency is proof that all of these symbolic actions transpired in vision where such a thing is possible. However, if the prophet’s immobilization occupied only a part of each day there is no inconsistency. Once Ezekiel had performed his daily demonstration—lying facing the model of the besieged city—he apparently arose and performed the other symbolic acts that related to the siege.

Original Directive (Ezekiel 4:9-13)

The quality of the food (Ezekiel 4:9)

Various grains (Ezekiel 4:9 a): Now as for you, take for yourself wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and fitches. The nature of his food was restricted. His bread was to be made of an odd mixture of grains and seeds. Instead of the normal wheat flour, various kinds of cereals will have to be mixed so as to obtain sufficient quantity to make a cake of bread. Those besieged in Jerusalem will have to eat what they could get. Six different kinds of cereal grains are specified: (1) wheat and (2) barley are frequently mentioned as foods in the Old Testament; (3) beans (pol) are mentioned elsewhere only in 2 Samuel 17:28; (4) lentils, (5) millet, and (6) fitches (spelt, RSV), a species of wheat. Greenberg (AB, 106) cites the Babylonian Talmud (Erubin 81a) to the effect that an experiment had shown that a dog will not eat bread made in this fashion.

Mingled grains (Ezekiel 4:9 b): Put them in a vessel, and prepare them as food for yourself... The various grains were to be placed in one vessel. In the law of Moses it was forbidden to sow the ground with mingled seeds (Leviticus 19:19; Deuteronomy 22:9). Though not specifically condemned, the mixing of these grains and seeds in flour will seem to be banned under the same principle. In a city under siege and in foreign exile, the Jews will not be able to be so scrupulous about their diet.

Duration of the diet (Ezekiel 4:9 c): according to the number of days in which you are lying upon your side, three hundred ninety days and you will eat it. The dietary restrictions were to be in force during the 390 days of bearing the iniquity of the people of God (v 9). Here again the question of the duration of Ezekiel’s symbolic siege of Jerusalem is raised. Ezekiel 4:9 seems to suggest that the prophet lies upon his side only 390 days. What happened to the forty days he was to lie upon his right side? Many modern scholars assume that the 390 days are inclusive of the forty days. However, this interpretation runs counter to the explicit statement in Ezekiel 4:6 that Ezekiel was to lie on his right side after he had finished the 390 days on his left side. One must conclude either (1) that the dietary regulations of this paragraph were to be observed only during the time when Ezekiel was on his left side; or (2) that the dietary restrictions were observed during the forty days on the right side as well, even though the text does not explicitly so state. Any other interpretations will put Ezekiel 4:9 at variance with Ezekiel 4:6. God’s people were to be exiled from the sacred temple precincts for 390 years, the northern kingdom from 931 to 539 B.C., and the southern kingdom for the last forty years of that period.

Ezekiel’s symbolic diet during the days of his “siege” was designed to set forth two basic thoughts: (1) the scarcity of food that will exist in Jerusalem during the final siege; and (2) the impure food that those exiled from Judah will be forced to eat. This point he established during the 390 days on his left side. Continuing this phase of the demonstration during the period he lay on his right side would have been superfluous.

The quantity of the food (Ezekiel 4:10-11): Your food that you eat will be twenty shekels in weight for a day. Once each day you will eat it. (11) As for water, you will drink the sixth of a hin by measure. Once each day you will drink it. 1 Chronicles 9:25 makes it clear that time to time refers to a recurring action that takes place at the same time each day. The quantity of his food was limited. What Ezekiel prophesied here, his contemporary Jeremiah experienced. See Jeremiah 37:21.

Ezekiel’s diet during the 390 days was to consist of twenty shekels of food (Ezekiel 4:10) and the sixth of a hin of water (Ezekiel 4:11). This amounts to about eight ounces of food and two cups of water daily. This is insufficient for maintenance of physical well-being. Only with supernatural assistance would Ezekiel have been able to follow this regime during the symbolic days of siege. In a hot climate this limitation on water is very oppressive. Rationed water is called the water of affliction (1 Kings 22:27; Isaiah 30:20). The fact that food was weighed rather than measured indicates the most extreme scarcity (cf. Leviticus 26:26; Revelation 6:6).

The prophet was to partake of his unpalatable meals literally, from time to time (Ezekiel 4:10). The rabbis interpreted this phrase to mean once in a twenty-four hour period. Currey concurs. The instruction is to partake of the food at the appointed interval of a day and at no other time.

The consumption of the food (Ezekiel 4:12 a): As a barley cake you will eat it... The meager food was to be eaten as barley cake, i.e., he is to eat his meal with all the relish that one customarily gives to barley cakes. Both the eating and the preparation of the food was to be in their presence, i.e., so the exiles could observe. Thus will they come to understand it as a sign of what had befallen them already, and of what will yet befall their brethren in Jerusalem.

The preparation of the food (Ezekiel 4:12-13): and with human dung you will bake it in their presence. (13) The LORD said, In this way the children of Israel will eat their unclean food among the nations where I will drive them. One of the usual calamities of a siege is lack of fuel. To further dramatize siege conditions, Ezekiel was to prepare his food with unclean fuel. The prophet was told to use human dung (Ezekiel 4:12) as cooking fuel, that which was revolting as well as ceremonially impure and defiling (cf. Deuteronomy 23:12 ff.). Barley bread was prepared on hot stones (1 Kings 19:6) that were to be heated by human excrement. For the moment the ceremonial law was to be overridden so as to make a moral point.

The significance of the disgusting instruction regarding the use of human dung for fuel is given in Ezekiel 4:13. Those Israelites who yet remained in Jerusalem will be forced to eat unclean food among the nations where God will drive them (cf. Hosea 9:3). Foreign lands were regarded by the Israelites as unclean. Even those who attempted to maintain the dietary code will be eating unclean bread because the ritual first fruits of the harvest will not be able to be offered in the temple of the Lord(Cf. Amos 7:17; Daniel 1:8). In addition to the specific prediction being set forth in this action parable, Ezekiel is making a significant point: Israel’s position as a separate, sanctified people will be destroyed during the Babylonian exile.

Mitigation (Ezekiel 4:14-15)

Ezekiel’s protest (Ezekiel 4:14): Then I said, Ah, O Lord GOD! Behold my soul has not been polluted, and a corpse or that which was torn in pieces I have never eaten from my youth until now. Abominable meat has never come into my mouth. The command to prepare his food with human dung as fuel shocked the conscientious young priest. He obliquely requested relief from this phase of the object lesson. The first words that Ezekiel speaks in this book are an emotional outburst, Ah Lord God! (cf. Jeremiah 1:6). The godly prophet was not so much concerned with what displeased his taste as what offended his conscience.

From exasperation Ezekiel moved to narrative prayer that is introduced in Ezekiel 4:14 with behold. My soul (i.e., I) has not been polluted. He meticulously had sought to abide by the dietary laws from my youth until now. Even in the deprivations of captivity and the spiritual confusion of that episode, he had conscientiously attempted to follow the law of God.

Ezekiel cites three examples of how he faithfully had observed the Old Testament law. (1) He had not eaten of a corpse, i.e., an animal that had not been properly slaughtered. Such meat was forbidden (Leviticus 17:15; Deuteronomy 14:21). (2) He had not eaten what was torn in pieces, i.e., an animal that had been killed by a wild beast. Such was forbidden to the Israelite because the blood had not been properly drained. (3) Abominable meat had never come into his mouth. In its more restricted sense, the Hebrew term refers to sacrificial flesh rendered unfit by disregard for the laws of sacrifice. More precisely, meat of an offering, if kept to the third day, was abominable and could not be eaten by the priests (Leviticus 19:7). In a broader sense, the term is used of any forbidden food(Cf. Leviticus 7:18; Isaiah 65:4).

The Lord’s compassion (Ezekiel 4:15): Then He said unto me, See, I have appointed for you cattle dung instead of human dung. You will prepare your food with it. The gracious Lord acquiesced in the request of His prophet. He permitted Ezekiel to substitute animal dung for the prescribed human dung (Ezekiel 4:15). Dried cow dung was not as physically disgusting as human dung. In rural Near Eastern communities today, little girls are often assigned the task of collecting animal droppings in a basket and of patting them while still moist into discus shaped cakes, which in dry weather are dried on the roof for fuel. So in the case of Ezekiel, there was a mitigation of the defilement; but still defilement remained, and in exile the people of God were subjected to it.

Explanation (Ezekiel 4:16-17)

He said unto me, Son of man, behold I am about to shatter the staff of bread in Jerusalem. They will eat food by weight and with concern. Water by measure and in dismay they will drink, (17) because bread and water will be scarce. They will be dismayed one with another. They will waste away under their punishment. Shortly God will shatter the staff of bread in Jerusalem. Bread was then, and is still, known as the staff of life because man is so dependent upon it (cf. Leviticus 26:26; Psalms 105:16). The inhabitants of that doomed city will be forced to eat food by weight and drink water by measure. The food and water will be so scarce as to give rise to grave concern and even dismay (Ezekiel 4:16). Faced with this lack of food the populace will gradually waste away under the punishment of the Lord (Ezekiel 4:17).

EZEKIEL 5

REBELLION AND RETRIBUTION

The first four verses of ch 5 probably belong as the concluding verses of ch 4. The three discourses in chs 5-7 are related in that they elaborate on the symbolism of Ezekiel 5:1-4. However, each of these discourses has its distinctive thrust. The first is characterized by the dual themes of rebellion and retribution (Ezekiel 5:5-17). The focus is on disobedience and desolation in the second discourse (Ezekiel 6:1-14). In his third sermon, Ezekiel speaks of chaos and calamity (Ezekiel 7:1-27).

Whether these sermons were delivered during the later part of the time of the symbolic siege of Jerusalem, or whether they were given sometime afterwards cannot be determined. In either case, the symbolic actions gained for Ezekiel an attentive audience. It appears that during the period of these public discourses, he was generally treated with respect (cf. Ezekiel 8:1; Ezekiel 14:1; Ezekiel 20:1).

PARABLE OF THE NATION’S FATE

Ezekiel 5:1-4

Shaving of the Hair (Ezekiel 5:1 a): And as for you, son of man, take to yourself a sharp sword, for a barber’s razor. Take it, and cause it to pass over your head and your beard. During the days of his symbolic siege of Jerusalem, Ezekiel performed another act. He shaved his head and beard with a sharp sword that he used like a barber’s razor. Grammatically it is difficult to determine whether Ezekiel took a sword or a razor-sharp knife symbolizing a sword. In either case the message is the same. The sword symbolizes the invading Chaldean army. Ezekiel symbolizes the land of Judah.

The coming invader will scrape the land bare (cf. Isaiah 7:20). He will bring upon it disgrace and mourning. Again Ezekiel was commanded to violate the ceremonial law so as to make a prophetic application. The hair of the priest was a mark of his consecration to God’s service (Leviticus 19:27). Shaving the head was a sign of mourning (Isaiah 3:24; Isaiah 22:12). If an Israelite priest shaved his head, he was defiled (Leviticus 21:5). Ezekiel defiled and humiliated himself as a symbol of the humiliation of the people of Judah who were defiled and no longer holy to the Lord. Nothing was left to do but to mourn their death as a nation.

The hair removed from face and head was to be divided by weight into three parts. The balances that Ezekiel was to use may symbolize justice just as is still the case today. God’s judgment is measured, accurate and fair (cf. Jeremiah 15:2). Weighing and numbering are ominous signs of impending judgment (cf. Daniel 5:24-28).

Distribution of the Hair (Ezekiel 5:1-2)

The first third (Ezekiel 5:1 b): Take to yourself balances, and divide them. A third part you will burn in the fire in the midst of the city when the days of the siege are fulfilled. Ezekiel’s shorn hair symbolizes the population of Jerusalem. The manner of the disposal of the hair indicated the various fates that awaited those rebellious Jews. A third of the hair was to be burned in the midst of the city, i.e., on the tile that depicted the city of Jerusalem. Another view is that the actual city of Jerusalem is meant. If all these action parables are visionary, this could be a possible interpretation. These hairs symbolized those who will die in the horrors of warfare—fire, sword, famine and pestilence—when the city was besieged. For a similar prophecy of a much later time, see Zechariah 13:8-9.

The second third (Ezekiel 5:2 a): Take a third part, smite with the sword around about her. Another third of the hair was to be smitten with the sword round about her, viz., the city. This symbolized the fate of those who tried to escape the city, either during or after the fall. A prime example is King Zedekiah and his associates (cf. 2 Kings 25:4 ff.).

The third third (Ezekiel 5:2 b): And a third part you will scatter to the wind. And I will unsheathe a sword after them. The last third of the hair was to be scattered to the wind. The hairs symbolize those who will be dispersed to foreign lands. Though they had escaped the holocaust at Jerusalem, they will not find peace, for I will unsheathe a sword after them (Ezekiel 5:2). Jeremiah predicted the same fate for the exiles (Jeremiah 9:15), as did Moses before him (Leviticus 26:33). Cf. Jeremiah 40-44 and the trials that befell the Jewish remnant in Egypt.

Gathering of the Hair (Ezekiel 5:3-4)

Hair bound in the hem (Ezekiel 5:3): Take a few in number, and bind them in the hem of your garment. In this bleak passage, there is a hint of hope. A few of the hairs—presumably those that had been scattered to the wind—were to be retrieved and bound in the hem of Ezekiel’s garment. A remnant of those carried off to exile will survive.

Hair burned in the fire (Ezekiel 5:4): From them take again, and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them. From it a fire will go out into all the house of Israel. Though some will survive, their situation will be desperate. From the hairs retrieved, Ezekiel was to take some and cast them into the fire. The fire here may represent persecution through which some of the Jewish remnant will die. On the other hand, the fire may represent the fire that will destroy Babylon. Those who refused to heed the prophetic admonition to flee Babylon will face this fate. The remnant theme can be traced through the following references: 2 Kings 25:22; Isaiah 6:13; Isaiah 10:22; Jeremiah 23:3; Ezekiel 6:8-10; Ezekiel 9:8; Ezekiel 11:13; Zechariah 13:8-9.

Thus the general drift of this parable is clear. Ezekiel foresees the total destruction and dispersion of Jerusalem’s populace. True faith, however, will survive in a faithful remnant.

The expression from them fire will go out into all the house of Israel is difficult. Perhaps the thought is that even the faithful remnant in Babylon will suffer new hardships because of the suicidal rebellion launched by the leadership in Jerusalem.

EXPLANATORY DISCOURSE

Ezekiel 5:5-17

In Ezekiel 5:5-17 the four symbols found in Ezekiel 4:1 to Ezekiel 5:4 are directly and forcefully explained. Ezekiel may have preached this homily as he lay upon his side illustrating the siege of Jerusalem. After briefly reciting the sin of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 5:5-6), the prophet enunciates two dreadful threats against the city (Ezekiel 5:7-12). He then describes the results of the judgment (Ezekiel 5:13-15). He closes this discourse with yet another direct threat (Ezekiel 5:16-17). This first discourse describes the privilege, perversity and punishment of Jerusalem.

Sin of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 5:5-6): A clear identification (Ezekiel 5:5 a): Thus says the Lord GOD: This is Jerusalem! Through the siege signs of Ezekiel 4:1 to Ezekiel 5:4, Ezekiel has made it clear that disaster was going to overtake the inhabitants of a besieged city. It remained only for Ezekiel to make known the identity of the city. The sense of drama is sustained as the prophet tersely announces, This is Jerusalem. His auditors can no longer speculate that the map portrayed some other city.

A clear justification (Ezekiel 5:5-6): Ezekiel’s thesis in Ezekiel 5:5-6 is that Jerusalem’s sin against God was grievous. He argues his point in two ways.

Judah’s central position (Ezekiel 5:5 b): In the midst of the nations I have placed her, and lands are round about her. Jerusalem’s sin was grievous because of the position that she occupied. God had placed Jerusalem in the midst of the nations (Ezekiel 5:5). This is no manifestation of Jewish pride, but an indication of the basic premise of Old Testament religion, viz., the election of Israel. Geographically, Canaan was in the midst of the great civilizations of the ancient Near East. The same idea is elevated to a higher level in 38:12. The future Israel dwells in the middle (lit., navel) of the earth.

The habitation assigned to the chosen people was carefully chosen by the Lord. The people of God were to be the great witness to monotheism in the ancient world. Jerusalem, however, was unfaithful to her mission. The ancient Jews thought of God as inexorably connected with physical Jerusalem. The continued physical existence of the walls and buildings known as Jerusalem was not what concerned God, but rather the mission and message of that city. This concept the contemporaries of Ezekiel found hard to accept.

Judah’s blatant rebellion (Ezekiel 5:6): She has rebelled against my judgments for evil more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the lands that are round about her; for they have refused my judgments, and in my statutes they have not walked. Jerusalem’s sin was grievous in view of the fact that she had received special divine revelation in the form of judgments and statutes. The rabbis taught that judgments pertained to a man’s duty to his fellowman, while statutes spelled out his duty to God. Carley (BPE, 38) sees the distinction being that judgments were conditional laws (casuistic law) and statutes were unconditional commands or prohibitions (apodictic law).

Certainly greater light involves greater responsibility before God. An Egyptian and an Israelite may commit the same overt act; but the deed was a far greater crime for the Israelite because Israel had divine law and light. The grievousness of Jerusalem’s sin is indicated by the verbs of Ezekiel 5:6. She had rebelled against, and her population had rejected the judgments of God. She refused to walk in the statutes of God.

The wickedness of Jerusalem was worse than that of heathen nations round about (Ezekiel 5:6). The judgments of God are always relative to the light and privilege granted to a people. This thought is amplified in the following verses.

First Threat (Ezekiel 5:7-10)

Basis of the threat (Ezekiel 5:7): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Because you are more tumultuous than the nations that are round about you—in my statutes you have not walked, and my judgments you have not done, nor have you done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you; The word therefore introduces, not the judgment, but further indictment. This is common in oracles of judgment. It is almost as though the Lord is hesitant to pronounce the sentence, or at least to establish a firm legal basis for that sentence before it is uttered.

The word translated tumultuous is of uncertain meaning. (KJV, ye multiplied more than the nations; ASV, ye are turbulent more than the nations). It seems to be connected with the noun that refers to a tumultuous crowd. They raged in their opposition against God. Such a description is appropriate to these lawless ones who rejected the judgments and statutes of the Lord. Judah had not even measured up to the standards of heathen nations—nor have you done according to the judgments of the nations round about you (Ezekiel 5:7). Judah had sunk even deeper into wickedness than pagan nations. The thought here may be that of Jeremiah 2:10 f., viz., that the heathen were more loyal to their non-gods than was Israel to the God of creation.

Specifics of the threat (Ezekiel 5:8-10): The second therefore in the unit introduces Yahweh’s word of judgment. Five specific details concerning the forthcoming judgment of God are set forth in Ezekiel 5:8-10.

Divine judgment (Ezekiel 5:8 a): therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold I, even I, am against you... The future judgment is the work of the sovereign ruler of Judah. Yahweh is sovereign. It is he who has become the adversary of Judah. The formula I am against you seems to be derived from the background of hand-to-hand combat. The dreadful thought that God has entered into mortal combat against Jerusalem is underscored by the emphasis on the first person pronoun—I, even I, am against you. The great sovereign God not only declares in Ezekiel 5:8 his hostility toward Jerusalem, he announces his intention to execute judgments in the midst of that city. The last expression is repeated in Ezekiel 5:10.

Public judgment (Ezekiel 5:8): and I will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations. Repeatedly Ezekiel emphasizes this thought. See Ezek 20:9, 14, 22, 41; 22:16; 28:25; 38:23: 39:27. Judah publicly had profaned the honor of God. Thus the Holy One of Israel publicly must be vindicated. The death of Judah will be a hideous example to other nations.

Unprecedented judgment (Ezekiel 5:9): And I will do in you what I have not done, and the likes of which I will not do again, because of all your abominations. Third, the judgment is unprecedented. The abominations of Judah were without precedent; so also will be the manifestation of God’s judgment (Ezekiel 5:9). The term Abominations is used forty-two times in Ezekiel. refers to idolatry. Cf. Deuteronomy 7:25-26; Deuteronomy 13:12-14; Deuteronomy 17:2-4.

Modern students find it easy to criticize the spiritual blindness and obduracy of Israel in refusing to believe the prophetic threats against Jerusalem. This verse should serve to explain in part the bewilderment and incredulity that this message of destruction produced. There was no precedent to prepare for the disaster.

Currey observes that

The punishments of God are cumulative. The calamities of the Babylonian were surpassed by the Roman siege (Matthew 24:21), and these again were but a foreshadowing of still more terrible destruction at the last day.

Unthinkable judgment (Ezekiel 5:10 a): Therefore, fathers will eat sons in your midst, and sons will eat their fathers. The judgment results in horrible barbarisms. In the extremities of the forthcoming siege cannibalism will be practiced in Jerusalem. That children will be devoured during that brutal period had been prophesied already. The gruesome fulfillment is recorded in Lamentations 4:10. Ezekiel, however, here goes beyond previous threats in that he predicts that sons will eat their fathers. “Human plight can know no greater depths.” (See Leviticus 26:29; Deuteronomy 28:53; Jeremiah 29:9.)

Devastating judgment (Ezekiel 5:10 b): I will execute judgments in you. I will scatter all your remnant to every wind. The judgment involves the scattering of God’s people. In Ezekiel 5:10 Ezekiel alludes to those Jews who will flee from the Babylonian invasion as well as those who will be carried off to Babylon or sold into slavery in distant lands.

Second Threat (Ezekiel 5:11-12)

Basis of the threat (Ezekiel 5:11 a): Therefore as I live (oracle of the Lord GOD) surely, because my sanctuary you have defiled with all your detestable things and with all your abominations…

Again the first therefore introduces the basis for the second threat, while the second therefore sets forth the threat itself. This dire threat is in order because the inhabitants of Jerusalem had defiled God’s temple with their detestable things and their abominations, i.e., their idolatrous paraphernalia. History records how King Manasseh erected an idol in the temple precincts (2 Kings 21:7). Ahaz replaced the divinely ordained altar with an Assyrian model (2 Kings 16:11).

General picture of the threat (Ezekiel 5:11 b): therefore I will cut you short. My eye will spare not, nor will I have pity. Because of such brazen presumption, God will cut short Jerusalem without mercy (Ezekiel 5:11). There is no evidence that the Israelites were overtly more wicked than neighboring peoples. They, however, had violated the first and most basic commandment in that they rendered allegiance to that which was less than God.

Specifics of the threat (Ezekiel 5:12)

Ezekiel alludes to the symbolic act that he had performed with his shaven hair (Ezekiel 5:1-4).

The first third (Ezekiel 5:12 a): A third part of you with pestilence will die. With famine they will be consumed in your midst. A third of the populace will be consumed by pestilence and famine in the midst of the city.

The second third (Ezekiel 5:12 b): A third part will fall by the sword round about you. A third will fall by the sword in trying to defend the city, or escape therefrom.

The third third (Ezekiel 5:12 c): A third part I will scatter to every wind. A sword I will unsheathe after them. A third will be scattered in every direction. This latter group will include both those who might manage to escape to surrounding nations, and those who will be carried into foreign exile.

Divine retribution will continue to pursue these folks even on foreign soil. The sword that God will unsheathe after these refugees symbolizes the persecution that they will continue to experience. The horrors of the Babylonian siege were but the beginning of sorrows of the nation. The prophecy may reach beyond the limits of the Babylonian era. Ezekiel may here be foretelling the continuous misery that the once favored people of God will experience.

Results of the Judgment (Ezekiel 5:13-15)

Three results of Jerusalem’s judgment are mentioned in these verses:

God’s anger assuaged (Ezekiel 5:13 a): Then my anger will end. My wrath I will cause to rest in respect to them, and will be comforted. Only when Jerusalem was in ruins and her few survivors scattered abroad is God’s anger and wrath assuaged. The strongly anthropomorphic expression, my wrath I will cause to rest in respect to them is used in three other places in the book. (See Ezekiel 16:42; Ezekiel 21:22; Ezekiel 24:13.) Evil actions have tragic results. In this first discourse the only note of hope is that once Jerusalem is destroyed the righteous anger of God will be satisfied.

God’s word vindicated (Ezekiel 5:13 b): They will know that I the LORD have spoken in my zeal when I have finished my wrath on them. Through the fulfillment of the predicted punishment, they will recognize that the calamity was initiated by God and was not due to mere chance. Ezekiel uses the terms zeal/jealousy and wrath synonymously. (See Ezekiel 16:38; Ezekiel 16:42; Ezekiel 23:25; Ezekiel 36:6). God’s zeal or jealousy is provoked by idolatry (Ezekiel 8:3; Ezekiel 8:5; cf. Exodus 20:3-5).

God’s people humiliated (Ezekiel 5:14-15): And I will make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations that are round about you, before every one who passes by. (15) And it will be a reproach, and a taunt, a lesson and an astonishment to the nations that are round about you when I execute against you judgments in anger, wrath and furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it. The retribution against Jerusalem earns for the people of Judah the contempt of all neighboring nations, and passers-by as well (Ezekiel 5:14). The ruins of the once proud capital of Judah will serve as a reproach, taunt, a warning lesson and a source of astonishment to the neighboring nations. At this point Ezekiel mentions only this one good that will result from the fall of Judah. From the tragedy of Israel, the nations will learn that Yahweh is in control of history, and that he is a righteous God.

Third Threat (Ezekiel 5:16-17)

When I send against them the evil arrows of famine that are for destruction that I will send against you to destroy you; and I will increase famine upon you. I will shatter your staff of bread. (17) I will send against you famine and wild beasts, and they will bereave you. Pestilence and blood will pass through you. I will bring a sword upon you. I the LORD have spoken it.

In the third threat of this discourse, Ezekiel enumerates six calamities that will befall Judah. God was about to send against his people the evil arrows of famine, i.e., blasting, mildew, locusts and other plagues that will lead to a scarcity of food.

In addition, God will increase the famine. He will withhold the rain. Thus will he shatter the staff of bread (Ezekiel 5:16; cf. Ezekiel 4:16). Other disasters will depopulate the land. Wild beasts will become a problem. They will especially attack children. Thus will the wicked mothers and fathers be bereaved.

Pestilence, i.e., plagues, will take their toll against man and beast. Others will die by violence as blood passed through their midst. Finally, they will face the sword of divine retribution, the Chaldean enemy.

Three times in this first discourse Ezekiel stressed the fact that I the Lord have spoken (Ezekiel 5:13; Ezekiel 5:15; Ezekiel 5:17). It is not the existence of the Lord that is being stressed, but the identity of the speaker as Yahweh. It is really Yahweh, the God of revelation and redemption, who has made these threats. He is a God who reveals Himself in acts as well as in words. His acts accredit and validate His words. The dire threats of this chapter were certain to befall Judah.

In summarizing the first discourse, three stages of backsliding can be observed: (1) the Jews had rebelled against the ordinances of God in their hearts (Ezekiel 5:6); (2) they ceased to walk in God’s statutes in the outer life (Ezekiel 5:6); and finally, (3) they were so brazen that they defiled God’s sanctuary (Ezekiel 5:11). With regard to Jerusalem’s punishments, again a threefold progression is observable: (1) God was against his people (Ezekiel 5:8); (2) God will execute judgments on his people (Ezekiel 5:8); and finally (3) those judgments will be executed in anger and wrath (Ezekiel 5:15).

CHAPTER 6

DISOBEDIENCE AND DESOLATION

In his second discourse, Ezekiel zeroes in on the places of idolatrous worship that were located in the mountains and valleys of Judah. These pagan sanctuaries, once known for their shady trees, will become desolate. There is throughout this chapter a frequent change from their to your, and from your to their, when the same persons are spoken of. This is consistent with the manner of Ezekiel. The sermon contains three points of emphasis: (1) a dire prediction (Ezekiel 6:1-7); (2) a confident expectation (Ezekiel 6:8-10); and (3) a distressing lamentation (Ezekiel 6:11-14).

A DIRE PREDICTION

Ezekiel 6:1-7

The Address (Ezekiel 6:1-3 a): And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying: (2) Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them. (3) Say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD. Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the mountains and hills, concerning the ravines and valleys: The word of the Lord (Ezekiel 6:1) directed Ezekiel to set his face toward, and prophesy against, the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 6:2). Apparently the prophet actually assumed a posture that demonstrated determination and anger, i.e., he faced westward as he spoke these words. Cf. Ezekiel 13:17; Ezekiel 20:46; Ezekiel 21:2.

The idiom of setting the face is a well-attested travel formula in the Bible and in the literature of the ancient Near East. Ugaritic texts attests its use in the imperative addressed to messengers of gods and kings in the sending out of a messenger. Just as the anonymous prophet of 1 Kings 13 addressed an oracle to the illegitimate Bethel altar, so Ezekiel speaks directly to the mountains of Israel. It is as though the people of Judah were so hopelessly meshed in idolatry that Ezekiel might as well speak to the mountains of the land. Another view: like house of Israel, the mountains means the inhabitants of the mountains.

The mountains are not to be understood as geographical symbols of the land of Judah, but rather as theological symbols. The mountains were the places where Israel practiced idolatry. This oracle, then, goes beyond the previous discourse in that it asserts that the judgment will include the pagan shrines scattered throughout the land as well as in Jerusalem. The distraught exiles on the monotonous plains of Babylon might pine for the beloved Judean hills. But those mountains were contaminated and doomed.

While the mountains were directly addressed, the message pertains to the hills, ravines and valleys as well. All of these areas had been contaminated by the presence of pagan high places. Remains of such high places have been discovered at Taanach, Gezer, and Petra. The standard features of a Canaanite high place were (1) an altar, (2) standing stones, (3) a wooden pole symbolic of Asherah, and (4) a laver. Hezekiah in the eighth century, and Josiah in the seventh century, made determined efforts to remove these theological cancers from the nation. Unfortunately later kings tolerated and/or encouraged pagan practices (2 Kings 18:4; 2 Kings 23:5). Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel testify to the resurgence of this corrupt worship following Josiah’s valiant reform effort.

Slaughter (Ezekiel 6:3-5)

High places desecrated (Ezekiel 6:3-4 a): Behold I, even I, am about to bring against you a sword, and I will destroy your high places. (4) Your altars will be made desolate. Your incense stands will be broken. The Lord will bring the sword of destruction against the pagan high places (Ezekiel 6:3). The term sword can denote any kind of destructive instrument. Here the term is symbolic of the invading forces of Nebuchadnezzar that will bring death, destruction and desolation to the land. The sexual license and child sacrifice that marked the pagan worship were an abomination to God, and hence had to be judged. When the judgment of God fell, the pagan high places will be desecrated. The sacrificial altars and smaller incense stands will be destroyed. Note: Small limestone altars with “horns” too small for offering any sacrifice other than incense have been found in Palestine.

Dead bodies desecrated (Ezekiel 6:4-5): I will cast down your slain before your idols. (5) And I will put the carcasses of the children of Israel before their idols. I will scatter your bones around your altars. The corpses of the slain Israelites will not even be accorded the dignity of burial. They will be left to rot before their helpless idols (Ezekiel 6:4). Yahweh will fulfill the covenant threat of Leviticus 26:30. Note: The term use here for idols is one of contempt used thirty-nine times in the book Ezekiel may have coined this term that means something like "dung ball." The term is closely related to the word used for human excrement in Ezekiel 4:12; Ezekiel 4:15.

The bones of the idolaters will be scattered around the altars. Death defiled (cf. Numbers 9:6-10; 2 Kings 23:14; 2 Kings 23:16). Hence the altars will be made desolate, rendered permanently unclean and unsuitable for worship (Ezekiel 6:5). A similar threat was made by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 8:1 f.). They had defiled the land with their idols; they will yet further defile it by their dead bodies. The fragrance of incense offered to pagan deities will be replaced by the stench of rotting bodies.

Ruins (Ezekiel 6:6-7): In all of your dwelling places, the cities will become waste. The high places will become desolate, that they may be laid waste. Your altars will bear their guilt. Your idols will be broken, and cease to be. Your incense altars will be cut down. Your works will be wiped out. (7) The slain will fall in your midst. You will know that I am the LORD. In characteristic emphasis by repetition, Ezekiel underscores the threat against the idolatrous shrines in Ezekiel 6:6-7. Here the people are directly addressed rather than the mountains. In all of their dwelling places the cities will become waste and their high places desolate. Altars, idols and incense altars will be destroyed. The work of their hands, i.e., their idols, will be wiped out (Ezekiel 6:6). The same order had been given regarding the Canaanites who occupied the land before Israel, Since Israel had adopted the ways of Canaan, they and their worship will now come under the same divine edict. The slain of Judah will fall throughout the land. No idol will be able to prevent the massacre. In that terrible day when man-made gods proved impotent, the sovereignty of the Lord will be admitted by all.

The expression you will know that I am the Lord occurs four times in ch 6 (Ezekiel 6:7; Ezekiel 6:10; Ezekiel 6:13-14) Ezekiel indicates that God’s supreme motivation in all his acts of judgment or mercy is that people might know, i.e., experience him anew. This major thrust of the book (mentioned over sixty-five times) called for an intimate relationship with the Lord rather than a destructive allegiance to impotent idols.

CONFIDENT EXPECTATION

Ezekiel 6:8-10

Preservation (Ezekiel 6:8): But I will leave a remnant, in that you will have those who escaped the sword among the nations when you are scattered among the lands. Not all will die in the bloodshed that will befall Judah. A remnant will survive on foreign soil (Ezekiel 6:8). In the midst of the thundering severity of God’s wrath, the prophet underscores the tenderness of God’s mercy. The nation is rejected; but faithful individuals will be spared. These godly souls will become the prototype and the nucleus of the New Testament Israel of God. The nation will die in 586 B.C., but faith will live on. Note: Key passages for the study of the remnant theme in the Old Testament are: Isaiah 1:9; Isaiah 10:20; Jeremiah 43:5; Zephaniah 2:7; Zephaniah 3:13, Zechariah 10:9; Romans 9:6-13; Romans 11:5.

Conversion (Ezekiel 6:9-10): Four facts about the remnant are brought out in these verses.

(1) A new focus on the Lord (Ezekiel 6:9 a): And those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they have been taken captive... This remnant will remembe the Lord among the nations where they had been taken captive. The word remember implies more than the recollection of past events. The exiles will seek to restore their relationship to God by repentance.

(2) A new understanding of the Lord (Ezekiel 6:9 b): that I was shattered by their adulterous heart that turned aside from me, and by their eyes that committed adultery after their idols; When they remember the Lord, the remnant for the first time comes to realize the anguish that their loving Father had experienced because of their flirtations with idolatry. Literally, I have been broken or shattered. The RSV has followed some of the ancient versions by rendering, when I have broken their whorish heart. Those wanton hearts will be changed. Through the fires of punishment, the surviving remnant was purged of impurity.

(3) A new attitude toward sin (Ezekiel 6:9 b): and they will loath themselves in their sight for the evils that they committed, for all their abominations. The remnant comes to loath themselves for the evils that they had committed. They will then regard all their idols as abominations (Ezekiel 6:9). Abomination is a favorite term of Ezekiel for a practice that led to religious impurity. He uses this term mainly of idolatry, but sometimes of adultery.

(4) A new appreciation for God (Ezekiel 6:10): And they will know that I am the LORD; not in vain have I said that I will do this evil to them. The remnant will know in that day that Yahweh is sovereign God. His word had not been spoken in vain. The ultimate aim of the national chastisement was to produce a faithful remnant. God’s purpose will thus be accomplished.

DISTRESSING LAMENTATION

Ezekiel 6:11-14

Dramatized (Ezekiel 6:11): Thus says the Lord GOD: Clap your hands and stamp your feet, and say, Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! With sword, famine and pestilence they will fall. With a dramatic action, Ezekiel was to underscore what he had just said. One must always reckon with the possibility that this oracle was not delivered on the same occasion as the preceding verses.

He was to clap his hands and stamp his feet. These were gestures expressive of intense emotion and excitement generated either by intense joy or sorrow. Others have interpreted Ezekiel’s actions as indicating malicious satisfaction, joy, triumph as well as horror, indignation and sorrow. Still others think Ezekiel exhibited God’s delight over the comprehensive eradication of pagan shrines and practices from Israel.

There is no reason to assume that Ezekiel is exulting over the impending fall of Judah. This prophet hated the evil practiced by his people; but he did not long for their destruction. Like Jeremiah, he commiserated with the people of Judah in their misfortune (cf. Ezekiel 11:13). It was with a broken heart that Ezekiel spoke to and about his people.

The prophet’s gesture of distress was accompanied by the customary wail, Alas! Ezekiel is called upon to rejoice that the accumulated evil of centuries is to be swept away. Because of all the evil abominations (idolatry) of Israel, the nation will fall with sword, famine and pestilence.

Justified (Ezekiel 6:12-14)

Death reigns supreme (Ezekiel 6:12): He who is far off will die with the pestilence; and he who is near will fall by the sword; and he that remains and is besieged will die in the famine. Then I will bring to an end my wrath against them. The one far off from the scene of battle will die by pestilence; the one near the battle, by the sword. Those in the besieged capital will die of famine. Distance will make no difference. Wherever they were, the inexorable and relentless wrath of God will overtake them (cf. Zechariah 1:6). There will be no escape. With these terrible calamities the wrath of the Lord will come to an end.

Unburied corpses (Ezekiel 6:13): And you will know that I am the LORD when their slain ones will be in the midst of their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree and under every leafy oak, the place where they presented a sweet savor to all their idols. For the third time in this chapter the prophet underscores the dramatic impact that these judgment works will have on the hearts and minds of the surviving remnant. When they saw their slain comrades lying about their once sacred altars, within sight of their lifeless idols, they will finally come to confess the sole sovereignty of God.

In order to emphasize the extent of the godless worship, Ezekiel enumerates the different locations where Canaanite rites were practiced. Their hilltop-sanctuaries and mountain retreats— the shady bowers where once the fertility orgies of Baal and Asherah were practiced—will be desecrated. Ezekiel uses ribald humor in his allusion to the sweet savor of incense being offered before dung ball idols. Here is the irony: "They perfumed their stinky idols.”

Desolation (Ezekiel 6:14): And I will stretch out my hand against them. I will make the land a desolation and waste more than the wilderness of Diblah in all their dwelling places. They will know that I am the LORD. The hand of the Lord will be stretched out against the land. It will become a desolate waste. The reference to Diblah in Ezekiel 6:14 is difficult. Some translate, from the wilderness to Riblah (RSV). They see here a reference to the extent of the disaster. From the edge of the southern wilderness to Riblah on the Orontes river is a distance of 150 miles. This understanding necessitates two changes in the Hebrew text. The second approach is to see in this phrase a comparison. The land of Judah will become a greater desolation than Diblah. The location of Diblah is uncertain. The discourse closes with a fourth assertion that this divine judgment will serve to turn people to the Lord. Note: A Diblathaim on the eastern border of Moab is attested in Numbers 33:46-47 and Jeremiah 48:22 (ASV).

EZEKIEL 7

CALAMITY ANNOUNCED

Ezekiel 7:1-9

First Announcement of the End (Ezekiel 7:1-4)

The announcement of the Lord (Ezekiel 7:1-2): The word of the LORD came to me, saying: (2) As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD concerning the land of Israel: An end! The end has come upon the four ends of the land. Echoing the prophetic declaration of Amos 8:2 regarding the northern kingdom, Ezekiel announces that an end has come to the land of Israel. Yahweh was not merely calling a halt to Israel’s wrong doing. He is bringing down the curtain on Judah’s national existence (cf. Amos 8:1-3). There is no hope in this message for any future for Israel. In this period of history the land of Israel was equivalent to the kingdom of Judah. The end or destruction will come upon the four ends of the land, i.e., the devastation will be geographically total. No city or village will escape (Ezekiel 7:2).

The anger of the Lord (Ezekiel 7:3-4): Now is the end upon you. I will unleash my anger against you. I will judge you according to your ways. I will bring upon you all of your abominations. (4) My eye will not have pity upon you, nor will I have compassion; but your ways I will bring upon you while your abominations will be in your midst; and you will know that I am the LORD. Ezekiel contends that now is the end upon you. The anticipated destruction is close at hand. The prophet refers to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. This destruction will not be a mere accident of history. It will be a manifestation of the anger of God (v 3). God will unleash his anger. The destruction will be a just act of retribution. The people will be judged according to their ways, i.e., their conduct. God will bring upon them all their abominations, i.e., he will hold them accountable for their association with abominable idols (Ezekiel 7:3-4; Ezekiel 7:8).

In this destructive judgment, God will not manifest mercy or compassion toward the nation of Judah (Ezekiel 7:4). The meaning is that God will carry out his pre-announced intention to destroy Jerusalem. He will not relent. There is, of course, mercy for the remnant of the nation, as other passages clearly show. In a sense the exercise of justice was itself an act of mercy. Its aim was purification from sin and restoration of harmony between God and man.

The judgment will fall on Jerusalem while their abominations (idols) were still in the midst of the city. They will cling to their idols to the bitter end. No further evidence need be presented to prove that the actions of God were justified. Through the horrible destruction, the surviving Jews will come to realize that it was truly Yahweh, God of covenant and redemption, who had made these dire threats (Ezekiel 7:4).

Second Announcement of the End (Ezekiel 7:5-9)

The announcement of the Lord (Ezekiel 7:5-7): Thus says the Lord GOD: A disaster, a unique disaster, behold it comes. (6) An end has come, the end has come! It has awakened against you; behold, it comes. (7) The turn has come upon you, O inhabitant of the land; the time has come, the day of tumult is near, and not joyous shouting upon the mountains. The disaster facing Judah was unprecedented (lit., one disaster). The one catastrophe that overshadowed all the rest was the destruction of the temple (Ezekiel 7:5). This disaster will not only be an end, it will be the end (Ezekiel 7:6).

The judgment is described as the turn in Ezekiel 7:7. The meaning of the noun here is uncertain. Modern translations prefer to render it doom. However, the basic idea here may be something round, hence a cycle or turn. The turn of events had come to Judah. To use a modern idiom, the tables were about to be turned. Judgment inevitably follows sin as day follows night.

The predicted end will awaken. The long dark night of prophetic threat was about over; the day of the Lord was about to dawn. A play on words in the Hebrew cannot be reproduced in English. The end has awakened (Ezekiel 7:6).

That coming day will be a day of tumult, i.e., clamor and confusion (Ezekiel 7:7). This tumult will not be the joyous shouting upon the mountains that one might hear in connection with a harvest festival (Isaiah 16:10; Jeremiah 25:30) or idolatrous worship. This tumult will be the din and confusion of military invasion. In the popular mind, the day of the Lord was a day of triumph over national enemies. Beginning with Amos, the prophets blasted this concept. The day of the Lord refers to God’s triumph over all unrighteousness, whether in Israel or among the Gentiles.

The anger of the Lord (Ezekiel 7:8-9): Now I will shortly pour out my wrath upon you. I will finish my anger against you when I have judged you according to your ways. I will bring upon you all your abominations. (9) My eye will not pity, nor will 1 have compassion; 1 will bring upon you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. You will know that I the LORD am One who smites. Ezekiel 7:8-9 is virtually a repetition of Ezekiel 7:3-4, with some variation, to give added emphasis to the warning. God’s anger against Judah will be complete once he had recompensed them for their ways (Ezekiel 7:8).

No compassion will be shown toward the nation in that day. Through the experience of judgment, the Judeans will come to know, i.e., personally experience, Yahweh by a new name: Yahweh makkeh, i.e., "Yahweh who strikes the blow." The notion of an indulgent deity will have to be abandoned in that day (Ezekiel 7:9).

CALAMITY DESCRIBED

Ezekiel 7:10-27

In describing Judah’s coming day of visitation, Ezekiel stresses four points: (1) the social disruption (Ezekiel 7:10-13); (2) the military dismay (Ezekiel 7:14-18); (3) the economic distress (Ezekiel 7:19-22); and (4) the political disorder (Ezekiel 7:23-27).

Social Disruption (Ezekiel 7:10-13)

The nearness of judgment (Ezekiel 7:10-11): Behold the day! Behold it comes; the turn has come forth; the rod has blossomed, arrogance has budded. (11) Violence has risen up for a rod of wickedness; none of them (will remain) and none of their multitude, and none of their wealth or any wailing among them. The third oracle in ch 7 focuses on the imminence, comprehensiveness, and readiness of judgment. The judgment rod of God—Babylon—had blossomed into an arrogant superpower (Ezekiel 7:10). The violence practiced by the Jews had risen up for a rod of wickedness; i.e., the evil practices of the Jews had created the rod that will smite them. In that day the whole population will be affected. None will escape. They will either perish or be carried away into exile. Nothing will remain of the multitude of the people or their wealth. So great will be the loss that survivors will not wail over the dead (Ezekiel 7:11).

The result of judgment (Ezekiel 7:12-13): The time has come, the day has arrived. As for the buyer, let him not rejoice; and as for the seller, let him not mourn; for wrath is upon all its multitude. (13) For the seller will not return unto what is sold, although they be yet alive; for the vision concerns the whole multitude that will not return; neither will they strengthen themselves, a man whose life is in his iniquity. The coming day will result in a complete socio-economic upheaval. Selling an inherited piece of property was normally an occasion of deep grief in the Old Testament world. But the seller of real estate will no longer be concerned with such sentimentality. On the other hand, the one who purchased that property will have no reason to rejoice. In the day of God’s wrath, land holdings will be immaterial. Both the wealthy land buyer and the poverty-stricken seller will be faced with deprivation and death (Ezekiel 7:12).

Never will the land seller be able to repossess his inheritance, even though he might live through the judgment (lit., though their life be yet among the living). Jubilee observance, where all property reverted to original owners, will not be possible in the land of exile. According to the vision that Ezekiel had received, the Jews will be driven from their homes never to return during their lifetime (Ezekiel 7:13).

At first sight this prophecy seems to contradict Jeremiah 32:15; Jeremiah 32:37; Jeremiah 32:43 that states that properties again will be bought and sold in Judah following the exile. However, Ezekiel is speaking of his contemporaries. They will not live to reclaim their family inheritances. The men who lived a life of iniquity will not be able to strengthen themselves so as to withstand punishment (Ezekiel 7:13). Those driven out will not return, and those who remained in the land will die in their sins.

Military Dismay (Ezekiel 7:14-18)

Organized resistance ceases (Ezekiel 7:14): They have blown the trumpet. All is made ready, but none is going to the battle; for My wrath is against all its multitude. Organized resistance to the coming invasion will fail. Sin had destroyed the moral courage of the nation. Preparation for war had been made, but the troops had neither strength nor courage to withstand the enemy. The alarm trumpet sounded, but the terrified troops refused to enter into battle. God’s wrath saps their powers of resistance. Courage flees before the forces of God. Their fear is justified, however, because the wrath of God had gone forth against all its multitude, i.e., army.

Death everywhere (Ezekiel 7:15): The sword is without, the pestilence and the famine within; the one who is in the field will die by the sword, and as for the one who is in the city, famine and pestilence will consume him. Death will stalk the whole land. The sword of the Chaldean army will cut off all escape beyond the walls of Jerusalem. Within the city itself, famine and pestilence (disease) will take their toll.

Helpless resignation (Ezekiel 7:16-18): Should fugitives escape, they will be upon the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, each in his iniquity. (17) All hands will droop. All knees will run with water. (18) They will gird themselves with sackcloth. Terror will cover them. Shame will be upon every face, and baldness upon all their heads. The “no escape” of Ezekiel 7:15 is immediately qualified in the following verse. The few refugees who will escape the city will take to the mountains to escape death. Like doves of the valley they will occupy the lofty heights and deep ravines. There they will bemoan their fate as they realized that the disaster was the result of their iniquity (Ezekiel 7:16).

Despair will render the fugitives helpless. All hands will droop in dismay. The knees will run with water, i.e., because of their fear those refugees will not be able to control their kidney functions (Ezekiel 7:17). The refugees will openly manifest their dismay. Sackcloth will be worn upon the body, but they will act as though they were covered with terror. Heads will be shaved. Shame will be etched on every face—shame because of what had happened; greater shame because of why it had happened (Ezekiel 7:18).

Economic Distress (Ezekiel 7:19-22)

Their wealth abandoned (Ezekiel 7:19): They will cast their silver into the streets. Their gold will become an unclean thing. Their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD; they will neither satisfy, nor will they fill their inward parts; because their iniquity has become a stumbling block. Worldly wealth will be worthless in that day. Silver and gold will come to be regarded as an unclean thing, (lit., something defiled by menstrual impurity, Leviticus 20:21). The precious metal only proves cumbersome to those who are fleeing for their lives. In that day of Yahweh’s wrath, men will be able to purchase neither deliverance, nor food for their bellies.

Their wealth the cause of their sin (Ezekiel 7:20): As for their beautiful adornments, they appointed them for their pride. They made the images of their abominations, their detestable things with it. Therefore, I have given it to them for an unclean thing. Their wealth had been the cause of their sin (cf. Hosea 2:10). These precious metals and their beautiful adornments (i.e., jewelry) they had fashioned into objects of pride and images of their detestable gods. They had committed the same sin as the Sinai generation in fashioning a graven image of their jewelry. Because they had so abused God’s gifts, the Lord will bring them into circumstances in which these precious substances will be regarded as filthy and unclean (Ezekiel 7:20).

Their wealth the possession of strangers (Ezekiel 7:21): I will place it in the hand of strangers for spoil, and to the wicked of the earth for booty; and they will profane it. The wealth of Judah will become the possession of strangers, i.e., the invading army. In the hands of the wicked of the earth these riches, once devoted to sacred, albeit illegitimate, services will be profaned (Ezekiel 7:21).

Their worship center plundered (Ezekiel 7:22): I will turn my face from them. They will profane my secret place. Robbers will come into it, and they will defile it. Not only will the Jews be deprived of their material support, they will also be denied spiritual support. God will turn his face from them. The turning of God’s face from the people is the reverse of the priestly blessing that invoked God to make his face shine upon them (Numbers 6:25 f.). The temple will provide no protection. The invader will profane God’s secret place, i.e., the holiest part of the temple. The sacred precincts will be plundered by the greedy thieves (Ezekiel 7:22). God had no desire for mere outward forms of worship when that worship had been perverted by the devices of wicked men.

The despoliation of Judah and the temple were a necessary part of God’s plan for reclaiming a remnant of Israel. With material possession gone, and the temple in ruins, the people of God were forced to cast themselves completely on the Lord. As it turned out, “the death of material security turned out to be the resurrection of faith.”

Political Disorder (Ezekiel 7:23-27)

Making the chain (Ezekiel 7:23): Make the chain; for the land is full of bloodshed, and the city is full of violence. Apparently Ezekiel performed yet another symbolic act. He made a chain that symbolized the coming exile. This punishment is necessary because Judah was full of bloodshed and violence.

A ruthless adversary (Ezekiel 7:24): Therefore, I have brought the worst of nations. They will possess their houses. I will make to cease the pride of the strong. Their sanctuaries will be profaned. God will employ the worst of nations against Judah. This is one of the rare instances when Ezekiel speaks derogatorily of the Babylonians. In Ezekiel 28:7 and Ezekiel 30:11 he refers to the Babylonians as the terrible of the nations. But his language here is not so much intended to abuse the invaders as to show how low Israel had fallen. The people of God must indeed be wretched for God to send against them men who make no pretense of maintaining just behavior. The ruthless invaders will possess their houses. By means of this invader God will make to cease the pride of the strong, i.e., He will humble the proud rulers of Judah, especially the monarchy and priesthood. The sanctuaries of Judah—both the pagan and the proper—will be profaned by these invaders.

Spiritual leaders silent (Ezekiel 7:25-26): Horror is coming! They will seek peace when there is none. Calamity upon calamity will come. Rumor will be upon rumor. They will seek a vision from the prophet. Instruction will perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders. Efforts to placate the foe and arrange some peaceful accommodation will fail. There will be no escape from this horrible fate (Ezekiel 7:25). Israel had gambled on a precarious political balancing act by pitting one power against another. She gambled, and she lost.

The false prophets had assured them that peace was possible. They will now discover that those optimistic predictions were unfounded. The future judgment will become progressively worse. Calamity upon calamity and rumor upon rumor (Ezekiel 7:26). News of one blow will immediately be followed by news of another.

In their desperation people will turn at last to their spiritual leaders for guidance, but will find none (cf. Lamentations 2:9). The false prophets, who had for so long misled the people with their made-to-order “visions,” will have nothing to say in that hour when their optimistic prognostications proved to be false. The priests will have no instruction, the elders no useful political counsel in that day (Ezekiel 7:26). The crisis will leave them without direction from their religious and national leaders (cf. Jeremiah 18:18). If the reference in Ezekiel 7:26 is to faithful spiritual leaders, then the idea is this: They had for so long rejected the words of God’s spokesman. Now in the hour of judgment, God will no longer communicate with them through these godly men.

Political leaders stymied (Ezekiel 7:27): The king will mourn. The prince will be clothed with astonishment. The hands of the people of the land will become feeble. According to their way, I will deal with them. According to their judgments I will judge them. They will know that 1 am the LORD. The political as well as the spiritual leaders will be unable to cope with that day. The king will only be able to mourn as he saw his people suffering and his crown slipping from his grasp. Other members of the ruling class—the prince—will be clothed with astonishment, i.e., they will be dumbfounded in the face of what will transpire.

Without guidance from spiritual leaders, and leadership from the royal family, the people of the land will be incapacitated by fear. They will be helpless to defend themselves, for their hands will become feeble. This judgment will be a just recompense. God will deal with his people as they had dealt with others. He will judge them as unmercifully as they had judged one another. When all these predictions come to pass, all the survivors will know that Yahweh had really spoken these ominous words.

EZEKIEL 8

DEGRADATION OF JERUSALEM

In chs 8-11 Ezekiel recounts a new series of visions. The purpose of these visions is to show that the divine judgments against Judah were justified. A year and two months have elapsed since the call vision (cf. Ezekiel 1:3 and Ezekiel 8:1). At the time this series of visions was received, Ezekiel was in the 420th day of his symbolic siege of Jerusalem.²²³ He was at this time lying on his right side depicting the judgment for Judah’s iniquity (cf. Ezekiel 4:6). These visions of Jerusalem’s judgment were most appropriate at this time.

This section of the book can be divided into three major units: (1) the degradation of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 8:1-18); (2) the destruction by the Lord (Ezekiel 9:1 to Ezekiel 10:22); and (3) the declarations by the prophet (Ezekiel 11:1-25). In ch 8, after describing his visionary transmigration to Jerusalem (Ezekiel 8:1-4), Ezekiel relates the terrible abominations that were being practiced in the holy city (Ezekiel 8:5-16). He concludes this section with a brief announcement of judgment (Ezekiel 8:17-18).

ASCENT OF THE PROPHET

Ezekiel 8:1-4

A Vision of God (Ezekiel 8:1-2)

Circumstances of the vision (Ezekiel 8:1): It came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month when I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me there. At the time Ezekiel received these visions, a company of elders of Judah was sitting before him. Apparently these leaders had retained their rank and prestige in the exilic community. They were sitting before Ezekiel as his students. Perhaps they had come specifically to inquire about the state of affairs in the homeland. The initial rejection that Ezekiel met seems now to have given way to respect, at least among these elders. His antics of the previous year were fascinating. Auditors were drawn as by a magnet to Ezekiel’s house. Perhaps these men had been coming for months. During the course of the prophetic lesson, the hand of the Lord fell upon Ezekiel. The verb fell, used only here, marks the suddenness and power of the experience on this occasion.

Focus of the vision (Ezekiel 8:2): I saw, and behold the likeness of the appearance of a fire; from the appearance of his loins and downward—fire; and from his loins and upward like the appearance of brightness, like the luster of glowing metal. In his trance-like state, Ezekiel saw again the divine person who had appeared to him initially atop the heavenly throne-chariot. In the present passage, Ezekiel has taken a step back from anthropomorphism of Ezekiel 1:26-27 by focusing only on the dazzling appearance of fire and xaHmal that characterized the lower and upper parts of the visionary body. The glory of the Lord is seen now in the glow of fire, without the milder, more hopeful brightness of the rainbow mentioned in Ezekiel 1:28. The cherubim are absent in the present vision. What Ezekiel sees is but a likeness of the ineffable glory, an image of the Unseen.

Transmigration to Jerusalem (Ezekiel 8:3-4)

Description of the transmigration (Ezekiel 8:3 a): He stretched forth the form of a hand, and took hold of me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me between earth and heaven, and brought me to Jerusalem in divine visions... Carefully avoiding anthropomorphism, the prophet describes how the divine figure put forth the form of a hand out of that blazing glory. Ezekiel felt as though he were being lifted up by a lock of his hair. At the same time, he felt the Spirit gently lifting him from the earth to mid-air. Both the hand and the Spirit are metaphors for him who can neither be imagined nor described. The actions of the hand serve to underscore the reality of Ezekiel’s feeling of physical removal from his home.

No physical transmigration of Ezekiel to Jerusalem takes place in this passage. God, of course, could have transported Ezekiel to Jerusalem in the body. But the words in divine visions (lit., visions of God) prove that all that follows took place mentally.

Further indication that these experiences were in the realm of the visional is found in the nature of what Ezekiel saw in Jerusalem—much of which cannot be taken literally—and by actions that hardly seem to be physically possible (e.g., Ezekiel 8:8). Thus Ezekiel was transported in spirit, not in body to Jerusalem.

Destination of the transmigration (Ezekiel 8:3 b): unto the entrance of the gate of the inner court that faces north where the seat of the image of jealousy that causes jealousy was located. To understand the visions of ch 8, one must be familiar with the geography of the temple area. Solomon’s temple stood on Mount Moriah, along with the royal palace complex. The temple had its own courtyard (called the inner court) as did the palace. But the entire complex of buildings on Mount Moriah was surrounded by a walled courtyard known as the great court or outer court.

After his visionary transmigration, Ezekiel found himself in the familiar precincts of the Jerusalem temple. To be more precise, he was set down in the outer court in front of the northern gate²³¹ that led to the inner court. This was one of the most conspicuous spots in the temple complex. Prior to the reforms of King Josiah, this had been the seat of the image of jealousy. This image may have been the graven image of Asherah²³² that King Manasseh had erected (2 Kings 21:7). This image provoked God to jealousy because he alone is God (Exodus 20:1-3) and his name is Jealous.

Discovery of the transmigration (Ezekiel 8:4): Behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the plain. On the very spot where once the image of jealousy had stood, Ezekiel saw the glory of God. This is the same vision of God’s presence that he had seen previously in the plain (Ezekiel 3:23) and at the river Kebar (Ezekiel 1:1 ff.). The idea is that the Lord already had deserted the holy of holies; but because of the reforms instituted by Josiah, the glory of God had not yet completely abandoned the temple.

ABOMINATIONS OF JERUSALEM

Ezekiel 8:5-16

There are two views as to what Ezekiel is seeing in ch 8. Some think he is seeing what is going on in Jerusalem at that very moment. This means that various forms of public idolatry were being tolerated in Jerusalem during the reign of Zedekiah. The problem with this view is that no public apostasy during the reign of Zedekiah is attested in the books of Kings, Chronicles or Jeremiah. In fact, Jeremiah 44:18 seems totally incompatible with the notion that pagan practices had been officially introduced following Josiah’s reformation. The decline after Josiah (Jeremiah 7:1-15), however, and the political pressures of those desperate days quite conceivably could have led to the adoption of such foreign religious practices.

Another view is that ch 8 is a symbolic picture of the false beliefs that held sway in Jerusalem “though they may have had only a restricted public expression." The four abominations here mentioned represent what is known to have been the false religious tendencies during the last century or so before the exile. According to this view, each of the abominations mentioned represents the religious deviations of a different section of the Jerusalem community.

Whichever view regarding the abominations of ch 8 is correct, this much is certain: the holy city had been desecrated by the most reprehensible pagan abominations. The fact that Jeremiah did not inveigh so heavily against pagan influences in the temple should not cause scholars to question the evidence here.²³⁷ Ezekiel’s account has the ring of sober reality. Robert Pfeiffer, himself a critical scholar, regards the temple visions as the most genuinely historical part of the book of Ezekiel.

The Lord provided Ezekiel with a guided tour of the temple. He pointed out to the prophet four abominations: (1) the image of jealousy (Ezekiel 8:5-6); (2) the secret animal cult (Ezekiel 8:7-13); (3) the Tammuz cult (Ezekiel 8:14-15); and (4) the worship of the sun (Ezekiel 8:16).

Image of Jealousy (Ezekiel 8:5-6)

Location (Ezekiel 8:5): He said unto me, Son of man, set, I ask you, your eyes to the way of the north. Behold, north of the altar gate was this image of jealousy in the entrance. Ezekiel was told to look to a place outside the temple courtyard into the greater court. There he saw another image of jealousy. Such an image was an outrage. Israel’s God was provoked by all images (Exodus 20:3-5). The presence of the image in the vicinity of the temple provoked the Lord to jealousy; i.e., the desire to vindicate his own exclusive rights.

The image was associated with popular religion, for it was located outside the northern gate of the temple in the great public court. The old Canaanite paganism was flourishing in Jerusalem, though perhaps without official support. The image was probably the Canaanite goddess Asherah. It may be that they were thinking of this goddess as the wife of Yahweh. If so, the image of jealousy represents Canaanization of Israelite worship. This debased concept must have dominated the popular mind in Jerusalem, although the image had not been officially reinstated in the temple.

Interrogation (Ezekiel 8:6 a): He said unto me, Son of man, do you see what they are doing? [Do you see] the great abominations that the house of Israel are doing here that I should go far away from my sanctuary? Divine interrogation called the prophet’s attention to men worshiping before the image. Such practices justified, yea compelled, God’s withdrawal from the temple.

Declaration (Ezekiel 8:6 b): But you will yet see greater abominations. The image of jealousy was only the tip of the iceberg. Ezekiel would soon see worse things.

Secret Animal Cult (Ezekiel 8:7-13)

Instructions from the Lord (Ezekiel 8:7-9): He brought me unto the entrance of the court. I looked, and behold, a hole in the wall. (8) He said unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall. When I dug in the wall, behold, a door. (9) He said unto me, Go in, and see the evil abominations that they are doing here. Ezekiel was now led onward, as through successive stages of an inferno of idolatry.²⁴⁰ He was first escorted through the door of the gate that opened from the inner to the outer court. This court was surrounded by chambers or cells (Jeremiah 35:4). There he discovered a hole in the outer wall of the temple (Ezekiel 8:7). This hole he was told to enlarge until he could crawl through it. Digging is still a metaphor for searching out the truth.

Inside the side chambers of the temple, Ezekiel saw a door that was used by those who were involved in illicit worship (Ezekiel 8:8). The divine voice commanded Ezekiel to pass through the door so that he might observe firsthand the abominations secretly being practiced by the leaders of the nation (Ezekiel 8:9).

Discovery by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 8:10-11)

The images (Ezekiel 8:10): So I went in, and I saw. Behold, every form of creeping thing and detestable beasts and all the idols of the house of Israel were portrayed upon the wall round about. How shocked Ezekiel must have been when he walked through that door! The religious perversion was worse than he had ever imagined. Upon the walls of that chamber, the prophet saw the representation of all manner of creeping things (small animals) and beasts (larger domestic animals). The figures on the walls are said to be detestable either because they were animals declared to be unclean in Mosaic law, or because of the use to which they were being put as objects of veneration. It appears that some of the leaders of Judah had adopted the Egyptian custom of animal worship.

Various Egyptian cults made idols of the cat, the crocodile, the hawk, the scarab beetle and other animals. This abomination may have come into Judah during the brief period when King Jehoiakim had been a vassal of Pharaoh Neco (608-605 B.C.). At the very time when Ezekiel is said to have had this vision, in Jerusalem King Zedekiah was making political overtures to Egypt. Perhaps this vision is setting forth the idea that some of Judah’s leaders were looking to Egypt for spiritual and political support. Were the images literally upon the walls of the temple chambers? Probably not. The wall engravings were the outward symbols of the idol worship engraved upon the hearts and lives of the elders.

The worshipers (Ezekiel 8:11): Standing before them were seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan was standing in their midst, each man with his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense was going up. Standing before the engraved images were seventy elders of the nation. The figure seventy is probably to be understood in contrast to the twenty-five of Ezekiel 8:16. Perhaps both figures are to be taken symbolically. Virtually all the elders were involved in this idolatry, whereas a smaller percentage of the priests had taken the final plunge into apostasy in Ezekiel 8:16. The seventy are probably not to be understood as any official governing body. Acting as their own priests, these leaders were offering to those pictorial gods the incense that none but the sons of Aaron were to offer, and that none but Yahweh was to receive.

Jaazaniah is singled out for special mention because of the prominence of his family. He was the son of Shaphan, the scribe who played such an influential role in the reform efforts of Josiah (2 Kings 22:10 f.). Jaazaniah must have been the proverbial black sheep of this otherwise godly family(Ezekiel 8:11).

In the actions of the seventy elders, there is a combination of “secrecy and despair.” These men were ashamed openly to go back on the covenant made under Josiah; but they had opened their hearts to the idolatries and memories of the past. They were not successful in hiding their abominations. Five hundred miles away, Ezekiel knew what they were doing.

Revelation by the Lord (Ezekiel 8:12-13)

A question (Ezekiel 8:12 a): He said unto me, Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each in his chamber of imagery? The tour of the inner temple chambers ended with a question and a declaration by the Lord. To underscore the tragedy of this scene, the Lord asked the prophet if he had observed what was taking place in those private chambers. Two additional details are added in Ezekiel 8:12. The elders were practicing the pagan rites in the darkness. Furthermore, it is pointed out that the pagan rites were being performed individually, as well as collectively, by the elders, each in his chamber of imagery. Apparently each worshiper had his own private cubicle where the Egyptian rites were performed.

An explanation (Ezekiel 8:12 b): For they are saying, The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land. The Lord, who knows the hearts of all men, revealed to Ezekiel the inner attitudes of those apostate elders. They affirmed (in their heart, if not openly) that the Lord (Yahweh) did not see their actions. By this they meant either (1) that God was not omniscient; or, what is more likely, (2) that God was totally disinterested in the affairs of His people. The very name of their leader, Jaazaniah—the Lord is listening—should have warned them that God heard their blasphemous boasts.

A declaration (Ezekiel 8:13): He said unto me, Again you will see yet greater abominations that they are doing. What was being done secretly, bad as it was, did not compare the abominations that were practiced openly.

The apostate elders also held to the belief that the Lord has forsaken the land of Judah (Ezekiel 8:12). To them Yahweh was no more than a local deity who had abdicated. They were free to do as they pleased without fear. They saw in the tragedies that recently had befallen the land abundant proof that God had abandoned his people. Why continue to worship a God who will not care for his people? Such is the logic of the carnal mind. Sorrows should not cause a man to question whether God has forsaken him, but rather whether he has forsaken God.

The first phase of Ezekiel’s tour of the Jerusalem temple ended with the assurance that other abominations were yet to be observed (Ezekiel 8:13).

Tammuz Cult (Ezekiel 8:14-15)

Location (8:14a): He brought me unto the door of the gate of the house of the LORD that was upon the north; The prophet was next conducted into the inner court in front of the northern gate of the temple.

Observation (8:14b): Behold, there the women were sitting weeping over Tammuz. Ezekiel observed a group of women weeping for Tammuz (Ezekiel 8:14). This is the only reference to this ancient Babylonian cult in Palestine. Tammuz (or Dumuzi) was the son and/or lover of Ishtar. He was a vegetation god. A myth taught that he died and went to the nether world each fall, only to make his return to the land of the living in the spring. As the vegetation withered and rivers dried up, the annual death of Tammuz was lamented with public dirges. Women joined Ishtar in mourning her dead lover in the intense drought of summer. The fourth month of the Hebrew calendar bears the name Tammuz. Ezekiel’s vision, it will be recalled, dates to mid-summer when Palestine is parched by the summer sun.

Tammuz worship survived into the Middle Ages and vestiges of it can still be observed among the Yezidis of Kurdistan. Women seem to have led out in religious exercises in this period of biblical history. Women were the most conservative element in Oriental religious life. If the women of the nation had fallen into the cesspool of filthy idolatry and false theology, could there be any hope for the nation?

Declaration (Ezekiel 8:15): He said unto me, Son of man, do you see this? You will again see yet greater abominations than these. As terrible as it was to find the women of Judah participating openly in such perverse practice, the prophet was still to observe greater abominations.

Worship of the Sun (Ezekiel 8:16)

Location (Ezekiel 8:16 a): He brought me unto the inner court of the house of the LORD. Behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar... In the final phase of his temple tour, Ezekiel was brought again into the inner court. This time, however, he was brought from the northern gate to the eastern side of the temple between the porch and the sacrificial altar. This was a sacred area to which only the priests had access.

Observation (Ezekiel 8:16 b): [There] were about twenty-five men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east. They were worshiping the sun toward the east. Ezekiel discovered twenty-five men facing the rising sun and worshiping before it. Facing eastward, their backs were toward the temple of the Lord. This was not merely the debasing of Yahweh worship by linking it with pagan ritual. This was the outright rejection of Yahweh and the enthronement of the Babylonian god Shamash, the sun god. By their actions these men were proclaiming that the gods of Babylon had defeated Yahweh. The heavenly body that should have reflected the glory of God was actually detracting from his glory.

That those participating in this sun worship were priests and/or Levites is reasonable to assume. In Ezekiel 9:6 they are called elders, so they must have held senior standing. Ezekiel estimated that about twenty-five were participating in the sunrise service. If there is any significance in this number, it may be as follows: twenty-four of the men may represent the twenty-four priestly courses (1 Chronicles 24:4-19) with the high priest at their head. The thrust of the passage is that apostasy prevailed in the ranks of the priesthood as well as among the tribal leaders and women.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF JUDGMENT

Ezekiel 8:17-18

The Human Provocations (Ezekiel 8:17)

Ezekiel questioned (Ezekiel 8:17 a): He said unto me, Have you seen, son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they are committing abominations that they have done here? Judah was ripe for judgment. The abominations practiced throughout the land were viewed by most as a light thing. But to the Lord they were a provocation. Do you see this, son of man? suggests that Ezekiel was a little uncertain in his own mind as to the necessity of the judgment that he had been preaching (cf. Jeremiah 5:1-3).

Judah charged (Ezekiel 8:17 b): For they have filled the land with violence, and they have provoked me still more. Behold, they are putting the branch to their nose. The breakdown in devotion to God led to social chaos. The people had filled the land with violence. Proper theology must undergird proper morality. Such social injustice only provoked the Lord that much more. “If the root of faith is severed, there can be no fruit of righteousness.”

Commentators vie with one another in the ingenuity with which they attempt to explain the charge that they are putting the branch to their nose (Ezekiel 8:17). Certainly some grossly offensive act is intended. Brownlee suggests that the branch was cedar, a symbol of immortality associated with Tammuz and Ishtar. Holding the cedar under the nose would be an effort to inhale the life-giving powers of the deity. Rabbinic tradition lists this phrase among the few deliberate emendations of the ancient scribes. The original reading was, “They put the branch to my nose.” If this reading is correct, then thrusting the branch of cedar under Yahweh’s nose identifies him openly and explicitly as the dying and reviving fertility god. Saggs offers another proposal. A bundle of Tamarisk branches was held up to the nose at daybreak, as hymns were sung to the rising sun.

The Divine Wrath (Ezekiel 8:18): Therefore, also I will deal with them in fury; my eye will not have compassion, nor will I take pity. When they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them. On the basis of the evidence presented in ch 8, God had no alternative but to deal with these people in fury. Compassion for the nation was out of the question. Prayer will be useless. No matter how loudly they cried, He will not hear them (Ezekiel 8:18). The day of grace was over; the day of wrath had come.

EZEKIEL 9

SLAUGHTER IN JERUSALEM

The visions that are recorded in chs 9-10 follow logically the terrible indictment of the previous chapter. A four-fold development is evident in the visions at this point: Ezekiel first sees Jerusalem (1) destroyed by slaughter (Ezekiel 9:1-11), and then (2) by fire (Ezekiel 10:1-8). His attention is then drawn again (3) to the divine throne-chariot (Ezekiel 10:9-17), and finally (4) to the departure of the divine presence from the Jerusalem temple (Ezekiel 10:18-22).

Whereas the vision in ch 8 was symbolically descriptive, the one in ch 9 is symbolically predictive. Here Ezekiel saw in dreadful symbolic detail what was to befall Jerusalem six years later in the catastrophe of 586 B.C.

THE AGENTS ASSEMBLED

Ezekiel 9:1-2

The Summons (Ezekiel 9:1): A great voice called in my ears, saying, Bring nigh the overseers of the city, each one with his weapon of destruction in his hand. The prophet’s attention was first attracted to a loud voice summoning the divinely appointed executioners to discharge their duty. The voice came from the human form (seen as a theophany) in the midst of the divine glory. Each of these agents of judgment was to come prepared for the dreadful deed with a weapon of destruction in his hand.

The Response (Ezekiel 9:2)

Six executioners (Ezekiel 9:2 a): Behold, six men were coming from the way of the upper gate that faced northward, each with his weapon of destruction in his hand. Six men answered the summons. Jewish tradition is probably correct in identifying these men as angels. These angels symbolized the armies of Babylon that will crush Jerusalem. Therefore, they came from the north, the usual attack route against Jerusalem. Each angelic agent carried a weapon of destruction in his hand (Ezekiel 9:2). The Hebrew word implies an instrument used for crushing into fragments. Probably a battle-ax or mace is intended.

The seventh agent (Ezekiel 9:2 b): One man was among them clothed in linen, with a scribe’s writing case at his side. They came and stood beside the bronze altar. A seventh angelic agent was in the midst of the first six. He was clothed in linen, the material used for priestly garments and for the clothing of others in authority. Daniel once encountered an angel wearing linen (Daniel 10:5 f.). Hence white linen is the apparel of the hosts of heaven as well as priests on earth. The material is probably intended to symbolize purity. This angel of mercy had a scribe’s writing case (not an inkhorn as in KJV) at his side (Ezekiel 9:2). A scribe carried his pens and receptacle for mixing ink in a case. Sometimes these cases were made of silver. They were elaborately and beautifully engraved. Most writing at this time was done with a reed pen on papyrus or parchment.

All seven angelic agents of God entered the temple courtyard and stood beside the bronze altar (Ezekiel 9:2). Both judgment and salvation proceed from the altar of God. The angels are seven in number because that is the number of perfection or completeness throughout the Bible.

AGENT OF MERCY DISPATCHED

Ezekiel 9:3-4

The Commissioner (Ezekiel 9:3): The glory of the God of Israel was going up from upon the cherub that was over it unto the threshold of the house. He called unto the man clothed in linen who had the scribe’s writing case at his side. Ezekiel next saw the glory of God move from over the cherubim in the holy of holies. In the Old Testament, God is said to be enthroned above the cherubim that were molded over the ark. The glory of God moved over the threshold of the house as if to direct the action of the seven angels. The Lord first dispatched the man clothed in linen who carried the scribe’s writing case.

The Commission (9:4): The LORD said unto him, Pass over in the midst of the city, in the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the brows of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done in the midst of her. The heavenly scribe was told to place a mark upon the brows of all the men of Jerusalem who sigh and cry over all the idolatrous practices done in the city (Ezekiel 9:4). How many concerned citizens there may have been cannot be determined. However, six angelic agents were needed to execute the act of judgment, while only one was needed to administer the mark of salvation. Conditions were so terrible in Jerusalem at this time that those who were faithful to the worship of Yahweh could only show their faithfulness by lamentation over the national apostasy.

The mark to be placed on the brow of the faithful was a tav, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In ancient Hebrew script the letter tav was shaped like an X. As early as the church father Origen, the significance of this was noted. Those who were saved bore the sign of the cross. Is this a mere coincidence? Or was Ezekiel seeing something far more profound than he could ever have imagined? This passage is the background for the scene in Revelation 14:1 where the redeemed wear the name of Christ on their foreheads.

COMMISSION OF THE JUDGMENT AGENTS

Ezekiel 9:5-7

The Commission (Ezekiel 9:5-6 a): To these others He said in my hearing, Pass over in the city after him and smite; do not let your eyes look with compassion, and do not have pity. (6) Slay utterly old, young man, maiden, child and women; but do not approach any man who has the mark upon him; The six executioners were to follow the angel of mercy through the city. They were to deal a deadly blow to all who did not bear the mark (tav) upon their foreheads. They were to exercise absolutely no compassion (Ezekiel 9:5). All segments of the population were to experience the judgment— old and young, male and female. Only those with the seal of salvation were to be spared.

The Commencement (Eze 9:6b-7a)

At the sanctuary (Ezekiel 9:6 b): and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began with the elders who were before the house. (7) He said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with slain; The judgment was to begin at my sanctuary. The elders who had turned their backs upon the temple to perform the rites of Shamash the sun god (Ezekiel 8:11) were to be the first to experience the wrath of God. It is fitting that the punishment should commence in the spot where the guilt had culminated. The temple was intended to be a place of refuge from violence. Now, however, the God of that temple ordered the courts to be defiled with the bleeding corpses of those who had polluted that place with idolatrous rites.

In the city (Ezekiel 9:7 b): go forth, and they went forth and smote in the city. The final order was given: Go forth. The six executioners obediently began their dreadful mission.

A PRAYER OF INTERCESSION

Ezekiel 9:8-10

The Prayer Presented (Ezekiel 9:8): It came to pass when they were smiting and I was left, that I fell upon my face and cried out, and said, Ah Lord GOD! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel when you pour out your wrath upon Jerusalem? Ezekiel was not a passive witness in this visionary experience. He saw the slain falling all about him in the temple courtyard. At last only the angels of judgment and the prophet were left in that spot. As the executioners turned about to carry the slaughter into the rest of the city, Ezekiel fell on his face in mighty intercessory prayer. Ah, Lord God! he cried in desperation. Anxiously he asked the Lord if he would completely destroy the remnant of Israel in this outpouring of divine wrath.

Northern Israel had fallen in 722 B.C. Her citizens had been dispersed throughout the length and breadth of the Assyrian empire. Several thousand of the inhabitants of Judah already had been carried away by Nebuchadnezzar in the deportations of 605 and 597 B.C. Now Ezekiel asks if the remaining people of God will also be wiped out. The question is in reality an oblique request that God spare what was left of the once proud nation of Israel.

The Prayer Answered (Ezekiel 9:9-10)

Reaffirmation of corruption (Ezekiel 9:9): The sovereign God is not compelled to justify his actions to man. It is a pure act of grace when he chooses to do so. Here the Lord cites four reasons why the destruction of the state of Judah was an absolute necessity. Only twice in the book does Ezekiel engage in prophetic intercession, both times in this vision (Ezekiel 9:8; Ezekiel 11:13).

Great wickedness (Ezekiel 9:9 a): He said unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great... God declared that the iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great (Ezekiel 9:9). The evil had gone too far. The coupling of the names Israel and Judah is significant. That which justified the yet future destruction of Judah also justified the past judgment against Israel.

Widespread bloodshed (Ezekiel 9:9 b): and the land is filled with blood. The land of Judah was full of blood, i.e., the violence that leads to bloodshed. No doubt the reference is to the mistreatment of the poor and helpless.

Perverted judgment (Ezekiel 9:9 c): The city is full of perversion... Jerusalem was full of perversion, i.e., the wresting of judgment. The miscarriage of justice probably led to the bloodshed mentioned above. To Ezekiel, social evils were merely the by-product of a wrong relationship between God and man.

Fading faith (Ezekiel 9:9 d): for they say, The LORD has forsaken the land! The LORD does not see! The people of Judah had lost confidence in the Lord. They had begun to utter blasphemous charges against him. The Lord has forsaken the land! The Lord does not see! A similar proverb is cited in Ezekiel 8:12. The faith of the people had been shaken by recent calamities because their faith was built upon a faulty theological foundation: They believed that prosperity was the reward for faithful religious ritual. Misfortune could only be interpreted in the light of the proposition that God was either powerless or pitiless. He either could not prevent what was happening, or else he simply did not care. Such is the logic of doubt.

Reaffirmation of destruction (Ezekiel 9:10): As for me also, my eye will not have compassion, nor will I show pity. Their way I will bring upon their head. Because of all their sin, God will be forced to deal with his people in wrath. He could show no compassion or pity in dealing with these sinners lest his absolute holiness be called into question. He had no choice but to bring down their way upon their head, i.e., recompense them for their conduct.

AN OMINOUS CONCLUSION

Ezekiel 9:11

Behold the man clothed in linen who had the writer’s case at his side, reported, saying, I have done as You commanded me. The vision concludes with the report of the agent of mercy. The blessed scribe had done his work. Those who truly had remained faithful to God in the midst of national corruption had been sealed with the sign of promise. In his despair, the prophet had forgotten about those who were to receive the mark upon their foreheads. They were the true remnant. In effect, God answered the intercessory prayer of Ezekiel by allowing him to overhear the report of the angel of mercy. The true Israel of God will in fact survive the calamity that was about to befall Jerusalem.

EZEKIEL 10

JERUSALEM DESTROYED BY GOD

A VISION OF FIERY DESTRUCTION

Ezekiel 10:1-8

A Divine Directive (Ezekiel 10:1-2)

It came from the throne (Ezekiel 10:1): Then I looked, and behold, upon the platform that was above the head of the cherubim there appeared something like a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. The man clothed in linen had completed his God-assigned task of marking the faithful for salvation (Ezekiel 9:11). It was time for the six executioners to expand their work from the court of the temple to the rest of Jerusalem. Yet in all of ch 10, these agents of God are not mentioned. They disappeared from the scene. Only the man clothed in linen remained. To this beneficent character, however, a new role was assigned. He now became the agent of fiery judgment. Jerusalem was to be destroyed by sword and by fire. These two aspects of the judgment are successively portrayed to the prophet in chs 9-10.

Again the throne-chariot of the Lord appears before the prophet’s mind. He saw the platform over the heads of the cherubim upon which stood the sapphire-like throne of the Almighty (Ezekiel 10:1; cf. Ezekiel 1:26). The throne was initially empty, awaiting the moment when the Lord once again occupied it (cf. Ezekiel 10:18). The relationship between the glorious presence of God and the throne in these chapters is a bit difficult to follow.

For the first time it becomes clear in Ezekiel 10:1 that the living creatures in Ezekiel’s throne vision (Ezekiel 1:5 ff.) were cherubim. It is useless to speculate as to why Ezekiel waited until this point to make this identification. The delay is surely not due to the fact that Ezekiel will not have known what cherubim actually looked like until he saw the interior of the temple. Surely as a member of a priestly family he had received such information.

The cherubim are assigned a variety of roles in the Old Testament. They first appear in connection with the Garden of Eden where they guarded the entrance to the tree of life (Genesis 3:24). In Solomon’s temple, they served as symbolic guardians of the holy of holies (1 Kings 6:23). They were depicted on the lid of the ark of the covenant with their heads bowed and their faces looking downward toward the mercy seat as if in silent adoration (Exodus 25:18-20). Ezekiel sees the cherubim in their traditional role as guardians. They protect access to the holy fire.

In a number of passages, the Lord is described as being enthroned on (or above) the cherubim. In at least one passage, God is said to ride on a cherub (Psalms 18:10). This is very much like the function performed by cherubim in Ezekiel’s vision where these heavenly beings bear up the throne of God and provide locomotion for the entire throne-chariot.

The connecting link between the previous and the present chapter—the man with the linen garment—appears in Ezekiel 10:2. Ezekiel heard the voice of the Almighty speaking again to this anonymous angel. In Ezekiel 9:3 the divine Presence had departed from the throne-chariot and had stood at the threshold of the sanctuary. But now the divine Presence is connected with the throne-chariot again.

It came to the man clothed in linen (Ezekiel 10:2): He spoke unto the man clothed in linen and said, Go in between the wheels under the cherubim and fill your hands with coals of fire found between the cherubim. Scatter them over the city. And he went in my sight. The man in linen garb was instructed to go into the midst of the wheels of the throne-chariot and pick up with both hands the hot coals that he found there (cf. Ezekiel 1:13). Hot coals apparently symbolize judgment and purgation (Isaiah 6:6 f.). That both hands are to be employed in the task points to the severity of the anticipated judgment. The agent was to scatter the coals over the wicked city of Jerusalem. As the vision continued, Ezekiel actually saw the linen-clad man begin to carry out those instructions.

The symbolic import of this part of the vision is obvious. The judgmental fire that was to fall on Jerusalem will come from the Holy One of Israel. The tragic theology of the day denied that God could ever turn against the city where he was enthroned between the cherubim.

The Babylonian exiles could not (or would not) listen to Ezekiel. Desperately the prophet proclaimed the incredible truth that Yahweh will purge Jerusalem. Six years later, when Jerusalem received that awful baptism of fire, only a few recognized it as being the fire of God. Those few had been prepared by the preaching of men like Ezekiel.

Circumstances of the Directive (Ezekiel 10:3-5)

Ezekiel 10:3-5 parenthetically describes in vivid detail the situation in the temple at the moment the linen-clad man proceeded to execute the command of the Lord.

The inner court (Ezekiel 10:3): Now the cherubim were standing on the right of the house as the man entered. Smoke filled the inner court. The cherubim were standing on the right (i.e., south) side of the temple, far removed from the ritualistic abominations being practiced on the north side of that house (cf. Ezekiel 8:14). The cloud that accompanied the divine glory filled the inner court.

The house (Ezekiel 10:4 a): The glory of the LORD had arisen from over the cherubim and was over the threshold of the house. The house was filled with the cloud. That deep and dark cloud filled the inner court and house because the glory of the Lord had risen up and was now over the threshold of the house. This cloud is mentioned also in 1 Kings 8:10-11 and Isaiah 6:1-2. The Jews called this cloud the Shekinah. This is the first stage of the God’s departure from that place (cf. Ezekiel 9:3). The cherubim had been left behind to perform a significant task, viz., to give the divine messenger of destruction the means of destroying the city. The house (i.e., the holy place) was also filled with the divine glory. This explains the presence of the glory in the inner court in the previous verse.

The outer court (Ezekiel 10:4-5): The courtyard was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD. (5) The sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard to the outer court, like the voice of almighty God, when He spoke. Because of the presence of the glory of the Lord, the outer court was filled with ineffable radiance. From within the temple, the sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard even to the outer court. The sound resembled the voice of God Almighty (El Shaddai). The name El Shaddai expresses the fact that God rules over all nature The name was more common in the early stages or Old Testament history. See Exodus 6:3. Psalms 29 equates the voice of Yahweh with the roar of thunder. Probably Ezekiel intends the same comparison here. Normally the wings of the cherubim were motionless and made no sound. In this vision, however, they made a loud noise when God spoke (cf. Ezekiel 1:24). Nevertheless, the voice of God was not thereby drowned out, for it was heard both by Ezekiel and the linen-vested minister. The thundering pulse of those angelic wings signaled the imminent departure of those heavenly creatures.

Obedience to the Directive (Ezekiel 10:6-8)

Directive to the seventh agent (Ezekiel 10:6): It came to pass when he had commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubim, that he went and stood beside the wheels. Ezekiel 10:6 continues the narrative from Ezekiel 10:2 following the parenthetical interjection of Ezekiel 10:3-5. The divine voice had bidden the linen-clad angel to enter among the cherubim and take hot coals from between the wheelwork or chariot. The word is singular and collective. It means literally, the whirling thing. It is used elsewhere of the wheel of a war chariot (cf. Isaiah 5:28). Perhaps in this context the word could be translated chariot. Without any hesitation the man made his way to one of the magnificent wheels that moved in conjunction with the cherubim.

Assistance of the cherub (Ezekiel 10:7): The cherub put forth his hand from between the cherubim unto the man who was between the cherubim and he lifted up and gave unto the hands of the man clothed with linen. He took it and went out. (8) The cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings. Before the man dressed in linen could fill his hands with hot coals, one of the cherubim—presumably the one closest to Ezekiel—put forth his hand into the fire, drew forth hot coals and placed them in the hands of the “man.” This was possible, Ezekiel 10:8 parenthetically explains, because there appeared under the wing of each of the cherubim the form of a man’s hand. Perhaps the lesson here is that even an angelic messenger like the man clothed in linen had to keep his distance from the awful throne of God.

As guardians of the fire, it was appropriate that one of the cherubim should actually give the fire to the destroying angel. Having received those coals of judgment fire, the man with the linen garment went out from the temple to execute the command to set fire to the city (cf. Ezekiel 10:2). This visionary and symbolic representation of the burning of Jerusalem found fulfillment in 586 B.C.

THRONE-CHARIOT OF GOD

Ezekiel 10:9-17

Focus on the Wheels (Ezekiel 10:9-13): I looked, and behold, four wheels beside the cherubim, a wheel beside one cherub, and another wheel beside another cherub. The appearance of the wheels was as the color of a tarshish stone. (10) Now as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness as when a wheel is in the midst of a wheel. (11) When they moved, they moved unto their four sides. They did not turn as they moved, but to the place that the head turned, they followed. They did not turn as they moved. (12) All their body, their backs, their hands and their wings, as well as the wheels were full of eyes round about, i.e., the wheels that the four had. (13) As for the wheels, they were given the name the chariot. One might expect to find in the remaining verses of ch 10 a graphic description of the conflagration that was to befall Jerusalem. Such, however, is not the case. Instead, the prophet again describes the throne-chariot that had occupied his attention in ch 1. The variations in the two descriptions serve to underscore the visionary and symbolic import of the entire narrative. Five points of new information are brought out here.

A tarshish-colored wheel (Literally, like a tarshish stone. This was obviously a precious stone, perhaps yellow jasper) appeared alongside each of the four cherubim (Ezekiel 10:9). The four wheels were identical, each appearing to consist of a wheel within a wheel (Ezekiel 10:10; cf. Ezekiel 1:16).

The wheels were such that they could move in any direction without benefit of a turning mechanism (Ezekiel 10:11; cf. Ezekiel 1:17). Whichever direction the head, i.e., the cherub, looked, the wheel followed. Some take the head to refer to the front wheel. The cherubim were the principal driving force of the chariot. The spirit of the living creatures (cherubim) was in the wheels. That gave unity to the whole operation.

Whereas in ch 1 the rims of the wheels were full of eyes (Ezekiel 1:18), here the eyes are everywhere. The entire bodies of the cherubim, their backs, hands and wings, as well as the wheels, are covered with eyes (Ezekiel 10:12). Others limit Ezekiel 10:12 to the wheels. This interpretation maintains the harmony between ch 1 and the present vision. The term backs is taken to mean rims or felloes (as in Ezekiel 1:18). The hands are understood as axles. But what part of a wheel could be designated as a wing?

Multiplied eyes are here, as always in Scripture, symbolic of omniscience. Zechariah saw seven eyes on the messianic stone set symbolically before the high priest Joshua (Zechariah 3:9). The living creatures of Revelation 4:6 were covered with eyes. The elaborate wheels were identified in the hearing of Ezekiel as being the chariot. He recognized that as the correct name for the mysterious and complex visionary object (Ezekiel 10:13).

Focus on the Cherubim (Ezekiel 10:14-17): Each one had four faces. The first face was the face of the cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. (15) The cherubim were lifted up. These were the living creatures that I saw at the river of Kebar. (16) When the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them. When the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise above the earth, these same wheels did not turn from beside them. (17) When these stood, they stood; and when they were lifted up, they lifted themselves up, for the spirit of the living creature was in them. Attention shifts in Ezekiel 10:14 from the wheels to the cherubim themselves. As in ch 1, each cherub had four faces. Three of the faces are the same as those seen in ch 1— the man, the lion, and the eagle. The face of the ox (Ezekiel 1:10), however, is now described as the face of the cherub. In ch 1 this face was third in order; here it is first. The ox-like face that looked straight forward is thus assumed to be the primary or real face of each cherub. The definite article — the face of the cherub — possibly indicates that this was the particular cherub that had given the coals of fire in Ezekiel 10:7.

Ezekiel then observed the cherubim—the living creatures of ch 1—mount up (v 15). The method by which the throne-chariot became air-borne is described in vv 16-17. The main point here is that the wheels moved in conjunction with the flight of the cherubim (Ezekiel 10:16-17; cf. Ezekiel 1:19; Ezekiel 1:21).

DEPARTURE OF THE GLORY

Ezekiel 10:18-22

At the Eastern Gate (Ezekiel 10:18-19)

Beginning of the departure (Ezekiel 10:18): The glory of the LORD went out from over the threshold of the house and stood over the cherubim. The throne-chariot was ready for the heavenly rider. The glory-cloud took its place again upon that throne.

Route of the departure (Ezekiel 10:19): The cherubim lifted their wings. They went up from the earth in my presence. When they went out, the wheels were beside them. It stood at the entrance of the eastern gate of the house of the LORD. The glory of the God of Israel was over them above. The departure route was by way of the eastern gate of the temple, where for a time the throne-chariot stood. The eastern gate was the most important gate since it faced the front of the temple. The temporary stand at the eastern exit has no further significance other than to dramatize the divine departure. Moses had declared that this departure would occur if the people forsook God (Deuteronomy 31:17; cf. Hosea 9:12). Once again, in Ezekiel’s day God wrote Ichabod (without glory) over Jerusalem and Judah. Cf. 1 Samuel 4:1 ff. The departure clears the way for the destruction of the city. Through this same gate, Ezekiel will later see the glory of the Lord return to his temple (Ezekiel 43:4).

Details about the Cherubim (Ezekiel 10:20-22): These were the living creatures that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Kebar. I knew that they were cherubim. (21) Each had four faces. Each had four wings. The likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. (22) As for the likeness of their faces, they were the faces that I saw beside the river Kebar, their appearances and themselves. Each went straight ahead. In the last three verses of ch 10, Ezekiel underscores the fact that the throne-chariot that he saw in the temple was the same that he had seen in his first vision by the river Kebar. The living creatures were cherubim (Ezekiel 10:20) each of which had four faces, four wings and the likeness of man’s hand under their wings (Ezekiel 10:21). The “living creatures” here are Singular in Hebrew, but used collectively. The faces of the creatures in both visions were the same. So also was the fact that the heavenly vehicle could move straight forward in any of the four directions that the four faces faced (Ezekiel 10:22).

EZEKIEL 11

DECLARATIONS BY THE PROPHET

Ezekiel 11:1-25

Chapter 11 sets forth two declarations by the prophet in his vision. The first (Ezekiel 11:1-13) denounced the leaders in Jerusalem. The second brought comfort to the exiles in Babylon (Ezekiel 11:14-21). To these declarations is attached a note about the conclusion of this vision (Ezekiel 11:22-25).

JERUSALEM LEADERS DENOUNCED

Ezekiel 11:1-13

The leading citizens of Jerusalem were convinced of the impregnability of the holy city. In Ezekiel 11:1-13 Ezekiel was commissioned to smash this vain delusion. Blackwood succinctly summarizes Ezekiel’s declarations within his vision: Jerusalem will die, but faith will live.

Men of Evil Counsel (Ezekiel 11:1-3)

Observation (Ezekiel 11:1): A spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the eastern gate of the house of the LORD, the one that faces east, and behold, in the entrance of the gate twenty-five men. I saw in their midst Jaazaniah ben-Azur and Pelatiah ben-Benaiah, princes of the people. Ezekiel feels himself swept off his feet and carried by a spirit to another part of the temple. From the inner court, where he was last said to be standing (Ezekiel 8:16), the prophet was transported to the eastern gate of the outer court. This was the spot where the throne-chariot momentarily had set down (10:19). This area, just outside the sacred temple precincts, was traditionally a place of public assembly (cf. Jeremiah 26:10).

At the eastern temple gate, Ezekiel saw twenty-five men. Are these the same men Ezekiel observed worshiping the sun in Ezekiel 8:16? Probably not. Many capable commentators do make the identification between the two groups. The former company was a priestly group, while these twenty-five appear to have been lay leaders. Furthermore, the two groups are seen in different localities.

What significance there may be in the number twenty-five cannot be ascertained. Various conjectures are: (1) two from each tribe of Israel with the king at their head; (2) two from each of the twelve divisions of the army with their commander; (3) two representatives from each of the twelve regions of the city with their president.

The men seem to have been members of a political pressure group. Two of the twenty-five men easily were identified by Ezekiel. Jaazaniah and Pelatiah were prominent statesmen, princes of the people (Ezekiel 11:1). This term refers to the ruling class of Judah, not necessarily the royal family. This Jaazaniah is not to be confused with the Jaazaniah of 8:11 who was the son of Shaphan. This Jaazaniah was the son of Azur. An Azur is found In Jeremiah 28:1 as the father of Hananiah the false prophet. Could this Jaazaniah have been the brother of Hananiah? See Jeremiah 26:10; Jeremiah 26:12; Jeremiah 26:16; Jeremiah 26:21; Jeremiah 36:14, et al.

Explanation (Ezekiel 11:2-3): He said unto me, Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity, and give wicked counsel in this city; The twenty-five men are said to be those who devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city, i.e., Jerusalem (Ezekiel 11:2). Exactly what this iniquity and counsel²⁸⁷ may have been is not certain. Brownlee (WBC, 157) thinks the counsel is military. Jerusalem’s defenses had been so strengthened that the commanders felt that the place was battle-ready for the impending attack of the Chaldean army. More housing, however, would be necessary for those flocking in from the countryside for protection.

Since this narrative dates from the latter half of Zedekiah’s reign, Jeremiah’s experiences with the princes may give some indication. In open contradiction to Jeremiah’s constant proclamation of certain doom for Jerusalem, the princes optimistically proclaimed the city’s invulnerability. This anti-Babylon faction constantly agitated for revolt against the authority of Nebuchadnezzar. Such policies were tantamount to rebellion against the will of God (Jeremiah 27:12 ff.). These policies were, therefore, politically and spiritually disastrous.

Illustration (Ezekiel 11:3): who say, It is not near, let us build houses.²⁸⁸ It is the pot, and we are the meat. The defiant boast of these evil counselors is cited in v 3. It (the judgment of which the true prophets spoke) is not near; let us build houses. The Greek version turns this into a question, “Is not the time at hand to build houses?” Jeremiah had bidden the exiles in Babylon to build houses and settle down for a long stay (Jeremiah 29:5). The evil princes urged that houses be built²⁹⁰ in Jerusalem, that business proceed as usual. Jeremiah had threatened the inhabitants of Jerusalem with the image of the seething pot (Jeremiah 1:13); but the rebel party regarded Jerusalem as the caldron that will protect the meat—the inhabitants of the city—from the fire of destruction. The schemers thus assured themselves that the walls of Jerusalem afforded them adequate protection in the event of an attack by the army of Babylon. Many modern commentators prefer the translation the time is not near to build houses. The idea is then that all attention should be devoted to war against Babylon, not house-building. While this translation is possible, the explanation is farfetched.

A Message for the Rebels (Ezekiel 11:4-8)

An accusation (Ezekiel 11:4-6)

Divinely authorized (Ezekiel 11:4-5): Therefore, prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man. (5) The Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak! Thus says the LORD: You have said thus, O house of Israel, and the things of your spirit I surely know. In his vision Ezekiel heard himself bidden to do the true work of a prophet in rebuking the defiant rebels. Concerning these Jerusalem leaders, God had an urgent message. The repetition of the command to prophesy (v 4) underscores this urgency.

As in Ezekiel 2:2, Ezekiel felt the Spirit of God fall upon him. He knew that he spoke the word of the Lord inerrantly. For this reason he prefaced his visionary oracle with the phrase Thus says the Lord. Ezekiel’s message was addressed to the house of Israel, a term that in Ezekiel’s day was restricted to the people of Judah—the remnant of Israel. God knew what the leaders of Israel had been saying. He knew their thoughts as well (Ezekiel 11:5).

Prophetically ominous (Ezekiel 11:6): You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with slain. Ezekiel makes a serious accusation against the Jerusalem leadership: You have multiplied your slain in this city. This has been taken by some to be prophetic invective against the violence of the Jerusalem leadership. Wevers, NCB, 94. Brownlee (WBC, 158) suggests that there had been a military coup of the pro-Egyptian party over against the pro-Babylonian party in Jerusalem. This coup may account for Zedekiah’s reversal of allegiance to Babylon. The term slain is often used in classical Hebrew prophecy to refer to the helpless victims of social and political iniquities. (E,g., Isaiah 1:21-23; Amos 2:6-8; Hosea 4:1-3; Micah 3:1-3.)

Plenty of examples from the biographical narratives of Jeremiah can be adduced to substantiate the charge of ruthlessness against the national leaders in Jerusalem.

Context seems to point in the direction of another interpretation of the accusation in Ezekiel 11:6. It might be called a predictive accusation. The defiant attitude of the anti-Babylonian party will result in the streets of Jerusalem being filled with those slain by Babylonian swords. The princes or governmental leaders were ultimately responsible for this needless slaughter.

Rebuttal (Ezekiel 11:7-8): Therefore, thus says the LORD: Your slain that you have put in your midst, they are the meat, and it is the pot; but you will be brought forth²⁹³ from its midst. (8) A sword you have feared, and a sword I will bring against you (oracle of the Lord GOD). The prophet was led of the Lord to respond to their derisive and defiant caldron simile. The evil practices of Jerusalem’s rulers had resulted in a situation in which the city walls will only serve to entrap, not protect. The gullible inhabitants of Jerusalem were bound together within the city for slaughter. The Jerusalem caldron was a pot of death, and the leaders were responsible for the slain—the corpses—that will fall in the streets of that city. But at least those slain will remain in Jerusalem, interred in their native land. For the war-mongers a worse fate was in store. They will fall into the hand of the ruthless Nebuchadnezzar. They will be brought forth by him out of the midst of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 11:7).

Stripped of metaphor, Ezekiel 11:7 states simply that Jerusalem will afford no protection to the inhabitants. Many will be slain; others will be carried away into captivity on foreign soil. With all their talk about security, the leaders really feared an attack by the sword, i.e., Babylon. These fears, Ezekiel announced, will finally materialize (Ezekiel 11:8).

The Warning Amplified (Ezekiel 11:9-12)

Expulsion from Jerusalem (Ezekiel 11:9): I will bring you out from its midst. I will place you in the hand of strangers. I will execute judgments among you. Ezekiel becomes more specific about the expulsion of the leaders from Jerusalem. In so doing, he eliminates any ambiguity in his previous statement. Their expulsion from Jerusalem, spoken of in Ezekiel 11:7, will not result in escape to safe refuge. God will deliver them into the hands of strangers, i.e., the Babylonians. Through the instrumentality of these foreigners God will execute his judgments upon the rebels.

Slaughter by the sword (Ezekiel 11:10): With the sword you will fall, upon the border of Israel I will judge you. You will know that I am the LORD. Ultimately the leaders will fall by the sword. They will taste the judgment of the Lord upon the border of Israel. This prediction was fulfilled when the princes of Judah were massacred at Riblah (Jeremiah 52:9-10) that was on the frontier of the old northern kingdom (cf. 1 Kings 8:65; 2 Kings 14:25). When this prediction came to pass, they would know that I am the Lord—that Yahweh is not indifferent to the conduct of man.

Reiteration (Ezekiel 11:11-12): It will not be your pot, nor will you be in its midst as meat; but I will judge you upon the border of Israel. (12) You will know that I am the LORD in whose statutes you did not walk, and whose judgments you did not execute, but have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you. Ezekiel 11:11-12 a simply serves to underscore the dramatic predictions of the previous verses. Jerusalem will not serve as a caldron to protect the meat, i.e., these leaders, from the fire of the Babylonian army. Rather, they will experience divine judgment upon the border of Israel. The fulfillment of these predictions will establish that the one who spoke through the prophetic mouthpiece was really Yahweh, the God who will not leave the wicked unpunished. These leaders had disregarded the statutes and ordinances of the Lord. On the contrary, they had followed heathen customs and practices (Ezekiel 11:12). They were therefore deserving of divine wrath.

A Death and a Prayer (Ezekiel 11:13): Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah ben Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, Ah, Lord GOD! Will you completely destroy the remnant of Israel? As Ezekiel prophesied in his vision, a dramatic event took place. One of the leaders, Pelatiah ben Benaiah, dropped dead. [Cf. the death of the false prophet Hananiah (Jeremiah 28:17).] Was the death of Pelatiah an actual event that is incorporated into the vision? (Taylor (TOTC, 110) feels Pelatiah actually died in Jerusalem at the very moment that Ezekiel had his vision. Subsequent reports of the incident reaching the exiles will have confirmed the authenticity of the vision and Ezekiel’s supernatural power.) Or was it is purely a symbolic and visionary occurrence. In any case, Ezekiel was startled by this occurrence. He began to fear once again (cf. 9:8) that God would destroy all the remnant of Israel (Ezekiel 11:13).

Following his natural impulse as prophetic intercessor, Ezekiel fell on this face in earnest supplication before the Lord. In a loud voice he cried out his exasperation, Ah Lord God! A question conveys an oblique petition on behalf of his people. Compare the prayer in Ezekiel 9:8. Will You make a full end of the remnant of Israel? The remnant of Israel were those who were left in Jerusalem after the Babylonian siege in 597 B.C. The prophet interpreted the death of Pelatiah, one of the chief counselors of the city, to mean that the entire population of Jerusalem will share a similar fate.

JEWISH EXILES ENCOURAGED

Ezekiel 11:14-21

The Exiles in Exile (Ezekiel 11:14-16)

The attitude of the Jerusalemites (Ezekiel 11:14-15): The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, (15) Son of man, your brethren, your kinsmen, and all the house of Israel—all of these are they of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Go far away from the LORD; the land has been given to us for a possession. In response to the desperate prayer-question of Ezekiel concerning the future of Israel, God granted to the prophet a special revelation of comfort (Ezekiel 11:14). Ezekiel was first reminded that the remnant of Israel about which he was concerned embraced others besides those who still inhabited Jerusalem. The exiled Israelites were also his brethren and kinsmen. Indeed, all the house of Israel included the exiles of the northern kingdom as well as those of Judah. All the exiles were despised by those who remained in Jerusalem. The fact that they were left in possession of the land and temple was interpreted as being an evidence of God’s blessing on them. Conversely, they regarded those who had been carried away to foreign lands as being cursed of God because they were far from the land, i.e., Yahweh’s domain and presence.

The promise of God (Ezekiel 11:16): Therefore say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Although I have removed them far among the nations, and although I have scattered them among lands, yet I will be a sanctuary for a little while for them in the lands where they have come. The Lord rebuked the haughty attitude of the Jerusalemites. The proof that the exiles were God’s people is seen in what he had done already for them, and what he promised yet to do for them. While it was true that the exiles had been scattered among the nations by the Lord, yet this in no way implied that he had cast off these people.

Though they were separated by miles from Mount Zion and God’s house, God himself will serve as their sanctuary during the little while they were in captivity (Ezekiel 11:16). Those exiles were really nearer to the presence of God than those who worshiped in the Jerusalem temple from which the Lord had now departed. He was their protection and source of strength. The phrase little while suggests that the captivity was temporary. For Ezekiel, as for Jeremiah, the people in exile were the “good figs” (cf. Jeremiah 24:1), and those in Jerusalem the rotten figs. The exiles were the remnant for whom there was a hope of better things.

This passage suggests that it is the presence of the Lord that makes the sanctuary, not the sanctuary that secures the presence of God. The physical temple was not absolutely essential to the relationship between God and his people. Although the exiles had lost the temple, they had not lost the presence of God.

The Exiles Transformed (Ezekiel 11:17-21)

Gathering (Ezekiel 11:17): Therefore say, Thus says the Lord GOD: I will gather you from the peoples, yes I will assemble you from the lands where you have been scattered, and I will give to you the land of Israel. For those despised exiles, God had something wonderful in store. He will gather the exiles from among the nations where they had been driven. Furthermore, to these presently despised and disheartened exiles he will give the land of Israel (Ezekiel 11:17). This is the first mention of a future restoration in Ezekiel. If this prophet emphasized Mosaic threats of judgment, he also embraced the Mosaic predictions of restoration (Leviticus 26:40-45; Deuteronomy 30:1-10).

The prophecy of restoration began to be fulfilled in the work of restoration achieved by Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah. The work of gathering God’s people, however, goes on today wherever and whenever the gospel is preached. Men and women baptized into Christ become part of the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16) and inherit the Jerusalem that is from above (Galatians 4:26).

Commitment (Ezekiel 11:18): And they will come there, and they will remove all her horrible things, and all her abominations from her. Those exiles brought home by God will be spiritual persons. Immediately upon returning, they will remove all horrible things and abominations, i.e., idols, and the paraphernalia of idolatry (Ezekiel 11:18). Repentance must precede God’s work in the heart of men. God can do nothing for the man who will not recognize his sins and turn from them.

Consecration (Ezekiel 11:19-20): And I will give to them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will take away the heart of stone from their flesh. I will give them a heart of flesh, (20) in order that they will walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. In the new Israel, God will give his people one heart (Ezekiel 11:19). Here Ezekiel is introducing the great prophetic theme of unity among the people of God, a theme that he will later amplify by a symbolic action (Ezekiel 37:15-22). The long-standing cleavage between north and south, Israel and Judah, will disappear. Oneness of purpose and of action will characterize the new Israel of God. The unity in Christ of Jew and Gentile, male and female, bond and free is a grand theological fact that in practice, unfortunately, God’s people do not display before the world.

The means of achieving this grand unity of God’s people is the divine gift of a new spirit (Ezekiel 11:19). The prophet speaks here of the spirit of loyalty, obedience and unselfishness. Thus God not only sets up his covenant, he also provides all the qualifications for living under the covenant. The new spirit is God’s Spirit. The New Israel of God will be infused with divine energy. Such a prediction can only be fully understood in the light of the gift of the Holy Spirit to God’s people on Pentecost.

A new heart also will be given to the individual members of the New Israel (Ezekiel 11:19). The stony heart is that which is hardened (Ezekiel 3:7; cf. Zechariah 7:12) against inducements to repentance. The heart to the Hebrews was the center of the will and the mind, the intellectual basis for emotion and action.

The new spirit and new heart will manifest themselves in a new life—a life of righteousness. In sincere obedience the members of New Israel will live by the statutes and ordinances of God (Ezekiel 11:20). In acts of formal worship and in their daily dealings they will act in accordance with God’s revealed will.

The new spirit, new heart and new life make possible a new—or perhaps more accurately, a renewed—relationship with God. Restored Israel will be his people; he will be their God (Ezekiel 11:20). Ultimately this theme reaches its fulfillment in the blessed state of eternity (Revelation 21:3-5).

Warning (Ezekiel 11:21): But as for those whose hearts go after horrible things and abominations, I will recompense their way upon their head (oracle of the Lord GOD). The glorious promises of this oracle come to an end with a stern warning to those Israelites who may be hardened in unbelief. Certainly the inhabitants of Jerusalem are in view in Ezekiel 11:21; but the warning is not limited to them. Those who continued to walk after idolatry will face the judgment of God. He will bring their way upon their own heads, i.e., he will give them their just deserts (Ezekiel 11:21). In the economy of God, every set of promises has a corresponding set of punishments that fall upon those who do not through faith and obedience appropriate those promises (cf. Deuteronomy 11:26; Matthew 7:13 f.).

CONCLUSION OF THE VISION

Ezekiel 11:22-25

Movement of the Divine Chariot (Ezekiel 11:22-23): Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, and the wheels beside them. The glory of the God of Israel was above them. (23) And the glory of the LORD went up from over the midst of the city. It stood upon the mountain that was east of the city. The throne-chariot of God had paused at the eastern gate of the temple court (Ezekiel 10:19). Now Ezekiel saw those cherubic wings begin to whir. The entire throne-chariot with the glory of God over it became air-borne (Ezekiel 11:22).

The heavenly chariot came down on the Mount of Olives east of Jerusalem. From that same spot centuries later the Son of Man “beheld the city, and wept over it” (Luke 19:41). From that same hill he, the very embodiment of heavenly glory, ascended into heaven. It is not altogether clear why the Shekinah glory paused on the Mount of Olives in the course of departure. There is no need to trace further the journeys of the throne-chariot. Ezekiel already had seen it in Tel-Aviv.

Movement of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 11:24-25): Afterwards, a spirit lifted me up and caused me to go like a vision by the Spirit of God unto the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me. (25) And I spoke unto the captivity all the things of the LORD that He had showed me. The long vision—actually a series of related visions—that commenced in Ezekiel 8:1 comes to an end in Ezekiel 11:24-25. In his vision Ezekiel felt himself transported by a spirit/wind—perhaps an angel—to Chaldea, the land of captivity Immediately the state of prophetic ecstasy came to an end (Ezekiel 11:24). When Ezekiel awoke from his vision, he began to reveal to his fellow-exiles all that he had seen and experienced (Ezekiel 11:25). Therefore, the prophetic purpose of the visional experience was to serve, not as a message to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, but rather to those in Babylonian captivity.

EZEKIEL 12

SYMBOLS AND SERMONS

The introductory phrase the word of the LORD came to me (Ezekiel 12:1) indicates the beginning of a new series of messages. In all likelihood, the symbolic actions and oracles recorded here date from the same time as those in the preceding section, viz., in the summer of 592 B.C. In this unit Ezekiel’s purpose is to defend and reinforce the announcement of Jerusalem’s coming judgment.

In Ezekiel each vision is followed by a message that expands and develops the concepts in the vision. Ezekiel’s inaugural vision (chs 1-3) is followed by the announcements of judgment on Jerusalem. The vision of Jerusalem’s iniquity and judgment (chs 8-11) is elaborated in chs 12-19. The focus is on the wickedness of the Judean leadership.

The messages in chs 12-14 have four subdivisions, with each subdivision itself being a logical bifid. Ezekiel has here incorporated (1) two symbolic actions that he performed (Ezekiel 12:3-20); (2) two popular sayings that he corrected (Ezekiel 12:21-28); (3) two scathing oracles that he delivered (Ezekiel 13:1-23); and (4) two objections to the judgment that he answered (Ezekiel 14:1-23).

SYMBOLIC ACTIONS PERFORMED

Ezekiel 12:1-22

In ch 12 Ezekiel was commanded to demonstrate to the captives in Babylon, through the medium of symbolic actions, the certainty of Judah’s destruction. In the parable of the fugitive he assumes the role of a refugee who tries to flee a beleaguered city (Ezekiel 12:1-16). The second parable sets forth the hardships that will be experienced when Jerusalem comes under siege (Ezekiel 12:17-20). Prophecies of speedy deliverance were current in both Jerusalem and Babylon. The teaching of this section is especially aimed at countering this false optimism.

Deportation of Judeans (Ezekiel 12:1-16)

Preliminary observation (Ezekiel 12:1-2): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, you are sitting in the midst of a rebellious house. They have eyes to see, and do not see, ears to hear, but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house. Ezekiel’s congregation in Babylon was enough to discourage the most ardent preacher. They were indeed a rebellious house; they refused to see or hear the truth (v 2). Similar statements regarding spiritually blind eyes and deaf ears are found in Isaiah 6:9; Isaiah 42:20; Jeremiah 5:21; Matthew 13:13; John 12:40. Ezekiel had been warned of this in his commission (2:3-8), but now he experiences the reality of that truth. The exiles had refused to listen to the inspired explanation of their plight that Ezekiel had conveyed to them in sign and word during the previous twelve months. They clung desperately—irrationally—to the conviction that God ultimately would deliver Jerusalem. Still the prophet must try to get through to them. The preacher’s knowledge that his words will be ignored is never to be used as an excuse for not uttering those words. The truth must forthrightly be preached if only to justify the hearer’s condemnation.

General instructions (Ezekiel 12:3): As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself an exile’s baggage. Go into exile by day before their eyes. You will go like an exile from your place unto another before their eyes. Perhaps they will see, for they are a rebellious house. Ezekiel was told to prepare for himself the kind of articles that a person might be permitted to carry on a journey into exile. The barest necessities—a staff, knapsack, drinking cup—might be among the articles gathered. These preparations were to be made by day so as to call attention to them.

Ezekiel’s strange behavior must have been the talk of the exilic community. No doubt he had no lack of spectators to watch and gossip about his every action. Having gained their attention, Ezekiel was to imitate an exile by traveling from his place to an indefinite location outside his house. The object of this symbolic action was to attract the attention of the rebellious house (Ezekiel 12:3). Though discouraged by his lack of visible results, Ezekiel needed to be reminded that it was always possible that some might understand. Perhaps expresses doubt, but also hope.

Specific instructions (Ezekiel 12:4-6): Ezekiel 12:4-6 sets forth in more detail how Ezekiel was to carry out his fugitive parable. His pantomime consists of wordless gestures, designed to attract attention and evoke questions.

Preparation (Ezekiel 12:4 a): Carry out your baggage like the baggage of an exile by day before their eyes. Ezekiel was to take the necessary “props” out of his house and pile them up opposite his door. The baggage was to be assembled by day.

Exit (Ezekiel 12:4 b): Go out in the evening before their eyes like those who go out to exile. The actual trek was to take place in the cool of the evening. At evening time he was to go forth like an exile seeking to evade the enemy. In this action Ezekiel was to assume the dejected demeanor and desperation of a man faced with the grim reality of exile.

Digging (Ezekiel 12:5): Before their eyes dig for yourself in the wall, then carry out through it. He was to dig through the wall in plain view of the people. The reference probably is to the wall of the courtyard around his house, not the wall of the city or of the house itself. Walls in Babylonia were built of sun-dried brick that could, with some exertion, be removed by hand. Through the hole in the wall, Ezekiel was to carry out his captive’s baggage.

Luggage (Ezekiel 12:6 a): Before their eyes carry it upon a shoulder. Carry it out at twilight. Cover your face so you cannot see the ground... Once through the wall, he was to carry his exile’s baggage upon his shoulder into the early evening darkness. He was to wear a covering over his face. This has the effect of making it impossible for him to see the ground.

Purpose (Ezekiel 12:6 b): because I have placed you as a sign to the house of Israel. In all this action Ezekiel was serving as a sign to the house of Israel, i.e., a warning of the impending doom facing Jerusalem. Isaiah (Isaiah 20:2) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 27:2) had also been “signs” to Israel.

Ezekiel’s compliance (Ezekiel 12:7): I did as I was commanded. My baggage I brought out like an exile’s baggage by day. In the evening I dug for myself in the wall with my hand. At twilight I brought it out. Upon my shoulder I carried it before their eyes. Ezekiel faithfully carried out his instructions. During the day he brought forth his “props.” That evening he dug through the walls with his hands. Digging with the hands, rather than with a pick, suggests that the fugitive tries to avoid the sound of tools.

Explanation to the prophet (Ezekiel 12:8-16)

A question from the audience (Ezekiel 12:8-9): The word of the LORD came to me in the morning, saying, (9) Son of man, have not the house of Israel, the house of rebellion, said unto you, What are you doing? Following the night in which Ezekiel made his symbolic escape, he received a revelation from God (Ezekiel 12:8). Apparently not even Ezekiel was fully aware of the significance of the actions he had performed, except in the very general sense that it indicated the prospect of further exile for the Jews of Jerusalem. By means of a negative question, God alludes to the fact that many people had been interrogating Ezekiel about his strange behavior.

General significance (Ezekiel 12:10-11): Say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD: This burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel that are in the midst of them. Say: I am your sign! As I have done, so will it be done to them; with the captives they will go into captivity. Ezekiel was to inform the people that the burden—his prophetic message—had to do with the prince, i.e., King Zedekiah and all the house of Israel who still were in the midst of them i.e., the arrogant apostates in Jerusalem. Some who belonged to the true Israel still remained in the condemned city.

To the exiles, Ezekiel was a sign or an illustration or an object lesson. What he had done in symbolic parody will actually befall the inhabitants of Jerusalem—they will be driven from their homeland (exile) and forced to settle in areas set apart for them by their conquerors (captivity).

Unsuccessful escape effort (Ezekiel 12:12-15)

Flight of the prince (Ezekiel 12:12): The prince who is in the midst of them will bear upon his shoulder that he may go out. Through the wall they will dig to carry out through it. His face he will cover so that he will not be able to see the ground with the eye. In an attempt to avoid the fate of his people, the prince that is among them (Zedekiah) will flee by night (cf. 2 Kings 25:4). He will carry what meager belongings he could in a sack thrown over his shoulder. This exodus will be made through a hole while they (the royal servants) will be able to hastily dig through some palace wall. Zedekiah’s face will be covered for purposes of disguise and mourning so that he will not be able to see the ground. The further significance of the covered face is found in the fact that Zedekiah was blinded at Riblah by the Chaldeans. From that time he could not see the ground upon which he trod.

Capture of the prince (Ezekiel 12:13): I will spread out my net over him, and he will be taken in my snare. I will bring him into Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will not see it, though he will die there. Zedekiah’s escape efforts will not be successful. The arm of God, as well as the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, will be against him. His flight will be arrested by an act of God. The soldiers of the Chaldean army will act as agents of God to ensnare the apostate king. The king will be hauled off to Babylon, yet he will never see the land. This amazing prophecy was fulfilled when the Chaldeans blinded Zedekiah’s eyes at Riblah (2 Kings 25:7). Note: Josephus (Ant. 10:7.2; 8.2) relates a tradition that Ezekiel sent this prophecy to Jerusalem. Finding a discrepancy in the words that he should not see Babylon, and those of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 32:4; Jeremiah 34:13), Zedekiah hardened himself in unbelief.

Scattering of the forces (Ezekiel 12:14 a): All who surround him to help and all his forces, I will scatter to every wind. The royal bodyguard will desert their commander in the moment of crisis. They will flee for their lives with the Chaldean swordsmen in hot pursuit.

A learning experience (Ezekiel 12:14-15): (14b)I will empty the sword after them, (15) that they may know that I am the LORD when I scatter them among nations, and disperse them in the countries. When these gloomy prophecies were fulfilled, the remnant of God’s people scattered through the nations will realize that Yahweh is God of justice as well as salvation.

A note of hope (Ezekiel 12:16): But I will spare a few men among them from sword, famine and pestilence in order that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they come, that they may know that I am the LORD. A few will survive the overthrow of Jerusalem—the sword, the famine, the pestilence. They will become truly converted. They will openly admit to their guilt in worshiping pagan abominations. They will realize for the first time the full significance of the name Yahweh. They will make known the name and claim of Yahweh among the heathen nations where they dwell. Through their testimony, heathen nations will recognize the justice of the exile and the righteous character of Yahweh who engineered it.

Suffering of Jerusalem’s Inhabitants (Ezekiel 12:17-20)

Ezekiel’s actions (Ezekiel 12:17-18): And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (18) son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink your water with trembling and fear. After an interval of silence, another command came to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 12:17). He was to set forth symbolically the conditions that will exist in Jerusalem during the Babylonian siege. Meager rations of bread and water were to be consumed in a state of fear and anxiety. Earlier Ezekiel had symbolized vividly the starvation diet of the besieged city (Ezekiel 4:9-17). Here the focus is upon the acute terror that will grip the populace when the enemy besieged Jerusalem. The word trembling in Ezekiel 12:18 is elsewhere used only of earthquakes, and thus connotes the idea of violent shaking.

Ezekiel’s message (Ezekiel 12:19-20)

The fear of the people (Ezekiel 12:19 a): Say unto the people of the land, Thus says the LORD to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, unto the land of Israel: They will eat their bread with fear, and their water they will drink with astonishment... So that there will be no misunderstanding of his actions, Ezekiel adds a thus says the Lord directed to the people of the land (his fellow exiles). It concerned those who still lived in Jerusalem. While much of what Ezekiel had said was directed to the national leaders, here he includes the working classes from the farms and villages. The days were coming when they will consume their meager provisions of bread and water with fear and astonishment. Cowering in a corner as one hunted down and dreading pursuit, Ezekiel portrayed the terror that will haunt the lives of the besieged in Jerusalem.

Desolation of the land (Ezekiel 12:19-20): (19b)that her land may be desolate from its fullness, because of the violence of all those who dwell in her. (20) The inhabited cities will become desolate. The land will be an astonishment, that you may know that I am the LORD. Her land, i.e., Jerusalem’s land, was to become desolate from its fullness. The land was to be stripped of its possessions. The punishment, though severe, will be just because of the violence—the oppression and rebellion—of the inhabitants.

POPULAR SAYINGS CORRECTED

Ezekiel 12:21-28

"The Days are Prolonged" (Ezekiel 12:21-25)

A current proverb (Ezekiel 12:21-22): And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (22) Son of man, what is this proverb that your people have concerning the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged and every vision has perished? Still another revelation came to the prophet (Ezekiel 12:21) in order to instruct him about how to deal with a perverse attitude that was current among those who were in Israel. The same attitude was current among the Jews in Babylon. This attitude had crystallized into a clever, pithy, four-word Hebrew proverb (mAHAl) that was wielding tremendous influence among the Jews. Though prophet after prophet had come in the name of God predicting national doom, yet the days are prolonged, i.e., time passes, and the visions of doom and destruction never materialize. Throughout history such has been the cry of those with little or no faith. In effect this proverb sneers at the prophet because his threats had not immediately and dramatically become reality. Perhaps the people had the notion that with the passage of time the power of the prophetic word became ineffective.

Response to the proverb (Ezekiel 12:23-25)

A counter-proverb (Ezekiel 12:23): Therefore say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I have made this proverb to cease, and they will not make use of it any more in Israel; but speak unto them: The days draw near, and the word of every vision. God had an answer, for the careless unconcern and unbelief of his people. The perverse proverb will not be used much longer in the land. In a four-word counter-proverb, Ezekiel underscored the fact that his prophecies of doom were not for some distant age. The days are at hand when every worof every ominous vision will come to pass.

Cessation of false prophecy (Ezekiel 12:24): For there will no longer be any lying vision, nor flattering divination in the midst of the house of Israel. The devastating flow of events will stop the mouths of charlatans who were specialists in vain vision and smooth divination (Ezekiel 12:24). Optimistic promises of last-minute divine rescue for the holy city will be discredited. False slogans, however catchy, will die.

Fulfillment of God’s word (Ezekiel 12:25): For I the LORD will speak, and the word that I will speak will come to pass. It will not be prolonged any more; for in your days O rebellious house, I will speak, and I will perform it (oracle of the Lord GOD). While false prophet ceases, God will speak. Whatever he speaks will assuredly come to pass. As an evidence of grace, execution of divine wrath had in the past been delayed, but no more. The grace period was over. The present rebellious generation will not only hear the prophets speak the word of God, they will witness the Lord of history perform that word in their land and city.

"For Distant Days" (Ezekiel 12:26-28)

A current proverb (Ezekiel 12:26-27): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (27) Son of man, Behold, the house of Israel is saying, The vision that he sees is for distant days; of far off times he prophesies. Some had grudgingly recognized an element of truth in the predictions of Ezekiel. They did not say that his vision had failed. Rather they were content with throwing the fulfillment into the distant future.

Response to the proverb (Ezekiel 12:28): To those who transferred the divine threats to distant times, God reaffirmed that his judgment was both absolute and imminent. The destruction of the temple and the holy city, and the departure of the divine presence from the sanctuary, were already drawing near.

EZEKIEL 13

SCATHING ORACLES DELIVERED

In ch 13 Ezekiel directs his attack against those who spawned the blasphemous proverbs that he has just refuted in Ezekiel 12:21-28. Ezekiel denounces these prophet-types for undermining the stability of the nation at a time when it needed to be built up. He speaks first of the condemnation of the prophets (Ezekiel 13:1-16), and then of the prophetesses (Ezekiel 13:17-23). In order to grasp the magnitude of the problem faced by the faithful herald of God’s word in this period, Jeremiah 29 should be read in connection with these denunciations.

CONDEMNATION OF THE PROPHETS

Ezekiel 13:1-16

Two charges are leveled against the national prophets: (1) they had undermined the nation (Ezekiel 13:1-7); and they had encouraged false security (Ezekiel 13:8-16).

Initial Indictment (Ezekiel 13:1-7)

Authorization (Ezekiel 13:1-2): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own heart, Hear the word of the LORD. Surely it must have been with sarcasm that Ezekiel referred to his opponents as the prophets of Israel. These were the spiritual leaders preferred by the rebellious nation. Their messages had no higher authority than their own heart. For these deceivers, Ezekiel had a genuine word from the Lord (Ezekiel 13:2)

A word to the false prophets (Ezekiel 13:3-5)

Emptiness (Ezekiel 13:3): Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe unto the foolish prophets who walk after their spirit, and have seen nothing! Ezekiel pronounced a woe upon those foolish prophets (lit., the prophets, the fools). The Hebrew for foolish denotes more than stupidity. The fool was a person arrogant, blasphemous, and devoid of ethical and religious scruples. Such were the prophets who followed their own spirit rather than the leading of God’s Spirit. Their message was grounded in self-deception—things that they have not seen (Ezekiel 13:3). The spiritual progeny of those prophetic pretenders are those today who present human wisdom as though it were from above.

Destructiveness (Ezekiel 13:4): Like the foxes among the ruins are your prophets, O Israel! Israel’s prophets—they are not God’s prophets—are compared to foxes among the ruins (Ezekiel 13:4). Like foxes they were cunning and destructive. Foxes found a natural habitation among the ruins of cities. Their presence only increased the devastation. So the false prophets had infiltrated the nation that was crumbling to destruction. They burrowed about among the foundations without any concern for the welfare of the place. They intended only to make dens for themselves. In an atmosphere of uncertainty and insecurity, charlatans could easily gain a hearing for dogmatic optimism. Their pious platitudes and perverted theology, however, served to further undermine the already precarious position of the nation.

Laziness (Ezekiel 13:5): You did not go up into the gaps, nor did you put up a fence around the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD. The evidence of the falsity of the popular prophets was the fact that they did not grasp the serious situation that confronted the nation. In the hour of peril, those characters had made no contribution to the national defenses. The great need of the hour was for spiritual leaders to go up into the breaches in the moral walls that protected Israel from destruction. The figure is that of warfare. When a wall was breached, the defenders had to go up into the gap, i.e., quickly repair the break. The work of the true prophets was to preach on the great moral themes—to point out transgression—and call for repentance so that a protective hedge could be erected about the nation.

As long as Israel followed the law of God, the nation was untouchable. Because of unfaithfulness, however, Israel faced the judgment of the day of the LORD. The popular prophets had done nothing to prepare the nation for this ordeal. When the storm of judgment broke forth in 586 B.C., most of the nation were spiritually (as well as militarily) unprepared.

A word about the false prophets (Ezekiel 13:6): They have seen vanity and lying divination who say, Oracle of the LORD, when the LORD has not sent them, and they expect that this word will be confirmed. The false prophets had seen only vanity. Their visions were the fancy of their deluded minds. Their predictions about the future were lying divination. Divination was the pseudo-science of foretelling the future by human devices rather than by divinely inspired oracles.

True prophets never made use of divination. False prophets blatantly used the standard prophetic formula oracle of the Lord; but God had nothing to do with their mission. He had not sent them (cf. Jeremiah 23:21). So self-deluded were those prophets that they actually believed that their words would be fulfilled. In attempting to deceive others, they actually had deceived themselves.

A question for the false prophets (Ezekiel 13:7): Have you not seen a vain vision, and spoken a lying divination when you continually say, Oracle of the LORD, even though I did not speak? In an abrupt change of person, not uncommon in biblical style, Ezekiel directed a rhetorical question to the pretenders (Ezekiel 13:7). Perhaps he could shame them into confessing the falsity of their claims and methods.

First Judgment Threat (Ezekiel 13:8-9): The punishment of those prophetic pretenders is spelled out in Ezekiel 13:8-9.

They are enemies of God (Ezekiel 13:8-9 a): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, Because you have spoken vanity and seen lies, therefore behold, I am against you (oracle of Lord GOD). (9) My hand will be against the prophets who see vanity and lying divination. Those who perverted the divine word are declared to be the enemies of God. In a formula that possibly originated in the days of hand-to-hand combat, God declared his implacable hostility toward these prophets: Behold I am against you. The hand of God that had meant such strength and encouragement to Ezekiel, will be raised against those prophets in anger. The very hand that had destroyed Israel’s oppressors (Exodus 15:12) now will destroy the false prophets.

They will lose their honored position (Ezekiel 13:9 b): They will not be in the assembly of my people, nor will they be written in the register of the house of Israel... The presently influential prophets will be discredited as counselors and leaders. In the future, they will have no place in the assembly of the people, i.e., those who were full citizens. Presently their names were high on the national register;³²⁵ but in the future they will not be written in the register of the house of Israel. Such an act is tantamount to losing full citizenship in the nation. There is no specific mention of a name being struck from the register in Old Testament times. It is probable, therefore, that Ezekiel contemplates a new register in which their names will never appear.

They will have no place in restored Israel (Ezekiel 13:9 c): nor will they come unto the land of Israel, that you may know that I am the Lord GOD. These prophetic pretenders will not even have a place in the land of Israel. The fulfillment of these threats will force the false prophets to admit that the Yahweh of Ezekiel, not their nationalistic Yahweh, was the God controlling history.

Additional Indictment (Ezekiel 13:10-12)

Public deception (Ezekiel 13:10 a): Because, even because, they have caused my people to err, saying, Peace, when there is no peace. In the initial indictment of the prophets, Ezekiel focused on the false prophets in Babylon. Now he turns to the Jerusalem prophets. This indictment is introduced by the repetition of the conjunction because. Even as impending calamity closed in on the inhabitants of Judah, the Jerusalem prophets were assuring their constituents that all was well. The Hebrew noun translated peace (HAlÙm) in this context refers to national prosperity. Such optimistic assessments are likened to the building of a wall. The word for wall—xayic— signifies a wall of stones heaped one upon another with no mortar to hold them together. A coat of whitewash in no way added to the strength of such a wall; it only served to conceal its dangerous character.

Public danger (Ezekiel 13:10 b): One builds up a wall, and behold, others coat it with whitewash. The wall represents the false hopes that the people were erecting for themselves, and that the false prophets were indorsing by their “lying lullabies” (Taylor). How tragic that some spiritual leaders cater to the desires of their auditors. They yield to the temptation to speak pleasant words to their people. Disaster is inevitable when religious leaders encourage people in unbiblical ways. By indorsing revolt against Babylon, and promising divine deliverance from the inevitable confrontation with that power, the false prophets had created a spirit of complacency. But the wall of theological and political promises that they had built will collapse at a touch, and thus leave the population exposed and vulnerable.

Public declaration (Ezekiel 13:11): Say unto those who coat it with whitewash that it will fall. There will be a torrential shower. Hailstones will fall and a stormy wind will rend it. God had a word for the prophetic whitewash crew. Torrential rains, hailstones and wind will put their deceitful wall to the test.

Public derision (Ezekiel 13:12): Behold, when the wall has fallen will it not be said unto you, Where is the coating with which you coated it? When that wall fell—and fall it surely will—angry citizens who had been deceived will hold those prophets up to derision: where is the coating?, i.e., the lies with which they sought to establish national security.

Second Judgment Threat (Ezekiel 13:13-16)

Attack on the wall (Ezekiel 13:13): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: I will rend it with a stormy wind in my fury. There will be a torrential shower in my anger, and hailstones in fury to consume it. The stormy wind, hailstones and torrential rain of military assault will demonstrate the fury of God against his people.

Destruction on the wall (Ezekiel 13:14): So I will smash the wall that you have daubed with lime, and bring it to the ground. Its foundations will be uncovered, and it will fall. You will be destroyed in its midst, that you may know that I am the LORD. The fall of the whitewashed wall of imaginary security will be God’s doing. In that day even the very foundations of those walls— the false theological notions about God’s relationship to Judah—will be exposed to plain view.

The use of whitewash instead of mortar is what made the false prophet a criminal. The prophets will be destroyed by the collapse of their wall³²⁸ of words. They will be overwhelmed in the disaster that will befall the people they had deceived. In that day the prophets will know that Yahweh is faithful to his word of judgment as well as to his word of promise.

Absence of the wall (Ezekiel 13:15-16): Thus I will complete my wrath on the wall, and on those who daubed it with whitewash. I will say to you, The wall is no more, and those who coated it are no more, (16) the prophets of Israel who prophesy unto Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace (oracle of the Lord GOD). When his fury had been completely poured out, both the metaphorical wall, and those who built it, will no longer exist (Ezekiel 13:15). The nation did not enjoy peace, either with God, or with the superpower of that day. Those who claimed to have received revelations to the contrary were clearly worthy of the heavenly judgment just announced (Ezekiel 13:16).

CONDEMNATION OF THE PROPHETESSES

Ezekiel 13:17-23

The Indictment (Ezekiel 13:17-19)

Authorization for the message (Ezekiel 13:17): As for you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who are prophesying from their heart. Prophesy against them. When it came to condemnation, the Old Testament prophets were not respecters of persons. They condemned wayward women as well as wayward men. The women Ezekiel condemns are not called prophetesses, but women who play the role of prophet. The description of their activities suggests that they were more like witches. They mixed magical practices with their prophecies. It is not surprising that in the turbulent first decade of the sixth century such leeches had appeared.

The ways of Babylon, where necromancy and divination abounded, had been adopted by the Jews. Magic is an attempt to manipulate divinity to achieve one’s own goals. Magical practices are forbidden in Deuteronomy 18:9-22. The prophetesses, as well as their male counterparts, were aggravating the spiritual and political problems of Judah. Like the prophets, these women prophesied out of their own heart. Their message was of human rather than of divine origin.

Action of the prophetesses (Ezekiel 13:18): You will say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to those who sew bands for every joint of the arm, and make veils for the head of every height to lie in wait for souls. Will you lie in wait for my people, while you save your own lives? The women employed magical arts by which they pretended to foretell the future. Magic bands—perhaps cases containing incantations and charms—were sewn on their wrists. Lit., joints of my hands. This expression has been taken to refer to the knuckles, armpits and elbows as well as the wrists. The first person possessive suffix on the word is most difficult to explain. Perhaps the meaning is that the sorceresses were trying to bind or restrict the power of God by means of these magical paraphernalia. That the wrists of the sorceress, rather than the client, were bound is suggested by Ezekiel 13:20. The suffix your on the words bands and veils is masculine. The use of the masculine form when speaking of women is not uncommon in the Old Testament. The feminine is resumed in your hand in Ezekiel 13:21.

This seems to be similar to a Babylonian custom in which a sorcerer binds the wrist of a client to symbolize the binding power of the spell that was pronounced. The sorceresses also drape their clients with full-length veils or shawls. They possessed a whole wardrobe of such veils adapted to persons of various heights, so that in all cases it shrouded their whole form. Just what the purpose of these veils was cannot now be determined. Some spoken spell must have accompanied the use of these objects (cf. Ezekiel 13:17).

The sorceresses were not harmless cranks. Their object was to lie in wait for the souls (i.e., the lives) of God’s people. They were determined to capture the attention and control the minds of those who were still trying to be faithful to the Lord. Ezekiel seems to think of those magical veils as nets cast over victims, a snare from which they could not escape.

While they could care less about the fate of God’s people, the prophetesses were determined to save their own lives. This probably means that they were driven by the profit motive. Their sole concern was to receive the fees by which they could sustain their lives. By means of a variety of spells and incantations, the prophetesses claimed the power to keep clients alive on payment of certain fees.

Effect on the people (Ezekiel 13:19): Will you profane me among my people in exchange for handfuls of barley and pieces of bread to slay souls who should not die, and to save souls who should not live by your lying to my people who hear (your) lies? The prophetesses had profaned the Lord among his people. Their actions caused people to deny their faith in Yahweh. They trusted in deceitful divinations. Thus the name of God was profaned by those who turned their backs on him. The deceitful oracles of the prophetesses were cranked out with the aid of handfuls of barley and crumbs of bread. These materials probably were used as auguries to be examined to see whether a sick man would live or die.

 

The prophetesses slay the soul that should not die, i.e., foretell the death for the righteous. At the same time, they save the souls alive that should not live, i.e., they promised life to the wicked. They were lying to God’s people who were inclined to listen to untruth more than truth.

Punishment (Ezekiel 13:20-21): Compared to the condemnation of the prophets in the preceding section, these women were treated quite lightly. They will not suffer more than the loss of their influence and livelihood.

Declaration of hostility (Ezekiel 13:20 a): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against your bands by which you lie in wait for souls there to make them like birds. God declared his absolute opposition to the pagan paraphernalia employed by these women. On bands (or cushions), see on Ezekiel 13:18.

Humiliation of the practitioners (Ezekiel 13:20 b): I will rend them from upon your arms. The bands (or cushions) will be ripped from the arms of these women.

Liberation of the victims (Ezekiel 13:20-21): (20c) I will send forth the souls, the souls for whom you have been lying in wait to make them fly. I will rend your coverings. I will deliver my people from your hands. They will not again be in your hand to be hunted down, that you may know that I am the LORD. Their veils will be torn away (Ezekiel 13:21). Implied in the judgment is that the magic bands and veils in some way imprisoned the lives of the people.

The souls held captive by the magic spells will be liberated, set free like birds from a cage (Ezekiel 13:20). God’s people will no longer be in the hand, i.e., under the power of these prophetesses (Ezekiel 13:21). As God once delivered his people from ruthless Pharaoh, so he now will deliver them from their own oppressive leaders.

Further Indictment and Punishment (Ezekiel 13:22-23)

Their present influence (Ezekiel 13:22): Because you have made sad the heart of the righteous with lies, when I did not make him sad. You have strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not turn from his evil way to cause him to live. The prophetesses had caused the righteous to be disheartened. At the same time they had given encouragement to the wicked. The result of this was that the wicked had no inclination to turn, i.e., repent.

Their influence smashed (Ezekiel 13:23): Therefore, you will see no more vanity, nor engage in divination again; for I will deliver my people from your hand, that you may know that I am the LORD. Because of their detrimental influence on society, the profession of which these women were a part will be abolished. No more will they make claims to see visions or employ divination to ascertain the future. In the day of judgment, when all the magical schemes of these women fail, they will comprehend that the God who had spoken these things is Yahweh. They will understand that he is faithful to perform his word of judgment as well as his word of promise.

EZEKIEL 14

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED

In ch 14 Ezekiel deals with two theoretical objections that might be raised against his announcement of Jerusalem’s judgment. The first is this: How can God punish his people for sins into which they have been led by men claiming to be prophets? (Ezekiel 14:1-11). The second objection raises the question of how God could destroy the holy city when there were still some righteous people within (Ezekiel 14:12-23).

DECEPTION BY THE FALSE PROPHETS

Ezekiel 14:1-11

The people had made no effort to see through the deception of the false prophets because their hearts were divided. The charge appears three times that they have set up idols in their hearts. This fact is first revealed privately to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 14:3). He then exposes publicly the hypocrisy of the elders (Ezekiel 14:4) and the entire house of Israel (Ezekiel 14:7).

A Private Revelation (Ezekiel 14:1-3)

The setting with the elders (Ezekiel 14:1): Certain men of the elders of Israel came unto me, and sat before me. During the period of the exile, the elders were supposed to be the spiritual leaders of the nation. The elders of Israel came to Ezekiel to seek a message from the Lord. Some scholars think these elders of Israel are the same as the elders of Judah mentioned in Ezekiel 8:1. Other scholars think there may have been two groups of elders. These elders will then be a deputation from the earlier group of exiles taken captive by the Assyrians. Nevertheless, these elders probably were anxious to be enlightened about the future of their homeland. In sitting before the prophet, the elders were acknowledging him as a genuine teacher from God.

The sin of the elders (Ezekiel 14:2-3): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (3) Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts. The stumbling block of their iniquity they have placed before their face. Should I ever permit them to make inquiry of me? In response to the inquiry of the elders, Ezekiel receives a revelation (Ezekiel 14:2). God revealed to the prophet the heart condition of the elders. They were guilty of setting up their idols in their hearts. This does not necessarily mean that these elders were actually worshiping idols. They were longing after the old pagan practices that they had observed prior to the exile. Their thoughts were influenced by magic spells, divination and the like.

The elders in exile were contemplating acquiring idols like their counterparts back in Jerusalem (Eze 14:8:10). Certainly they were dreaming them up in their hearts. The elders were in grave danger of tripping over this obstacle to true devotion and overtly violating the first two commandments. The internalized idolatry was a stumbling block that these elders willfully had set before themselves. The phrase the stumbling block of their iniquity is peculiar to Ezekiel (Eze 7:19; 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30: 44:12). It usually refers to idols. At this stage of history, idols were the chief occasion of sin for God’s people.

No special divine direction is forthcoming for men who do not exclusively devote their hearts to the Lord. To express this fact, God used a rhetorical question couched in the most emphatic terms. Should God allow himself to be petitioned by hypocrites? A strong negation is implied (Ezekiel 14:3).

Hypocrisy of the Elders Exposed (Ezekiel 14:4-5)

A principle set forth (Ezekiel 14:4): Therefore, speak unto them, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Any man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and places the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes unto the prophet—I the LORD will respond to him that comes according to the multitude of his idols; Ezekiel now reveals to the elders what God had revealed to him privately. He sets forth the message in the form of a legal principle addressed to any man (person) of the house of Israel. Note that the beginning of Ezekiel’s threat is identical with that of four Levitical laws: Leviticus 17:3; Leviticus 17:8; Leviticus 17:10; Leviticus 17:13. Because idolatry was so firmly rooted in their hearts, these elders need not expect an oral answer to their inquiry from the Lord. Rather, the Lord himself will come to answer, i.e., he will answer personally, not through an intermediary. He will answer them by deeds—by acts of judgment. Furthermore, the judgment that he metes out to each individual will be according to the multitude of his idols. God responds to their hypocrisy, rather than their inquiry. This verse could mean that God would give them over to the many idols in their hearts (Ezekiel 14:4). God knew that satiation with idolatry was the only way for Israel to become nauseated with the emptiness and perversion of idolatry.

A purpose made clear (Ezekiel 14:5): in order that I may take the house of Israel in their heart, because all of them have been turned aside from me through their idols. God’s great priority was to take the house of Israel in their heart, i.e., to win complete allegiance from his people. Brownlee (WBC, 202) understands the verb take in judicial terms, i.e., to take in judgment. "Yahweh does not need to wait until the idolatrous plans materialize; but he discerns the thoughts of men, and they are evidence enough that one is dealing with sinners." Others interpret the verb take in Ezekiel 14:5 to be equivalent to expose or hold responsible. Still others see Ezekiel 14:5 simply as a threat that the hypocrites of the nation will be caught in a snare of their own making. And then, perhaps it means all of these, for all of them, like the hypocritical elders, had divided hearts—hearts still estranged from God because of idolatry.

Yahweh had exposed the pagan inclinations of the elders. He had announced judgment upon them for their lack of full commitment to him. Thereby the Lord will force all members of the house of Israel to acknowledge him alone as God.

Hypocrisy of the People Exposed (Ezekiel 14:6-8)

A call for repentance (Ezekiel 14:6): Therefore, say unto the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Return, and turn away yourselves³⁴⁹ from your idols. From all your abominations turn away your face; Ezekiel now addresses the people at large on the issue of divided allegiance. As always in the economy of God, a call for repentance precedes the execution of judgment. The Hebrew verb H˚B (return/turn) is used three times in one verse. Ezekiel calls on them to return to God, and force themselves to turn away from your idols and all your abominations, i.e., all the paraphernalia of idolatry.

A warning for the impenitent (Ezekiel 14:7): because any man of the house of Israel and of the alien who dwells in Israel who has turned aside from me, and erected his idols in his heart, and has set the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes unto the prophet to inquire by him of me—I the LORD will respond to him by myself. The Lord next addresses all who reject his call for repentance. Ezekiel expands the legal threat of Ezekiel 14:4 to include the alien who dwells in Israel. Foreigners who lived in the Israelite theocracy were as much bound by the laws against idolatry as native-born citizens(Cf. Leviticus 17:10; Leviticus 20:1-2.). Ezekiel has in mind those aliens who had attached themselves to the Israelite community in Babylon.

Those who play the role of the hypocrite, who harbor idolatrous inclinations in their hearts, will receive a message from God when they appear before a prophet; but it will not be the kind of message they expect. Instead of a spoken answer by the mouth of the prophet, there will be an answer in the discipline of life (Ezekiel 14:7).

A curse upon the uncommitted (Ezekiel 14:8): I will set my face against that man, and I will make him a sign and proverb. I will cut him off from the midst of my people, that you may know that I am the LORD. In fulfillment of the "curse" stipulations of the Mosaic covenant, God will inflict four penalties on anyone whose hearts was divided regarding him.

First, the Lord will set his face against that man, i.e., he will assume a posture of hostility toward that hypocrite (cf. Ezekiel 13:9; Leviticus 20:3; Leviticus 20:5-6).

Second, God will make that man a sign and proverb, i.e., he will inflict upon that man an exemplary punishment that (1) becomes proverbial, and (2) thereby act as a deterrent to others inclined toward idolatry (cf. Deuteronomy 28:37).

Third, God will cut off that man from the midst of his people, i.e., excommunicate him (Leviticus 17:10; Leviticus 20:3; Leviticus 20:5-6). Another interpretation is “cut them off by early death.”

Fourth, when men witnessed this righteous judgment, they recognize that Yahweh is the only God. The Mosaic material abounds in the recognition formula attached to Yahweh’s deeds of deliverance and/or judgment.

False Prophets Explained (Ezekiel 14:9-11)

Some so-called prophets did give responsive oracles to hypocritical inquirers. Such men, however, were false prophets. The hypocrites sitting before Ezekiel knew their own hearts. They knew that inwardly they had not surrendered their idols. Since God will not give guiding counsel to such people, the “prophet” who pretended to do so was not inspired of God.

Enticement of the "prophets" (Ezekiel 14:9 a): As for the prophet, when he is enticed, and speaks a word, I the LORD have enticed that prophet. The prophets who were causing such confusion in Jerusalem and Babylon had been enticed. God declares that he had enticed that prophet, i.e., he had permitted the enticement to take place (cf. 1 Kings 22:19-23). This does not mean that the prophet who spoke falsely was divinely compelled to do so. He bore complete responsibility for his actions. The idea here is that men who reject the truth of God have opened their mind for such judicial enticement to false thinking. For Yahweh as a deceiver of prophets, see 2 Kings 22:19-20 and Deuteronomy 13:1-5. Cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:11. Secondary causation has here been eliminated as in Isaiah 45:7 and Amos 3:6.

One must distinguish between the permissive and active will of God. Part of the punishment that God metes out to sinners is that he permits them to be led into ever greater sin. When men obstinately refuse the truth, God gives them over to falsehood.

Punishment of the "prophets" (Ezekiel 14:9-10): (9b) I will stretch out my hand against him. I will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. (10) They will bear their iniquity. The iniquity of the prophet will be like that of the one who inquires; The prophets had been enticed to falsehood. Shortly they will experience divine judgment. God will stretch out his hand against them. They will be destroyed from the midst of Israel (Ezekiel 14:9). Some think that destroyed from the midst of my people (Ezekiel 14:9) is synonymous with cut off from the midst of my people (Ezekiel 14:8). It seems, however, that the former refers to death, and the latter to excommunication. The priestly interest of Ezekiel is evident from the statement that transgressions or iniquity (conscious rebellion against divine law) rendered one unclean, i.e., defiled one. God is no respecter of persons when it comes to judgment. Both the prophets and the citizens who came to seek their counsel will have to bear their iniquity, i.e., suffer the same punishment (Ezekiel 14:10).

Enlightenment of the nation (Ezekiel 14:11): that the house of Israel might not again go astray from me, or defile themselves with all their transgressions; but they will be my people, and I will be their God (oracle of the Lord GOD). The deceivers, and those who cried out to be deceived, will alike experience the judgment of God. The purpose of this divine judgment was not so much revenge as it was correction. The punishment was to serve as a deterrent so that God’s people will no longer go astray from Him to serve idols. The people defiled themselves by such transgressions. The priestly interest of Ezekiel is evident from the statement that transgressions (conscious rebellion against divine law) rendered one unclean, i.e., defiled one. By discouraging defilement by idolatry, God was doing what was necessary to promote his relationship with his people. Free from the taint of idolatry, they could be his people, and he could be their God (Ezekiel 14:11).

At this point hope shines through the otherwise gloomy discourse of Ezekiel. The prophet is a realistic optimist. He cannot deny the divine forecast of stormy judgment. He sees, however, a silver lining in those dark clouds. Some ultimate good will come of it. God’s eternal purpose will not be frustrated by the collapse of earthly Jerusalem.

PRESENCE OF RIGHTEOUS MEN

Ezekiel 14:12-23

A General Principle (Ezekiel 14:12-14): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (13) Son of man, when a land sins against me by trespassing grievously, and I stretch out my hand against it, and break its staff of bread, and send against it a famine, and cut off from it man and beast; (14) though these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in its midst, they will deliver only their own lives through their righteousness (oracle of the Lord GOD). Famine is frequently mentioned in Scripture as a means by which God punished his people. When God will break the staff of bread (i.e., bring about a famine), innocent beasts, as well as sinful men, are thereby cut off i.e., die (Ezekiel 14:13). Man’s life is sustained by bread even as his weight is sustained by a staff. Yet there was no deliverance for the sinful land merely because innocent animals suffered.

Will the presence of righteous men in Jerusalem spare that city from the threatened destruction? Abraham, in his mighty intercessory prayer (Genesis 18:23 ff.), had used this as a ground to plead for the deliverance of Sodom and Gomorrah. Israel, however, was beyond the help of any human mediation. The presence of a righteous soul here or there cannot be a lucky religious charm, a community insurance policy that guarantees, if not immunity from judgment, at least a softened blow. So grievously had the land of Judah transgressed against God that not even the presence of super-saints like Noah, Daniel, and Job will be able to deliver the land. Feinberg (PE, 81) suggests that the order of the names is climactic rather than chronological: Noah delivered his family with himself; Daniel his friends; but Job, not even his own children. The doctrine of personal responsibility here is carried to its logical conclusion. Judgment for unrepentant sinners is inevitable.

Because Noah was a righteous man, he and his family escaped the universal destruction by the great flood. Because of his steadfast loyalty to God, Daniel survived deportation to Babylon. The notion that Ezekiel refers to a fifteenth century Phoenician hero named Daniel, rather than the famous biblical personage of the same name, is common among those who do not accept the authenticity of the Book of Daniel. Daniel saved his friends from an edict to slay the royal magicians. Eventually he was elevated to high office in the Babylonian government. Daniel already had established himself as a pious man of God and a folk hero in the eyes of the Jewish captives. Yet he had not been able to use his influence with Nebuchadnezzar to spare the people of Judah. Job was spared while his wayward children met with fatal accidents. In none of these cases did the righteousness of these godly men induce God to spare the wicked. A similar argument is used by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 15:1). So it is that Noah, Daniel and Job will only be able to save their own lives through their righteousness (Ezekiel 14:14).

Specific Illustrations (Ezekiel 14:15-20)

Resorting to emphasis by repetition, Ezekiel pounded home his point that Noah, Daniel and Job will not be able to deliver the land. In Ezekiel 14:13-20 he enumerates three more types of judgment that God might on occasion send against his people. These are punishments threatened in the Mosaic covenant (Leviticus 26:22-26).

Evil beasts (Ezekiel 14:15-16): If I cause evil beasts to pass through the land, and they bereave it, and it becomes so desolate that no man passes through her because of the beasts; (16) though these three men were in its midst, as I live (oracle of the Lord GOD), they will not deliver sons or daughters. They alone will be delivered, but the land will become a desolation. Evil beasts might be brought against the land. Some interpret the beasts to be Gentile invaders. There is, however, no reason these cannot be literal beasts. These are probably rabid animals, not simply predatory beasts. There are other expressions for "wild animals" such as beasts of the field (e.g., Leviticus 26:22) or beasts of the earth/land (e.g., 1 Samuel 17:46). Rabies passes quickly from one animal to another. An infested rat might bring the disease into a city under siege with devastating effects on both humans and livestock. Out of fear, the land will be deserted and become desolate. Men of other countries will loathe passing through (Ezekiel 14:15). Still there will be no deliverance for the sinful land. Sons and daughters of the sinful inhabitants will die (Ezekiel 14:16; Ezekiel 14:18; Ezekiel 14:20). The combined goodness of all three men could not save Israel from divine destruction. As I live (Ezekiel 14:16; Ezekiel 14:18; Ezekiel 14:20) is a familiar oath formula in the Old Testament. God swears that under no condition can the righteousness of the most righteous men avert the destruction of a sinful nation.

Sword (Ezekiel 14:17-18): Or if I bring a sword against that land, and I say, Let a sword pass through the land, so that I cut off from it man and beast; (18) though these three men were in its midst, as I live (oracle of the Lord GOD), they will deliver neither sons nor daughters, for they alone will be delivered. The sword (i.e., military invasion) might be used against the land. Such action will involve the indiscriminate slaughter of man and beast (Ezekiel 14:17). From such slaughter there will be no deliverance.

Plague (Ezekiel 14:19-20): Or if I sent a plague against that land, and I poured out my wrath upon it in blood to cut off from it man and beast; (20) though Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, as I live (oracle of the Lord GOD) they will not be able to deliver son or daughter; they will deliver only their own lives by their righteousness. Plague (diseases) might be the means of punishment. God’s fury poured out upon the land will manifest itself in blood, i.e., a high death rate. Still there will be no deliverance.

Pointed Application (Ezekiel 14:21-23)

The cutting off (Ezekiel 14:21): Because thus says the Lord GOD: How much more when I send my four calamitous judgments against Jerusalem—sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague—to cut off from it man and beast. Ezekiel has set forth in Ezekiel 14:12-20 the general principle that the presence of even the most godly men cannot save a land—any land—from divine judgment. In Ezekiel 14:21 the prophet makes the application to Jerusalem. If when only one of the above mentioned punishments is inflicted upon a land the righteous are unable to save the wicked, how much more true will this be in the case of Jerusalem that must suffer all four. The number four conveys the idea of completeness and universality because it reflects the notion of the four points of the compass.

The pathetic remnant (Ezekiel 14:22-23): If a remnant is left in it who are brought forth —sons and daughters — behold, they will come forth unto you. You will see their way and their deeds. You will be comforted concerning the calamity that I have brought against Jerusalem, all that I have brought against her. (23) They will comfort you, when you see their way and their deeds, that you may know that I have not done all that I did against her without cause (oracle of the Lord GOD). A remnant survives the fourfold catastrophe that befalls Jerusalem. The remnant will be brought forth, i.e., carried into exile. Their survival should not be interpreted as indicating their righteousness. Far from it! These escapees will serve as an object lesson. When the earlier exiles observed the character and conduct of those who later joined them, they will be comforted concerning the calamity that Jerusalem experienced. They will realize that God had no alternative but to destroy that city. His punishments had not been arbitrary or excessive. The preservation of a remnant from Jerusalem was an act of pure grace (Ezekiel 14:22).

Indirectly the future captives will comfort those who were already in Babylon (Ezekiel 14:23). The kind of comfort referred to here is that which comes about when a person learns new facts that throw new light on what was perceived to be a disastrous situation.

EZEKIEL 15

ISRAEL: A USELESS VINE

The justification of God’s judgment against Judah continues in chs 15-17, but the nature of the defense changes. Here Ezekiel employs parables or allegories to paint a rather gruesome word picture of the ingratitude, sin and rebellion of God’s people. He describes (1) the useless vine (Ezekiel 15:1-8); (2) the faithless wife (Ezekiel 16:1-43); (3) the fallen sister (Ezekiel 16:44-63); and (4) the lowly vine (Ezekiel 17:1-21). The section closes with a brief and optimistic parable of the stately cedar (Ezekiel 17:22-24).

The earlier prophets frequently spoke of Israel as the vine of God (See Genesis 49:22; Psalms 80:9; Hosea 10:1; Isaiah 5; Deuteronomy 32:32; Jeremiah 2:21.) That figure, while beautiful to contemplate, can lend itself to gross distortion in the minds of hypocrites. People might think that, because of the accident of birth, they were branches of the true vine that could never be destroyed. In ch 15 Ezekiel sets forth a parable, as later the greater Son of Man will do (John 15), to expose the groundlessness of such a notion.

THE ILLUSTRATION

Ezekiel 15:1-5

Five rhetorical questions make up this unit. The first question establishes the main point. The next two questions support that point with specific illustrations. The last two questions carry the main point forward to a different level.

The Main Point (Ezekiel 15:1-2): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, what is the vine tree more than any other tree, the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest? The Lord directed Ezekiel’s thinking to the vine tree—the wild vine of the woods (Ezekiel 15:2). The trees of the forest represent the community of nations (cf. Isaiah 10:33-34). Compared to the nations of the world, Israel was only a vine.

The Supporting Argument (Ezekiel 15:3-4 a): Is wood taken from it to make any work? or will men take a peg from it to hang any vessel thereon? (4) Behold, it is cast to the fire for fuel; The vine was worthless. It was a fruitless vine. Its wood was useless as timber. No one would think of using that wood as material for making furniture. The wood of the vine was even too thin and pliable to be fashioned into a wall peg (Ezekiel 15:3). The wild vine was fit only for kindling for the fire.

The Final Point (Ezekiel 15:4-5): (4b) the fire has devoured both ends of it, while the middle is singed. Is it profitable for any work? (5) Behold, when it is whole it is not suitable for work; how much less when the fire consumes it, and it is singed, will it yet be suitable for work? Should the vine be snatched from the fire before being completely consumed, it would still be good for nothing (Ezekiel 15:4). Before it was cast into the fire it was good for nothing; how much less after it had been charred and burned (Ezekiel 15:5).

THE APPLICATION

Ezekiel 15:6-8

God’s Assessment (Ezekiel 15:6): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Like the vine tree among the trees of the forest that I have appointed for fuel for the fire, thus I have appointed the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The purpose of the vine is fruit bearing. If a vine bears no fruit, or sour fruit, it is, in comparison to other trees, of no value. So it was with Israel. If Israel bore no fruit—did not fulfill its mission—then it was poorer and weaker than the heathen nations round it. The inhabitants of Jerusalem were like that vine tree—good for nothing except destruction by fire.

God’s Announcement (Ezekiel 15:7-8): I will set my face against them. From the fire they have come forth, and the fire will consume them. You will know that I am the LORD when I set my face against them. (8) I will make the land a desolation because they have grievously transgressed (oracle of the Lord GOD). God had set His face (cf. Ezekiel 4:3) against the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The city had passed through the fire of earlier Babylonian invasions—in 605 B.C. and 597 B.C.–-and had been charred, but not consumed. But that was no guarantee that the city was inviolable. In the next fire, the city will be consumed. When that happened, the inhabitants would know that the destruction was no chance occurrence. They would realize that the destruction of Jerusalem resulted from the decree of the Almighty (Ezekiel 15:7).

The concluding verse summarizes the meaning of the parable: the judgment and its cause. It is not their inherent worthlessness, but their faithlessness in respect to their national calling that brings on the judgment. Their land will become a desolation because of grievous transgression (Ezekiel 15:8).

EZEKIEL 16

FAITHLESS WIFE AND FALLEN SISTER

INTRODUCTION

Ezekiel 16:1-2

The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations. To demonstrate that his parable of the worthless vine was no exaggeration, Ezekiel surveys Jerusalem’s history from the city’s birth to his own day. The prophet is almost indelicately realistic in his description. He meant it that way. Sin is ugly. If the prophet is going to “tell it like it is,” he must resort from time to time to ugly words. Hardened hearts sometimes respond to shock therapy. So the prophet is commissioned by God to cause Jerusalem to know her abominations.

JERUSALEM: FAITHLESS WIFE

Ezekiel 16:1-43

In four paragraphs Ezekiel reviews the past and future dealings between God and his people. In unfolding this allegory, Ezekiel discusses (1) the circumstances of Jerusalem’s birth (Ezekiel 16:1-7); (2) the marriage and adornment of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 16:8-14); (3) the infidelity of the bride (Ezekiel 16:15-34); and (4) the punishment of the harlot (Ezekiel 16:35-43).

Abandonment and Rescue (Ezekiel 16:1-7)

The birth of the child (Ezekiel 16:3): Say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: Your origin and birth are of the land of the Canaanite; your father was the Amorite, and your mother the Hittite. Jerusalem is specifically addressed, though much of what is said applies to the whole nation. Jerusalem’s origin and birth took place on the soil of Canaan. The city was conceived by the Amorite and the Hittite, i.e., it was founded by the heathen peoples of Canaan. Amorites were a west-Semitic people who began filtering into the Fertile Crescent from the desert about 2000 B.C. At the time of Moses they were firmly entrenched in the mountains of Palestine, and in the Transjordan region as well. The Hittites were an Indo-European people whose center was in Asia Minor and, during some periods, Syria. When the hill country of Judah is particularly in view, Canaan was known as the land of the Amorites and the land of the Hittites. See Genesis 10:16; Genesis 15:16; Numbers 13:29; Joshua 1:4; Joshua 5:1; Joshua 7:7; Joshua 24:15; Joshua 24:18. At the time of the conquest, Jerusalem was a Jebusite city (Joshua 15:8; Joshua 15:63) and a member of the southern coalition of city states that opposed Joshua.

The neglect of the child (Ezekiel 16:4): As for your birth, on your birthday your navel was not cut. You were not washed in water for cleansing. You were not salted or wrapped at all. Like many female infants, Jerusalem was abandoned after birth, left exposed in a field to die. She had not received the customary treatment afforded newborn babes.

The abandonment of the child (Ezekiel 16:5): No eye had pity upon you to do any of these things to you to have compassion upon you; but you were cast out upon the surface of the ground when you were regarded as loathsome in the day of your birth. Normally after the navel was cut, a baby was rubbed all over with salt. The salt served as an antiseptic. It also strengthened the baby’s skin. The baby was then wrapped tightly in bands of cloth. Every seven days through day forty the dirty clothes were removed, the baby washed, anointed with oil, and rewrapped. But none of these customary treatments was applied to this child. Instead, she had been regarded as loathsome. She had been exposed to death by neglect.

The neglected baby is a picture of Jerusalem in her earliest years. The people of Canaan did not care about the place. Likewise the Israelites overlooked Jerusalem throughout the settlement period.

The child rescued (Ezekiel 16:6): When I passed by you, and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you: Though bloody, live; yes, I said to you, though bloody, live. God passed by the ugly and unwanted child. Though bloody is lit., in your blood. Although the child was repulsive to look upon, squirming about in her blood, i.e., unwashed, still God decreed that it should live (Ezekiel 16:6). This probably refers to David’s capture of Jerusalem from the Jebusites (2 Samuel 5:6-10).

The growth of the child (Ezekiel 16:7): An increase like the sprout of the field I appointed you. You increased, and grew up, and came to excellent beauty. Your breasts were formed, and your hair was grown; yet you were naked and bare. To grow like the sprout of the field is a beautiful metaphor for what thrives through the blessing of God alone. The female infant grew to maturity. She possessed the physical attributes of a beautifully formed woman, viz., a full bust and long hair. Yet she was still naked and bare. The Hebrew terms usually mean, insufficiently clad. Jerusalem was like a poor desert shepherd girl inadequately clothed. The reference is to the earliest years of Israelite occupation of the city.

Marriage (Ezekiel 16:8-9)

Maturity for marriage (Ezekiel 16:8 a): Now when I passed by you, and saw you, behold, your time was the time of love. God passed by Jerusalem a second time. The relationship between God and Israel is frequently depicted under the metaphor of marriage. So it is here that the divine rescuer noticed that the Jerusalem had reached the time of love or love-making, i.e., marriageable age. The time of love was not just when the girl was sexually mature, but when she became psychologically capable of responding to the love of her suitor. The time of love was not just when the girl was sexually mature, but when she became psychologically capable of responding to the love of her suitor.

Covenant of marriage (Ezekiel 16:8 b): I spread my skirt over you, and covered your nakedness. I swore to you, and entered into a covenant with you (oracle of the Lord GOD), and you became mine. He therefore spread his skirt over her, a gesture that was, apparently, part of the ancient marriage ceremony (cf. Ruth 3:9). Brownlee (WBC, 225) takes the expression to mean: "I opened my robe to you." "Such an act belonged to the consummation of marriage….This is traditional, not indecent language." God thereby covered the nakedness of his bride, i.e., he provided for Jerusalem’s needs. He entered into a marriage covenant with Jerusalem. God chose Jerusalem for a special relationship when David brought the ark of the covenant there (2 Samuel 6). Later David purchased a threshing floor in Jerusalem that became the site for God’s temple (2 Samuel 24).

Rituals of marriage (Ezekiel 16:9): I washed you with water, cleansed your blood from upon you, and I anointed you with oil. God treated his young bride most tenderly. He first washed her with water. The blood that is washed from the bride is surely not the blood of childbirth mentioned in Ezekiel 16:4, or menstrual blood (Cooke). Marriage could not take place at the time of the menses (Leviticus 15:19-24; Ezekiel 18:6). It is probably the blood of virginal bleeding caused by initial coitus. He then anointed her with oil. Note: Brownlee (WBC, 225). The bride (or her father) saved the blood-stained garment or bed sheet as a cherished proof of her virginity at the time of her marriage (Deuteronomy 22:13-21).

Adornment (Ezekiel 16:10-14)

Aspects of the adornment (Ezekiel 16:10-13 b)

Clothing (Ezekiel 16:10): I clothed you with woven work. I shod you with sealskin. I bound you with fine linen. I covered you with silk. God clothed her with the finest garments from head to toe.

Accouterments (Ezekiel 16:11-13 a): (11) I adorned you with ornaments. I put bracelets upon your hands, and a chain upon your neck. (12) I put a ring upon your nose, and earrings upon your ears, and a beautiful turban upon your head. (13) And you were decked with gold and silver, and your garments were of fine linen, silk, and woven work. He placed jewelry upon her wrists, neck (Ezekiel 16:11), nose and ears. As befitting her queenly position, a beautiful crown was placed on her head (Ezekiel 16:12).

Food (Ezekiel 16:13 b): You ate fine flour, honey and oil. She ate the finest foods.

Result of the adornment (Ezekiel 16:13-14): (13b) You became more and more beautiful until you achieved royal rank. (14) Your reputation went forth among the nations for your beauty, for it was perfect through my splendor that I put upon you (oracle of the Lord GOD). Jerusalem became ever more beautiful until she finally achieved royal rank, i.e., became the Queen City of the Near East during the days of Solomon (Ezekiel 16:13). The beauty—the power and prosperity—of the nation was spoken of among other nations. But whatever greatness was achieved by Jerusalem was not self-earned. It was bestowed by her divine husband. She reflected the splendor of God (Ezekiel 16:14).

Infidelity of the Bride (Ezekiel 16:15-34)

Misuse of God’s blessings (Ezekiel 16:15-19)

Misplaced trust (Ezekiel 16:15): But you trusted in your beauty, and committed harlotry because of your reputation. You poured out your harlotries upon all who passed by; it belonged to him. The beautiful bride proved unfaithful to the marriage covenant with God. Instead of trusting him, she began to trust in her beauty, i.e., her material prosperity. She thought she could follow her instincts without regard to the moral demands of her divine husband. Self-trust is the first step in committing iniquity (cf. Ezekiel 33:13). Jerusalem began to commit harlotry with foreign nations and their gods. The metaphor of harlotry, in its noun and verb forms, is used twenty-one times in Ezekiel 16. It highlights Israel’s unfaithfulness to the covenant relationship, violating the first two commandments of the Decalogue.

Jerusalem committed harlotry because of her reputation. She found herself popular. Because of her material prosperity and strategic location, the eyes of the nations were cast on Jerusalem. In response to the Lord’s gracious passing by (cf. Ezekiel 16:6; Ezekiel 16:8), Jerusalem lavished her harlotry on all who passed by. She readily responded to every proffer of love, i.e., she took up with every form of idolatry. The reference is probably to the glory of Solomon’s era, that king’s entanglement in foreign alliances, and toleration of the pagan practices of his many wives.

Misused wealth (Ezekiel 16:16-18 a)

High places (Ezekiel 16:16): You took from your garments, and made for yourself high places decked with different colors. You committed harlotry upon them. They are not coming, and it will not lie. The garments given to her by her divine Husband (i.e., material blessings) were used to make and decorate high places. There Jerusalem pursued her idolatrous lust. The repetition of you took (Ezekiel 16:16-18; Ezekiel 16:20) stresses that Jerusalem’s involvement in idolatry was an act of free choice. The last expression in Ezekiel 16:16 is difficult: they (feminine) are not coming and it (masculine) will not be. Perhaps these words express disgust at the lewdness of Jerusalem.

Images (16:17-18a): You took your fair jewels of my gold and my silver that I had given to you. You made for yourself images of men, and committed harlotry with them. (18) You took your woven garments, and you covered them. Jewelry of gold and silver had been melted down and fashioned into idols (cf. Hosea 2:10)—images of men with whom the adulterous wife might commit her harlotry. The images were dressed with the rich garb that God had given his bride.

Misguided worship (Ezekiel 16:18-19): (18b) My oil and my incense you placed before them. (19) My bread that I gave to youófine flour, oil and honey that I fed youóyou set before them for a sweet savor. Thus it was (oracle of the Lord GOD). Oil and incense, God’s gifts to his people, were given as offerings to the lifeless idols. The rich foods God had given his bride were set before these idols in various pagan rituals to serve as a sweet savor, i.e., something to satisfy the appetite of the gods. Thus it was, God says; it cannot be denied.

Child sacrifice (Ezekiel 16:20-22)

The facts in the case (Ezekiel 16:20 a): You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore unto me, and you sacrificed them to them to be devoured. As God’s wife, Jerusalem had a responsibility to rear her children in the fear of the Lord. Some of these precious little ones, however, had been slaughtered and devoured (lit., eaten), i.e., immolated in the worship of the god Molech.

The seriousness of the charge (Ezekiel 16:20-21): (20b) Were your harlotries a small matter, (21) that you slaughtered my children, and gave them up, in causing them to pass (through the fire) to them? Not satisfied with the lewd rites of Canaanite worship, Jerusalem went the whole way even to the horrible extreme of slaughtering children. These children belonged to God in a special way. Parents do not have absolute rights over the lives of their children.

The root cause of the transgression (Ezekiel 16:22): In all of your abominations and harlotries, you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, and you were wallowing in your blood. The bride of God had sunk to this extreme because she failed to remember the days of her youth when she was naked and bare. If from time to time she had called to mind her humble origins, she surely would not have been guilty of these abominations.

Insatiable lust (Ezekiel 16:23-29)

Ominous beginning (Ezekiel 16:23): As the prophet contemplates the fate in store for Jerusalem as a result of her wickedness, he bursts forth in a lament—Woe, Woe unto you! He then expands upon the theme of the wickedness of Jerusalem.

Canaanite shrines (Ezekiel 16:23-25): It came to pass after all your evil—woe, woe to you (oracle of the Lord GOD)—(24) that you built for yourself a platform, and you made for yourself a high place in every street. (25) At every head of the way you have built your lofty place, and you have made your beauty an abomination. You have opened your feet to every one that passed by. You have multiplied your harlotries. Jerusalem built a platform in every street, obviously some accommodation for the practice of idolatry. The term high place seems to refer a lofty shrine (NIV), perhaps a roof-top chamber of some kind (Ezekiel 16:24). At every head of the way, i.e., intersection of every thoroughfare, the idols were conspicuous. The bride of God had put her beauty to an abominable use. She had spread her feet, i.e., committed prostitution, with every one who passed by. She had taken up with every pagan cult with which she had come in contact (Ezekiel 16:25).

Egyptian influence (Ezekiel 16:26): You committed harlotry with the Egyptians, your neighbors, great of flesh. You multiplied your harlotry to provoke me. Jerusalem did not even confine her spiritual harlotries to Canaanite worship ways. Through foreign alliances, she became involved with the gods of more distant powers. Spiritual harlotry with the sensuous (great of flesh) Egyptians, whose worship was characterized by obscene idolatries, was perhaps the climax of Jerusalem’s degeneration. The tendency to worship so many foreign gods was motivated not so much by lust for forbidden forms of worship as by a subconscious desire to provoke and defy the Lord.

Prior discipline (Ezekiel 16:27): Behold I have stretched out my hand against you. I have diminished your allowance. I have delivered you into the will of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistine, who are ashamed of your lewd way. Because of these acts of infidelity, God stretched out his hand over Jerusalem for the purpose of inflicting punishment. As a betrayed husband might withdraw or reduce an unfaithful wife’s maintenance (cf. Hosea 2:11), so God reduced the portion He originally had assigned to Jerusalem. The reference here is probably to the territorial incursions by foreign nations against Israel from the days of Solomon to the time of Ezekiel. At the time the prophet spoke these words, tiny Judah occupied only a fraction of the territory that God had given to Jerusalem of old. So weak were the people of God that their ancient archenemies the Philistines were now able to satisfy their desire for revenge. It is generally understood that daughters of the Philistine refers to Philistine cities. Lind (BCBC, 133) takes the reference to be to the Philistine threat to Israel in the days of Samuel and Saul. Sarcastically, Ezekiel adds that even the ruthless Philistines were ashamed of the disgraceful conduct of Jerusalem.

Mesopotamian influence (Ezekiel 16:28-29): You committed harlotry with the Assyrians without having enough. You committed harlotry with them, and yet you were not satisfied. (29) You multiplied your harlotries with the land of Chaldea, yet you were not satisfied. Assyria and Chaldea, the two great commercial centers, were among Jerusalem’s lovers; but still the unfaithful wife could not find spiritual satisfaction. Judah’s association with Assyria began in the reign of King Ahaz during the Syro-Ephraimite war in 734-732 B.C. (2 Kings 16:5-18). Flirtation with Chaldea probably dates to Hezekiah’s reception of the envoys from Babylon. The envoys were attempting to stir up revolt against Assyria (2 Kings 20:12-19).

Utter degradation (Ezekiel 16:30-34)

Manifestation of harlotry (Ezekiel 16:30-31): How weak is your heart (oracle of the Lord GOD) when you do all these things, the work of a wanton harlot. (31) When you built your platforms at the head of every way, and have made your lofty place in every street, and you were not like the harlot who seeks more pay. How morally weak and degenerate was the heart of God’s once lovely wife! She had become a wanton (lit., domineering) harlot, virtually a nymphomaniac whose promiscuous lust has caused her to reverse the usual order in prostitution (Ezekiel 16:30). Unlike the ordinary harlot, the profit motive did not figure in Jerusalem’s spiritual liaison. Jerusalem prostituted herself not for gain, but to satisfy her unbridled lust (Ezekiel 16:31).

Ugliness of harlotry (Ezekiel 16:32): O woman that commits adultery, who takes strangers instead of her husband! The picture is pathetic. A woman unwilling to be a wife to her husband, but anxious for intimate association with strange gods and foreign lands.

Lust for harlotry (Ezekiel 16:33-34): To all harlots gifts are given; but you have given your gifts to all your lovers. You have bribed them to come unto you from round about in your harlotries. (34) You are different from other women, in that you solicited to harlotry, and you were not solicited. In that you paid the wages of prostitution rather than the wages of prostitution being given to you, so you were different. Rather than receiving gifts as is common with women of the street, Jerusalem actually bribed lovers, i.e., she solicited alliances with foreign nations.

Punishment of the Harlot (Ezekiel 16:35-43)

The verdict of the judge is introduced by a double therefore (Ezekiel 16:35; Ezekiel 16:37). The first therefore is followed by because, and then a reiteration of the charge of harlotry. The second therefore introduces the actual sentence.

Reason for judgment (Ezekiel 16:35-36): Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD! (36) Thus says the Lord GOD: Because your filthiness was poured out, and your nakedness revealed through your harlotry with your lovers, and because of all the idols of your abominations, and for the blood of your sons that you gave to them... Because of all her spiritual adultery with foreign nations, her abominable idols and her revolting sacrifice of little children to those idols, God will bring judgment upon the land.

Agents of judgment (Ezekiel 16:37): therefore, behold, I am about to gather your lovers unto whom you have been pleasant, and all whom you have loved, along with all whom you hate; I will gather them against you round about, and I will reveal your nakedness unto them, that they may see all your nakedness. Jerusalem’s lovers—nations with whom she had a treaty and those other nations with whom treaties had been broken. These nations will be used of God to bring national humiliation upon the people of God. The land will be stripped bare by these forces. Jerusalem’s nakedness thus will be exposed to public view.

Appropriateness of judgment (Ezekiel 16:38): I will judge you with the judgments accorded adulteresses, and those who shed blood. I will bring upon you the blood of fury and jealousy. The allegory continues. The punishment of Jerusalem is described in terms of the punishment of an adulteress. An adulteress was executed publicly. Accusers will start the bloody work, and others will then join in (cf. Deuteronomy 13:10). So Jerusalem’s lovers (nations with whom she had political ties) will summon other nations to join in the attack upon her.

Adulteresses and child murderers were judged most harshly under the law of Moses. That same severe judgment was now about to be brought against Jerusalem. Only the blood of the guilty could assuage the divine fury and jealousy (Ezekiel 16:38).

Result of judgment (Ezekiel 16:39-42)

Land devastated (Ezekiel 16:39 a): I will give you into their hand. They will throw down your eminent places, and break down your lofty places. To accomplish that judgment, God will use foreign nations, those who once were Jerusalem’s lovers. This ruthless force will destroy the eminent places used in idolatrous rites.

Wealth plundered (Ezekiel 16:39 b): They will strip you of your garments, and take your fair jewels. They will leave you naked and bare. Enemy soldiers will strip the adulterous wife of clothing and jewels. They will leave her naked, i.e., Jerusalem will see her buildings destroyed and her wealth carried away.

Public execution (Ezekiel 16:40-41 a): They will bring up an assembly against you. They will pelt you with stones, and will thrust you through with swords. (41) They will burn your daughters with fire. They will execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. Stoning was the penalty for adultery (Leviticus 20:10). Jerusalem will be bombarded by the missiles of the enemies as well as thrust through by their swords. Houses and public buildings will be burned. Many women, i.e., neighboring nations, will witness the execution. Hopefully they will learn a lesson from it. It seems to have been the practice to make other women witness the execution of an adulteress as a warning.

Cessation of harlotry (Ezekiel 16:41 b): I will cause you to cease from being a harlot. Also the wages of prostitution you will not give anymore. With the destruction of Jerusalem, God will bring the harlotry of the nation to an abrupt end. No longer will Jerusalem be in a position to bribe neighbors for their friendship.

Divine anger assuaged (Ezekiel 16:42): So I will cause my wrath against you to rest. My jealousy will turn from you. I will be quiet, and will no more be vexed. Divine justice must punish such unfaithfulness as Jerusalem manifested. Only after the wrath and jealousy (zeal) of God had been satisfied could there be hope of reconciliation.

The reason for judgment (Ezekiel 16:43): Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, and you have made me angry with all of these things; therefore also, behold, I will bring your way on your head (oracle of the Lord GOD); or have you not done this lewdness above all your abominations? The calamities outlined in the previous verses will befall Jerusalem because she had forgotten her past; she was ungrateful for what God had done for her.

JERUSALEM: THE FALLEN SISTER

Ezekiel 16:44-63

Introduction of the Sisters (Ezekiel 16:44-47)

An observation (Ezekiel 16:44): Behold every one who employs proverbs will use this proverb against you, saying, As the mother, so the daughter. When the judgment fell, no one will be able to say that it was unjust. In years to come, those who specialized in proverbs will say concerning sinful Jerusalem, as the mother, so the daughter.

An accusation (Ezekiel 16:45 a): You are the daughter of your mother who loathes her husband and her sons. You are the sister of your sisters who loathe their husbands and their children. Jerusalem was unfaithful in marriage and as a mother. The children are literal children, as in Ezekiel 16:20-22. Likewise, the husbands here are not gods or Yahweh (as in ch 23), but the human fathers of the children in these cities. Jerusalem and her sisters personify the married female population of Jerusalem, Samaria, and Sodom; the married men collectively are the husbands of these mothers. The point is that in sacrificing their children, the mothers have condemned the fathers of the children as well.

Explanation (16:45-46): (45b) Your mother was a Hittite, and your father was an Amorite. (46) Your older sister is Samaria—she and her daughters—who dwell on your left hand. Your younger sister on your right side is Sodom and her daughters. Jerusalem learned her ways from her mother and father, the Hittite and the Amorite. She had followed in the path of her older sister Samaria, and her younger sister Sodom. Samaria is Judah’s elder sister because she was larger in size and more numerous in population. She is on the left, i.e., north of Judah. The younger sister on the right side (south) of Judah is Sodom. The daughters of Samaria and Sodom are subordinate towns. Note: The sister image may have been influenced by Jeremiah 3:6-14.

Further accusation (Ezekiel 16:47): Yet you did not walk in their ways. You have not done after their abominations. But in a very little while, you acted more corruptly than they in all your ways. For only a very little while after the fall of Samaria—during the reign of Hezekiah—Judah did not walk in the abominations of Samaria and Sodom. But after that short pause in her ugly history, Judah acted more corruptly than either of her sinful sisters.

Comparison of the Sisters (Ezekiel 16:48-52)

In Ezekiel 16:48-52 the comparison between the sins of the three sisters—Sodom, Samaria and Jerusalem—continues.

The case of Sodom (Ezekiel 16:48-50)

Comparatively less guilty (Ezekiel 16:48): As I live (oracle of the Lord GOD) Sodom your sister— she and her daughters—has not done as you have done, you and your daughters. Even sinful Sodom had not surpassed the sin of Jerusalem.

A prideful sister (Ezekiel 16:49): Behold, this was the iniquity of Sodom your sister: pride, fullness of bread and careless ease were in her, and in her daughters. She did not strengthen the hand of the poor and the needy. The root of Sodom’s sin was pride that grew out of her security and prosperity. Genesis (Genesis 18:20-21; Genesis 19:13) uses the word outcry to characterize the sin committed by Sodom. This word usually refers to the outcry of the oppressed. The outcry erupted because the Sodomites did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy, i.e., they offered neither material assistance, nor did they give any encouragement.

A banished sister (Ezekiel 16:50): They became haughty, and committed abomination before me. Therefore, I removed them when I saw it. The Sodomites became so haughty that they committed abomination in the sight of God. He, therefore, removed (i.e., abolished) them after their sins came under his judicial inspection. The words I saw it hark back to Genesis 18:20. They allude to what Yahweh saw in Sodom in Genesis 19:1-9. The homosexual attack by the Sodomites was the ultimate manifestation of the haughty oppression that characterized the men of that place.

The case of Samaria (Ezekiel 16:51 a): As for Samaria, she did not sin half as much as you. Samaria had not committed even half the sins committed by Jerusalem. In fact, in comparison to Jerusalem’s guilt, Sodom and Samaria appeared almost righteous (cf. Amos 3:9-10).

The case of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 16:51-52)

Greater abomination (Ezekiel 16:51 b): Actually, you increased your abominations more than they while you vindicated your sisters in all the abominations that you did. Sins committed in Jerusalem were worse than those committed in Samaria and Sodom. The greater guilt results from greater revelation.

Greater shame (Ezekiel 16:52 a): You also, bear your own shame in which you have judged your sister. Ezekiel commands Jerusalem to bear your own shame, i.e., she must accept as just the punishment that she is already experiencing.

Greater guilt (Ezekiel 16:52 c): Through your sins in which you have been more abominable than they, they have been more righteous than you; yes, you! How ashamed Jerusalem ought to be of her gross sin that will cause men to render a favorable judgment with regard to Samaria and Sodom. Jerusalem has been more abominable than her sisters.

Appeal (Ezekiel 16:52 d): Be ashamed Bear your guilt in your vindication of your sisters. In suffering for her sin, Jerusalem would bring vindication to her sisters. God had merciful long-range intentions for Jerusalem. His justice requires that he must show the same kindness to the lesser offenders.

Future of the Sisters (Ezekiel 16:53-63)

Future of Sodom and Samaria (Ezekiel 16:53-55)

Turn the captivity (Ezekiel 16:53): And I will turn their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and the captivity of your captives in the midst of them. Sodom and Samaria have a future. This is the first of two restorations of Gentile peoples in Ezekiel. Cf. 29:13-16. God will turn their captivity (i.e., restore their fortunes) and that of Jerusalem as well in the midst of them, i.e., between Samaria to the north and Sodom to the south. Sodom and Samaria represent the peoples who once lived in those cities. Samaria represents the old northern kingdom of Israel, the survivors of which were known as Samaritans in New Testament times. Sodom represents the Gentile population that had not been fully assimilated into the political structure of Israel. Many of these "Canaanites" worshiped Yahweh along with other gods. Ezekiel envisioned the day when such aliens, cleansed and converted (cf. Jeremiah 12:16), would have equal standing as part of the people of God (cf. Ezekiel 47:22-23).

Shame over sin (Ezekiel 16:54): [This I will do] in order that you may bear your own shame, and may be ashamed because of all that you have done in comforting them. The purpose in changing the fortunes of Samaria and Sodom is so that Jerusalem may experience shame for past sin. The Jews (represented by Jerusalem) will come to see the depth of sin that brought on the destruction of the temple and the exile to Babylon. The thought of the verse is similar to the thought in Romans 11:11-12.

Former state (Ezekiel 16:55): And your sisters—Sodom and her daughters—will return to their former state. Samaria and her daughters will return to their former state. You and your daughters will return to your former slate. If God restores Jerusalem, he must also restore the two sisters, for they had sinned less. The three sister cities are depicted returning to their former state, i.e., their former situation in their heyday. Ezekiel is speaking of spiritual transformation under images of physical reconstruction.

Special Study

THE RESTORATION OF SODOM

Ezekiel’s allusion to turning the captivity of Samaria and Sodom (Ezekiel 16:53; Ezekiel 16:55) has occasioned commentators great difficulty. The prophet seems to be saying that Sodom, which was destroyed in the days of Abraham, and Samaria, which had been carried away into captivity in 722 B.C., will be restored as well as Jerusalem. Whereas there is no parallel in Scripture to the restoration of Sodom, the Bible does point to the restoration of other evil nations surrounding Israel (cf. Jeremiah 12:14-17). But how could Sodom, that was obliterated without survivor, be restored? Six different answers to this question have been given:

(1) Currey and Ellicott deny that the passage contains any promise of restoration for Sodom. These commentators understand 16:53 to be underscoring the hopelessness of Jerusalem’s punishment. Only when Sodom was restored— something manifestly impossible—will Jerusalem be restored. Yet it does appear in this passage that some kind of restoration is promised, or at least implied, for Sodom. Besides, if the prophet is saying that Jerusalem will never be restored, he will be contradicting, not only other prophets, but his own predictions as well.

(2) Feinberg sees here a prediction of a literal rebuilding of Sodom and the cities of the plain. During the Millennium, these cities will be restored. But how can Sodom and her daughters be restored when all the inhabitants of that area have been swept off the face of the earth? Feinberg limply replies: ". . . the restoration of Sodom will pose no difficulty for the omnipotence of God."

(3) The renowned German commentator Keil insists that the passage must refer to literal Sodom. Keil, however, does not see here an earthly restoration. He contends that ". . . the realization of the prophecy must be sought for beyond the present order of things, in one that extends into life everlasting." Keil is thus ambiguous about the fulfillment. Surely this passage does not refer to those Sodomite sinners who endure eternal fire (Judges 1:7). Keil’s proposed fulfillment of the passage borders on universalism.

(4) Payne suggests that the post-exilic occupation of the Dead Sea area by the Jews constitutes a reasonable fulfillment to the prediction.³⁹⁴ However, it is difficult to see how this could constitute a reversal of the fortunes of Sodom.

(5) Still others regard Sodom as symbolic of the descendants of Sodom. Ammon and Moab were born to Lot’s daughters, who had escaped from the destruction of Sodom (Genesis 19:29-30). The restoration of Sodom will in reality be the restoration of Moab and Ammon. Jeremiah 20:16 refers to the cities of the plain as “the cities that the Lord overthrew and repented not.” This statement seems to preclude a literal, physical restoration of Sodom. However, Jeremiah does predict the restoration of Ammon and Moab (Jeremiah 48:47; Jeremiah 49:6). A.R. Fausset develops this view as follows:

Probably Ammon and Moab, were in part restored under Cyrus; but the full realization of the restoration is yet future; the heathen nations to be brought to Christ being typified by “Sodom,” whose sins they now reproduce.

(6) Perhaps Sodom represents the heathen in general—all that survived of the Canaanites and their culture. The thrust of the passage is not the restoration of cities, but of rightful inhabitants. Ellison³⁹⁶ points out that Samaria never actually ceased to be a city. Sargon, the conqueror of Samaria, immediately rebuilt and repopulated the place. Thus, the prophecy must be talking about changing the fortunes of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Samaria, and Sodom. God must punish wicked men; but his mercy is such that he must provide for the deliverance of even the greatest sinners.

Ezekiel is filled with the thought of the spiritual conversion of wicked people like Sodom. He expresses this thought concretely in terms of a reversal of the fortunes for Sodom (i.e., gross sinners). Sodom and Samaria will be given to Jerusalem as daughters (Ezekiel 16:61). Citizens of the former northern kingdom and heathen in general will become part of that new covenant Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22).

Immediate future of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 16:56-58): For Sodom your sister was not mentioned by your mouth in the day of your pride; (57) before your wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Aram and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistine who despise you round about. (58) You have borne your lewdness and your abominations (oracle of the LORD). In hypocritical self-righteousness, Judah in former days would not so much as mention the name of Sodom. In the day of your pride recalls the heyday of Jerusalem. That pride led to Jerusalem’s overthrow (Ezekiel 16:56). Judah’s own wickedness was uncovered, i.e., made public, through divine judgment. Humbled Judah became the object of disdain by the singers in Aram and Philistia. The particular occasion here mentioned is probably the humiliating and devastating Syro-Ephraimite invasion of Judah in the days of Ahaz (Ezekiel 16:57). Judah already had suffered, and will yet suffer, for her infidelity. Lewdness and abominations hark back to the catalogue of crimes mentioned in Ezekiel 16:2-43 (See Ezekiel 16:58).

Long-range future of God’s people (Ezekiel 16:59-63)

First comes punishment (Ezekiel 16:59): For thus says the Lord GOD: I will deal with you as you have done, you who has despised the oath to break the covenant. Words of comfort follow the condemnation and threat of the preceding verses. God could not ignore the adulterous behavior of his wife Jerusalem. She had broken the marriage covenant; she must suffer the consequences.

A new covenant (Ezekiel 16:60): Nevertheless, I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth. I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. God, however, will remember that covenant that he had made with Jerusalem in the youth of the city, i.e., in the days of David. God remembers this covenant, not because he is bound by law to do so, but because he yearns for that relationship. After judgment, God will enter into a new covenant—an everlasting covenant—with his people. This covenant can be everlasting because of the new heart and the new spirit that are associated with this covenant (Ezekiel 11:19-20; Ezekiel 36:25-28).

An expanding community (Ezekiel 16:61): You will remember your ways. You will be ashamed when you receive your sisters, the older and the younger. I will give them to you for daughters, but not because of your covenant. How ashamed Judah will be of her sordid past in that new day. God’s grace in overlooking past sin, making a new covenant with His people, and even bestowing upon them Sodom and Samaria, will arouse in them a deep sense of remorse. This reinstatement of Jerusalem has nothing to do with the old Sinai covenant. That covenant had been broken. The new covenant will be with converted sinners, whether Jew, Samaritan or Gentile (Sodom). Samaria and Sodom become daughters of the new Jerusalem, i.e., all three are part of a unified land or kingdom (cf. Ezekiel 37:15-22). Jerusalem did not remember the days of her youth (Ezekiel 16:22), but God will remember his covenant with Israel.

Spiritual insight (Ezekiel 16:62): I will establish my covenant with you. You will know that I am the LORD. The establishment of a new covenant is a sovereign act of God. This is emphasized by the pronoun I (emphatic in the Hebrew). Through the gracious provisions for the Jerusalem of the new covenant (Hebrews 12:22), men would learn about the nature of the God of the Bible.

Gracious forgiveness (Ezekiel 16:63): [This I will do] in order that you might remember, and be ashamed, and never again open your mouth because of your shame when I have forgiven you of all which you have done (oracle of the Lord GOD). The unfathomable grace of God in forgiving past sin will forever silence any self-justification.

EZEKIEL 17

LOWLY VINE AND STATELY CEDAR

In ch 17, Ezekiel contrasts the current ruler in Jerusalem, with the future son of David who will lead god’s people. The former is compared to a lowly vine (Ezekiel 17:1-21), and the latter to a stately cedar (Ezekiel 17:22-24).

THE KING: A LOWLY VINE

Ezekiel 17:1-21

King Zedekiah had committed an act of treachery against Nebuchadnezzar by breaking his solemn oath of allegiance to Babylon. He had sought military aid from Egypt. In this oracle, delivered shortly before 586 B.C., Ezekiel predicts the extinction of Zedekiah’s dynasty and the fall of Jerusalem. He first presents his parable (Ezekiel 17:1-10) and then makes an application of what he has said (Ezekiel 17:11-21).

Presentation of the Eagle Parable (Ezekiel 17:1-10)

Introduction (Ezekiel 17:1-2): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, put forth a riddle and speak a parable unto the house of Israel... Ezekiel is commissioned to put forth a riddle and speak a parable (Ezekiel 17:2). A riddle is a dark utterance, something put indirectly and in need of interpretation. A parable or allegory is the presentation of spiritual truths through physical forms. Here the two words are essentially synonymous. Riddles were used in international politics in the Near East. A king might lose his independence (or even his life) if he could not solve the riddle posed to him by another king. Here the heavenly king puts forth the riddle. King Zedekiah must solve it. If he does not, he will lose his independence to the agents of Yahweh.

First great eagle (Ezekiel 17:3-6)

Description (Ezekiel 17:3 a): and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers of various colors... The great eagle is the mighty King Nebuchadnezzar who is king of kings, even as the eagle is the king of birds. Like the eagle, Nebuchadnezzar swooped down upon his prey to plunder and destroy. His great wings enabled him to fly long distances, and extend his influence over vast territories. The various colors (Ezekiel 17:3) of this great bird may represent the many different nations that were subject to Nebuchadnezzar. These nations contributed to his military might.

Removal of a cedar twig (Ezekiel 17:3-4): (3b) came unto Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar. (4) He broke off the topmost of its twigs, and carried it unto a land of commerce. He set it in a city of merchants. Lebanon represents the land of Israel, and especially the kingdom of Judah. The cedar represents Jerusalem. The top of the cedar stands for the nobility of the city, especially the princes of the house of David. Nebuchadnezzar broke off the topmost of the twigs of the cedar. This twig clearly represents the youthful King Jehoiachin who was carried off by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 B.C. Jehoiachin was taken to a land of commerce, i.e., Chaldea, and a city of merchants, i.e., Babylon.

Implantation of a seed (Ezekiel 17:5): Moreover, he took from the seed of the land and set it in a fruitful field. He set it as a stalk alongside many waters, as a willow. Nebuchadnezzar set up the seed of the land, i.e., a member of the royal family. In place of Jehoiachin, Nebuchadnezzar appointed Zedekiah as king of Judah. The fruitful field in which the seed was planted must be Judah. Beside many waters (Ezekiel 17:5) is probably a reference to Babylon (cf. Jeremiah 51:13). Although Nebuchadnezzar put Zedekiah on the throne, he was dependent on Babylon, like a stalk is dependent on the moisture of a near-by stream.

The spreading vine (Ezekiel 17:6): It sprouted and became a spreading vine of low stature whose tendrils turned toward him, and whose roots were under him. So it became a vine. It brought forth branches, and put forth sprigs. The spreading vine of low stature must depict the Judean vassal state administered by Zedekiah. The tendrils of this vine turned toward (and the roots were under) the eagle (Nebuchadnezzar). Zedekiah was given only limited authority. As long as the vine maintained this posture it prospered, at least in a measure.

Second great eagle (Ezekiel 17:7-8)

Description (Ezekiel 17:7 a): There was another great eagle, with great wings and many feathers. The second great eagle is Pharaoh Hophra.

Inclination of the vine (Ezekiel 17:7 b): Behold, this vine bent its roots unto him, and put forth its tendrils toward him to water it from the beds of its plantation. To Pharaoh Hophra the vine (Zedekiah) turned for military aid in an attempt to free itself from the influence of the first eagle (Nebuchadnezzar). This spreading toward the direction of the second eagle (Egypt) was unnatural and unnecessary.

Disappointment of the vine (Ezekiel 17:8): In a good field, by many waters it was planted that it might produce branches and bear fruit, that it might be a glorious vine. The vine should have prospered and even could have produced fruit—children of Zedekiah—to carry on the royal succession.

The fate of the vine (Ezekiel 17:9-10): Say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Will it prosper? Will he not pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit that it wither, that it wither in all its sprouting leaves? Neither will great power nor many people be at hand when it is plucked up by its roots. (10) Behold, being planted, will it prosper? When the east wind touches it, will it not utterly wither? In the beds where it sprouted, it will wither. The allegory concludes with four rhetorical questions. The repetition underscores the futility of Zedekiah’s duplicity. How could the vine (Zedekiah) prosper when it had tried to spread beyond its prescribed domain? The first great eagle will uproot the vine, cut off its fruit so that it will completely wither and die. Zedekiah’s reign will be terminated. All the heirs to the throne will be killed. The nobles of Judah will perish. No great power or army of soldiers will be at hand to thwart the great eagle in his vengeful attack (Ezekiel 17:9). That Judean vine will utterly wither right in the spot where it was planted when the scorching east wind (Babylonian empire) began to blow against it (Ezekiel 17:10).

Explanation of the Eagle Parable (Ezekiel 17:11-15)

Deportation of 597 B.C. (Ezekiel 17:11-12): Moreover, the word of the LORD came unto me saying, (12) Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know what these things mean? Say: The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king and its princes. He brought them to him in Babylon. So that the meaning of his parable will be absolutely clear, Ezekiel was commanded to offer an interpretation of it to that rebellious house (the kingdom of Judah). He begins with a rhetorical question that is designed to rebuke the spiritual obtuseness of his hearers: Do you not know what these things mean? Nebuchadnezzar had carried away the princes of Judah (top of the cedar) and King Jehoiachin (the topmost of the twigs) to Babylon.

Covenant with Zedekiah (Ezekiel 17:13-14): He took of the royal seed and made a covenant with him. He brought him under an oath; but the mighty of the land he took away. (14) He made it a lowly kingdom, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand. After deposing the youthful Jehoiachin, Nebuchadnezzar took the seed royal, i.e., Zedekiah the son of Josiah and uncle of Jehoiachin, and placed him upon the throne in Jerusalem. Zedekiah was placed under a solemn oath taken in the name of God to be loyal to Nebuchadnezzar. The mighty of the land, i.e., influential leaders, were carried to Babylon (Ezekiel 17:13) as hostages so as to guarantee Zedekiah’s compliance to the terms of his oath. Nebuchadnezzar’s purpose was to keep Judah weak and subservient (Ezekiel 17:14).

Rebellion of Zedekiah (Ezekiel 17:15): But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors to Egypt that he might give to him horses and much people. Will he prosper? Will the one who does these things escape? Will he break the covenant and escape? Disregarding his sacred oath, Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar by making overtures to Egypt (the second eagle). He sought military aid from Pharaoh. Three rhetorical questions underscore the futility of such a course.

Announcement of Judgment (Ezekiel 17:16-21)

First divine oath (Ezekiel 17:16-18)

Condemnation (Ezekiel 17:16-17): As I live (oracle of the Lord GOD), surely in the place where the king caused him to reign, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, with him in the midst of Babylon he will die. (17) Neither will Pharaoh with mighty army and great company assist him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build siege forts, to cut off many lives. Under oath (as I live), Yahweh answers his own three questions (cf. Ezekiel 17:15) with three statements. One could not break a sacred oath taken in the name of God and then expect any divine aid.

The king against whom Zedekiah had committed treachery will haul him off to die in the midst of Babylon (Ezekiel 17:16). Aid from Pharaoh will not be forthcoming when the Babylonians built their siege mounds and forts at Jerusalem (Ezekiel 17:17). Egypt’s reputation as an unreliable ally is based on Isaiah 36:6; cf. Jeremiah 37:5-10).

Explanation (Ezekiel 17:18): Because he despised an oath by breaking a covenant (and, behold, he gave his hand), and has done all these things, he will not escape. Zedekiah will not escape. He had been required to take an oath by a heathen king. Therefore Zedekiah despised that oath and regarded it as non-binding. Nevertheless, he had given his hand as a pledge of faithful compliance with the terms of that oath (Ezekiel 17:18).

Second divine oath (Ezekiel 17:19-21)

Zedekiah condemned (Ezekiel 17:19): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, surely my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke, I will even bring it upon his head. Zedekiah had taken his oath to Babylon in the name of God. It was, therefore, God’s oath that he broke. So God takes an oath (as I live is an oath formula) for the second time that he will bring down on the head of Zedekiah the punishment for this treachery.

Zedekiah captured (Ezekiel 17:20): I will spread my net over him. He will be taken in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon. I will plead with him there because of his treachery that he committed against me. The rebellious king will be caught in the net of divine retribution. He will be carried off to Babylon. There God will plead with him, i.e., make him conscious of the serious crime he had committed against God.

Zedekiah’s army destroyed (Ezekiel 17:21): All his mighty men in all his bands will fall by the sword. The rest will be scattered toward every wind; and you will know that I the LORD have spoken it. The royal bodyguard that might try to protect Zedekiah from this fate will be slain or scattered by the Babylonians. When all these specific predictions came to pass all the Jews will realize that it was truly God who had spoken through the mouth of the prophet to oppose the rebellion against Babylon.

MESSIAH: THE STATELY CEDAR

Ezekiel 17:22-24

Implantation (Ezekiel 17:22): Thus says the Lord GOD: Moreover I, even I, will take of the top of the lofty cedar, and set it. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs, a tender one. I will plant it upon a high and eminent mountain. The message of doom in the preceding parable and application is tempered by a word of hope in Ezekiel 17:22-24. God in his sovereign grace is about to act. Nebuchadnezzar had cut a twig from the cedar. He had removed it to far off Babylon (cf. Ezekiel 17:3 f.). God, however, will now cut a twig from that same royal cedar tree and plant it upon a high mountain (Ezekiel 17:22). The basic idea is that the Davidic dynasty will be reinstated and will achieve a prominence that it had not heretofore enjoyed. The messianic king of the house of David is in view here. Jesus of Nazareth now occupies the throne of God and rules over the New Israel of God.

Exaltation (Ezekiel 17:23): In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it. It will bring forth boughs and produce fruit. It will be a glorious cedar. Under it will dwell every bird of every wing. In the shadow of its branches will they dwell. The messianic twig will be prominent, planted in the high mountain of Israel (cf. Isaiah 2:2). The cedar—messianic Jerusalem, the church of Christ—will be stately, i.e., dignified. It will bear fruit. Messiah heads a royal family of kings and priests (1 Peter 2:9). Many birds (different nations) will place themselves under the protection of this messianic monarch.

The prophet’s purpose in these eight chapters has been to reinforce the announcement of Jerusalem’s judgment by refuting the notion that Jerusalem could never be destroyed. Ezekiel addresses with seven false attitudes that are in some cases explicitly stated, and in other cases implied in the text. The chart below will serve as a review of the argument found in chs 12-17.

EZEKIEL 18

BASIC DOCTRINES

In chs 18-19 Ezekiel brings to a close the long section of his book that began in ch 12. Two important doctrines are discussed in this chapter. In Ezekiel 18:1-20 Ezekiel develops at length the doctrine of individual responsibility, and in Ezekiel 18:21-29 he implicitly affirms the doctrine of freedom of the will or self-determination.

PRINCIPLE OF PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Ezekiel 18:1-20

In Ezekiel 18:1-20 Ezekiel develops his teaching that every individual is responsible for his own conduct before God. A person’s fate is not determined by the goodness or wickedness of others, even his nearest of kin. The righteous are blessed by God. The wicked live under His curse.

The General Principle (Ezekiel 18:1-4)

An inapplicable proverb (Ezekiel 18:1-3): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) What do you [pl] mean by making this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, but the teeth of the children have been set on edge? (3) As I live (oracle of the Lord GOD) you will not make use of this parable any more in Israel. The sinners in Israel countered Ezekiel’s parable by making (lit., proverbing) a proverb of their own. Sinful men always tend to underestimate their own wickedness. They blame their tribulations on others. So it was with the men of Israel. They attributed their suffering to the sins of their fathers.

The proverb that was once current in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 31:28) was now being heard in Babylon: The fathers have eaten sour grapes (i.e., have sinned), but the teeth of the children are set on edge (i.e., they were being punished). Note: According to the Talmud, eating sour or unripe grapes was a widespread practice even though the results were less than appealing.

Where did such an idea arise? Possibly from a misunderstanding of passages in the law of Moses such as Exodus 20:5 where God is said to visit the sins of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation. Or possibly the proverb arose out of the prophetic teaching that because of the sins of Manasseh, the nation will be destroyed (2 Kings 21:10-12). The former passage actually teaches that sin, even though forgiven, often has unavoidable repercussions in the lives of one’s children. The latter passage indicates that the origin of Judah’s sin was Manasseh. The following generation will be destroyed because it still practiced the grotesque idolatry introduced during Manasseh’s reign.

The perverse proverb that in effect challenged the justice of God will no longer be employed in the future, Experiences will prove it to be untrue (Ezekiel 18:3).

A valid principle (Ezekiel 18:4): Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine. The soul that sins, it will die. God is the creator of all individuals. Though physically related, the father and son are separate entities in His sight. Each must give account of himself to his Creator. The individual who sins, he will die. More than premature death is intended here. The sinner is dead in sin during his physical life. Eventually he experiences the second death.

A Righteous Man (Ezekiel 18:5-9)

The man who practices justice and righteousness lives under the blessing of God. This person is described in some detail in Ezekiel 18:5-9. The characteristics of a righteous person fall into four legal areas.

Cultic purity (Ezekiel 18:5-6 a): But if a man is righteous, and practices justice and righteousness, (6) then he has not eaten upon the mountains, or lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel. The righteous man has not participated in the pagan rituals at the “high places.” These rites normally involved eating of sacrificial meals (cf. Deuteronomy 12:2-4). He has not lifted up his eyes to idols, i.e., offered prayer to them in expectation of aid. Baal is particularly in mind.

Sexual ethics (Ezekiel 18:6 b): He has not defiled the wife of his neighbor, or come near unto a menstruous woman. The righteous man has not committed adultery in violation of the seventh commandment. He has not approached, i.e., sexually, a menstruous woman. He has observed the sexual taboos of the law of Moses (cf. Leviticus 18:19; Leviticus 20:18; Deuteronomy 22:22). Note: Lind (BCBC, 150) points out the position of this demand to respect a woman’s fertility cycle is placed between the law against adultery, that protects family structure, and the law against oppression, that protects equality. God’s law protected certain sexual rights of women within the family.

Social ethics (Ezekiel 18:7): He has not wronged any man, but has restored his pledge for a debt. He has seized nothing by robbery, and has given his bread to the hungry. He has covered the naked with a garment. The righteous man has not engaged in any fraudulent dealings with his fellowman. He has complied with the law of Exodus 22:25 f. This law compelled creditors to return to borrowers any item of collateral that might be necessary to their well-being (cf. Deuteronomy 24:6; Amos 2:8). He has never resorted to violent robbery in order to enhance his wealth (cf. Exodus 20:15; Leviticus 19:13). He has fed the hungry and clothed the naked (cf. Deuteronomy 15:7-11; Deuteronomy 24:19-22; Isaiah 58:7).

Business ethics (Ezekiel 18:8): He has not given on interest, or taken increase. He has withdrawn his hand from iniquity, and executed true justice between man and man. The righteous man has not lent money on the express condition of receiving interest, nor has he accepted interest offered to him voluntarily by the debtor. The laws on money lending are found in Exodus 22:24; Leviticus 25:35 ff.; Deuteronomy 23:20. He has withdrawn his hand from iniquity. The sin probably intended here is giving false weight or measure (cf. Leviticus 19:35). As an arbiter of disputes, he has been scrupulously fair. Note: Interest could be charged foreigners in commercial relations, but Israelites were not to take advantage of a poor brother by charging interest on charitable loans.

Summary (Ezekiel 18:9): He has walked in my statutes, and kept my judgments to deal truly. He is righteous. He will surely live (oracle of the Lord GOD). In summary, the righteous person has walked in the my statutes, rather than in his own way, or in the ordinances of the nations. To the best of his ability, he has observed the divine laws. He deals truly, i.e., his observance of God’s law is motivated by love for the truth, not by any personal motive.

A Wicked Son (Ezekiel 18:10-13)

Depiction of the wicked son (Ezekiel 18:10-13 a): If he begets a son who is a man of violence, who sheds blood, and who does to a brother any of these things (11)(whereas he himself had not done any of these things, for he has even eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbor’s wife. (12) He has wronged the poor and needy, and seized things by robbery. He has failed to return objects taken in pledge, lifted up his eyes to idols, and committed abomination. (13) He has made loans on interest, and has taken increase. The prophet describes a son who is the exact opposite of the just man described above. He is a man of violence who even commits murder. He is not beneath practicing any of the sins that his father so carefully avoided.

Death of the wicked son (Ezekiel 18:13 b): Will he live? He will not live! He has done all these abominations. He will surely die. His blood will be on him. Should such a wicked man escape divine retribution? Certainly not! The law required the death penalty for such crimes as murder, idolatry, and adultery. Cf. Numbers 35:16; Deuteronomy 17:5; Leviticus 20:10. The righteousness of his father could not save him. His blood will be on him, i.e., he alone bears responsibility for his life of sin. The executioner (Nebuchadnezzar?) will not be held guilty (Ezekiel 18:13 b).

The Penitent Son (Ezekiel 18:14-19)

The choice of the son (Ezekiel 18:14): Then, behold, he begets a son who sees all the sins his father has done. He considers, and does not do any such thing. The third specific case cited by Ezekiel is that of a son who reflects upon the consequences of his father’s sin. He resolves to abandon that sort of behavior (Ezekiel 18:14). Ezekiel’s anonymous illustrations may have been triggered by the circumstances of good King Hezekiah, his wicked son, Manasseh, and his righteous great-grandson, Josiah.

What the son chooses not to do (Ezekiel 18:15-16 a): He does not eat upon the mountains, or lift up his eyes unto the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor’s wife, (16) or wrong a man. He does not he take a pledge, or seize by robbery. The son does not participate in any of the activities that brought his father under civil and divine judgment.

What the son chooses to do (Ezekiel 18:16-17 a): (16b) He gives his bread to the hungry, and covers the naked with a garment. (17a) He has withdrawn his hand from the poor, and has not taken interest or increase. He has executed my judgments, and walked in my statutes. The son shows positive good will toward the less fortunate.

Contrasting fates (18:17-18): (17b) He will not die in the iniquity of his father. He will surely live. (18) As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, committed robbery against a brother, and did that which is not good in the midst of his people, behold, he will die in his iniquity. The son is not executed because of his father’s sin. The father dies for his blatant iniquity, but the son is spared.

An explanation (Ezekiel 18:19): But you say, Why does not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son has done what is just and righteous, has kept all my statutes, and has done them, he will surely live. This teaching absolutely refutes the notion current in Ezekiel’s day that innocent children were punished for the sins of their fathers.

Conclusion (Ezekiel 18:20): The soul that sins it will die. The son will not bear the iniquity of the father, nor will the father bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous will be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon him. The lengthy treatise on personal responsibility reaches its climax in the crystal clear assertion of Ezekiel 18:20. Wicked men bear the responsibility for themselves. They suffer the consequences of their wickedness. Neither iniquity nor righteousness is inherited. The individual’s righteousness or wickedness will be upon himself, i.e., he will bear the responsibility of his own conduct.

POTENTIAL OF PERSONAL REPENTANCE

Ezekiel 18:21-32

Ezekiel carries his subject one step further. Men are not locked in, either genetically or environmentally, to a life of sin. By the grace of God, and the assertion of their own free will, men can change their character, conduct and destiny. In these verses the basic thesis is that men are not punished for sins after they repent of them.

A Penitent Sinner (Ezekiel 18:21-23)

The promise (Ezekiel 18:21): But if the wicked one turns from all his sins that he has done, and keeps all my statutes, and deals justly and righteously, he will surely live. He will not die. In genuine repentance there are two clearly defined steps, viz., turning from sin, and keeping the law of God. The Jewish rabbis speak of the essential elements of repentance being remorse and amendment. If a wicked man genuinely repents he will escape the divine death sentence.

The explanation (Ezekiel 18:22): All of his transgressions that he has done will not be remembered against him. In his righteousness that he has done he will live. Why does the penitent sinner escape judgment? The answer is simple: None of his former transgressions will be remembered against him. Sins not remembered are forgiven. Because of his present righteousness, he will live, i.e., in communion with God and as a member of the Lord’s people.

The implication (Ezekiel 18:23): Do I have delight in the death of the wicked? (oracle of the Lord GOD); Is it not when he turns from his way and lives? God takes no delight in the fact that sinners must die for their sins. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). The repentance of the wicked causes no change in the will of God, since his will is that all men should have life eternal.

A Backslider (Ezekiel 18:24)

Backsliding is possible (Ezekiel 18:24 a): But when a righteous man turns from his righteousness, and does iniquity according to all the abominations that the wicked have done, will he live? A righteous man is one who is in the right relationship with God. Such a person can backslide to the point of being lost. He can choose to follow in the path of iniquity, and become involved in all the abominations of the wicked. He will die in his transgressions. One must be faithful until death in order to receive the crown of life.

Backsliding is punished (Ezekiel 18:24 b): All his righteousness that he has done will not be remembered for his trespass that he committed, and for his sin that he has sinned; in them he will die. The former righteous acts of the backslider are not credited to his account. Such a backslider has committed a trespass and a sin. He has rebelled against God in casting aside his former way of life. He willfully has adopted a sinful life. For this twofold transgression he must die the death of a sinner.

An Objection Answered (Ezekiel 18:25-29)

The brief answer (Ezekiel 18:25): And you say, The way of the Lord is not even! Hear now, O house of Israel: Is it my way that is not even? Is it not your ways that are not even? The justice of God is frequently called into question by perverse and ignorant men. The Jews in Jerusalem and Babylon were saying (or at least thinking) that God’s manner of ruling the universe was inconsistent. God is unchanging in his nature. He is absolutely righteous. He must therefore punish sin. At the same time, he is merciful and gracious. He is, therefore, inclined to recognize the feeble efforts of his children to walk in his way.

God does not change; but men constantly change in relationship to God. The rays of the sun are constant; but in the course of the earth’s rotation darkness falls upon a portion of the planet.

First illustration (Ezekiel 18:26): When a righteous man turns from his righteousness, and does iniquity, he will die because of them; for his iniquity that he has done he will die. The righteous man who turns away from the warmth of God’s love faces inevitably the darkness of death.

Second illustration (Ezekiel 18:27-28): And when the wicked man turns from his wickedness that he has done, and executes justice and righteousness, he will cause his soul to live. (28) Because he considers, and turns from all his transgressions that he has done, he will surely live, he will not die. By the same token, the wicked man, by an act of his own free will, may decide to walk in the light of God’s word. He will do those things that are lawful in the eyes of men and right in the sight of God. Thus he will save his life (Ezekiel 18:27). His consideration of the fate of the wicked causes him to make this about face (Ezekiel 18:28).

Concluding answer (Ezekiel 18:29): Yet the house of Israel has said, The way of the Lord is not even. Is it my ways that are uneven, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are uneven? In view of the facts presented above, how can the house of Israel continue perversely to charge God with inconsistency? If they have experienced the wrath of God, it is because they have changed in relationship to him.

Warning and Exhortation (Ezekiel 18:30-32)

The warning (Ezekiel 18:30 a): Therefore, I will judge you, O house of Israel (oracle of the Lord GOD), each according to his ways. God judges each individual separately on the basis of his current standing with the Lord.

The appeal (Ezekiel 18:30-31)

The negative aspect (Ezekiel 18:30-31 a): (1)Sin a stumbling block to be avoided (Ezekiel 18:30 b): Return, and cause others to turn, from your transgressions, that iniquity might not be a stumbling block to you. Ezekiel pleads with his hearers to repent and to seek to get others to repent. Otherwise, iniquity will be a stumbling block that will ultimately mean their doom. (2) Sin a loathsome thing to be cast away (Ezekiel 18:31 a): Cast away from all your transgressions that you have committed. Like an unclean and loathsome thing, all transgression must be cast away. The idea is once again of distancing oneself from sin.

The positive aspect (Ezekiel 18:31 b): Make for yourself a new heart and a new spirit; for why will you die, O house of Israel? The sinners must make for themselves a new heart and a new spirit, i.e., they must have a firm resolve to be faithful and obedient. Failing to make the negative and positive adjustments for which Ezekiel pleads exposes one to God’s wrath. Those who do not repent will die a tragic and unnecessary death. Note: In Ezekiel 11:19 God gives the new heart and spirit. Here they must make it for themselves.

Basis of the appeal (Ezekiel 18:32): For I do not delight in the death of the one who dies (oracle of the Lord GOD). Wherefore, turn yourselves and live. God does not desire to punish sinners. Therefore, repentance is urgent. Wise men will avail themselves of his grace.

EZEKIEL 19

BITTER DIRGES

Ezekiel 19:1-14

In ch 19 Ezekiel becomes a sympathetic mourner. God is grieved over the impending fate of Jerusalem. Ezekiel is told to give vent to his emotions as a means of illustrating the divine agony. The dirge falls into two sections: Ezekiel 19:1-9 lament the fate of Judah’s last kings; Ezekiel 19:10-14 bewail the fall of Jerusalem.

DIRGE OVER JUDAH’S KINGS

Ezekiel 19:1-9

As for you, take up a lamentation concerning the princes of Israel... Some may have trusted in the wisdom of their national leaders to extricate Judah from iron grip of Babylon. Ezekiel responded to such misplaced trust with a lament, i.e., funeral dirge, for the princes (i.e., kings) of Israel (Ezekiel 19:1). The fates of the three sons of godly King Josiah—Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim (plus his son Jehoiachin) and Zedekiah— are mentioned. Note: This is the first of six laments in the book, the others being over Tyre (Ezekiel 26:17-18; Ezekiel 27:2-36; Ezekiel 27:32-36), the king of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:12-19), and Pharaoh (Ezekiel 32:2-16).

First Whelp (Ezekiel 19:1-4)

The lioness (Ezekiel 19:2): and say, How your mother was a lioness! Among the lions she crouched: in the midst of the young lions she reared her whelps! The house of David is the mother of these princes. She is compared to a lioness because the tribe of Judah in general (cf. Genesis 49:9), and the family of David in particular, were symbolized by a lion. As long as Judah remained faithful to the Lord, she dwelt securely and fearlessly among the young lions, i.e., surrounding nations. The period of King Josiah is in view. Tiny Judah was independent and prosperous during the reign of this godly king.

The reign of the young lion (Ezekiel 19:3): She brought up one of her whelps. He became a young lion. He learned to tear the prey. He devoured men. The royal lioness (house of David) reared up one of her whelps to become a young lion. The reference here is to Jehoahaz who became king of Judah at the age of twenty-three when his father was slain by Pharaoh Neco in the battle of Megiddo (cf. 2 Kings 23:31 ff.). As a young lion Jehoahaz learned to catch prey, i.e., to have hostile relations with other nations. He devoured men, i.e., he ventured to war. The implication is that Jehoahaz was hostile to Neco of Egypt.

Capture of the young lion (Ezxe 19:4): Then nations assembled against him. He was taken in their pit. They brought him by hooks into the land of Egypt. The nations, i.e., Egypt and her vassal states, listened unto him, i.e., took up the challenge that he hurled at them. The young lion was lured to the pit, and captured therein. He was bound in fetters and taken to Egypt (Ezekiel 19:4). The allusion is to the capture of Jehoahaz by Pharaoh Neco in 609 B.C. (2 Kings 23:33).

Second Whelp (Ezekiel 19:5-9)

Reign of the second young lion (Ezekiel 19:5-7)

His power (Ezekiel 19:5-6): Now when she saw that, she was disappointed. Her hope was lost. Then she took one of her whelps, and made him a young lion. (6) He went to and fro in the midst of the lions. He became a young lion. He learned to tear prey, he devoured men. When the lioness (Davidic dynasty) saw that Jehoahaz had been deported, she was disappointed. She took another of her whelps and trained him to be a young lion (Ezekiel 19:5). He took his place among the other lions (kings). He quickly learned the ruthless conduct that oriental kings manifested (Ezekiel 19:6).

His ruthlessness (Ezekiel 19:7): He knew their widows. He laid waste their cities. The land and its fullness was desolate because of the noise of his roaring. Because of his misrule, he knew their widows, i.e., he caused many women to lose their husbands and sons. Because of his boisterousness (noise of his roaring), he brought destruction and desolation upon his land. Did Ezekiel have in mind Jehoiakim who ruled Judah from 605-598 B.C., or his son Jehoiachin who ruled but for three months early in 597 B.C.? Jewish commentators generally prefer the former, modern commentators the latter. Some details of the allegory seem to fit best the one, and some seem to point to the other. On the whole, however, the Jehoiachin interpretation is superior. Note: Some think the Hebrew word is an unusual form of the word for cities meaning castles or citadels. Another interpretation for this verse is: “He took as his wives the widows of the men he killed.”

Capture of the second young lion (Ezekiel 19:8-9): Then the nations cried out against him, roundabout from provinces. They spread their net over him. He was taken in their pit. (9) They put him in a cage with hooks. They brought him unto the king of Babylon. They brought him into strongholds so that his voice might not be heard again upon the mountains of Israel. The nations led by Nebuchadnezzar attacked the kingdom of Jehoiachin in 597 B.C. The young king was taken captive (Ezekiel 19:8). He was brought before the king of Babylon. Thus did his rule over Judah come to an end. The growl of this young lion was no longer heard in the land (Ezekiel 19:9).

DIRGE OVER JUDAH’S COLLAPSE

Ezekiel 19:10-14

The Vine in its Glory (Ezekiel 19:10-11): Your mother was like a vine in your blood, planted by waters. She was fruitful and full of branches because of much water. (11) She had strong rods to be scepters for rulers. Her height was exalted among the branches. She was in her height, in the multitude of her tendrils (branches). The figure changes in v 10. The mother is now the state of Judah, and she is compared to a vine rather than a lioness.⁴¹⁸ The vine had its blood, i.e., sap, and was full of vigor. Because this vine was planted near abundant water, the vine was fruitful (Ezekiel 19:10). The allusion is to former days when the nation prospered under the rule of righteous kings. The vine put forth strong rods—strong and resolute kings who ruled over the nation. Among the other thick branches (prosperous nations), Judah had a position of honor (Ezekiel 19:11). Note: Alexander (EBC, 830) suggests that the imagery changes from the Davidic figure of a lion to the figure of a vine because Zedekiah was not the legitimate legal king of Judah, as were Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin.

The Vine Plucked up (Ezekiel 19:12): But she was plucked up in fury. She was cast down to the ground. The east wind dried up her fruit. Her strong rod was broken and withered. The fire consumed her. Judah the exalted vine was plucked up and cast down to the ground. The present lowly position of the nation could only be due to divine determination. The east wind (Nebuchadnezzar and his armies) dried up the fruit of that ignoble vine. Enormous tribute to Babylon over several years had drained the royal coffers of Judah. The strong rod of that branch—the last king of Judah—had been broken off and withered by that mighty king from the east. The fire of war and divine judgment had consumed Zedekiah. He lost his crown and his eyesight before being carried away in humiliation to Babylon.

The Vine Transplanted (Ezekiel 19:13-14)

Location of the transplantation (Ezekiel 19:13): Now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land. The once luxuriant vine planted by many waters is now forcibly transplanted to the wilderness of exile in Babylon.

Reason for the transplantation (Ezekiel 19:14 a): Fire has gone out from the rod of her branches. It has consumed her fruit, so that she does not have a strong rod as a scepter to rule. The fire that will ultimately destroy the nation had gone out of the rod. Zedekiah’s rebellion against Babylon was the cause of the ruin that engulfed the nation of Judah. With the deportation of Zedekiah, the royal house of David was reduced to insignificance so that there is in her no strong rod to assume the rule.

Conclusion (Ezekiel 19:14 b): This is a lamentation, and it became a lamentation. Chapter 19 is a prophetic lamentation spoken before the final calamity took place. What is here recorded as prophecy became the general theme of the national lamentation after the disaster had transpired.

EZEKIEL 20

ISRAEL: PAST AND FUTURE

Eleven months intervene between Ezekiel’s last series of oracles and the present utterances. He effectively had shattered Judah’s insane hope that judgment will never fall on Jerusalem. Every argument put forth in objection to his dogmatic assertion of imminent judgment had been rebutted. Ezekiel may have passed the past eleven months in silence.

Late in the summer of 591 B.C. news of Egyptian military victories in Africa spawned new delusions of deliverance among the Jews in Judah and in Babylon. King Zedekiah was now looking to Egypt for assistance against Babylon. Sometime between the end of 591 B.C. and the summer of 589 B.C., Zedekiah formally severed his allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar. This question was uppermost in the minds of the captives was, What bearing will this political realignment have on the fortunes of Judah? In response to this unasked question, Ezekiel speaks of (1) the past corruption of the nation (Ezekiel 20:1-29); (2) the future restoration of Israel (Ezekiel 20:30-44); and (3) the imminent judgment of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 20:45 to Ezekiel 21:32).

ISRAEL’S PAST CORRUPTION

Ezekiel 20:1-29

After a brief introduction to this section (Ezekiel 20:1-4), Ezekiel traces Israel’s waywardness through the period of Egyptian bondage (Ezekiel 20:5-9), wilderness wandering (Ezekiel 20:10-26), and settlement in the land of Canaan (Ezekiel 20:27-29)

Introduction (Ezekiel 20:1-4)

Time of the oracle (Ezekiel 20:1 a): It came to pass in the seventh year, the fifth month, the tenth day of the month... This section begins with a new date that apparently includes all the material in chs 20-23. Ezekiel has now functioned in his prophetic office for two years, one month and five days. Converted into terms of the modern calendar the date of this section will be August 14, 591 B.C.

Circumstances of the oracle (Ezekiel 20:1 b): that certain men of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD. They sat before me. Certain elders of Israel approached Ezekiel in order to inquire of the Lord through him, i.e., seek the interpretation of a current event. This is now the third time that these elders have come to Ezekiel (cf. Ezekiel 8:1; Ezekiel 14:1). On this occasion they may have been seeking a prediction on the outcome of Zedekiah’s overtures to Egypt. Note: The elders in Ezekiel 8:1 were said to have been “of Judah.” Ezekiel seems to use the terms Israel and Judah interchangeably. On the significance of the expression, inquire of the Lord, see 1 Kings 14:5-18; 1 Kings 22:7-28; 2 Kings 8:8-15; 2 Kings 22:13-20; Jeremiah 21:2-14; Jeremiah 37:7-10.

The initial oracle (Ezekiel 20:2-3): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (3) Son of man, Speak unto the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Are you coming to inquire of me? As I live, I will not be inquired of by you (oracle of the LORD). In the presence of his guests, Ezekiel received a new revelation (Ezekiel 20:2). The characteristic address of the prophet as son of man, i.e., mortal man, stands in stark contrast to the transcendent Yahweh. The double use of the personal name Yahweh (GOD; LORD) in Ezekiel 20:3 underscores this point. Ezekiel had an answer for the inquirers, but it was not what they expected. Whatever their specific query was, God regarded it as impertinent and irrelevant. God through Ezekiel already had made it abundantly clear that Jerusalem was doomed for destruction. He was not interested in hearing their requests. God wanted to see their repentance! That which sinful men want to hear from the Lord is not always what they need to hear. The divine oath formula (as I live) stresses that the request of the elders ran counter to Yahweh’s very being.

The shape of the oracle (Ezekiel 20:4): Will you judge them? Will you judge them, O son of man? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers. The Lord’s objection to the elder’s third inquiry is essentially the same as in Ezekiel 14:4. By means of a double question (Will you judge them? Will you judge them?) God commissions Ezekiel to sit as a judge in the trial of his people Israel. He is to recount to the elders all the abominations of their fathers (Ezekiel 20:4). He was not to use parables as in ch 16. He was to reveal their sin in a straight forward manner. The plight of the nation and the necessity of the impending doom will become clear to his auditors through this sad survey of Israel’s history.

Israel in Egypt (Ezekiel 20:5-9)

Instead of indulging the elders’ curiosity regarding the “times and the seasons” of future divine activity, Ezekiel launched into a stern sermon, the theme of which is the persistent rebellion of Israel against leadership of the Lord.

God’s selection (Ezekiel 20:5-7)

The pledge of choice (Ezekiel 20:5): Say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD: In the day when I chose Israel, I lifted up my hand to the seed of the house of Jacob. I made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up my hand to them, saying, I am the LORD your God. Ironically, Israel’s case history began in Egypt, the same country to which she was now appealing for aid. There God chose Israel to be his very own people. The word chose appears only here in Ezekiel, but it is used at least six times in Deuteronomy. It was there that God bound himself by an oath to the seed of Jacob, i.e., he confirmed the covenant made with Jacob, and with Isaac and Abraham before him. The process of selection began with his self-revelation to Moses at the, burning bush (cf. Exodus 6:2; Exodus 6:7). Then God swore with an oath (lifted up my hand) that he was Israel’s God.

The pledge of inheritance (Ezekiel 20:6): In that day I lifted up my hand to them to bring them from the land of Egypt unto the land that I sought out for them, flowing with milk and honey, that is the beauty of all lands. Yahweh further swore that he would bring Israel out of Egyptian bondage and into a very special land—a land flowing with milk and honey, language that was first used by God to describe Canaan in Exodus 3:8. This is the land that Yahweh sought out for Israel. The comparative fertility of Canaan, its geographical features and climate, made this land the beauty of all lands (Ezekiel 20:6; cf. Jeremiah 3:19). The double mention in Ezekiel 20:5-6 of the physical gesture associated with swearing an oath enhances the impression of Yahweh’s commitment to Israel’s welfare. Note: In Ezekiel 20:7 Ezekiel takes up the term “sought out” (seek out, spy out, explore) that is used of the reconnoitering of the spies in Numbers 13-14. He reapplies that term to Yahweh.

The plea for fidelity (Ezekiel 20:7): I said unto them, Let each man cast away the detestable things of his eyes. Do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God. The Lord made one single requirement of those he chose as his people, viz., that they cast aside the detestable things (idols). They must not defile themselves with idolatrous practices. They must recognize Yahweh alone as God.

Israel’s rebellion (Ezekiel 20:8 a): But they rebelled against me. They did not want to listen to me. Every man did not cast away the detestable things of his eyes. They did not forsake the idols of Egypt. Even the basic commandment was totally ignored. The Pentateuch says nothing about the religious life of the Hebrews during the Egyptian period. Joshua, however, alluded to the gods the Israelites served in Egypt (Joshua 24:14). The episode of the golden calf at the foot of Sinai (Exodus 32:4) shows to what extent heathenism had influenced the thinking of Israel.

God’s reaction (Ezekiel 20:8-9)

His initial intention (Ezekiel 20:8 b): Then I thought to pour out my wrath upon them, to exhaust my anger on them in the midst of the land of Egypt. On the strict principle of justice, Israel should have perished in Egypt.

His long-range concern (Ezekiel 20:9): But I took action for the sake of my name, that it might not be profaned before the nations among whom they lived, to whom I made myself known so as to bring them out from the land of Egypt. Had the Israelites perished in Egypt, the heathen would not have attributed it to divine retribution. They would have concluded that Yahweh lacked power to redeem his people. God will not allow his great name to be thus profaned in the sight of the nations. Ezekiel uses the concept of the profanation of Yahweh’s name to describe the lowering of his prestige outside Israel. Such profanation retards the realization of God’s long range goal of bringing all nations to recognize that he alone is God. God had revealed himself to Israel. Publicly through Moses he had announced His intention to bring them out of Egypt. The Egyptians knew all this. Had no redemption taken place, Israel’s God would forever have been held in contempt in the land of Egypt. Therefore, in bringing Israel out of Egypt, God was acting in his own self-interest. He acted for his name’s sake. For the sake of the name appears three other times in this chapter: Ezekiel 20:14; Ezekiel 20:22; Ezekiel 20:44. Cf. Jeremiah 14:7; Psalms 106:8. In contrast to Hosea (Hosea 3:1) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:3, Ezekiel never uses love as the motivation for God’s salvation of Israel.

To misunderstand God’s nature—to regard him less highly than he ought to be regarded—is to profane his name. “It is the duty of the new Israel, as it was of the old Israel, to see that God’s name is not profaned through inadequate witness to his nature and his truth.”

Israel in the Wilderness (Ezekiel 20:10-26)

God’s gracious gifts (Ezekiel 20:10-12)

Gave them deliverance (Ezekiel 20:10): I brought them out from the land of Egypt, and brought them unto the wilderness. God’s concern for his name prevailed over his desire to rid himself of his rebellious people. He brought them out of Egypt and into the wilderness.

Gave them the law (Ezekiel 20:11): I gave to them my statutes, and my ordinances I made known to them, which if a man do them, he will live by them. At Mount Sinai God graciously gave to Israel his law. In keeping this law, one could find the key to life, i.e., he could prosper materially and spiritually. National faithfulness to that law would have resulted in social happiness and political stability.

Gave them the sabbaths (Ezekiel 20:12): Also my sabbaths I gave to them to become a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctified them. As further evidence of his gracious concern, God ordained the Sabbath as an outward sign of his covenant with Israel. Every observance of the Sabbath was an affirmation of their relationship to him (cf. Exodus 31:17). Note: The text reads Sabbaths (Plural sense) and may include the various festivals as well as the weekly Sabbath.

Sin of the first generation (Ezekiel 20:13-17)

Israel’s sin described (Ezekiel 20:13 a): But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes, and they spurned my ordinances, which if a man do them, he will live by them. my sabbaths they profaned exceedingly. Within days of the gracious giving of the law, Israel rebelled against the Lord in the incident of the golden calf. The Book of Numbers contains numerous examples of the times when Israel murmured against the Lord. Direct violation of the Sabbath is recorded on two occasions (Exodus 16:27; Numbers 15:32), but that sacred day was defiled by attitude again and again.

God’s reputation (Ezekiel 20:13-14): (13b) I intended to pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness to consume them. (14) But I took action for the sake of my name, that it might not be defiled before the nations before whom I brought them out. Because Israel had spurned God’s gracious wilderness gifts to his people, he was fully prepared to destroy them there and then. However, again for the sake of his name—his reputation among the heathen nations—he refrained from executing his wrath.

Israel’s punishment (Ezekiel 20:15-16): And also I lifted up my hand to them in the wilderness, that I will not bring them unto the land that I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, the beauty of all the lands; (16) because they rejected my judgments. In my statutes they did not walk. They defiled my sabbaths, for after their idols their heart did go. While God did not completely destroy the nation in the wilderness, He did swear that the guilty generation that showed such lack of faith at Kadesh-barnea (Numbers 13-14) could not enter the land of promise Ezekiel 20:15). Because they had defiled the law of God and secretly had craved for their idols in their heart, God sentenced that generation to wander in the wilderness for forty years (Ezekiel 20:16).

God’s mercy (Ezekiel 20:17): But my eye had pity upon them from destroying them. I did not make a complete end of them in the wilderness. Because of his mercy, God did not make a full end of Israel at that time. Those under the age of twenty survived that disciplinary death march.

Sin of the second generation (Ezekiel 20:18-22)

God’s commandments (Ezekiel 20:18-20): I said unto their sons in the wilderness: Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers. Do not observe their ordinances. With their idols do not defile yourselves. (19) I am the LORD your God. Walk in my statutes. Keep my ordinances, and do them. (20) Sanctify my sabbaths that they may be signs between me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God. God warned the new generation not to follow in the sinful paths of their fathers (Ezekiel 20:18), but rather to recognize his absolute divinity. He earnestly pled with them through Moses to obey the divine law (Ezekiel 20:19) and faithfully to observe the sabbaths as an outward sign and reminder that they were indeed God’s people (Ezekiel 20:20).

Israel’s rebellion (Ezekiel 20:21 a): But the children rebelled against me. They did not walk in my statutes. They did not keep my ordinances to do them, which if a man will do them, he will live by them. They profaned my sabbaths. Unfortunately the new generation was every bit as bad as the previous one. At Baal-peor, in their very first exposure to Canaanite Baal worship, the men of that new generation rushed headlong into the vilest form of degrading worship (Numbers 25:1-9; Hosea 9:10).

God’s reaction (Ezekiel 20:21-22): (21b) I intended to pour out my wrath on them to finish my fury on them in the wilderness. (22) I withdrew my hand. I took action for the sake of my name, that it will not be defiled in the sight of the nations before whom I brought them out. God was of a mind to destroy the nation entirely. However, for the sake of his own self-interest— for the sake of his reputation among surrounding nations—God relented (withdrew my hand).

Consequences of rebellion (Ezekiel 20:23-26)

Dispersion (Ezekiel 20:23-24): Moreover I lifted up my hand to them in the wilderness to scatter them among the nations and to disperse them in the lands; (24) because my ordinances they did not perform, and my statutes they rejected, and my sabbaths they profaned, and their eyes were after the gods of their fathers. Although God chose not to destroy Israel, the national rebellion had two serious consequences, each introduced by moreover. First, God swore on oath (lifted up my hand) that he would scatter them to various lands (v 23). The time and manner of that dispersion was not specified. The long periods of oppression during the period of the judges probably were the first step in the fulfillment of this threat. Attacks by neighboring nations during the monarchy period resulted in God’s people being deported far and wide (cf. Amos 1:6; Amos 1:9; Joel 3:1-8). The culmination of this threatened dispersion was the deportation of the northern tribes by the Assyrian kings, and the removal of captives from Judah by Nebuchadnezzar.

Note: The two main Assyrian deportations occurred in 745 B.C. by Tiglath-pileser III, and in 722 B.C. by Sargon. Four deportations by Nebuchadnezzar are recorded in Scripture: The first was in 605/604 B.C. and the last in 582 B.C. See Jeremiah 52:30. Lind (BCBC, 169) thinks that for Ezekiel the exile was a predetermined conclusion of the salvation story even before Israel entered the land. The Mosaic covenant stipulated exile as the punishment for disobedience. Cf. Leviticus 26:33; Deuteronomy 28:36; Deuteronomy 28:64; Psalms 106:26-27. The exile was a just punishment because the generation that was brought into Canaan also rejected God’s holy law and went after idols (Ezekiel 20:24).

Degradation (Ezekiel 20:25-26): Moreover I gave to them statutes that were not good, and ordinances whereby they could not live. (26) I defiled them with their gifts, in that they consecrate all who open the womb, that I might destroy them, that they might know that I am the LORD. Second, God punished Israel’s national rebellion by giving them over to the consequences of their own sinful desire. Yahweh punished their sin by means of their sin. He gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances whereby they could not live. As they went ever deeper into the baser forms of idolatry, they brought themselves under statutes and judgments of a different sort. The pagan religious code that they adopted as their own did not contribute to health, happiness and well being (life), but rather became a vicious and demanding taskmaster (Ezekiel 20:25). Stephen describes this situation when he says, “God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven” (Acts 7:42).

God punished his people by permitting them to do what they really wanted to do. All the material gifts that God bestowed upon his people were permitted by him to be defiled in the debasing worship of Baal. Israel rejected God’s law of dedicating their firstborn to the Lord (Exodus 13:2). They replaced it with the horrible practice of child sacrifice (cf. Ezekiel 16:21). The ultimate end of such perverse pagan practices was national destruction. Only then would Israel realize that Yahweh is the only God (Ezekiel 20:26).

Israel in Canaan (Ezekiel 20:27-29)

Treacherous betrayal (Ezekiel 20:27): Therefore, speak unto the house of Israel, son of man, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have dealt treacherously with me. In addition to their wickedness in Egypt and in the wilderness, the fathers had continued their sinning when they were in the land of Canaan. In fact they blasphemed, i.e., committed a cardinal sin against the Lord; they dealt treacherously with him, i.e., broke the most solemn kind of commitment to him.

Illicit worship (Ezekiel 20:28): For when I brought them to the land that I lifted up my hand to give unto them, then they saw every high hill, and every leafy tree, and they made sacrifices there. They gave there the provocation of their offering. They placed there their sweet savor, and they poured out their drink offerings. No sooner had they, by God’s mercy, entered the land of Canaan, they promptly appropriated to themselves the heathen hill-top shrines. They adopted the Canaanite ways of worship. The leafy trees were desirable for the sinful orgies that accompanied sacrifices to Baal. Their offerings, that should have been a sweet savor to the Lord, were in reality provocation that only engendered the divine anger.

Pointed inquiry (Ezekiel 20:29): Then I said unto them: What is the high place to which you are going? So its name is called Bamah (high place) unto this day. Someday the Jews will have to give an account of their worship conduct. What is the high place to which you are going? Ezekiel asks. Who authorized you to go there? What business do you have there? In spite of the repeated condemnation of high place worship, still those shrines existed throughout the land. The Bamah or high place was still very much a part of the worship scene in Judah.

ISRAEL’S FUTURE RESTORATION

Ezekiel 20:30-44

Hypocrisy of the Leaders (Ezekiel 20:30-32)

Their actions (Ezekiel 20:30-31): Therefore, say unto the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: In the way of your fathers you have defiled yourselves. You are whoring after their abominations. (31) When you offer your gifts, in making your sons to pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols, unto this day. Will I allow you to inquire of me, O house of Israel? As I live (oracle of the Lord GOD), I will not allow you to inquire of me. Ezekiel replied to the request of the visiting elders by reviewing the past corruption of Israel; now he applies this teaching to the present and future of the nation. How can these representatives of the nation expect to receive encouraging divine responses to their inquiries when the abominable practices of idolatry continued to that very day? The present generation had defiled itself after the manner of their fathers by offering gifts to Baal. They even caused their children to pass through the fire, i.e., offered them as burnt offerings to Molech. That immolation of the children is intended, and not just ritual purification, is made clear by Jeremiah 19:5.

How could God suspend or cancel the threat of judgment when they continued to defile themselves by such degrading religious practices? Their defilement drove a wedge between them and their God. Under present circumstances, he refused to be inquired of by them, i.e., he will grant them no special insight into what the immediate future held in store beyond the threats that he had already announced through his prophet.

Their attitude (Ezekiel 20:32): That which goes up on your spirit will not be, because you are saying, We will be like the nations, as the families of the lands, to serve wood and stone. The attitude among the exiles was reprehensible. Ezekiel reads the hearts of the inquirers. Being humiliated, subject to foreign domination, and driven from their homeland, they now felt free to join in the worship of their neighbors. How was it possible for them to continue to render homage to Yahweh when his temple was so far away, and when all public acts of worship to him were restricted to that temple? If the temple were destroyed, they thought, then the one restraint on the idolatries that they loved will be removed, and that by God himself. According to their perverse logic, if God wanted their continued allegiance, he will have to preserve the temple, and quickly restore them to Canaan. However, God will not allow this perverse purpose to stand. Those who thought the distinctive character of Israel should be lost in exile were doomed to disappointment.

Purging of the Sinners (Ezekiel 20:33-38)

Gathering of Israel (Ezekiel 20:33-34): As I live (oracle of the Lord GOD), surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out I will reign over you. (34) I will bring you out from the peoples, and I will gather you from the lands where you were scattered, with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. God was about to intervene in Israel’s history with the same mighty hand and outstretched arm as saved them at the Exodus (Deuteronomy 4:34; Deuteronomy 5:15). He will show himself again to be king over this people (Ezekiel 20:33) by leading them in judgment into another wilderness experience (cf. Hosea 2:14 f; Hosea 12:9). The Babylonian exile was Israel’s second wilderness period. Another view is that the wilderness of the peoples is the great Arabian desert, surrounded by the peoples of the Fertile Crescent (Lind, BCBC, 172). When the discipline was over, God will gather his people (Ezekiel 20:34). Israel will by no means lose her identity among the nations!

Purpose of exile (Ezekiel 20:35-38)

Remonstration (Ezekiel 20:35-36): I will bring you unto the wilderness of the peoples. I will plead with you there face to face. (36) As I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, thus will I plead with you (oracle of the Lord GOD). The exact prophetic import of Ezekiel 20:35-38 is in dispute. Some commentators understand these verses to be predicting that after the Babylonian exile, Israel will be brought into another dispersion. It is better, however, to regard the wilderness of peoples as yet another reference to the Babylonian captivity. In Ezekiel 20:34 God states the general principle that he will, in his own good time, gather his people. Ezekiel 20:35-38 tell how that will come about. In the wilderness of Egypt, God constituted Israel as a nation. In the Babylonian wilderness he will reconstitute them as a nation. There they will come face to face with God. He will plead with them, i.e., remonstrate and reason with them, through those harsh circumstances, through the voice of conscience, and through the stern preaching of men like Ezekiel.

Purgation (Ezekiel 20:37-38): I will cause you to pass under the rod. I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. (38) I will purge out from you the rebels, and those who transgress against me. I will bring them out from the land of their sojourn. Unto the land of Israel they will not come. You will know that I am the LORD. Not all those who were carried off to the wilderness of exile will be coming home. The captives will be scrutinized by the Good Shepherd, and caused to pass under the rod. The allusion is to Leviticus 27:32 where every tenth sheep that passed under the rod of the shepherd was to be consecrated to the Lord. The select sheep of Israel will be brought into the bond of the covenant (Ezekiel 20:37). The apostasy had cancelled the blessings set forth in the Sinai covenant. The chastisement of exile, for those who will accept it, will serve the purpose of restoring that broken relationship with God.

The land of restored Israel will be a land of righteousness. Those who had rebelled against God’s authority, and who had transgressed against him, will be purged from the nation. They will not be allowed to re-enter the land of Canaan. God might bring them out of the land where they were presently sojourning, but he will by no means allow them to re-enter Canaan. When be brought them back, the chastened remnant will know that he truly was Yahweh, the God of covenant faithfulness (Ezekiel 20:38).

Restoration to the Land (Ezekiel 20:39-41)

Challenge to the sinners (Ezekiel 20:39): As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord GOD: Go, serve each his idols, even because you have not hearkened unto me; but my holy name you will not profane again with your gifts and with your idols. In prophetic irony Ezekiel now called upon the house of Israel to go ahead with their idolatry. They cannot thereby frustrate God’s ultimate purpose for a holy people. The day will come when God’s holy name⁴³⁴ no longer will be profaned by idolatrous practices.

Picture of the cleansed people (Ezekiel 20:40-41): For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel (oracle of the Lord GOD) there all the house of Israel, all of them, will serve me in the land. There I will accept them. There I will require your heave offerings, and the first of your gifts, with all your holy things. (41) With your sweet savor, I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you from the lands where you were scattered. I will be sanctified in the sight of the nations. Ezekiel passes on from the earlier stages of the restoration to speak of its consummation. He sees Israel as a mighty mountain (mountain of the height of Israel) or nation of the world (cf. Micah 4:1-2; Isaiah 2:2-3). He sees a united nation (all of them)—Israel and Judah worshiping on Mount Zion (my holy mountain). He sees a holy people rendering acceptable service and sacrifice to their God. Gone forever are the heathen influences that marred the worship of his own day. Heave offerings,⁴³⁵ offerings of firstlings,⁴³⁶ and other gifts will be required by God. They will be willingly offered by his redeemed people (Ezekiel 20:40).

Ezekiel foresees several positive consequences of the new relationship between God and his people. First, the sacrifices that Israel offers to God are considered a sweet savor by the Lord, i.e., will be pleasant in his sight. Second, God accepts Israel, i.e., acknowledges them as his own. Third, through that restored remnant, God’s name is sanctified, i.e., respected and revered, by surrounding nations (Ezekiel 20:41). God’s name is sanctified when he is recognized as holy (Leviticus 10:3; Numbers 20:13). Even the heathen come to recognize that God’s dealings with Israel had been holy and just.

Spiritual Enlightenment (Ezekiel 20:42-44)

Enlightenment about God (Ezekiel 20:42): You will know that I am the LORD when I bring you unto the land of Israel, unto the land that I lifted up my hand to give to your fathers. Because of the positive experiences of the preceding verses, Israel is spiritually enlightened. The recognition formula (you will know) at the beginning and end of this unit forms an envelope full of encouraging developments. Remnant Israel realizes without a doubt that they had been restored to Canaan through the might of God. They willingly acknowledge that he, and none other, is God. Remnant Israel recognizes that God keeps His word. He had sworn to give to their fathers the land of Canaan. Through sin Israel forfeited the right to live in that holy land. Now God will give them a second chance in Canaan.

Enlightenment about themselves (Ezekiel 20:43-44): And there you will remember your ways, and all your deeds by which you were defiled. You will loathe yourself in your eyes for all your evils that you have done. (44) You will know that I am the LORD when I deal with you for the sake of my name, not according to your evil deeds, nor according to your corrupt ways, O house of Israel (oracle of the Lord GOD). Remnant Israel remembers past failings. They loathe themselves for the abominations that they had committed prior to the captivity (Ezekiel 20:43). In spite of repentance and forgiveness, the redeemed man can never forget that he is a sinner saved by grace. Remnant Israel realizes that their change in fortunes was not due to their own merits. They deserved to perish. However, for the sake of his name, the gracious God had ransomed the house of Israel (Ezekiel 20:44).

PARABLE OF THE FOREST FIRE

Ezekiel 20:45-49

In the Hebrew Bible, Ezekiel 20:45 becomes the first verse of ch 21. Clearly this is a better arrangement than that adopted by the Authorized Version and subsequent English translations. What is said in Ezekiel 20:45-49 has no connection with what immediately precedes, but rather sets the stage for what follows in ch 21.

God’s Directive (Ezekiel 20:45-47 a): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (46) Son of man, set your face toward the south, Preach unto the south. Prophesy unto the forest of the field of the south. (47) Say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD. In another revelation from the Lord (Ezekiel 20:45), Ezekiel was told set your face toward the south. This prophetic formula was previously used in Ezekiel 6:2 and Ezekiel 13:17. The formula set your face toward appears again in regard to Jerusalem (Ezekiel 21:2), Ammon (Ezekiel 25:2); Sidon (Ezekiel 28:21), Pharaoh (Ezekiel 29:2), Seir (Ezekiel 35:2) and Gog (Ezekiel 38:2). The preposition is usually íel, but is ëal in 29:2 and 35:2. Here the proposition is DereK which suggests direction turning as in 1 Kings 8:44.

Ezekiel was to direct his attention, verbally and perhaps physically as well, toward the south. Ezekiel uses three Hebrew synonyms that may be translated south. The first and last are also place names, and could be so rendered (cf. NASB). Ezekiel’s interpretation, however, involves only Jerusalem. Hence it is best to regard the three words as synonyms for south.

He was to preach the word of the Lord in that direction. Preach here in the Hebrew is literally, drop your word. This was a technical expression used to designate prophetic utterances. The same word is used in Amos 7:6 and Micah 2:6; Micah 2:11. These instructions are given to Ezekiel from the perspective of the Babylonian army that will approach Jerusalem from the north. The whole of Judah is the forest of the south that Ezekiel was to address in this utterance (Ezekiel 20:46).

Judah’s Devastation (Ezekiel 20:47-48): (47b) Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to kindle against you a fire. It will consume every green tree in you, and every dry tree. It will not be quenched, a flaming flame. All faces from the south to the north will be seared by it. (48) All flesh will see that I am the LORD when I burn it. It will not be quenched. The entire forest will be consumed by an unquenchable fire kindled by God Himself. Fire here is symbolic of the devastation wrought by the Chaldean armies. What few righteous there might have been (every green tree), as well as the hardened sinners (every dry tree), will be affected by that conflagration. From one end of the land to the other, every face will be seared by the hot flames of judgment (Ezekiel 20:47). That destruction will be of such proportions that the all flesh, i.e., the entire world, will recognize it as an act of divine judgment (Ezekiel 20:48).

Ezekiel’s Complaint (Ezekiel 20:49): Then I said, Ah Lord GOD! They are saying to me, Is he not a maker of parables? Ezekiel’s audience was not so spiritually perceptive as to be able to grasp the significance of this parable and others like it (cf. chs 15-17). His auditors were holding Ezekiel up to ridicule because of his use of the parabolic method. He could hear them whispering to one another and referring to him as a maker of parables (lit., a riddler of riddles). With sorrow, exasperation and perhaps indignation, Ezekiel turned to God in a brief narrative prayer. No petition is directly stated; but Ezekiel is obliquely requesting that he be permitted to put his parable into plain language (Ezekiel 20:49).

EZEKIEL 21

ISRAEL’S IMMINENT JUDGMENT

Chapter 21 opens with an explanation of the Parable of the Forest Fire that was related in the closing verses of the preceding chapter. To his parable Ezekiel adds a song about a sword (Ezekiel 21:8-17). This song becomes the springboard for two oracles dealing with the words of the king of Babylon (Ezekiel 21:18-27), and the sword that will one day fall upon Ammon (Ezekiel 21:28-32).

THE PARABLE APPLIED

Ezekiel 21:1-4

The Lord’s Directive (Ezekiel 21:1-3 a): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, Set your face toward Jerusalem. Preach toward the sanctuaries. Prophesy unto the land of Israel. (3) Say to the land of Israel, Thus says the LORD: After an interval of undetermined duration, God granted the unspoken request of his prophet (Ezekiel 21:1). Ezekiel was told to set your face toward Jerusalem. The formula is explained in the subsequent clauses by the verbs preach and prophesy. The sanctuaries (high places?) and the land of Israel, as well as Jerusalem, are to be the target of his discourse.

The Lord’s Announcement (Ezekiel 21:3-4)

1. Announcement of hostility (Ezekiel 21:3 b): Behold, I am against you! Ezekiel was to announce that God had assumed a posture of hostility toward the land of Israel. Yahweh hurls at the nation the same challenge formula that he used in Ezekiel 13:8.

2. Announcement of unsheathing the sword (Ezekiel 21:3-4): (3b) I will bring out my sword from its sheath. I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked. (4) Because I will cut off from you righteous and wicked, therefore my sword will go out from its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north. The divine sword of judgment (the fire in the parable) was about to come out of its sheath. Both wicked and righteous will be cut off. Ezekiel already had taught that as regards to final judgment, the righteous will not be destroyed with the wicked (ch 18). Of necessity, however, in temporal judgments the entire population of an area will be affected. Other peoples besides Israel will feel the effect of the sword of the Lord that at this point was wielded by the Chaldeans (Ezekiel 21:4).

The Lord’s Exaltation (Ezekiel 21:5): All flesh will know that I the LORD have brought out my sword from its sheath. It will not return any more. Even the foreign nations will realize that they had experienced a divine judgment. The sword of the Lord will not return unto its sheath until the destructive work assigned to it was complete.

AN ACTION PARABLE AUTHORIZED

Ezekiel 21:6-7

A. Ezekiel’s Actions (Ezekiel 21:6): As for you, son of man, sigh. With the breaking of loins, and with bitterness you will sigh before their eyes. Ezekiel was deeply moved by this revelation. He was told not to hide his emotion. As in other instances (4:4; 5:1-4), he was to dramatize in his own person the coming calamity. He was to assume the role of a mourner whose sighs were so deep that they seem to break his loins, i.e., he is to bend double as though smitten with great pain in the abdomen. This agonizing sigh was to be done before their eyes so as to provoke questions.

B. Ezekiel’s Explanation (Ezekiel 21:7): It will come to pass when they say unto you: Why are you sighing? Then you will say: Because of the tidings, for it comes. Every heart will melt. and all hands will droop. Every spirit will be faint. All knees will drip water. Behold, it comes! It will be done (oracle of the Lord GOD). When asked about his bitter sighing, Ezekiel was to explain that this was but an example of what all the exiles will do when they got the message from Jerusalem that the temple had been destroyed. The prophet, because of his special relationship to God, already had heard those tidings through revelation. Five years later all the exiles will hear that same message from someone who barely had escaped the fallen city. With the loss of the temple, all hopes of return to Jerusalem will be smashed.

Four expressions set forth the physical and psychological reaction to the news of Jerusalem’s destruction: (1) every heart will melt; (2) all hands will be slack; (3) every spirit will be faint; and (4) all knees will drip with water, i.e., kidney functions could not be controlled. Nonetheless, that bad news was coming. When it came it will prove to be a true account of what had actually happened in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 21:7).

SONG OF THE SWORD

Ezekiel 21:8-17

What Ezekiel was to Say (Ezekiel 21:8-11)

Beginning of the song (Ezekiel 21:8-10 a): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (9) Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the LORD: Say: A sword, a sword is sharpened and also polished. (10) In order to make a great slaughter it is sharpened. In order that it might flash it is polished—or do we make mirth— The thought of the unsheathed sword in Ezekiel 21:3 gives rise to this present section. These lines may have been a common lament song sung in times of coming judgment. It is even possible that Ezekiel accompanied these words with some kind of sword-brandishing. The sword of the Lord is ready for action. Its dazzling brightness is added to its sharpness as a fresh element of terror.

Interruption of the song (Ezekiel 21:10-11): (10b) the rod of my son, who rejects everything of wood. (11) He gave it to be polished, to be seized by the hand. The sword, it is sharpened, and it is polished, to give it into the hand of the slayer. Ezekiel quickly broke off his sword song as he noticed the smiles on the faces of his auditors. Or do we make mirth?, he asked. Do you think I am joking about this whole matter? This sharpened and glittering sword is the rod of My son, i.e., the rod with which God’s son Israel must now be disciplined. Alexander (EBC, 842) understands the verse in a very different way: Shall we rejoice in the scepter of my son Judah? The sword despises every such stick. They were clinging to the promise of Genesis 49:9-10 of a scepter arising from the tribe of Judah, i.e., Messiah. There was no hope for contemporary Judah in the promises of Genesis 49, for God’s sword would devour every such scepter, viz., the rulers in Jerusalem.

The nation had despised everything of wood, i.e., every former instrument of punishment (cf. Isaiah 10:5). God had given that sword to be polished, and then handed over to the executioner.

What Ezekiel was to Do (Ezekiel 21:12-17)

First gesture (Ezekiel 21:12-13): Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against my people, it is against all the princes of Israel, those who are thrust down to the sword with my people. Therefore, smite upon the thigh. (13) For there is a trial! What if the despising scepter will be no more? (oracle of the Lord GOD). God called upon the prophet to take up a lament over the impending doom. He was to slap his thigh as a gesture of grief and despair. Even the princes of Judah will be thrust down, along with the common people, by the divine sword (Ezekiel 21:12). The trial of Judah had now come. During that trial, the scepter (Zedekiah), that despised the word and warning of God, will be no more. Judah will be left without a ruler (Ezekiel 21:13).

Second gesture (Ezekiel 21:14): As for you, son of man, prophesy. Smite your hands together. Let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of those to be slain, the sword of the great one who is to be slain that surrounds them. God directed Ezekiel to perform yet another gesture. He was to slap his hands together. This action indicated either lamentation, or the summons to the agent of destruction. Ezekiel was to brandish the sword with a double motion, backward and forward, three times. Perhaps the brandishing of the sword three times points to three times Nebuchadnezzar invaded the land of Judah—in 605/604, in 597 and finally in 586 B.C. That sword of divine justice will slay many, even the great one, i.e., the king. From that sword there will be no escape, for it will surround them like a besieging army.

Significance (Ezekiel 21:15): In order that their heart may melt, and their stumbling be multiplied, I have set the point of the sword. Ah! it is made to flash, it is sharpened for slaughter. The point of the sword of the Lord will be set at every gate of the city. It will cause consternation within and stumbling as the citizens attempt to escape that sword that glittered because of sharpening and furbishing.

Address to the sword (Ezekiel 21:16-17): Unite yourself, go right, set yourself, go left! Where is your face set? (17) I also will smite my hands together, and cause my wrath to rest; I the LORD have spoken it. God addresses the sword (king of Babylon) in Ezekiel 21:16. The verbs have the feminine form, indicating that the sword (a feminine noun in Hebrew) is being addressed rather than the prophet, as proposed by some. This agent of divine judgment is urged to make a decision as to which direction he will move, but to get on with the judgment (Ezekiel 21:16). It is, after all, Yahweh who had given that command with a gesture of supreme authority (clap my hands together). When the divine sentence had been executed against Judah, God’s anger will be appeased. God had spoken. What he had said must come to pass. With these words the song of the sword ended. There followed another interval of silence (Ezekiel 21:17).

SWORD OF THE KING OF BABYLON

Ezekiel 21:18-27

Coming of the King of Babylon (Ezekiel 21:18-23)

A diagram (Ezekiel 21:18-20): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (19) Now as for you, son of man, make for yourself two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come. The two of them will come forth out of one land. Fashion it. (20) You will make a way that the sword may come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in the fortress of Jerusalem. Ezekiel received a new revelation (Ezekiel 21:18) in which he was commanded to sketch a road that, at a certain point, branched in two directions. The road came forth out of one land, i.e., out of the land of Babylon. That was the road that God’s divinely appointed sword—the king of Babylon— will travel. At the crossroads the prophet was to draw, or perhaps cut out and place, a signpost (literally, a hand) pointing the way to the city, i.e., Jerusalem (Ezekiel 21:19). The other branch in that road led to Rabbah Ammon (Ezekiel 21:20).

A decision (Ezekiel 21:21-22)

Nebuchadnezzar’s divination (Ezekiel 21:21): For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to employ divination. He shakes the arrows, he inquires of the teraphim, he observes the liver. His props in place, Ezekiel was to depict the king of Babylon standing at that crossroads. He was attempting to discover, by means of pagan divination, which of those two routes to travel. Three forms of divination are mentioned. Shaking the arrows involved writing the names of the two objectives on arrows, shaking them up in the quiver, and drawing forth one of them. The precise manner by which the small household gods called Teraphim were used to receive oracular direction is unknown. Examining the color and markings of a liver from a sacrificial animal, however, is a well-known form of divination among the Babylonians, although this is the only place the custom is mentioned in the Scriptures. Note: Many clay models of livers have been found, some with inscriptions of omens and magical texts used by diviners.

Results of the divination (Ezekiel 21:22): In his right hand is the divination of Jerusalem to set battering rams, to open the mouth for the slaughter, to lift the voice in a battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to construct mounds, to build siege forts. Ezekiel pictures Nebuchadnezzar drawing two arrows from the quiver. The one in the right hand had the name Jerusalem written on it. His pagan divination informed him that he was to employ every siege weapon to assault the city—battering rams to assault the walls and gates; mounds of earth and mobile forts from which to hurl missiles over the walls. As he attacked Jerusalem, his men will open the mouth for the slaughter, i.e., lift up their voices in blood-curdling battle cries designed to terrify the inhabitants of the city.

Reaction in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 21:23): It will be unto them as false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths unto them. But he brings iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken. To the men of Jerusalem, what Nebuchadnezzar had done was but vain divination. Still they lulled themselves into a false sense of security. They had escaped the king’s wrath in the past by wearing oaths of allegiance to him. The Hebrew reads literally, oaths of oaths are theirs. Keil thinks the reference is to the oaths of the Lord that he had sworn unto his people. They were trusting in divine promises of protection and deliverance. However, God will bring to remembrance their iniquity. They were fully prepared to take such oaths again. This time, however, Nebuchadnezzar will come to settle the account with the rebels—he will bring iniquity to remembrance. This time they will be taken, i.e., seized by the invader. They will be either slain or be made prisoners (Ezekiel 21:23).

Humiliation of the King of Judah (Ezekiel 21:24-27)

Judah’s sin remembered (Ezekiel 21:24): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have caused your iniquity to be remembered in that your transgressions have been uncovered, so that your sins appear in all your deeds; because you are remembered, you will be seized with the hand. The iniquity of Judah had forced, not only the king of Babylon, but the Lord himself to remember their iniquity. Their more recent transgressions had caused their former iniquities to be remembered before God. Because of their consistent record of willful disobedience, they will fall into the hand of the God of judgment.

Judah’s king removed (Ezekiel 21:25-26 a): You, O profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, in the iniquity of the end; (26) thus says the Lord GOD: The turban will be removed. The crown will be taken off. Things will be thrown into confusion. The lowly will be exalted. The high will be brought low. Zedekiah is addressed in Ezekiel 21:25 as a profane and wicked prince. This weak-kneed monarch had shown himself to be unfaithful both to his overlord Nebuchadnezzar, and to the God in whose name he had taken his vassal oath. Now his day had come. He had committed the iniquity that brought down punishment (v 25). Zedekiah will lose the insignia of his rank. Alexander (EBC, 844) thinks the turban points to the high priesthood, the crown to kingship. The thought is that kingship (and priesthood) would be removed in judgment but returned ultimately in the Messiah’s coming in accord with Genesis 49:10. Things will be thrown into confusion. Literally the Hebrew reads, this not this. The rulers of Judah will be brought down and abased. The humble citizens who heeded God’s word will be exalted (Ezekiel 21:26). The honors offered Jeremiah after the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem might be an example of the exaltation of the humble (cf. Jeremiah 40:5 f.).

Judah’s monarchy ruined (Ezekiel 21:27): A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I have made it. This also will not be until he come whose right it is. I will give it to him. Following the removal of Zedekiah, Judah’s monarchy will be in utter ruin (emphasized by the threefold repetition of the noun). The term ruin is a word play on the term iniquity or guilt, that is used three times in Ezekiel 21:23-25. The punishment was to fit the crime.

The monarchy will exist no more until he come whose right it is. There can be little doubt that this is a messianic prediction and a clear reference to Genesis 49:10. Until Shiloh comes in Genesis 49:10 (NASB) shows that the rule (scepter) would remain in the tribe of Judah till Messiah (Shiloh) came. The kingly line will be overthrown and God’s people will remain without a king until that one arose who had been anticipated throughout Old Testament history. When Messiah finally comes, the royal insignia is given to him. He will be “the culmination of everything to which the Davidic house and the messianic kingship in Israel always have pointed."

SWORD AGAINST AMMON

Ezekiel 21:28-32

A Symbolic Action (Ezekiel 21:28-30 a): As for you, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the children of Ammon and their taunt, and say: O sword, keen-edged, furbished to the uttermost for slaughter that it may flash. (29) While they see falsehood about you, while they divine lies regarding you, to lay you upon the necks of the wicked who will be slain, whose day has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end. (30) Cause it to return to its sheath! Apparently Ezekiel again takes up his sword. He turns it against the Ammonites. They might have thought that they would escape the wrath of Nebuchadnezzar when Judah was invaded. However, the ones who had mocked when Judah had experienced earlier invasions by Nebuchadnezzar should not imagine that they will escape a similar fate. The sword of divine judgment was sharpened and polished to the uttermost, i.e., as much as it could receive, so as to be a terrifying and effective instrument of punishment (Ezekiel 21:28).

Ammonite soothsayers were envisioning peace and security for their kingdom. Such divination was false and unreliable. Ultimately Ammon will share the same fate as Jerusalem. Her slain will fall in heaps upon the necks of the wicked that are to be slain, i.e., upon the bodies of the Jews previously slain by Nebuchadnezzar. For them divine punishment has been decreed, and that punishment must certainly come (Ezekiel 21:29). At this point Ezekiel is commanded to return his symbolic sword to its sheath.

God’s Anger on Ammon (Ezekiel 21:30-32): (30b) In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. (31) I will pour out my wrath upon you. I will blow you with the fire of my wrath. I will give you into the hand of ruthless men, skillful destroyers. (32) You will become fuel for the fire. Your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will not be remembered; for I the LORD have spoken it. The symbolic action performed by Ezekiel came to an end. The execution of the judgment thereby predicted shortly will follow. God will judge Ammon on its own soil—the place where you were created (Ezekiel 21:30). Note: Concerning Ammon, Allen (WBC, 28) understands Ezekiel 21:30-32 to refer to a threat against the sword, i.e., Babylon. The "sword" becomes Yahweh’s victim. Babylon too was doomed to fall.

God’s anger against Ammon will grow ever more intense as does a flame blown by bellows. Ammonites could expect no mercy from the ruthless Babylonians into whose hands they were about to fall (Ezekiel 21:31).

Judah will be carried into exile; but Ammon will be destroyed in the midst of their land. For Ammon there was no hope of restoration like that which Ezekiel portrays as Israel’s future. Ammon will pass into oblivion. Such was the final decree of the sovereign ruler of all nations (Ezekiel 21:32).

EZEKIEL 22

A SINFUL NATION

In chs 22-24, Ezekiel continues to hammer away at the theme of Israel’s defilement. Again his underlying premise is that Judah deserves the forthcoming judgment. By means of three oracles, two parables and a symbolic action, the prophet underscores the defilement of the land of Israel in the past and in the present. Each chapter in this section forms a distinct unit that may be titled as follows: (1) A Sinful Nation (Ezekiel 22:1-31); (2) A Sad History (Ezekiel 23:1-49); (3) A Significant Date (Ezekiel 24:1-27).

Chapter 22 contains three separate oracles, each of which begins with the phrase, the word of the LORD came to me (Ezekiel 22:1; Ezekiel 22:17; Ezekiel 22:23). These messages originally may have been uttered on separate occasions. However, there is logic in the grouping of these three messages here. They share the common theme of the defilement of Israel. One might suggest the following titles for these three sermons: (1) The Bloody City (Ezekiel 22:1-16); (2) The Smelting Furnace (Ezekiel 22:17-31); (3) The Corrupt Land (Ezekiel 22:23-31).

THE BLOODY CITY

Ezekiel 22:1-16

As in chs 16 and 20, Ezekiel sets forth Jerusalem’s abominations. Here, however, the prophet exposes present, rather than past sins.

Initial Indictment and Threat (Ezekiel 22:1-5)

Instructions (Ezekiel 22:1-2): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) As for you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then make known to her all her abominations. Again Ezekiel is asked if he will judge Jerusalem (cf. Ezekiel 20:4). Before he can pronounce such judgment, Ezekiel must inform the inhabitants of the bloody city of the charges against them (Ezekiel 22:2). The phrase “bloody city” is used of Nineveh in Nahum 3:1. He therefore lists for them their crimes:

Indictment (Ezekiel 22:3): Say: Thus says the Lord GOD: O city that sheds blood in her midst, that her time may come, and that makes idols unto her to defile herself. Jerusalem’s abominable deeds are essentially two. First, the city sheds blood in her midst. This brazen disregard for life indicates the terrible moral debasement of the place. Second, the Jerusalemites had made idols for themselves. Thus they had committed the ultimate sin on the vertical as well as the horizontal dimension of covenant obligation.

Result (Ezekiel 22:4-5): The abominations of Jerusalem have five terrible results.

Judicially guilty (Ezekiel 22:4 a): You are guilty in the blood that you have shed. The citizens had become judicially guilty, hence deserving of punishment.

Religiously defiled (Ezekiel 22:4 b): You are defiled by the idols that you have made. They had become defiled, i.e., contaminated by something foreign to Jerusalem’s very nature.

Politically in jeopardy (Ezekiel 22:4 c): You have caused your days to draw near. You have come unto your years. The bloodshed and idolatry had caused Jerusalem’s days [i.e., days of retribution] to draw near. The years of dispersion and exile which commenced in 597 B.C., continued until the fall of Babylon in 539 B.C.

Publicly mocked (Ezekiel 22:4-5): (4d) Therefore, I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all lands! (5a) Those that are near and those that are far from you will mock you... In the eternal counsels of God, Jerusalem already had been made a reproach and an object of mockery to all neighboring lands. The judgment is certain.

Universally despised (Ezekiel 22:5 b): O you defiled of name and great of tumult. The people of God will become known far and near. They will be defiled of name, i.e., have a bad reputation derived from the fact that their land was full of tumult, i.e., turmoil and confusion caused by war and natural calamity.

After this brief aside on the nearness of judgment, Ezekiel continues the catalog of crimes committed by his countrymen.

Judah’s Sins Amplified (Ezekiel 22:6-12)

In Ezekiel 22:6-12 the accusations Ezekiel 22:3-4 are amplified.

Sins of oppression (Ezekiel 22:6-7): Behold, the princes of Israel, each according to his strength, they have been in you in order to shed blood. (7) In you they have made light of father and mother. In the midst of you they have dealt with the stranger by oppression. In you they have wronged the orphan and widow. The word “Behold” introduces the shocking crimes of the princes or leaders of Judah had abused their power even to the point of bloodshed (Ezekiel 22:6). His strength is lit., his arm. Government might was used to oppress rather than uplift people. The phrase is used of Nineveh in Nahum 3:1. In open defiance of the fifth commandment, the people of Judah had ridiculed and mocked their elderly fathers and mothers. Furthermore, oppression of the helpless—the strangers or sojourners, the orphans and widows—was common throughout the land (Ezekiel 22:7).

Religious sins (Ezekiel 22:8-9 a): You have despised my holy things. You have profaned my sabbaths. (9) Talebearers have been in you to shed blood. In you they have eaten upon the mountains. The Jerusalemites had despised the holy things of God by the disrespectful way in which they conducted themselves in the temple. The weekly Sabbath and the special festival days designated as sabbaths had been profaned by the hypocritical conduct of the worshipers (Ezekiel 22:8). Involvement in idolatrous worship had caused a general decline in commitment to truth. Disregarding the prohibition against bearing false witness, talebearers or slanderers had sent many innocent persons to face the death penalty. Many participated in the idolatrous worship exercises upon the hills (Ezekiel 22:9 a).

Sexual sins (Ezekiel 22:9-11): (9b) In the midst of you they have committed lewdness. Lewdness or unchastity was an integral part of pagan rituals (Ezekiel 22:9 b). Unlike his contemporary Jeremiah who says virtually nothing about sexual sins, Ezekiel expands the general charge of lewdness with five sexual crimes.

First degree incest (Ezekiel 22:10 a): In you a father’s nakedness has been uncovered. Ezekiel accuses the Jews of having uncovered a father’s nakedness of their fathers, i.e., engaged in an incestuous relationship with a stepmother (cf. Leviticus 18:7 f.). According to a rabbinic tradition, this verse refers to King Amon who is said to have had intercourse with his mother.

Violation of sexual privacy (Ezekiel 22:10 b): In you they have humbled the woman who was unclean in her impurity. The men had humbled the woman, i.e., forced sexual relations with a spouse, during her monthly flow. The law forbade intercourse with a menstruous woman (cf. Leviticus 18:19; Leviticus 20:18).

Adultery (Ezekiel 22:11 a): One has committed an abomination with the wife of his neighbor... The Jews had committed the abomination of adultery with a neighbor’s wife.

Second degree incest (Ezekiel 22:11 b): while another has defiled his daughter-in-law with lewdness. They had committed incest with a daughter-in-law. Marriage made a woman a sister to every other male in the family. Though not blood kin, sex with a daughter-in-law was equivalent to incest.

Rape (Ezekiel 22:11 c): Still another in you has humbled his sister, his father’s daughter. The Jews had humbled, i.e., raped, their half-sisters (cf. Leviticus 18:9; Leviticus 18:15).

Sins of avarice (Ezekiel 22:12): In you they have taken gifts in order to shed blood. Interest and increase you have taken. You have gotten illicit gain from your neighbor by oppression. You have forgotten me (oracle of the Lord GOD). Bribery of judicial officials leading to the execution of innocent men was common in Judah (Ezekiel 22:12 a). In violation of the laws against usury (cf. Leviticus 25:36 f.), the wealthy had taken undue interest. Thus they had enhanced their personal wealth through greed and oppression (Ezekiel 22:12 b). All of the above sins grew out of one fundamental transgression: Judah forgot God. To remember God is to respond to his gracious acts by covenant faithfulness. Note: A recent example of abuse of royal power is that of King Jehoiakim who built an new palace with forced labor (Jeremiah 22:13-19).

Punishment (Ezekiel 22:13-16)

God’s action (Ezekiel 22:13): Behold I have smitten my hand at your illicit gain that you have made, and against your blood that exists in your midst. The word Behold introduces the shocking response of God to the sin of Judah. In a gesture of anger, God is said to smite his hands, i.e., to clap his hands, to summon the agents of judgment.

God’s questions (Ezekiel 22:14): Can your heart endure? Can your hands be strong for the days when I will deal with you? I the LORD have spoken, and will do it. By means of a rhetorical question, Ezekiel drives home the point that the Jews will not have the fortitude or the physical strength to stand against the enemies by which God will bring judgment upon them. With God the very pronouncement of judgment is tantamount to the act of judgment. What he decrees he will surely bring to pass.

God’s intention (Ezekiel 22:15-16): I will scatter you among the nations, and spread you in the lands. I will consume your uncleanness from you. (16) You will be profaned in yourself in the sight of the nations. You will know that I am the LORD. As far as Judah was concerned, judgment involved (ultimately) exile to foreign lands. Those who had escaped the deportation of 597 B.C. were soon to experience that fate. However, this exile will have a positive benefit. The people of God will be purged of their uncleanness, i.e., their sin and iniquity (Ezekiel 22:15). They then will realize that Yahweh who knows the end from the beginning had brought this calamity to pass. But however beneficial the ultimate result, the exile will not be a pleasant experience. In the sight of the nations, Judah will be profaned, i.e., humiliated and debased. This will generate feelings of shame and remorse. In a certain sense this profanation will also affect Yahweh himself, as Ezekiel 36:20 will explain (Ezekiel 22:16).

THE SMELTING FURNACE

Ezekiel 22:17-22

Condition of the People (Ezekiel 22:17-18): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (18) Son of man, the house of Israel has become to me dross. All of them are bronze, tin, iron and lead in the midst of a furnace. They are the dross of silver. The thought in Ezekiel 22:15 that the exile will purge the filthiness from Judah is amplified in this paragraph. The house of Israel, i.e., Judah, has become like a metallic ore, a mixture of various minerals and impurities that must undergo a smelting process. Numerous ancient smelting furnaces have been found, along the Arabah, south of the Dead Sea. They once were silver; now they are dross, i.e., worthless.

Melt-down of the Nation (Ezekiel 22:19-22)

The furnace (Ezekiel 22:19-20): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Because all of you have become dross, therefore, behold, I am about to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. (20) As they gather silver, bronze, iron, lead and tin into the midst of a furnace to blow the fire upon it to melt it, thus I will gather you in my wrath and fury. I will cast you into [the fire], and melt you. Jerusalem, where the inhabitants will gather to make their last stand, will serve as the symbolic furnace in which the refining process will begin (Ezekiel 22:19).

The fire (Ezekiel 22:21): I will gather you. I will breathe upon you with the fire of my wrath. You will be melted in the midst of it. The wrath and fury of the Lord will be the fire that will heat that furnace.

The result (Ezekiel 22:22): As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, thus you will be melted in the midst of it. You will know that I the LORD have poured out my wrath upon you. Through the holocaust, the precious silver—the spiritual remnant—will become evident. All the inhabitants of Jerusalem will know that they had experienced the judgmental fury of the one true and living God.

THE CORRUPT LAND

Ezekiel 22:23-31

Corruption of the Religious Leaders (Ezekiel 22:23-26)

The prophets (Ezekiel 22:23-25): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (24) Son of man, say to her: You are a land not cleansed, or rained upon in the day of indignation. (25) There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst, like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured souls. They have taken treasure and precious things. They have multiplied her widows in the midst of her. The Lord regarded Judah as defiled (a land not cleansed), spiritually desolate (nor rained upon) and deserving of judgment (Eze 22:23). This condition existed primarily because of the actions of her national leaders.

The prophets had entered into a conspiracy, a solemn pact that they will predict only peace and security for the nation. Their loud oratory, like the roar of a lion, was only the prelude to national disaster. The character of these men was indicated by their greed. In exchange for treasure and precious things, they will paint the future in the most optimistic hues. But the results of this kind of prognostication were disastrous. Lives will be lost and widows made numerous by the ruinous national policy that they encouraged (Eze 22:25).

The priests (Ezekiel 22:26): Her priests have done violence to my law. They have profaned my holy things. They have not distinguished between the holy and the common. They have not taught the difference between the unclean and clean. They have hidden their eyes from my sabbaths. I am profaned among them. The priests were not one whit better than the prophets. Instead of teaching the law of God and exemplifying its contents, they had done violence to God’s law. They failed to teach it. They violated its teaching. They profaned the holy things of God by not adhering to the regulations that served to underscore the sanctity of the temple. They failed both in their private lives and in their public teaching to differentiate between holy and common, i.e., they allowed holy things to be used in profane ways (cf. Leviticus 10:10 f.). Likewise, the Mosaic distinction between clean and unclean was ignored both as regards meat fit for food, and as regards the ritual purity of worshipers. They hid their eyes from the sabbaths of God, i.e., they looked on indifferently as God’s people desecrated those sacred days. By means of all the above named transgressions, the priests had done violence to God’s law. They had profaned, i.e., treated disrespectfully, the Lord God (Ezekiel 22:26). Note: The connotation of the verb and phrase “done violence” is that of "violence" done against persons, not property. Since the law reflects god’s nature, violation of his law is a personal attack against Him.

Corruption of Societal Leaders (Ezekiel 22:27-29)

The princes (Ezekiel 22:27-28): Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey: to shed blood, and to destroy souls, in order to acquire illicit gain. (28) Her prophets have daubed for them with white plaster, seeing falsehood and divining lies to them, saying, Thus says the Lord GOD, when the LORD has not spoken. The princes, like fierce wolves, shed blood and destroyed lives so as to enrich themselves. Probably these men used legal machinery to achieve their ends (Ezekiel 22:27).

Prophets were supposed to rebuke wicked men, expose national corruption and warn of impending disaster. Judah’s prophets, however, had whitewashed the leadership. They supported their dangerous international policy by proclaiming falsehood. They used pagan divination to conjure up some of their lies. Yet they brazenly announced their prophecies with Thus says the Lord (Ezekiel 22:28; cf. Ezekiel 13:10).

The landowners (Ezekiel 22:29): The people of this land have engaged in oppression. They have been involved in theft. They have wronged the poor and needy. They have oppressed the stranger unlawfully. The people of the land, i.e., the wealthy landholders, unlawfully had resorted to robbery and oppression against the helpless element of society and the strangers who sojourned in the land.

Total Corruption (Ezekiel 22:30-31): I sought for a man among them to build up the wall, one to stand in the breach before me for the land that I should not destroy it. I found none. (31) Therefore, I have poured out upon them my wrath. In the fire of the my anger, I have consumed them. Their way I have placed upon their head (oracle of the Lord GOD). The population was thoroughly corrupt. God could find no moral leader to stand in the breach in the moral wall that protected Judah from judgment (cf. 13:5). Morality is like a wall that shields a people from divine wrath. Where that wall breaks down, judgment enters. Judah needed a national leader of the highest quality to use his influence for good to repair that broken wall. None was available (Ezekiel 22:30).

The moral collapse of a nation is inevitably followed by its physical destruction. So certain is the judgment that God uses the past tense to describe what will yet befall Judah. There was no escape! (Ezekiel 22:31).

EZEKIEL 23

A SAD HISTORY

In ch 23 Ezekiel vividly portrays the history of the sister kingdoms of Israel and Judah. This is the third of Ezekiel’s surveys of Israel’s history (cf. chs 16, 20). Inspiration for the present allegory may have come from Jeremiah 3:6-10. In ch 16 God likened Jerusalem to a prostitute. The same figure is used of the entire nation here. The emphasis in the previous allegory was on spiritual fornication with Canaanite cults. Here the emphasis is on Israel’s political adultery, i.e., political alliances with foreign powers. Chapter 16 stressed the beginnings of Israel’s history, whereas ch 23 places more emphasis on her later history.

INTRODUCTION OF THE SISTERS

Ezekiel 23:1-4

Their Earliest Harlotry (Ezekiel 23:1-3): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of the same mother. (3) They committed harlotry in Egypt. They committed harlotry in their youth. There their breasts were pressed, yes there their virgin breasts were fondled. The allegory begins with the introduction of two women, daughters of one mother. The kingdoms of Israel and Judah had their origin in the united nation of Israel that existed from the time of Egypt to Solomon (Ezekiel 22:2).

The tribes of Judah (represented by Jerusalem) and Ephraim (represented by Samaria) had experienced the Egyptian bondage. Even in that formative period of Israel’s history, the sisters had shown inclinations toward idolatry. Using the figure of sexual license—the fondling of the breasts— Ezekiel describes how God’s people lost their virgin chastity even before leaving Egypt (Ezekiel 22:3).

Their Identity (Ezekiel 23:4): iAs for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah. The sisters are given similar names. Such was the practice in the East. Samaria is Oholah (she who has a tent). The significance of this name is not clear. It may refer to Samaria’s propensity for heathen tent-shrines. Note: Alexander (EBC, 851) references a recently excavated platform for a tent-shrine on Mount Gerizim. Jerusalem is Oholibah (my tent is in her). Perhaps this name has reference to the tent that David erected in Jerusalem to house the ark of God. Cf. 2 Samuel 6:17; 1 Kings 8:4; 1 Chronicles 15:1; 1 Chronicles 16:1 et al. Another view is that Ezekiel is thinking of a nomadic tent, i.e., God’s people were only camping out down in Egypt.

God says that both cities became mine, i.e., they belonged to the Lord as his possession. This is usually taken to indicate marriage, although the text does not make this clear. Under the Mosaic law, marriage to two sisters was forbidden (Leviticus 18:18). If Ezekiel uses an illegal marriage arrangement to illustrate God’s relationship to Israel and Judah, he may be hinting that he regarded the schism of 931 B.C. as illegal. On the other hand, the language they became mine may refer to adoption (Genesis 48:5). Both cities bore sons and daughters. These children most likely referred to their inhabitants and satellite towns.

SAMARIA’S PROSTITUTION

Ezekiel 23:5-10

Description of the Harlotry (Ezekiel 23:5-8)

Harlotry with the Assyrians (Ezekiel 23:5-6): Oholah committed harlotry under me. She threw herself on her lovers, on the Assyrians [They were] warriors, (6) clothed with blue, governors and rulers, all of them handsome young men, horsemen riding on horses. For the purposes of this allegory, Samaria is called the elder sister because that city had experienced the judgment of God prior to Jerusalem. Oholah (Samaria) committed harlotry from under God, i.e., from under his authority as her lawful husband. She threw herself at various lovers among whom the Assyrians were most notable. Ezekiel is echoing Hosea in condemning the northern kingdom’s involvement with Assyria. Cf. Hosea 5:13; Hosea 8:9; Hosea 14:3.

The Assyrian warriors, dressed in handsome uniforms and led by men of note, attracted the inhabitants of Samaria. The first king of Israel to render tribute to Assyria was Jehu in 841 B.C. The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser depicts and describes the scene.

Involvements of her harlotry (Ezekiel 23:7): She bestowed her harlotries upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them. On whomsoever she threw herself, with all their idols she defiled herself. Israel plunged headlong into political alliance with Assyria. She willingly paid the price demanded of all allies, viz., homage to the Assyrian deities. Thus did Samaria defile herself with all their idols.

Magnitude of her harlotry (Ezekiel 23:8): She did not forsake her Egyptian harlotries; for they lay with her in her youth, and they bruised her virgin breasts. They poured out their lust upon her. The corrupt Oholah (Samaria) did not forsake her earlier harlotries when she took up with the Assyrians. She had committed spiritual adultery in Egypt. She had prostituted herself before Egyptian idols. Throughout her history she had continued to engage in those pagan cultic practices. Samaria was fascinated by military powers and the gods worshiped by those powers.

Punishment of the Harlotry (Ezekiel 23:9-10): Therefore, I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians upon whom she threw herself. (10) They uncovered her nakedness. They took her sons and daughters, and slew her with the sword. She became a byword to women, for judgments were made against her. Because of her harlotries, Oholah (Samaria) was delivered by God into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians. What irony, to be destroyed by the nation that she counted on as lover, i.e., ally (Ezekiel 23:9).

Another example of involvement with Assyria is found in 2 Kings 15:19-20. Hosea had opposed military alliance with Assyria (Hosea 5:13 to Hosea 6:6). God into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians. What irony, to be destroyed by the nation that she counted on as lover, i.e., ally (Ezekiel 23:9).

The Assyrians stripped Oholah—ravished her land, removed her wealth. The sons and daughters of Samaria were carried away into captivity. Oholah herself was slain with the sword, i.e., Samaria was destroyed by military action. Oholah became a name—a byword or warning—to all other women (nations) who might contemplate unfaithfulness to the Lord. What happened to Samaria should have been a warning to Jerusalem (Ezekiel 23:10).

JERUSALEM’S PROSTITUTION

Ezekiel 23:11-21

Her Harlotry with the Assyrians (Ezekiel 23:11-13): Her sister Oholibah saw this. She became corrupt in her doting more than she, and in harlotries more than the harlotries of her sister. (12) She threw herself upon the Assyrians. [They were] governors and rulers, warriors, clothed handsomely, horsemen riding horses, all of them handsome young men. (13) I saw that she was defiled. They both went the same way. Oholibah (Jerusalem) learned nothing from the experience of her elder sister. She became yet more corrupt, adopting the same policy of political and religious flirtation with foreign powers, but intensifying it (Ezekiel 23:11). She too fell for the Assyrians with their handsomely clad officers and warriors (Ezekiel 23:12; cf. Ezekiel 23:5-6).

Whereas Judah derived much advantage from the alliance with Assyria, from the religious point of view, the association was disastrous. The reference may be to King Ahaz’s appeal to Tiglath-pileser for help (2 Kings 16:7). Isaiah opposed the policy of reliance on Assyria. God saw immediately that Judah had defiled herself with the Mesopotamian practices. Both sisters—Samaria and Jerusalem—had pursued the same corrupt way (Ezekiel 23:13).

Her Lust for the Chaldeans (Ezekiel 23:14-16): She added to her harlotries; for she saw men depicted upon the wall. [She saw] the images of Chaldeans depicted in red color, (15) girded with girdles upon their loins, with flowing turbans upon their heads, all of them with the appearance of captains, the likeness of the sons of Babylon, the Chaldeans, the land of their captivity. (16) When she saw them, she threw herself upon them. She sent messengers to them to Chaldea. The harlotries—pagan practices—of Jerusalem were more extensive than those of Samaria. Oholibah saw paintings depicting the glories of a people who lived beyond Assyria. Oholibah’s lust for political liaison was kindled by the sight of the martial Chaldeans (Ezekiel 23:14) girded in native dress. The waist-belt and turban with dangling fillets was the garb that set the sons of Babylon apart as a distinct people in the ancient world (Ezekiel 23:15). Oholibah (Jerusalem) was unable to resist the lure to associate with this strange and exotic people. She threw herself upon them by sending messengers there to negotiate the alliance (Ezekiel 23:16).

Her Harlotries with the Babylonians (Ezekiel 23:17-18): The Babylonians came to her to the bed of love. They defiled her with their harlotries. She was defiled by them. Then her soul was alienated from them. (18) So she uncovered her harlotries. She uncovered her nakedness. Then my soul was alienated from her, as my soul was alienated from her sister. The Babylonians were quick to take advantage of Judah’s thoughtless infatuation. They came to her into the bed of love, i.e., they entered eagerly into the alliance with Judah. The result was inevitable. Judah was further defiled by the Babylonian cults that were transplanted there. Eventually Judah felt revulsion at this alliance. She tried several times unsuccessfully to disengage herself from this entanglement. The reference is to efforts of Jehoiakim and later Zedekiah to free themselves from Babylonian domination.

One step remained before Oholibah (Jerusalem) reached the depth of corruption. In the process of trying to pry herself loose from the clutches of Babylon, Oholibah had uncovered her nakedness in an effort to attract other lovers who might rescue her. Such degrading national conduct was revolting to God. he now felt toward Judah the same antagonism that He had felt towards Samaria over a century earlier. He was alienated from his people (Ezekiel 23:18).

Further Harlotries (Ezekiel 23:19-21): Yet she multiplied her harlotries, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the harlot in the land of Egypt. (20) She threw herself upon their concubinage, whose flesh is as the flesh of donkeys, and whose sexual potency is like that of horses. (21) So you relived the lewdness of your youth when in Egypt your breasts were bruised because of the breasts of your youth. Oholibah seemed undismayed at the accusation of God’s prophets that she was alienating herself from God. She multiplied her harlotries. Recalling her ancient association with Egypt, she made overtures in that direction (Ezekiel 23:19). To break her ties to Babylon, Oholibah threw herself upon their concubinage, i.e., Judah was willing to become one of the numerous vassal states of Egypt. The harlot Oholibah was attracted by the sexual potency of Egypt that is likened to that of a donkey or horse. Flesh is a euphemism for male genitals (cf. NIV). Sexual potency refers to emission of semen. Oholibah was drawn toward bestiality! Ezekiel uses this astonishing figure to underscore the vulgarity of power politics (Ezekiel 23:20). Note: At the same time, Ezekiel may be warning that the mismatch of such an unequal sexual liaison will result in painful death (cf. Lind, BCBC, 197). Egyptian customs and cults long forgotten were called to remembrance. Judah plunged headlong into spiritual harlotry and political alliance with their ancient enemy to the south (Ezekiel 23:21).

JERUSALEM’S JUDGMENT

Ezekiel 23:22-35

Ezekiel now utters four threats against Oholibah (Jerusalem). Each threat begins with thus says the Lord GOD.

First Threat (Ezekiel 23:22-27)

Coming of Babylon (Ezekiel 23:22-24)

They come at God’s summons (Ezekiel 23:22): Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to stir up your lovers against you, those from whom your soul is alienated. I will bring them against you round about: As time went on, Judah became alienated from her lovers. She wished to be free of all foreign entanglements. But morally and spiritually the damage already had been done. Ironically, God will use Judah’s lovers as the instrument by which to punish his people.

They come a vast throng (Ezekiel 23:23): the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shea and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, governors and rulers all of them. [They are] captains and counselors, all of them riding upon horses. Ezekiel names the various racial and linguistic groups that made up the empire of Nebuchadnezzar. Pekod, Shea, and Koa are now known to be races inhabiting the land east of the Tigris and bordering on Elam or Persia. What a handsome sight that will be when those troops from far-off Mesopotamia come against Jerusalem! The description of the military personnel is virtually repeated from Ezekiel 23:6 and Ezekiel 23:12.

They come for war (Ezekiel 23:24 a): They will come against you with hosts, chariots, wheels, and with an assembly of peoples. With shield, buckler, and helmet they will set themselves against you round about. The host from Mesopotamia is armed to the teeth with the finest military equipment. This great force will be deployed against Jerusalem in siege operations. Ezekiel is underscoring Yahweh’s opposition to Israel’s involvement in the military culture of the day.

They come for judgment (Ezekiel 23:24 b): I will commit judgment to them. They will judge you according to their judgment. God had commissioned those troops to execute his judgment upon Jerusalem. They will fulfill that commission according to their judgment, i.e., in their own ruthless fashion.

Deportation to Babylon (Ezekiel 23:25-27)

Deported or killed (Ezekiel 23:25 a): I will set my jealousy against you. They will deal with you in wrath. They will remove your nose and your ears. The rest of you will fall with the sword. They will take your sons and daughters. Yahweh is a jealous God. He will not tolerate his people engaging in flirtations with other deities and trusting in human might. God will set his jealousy against Judah, i.e., he will bring divine retribution upon them. The I/they interchange underscores that God will use foreigners as the agents of his wrath. The attacking forces will deal ruthlessly with Jerusalem. The nose and ears of the adulterous Oholibah will be removed. The reference probably is to be taken figuratively of the execution or deportation of the leading citizens of the nation. In ancient times disfigurement was inflicted on women caught in adultery. Other citizens will fall by the sword or be taken as slaves.

Plundered and burned (Ezekiel 23:25-26): (25b) The rest of you will be consumed with fire. (26) They will strip off your garments, and take away your fair jewels. The houses and property of the city will be put to the torch (Ezekiel 23:25) after being plundered (Ezekiel 23:26).

Exposed and converted (Ezekiel 23:27): I will cause your lewdness to cease from you, and your Egyptian harlotry, so that you will not lift up your eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more. The fall of that nation and subsequent exile will cure the Jews of their lewdness, i.e., fascination with political power. Pagan practices learned in Egypt will be abandoned and forgotten. To lift up your eyes to them indicates trust and devotion. The expression is usually used of idols. Trusting in earthly powers is akin to idolatry. History records that God’s judgment of Jerusalem did have this purging and purifying effect.

Second Threat (Ezekiel 23:28-31)

Announcement of doom (Ezekiel 23:28): For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold I am about to give you into the hand of the one you hate, into the hand of the one from whom your soul is alienated. The Jews will be delivered into the hand of their hated enemy, the Babylonians.

Description of devastation (Ezekiel 23:29): They will deal with you in hatred. They will take away all your labor. They will leave you naked and bare. The nakedness of your harlotries will be uncovered, both your lewdness and your harlotries. The Babylonians will deal with the Jews in hatred. They will take away all the labor, i.e., fruit of the labors, of the Jerusalemites. The land will be stripped of all its wealth and left naked and bare. By the drastic extremes of the punishment the magnitude of the harlotries of Jerusalem, i.e., idolatrous sins, will be revealed.

Explanation of disaster (Ezekiel 23:30-31): These things will be done to you because you have whored after nations, and because you were defiled by their idols. (31) You walked in the way of your sister. Therefore, I will place her cup in your hand. Again the prophet pounds home his point that the judgment will fall upon Jerusalem because the Jews had entered into alliances with foreign nations instead of trusting in the Lord. Consequently they had been corrupted by the practices of these nations (Ezekiel 23:30).

Oholibah (Jerusalem) had followed the example of her sister Oholah (Samaria). The bitter cup of divine judgment had been drunk by the northern kingdom in the days of the great Assyrian kings. Now that cup will pass into the hands of Judah (Ezekiel 23:31).

Third Threat (Ezekiel 23:32-34): Thus says the Lord GOD: You will drink the cup of your sister that is deep and large. It will be for scorn and derision. It is full to the uttermost. (33) You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria. (34) You will drink it, drain it, and gnaw its shards. You will tear your breasts, for I have spoken (oracle of the Lord GOD). The cup of judgment was deep, large and full to the brim with bitter brew. Consuming the contents of that cup of judgment will bring scorn and derision to Judah (Ezekiel 23:32). The nation will manifest the characteristics of a drunken man (Ezekiel 23:33). The cup will be drained to the last drop. The vessel itself will be chewed up so that the beverage that had soaked into the pottery could be consumed. In drunken madness, the inebriated Oholibah will tear at her breasts in anguish. This figure conveys the thought that the complete measure of divine judgment must be endured (Ezekiel 23:34).

Fourth Threat (Ezekiel 23:35): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have forgotten me, and cast me behind your back; therefore, bear also your lewdness and your harlotries. The fourth threat repeats the word therefore. The first therefore identifies the root cause of Jerusalem’s dalliance with power politics and the associated idolatry. Jerusalem had forgotten God. To cast me behind your back is a metaphor depicting a deliberate and violent act. To forget God is to deny his saving acts and to choose the path of trusting in self or others rather than in God. The second therefore indicates that such lewdness and harlotries (i.e., faithlessness exhibited on numerous occasions) must be punished.

ADDITIONAL INDICTMENT AND JUDGMENT

Ezekiel 23:36-49

Apostasy Literally Depicted (Ezekiel 23:36-39): The LORD said unto me, Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations. (37) For they have committed adultery. Blood is on their hands. With their idols they have committed adultery. Also their sons, whom they bore to me, they offered up to them to be devoured. (38) This also they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day. They have profaned my sabbaths. (39) For when they had slain their sons to their idols, then they came unto my sanctuary the same day to profane it. Behold, thus they did in the midst of my house. To correctly judge the guilty sisters, Ezekiel must declare to them the abominations that they had committed (Ezekiel 23:36). What a record! Adultery, both literal and spiritual--bloodshed, idolatry! Children who had been committed to God in the rite of circumcision were later set apart to be devoured by (i.e., sacrificed to) the god Molech (Ezekiel 23:37). Such gross pagan rites were deliberately scheduled for a Sabbath (Ezekiel 23:38). Human sacrifice at the high place of Molech was followed by a trip to the temple of the Lord. Was this brazen hypocrisy, or evidence of seared conscience? In either case, their presence in the temple was an affront to God (Ezekiel 23:39).

Apostasy Figuratively Depicted (Ezekiel 23:40-44)

Pursuit of lovers (Ezekiel 23:40-41): Furthermore you have sent for men that come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent. Behold, they came, [these] for whom you washed, painted your eyes, and decked yourself with ornaments. (41) You sat upon a stately bed, with a table arranged before it, upon which you set my incense and my oil. . Judah actively pursued idolatry. Messengers were sent to far places to invite idolaters to come and teach them pagan rites. Like a harlot attempting to lure men into her house, Judah prepared for her lovers. She washed herself, put make-up about her eyes, and bedecked herself with ornaments (Ezekiel 23:40). The harlot sat on a beautiful bed or couch at a sumptuous table. The allusion is to the ancient custom of reclining on couches during a meal. It was the custom at meals to burn incense and to rub oneself with scented oils after the meal. The adulterous Judah took the luxuries that God had bestowed on her and used them to advance the cause of idolatry (Ezekiel 23:41).

Pagan revelry (Ezekiel 23:42): The voice of a multitude at ease was in it. With men of the common sort were brought drunkards from the wilderness. They put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads. Sounds of careless revelry were heard in Jerusalem. Thus were alliances formed with various nations, even with common men and drunkards from the wilderness, i.e., men of the most degraded type. With bracelets and crowns, Oholibah sought to attract these worthless neighbors.

Tireless involvement (Ezekiel 23:43-44): Then I said to her worn out by adulteries: Still they commit harlotries with her, even her. (44) For one went in unto her as one goes unto a harlot. So they went in unto Oholah and unto Oholibah, the lewd women. The two nations (Judah and Israel) never seemed to tire of this profligacy. They persisted in their imported idolatries (Ezekiel 23:43). The immoral sisters had relations with any idolatrous cult that made any effort to enter the country. Oholah and Oholibah became like a harlot who is indiscriminate in her immoral conduct (Ezekiel 23:44).

Judgment Figuratively Depicted (Ezekiel 23:45-49)

Nature of the judgment (Ezekiel 23:45): But righteous men will judge them with the judgment of women who commit adultery, and with the judgment of those who shed blood; for they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands. Compared to Jerusalem and Samaria, the Babylonians and Assyrians were righteous men. These “righteous men” were God’s appointed judges over the adulterous sisters. Oholah and Oholibah were adulteresses and murderesses. They were to be judged accordingly. The blood that stained the hands of the sisters was mainly that of innocent children slain in pagan rites.

Execution of the judgment (Ezekiel 23:46-47): For thus says the Lord GOD: An assembly will be brought up against them. They will be made a horror and a spoil. (47) The assembly will stone them with stones. They will be cut down by their swords. Their sons and their daughters they will slay. They will burn their houses. God was about to bring a great assembly of nations against Jerusalem. The holy city will be treated so mercilessly that it will become an object of horror and spoliation (Ezekiel 23:46). As under the law of Moses, the adulteress (Jerusalem) will be stoned (cf. Deuteronomy 13:10). The sons and daughters of Jerusalem will be thrust through with swords. The houses of the city will be burned (Ezekiel 23:47).

Purpose of the judgment (Ezekiel 23:48-49)

A fourfold purpose in God’s judgment is indicated in Ezekiel 23:48-49.

Lewdness to cease (Ezekiel 23:48 a): I will cause lewdness to cease from the land... Judgment will bring an end to lewdness (idolatry) in the Promised Land.

Others are warned (Ezekiel 23:48 b): that all the women might be taught that they might not do according to your lewdness. Other women (surrounding nations) will take warning from the fate of Oholibah.

Idolatry recompensed (Ezekiel 23:49 a): Your lewdness will be placed upon you. You will bear the sins of your idols. It was necessary that Jerusalem received the recompense for her idolatrous harlotry.

Knowledge increased (Ezekiel 23:49 b): You will know that I am the Lord GOD. Finally, God must execute this punishment in order to bring his people into a proper knowledge of himself.

EZEKIEL 24

JUDGMENT HAS ARRIVED

Chapter 24 begins with an important chronological note. Three things of importance happened in the ministry of Ezekiel on that date. Ezekiel (1) delivered a judgment parable (Ezekiel 24:1-14), (2) received word concerning two judgment signs (Ezekiel 24:15-27), and (3) uttered four oracles condemning neighboring nations (Ezekiel 25:1-17).

INTRODUCTION

Ezekiel 24:1-2

The word of the LORD came unto me in the ninth year, the tenth month, the tenth day of the month, saying, (2) Son of man, write for yourself the name of the day, this very day. This very day the king of Babylon has leaned upon Jerusalem. According to Ezekiel 24:1, Nebuchadnezzar began his attack against Jerusalem in the ninth year (of Zedekiah), the tenth day of the tenth month. The same date is given in 2 Kings 25:1; and Jeremiah 52:4. In terms of the modern calendar, the date is Dec 29, 588 B.C. Only here does Ezekiel depart from his usual practice of giving dates according to the captivity of Jehoiachin. The importance of this date caused him to use the reign of Zedekiah, in order to bring his listing of the date into harmony with that of 2 Kings 25:1 and Jeremiah 52:4.

The Jews commemorated this date for centuries by fasting (Zechariah 8:19). Ezekiel was told to write the name of the day of the week and the day of the month (this very day). This written record was to be made so that later when the news filtered back to the captives in Babylon the genuine prophetic foresight of Ezekiel would be authenticated.

PARABLE OF THE COOKING POT

Ezekiel 24:3-14

The Parable Introduced (Ezekiel 24:3-5)

Preparing the pot (Ezekiel 24:3): Utter a parable against this rebellious house, and say unto them; Thus says the Lord GOD: Set on the pot. Set it on. Pour water into it. On that fateful day, Ezekiel set forth a parable concerning Jerusalem. For the third time he expresses his thoughts in a song. This "cooking pot song" is comparable to the "sword song" of Ezekiel 21:8-17 and the "cup song" of Ezekiel 23:32-34. The inhabitants of Jerusalem previously had used the image of a caldron to support their delusion of invincibility (cf. Ezekiel 11:3). Now Ezekiel gives the true interpretation to that image. A pot is filled with water and placed on the stove. This symbolizes the first stage of the siege of Jerusalem.

Filling the pot (Ezekiel 24:4-5): Gather into it the pieces belonging to it, every good piece—the thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with the choice bones. (5) Take the choice of the flock, and also pile the bones under it. Boil it well, that its bones may boil in the midst of it. The chunks of meat placed in the pot symbolize the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the fugitives from other towns who sought refuge there. The good pieces of meat and choice bones represent the civil and military leaders (Ezekiel 24:4) who come from the choice of the flock, i.e., the upper classes. Bones as well as meat—the total population—were to be placed in that pot, with the bones under the meat. Ezekiel is then to bring the pot to a boil until even the bones—the toughest members of society—are brought to a boil (Ezekiel 24:5). The boiling water points to the destructive turbulence of the Babylonian siege.

First Woe (Ezekiel 24:6-8)

Judgment announced (Ezekiel 24:6): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose filth is in it, and whose filth has not gone out of it! Bring it out piece by piece. No lot is fallen upon it. The prophet drops the symbolism in v 6 and sets his message in plain prose. He pronounces a woe on the bloody city of Jerusalem, the pot whose filth had never been removed. For similar indictment of Jerusalem as a bloody city, see Ezekiel 22:2. Cf. Ezekiel 7:23; Ezekiel 9:9; Ezekiel 22:6-13. The reference is to the bloodstains of the innocent who had been murdered in Jerusalem. Piece by piece the chunks of meat in that pot will be removed. By this the prophet means that the destruction of the city and the deportation of the inhabitants will take place in stages. No lot is fallen on the content of that pot, i.e., the deportation will be indiscriminate.

Judgment explained (Ezekiel 24:7-8): For her blood is in the midst of her. Upon the bare rock she set it. She did not pour it out upon the ground to cover it with dust, (8) to cause fury to go up, that vengeance might be taken. I have set the blood upon a bare rock, that it should not be covered. Openly and unashamedly crimes had been committed in Jerusalem. Evidence of bloodshed could be seen throughout the place. It was as though Jerusalem had smeared blood on a bare rock that was in plain view. The law required animal blood to be poured to the ground and covered with dust (cf. Leviticus 17:13). However, no similar effort had been made to conceal the blood of humankind unjustly slain (Ezekiel 24:7). God will preserve those bloodstains in plain view, so that he might execute divine wrath on those responsible (Ezekiel 24:8).

Second Woe (Ezekiel 24:9-14)

Boiling stage (Ezekiel 24:9-10): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city. I also will make the pile great, (10) heaping on the wood, kindling the fire, that the flesh may be consumed; and preparing the mixture that the bones may be burned. A second time the sentence against Jerusalem is pronounced. They had piled one sin on top of another. God will now make the pile great, i.e., he will heap up the fuel for their punishment (Ezekiel 24:9). God will gather the wood, kindle the fire, and prepare the mixture of spices to be added when the meat had been sufficiently cooked. It was God’s purpose to consume the meat (population of Jerusalem) and burn the bones (leaders, especially military leaders) in that pot (Ezekiel 24:10).

Melt-down stage (Ezekiel 24:11-12): Then I will set it empty upon its coals, that it may be hot, and the bottom of it burn, that its impurity may be melted in it, that its filth may be consumed. (12) She has wearied (me) with toil. Yet its great filth will not go out from it. Its filth will be in the fire. After the contents of that pot (Jerusalem) had been consumed, God will see to it that the pot itself was melted down, thereby removing the filth (Ezekiel 24:11). Thus Jerusalem will be purified by the conflagration. God had attempted from time to time to purge Jerusalem, but to no avail. This may be an allusion to the deportations of 604 B.C. and 597 B.C. The uncleanness of the city could only be removed by the drastic process of melting down the caldron, i.e., destroying Jerusalem (Ezekiel 24:12).

Conclusion (Ezekiel 24:13-14)

Finality of judgment (Ezekiel 24:13): Because of your filthy lewdness, because I purged you, and you were not purged from your uncleanness, you will not be purged from your uncleanness anymore until I have satisfied my wrath on you. The prose conclusion to the Song of the Pot uses the first-person singular pronoun seven times. All efforts to reform the nation through prophetic admonition had failed. No further effort in that direction will be attempted. All that remained was for God to pour out his wrath and purge the place by total destruction. Lewdness in Ezekiel is used in a figurative sense for negotiating military treaties and idolatry. (See Ezekiel 16:27; Ezekiel 16:43; Ezekiel 16:58; Ezekiel 22:9; Ezekiel 23:21; Ezekiel 23:27; Ezekiel 23:29; Ezekiel 23:35; Ezekiel 23:48-49).

 

Certainty of judgment (Ezekiel 24:14): I the LORD have spoken it. It will come to pass. I will do it. I will not go back. I will not have pity. I will not repent. According to your ways and according to your deeds they will judge you (oracle of the Lord GOD). The Lord will hand the Judeans over to the Chaldeans who will execute a judgment upon Jerusalem that was appropriate to her sins. Such is the irrevocable divine decree. Note: The Hebrew uses the prophetic perfect, viewing the action as so certain it could be described as already completed.

JUDGMENT SIGNS

Ezekiel 24:15-27

First Sign (Ezekiel 24:15-24)

Instructions from the Lord (Ezekiel 24:15-17): The word of the LORD came unto me saying, (16) Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the desire of your eyes with a stroke. Yet you will not lament or weep, nor will your tears come down. (17) Sigh silently. Make no mourning for the dead. Your headdress bind upon you. Your sandals put upon your feet. Do not cover your lip. Do not eat the bread of men. A shocking announcement was made to the prophet on that day when Jerusalem came under siege. It was an announcement that caused Ezekiel much grief. The desire of your eyes—your wife—will die with a stroke, i.e., she will die suddenly without having been previously sick. The prophet was commanded to refrain from any lamentation or mourning rites (Ezekiel 24:16).

Ezekiel was to sigh in silence, i.e., to internalize his agony (cf. Jeremiah 16:5-7). He was not to resort to the customary loud cries of lamentation. He was not to loosen his headgear to let his hair hang down covering his upper lip. He was not to remove his sandals nor eat . . . the bread of men, i.e., the mourner’s meal supplied by friends and relatives (Ezekiel 24:17). What a difficult burden the Lord laid on his prophet. Ezekiel’s silent grief was to symbolize the stupefying effect that the fall of Jerusalem will have on the Jews at home and abroad. They will be too stunned for customary expressions of grief.

Obedience by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 24:18): So I spoke unto the people in the morning. My wife died in the evening. I did in the morning as I was commanded. Even though he knew his wife will die at any moment, Ezekiel continued his ministry of preaching. That evening his wife died. The next morning Ezekiel carried out the Lord’s command to sigh in silence.

A request by the people (Ezekiel 24:19): The people said unto me: Will you not declare to us what these things are to us that you are doing? Perplexed by his strange behavior, the people sensed that the prophet was trying to convey some symbolic meaning to them. Thus they inquired concerning his conduct.

Explanation by the prophet (Ezekiel 24:20-24)

Shocking loss (Ezekiel 24:20-21): I said unto them, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the longing of your soul. Your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. In response to the inquiry of his fellow exiles, Ezekiel first indicated that what he had been doing and what he was about to say came from God (Ezekiel 24:20). Ezekiel explained that he had just suffered the loss of the desire of his eyes, the one he held most precious. The Jews were about to lose their temple. The loss thus incurred is indicated in the text by three expressions that underscore the prominent place that sacred structure occupied in the hearts of the Jews. The temple was (1) the pride of your power, i.e., what guaranteed, so they thought, the invincibility of Jerusalem and permanence of their national existence; (2) the desire of your eyes, i.e., what they held to be most precious; and the longing of your soul, i.e., what they most missed by being exiled to Babylon. That sacred spot was about to be profaned by being delivered into the hands of heathen men. Along with the loss of that temple, the exiles will lose their sons and daughters who had been left behind in the doomed city (Ezekiel 24:21).

Stupefying grief (Ezekiel 24:22-23): You will do as I have done. You will not cover your lip. You will not eat the bread of men. (23) Your headdress will be upon your heads, and your sandals upon your feet. You will not lament, nor weep; but you will waste away in your iniquities, and moan one to another. When the exiles hear of the destruction of the temple and the loss of their children, they will be thrown into shock, unable to observe the conventional mourning customs (Ezekiel 24:22). Added to the news of the unthinkable disaster in Jerusalem will be the pangs of guilty conscience. During that period of grief the once proud exiles will waste away in their iniquities. In almost inaudible expressions, they will moan one to another (Ezekiel 24:23).

Significant sign (Ezekiel 24:24): Ezekiel will be to you a sign. According to all that he has done, you will do. When it comes to pass, you will know that I am the Lord GOD. In his manner of mourning, the Lord had appointed Ezekiel as a sign to the exiles. As the prophet had abstained from outward display of mourning, so also will the exiles. When all this came to pass—the news that Jerusalem had fallen and the temple had been destroyed—they will know that the event had been decreed by the Lord.

Second Sign (Ezekiel 24:25-27)

News of Jerusalem’s fall (Ezekiel 24:25-26): As for you, son of man, will it not be in the day I take from them their stronghold, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, the yearning of their soul, their sons and their daughters, (26) that the one who escapes in that day will come unto you to cause you to hear it with your ears? The love that a Jew had for the temple is difficult for westerners to understand. The temple was their stronghold upon which they based their confidence of national permanence. It was the joy of their glory, the magnificent edifice of which they were so proud. It was the desire of their eyes, that which they loved dearly. Some commentators take the phrase desire of their eyes to refer to the sons and daughters rather than the temple. It was the yearning of their soul, that which above all they longed to see again. When that structure fell, and along with it their sons and daughters (Ezekiel 24:25), a fugitive of the slaughter will hasten to Babylon to bear the sad tidings.

Opening of Ezekiel’s mouth (Ezekiel 24:27): In that day your mouth will be open, together with the one who escaped. You will speak, and will no more be dumb. You will be a sign to them. They will know that I am the LORD. In the day the news of Jerusalem’s fall was announced, Ezekiel will no longer be dumb. The previous discussion of the dumbness of Ezekiel in Ezekiel 3:25-27 should be reviewed at this point. The message he had been preaching for so many years will thus be authenticated. His mission as a messenger of God will then be accepted by his fellow exiles. The sign of his wife’s death portends judgment and death; this sign will trumpet salvation and life.

EZEKIEL 25

WORD AGAINST AMMON

Ezekiel 25:1-7

The Ammonites had been vicious enemies of Israel since the time of the judges (Judges 10:9). Their ruthlessness is clearly indicated in the account of the siege of Jabesh-gilead (1 Samuel 11). When the territories east of Jordan had fallen to Assyria, and the tribes there had been deported, the Ammonites had taken over the unoccupied area.

First Announcement of Judgment (Ezekiel 25:1-5)

Introduction (Ezekiel 25:1-3 a): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, set your face against the children of Ammon. Prophesy against them (3) and say to the children of Ammon, Hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD: The Ammon oracle begins with the strongest possible declaration of inspiration: and the word of the LORD came unto me (Ezekiel 25:1). To this is added the directive for Ezekiel to set his face against Ammon and prophesy against them (Ezekiel 25:2). This may have involved an actual facial expression, or it may simply indicate that the prophet was to deliver a negative prophecy. Ezekiel was to address the Ammonites as though he stood in their midst: Hear the word of the Lord GOD (Yahweh). Yahweh alone was Lord, i.e., master, not Chemosh, the god of Ammon. To further underscore the Lordship of Yahweh and the authority of what follows, Ezekiel adds the traditional messenger formula: Thus says the Lord GOD (Ezekiel 25:3 a).

Ammon’s sin: arrogant gloating (Ezekiel 25:3 b): Because you have said, Aha! against my sanctuary when it was defiled, and against the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity... The Ammonites were gloating (Aha!) over three misfortunes of the Judeans: (1) God’s sanctuary had been defiled. (2) the land of Israel had been made desolate; and (3) the house of Judah had gone into captivity. The Ammonites had cast covetous eyes on the now unoccupied land of Judah.

Ammon’s sentence (Ezekiel 25:4-5)

What Ammon’s enemy will do (Ezekiel 25:4): therefore, behold, I am about to give you to the children of the east for a possession. They will set their encampments and make their dwelling places among you. They will eat your fruit, and drink your milk. For their arrogant pride and blasphemous intentions, God will bring swift judgment on Ammon. Ammon will be delivered over to the children of the east, i.e., marauders from the Arabian desert. They will overrun the land, encamp within it, and build their permanent dwellings there. These strangers will forcibly take from the Ammonites the fruit of their labor. In Ezekiel 21:28-32 Ezekiel had predicted Nebuchadrezzar will turn his wrath against Ammon after be had destroyed Jerusalem. Some conclude that the children from the east here are the Babylonians. Josephus (Ant. 10.9.7) records that Nebuchadnezzar brought Ammon and Moab into subjection in the fifth year after the fall of Jerusalem (c. 581). Cf. Grider, BBC, 579; Alexander, EBC, 865.

What the Lord will do (Ezekiel 25:5): I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels, and the children of Ammon for a resting place for flocks. Then you will know that I am the LORD. As a result of God’s judgment, Rabbah, Ammon’s capital city, will become a stable for the hoards of camels possessed by the desert invaders. The rest of the land will become grazing pasture for their flocks. The fulfillment of the predictions will vindicate Yahweh in the eyes of the Ammonites (Ezekiel 25:5). They will learn by bitter experience that God is not mocked.

 

Second Announcement of Judgment (Ezekiel 25:6-7)

Ammon’s sin (Ezekiel 25:6): For thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have clapped the hands, and stamped with the feet, and have rejoiced with all contempt in (your) soul against the land of Israel...The Ammonites had rejoiced with utmost glee over the fate of the land of Israel. Outwardly they manifested their joy by clapping the hands and stamping the feet. Clapping the hands or stamping the feet can express scorn, anger or rejoicing. Cf. Ezekiel 6:11; Ezekiel 21:14; Ezekiel 21:17; Ezekiel 22:13; Isaiah 55:12.

Ammon’s fate (Ezekiel 25:7): therefore, behold, I have stretched forth my hand against you. I will give you for spoil to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples. I will cause you to perish from the lands. I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the LORD. Because of their attitude, God will stretch out his hand against them, i.e., take active measures to assure their downfall. In four awesome and essentially synonymous “I wills,” God declared that Ammon’s national existence will come to an end.

Note: The proper meaning here is-- I will (1) deliver you for spoil; (2) cut you off; (3) cause you to perish; and (4) destroy you. Josephus (Ant. 10.9.7) reports that Nebuchadnezzar campaigned against Ammon and Moab in his twenty-third year (582 B.C.). The area was largely depopulated before the middle of the sixth century B.C. until the third, at which time desert tribes came in to fill the vacuum.

WORD AGAINST MOAB

Ezekiel 25:8-11

Ezekiel’s attention next fell upon Ammon’s neighbor to the south, Moab. From the earliest times the Moabites had manifested hostility toward Israel. Balak, king of Moab, had attempted to curse the children of Israel just before the death of Moses (Numbers 22-24). Legend has it that the Moabites slew the parents of David whom he had left there for safety during his flight from Saul (cf. 1 Samuel 22:3). The Moabites warred against Omri, Ahab, and the combined army of Jehoram of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah (2 Kings 3). The Moabite Stone records the boasts of the king of Moab in this respect. The region of Seir, jointly occupied by Moab and Edom, is included in the present oracle. Seir is not found in the Greek text of Ezekiel. Due to the fact that Seir is usually associated with Edom, rather than Moab, the Greek translators apparently deliberately omitted the word.

Moab’s Sin: Willful blindness (Ezekiel 25:8): Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Moab and Seir have said, Behold, the house of Judah is like all the nations. The sin of Moab and Seir was twofold: failing to recognize (1) the distinctiveness of Israel, and (2) the uniqueness of Israel’s God (v 8). Israel no longer enjoyed the miraculous protection she had enjoyed in the past. In their view Israel’s God was no more able to protect her than were the gods of surrounding nations.

Moab’s Sentence (Ezekiel 25:9-11)

Fortresses fall (Ezekiel 25:9): Therefore, behold, I am about to open the flank (shoulder of Moab, i.e., the side of Moab exposed to invasion.) of Moab on the side of the cities, its cities from its frontier, the glory of the land, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim. The fortress cities of Moab will pose no obstacle to the advancing forces of Yahweh. To make this point concrete, Ezekiel names three such cities in Ezekiel 25:9. Beth-jeshimoth (“the house of waters”) was on the plain of Moab opposite Jericho, about a thousand feet below sea level. Baal-meon ("house of Baal’s habitation") and Kiriathaim (“double city”) were about ten miles to the southeast on the Moab plateau, about two thousand feet above sea level.

Land occupied (Ezekiel 25:10): I will give it to the children of the east, along with the children of Ammon, for a possession in order that the children of Ammon may not be remembered among the nations. On the eastern frontier, Moab’s fate is similar to Ammon’s. Children of the east, i.e., desert raiders, will overthrow the land.

Moab educated (Ezekiel 25:11): So in Moab I will execute judgments. They will know that I am the LORD. These judgments will convince the Moabites that Yahweh of Israel was the powerful and almighty God.

WORD AGAINST EDOM

Ezekiel 25:12-14

The Edomites were descended from Esau. They occupied the territory south of the Dead Sea. Although the twins, Esau and Jacob, were reconciled during their lifetime (Genesis 33), their descendants were involved in perpetual hostilities. The Edomites had not allowed the Israelites to pass through their land in the days of Moses (Numbers 20:14-21). Amos (Ezekiel 1:11-12) and Obadiah condemned the Edomites for earlier hostile acts against Israel. Jeremiah lashed out against them (Jeremiah 49:7-11; Lamentations 4:21-22). Later Malachi will blast Edom as well (Malachi 1:2-5).

Note: The date of Obadiah is in dispute among biblical scholars. Many consider Obadiah as one of the earliest of the writing prophets. He may have been active during the reign of Jehoram of Judah (848-841 B.C.). The historical record indicates that Israel had responded in kind to the viciousness of the Edomites (2 Samuel 8:13; 1 Kings 11:14-16; 2 Chronicles 25:11-12).

Edom’s Sin: Vengeful Conduct (Ezekiel 25:12): Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Edom’s dealings with the house of Judah have been the result of vengeful conduct, he has incurred enormous guilt by executing vengeance against them. Edom’s sin was a vengeful spirit toward the people of God. Private vengeance is forbidden in both testaments (e.g., Leviticus 19:18; Romans 12:17-19). Even in international relations, vengeance is a divine prerogative (cf. Deuteronomy 32:35; Hebrews 10:30). Apparently, at the time of the Babylonian invasion of Judah, the Edomites had seized the opportunity to get revenge against Judah. Thus they had committed a grave offense.

Edom’s Sentence (Ezekiel 26:13-14)

Result of God’s judgment (Ezekiel 26:13): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: I will stretch out my hand against Edom. I will cut off from it man and beast. I will make it a desolation. From Teman even toward Dedan they will fall by the sword. For the crimes committed against his people, God will stretch out his hand against Edom. Man and beast will be cut off from the land. Even Teman, one of the leading cities of Edom, will become desolate. The slaughter will extend south of Edom as far as Dedan. (Ezekiel 25:13).

Note: The Dedan most frequently mentioned in the Scripture was located in Arabia, about three hundred miles southeast of Teman. Dedan is elsewhere mentioned in connection with Edom only in Jeremiah 49:8. Possibly Jeremiah and Ezekiel are referring to a settlement of Dedanites within the territory of Edom rather than to the famous caravan city of that name. On the other hand, the two prophets may be suggesting that the disaster that will befall Edom will sweep southward even to Dedan.

Agents of God’s judgment (Ezekiel 25:14): I will put my vengeance in Edom by the hand of my people Israel. They will deal with Edom according to my wrath and according to my anger. Thus they will know my vengeance (oracle of the Lord GOD). The devastation of Edom will be wrought by the hands of the Israelites. Acting as God’s agents, they will teach Edom the vengeance of Yahweh. God exercises vengeance to rectify wrong within the divine kingdom, and against that kingdom (Ezekiel 25:14).

As in most of the prophecies against foreign nations, the predicted demise of Edom occurred gradually. The process started with an attack by Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah 9:26; Jeremiah 25:21; Jeremiah 27:1-11. In some sense Ezekiel 32:29 and Malachi 1:2-5 regard Edom’s desolation as past. Edom fell into Arab hands in the fifth century B.C. In the third century B.C., the area was overrun by the Nabateans. In the second pre-Christian century, the remnant of the Edomites was conquered by the Jewish general Judas Maccabeus (1 Maccabees 5:65). The Edomites were finally forced to accept circumcision and the Jewish faith. In this amalgamation, the Edomites disappeared from history.

WORD AGAINST PHILISTIA

Ezekiel 25:15-17

The Philistines invaded Palestine about 1200 B.C. in the days of the judges. They hailed from the island of Caphtor (Amos 9:7). Knowing the secret of smelting iron, they immediately gained the advantage over the Israelites who still fought and farmed with bronze weapons and implements. Samson fought valiantly against them. Samuel inflicted upon them a stinging defeat (1 Samuel 7:13). It was David, however, who broke their power. From that point on, in periods of strength Israel dominated Philistia. In periods of Israelite weakness, however, the Philistines broke free. During these periods of independence, the Philistines did all they could to harass the Jews.

Philistia’s Sin (Ezekiel 25:15): Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the Philistines have acted in revenge. They have taken vengeance with contempt in (their) soul to destroy with eternal enmity. Ezekiel condemned the Philistines for their constant enmity against Judah. Filled with ruthless vengeance, they were determined to destroy utterly the people of God.

Philistia’s Sentence (Ezekiel 25:16-17)

God’s vengeance (Ezekiel 25:16-17 a): Therefore, thus says the LORD: Behold, I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistine. I will cut off the Cherethites, and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. (17) I will execute great vengeance on them by acts of furious chastisement. God’s mighty hand, so recently stretched out against Jerusalem, will now be turned against these neighbors who had aided and abetted the Babylonians. The Philistines, and the Cherethites who lived among them, will be destroyed. In fact all the remnant of the seacoast will be destroyed (Ezekiel 25:16). God’s vengeance against these people will take place in the form of wrathful rebukes (NASB) or acts of furious chastisement (BV). This suggests that the demise of the seacoast peoples will be the result of repeated blows (Ezekiel 25:17).

Note: The Cherethites were probably a band of Cretan mercenaries brought to the southern coast of Palestine by the Egyptians. David hired them for his personal bodyguard. They proved intensely loyal to him. In this passage, as well as Zephaniah 2:5, Cherethites are condemned along with Philistines. The two peoples must have been closely related.

God’s exaltation (Ezekiel 25:17 b): They will know that I am the LORD when I execute my vengeance on them. The fulfillment of this prediction began in the sixth century B.C. during the lifetime of Ezekiel. Gaza was attacked and destroyed by Pharaoh Hophra. Later the Babylonians devastated the land. During the intertestamental period the Jewish armies made several campaigns into the area, doing substantial damage. (See: 1 Maccabees 5:68; 1 Maccabees 10:84; 1 Maccabees 13:47-48.)

Reading the four short oracles of ch 25, one cannot help but recall the promise made to Abraham: I will bless them that bless you, and curse them that curse you (Genesis 12:3 a). God always has been concerned about worldly attitudes and actions toward his people.

People of the world are not in sympathy with God’s program and plan. Ammonites who gloat over the misfortune of God’s people are still in abundance. Modern Moabites will secularize the people of God by refusing to acknowledge that he indeed has called out of the world a chosen people. The Edomites are illustrative of those who are vindictive and openly hostile toward God’s people. The Philistines are those who act out their hatred and brutality toward God’s people. The abiding message of this chapter is that God defends the honor of his people Ultimately he overthrows all who oppose his people.

EZEKIEL 26

DESTRUCTION OF TYRE

Ezekiel devotes eight chapters of his book to oracles against foreign nations. Jerusalem had fallen. Yet before Ezekiel related this fact to his readers, he recorded the revelation that God will some day judge the heathen nations and cities around Judah.

Ezekiel speaks of seven different nations in all. Having warned the small neighboring states of Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia (Ezekiel 25:1-17), Ezekiel denounced the two commercial centers of the day, Tyre and Sidon (Ezekiel 26:1 to Ezekiel 28:26). The final blast is directed against Egypt (Ezekiel 29:1 to Ezekiel 32:32).

Some commentators express surprise that Babylon is not singled out in this section for condemnation. Ezekiel deliberately refrained from announcing the destruction of that nation, for to do so would have been too glaring a provocation. However, it did not demand great intelligence to conclude that if God was going to pour out his judgment upon these nations, Babylon surely could not altogether escape. Jeremiah already had written a lengthy condemnation of Babylon, so one from Ezekiel was unnecessary. Furthermore, an anti-Babylon oracle by Ezekiel might have stirred up the exiles to foolish resistance to the Babylonian government.

Ezekiel organizes the oracles against foreign nations topically rather than chronologically. The Phoenician seaport cities of Tyre and Sidon first come under the purview of the prophet. Tyre, the more important of the two cities, receives far more attention—seventy-six verses as compared to but four verses devoted to Sidon.

The lengthy Tyre material is itself divided into four distinct messages. The first two speak of the city itself, the last two of the king of that city. H.L. Ellison has offered the interesting suggestion that Ezekiel saw in the fall of the commercial city of Tyre a picture of the fall of Babylon, a similar commercial metropolis.

To appreciate the prophecies regarding Tyre, one needs to be familiar with some of the geography of the place. Tyre is located a mere thirty-five miles as the crow flies from the Sea of Galilee, and only a hundred miles or so from Jerusalem. Ancient merchants traversed this distance by camel in a few days. Tyre was situated in a most advantageous location on the Mediterranean Sea coast. The city possessed two excellent harbors, one on the mainland where a portion of the city was built, and the other on an off-shore island where the main fortress was located. It was this rocky island that gave the city its Hebrew name, "rock.” The island city helped double the trading capacity of Tyre as well as provide a last refuge for the citizens in time of attack.

The Phoenicians were the merchants of antiquity. Export products included glassware and dyed materials. A beautiful purple dye was made from a shellfish native to the area. Tyre was a prize that conquerors desired above all others. Tyre seems to have suffered less damage than the other states of Syria-Palestine during the Assyrian era, although she had to pay heavy tribute to maintain her commercial freedom.

The prediction of Tyre’s destruction can be divided into four paragraphs, each introduced by the traditional messenger formula, thus says the Lord GOD.

DATE OF THE ORACLE

Ezekiel 26:1

It came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying... The Tyre material is dated to the eleventh year of Jehoiachin’s captivity. The month is not stated in the text, but it was likely the sixth month. If it was the first day of the sixth month on which the oracles against Tyre were composed, the date would be September 18, 587 B.C. About twenty months have elapsed since the last events and prophecies recorded in the book (cf. Ezekiel 24:1-2 and Ezekiel 26:1). The siege of Jerusalem had been under way for about nine months at the time Ezekiel delivered his Tyre messages.

REASON FOR THE DESTRUCTION

Ezekiel 26:2-6

Tyre’s Gloating (Ezekiel 26:2-3 a): Son of man, because Tyre has said concerning Jerusalem: Aha! She who was the gates of peoples is broken; it has turned unto me; I will be filled with the one who has been laid waste. (3) Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre. The first paragraph of the Tyre oracle is couched in the because . . . therefore pattern of the previous chapter. Tyre’s offense was that she had gloated over the fall of Jerusalem. That brought down on her the wrath of Yahweh, in fulfillment of Genesis 12:3. Proverbs 17:5 declares: whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished. Jerusalem had been the gates of the peoples, a major trading center at the intersection of international trade-routes. The caravan tolls that once filled Jerusalem’s coffers came to Tyre now that the capital of Judah had been laid waste. A bit of greed and selfishness is evidenced in the joyous exclamation, I will be filled (Ezekiel 26:2). Because of this greed and arrogant pride, the God of Israel declared himself to be an adversary of Tyre (ERze 26:3a).

Five Predictions (Ezekiel 26:3-6): (Begins at Ezekiel 26:3 b) Five specific predictions concerning the future of Tyre are contained in Ezekiel 26:3-6.

Prediction #1 (Ezekiel 26:3): I will bring up against you many nations, as the sea causes its waves to come up. Many nations will come against Tyre. Wave after wave of enemy soldiers will storm that place (Ezekiel 26:3 b). Commencing with the attack of Nebuchadnezzar, Tyre experienced at least five major assaults: Alexander the Great attacked the place in 332 B.C. He succeeded in conquering the city after a siege of seven months. Antigonus besieged Tyre in 314 B.C. and conquered the city after a siege of fifteen months. The Arabs captured the city in A.D. 636. The place was retaken by the Crusaders in A.D. 1124. Finally, the Arabs recaptured Tyre in A.D. 1291.

Prediction #2 (Ezekiel 26:4): They will destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers. I will scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock. Tyre will be made a bare rock. The proud walls and towers will be broken down (v 4). Alexander the Great scraped the old mainland site of Tyre clean. With the debris and rubble he built a peninsula out into the sea. By means of this mole, he was able to make a land assault on the island fortress.

Prediction #3 (Ezekiel 26:5 a): She will become a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea; for I have spoken it (oracle of the LORD). Fisherman will spread their nets over the site of Tyre. The dry rocky island will be a suitable place for such activity. The presence of fishnets implies fishermen. Hence, the prophet is not suggesting that the site of Tyre will be totally abandoned. A small fishing village exists upon the ancient ruins of Tyre today. Modern Tyre is not the original city, but was built down the coast from the ancient site.

Prediction #4 (Ezekiel 26:5 b): She will become a spoil for the nations. Tyre will become spoil for the nations (Ezekiel 26:5 b). History records that each successive wave of attackers enriched itself at the expense of Tyre.

Prediction #5 (Ezekiel 26:6): Her daughters who are in the field will be slain with the sword. They will know that I am the LORD. Satellite towns and villages (her daughters) on the mainland will be slain by the sword, i.e., destroyed by warfare. Nebuchadnezzar took the mainland city of Tyre and the surrounding towns and villages during his campaign in that region.

All of the five blows mentioned above will befall Tyre for two reasons: (1) the God who cannot lie had so decreed it in a solemn oracle (Ezekiel 26:5); and (2) the God of Israel will thereby be vindicated in the eyes of the Phoenician peoples (Ezekiel 26:6).

AGENTS OF DESTRUCTION

Ezekiel 26:7-14

Assault by Nebuchadnezzar (Ezekiel 26:7-11)

The generalized predictions regarding the fate of Tyre are amplified in Ezekiel 26:7-14. The successive waves of attack against Tyre are initiated by Babylon.

His approach (Ezekiel 26:7): For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to bring Nebuchadrezzar against Tyre, king of Babylon, from the north, king of kings, with horses and chariots, horsemen, a company, even much people. The sixth specific prediction of the Tyre oracle is that Nebuchadrezzar will destroy the mainland city of Tyre. The name Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 27:8), appears four times in the book (Ezekiel 26:7; Ezekiel 29:18-19; Ezekiel 30:10). Ezekiel’s spelling is closer to the Babylonian form of the name. The Chaldean king is here called king of kings because he had dominion over dozens of vassal kingdoms (cf. Daniel 2:37; Ezra 7:12). Nebuchadnezzar will approach Tyre from the north around the hump of the Fertile Crescent. Armed to the teeth, Nebuchadrezzar’s cavalry, chariots and innumerable infantry will approach Tyre (Ezekiel 26:7).

His siege (Ezekiel 26:8-9): He will slay with the sword your daughters in the field. He will make movable towers against you, cast up a mound against you, and raise up shields against you. (9) He will set his battering rams against your walls. Your towers he will break down by his axes. First, the mainland towns and villages—Tyre’s daughters—will fall. The attack on the island fortress was to follow the standard siege tactics of that day. Forts or siege towers will be erected to allow the attacking soldiers to be elevated to the level of the wall where they more easily could engage the defenders. Mounds of earth and rubble were heaped up about the city to accomplish the same purpose. Large shields linked together provided protection for the besiegers (Ezekiel 26:8). Battering rams were used to attempt to penetrate the stone walls. Axe-like swords were used to destroy other fortifications (Ezekiel 26:9).

His conquest (Ezekiel 26:10-11): Because of the multitude of his horses, their dust will cover you. At the noise of his horsemen, wheels, and chariots your walls will shake, when he enters into your gates as men enter a city through a breach. (11) With the hoofs of his horses he will tread down all your streets. He will slay your people with the sword. The pillars of your strength will go down to the ground. In hyperbolic language typical of such battle scenes, Ezekiel paints the picture of the coming conqueror. Clouds of dust, generated by the approach of innumerable horses, will billow up over the walls. The walls of the city will seem to shake from the pounding hoofs and speeding chariots. The hostile conqueror will enter into the gates of the trembling city as men enter a city through a breach, i.e., without resistance (Ezekiel 26:10). Within the captured city, a merciless slaughter will take place. Cavalry units will be dispatched down every street to slay all who might be found there. The sacred and symbolic pillars, that had been erected in honor of the national god Melqart, will come crashing to the ground (Ezekiel 26:11). Herodotus makes mention of two such pillars in the city of Tyre.

Successors of Nebuchadnezzar (Ezekiel 26:12-14)

The destruction of Tyre was not to be accomplished by Nebuchadnezzar alone. Ezekiel 26:3 already has alluded to the many nations that will be involved. This suggests that the destruction of Tyre will be spread over the centuries. Nebuchadnezzar did besiege Tyre, and his siege lasted thirteen years (587-574 B.C.). However, while he appears to have conquered the mainland suburbs of Tyre, he was never able to conquer the island fortress.

Ezekiel was very much aware that Nebuchadnezzar would not be able to capture the entire city (Ezekiel 29:17-20). For this reason God will give to him the land of Egypt. Nonetheless, the long struggle against the Babylonians exhausted the power and resources of Tyre. Tyre’s capitulation in 574 B.C. meant the end of Phoenician national life.⁵⁰⁶ During the Persian period, Tyre lost to Sidon its dominating position on the coast. She also lost her most important trading colonies. However, Tyre continued to survive as a trading and shipping center throughout the Persian period.

An important shift in pronouns from he to they occurs in Ezekiel 26:12. At this point the prophet begins to describe a second stage of Tyre’s destruction. The first half of Ezekiel 26:12 amplifies prediction #4 mentioned above; the latter half of the verse expands on prediction #2. Ezekiel 26:14 a combines and repeats predictions #2 and #3.

City plundered (Ezekiel 26:12 a): They will make spoil of your wealth, and confiscate your merchandise. The wealth of Tyre will fall into the hands of the enemy.

City demolished (Ezekiel 26:12 b): They will break down your walls, and tear down your delightful houses. They will put your stones, your timber and your dust in the midst of the water. The walls and luxurious houses will be torn down. The stone, timber and even the dust of the place will be pushed into the water of the Mediterranean Sea.

The allusion in Ezekiel 26:12-14 a is likely to the armies of Alexander the Great. The Macedonian conqueror attacked the city in 332 B.C. He easily conquered the mainland city, as Nebuchadnezzar had done 250 years earlier. Alexander utterly demolished the place. Then by means of an amazing engineering feat, Alexander accomplished what Nebuchadnezzar had failed to accomplish, viz., he conquered the island fortress. Using the debris from the mainland city, Alexander constructed a causeway half a mile long and two hundred feet wide across the straits. For a time the Tyrians resisted heroically. They utilized fire ships to damage the construction work. Using catapults, they flung on their attackers pots of burning naphtha, sulfur and red-hot sand. Alexander was forced quickly to assemble a fleet of over three hundred ships to protect the construction crews and blockade the city.

After about seven months, the young general grew impatient with the entire operation. He finally ordered floating batteries to be constructed upon which rams were mounted. His naval vessels were able thereby to force their way into the two island harbors. His troops quickly scaled the walls and captured the city. Eight thousand citizens of Tyre were slaughtered, thirty thousand were sold into slavery. Later, two thousand more were hanged. The mole that the armies of Alexander built partly from houses and monuments torn down on the mainland, still remains. It connects what formerly was an island to the mainland.

City silenced (Ezekiel 26:13): I will cause the noise of your songs to cease. The sound of your harps will be heard no more. The joyous sounds of once vibrant Tyre will be silenced.

City abandoned (Ezekiel 26:14 a): I will make you a bare rock. You will become a place for the spreading of nets. The island fortress will be nothing but a barren rock upon which fishermen will spread their nets.

City abandoned (Ezekiel 26:14 b): You will be built no more; for I the LORD have spoken (oracle of the Lord GOD). Prediction #7 is that Tyre will never be rebuilt (Ezekiel 26:14 b). After the destruction by Alexander the Great, several successive cities were built on at least part of the ground once occupied by ancient Tyre. After the Phoenician city of Tyre was conquered by the Moslems, however, it was never rebuilt. The Phoenicians disappeared from history. The insignificant villages built by the Moslems on the site can in no wise be equated with Phoenician Tyre any more than a modern American city could be considered the resurrection of some ancient Indian village that might have once occupied the site. A further consideration is that a city in biblical days was not considered to be built (or rebuilt) until it had walls. A wall-less fishing village could not be considered a resurrection of ancient Tyre.

RESULT OF TYRE’S DESTRUCTION

Ezekiel 26:15-18

Effect on Trading Partners (Ezekiel 26:15-16)

A rhetorical question (Ezekiel 26:15): Thus says the Lord GOD to Tyre: Will not the islands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when the slaughter occurs in your midst? A whole network of satellite trading colonies will be affected by the fall of Tyre. The coastal states along the Mediterranean will quake in consternation at the news of the fall of Tyre.

A dramatic description (Ezekiel 26:16): Then all the princes of the sea will go down from upon their thrones. They will remove their robes, and strip off their woven garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling. Upon the ground they will sit. They will tremble continually, and be appalled over you. Again using prophetic hyperbole, the prophet describes the rulers of the trading partners removing their royal robes. They clothed themselves with trembling, i.e., they took on the demeanor of mourners. They will sit on the ground trembling, visibly shaken by the news that such a powerful overlord had been destroyed.

Effect on Neighboring Princes (Ezekiel 26:17-18)

Sadness (Ezekiel 26:17): They will take up for you a lamentation, and say to you: How sad that the one who was populated from the seas, has been destroyed—the famous city, that was strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, that caused their terror to be on all its inhabitants. News of the demise of Tyre will evoke a lament from neighboring princes. How sad it is, they will wail. Note: The Hebrew ech here (elsewhere echah) introduces a dirge. The most famous and most powerful of all the seafaring people had been destroyed!

Fear (Ezekiel 26:18): Now will the islands tremble in the day of your fall. The islands that are in the sea will be frightened because of your departure. If Tyre had fallen, who will be next? The shipping communities on the islands and coastlands of the Mediterranean will tremble as they contemplated their own prospects for survival.

DOOM OF TYRE

Ezekiel 26:19-21

Desolation (Ezekiel 26:19): For thus says the Lord GOD: When I will make you a desolation, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I will bring up the deep upon you, and the great waters will cover you; Tyre will become as desolate as an uninhabited city. The sea will wash over the bare rock that once was covered with the palaces of merchant princes. Note: Massive walls about the fortress island kept the water of the sea at bay.

Death (Ezekiel 26:20): then will I bring you down with them that go down to the pit, to the people of old. I will make you dwell in the lower parts of the earth, like the places that are desolate from of old, with those who go down to the pit, in order that you may not be inhabited. But I will set glory in the land of the living. The prophet apparently thought of the sinking into the depth of the water as leading to the world of the dead that lay beneath. Tyre will descend into the nether world—the pit— the abode of the dead. The image may have been suggested by Isaiah 14:9 where it is used of Babylon. Translated out of the realm of the poetical, Tyre will die. Descent into the pit is a frequent metaphor for death in Ezekiel and in other prophets. Cf. Ezekiel 31:14-16; Ezekiel 32:18; Ezekiel 32:23-25; Isaiah 14:15; Isaiah 38:18. In the pit of death, Tyre will join the people of old, the dead of former ages, the inhabitants of other cities left desolate. From the time of its destruction, the city will not be re-inhabited. But while Tyre with all its pomp and power will exist only in the spirit world beyond, God will manifest his glory in the land of the living, i.e., in this present world. The everlasting kingdom of God in all of its power and glory will be established.

Prediction #8 is that Tyre will be depopulated. You will not be inhabited (Ezekiel 26:20). Again, the prediction applies to Phoenician Tyre, not subsequent villages that may have had the same name or partially occupied the same site.

Disappearance (Ezekiel 26:21): I will make you a terror. You will be no more. Though you be sought for, you will never be found again (oracle of the Lord GOD). God will use the destruction of Tyre to bring terror to the hearts of other pompous powers (I will make you a terror). NASB renders, I will bring terrors upon you. This translation will raise the question as to whether the terrors referred to what transpired prior to the destruction of Tyre, or after Tyre descended into the pit. The once proud metropolis will leave no trace of her former glory. Tyre will be in the abode of the dead. No one will be able to find her in the land of the living.

Prediction #9 is that Tyre will never be found again (Ezekiel 26:21). Does the prophet mean to say that the city will be so destroyed that its very location will be lost? It is difficult to believe that the actual location of the city could be lost when it formerly occupied an island completely. Probably the meaning is that Phoenician Tyre, once destroyed, will never be found. The glorious and glamorous city will disappear forever.

EZEKIEL 27

LAMENTATION OVER TYRE

Chapter 27 consists of an allegorical dirge song artistically interrupted by a prose section. Tyre is pictured as a beautiful ship superbly equipped and manned by a skilled crew (Ezekiel 27:3-11). In the prose section the ship is said to stop at various ports to collect her cargo (Ezekiel 27:12-25 a). The ship becomes so laden with merchandise that she sinks into the depths of a stormy sea (Ezekiel 27:25-36). This exquisite composition stresses the abiding truth that worldly wealth is transitory and ultimately self-defeating to those who worship it.

THE SHIP PREPARED FOR SAILING

Ezekiel 27:1-11

Introduction (Ezekiel 27:1-3 a): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Now as for you, son of man, take up a lamentation over Tyre. (3) Say to Tyre, who dwells beside the entrances of the sea, merchant of the peoples unto many coastlands... The princes of the sea take up a lament over the fall of Tyre. Here Ezekiel is told to join them by lifting up a lament. This verb is always used in connection with a lamentation because it was uttered in a loud voice. Two phrases here describe Tyre, the object of this lament. Tyre is addressed first as she who dwells beside the entrances of the sea. The plural entrances probably refers to the two sections of the harbor that were known respectively as “the Sidonian” and “the Egyptian” because of the directions that they faced. The second address to Tyre refers to her as the merchant of the people unto many coastlands. The far-flung trading colonies of the Phoenician city-states are one of the marvels of ancient history.

Construction of the Ship (Ezekiel 27:3-7)

The builders (Ezekiel 27:3-4): (3b) Thus says the Lord GOD: O Tyre, you have said, I am perfect in beauty. (4) Your borders are in the heart of the sea. Your builders have perfected your beauty. Tyre was a proud city. She boasted of her perfect beauty (Ezekiel 27:3). The boast was not without foundation. However, such national arrogance was the root of her downfall. Because of her situation on a Mediterranean island, and because of her sea-faring enterprises, Tyre is likened to a ship that roams the seas. Her borders were in the midst of the sea. The Assyrians referred to the Tyrians as those who “dwelled in the midst of the sea.” The builders had spared nothing to make that ship of state a magnificent vessel Ezekiel 27:4).

The building materials (Ezekiel 27:5-7)

The finest wood (Ezekiel 27:5-6): With fir trees from Senir, they have constructed all the planks. Cedars from Lebanon they have taken to make the mast for you. (6) With oaks of Bashan they have fashioned your oars. Your deck they made of ivory, inlaid in boxwood, from the coastlands of Cypress. The construction was sound. Planks of fir from Senir (Mount Hermon, Deuteronomy 3:9), masts of Lebanon cedar, oars of Bashan oak, the decking material was made of boxwood (from Cyprus) inlaid with ivory. Note: Bashan was east of Jordan. The region was famous for its oaks (Isaiah 2:13; Zechariah 11:2).

Exquisite cloth (Ezekiel 27:7): Of exquisitely embroidered work from Egypt was your sail, that served as your ensign. Purple and blue from the coastlands of Elishah was your awning. The sails were of the most costly Egyptian linen embroidered with distinctive colors so as to serve as an ensign for the ship. Her deck awning was of two shades of purple from Elishah. Note: O pinions differ on the location of Elishah. Some argue for a site on Cyprus; others opt for a Syrian location.

Crew of the Ship (Ezekiel 27:8-11)

Naval personnel (Ezekiel 27:8-9): The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers. Your skilled men, O Tyre, were on board as pilots. (9) The elders of Gebal and her skilled men were on board as repairmen. These men were Lit,, the strengtheners of your breach. All the ships of the sea with their sailors were on board in order to barter for your merchandise. The crew on board the good ship Tyre were the finest in the world.

The rowers hailed from Sidon and the island Arvad, a hundred miles north of Sidon. The wisest men of Tyre were at the helm (Ezekiel 27:8). Note: RSV in Ezekiel 27:8 has “corrected” the Hebrew text to read Zemer, a city associated with Arvad. Such arbitrary alterations of the text are unnecessary and unwarranted. The Pilots in Ezekiel 27:8 were , lit,, rope pullers or sailors. Skilled craftsmen from Geba1 served as ship-carpenters (KJV, calkers; lit., repairers of the seams). Note: Gebal (modern Byblos) supplied skilled craftsmen for work on Solomon’s temple (cf. 1 Kgs 5). Furthermore, all the navies of the world assisted her in the transference of her cargo.

Military personnel (Ezekiel 27:10-11): Persia, Lud and Put were in your army, your men of war. Shield and helmet they hung on you; they enhanced⁵²⁴ your splendor. (11) The sons of Arvad and your army were upon your walls round about. The Gammadim were in your towers. They hung their shields upon your walls round about; they perfected your beauty. The marines on board the ship were mercenaries from distant lands. They were attracted, no doubt, by the handsome wages offered by the wealthy merchants of Tyre. They came from Persia⁵²⁵ to the east, Lud (Lydia) in Asia Minor, and Put (Punt) on the western coast of the Red Sea. Persia is mentioned here for the first time in the Bible. The colorful shields and helmets of these soldiers were hung in awesome array along the sides of the good ship Tyre (Ezekiel 27:10). Add to this the presence of yet other armed personnel—the men of Arvad (see on Ezekiel 27:8), and the Gammadim, a people not elsewhere mentioned in the Bible. These soldiers, as well as the army of Tyre itself, will hang their shields on the ship’s sides to further enhance the splendor of the vessel. Note: Your army (NASB; KJV) in Ezekiel 27:10 is made a proper name in the RSV, Helech, which is thought to be Cilicia. Such a rendering involves a change in the vowel points of the word in question.

THE SHIP IN HER PORTS OF CALL

Eze 27:12-25a

The cities that traded with Tyre are given in geographical order in three groupings.

The Western "Ports" (Ezekiel 27:12-15): Tarshish was your client because of the abundance of all kinds of wealth. Silver, iron, tin and lead they traded for your wares. (13) Javan, Tubal and Meshech were your trading partners. Persons of men and vessels of bronze they traded for your merchandise. (14) Those from Beth-togarmah traded horses—war horses and mules—for your wares. (15) The children of Dedan were your trading partners. Many coastlands were your market. Horns of ivory and ebony they brought as your gift. The first group of trading cities consists of those that lie along the Mediterranean trade route. The list begins with Tarshish at the western end of the sea. Tarshish, a mining district in southern Spain, was attracted by the wealth of Tyre to become one of her trading partners. They traded valuable metals for the export products of Tyre (Ezekiel 27:12). Note: Others suggest that Tarshish may have been the Phoenician name for the ancient city of Nora in Sardinia.

Javan is Greece; Tubal and Meshech were tribes in Asia Minor. With these regions Tyre trafficked in slaves (cf. Joel 3:6) and copper ore (Ezekiel 27:13). From Beth-togarmah (probably Armenia), Tyre secured horses, war horses, and mules (Ezekiel 27:14). Note: The Hebrew used here frequently means horsemen. In some passages the word refers to the horses used with war chariots. Cf. Isaiah 28:28; Jeremiah 46:4; Joel 2:4.

Dedan (island of Rhodes) traded with Tyre too. Note: Dedan in Ezekiel 27:15 obviously is not the same as the Arabian Dedan mentioned in Ezekiel 27:20. The Septuagint (Greek version) preserves the tradition that this Dedan is the island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean. Some think that a port on the Persian Gulf is meant. Many other coastlands were part of Tyre’s commercial network. Vessels of ivory and ebony were paid as tribute to Tyre for the privilege of belonging to this commercial community (Ezekiel 27:15). These products will come from the African interior via the Phoenician traders on the coast of North Africa.

The Neighboring "Ports" (Ezekiel 27:16-22): Aram was your client because of the abundance of your works. Emeralds, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral and rubies they traded for your wares. (17) Judah and the land of Israel were your trading partners. The wheat of Minnith, cakes of honey, oil and balm they have traded for your merchandise. (18) Damascus was your client because of the multitude of your works, because of the abundance of all kinds of wealth, with the wine of Helbon and white wool. (19) Vedan and Javan traded for your wares from Uzal. Iron, cassia and calamus were among your merchandise. (20) Dedan was your trading partner in saddle-cloths for riding. (21) Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your clients; in lambs, rams, and goats, for these were they your clients. (22) The traders of Sheba and Raamah were your trading partners. The best of all kind of spices. All kinds of precious stones, and gold they traded for your wares. Aram (Syria) provided Tyre with precious stones and beautiful fabrics (Ezekiel 27:16). Note: Some Hebrew manuscripts and the Septuagint read Edom. In Hebrew the difference between Aram and Edom is slight.

Judah exported agricultural products to Tyre—wheat, cakes, honey, oil and balm (Ezekiel 27:17). Note: Minnith in Ezekiel 27:17 was an Ammonite town (cf. Judges 11:33) that apparently sent wheat as tribute to Judah (cf. 2 Chronicles 27:5). Also notice that in Ezekiel 27:17 the Hebrew word pannag occurs only here. It is of doubtful meaning. It has been rendered Pannag (KJV), early figs (BV; RSV); and cakes (NASB). Some kind of foodstuff is intended here in Ezekiel 27:17.

Damascus supplied Tyre with the finest wine, the wine of Helbon, and white wool (Ezekiel 27:18). Vedan was probably an Arab city. In fact, Vedan has conjecturally been identified with Waddan near the Arab city of Medina.

Javan here in Ezekiel 27:19 may refer to a Greek colony in Arabia. Both cities are said to export the trading merchandise from Uzzal—iron bars, perfume (cassia) and sweet cane (calamus). Cassia and calamus were ingredients of anointing oil (cf. Exodus 30:23 f.). The entire nineteenth verse is difficult to translate. Opinions differ widely on its meaning.

From Arabian Dedan, Tyre received saddle-cloths (Ezekiel 27:20). The nomadic Arabs and the princes of Kedar were famous for their flocks (cf. Isaiah 60:7). They supplied Tyre with livestock (Ezekiel 27:20). Sheba in southwest Arabia and Raamah, thought to be along the Persian Gulf, were famous trading people (cf. Job 6:19). Gold, precious stones and aromatics were among the items these traders bartered with Tyre (Ezekiel 27:22).

Mesopotamian "Ports" (Ezekiel 27:23-25)

Haran, Canneh, Eden and the traders of Sheba, Assyria (and) Chilmad were your trading partners. (24) These were your trading partners in gorgeous fabrics, in cloth of blue and embroidered work and chests of rich apparel, bound with cords and cedar-lined, among your merchandise (25). The ships of Tarshish were the carriers for your merchandise. The next three “ports” mentioned were located in Mesopotamia. Haran, a stopping point in Abram’s migration (Genesis 12:4), was an important commercial center on the main trade route from Babylon to Syria. Canneh is probably to be identified as Calneh (Genesis 10:10), otherwise called Calno (Isaiah 10:9), a city in Babylonia. Eden is known on Assyrian inscriptions as Bit-Adini, a city that occupies both sides of the Euphrates river due south of Haran. Through these trading centers, the merchandise of Sheba (see previous verse), Assyria and Chilmad (location unknown) moved toward Tyre (Ezekiel 27:23).

The Mesopotamian trading partners brought to Tyre gorgeous fabrics (lit., things perfected), cloaks of blue and richly woven work, and beautiful cedar chests containing other kinds of luxurious wearing apparel (Ezekiel 27:24). The list concludes with a reference to the ships of Tarshish (see v 12) that brought their dues to Tyre, the queen of the merchant marine (Ezekiel 27:25 a).

THE SHIP SINKING

Ezekiel 27:25-36

Report of the Calamity (Ezekiel 27:25-27)

Dangerous waters (Ezekiel 27:25-26): (25b) So you became full and very heavy in the heart of the seas. Into great waters your rowers have brought you. The east wind has broken you in the heart of the seas. Through all this commercial activity, the good ship Tyre became overloaded in the midst of the sea, in the very place where she was thought to be supreme (Ezekiel 27:25 b). Into the dangerous open sea, the sailors have rowed the vessel. There she will meet disaster. The east wind (cf. Psalms 48:7) stirred up the waves and battered the ship until it broke apart under the pressure (Ezekiel 27:26).

Disastrous voyage (Ezekiel 27:27): Your wealth, your wares, your merchandise, your sailors, your pilots, your repairmen and your merchant men, all your men of war which were on board, with all your company that is in your midst, will fall into the heart of the seas in the day of your collapse. All was lost—the merchandise, and all the individuals associated with transporting and protecting it (Ezekiel 27:27).

Reaction to the Calamity (Ezekiel 27:29-31): At the sound of the cry of your pilots, the countryside will shake. (29) All who handle the oar, the sailors, all the pilots of the sea will come down from their ships, and stand upon the land. (30) They will cause their voice to be heard over you. They will cry bitterly, cast dust upon their heads, and wallow in ashes. (31) They will make themselves bald because of you. They will gird themselves with sackcloth. They will weep over you in bitterness of soul, with bitter mourning. The countryside (KJV, suburbs) that had supplied so many of the personnel on board will shake at the desperate cries of Tyre’s crew sinking beneath the waves (Ezekiel 27:28).

World-wide shipping will come to a halt as sailors paused on land to express sympathy for the departed Queen of the Seas (Ezekiel 27:29). The lament will be bitter, and accompanied by all the outward signs of mourning that were customary in the ancient world—dust on the head, baldness, and sackcloth (Ezekiel 27:30-31).

Lament over the Sunken Ship (Ezekiel 27:32-36)

They express shock (Ezekiel 27:32): Moreover, in their wailing they will take up a lamentation for you. They will lament over you: Who is like Tyre, like she that is silent in the midst of the sea? Ezekiel 27:32 introduces a rather unusual lament within a lament (cf. Ezekiel 27:2). What other city could be compared to Tyre that now lies silent in a watery grave?

They eulogize Tyre (Ezekiel 27:33): When your wares went out from the seas, you satisfied many peoples. With the multitude of your wealth and your merchandise you enriched the kings of the earth. In their lament the sailors emphasize the benefits that Tyre had brought to the kings of the earth.

They describe the disaster (Ezekiel 27:34): Now you are broken by the seas in the depths of the waters. Your merchandise and all your company have fallen in your midst. Her exports along the shipping lanes had contributed to international wealth. But now the sea had rebelled against her mistress. The good ship Tyre, with crew and cargo, had gone to the bottom (Ezekiel 27:34).

They display astonishment (Ezekiel 27:35-36)

The kings of the coastlands (Ezekiel 27:35): All the inhabitants of the coastlands are appalled over you. Their kings are horribly afraid. They are troubled in their countenance. Other seafaring peoples now feared for their own future. The outward signs of sympathy for Tyre were but a mask to conceal the selfish fears that they too might experience a similar fate.

The merchants of the world (Ezekiel 27:36): The merchants among the people whistle in astonishment over you. You have become a terror, and you will be no more. Merchants throughout the world express their astonishment by hissing, i.e., whistling.

EZEKIEL 28

PRINCE OF TYRE

The three chapters dealing with Tyre conclude with a vigorous attack against the prince of Tyre for his claims to deity. This attack is not to be interpreted personally of any one Tyrian king. Here the king of Tyre becomes an embodiment of the entire nation. The attitude of the prince was that of the city and vice versa. This section divides naturally into two parts: (1) the death of the prince (Ezekiel 28:1-10); and (2) the dirge over the prince (Ezekiel 28:11-19).

DEATH OF THE PRINCE

Ezekiel 28:1-10

Introduction (Eze 28:1-2a): The word of the LORD came unto me saying, (2) Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre:

Pride of the Prince (Ezekiel 28:2-5)

Delusions of deity (Ezekiel 28:2 b):Thus says the Lord GOD: Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, I am God, I sit in the seat of God in the heart of the seas; yet you are a man and not God, even though you consider yourself as wise as God. Literally, you set your heart in the heart of God. Obnoxious haughtiness and national arrogance were the besetting sins of Tyre. The prince of Tyre exalted himself to the position of God. The prince regarded his island fortress in the midst of the sea as a divine abode. The splendor of the place, combined with its richness and isolation, caused the proud monarch to regard his realm as not of this world—the seat of God. In his heart (intellect) he considered himself as smart as God. Yet in reality, this pompous ruler was only a man, subject to all the frailties and limitations of the flesh. Note: Alexander (EBC, 880) thinks that Tyre’s well-known, magnificent temple of Melqart, Tyre’s patron deity, was in the prophet’s mind. It was not uncommon for a city or a temple to be called the throne of a god. On ancient bas-relief’s of Tyre, the city and its temple are seen projecting high out of the surrounding sea.

Intellectual superiority (Ezekiel 28:3): Behold, you are wiser than Daniel. NIV and NEB render as a question. The implied answer to the question is negative. Taken in this sense, Ezekiel is saying that the prince did not know as much as Daniel, who at least revealed some secrets to Nebuchadnezzar.

No secret can be hidden from you! The prince’s claim to wisdom is not denied by the prophet. Daniel was famous for his piety (Ezekiel 14:14) and for his wisdom. One can sense in Ezekiel’s references to Daniel a humble respect. For Ezekiel, Daniel was the epitome of righteousness and wisdom. In the latter quality, the prince of Tyre exceeded Daniel. Ezekiel is probably speaking sarcastically here. Like Daniel, who could understand the dark mysteries of dream revelations, no secret could elude the prince of Tyre.

Financial genius (Ezekiel 28:4-5 a): By your wisdom and understanding you have acquired for yourself wealth. You have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries. (5) By your great wisdom in your trading ventures, you have increased your wealth. The prince’s wisdom in commercial transactions had resulted in the amassing of wealth into the treasuries of Tyre.

Arrogant pride (Ezekiel 28:5 b): Your heart is lifted up because of your wealth. As is so often the case with those who know material success, the prince’s heart was lifted up because of those riches.

Punishment of the Prince (Ezekiel 28:6-10)

Defilement by strangers (Ezekiel 28:6-7): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Because you considered yourself as wise as God, (7) therefore, behold, I am about to bring strangers upon you, the most ruthless of the nations. They will bring their swords against the beauty of your wisdom. They will defile your splendor. Because the prince of Tyre regarded his intelligence as equal to that of God (Ezekiel 28:6), he was destined to face the wrath of the God of Israel. Foreigners—the most ruthless of the nations— will come against Tyre. All that the prince of Tyre had acquired through his wisdom will fall to the invading forces. The splendor of the king, considered by himself to be God-like, will be profaned by the sword (Ezekiel 28:7).

Death by sword (Ezekiel 28:8-9): They will thrust you down to the pit. You will die the death of the slain in the heart of the seas. (9) Will you still say before the one who slays you, I am God (although you are a man and not God) in the hand of those who wound you? The prince himself will die in the attack. His island fortress will afford no protection. He will go down to the pit (grave) with all those slain in battle (Ezekiel 28:8). Will the vainglorious, self-deified prince still proclaim his deity in the face of execution by the blade of the enemy? Obviously not! Gods do not bleed! The humanity of the prince will be perfectly obvious in that day (Ezekiel 28:9).

Derision by mockers (Ezekiel 28:10): You will die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers; for I have spoken (oracle of the Lord GOD). In death all men realize their humanity. The once proud prince will be treated with the contempt reserved for uncircumcised men. He will be dishonored and unlamented with no outward sign of reverence. What a way for a “god” to go! It is unclear whether the treatment of the uncircumcised will be accorded the dead body of the prince in this world, or in Sheol, the realm of the dead. The Phoenicians practiced circumcision until their contact with the Greeks in the fourth century. The death of the uncircumcised is a threat of violent and ignominious death.

LAMENT OVER THE PRINCE

Ezekiel 28:11-19

Ezekiel 28:11-19 is one of the most obscure passages in the Old Testament. The text is notoriously difficult. God ordered Ezekiel to lament the death of the king of Tyre. Such prophetic laments are anticipatory of a calamity that will occur in the near future. In carrying out this command, Ezekiel was partially fulfilling his ministerial commission (cf. Ezekiel 2:10).

The overall thrust of this passage is clear; the details are not. Ezekiel is comparing the fall of the king of Tyre to the fall of Adam. Both fell from a position of prominence and privilege to death and disaster. It is not impossible that Ezekiel is alluding to a pagan version of the paradise story. This will account for both the similarities and differences between this passage and Genesis 2-3. However, no such Canaanite paradise account has been found.

Several of the early Church Fathers suggested that Satan is in view here. Among the modern scholars who embrace this position are Barnhouse, Chafer and Scofield.

The passage refers only to the king of Tyre, not to Satan. The language is poetic, and highly figurative. The lament has two distinct divisions of thought. In Ezekiel 28:12-15 a the prophet describes the person and position of the king of Tyre; and in Ezekiel 28:15-19, his sin and sentence.

Person and Position of the King (Ezekiel 28:11-14)

His perfection (Ezekiel 28:11-12): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (12) Son of man, lift up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him: Thus says the Lord GOD: You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. The king of Tyre is likened to the first inhabitant of Paradise. He is depicted as perfect in physical form (you had the seal of perfection⁵⁵⁴), intellectual capabilities (wisdom) and beauty (Ezekiel 28:12). At least this was his own self-estimate.

His habitation (Ezekiel 28:13): You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering: ruby, topaz, diamond, beryl, onyx, jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald. The gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, was in you. On the day you were created they were prepared. The king of Tyre occupied a paradise in Eden known as the garden of God (or a garden of gods). Ancient temples normally encompassed a large enclosure with a garden.

The term Eden may be used metaphorically to describe the splendor of the temple complex of Tyre’s main god Melqart, with whom the king was seeking identity. This garden dweller was not naked, as was Adam in the biblical Garden of Eden. He walks in his garden wearing a luxurious robe or breastplate on which were nine precious stones displayed in the most exquisite settings of gold. The nine stones enumerated are identical with those that were set in three of the four rows of the breastplate of the high priest (Exodus 28:17-20). The Septuagint adds three stones that are omitted in the Hebrew text to complete the set of twelve. The stones in the Hebrew text are not listed in the same order as they appeared on the high priest’s breastplate. There is no reason to think that Ezekiel had the priestly breastplate in mind. The KJV renders, the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes, a reference to his musical instruments. This translation is not impossible. Keil BCOT, 1:409) renders the service of your timbrels and of your women. He takes this to be a reference to the festivities when the king took over the harem of his predecessor. It seemed that his magnificent garb had been prepared especially for the garden dweller from the day of his creation, i.e., his enthronement (Ezekiel 28:13).

His occupation (Ezekiel 28:14): You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you on the holy mountain of God. You walked about in the midst of the stones of fire. The figure changes a bit in Ezekiel 28:14. The king of Tyre is now likened to a cherub. Note: Most commentators follow the Septuagint in reading, “you were with the anointed cherub.” In the ancient Near East, a cherub was depicted as a sphinxlike creature with an animal body, wings, and a human head. These statutory creatures normally guarded the entrances to pagan temples. Cherubim in the Old Testament are always depicted as guarding something. Cherubim guarded the entrance to the original garden (Genesis 3:24). For this reason the king of Tyre is depicted guarding his paradise, the garden of his god Melqart.⁵⁵⁹ He spread his wings over Tyre like the cherubim who guarded the ark of God in the tabernacle and temple. Note: Two other details support this interpretation of the text. First, the Phoenician cherub (sphinx) was normally bejeweled (as was the king of Tyre in the previous verse) and sometimes had the head of the priest-king. Second, the sphinx was considered to be all-wise (Alexander, EBC, 883).

The king is said to have been on the holy mountain of God (Ezekiel 28:14). The phrase is probably synonymous with the garden of God. This will be a further description of Tyre situated on its rocky isle. The mountain of the gods was important in ancient Near Eastern mythology. Pagans believed that the gods met in this mountain to determine the decrees of fate (cf. Isaiah 14:13). Another possibility mentioned by Alexander (EBC, 883f.) is that the holy mount of God is Zion. This would mean that the king of Tyre was walking in (not on) the city of Jerusalem after its fall to the Babylonians (cf. Ezekiel 26:1-6). The stones of fire were Jerusalem’s stones which were still smoldering at the time.

The garden dweller walked in the midst of the stones of fire (v 14). The most popular view is that the reference is to the lightning that issues forth from above the towering mountain of God (cf. Exodus 19:16; Psalms 18:8; Psalms 18:12). Note: Cook (ICC 2:318) contends that the stones of fire are gems that give splendor and brilliance to the garden.

Sin and Sentence of the King (Ezekiel 28:15-19)

Ruined by violence (Ezekiel 28:15-16)

Accusation (Ezekiel 28:15-16 a): You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, until iniquity was found in you. (16) By your many trading ventures you were filled with violence, and you sinned. Before his vast wealth filled his heart with pride, the king of Tyre was perfect, i.e., no fault could be found with his conduct as a ruler. However, unrighteousness was found in the character of this king eventually (Ezekiel 28:15). Increasing commerce led to increasing corruption. The midst of Tyre was filled with goods taken by violence, i.e., force of arms or fraudulent business tactics.

Announcement (Ezekiel 28:16 b): Therefore, I have cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God. I have destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. He who was guardian cherub over this city must bear the blame for what transpired there. Thus because of his sin of profaning the garden spot in which God had placed him, the prince of Tyre, like Adam of old, must be thrust forth from paradise. Holiness and purity are essential to those who might aspire to dwell in the mountain of God. The fallen prince must be stripped of his royal rank and insignia. He will be removed from the midst of the stones of fire, the flashing thunders and lightings of divine majesty that had protected him. He will cease to be the protector of Tyre, the guardian cherub (Ezekiel 28:16).

Ruined by pride (Ezekiel 28:17)

Accusation (Ezekiel 28:17 a): Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You have corrupted your wisdom on account of your splendor. At the root of the fall of the king of Tyre was pride. The king’s heart was lifted up because of his beauty and brightness, his splendor and magnificence. The wisdom with which the prince of Tyre had been endowed was corrupted by arrogance. “True wisdom cannot be exercised where there is a spirit of arrogance.”

Announcement (Ezekiel 28:17 b): I have cast you to the ground before kings that they may gaze upon you. The prince of Tyre will be humbled, cast down to the ground. There on the ground the fallen prince will be the object of wonderment, sadness and perhaps even some gloating by the kings of the earth.

Ruined by dishonesty (Ezekiel 28:18-19)

Accusation (28:18a): By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trading ventures you have profaned your sanctuaries. The multitude of iniquities committed through unrighteous business dealings had profaned the sanctuary, the garden of God, the mountain of God, in which this king ruled. The Hebrew text reads plural, your sanctuaries; but several manuscripts, the Syriac and Targum read singular. If the plural is original, it is probably a plural of amplification, meaning something like sanctuary par excellence.

Announcement (Ezekiel 28:18 b-19): Therefore, I have brought out a fire from your midst. It has consumed you. I have made you to become ashes upon the ground in the eyes of all who see you. (19) All who know you among the people will be appalled at you. You have become a terror. You will be no more. The evil in the midst of Tyre will be like a fire that will reduce the place to a pile of ashes (Ezekiel 28:18). The fall of the once proud city and its pompous prince will send shock waves throughout her commercial empire. Never again will Phoenician Tyre be rebuilt (Ezekiel 28:19).

RIVAL OF TYRE

Ezekiel 28:20-24

The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (21) Son of man, set your face against Sidon, and prophesy against her... Not only will Tyre experience the wrath of the living God, her rival to the north will fall as well. In early times Sidon was larger and more prestigious than Tyre. But from the eleventh to the fourth century B.C., Tyre controlled, almost without dispute on the part of Sidon, the affairs of Phoenicia. In biblical prophecy the two cities are closely connected (cf. Isaiah 23).

Declaration: Hostility (Ezekiel 28:22): and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Sidon. I will be glorified in the midst of you. They will know that I am the LORD when I execute judgments in her, and manifest my holiness in her; As far as the Hebrew prophets were concerned, Tyre and Sidon were “seaside partners in sin.” However, Sidon was sufficiently independent from Tyre to justify a separate oracle, sufficiently identified with Tyre not to call for any longer oracle. No indication of Sidon’s offenses is given in this oracle; but it is assumed that her sins were the same as those of Tyre. Those sins required a similar punishment.

God declared that he was an adversary of Sidon as well as of Tyre. By dispensing a just judgment on this city, God will be vindicated. He will manifest his holiness in this judgment. He will receive glory. He will be sanctified (reverenced) as a result of such activity. Note: Ezekiel uses the word holy as a noun forty-nine times, and the related verb fifteen times.

Demonstration: Power (Ezekiel 28:23): for I will send into her pestilence and blood in her streets. The slain will fall in the midst of her, by the sword upon her on every side. Then they will know that I am the LORD. Sidon will experience the pestilence that usually accompanied ancient sieges. When the enemies breached the walls, the blood will flow in her streets. The slain will fall in heaps. A rare form of the verb fall is used in this verse. It probably denotes intensity.

Deliverance: For Israel (Ezekiel 28:24): And there will be no more for the house of Israel a pricking brier nor a piercing thorn of any that are round about them, who treated them with contempt. They will know that I am the Lord GOD. When all of predictions regarding Sidon are fulfilled, men will acknowledge that the doom of Sidon had not occurred by chance, but was an act of God (Ezekiel 28:24). Such judgments will serve the purpose of removing all source of danger, opposition, and ridicule (a pricking brier, a piercing thorn) to the people of God. Note: The same words are used in Numbers 33:55 of the Canaanite peoples. Ezekiel applies the terms to the Phoenician cities that were the last vestige of the old Canaanite culture. In time past Israel had been wounded by those thorns and briers, i.e., had been tainted by the wicked worship and lascivious life of these Canaanite neighbors. But in the future restoration the corrupting Canaanite influence will be forever removed.

The city of Sidon was destroyed by the Assyrian Esarhaddon in 677 B.C. long before the time of Ezekiel. However, Sidon grew up again. For a time (609-593 B.C.) the city was dominated by the Egyptians. Nebuchadrezzar conquered the place in 593 B.C. The bloody history of Sidon after the time of Ezekiel can be summarized as follows:

Sidon was devastated during Nebuchadnezzar’s thirteen-year siege of Tyre (587-572 B.C.). With the fall of Babylon, Sidon regained some of its old importance. For a time the city served faithfully the new Persian world rulers. However, in 351 B.C. the Sidonians revolted against Artaxerxes II Ochus. In the face of the siege of the Persian monarch, the king of Sidon fled, leaving the city to its fate. The city fathers ordered all ships in the harbor to be destroyed to prevent any flight by the citizens. More than forty thousand are said to have lost their lives when the city was sacked and burned. Sidon meekly surrendered to Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. Under the Seleucid rulers, Sidon again attained a rather independent status.

In 64 B.C. Pompey imposed Roman rule throughout Phoenicia. Sidon still flourished, but its importance gradually vanished. In the days of the crusades, Sidon was taken and retaken several times by opposing forces. Under Turkish rule the site of Sidon continued to suffer tribulation. In 1840 Sidon was bombarded by the combined fleets of England, France and Turkey. The modern Arab city of Saeda (population, 50,000) that occupies the site of ancient Sidon, did not escape the bloody religious warfare that erupted in Lebanon in 1976.

FUTURE OF ISRAEL
Ezekiel 28:25-26

Gathering of Israel (Ezekiel 28:25 a): Thus says the Lord GOD: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and I manifest my holiness in them in the eyes of the nations... In contrast to the bloody future of Sidon, God’s people will experience a glorious future. God will gather his people from the foreign lands where they had been scattered.

Restoration of Israel (Ezekiel 28:25-26 a): (25b) then they will dwell upon their land that I gave to my servant Jacob. (26a) They will dwell safely upon it. They will build houses and plant vineyards; God’s servant Jacob (a name for the nation Israel) will again dwell on the land God had given him. The nation will be devoted to peaceful pursuits.

Protection of Israel (Ezekiel 28:26 b): yea, they will dwell safely when I have executed judgments on all those who treated them with contempt round about them. Israel can live in peace and security because hostile neighbors have been removed.

Recognition of the Lord (Ezekiel 28:26 c): Then they will know that I am the LORD their God. All that God does for Israel is done with one grand purpose in view, viz., that all the world might acknowledge him as the one true and living God— that he might be sanctified (reverenced, revered) in the eyes of the nations. The wonderful thoughts embraced in the last verses of ch 28 are developed at length in chs 33-48.

As a footnote to the Tyre and Sidon oracles, it may be pointed out that Jesus once passed through the region (Matthew 15:21). He probably, according to the best text of Mark 7:24, trod the streets of Sidon. Some of the great multitude that heard him teach in Mark 3:8 came from these two Phoenician cities. Jesus remarked that it will be more tolerable in the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for the faithless cities of Galilee (Matthew 11:21; Luke 10:13). In this statement Jesus seems to be affirming that the day of judgment had not yet fully come to the two cities even though they had suffered much before his time. Jesus may be referring to the Roman campaigns in the region of Palestine in the latter part of the seventh decade A.D. Jerusalem was destroyed in that judgment; Tyre and Sidon survived.

EZEKIEL 29

THE ECLIPSE OF EGYPT

Egypt is the seventh and last nation to hear the words of divine judgment addressed to it through this prophet. In the four chapters devoted to Egypt, Ezekiel speaks seven “words” from the Lord. "Seven" points to completeness. Hence Ezekiel is emphasizing that the powers opposed to God will be completely removed from the scene. The number seven here is not likely accidental. In prophecy seven is the number of perfection or completeness. Hence, God will completely and fully deal with the enemies of his people. All but one of these “words” are given specific dating. In chs 29-32 ninety-seven verses are devoted to the fall of Egypt, more verses than are contained in 1 Peter, more than 2 Timothy and more than are in Paul’s letter to the Colossians.

Why such a large section devoted to this one heathen power? Ezekiel agreed with Jeremiah that God had bestowed universal sovereignty temporarily on Nebuchadnezzar. Babylon’s principal rival in the sixth century was Egypt. The other nations condemned in this section were minor irritations to Nebuchadnezzar; but Egypt had the potential of presenting a serious obstacle to Yahweh’s will for Babylon.

Egypt had been very much involved in encouraging Judah’s final revolt against Babylon. The main point stressed by Ezekiel and the other Hebrew prophets is that the final destiny of Israel was in the hands of God, not the hands of human monarchs. Furthermore, the prophets dared to preach what was in their day a revolutionary doctrine: even the destiny of the superpowers was determined by God—and God was Yahweh! Israel might be small; but Israel’s God was great to the ends of the earth. Israel appeared to be only a pawn in the hands of political strategists; but Israel’s God was powerful, and in reality those strategists were but pawns in his hand. Thus the oracles against Egypt—and others like them—were not merely designed to vent the frustrations and hostilities that Israel felt toward her neighbors. These oracles served to underscore vital points of theology—the sovereignty, omniscience and omnipotence of Israel’s God.

The Egypt oracles are similar in structure: a general threat against Pharaoh under some allegorical designation; amplification of the general threat with regard to the instrument of punishment, the destruction of the country and the disposition of its inhabitants; a description of the effect that the fall of Egypt will have on other nations.

THE SINS OF EGYPT

29:1-16

The first oracle against Egypt is a composite of three separate oracles. Following an introduction (Ezekiel 29:1-2), Ezekiel condemns Egypt’s pride (Ezekiel 29:3-6), and unreliability (Ezekiel 29:7-9). The third oracle announces Egypt’s defeat and restoration (Ezekiel 29:10-16).

Introduction (Ezekiel 29:1-2): In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt. Prophesy against him and against all Egypt. The first word against Egypt is dated, according to the modern calendar, to December 29, 588 B.C. This was about the time that the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem began (Jeremiah 52:4; Jeremiah 39:1; cf. Ezekiel 24:1), and seven months earlier than the preceding oracle against Tyre (Ezekiel 29:1). The first Egyptian oracle emphasizes the pride of Egypt, and the desolation that God brings on her for her arrogance. Ezekiel was to set his face against Pharaoh⁵⁷¹ in a gesture of defiance (Ezekiel 29 :). He was to announce God’s hostility toward him. Note: The current Pharaoh was Hophra (Jeremiah 44:30), fourth king of the twenty-sixth dynasty. His reign was 589-570 B.C.

Egypt’s Pride (Ezekiel 29:3-6 a)

Opposition by the Lord (Ezekiel 29:3): Speak and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers, that has said, the river is mine, and I myself made it. Pharaoh is addressed with the challenge formula, which also introduced the first Tyre oracle (Ezekiel 26:3) and the oracle against Sidon (28:22). He is called the great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers. The reference is to the crocodile, and to the various branches of the Nile river in northern Egypt. The metaphor of Pharaoh resting confidently and indolently in the waters of the Nile was a favorite in Egyptian hymns and prayers. Pharaoh was also depicted as a ferocious crocodile to his enemies. Cf. ANET, 374. Ezekiel promised that Yahweh would treat Pharaoh like a crocodile. The crocodile god, Sebek, was very important to the Egyptians in the Nile delta area. He was considered Egypt’s protector. The wealth—and in fact the very existence of Egypt—depended upon the Nile river, which here by metonymy stands for the entire country of Egypt. Most kings in the ancient world represented themselves to their people as the source of their prosperity. Pharaoh went even further in his outrageous claims. Like the prince of Tyre, Pharaoh regarded himself as the incarnation of a god. He thought of himself as the creator of all the wealth and prosperity of Egypt.

Destruction by the Lord (Ezekiel 29:4-5)

Captured (Ezekiel 29:4): I will put hooks in your jaws, and make the fish of your rivers cling to your scales. I will bring you up from the midst of your rivers. All the fish of your rivers will cling to your scales. Pharaoh will fall prey to his enemies. Like a crocodile drug from the river by captors, Pharaoh will be removed from his domain by his enemies. Ancient accounts of crocodile hunts depict the beast pulled by means of hooks in its jaws out of its native element on to dry land, and then slaughtered. Cf. Herodotus 2:70. Pharaoh’s people, allies and mercenaries (fish of the river that stick to your scales) will accompany him. Whereas a battle with a crocodile stretched the limits of human power (Job 40.), that Egyptian beast will be no challenge to the Creator.

Consumed (Ezekiel 29:5): I will cast you into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers. Upon the face of the open field you will fall. You will not be gathered nor brought together. To the beasts of the land and the fowl of the heavens I have given you for food. There on dry land—the wilderness—the crocodile and fish joined to it will die. No one will gather up the carcass of the crocodile for burial. The birds and beasts of prey will devour the remains. The tombs and pyramids of Egypt demonstrate how important proper royal burial was to the Pharaoh’s successful journey through the Egyptian afterlife. Lack of such burial would have been a horrible fate.

Recognition of the Lord (Ezekiel 29:6 a): All the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the LORD. In the demise of Pharaoh, the Egyptians will recognize Yahweh’s judgment upon them for being an unreliable ally. The recognition formula is found nine times in the Egypt oracles: Ezekiel 29:6; Ezekiel 29:9; Ezekiel 29:16; Ezekiel 29:21; Ezekiel 30:8; Ezekiel 30:19; Ezekiel 30:25-26; Ezekiel 32:15.

Egypt’s Unreliability (Ezekiel 29:6-9 a)

Unreliability illustrated (Ezekiel 29:6-7): (6b) Because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel (7) when anyone took hold of you with the hand, you broke and tore every shoulder; and when they leaned upon you, you broke and made all their loins stand up— Another metaphor for Egypt, introduced in v 6, is developed in this unit. Egypt had proved itself to be a staff of reed to the house of Israel. Just over a century earlier, an Assyrian officer gave Egypt a similar description—a bruised reed . . . which if a man lean, it will go into his hand and pierce it (Isaiah 36:6). Leaning is part of the Old Testament vocabulary of faith. By turning to Egypt, God’s people were looking for the support they should have sought in Yahweh. Through bitter experience, Israel discovered the truth of what the prophets had warned about reliance on Egypt. If one tried to make Egypt his crutch, he was destined for a fall. That crutch will break, causing those who were dependent upon it to fall and dislocate their shoulder. They will then have to stand erect (make all their loins to stand up), and carry their own weight (Ezekiel 29:7). Egypt was the proverbial paper tiger.

A few months after these words were spoken in Babylon, the Jews in Palestine lived through another episode of Egyptian failure. In Israel’s moment of need, when Nebuchadnezzar was literally banging on the gates of Jerusalem, Egypt failed to send effective aid (cf. Jeremiah 37:7). The Egyptian foray into Palestine brought only a temporary lull in the siege of the city.

Unreliability punished (Ezekiel 29:8-9 a): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I bring upon you a sword. I will cut off from you man and beast. (9a) The land of Egypt will become a desolation and a waste. Then will they know that I am the LORD. Because of Egypt’s arrogance, God will bring a sword upon that land. Man and beast will be affected (Ezekiel 29:8). The fertile land of Pharaoh will be left desolate and waste. The gods of Egypt having been discredited, wise people will be forced to acknowledge the sovereignty of Yahweh (Ezekiel 29:9).

Egypt’s Desolation (Ezekiel 29:9-12)

The justification for it (Ezekiel 29:9-10 a): (9b) Because he has said, The river is mine, and I made it, (10) therefore, behold, I am against you and against your rivers. Pharaoh boasted that he owned and had created the Nile! God defies the arrogant claims of this king.

The extent of it (Ezekiel 29:10-11 a): (10b) I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from Migdol to Syene, even unto the border of Ethiopia. (11) No foot of man will pass through it, nor foot of beast will pass through it. The Lord lays waste the land from north to south (Migdol to Syene), even as far as the border of Ethiopia (ancient Nubia) between the Nile’s second and third cataracts. Then what will become of Pharaoh’s boast (Ezekiel 29:10). The desolation of Egypt is a result of an invading army. Even animals will desert the land owing to the lack of pasture (Ezekiel 29:11). Note: Migdol (Tower) was a frontier fortress at the northeastern border of Egypt (cf. Exodus 14:2; Jeremiah 44:1). E.D. Oren may have found biblical Migdol when he uncovered a mud brick fort some twelve miles east of Daphnae south of Pelusium. The ten acre site demonstrated that Migdol was a cosmopolitan city in the sixth century B.C.

Nebuchadnezzar made at least two invasions into Egypt. The Jewish historian Josephus tells of an invasion of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar five years after the fall of Jerusalem (582 B.C.). In this invasion the king of Egypt was killed. A fragmentary inscription from the archives of Babylon tells of another invasion of Egypt in the thirty-seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign (i.e., 568 B.C.). It appears that Nebuchadnezzar was aiming to cripple Egypt so as to prevent Pharaoh from ever again meddling in Syria-Palestine.

The duration of it (Ezekiel 29:11-12): (See Ezekiel 2 i:11b) It will not be inhabited forty years. The reference to the forty years of Egypt’s desolation has occasioned lengthy discussion among the commentators. The figure may be derived from Ezekiel 4:6 where Judah is depicted as suffering under the punishment of God for forty years.

Keil regards the forty years as a symbolic period—the period denoted by God for punishment and penitence. However, it is best to regard the forty years as a definite historical epoch. The forty years of Egypt’s desolation may be said to fall between 568 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar invaded the land, and 530 B.C. In the latter year the Persians entered the land. It may have been they who initiated the policy of reconstruction in Egypt even as they encouraged reconstruction in Judea.

The severity of it (Ezekiel 29:12 a): I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of lands that are desolate. Her cities in the midst of cities that are laid waste will be desolate forty years. In comparison to other countries ravished by war, Egypt will stand out as a most unfortunate land (desolate in the midst of countries that are desolate). Egyptian cities will be laid waste, i.e., left a ruinous condition for forty years.

Ramification of it (Ezekiel 29:12 b): (12b) I will scatter Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the lands. During the time of desolation, the Egyptians will be scattered among the nations. No evidence of mass deportation of Egyptians subsequent to the time of Ezekiel has yet come to light. However, it is known that deportations of captive peoples was a standard procedure employed by great empires of that time, one is certainly on safe ground in assuming that it was the Chaldean king who fulfilled the prediction that God will scatter the Egyptians among the nations. See above on Ezekiel 29:11.

Egypt’s Restoration (Ezekiel 29:13-16)

The fact of restoration (Ezekiel 29:13-14): For thus says the Lord GOD: At the end of forty years, I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered. (14) I will turn the fortunes of Egypt, and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin. They will be there a lowly people. Ezekiel, like Jeremiah (Jeremiah 46:26; cf. Isaiah 19), envisioned restoration for Egypt. God said through Ezekiel that he would turn the fortunes of Egypt. After the forty years, Egyptians will return into the land of Pathros, the southern part of the land, i.e., Upper Egypt. This was the land of their origin, i.e., the area in which the Egyptian government first rose to prominence. The restored Egypt, however, is only a shadow of the glorious kingdom that once graced the banks of the Nile.

Conditions after restoration (Ezekiel 29:15): It will be the lowliest of all kingdoms. She will not lift herself up again over the nations. I will diminish them so that they will no more rule over the nations. Following her restoration, Egypt will not be able to dominate other peoples. She will be inferior to all other nations.

Relationship with Israel (Ezekiel 29:16): It will never again be the confidence of the house of Israel bringing to remembrance iniquity, when they turned after them. They will know that I am the Lord GOD. No more will Egypt allure Israel into disastrous alliances. Israel will not repeat the great mistake of her past, viz., trusting in Egypt rather than in God. Israel in that future day will know assuredly that Yahweh is God.

THE PRIZE OF EGYPT

Ezekiel 29:17-21

Introduction (Ezekiel 29:17): It came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying... The second Egypt oracle dates to New Years day (April 26) 571 B.C. (v 17). It is the latest oracle in the entire book. The placement here is appropriate. The oracle connects the invasion of Egypt with the cessation of the Babylonian siege of Tyre that took place about 574 B.C.

Compensation to Nebuchadnezzar (Ezekiel 29:18-20)

Reason for compensation (Ezekiel 29:18): Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled. Yet neither he nor his army received any wages from Tyre for the service that he performed against it. Nebuchadrezzar rendered a great service to God by besieging Tyre for thirteen years (Josephus, Ant., 10.11.1). The siege perhaps was prolonged because of Egyptian support for Tyre. Nebuchadrezzar’s soldiers were weary with that warfare. Bald spots worn by ill-fitting helmets marked the heads of the besiegers. The skin of their shoulders was raw from carrying heavy loads of timber and stone to construct the siege works. But in spite of his determined effort to cross the narrow arm of the sea and reach the island fortress, Nebuchadrezzar had been unsuccessful. What exactly took place at Tyre is uncertain. Ezekiel does not actually say Nebuchadrezzar was unsuccessful there. He only indicates that the material reward for his siege efforts was not sufficient. Neither he nor his troops had been enriched through the spoils of war that generally made a lengthy siege operation rewarding. Allen (WBC, 110) points out that Ezekiel 29:18 is a chiasmus, with an ABCD/DCBA structure.

Decree of compensation (Ezekiel 29:19-20): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to give to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon the land of Egypt. He will carry off her abundance, take her spoil and seize her prey. She will be the wages for his army. (20) I have given him the land of Egypt as his hire for which he served, because they worked for Me (oracle of the Lord GOD). To compensate him for the service he rendered at Tyre, God decreed that Nebuchadnezzar should be given the land of Egypt. The spoils of that great north African nation will fall into the hands of the Chaldeans (Ezekiel 29:19). Jeremiah also foretold Nebuchadrezzar’s invasion of Egypt. Cf. Jeremiah 43:8-13; Jeremiah 46:1-25. Nebuchadnezzar was entitled to this booty. All that he had done at Tyre, he had done in the service of the Lord (they worked for me; Ezekiel 29:20). A Babylonian force invaded Egypt in 568 B.C. Owing to the damaged state of the inscription that alludes to this campaign it is impossible to accurately gauge the success of the effort. It is known that Pharaoh Ahmose II came to terms with the invaders.

Compensation for Israel (Ezekiel 29:21): The decisive political events of the sixth century were orchestrated by God to accomplish his plan of salvation for his people Israel. In Ezekiel 29:21 Ezekiel indicates three results of Nebuchadrezzar’s invasion of Egypt.

A horn for Israel (Ezekiel 29:21): In that day I will cause a horn to shoot up unto the house of Israel. A horn, symbol of power and prosperity, will spring forth for the house of Israel. The expression make a horn sprout is found elsewhere only in Psalms 132:17 in reference to the restoration of the Davidic dynasty. The reference here appears to be more general. It alludes to the coming deliverance of Israel. This prophecy seems to be saying that Israel’s restoration will correspond to Egypt’s humiliation. Egypt’s period of humiliation ended in 530 B.C. Israel’s period of restoration began some eight or nine years earlier when Cyrus allowed the Jews to return home.

Opening of mouth (Ezekiel 29:21 b): I will give you the opening of the mouth in the midst of them. When Nebuchadnezzar invades Egypt in 568 B.C., God will give to Ezekiel opening of the mouth. The expression indicates a cheerful confidence in speaking. It is better not to think here of the prophet’s specific inability to speak, which is referred to in Ezekiel 3:26 (See Ezekiel 24:27; Ezekiel 33:22). The implication is that Ezekiel had come under reproach regarding his oracles against foreign nations and the related prediction of Israel’s restoration. Ezekiel’s prophetic ministry is vindicated anew.

Enlightenment of Israel (Ezekiel 29:21 c): They will know that I am the LORD. The Israelites will know that Yahweh is God, and that he truly had revealed himself to Ezekiel.

EZEKIEL 30

FALL OF EGYPT AND HER KING

IMMINENT FALL OF EGYPT

Ezekiel 30:1-19

The third oracle against Egypt is likely to be dated the same as the previous one (see Ezekiel 29:17). Ezekiel focuses on Egypt’s (1) gloom, (2) destruction, (3) adversary, and (4) cities and gods.

Egypt’s Gloom (Ezekiel 30:1-5)

Sadness over the gloom (Ezekiel 30:1-3): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus says the Lord GOD: Wail, woe be the day! (3) For the day is near, yes the day of the LORD is near! A cloudy day, it will be the time of the nations. The oracle begins with direct address to the Egyptians. They are urged rhetorically to wail over their fate. Egypt’s day of reckoning looms on the horizon (Ezekiel 30:2). The proclamation of the day of Yahweh is expressed in language familiar from Ezekiel 7. The day of the Lord—a day of divine reckoning—will be a gloomy day for the Gentile nations (Ezekiel 30:3).

Reasons for the gloom (Ezekiel 30:4-5): A sword will come upon Egypt. Consternation will be in Cush, when the slain will fall in Egypt. They will take away her abundance. Her foundations will be broken down. (5) Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all the mingled peoples, Cub, and the children of the land that are in league, will fall with them by the sword. Egypt experiences invasion in the day of the Lord. The NIV uses the phrase covenant land. This is a possible reference to the Jews who fled to Egypt after the assassination of Gedaliah (2 Kings 25:23-26). Her satellite state Ethiopia will fear for her own safety when she sees what transpires across the border in Egypt. The foundations of Egypt—the allies and mercenaries— upon whom the Egyptian state rested will be broken down (Ezekiel 30:4).

Six groups are mentioned who will fall by the sword: Ethiopia (Cush), Put, Lud (see on Ezekiel 27:10) and Cub, a people not as yet identified, had alliances with Egypt. The multi-racial character of the Egyptian army is indicated by the expression all the mingled people. Along with the children of the land (native Egyptians), these allies will fall by the sword of the invaders (Ezekiel 30:5).

Egypt’s Destruction (Ezekiel 30:6-9)

Invasion (Ezekiel 30:6): Thus says the LORD: those who uphold Egypt will fall. The pride of her strength will come down. From Migdol to Syene they will fall in her by the sword (oracle of the Lord GOD). Throughout the land, from Migdol to Syene (see on Ezekiel 29:10), the sword will mow down Egypt’s inhabitants. As that sword of divine retribution had raged in Judah (ch 21), so now it rages in the much mightier kingdom of the pharaohs. Egypt’s pride was in her military and economic power. However, this pride will be humbled.

Desolation (Ezekiel 30:7-8): And they will be desolate in the midst of lands that are desolate. Her cities in the midst of cities will lie in ruins. (8) They will know that I am the LORD when I place a fire in Egypt, and all her helpers are shattered. Desolation will follow invasion (Ezekiel 30:7; cf. Ezekiel 29:12). The desolation caused by war here, as frequently in the Bible, is likened to fire. The fulfillment of this prediction to bring conflagration to Egypt will be a demonstration of the sovereignty of the true God (Ezekiel 30:8). Seldom had Egypt seen a foreign foe bring all the horrors of war within its borders.

Confusion (Ezekiel 30:9): In that day messengers will go from before me in ships to terrify the secure Ethiopians. Confusion will come on them in the day of Egypt; for behold, it comes. In the day of Egypt’s downfall, messengers will be dispatched, as though by God himself. Traveling the waterways to every part of the land of Ethiopia, the messengers will spread the alarming news of Egypt’s fall. Confusion will fill their land as they contemplated the possibility that their own country might be invaded.

Egypt’s Adversary (Ezekiel 30:10-12)

He is ruthless (Ezekiel 30:10-11): Thus says the Lord GOD: I will cause the multitude of Egypt to cease, by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. (11) He and his people with him, the most ruthless of the nations, will be brought in to destroy the land. They will empty their swords against Egypt. They will fill the land with the slain. Ezekiel emphasizes that the native population (multitude of Egypt), as well as the mercenary forces, will perish in the overthrow of Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar is specifically named as the conqueror (cf. Ezekiel 29:19). He and his ruthless warriors (cf. Ezekiel 28:7) leave a trail of corpses wherever they go.

He is devastating (Ezekiel 30:12): I will make the rivers dry. I will deliver the land into the hand of evil men. I will make the land and all that is in it desolate by the hand of strangers. I the LORD have spoken. The much heralded Egyptian irrigation system will be destroyed by the evil men, i.e., the pitiless and lawless troops, that comprised Nebuchadnezzar’s army. Without irrigation the land will become (temporarily) desolate.

Egypt’s Cities and Gods (Ezekiel 30:13-19): Ezekiel again employs the technique of emphasis by enumeration. The complete collapse of Egypt is underscored by reference to the fate of the leading cities of the land. Other examples of the listing of threatened cities in prophetic literature are Amos 1:3-8; Micah 1:10-15. Ezekiel did not stand in awe of the ancient and magnificent cities of Egypt. These verses reveal an amazing knowledge of Egyptian geography. For other examples of geographical enumeration in a judgment context, see Isaiah 10:27-32; Micah 1:10-15; Zephaniah 2:4.

 

The execution of judgment (Ezekiel 30:13-16 a)

Threat against the idols (Ezekiel 30:13 a): Thus says the Lord GOD: I will destroy the idols, and cause the non-entities to cease from Noph. A new theme emerges in Ezekiel 30:13. The gods of Egypt prove worthless in the face of the mighty conqueror raised up by the Lord. Noph (Memphis) was famous for its numerous gods and elaborate temples, especially those of Ptah and Apis. But the non-entities (lit., things of naught) will be made to cease from Noph. So it has happened. An enormous, albeit prostrate, figure of Pharaoh Ramases is the only image of note to mark the spot where once stood the magnificent capital of Egypt. Wilbur Smith summarizes the situation well when he writes:

The temples of Egypt and the elaborate carvings and drawings of her gods and goddesses are still the wonder of modern students; but her gods are gone. No temple to an Egyptian god or goddess has a priest in attendance today; no offering is presented to any of these once powerful deities representing the sun, the stellar bodies, the river Nile, and the underworld; no one bows the knee to any of these ancient images.

Threat against the princes (Ezekiel 30:13 b): There will no longer be a prince out of the land of Egypt. Following her destruction Egypt will never again be ruled by a native prince. So it has been. Persians, Greeks, Ptolemies, and Romans ruled Egypt in olden times. Since A.D. 638 Egypt has been ruled by Moslems. James Breasted summarizes the situation:

With the fall of Psamtik III [to Cambyses in 525 B.C.], Egypt belonged to a new world, toward the development of which she had contributed much, but in which she could no longer play an active part. Her great work was done, and unable, like Nineveh and Babylon, to disappear from the scene, she lived on her artificial life for a time under the Persians and the Ptolemies, ever sinking, till she became merely the granary of Rome, to be visited as a land of ancient marvels by wealthy Greeks and Romans, who have left their names scratched here and there upon her hoary monuments, just as the modern tourists, admiring the same marvels, still continue to do. But her unwarlike people, still making Egypt a garden of the world, show no signs of an awakening and the words of the Hebrew seer, ‘There shall be no more a prince out of the land of Egypt.,’ have been literally fulfilled.

Threat against the land (Ezekiel 30:13-14 a): (13c) I will put a fear in the land of Egypt. (14) I will make Pathros desolate... Pathros is southern or Upper Egypt extending as far south as Aswan.

Threat against the specific cities (Ezekiel 30:14 b): I will set a fire in Zoan, and execute judgments in No. (15) I will pour out my wrath upon Sin, the stronghold of Egypt. I will cut off the multitude of No. Zoan, classical Tanis, was an important city in the eastern Nile delta. No (or No-Amon) is classical Thebes (RSV), modern Karnak and Luxor, located about five hundred miles south of Cairo. No was capital of Egypt during much of Egyptian history, and the worship center for the sun-god Amon. The multitudes of No will be cut off, i.e., the place will be uninhabited.

Final threat (Ezekiel 30:16 a): I will set a fire in Egypt. Fire is figurative for warfare. God will not use supernatural means to judge Egypt, but the destructive force of an invading army.

Result of judgment (Ezekiel 30:16-19)

Devastation (30:16b): Sin will be in great upheaval. No will be torn asunder. Against Noph adversaries will come by day. Sin is probably Pelusium (RSV) on the Mediterranean coast. This stronghold guarded Egypt from attack from the north. No will be rent asunder, i.e., breached and penetrated by an invading army.

Death (Ezekiel 30:17 a): The young men of Aven and of Pi-beseth will fall by the sword. Aven is also called On in the Old Testament. The Greeks knew the town as Heliopolis, the city of the sun god. The ruins are found in the outskirts of modern Cairo. Pi-beseth is the modern Basta, about forty miles northeast of Cairo. Like the other cities mentioned in Ezekiel 30:13-18, Pi-beseth was a cultic center. The cat was particularly sacred there.

Deportation (Ezekiel 30:17 b): These (cities) will go into captivity. See discussion on Ezekiel 29:12 b.

Humiliation (Ezekiel 30:18): At Tehaphnehes the day will withdraw itself, when I break there the yokes of Egypt. The pride of her strength will cease in her. As for her, a cloud will cover her. Her daughters will go into captivity. Tehaphnehes—spelled Tahpanhes in Jeremiah— was known to the Greeks as Daphni. The modern Tel Defenneh on the Suez canal is the spot to which Ezekiel refers. Jeremiah was taken there after the assassination of Gedaliah (Jeremiah 43:7). What a dark day that will be for Egypt! A great cloud of despair will hover over that land. The yokes of Egypt—the tyranny that Egypt inflicted on other nations—will be broken. The daughters of Egypt, i.e., her various cities, will go into captivity (Ezekiel 30:18).

Reason for judgment (Ezekiel 30:19): Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt. They will know that I am the LORD. The ultimate purpose of these judgments was the vindication of the sovereignty of Israel’s God.

THE FALL OF PHARAOH

Ezekiel 30:20-26

It came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying... About four months before the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar (July 3, 586 B.C.), Ezekiel received another revelation against Egypt.

Pharaoh’s Arms Shattered (Ezekiel 30:21-23)

The first army broken (Ezekiel 30:21): Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Behold, it has not been bound up to be healed, to put a bandage that it be bound up to become strong that it might hold a sword. Pharaoh’s arm had been broken. The allusion is probably to the defeat of Pharaoh Hophra when he tried to come to the aid of beleaguered Jerusalem (cf. Jeremiah 37:1-10). Nebuchadnezzar had inflicted irreparable damage upon the military machine of Egypt (cf. 2 Kings 24:7). Pharaoh’s arm—symbol of his military might—could not be mended. Never again will he attempt to launch a military offensive against Nebuchadnezzar.

The second army broken (Ezekiel 30:22-23): (22) Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break his arms, the strong, and the one that was broken. I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. (23) I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through countries. The defeat at the borders of Judah indicated that God was opposing Pharaoh. That setback signaled the beginning of a succession of defeats. Both of Pharaoh’s arms—the good one and the bad one—will be broken. The sword will drop from his hand. Egypt will be rendered completely powerless (Ezekiel 30:22). Egyptians will be scattered among the nations (Ezekiel 30:23; cf. Ezekiel 29:12; Ezekiel 30:26).

Pharaoh’s Adversary Strengthened (Ezekiel 30:23-26): I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon. I will put my sword in his hand. But I will shatter the arms of Pharaoh. He will groan with the groanings of the slain before him. (25) I will uphold the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall down. They will know that I am the LORD when I put my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon. He will stretch it out against the land of Egypt. (26) I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the lands. They will know that I am the LORD. The king of Egypt will decrease, while the king of Babylon will increase in power. Before the advancing army of Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh will appear as helpless as a mortally wounded soldier (Ezekiel 30:24). The king of Babylon will wield the sword of divine judgment against the helpless land of Egypt (Ezekiel 30:25). The dispersal of the Egyptians will establish the sole divinity of Israel’s God (Ezekiel 30:26).

EZEKIEL 31

THE GREAT CEDAR TREE

Ezekiel 31:1-18

In the first unit of this chapter, Egypt is likened to a cedar (Ezekiel 31:2-9). This poetic comparison is followed by two prose messages describing the downfall of the magnificent tree at the hands of foreigners (Ezekiel 31:10-14) and its descent into Sheol (Ezekiel 31:15-18).

DESCRIPTION OF THE CEDAR

Ezekiel 31:1-9

Ezekiel uses the common ancient Near Eastern motif of the tree of life to underscore again the reason for Egypt’s downfall. It was not Egypt’s greatness that drew the prophet’s fire. Egypt ignored God’s sovereignty. By promising to aid Judah to escape submission to Babylon, Egypt was contradicting the expressed will of God for his people. The audacity of Egypt in encouraging Judah to rebel against Babylon had to be addressed by Yahweh. Eichrodt calls this threatening poem "Ezekiel’s most powerful piece of testimony against Egypt’s world-power.”

Introduction (Ezekiel 31:1-2): It came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, say unto Pharaoh king of Egypt and unto his multitude: Unto whom will you compare yourself in greatness? The fifth Egyptian oracle follows the preceding one by two months. It is a prophecy of judgment in the form of an allegory. The date, according to the present calendar, is June 21, 587 B.C. (Ezekiel 31:1).

A rhetorical question sets the theme for the following poem. Pharaoh and his multitude (the Egyptian people) thought themselves to be incomparably great and powerful. Yet they will not escape the judgment of God (Ezekiel 31:2). The rhetorical question introduces a poetic allegory. The poem itself has three strophes, each of which begins with the size of the tree and moves to the supply of water.

First Picture (Ezekiel 31:1-4): Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon with beautiful branches, a foliage that provided shade, and a high stature. Its top was among the thick boughs. (4) Waters nourished it, the deep made it grow. Her rivers ran around about her plantation. She sent forth her channels unto all the trees of the field. Assyria was once a lofty Lebanon cedar, encircled at the top by leafy and thick boughs (Ezekiel 31:3). The subterranean reservoir of waters (the deep) sent forth a river to nourish the cedar, and smaller rivulets to water the other trees. Perhaps this is an indirect reference to Assyria great water sources in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (Ezekiel 31:4).

Second Picture (Ezekiel 31:5-6): Therefore, its height was exalted above all the trees of the field, its boughs were multiplied, and its branches became long, because of the many waters when it put them forth. (6) In its boughs all the birds of the heaven made their nests. Under its branches all the beasts of the field bring forth young. In its shadow all great nations dwell. As a result of abundant watering, the cedar (Assyria) grew taller, stronger and more luxurious than the other trees (nations; Ezekiel 31:5). All the fowl of the heavens and beasts of the field passed under the control of Assyria. These birds and beasts represented the nations under Assyria’s control (Ezekiel 31:6; Cf. Daniel 4:10-12; Daniel 4:19-22; Matthew 13:31-32).

Third Picture (Ezekiel 31:7-9): Thus it was fair in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its root was by many waters. (8) The cedars could not hide it in the garden of God. The cypress trees could not compare to its boughs. The plane trees were not like its branches. No tree in the garden of God could compare to it in beauty. (9) I made it beautiful by the multitude of its branches. All the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God were jealous of it. Receiving constant nourishment from many waters, the Assyrian cedar continued to spread out its branches, i.e., to annex additional territories (Ezekiel 31:7). None of the other great trees in the garden of God, i.e., the world could compare to that mighty Assyrian cedar (Ezekiel 31:8). That tree attained its stature and beauty from the God of Israel. Assyria was an enemy of all the other trees that God had planted in his Eden, i.e., in the world (Ezekiel 31:9).

DOWNFALL OF THE CEDAR

Ezekiel 31:10-14

Reason for the Downfall (Ezekiel 31:10-12)

The pride of Assyria (Ezekiel 31:10): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Because you were exalted in height, and he has set his top among the thick boughs, and his heart was lifted up in his height; Assyria became exalted in height, i.e., proud of her greatness (Ezekiel 31:10). Such pride precedes a fall (Proverbs 16:18).

The punishment of Assyria (Ezekiel 31:11-12): therefore, I will give him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations. He will surely deal with him in the midst of his wickedness. I have driven him out. (12) And strangers—the most ruthless of the nations—have cut him down, and have cast him down. Upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches have fallen. His boughs are broken in all the channels of the land. All the peoples of the earth have gone down from his shadow. They have left him. God delivered Assyria into the hand of the mighty one of the nations, i.e., Nebuchadnezzar, to be treated as ruthlessly as she had treated other nations. This phrase is frequently used in these chapters to denote the Babylonians. The Assyrian were driven out of the garden of God as surely as Adam had been driven out of primeval Eden (Ezekiel 31:11). Assyria was cut down and cast off as worthless by the most ruthless of foreign invaders (cf. Ezekiel 28:7). The reference is to the Babylonians, who are compared to lumberjacks. The boughs and branches of that once glorious tree—the Assyrian armies—were broken and dispersed about the countryside. Those vassal states that had resided in the protective shadow of Assyria deserted their master (Ezekiel 31:12).

Result of the Downfall (Ezekiel 31:13-14)

Assyria consumed (Ezekiel 31:13): Upon his carcass all the birds of the heavens dwell, and upon his boughs every beast of the field. The birds and beasts feed upon the dead bodies of the Assyrian soldiers. The idea that all remnants of the Assyrian Empire disappear from the scene.

Immediate impact on other nations (Ezekiel 31:14 a): The results will be that no tree by the waters will exalt itself in its height, nor set its top among the thick boughs. Their mighty ones will not stand up in their height, even all who drink water; All of this befell Assyria so that other trees (nations) in the world will not be tempted to follow her example.

Permanent lesson for the nations (Ezekiel 31:14 b): for they are all given over to death, unto the lower parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with those who go down to the pit. Nations, like men, are mortal; they die. They depart the scene of history to descend, as it were, into Sheol—the pit—the abode of the dead.

DESCENT OF THE CEDAR

Ezekiel 31:15-17

Mourning of the Deep (Ezekiel 31:15): Thus says the Lord GOD: In the day he went down to Sheol, I caused the deep to mourn and cover over him. I held back her rivers, and the great waters were stayed. I caused Lebanon to mourn over him. All the trees of the field fainted for him. The fall of Assyria caused a great upheaval in the world. Even the deep, from which all the nations of the earth were watered, was plunged into mourning. Cf. Ezekiel 32:7 where the sun is plunged into mourning. The rivers, that formerly nourished the great tree (cf. Ezekiel 31:4), now had dried up, i.e., the sources of her wealth were gone. All the trees of Lebanon—other notable nations of the time—fainted in fear for their own safety.

Comfort in Sheol (Ezekiel 31:16): At the sound of his fall, I caused the nations to shake, when I brought him down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit. All the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the lower parts of the earth. Previous world powers (all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon) were comforted by the thought that now Assyria had joined them in the lower parts of the earth—in Sheol, the realm of the departed. The five uses of the first-person pronoun of divinity in Ezekiel 31:15-16 indicate that Yahweh is in complete control of the community of nations.

Destruction of Allies (Ezekiel 31:17): They also went down with him to Sheol unto those who were slain by the sword, even they who were his arm, who dwelt in his shadow, in the midst of nations. The allies of Assyria (they who were his arm) were destroyed once their protector was gone. They too joined their once proud master in the most disgraceful of deaths (those who were slain by the sword.

APPLICATION TO PHARAOH

Ezekiel 31:18

To whom are you like in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? Yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the lower parts of the earth. You will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude (oracle of the Lord GOD). In this final verse of ch 31, Ezekiel drives home the application of his lengthy allegory. If the giant Assyrian cedar had been cut down, how can Egypt hope to escape? Pharaoh and his people will be brought down to a humiliating defeat and death. He will lie among the uncircumcised. The term is not to be taken literally, but refers to an uncircumcised foreigner who does not receive a decent burial. To the Israelites, the uncircumcised were those excluded from the community. Hence, in Sheol Pharaoh will lie with the excluded, dishonorable dead. Some think the reference is to those who suffer death by the sword and whose bodies lie unburied on the ground. This is a bitter pill to swallow for one cherished opulent burial and despised foreigners.

EZEKIEL 32

SNAPSHOTS OF EGYPT’S DEMISE

DIRGE OVER PHARAOH

Ezekiel 32:1-16

Introduction (Ezekiel 32:1-2 a): It came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, lift up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt. The last oracle against Egypt is dated about a year-and-a-half after the fall of Jerusalem. The date, according to the modern calendar, is March 4, 585 B.C. Ezekiel 32:1). Some confusion exists in the ancient versions on the date of this oracle. Some ancient scribes, determined to keep the oracles in Ezekiel in chronological order, emended the Hebrew text to read eleventh year and twelfth month. Others retained the reading twelfth year, but altered the month to read tenth month. The reading of the standard Hebrew text is not to be surrendered. The prophet is told to take up a lamentation—a prophetic doom-song—over Pharaoh. This lament recapitulates the previous judgment messages. Ezekiel emphasizes Egypt’s false pride. He bewails the fate of judgment.

Captured Crocodile (Ezekiel 32:2-6)

The truth about Pharaoh (Ezekiel 32:2-3): He is a clumsy crocodile (Ezekiel 32:2 b): Say unto him, You likened yourself to a young lion of the nations, but you are like a crocodile in the seas. You burst forth in your rivers. You troubled the waters with your feet. You polluted their rivers. Pharaoh fancied himself to be like a lion roaming among the nations. He struck fear into all who saw him. In reality Pharaoh was more like a crocodile (see on Ezekiel 29:3), whose movement was restricted to the waters. Occasionally Egypt’s army bursts forth from his waters, i.e., ventures forth beyond the national frontiers. Moving into yet other rivers, the Egyptian crocodile will thrash about, churning up the waters and befouling them.

He is a captured crocodile (Ezekiel 32:3): Thus says the Lord GOD: I will spread out over you my net with a company of many peoples. They will bring you up in my net. God had decreed the end of the disruptive crocodile. He will spread out his net to capture and immobilize the vicious beast. A company of many people—Babylon and her allies—will assist in drawing up that divine net.

The demise of Pharaoh (Ezekiel 32:4-6): I will leave you in the land. Upon the field I will cast you forth. I will cause all the birds of the heaven to remain upon you. and fill the beasts of all the earth with you. (5) I will put your flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with your height. (6) I will water the land where you swim with your blood, even to the mountains. The rivers will be full of you. The crocodile will be cast upon dry land, out of his natural habitat. Thus his doom is sealed. The birds of prey and beasts of the field take their fill of him (Ezekiel 32:4). The carnage is great. The mountains and valleys are filled with the long carcass of the crocodile (Ezekiel 32:5). The blood of the beast saturates the land and fills the rivulets (Ezekiel 32:6).

Darkened Luminaries (Ezekiel 32:7-10)

Egypt’s light extinguished (Ezekiel 32:7-8): When you are extinguished, I will cover the heavens, make their stars dark, and cover the sun with a cloud. The moon will not give its light. (8) All the light-bearing bodies in the heavens I will make dark over you. I will set darkness over your land (oracle of the Lord GOD). A second figure depicts the demise of Egypt. The once bright star (Egypt) will be extinguished. This day of divine judgment is depicted as a day of darkness. The sun, moon and stars will refuse to give their light (Ezekiel 32:7-8). Earth-shaking events are heralded by cosmic calamity. Such passages are not to be interpreted literally, but rather are the traditional way of depicting the fall of a great nation. Cf. Isaiah 13:10; Joel 2:10; Amos 8:9.

Impact on other nations (Ezekiel 32:9-10): I will provoke the heart of many people, when I bring your destruction among the nations, unto countries that you have not known. (10) I will make many people astonished concerning you. Their kings will be horrified on account of you, when I unsheathe my sword before them. They will tremble at every moment, each man for his life, in the day of your fall. Many other nations, including some unknown to Egypt, will be terrified by the news of the destruction of that empire (Ezekiel 32:9). Other kings will tremble before the sword of God—the agent of God’s judgment upon the world (Ezekiel 32:10).

Explanation of Pharaoh’s Fall (Ezekiel 32:11-16)

Invasion (Ezekiel 32:11-12): For thus says the Lord GOD: The sword of the king of Babylon will come upon you. (12) By the swords of the mighty, I will cause your multitude to fall. The most ruthless of the nations are all of them. They will spoil the pride of Egypt. All her multitude will be destroyed. Like Jeremiah, Ezekiel regarded Nebuchadnezzar as the Lord’s servant (Ezekiel 32:11; cf. Ezekiel 30:24). The Babylonians are called the mighty, the ruthless of the nations (cf. Ezekiel 28:7). The pride of Egypt—all the multitude of her population—will be spoiled by the northern invaders (Ezekiel 32:12).

Destruction (Ezekiel 32:13-14): I will destroy all her cattle from beside many waters. The foot of man will not trouble them any more, nor will the hoofs of cattle trouble them. (14) Then I will make their waters to settle. Their rivers I will cause to go as oil (oracle of the Lord GOD). Even the cattle that fed along the banks of the Nile and its canals will be destroyed. Neither man nor beast will befoul the waters of the land anymore. Clearly Ezekiel knows something of the slimy brown appearance of the Nile at the time when it floods (Zimmerli, Her 2:161). The land will be temporarily desolate (Ezekiel 32:13). The undisturbed waters will flow as smoothly as a river of olive oil (Ezekiel 32:14).

Desolation (Ezekiel 32:15): When I make the land of Egypt a desolation and waste, a land devoid of fullness, when I smite all the inhabitants in it, then will they know that I am the LORD. By smiting Egypt with desolation, God will cause men to recognize His sovereignty.

Lamentation (Ezekiel 32:16): With this lamentation will they lament over it. The daughters of the nations will lament over her. On account of Egypt and all her multitude, they will lament her (oracle of the Lord GOD). The oracle closes as it began (Ezekiel 32:1), with a reminder that it is a lamentation. The daughters of the nations—the professional mourners—will take up this lamentation over Egypt. In Ezekiel’s foreign nation oracles, lamentations are chanted by princes of the sea (Ezekiel 26:16-17), the prophet (Ezekiel 27:2; Ezekiel 28:12), sailors and pilots of the sea (Ezekiel 27:29-32), and by daughters of the nations (Ezekiel 32:16). The lament over Egypt’s demise is an international one, befitting the fall of a great empire.

DESCENT INTO SHEOL

Ezekiel 32:17-32

Lofthouse calls the sixteen verses of the final Egyptian oracle “the death song of the world in which Israel had grown up.” The language here is highly poetical and one must be careful not to press it too far in formulating the biblical doctrine of the afterlife. In this chapter, Sheol is envisioned as consisting of compartments where nations lie together in graves gathered about their king. Warriors who experienced proper burial are thought of as occupying a higher status than those who did not.

Introduction (Ezekiel 32:17-18): And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (18) Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt. Cast them down, even her and the daughters of the mighty nations, unto the lower parts of the earth, with those who go down to the pit. The month is missing in the Hebrew text of Ezekiel 32:17. The Greek version supplies the first month. However, it is more likely that this oracle should be dated to the same month as the preceding one, viz., the twelfth month. It will then have been composed two weeks after the oracle contained in Ezekiel 32:1-16. According to the modern calendar the date is March 18, 585 B.C.

Ezekiel is told to wail over Egypt. A prophetic lament had the power to actually set in motion the wheels of judgment. In this sense Ezekiel is to cast down the multitude of Egypt into the lower parts of the earth. This is Sheol, the abode of the dead, in which the once powerful nations on earth are thought of as continuing their collective identity. The daughters of the mighty nations are the countries that share the fate of Egypt in going down to Sheol. The pit is still another designation for Sheol (Ezekiel 32:18).

The Death of Egypt (Ezekiel 32:19-21): Who do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be laid with the uncircumcised. (20) They will fall in the midst of those who fall with the sword. To the sword she is given. Draw her down, and all her multitude. (21) The strong ones among the mighty will speak to him from the midst of Sheol with his helpers: They have gone down. They lie still, even the uncircumcised, those slain by the sword! The rhetorical question cuts Egypt down to size. Egypt is in no way superior to the other powers of that day. Though it is a beautiful land, Egypt is not exempt from national death. She will go down in defeat. She will lie with the uncircumcised, those who have experienced the most dishonorable death (Ezekiel 32:19). Egyptian soldiers will fall by the sword. Their corpses are abandoned on the field of battle. Nations already in Sheol are exhorted to drag the slain Egyptian forces on down into their midst (draw her down and all her multitude; Ezekiel 32:20).

The irony here is obvious. No nation in history put more emphasis on life after death—the elaborate pyramids and subterranean burial vaults; the art of embalming; the amassing of enormous wealth and every conceivable provision for abundant life in the world to come. None of this, however, will prevent the mighty Pharaohs from being brought down in shame to the pit. The leaders of nations already in Sheol are represented as greeting Pharaoh and his allies with mocking words upon their arrival in the pit. The mighty Egyptians have died an ignominious death—the death of the uncircumcised—by the sword (Ezekiel 32:21).

Occupants of Sheol (Ezekiel 32:22-30)

Ezekiel names three great nations that lie in the place of dishonorable burial (Ezekiel 32:22-28). He then depicts the fate of some of the lesser nations of his day (Ezekiel 32:29-30).

Assyria (Ezekiel 32:22-23): Assyria is there and all her company. Round about them are their graves, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, (23) whose graves are in the uttermost parts of the pit. Her company is round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword who caused terror in the land of the living. Egypt has joined Assyria and her allies in Sheol. The Egyptian graves lie scattered about those of the Assyrians (v 22) in the uttermost part of the pit.⁶⁰¹ This expression may point to degrees of ignominy in the afterlife.

The great nations that terrorized the earth have been permanently and totally removed from the world of the living. They are now only a bad memory. The graves of satellite nations surround that of Egypt itself in those inaccessible regions (Ezekiel 32:23). Seven times in Ezekiel 32:23-32 the prophet repeats the charge that these nations caused terror in the land of the living. The ancients bragged about their brutality.

Elam (Ezekiel 32:24-25): There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who have gone down uncircumcised unto the lower parts of the earth, who caused terror in the land of the living. Yet they have borne their shame with those who go down to the pit. (25) They have put for her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude. Her graves are round about them, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, because they caused terror in the land of the living. Yet they have borne their shame, with those who go down to the pit. They are put in the midst of the slain. Other once powerful nations lie quietly in Sheol far removed from the land of the living where once they spread terror. Elam rests in shame there (Ezekiel 32:24-25) after having spread terror in the land of the living. Furthermore, Elam had gone uncircumcised to its grave. The capital of Elam was Susa. During the last half of the seventh century B.C. there was a great struggle for power between Assyria and Elam. It was the Assyrian Ashurbanipal who delivered the death blow to Elam in 640 B.C. Jeremiah uttered an oracle against Elam (Eze 49) that is dated to the beginning of Zedekiah’s reign. Apparently some Jews expected a rebellion in Elam to lead to the fall of the hated neo-Babylonian empire.

Meshech and Tubal (Ezekiel 32:26-28): There is Meshech, Tubal and all her multitude. Her graves are round about them, all of them are uncircumcised, slain by the sword; because they caused their terror in the land of the living. (27) The ones who are inferior to the uncircumcised will not lie down with the mighty ones who went down to Sheol with all their war weapons, with their swords laid under their heads, and their iniquities upon their bones; because the terror of the mighty ones was in the land of the living. (28) But you, in the midst of the uncircumcised will be broken. They will lie with those slain by the sword. Meshech and Tubal were once powerful kingdoms located south and southeast of the Black Sea. Other warlike powers descended into Sheol with their military equipment. Meshech and Tubal, however, met with an even more humiliating end. They rest among those who had been stripped of their arms and who were uncircumcised. Ezekiel does not specify the particular crimes that justified this more severe humiliation of Tubal and Meshech (Ezekiel 32:26-27). Apparently Pharaoh will experience still a worse fate. He will lie among those slain by the sword, but not, apparently, with the mighty ones mentioned in the preceding verses (Ezekiel 32:28).

Other nations (Ezekiel 32:29-30): There was Edom, her kings and all her princes who in their might are put with those slain by the sword. They, with the uncircumcised, will lie with those who go down to the pit. (30) There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians who went down with the slain, ashamed for the terror that was caused by their might. They lie down uncircumcised with those slain by the sword. They bear their shame with those that go down to the pit. Pharaoh will lie among the leaders of Edom, the princes of the north (Babylonian satellite kings) and the Sidonians (Phoenicians). These all lie uncircumcised, i.e., they have experienced the ignominious death of those slain in battle and left unburied (Ezekiel 32:29-30).

Conclusion (Ezekiel 32:31-32): Pharaoh will see them and will be comforted concerning all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, (oracle of the LORD). (32) For I have put my terror in the land of the living. He will be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude (oracle of the Lord GOD). Pharaoh, unmentioned since Ezekiel 32:2, is named three times in vv. 31-32. The verses ooze with irony. Pharaoh will take some measure of comfort in the fact that others have shared Egypt’s fate (Ezekiel 32:31).

All the mighty powers that terrorize the land of the living will ultimately be brought to naught. Ultimately God’s power prevails on earth. The fall of Pharaoh and his host will be another indication of this grand truth (Ezekiel 32:32). A fitting conclusion to this section dealing with Egypt is found on the final page of Breasted’s monumental History of Ancient Egypt:

The fall of Egypt and the close of her characteristic history, were already an irrevocable fact before the relentless Cambyses knocked at the doors of Pelusium, The Saitic state was a creation of rulers who looked into the future, who belonged to it, and had little or no connection with the past. They were as essentially non Egyptian as the Ptolemies who followed the Persians. The Persian conquest in 525 B.C., which deprived Psamtik III, the son Amasis, of his throne and kingdom, was but a change of rulers, a purely external fact. And if a feeble burst of national feeling enabled this or that Egyptian to thrust off the Persian yoke for a brief period, the movement may be likened to the convulsive contractions which sometimes lend momentary motion to limbs from which conscious life has long departed. With the fall of Psamtik III, Egypt belonged to a new world, toward the development of which she had contributed much, but in which she could no longer play an active part. Her great work was done, and unable, like Nineveh and Babylon, to disappear from the scene, she lived on her artificial life for a time under the Persians and the Ptolemies, ever sinking, till she became merely the granary of Rome, to be visited as a land of ancient marvels by wealthy Greeks and Romans, who have left their names scratched here and there upon her hoary monuments, just as the modern tourists, admiring the same marvels, still continue to do.

Special Study

NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S INVASION

OF EGYPT

The Old Testament prophets devote more verses to Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Egypt than to that king’s conquest of Jerusalem. However, whereas Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of Jerusalem is recorded in various documents dating to the sixth century, his invasion of Egypt has been ignored by the ancient historians. Consequently, most biblical critics before 1900, and a few since that date, have pointed to the prophecy of Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Egypt as an example of error in prophetic anticipation. In the first edition of the Cambridge Ancient History, H.R. Hall categorically asserted:

We have no warrant to suppose that the Babylonian king ever carried out great warlike operations against Amasis [Pharaoh of Egypt], far less that he conquered or even entered Egypt either personally or by proxy.

The first biblical prophecy of the fall of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar is found in Jeremiah 46. Here Nebuchadnezzar is mentioned by name (Ezekiel 32:13), as is also the Pharaoh he will defeat, viz., Pharaoh Neco (609-593 B.C.). Four Egyptian cities are mentioned here: Migdol, Noph (Memphis) and Tahpanhes in northern Egypt, and No (Thebes) in southern Egypt.

Some twenty years after the destruction of Jerusalem, Jeremiah again alludes to the invasion of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 43:12-13). This oracle emphasizes the destruction of the gods of Egypt. Two Egyptian cities are specifically mentioned— Tahpanhes and Beth-shemesh (also called On or Heliopolis).

In his second and third prophecies against Egypt (571 B.C.), Ezekiel names Nebuchadnezzar as the agent of God’s judgment on the land of the Nile. The destruction of the idols of Egypt is specifically mentioned (Ezekiel 29:17-21; Ezekiel 30:10-12). The evidence that Nebuchadnezzar did in fact invade Egypt is threefold:

1. Josephus relates that in the fifth year after the destruction of Jerusalem (582 B.C.), Nebuchadnezzar fell upon Egypt, slew their king and set up another in his place. Some of the Jewish refugees in Egypt were taken captive back to Babylon.

2. A small fragment of a Babylonian chronicle first published by Pinches shows that Nebuchadnezzar launched an attack against Egypt in his thirty-seventh year, 568 B.C. This text can be found in Ancient Near Eastern Texts edited by James Pritchard, p. 308.

3. Driver pointed out a statue in the Louvre representing Nes-Hor, governor of Southern Egypt under Pharaoh Hophra (589-664 B.C.). The inscription thereon seems to state that an army of Asiatics and northern peoples, that apparently had invaded Egypt, intended to advance up the Nile valley into Ethiopia. However, this invasion of southern Egypt was averted by the favor of the gods. So states Nes-Hor.

EZEKIEL 33

EZEKIEL’S COMMISSION RENEWED

Ezekiel’s predictions of the destruction of Jerusalem had become a tragic reality. No more does the prophet sound forth the threatening blast against the inhabitants of Judah, for Judah no longer existed. It was time for consolation. Hope had to be rekindled. A remnant had to be prepared for the restoration and rebirth of the nation. Ezekiel opens this section of the book with an oracle underscoring individual responsibility and the power and potential of repentance (ch 33). Then the prophet predicts the removal of the corrupt leadership of the nation (ch 34) and the national enemies of Judah (ch 35). By so doing he sets the stage for his later prophecies of restoration.

THE PROPHET AS A WATCHMAN

Ezekiel 33:1-9

Watchman Parable Presented (Ezekiel 33:1-6)

Appointment of the watchman (Ezekiel 33:1-2): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, speak to the children of my people. Say to them: When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their midst, and set him as their watchman; Following the interlude in which Ezekiel spoke to foreign nations, the prophet is again instructed to devote his attention to the children of my people. When God in his sovereign will determined to bring a sword, i.e., war, upon a land, normally that land tried to protect itself as best it could. A responsible person was appointed as watchman. He was charged with the task of sounding the alarm as the enemy approached (Ezekiel 33:2).

The diligent watchman (Ezekiel 33:3-5): if he sees the sword come against the land, and he blows the horn, and warns the people; (4) then whoever hears the sound of the horn, and does not take warning, if the sword come and take him away, his blood will be upon his own head. (5) He heard the sound of the horn, but did not take warning, so his blood will be upon him; for if he had taken warning he will have delivered his soul. A watchman can do nothing prevent the coming of or the taking away by the sword. He can only sound the alarm. Normally the watchman will warn his neighbors by means of a (ram’s) horn (Ezekiel 33:3; cf. Amos 3:6). Those who failed to heed the warning blast were responsible for their own death. If they had taken refuge or had fled the doomed land, they will have saved their lives (Ezekiel 33:4-5). No blame can be attached to the watchman in such a case. He did his job. His blood will be upon his own head reflects the oriental custom of carrying one’s burdens on the head. In this case, the burden of guilt comes down on the head of the one who refuses to heed the warning. He thus forfeits his life.

The indifferent watchman (Ezekiel 33:6): But if the watchman sees the sword come and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword come and take a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the hand of the watchman. If the watchman sees the danger and fails to sound the alarm, he is responsible for the death of those who are slain. Even if those who died were worthy of death because of their iniquity, still the watchman is held accountable by God. That unfaithful watchman will someday pay for his negligence.

Watchman Parable Applied (Ezekiel 33:7-9)

Ezekiel’s position (Ezekiel 33:7): As for you, son of man, I have set you as a watchman to the house of Israel. Therefore, when you hear from my mouth a word, then you will warn them from me. The long section of judgment oracles (chs 4-32) concludes as it began (Ezekiel 3:17-21), with Ezekiel’s commission as Israel’s watchman by God Himself. The fundamental responsibility of an Old Testament prophet was to convey to God’s people any threatening word that he might have heard from the mouth of God.

Ezekiel’s responsibility (Ezekiel 33:8): When I say to the wicked: O wicked man, you will surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked of his way, that wicked one will die in his iniquity; but his blood I will seek from your hand. If he fails to warn the wicked man of the consequences of his way, the blood of that wicked man will be upon the hands of the prophet.

Ezekiel’s responsibility discharged (Ezekiel 33:9): But if you warn the wicked one of his way to turn from it, and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your own soul. You will surely die is the announcement of a death sentence. The sentence may be spoken by God (e.g., Genesis 2:17), the king (e.g., 1 Samuel 14:44), the prophet (e.g., 2 Kings 1:4) or temple officials (Jeremiah 26:8). Always, however, it the response to disobedience to a specific command. In every case this formula applies to a sentence passed on an individual. Not only does the prophet have the responsibility of warning the nation as a whole, he has the task of warning individuals about the just consequences of their disobedience. Implicit in the death sentence is the promise of "life" to those who heed the warning. The prophet can only clear himself before God by the faithful discharge of his duty of sounding the alarm. Whether or not the sinner heeds the prophet’s call to repentance, the watchman has saved his own life (Ezekiel 33:9).

POSSIBILITIES OF REPENTANCE

Ezekiel 33:10-20

Appeal for Repentance (Ezekiel 33:10-11)

Despondency among the exiles (Ezekiel 33:10): As for you, son of man, say unto the house of Israel, Thus you have said: Our transgressions and our sins are upon us. We waste away in them. How then can we live? Despair engulfed the exilic community after the fall of Jerusalem. For the first time the captives faced up to the enormity of their sin. There could be no other explanation of the disastrous overthrow of their holy city and shrine. The words upon us suggest the picture of a people crushed under the heaviest burden. That crushing burden consists of transgressions (rebellious disobedience) and sins. The punishment for that enormous burden is described under the image of wasting away, i.e., slow but irreversible deterioration. How can we live? they asked in desperation.

God’s desire for repentance (Ezekiel 33:11): Say unto them, As I live (oracle of the Lord GOD) surely I do not delight in the death of the wicked one, but rather when the wicked one turns from his way and lives. Turn, turn from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel? The Jewish nation seemed doomed to extinction. Life more abundant and life eternal seemed remote for such sinners. God had good news for those captives, as he always does for those who honestly face up to the sin problem in their lives. He underscores this good news by an oath (as I live). God is not vindictive. He does not desire to see his enemies die in their sins. Divine chastisement is designed to move wicked people to repentance so that they might escape the ultimate consequences of their sin.

The prophet responds to the despairing question of the preceding verse with a question of his own: Why will you die? The judgments prophesied in chs 4-32 could have been averted. The death sentence on wicked individuals also can be averted by repentance. In fact, it is God’s delight, i.e., pleasure, hidden will, desire, that individuals escape death (cf. 2 Peter 3:9). This hopeful note is underscore by (1) a divine oath; and (2) the oracle formula. Ezekiel urges his hearers to turn from their evil ways. That is always the key to life (Ezekiel 33:11). Here the watchman metaphor is transformed. What Ezekiel saw in the distance was not the approach of another enemy. The watchman saw God coming with forgiveness for all who will accept it through repentance.

Need for Repentance (Ezekiel 33:12-13): Now as for you, son of man, say unto the hildren of your people: The righteousness of the righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression. As for the wickedness of the wicked man, he will not be brought down by it in the day he turns from his wickedness; neither will the righteous man be able to live thereby in the day of his sin. (13) When I say to the righteous man that he will surely live; if he trust in his righteousness and commits iniquity, all his righteousness will not be remembered, but he will die in his iniquity that he has done. Ezekiel 33:12-20 sets forth a great truth, viz., that a man’s past does not of itself determine future relations with the Lord. A backslider who formerly lived by the righteous law of God will not live, i.e., escape punishment, when he casts his lot with the wicked. By the same token, a penitent sinner will not stumble, i.e., suffer punishment or recrimination, because of his past. The life/death contrast of the preceding verses here becomes the contrast between deliver and brought down (Ezekiel 33:12). God’s promises to the righteous are conditional. The righteous man must continue to trust in God, not in his own goodness. Should he deliberately commit iniquity, he will die for that iniquity (Ezekiel 33:13).

Description of Repentance (Ezekiel 33:14-16): When I say to the wicked man: You will surely die! and he turns from his sin and does what is just and right; (15) if the wicked man returns what has been taken in pledge, if he restores what has been seized by robbery, walks in the statutes of life, so that he does not do iniquity; be will surely live, he will not die. (16) None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he will surely live. The threats made to the wicked are not absolute. God has decreed that death—physical, spiritual, eternal—is the penalty for wickedness. But if the wicked man turns from sin to pursue a righteous and lawful life, that death threat is cancelled (Ezekiel 33:14). The repentance envisioned here is more than contrition for sin. The penitent person must (1) restore pawned articles that he had illegally retained; (2) restore what had been taken by violence; and (3) walk in the statutes of life, i.e., those laws of God that lead to life more abundant and ultimately life eternal (Ezekiel 33:15). If the former sinner manifests genuine repentance, God will not hold his past against him. He will live (Ezekiel 33:16).

An Objection Answered (Ezekiel 33:17-20): Yet the children of My people say: The way of the Lord is not equal; but as for them, their way is not equal. (18) When the righteous man turns from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, he will die in them. (19) When the wicked man turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live on account of them. (20) But you say, The way of the Lord is not equal. I will judge each man according to his ways, O house of Israel. Some Jews argued that Ezekiel’s teaching will portrayed God as inconsistent. The way of the Lord is not equal, they said. But to this reasoning the prophet replies that it is not God who makes the change, but man (Ezekiel 33:17).

Righteous men do in fact turn from righteousness and pay the consequences (Ezekiel 33:18). Wicked men sometimes do repent and reap the reward (Ezekiel 33:19). God deals with men as they are in the present, not as they were in the past (Ezekiel 33:20).

ISRAEL AND THE PROMISED LAND

Ezekiel 33:21-33

Introduction (Ezekiel 33:21-22)

News from Jerusalem (Ezekiel 33:21): It came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, the tenth month, the fifth day of the month, the fugitive from Jerusalem came, saying, The city has been smitten! The date and setting of Ezekiel’s next six messages (Ezekiel 33:21 to Ezekiel 39:29) are given in these two verses. In fulfillment of the prophecy of Ezekiel 24:26-27, a fugitive escaped Jerusalem’s destruction. He arrived in Babylon to report the city’s fall to the exiles. The term fugitive who escaped from battle (Joshua 8:22) becomes in Ezekiel a technical term for the Jerusalem exiles (cf. 24:26-27). The person who came to Ezekiel was one of the many exiles recently brought from Jerusalem. He may even have been a disciple of Jeremiah. Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar in the fourth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, i.e., Tammuz 586 B.C. = July 3, 586 B.C. (Jeremiah 39:2). The news arrived in Babylon in the tenth month of the twelfth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity (Jan 4, 585). Six months elapsed between the event and the report of it among the captives (Ezekiel 33:21).

Effect upon Ezekiel (Ezekiel 33:22): Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, before the fugitive came. He had opened my mouth until he came unto me in the morning. my mouth was opened, and I was dumb no more. For Ezekiel’s ministry, Jan 4, 585 B.C. was the continental divide. It closes out seven and a half years of "sentinel ministry" in which Ezekiel sounded the warning of God’s judgment to Jerusalem and the nations as well. The news of Jerusalem’s fall opened the mouth of the prophet to s pastoral ministry of hope and comfort. On the evening before the arrival of the messenger, Ezekiel again experienced the hand of the LORD upon him. Each time this expression appears in the book it refers to an extraordinary experience. In this case, the speech restriction imposed upon the prophet seven and one-half years earlier was removed, as predicted in Ezekiel 24:26 f. God opened Ezekiel’s mouth to speak messages of encouragement to the exiles immediately prior to their reception of the tragic news of Jerusalem’s fall (Ezekiel 33:22).

Audacity of the Judeans (Ezekiel 33:23-26)

What they were saying (Ezekiel 33:23-24): Then the word of the LORD came, saying, (24) Son of man, those who are living in these waste places in the land of Israel are saying, Abraham was one man, but he inherited the land; but we are many. The land has been given to us for a possession. Again Ezekiel received revelation from the Lord (Ezekiel 33:23). It pertained to those pitiful survivors who remained among the ruins of Judah under the governorship of Gedaliah. Once the initial shock of seeing their homeland ravished had passed, that ragtag band began to imagine that they were the favored of the Lord. They apparently believed that they will form the nucleus of a new nation. They consoled themselves by the thought that originally Canaan had been given to a solitary individual, the patriarch Abraham. But how much greater their claim to that land! They were many, and they were actually occupying that land. They will be able to recoup their loses and rebuild that land in no time (Ezekiel 33:24). By the words the land has been given to us, the survivors were appropriating the property of the exiles. The Judean survivors have derived a right from the fact of their having been spared in 586 B.C. "What should have been understood only as grace here becomes a claim.”

What God had to say to them (Ezekiel 33:25-26): Therefore, say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD: You eat along with blood. You lift up your eyes unto your idols. You shed blood. Will you possess the land? (26) You stand upon your sword. You do abominations. Each of you defiles the wife of his neighbor. Will you possess the land? Even the fall of Jerusalem did not cure the Jews of their rebellious conduct. The hopes of those few survivors to rebuild Judah was doomed to failure so long as they persisted in the very crimes that caused God to destroy their city in the first place. Six such crimes are listed. They (1) violated the Mosaic dietary regulations, (2) prayed to idols; (3) shed blood, i.e., persisted in child sacrifice (Ezekiel 33:25); (4) stand upon the sword, i.e., live by violence; (5) worked abomination, i.e., participated in immoral pagan practices; and commit adultery (Ezekiel 33:26). Clearly law and order had broken down in Judah following the capture of Jerusalem.

Prediction of Further Disaster (Ezekiel 33:27-29)

For the inhabitants of the land (Ezekiel 33:27): Thus you will say unto them: Thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, surely the ones who are in the waste places will fall by the sword. The ones who are upon the open field I have given to the beasts to be devoured. The ones who are in the fortresses and in the caves will die of the pestilence. Further disaster awaited those ungodly survivors who inhabited the ruins of Judah. They will yet face the sword of divine judgment as wielded by the Babylonians or their agents. Beasts of the field will devour those who might escape the sword. Those holed up in caves and other natural strongholds will face the pestilence that resulted from overcrowding, and lack of food and sanitation.

For the land itself (Ezekiel 33:28): I will make the land desolate and waste. The pride of her strength will cease. The mountains of Israel will be desolate so that no one will pass through. Those sinful survivors of Jerusalem’s fall will not be the ones to rebuild Judah. God will make that land so desolate that no one will even want to make a trip through it. Then the stubborn pride of her strength, i.e., pride in her position as a favored nation, will cease.

Result (Ezekiel 33:29): They will know that I am the LORD when I make the land a desolation and a waste, because of all their abominations that they have done. Then they will recognize that the God from whom they expected deliverance actually had brought desolation to their land because of their idolatrous abominations.

Ezekiel’s Standing (Ezekiel 33:30-33)

He was the center of public attention (Ezekiel 33:30-31 a): As for you, son of man, the children of your people talk about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses. They speak one to another saying, Come, I pray you, and hear the word that comes forth from the LORD. When the news of Jerusalem’s fall reached Babylon, Ezekiel and his prophecies became the topic of general conversation. Now for the first time in his ministry, the exiles were anxious to hear the word of the Lord from the lips of God’s accredited prophet.

He was a popular teacher (Ezekiel 33:31): They come unto you as the people come. They sit before you as my people. They hear your words, but do not do them. With their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their covetousness. While they were now eager to hear Ezekiel’s word, however, they still had not surrendered their hearts to follow the commandments of the Lord. With their mouths they were very complimentary to the prophet; but their hearts were full of covetousness, i.e., their own selfish concerns.

He was regarded as an entertainer (Ezekiel 33:32): Behold, you are to them a love song of one who has a beautiful voice, and who can play an instrument well. So they hear your words, but they do them not. Ezekiel must not be deceived by the expressions of appreciation for his teaching. To those unspiritual souls, Ezekiel was like a musical entertainer—the crooner of love songs. They enjoyed listening to him, but were unmoved by his passionate exhortations.

He will be vindicated by events (Ezekiel 33:33): When this comes to pass (behold, it will come), then will they know that a prophet has been in their midst. When all his predictions came to pass— and they surely will come to pass—they will know that a true prophet had been among them.

EZEKIEL 34

CORRUPT LEADERS REPLACED

The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say unto the shepherds: Thus says the Lord GOD: Israel’s past sin and punishment stemmed largely from corrupt and selfish leadership. The first step in Ezekiel’s program of reconstruction for the nation was the replacement of those worthless leaders by rulers of a different kind. God will place at the head of his restored people a scion of the house of David. Under his rule God’s people will enjoy peace, safety and prosperity.

EVIL SHEPHERDS OF THE PAST

Ezekiel 34:2-10

Indictment of the Shepherds (Ezekiel 34:2-6)

Greedy shepherding (Ezekiel 34:2-3): (2b) Woe unto the shepherds of Israel who were feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? (3) You eat the fat. With the wool you cloth yourselves. You slaughter the fatlings. But you do not feed the flock. The shepherds against whom Ezekiel is told to prophesy were the kings, princes and other leaders of the now defunct nation of Judah.

Note: The Hebrew noun occurs in Ezekiel 34 fifteen times: eleven times as a metaphor of Israel’s kings, twice of God, and twice of the future David. Kings in the ancient Near East frequently refer to themselves as shepherds.

The nobility and dignity of the office of shepherd reside in the fact that the shepherd works wholeheartedly for the flock (cf. John 10:11). The leadership of Israel, however, stands under a divine woe because they had been concerned only about their own welfare, not that of the sheep that had been committed to their guardianship (Ezekiel 34:2). They lived sumptuously at the expense of the flock. But still they did not feed, i.e., care for the needs of, the masses (Ezekiel 34:3).

Neglectful shepherding (Ezekiel 34:4): The weak you have not strengthened. The sick you have not healed. You have not bound up the broken. You have not brought back those that strayed away. You have not sought those that are lost. With force and rigor you have ruled them. From the sins of commission by the leaders, Ezekiel turns to sins of omission. Ezekiel arranges the sheep who need special care into five groups: the weak, sick, broken, straying, and lost sheep. These are the poor and defenseless among the population. They had been ruled with force, not with consideration and justice (cf. Matthew 9:36).

Disastrous shepherding (Ezekiel 34:5-6): So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd. They became food for every beast of the field. They were scattered. (6) My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill. Over the face of the land, my sheep were scattered, and none did search and seek. Unprotected by their national rulers, God’s people became a prey to surrounding nations. Attacked by these beasts of prey, the sheep scattered in all directions (Ezekiel 34:5). They wandered through strange hills and valleys all over the face of the land in their efforts to escape the invaders. None of their leaders made any efforts to regroup the flock or avert the flight. The flock was simply abandoned (Ezekiel 34:6). Zimmerli thinks the reference is to the whole earth. The charge will then be that the exile is the bitter fruit of bad shepherding (Her, 2:215).

Judgment on the Shepherds (Ezekiel 34:7-10)

Their malfeasance in office (Ezekiel 34:7-8): Therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: (8) As I live (oracle of the Lord GOD), surely in as much as my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became food to every beast of the field because they had no shepherd, nor did my shepherds search for my sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves, and did not feed my sheep... Concerning those worthless leaders, God had a word (Ezekiel 34:7). He refers to the national leaders as my shepherds because they were answerable to him. God’s people had suffered immensely because of these greedy shepherds (Ezekiel 34:8). Note: The shepherd image for Israel’s rulers is frequent in the book of Jeremiah, and is also found in Zechariah 11. Jeremiah 23 has many affinities with Ezekiel 34.

Their removal from office (Ezekiel 34:9-10): therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD. (10) Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against the shepherds. I will require my sheep at their hand. I will cause them to cease from feeding the sheep. The shepherds will not feed themselves any more. I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be food for them. God bound himself by an oath (as I live) that he was implacably opposed to those leaders. He will hold the under-shepherds responsible for all loses sustained by the flock. He will deprive them of the privilege of leadership. No more will they be able to further their personal aims and ambitions at the expense of the flock. Judah’s "shepherds” virtually had become beasts of prey. God eventually will liberate his people from their leadership (Ezekiel 34:10). From one point of view at least, the Babylonian exile was a liberating experience.

THE DIVINE SHEPHERD

Ezekiel 34:11-22

Gathering of the Flock (Ezekiel 34:11-16)

The Good Shepherd’s mission (Ezekiel 34:11-12)

To search out the sheep (Ezekiel 34:11-12 a): For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am here. I will search for my sheep, and searches them out. (12) As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day he is in the midst of his flock that are separated, thus I will seek out my sheep. God’s people were not left without a shepherd. Having removed the hirelings from office, the Good Shepherd himself takes over direct responsibility. He begins his task by searching out his sheep, viz., those who hear and respond to his word (John 10:27). So the searching process was that of proclaiming the prophetic word among the exiles (Ezekiel 34:11). Note: Yahweh is addressed as the shepherd of Israel (Psalms 80:1; cf. Genesis 49:24). His caring activity toward his people collectively (Psalms 77:20; Isaiah 40:11) and individually (Psalms 23) is described in the shepherd metaphor. What a beautiful picture! The Lord God takes the initiative in reclaiming his own. Wherever they have been scattered, the Faithful Shepherd finds them.

To deliver the sheep (Ezekiel 34:12 b): I will deliver them from all the places where they have been scattered in the day of clouds and thick darkness. The day of clouds and thick darkness, i.e., calamity, is past. The age of re-gathering and restoration had begun.

The Good Shepherd’s work (Ezekiel 34:13-15)

Bringing them out (Ezekiel 34:13 a): I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the lands. God first gathers the dispersed sheep into an identifiable and dedicated band. They he delivers them from the lands of captivity.

Bringing them in (Ezekiel 34:13-14): (13b) I will bring them into their land. I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the habitable portions of the land. (14) In a good pasture I will feed them. Upon the high mountains of Israel will their fold be. There will they lie down in a good fold. In a lush pasture will they graze upon the mountains of Israel. The Good Shepherd restores the sheep to Canaan, the Promised Land. There God feeds his flock upon the mountains and by the streams. Israel occupies all the land that was capable of supporting population (Ezekiel 34:13). Note: Lind (BCBC, 275) calls attention to the progress in the verbs of Ezekiel 34:12-13 : search, seek, rescue, bring out, bring into, feed. Lush pasture and secure fold awaits the flock of God in Canaan (Ezekiel 34:14).

Providing for them (Ezekiel 34:15): I will feed my sheep, and make them to lie down (oracle of the Lord GOD). The flock, torn and driven about by beasts of prey (adversary nations), at last lies down under the watchful care of the Good Shepherd.

The Good Shepherd’s focus (Ezekiel 34:16): That which is lost, I will seek. That which has strayed, I will bring back. The broken I will bind up, the sick strengthen. The fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. Unlike the faithless shepherds of the pre-exilic era, the Good Shepherd devotes special attention to the weak and vulnerable members of the flock. Those that were lost through foolish straying will be retrieved. Those hurt and sick as a result of the neglect of their shepherds and the attacks of adversaries will be nursed back to health. On the other hand, those that were fat and strong—the wealthy landowners—will be destroyed. Previous shepherds had shown favoritism to these powerful persons, but God will feed them in justice. He will care for them, but they will receive no more than is due them. Thus, as a class within the flock the fat and the strong will be eliminated.

Judging of the Flock (Ezekiel 34:17-22)

The injustices in society (Ezekiel 34:17-19)

Judgment imminent (Ezekiel 34:17): As for you, O my sheep, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to judge between stock and stock, between ram and he-goats. Judah’s political leadership was not the only problem that needed to be addressed. There was a problem in the flock itself that must be addressed. Great injustices were the result of Judah’s stratified society. Powerful citizens mistreated other members of the flock. Ezekiel "regards the unpropertied and unprivileged classes with the same sympathy as Amos or Micah.” God was about to judge between members of the flock, i.e., between the oppressed poor and their rich oppressors. The latter are referred to here as the rams and the he-goats, those that ruthlessly shove the others aside during grazing time.

Accusation against the powerful (Ezekiel 34:18): Is it a small matter to you to have fed upon the good pasture, that you must trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? and have drunk of the settled water, but you must stir up the rest with your feet? The leaders among the flock by force had appropriated for themselves all the good pasture and clear water. They also had spoiled the rest of the pasture and muddied the rest of the water with their feet.

Condition of God’s sheep (Ezekiel 34:19): As for my sheep, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have stirred up with your feet. The powerful deprived the weak among the flock of adequate sustenance.

The fairness of God’s judgment (Ezekiel 34:20-22)

The fact of his judgment (Ezekiel 34:20): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD unto them: Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and lean cattle. God repeats his intention to judge between fat and lean cattle—the prosperous and the poor among the people.

The reason for his judgment (Ezekiel 34:21): Because you push with side and shoulder, and with your horns you shove about all the weak, till you have scattered them abroad; --By the exercise of brute force, the fat and strong animals had scattered the others. The fat cattle had been responsible for the dispersion of Israel.

The result of his judgment (Ezekiel 34:22): therefore, I will save my sheep. They will no more be a prey. I will judge between cattle and cattle. God will save his flock from the bullying of such tyrants. Class distinctions will disappear from the flock as the Good Shepherd judges between cattle, i.e., treats all the flock with absolute equity.

THE FUTURE SHEPHERD

Ezekiel 34:23-31

His Davidic Roots (Ezekiel 34:23-24): I will raise up over them one shepherd. He will feed them, even my servant David. He will feed them. He will be their shepherd. (24) I the LORD will be their God. My servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken it. After the return from exile and the period of direct divine supervision of the flock, God will set up a shepherd over his people. This shepherd must be the long-awaited Messiah, a ruler of the house of David. The Davidic dynasty will be restored. The responsibility of feeding and tending the flock of God will be committed to him (Ezekiel 34:23). Yahweh will still be their God; but his servant David will be prince among them. The reference is to the Messiah, who was to come from the line of David. He is the second David. What a marvelous fore-gleam of the New Testament doctrine of the Father and the Son (Ezekiel 34:24). Note: Two other passages speak of the future David who will rule over God’s people: Hosea 3:5 and Jeremiah 30:9 f. Zimmerli thinks Ezekiel uses the archaic and honorific title prince, rather than king, so as to avoid an outworn everyday word current in the politics of that day (Her, 2:218). The future ruler will be a true servant, not a king in the mold of the kings who reigned in Ezekiel’s world.

The New Covenant (Ezekiel 34:25-27)

Focus of the covenant (Ezekiel 34:25): I will make a covenant of peace for them. I will cause the evil beasts to cease from the land. They will dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. The blessings found in Ezekiel 34:25-29 find parallels at every point in the future hope of earlier prophets. A new covenant is a prominent feature of the messianic age (cf. Jeremiah 31:31; Ezekiel 16:60). Here it is called a covenant of peace because it will establish a relationship of well-being between the partners of the covenant, viz., Yahweh and his people. Under the supervision of the messianic David, the flock will have freedom from fear. Evil beasts, i.e., bad rulers, will not be part of his domain. Some contend that the evil or wild beasts that are removed are foreign nations. Even those most dangerous areas—the wilderness and woods—will be free from the ravenous beasts (cf. Hosea 2:18). Ezekiel uses the traditional language of blessing (cf. Leviticus 26:4-6) to help his people grasp his vision of their future.

Blessing of the covenant (Ezekiel 34:26-27 a): I will make them and the areas surrounding my hill a blessing. I will cause the rain to come in its season. There will be showers of blessing. (27) The tree of the field will give its fruit, and the land will give its increase. They will be safe upon their land. The entire region around God’s hill (Zion) will be blessed of God, along with those who inhabit that region. Showers of blessing will descend upon them, thus assuring abundant harvest (cf. Hosea 2:21 f.).

Liberation of the covenant (Ezekiel 34:27 b): They will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and I have delivered them from the hand of those who made them bondmen. The inhabitants of that blessed land will all know by personal experience that the Lord had delivered them from captivity—the bars of their yoke. No longer will they be slaves to political overlords who have enslaved them as the Egyptians had done at the beginning of Israel’s history.

A New Security (Ezekiel 34:28-31)

No more fear (Ezekiel 34:28): They will not again be a prey to the nations, nor will the wild beasts of the earth devour them; but they will dwell safely. None will make them afraid. The messianic flock will never fall victim to the beast of the earth, nor will adversary nations be able to carry them off as prey. In their divinely provided security, they will manifest a boldness uncharacteristic of sheep.

No more famine (Ezekiel 34:29): I will raise up unto them a famous plantation. They will not again be consumed by hunger in the land. They will not bear the shame of the nations any more. Because of the amazing fertility of the land, Israel will be known far and wide. Famine, so common in biblical days, will be a thing of the past. The inhabitants of God’s land will never have to suffer the humiliation of having to look to other nations for material assistance (cf. Isaiah 32:15-18).

No more doubt (Ezekiel 34:30-31): They will know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people (oracle of the Lord GOD). (31) You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are Adam, and I am your God (oracle of the Lord GOD). The blessings described above will cause the new Israel to realize that God is with them and that they are in fact God’s special people. Ezekiel has saved this promise of spiritual restoration, the greatest blessing of the messianic age, until last (Ezekiel 34:30). God’s flock is more than mere sheep; they are Adam, i.e., a special creation of God (Ezekiel 34:31). The entire passage relates to the new Israel of God—God’s present-day chosen people (Galatians 6:16). The spiritual blessings that God in this messianic age showers down upon his people are here portrayed in terms of agricultural prosperity.

EZEKIEL 35

NATIONAL ENEMIES REMOVED

Ezekiel’s auditors must have been wondering how the Messiah could be their shepherd when their land was desolate and dominated by hostile forces. The prophet now addresses that issue. Edom’s complicity in Judah’s conquest by the Babylonians already has triggered two oracles of judgment (cf. Ezekiel 25:12-14). The purpose here is to establish a backdrop of judgment and desolation against which to highlight Judah’s salvation and restoration depicted in the following chapter.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF EDOM’S DOOM

Ezekiel 35:1-4

The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it. (3) Say unto it: Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Mount Seir. I will stretch out my hand against you. I will make you an utter desolation. (4) I will lay waste your cities. You will be desolate; and you will know that I am the Lord. The first obstruction to restoration has now been dealt with, that being the problem of corrupt leadership. Now Ezekiel deals with the second obstruction to Israel’s golden age. All nations that oppressed God’s people must be judged and destroyed. Mount Seir, i.e., Edom, the ancient archenemy of Israel is singled out for special condemnation here (Ezekiel 34:1-2). Note: The original home of Edom was the mountainous country of Seir east of the Arabah. Here Mount Seir is used of the entire territory occupied by the Edomites.

Edom is symbolic of every nation that had oppressed Israel. In other passages Edom also figures as the symbol of all Israel’s enemies (E.g., Isaiah 63). Only when all the enemies of the Lord are destroyed is the deliverance of God’s people complete. In this oracle God immediately declares himself to be in an adversarial relationship to Edom. He will stretch out his hand against Edom, i.e., smite that country. God’s outstretched hand results in the undoing and ultimate desolation of Edom (Ezekiel 34:3). The once proud cities of Edom will be laid waste. In this calamity the Edomites detect the operation of God (Ezekiel 34:4).

EXPLANATION OF EDOM’S DOOM

Ezekiel 35:5-15

Yahweh’s control over the nations is not exercised capriciously, but according to strict principles of justice. Ezekiel offers three justifications for Edom’s doom.

Edom’s Hatred (Ezekiel 35:5-9)

Hatred manifested (Ezekiel 35:5): You have had an ancient hatred, and you have given over the children of Israel to the power of the sword, in the time of their calamity, in the time of the iniquity of the end. The divine judgment is in recompense for the ancient hatred of the Edomites toward the people of God. Philistia is also said to have had "eternal enmity" toward God’s people (Ezekiel 25:15). Amos (Amos 1:11) said that Edom’s anger toward his brother "raged continually" (NIV). This bitter animosity most recently had been manifested in the aid that the Edomites had rendered to the Babylonian conquerors of Jerusalem. Obadiah condemns the similar behavior of the Edomites during an earlier sack of Jerusalem. Captured Israelites were handed over to the invaders for execution. Thus the Edomites, no less than the Chaldeans, participated in the time of their (Judah’s) calamity, in the time of the iniquity of the end, i.e., the iniquity that brought about their destruction.

Hatred punished (Ezekiel 35:6-9)

Bloodshed (Ezekiel 35:6; Ezekiel 35:8): Therefore, as I live (oracle of the Lord GOD), surely I will prepare you for blood. Blood will pursue you. Surely you hate blood, but blood will pursue you. (8) I will fill his mountains with his slain. In your hills, your valleys and your streams those slain by the sword will fall. God had prepared Edom for blood, i.e., Edom will die a bloody death. Twice the prophet emphasizes that blood will pursue Edom. The blood shed by Edom now becomes the active pursuer of the guilty. Edom had hated blood, i.e., Israel—those to whom Edom had blood-ties. Esau, ancestor of the Edomites, was the twin brother of Jacob, the ancestor of Israel (Genesis 25:25). The blood of slain Israelites was now demanding retribution (Ezekiel 35:6). The dead bodies lie everywhere—hills, valleys, and streams (Ezekiel 35:8).

Desolation 35:7,9): I will make Mount Seir an utter desolation. I will cut off from it travelers. (9) I will make you desolations forever. You will not inhabit your cities; and you will know that I am the LORD. Those slain in the anticipated attack will be so numerous that Mount Seir (Edom) becomes desolate. No man survives to traverse that land (Ezekiel 35:7). Edom remains desolate forever. Such as might escape to neighboring lands gradually realize that the hand of the great God of Israel had been against them (Ezekiel 35:9).

Edom’s Blasphemies (Ezekiel 35:10-13)

First quotation (Ezekiel 35:10): You have said: These two nations and these two lands will be mine, and I will possess it; while the LORD was there. As the motivation of the judgment, two quotations are attributed to the Edomites. In the first, Edom bluntly claims ownership of the entire land once occupied by two nations, i.e., Judah and Israel (cf. Ezekiel 37:22). Edom harbored intentions of seizing Yahweh’s property. Ezekiel may have learned of the arrogant claims of the Edomites from the fugitive who has recently arrived with the report of Jerusalem’s fall. Even though the two apostate nations had been ejected from the territory that had been assigned to them, yet the Lord was still there. True, his divine and holy presence had been seen earlier in a vision to depart from the land (cf. Ezekiel 11:23). He was still there, however, in the sense that the land was his. He alone had the right to determine who will occupy that land.

Declaration of punishment (Ezekiel 35:11): Therefore, as I live (oracle of the Lord GOD), I will do according to your anger, and according to your jealousy that you have done out of your hatred against them. I will make myself known among them when I judge you. God must recompense Edom for his anger and envy toward Israel. By punishing Edom, God will make himself known in Israel, i.e., he show himself still to be their protector and guardian.

Second quotation (Ezekiel 35:12): You will know that I the LORD have heard all of your blasphemies that you have said against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are desolate; they have been given to us to devour. The second quotation attributes to the Edomites the intention to devour the mountains of Israel like some beast of prey. Twice in Ezekiel 35:12-13 Yahweh emphatically declares that He has heard, i.e., was aware of, the blasphemies spoken by the children of Edom. They were saying that since those mountains were now desolate, i.e., uninhabited, they had been given (by God?) to Edom.

Seriousness of the sin (Ezekiel 35:13): You have magnified yourself against me with your mouth. You have multiplied your words against me; I have heard it. Edom’s attitude constituted an affront to God. They had misunderstood the implications of God’s judgment on His people. They had failed to recognize the uniqueness of the land of Israel. He owned the territory that Israel had formerly occupied. To plan seizure of that territory was a manifestation of sinful pride that lifts itself up against God. God had heard Edom’s proud boasts.

Edom’s Gloating (Ezekiel 35:14-15): Thus says the Lord GOD: When the whole earth rejoices, I will make you a desolation. (15) Because you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel when it was desolate, so will I do to you. You will become a desolation, O Mount Seir, and all of Edom, even all of it; and they will know that I am the LORD. The whole earth rejoices when Edom becomes desolate (Ezekiel 35:14). Edom had gloated when Israel’s inheritance—God’s gift to his people— had been destroyed. Therefore, Edom’s punishment will correspond to the transgression. With the destruction of Edom, the enemy of God’s people, the whole earth realizes that Yahweh is just and mighty in the defense of his honor and his people (Ezekiel 35:15).

EZEKIEL 36

RESTORATION OF THE LAND

Ezekiel’s messages of encouragement continue. Thus far Ezekiel has expressed his hope for the future in terms of (1) the establishment of new leadership for the people of God; and (2) the punishment of those who previously had opposed his people. He now proceeds to speak of (3) the restoration of the land of Israel (ch 36); and (4) the rebirth of the nation (ch 37).

In the judgment message to Mount Seir (ch 35), the deliverance of Israel was implicit. Ezekiel now is commanded to make that deliverance explicit in an address to the mountains of Israel. Mount Seir had no future; the mountains of Israel do. Here Ezekiel speaks of the material and spiritual aspects of the restoration of Israel. Chapter 36 may be the brightest chapter in the entire book. Four units of thought can be observed, each of which is related to the land. Ezekiel speaks of the (1) redemption (Ezekiel 36:1-7), (2) repopulation (Ezekiel 36:8-15), (3) purification (Ezekiel 36:16-21), and (4) return to the land (Ezekiel 36:22-38).

REDEMPTION OF THE LAND

Ezekiel 36:1-7

First Address to the Mountains (Ezekiel 36:1-3)

Introduction (Ezekiel 36:1): And as for you, son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.

What the enemy has said (Ezekiel 36:2): Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the enemy has said against you: Aha! even the ancient high places are our possession. As motivation for the positive word to Israel, the words of the opponents are again cited (cf. Ezekiel 35:10). The scornful Aha! echoes the mockery of the Ammonites (Ezekiel 25:3) and Tyrians (Ezekiel 26:2). The ancient high places are the mountains of Israel. The enemies who had cast a covetous eye on the ancient hilly terrain of Canaan had underestimated the power and intention of the God of Israel (Ezekiel 36:2). God had wonderful plans for his people. On the other hand, the enemies have to pay for their crimes against Israel.

The crimes of the enemies (Ezekiel 36:3): Therefore, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: because, even because they have made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side that you might be a possession to the rest of the nations, and you are the object of conversation by talkers, and the evil report of people. Three crimes had been committed against the land of Israel: (1) they (the Babylonians) had made the land desolate; (2) the rest of the nations, i.e., the neighbors of Israel, had cast covetous eyes upon that vacant land; and (3) they had spoken of the defeated Jews with contempt.

Second Address to the Mountains (Ezekiel 36:4-5)

Introduction (Ezekiel 36:4): Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and to the hills, to the streams and to the valleys, and to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that have been forsaken which have become a prey and a derision to the rest of the nations that are round about; God had good news for the forsaken cities and desolate wastes that neighboring nations were attempting to seize even while they spoke so contemptuously about them.

Judgment against the nations (Ezekiel 35:5): therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Surely in the fire of my jealousy I have spoken against the rest of the nations and against Edom, that have appointed my land as a possession for themselves with the joy of all their heart, with disdain of soul, in order that its open country should be for spoil. In the form of an oath, God confirms his word of judgment on the rest of the nations. He was moved by jealousy, i.e., zeal, for his people. Ezekiel speaks of Yahweh’s jealousy six times (Ezekiel 36:5-6; Ezekiel 5:13; Ezekiel 23:25; Ezekiel 38:19; Ezekiel 39:25), four times in favor of Israel and twice against Israel. When used in the positive sense the term is often rendered zealous. The fire of that jealousy was burning against those nations—especially Edom—that desired to possess Canaan for themselves. Four crimes of these nations are recapitulated: unjustified claim to ownership of the land, gloating over the misfortune of the land, disdain for the people who once occupied that land, and greedy desire to make spoil of that land.

Third Address to the Mountains (Ezekiel 36:6-7)

Introduction (Ezekiel 36:6 a): Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the streams and to the valleys;

Reproach for the nations (Ezekiel 36:6-7): (6b) Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, in my jealousy and in my fury, have spoken because you have borne the reproach of the nations; (7) therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: I have lifted up my hand. Surely the nations that are round about you will bear their reproach. Because the land of Judah had borne the shame of invasion and derision by neighbors, God had spoken in His jealous fury against those nations. To suffer reproach, i.e., disgrace or shame, is a frequent theme in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 36:6). Cf. Ezekiel 16:52; Ezekiel 16:54; Ezekiel 32:24; Ezekiel 32:30; Ezekiel 34:29; Ezekiel 36:6; Ezekiel 39:26; Ezekiel 44:13.

God had lifted up His hand in a formal oath that those nations would eventually bear their own shame. They would experience the humiliation that they had inflicted upon the Judeans (Ezekiel 36:7). Note: Swearing with an uplifted hand is found also in Ezek 20:5f., 15, 23, 28, 42; 44:12.

REPOPULATION OF THE LAND

Ezekiel 36:8-15

Yahweh’s word now focuses on what will happen on the mountains of Israel once the reproach of desolation is removed from them.

Inhabitants Multiplied (Ezekiel 36:8-12)

Fruitfulness (Ezekiel 36:8): But as for you, O mountains of Israel, you will put forth your branches. Your fruit you will bear for my people Israel; for they are near to come. The mountains of Canaan become once again Israel’s mountains. The fertile hills of Canaan will yet yield their fruit to God’s people, not to strangers. Israel’s return is near to come, lit., at hand to come. Statements of proximity, as Zimmerli calls them, appeared earlier in the announcements of the day of the Lord (Ezekiel 7:7; Ezekiel 30:3) and days of judgment (Ezekiel 12:23). The end of the exile was not far off.

Assistance (Ezekiel 36:9): For, behold, I am for you! I will turn to you. You will be tilled and sown. The divine I am against you that God uttered against Mount Seir (Ezekiel 35:3) is reversed as regards the mountains of Israel. God is not only for the mountains of Israel,⁶⁵² he is about to turn unto them, i.e., take an active interest in them. As a result, those hills and valleys will once again be cultivated. Divine turning to them with resultant agricultural abundance is a restatement of the Mosaic prediction of Leviticus 26:9. The challenge or approach formula here is literally, Behold, I am unto you. The formula appears in the Old Testament only here in a positive sense.

Multiplication (Ezekiel 36:10-11): I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it. The cities will be inhabited, and the waste places will be built up. (11) I will multiply men upon you and cattle. They will increase and be fruitful. I will cause you to be inhabited as in former times. I will make it better than your beginnings. You will know that I am the LORD. Men multiply in the land as former citizens of both kingdoms united to rebuild their ruined land (Ezekiel 36:10). The promise of multiplication of population is repeated in the exact words of the previous verse for emphasis. However, beasts, as well as men, will increase. The numbers of both will be equivalent to their former strength in pre-exilic times. In fact, God will bless restored Israel beyond anything experienced in bygone days (Ezekiel 36:11).

Possession (Ezekiel 36:12): I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel. They will possess you. You will be an inheritance for them. You will no more bereave them of their children. The feet of God’s people will yet walk over the mountains of Canaan. They will again possess those hills as their national inheritance. No more will those hills rob God’s people of their children through war, pestilence and famine that in former days had occurred there.

Reproach Removed (Ezekiel 36:13-15)

The reproach stated (Ezekiel 36:13): Thus says the Lord GOD: Because they are saying to you: You devour men, and bereave your nations;… One of the derogatory allegations hurled at the land of Canaan was that the land devoured its inhabitants. The land that ought to be the mother and bearer of children seems to resemble the wild ravening beast seeking to devour its victims. The original inhabitants—the Canaanites—had been destroyed; now Israel had undergone a similar fate. It seemed that every nation that had occupied that land had been bereaved. The latter part of this quote may be translated, and you have aborted your nations. The Hebrew term is used in this sense (Exodus 23:26; 2 Kings 2:19). The land once spewed out its Canaanite population (Leviticus 18:25; Leviticus 18:28). It also devoured Israelites in the invasions of 732, 722, 597 and 586 B.C.

The announcement (Ezekiel 36:14): therefore, you will not devour men any more, and your nations you will not again bereave (oracle of the Lord GOD); Once Israel returns to that land, things will be different. God’s people will neither be devoured nor bereaved.

The explanation (Ezekiel 36:15): I will not allow the shame of the nations to be heard against you any more. You will not bear the reproach of peoples any more. You will not bereave your nations any more (oracle of the Lord GOD). No more will God’s people have to endure the derision of the nations because of what occurred to them in that land. The land of Canaan will no more be a stumbling block to the people who live in it. They will dwell safely and securely in that land (Eze 3615). The promises of this chapter are conditional. As long as the returnees are faithful to God, he will bless them in the ways Ezekiel predicted. History records that even after their return to the land, the Jews failed to live up to their commitment to the Lord.

PURIFICATION OF THE LAND

Ezekiel 36:16-21

Israel’s Provocations (Ezekiel 36:16-20)

They defiled God’s land (Ezekiel 36:16-18): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (17) Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelled upon their land, they defiled it by their way and by their deeds. Like the uncleanness of a menstruous woman was their way before me. (18) I poured out my fury upon them because of the blood that they poured out upon the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols. Ezekiel intends to set forth clearly the magnificent grace of God in bringing Israel back to her land. To accomplish this purpose, he reviews the circumstances that brought about Israel’s dispersion among the nations. Israel, the wife of God, had defiled the land by her general way, i.e., course of conduct, and by her specific deeds. The divine Husband temporarily avoided the impure wife, just as any ancient Israelite male was required to avoid intimacy with his wife during her monthly period (Ezekiel 36:17). God poured out His wrath upon his people because of their inexcusable impurity manifested especially in bloodshed and idolatry (Ezekiel 36:18). Yahweh also pours out his wrath in Ezekiel 7:8; Ezekiel 9:8; Ezekiel 14:19; Ezekiel 20:8; Ezekiel 20:13; Ezekiel 20:21; Ezekiel 22:22; Ezekiel 30:15.

They profaned God’s name (Ezekiel 36:19-20): I scattered them among the nations. They were dispersed through lands. According to their way and according to their deeds, I judged them. (20) When they came unto the nations where they came, they profaned my holy name. Men said of them: These are the people of the LORD. From his land they have gone forth. The wayward people were judged according to their deeds. God scattered them (cf. Ezekiel 12:15; Ezekiel 20:23) among the nations. He judged them according to their deeds as in Ezekiel 24:14 (See Ezekiel 36:19).

In the foreign lands, Israel profaned the name of the Lord, not by what they did, but by just being there. What a dilemma for God! First the holy people, then the holy land, and most importantly the holy name had been profaned. The nations did not realize that Israel’s punishment was just retribution for moral and religious shortcomings. Seeing the condition of Yahweh’s people, they concluded that the God of Israel was unable to protect his own devotees. The fears expressed by Moses in intercessory prayers (Exodus 32:12; Numbers 14:16) had become a reality (Ezekiel 36:20). According to pagan logic, the gods of Babylon had to be superior to Yahweh since the Babylonians had made the land of Israel desolate and dispersed the people of the Lord. Thus the divine name had suffered indignity without cause.

God’s Pity (Ezekiel 36:21): But I had pity upon my holy name that the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they had come. God took pity upon his holy name—his reputation—that was being unjustly attacked (Ezekiel 36:21). God is motivated to intervene on behalf of Israel because of his great concern that all mankind comes to know him as creator and redeemer. The exiles must have been pondering how the holy Yahweh could ever again forgive his sinful people whom he had been forced to drive out of Canaan on account of his holiness. The present oracle is Ezekiel’s answer to this despair.

RETURN TO THE LAND

Ezekiel 36:22-38

God’s Name Sanctified (Ezekiel 36:22-23): Therefore, say unto the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am not doing this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for my holy name that you have defiled among the nations where you came. (23) I will sanctify my great name that has been profaned in their midst; and the nations will know that I am the LORD (oracle of the Lord GOD) when I am sanctified in you before their eyes. Israel did not merit salvation from exile and restoration to the homeland. But it was necessary as part of God’s long-range plan, to re-establish the divine reputation. Since His name was inseparably connected with the fortunes of Israel, positive divine action on behalf of his people was imperative. God’s name is all that he has revealed about himself, all that can be known of him. For the sake of this revelation, Yahweh will not abandon his people (Ezekiel 36:22). By restoring Israel to the land of Canaan, God will sanctify His name, i.e., set it apart for awe and reverence. The restoration of Israel will prove that the Babylonian captivity was not due to God’s weakness. The nations will come to know the God of Israel as truly the great I AM, Yahweh, when they witnessed the sudden reversal of the fortunes of his devoted followers (Ezekiel 36:23-24).

Relationship with God Restored (Ezekiel 36:24-28)

The thesis of this unit is that Yahweh will now act to sanctify his name in a way that far surpasses his activity as described in Ezekiel 20:9; Ezekiel 20:14; Ezekiel 20:22. He will create something fundamentally new. Israel will be reconstituted along lines that will make possible uninterrupted fellowship with Yahweh. This takes place in five stages.

Gathering (Ezekiel 36:24): For I will take you from the nations. I will gather you from all the lands. I will bring you unto your own land. Yahweh will bring his people back from among the nations (cf. Ezekiel 34:13). The ridicule of the nations in Ezekiel 36:20 is silenced when Yahweh’s people and land are reunited.

Purification (Ezekiel 36:25): I will sprinkle upon you clean water. You will be clean from all your uncleanness. From all your idols I will cleanse you. Yahweh will purify Israel from uncleanness. The verb sprinkle is most used in connection with the application of blood (e.g., Exodus 24:6; Leviticus 1:5). The verb points to a priestly ministry. The Hebrew verb meaning "to toss, throw, scatter in abundance" appears thirty-five times; its synonym appears twenty-four times. Both are translated "sprinkle" with but few exceptions. The subject of these verbs is almost always a priestly figure. The agent of the sprinkling is God himself. This passage clearly forms part of the background for the New Testament teaching on the priestly ministry of Christ. The reference to clean water sets this passage apart from the ritual purification by the water of purification (Numbers 19:9-22). The uncleanness here is not physical and cultic, but moral and spiritual. The cleansing is from idols, i.e., idolatry and violent deeds (cf. Ezekiel 36:18), actions from which cleansing was impossible by Mosaic rituals. It is God himself, not a priest, who performs the sprinkling. Ezekiel is using a symbol immediately intelligible to every Israelite. Elsewhere cultic actions are similarly used as symbols. E.g., Psalms 141:2 compares prayer to an offering of incense and an evening sacrifice. This promise may be built upon the ritual consecration of Levites (Numbers 8:7), suggesting the priestly nature of the messianic Israel. Only a holy people can live in a holy land (Ezekiel 36:25). Note: For their cleansing Moses was commanded to sprinkle upon the Levites the water of cleansing (lit., water of sin).

The writer of Hebrews probably had this passage in mind when he spoke of Christians who have their hearts sprinkled by Priest Jesus and their bodies washed with water (Hebrews 10:32). In priestly consecration the bodies of the priests were washed (Exodus 40:12).

Transformation (Ezekiel 36:26): I will give to you a new heart. A new spirit will I place within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and give you a new heart. Yahweh effects an inner transformation of penitent Israel. Ezekiel says nothing here about repentance as a preface to God’s gift of the new heart and transformed life. Lind (BCBC, 292) points out that here "remembrance and reflection come not first but last." One could argue, however, that the necessity for repentance, argued so powerfully in ch 18, is here assume. As a result of the cleansing, those delivered from exile receive a new heart—a tender and responsive heart of flesh—to replace the stony heart that so long had been impervious to divine pleas and warnings (cf. 11:19). The assurance of the new heart corresponds to Jeremiah’s promise of a new covenant that messianic Israel willingly obeys (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Elsewhere Ezekiel speaks of the stout of heart (Ezekiel 2:4), hard of heart (Ezekiel 3:7) and the adulterous heart (Ezekiel 6:9). In the Bible, the heart is not so much the center of emotion as of thought and will. The new spirit is even more inclusive. It points to the whole inner life or disposition of a person.

Empowerment (Ezekiel 36:27): My Spirit I will put within you. I will bring it about that you will walk in my statutes, and that you will keep and do my ordinances. Yahweh empowers through his Spirit those who have turned to him. The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament provides power to accomplish what would not be possible without his presence (e.g., 1 Samuel 10:6 f.). In this case, the indwelling Spirit enables God’s people to walk the path of obedience (Ezekiel 36:27; cf. Ezekiel 11:20). Ezekiel goes beyond the expectation of Jeremiah 31:31 ff. that announces that God will put his law within the human heart.

Reconciliation (Ezekiel 36:28): You will dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. You will be My people, and I will be your God. Glorious consequences follow upon the spiritual regeneration of Israel—God’s people: (1) They dwell in the land that God had given to the Patriarchs. The obedience mentioned in the previous verse is the precondition for remaining in the land. As long, however, as they follow the direction of God’s Spirit, they are secure in that land. Here, as is frequent in prophecy, the land of Canaan is a type of Christ’s kingdom. (2) They belong to God as his special possession. (3) The Lord is their God in the special sense in which he is the God of all who love and obey him.

Blessings Dispensed (Ezekiel 36:29-32)

Description of the blessings (Ezekiel 36:29-30): I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call unto the grain, and increase it. I will not bring famine upon you. (30) I will increase the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, in order that you may no longer receive the reproach of famine among the nations. Changes in the external life of the nation accompany the inward changes described in the previous verses. The connection between obedience to God’s commands and the external condition of the country is stressed in the Book of Haggai. By the power of the indwelling Spirit, God saves⁶⁶³ them from uncleanness, i.e., he helps them to overcome their tendency to lapse into sin. The important verb translated “save” appears only three times in Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 34:22 it is used in the usual sense of redemption from external enemies or troubles. Here, and possibly in Ezekiel 37:23 (cf. NIV), the word is used of redemption from the internal enemy, i.e., impurities and disloyalties. Ezekiel’s usage prepares the way for the NT emphasis: "You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). God summons, as if miraculously, the grain. He restores the fertility of the land. Fruit trees, as well as grain fields, yield their abundant harvests. Famines, which periodically had plagued the Canaan of old, are a thing of the past (cf. Ezekiel 34:26-29). No more are non-believers able to bring reproach on God’s people on this account (Ezekiel 36:29-30).

Response to the blessings (Ezekiel 36:31-32): Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good. You will loathe yourselves in your sight on account of your iniquities and your abominations. (32) Not for your sake will I do this (oracle of the Lord GOD), be it known to you. Be ashamed and confounded because of your ways, O house of Israel. The redeemed will never forget the ugliness of the sinful life from which God has saved them. Having experienced the cleansing of God, the empowerment of his Spirit, and fellowship with the Lord, redeemed Israel will loathe, i.e., abhor their former life of sin (cf. Ezekiel 6:9). They make a complete break with their past life of rebellion (Ezekiel 36:31). The redeemed realize that they do not deserve the blessing that they receive from the hand of God. Their salvation is a pure act of divine grace. It is, therefore, appropriate that they be ashamed of their past conduct which, if dealt with by God in absolute justice, would have demanded complete and final rejection (Ezekiel 36:32).

Desolated Places Populated (Ezekiel 36:33-36)

Depiction of the blessings (Ezekiel 36:33-34): Thus says the Lord GOD: In the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause cities to be inhabited, and the waste places to be built up. (34) And the desolate land will be tilled instead of remaining a desolation in the sight of all who pass by. The day of cleansing is marked by the repopulation of the desolate land of Canaan (Ezekiel 36:33). Even those areas thought by passers-by to be beyond reclamation would be productive again (Ezekiel 36:34).

Reaction to the blessings (Ezekiel 36:35-36)

Amazement of observers (Ezekiel 36:35): And they will say: This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited. The transformation in the land causes amazement on the part of those outside the nation. The once ugly and barren land suddenly becomes as beautiful as the garden of Eden. The ruined and defenseless cities are filled and fortified (Ezekiel 36:35). Some think that Ezekiel 38:11 (no walls, bars or gates) contradicts this description of the fortification of the land. Zimmerli suggests that fortified here refers figuratively to the protection that, according to Zechariah 2:9, Yahweh offers to Jerusalem like a wall of fire.

Conclusion of observers (Ezekiel 36:36): The nations that remain round about you will know that I the LORD have built the ruined places, and planted the places that were desolate; I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it. Certain nations remain round about restored Israel. Obviously Israel’s neighbors were not totally destroyed in the judgments previously announced by the prophet. They remain to be witnesses of Yahweh’s faithfulness to his people. These nations recognize the hand of God in Israel’s restoration. Through His prophets, God had announced beforehand what He planned to do. He who cannot lie always performs His word. Thus it is that through the fulfillment of prophecy, non-believers come to see the works of God in history.

Petitions Answered (Ezekiel 36:37-38)

God will listen to their prayers (Ezekiel 36:37): Thus says the Lord GOD: I will yet for this be petitioned by the house of Israel, to do it for them. I will increase them with men like a flock. Earlier Ezekiel had insisted that God would not allow himself to be petitioned by the hypocritical leaders of the exilic community (See Ezekiel 14:3; Ezekiel 14:7; Ezekiel 14:10; Ezekiel 20:3; Ezekiel 20:31.) Here Yahweh allows Himself to be petitioned to act on behalf of the redeemed house of Israel. They are a small band at first. But they pray for an increase in numbers (cf. Ezekiel 36:11). One of the principal concerns of those who know the Lord as savior is that others might share in the blessings of salvation. God here promises to hear that prayer and answer it.

God will answer their prayers (Ezekiel 36:38): As a holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her appointed times, so will the waste cities be filled with flocks of men; and they will know that I am the LORD. As the city of Jerusalem swarmed with sacrificial animals before one of the appointed national festivals, so would the waste areas reclaimed by God’s people swarm with men (cf. Zechariah 2:8). Ezekiel describes this flock as holy, i.e., a population that is a living sacrifice to God. The fulfillment of this promise strengthens the faith of God’s people. They join the nations (cf. Ezekiel 36:36) in acknowledging the supremacy of Yahweh. The promises of the repopulation of Canaan began to be fulfilled in the return of the Jews to Canaan in 538 B.C. But earthly Canaan was but a type of that better country promised to the people of God from the time of Abraham (Hebrews 11:9-10; Hebrews 11:16). The return to Canaan after Babylonian exile was at the same time a fulfillment of a promise, and the down payment of a promise. True Israelites, through faith in Christ, have left the bondage of the world. They have come into spiritual Canaan (Hebrews 12:22). Properly understood, Ezekiel 36:22-38 points to the spiritual realities of this present gospel age.

EZEKIEL 37

REBIRTH OF THE NATION

Ezekiel had been promising God’s people a bright future with new leadership in a new Canaan. These promises, however, were met with as much skepticism as his earlier message announcing the 586 B.C. overthrow of Jerusalem. The destruction of their temple led to the shattering of their faith. They were absolutely convinced that their dead and disjointed nation could never live again. By means of a vision (Ezekiel 37:1-14) and a symbolic action and an oracle (Ezekiel 37:15-28), Ezekiel responded to their despondency.

VISION OF THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Observation of the Bones (Ezekiel 37:1-3)

A trip to the valley (Ezekiel 37:1): The hand of the LORD was upon me, and the LORD brought me out in the Spirit, and set me down in the midst of the valley. It was full of bones. Thanks to the Negro spiritual, Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones is perhaps the best known passage in the book. The prophet felt the hand of the Lord, i.e., God’s power overwhelmed him. On the expression hand of the Lord, see on Ezekiel 1:3. He was carried in the Spirit,⁶⁶⁹ i.e., mentally, to the middle of the valley, perhaps the same valley where Ezekiel earlier had seen a vision (cf. Ezekiel 3:22). The floor of that valley was littered with the bones of dead men. Note: The key word in this vision is translated wind, spirit, breath. It occurs ten times in Ezekiel 37:1-10 in all its shades of meaning. The first and last usage, however, points to God’s Spirit.

A trip through the valley (Ezekiel 37:2): He caused me to pass by them round about. Behold, there were very many upon the surface of the valley; and, behold, they were very dry. The Lord directed his prophet to move about in that valley. As he did so, Ezekiel was impressed with two facts: (1) the bones were numerous; and (2) they were very dry, having lain exposed to the elements for many long years.

A question about the valley (Ezekiel 37:3): He said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live again? I said, O Lord GOD, You know. In order to heighten the prophet’s interest and give him a fore gleam of what was about to transpire, God asked Ezekiel a question: Can these bones live? From the human standpoint, nothing seemed more remote. Ezekiel, however, would not underestimate the power of God. If the Lord so willed, those moldering bones could live.

Prophecy to the Bones (Ezekiel 37:4-6): He said unto me, Prophesy over these bones. Say unto them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. (5) Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, Behold, I am about to cause spirit to enter into you, and you will live. (6) I will put sinews upon you, and bring upon you flesh. I will cover you with flesh, and put spirit in you. You will live; and you will know that I am the LORD. Ezekiel was told to prophesy to those bones—to bid them to hear God’s word (Ezekiel 37:4). What discouraged people most need to hear is his word. God would resurrect those skeletons by means of a process that he describes in reverse order. Life-giving spirit will be imparted to those corpses (Ezekiel 37:5). Perhaps this is mentioned first so as to underscore the point that God is the source of life for his people. Of course sinew, flesh and skin must first cover those skeletons. This miraculous and mass resurrection once again underscores the deity of the only God who can dare to make such a prediction (Ezekiel 37:6).

Resurrection of the Bones (Ezekiel 37:7-10)

Initial stage (Ezekiel 37:7-8): So I prophesied as I was commanded. As I prophesied, there was a sound. Behold, a shaking! Bones came together, bone to its bone. (8) I saw, and, behold, sinews and flesh came upon them. Flesh covered them above; but no spirit was in them. Ezekiel did as he was told. As he prophesied, he heard a sound. Suddenly a commotion—a shaking—erupted all over the valley as the bones began to unite (v 7). Then over those naked skeletons flesh began to appear. Still there was no life in the corpses (Ezekiel 37:8).

Further directive (Ezekiel 37:9): He said unto me, Prophesy unto the spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe on these slain ones that they may live. Again Ezekiel was told to prophesy, this time to the spirit or breath of life. Ezekiel was to command the spirit to come and breathe upon the slain. The term slain is used because the bones have become bodies again. They are now lying there like corpses. The breath of life that once had animated those corpses is thought of as having been scattered to the four winds, i.e., in all directions. On the four winds as a description of the four points of the compass, see also Ezekiel 42:20; Zechariah 2:10; Zechariah 6:5; 1 Chronicles 9:24; Daniel 8:8; Daniel 11:4. Through this mighty prophetic prayer, Ezekiel summoned the life-giving spirit to return from wherever it may be. Another possible interpretation: The wind from the four corners of the earth is but a symbol of the universal life-giving spirit of God.

Second stage (Ezekiel 37:10): So I prophesied as he commanded me. The spirit, came on them. They lived! They stood on their feet, an exceeding great host. The prophet again did as he was told. The breath of life returned to the corpses, and they lived. A great host all over that valley stood up.

Explanation of the Bones (Ezekiel 37:11-14)

The despondency of the exiles (Ezekiel 37:11): He said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they are saying, our bones are dry; our hope has perished; we are cut off. The dry and disjointed bones are a sad symbol of the entire people of Israel. The Northern Kingdom of Israel, and now the Southern Kingdom of Judah as well, had been destroyed and left desolate. The scattered survivors of the two kingdoms could in no sense be considered a nation any longer. Using the language of Psalms and Proverbs, the people lament their sad condition in Babylon. Bones are representative of the whole person (e.g., Psalms 31:10). Our bones are dried up, they cried. A downcast spirit dries up the bones (Prov 17). The hope of ever again existing as a nation had perished (cf. Ezekiel 19:5). They compare themselves to limbs severed from the body—cut off, never again to be united in a living organism (Ezekiel 37:11). Nationally they were dead and disjointed with no prospect of anything better.

Opening of graves (Ezekiel 37:12-13): Therefore, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will bring you unto the land of Israel. (13) You will know that I am the LORD when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. Ezekiel begins, not by belittling the exiles’ assessment of their situation, but by confirming it. He speaks of their graves. Politically they are dead! God had a positive word for those discouraged exiles. The graves (i.e., the foreign lands) where God’s people were languishing in captivity will be opened. Israel will be resurrected from those metaphorical graves and restored to Canaan (Ezekiel 37:12). This stupendous miracle of national resurrection will cause the people’s faith in the Lord to be firmly established (Ezekiel 37:13).

Empowerment by the Spirit (Ezekiel 37:14): I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live. I will place you in your own land; and you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and done it (oracle of the LORD). Only the impartation of God’s life-giving Spirit can effect such a revival. Only the action of God can bring them back to their own land. The God of Israel not only has the prescience to predict the future, he has the power to perform his word.

ORACLE OF THE TWO STICKS

Ezekiel 37:15-28

The preceding vision portrayed Israel’s restoration from exile as a miracle equivalent to a mass resurrection of corpses. Now Ezekiel goes a step further. He describes this resurrection as a reunion into one kingdom of the two kingdoms (Israel and Judah) that had been hostile neighbors for over two hundred years.

Instructions to the Prophet (Ezekiel 37:15-17)

Revived Israel will be a unified nation. The schism that occurred in 931 B.C. between the northern tribes and Judah will be a thing of the past. To symbolically portray this reunion of the tribes, Ezekiel was told to take two sticks–– emblems of the royal scepters—and to label each. Others understand stick (ëEc) to be two property title deeds placed together to form one title deed (Zimmerli). The ancient Aramaic paraphrase renders stick as tablet, i.e., two leaves of one tablet joined together to form a folding tablet (cf. NEB).

The first stick (Ezekiel 37:15-16 a): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (16) Now as for you, son of man, take for yourself a stick. Write upon it: For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions. The first stick represented Judah and those of the children of Israel who had allied themselves with Judah. The tribe of Benjamin, though related to the northern tribes, chose to remain loyal to the Davidic dynasty in 931 B.C.

The second stick (Ezekiel 37:16 b): Then take another stick. Write upon it,… For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel his companions. The second stick represented Joseph, the Northern Kingdom. Here, as frequently in the Old Testament that kingdom is called Ephraim after the largest and most influential tribe of the north. Ezekiel does not use the name Israel for the Northern Kingdom because he uses that name for the covenant nation as a whole. All the house of Israel refers to the other nine tribes who joined Ephraim in constituting the Northern Kingdom.

The joining of the sticks (Ezekiel 37:17): Bring them near one to the other into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. The prophet was to take the newly inscribed sticks and bring them near one to the other. This is the same verb that describes the joining together of the bones in Ezekiel 37:7. Ezekiel was to hold the sticks end-to-end to make it appear that they were one stick.

Declaration to the People (Ezekiel 37:18-20)

When the children of your people say to you: Will you not declare to us what you mean by these things? (19) Say unto them: Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph, that is in the hand of Ephraim, and tribes of Israel his companions, and I will put them upon the stick of Judah. I will make them to be one stick. They will be one in my hand. (20) The sticks upon which you have written will be in your hand before their eyes. Ezekiel’s actions were designed to provoke interrogation and provide a preaching point (Ezekiel 37:18). When asked about the sticks, Ezekiel was to explain the parable thusly: All the tribes that had joined Ephraim in the secession of 931 B.C. will be joined with Judah to form a single kingdom. This reunification will be a divine act brought about by the hand (power) of God (Ezekiel 37:19). Holding the sticks together in his hand (Ezekiel 37:20), Ezekiel was to amplify this reunification theme.

Explanation of the Parable (Ezekiel 37:21-28)

A unified nation (Ezekiel 37:21-22): Say unto them: Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the children of Israel from among the nations where they went. I will gather them from round about, and bring them into their land. (22) I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel. One king will be king to all of them. They will no longer be two nations, nor will they be divided anymore into two kingdoms. Israelites as well as Jews will be gathered up from exile and brought to Canaan (Ezekiel 37:21). There they will form one nation with the tribe of Judah. All citizens of that kingdom will pay homage to one king (Ezekiel 37:22). Here (and in Ezekiel 37:24) Ezekiel uses the term king (melek) to refer to the ruler of restored Israel. The term he previously used for this person is prince (cf. Ezekiel 34:24). Passages similar to this are interpreted in the New Testament to refer to the gathering together of Jews and Gentiles into the one body of Christ. See Romans 9:25-26; 1 Peter 2:10.

A sanctified nation (Ezekiel 37:23): They will not defile themselves anymore with their idols, their abominations and all their transgressions. I will save them out of all their dwelling places where they have sinned. I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. The citizens of the new Israel are dedicated to the Lord. Heathen practices absorbed from the pagan environment of captivity are purged from their midst. God rescues them out of those pagan lands where they are currently dwelling. The cleansed and redeemed people enter into a new relationship with the Lord. He will be their God—the object of their devotion and worship—and they will be his people—the object of his concern and blessing (Ezekiel 37:23). In Old Testament language, this verse anticipates the cleansing power of the gospel in the lives of those God brings out of the kingdom of darkness.

A Davidic nation (Ezekiel 37:24-25): My servant David will be king over them. There will be one shepherd to all of them. They will walk in my ordinances, keep my statutes, and do them. (25) They will dwell upon the land that I gave to Jacob my servant, where your fathers dwelled. They will dwell therein, they, their sons and their grandsons forever. David my servant will be prince forever. Beginning in Ezekiel 37:24 there is a subtle but clear shift from the theme of unity to that of permanence. The key word in the closing verses of ch 37 is forever. The king who rules the united kingdom is now identified. He is my servant David, not David in the flesh of course, but a scion of David’s house (cf. Ezekiel 34:23). This king is their spiritual as well as their political ruler, for he would be their shepherd. Under the tender leadership of this shepherd-king, God’s people faithfully carry out the commandments and ordinances of the Lord (Ezekiel 37:24). To Jacob, the ancestor of Israel, God had promised a land. The physical terrain of Canaan was but a preview of that land. The patriarchs knew this. Abraham looked for a city whose maker and builder was God (Hebrews 11:10). The redeemed children of Israel and Judah (converted Jews and Gentiles) dwell in that land forever. What land is that? Ezekiel refers to the territory (kingdom, nation) over which the glorious Prince of the house of David rules (Ezekiel 37:25). The David of this prophecy is Christ. The land over which he rules is his kingdom.

A covenantal nation (Ezekiel 37:26-28)

Other blessings of the coming age are spelled out in the closing verses of ch 37.

Everlasting peace (Ezekiel 37:26 a): I will make a covenant of peace with them—it will be an everlasting covenant with them. The citizens of Messiah’s kingdom are under a new covenant—a covenant of peace that is everlasting (cf. Ezekiel 16:60). No covenant, other than that one inaugurated by the death, and ratified by the resurrection, of Jesus Christ, could possibly be intended. Through Christ peace with God becomes a reality, and peace with man a possibility.

Divine security (Ezekiel 37:26 b): I will establish [them]... Messiah’s subjects enjoy security under the new covenant, for God establishes (lit., gives) them.

Stunning multiplication (Ezekiel 37:26 c): and multiply them. I will set my sanctuary in their midst forever. The numbers of those who recognize the authority of David’s greater Son are ever increasing (cf. Ezekiel 36:10-37). This echoes the old promise to the patriarchs (e.g., Genesis 12:2). God multiplies them in that Holy Land. The Book of Acts records the thrilling fulfillment of this blessed promise.

Protective grace (Ezekiel 37:27 a): My dwelling place will be over them. The sanctuary of God will be in the midst of his people (Messiah’s subjects) forever (Ezekiel 37:26). Ezekiel uses the term in Hebrew that originally described the tent of meeting in the days of Moses. This term may have been used because it stresses the dwelling of Yahweh among his people. The physical temple erected by Zerubbabel after the return from exile was but a preview of the true sanctuary where Jesus ministers (Hebrews 8:2). This promise receives its highest realization first in the incarnation (John 1:14), next in God’s inhabitation of the church through the Spirit (2 Corinthians 6:16), and finally in his tabernacling with redeemed men in the heavenly Jerusalem (Revelation 21:3; Revelation 21:22). Just as the old temple towered over the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so in the messianic age God’s dwelling place is over his people. This figure sets forth the idea of God’s protective grace.

Sweet communion (Ezekiel 37:27 b): I will be their God, and they will be my people. The people of God enjoy intimate communion with their Maker in the messianic day. Once again the promise only attains complete realization in the relationship of Christian believers to the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 6:16).

External recognition (Ezekiel 37:28): The nations will know that I the LORD sanctified Israel, when my sanctuary will be in their midst forever. The establishment of the new Israel has a profound effect upon the heathen world round about. They see the sanctuary of God (see promise 4 above) in the midst of "Israel." They recognize in the lives of the redeemed the power of God to sanctify people. Having recognized this, they seek admittance to the fellowship of God’s spiritual Israel, the church of Christ.

EZEKIEL 38

FINAL DELIVERANCE FOR GOD’S PEOPLE

Apparently the messages delivered on the night prior to the arrival of the fugitive from Jerusalem continue in chs 38-39 (cf. Ezekiel 33:21-22). These chapters⁶⁷⁶ deal with the efforts of some archenemy of God’s people to invade and devastate the land of Israel. The tranquil scene with which the previous chapter closed does not go unchallenged. The new Israel of God undergoes testing, as did national Israel of Old Testament times. These chapters are apocalyptic in nature. The language is highly symbolical and at times deliberately shadowy and even cryptic. These two chapters are one of the most difficult parts of this book. Chapters 38-39 consist of seven oracles, each introduced with the formula, Thus says the Lord God. (See Ezekiel 38:3-23; Ezekiel 39:1-29.) For the purpose of this discussion, the material can be divided into four major units: (1) the invasion by Gog (Ezekiel 38:1-13); (2) the overthrow of Gog (Ezekiel 38:14-23); (3) the destruction of Gog (Ezekiel 39:1-20); and (4) the results of Gog’s destruction (Ezekiel 39:21-24). To this is appended a note of consolation for the exiles in Babylon (Ezekiel 39:25-29).

INVASION BY GOG

Ezekiel 38:1-13

Announcement of Divine Hostility (Ezekiel 38:1-6)

The introduction of Gog (Ezekiel 38:1-2): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, set your face toward Gog... Ezekiel is to address an oracle to Gog. The name appears elsewhere in the Old Testament only in 1 Chronicles 5:4 where it refers to a Reubenite prince. Scholars have wrestled with the etymology of the name Gog. Among the more interesting suggestions are the following: (1) Gog is derived from the Sumerian gug, i.e., darkness. Gog would then be a “personification of all that is dark and evil.” (2) Gog is the exact equivalent of the Assyrian name Gugu, king of Lydia in Asia Minor from 685-652 B.C. (3) Gog is a name artificially constructed from Magog, the land over which this anonymous ruler is said to have ruled. In truth there probably never will be general acceptance of any etymology for the name Gog. But more important is this question: Who is it that is given the name Gog? Almost every character of note in the Hellenistic period has been nominated. Probably Gog should not be identified with any figure of history. Gog is an apocalyptic figure of the end-time.

The identification of Gog (Ezekiel 38:2 b): Concerning the identification of Gog, only two clues are given.

He is from a distant land (Ezekiel 38:2 b): from the land of Magog... Magog, along with Meshech and Tubal, is mentioned in the Table of Nations in Genesis 10 as being among the sons of Japheth (cf. 1 Chronicles 1:5). Many scholars follow Josephus (Ant.1.6.1) in identifying the Magogites as the ruthless Scythians. These warriors were infamous in the ancient world for their practice of pausing to drink the blood of the first enemy soldier killed in battle.

He is leader of a confederation (Ezekiel 38:2 c): prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. Gog is introduced, not as the ruler of some vast empire, but as the leader of a number of confederated national groups. This shadowy figure was not a contemporary of Ezekiel. Gog will irrupt into history after many days, at the end of years (cf. Ezekiel 38:8). Probably the original leaders of Ezekiel’s book had no more idea who Gog is than does a modern reader. Gog is prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. The identification of Rosh (chief, head) is problematic. A country called Rashu is mentioned in one Assyrian text that also mentions Mushki and Tubal. This identification is likely. On the other hand, some scholars believe that Rosh is a general designation for all northern territories. Alexander (EBC, 930) holds that the accentual system and syntactical constructions of the Hebrew language strongly indicate an appositional relationship between the words prince and chief: He renders the phrase as "the prince, the chief [`head’ or `ruler’] of Meshech and Tubal."

A more positive identification can be made for Meshech and Tubal, two other lands ruled by Gog. In Assyrian literature these peoples were known as Mushki and Tabal. Texts mentioning one or both of these people are found in Luckenbill, ARAB, 1:74, 138-44; 2:4, 12, 21-23, 46-48, 61. They inhabited the region of central and eastern Anatolia near the headwaters of the Tigris. The Mushki entered the Near East in the twelfth century B.C. During the time of Sargon II the Mushki were ruled by the famous King of Mita(Midas) of classical and mythical fame. Herodotus (1:14) has Midas as king of the Phrygians. Mita (Midas) must have been a dynastic title preserved by the Phrygians from the Mushki who apparently earlier had occupied parts of Asia Minor.

The hostility toward Gog (38:2-3): (2d) Prophesy against him, (3) and say: Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal…. Ezekiel is to address Gog with the challenge or encounter formula I am against you. These ominous words indicate that Gog is antithetical to Yahweh, his people, and all for which he stands. Unlike the Assyrians in Isaiah, or Nebuchadnezzar in Jeremiah, there is no hint here that Gog in any way serves as God’s instrument of chastisement against Israel.

The failure of Gog (Ezekiel 38:4): I will turn you about, put hooks in your jaws and bring you and your army out—horses and horsemen, all of them clothed gorgeously, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling the sword: Ezekiel is using the thought-forms of his day as vehicles for this eschatological prophecy. Throughout Old Testament history, prophets warned of an attack upon God’s people from the north (cf. Jeremiah 4:5 to Jeremiah 6:26). Ezekiel anticipates that God’s people would face one last dreadful onslaught by the forces of evil out of the north, the traditional region of national Israel’s enemies. The evil designs of Gog against God’s people cannot succeed. Like a wild beast captured and led about by hooks in the jaws, Gog is forcefully turned back. The image of hooks to control a beastly nation comes from Ezekiel 19:4; and Ezekiel 29:4. Though his force is well-equipped, vast in number and gloriously arrayed, Gog cannot defeat the people of God (Ezekiel 38:4).

The allies of Gog (Ezekiel 38:5-6)

Five allies of Gog are named:

(1) Persia (Ezekiel 38:5 a): The Persians were an Indo-European people who entered the Iranian plateau late in the second millennium B.C. They were located east of the Persian Gulf.

(2) Cush (Ezekiel 38:5 b): The Cushites were a Hamitic nation (Genesis 10:6-8; 1 Chronicles 1:8-10) residing south of Egypt. Cush is roughly equivalent to Ethiopia.

(3) Put (Ezekiel 38:5 c): and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; The war-like inhabitants of Put were a Hamitic people (Genesis 10:6; 1 Chronicles 1:8). They are mentioned elsewhere as allies of Egypt (Nahum 3:9; Jeremiah 46:9; Ezekiel 30:5) and Tyre (Ezekiel 27:10). Put was certainly an African nation, but its location is disputed. Probably Put is Libya in North Africa.

(4) Gomer (Ezekiel 38:6 a): Gomer, and all her bands; Gomer was a Japhethic people (Genesis 10:2-3). They probably are to be identified with the ancient Gimirrai (Cimmerians). This identification is based on statements made by Herodotus (1:6, 15, 103; 4:1, 11, 12). These people invaded the Fertile Crescent from their Ukrainian homeland sometime before the eighth century B.C.

(5) Togarmah (Ezekiel 38:6 b): the house of Togarmah in the uttermost parts of the north, all his bands; even many people with you. These Japhethic peoples (Genesis 10:3; 1 Chronicles 1:6) were mentioned earlier by Ezekiel as trading partners with Tyre (Ezekiel 27:14). In the fourteenth century, Tegarama is described as lying between Carchemish and Haran on a main trade route through southwest Armenia. Some commentators refer to house of Togarmah as the Armenians.

Announcement of Future Invasion (Ezekiel 38:7-9)

Preparation for invasion (Ezekiel 38:7): Be prepared, and prepare yourself, you and all your congregation who have congregated about you, and for whom you are a guard. God exhorts Gog to prepare for the invasion of Israel and to assume the guardianship or command of the various people who had assembled about him.

Period of the invasion (Ezekiel 38:8 a): After many days you will be mustered for service, at the end of the years you will come... Ezekiel 38:8 serves to underscore the timeframe of the entire prophecy. The attack will take place (1) after many days. This phrase suggests that, for a long period of time, Gog and his confederates will be dormant. But at the appropriate time they will be mustered for service, i.e., they will reappear on the stage of history. (2) The attack will transpire at the end the years, i.e., the conclusion of the period consisting of years (Zimmerli). This points to the final end-time period.

Treachery of the invasion (Ezekiel 38:8-9)

It is against that has been rescued (Ezekiel 38:8 b): against the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples... Gog’s attack will occur after the restoration of the people of God. Ezekiel underscores the treachery of Gog’s crime. He will attack a people that had been rescued from the sword of national death by being gathered out of all peoples where they had been held captive.

It is against a land that has suffered greatly (Ezekiel 38:8 c): against the mountains of Israel, that have been a continual waste; The attack is against a land that already had suffered immeasurably, having been uninhabited a long time.

It is against a people who are at peace (Ezekiel 38:8 d): but they have been brought forth from peoples, and they dwell safely all of them. Finally, the attack is against a land that enjoyed security and peace. Restored Israel is a type of the kingdom of Christ. Here is another clue regarding the timeframe of Gog’s invasion. The phrase dwell safely (cf. Ezekiel 38:11; Ezekiel 38:14; Ezekiel 39:26) is used in Ezekiel as a description of messianic security of the new Israel of God. The author of the Book of Revelation seems to allude to this same event, viz., the last battle between the powers of evil and the church of God. He placed this battle immediately before the final judgment and the emergence of the new heavens and the new earth (Revelation 20:8).

Enormity of the invasion (Ezekiel 38:9): You will go up, you will come like a storm, you will be like a cloud to cover the land, you and all of your bands, and many people with you. At the conclusion of the future golden age, the awesome armies of Gog come up against the land of Canaan (kingdom of God) like a terrible storm cloud.

Revelation of Gog’s Intention (Ezekiel 38:10-13)

Wickedness of the plot (Ezekiel 38:10): Thus says the Lord GOD: It will come to pass in that day, that things will come up upon your heart. You will devise an evil plot. Ezekiel shifts back in time to the point where Gog first hatched the plot to attack Israel. In that day when Israel was dwelling safely in Canaan, Gog devised an evil plan against the people of God.

Design of the plot (Ezekiel 38:11-12): You will say, I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will come upon those who are quiet, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, having neither bars nor gates; (12) to take spoil and seize prey; to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and against the people that are gathered from the nations, that have acquired cattle and goods, that dwell in the middle of the earth. The security of God’s people is such that they had not made any preparation to meet such an onslaught. The defenseless, unwalled villages would be an open invitation to tyrants like Gog to invade the land (Ezekiel 38:11). Even before the attack, Gog counted the spoil and captives he would take. He would turn his hand, i.e., take strong measures, in this campaign. Yet those who are the objects of his wrath—God’s people—certainly had done nothing to raise the ire of Gog. He came from the distant north; Israel lived in the center (lit., navel) of the earth. Certainly a people so far removed from Magog could pose no threat. The attack of Gog is an act of naked aggression.

Encouragement in the plot (Ezekiel 38:13): Sheba and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all its powerful ones, will say to you: Have you come to take spoil? Have you assembled a congregation to seize prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take cattle and goods, to take great spoil? In his evil scheme, Gog is encouraged by neighboring merchant nations—Sheba, Dedan, Tarshish (cf. Ezekiel 27:12; Ezekiel 27:15; Ezekiel 27:22). They hoped to enrich themselves by purchasing and reselling the plunder of Israel.

OVERTHROW OF GOG

Ezekiel 38:14-23

God’s Use of Gog (Ezekiel 38:14-16)

Gog’s purpose (Ezekiel 38:14-15): Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say to Gog: Thus says the Lord GOD: In that day, when my people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it? (15) You will come from your place, from the uttermost parts of the north, you and many people with you, all of them riding on horses, a great congregation and a mighty army. The plan of Gog utterly fails. He takes note of the unpretentious and peaceful people. He anticipates no difficulty in overwhelming them. With his vast armies coming from the north (Ezekiel 38:15), he arises suddenly and ominously against Israel, like a storm cloud.

God’s purpose (Ezekiel 38:16): You will go up against my people Israel like a cloud to cover the land; it will be at the end of days that I will bring you against my land in order that the nations might know me, when I am sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog. The more common at the end of days replaces the unique formula at the end of the years of Ezekiel 38:8. Apparently the two formula mean the same thing. Little do the heathen realize that they are unwittingly carrying out the plans of God. He had brought them in the sense that he had permitted them to make this attack. Through the destruction of this vast throng God will prove conclusively to all that he is king of the universe. He will be sanctified i.e., honored as holy, through the destruction of Gog’s forces.

God’s Wrath Against Gog (Ezekiel 38:17-23)

General announcement (Ezekiel 38:17-19 a)

God’s prior announcements (Ezekiel 38:17): Thus says the Lord GOD: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by the hand of my servants the prophets of Israel who prophesied in those days for (many) years, that I would bring you against them? The invasion by Gog was part of God’s foreordained scheme of self-vindication. Long before the invasion occurred, the servants of the Lord predicted such an invasion. The prophecy here in Ezekiel is certainly in view, and possibly passages in Zephaniah (ch 1) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 4:5 ff.) as well. In a variation of the final assault theme, Joel (ch 3) and Zechariah (ch 14) depict final attempts of hostile armies to crush Jerusalem.

God’s burning anger (Ezekiel 38:18-19 a): It will come to pass in that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel (oracle of the Lord GOD), that my wrath will rise up in my nostrils. (19) For in my jealousy, in the fire of my wrath I have spoken. The fate of Gog, as well as the fact of the invasion, is announced by Ezekiel. The furious wrath of God would be manifested against Gog (Ezekiel 38:18). In that day is used five times in chs 38-39. (See Ezekiel 38:10; Ezekiel 38:14; Ezekiel 38:18-19; Ezekiel 39:11.) It refers to the day of the Lord, the day of judgment or salvation (cf. Ezekiel 7:7-19; Ezekiel 30:2-18).

Divine jealousy or zeal was aroused whenever man outraged his immutable law. The linkage between anger and jealousy/zeal was previous used in describing Edom’s wrath against Israel (cf. Ezekiel 35:11). The fire of my wrath is used of Yahweh’s anger (Ezekiel 21:31-32; Ezekiel 22:21; Ezekiel 22:31).

Specific examples (Ezekiel 38:19-23)

Earthquake (Ezekiel 38:19-20): (19b) Surely in that day there will be a great shaking upon the land of Israel. (20) Fish of the sea, birds of the heavens, beasts of the field, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the ground, and every man who is upon the face of the earth will shake at my presence. The mountains will be ripped open. The steep places will fall. Every wall will fall to the ground. Yahweh brings a great shaking, i.e., an earthquake, in the land (Ezekiel 38:19). The shaking causes consternation and confusion in man and beast alike. Mountains and massive walls crumble (Ezekiel 38:20).

Mutual slaughter (Ezekiel 38:21): I will call against him a sword throughout all my mountains (oracle of the Lord GOD); every man’s sword will be against his brother. In the panic caused by this awesome display of divine power, the enemy soldiers engage in suicidal strife with one another. Cf. Judges 7:22; 1 Samuel 14:20

Other weapons (Ezekiel 38:22): And I will enter into judgment with him with pestilence, and with blood. An overflowing shower, great hailstones, fire and brimstone I will rain upon him and upon his bands, and upon the many peoples who are with him. In this judgment against Gog, God employs pestilence and bloodshed. A violent, overflowing storm of hailstones, fire and brimstone (cf. Ezekiel 13:11; Ezekiel 13:13) finally brings about the demise of Gog (Ezekiel 38:22).

Result (Ezekiel 38:23): Thus I will magnify myself, and sanctify myself and make myself known before the eyes of many nations; and they will know that I am the LORD. The stroke against Gog, and consequent rescue of Israel, causes citizens of many nations to recognize the majesty and power of the Lord.

EZEKIEL 39

DESTRUCTION OF GOG

In the first main division of ch 39, Ezekiel emphasizes the certainty of the overthrow of Gog by repeating the substance of what he has already said about that defeat (Ezekiel 39:1-8). He then stresses the completeness of the destruction (Ezekiel 39:9-20).

CERTAINTY OF GOG’S DESTRUCTION

Ezekiel 39:1-8

First Oracle (Ezekiel 39:1-5)

Declaration of hostility (Ezekiel 39:1): As for you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say. Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. Chapter 39 gives an even more vivid description of the overthrow of Gog. The chapter begins with a declaration of divine hostility directed toward Gog (cf. Ezekiel 38:3).

Maneuvered by God (Ezekiel 39:2): I will turn you about, lead you on, and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north. I will bring you against the mountains of Israel. God will turn Gog about, i.e., frustrate his purpose. God leads him to his destruction upon the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 39:2). Earlier God threatened those mountains with judgment because of their idols (cf. Ezekiel 6:4-5). But after those mountains were made desolate, God promised their redemption (Ezekiel 36:1-15).

Muted weapons (Ezekiel 39:3): I will smite your bow from your left hand. I will cause your arrows to fall from your right hand. Gog’s skillful archers are of no value in the battle that transpires there.

Scattered corpses (Ezekiel 39:4-5): Upon the mountains of Israel, you will fall, you and all your bands and peoples that are with you. I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to beasts of the field, to be devoured. (5) Upon the face of the ground, you will fall; for I have spoken (oracle of the Lord GOD). Gog and all his confederates will fall on the redeemed mountains of Israel. Once and for all time the violent, imperialist powers of this world are crushed by God. The corpses of Gog are left unburied, a prey to beast and bird alike (Ezekiel 39:4). By no means will Gog be able to avert this calamity, for this destruction had been decreed by the Lord (Ezekiel 39:5).

Second Oracle (Ezekiel 39:6-8)

Lands of invaders devastated (Ezekiel 39:6): And I will send fire against Magog, and against the inhabitants of the isles who dwell safely; and they will know that I am the LORD. Even the lands from which the invaders came experience divine judgment. God sends a fire against those lands. The fire here, as frequently in the Old Testament, probably symbolizes warfare.

God’s purpose revealed (Ezekiel 39:7): My holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel. I will not defile my holy name again; and the nations will know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. No more will the heathen profanely mock the impotence of Israel’s God. The divine presence in the midst of Israel will be obvious to all when the Lord makes known his name, i.e., his character, person, presence, in this mighty judgment upon Gog.

Assurance of victory (Ezekiel 39:8): Behold, it comes, and it will come to pass (oracle of the Lord GOD); that is the day of which I have spoken. The destruction of Gog was a foregone conclusion; it was as good as accomplished. The Lord cannot lie, and he had announced it.

COMPLETENESS OF THE DESTRUCTION

Ezekiel 39:9-20

In stressing the completeness of the destruction of Gog, Ezekiel flashes three somewhat gruesome pictures before his readers.

Immense Quantity of Spoils (Ezekiel 39:9-10): The inhabitants of the cities of Israel will go out. They will burn the weapons and make fuel of them, even the shields, bucklers, bows, arrows, hand staves, and spears. They will make fires of them seven years. (10) They will not take wood from the field, nor will they cut down any out of the woods; for they will make fires of the weapons. They will take spoil of those who spoiled them. They will plunder those who plundered them (oracle of the Lord GOD). Ezekiel points out the immense quantity of spoil that God’s people obtain from the fallen foe. So vast is the multitude of the enemies slain that the wood of their weapons serves God’s people as fuel for seven years (Ezekiel 39:9). During the seven years, it is not necessary for men to resort to their usual sources of firewood. The tables are turned in that day. God’s people take spoil from those powerful enemies who previously had plundered Israel (Ezekiel 39:10). Usually weapons left by a defeated enemy were added to the victor’s cache of arms. There would be no further battles to fight. God’s people have no need for weapons of war. Ezekiel is building on the old motif of the destruction of weapons of war (Isaiah 9:5; Psalms 46:10). But Ezekiel goes a step further. The weapons of Gog are converted to domestic use by God’s people.

Problem of Burial (Ezekiel 39:11-16)

Place of burial (Ezekiel 39:11): It will come to pass in that day that I will give to Gog a place there for burial in Israel, the valley of those who pass through east of the sea. It will stop those who pass through. They will bury there Gog and all his multitude. They will call it the valley of Hamon-gog. In order to cleanse the land, the corpses of Gog’s soldiers needed to be buried. God provides a burial place for them. That spot is identified as the valley of those who pass through, i.e., it was a major thoroughfare. The valley is said to be east of the sea. If Ezekiel means the Dead Sea, then the burial took place outside the normal borders Israel. NIV renders, east toward the sea, i.e., a valley through which one would travel east in the direction of the Dead Sea. In this case, the Esdraelon Valley in lower Galilee might be nominated as a likely candidate. On the other hand, if the sea is understood as the Mediterranean, then the specific valley could be any valley in the land of Israel east of that sea. Perhaps the geography is deliberately vague because it contributes nothing to the main point. The multitude of bodies blocks that thoroughfare. The valley receives the name Hamon-gog, i.e., the multitude of Gog.

Initial burial effort (Ezekiel 39:12-13): In order to cleanse the land, the house of Israel will bury there seven months. (13) Yea, all the people of the land will bury there. It will acquire for them a reputation, in the day when I am glorified (oracle of the Lord GOD). For seven months the house of Israel transports dead bodies to this remote burial spot. An unburied corpse was a defilement of the land (Deuteronomy 21:23) that had to be removed (Ezekiel 39:12). The whole population takes part in this mass burial. They will be famous for this noble and horrendous effort. They share the glory of their God in that day of victory (Ezekiel 39:13).

Continuing burial effort (Ezekiel 39:14-15)

Permanent committee appointed (Ezekiel 39:14): And they will set apart men of continual employment who will pass through the land burying those who remain upon the face of the ground to cleanse it. At the end of the seven months they will search. After the seven-month period, a permanent burial committee is appointed. They scour the land looking for unburied bones.

Assistance of travelers (Ezekiel 39:15): When they that pass through have passed through the land and see the human bones, then a sign will be erected beside it until the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog. Travelers aid the committee by marking any spot where they noticed bones.

A commemorative city (Ezekiel 39:16): Hamonah will be the name of a city. Thus they will cleanse the land. Near that valley of Hamon-gog, a city is built to commemorate the victory over Gog. Alexander (EBC, 936) suggests that the city might be viewed as a city of the dead. That city is called Hamonah, i.e., multitude. ("The City of Hamonah in Ezekiel 39:11-16 : the Tumultuous City of Jerusalem,")

A Sacrificial Feast (Ezekiel 39:17-20)

Invitation to the guests (Ezekiel 39:17): As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: Say to the birds of every sort, and to every beast of the field: Assemble yourselves! Come! Gather yourselves on every side to my feast that I am preparing for you, even a great feast, upon the mountains of Israel, that you may eat meat and drink blood. Ezekiel depicts the horrible carnage that results from the overthrow of Gog. The slaughter of the multitude is regarded as a sacrificial feast to which the birds and beasts are the invited guests. The flesh and blood of the fallen men of Gog serve as the sacramental elements.

Promise to the guests (Ezekiel 39:18-20): The flesh of the mighty you will eat. The blood of the princes of the earth you will drink. Rams, lambs, goats, bullocks, fatlings of Bashan are all of them. (19) You will eat fat until you are full. You will drink blood until you are intoxicated because of my feast that I have prepared for you. (20) You will be filled at my table with horses and horsemen, with mighty men, and with all men of war, (oracle of the Lord GOD). The victims of this sacrificial feast are described as rams, Iambs, goats and the like (Ezekiel 39:18) that are figures for the mighty warriors of Gog (Ezekiel 39:20). The birds and beasts of prey will eat of God’s sacrificial feast, God’s table (Ezekiel 39:19).

POSITIVE OUTCOMES

Ezekiel 39:21-29

Future Revelation (Ezekiel 39:21-24)

Knowledge about God (Ezekiel 39:21-22): I will set my glory among the nations. All the nations will see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have set against them. (22) So the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God, from that day and forward. The overthrow of Gog is regarded as a divine act revealing God’s glory, judgment, and hand (Ezekiel 39:21). Israel’s faith would thereby be confirmed (Ezekiel 39:22).

Knowledge about Israel (Ezekiel 39:23-24): The nations will know that the house of Israel went into captivity because of their iniquity, because they acted treacherously against me. I hid my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their adversaries. All of them fell by the sword. (24) According to their uncleanness and their transgressions I dealt with them. I hid my face from them. The nations at last are convinced that Israel’s captivity experience was not due to any lack of power on God’s part. Rather the Lord had allowed Israel to suffer because they broke faith with me. God hid his face from them, refusing to aid them against their enemies. Ezekiel borrows this imagery from the blessing of Aaron in Numbers 6:25-26. It is common in the Psalms (e.g., Psalms 13:1). The idea is that Israel will prosper only when God’s face is toward them. As a result, all of them, i.e., a great number of them, fell by the sword (Ezekiel 39:23). An example of biblical hyperbole. Ezekiel already has made clear that the house of Israel went into captivity. He was himself one who had survived the slaughter of the sword. Perversity on the part of the people, not powerlessness on the part of God, was responsible for their abandonment by the Lord (Ezekiel 39:24).

Present Consolation (Ezekiel 39:25-29)

God’s zeal for Israel (Ezekiel 39:25): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will reverse the captivity of Jacob. I will have compassion on all the house of Israel. I will be zealous for my holy name. The captivity was a time when God was hiding his face from his people. Using Ezekiel 39:23-24 as a transition, Ezekiel brings the focus back to his own time for the final movement of thought in this section. It was needful that the exiles in their distress see at the close of this far-reaching prophecy the first step in the long course of events leading to its fulfillment. That step was one of special interest and comfort to them; but even this promise is mingled with predictions that still look beyond to the distant future.

Ezekiel has spoken previously of the promised restoration. He alluded to the glory of Yahweh abiding with his people in their own land. In chs 38-39, he has indicated that these promises do not go unnoticed nor unchallenged by other nations. Yahweh’s presence does not preclude aggression against the Canaan of God. The difference is this: Yahweh will not withdraw from his people as he had done in 586 B.C. God’s new positive relationship to his people is about to begin. He will bring back the captivity of Jacob, i.e., reverse the fortunes of his people. The whole house of Israel, i.e., all the tribes, will experience the compassion of the Lord. God will be jealous or zealous for his name or reputation. His reputation is most enhanced by the prosperity of his worshipers.

Restoration of Israel (Ezekiel 39:26-27 a): They will bear all of their shame, and all their treachery that they have committed against me, when they dwell upon their land safely. None will terrify them (27) when I have brought them back from the peoples, and gathered them out of the lands of their enemies. In their homeland, God’s people enjoy peace and security. Their sense of gratitude toward the Lord makes them keenly ashamed of their own former waywardness (Ezekiel 39:26). God was about to bring his people back from the lands of their enemies.

New perspective of Israel (Ezekiel 39:27-28): (27b) I have been sanctified in them in the eyes of many nations. (28) They will know that I am the Lord their God, when I have caused them to go captive unto the nations, and then have gathered them unto their own land. I will not leave any of them any more there. The restoration of Israel causes God’s name to be reverenced by many peoples (Ezekiel 39:27). Gentiles come to see that the Lord God reveals himself in history. Yahweh brought about the captivity of his people. He also engineered their restoration to their homeland. Not one of his true people was left in foreign lands (Ezekiel 39:28).

New status of Israel (Ezekiel 39:29): I will not hide any more my face from them; for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel (oracle of the Lord GOD). No more does God hide his face from his people, i.e., they would enjoy fellowship with the Lord. This glorious state of affairs exists in the age of the Holy Spirit when God has poured out his Spirit upon the house of Israel (Ezekiel 39:29). Already God had promised to pour out his Spirit on his people (Ezekiel 36:27; Ezekiel 37:14). Joel was the first prophet to make such a prediction (Joel 2:28). After the time of Ezekiel that same promise was taken up by Zechariah (Zechariah 12:10). The Gog prophecy speaks in concrete terms about the salvation that Ezekiel proclaimed after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. It therefore forms a fitting conclusion to the oracles of salvation that begin in ch 33.

SPECIAL NOTE

INTERPRETATION OF EZEKIEL 38-39

In chs 38-39, Ezekiel is predicting an unparalleled invasion by a dreadful foe. Commentators generally concede that these chapters contain an apocalyptic element. In apocalyptic literature, the setting is usually the end of the age. This kind of literature is full of symbols, especially numerical symbols. Great catastrophes befalling God’s people and dramatic rescues by divine agencies characterize this type of writing. Most of the characters are painted much larger-than-life in these word pictures. Deliberate vagueness and purposeful incongruities are further identifying marks of apocalyptic.

One can note at least three incongruities in the Gog-Magog chapters: (1) In Ezekiel 38:4 the Lord brings Gog forth, but in Ezekiel 38:10 Gog himself devises the plan of attack; (2) in Ezekiel 38:18-22 Gog is overthrown by earthquake and storm, but in Ezekiel 39:1-2 Gog is still very much active; (3) in Ezekiel 39:4 Gog and company are devoured by birds and animals, while in Ezekiel 39:11-16 the bodies of the fallen host are buried; but again in Ezekiel 39:17-20 the carcasses of the fallen enemy are picked clean by birds and beasts.

As in apocalyptic literature in general, ‘‘the final catastrophe is looked at from various angles, without any attempt to trace a logical order in the sequence of events.” The purpose of apocalyptic writing such as this is the “unveiling” of the future, not in the sense of chronicling every event prior to its occurrence, but in the sense of showing God’s lordship over the future. It serves the function of letting the faithful know that God knows where history is heading, and that he is ultimately in control of the situation. Thus apocalyptic literature guides and strengthens God’s people in dark days of uncertainty.

Having recognized the apocalyptic elements within these two chapters, commentators are still divided as to the fulfillment of the prediction here made. Four major categories of conclusions have been formulated.

The Historical Views: Some commentators hold that the invasion of Gog was an actual event, future from the standpoint of Ezekiel, but ancient history from the present-day vantage point. Gog has been identified with every outstanding general from the time of Ezekiel to the time of Christ and even beyond. Among those suggested are Cambyses king of Persia, Alexander the Great, Antiochus the Great, Antiochus Epiphanes, Antiochus Eupator, and Mithridates king of Pontus. Within this general category of approach, perhaps the strongest case can be made for equating Gog with Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus Epiphanes was a bitter opponent of the Jews in the second century before Christ. The center of his kingdom was in Antioch on the Orontes River. To the east, his territory extended beyond the Tigris. To the north, his reign extended over Meshech and Tubal, districts of Anatolia.

In his excellent commentary on the Book of Revelation, William Hendriksen argues that Ezekiel’s Magog represents Syria, and Gog, Antiochus. He comments as follows on the relationship between the Gog invasion of Ezekiel and that recorded in the Book of Revelation: “. . . The Book of Revelation uses this period of affliction and woe as a symbol of the final attack of Satan and his hordes upon the church.” That Ezekiel’s description of the defeat of Gog (Antiochus) is an appropriate type of the final overthrow of the enemies of God can be seen in the following parallels pointed out by Hendriksen:

The last great oppression of the people of God under the Old Testament era was sufficiently severe to typify the final attack of anti-Christian forces upon the church in the New Testament age.

The armies of Gog and Magog were very numerous and came from wide-ranging territories. This would be most appropriate to symbolize the world-wide opposition to the church in the days just preceding the second coming. The persecution under Antiochus was very brief, but very severe. The tribulation through which God’s people will pass toward the end of the present dispensation will apparently also be of short duration, but extremely severe (cf. Revelation 11:11). Defeat of Gog and Magog was unexpected and complete. It was clearly the work of God. So also will be the sudden overthrow of the eschatological Gog and Magog of the Book of Revelation.

Linking the invasion forces of Ezekiel 38-39 with the hosts of Antiochus Epiphanes is an interpretation not as easily overturned as some commentators seem to think. It will not do, for example, to argue that the timeframe for the Ezekiel passage is the latter years or latter days (Ezekiel 38:8; Ezekiel 38:16). These expressions are clearly used in the Book of Daniel to include events that transpired after the Babylonian captivity. See Daniel 2:28 and Daniel 10:4. Similar expressions clearly referring to the closing days of the Old Testament era: time of the end (Daniel 8:17; Daniel 11:35; Daniel 11:40; Daniel 12:4; Daniel 12:9); end of years (Daniel 11:6). Especially weak is the argument that the apocalyptic character of these chapters necessitates a prophecy dealing with the end-time. Clearly Daniel uses highly symbolic (apocalyptic?) language to describe certain events in the intertestamental period (Daniel 8), as does Zechariah as well (Zechariah 9:11-17). Furthermore, the ruthless assault of Antiochus against Israel and the divine protection of God’s people in the midst of that assault are major themes in the prophecies of Ezekiel’s contemporary Daniel (Daniel 8:9-27; Daniel 11:21-35). Why should it then be thought strange that Ezekiel would devote two chapters to describing, in highly idealized language, this same invasion?

The Literal Futuristic View: Some commentators believe that the invasion of Gog and Magog has not yet occurred. Ezekiel is describing the final invasion of the land of Israel by a ruthless coalition following the Millennium.

C. I. Scofield popularized this view. He writes:

That the primary reference is to the northern, (European) powers, headed up by Russia, all agree ‘Gog’ is the prince, ‘Magog,’ his land. The reference to Meshech and Tubal (Moscow and Tobolsk) is a clear mark of identification. Russia and the northern powers have been the latest persecutors of dispersed Israel, and it is congruous both with divine justice and with the covenants that destruction should fall at the climax of the last mad attempt to exterminate the remnant of Israel in Jerusalem. The whole prophecy belongs to the yet future ‘day of Jehovah’ and to the battle of Armageddon ..., but includes also the final revolt of the nations at the close of the kingdom-age . . . A disciple of Scofield, John F. Walvoord, cites two reasons for believing that a Russian invasion of Israel is being prophesied. First, he points out that three times in chs 38-39 the invading armies are said to come from the extreme north (Ezekiel 38:6; Ezekiel 38:15; Ezekiel 39:2). Second, he points to the fact that Gog is said to be “the prince of Rosh.” The nineteenth century lexicographer Wilhelm Genesius is cited as the authority for equating Russia with Rosh.

The geographical argument offered by Walvoord is weak. Jeremiah frequently speaks of armies coming from the uttermost parts of the earth by which he means no more than Babylonia. See Jeremiah 6:22; Jeremiah 25:32; Jeremiah 31:8; Jeremiah 50:41. In some sense Mount Zion itself is said to be situated in the uttermost part of the north (Psalms 48:2).

The etymological argument offered by Walvoord linking Russia with Rosh is also weak. For one thing, the precise translation of the Hebrew term rosh is uncertain. Several modern versions render the word as an adjective modifying the word prince. KJV, RSV, and NASB margin have chief prince of Meshech. Even conceding that Rosh is a proper name here (as in ASV and NASB), that by no means proves that Rosh is to be identified with Russia. For one thing, hard etymological evidence for this identification is lacking. Rosh is here connected with Meshech and Tubal, now generally accepted as being regions in eastern Anatolia.

Genesius was making an intelligent guess at the identification of Rosh, but he was writing at a time when Assyrian texts mentioning these places were not available. His etymologies are now generally disregarded. Even the dispensational writer Feinberg rejects the Rosh = Russia identification. A cylinder text of the Assyrian king Sargon mentions a land of Râshi on the Elamite border. The same text speaks of Tabalum (Ezekiel’s Tubal) and the land of Mushki (Ezekiel’s Meshech). Could this Râshi be Ezekiel’s Rosh? In any case, the evidence seems to point to Rosh as a region of Anatolia far north of Israel, but far south of Russia.

Patrick Fairbairn does perhaps the best work in setting forth the arguments against any literal interpretation of Ezek 38-39. He enumerates six arguments that are here summarized:

1. It is impossible to identify Gog and Magog with any historical person or place.

2. It is improbable that such a conglomerate army as is here described would ever form a military coalition.

3. The size of the invading force is disproportionate to that of Israel or any spoil that they might have derived from Israel.

4. The mind cannot imagine a situation in which it would take seven months to bury slain soldiers, much less the utilization of discarded weapons for seven years as fuel. Fairbairn conservatively estimates that the corpses would have to number over three hundred million. How would any living thing survive the pestilential vapors arising from such a mass of corpses?.

5. The gross carnality of the scene is inconsistent with messianic times.

6. This prophecy was the same that had been spoken in old times by the prophets (Ezekiel 38:17). While no prophecies

concerning Gog and Magog are recorded elsewhere, prophecies of a final assault against God’s people and the miraculous overthrow of the invaders is a constant burden of prophecy.

Future Idealistic View: Since there are no clearly identifiable historical events to which the prophecy can be attached, it is possible that this invasion is yet future. The commentators holding to the future idealistic view would distinguish between what is of primary and what is of secondary significance in the two chapters. The primary significance is that the ruthless enemies of God’s people will attack with the avowed intention of utterly destroying them. God will rescue his people by divine agencies. The secondary or “representative” elements in the two chapters are the place names, the weapons used, the chronological statements and the like. The future idealistic school interprets Ezekiel 38-39 this way: God’s people will face implacable enemies; the leader of the enemy will not necessarily have the name Gog, nor will he fight with bows and arrows. By his use of the same names, and a short summary of the same description, the Apostle John has shown that he regarded Ezekiel’s vision as typical, and its fulfillment still future. Thus the commentators holding the future idealistic view see in Ezekiel 38-39 the final climatic struggle between the forces of good and evil. With the help of God, his people will ultimately be victorious in this struggle.

Prophetic Parable View: The parabolic view of Ezekiel 38-39 is very popular among conservatives as well as liberals. These chapters illustrate a great truth, but refer to no specific event in time and space. Israel can have assurance from these chapters that, once restored, the power of God would protect her from the worst foe. At the same time, the church can gain strength from this passage in that here is a promise of God’s deliverance from the most severe attacks. Gardiner sets forth this view when he states that . . . there are several clear indications that he did not confine his view in this prophecy to any literal event, but intended to set forth under the figure of Gog and his armies all the opposition of the world to the kingdom of God, and to foretell, like his contemporary Daniel, the final and complete triumph of the latter in the distant future.

Blackwood adds these words:

If the passage is apocalyptic, the identity of Gog becomes meaningless. He represents every force of evil that is marshaled against God. It is immaterial whether or not Ezekiel had in mind a historical prototype.

From the more liberal camp Allen writes:

The chapters should be treated as an elaborate piece of symbolism, an attempt to portray some of the ultimate problems of human life with the help of figures and incidents borrowed from the repertoire of mythology.

Thus according to this view, Ezekiel 38-39 speaks of concepts, not events, the clash of ideologies rather than armies. Those who seek to identify Gog with some ancient tyrant, and those who seek here specific predictions of some imminent attack upon the Zionist state of Israel are equally wide of the mark. This apocalypse “deals with every threat to faith in every time and every nation.” In criticism of the parabolic view, three points need to be made.

(1) Many of those holding this view fail to take the oracle as a serious teaching of the word of God. However, within these two chapters, there are seven distinct claims to inspiration. This is a divine revelation and not Ezekiel’s speculations.

(2) The parabolic view does not unite the interpretation of these chapters with a real return of God’s people to their land. Yet history records the fulfillment of many items in the background and setting of this prophecy.

(3) Those holding this view do a rather poor job of correlating the predictions of Ezekiel with the Gog-Magog prophecy of Revelation 20:9.

Conclusion: Ezekiel’s prophecies regarding the invasion of Gog are enigmatic and difficult. Honest and capable expositors will continue to have differences of opinion regarding the specific fulfillment of the prediction. Probably Ezekiel is speaking about a specific event that has not yet transpired. That he employs hyperbole, symbolism and apocalyptic imagery is readily admitted. That the passage has an application to any situation in which God’s people are under trial may also be readily admitted. But that which Ezekiel had in mind was an eschatological event—the final showdown between God’s people and their enemies.

EZEKIEL 40

GOD’S FUTURE TEMPLE

The Book of Ezekiel ends as it began, with a vision. In chs 1-3 Ezekiel saw a vision illustrating how God had visited his people in exile; these last chapters depict God dwelling in the midst of his people who have been re-established in their own land. Earlier in vision Ezekiel had seen the departure of the divine glory from the profaned temple (Ezekiel 8:1 to Ezekiel 11:25). In these final chapters, God again dwells in the midst of his temple (Ezekiel 43:5). Thus chs 40-48 are not a superfluous appendix to the book, but rather the climax of Ezekiel’s prophetic thought.

In the angelic guided tour of the Zion-to-be, the tedious details are not especially significant. The subject of the closing chapters of Ezekiel is the restitution of the kingdom of God. This theme unfolds in a vision in which are displayed in concrete detail a rebuilt temple, reformed priesthood, reorganized services, restored monarchy, reapportioned territory, and a renewed people.

Because chs 40-48 form a veritable continental divide in biblical interpretation, it is necessary first to survey the various approaches that have been taken in interpreting these chapters. This introductory section is followed by a description of the new temple envisioned by Ezekiel.

INTERPRETATION OF EZEKIEL’S TEMPLE

The problem of the interpretation of Ezek 40-48 is one of the most difficult in biblical hermeneutics. Three main approaches to these chapters have been taken by scholars: (1) the literal prophetic; (2) the literal futuristic; and (3) the symbolic Christian.

The Literal Prophetic View

The Literal Prophetic View: According to those who hold to the literal prophetic view of the temple, Ezekiel is here giving the blueprints for the temple that God intended for his people to build upon their return to the Holy Land. Philip Mauro is perhaps the most forceful proponent of this view. He argues: God’s plan had always been to give his people the exact pattern of the sanctuary they were to build for his name . . . . And now again a house was about to be built for the Name of the Lord in Jerusalem. Therefore . . . we should expect to find at this period a revelation from heaven of the pattern to be followed in the building of that house. And just here we do find the revelation from God of the complete pattern and appointments of a temple, with directions to the prophet to show the same to the house of Israel.

It is sometimes argued against this view that too many details are omitted if Ezekiel intended these chapters to be a set of blueprints. This is certainly true, but it is no less true of the tabernacle specifications given to Moses at Sinai. Plumptre, however, points to a more telling indictment of the literal prophetic view of the temple vision. He points out that there is no trace in the after history of Israel of any attempt to carry Ezekiel’s ideal into execution. No reference is made to it by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, who were the chief teachers of the people at the time of the rebuilding of the temple. There is no record of its having been in the thoughts of Zerubbabel, the Prince of Judah, and Joshua the high priest, as they set about that work. No description of the second temple or its ritual in Josephus or the rabbinical writings at all tallies with what we find in these chapters. In rebuttal to this line of argument, Mauro points out that there is no evidence now available as to the plan of the temple built in the days of Ezra. Herod the Great had so transformed it in the days of Christ . . . as to destroy all trace of the original design. That question, however, which we cannot now answer, does not affect the question of the purpose for which the pattern was revealed to Ezekiel.

The Literal Futuristic View

The Literal Futuristic View: Much support in recent years has been given to the Dispensational view, or what might be dubbed the literal futuristic view of Ezekiel’s temple. According to this view, God still has physical Israel very much in his plans. All prophecies pertaining to a glorious future for Israel are to be literally fulfilled in a millennial dispensation that is to follow this present age.

Dispensationalists believe that the Jews will one day rebuild the temple in Jerusalem following the specifications given by Ezekiel. The Old Covenant blood sacrifices, festivals and rituals will be restored. The sacrificial offerings will be sacramental, rather than propitiatory, on the order of communion in the church age.

Among those holding this position regarding Ezekiel’s temple, the statement of G. L. Archer is typical:

Much caution should be exercised in pressing details, but in the broad outline it may be reasonably deduced that in a coming age all the promises conveyed by the angel to Ezekiel will be fulfilled in the glorious earthly kingdom with which the drama of redemption is destined to close.

Erich Sauer adds this thought:

We stand here really before an inescapable alternative: Either the prophet himself was mistaken in his expectation of a coming temple service, and his prophecy in the sense in which he meant it will never be fulfilled; or God, in the time of the Messiah, will fulfill literally these prophecies of the temple according to their intended literal meaning. There is no other choice possible.

According to Dispensational principles of interpretations, all prophecies pertaining to physical Israel that have not been carnally or materially fulfilled are to be assigned to the millennial age. The Millennium becomes a convenient dumping ground for every prophecy that offers any difficulty. The unhappy result of this procedure is that many prophecies that were fulfilled at the first coming of Christ, or are being fulfilled even now, are relegated to some distant future. This postponement system is popular because it is safe and easy. It is safe because no one can conclusively refute it until the Millennium arrives. It is easy because it requires little spiritual discernment.

The Dispensational view fails to come to grips in any meaningful way with certain basic New Testament principles. The first principle is that the once-for-allness of the sacrifice of Christ nullified all animal sacrifices forever (Hebrews 10:18). In the light of the argument of Hebrews (Hebrews 7:18-19; Hebrews 9:6-10; Hebrews 10:1-9) that the Old Testament sacrificial system was abolished by Christ’s death, it would be impossible to place Ezekiel’s temple in any dispensation subsequent to Calvary, at least if these sacrifices are to be interpreted literally. The Dispensational retort that the animal sacrifices of the millennial temple will be sacramental—a memorial to the sacrifice of Christ— is weak. All five offerings of the Levitical system are mentioned. It is a gratuitous assumption that these sacrifices serve some different function in Ezekiel’s temple than in the Old Testament Levitical system. For a more recent Dispensational attempt to harmonize animal sacrifices with the sacrifice of Christ, see Jerry Hullinger, "The Problem of Animal Sacrifices in Ezekiel 40-48," BS 152 (1995): 279-89.

Still another New Testament principle to which the Dispensationalists fail to do justice is that the heirs of the kingdom are not national Jews (Matthew 21:43), but true Jews (Romans 2:28-29), who along with converted Gentiles constitute the new Israel of God (Galatians 6:16; 1 Peter 2:9-10).

Ezekiel’s temple visions present difficulties of interpretation, as is generally recognized; but whatever they may or may not mean, they certainly afford no support for the doctrine of a political future for the earthly Israel in the period just before and just after “the rapture.”

The Dispensational view also fails to come to grips with the reality of God’s present-age temple, the church of Jesus Christ. That temple is real, it is literal; but it is not physical (1 Peter 2:5; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:13-22).

Symbolic Christian View

Symbolic Christian View: Many of the older commentators held that the entire vision of these final chapters was fulfilled symbolically in the gospel age and the Christian church. Much of the symbolism of these chapters has been borrowed by the apostle John in Revelation as he pictures the new Jerusalem, the church in the kingdom of God (Revelation 21:9 to Revelation 22:5). As John repaints the picture, he removes all traces of Judaism.

Beasley-Murray sets forth this view as follows:

The conclusion of Ezekiel’s prophecy, therefore, is to be regarded as a true prediction of the kingdom of God given under the forms with which the prophet was familiar, viz., those of his own (Jewish) dispensation. Their essential truth will be embodied in the new age under forms suitable to the new (Christian) dispensation. How this is to be done is outlined for us in the book of Revelation-- Revelation 21:1 to Revelation 22:6.

To this may be added the appropriate comments of Young:

It is obvious that the prophet never intended these descriptions to be taken literally. It is clear that he is using figurative or symbolic language. Every attempt to follow out his directions literally leads to difficulty.

Ezekiel himself may have anticipated that his plans would be carried out to the letter. The real question, however, is not what Ezekiel may have had in his mind, but what the Holy Spirit, who is the ultimate author of this temple vision, intended to convey through these chapters. A literal interpretation of the New Testament teaching regarding Christ’s present-day temple (the church) surely suggests, if not demands, that one view these chapters as preparatory for the establishment of this spiritual, but nonetheless real, worship edifice.

The hermeneutical principle involved is this: fullness of promised blessing is here expressed in terms of restorative completeness. The vision, then, must be viewed as strictly symbolical, the symbols employed being the Mosaic ordinances. This is not spiritualization, but realization. In 2 Corinthians 6:16, Paul is not merely borrowing Old Testament language (Leviticus 26:12; Exodus 29:45; Ezekiel 37:27); he is proclaiming fulfillment. The material and physical fulfillment of some prophecies does not demand the material and physical fulfillment of all prophecy.

Conclusion

Conclusion: All things considered, the symbolic Christian view of chs 40-48 seems the best alternative. The vision then pertains to the church of Christ upon earth, and perhaps in heaven as well. The prophets of the Old Testament often employed dark speeches and figurative language. They spoke in shadowy forms of the Old Covenant. But they spoke of Christ. Here Ezekiel, in his own unique way is preaching Christ. The temple vision is an elaborate representation of the messianic age.

If it be objected that these promises were made to physical Israel, it need only be pointed out that all these promises were conditional (Ezekiel 43:9-11). Israel of the flesh did not fulfill the conditions laid down. Hence, these promises (along with all the others) have been forfeited irretrievably. They find their “yea” and their “amen” in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Regardless of the interpretation to which one is inclined, certain great truths are expressed in these chapters: (1) Worship is central in the new age. (2) God dwells in the midst of his people. (3) Blessings flow forth from the presence of God to bring life to the most barren regions of the earth. (4) Responsibilities as well as privileges belong to God’s people in the messianic age.

Why does Ezekiel give such exact details of the plan of the city and the temple? There is no evidence that the measurements of the exalted city contains any spiritual symbolism. Nonetheless, Ezekiel was a preacher, not an architect. In these tedious details, these truths are underscored:

(1)The details underscore the reality of the future city and temple. Much religious teaching is unimpressive because it is too general and abstract.

(2)The details emphasize the definiteness of the future city and temple. The new Jerusalem does not exist in the ephemeral land of clouds. The man with the measuring line helps Israel to understand that the Israel of the future will have a definite shape and a divine design. Man’s ideas are generally hazy; but God’s are definite.

(3) The details depict the order that prevails in God’s kingdom. There is a place for everything, and everything is in its place. These chapters stress the principle of 1 Corinthians 14:40.

(4)The details force the conclusion that in God’s kingdom all things are arranged by divine directive. Moses was to make the tabernacle after the pattern shown to him in the mount (Exodus 25:40). Ezekiel wrote as a prophet, as a messenger of God. God’s cares for the smallest details of his people’s life and work. We should seek his guidance in these matters.

(5)The details signal the inauguration of a new covenant. At Mount Sinai, God gave Moses similar details for constructing the tabernacle. The old covenant commenced with tedious details of worship and structure. A similar section here, in the midst of discussion of the last days, suggests that God will enter into a new covenant with his people.

Ezekiel 40-43 contains the second of three great architectural visions in the Bible. The other two architectural visions are (1) Moses’ vision of the tabernacle pattern (Exodus 25-30); and (2) John’s vision of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:9-27). For the exiles, this temple vision fueled hope. It was a celebration of faith. Ezekiel provided the exiles with the raw material that permitted them mentally to visit the temple.

THE ANGELIC AGENT

Ezekiel 40:1-4

Circumstances of the Vision (Ezekiel 40:1-2)

Time of the vision (Ezekiel 40:1): In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was smitten, on that very day the hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me thither. The temple vision is dated to 573 B.C. (twenty-fifth year of our captivity), fourteen years after the destruction of Jerusalem. The phrase beginning of the year probably means the first month of the year. Israel had two different annual calendars. The civil calendar began in the month of Tishri (September/October). The religious calendar began in the month of Nisan (March/April). Probably it is the religious calendar that is intended here. If so, the date would be more explicitly April 29, 573 B.C. Ezekiel again experienced the overwhelming power (hand) of the Lord.

Place of the vision (Ezekiel 40:2): In the visions of God, he brought me unto the land of Israel. He set me down on a very high mountain, upon which was something like the frame of a city on the south. Again (cf. Ezekiel 8:1-4) the prophet was transported in the visionary experience to the land of Palestine. He found himself on the top of a very high mountain. This is "theological geography" and points to Yahweh’s supremacy. Mount Zion is in view. There Ezekiel could see what appeared to be the outline of a city on the southern end of that mountain. The LXX reads opposite me instead of on the south. For this reason some scholars prefer to identify the mountain as the Mount of Olives rather than Mount Zion. Alexander (EBC, 953) prefers to leave the city and the mountain unidentified.

The Angelic Guide (Ezekiel 40:3-4)

His appearance (Ezekiel 40:3): He brought me there, and behold, a man. His appearance was as the appearance of bronze, with a line of flax and a measuring reed in his hand. He was standing in the gate. On Mount Zion, Ezekiel met a man. The description of this man makes it clear that he is a supernatural being. His appearance was like bronze (cf. Ezekiel 1:4; Daniel 10:6). He carried a line of flax for measuring long distances, and a measuring reed as well (cf. Revelation 21:10-15). This angelic agent acts as both guide and interpreter for the prophet in these chapters. He is reminiscent of the scribe who appeared in 9:1-11 (cf. Zechariah 2:1). The man was standing in the gate—the eastern gate of the temple’s outer court. This is the spot from which Ezekiel’s visionary tour commences.

His instructions (Ezekiel 40:4): The man said unto me, Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and consider all that I am about to show you, for you have been brought here in order that I might show them to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel. Four imperatives are given to the prophet in this vision. He is to (1) look, (2) hear, (3) consider, and (4) declare. Since the most used verb in the entire account is measured (twenty-nine times), the first imperative is preeminent. The temple tour proceeded in silence except for five occasions when the tour guide (the angel) broke the silence and addressed Ezekiel. All that Ezekiel saw and heard he was to consider (lit., set your heart) so that he might fulfill the fourth imperative, to declare, "not the Lord’s word as was usual, but the Lord’s architecture” (Ezekiel 40:4). These visionary "blueprints" were designed to help the exiles face the discouragement engendered by the destruction of their beloved temple.

DESCRIPTION OF THE OUTER

COURT AND ITS GATEWAYS

Ezekiel 40:5-27

The Outer Wall (Ezekiel 40:5): Behold, a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed six cubits long, of a cubit and a handbreadth each: so he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed. At this point the American Standard Version of 1901 has been followed with only slight modification.The measurements of the temple area are given in cubits. The cubit varied in length from time to time. A handbreadth is the width of four fingers. The standard cubit was six handbreadths (tip of finger to elbow), about eighteen inches. Apparently here the long cubit, equal to about 20.5 inches, is being used. The customary cubit was about eighteen inches. The measuring reed carried by the angelic agent was ten feet and three inches long.

A wall surrounded the courtyard. This wall was one reed thick and one reed high (Ezekiel 40:5). The height of the wall reflects its external measurement. The higher level of the ground in the outer court (Ezekiel 40:6; Ezekiel 40:22) meant that from the inside the wall was only about two cubits high. The seven steps leading to the gatehouse indicate that the outer court was about four cubits (about seven feet) higher than the surrounding area.

The court could be entered by three identical gateways in the north, east and south sides of the wall. No description of the gates of Solomon’s temple has survived. The gates that Ezekiel sees here resemble those that have been discovered in Solomon’s fortress cities (e.g., Hazor), rather than any known temple gates of biblical times. Ezekiel transforms those immense gates from a military to a religious setting. These gates symbolically guard the temple. They proclaim that no profane person shall be admitted into the presence of the holy God.

Eastern Gatehouse (Ezekiel 40:6-16)

Then came he unto the gate that looks toward the east, and went up the steps thereof: and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad; and the other threshold, one reed broad. (7) Every lodge was one reed long, and one reed broad; and the space between the lodges was five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed. (8) He measured also the porch of the gate toward the house, one reed.(9) Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was toward the house. (10) The lodges of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; the three were of one measure: and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side. (11) He measured the breadth of the opening of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits; (12) and a border before the lodges, one cubit on this side, and a border, one cubit on that side; and the lodges, six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side. (13) He measured the gate from the roof of the one lodge to the roof of the other, a breadth of twenty-five cubits; door against door. (14) He made also posts, sixty cubits; and the court reached unto the posts, round about the gate. (15) From the forefront of the gate at the entrance unto the forefront of the inner porch of the gate were fifty cubits. (16) There were closed windows to the lodges, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches; and windows were round about inward; and upon each post were palm-trees. The description began from the outside of the eastern gate and worked inward. The technical Hebrew terms used in this account are not decipherable. Some uncertainty exists, therefore, about the exact meaning of each item and the corresponding relationship of each dimension.

The gateways were approached by seven steps (Ezekiel 40:22; Ezekiel 40:26). Seven is the number of perfection in biblical symbolism. The gateway itself consisted of a corridor with three square recessed lodges or guardrooms on either side (Ezekiel 40:7-10).

A barrier of some kind—probably a low wall—separated the guardrooms from the corridor (Ezekiel 40:12). The corridor opened into a large porch (eight by twenty cubits) that in turn opened into the outer court of the temple.

The verb made in Ezekiel 40:14 has been given two interpretations. Some think it points to the fact that the one who is explaining this building had fashioned it previously. Another view is that the verb made is equivalent to estimate. It would not physically have been possible to measure the posts from bottom to top, so the angel made an estimate. The posts within the gate were decorated with palm trees (Ezekiel 40:16; cf. 1 Kings 6:29-35).

The Lower Pavement (Ezekiel 40:17-19): Then he brought me into the outer court; and, behold, there were chambers and a pavement, made for the court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement. (18) The pavement was by the side of the gates, answerable unto the length of the gates, even the lower pavement. (19) Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, a hundred cubits, both on the east and on the north.

Immediately inside the wall of the outer court was a paved area, called the lower pavement (Ezekiel 40:17-18). Thirty chambers were built on this pavement around the perimeter of the wall on the north, south and east (Ezekiel 40:17). Probably these rooms were intended for the use of Levites who were serving in the temple.

The Northern Gatehouse (Ezekiel 40:20-23): As for the gate of the outer court facing north, he measured the length thereof and the breadth thereof. (21) The lodges thereof were three on this side, and three on that side: and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits. (22) The windows thereof, and the arches thereof, and the palm-trees thereof, were after the measure of the gate facing east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them. (23) There was a gate to the inner court over against the other gate, both on the north and on the east; and he measured from gate to gate a hundred cubits. The northern gatehouse was identical to the eastern gatehouse.

The Southern Gatehouse (Ezekiel 40:24-27): Then he led me toward the south; and, behold, a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures. (25) And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits. (26) There were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them; and it had palm-trees, one on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof. (27) There was a gate to the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south a hundred cubits. The southern gatehouse was identical to the eastern and northern gatehouses.

THE INNER COURT AND ITS GATEWAYS

Ezekiel 40:28-47

The temple tour now examines the gates of the inner court on the south (Ezekiel 40:28-31), east (Ezekiel 40:32-34), and north (Ezekiel 40:35-46). The descriptions are similar to those of the outer gates.

Southern Gate (Ezekiel 40:28-31): Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures; (29) and the lodges thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and the arches thereof round about; it was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits broad. (30) There were arches round about, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits broad. (31) The arches thereof were toward the outer court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the ascent to it had eight steps. Although no mention is made of it, one must assume that a wall surrounded the inner court. One entered the inner court through three gateways that were of similar construction to the gates that led to the outer courtyard except in two respects: (1) The vestibule of these interior gateways was on the front rather than the back side as one approached from without; and (2) eight steps led up to the inner court (Ezekiel 40:31; Ezekiel 40:34; Ezekiel 40:37).

Eastern Gate (Ezekiel 40:32-34): Then he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures; (33) and the lodges thereof and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about; it was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits broad. (34) The arches thereof were toward the outer court; and palm-trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the ascent to it had eight steps. The eastern gate that led to the inner court was identical to the southern gate.

Northern Gate (Ezekiel 40:35-37): Then he brought me to the north gate: and he measured it according to these measures; (36) the lodges thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof: and there were windows therein round about; the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.(37) The posts thereof were toward the outer court; and palm-trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the ascent to it had eight steps. The northern gate that led to the inner court was similar to the southern and eastern gates.

Sacrificial Work Area (Ezekiel 40:38-43): A chamber with the door thereof was by the posts at the gates; there they washed the burnt offering. (39) In the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt-offering, the sin-offering, and the trespass-offering. (40) On the one side without, as one goes up to the entry of the gate toward the north, were two tables; and on the other side, which belonged to the porch of the gate, were two tables. Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate: eight tables where upon they slew the sacrifices. (42) There were four tables for the burnt-offering, of hewn stone, a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high; whereupon they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt-offering and the sacrifice. (43) The hooks, a handbreadth long, were fastened within round about; and upon the tables was the flesh of the oblation. Two factors indicate that the temple tour now reaches a climax: (1) the amount of space devoted to the description of the sacrificial work area; and (2) the first break in the silence of the tour guide (Ezekiel 40:45-46).

Inside the northern gateway that led to the inner court was a special chamber where the burnt offerings were to be washed (Ezekiel 40:38). The intestines and legs of the burnt offering had to be washed before being brought to the altar (Leviticus 1:9).

Eight tables on which sacrifices were slaughtered were situated in the northern gateway. Fisch (SBB, 275-76) thinks Ezekiel 40:41 refers to eight additional tables. This would mean there was a total of sixteen sacrificial tables. Four were within the porch or vestibule (Ezekiel 40:39), and four beyond the porch and within the gateway (Ezekiel 40:40-41). Four smaller tables of hewn stone were also found in the northern gateway. These tables held the sacrificial instruments, i.e., knives and receptacles for collecting the blood (Ezekiel 40:42).

Within the northern gateway, slabs or hooks were fixed to pillars to allow the animal carcasses to be suspended while being flayed. The sacrificial meat, once cut from the carcass, was placed on tables previously mentioned (Ezekiel 40:43).

Three types of offerings were prepared in the work areas. In the burnt offering (Ezekiel 40:38-39; Ezekiel 40:42), the entire animal was consumed on the altar. This offering symbolized the consecration of the worshiper. The sin offering (Ezekiel 40:39) made atonement for unintentional sin (Leviticus 1:3-4). The trespass offering was a restitution offering (Leviticus 5:14 to Leviticus 6:7).

Explanations (Ezekiel 40:44-46): Outside the inner gate were chambers for the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and they faced north. (45) He said unto me, This chamber, facing south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house; (46) and the chamber facing north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok, who from among the sons of Levi come near to the LORD to minister unto him. On the northern and southern sides of the inner court were the chambers of the sharim, i.e., singers. Choirs of Levites provided musical accompaniment during sacrificial ceremonies (Ezekiel 40:44).

The interpreting angel explains that in this future temple these chambers would be occupied by the descendants of Zadok. (See: Raymond Abba, "Priests and Levites in Ezekiel," VT 28 (1978): 1-9. ) Zadok was high priest in the days of Solomon. He was a descendant of Phinehas, the son of Aaron, to whom God had given the covenant of an everlasting priesthood (Numbers 25:13). Ezekiel implies that there are two categories of priests. One group deals with the maintenance and security of the temple. The other manages the more important sacrificial worship. Those priests who ministered within the house (i.e., offering incense) occupied one of the priestly chambers (Ezekiel 40:45); those who served at the altar of sacrifice in the courtyard, lived together in another chamber (Ezekiel 40:46).

Measurements of Inner Court (Ezekiel 40:47): Then he measured the court, a hundred cubits long, and a hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar was before the house. The inner courtyard was a square of one hundred cubits. This court had the altar as its center, and the front of the temple as its western edge. A more complete description of the altar is found in 43:13-27.

PORCH OF THE SACRED HOUSE

Ezekiel 40:48-49

Then he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side, and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side. (49) The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; even by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side. The description of the porch or vestibule, is ambiguous, and various configurations are possible. The front wall, on which the gates were hung, was five cubits on each side, and each leaf of the gate was three cubits, giving sixteen cubits (5 x 2 + 3 x 2) for the whole exterior breadth of the porch (Ezekiel 40:48).

The interior breadth of the porch was eleven cubits. To harmonize this figure with the previous verse, one must conclude that the walls of the porch were 2.5 cubits thick. Steps led up to the porch, but the exact number is not given on the eastern front of the temple. Pillars are mentioned in connection with the porch. They correspond to the famous pillars, Jachin and Boaz. These pillars decorated the porch of Solomon’s temple (Ezekiel 40:49; cf. 1 Kings 7:21). Following the LXX, the number of steps is assumed to have been ten. The temple tour ascends ever higher to this focal point: from the outside to the outer court (seven steps; Ezekiel 40:22), to the inner court (eight steps; Ezekiel 40:31), to the temple proper (ten steps; 40:49) for a total of twenty-five steps.

EZEKIEL 41

THE SACRED HOUSE

GENERAL STRUCTURE

Ezekiel 41:1-15a

Holy Place (Ezekiel 41:1-2): And he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle. (2) And the breadth of the entrance was ten cubits; and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, forty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits. Walking westward through the porch, Ezekiel entered the temple proper. This area he calls the tabernacle or tent Ezekiel 41:1) "because the posts were shaped like an arch at the top like a tent.” The prophet does not mention the contents of this area, only its dimensions. The holy place—the area between the porch and the holy of holies—was forty cubits long and twenty cubits wide corresponding to the same room in Solomon’s temple (Ezekiel 41:2; 1 Kings 6:2-3).

Most Holy Place (Ezekiel 41:3-4): Then went he inward, and measured each post of the entrance, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits; and the breadth of the entrance, seven cubits. (4) He measured the length thereof, twenty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me,… This is the most holy place. Only the angel entered the most holy place, i.e., the holy of holies (Ezekiel 41:3). The entrance to the holy of holies was but seven cubits wide. The holy of holies was twenty cubits square corresponding to the dimensions of the same room in Solomon’s temple (cf. 1 Kings 6:16-17). The guide breaks the silence for the second time on this temple tour, to identify the area he has just measured (Ezekiel 41:4). There is no mention of the ark of the covenant that was housed in this area in Solomon’s temple. This harmonizes with Jeremiah’s prophecy that the ark would be missing in the messianic age (Jeremiah 3:16).

Side Chambers (Ezekiel 41:5-12)

The side chambers proper (Ezekiel 41:5-7): Then he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side-chamber, four cubits, round about the house on every side. (6) The side-chambers were in three stories, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which belonged to the house for the side-chambers round about, that they might have hold therein, and not have hold in the wall of the house. (7) And the side-chambers were broader as they encompassed the house higher and higher; for the encompassing of the house went higher and higher round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house continued upward; and so one went up from the lowest chamber to the highest by the middle chamber. (8) I saw also that the house had a raised basement round about: the foundations of the side-chambers were a full reed of six great cubits. As in Solomon’s temple, attached to the wall of Ezekiel’s visionary temple on three sides were side-chambers (cf. 1 Kings 6:5-6). They were in three stories. The chambers of the second story were slightly larger than those on the ground floor, while those of the third story were still larger. This was possible because of abatements in the wall (Ezekiel 41:7). Along the back or west wall there were three large chambers, one on each of the three levels. There were fifteen along the south wall, and fifteen along the north wall, five chambers on each tier. Others understand the text to say there were thirty chambers per story. The wall of the temple was six cubits thick at the base; but at two points it diminished as it ascended. These abatements served as supports for the beams of the second and third stories (Ezekiel 41:6). The upper-most story was reached by a spiral staircase. It passed from the ground floor through the middle tier (Ezekiel 41:7).

Other details about the side chambers (Ezekiel 41:9-11): The thickness of the wall, which was for the side-chambers on the outside, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side-chambers, that belonged to the house. (10) Between the chambers was a breadth of twenty cubits round about the house on every side. (11) The doors of the side-chambers were toward the place that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: and the breadth of the place that was left was five cubits round about. A thick wall surrounded the chambers on the outside. Thus, the chambers were constructed between two massive walls (Ezekiel 41:9). Between these side-chambers and the chambers of the priests mentioned in Ezekiel 40:44-46 was a space of twenty cubits called in KJV the separate place and in the RSV the temple yard (Ezekiel 41:10). The side-chambers were entered from without through two doors, one in the north wall, the other in the south wall. These probably were located at the mid-point of the wall. Connecting doors made passage from one chamber to another possible (Ezekiel 41:11).

The Hinder Building (Ezekiel 41:12): The building that was before the separate place at the side toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits. At the rear of the temple was a large separate building (seventy by ninety cubits) that probably served as a storage area.

External Dimensions (Ezekiel 41:13-15 a): So he measured the house, a hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof, a hundred cubits long; (14) also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east, a hundred cubits. (15) He measured the length of the building before the separate place which was at the back thereof, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, a hundred cubits. See comments below:

Length of the Temple (Ezekiel 41:13 a)

The total length of the temple from east to west, from the wall of the porch to the back western wall, was one hundred cubits (Eze 13a). Here are the statistics: Post 5 (Eze 40:48) + vestibule 12 (Eze 40:49) + post 6 (Eze 41:1) + holy place 40 (Eze 41:2) + post 2 (Eze 41:3) + holy of holies 20 (Eze 41:4) + wall 6 (Eze 41:5) + side-chambers 4 (Eze 41:5) + outer wall 5 (Eze 41:9) = 100 cubits.

Rear of the Temple (Ezekiel 41:13 b)

The pavement and building at the rear of the temple extended westward another one hundred cubits (Ezekiel 41:13 b). Here are the statistics: Yard 20 (41:10) + building 70 (Ezekiel 41:12) + two walls of building 10 (Ezekiel 41:12) = 100 cubits.

Front of the Temple (Ezekiel 41:14)

The front of the temple, along with its yard, was one hundred cubits (Ezekiel 41:14). Here are the statistics: The temple yard to the north and south 40 + the paved areas to north and south 10 + the two outer walls of side-chambers 10 + the two side-chambers 8 + the north and south walls of the house 12 + the interior of the house 20 = 100.

Breadth of Building at Rear of Temple

The overall breadth of the building at the rear of the temple was also one hundred cubits. Here are the statistics: Interior breadth of the room 90 + two side walls 10 = 100 cubits. Galleries or balconies were built along the outside of the wall (Ezekiel 41:15).

TEMPLE INTERIOR

Ezekiel 41:15-26

The Measuring (Ezekiel 41:15-17): (15b) [He measured] the inner temple, and the porches of the court; (16) the thresholds, and the closed windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the threshold, ceiled with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows, (now the windows were covered) (17) to the space above the door, even unto the inner house, and without, and by all the wall round about within and without, by measure. The holy place, holy of holies and the porches of the court all had jambs, narrow windows and balconies (Ezekiel 41:15 b). The stone walls were covered with paneling from floor to ceiling (Ezekiel 41:16-17).

The Decorations (Ezekiel 41:18-21): It was made with cherubim and palm-trees; and a palm-tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces; (19) so that there was the face of a man toward the palm-tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm-tree on the other side: thus was it made through all the house round about. (20) From the ground unto above the door were cherubim and palm-trees made: thus was the wall of the temple. (21) As for the temple, the floor posts were squared; and as for the face of the sanctuary, the appearance thereof was as the appearance of the temple. As in Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 6:29), the wooden panels were decorated with carved figures of cherubim and palm-trees (Ezekiel 41:18) from floor to ceiling (Ezekiel 41:20). These cherubim had two faces—that of a man and that of a lion—that were turned in opposite directions. Each palm-tree was between the human face of one cherub and the lion’s face of another cherub (Ezekiel 41:19). The jambs or doorposts of the temple were square rather than round (Ezekiel 41:21).

The Altar (Ezekiel 41:22): The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said unto me, This is the table that is before the LORD. Ezekiel 41:22 describes one of the pieces of furniture of the holy place. For the third time the guide breaks silence to designate the altar as the table that is before the LORD. Opinions differ as to whether the altar of incense is being described metaphorically as a table, or the table of showbread is being described metaphorically as an altar.

......THE DOORS

Ezekiel 41:23-26

The temple and the sanctuary had two doors. (24) And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves; two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the other. (25) There were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubim and palm-trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there was a threshold of wood upon the face of the porch without. (26) There were closed windows and palm-trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch: thus were the side-chambers of the house, and the thresholds. The holy place and the holy of holies each had a double door (Ezekiel 41:23). Each door had two leaves that could be folded back independently (Ezekiel 41:24). It would be possible for a door to be opened only a quarter of the full width of the entrance. The doors, like the walls, were decorated with cherubim and palm-trees (Ezekiel 41:25). Beams extended before the porch making a kind of overhang (Ezekiel 41:25). Concerning these beams, we must note that the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain. The RSV renders it canopy; KJV planks.

EZEKIEL 42

THE PRIESTS’ CHAMBERS

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHAMBERS

Ezekiel 42:1-14

Northern Chambers (Ezekiel 42:1-9): Then he brought me forth into the outer court, the way toward the north: and he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate place, and which was over against the building toward the north. (2) Along the length, which was a hundred cubits, was the north door; the width was fifty cubits. (3) Over against the twenty cubits which belonged to the inner court, and over against the pavement which belonged to the outer court, was gallery against gallery in the third story. (4) Before the chambers was a walk of ten cubits’ breadth inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors were toward the north. (5) Now the upper chambers were shorter; for the galleries took away from these, more than from the lower and the middlemost, in the building. (6) For they were in three stories, and they had not pillars as the pillars of the courts: therefore the uppermost was straitened more than the lowest and the middle-most from the ground. (7) The wall that was without by the side of the chambers, toward the outer court before the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits. (8) For the length of the chambers that were in the outer court was fifty cubits: and, behold, before the temple were a hundred cubits. (9) And from under these chambers was the entry on the east side, as one goes into them from the outer court. Across the temple yard, directly opposite the side-chambers, were the priests’ chambers. These chambers were briefly mentioned in Ezekiel 41:10. The priests’ chambers consisted of two blocks or complexes of chambers separated from one another by a passageway ten cubits wide. Closest to the temple was a rather large one-story building (a hundred by fifty cubits) that was divided into smaller chambers.

Across the passageway was a three-storied complex of chambers fifty cubits long. For aesthetic reasons a dividing wall extended another fifty cubits so that this second complex of chambers would balance in appearance the first block of priestly chambers. Apparently these priestly chambers could be entered from the outer court and from the passage between the two complexes of chambers.

Southern Chambers (Ezekiel 42:10-12): In the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, before the separate place, and before the building, there were chambers. (11) The way before them was like the appearance of the way of the chambers which were toward the north; according to their length so was their breadth: and all their egresses were both according to their fashions, and according to their doors. (12) According to the doors of the chambers that were toward the south was a door at the head of the way, even the way directly before the wall toward the east, as one enters into them. The chambers on the south side of the temple are the exact replica of those on the north.

Purpose of the Chambers (Ezekiel 42:13-14): Then said he unto me, The north chambers and the south chambers, which are before the separate place, they are the holy chambers, where the priests that are near unto the LORD shall eat the most holy things, and the meal-offering, and the sin-offering, and the trespass-offering; for the place is holy. (14) When the priests enter in, then shall they not go out of the holy place into the outer court, but there they shall lay their garments wherein they minister; for they are holy: and they shall put on other garments, and shall approach to that which pertains to the people. The tour guide breaks the silence for the fourth time to describe the function of the buildings he has just measured. First, they were used for dining rooms. Here the priests partook of their portion of the sin-offering, the trespass-offering (cf. Ezekiel 40:39) and meal offering, an offering of grain prepared in various ways that accompanied one of the blood offerings (cf. Leviticus 2:1-3). Twice the text emphasizes that these chambers are holy (Ezekiel 42:13). Second, the chambers served as a kind of transit zone between the inner and outer courts. The priests paused there to change from their holy garments worn in ministry, to ordinary clothing (Ezekiel 42:14).

Total Dimensions of the Temple Area

Ezekiel 42:15-20

Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth by the way of the gate that faced east, and measured it round about. (16) He measured on the east side with the measuring reed five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about. (17) He measured on the north side five hundred reeds with the measuring reed round about. (18) He measured on the south side five hundred reeds with the measuring reed. (19) He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed. (20) He measured it on the four sides: it had a wall round about, the length five hundred, and the breadth five hundred, to make a separation between what was holy and what was common. The measurements of the inner house, including its courts and associated buildings, are now complete. The angel returned to the eastern gate, the point at which the measuring had begun. He now measures the entire area surrounding the wall (Ezekiel 42:15).

Apparently another wall surrounded the entire temple complex as it previously has been described. This third wall formed a square of five hundred reeds. Since a reed is thought to have been about six cubits, this outer area would have been a three thousand cubit square. The symmetry is perfect.

The temple tour ends as it had begun, with the measurement of a wall. The purpose of the wall is the purpose of this unit, viz., to make a separation between what was holy and what was common. Ezekiel’s vision reinforces the teaching that there are degrees of holiness. The entire land is holy, the temple precincts yet more holy. The inner chamber of the temple depicts the unapproachable holiness of God himself.

The painfully detailed description of the ideal temple underscores the importance of this sacred structure to the exiles. By means of the temple, God’s presence in the world became tangible. Everything about that temple, its symmetry, decorations, elaborate architecture, inspired awe. Yet these buildings, like the bones in the valley, have no life in them without the presence of God. The palace awaits its King.

EZEKIEL 43

TEMPLE GLORY RESTORED

RETURN OF THE DIVINE GLORY

Ezekiel 43:1-12

Ezekiel at the Eastern Gate (Ezekiel 43:1-4): Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looks toward the east: (2) and behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shined with his glory. (3) It was according to the appearance of the vision that I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Kebar; and I fell upon my face. (4) The glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate that faced east. After he had witnessed the measuring of the outer wall, the interpreting angel brought Ezekiel back to the eastern gate of the temple where the tour had begun (cf. 40:6). There he witnessed an awe-inspiring scene (v 1). Nineteen years earlier Ezekiel had seen the glory of God leaving the temple by that eastern gate (10:18-22; 11:22-24). The return of God’s glory is the ultimate sign of a new chapter in the relationship with his people.

The prophet sees the glory of God returning to sanctify the new structure as his holy dwelling. The roar of the cherubim in their flight sounded like the roar of many waters. The splendor of the divine presence illuminated the earth (v 2). On two previous occasions Ezekiel had seen this vision of the throne-chariot—once at his call by the river Kebar (ch 1), and again when he saw in vision the destruction of Jerusalem (chs 8-11). The prophet attributes the destruction of Jerusalem to himself in v 3 because he had prophesied it.

Ezekiel was awe-stricken at the sight of the divine glory entering that eastern gate. The words the glory of the LORD came into the house "are the most significant that the prophet has uttered, for they give ultimate meaning to his entire life and ministry” (Ezekiel 43:4).

Ezekiel in the Inner Court (Ezekiel 43:5-9): The Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house. (6) I heard one speaking unto me out of the house; and a man stood by me. (7) He said unto me, Son of man, this is the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I shall dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever; and the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, and by the dead bodies of their kings in their high places; (8) in their setting of their threshold by my threshold, and their door-post beside my door-post, and there was but the wall between me and them; and they have defiled my holy name by their abominations which they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in my anger. (9) Now let them put away their whoredom, and the dead bodies of their kings, far from me; and I shall dwell in the midst of them forever. After viewing the divine throne-chariot, Ezekiel was whisked away into the inner court by the Spirit (cf. Ezekiel 2:2; Ezekiel 8:3). From that vantage point, Ezekiel could see that the glory of God completely filled the temple (Ezekiel 43:5). A man—probably the interpreting angel of the previous chapters—stood beside Ezekiel there. Here the silence of the tour was broken for the fifth and last time. The voice of God could be heard from within the sanctuary. The word from God is the climax of the temple tour (Ezekiel 43:6). The voice from within spoke of the significance of that new temple. The former temple had served as God’s footstool; his throne was in heaven (Isaiah 60:13; Psalms 132:7; Lamentations 2:1; 1 Chronicles 28:2). The new temple serves as God’s throne, as well as his footstool. There He would dwell with His people forever. Note: Elsewhere the footstool of God is the ark (1 Chronicles 28:2); Zion (Lamentations 2:1); the sanctuary (Isaiah 60:13); and the earth (Isaiah 66:1).

In the new temple age, the Israel of God will no longer defile God’s holy name by their disgusting whoredom, i.e., idolatry. In days gone by, kings were buried in close proximity to the temple. Contact with the dead produced ritual impurity (Numbers 5:2-4; Numbers 19:11-13). The new temple is insulated from such defilement (Ezekiel 43:7). Another interpretation is that the graves of the kings became pagan high places where idolatrous rites were performed. In the pre-exilic Jerusalem, the royal palace abutted the temple. Only a wall separated the holy sanctuary from the royal palace. This was an intolerable infringement on the Lord’s space. The abominations (idolatrous practices) of the palace defiled the temple. This was the reason God had consumed these kings (Ezekiel 43:8). The sanctity of the new temple is safeguarded by a large area of outer and inner courts. In these areas the priests and other sacred personnel dwell. When his people put away their whoredom (idolatry), God can dwell forever in their midst (Ezekiel 43:9).

Instructions for Ezekiel (Ezekiel 43:10-12): As for you, son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. (11) If they be ashamed of all that they have done, make known unto them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof; the egresses and entrances, and all the forms thereof; all the ordinances, and all the forms thereof; and all the laws thereof. Write it in their sight; that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. (12) This is the law of the house: upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house. A new commission is given to Ezekiel. He is commanded to describe the temple of his vision to his fellow exiles in all its particulars. His purpose in doing so was to cause them to be ashamed of their iniquities. The four references to shame in Ezekiel are all in the context of Israel’s salvation. Cf. Ezekiel 16:54; Ezekiel 16:61; Ezekiel 36:32; Ezekiel 43:10. Shame is intended to lead to repentance. This vision serves to remind the exiles of the loss of their former sanctuary. Their hearts would be filled with contrition as they contemplated the reasons why God allowed their former temple to be destroyed. The vision of God’s glory returning to the temple is a summons to commitment and loyalty. The exiles are to measure the pattern (ASV). The Hebrew here is best translated proportion. The exiles are to measure the temple’s relationships and degrees of access. Thus they would learn the standard of God’s holiness that is clearly set forth in the structure and design of the temple (Ezekiel 43:10).

If the people appeared to be moved to repentance by Ezekiel’s temple preaching, he was to give them all the details concerning the new structure: the form of the house, i.e., the general appearance of the new temple; the fashion thereof, i.e., the various sections, chambers and cells; the egresses (gates) and entrances; the ordinances thereof, i.e., the function and use of the various parts of the temple complex; the forms thereof, i.e., the cherubim and palms that decorate it; and all the laws that regulated the use of that facility.

Write it in their sight suggests that Ezekiel may have sketched out the temple plan (on the ground?) even as he described the details of it to the exiles. The Jews were expected to keep the whole form of that temple, i.e., remember the shape and design of the structure; and to implement, when it became possible, the ordinances pertaining to those sacred precincts (Ezekiel 43:11).

One other detail is added about the future temple in Ezekiel 43:12. Whereas Solomon’s temple occupied the slope of a hill, the future temple was to crown the summit. All of Jerusalem was considered holy; the temple area would be considered most holy (Ezekiel 43:12). Ezekiel 43:10-12 is a bridge from the vision of the new temple and the cultic legislation to follow. The higher standards of these laws reflect the greater sanctity of the new temple. Ezekiel anticipates that the cultic ordinances shall be followed. This prevents any future departures of God’s glory from his temple. God permanently resides in his temple.

CENTER OF WORSHIP: ALTAR

Eze 43:13-27

Ezekiel first describes the altar (Ezekiel 43:13-17), and then speaks at length about the dedication of that sacred spot (Ezekiel 43:18-27).

Altar Measurements (Ezekiel 43:13-17): These are the measures of the altar by cubits: (the cubit is a cubit and a handbreadth:) the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about a span; and this shall be the base of the altar. (14) From the bottom upon the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser ledge to the greater ledge shall be four cubits, and the breadth a cubit. (15) The upper altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth and upward there shall be four horns. (16) The altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve broad, square in the four sides thereof. (17)The ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad in the four sides thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit round about; and the steps thereof shall look toward the east. The altar was mentioned previously in 40:47. It was located in the center of the inner court, directly in front of the temple entrance. The arrangement of the Ezekiel’s altar is different from that of the Mosaic altar (Exodus 20:25-26). The messianic temple has an altar of a new design (cf. Hebrews 13:10). The Hebrew terms used in Ezekiel 43:13-17 are obscure. There is no unanimity among scholars about the dimensions and design of this structure.

The following points are more or less clear:

The measurements of the altar are specified as being by the longer cubit. A handbreadth or span was half a cubit. The previously given temple measurements include only the ground plan. The altar measurements include height as well (Ezekiel 43:13). The altar was built on a base. This foundation platform was set in the pavement of the court, its upper surface being apparently level with the surrounding pavement. A rim or border distinguished this foundation platform from the surrounding pavement (vv 13b-14a). The altar was built in three square stages, each with a side two cubits shorter than the stage below it. The sides of the three stages were twelve, fourteen and sixteen cubits long respectively. The altar had a step-like appearance (Ezekiel 43:14-17). The total height of the altar proper was thirteen cubits. Note: Base 1 (Ezekiel 43:13) + elevation 2 (Ezekiel 43:14) + lesser ledge 1 (Ezekiel 43:14) + elevation 4 (Ezekiel 43:15) + greater ledge 1 (Ezekiel 43:14) + upper altar 4 = 13 cubits. If the base was in a depression of one cubit, than the height of the altar was twelve cubits. The horns that projected upward another cubit were regarded as the most sacred part of the altar. Here the blood was smeared in the various sacrifices (Ezekiel 43:15). The hearth area, where the sacrifices were placed, measured twelve by twelve cubits or 144 square cubits (Ezekiel 43:16).

The approach to the altar was on the east side. Steps were forbidden in early altars (Exodus 20:24-26). The increased size of later altars made them a necessity. Since the steps faced east, a priest on the steps would be facing west toward God’s throne. That is opposite the direction pagan priests faced while ministering (Ezekiel 43; Ezekiel 17).

Altar Dedication (Ezekiel 43:18-27)

Cleansing (Ezekiel 43:18-22): He said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD: These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon. (19) You shall give to the priests the Levites that are of the seed of Zadok who are near unto me, to minister unto me, (oracle of the Lord GOD), a young bullock for a sin-offering. (20) You shall take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the ledge, and upon the border round about: and thus shall you cleanse it and make atonement for it. (21) You shall also take the bullock of the sin-offering, and it shall be burnt in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary. (22) On the second day you shall offer a he-goat without blemish for a sin-offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock. In the Old Testament worship system, the altar was used two ways: (1) burnt offerings were offered on it; and (2) blood was smeared on it (Ezekiel 43:18).

The altar would need to be consecrated in order to make it suitable for these two important functions. Just as Moses⁷⁶⁴ carried out the consecration of the Israel’s first altar (Exodus 29:36-37; Exodus 40:9-11; Leviticus 16:18-19), so Ezekiel is to organize the consecration of the new altar. Other similarities to Moses: Ezekiel speaks of a new Exodus, a new covenant, a new allocation of land. Like Moses Ezekiel sees the promised land from a distance. He is told to assign the various consecration functions to the Levitical priests who were descendants of Zadok. All priests were Levites, but not all Levites were priests. Who was Zadok? Zadok was the first high priest in Solomon’s temple. Non-Zadokites were debarred from priestly ministry for reasons that shall be stated in the following chapter (Ezekiel 44:10).

On the first day of the dedicatory rites, Ezekiel was to give to the Zadokites a bullock to be used as a sin-offering (Ezekiel 43:19). The blood of that sacrificial beast was to be smeared on the four horns, on the four corners of the (greater) ledge and on the rim or border that surrounded the greater ledge. This shed blood would cleanse the altar and make atonement for it (Ezekiel 43:20). The remainder of the sacrificial bullock was to be burned in another, unspecified spot within the walls of the temple mount (Ezekiel 43:21). A he-goat was to be sacrificed on the second day of the dedicatory rites. The blood of the he-goat was to be sprinkled on the altar in the same manner as was done with the blood of the bullock. Thus the altar would be purified a second time (Ezekiel 43:22).

Consecration (Ezekiel 43:23-27): When you have made an end of cleansing it, you shall offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish. (24) You shall bring them near before the LORD. The priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt-offering unto the LORD. (25) Seven days you shall prepare every day a goat for a sin-offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock and a ram out of the flock, without blemish. (26) Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and purify it; so shall they consecrate it. (27) When they have accomplished the days it shall be that upon the eighth day, and forward, the priests shall make your burnt-offerings upon the altar, and your peace-offerings; and I shall accept you, (oracle of the Lord GOD). Whole burnt offerings of a bullock and a ram were to be offered on the purified altar. The whole burnt offering symbolized complete consecration. Salt was to be sprinkled upon these burned offerings by the priests (Ezekiel 43:23). This preservative may symbolize the everlasting covenant between God and his people. These three sacrifices—the goat, bullock and ram—were to be repeated six more times during the dedicatory week (Ezekiel 43:25). By this means the new altar would be set apart for its sacred functions (Ezekiel 43:26). After these rites had been performed, then the regular sacrificial service could begin. Burnt-offerings and peace-offerings had as their primary aim acceptance by God. The devout and obedient worshipers of the new temple era find that acceptance with God (Ezekiel 43:27).

EZEKIEL 44

MINISTERS OF WORSHIP

Ezekiel’s lengthy symbolic portrayal of the messianic age continues in this unit. The empty temple complex of chs 40-42 now comes alive. Now that God has returned to the temple (Ezekiel 43:1-12), his people can meet with him there. The laws set forth in the present unit underscore that the temple of the preceding chapters is not a lifeless monument. It is the hub of worship and service. Having already focused his attention on (1) the center of worship (Ezekiel 43:13-27), Ezekiel now speaks of (2) the ministers of worship (Ezekiel 44:1 to Ezekiel 45:8); and (3) the regulations concerning worship (Ezekiel 45:9 to Ezekiel 46:24).

After briefly discussing the relationship of the prince to the sanctuary (Ezekiel 44:1-3), Ezekiel speaks of the qualifications of the temple ministers (Ezekiel 44:4-14), the regulations for the Zadokite priests (Ezekiel 44:15-27); the provision for the Zadokite priests (Ezekiel 44:28-31), and the allocation of land that was theirs (Ezekiel 45:1-8).

PRINCE AND SANCTUARY

Ezekiel 44:1-3

Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that faces east; and it was shut. (2) The LORD said unto me, This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, neither shall any man enter in by it; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered in by it; therefore it shall be shut. (3) As for the prince, he shall sit therein as prince to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out by the way of the same. The angel now brought Ezekiel back from the inner court to the outer eastern gate that only shortly before he had entered (Ezekiel 43:1). He found that gate shut, now that the glory of God had reentered the temple (Ezekiel 43:1). Never again would that gate be open. God’s glory would never again depart from his temple. No man would be permitted to enter the gate through which the divine presence had come (Ezekiel 43:2).

The future leader of God’s people—the prince—will be permitted to eat bread before the LORD within the eastern gate complex. Note: The prince is mentioned seventeen times in chs 44-48. Jewish commentators regarded this prince as Messiah. Most Christian commentators have rejected this view because the prince (1) offers a sin offering for himself (Ezekiel 45:22), (2) has sons (Ezekiel 46:15), and (3) is distinct from the priests. For a defense of the messianic interpretation of the prince, see Smith, TPM, 372-377.The phrase hints of the priestly prerogatives of the future prince. Certain bread could not be eaten by non-priests (e.g., Leviticus 2:3; Leviticus 24:9). Cf. Exodus 29:32 where the Aaronic priests were to eat a religious meal by the door of the tabernacle.

Not even the prince, however, will be allowed to enter by that sealed gate. He will enter the gate complex from the rear or west by the way of the porch of the gate (Ezekiel 44:3).

PRIESTLY QUALIFICATIONS

Ezekiel 44:4-14

A Word of Admonition (Ezekiel 44:4-5): Then he brought me by the way of the north gate before the house; and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face. (5) The LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and look with your eyes, and listen with your ears all that I say unto you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entrance of the house, with every egress of the sanctuary. Though the architectural tour of the temple is over, the heaven guide continues to lead Ezekiel. From the outer court, the prophet was led by his angelic guide around through the northern gate (the eastern gate was to be kept perpetually closed) to the inner court. For the last time in the book, Ezekiel observed the glory of God filling the house. The prophet falls on his face in reverence (Ezekiel 44:4). At this juncture, God spoke to Ezekiel again, this time concerning the qualifications of those who might approach him in his holy temple. Previously the emphasis was on what the guide showed Ezekiel; here it is upon what the Lord tells him. Ezekiel was bidden to make careful note (mark, look, listen) of these ordinances, particularly those laws governing the approaches to the house (Ezekiel 44:5).

A Word of Condemnation (Ezekiel 44:6-8): You shall say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: O house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations, (7) in that you have brought in foreigners uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to profane it, even my house, when you offer my bread, the fat and the blood. They have broken my covenant, to add unto all your abominations. (8) You have not kept the charge of my holy things; but you have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves. In the former temple, aliens had been permitted to discharge priestly functions. This was an abomination (v 6; cf. Numbers 3:10). This practice must not persist in the age of the new temple. Note: The use of aliens for menial temple service can be traced back to Joshua. He made the Gibeonites temple servants (Joshua 9:23; Joshua 9:27). Israel seems to have continued this practice through the time of Ezra (Ezra 8:20). Those uncircumcised in heart and . . . flesh profaned the holiness of that sacred shrine. Circumcision of the flesh was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant. Moses, however, called for Israelites to be circumcised in their hearts as well as in the flesh (Leviticus 26:41; Deuteronomy 10:16; Deuteronomy 30:6; cf. Jeremiah 4:4; Jeremiah 9:25). Such a change of heart was necessary for the Israelite and the foreigner if they were to enter into a proper relationship with the Lord.

God’s bread, i.e., sacrifices of fat and blood, was not to be offered by the uncircumcised, i.e., the unfaithful and unconverted. To allow them to do so was to violate the covenant and commit abomination (Ezekiel 44:7). Apparently the use of foreign temple servants such as the Carites (2 Kings 11:4) is here being proscribed. It may have been that in times when the priesthood was at low ebb, some priestly duties actually had been assigned to these foreigners. In so doing, God’s people had been more concerned about what was convenient to them rather than what conformed to the instructions of God (Ezekiel 44:8).

A Word of Judgment (Ezekiel 44:9-14): Thus says the Lord GOD, No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any foreigners that are among the children of Israel. (10) But the Levites that went far from me, when Israel went astray, that went astray from me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity. (11) Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house, and ministering in the house: they shall slay the burnt-offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. (12) Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and became a stumbling block of iniquity unto the house of Israel; therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity. (13) They shall not come near unto me, to execute the office of priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, unto the things that are most holy; but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. (14) Yet shall I make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein. The menial temple work, formerly done by aliens, must in the future be performed by the Levites (Ezekiel 44:9). The duties of the Levites in Ezekiel’s temple were threefold: (1) they were to have charge of the temple gates, i.e., they were to police the crowds who entered for worship; (2) they were to minister in the house, i.e., courtyard, by slaying the sacrificial animals; and (3) they were to stand before the worshipers to minister to them by helping them in their ritual responsibilities (v 11). Note: The slaughtering of the animal for sacrifice was not a priestly function. It could be performed by a layman.

The demotion of the Levites in the new temple was a punishment for previous transgression on their part. They had gone far away from God (Ezekiel 44:10). They had ministered at idolatrous shrines, and thus had become stumbling blocks to the people of God. God had taken an oath (lifted up my hand) against the Levites that they bear the consequences of their iniquity in the new temple age (Ezekiel 44:12). In effect, the penalty against the once wayward Levites was reduction in status to that of lay servants in the temple. They are not allowed to come near the Lord, i.e., enter the inner courtyard, nor minister at the sacrificial service, nor come near any holy thing in the temple (Ezekiel 44:13). The Levites are keepers of the charge of the house, i.e., they are restricted to functions in the outer court (Ezekiel 44:14).

PRIESTLY REGULATIONS

Ezekiel 44:15-27

Ministerial Privileges (Ezekiel 44:15-16): But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me; and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood (oracle of the Lord GOD): (16) they shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge. Only the sons of Zadok are allowed to minister before and within the sanctuary proper. They alone had remained faithful when the rest of the nation had gone into idolatry. The genealogy of Zadok is found in 1 Chronicles 6:50-53. Zadok was a priest in David’s day, alongside Abiathar (2 Samuel 8:17; 2 Samuel 15:24 ff.). He became the high priest under Solomon. The Zadokites are permitted to (1) come near to God to minister unto him; (2) stand before God to offer the sacrificial portions of animals and the blood (Ezekiel 44:15); (3) enter into the sanctuary itself and minister there; and (4) approach the table of showbread (cf. Ezekiel 41:22). Whereas the Levites were to keep the charge of the house (Ezekiel 44:14), the Zadokites were to keep my charge (Ezekiel 44:16). Older critics saw in these verse evidences of a political conflict between priests and Levites. Supposedly Ezekiel took the side of the priests. The main concern here, however, is the holiness of a temple liturgy that far surpasses in holiness anything known during the days of the previous temple.

Ministerial Dress (Ezekiel 44:17-20)

Garments must be linen (Ezekiel 44:17-18): It shall be that, when they enter in at the gates of the inner court they shall be clothed with linen garments. No wool shall come upon them, while they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. (18) They shall have linen turbans upon their heads, and shall have linen undergarments upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything that causes sweat. In the new temple, the Zadokite priests were to serve clothed only in linen. They would not be permitted to wear the partly woolen garments worn by priests in the former temple. Linen is light and clean in appearance. The heavier wool would cause perspiration that in turn would result in ritual defilement.

Garments must be removed (Ezekiel 44:19): When they go forth into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they minister, and lay them in the holy chambers; and they shall put on other garments, that they sanctify not the people with their garments. The holy linen garments were to be removed and stored in the holy chambers before the priests joined the lay people in the outer court. Holiness was communicated by direct contact (cf. Exodus 29:37; Leviticus 6:20). If the priests mingled with the lay people in those holy garments, they too would be sanctified. Holy and profane were never to meet in the new age.

Personal grooming (Ezekiel 44:20): Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only cut off the hair of their heads. The priests were to be examples of holiness to the people of God. They were not permitted to shave their heads, nor let their hair grow long. Those customs were associated with heathen practice (cf. Leviticus 21:5; Leviticus 21:10).

Ministerial Restrictions (Ezekiel 44:21-22): Neither shall any of the priests drink wine, when they enter into the inner court. (22) They shall not take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away; but they shall take virgins of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that is the widow of a priest. As in the law of Moses, priests were not allowed to drink wine before performing their sacrificial ministry in the inner court (Ezekiel 44:21). Rigid marriage restrictions prohibited a priest from marrying anyone but an Israelite virgin or the widow of a fellow priest (Ezekiel 44:22). Note: In the law of Moses this regulation applied only to the high priest (Leviticus 21:13 f.). These strict marriage regulations were perhaps designed to preserve the purity of the priestly families.

Ministerial Responsibility (Ezekiel 44:23-24): They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. (24) In a controversy they shall stand to judge; according to my ordinances shall they judge it: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts; and they shall hallow my sabbaths. Ezekiel 44:23-24 outlines some of the responsibilities of the priests. They were teachers (Cf. Deuteronomy 33:10; Malachi 2:7.), and as such they were responsible, by word and example, for constantly reminding the people of the difference between the holy and the common, the clean and the unclean (Ezekiel 44:23). In civil law cases, the priests acted as judges(Cf. Deuteronomy 17:8 ff; Deuteronomy 19:17; Deuteronomy 21:5.). In this capacity they were to render each verdict in accordance with the law of God. The primary function of the priests was strictly to observe the regulations concerning the sacrifices that were to be offered on special festivals and sabbaths (Ezekiel 44:24).

Ministerial Defilement (Ezekiel 44:25-27): They shall go in to no dead person to defile themselves; but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that has had no husband, they may defile themselves. (26) After he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days. (27) In the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin-offering (oracle of the Lord GOD). As in the law of Moses, the priests of the new temple age must avoid contact with dead bodies. Exceptions were made in the case of close relatives (Ezekiel 44:25). Contact with a corpse defiled priests and rendered them temporarily unfit to perform their priestly function. A seven-day separation and ritual washing were necessary to cleanse a priest defiled by death in the law of Moses. Ezekiel’s regulations call for an additional seven-day period after the cleansing (Ezekiel 44:26). Upon resuming his ministry in the inner court, the priest was to offer a sin-offering for his defilement (Ezekiel 44:27). These additional regulations are intended to portray the greater sanctity of the future temple.

PRIESTLY PROVISIONS

Ezekiel 44:28-31

Priestly Inheritance (Ezekiel 44:28): They shall have an inheritance: I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession. Whereas other tribes received their inheritance in land tracts, the priesthood itself was the inheritance of the Zadokites. Spiritual privilege is greater blessing than material possession. The Pentateuch gives this spiritual inheritance to the Levites in general (Deuteronomy 10:9; Deuteronomy 18:2). Pointing to the greater sanctity of the future age, Ezekiel limits this inheritance to the priests.

Priestly Sustenance (Ezekiel 44:29-31): They shall eat the meal-offering, the sin-offering, and the trespass-offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. (30) The first of all the first-fruits of every thing, and every oblation of everything, of all your oblations, shall be for the priest: you shall also give unto the priests the first of your dough, to cause a blessing to rest on your house. (31) The priests shall not eat of any thing that dies of itself, or is torn, whether it be bird or beast. The priests received a portion of the various offerings for their daily maintenance. Every devoted thing—any property consecrated to God—belonged to the priests (Ezekiel 44:29). The first-fruits of the land—a token portion of the crop—belonged to the priests (Cf. Deuteronomy 8:8 and Numbers 18:13). The oblation or heave-offering was the priest’s portion of first-born clean animals that were killed and sacrificed to God. The first cakes baked with the grain from the threshing floor were also to be given to the priests (cf. Numbers 15:20). Those who were faithful in presenting these offerings to the priests receive a special blessing (Ezekiel 44:30; cf. Malachi 3:10). Appended to the list of what priests could eat is a prohibition. No Israelite could eat any animal that died a natural death or that had been killed by wild beasts (cf. Exodus 22:30; Leviticus 7:24; Deuteronomy 14:21). It is not clear why the regulation is repeated here in connection with the priests (Ezekiel 44:31).

EZEKIEL 45

SPECIAL OFFERINGS TO THE LORD

THE LAND OFFERING

Ezekiel 45:1-8

Holy Portion (Ezekiel 45:1-4): Moreover, when you shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, you shall offer an oblation unto the LORD, a holy portion of the land; the length shall be the length of twenty-five thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand: it shall be holy in all the border thereof round about. (2) Of this there shall be for the holy place five hundred in length, square round about; and fifty cubits for the suburbs thereof round about. (3) Of this measure you shall measure a length of twenty-five thousand, and a breadth of ten thousand; and in it shall be the sanctuary, which is most holy. (4) It is a holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, that come near to minister unto the LORD; and it shall be a place for their houses, and a holy place for the sanctuary. Ezekiel anticipates an apportionment of the holy land among the tribes of Israel. The central portion of that land was to belong to the Lord. This rectangular area, twenty-five thousand by ten thousand reeds, was to be reserved for the priests and the new temple (Ezekiel 45:4). This portion of the land is viewed as more holy than the rest of the land (Ezekiel 45:1). Note: Concerning the rectangular area, the unit of measurement is missing in the Hebrew text. Some scholars think the unit is the cubit. In the center of this priestly portion of ground was a square (500 x 500 reeds) where the temple was to be located. It was separated from the area where the priests dwelled by fifty cubits of open space (Ezekiel 45:2-3). It is not clear whether Ezekiel 45:3 refers to an additional portion of 25,000 x 10,000 reeds, or whether this is the same portion mentioned in Ezekiel 45:1. Ezekiel’s vision of the promised land shows more concern for symmetry than for the realities of geography. His idealism has a pedagogical function. Pre-exilic Israel got into trouble for ignoring God. Ezekiel paints the picture of God in the center of things in the new era.

Levitical Portion (Ezekiel 45:5): And twenty-five thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth, shall be unto the Levites, the ministers of the house, for a possession unto themselves, for twenty chambers. The Levites would occupy a portion of land equal in extent to and adjoining that of the priests. Scholars differ as to whether this area was north or south of the priests’ portion. At the extreme end of the Levites’ portion, twenty chambers were to be built. The RSV follows the Greek Old Testament and reads for cities to live in. They were to house the gate-keepers so that they would be near the temple (Ezekiel 45:5). In Ezekiel 45:5 the Levites are again called ministers of the house in contrast to the priests who were ministers of the sanctuary that come near to minister unto the LORD (Ezekiel 45:4).

City Portion (Ezekiel 45:6): You shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and twenty-five thousand long, side by side with the oblation of the holy portion: it shall be for the whole house of Israel. The city of Jerusalem was allocated a rectangular portion of land (25,000 x 5,000 reeds) adjacent to the portion of the priests on the south. This section of the land could be inhabited by any Israelite without regard to tribe. The total territory of the holy portion—the territory allocated to the holy city, to the priests, Levites and temple—comprised an area 25,000 reeds square.

Prince’s Portion (Ezekiel 45:7-8)

Positioning (Ezekiel 45:7): Whatsoever is for the prince shall be on the one side and on the other side of the holy oblation and of the possession of the city, in front of the holy oblation and in front of the possession of the city, on the west side westward, and on the east side eastward; and in length answerable unto one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border. In Ezekiel’s symbolic scheme of things, the center of the land was a rectangle called the holy oblation (i.e., offering) that has been described in the previous verses. The Hebrew here for holy oblation is frequently translated heave-offering. A more accurate translation is levy or compulsory contribution. The ideal city and temple occupy this oblation. As if guarding the approaches to both, the prince’s inheritance was on either side of the oblation in the very center of the land.

Purpose (Ezekiel 45:8): In the land it shall be to him for a possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; but they shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes. The law of Moses made no special inheritance provision for kings. Old Testament kings were constantly attempting to expand their personal holdings at the expense of the citizens. This will not be the case in the future envisioned by Ezekiel. The portion of the prince was equal in size to that assigned to entire tribes, except that the holy portion was carved out of his territory (cf. Ezekiel 48:21). Taking their cue from the prince, other leaders in the future Israel (my princes) are God-fearing men. They do not oppress God’s people by trying to appropriate their inheritances. On the other hand, they see to it that all of God’s people occupied their God-given share in the holy land, i.e., the kingdom.

PRINCELY OFFERINGS

Ezekiel 45:9-25

At this point in his vision of the new temple, Ezekiel sets forth the regulations pertaining to (1) the rights and duties of the prince (Ezekiel 45:9-17); (2) the festival offerings (Ezekiel 45:18-25); and (3) the offerings on the Sabbath and new moon (Ezekiel 46:1-7).

Integrity in Office (Ezekiel 45:9-12)

General requirement (Ezekiel 45:9): Thus says the Lord GOD: Let it suffice you, O prince of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute justice and righteousness; take away your exactions from my people (oracle of the Lord GOD). God appeals to the future rulers of his people to abandon the greed and corruption of their predecessors who did violence to the helpless. He urges them to take away their exactions—the unjust seizure of property. They must rule in justice and righteousness.

Weights and measures (Ezekiel 45:10-12): You shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath. (11) The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure. That the bath may contain the tenth part of a homer, and the ephah the tenth part of a homer: the measure thereof shall be after the homer. (12) The shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh. The most common means of defrauding people was by means of unjust measures. The future leaders must eliminate this evil. They must demand that just weights and measures be used throughout the land. The ephah was a dry measure, the bath a liquid measure (Ezekiel 45:10). An ephah and bath were equal to about five gallons. Both were equal to a tenth of a homer, which was the standard unit of measure (Ezekiel 45:11). A Homer, was literally a donkey-load, which was equal to about six bushels. A shekel (about 0.4 ounces) was equal to twenty gerahs. Sixty shekels made up a mina (ASV maneh). Elsewhere it is fifty shekels that equals a mina. Perhaps the Jewish shekel had been devalued during the Exile to bring it into harmony with the Babylonian shekel. The shekels were in use in denominations of twenty, twenty-five and fifteen in the days of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 45:12).

Faithful in Temple Provisions (Ezekiel 45:13-17)

Obligations of the people (Ezekiel 45:13-16): This is the oblation that you shall offer: the sixth part of an ephah from a homer of wheat; and you shall give the sixth part of an ephah from a homer of barley; (14) and the set portion of oil, of the bath of oil, the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which is ten baths, even a homer; (for ten baths are a homer); (15) and one lamb of the flock, out of two hundred, from the well-watered pastures of Israel—for a meal-offering, and for a burnt-offering, and for peace-offerings, to make atonement for them, (oracle of the Lord GOD). (16) All the people of the land shall give unto this oblation for the prince in Israel. The reasons for concern about weights and measures is set forth. The people are to present offerings to their prince. He in turn had the responsibility of supplying the needs of the temple service. A sixth of an ephah of wheat and barley was required (Ezekiel 45:13), a tenth of each bath of oil out of the cor (Ezekiel 45:14), and one lamb out of a flock of two hundred. Note: The cor was identical to the homer. Cf. Ezekiel 45:11. These required dues were to be used in temple offerings to make atonement for the people (Ezekiel 45:15). When these verses are compared to the stipulations of the Mosaic law, it becomes clear that "the demands of Ezekiel’s torah surpass those of the earlier or Mosaic torah in quantity as well as quality.”

Obligations of the prince (Ezekiel 45:17): It shall be the prince’s part to give the burnt-offerings, and the meal-offerings, and the drink-offerings, in the feasts, and on the new moons, and on the sabbaths, in all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin-offering, and the meal-offering, and the burnt-offering, and the peace-offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel. The people render special tribute to the prince (Ezekiel 45:16). He in turn provided the communal sacrifices offered throughout the year, as well as those special sacrifices offered on festival days. He will prepare the various sacrifices that result in atonement (Ezekiel 45:17). The Hebrew verb use here is frequently used in the technical sense of preparation of sacrifice (e.g., Leviticus 5:10; Leviticus 9:7). It is also used in a more general sense of providing the material for sacrifice (e.g., Leviticus 14:30). No mention is made in these chapters of the people bringing sacrifices to the temple. Apparently all offerings are given to God through the prince.

FESTIVAL OFFERINGS

Ezekiel 45:18-25

The regulations regarding festival offerings sketched out here presuppose the more detailed instructions found in the Pentateuch. Notice that Ezekiel does not mention Pentecost, one of the three annual pilgrimage feasts of pre-exilic days. Some of the sacrifices spoken of here and in the next chapters were unknown in Solomon’s temple. The considerable differences between Ezekiel’s ordinances and the Mosaic laws again signal that the worship system of the messianic era is substantially different from that of the mosaic era.

Some scholars hold that the sacrifices outlined here were intended to be replacement for the Mosaic regulations regarding these holy days. Others see these sacrifices as being in addition to those stipulated in the Mosaic law. Still others see these sacrifices as authorized only for the period of the dedication of the new temple.

New Year (Ezekiel 45:18-20): Thus says the Lord GOD: In the first month, in the first day of the month, you shall take a young bullock without blemish; and you shall cleanse the sanctuary. (19) The priest shall take of the blood of the sin-offering, and put it upon the door-posts of the house, upon the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court. (20) So you shall do on the seventh day of the month for every one that errs, and for him that is simple: so shall you make atonement for the house. The blood of a bullock is used to purify the sanctuary on New Year’s day (Ezekiel 45:18). The blood of that sin offering is smeared on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the greater ledge of the altar (cf. Ezekiel 43:20), and on the post of the gate of the inner court (Ezekiel 45:19). The word gate may be used here in a collective sense of all three gates of the inner court. These actions were to be repeated on the seventh day of the month. This ritual served to cleanse the holy area from those who through ignorance had wandered into a restricted area of the temple courtyard.

Passover (Ezekiel 45:21-24)

Authorization (Ezekiel 45:21): In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. Passover commemorated the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt. It was celebrated on the fourteenth day of Nisan, the first month. This spring festival lasted seven days during which only unleavened bread was eaten (Ezekiel 45:21).

Responsibility of the prince (Ezekiel 45:22-24)

For Passover day (Ezekiel 45:22): Upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin-offering. The prince was to prepare, i.e., provide, a bullock as a sin-offering for himself and for the people (Ezekiel 45:22). If the prince is a messianic figure, this can only mean that (1) the prince provided the sin offering for the people; and (2) that the provision of that offering was in some sense necessary for the fulfillment of his mission. That the prince himself was a sinner is not a necessary conclusion drawn from the text. No such sacrifice was connected with Passover in the Mosiac dispensation.

For Passover week (Ezekiel 45:23-24): The seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt-offering to the LORD, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a he-goat daily for a sin-offering. (24) He shall prepare a meal-offering, and ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and a hin of oil to an ephah. In the future worship, Ezekiel has the sin offering coming before, and presumably taking precedence over, the Paschal feast proper. Clearly the sin offering is more prominent in the new age. Messiah was made to be a sin offering for guilty men (2 Corinthians 5:21). He accomplished all that the animal sin offerings of the old covenant could not accomplish. In addition to the sin-offering bullock, the prince was to provide seven bullocks and seven rams for burnt-offerings on each of the seven days of the festival. He was also to provide a he-goat each day for a sin-offering (Ezekiel 45:23). Along with each bullock and ram the prince was to provide an ephah of grain and a hin of oil (Ezekiel 45:24).

Tabernacles (Ezekiel 45:25): In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, in the feast, shall he do the like seven days; according to the sin-offering, according to the burnt-offering, according to the meal-offering, and according to the oil. The feast of Tabernacles was observed during Tishri, the seventh month. During this joyous seven-day festival the prince was to duplicate the offerings required during Passover.

EZEKIEL 46

WORSHIP REGULATIONS

MORE OFFERINGS

Ezekiel 46:1-7

Sabbath Offerings (Ezekiel 46:1-5): Thus says the Lord GOD: The gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened. (2) The prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate without and shall stand by the post of the gate; and the priests shall prepare his burnt-offering and his peace-offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. (3) The people of the land shall worship at the door of that gate before the LORD on the sabbaths and on the new moons. (4) The burnt-offering that the prince shall offer unto the LORD shall be on the Sabbath day six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish. (5) The meal-offering shall be an ephah for the ram, and the meal-offering for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah. On Sabbath and new moon (first day of the month) the eastern gate of the inner court was to be opened (Ezekiel 46:1). This gate is not to he confused with the eastern gate of the outer court that was never to be opened (Ezekiel 44:2). On these occasions the prince was allowed to enter the eastern gate. He was the official representative of the people who presented to the priests the sacrifices that were to be offered on behalf of the nation. From his vantage point at the post of the gate (i.e., the western end of the gateway), he worshiped as the priests offered his sacrifices within his view upon the altar. Even after he departed from the temple, the inner gate was to be left open until evening (Ezekiel 46:2).

Clearly Ezekiel envisioned a ruler in his Zion-to-be. He prefers to call him a prince, rather than a king (melek), probably to hint that he is a ruler of a different kind. Ezekiel use the word for prince several times when speaking of the Davidic head of state (Ezekiel 12:10; Ezekiel 12:12; Ezekiel 19:1; Ezekiel 21:25). It is Ezekiel’s favorite designation for the ruler of the Zion-to-be (Ezekiel 34:24; Ezekiel 37:25 + fourteen times in chs 40-48). In Ezekiel 7:27 he uses it in parallel with melek. His leadership is ratified by the people he rules (cf. 1 Samuel 10). The prince has no palace. The only building associated with him in these chapters is the temple. He devotes himself entirely to the worship of his people. Cf. Deuteronomy 17:18-20 where the ideal king devotes himself entirely to the study of the Mosaic law. In fact, he joins his people in their worship. "In effect, the prince acts as a high priest, an official that does not appear elsewhere in Ezekiel’s portrayal of messianic worship.” The coming of the prince causes the gate to be opened for his subjects to worship from without. The people are allowed to come to the door of that inner gate. They worshiped behind the prince. Through the open gate they could observe the priests preparing the sacrifices provided by the prince. Here again the prince appears as the leader in worship (Ezekiel 46:3).

The offerings prescribed for Sabbath and new moon of the new temple age do not correspond with those prescribed in the law of Moses (cf. Numbers 28:9; Numbers 28:11-15). To reconcile this account with the Pentateuch, some Jewish scholars have proposed that these sacrifices are special, additional sacrifices required during the sabbaths of the dedication period for the new temple. The prince is to offer each Sabbath six lambs and a ram (Ezekiel 46:4), an ephah of meal with the ram, an unspecified amount of meal for each lamb, and at least a hin of oil (Ezekiel 46:5).

New Moon Offerings (Ezekiel 46:6-7): On the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without blemish, and six lambs and a ram; they shall be without blemish: (7) and he shall prepare a meal-offering, an ephah for the bullock, and an ephah for the ram, and for the lambs according as he is able, and a hin of oil to an ephah. On the new moon, the prince is to offer the regular Sabbath offerings, but add to them an unblemished bullock and another ephah of meal (Ezekiel 46:6-7).

WORSHIP REGULATIONS

Ezekiel 46:8-24

In this unit, Ezekiel learns the regulations that govern the more sanctified worship of the messianic era. He is instructed regarding (1) the entrance and exit of the worshipers (Ezekiel 46:8-10); (2) the offerings of the prince on behalf of the people (Ezekiel 46:11-15); (3) the inheritance of the prince (Ezekiel 46:16-18); and (4) the preparation of the sacrificial meals (Ezekiel 46:19-24).

Movement of Worshipers (Ezekiel 46:8-10)

Movement of the prince (Ezekiel 46:8): When the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof. The prince is accorded honor in that he alone is permitted to enter and leave by the same route on weekly and monthly worship occasions. On the Sabbath and new moon the prince enters by the porch of the (inner) eastern gateway and leaves by the same way.

Movement of the people (Ezekiel 46:9): But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the appointed feasts, he that enters by the way of the north gate to worship shall go forth by the way of the south gate; and he that enters by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth straight before him. The outer eastern gate is not open, and there is no western gate. In the appointed seasons (Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles),⁸⁰² the worshipers are required to enter the outer court by one of the side gates and leave by the gate on the opposite side. This made for orderly flow of traffic across the inner court. It also symbolized that those who truly worship God should leave the experience a new person. Note: On these festivals every male Israelite was required to appear at the temple.

The prince and his people (Ezekiel 46:10): The prince, when they go in, shall go in the midst of them; and when they go forth, they shall go forth together. During the great annual feasts, the prince was to enter the temple when the people did. The prince joins with his people in their worship. The law of attendance of the prince suggests that worshipers should approach God in worship only with and in and through their great mediator, Christ Jesus. When they go forth, they shall go forth together. Whether at worship, work or recreation, the prince is in the midst of his people.

Prince’s Offering (Ezekiel 46:11-15)

At stipulated occasions (Ezekiel 46:11): In the feasts and in the solemnities the meal-offering shall be an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs as he is able to give and a hin of oil to an ephah. On all feasts (e.g., Pentecost) and solemnities, i.e., appointed seasons (e.g., New Years, Day of Atonement) the prince had the obligation to provide meal offerings as well as animals for sacrifice. He was required to offer an ephah of meal for each bullock or ram. For each lamb he would make a voluntary contribution of meal. Each ephah of meal was to be accompanied by a hin of oil.

On special occasions (Ezekiel 46:12): When the prince shall prepare a freewill-offering, a burnt-offering or peace-offerings as a freewill-offering unto the LORD, one shall open for him the gate that looks toward the east; and he shall prepare his burnt-offering and his peace-offerings, as he does on the Sabbath: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth the gate shall be shut. If the prince should desire to offer a free-will offering on a weekday, the eastern gate of the inner court was opened for him. Apparently that too was a special privilege that was his alone. Upon his departure, the gate was to be closed again. Only on Sabbath days was the eastern gate left open all day so that worshipers might view the sacrificial ritual (Ezekiel 46:12). Clearly the prince surpasses all his people in liberality. He sets for them a princely example. His position as prince affords him special access to God. He practices personal worship seasons above and beyond the stated times of public worship.

Daily offering (Ezekiel 46:13-15): You shall prepare a lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt-offering unto the LORD daily: morning by morning you shall prepare it. (14) You shall prepare a meal-offering with it morning by morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of a hin of oil, to moisten the fine flour; a meal-offering unto the LORD continually by a perpetual ordinance. (15) Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meal-offering, and the oil, morning by morning, for a continual burnt-offering. Every day sacrifices were to be offered by the priests upon the great temple altar. A lamb was to be offered and a meal-offering as well (vv 13-15). No mention is made here of an evening offering (cf. Numbers 28:4 f.). Note: The amount of the meal offering also differs from that prescribed in Numbers.

Prince’s Inheritance (Ezekiel 46:16-18)

Having spoken of the offerings that a prince might give to God, a pronouncement is made about gifts that the prince might make to others. There are three regulations, introduced by Thus says the Lord.

A gift to a son (Ezekiel 46:16): Thus says the Lord GOD: If the prince gives a gift unto any of his sons; it is his inheritance. It shall belong to his sons. It is their possession by inheritance. A gift of property given by the prince to his sons was to be regarded as a possession by inheritance in perpetuity. It did not revert to the prince under any circumstances.

A gift to a servant (Ezekiel 46:17): But if he gives of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty; then it shall return to the prince; but as for his inheritance, it shall be for his sons. Royal property given to a servant was to be regarded as a temporary loan. It reverted back to the prince in the year of liberty (Jubilee year) that occurred every fiftieth year.

A gift from his own possessions (Ezekiel 46:18): Moreover, the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance, to thrust them out of their possession; he shall give inheritance to his sons out of his own possession, that my people be not scattered every man from his possession. The prince in all cases must make his land grants out of his own, not out of his subjects’ possessions. He was to respect the property rights of his subjects. Confiscations of property by the crown, as in the case of Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21), would be a thing of the past. Ezekiel did not want a repeat of pre-exilic seizure of property by the crown.

Sacrificial Meals (Ezekiel 46:19-24)

Inner kitchen (Ezekiel 46:19-20): Then he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers for the priests, which looked toward the north: and, behold, there was a place on the hinder part westward. (20) He said unto me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass-offering and the sin-offering, and where they shall bake the meal-offering; that they bring them not forth into the outer court, to sanctify the people. Ezekiel’s conducted tour of the temple resumes in these verses. He was taken by his angelic guide into the priests’ chambers that ran parallel to the temple on the north and south. This block of chambers faced north. He was led to the extreme western end of this structure (Ezekiel 46:19). There Ezekiel was shown a special chamber. In this chamber the priests were to boil the meat of the guilt-offering and sin-offering, and bake the meal of the meal-offering. These meats and cakes were only be eaten by the priests. They were to exercise care not to accidentally carry these sanctified foods into the outer court where they might communicate holiness to the people (Ezekiel 46:20; Ezekiel 44:19).

Outer kitchens (Ezekiel 46:21-24): Then he brought me forth into the outer court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and, behold, in every corner of the court there was a court. (22) In the four corners of the court there were courts enclosed, forty cubits long and thirty broad; these four in the corners were of one measure. (23) And there was a wall round about in them, round about the four, and boiling-places were made under the walls round about. (24) Then said he unto me, These are the boiling-houses, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people. The angel next brought Ezekiel to the outer court. He observed in each of the four corners of this court enclosures or small courts (Ezekiel 46:21). Each of these courts was forty by thirty cubits. The courts are said to be that which the King James Version renders enclosed. Some rabbis thought the word meant “uncovered,” i.e., the corner structures were roofless to allow the smoke to freely ascend (Ezekiel 46:22). These small courts are called boiling places, i.e., fire places where large boiling pots could be placed (Ezekiel 46:23). The ministers of the house—the Levites—boiled the people’s sacrifices for them (Ezekiel 46:24). This part of the sacrificial animal was eaten by the worshipers in a communal meal in the temple courtyards.

EZEKIEL 47

THE FUTURE LAND

In his last vision, Ezekiel observes the blessing that the people of God enjoy in the new temple age. In that blessed land, the tribes of Israel have eternal possession. Here Ezekiel discusses (1) the transformation of the promised land (Ezekiel 47:1-12); (2) the boundaries of the promised land (Ezekiel 47:13-21); (3) the place of aliens in the land (Ezekiel 47:22-23); and (4) the apportionment of the land among the tribes (Ezekiel 48:1-35).

LAND TRANSFORMATION

Ezekiel 47:1-12

Since Ezekiel 44:4 Ezekiel has been setting forth the legislation that will govern the restored temple. The entire purpose of that legislation is to underscore the superior holiness of the temple and priesthood of the messianic age. Now he resumes recounting the vision that he had of the temple and its environs. The theological architecture of the previous chapters gives way to theological geography.

Water of Life (Ezekiel 47:1-7)

Ezekiel picks up a theme first introduced by Isaiah, that of a fabulous stream that gushes forth at Zion (Isaiah 8:6-7; Isaiah 33:20-24). What Isaiah mentioned without much comment, Ezekiel develops at length. The point is that the return of God to the temple brings healing and bountiful blessing to the land.

Source of the water (Ezekiel 47:1): He brought me back unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward; (for the forefront of the house was toward the east); and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar. The angelic guide brought Ezekiel back to the inner court and the door of the house. There he saw a stream issuing forth from under the threshold of the house. The waters were flowing in a southeasterly direction, past the altar, out into the outer court.

Course of the water (Ezekiel 47:2): Then he brought me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me round by the way without unto the outer gate, by the way of the gate that looks toward the east; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. Ezekiel was led out the northern gate of the inner court (the nearer eastern gate was closed; cf. 44:2; 46:1), around the outside wall of the temple complex to the east gate of the outer court. There he saw the waters trickling forth. The Hebrew word here concerning the waters is found only here. Its exact meaning is doubtful.

Increasing depth (Ezekiel 47:3-5): When the man went forth eastward with the line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles. (4) Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the loins. (5) Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass through; for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. A thousand cubits east of the eastern gate Ezekiel was directed to wade into the waters. They were ankle deep (Ezekiel 47:3). At two thousand cubits, the waters were knee deep; at three thousand cubits, waist deep (Ezekiel 47:4); at four thousand cubits (about a mile and a third), the waters were so deep that the prophet could not get across them without swimming (Ezekiel 47:5).

Lush vegetation (Ezekiel 47:6-7): He said unto me, Son of man, have you seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the bank of the river. (7) Now when I had returned, behold, upon the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. By means of a rhetorical question the angelic guide underscored the amazing increase in the depth of the water. No mention is made of any tributaries, yet the river increased in volume as it descended eastward through the mountains toward the Dead Sea (Ezekiel 47:6). Apparently the banks of the river were bare when Ezekiel tested the depth of the water. Now he observed a thick growth of trees shooting up on both banks of the river (Ezekiel 47:7). These were no ordinary trees. They produced a new crop every month. Furthermore, the leaves of these trees had curative powers (cf. Ezekiel 47:12).

Dead Sea Cleansed (Ezekiel 47:8-12)

Waters healed (Ezekiel 47:8): Then he said unto me, These waters issue forth toward the eastern region, and shall go down into the Arabah; and they shall go toward the sea; into the sea shall the waters go which were made to issue forth; and the waters shall be healed. The prophet is informed that the river of life flowed far beyond the range of vision to the Arabah⁸⁰⁶ and the Dead Sea. Arabah is the technical name for the deep depression through which the Jordan River flows and in which the Dead Sea is situated. The lifeless waters of that body of water were healed, i.e., purified, by the fresh flowing water of life (Ezekiel 47:8). The point that Ezekiel is making is this: The transformation that would take place in the life of Israel would be as dramatic as the transformation of the briny waters of the Dead Sea into sweet water that supports life.

Abundant fish (Ezekiel 47:9-10): It shall come to pass, that every living creature which swarms in every place where the rivers come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters are come thither, and the waters of the sea shall be healed, and everything shall live wherever the river comes. (10) It shall come to pass, that fishers shall stand by it: from En-gedi even unto Eneglaim shall be a place for the spreading of nets; their fish shall be after their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. Where previously no aquatic creatures could exist, swarms of fish were found (Ezekiel 47:9). Commercial fishermen flock to the shore of the once dead sea. They find the catch as abundant as that to which they were accustomed on the Great (Mediterranean) Sea. Along the shoreline of the Dead Sea they spread their nets from En-gedi (mid-point on the western shore of the Dead Sea) to En-eglaim (exact location unknown; Ezekiel 47:10).

Marshes untouched (Ezekiel 47:11): But the miry places thereof, and the marshes thereof, shall not be healed; they shall be given up to salt. Even though the waters of the sea are healed, the marshy areas about the sea remain in their former state so as to provide the people with salt.

Abundant Fruitfulness (Ezekiel 47:12): By the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow every tree for food, whose leaf shall not wither, neither shall the fruit thereof fail: it shall bring forth new fruit every month, because the waters thereof issue out of the sanctuary; and the fruit thereof shall be for food, and the leaf thereof for healing. Those who try to interpret the vision of the life-giving stream physically have missed completely the point of the passage. This is a clear instance of symbolism. Fertility and water are virtually interchangeable (Psalms 46:4; Psalms 65:9; Isaiah 33:20 f.). The sheer physical impossibility of a stream increasing in volume without aid of tributaries is a clue to the symbolic import of the text. Furthermore, fruit trees that bear a new crop every month are hard to interpret physically. The main point is that in the new age the temple of God is the source of life, healing and fruitfulness.

LAND DELINEATION

Ezekiel 47:13-23

Very little of the legislation in Ezekiel 40-48 influenced the decisions of the community of Jews that returned from exile in Babylon. This is not a body of functional legislation; it is an eschatological vision. Ezekiel saw Israel, not restored to former glory, but to a permanent relationship with the Lord.

General Principles (Ezekiel 47:13-14): Thus says the Lord GOD: This shall be the border whereby you shall divide the land for inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions. (14) You shall inherit it, one as well as another; for I swore to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance. In the new age, the land of promise is to be divided fairly between the twelve tribes. (See Ezekiel 47:13 to Ezekiel 48:29 as Royal Grant). It was noted in Ezekiel 44:28 that the Levites were to receive no land inheritance. God had provided for their needs in the temple offering system. Joseph was given two portions, because his sons Ephraim and Manasseh were reckoned as separate tribes. Thus was retained the number twelve for the tribes of Israel (Ezekiel 47:13). In this new allocation, each tribe was to receive an equal portion of land. In the first apportionment of the promised land, numerical strength of the tribes was taken into account (cf. Numbers 26:54). God had made a promise to the Patriarchs—had lifted up his hand in the gesture of an oath—that the land would belong to their descendants. God keeps that promise. The land of promise finally and forever belongs to his people (Ezekiel 47:14).

That each tribe has an equal portion within the holy land is another evidence that this is a symbolic vision. It was never intended to be literally implement. The topography of the land, so carefully followed in the land allocation to the tribes under Joshua, is here completely ignored. Ezekiel is making the point that all of God’s people share equally in the kingdom of God.

Northern Border (Ezekiel 47:15-17): This shall be the border of the land: On the north side, from the great sea, by the way of Hethlon, unto the entrance of Zedad; (16) Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and tbe border of Hamath; Hazer-hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran. (17) The border from the sea, shall be Hazarenon at the border of Damascus; and on the north northward is the border of Hamath. This is the north side. In Ezekiel 47:15-20 the borders of the promised land are listed. Not all the towns mentioned can be located with certainty. The northern boundary stretched roughly from Tyre on the west to the headwaters of the Jordan. Hamath (i.e., the entrance of Hamath, Ezekiel 47:20)⁸¹⁰ would mark the northern-most point (Ezekiel 47:16).

Other Borders (Ezekiel 47:18-21): The east side, between Hauran and Damascus and Gilead, and the land of Israel, shall be the Jordan; from the north border unto the east sea shall you measure. This is the east side. (19) The south side southward shall be from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, unto the great sea. This is the south side southward. (20) The west side shall be the great sea, from the south border as far as over against the entrance of Hamath. This is the west side. (21) So shall you divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel. Below the sea of Galilee, the eastern boundary of the ideal land was formed by the Jordan River (Ezekiel 47:18). The southern boundary extended from Tamar near the southern end of the Dead Sea to Meribath-kadesh (lit., the waters of strife, i.e., Kadesh-barnea), to the Brook (i.e., the Brook of Egypt) that ran into the Mediterranean Sea (Ezekiel 47:19). The great sea (Mediterranean) formed the western boundary of the ideal land (Ezekiel 47:20). Cf. Numbers 34:8. The entrance of Hamath is generally thought to refer to the one-hundred-mile long valley leading up to Hamath. In Solomon’s day, the entrance of Hamath actually served as the northern border of Israel (1 Kings 8:65).

Inclusion of Aliens (Ezekiel 47:22-23): It shall come to pass, that you shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you and to the strangers that sojourn among you, who shall beget children among you; and they shall be unto you as the home-born among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. (23) And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourns, there shall you give him his inheritance, (oracle of the Lord GOD). The Pentateuch prescribes humane treatment for aliens living in Israel. Such treatment is mandated because of Israel’s experience as aliens in Egypt. Cf. Exodus 22:21; Exodus 23:9; Leviticus 19:10; Leviticus 19:33-34; Leviticus 23:22; Deuteronomy 14:29; Deuteronomy 24:14-15; Deuteronomy 24:17-22. Ezekiel, however, goes beyond benevolent toleration. He foresaw a fully integrated society. Aliens who lived among the Israelites would receive an inheritance within the restored Israel of the future (vv 22-23). Proselytes who embraced the worship of the true God have the same privileges as native-born Israelites. Similar broadminded statements are found in Ezekiel 14:7 and Ezekiel 22:7. The unification of Jew and Gentile in the kingdom of Jesus Christ is thus foreshadowed.

EZEKIEL 48

HOLY LAND AND HOLY CITY

LAND APPORTIONMENT

Ezekiel 48:1-29

Now that the boundaries of the Promised Land have been spelled out, the prophet deals with the division of that land among the tribes. Just as there was to be a new exodus (Ezekiel 20:32-38) and a new covenant (Ezekiel 34:23-30; Ezekiel 37:21-28), there will be a new allotment of land to the various tribes. The whole territory west of Jordan is to be divided into twelve parallel portions running from east to west. No mention is made of the width of these tribal areas. The rabbis gave the width of these portions as 25,000 reeds. They equated the dimensions of the holy portion (Ezekiel 48:8) with those of a tribal tract.

Seven Northern Tribes (Ezekiel 48:1-7): Now these are the names of the tribes: From the north end, beside the way of Hethion to the entrance of Hamath, Hazarenan at the border of Damascus, northward beside Hamath, (and they shall have their sides east and west,) Dan, one portion. (2) By the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, Asher, one portion. (3) By the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, Naphtali, one portion. (4) By the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, Manasseh, one portion. (5) By the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, Ephraim, one portion. (6) By the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, Reuben, one portion. (7) By the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, Judah, one portion. Ezekiel’s ideal allotment differs from that implement by Moses and Joshua. First, the three Transjordanian tribes (Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh) are now to be located west of the Jordan. Second, the order of the allotments does not follow any historical precedent. Note: The occupation east of the Jordan is represented in the earlier books as an anomaly. See Numbers 32; Joshua 22).

Seven tribes are assigned territories north of the holy portion of the land, i.e., the temple area and domains of the priests, Levites and prince. From north to south, these seven tribes are (1) Dan, (2) Asher, (3) Naphtali, (4) Manasseh, (5) Ephraim. (6) Reuben, and (7) Judah. The three tribes farthest away from the sanctuary are those descended from Jacob’s concubines. Dan and Naphtali were born to Rachel’s maid Bilhah and Asher to Leah’s maid Zilpah (Genesis 30:5-13).

Judah, because of the messianic blessing of Genesis 49:8-12, was given the honor of inheritance nearer to the sanctuary. Judah has been transposed north of Benjamin. This signals that the age-old conflict between the tribes in the north and those in the south is over. These tribal relocations again suggest that Ezekiel’s intent is symbolic and not programmatic.

The Oblation (Ezekiel 48:8-22)

Priests’ portion (Ezekiel 48:8-12)

Larger oblation (Ezekiel 48:8): By the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the oblation which you shall offer, twenty-five thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the portions, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it. Just south of the tribal area of Judah was a tract 25,000 cubits square. Like the tribal areas, this tract occupied the entire length of the land from east to west. This area was known as the offering or oblation.

Smaller oblation (Ezekiel 48:9-12): The oblation that you shall offer unto the LORD shall be twenty-five thousand reeds in length, and ten thousand in breadth. (10) For these, even for the priests, shall be the holy oblation; toward the north twenty-five thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south twenty-five thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof. (11) It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, that have kept my charge, that went not astray when the children of Israel went astray. (12) It shall be unto them an oblation from the oblation of the land, a thing most holy, by the border of the Levites. Within the oblation was a smaller oblation or offering. This area measured 25,000 cubits east and west and 10,000 cubits from north to south. The sanctuary was situated in the midst of this inner oblation (Ezekiel 48:9-10). The smaller oblation was to be the possession of the faithful priests of the line of Zadok (Ezekiel 48:11). The larger oblation area was holy; but the smaller oblation within it was most holy (Ezekiel 48:12).

Levites’ portion (Ezekiel 48:13-14): Answerable unto the border of the priests, the Levites shall have twenty-five thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be twenty-five thousand, and the breadth ten thousand. (14) They shall sell none of it, nor exchange it, nor shall the first-fruits of the land be alienated; for it is holy unto the LORD. The Levites are no longer scattered throughout the land in forty-eight cities (Joshua 21). They live in the region immediately surrounding the temple. A section of the larger oblation was set aside for the Levites. It was comparable in size to the area set aside for the priests, 25,000 by 10,000 cubits (Ezekiel 48:13). Scholars are not agreed as to whether this Levite area was north or south of the priestly area. The areas inhabited by the priests and Levites were holy. For this reason they could not be sold or exchanged by them. This area was called the first-fruits (lit., first) as well as the oblation. Note: The priestly dues from the crops are called first-fruits in Deuteronomy 18:4.

Jerusalem’s portion (Ezekiel 48:15-20): The five thousand that are left in the breadth, in front of the twenty-five thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for suburbs; and the city shall be in the midst thereof. (16) These shall be the measures thereof: the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred. (17) The city shall have suburbs: toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty. (18) The residue in the length, answerable unto the holy oblation, shall be ten thousand east-ward, and ten thousand westward; and it shall be answerable unto the holy oblation; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that labor in the city. (19) They that labor in the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall till it. (20) All the oblation shall be twenty-five thousand: you shall offer the holy oblation four-square, with the possession of the city. The city of Jerusalem was assigned the territory south of the priestly area within the oblation. This area measured 5,000 cubits north to south and, like the other sections of the oblation, 25,000 cubits east to west. This area contained the city proper, (a square of 4,500 cubits), for common use about the city (250 cubits on all sides), and two tracts of arable land on either side of the city (10,000 by 5,000 cubits each; Ezekiel 48:15-17). Note: The Hebrew used here refers to common-land, perhaps for grazing cattle. These latter areas were to be cultivated by the inhabitants of the city. Regardless of tribal affiliation, every citizen of the city was expected to work that ground for the good of all (Ezekiel 48:19). The entire oblation area with all of its subdivisions formed a square of 25,000 cubits (Ezekiel 48:20). This is equivalent to about fifty square miles, if the conventional cubit is intended, sixty-nine square miles, if the longer cubit is intended.

Prince’s portion (Ezekiel 48:21-22): The residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation and of the possession of the city; in front of the twenty-five thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward in front of the twenty-five thousand toward the west border, answerable unto the portions, it shall be for the prince: and the holy oblation and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof. (22) Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince’s, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, it shall be for the prince. On the east and west sides of the oblation was a large territory belonging to the prince. To state the matter differently, the territories of the priests, the Levites, the sanctuary and the city were situated between the two halves of the domain of the prince (Ezekiel 48:21-22).

Five Southern Tribes (Ezekiel 48:23-29): As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin, one portion. (24) By the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon, one portion. (25) By the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar, one portion. (26) By the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun, one portion. (27) By the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad, one portion. (28) By the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, unto the great sea. (29) This is the land that you shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their several portions (oracle of the Lord GOD). To the south of the oblation were the territories of (1) Benjamin, (2) Simeon, (3) Issachar, (4) Zebulun, and (5) Gad. Benjamin received the favored position near the oblation because that tribe had descended from Jacob’s youngest son by Rachel, the beloved wife. Two of the tribes that formerly had been in the north (Zebulun and Issachar) come south to join Benjamin and Simeon. This is another hint that the new Israel will be a united people. Gad, formerly a Trans-Jordanian tribe, is now occupying the territory to the extreme south. Descendants of Gad were descendants of the son of the concubine Zilpah. Perhaps that is why this tribe’s territory was farthest away from the holy portion (Ezekiel 48:23-29).

NEW JERUSALEM

Ezekiel 48:30-35

These are the egresses of the city: On the north side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure; (31) and the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel, three gates northward: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one. (32) At the east side four thousand and five hundred reeds, and three gates: even the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one. (33) At the south side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure, and three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one. At the west side four thousand and five hundred reeds, with their three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one. (35) It shall be eighteen thousand reeds round about: and the name of the city from that day shall be, Yahweh-shammah. The new Jerusalem as envisioned by Ezekiel had twelve gates, three on each side. These gates were named after the twelve tribes. The gates on the north and south are named after the sons of Leah:

Northern Gates	Southern Gates
Reuben Gate	Simeon Gate
Judah Gate	Issachar Gate
Levi Gate	Zebulun Gate

The two sons of Rachel are honored by having the eastern gates of the city named after them. The temple was to face the east (Ezekiel 43:1-5; Ezekiel 44:1-3; Ezekiel 46:1-3) and the "glory" of God entered the temple by the eastern gate (Ezekiel 43:2). The third gate was named for the son of Rachel’s handmaid Bilhah. The gates on the west were named for the sons of handmaids, Zilpah and Bilhah, These were:

Eastern Gates	Western Gates
Joseph Gate Benjamin Gate Dan Gate	Gad Gate Asher Gate Naphtali Gate

It should be noted in the enumeration of gates that Ephraim and Manasseh have been united under the designation Joseph. The Jerusalem of’ the future receives a new name. She is called Yahweh shammah, i.e., Yahweh is there. God shall never again depart from that holy city (Ezekiel 48:35). The description of Ezekiel’s new Jerusalem, points forward to that new Jerusalem described by John in Revelation 21. John’s city had twelve gates, named after the twelve tribes of Israel. It also had twelve foundations that bore the names of the twelve apostles (Revelation 21:12-14). Like his prophetic predecessor, John foresaw the day when God would dwell with his people finally and forever (Revelation 21:3).

The Days of Ezekiel

Judah had lived for years in sin. God saw all that they did and not one thing was hid from his omniscient eyes (Jeremiah 23:23-25). Judah’s sin was great. They had allied themselves with Egypt rather than putting their faith and trust in the Lord (2 Kings 18:19-35; Isaiah 30:1-3; Isaiah 31:1; Jeremiah 2:36-37 and Lamentations 4:17). Judah rejected God’s laws (Ezekiel 5:5-6) for the laws of the Gentile nations (Ezekiel 11:12). God’s word became so foreign to them that they altogether forgot God (Jeremiah 8:7; Ezekiel 22:12; Ezekiel 23:35). The priest also lost sight of God’s word and practiced idolatry (Ezekiel 22:26; Ezekiel 44:10). The people of Judah sacrificed their sons to Moloch (Jeremiah 16:10-11; Jeremiah 19:5; Ezekiel 6:1 ff; Ezekiel 8:10; Ezekiel 16:20-21; Ezekiel 22:4; Ezekiel 23:37). They defiled Jehovah’s sanctuary (Ezekiel 5:11; Ezekiel 23:38), were liars (Jeremiah 9:1-3), deceitful (Jeremiah 9:4-6), and rebellious (Jeremiah 6:16). Judah’s passion was for money (Ezekiel 7:19). They vexed the poor (Ezekiel 22:29) and justice was no where to be found (Jeremiah 21:12).

Jeremiah had warned Judah of their sins for 23 years yet they ignored him (Jeremiah 25:1-3) and said of God’s word, "we will not walk therein" (Jeremiah 6:16). The Lord decreed seventy years of Babylonian captivity for his people so that they would come to know that he is the Lord (Jeremiah 25:11). Babylon would be God’s battle axe used against his own people for their wickedness.

The Lord unfolds his objective for Judah’s repentance through the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar first conquers Judah in 565 BC making Jehoiakim a vassal king. He carried away much of the temple’s treasures and many Jewish youths, including Daniel (see 2 Kings 24:1; 2 Chronicles 36:6 ff). Jeremiah’s prophetic proclamation of Judah spending 70 years in Babylonian captivity began at this point (see Jeremiah 25:8 ff). Over the next twenty years, Judah would live in subjection to Babylon with two more major attacks and deportation of its citizens at 555 BC and 544 BC. The second attack of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar resulted in 10,000 people being deported as captives to Babylon among whom was Ezekiel (see Ezekiel 1:1-2 and 2 Kings 24:13-14). The final attack decimated Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem for one and a half years. The people died gruesome deaths of sword, pestilence, and starvation. They destroyed the temple of Jehovah and burned the entire city with its walls down to the ground (2 Kings 25:8-12). Babylon had done their God ordained work yet remained subject to the same wrath of God that they released upon Judah (Jeremiah 6:6).

God remained in control even though Judah is completely decimated. Jeremiah continued to do his prophetic work in Judah with the residue of Jews left by Nebuchadnezzar. Ezekiel was God’s prophet to the Jewish captives in Babylon and Daniel worked with the kings and princes of Babylon.

Ezekiel the Man

Ezekiel was twenty five years old when he was deported with the others to Babylon (Ezekiel 1:1-2). The name Ezekiel means "God will strengthen." The prophet’s name fits his work of encouraging the captives of Babylon. Ezekiel lived on the banks of the Chebar River at a city called Telabib as a prisoner of war (Ezekiel 3:15). He was married yet we are not told if he had children (Ezekiel 24:15-18). God calls upon Ezekiel to do his work among the captives in Babylon (see Ezekiel 3:11). Five years after his deportation to Babylon (592 BC), God appears to Ezekiel at the river Chebar and calls him to the office of prophet being thirty years old (Ezekiel 1:1).

Ezekiel had many identities. First, he is referred to as a "son of man" ninety three times in the book of Ezekiel. The meaning of this term is somewhat obscure but appears to be used in connection with Ezekiel’s work as a prophet (see Ezekiel 2:1-5). Secondly, Ezekiel was a "priest" of God (Ezekiel 1:2). Thirdly, Ezekiel is identified as a "watchman over the house of Israel" (Ezekiel 3:17 and 33 all). Fourthly, Ezekiel is identified as a prophet of parables (see Ezekiel 17:2; Ezekiel 24:3-5).

A distinguishing characteristic of Ezekiel was that he always did what he was commanded to do. The Lord gave his prophet some incredibly hard and heart wrenching tasks yet Ezekiel faithfully performed God’s will. The Lord had told Ezekiel that he would serve as a sign to the rebellious house of Israel. God would take the life of the prophet’s wife to prove the validity of his claim. Ezekiel is told not to mourn her death and the scriptures tell us that he did as he was commanded (see Ezekiel 24:15-18). On another occasion the prophet is told to lie on his left side for 390 days to bear the sins of Israel (Ezekiel 4:4-5). Immediately afterwards, the prophet is to lay on his right side for forty days signifying a bearing of Judah’s sins (see Ezekiel 4:6-7). Ezekiel does so without complaint. Ezekiel is told to prophecy about a valley full of dead man’s bones and scriptures tell us that he did as he was commanded (Ezekiel 37:7). Ezekiel did as God commanded also when the Lord told him to remove his belongings at his house and dig through the city walls signifying the manner in which the captives would make their way to Babylon (Ezekiel 12:1-7). Ezekiel faithfully performed all that God commanded though the tasks were difficult for his personal well being.

Ezekiel, like Jeremiah, felt the sting of his words against Judah. There were early times in Jeremiah’s work that he felt that God’s judgments were not justified and too hard on the people (see Jeremiah 4:10; Jeremiah 14:19). Ezekiel does not appear to argue with God yet he recognizes the harshness of God’s wrath and is concerned that all the people will be exterminated (see Ezekiel 9:7-11; Ezekiel 11:13). Both Ezekiel and Jeremiah were to learn that the only way Israel and Judah would come to repentance was through great tribulation (see Acts 14:22).

When Ezekiel began prophesying there were many who rejected his words and considered them events that were far into the future (see Ezekiel 2:6-7 and 12:2628). Ezekiel, like Jeremiah (see Jeremiah 20:7-9), had to overcome the people’s ridicule (see Ezekiel 20:49). Through time, as Ezekiel’s words came to pass, there was a renewed interest in God’s prophet. The Lord; however, warns his prophet of the people’s surface interest. Ezekiel was like a lovely song that people enjoyed listening to yet they refused obedience to the words (see Ezekiel 33:30-33). Ezekiel, like all true preachers today, was commanded to perform his duties no matter how the people viewed him (see Ezekiel 2:1-7). It is discouraging sometimes to preach and not see results yet the preacher must preach on (see 2 Timothy 4:1-5). Duties are ours and the results are up to God and the individual that hears truth!

Ezekiel’s Work

Ezekiel’s work was to be done among those of the captivity yet his message extended to those who dwelled in Judah (see Ezekiel 3:11). God viewed Judah as an unfaithful wife. Ezekiel’s task was to "cause Jerusalem to know her abominations" (Ezekiel 16:1-2; Ezekiel 22:1-2; etc.). Ezekiel writes, "36 Jehovah said moreover unto me: Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah (Israel and Judah as sisters)? Then declare unto them their abominations. 37 For they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands; and with their idols have they committed adultery; and they have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass through the fire unto them to be devoured. 38 Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my Sabbaths. 39 For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of my house" (Ezekiel 23:3639). The work of a spiritual watchman took into consideration the eternal soul of others. God’s laws convicted men of sin; however, without being exposed and shamed the sinner often continued in his path. Ezekiel’s job is to shame the people of of Israel. The work of exposing people’s sins was a hard job. Most of the people hated the prophets for exposing their sin as people hated Jesus (John 7:7) and all who do the same today (John 15:17 ff). Ezekiel performed his God ordained tasks faithfully. The prophet of God exposed the sins of Zedekiah (Ezekiel 21:25), the sins of the elders (Ezekiel 8:11), prophets (Ezekiel 13:3), priests (Ezekiel 8:16), and the princes (civil rulers) (Ezekiel 11:1-2). Those who feel no sting of shame will continue comfortably in their sins. The Lord commands his prophet saying, "10 You, son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern" (Ezekiel 43:10-12).

Practical Application

What can we learn from the life of Ezekiel? Jesus was once asked by a lawyer what the greatest commandment was. The Lord replies that man is to love God and love his neighbor as his own self (see Matthew 22:34-36). The duty of the prophets and apostles of old was an exercise in love toward others. Ezekiel’s God ordained tasks was to shame Judah of their sinful conduct so that they may repent and be saved. Salvation comes to people of all generations by gospel preaching that exposes and shames man’s inner works (see Romans 10:17 and Hebrews 4:12). Unfortunately, as the gospel is being presented many are offended (Matthew 15:12 ff and John 7:7) and make the lives of the righteous miserable (see 1 Corinthians 4:9-13; 2 Corinthians 11:2330 and John 16:1-4). The watchmen of the Lord’s church must press on in their work no matter the consequences (see Luke 17:1-3; Acts 18:6; Acts 20:26-27 and Revelation 3:2). The souls of men are at stake!

People of every generation are given a choice in life when introduced to the gospel (2 Corinthians 2:14-16). The preacher cannot be concerned about the pain he brings to his own life (see Matthew 15:12-14). He must remember that he has a duty to perform (Romans 1:14-16 and 2 Timothy 4:1-4). No one said this duty was easy. The Apostle Paul said, "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). The apostles of Jesus Christ were often treated very rudely and painfully persecuted (see 1 Corinthians 4:9-13). The prophets and apostles, though doing God’s ordained work, were not immune to discouragement. Paul needed the encouragement of the Lord (Acts 23:11 and 2 Timothy 4:17). Paul made request to the Ephesians saints that they may pray for him to not cower down when he needed to be bold and say the necessary things to people (see Ephesians 6:19-20).

Ezekiel seems to never waiver in his God ordained tasks to preach. Jeremiah had to be brought along slowly yet Ezekiel does as he is commanded at each turn of the calendar day. Though God gave the prophet very difficult tasks of lying on his side and bearing the sins of Israel for hundreds of days he does so faithfully. Though God would take the prophet’s wife and use him as a sign to the people he followed faithfully through with God’s plan. God told Ezekiel that people would look down their nose and make angry faces at him while he preached. Ezekiel understood what God expected and faithfully performed his God ordained preaching of exposing sin in men’s lives. Our hearts go out to Ezekiel for all that he went through in this life as he performed the necessary work as God had commanded him. There are many preachers today faithfully performing their God ordained work in very trying circumstances. Let us remember these men in our prayers and pray that they always have the attitude of Ezekiel. Secondly, remember that we all have the responsibility to preach and expose sin in men’s life. Let us all end our lives by saying, as did Ezekiel, "And I did as I was commanded."

Ezekiel & Figurative Language

Look at the book of Ezekiel for a moment. The opening words speak of “the fourth month on the fifth day of the month.” Common sense makes it obvious that this is a historical narrative. Now, for someone to take the word and use his own imagination to make some profound affirmation about the numerical value of the numbers four and five violates the nature of the text. Ezekiel is simply establishing the date of the revelation God was giving to him.

However, in the verses which follow there is a description of the vision seen by the prophet. There is a whirlwind, raging fire, a great cloud, four creatures which look like a man, with each one having four faces, four wings, straight legs, calves’ feet, faces like lions, oxen, eagles and humans. Beside each of them were wheels, that had wheels inside wheels, that lifted the creatures up, and they flew. What on earth could this mean? We read the words describing these creatures, but what is this all about? The answer is simple. “This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord” (Ezekiel 1:28). Do the wings, feet, faces, and wheels have some figurative meaning? There is no way any man can give precise meaning to each of these, for God does not reveal them. Ezekiel saw a manifestation of the glory of the Lord. He wanted us to see that he uses words to tell us what he saw in the vision, and then God specifically describes the creature.

Some focus on the details of the vision and try to find some hidden meaning, yet Ezekiel tells us the precise meaning. Ezekiel talks about the Spirit in this book (Ezekiel 3:12-13; Ezekiel 3:25; Ezekiel 8:4; Ezekiel 9:3; Ezekiel 11:23; Ezekiel 45:9). Common sense would lead us to spend far more time on the Spirit and where He is found in relation to the temple than to spend all our time trying to make too much of the description of the Spirit in the vision.

Hopefully, looking at these words from the early chapters of Ezekiel will help us more clearly see one principle of dealing with prophetical, poetic language. We must never place more emphasis on the figurative language in any verse than the Bible does. Let God emphasize what matters in the text. Be willing to stop short of assigning your own meaning to figurative language. Find God’s emphasis and then stop. Let the Bible explain itself.

Ezekiel and Sin

Chapter eighteen of the book of Ezekiel needs to be read, studied, and preached as much today as it did in Israel long ago. False doctrine concerning inherited sin permeates almost every denominational doctrine but is clearly refuted here by God (Ezekiel 18:20-21).

Clearly God is indicating in this passage that each of us is accountable for ourselves and cannot blame God or others for our eternal fate. The soul that sins, it shall die. The righteous shall save his life.

One of the saddest spiritual situations I have ever witnessed is that of those who allow themselves to be deceived by false teachers. Not only will the false teacher be lost but those who listen to and believe them will also be lost. The consequences of false teaching and sin are inescapable and no one can save the unrighteous from themselves if they will not turn to God, repenting and obeying His truth.

God promises that there will be a remnant that will be saved and all will know that He is God. He is full of mercy and grace. He is a loving and righteous God. If a man will repent of his evil, turn in obedience to God, and faithfully walk in His ways, then this man shall save his soul. What life would we lay at the feet of God if we were called to stand before him in judgment today?

The Fulfillment of Old Testament

Prophecy About Kings and Kingdoms
Note: See the section below about Ezekiel

Unfulfilled prophecy is a favorite theme of radio and television preachers. They assert that the second coming of Christ is to achieve the establishment of a kingdom, the return of the kingdom to Israel, and the rebuilding of the Jewish temple. They assert that when Jesus came to earth the first time that he intended to establish a kingdom on earth with Jerusalem as the capital of the world.

We are told that this was prophesied in the Old Testament, but when the Jews rejected Jesus as King, Jesus postponed the prophesied establishment of His kingdom until He would come again. At this second coming Jesus will do what he intended to do the first time.

Hal Lindsey explains it this way: Jesus was indeed the long-awaited Messiah. Had the people received Him, He would have fulfilled the kingly prophecies in their day in addition to the ones regarding the suffering Messiah. But when the Jewish nation as a whole rejected Christ, the fulfillment of His kingship was postponed until the final culmination of world history. (There’s a New World Coming, p. 30.) In the same text, p. 259, Lindsey asserts of Christ’s ascension: Christ had just given His disciples their final briefing, and then He started rising up into mid-air and disappearing into the sky. And there they all stood gaping. The disciples had just asked Jesus if He would give the kingdom to Israel at this time, and He had replied, "No." Then He told them there would be an interim program before the kingdom of God was to be set up.

It is clear from Acts 1:6-7 that Jesus says absolutely nothing about an "interim program." However, the point here is that premillennialists believe that Jesus came to earth the first time with the intention of establishing an earthly kingdom to rule over nations, and that such was predicted by Old Testament prophets. Unfortunately for God’s plan, the Jews were unwilling to accept Jesus as such a ruler and He was unable to establish the earthly kingdom that the Old Testament prophets had predicted. Instead, he established the church as an "interim program." To evaluate this position requires that we look at Old Testament prophecies concerning the kingdom.

Did Old Testament prophets indeed predict that Christ would set up an earthly kingdom or did they have some other meaning that He did fulfill? Did Old Testament prophets indeed predict that Israel would return to its homeland?

Old Testament prophecies related to the kingdom.

Daniel 2. Daniel 2 is a prophecy that is frequently mentioned as postponed for later fulfillment. The chapter deals with Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of an image. Daniel identifies the head of gold as the Babylonian kingdom. Three other kingdoms follow, and most Bible students agree that they are: 1. Chest and arms of silver - Medo-Persian empire; 2. Belly and thighs of brass - Grecian empire under Alexander the Great; 3. Legs and feet of iron - Roman empire. Speaking of the Roman empire, Daniel clearly says that "in the days of those kings" God shall set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed.

Lindsey recognizes that this prophecy refers to the Roman kings of Jesus day, but he states that the Messiah did not establish His kingdom because the Jews rejected Jesus as their earthly king (There’s A New World Coming, p. 30; The Late Great Planet Earth, pp. 78-79). Did Jesus establish a kingdom when He came during the days of the Roman Empire, as the prophecy plainly suggests? Was the predicted kingdom a physical, earthly one or does the prophecy speak of a spiritual one? Was Jesus forced to postpone his original plan? To answer these questions, let’s look at the description of the kingdom in this prophecy.

The kingdom is described as a "stone cut out without hands" that breaks the other kingdoms in pieces, fills the whole earth, and lasts forever. "Without hands" means that this kingdom was of a different nature than the other four. (Hebrews 9:11 -- But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation.) God never intended for the Messiah to establish an earthly kingdom over nations, but rather a kingdom in the hearts of men to which those from any nation could belong. (John 18:36 -- Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.) Jesus’ kingdom was to have superiority over the other four in that:

It was of divine origin (made without hands); It would break the others in pieces (triumph over them and their efforts to thwart God’s plans); It would fill the whole earth (have a greater extent than any other others); and It would last forever (never be destroyed as the others were). This kingdom was to be established in the days of "those kings" (the Roman empire).

If this prophecy was not fulfilled by the end of the fourth kingdom (Roman empire), it can never be fulfilled. The time of an event is as much a part of the prophecy as the event itself. When Jesus spoke of the "kingdom of heaven" or the ’kingdom of God," He always had in mind a spiritual kingdom.

Jesus’ parables of the kingdom in Matthew 13, for example, are not about a kingdom on earth, but about a spiritual reign in people’s hearts. When He was asked when the kingdom of God was coming, He replied: "And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God cometh, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17:20-21.) When he spoke to Nicodemus in John chapter 3, He made it clear that one must be born of water and of the Spirit to enter into the kingdom -- a spiritual rebirth to enter a spiritual kingdom. The entire emphasis of Jesus’ teaching was on the importance of spiritual matters over the material; why then should He reign over a material kingdom rather than a spiritual one?

It was this same mistaken idea that the kingdom was to be "of this world" that caused the Jews to reject Jesus in the first place. They tried, in fact, to make Jesus king in the earthly sense (John 6:15). When He would not allow it, they were confused because He did not meet their mistaken expectation. Thus, a dilemma for premillennialists -- if Jesus had come to establish a kingdom on earth, the Jews would have accepted Him since that is what they expected. Their rejection makes it clear that He did not intend to establish an earthly kingdom or else he did not make his intentions clear to the Jews. The only reasonable conclusion is that He did as he intended and planned -- He set up a spiritual kingdom, also called the church. Thus, he fulfilled the prophecies of the kingdom at His first coming.

The "Kingly" and "Messianic" Prophecies.

Another dilemma for Lindsey and premillennialists is their distinction between "kingly" and "Messianic" prophecies. (New World, pp. 29-30). According to Lindsey’s view, Jesus’ original intent was to fulfill both the "kingly" and the "Messianic" prophecies at His first coming. However, he asserts, since the Jews rejected Him He could only fulfill the Messianic prophecies, not the kingly ones. The problem for the premillennialists is that there is no way that Jesus could ever have fulfilled both types of prophecies at the same coming if the "kingly" ones mean an earthly kingdom.

The suffering Messiah prophecies call for the death of a rejected savior (Isaiah 53) while, according to Lindsey, the kingly prophecies call for a triumphant earthly leader who shall rule over the whole earth. Since Jesus, in the same lifetime, could not have been both a triumphant King and a crucified savior, He could never have fulfilled both types of prophecies at His first coming. Either such was never His intent or Lindsey is mistaken in what the kingly prophecies mean. Since Revelation speaks of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (KJV, NIV, see also 1 Peter 1:18-20), God always intended for Jesus to come and die as a sacrifice and for His kingdom to be a spiritual kingdom.

Clearly, the kingdom prophecies predict a spiritual kingdom that the Messiah would establish at the same time that He was fulfilling the prophecies of the suffering servant. Indeed, it was by HIs suffering and death that He was able to become the spiritual king of our lives and take away our sin. In Philipians 2:8-11, Paul states that Jesus "humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea the death of the cross. Wherefore also God highly exalted him."

Because Jesus obeyed God even to the point of dying on the cross for our sins, God therefore exalted him to a position where everyone would bow before Him. Jesus death was a necessary prerequisite to His coronation; His humiliation had to precede His exaltation. It was always God’s plan that the Messiah should achieve His purpose by suffering. 2. This truth was proclaimed by Paul to Agrippa: "Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand unto this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses did say should come; 23 how that the Christ must suffer, and how that he first by the resurrection of the dead should proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles." (Acts 26:22-23.)

Paul here refers to the prophecy of Isaiah 9:2-7 which speaks of a "son" born to sit as king on the throne of David who shall bring light to those in darkness. Putting this prophecy of Isaiah with Paul’s statement in Acts, we see that the prophecies about a coming king and a coming servant whose sacrifices for sins will bring light both refer to one person who will be both at the same time.

Jesus’ words to the disciples on the road to Emmaus add further testimony that God’s plan was always for the Messiah to suffer, and, by this suffering, to become King: "And he said unto them, O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Behooved it not the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into his glory?" (Luke 24:25-26.)

Christ clearly intended to establish a kingdom when He came the first time and frequently so declared. (1) Matthew 10:7 -- He sent the disciples out to preach that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. (2) Mark 9:1 -- Jesus declared that some of his hearers would not taste of death until they saw the kingdom of God come with power. Matthew 16:18 -- Jesus promised to build his church and then immediately identified the church as the kingdom when he promised to give Peter the keys of the kingdom. Either Jesus kingdom came soon, even within the lifetime of those who heard Him, or He was a false prophet. Colossians 1:13 -- Paul asserted of the Colossian Christians that they had been translated into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Clearly, Jesus established a spiritual kingdom as he said.

Do God’s Prophecies Ever Fail?

God’s prophecies are not subject to the kind of failure that Lindsey and premillennialists describe. Unless the prophecy is conditional when made, then it will happen when God says, where God says, and in the manner that God says. There is nothing conditional about God’s prophecy that He would establish a kingdom during the time of the last kingdom of Daniel’s prophecy. God said he would, premillennialists say He didn’t; one of them must be wrong.

Premillennialists say that God’s prophecy can still be fulfilled if the Roman empire rises again. If, however, God’s original prophecy was unconditional (and it was), and the Jews’ rejection of Jesus thwarted its fulfillment, then God’s prophecy failed and it could not be fulfilled even if the Roman Empire were to be revived. The time predicted is as important a party of a prophecy as the event; if the time aspect fails, the prophecy fails. Efforts to find a later fulfillment are only necessary when the original intent of the prophecy is misunderstood. When we recognize that God said He would set up a kingdom during the days of the fourth kingdom from Daniel (the Roman Empire) and that it would be of a different nature from the four kingdoms (not made with hands), then we recognize that Jesus did fulfill such a prophecy at the very time predicted.

Daniel 7.

In Daniel 7 the prophet sees four beasts come up out of the sea; these beasts represent the same world empires as those pictured by the image of Daniel 2 : Babylon, Medes and Persians, Greece, and Rome. Note particularly what Daniel says about the fourth beast: After this I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, a fourth beast, terrible and powerful, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. (Daniel 7:7.)

Lindsey agrees that this verse is about the Roman Empire, but says that only the first part of the verse was fulfilled by ancient Rome. Between this description of a beast with iron teeth and feet which stamp the residue (Phase 1) and the last part of the verse which speaks of the ten horns (Phase 2), Lindsey says there is a gap of two thousand years. This gap is necessary because the Jews rejected Jesus, he says. Jesus was not able to establish His kingdom during the days of the first Roman Empire as originally intended. In Lindsey’s words: "Daniel’s prophecy anticipated a long gap between the ancient and the ten nation phases of the Roman Empire" (The 1980s: Countdown to Armageddon, p. 113).

With such a statement, Lindsey actually creates another dilemma for the premillennialists. If the prophecy actually anticipated a long gap, as he says, then God did not originally intend for the prophecy to be fulfilled at Jesus’ first coming. If, on the other hand, God did intend for the prophecy to be fulfilled at Jesus’ first coming, then He did not anticipate a gap between the events at the first of the verse and those at the end. Read the verse again and see if it appears that the original prophecy in any way anticipated a long gap.

Nothing even hints of a gap. The verse describes the nature of one beast representing one kingdom which shall arise. To apply some of the beast’s features to the Roman Empire and other features to a kingdom that shall arise 2,000 years later is to misuse and abuse the text. Lindsey tries to make the verse fit the premillenialists pre-conception that Jesus will return to set up an earthly kingdom, thus fulfilling prophecies that He intended to fulfill at His first coming. By starting with an incorrect assumption, he creates problems of inconsistency.

Daniel 11.

In chapter 11 Daniel again speaks of coming world empires. One to which he refers is Greece under Alexander the Great. In Daniel 11:2-4, for example, he speaks of a king of Greece who shall stand up, that shall rule with dominion, but whose kingdom shall be broken and divided to those not his posterity. (Lindsey agrees that this passage refers to Alexander (Late Great Planet Earth, p. 80, Countdown to Armageddon, p. 111.) In the next verse (11:5), Daniel begins a discussion of those "not of his posterity," to whom this kingdom of Greece will be divided -- one is called the king of the south and another the king of the north. As here predicted, Alexander’s kingdom did not go to his children, but to four generals. The king of the north was Seleucus who took the area north of Palestine; the king of the south was Ptolemy, who reigned in Egypt to the south of Palestine. The next verses of Daniel 11 describe in advance very accurately and in great detail the attempts of these kings and their descendants to control Palestine. These predictions are so accurate, in fact, that those who do not believe God can reveal human events ahead of time, take this description as evidence that the book of Daniel must have been written after the events.

Lindsey, however, uses his gap theory again. Somewhere between verse 4 and verse 40 Lindsey inserts a gap of 2300 years. He never explains how at first the kings of the north and south are Alexander’s generals, and then somehow these terms refer to people 2300 years later with no continuity. He just says, "Daniel leaps over a long era of time" (Late Great Planet Earth, pp. 66, 80; There’s a New World Coming, p. 224). No one reading this passage without a pre-conception would ever guess that a 2300-year gap was to be inserted in this chapter. Because, however, v. 40 uses the expression the "time of the end," Lindsey says that this chapter must be dealing with the period just before the end of the world. The king of the south is a modern day Egyptian ruler. The king of the north is from Russia. There is, however, no justification for inserting a gap between verses 4 and 5, admittedly referring to Alexander and his generals, and the latter part of the chapter. The time of the end in verse 40 is not referring to the end of time; the "end" in view by Daniel is the conclusion of this particular prophecy.

In Habbakkuk 2:2-3, for example, we read that the vision "hasteth toward the end." "The end" is a common expression among prophets to mean the time when their prophecy will be completed. So here in Daniel 11:40, Daniel speaks of the time when the prophecy about the divisions of Alexander’s kingdom will come to a conclusion, not of the end of the world. Many events may be called "the end" besides the end of the world, and certainly the end of Jerusalem and of the Law of Moses about which Daniel here speaks, would be among the most prominent. Daniel 11, then is about Alexander the Great and the division of his kingdom "not to his posterity" but to his four generals: Lysimachus, Antipater, Seleucus I, and Ptolemy I.

Daniel tells in advance the story of how these two kings and their successors would fight over Palestine. The predictions include such details as marriages, children, intrigue, warfare, and alliances. It is amazingly accurate. The passage culminates with the final king of the north, the Romans who come and possess Palestine until the Law of Moses comes to an end. Premillennialists, typified by Lindsey, have taken a prophecy fulfilled at a much earlier time, wrenched it from its original setting and intent, and used it to develop a scenario about the last seven years of our present age to which it has no application at all.

Daniel 8.

Daniel 8 has a similar prophecy about Alexander. In this one Daniel sees a ram with two horns which is attacked by a goat with one horn between his eyes. After the goat is victorious, the one horn is broken, and four other kingdoms arise "but not with his power." From one of these kingdoms will arise a king who shall look toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land; this king shall take away the burnt offering. Gabriel does not identify this last king by name, but the description of a king arising out of one of the four divisions of Alexander’s kingdom who takes away the sacrifices of the Jews is clearly Antiochus. Antiochus came to Israel (the glorious land) moving toward the south and, from about 170 to 165 B.C., kept the Jews from offering their sacrifices in the temple which he desecrated with sacrifices of swine.

Notice the similarities with chapter 11. Alexander’s kingdom is divided into four parts. From such kingdoms will come those who attack the land of the Jews. The activity happens at the time of the end (v. 17), a reference not to the end of the world but to the approaching end of God’s special relationship to the Jews with the coming of the Messiah. An important point to note for our study is that this prophecy is interpreted by the angel Gabriel who declares that it is about the great King of Greece whose kingdom is divided into four kingdoms, from one of which comes a king who takes away the burnt offering for a time. This parallels the verses in chapter 11 which Lindsey says will not be fulfilled for 2300 years, but Gabriel’s interpretation suggests no such gap. The events of history completely fulfilled this prophecy before the coming of Christ.

Ezekiel 36-39.

We have learned that Ezekiel was living in Babylon with other exiles. They were settled near the River Chebar (Ezekiel 1:1), and had hopes of soon returning to their homeland. As Ezekiel began his book the city of Jerusalem had not yet been destroyed. Part of Ezekiel’s work among these exiles was to break the bad news that the city and the temple would be destroyed because those Jews still in Jerusalem had rebelled again against Babylon (Ezekiel 4-5). In retaliation Nebuchadnezzar comes and totally destroys the city and temple (Ezekiel 9). In chapters 5-33 Ezekiel catalogs the sins of Judah and details God’s punishment on them and surrounding nations. In chapter 34 the tone begins to change as Ezekiel tells of God’s concern and His desire to bring the Jews back from the lands where they have been scattered. By chapter 37 He is speaking clearly of the time when he will bring these captives back to their homeland (Ezekiel 36:8). To understand Ezekiel 36-39 we need but to place ourselves in their place.

They were captives, exiled from their country. The ten tribes, taken from the northern part of the land by Assyria nearly 150 years earlier, had never returned. Now those Jews left behind in Jerusalem had caused Nebuchadnezzar to destroy the city and the temple and to take the remaining inhabitants captive. We can imagine their despair; if we were in their condition, would one of the great questions on our mind be whether we would ever be brought back or is this the end of our nation. Ezekiel answers just that question in chapters 36-39.

Ezekiel speaks of the mountains of Israel which shall "shoot forth" branches to the people of Israel who are "at hand to come" (36:8), of the "waste places" that shall be rebuilt (36:11), of gathering from "all the countries" those scattered because the "defiled" the land by their ungodliness (36:16-24), of a valley of dry bones that shall be put back together (37:1-4), of gathering both those from Israel and from Judah into one nation (37:15-23), and of making a new covenant with them under a king called "my servant David" (37:24-28) These and many other phrases fit perfectly into the thought that God will return the Babylonian captives to their own land where they shall dwell for a long time. God did indeed bring them back and gave them the land of Canaan from 536 B.C. until 70 A.D., over 600 years.

They did rebuild their temple and re-establish their homes and cities. While outside rulers sometimes came, the Jews were always able to live in their homeland during this period. During this same time, God sent his servant David -- Christ, according to Acts 2:30 -- to be the king of all Israelites. In the context of rendering judgment upon the nations of that day, God renders judgment against Gog and Magog, assuring Israel that nothing will prevent their return from Babylon. The return Ezekiel predicted came about exactly as foretold with the Jews’ return to Jerusalem starting in 536 B.C. They were gathered back to their land, they were protected from their enemies, they did rebuild their city and their temple. Again, these promises were fulfilled centuries ago and do not apply to nations today.

God’s Promises to the Jews.

God did promise Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He would give their seed a land (Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 13:14-17; Genesis 15:1-7; Genesis 17:1-18. This promise was conditional upon their obedience and refraining from idols (Deuteronomy 28:21; Joshua 23:13).

However, Israel did not meet God’s condition of faithfulness. They worshiped idols, rejected the prophets, and finally rejected the Son of God Himself. When they failed to keep their part of the covenant, God was freed from his part. In Jeremiah 31:31-34 God declares, "which covenant they brake." God did restore the Jews from Babylon, even as Ezekiel and other prophets predicted, and, thus, these prophecies were fulfilled as God intended.

We must not, therefore, look for a still future time when God will restore the Jews to their homeland. He fulfilled such promises during O.T. time and has no remaining obligation to give the Jews a homeland. God did indeed predict that if the Jews rejected Him they would continue as a recognizable group and would be persecuted wherever they went (Deuteronomy 28:37), a prophecy that is still being fulfilled. God further predicted that the descendants of Ishmael (the Arabs) would dwell nearby but be against each other (Genesis 16:12), a prophecy that is also still being fulfilled. There are no remaining promises from God that the Jews will be returned to a homeland.

The fact that a portion of the old Jewish lands have been given to Jews today is not a fulfillment of prophecy. God’s predictions about them have nothing to do with whether they will have a part of their ancient land. Ever since the establishment of a nation in Israel in 1948, some have been trying to make that a fulfillment of O. T. prophecy and a prelude to the end of time. As time has continued since then, however, these modern interpreters are becoming more and more suspect. It has now been over 50 years since the Jews have had this land and there has been no return of Christ or great conversion to Him, as many predicted. (See Dwight Wilson, Armageddon Now!, pp. 131-139.) Others keep moving the date further down the line in an attempt to make this event fit their timetable. They have based their conclusions on a misconception.

All of God’s land promises to the Jews were fulfilled in ancient days (Joshua 21:43-45; 1 Kings 4:21). Because of their failure to meet their part of the bargain, God is no longer obligated to fulfill his part of the promise. Jeremiah 31:31-34.

Amos 9:11-15.

This is one of the most interesting O.T. passages about a coming time of rebuilding. It speaks of a day when God will raise up the tabernacle of David to possess Edom and other nations. It tells of abundant harvests and a time when God will bring back the captivity of His people so that they may build waste cities and plant their vineyards. God states that this people will no more be plucked up out of this land. Sounds like a prediction of the Jews returning to the land of Palestine in a final earthly kingdom in the eyes of some.

However, that is not what Jesus’ apostles, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, said it meant. In Acts 15:16-18, James, with the agreement of the apostles, said that this was a prediction of the Messiah’s coming to bring a message of deliverance to the Gentiles. And he said that it had already been fulfilled. Some prophecies about the Jews related to their return from Babylonian captivity; others, like Amos 9:11-15, speak figuratively of the Messiah’s reign and the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles.

The Appearance Of The Likeness Of The Glory Of God (Ezekiel 1)

Ezekiel, like Daniel, wrote and prophesied from exile in Babylon. His visions often speak of the reasons for Jerusalem’s impending fall, yet they also promise spiritual renewal and restoration. The book of Ezekiel contains many vivid images that call us to look beyond appearances, and let our God tell us of his ways and his truths.

Among The Exiles (Ezekiel 1:1-3)

Ezekiel describes his first prophecy as the heavens being opened, to give him visions of God. This took place when he was in Babylon, among a group of Judean exiles. The elaborate vision that follows lifts Ezekiel’s eyes to heaven, to help him realize at once that what God is doing and saying goes beyond what physical eyes can see.

God began to give Ezekiel his prophetic visions of spiritual realities when the prophet was one of a group of exiles from Judah (Ezekiel 1:1). Heavens were opened for him to see these signs, just as John saw a door into heaven opened (Revelation 4:1). For us too, God has opened his heavens for us, to give us a glimpse of the imperishable things above.

Ezekiel’s first vision came in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, as the kingdom of Judah was just a few steps from falling (Ezekiel 1:2-3). Ezekiel was taken as part of the second group of captives taken as exiles to Babylon (2 Kings 24:8-17, about 597 BC). In Nebuchadnezzar’s first raid on Jerusalem (about 606 BC), this first group of exiles had included Daniel (Daniel 1:1-7). Not long after Ezekiel’s first vision, Judah and Jerusalem would fall (about 586 BC).

A Heavenly Windstorm (Ezekiel 1:4-21)

The prophet now sees a windstorm, full of images that cannot be described by mere human words. Many of these images are also seen in Revelation, and as in the book of Revelation, they tell us of God’s nature. They are meant to be seen by ’the eyes of our hearts,’ instead of trying to get a picture of what they look like to physical eyes.

This windstorm gives Ezekiel glimpses of spiritual reality (Ezekiel 1:4-14). The first things he sees are lightning, light, and fire, images of God’s holiness and majesty (Psalms 97:1-4). Ezekiel’s first vision gave him an unforgettable impression of who our God is. As God did for Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-4), he gives the prophet a clear sense that God’s nature and the spiritual realms above are far vaster than human minds can fully grasp.

Now appear the ’four living creatures’ whom we see later in Revelation (Revelation 4:6-8). The description mixes numerous images to suggest the life that God gives, and their closeness with God. Like fire moving back and forth, speeding like lightning, they are drawn to God (Revelation 4:9-11).

Then Ezekiel sees wheels intersecting wheels associated with the living creatures, sparkling and moving with the creatures (Ezekiel 1:15-21). These wheels are full of eyes, for life is in them too, with the eyes reminding us of God’s watchful presence and his desire to cleanse us (Zechariah 3:9). Moving as one, the spirit of the living creatures is within them. They accompany God’s presence, and in a sense they are bringing his presence to proclaim his words (Psalms 18:9-10).

A Figure Glowing With Brilliant Light (Ezekiel 1:22-28)

Now Ezekiel sees and hears further sounds and sights of God’s presence. Some of these images can be seen in Genesis, and some can be seen in Revelation. God’s nature has always been the same, and as intimidating these visions may seem, they also reassure us that God will always be the same God, full of holiness and compassion, full of truth and grace.

Above the creatures (Ezekiel 1:22-24), the prophet sees something like a ’vault’ (or ’expanse’, or ’firmament’, Genesis 1:6-8), and sparkling like pure crystal. The sound of the creatures’ wings now becomes intense, making a sound like rushing waters, the sound we hear often in Revelation (Revelation 1:15) that reminds us of the water of life that flows from God’s presence.

Then, above the ’vault’ Ezekiel sees a throne looking like lapis lazuli with a fiery figure seated on it (Ezekiel 1:25-28). Again we see the fire of God’s holiness, this time glowing metal, and surrounded with brilliant light, as if he were coming on the clouds (Psalms 104:2-4).

The radiance around the figure reminds Ezekiel of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day (Genesis 9:13-16), a comforting image after the rains, and a reminder of God’s promises to us. And all of these vivid images are only a small foretaste of our God’s full majesty and holiness and his light and his true glory. They are just the appearance of the likeness of his glory.

Amidst the troubling times ahead, these images would give Ezekiel a sense of what was real and imperishable, and reassured him of God’s promises to bring spiritual renewal and restoration.

God promises us too, that he can inwardly renew us and that his everlasting compassion will never fail (Isaiah 54:7-12). Like the days of Noah, when after he had to turn his face away for a brief moment, his covenant of peace will never be shaken. God is our living hope who can give us the spiritual blessings that can rebuild the spiritual ruins in our hearts and can give rest to our anxious spirits.

- Mark Garner, July 2015

God Gives Us His Words (Ezekiel 2-3)

After seeing the extraordinary vision of the creatures and the wheels, God now speaks to Ezekiel about the message he is to proclaim, and about the problems he will face with the exiles. The prophet would face many difficult times, so God gives him many reassurances that his presence will be with him in the times ahead. These can reassure us today too.

Whether They Listen Or Fail To Listen (Ezekiel 2:1-10)

God now lifts Ezekiel to his feet, and begins to tell him about the Judean exiles. He assures the prophet that his responsibility is only to speak the truth, whether they listen or fail to listen. Moreover, God will put his words in the prophet’s mouth, and reminds him simply to accept them and to proclaim them.

God understands that he is calling Ezekiel to face an obstinate and stubborn people (Ezekiel 2:1-7). He repeatedly refers to them as rebellious, because their hearts have become hardened to the point of rebelling against anything. So after Ezekiel was overwhelmed by the vision, God raises him up and helps the prophet sense the Spirit coming into him (John 20:21-22).

Also, as he will frequently remind him, just to say the words God has given him, whether the people listen or not, so they will know a prophet has been among them, for they have heard the truths of God (2 Corinthians 2:14-16). God’s presence will be with him as he walks the path ahead, for it will be a path full of briers and thorns and scorpions (Deuteronomy 8:15).

God calls us too, just to listen to his voice, just accept his words because they tell us what is best for us (Ezekiel 2:8-10). We cannot find God’s truths by our own knowledge, so all we need to do is open our mouths, and he will fill them (Psalms 81:10-14). He feeds us with a ’scroll full of words’ that may be hard to grasp, so he reminds us just to take them to heart.

The Prophet Eats The Scroll (Ezekiel 3:1-15)

Even as God continues to describe the difficulties Ezekiel will face, he also gives him more reminders that he will be near. Whether or not the people listen, the prophet will be content with God’s words. God will enable him to continue through the resistance and opposition Ezekiel will face, and he helps the prophet sense that God’s hand is upon him.

As the prophet eats God’s words, they taste as sweet as honey, just as God’s truths can satisfy the spirits of those who seek him for his own sake (Ezekiel 3:1-3). The prophet’s ’stomach’ is now full of God’s words (Revelation 10:9-10), and although they may sometimes be uncomfortable to the flesh, they are words of truth that bring the life that endures (John 6:51).

God uses the image of making our foreheads like the hardest stone (Ezekiel 3:4-11). While he makes our hearts soft and our spirits sensitive, he can make our foreheads like flint; so that even as we bear spiritual sorrows and fears, we will not turn away from God’s path (Isaiah 50:5-7).

Then we hear a rumbling as the glory of the Lord as he rises (Ezekiel 3:12-15), as Ezekiel hears the entrancing sound of wings, a vivid image of life and of things above. God keeps reassuring us too that his presence is near, not with tangible things but with images of imperishable things (Revelation 4:5-8).

Further Reassurance For The Difficult Times (Ezekiel 3:16-27)

In the image of the watchman, God again reassures Ezekiel that he is called simply to proclaim the words God will give him. God realizes that the path ahead will be hard for the prophet, so he helps Ezekiel understand the reasons for the message to be proclaimed. He also promises the prophet that, although he will face significant resistance, God will open his mouth.

God’s image of making Ezekiel a watchman for the people (Ezekiel 3:16-21) is often misunderstood as a warning; yet it is a reassurance. His call to the watchman is simply to proclaim the truths God enables him to see (Isaiah 21:6-9), to warn about spiritual perils and to help others to see their hope above. His call is not to threaten us with punishment, rather to be a living covenant for the people, helping the blind see the true light and release from the world’s chains (Isaiah 42:6-9).

This world’s futility and darkness can bind Ezekiel’s bodies and ours too with ropes, and even though our tongues may seem to stick to the roofs of our mouths, God can open our mouths when he gives us his words (Ezekiel 3:22-27).

Throughout the book, God encourages Ezekiel with reminders that his hand is near and his glory is above (for example, Ezekiel 1:1; Ezekiel 3:15; Ezekiel 10:20-22; Ezekiel 43:3). They can bind him, harm him, put him in chains, but the world’s chains and its emptiness cannot bind God’s words (2 Timothy 2:8-9). Jesus brought the true light into this world, and the darkness cannot overcome it (John 1:5).

God does not judge by appearances nor by outward results; his call has always been to worship him with our hearts (Isaiah 29:11-24). It is human nature to get things upside- down, and so God astounds our human minds with wonders of truth and grace. For he has made a spectacle of this world’s wisdom, triumphing over it by the cross.

God’s patient call is to recognize his voice, take his words to heart, and acknowledge that he alone is our living God, for he can open the eyes of the blind and teach those who are wayward in spirit.

- Mark Garner, August 2015

They Will Know That I Am The Lord (Ezekiel 4-7)

God now calls Ezekiel to do some strange things, and to proclaim some ominous prophecies about the coming fall of Jerusalem. These fearful images speak beyond the facts of what is to come, for they show us God’s sadness in letting this happen. Yes, even in these gloomy words, we can see God’s holiness and his desire to cleanse his people and draw them near.

God Bears Our Spiritual Burdens (Ezekiel 4:1-17)

The prophet’s peculiar actions help us to understand God’s perspectives on the fall and exile of Judah. As God’s watchman for the people, Ezekiel not only announces what he sees and hears, for he also experiences it. God bears the burdens of human sin and emptiness and lostness, as we see especially in the cross of Jesus.

God tells Ezekiel to make a city in clay, to engrave a likeness of Jerusalem and then to build siege works and battering rams around it (Ezekiel 4:1-3). The prophet himself must act out the role of besieger, to besiege it as a sign to his fellow exiles and to those still in Jerusalem. His people have turned his face against them, so he calls them once again to trust in him, for their times and their souls are in his hands (Luke 12:4-7)

Next, the prophet is called to lie down on his side for two long periods, to illustrate the burdens God has carried so long for Israel and Judah in their straying (Ezekiel 4:4-8). Their idolatry and hardness of heart have bound God’s arms as with ropes, as he patiently reached out to them (Isaiah 59:1-2) . Ezekiel experiences the burdens God carries, and this also helps us understand what Jesus bore on the cross for our sake (Isaiah 53:4-5).

Ezekiel also depicts the human side of what their uncleanness has brought, with the images of God cutting off the food supply (Ezekiel 4:9-17). Because they have lost interest in the spiritual food God wants to give them, they are eating defiled food (Proverbs 23:1-3). Spiritual food and water are already scarce, because nothing in this world can ever satisfy our spirits (Haggai 1:5-6).

The Image Of Three Thirds (Overview Of Ezekiel 5:1 to Ezekiel 6:14)

Next, God calls Ezekiel to perform another odd action, shaving his head and his beard, and then disposing of the hairs in various ways. These images foretell the fate of Judah when God’s presence will no longer be with them, yet they also have deeper meaning for us. Those who wander from God’s paths face spiritual famine and danger.

After shaving himself, the prophet collects the shavings and scatters them (Ezekiel 5:1-12). Some who stray too far from God face spiritual famine, others to the arrows of the accuser, or others simply wander off, blown by the winds farther from God’s side, a caution for us of the spiritual perils of not listening to God’s words (Hebrews 2:1-4).

Then God says his wrath will subside (Ezekiel 5:13-17). He does not punish for punishment’s sake; he disciplines those he cares for only to remind us that we need him, that he tells us what is good for our spirits. He has spent his compassionate wrath, as Revelation tells us, his plagues are completed (Revelation 15:1).

In calling Ezekiel to prophesy against the mountains and the valleys, God is speaking of cleansing the land (Ezekiel 6:1-7). God fulfilled this desire in reconciling all things to himself in the blood of Jesus on his cross (Colossians 1:19-20).

Even in the calamities of Judah’s fall and the exile, some will remember God (Ezekiel 6:8-14). He does not threaten for threat’s sake, he only cautions them that they might turn their hearts back to him, and refines them so that their eyes might turn back to their God (Psalms 66:10-12).

God’s Divine Lament (Ezekiel 7:1-27)

This is one of several of God’s laments over those who turn their hearts away from him. It speaks of his reluctance to harm them, yet of the need to remind them not to put false hope in worldly things. God does not say these words with hatred nor screaming, rather with mourning and sadness, hoping all the while that they will return to him so they can live with him.

God’s lament is also another compassionate warning: See, the day comes (Ezekiel 7:1-13). It will be a day when he must treat them as their conduct deserves, instead of with the mercy and pity he always longs to show us. Earthly ways may succeed for a short while, but they only lead to spiritual panic, not the quiet joy of walking with God (Isaiah 28:15-17).

Silver and gold can never deliver us from our real foes, and they cannot meet the deep needs in our hearts and spirits (Ezekiel 7:14-22). Only imperishable things can redeem us, only the lifeblood of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice can completely cleanse us (1 Peter 1:17-19).

God, our King and our Redeemer, mourns as he laments the suffering of his lost sheep (Ezekiel 7:23-27). His Prince of Peace despairs too (Luke 13:34-35), for he lived like one of us and knew all the things we endure. And even as he was brutally nailed to the cross, even as he fully bore our suffering, he had the great hope of forgiving us, since we were sheep without a shepherd who did not even understand what we were doing.

In our distress, God is distressed, and he redeems us in his compassion (Isaiah 63:7-14). As he reminds those who seek him, even as he often did in Deuteronomy, recall the days of old when he redeemed us from the world’s emptiness and futile ways, and remember his many kindnesses. In the true glory of his unfailing grace and love, he brought us across waters we could never have crossed, to give our souls rest.

- Mark Garner, August 2015

God’s Temple & God’s Glory (Ezekiel 8-10)

These three chapters vividly describe the departure of God’s presence from Jerusalem and Judah. These images describe God’s sorrow over the idolatry and uncleanness he sees, and his reluctance over what he is about to do. We see the images of God’s glory leaving the temple, yet we see his longing to show us grace, and signs of hope.

A Look Inside The Temple (Ezekiel 8:1-18)

In this vision, God takes Ezekiel back to Jerusalem, and shows him images of the idolatry and uncleanness that will cause him to withdraw his presence. The temple still looks majestic and impressive on the outside, but God does not judge by appearances, for what is in our hearts is what matters to him, as God patiently often reminds us.

The Spirit takes the prophet to the temple (Ezekiel 8:1-6), carrying him by the hair, another image of Ezekiel experiencing the sorrows God endures for his people. He sees a figure glowing with fire, who takes him to see the idolatry that has driven God’s presence away from his sanctuary (Isaiah 65:2-3). It is his hardened people, not him, who doesn’t want him near.

Then there is a series of images of idolatry within the temple courts (Ezekiel 8:7-18). This assortment of idols and practices are not literal; they simply suggest the wide variety of idols that were worshiped then, and the large number of idols that are worshiped today. Both then and now, these idols can never save anyone (Isaiah 57:12-13). So God patiently reminds them to turn their hearts back to him, and take refuge in him (Psalms 61:1-3)

A Man With A Writing Kit (Ezekiel 9:1-11)

This vision has two contrasting images, a group of men holding weapons, and a man with a writing kit with a special responsibility. As God once more explains the cleansing that Judah needs, he also takes the time to protect those who grieve and lament over the idolatry around them. This image is used much later in Revelation.

The glory of God moves to the threshold, as it readies to depart (Ezekiel 9:1-11) . Six men with menacing weapons stand poised to strike. In one sense, this depicts the literal fall of Jerusalem when God removed his presence. Yet they also remind us of the spiritual weapons the accuser throws at us, and that will overcome us if God is not near to protect us. And there are a couple of things that need to be done first, signs of hope.

So first, a man clothed with linen, a symbol of cleanness and purity, marks the foreheads of those who lament and grieve over the idols the people are worshiping in their hearts (Revelation 7:1-3).Then the men with the weapons are told not to touch anyone who has God’s mark, his seal, his own name written on their foreheads (Revelation 14:1-3)

Only God can save us from the spiritual snares and traps of the accuser, so we too are called to entrust our spirits into his hands, just as our Jesus did on the cross (Psalms 31:3-5).

God’s Glory Leaves The Temple (Ezekiel 10:1-22)

The prophet now sees once again the ’appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord,’ the entrancing images he saw by the Kebar River. It is a sad occasion, as now the glory is leaving the temple. Yet we see again God’s patience and the grace he wants to give us, so that he can be near us. In Ezekiel 43, we will see God’s glory returning.

One more thing needs to be done before the glory leaves, as the fire is entrusted to the man in linen (Ezekiel 10:1-8). First, he scatters the coals, a sad image of the fire that has gone out in most of the people’s hearts, for they too will be scattered.

Yet he will also carry some of the live fire, to preserve it, to make sure it keeps God’s presence hovering near, to preserve hope and light for better times (Leviticus 6:12-13). It will be safe in the hands of the man in linen, because he will not snuff out the smoldering wick (Isaiah 42:3)

So Ezekiel now sees the departure the living creatures he had seen by the Kebar River (Ezekiel 10:9-22). He sees again the light, the life, the wings and wheels and eyes (see Ezekiel 1), all the captivating images of who our God is.

Even in this thick darkness, God always wants us to see his glory (Isaiah 60:1-2; Isaiah 60:19-21), just let him come and walk with us, and let him be our light, the light we could never have found on our own. He wants us to set aside our idols who can never bring meaning or true life, and let him make our hearts a planting of grace that could not have come from us, that only his own hands could have planted.

- Mark Garner, August 2015

A New Heart & A New Spirit (Ezekiel 11)

The people are putting false hope in restoring the land with their own efforts. So God calls Ezekiel to reiterate his warning about their uncleanness. Yet afterwards he makes his special promise, that though they will be scattered, he will watch over them and will gather them back. He will renew them inwardly, giving them a new heart and a new spirit.

Caution Against False Hopes (Ezekiel 11:1-13)

Even as the fall of Jerusalem approaches, some of the Israelite leaders are advising the people to keep rebuilding the city’s buildings, promising that soon they and the city will be rescued. So Ezekiel now cautions the people not to put false hope in this advice, yet even as he does so, Ezekiel laments over what lies ahead.

Since the last Babylonian raid, the people have concentrated on rebuilding, and now they put false hope in reminding each other that their houses have been recently rebuilt (Ezekiel 11:1-4). The Israelite leaders are telling the people that the city is the pot, and they are the meat; that is, they think that restoring the physical city is the first step to better times.

Yet just patching up appearances cannot cover the real wounds inside their hearts, and it is only a matter of time before the real needs will be exposed (Luke 5:36). As Jesus often reminds them, it is much more important to clean the inside (Luke 11:39).

So the prophet turns around their saying, telling them they are neither the pot, nor the meat (Ezekiel 11:5-13). The idols and uncleanness inside them have ’cooked’ spiritual death, so in his faithfulness, God will let them undergo affliction (Psalms 119:75-76). When Ezekiel is anguished over this, God reassures him that he will not completely destroy his remnant (Isaiah 65:8-10).

God Is Our Sanctuary (Ezekiel 11:14-25)

The true hope Ezekiel now proclaims is not physical rescue, but rather spiritual rescue. Though they will indeed be scattered among the nations, God will be near them, to be their own ’sanctuary.’ Then God makes his special promise, to give them a new heart and a new spirit, a renewal far deeper and better than any physical hope.

God promises the Israelites that he will indeed gather them and bring them back (Ezekiel 11:14-17). Even though they may be driven to the ends of the earth, he is our true sanctuary, our refuge, our rock (Psalms 61:2). God always watches over his scattered flock, wherever they go, whether or not they acknowledge him (Psalms 121:5-8). He is always near, so if we seek him with our heart, we will find him (Deuteronomy 4:29-31).God can remove our hearts of stone, the hardness of self, and replace it with Jesus’ softness (Ezekiel 11:18-24). We cannot remove the idols from our hearts with our own efforts, yet if our eyes turn back to God, he can remove these idols and give us an undivided heart. Moreover, God gives us his own Holy Spirit to live within us, to guide us and remind us of the truths Jesus teaches us.

As Ezekiel returns to the exiles, he sees the glory of God leaving the city and resting above a mountain, a reminder that the glory of God hovers overhead, waiting for the people to come back to him so he can protect their spirits and souls (Isaiah 31:5).

Only God can cleanse us inwardly, yet all he asks is a contrite heart that understands this and seeks him (Psalms 51). He can create in us a new heart and make our fainting spirits steadfast, to restore our closeness with him. He just asks us to make the living sacrifice of our hearts who love him and want to be near him, a sacrifice God always accepts.

- Mark Garner, August 2015

Vines & Sprigs (Overview Of Ezekiel 12-17)

In the next several chapters of Ezekiel, we see a variety of images of God’s relationship with his people, then and now. These images again remind them of the reasons for the exile, of their need to let God keep them near; and they also give us God’s promise of hope. Thus these images tell us today the same message, of our need for God each moment.

He Does This To Recapture Their Hearts

(Overview of Ezekiel 12-14)

This series of images describes the false hopes the Judeans have put in their idols and false prophets. First, Ezekiel once more performs unusual actions to make them think. Then his visions remind them, and us, to put our hope in God’s ways, not in our own. He reminds us once again that he wants our hearts to turn to him.

Ezekiel re-enacts the exile, packing up his belongings and digging through the wall to dramatize it (Ezekiel 12:1-20). He has to carry around his remaining belongings as a reminder that none of the things we possess or accomplish in this world can ever save us (Isaiah 57:13), a call for us to take refuge in God.

God will fulfill whatever he says (Ezekiel 12:21-28), and he reassures us that he is our Rock; he is our only God, who fulfills what he foretold long ago (Isaiah 44:8). So he also reminds us to listen to the Word of God (Ezekiel 13). He will not fulfill the false promises human minds make, so he cautions us not to follow our own unstable ways (Ephesians 4:14-15).

Then God calls them again to let him remove the idols from their hearts (Ezekiel 14, see also Ezekiel 8). He wants to live among us, and wants to be our God. He asks us to turn our hearts back to him, let him recapture them, so that we can live in his holy presence (Psalms 24:3-4).

God Will Remember His Covenant

(Overview of Ezekiel 15-16)

The image of the dry vine begins a series of visions about our need for closeness with our God. Just as a vine withers without its roots, our spirits wither away if we aren’t rooted in God. Then we see a vision of God’s care for us, his compassion for us in our helplessness, and his faithfulness to us in renewing us inwardly.

The description of the "wood of a vine" (Ezekiel 15) simply reminds us of a vine’s uselessness when it leaves its roots and dries and withers, for it then lacks any purpose or meaning.

Then, in the vivid images in Ezekiel 16, God found each of us abandoned and helpless, and says, ’Live’ (Ezekiel 16). He has given us life in the desert and cares for us (Deuteronomy 32:10-11), though we often forget him and turn our hearts to the world’s things (Hosea 13:4-6). Yet he patiently waits for us to turn our eyes back to him, and he renews his covenant with us because his covenant is everlasting (Isaiah 54:10).

The Source Of True Life (Ezekiel 17:1-24)

These images remind us that only in God can we find the source of true life. The Scriptures often use plants as images, because they cannot move someplace to seek nourishment. God’s call to us is to put our faith in him and in his care, instead of seeking out something else to find meaning and purpose for our lives.

The image of the two eagles and the vine and its roots reminds us of these truths (Ezekiel 17:1-21). God nurtures us with the things our souls really need, and tells us not to look to the ’great eagle’ of the world for water. We can find the true life he has called us to, only by remaining rooted in God (Romans 11:17-18).

Though we can seek the outward appearance of strength by putting our trust in this world’s wealth and achievements, God can make our spirits flourish inwardly, when we remain in him, like an olive tree in his presence (Psalms 52:7-8).

The vision of planting a tender sprig (Ezekiel 17:22-24) illustrates how God can ’bring down the tall tree’ by humbling it, and how he reaches down to make the low tree grow (Psalms 146:6-8). God’s call is for us to look beyond this world’s appearances, for these cannot show us what his true life is all about.

Jesus also gives us his memorable image of living in the vine (John 15:1-15). His call is reassuring - just remain in him, and he will make our spirits fruitful. As we often read, just listen to his voice, seek him with our heart, and hold fast to him. He will call us his friends, and he will tell us about our God, truths about him that we couldn’t have learned on our own.

- Mark Garner, August 2015

Turn To God, & Live (Ezekiel 18-20)

A new series of examples and images now clarifies some of the aspects of God’s relationship with us. First, Ezekiel explains some simple truths that are often misunderstood. Then, he proclaims a lament over those who have forsaken their closeness with God. Next, he describes our need to let him refine us, and he reassures us that he wants to keep us near.

Get A New Heart & A New Spirit (Ezekiel 18:1-32)

It can be hard for human minds to understand God’s ways, so Ezekiel carefully explains how God’s ways differ from ours. First he reminds us that each of us is responsible for our own thoughts and actions and words, not someone else’s - yet God’s ways are far deeper than this. He asks us to turn our hearts to him, let him renew us inwardly, and give us life.

Ezekiel quotes a senseless saying that refers to the misconception that we are responsible for someone else’s sin (Ezekiel 18:1-4). While in this world we often face the consequences of others’ sins, he reminds us that each of belongs to God, who wants each of us to know him (Jeremiah 31:34).

The examples of fathers and sons whose ways differ greatly (Ezekiel 18:5-24) are meant to emphasize that each of us is to answer to God, who credits us with righteousness or charges us with wickedness, because salvation can come only from him (Isaiah 45:22-25).

Yet God’s ways go even deeper, and his ways are more than just (Ezekiel 18:25-32). He knows our hearts, and he always wants to give us life (Deuteronomy 30:19-20), so he always gives us another chance. He never takes pleasure in the death of anyone, asking them to turn to him. For God can give us a new heart (Psalms 51:10-12).

A Lament To Be Used As A Lament (Ezekiel 19:1-14)

Using the princes of Judah as an example, Ezekiel pronounces a lament for those who are not contented with simply walking with their God. Historically, the lament describes the worldly ambitions of the last few kings of Judah and their fate*. The lament describes as well the tendency of human nature to seek to become something we weren’t meant to be.

In the declining years of Judah, Josiah’s successors sought unsuccessfully to protect themselves by seeking alliances with other nations. These are described in 2 Kings 23:31 to 2 Kings 25:21 and 2 Chronicles 36.

The image of the lioness and the cubs describes our human tendency to pursue worldly ambitions (Ezekiel 19:1-9). These lions thought they were strong, and put their trust in this world and in their own strength (Isaiah 31:1). We can indeed succeed in this world’s eyes by our own efforts, but these will come at the cost of distancing ourselves from God. Our true hope is not in our strength nor in our wisdom, but rather is in God’s unfailing love for us (Psalms 147:8-11).

The next image is of a vine planted near the water (Ezekiel 19:10-14), that flourished until it started to depend on itself. It still looked good on the outside, but it forgot the spring of living water, our God who alone can give our spirits true life (Jeremiah 17:13-14).

God’s Cleansing & Acceptance (Ezekiel 20:1-49)

God once more describes how he has cared for them, and how they often turn away from him. Yet he already has in mind the cleansing he will give those who return to him. His cleansing is not punishment for punishment’s sake, and his words are not spoken in harshness, rather in patience. He reminds us again that he simply wants to keep us close with him.

Ezekiel describes a familiar cycle: God’s faithful care, yet the human tendency to forget our dependence on him (Ezekiel 20:1-29, see also Deuteronomy 32:10-18). We see over and over again our God’s patience and his mercy and his compassion for us (Psalms 78:35-40), because no matter how far we stray, he still wants us to come back to him.

We then see God’s reminder not to walk in the world’s ways, his call not to seek the appearances that this world values (Ezekiel 20:30-38). This again is human nature, and God reminds us that at times we will ’pass under his rod,’ to go through his compassionate refining (Psalms 66:8-12), to bring us back into his covenant, a place of spiritual abundance (Psalms 65:4)

God always seeks his wandering flock and gathers us back (Ezekiel 20:39-49). He cleanses us from the hardness and idols, and asks us for a sacrifice - the living sacrifice of our hearts (Romans 12:1-2). And he accepts us, graciously calling us fragrant incense (Psalms 69:30-32), because he delights in being our God and having us as ’the sheep of his pasture.’

God can heal the incurable wounds we inflict on our own hearts and spirits (Jeremiah 30:10-22). No matter how far away we think we may be, he can save us from a distant place. He appeals to us to turn away from the world’s false allies, the false hopes of its possessions, accomplishments, pleasures, and fame.

He has done many miracles in our hearts just to draw us near, and his call is simply to devote ourselves to stay close to him, let him be our God and our life.

- Mark Garner, September 2015

Images Of God’s Cleansing & Refining

(Ezekiel 21-25)

The next several chapters in Ezekiel contain a series of images of the Israelites’ guilt and their need for cleansing. Many of these images are harsh and graphic, in order to communicate God’s feelings to their hardened hearts. We shall look at a few selected Scriptures from these chapters, to illustrate the main points that God is making.

Images Of Cleansing - Spiritual Parallels (Ezekiel 21-23)

Each of the images in these chapters holds spiritual parallels for everyone. Even as we read these gloomy visions, we see God’s holiness and his faithfulness, because he will do anything he can to keep us from spiritual death. He gently reminds us time after time to seek him with our hearts; and when our hearts become hard, he disciplines us only in the hope we will return.

Ezekiel 21 tells of another attack by the Babylonians, that this time will lead to Jerusalem’s fall. Ezekiel 22 details the uncleanness and the hardness of heart in Judah. Ezekiel 23 uses an image we also saw in Ezekiel 16, depicting Israel and Judah as adulterous and defiled.

The call to take off the turban of the high priest and to remove the crown of the prince (Ezekiel 21:24-27) would soon take place literally, yet it has a deeper meaning. We have often seen the image of being taken captive as a metaphor for captivity to sin (John 8:34-36). Jesus likewise exalts the lowly by giving them his light, while bringing the exalted low, showing their spiritual blindness (John 9:39).

No crown belongs to any earthly ruler, nor does the turban of a high priest belong to any earthly religious figure, for these belong to Jesus alone, who God has exalted to the highest place for his perfect humility in laying down his life to redeem us (Philippians 2:5-11).

We’ve also seen the image of refining in the furnace, removing the world’s dross and cleansing us from impurity (Ezekiel 22:17-29). Just as the land needed cleansing and rain, God along with refining us, he sends the showers of the water of life, to refresh our weary spirits (Psalms 68:7-10)

The people need once again to turn to distinguishing the holy from the common, to distinguish the clean from the unclean (Leviticus 10:10). The things the world values highly are unimportant to our God, and the kind of holiness he seeks goes deeper than the appearances. Because of this, he reminds them also not to listen to the false visions of ’prophets’ who spoke on their own. As we saw in Ezekiel 11, rescuing them spiritually is more important than rescuing them physically.

God will also refine our hearts so that we will no longer look on the world’s unclean things with longing (Ezekiel 23:27-28). His hope is not that we depend on our own will power, rather he wants us to let his words come into our hearts so we will ’turn away in disgust’ and ask him for the true life that comes from knowing God (Romans 6:21-23).

The Cooking Pot & A Call To

Look Beyond Appearances

(Ezekiel 24)

Next Ezekiel returns to the image of the cooking pot, an image the Judeans had devised to give themselves false hope. Instead of the physical rescue they had hoped for, the prophet reminds them that those who turn to God will be rescued spiritually. Then, Ezekiel is again called on to use his own sufferings as an example to the exiles, a reminder to look beyond the appearances.

The image of heaping on the wood and kindling the fire are a vivid image of the complete cleansing that only God can give us (Ezekiel 24:10-12). He even burns away the deposits on the empty pot, reminding us that we cannot do this with our own efforts, his call to open our hearts to Jesus and let him cleanse us thoroughly.

Then we see Ezekiel’s sorrow as his wife dies (Ezekiel 24:15-18). This is neither a punishment to Ezekiel nor to his wife. God knew her death was near, so he encourages Ezekiel to see this as a mercy to her to spare her more suffering (Isaiah 57:1), to grieve quietly in his heart yet not to follow the usual outward pattern of mourning.

So Ezekiel is a sign to the exiles (Ezekiel 24:19-24). The appearances they had depended on were about to fall; the temple and the city of Jerusalem would be taken away. They will no longer be able to find false hope in their earthly things nor their own strength nor their own knowledge, rather to put their hope in God’s grace and compassion for them, and put their hope in his spiritual salvation (Psalms 33:16-19).

Brought Low To Be Restored (Ezekiel 25)

Ezekiel now turns to prophecies concerning Judah’s neighbors. These nations had either led the Israelites astray with their idolatry, or had turned against them in times of weakness. God brought them low, yet even for them he held out the hope of restoring those who would seek him. We shall look at some Scriptures from Jeremiah to see this.

The Ammonites would be given as plunder (Ezekiel 25:6-7), because they were trusting in their riches (Jeremiah 49:4-6). Yet even as God proclaims that they would be ’wiped out,’ he also promises through Jeremiah that their spiritual fortunes would be restored. They too will be given the chance to seek God with their heart, no matter where they were scattered (Deuteronomy 30:3-4). No earthly nation is important in itself to God; what matters to our God is each heart.

Likewise, the Moabites will not be remembered (Ezekiel 25:10-11), because they defied the Lord (Jeremiah 48:42). Yet their spiritual fortunes will also be restored (Jeremiah 48:46-47), for they too will have the chance to turn to God when they recognize his voice. God’s hope for them, and for all those everywhere and in every time, is that they would seek him with their hearts.

God sends abundant spiritual showers to turn the wilderness green, for each of us who seek him with our hearts (Joel 2:21-32). The locusts may eat the world’s appearances, but he will replace what they have eaten with far better things like his grace and his truth and his hope and his 9peace. He gives us a double portion of grace, pouring out his Spirit on each of us. He rescues those spiritually who recognize his voice and call on his name.

- Mark Garner, September 2015

We Will Know The Lord, & He Is Holy (Ezekiel 26-28)

These three chapters include a series of laments for the city of Tyre, which was an emporium for the world during the time of Ezekiel. Yet it is also a lament over human nature, our tendency to put false hope in this world’s things, and our tendency to think too highly of ourselves. These images also remind us of God’s holiness, and of his hope that we will see him for who he is.

The World’s Marketplace (Ezekiel 26-27)

In its day, Tyre was one of the world’s leading commerce centers and marketplaces. Yet this lament is much more than a lament for their times. This world is itself a marketplace, where we can choose to put our hope in money and possessions, in our accomplishments and talents, or in the world’s ’fun’ and its pastimes. God’s reminder is that none of these can satisfy our spirits.

Ezekiel 26 describes Tyre’s lofty ambitions at the time, then foretells the coming siege they will face, and concludes with a lament over its fall. Ezekiel 27 begins with a lament over the appearances of Tyre, with vivid images of Tyre’s luxury and prosperity (compare Ezekiel 27:1-24 with Revelation 18:9-19), then a lament of its past.

The prophet depicts their ambitions during a time of trouble as them saying, ’Aha! . . . I will prosper’ (Ezekiel 26:1-8). True to human nature, they couldn’t help themselves from giving in to every apparent opportunity to obtain one more thing, accomplish one more achievement. They were always pursuing appearances that will disappear like a mist (James 4:13-15). Instead, God calls us near and let him explain what is better for our spirits.

Historically, Tyre would soon be attacked by Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar. The city had two parts, a city on a fortified island and the other on the mainland, and Nebuchadnezzar ravaged the mainland settlement and put the rest of the city under siege. We too are under siege, a spiritual siege, yet when we trust in God, he delivers us (Psalms 31:21-22).

So there is a lament over Tyre’s fall (Ezekiel 26:17-18). It seemed so unlikely that such a strong city could have fallen so quickly. The coastlands trembled at Tyre’s fall, because God has shown the world that everything human eyes can see is easily shaken, to remind us that our only true hope is above and unshakable (Hebrews 12:26-27).

The lament over Tyre’s appearances describes in detail its elegant furnishings and its careful plans to look strong and prosperous (Ezekiel 27:1-11). They went to great lengths to accumulate the best of the world’s wealth, instead of putting their hope in God (Psalms 39:4-7). Jesus himself gave us his compassionate reminder not to seek things that spoil and fade and vanish; rather to fix our eyes on things above (Matthew 6:19-22).

In the lament over Tyre’s past (Ezekiel 27:32-34, see also Revelation 18:14-17) the world is lamenting what it has lost, rather than caring for the human lives who have been lost. God teaches us to consider the world’s things as loss for the sake of coming to know Jesus, who gives us far better spiritual blessings (Philippians 3:7-9).

Cleansing The Human Heart (Ezekiel 28)

This lament for the king of Tyre cautions us against how easy it can be for our hearts to become hardened and proud. Although this portrayal of the king has sometimes been associated with the devil, it goes far deeper than that. Each of us has been created in God’s image, to be pure and holy, made to live with our God. We have all fallen, yet God is ready to cleanse us.

This king has a heart that has gone proud (Ezekiel 28:1-5), hardened by its ways and decisions and outward results that have made him wise in his own eyes (Proverbs 28:11). God patiently reminds us that only his ways are trustworthy. We so often do not know what is good for ourselves or for others; so he calls us not to trust in our own understanding, but trust in the paths he shows us, for he can make our path to him straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

The memorable lament over human nature contrasts how God made us to be, and the fall we all undergo (Ezekiel 28:11-16). God created each of us to make us his treasured possession, to make us pure and sanctified, so that we could live with him (Ephesians 1:3-6).

Yet the world’s empty things and its futile ways led us all astray. The world’s false glitter blinds human minds to prevent them from seeing God’s light (2 Corinthians 4:4-5). Our hope is not in ourselves, rather God himself is our hope and our only light of life. Though we have all fallen far short, God in his everlasting grace has raised us back to life (Romans 3:21-26).

As God would do for the Israelites, God has gathered us from the places where we have been scattered (Ezekiel 28:25-26), and has brought us to a place where our souls are safe, our true home of walking with him. God proves himself holy by his ways that are far higher than our own, and by his righteous acts that draw us back to him, so he can pour out his grace on us (Isaiah 5:16-17).

In God’s abundant grace, he has shown us his Way Of Holiness (Isaiah 35:1-10). He alone can bring life to this spiritual desert, and he has shown us the highway to him that only his hands could have made, the Way that human minds and efforts could never have found. He has proved himself compassionate and holy and faithful.

- Mark Garner, September 2015

Lament & Consolation (Ezekiel 29-31)

As with the laments about Tyre, these visions about Egypt speak beyond the historical events, for they tell us about human nature and our need for God in every era. Egypt is an image of the bondage and emptiness of following this world’s ways and possessions. As God explains this, he gives our spirits the consolation of knowing he has redeemed those who trust in him.

Alas For Egypt (Ezekiel 29-30)

God often needed to warn the Israelites against wanting to return to Egypt, and needed to remind them not to put false hope in Egypt. As Egypt’s weakness was revealed historically, so too God reminds us not to put our hope in this world’s ways and possessions and accomplishments, for these can never meet our deepest needs.

The first vision exposes Egypt’s emptiness, its hollow boasts, and the weakness beneath the appearances (Ezekiel 29:3-7). It looked a monster, seeming imposing like the sea god of chaos in Egypt’s myths, yet it was a monster only God could humble and tame (Psalms 74:12-17). God opens up springs and dries up rivers; he made the night and the day.

So God calls us not to lean on the unreliable staff of this world’s thinking, a reed that tears the hands of those who depend on it; and not to put false hope in this world’s things, for these can never redeem us nor give us true life (Psalms 49:13-15). We trust instead in our God, who redeems us from spiritual death.

God would scatter the Egyptians (figuratively, not literally) and would gather them afterwards (Ezekiel 29:12-16). This was not punishment for punishment’s sake; rather it was to soften their hearts so that me might restore their spiritual fortunes, to give them the chance to hear his words and follow him (Isaiah 19:23-25).

Part of this vision is the curious mention of a gift for Nebuchadnezzar (Ezekiel 29:19-20). He did not obtain as much plunder from Tyre as he had expected, so God allowed him to obtain wealth from raiding Egypt. This was in part to pay his army, yet far more so that one day he may know the living God (Daniel 4:37).

The next vision calls for wailing for Egypt, because the day of the Lord is near (Ezekiel 30:1-6). This depiction of the collapse of Egypt’s apparent strength and the collapse of its allies took place historically; yet again the spiritual meaning is far more significant. As Ezekiel tells us that Egypt’s foundations would be torn down, so too did Jesus call us to look to him as our sure foundation, instead of trusting in Egypt’s faulty foundations (Luke 6:46-49).

Consolation For The Fallen Cedars (Ezekiel 31)

This vision once more reminds us of the emptiness of the world’s appearances, and how suddenly they can disappear. This would be the case historically with Egypt, yet the deeper meaning is on a spiritual level - God’s hopes for us to be made pure and holy, our straying into this world’s empty ways, and the redemption and inward renewal God gives us by Jesus’ blood and his grace.

Again we see the image of a tree nourished by deep springs (Ezekiel 31:1-9). The tree flourishes as long as it remembers the source of life, because of God’s faithful care for his cedar, a vine he transplanted from the deserts of Egypt into his spiritual pasture (Psalms 80:7-11).

Then, sadly the tree becomes proud, and gives itself over to the world’s ways (Ezekiel 31:10-14). So it is given over to the ruler of the nations, the prince of this world, for it has wandered from God’s side. If we too stray from God’s side, it might even bring success in this world’s eyes, yet boars and insects will ravage our spirits (Psalms 80:12-15).

The consolation for the fallen trees is that none of them could ever have been strong on their own (Ezekiel 31:15-18). God’s consolation for everyone who seeks him with our hearts is that he has shined his light on us and has saved us. And his consolation for his sheep when they wander, is that they need only turn back to him and open their hearts to him, for he will restore them too and will shine his light on them (Psalms 80:17-19)

God generously gives consolation and comfort to those who seek him with our hearts (Isaiah 57:13-19). Instead of putting our trust in this world’s idols, he calls us to take refuge in him, for he is near to those who recognize to his voice.

God has built up the road to him that we could neither have built nor even have found on our own, and he has removed the obstacles that were too strong for us. Our God calls us to come to him, and let him give us his healing that brings enduring peace.

- Mark Garner, October 2015

Come To God, & Live (Ezekiel 32-33)

The next chapter concludes a series of visions on Egypt and its Pharaohs, images of human nature and its ways. God does not punish for punishment’s sake; rather often disciplines us to remind us that our hope is above, not in this world. Then we see once again the image of a watchman, and his call to come to God, and live.

Consolation For The Fallen (Ezekiel 32)

In this lament and the vision that follows, Pharaoh is again an image of human ambition and the false hope it puts in its own accomplishments and possessions. These human ways ’muddy the waters’ and make it hard for us to see God more clearly. God consoles the fallen with the truth that none of us can stand on our own, for only God can make us stand by his grace.

The Pharaoh thought he was a lion, yet he was just a ’monster,’ a beast (Ezekiel 32:1-3). Human efforts to glorify themselves and attempts to prove themselves are mere muddying of the waters, just noise and confusion (Jeremiah 3:23). Surely in God is our hope, our salvation, our life.

Yet many are troubled by the fall of the monster, appalled at the times when one of their idols topples (Ezekiel 32:8-10). The flesh trembles for itself when human nature is humbled (Isaiah 2:17-19), yet this is God’s compassionate reminder not to run from his presence; rather come to him, set aside our idols and exalt his name.

The images of all of these nations who have fallen by the sword go much farther than historical prophecy (Ezekiel 32:17-21). It is an image of the spiritual fall of everyone who lives by the world’s weapons. For those who live by the sword will see their souls consumed by it (Psalms 33:16-19). God’s grace and his words and his love are the only sure foundation.

The fallen are given the ironic consolation that they could never have stood on their own, and have been brought low to have the chance to be raised by God’s grace (Ezekiel 32:31). Human expectations inevitably lead to disappointment, so instead of giving us false reassurance, God ’humbles the beast’ that he may bring us near (Psalms 68:30; Psalms 68:18); that even the rebellious may bring him the gift of a softened heart.

God’s Call Of Grace & Truth (Ezekiel 33)

We’ve seen before the image of Ezekiel as a watchman, who speaks the words God gives him whether his hearers listen or not. God’s call of grace and truth reminds us that his ways are far higher than our own. He patiently reminds us that we cannot earn nor deserve his favor, so he simply calls us to turn our hearts to him, for only he can redeem us.

God’s call to the prophet to be a watchman for the land (Ezekiel 33:7-16, see also notes on Ezekiel 3:16 is not a warning to him, rather it is a reassurance. God’s simple call is to speak the words that he gives him (Ezekiel 33:25-27), and how his listeners respond is between them and God. The watchman proclaims the morning when he sees light, and proclaims the night when it is dark (Isaiah 21:11-12).

And God’s call to the righteous and the unrighteous, those near and far, those high and low, is to turn to God, and live (Psalms 130:5-8). Put our hope in God’s full redemption, as a watchman waits attentively for good news.

God’s ways are just and gracious (Ezekiel 33:17-20). His listeners were grumbling at Ezekiel’s message, for they believed they had ’done enough’ to make themselves righteous. Yet human righteousness can never bring us nearer to God, so God credits his own righteousness to those who trust in the promises of Jesus (Philippians 3:8-11).

Whether they listen to God’s words and follow him, or whether they pursue their own paths, in the end they will know that he is the Lord (Ezekiel 33:29-33). God has mentioned several times that Ezekiel’s hearers may often be stubborn, so he reassures him that in the end they will also know that a prophet has been among them (Habakkuk 2:2-4), for the words Ezekiel will speak have come from God.

The watchmen have called out to us: come to God, for he has opened the gates to his presence through the blood of Jesus (Jeremiah 31:3-12). He draws us with his unfailing love, not with rules nor threats nor false promises. He leads us to springs of living water to give our souls what they really need. He who scattered Israel gathers his flock, and he carries us back to our true home with our God.

- Mark Garner, October 2015

God Cares For Us Like A Shepherd (Ezekiel 34)

The image of scattering and gathering occurs often in Ezekiel. In Ezekiel’s era, this took place in a literal sense, when Judah was exiled to Babylon and later allowed to return. Yet these images speak on a far deeper level. We often wander and scatter when we follow the wrong shepherd, yet our compassionate God gathers us back when we seek him with our hearts.

They Were Scattered Because They Had No Shepherd

(Ezekiel 34:1-10)

Just as sheep wander in all directions when they have no shepherd, we easily go astray when God is not our shepherd. There are many in this world who want to be our ’shepherd’ - some are well-intentioned, others are not, yet in any case they can never bring real meaning nor a real purpose nor true life to God’s sheep.

The Scriptures often use sheep as an image for human beings, because we wander over all the earth, looking for greener pastures or chasing the things of this world (Ezekiel 34:1-6). Some of this world’s shepherds care for us, many don’t; yet in any case they cannot give us the things our souls really need, nor heal our deepest wounds, nor rescue us from spiritual foes too powerful for us all (John 10:11-13).

God’s sheep are scattered when they forget their God, their resting place for our souls, the sure foundation for our times (Jeremiah 50:6). This world cannot be any of these things for us. Yet as his sheep, we can always pray for one another, reassure one another of God’s truths, and encourage one another to look above and seek God who is worthy of all honor, our eternal Shepherd who can give peace to our souls and who gives us everything (Isaiah 26:12-13).

And our Jesus is able to rescue to his straying sheep; he knows where to find us, he knows what our souls need, and he is willing to give us what we need (Ezekiel 34:7-10). He saves us from being eaten by wild beasts, he bore our sins and bled and died to redeem us; by his wounds are healed (Isaiah 53:4-6). He was the perfect sacrifice to rescue us from spiritual death and to raise us up to the true life of walking with our God.

God Gathers His Scattered Flock (Ezekiel 34:11-24)

God himself is our true Shepherd, who seeks for us and finds us wherever we are scattered. When we forget to look above and follow the light of Jesus, we get lost in the world’s darkness and clouds without even realizing it. Yet God is our faithful shepherd who finds us and is always near, patiently calling us back whenever we stray, reminding us to listen to his voice.

God himself searches for us; and when we recognize his voice, he rescues us from the places we were scattered (Ezekiel 34:11-16). When we take our eyes off of God, we are scattered on days of clouds and darkness (Isaiah 59:9-10), led astray to pursue our own ways, to seek this world’s empty things, to put false hope in this world’s futile thinking, seeking meaning and life where we can never find it. Yet God has compassion for us and gathers us back (Isaiah 59:15-16).

He brings us to our own land, our true home with our God, where we can find rest for our souls (Psalms 62:1-2). He leads us to rich spiritual pasture where he gives us his spiritual blessings that our spirits need (Deuteronomy 33:13-15), he produces spiritual fruit of grace and truth and patience that we couldn’t have produced on our own.

As God makes these comforting promises, he has some reminders for his sheep (Ezekiel 34:17-24). He will shepherd his flock with justice (Psalms 96:11-13), because he does not judge by appearances nor by our accomplishments nor by our talents nor by our knowledge; rather, he looks for those who seek him with their hearts.

Thus he reminds his sheep not to act like fierce lions who muddy the water and trample the pasture by pursuing their own ways (Ezekiel 32:2). Instead, he calls us to be like our shepherd; listen to his voice, and follow him (John 10:2-5). Just recognize God’s voice of grace and truth.

We Will Know That He Is The Lord, Our God

(Ezekiel 34:25-31)

We know that he is the Lord, our God; and he shows us who he is. The things he made show us his majesty, his ways show us his holiness, his words show his understanding and his compassion. Most of all, he wants us to consider the acts of grace he has done to show us the closeness that he wants to have with us, to draw us near and make us the sheep of his pasture.

We will know he is with us, and we are his people (Ezekiel 34:25-31). We know that he is faithful, for he makes his everlasting covenant of peace with us (Isaiah 54:10). We know that he is compassionate, because he sends showers of spiritual blessing, softening our hearts and lavishing his grace upon us (Psalms 65:9-11).

When we call on his name, he breaks the bars of the yoke of this world’s empty ways, because of his unfailing love for us (Psalms 107:13-16). We are the sheep of his pasture, whom he cares for and justifies by his own righteousness; for he is our Rock of salvation, our Maker, our God (Psalms 95:1-7).

The Lord is our true Shepherd (Psalms 23). He leads us to green pastures of grace and truth, and leads us by quiet waters even in this world’s noise and confusion. He shows us the right path, the path that we couldn’t have found and couldn’t have built. He comforts us in times of fear and sorrow by reminding us of what is imperishable and true and real. And our God has called us to dwell with him now and forever.

- Mark Garner, October 2015

The Wasteland Will Become Like A Garden

(Ezekiel 35-36)

After the comforting images of God being our Shepherd who searches for us, there is an aside to Edom; and then Ezekiel returns to describing the renewal and cleansing that only God can bring. We see again the image of God giving us a new heart and a new spirit, God’s desire to renew us inwardly, to transform the dry ground in our hearts into a spiritual garden only he could plant.

Struck Down, But Not Destroyed (Ezekiel 35:1 to Ezekiel 36:15)

The message to Edom again has a deeper meaning beyond the literal and historical application. God has allowed Judah to be struck down physically, yet not to destroy them, rather to renew them inwardly. Likewise, he will humble the hard hearts of Edom, to give them the chance to seek him and find him.

God’s message to the Edomite heart is also a message for every time and every place (Ezekiel 35:1-15). God patiently reminds us not to allow our hearts to become proud and hardened, not to harbor hostility and rivalry and malice (Obadiah 1:3-4). The Edomites had rejoiced over the fall of their neighbors, their brothers in Judah, and had even added to their affliction (Obadiah 1:10-12).

God calls us instead to look with pity on those who are brought low by their own ways and pride. For as Edom would be desolated and refined (Obadiah 1:21), God will soften our hearts in any way he can, so that we may turn to him and seek him with our hearts.

God’s message to the mountains and hills and desolate ruins of Israel (Ezekiel 36:1-15) also speaks to us all. God plows the unplowed ground in our hearts and sows his seed of faith in them so that we may seek him, so that he may soften us and may shower us with his grace and his spiritual care (Hosea 10:11-12).

As God also delivered Judah from suffering the scorn and taunts of the nations around them, he too has redeemed us; he protects us from the accuser’s taunts and has taken away the disgrace of our own sins (Isaiah 25:7-9). He has taken away the shroud of spiritual death, and has clothed us with Jesus and his own righteousness.

We Will Know That He Is The Lord,

Who Rebuilds & Replants

(Ezekiel 36:16-38)

As Ezekiel now returns to the imagery of God giving us a new heart and a new spirit, he explains that God does this out of his own faithfulness and his holiness, not because of anything we had done. We cannot make ourselves righteous; and this world’s accomplishments and talents and possessions will fade away; but God’s righteousness never fails and his salvation lasts forever.

God shows us the holiness of his name through his trustworthy ways and his words of truth (Ezekiel 36:16-23). Ezekiel explains how God refines and purifies us for the sake of his own holy name (Isaiah 48:9-11); as we often see in Ezekiel, so that we will know that he is the Lord and may understand who he is. He washes us and renews us not because we were righteous or deserved it, rather because of his unfailing love and his desire that he may be near us (Titus 3:4-6).

So the prophet again reassures us of God’s promise to give us a new heart and a new spirit when we turn to him (Ezekiel 36:24-38). Only God himself can cleanse us from all impurity and can sanctify us through and through; only God himself can make us stand in his presence - and he is faithful, and he will do it (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

God washes away our sins, and he removes the idols and hardness and self from our hearts, so we may come near and follow our God (Hebrews 10:19-22), to reassure us of his compassion and his own faithfulness.

And our God promises us that when we listen to him and follow him, the land laid waste will become like a garden; he will restore the peace of being with him, and he will rebuild our spiritual ruins (Isaiah 51:3-6). So we no longer need to put false hope in this world’s teachings nor its ways, nor in our own knowledge nor our efforts nor our accomplishments nor our possessions, rather to look above and see our God, our living hope.

For he is the Lord, who renews us inwardly day by day (2 Corinthians 4). His great light has come into this darkened world, and he has shown us his glory and compassion for us. He has put his precious treasure in our fragile jars of clay, that Jesus death and Jesus’ life may live in us, that we may have the true life of knowing him and may understand his unfailing love for us.

So he gives us his gentle reminder, to look beyond this world’s appearances, fix our eyes on things above. For what physical eyes can see is mere dust and ashes, while the unseen is imperishable and eternal.

- Mark Garner, November 2015

Ezekiel

By Ralph L. Starling

Ezekiel is prophesying across many a mile

Living in Babylon the life of an exile

Jerusalem had not yet been undermined

But Ezekiel said it was only a matter of time.

Ezekiel was God’s mouthpiece about Judah’s future

If only they would listen they wouldn’t be butchered.

God helped Ezekiel with many visions

That would help Judayh make their decisions.

By graphic descriptions he told their sentence

God would interfere if only they would listen.

He offered encouragement to give them new hope,

Hoping they would get off their “slippery slope.”

At this time Jerusalem was still standing

Ezekiel’s preaching had become demanding.

God was making things all too plain

To think they’d refuse filled him with pain.

A remnant of Israel still survived,

Except they repent many would die.

Ezekiel, Isaiah and other prophets had tried.

It was a matter only they could decide.

God’s anger against Idolatry was not only Israel

But the evil nations aound he’d punish as well.

So Ezekiel took God’s call most seriously

The evidence said the future could be differently.

Ezekiel was given hints about a new Jerusalem

And the Messiah would be there to help them.

So, he seems to say, “If bad comes to worst”

We will serve God and in Him put our trust.

Some say the author is unknown

The whole book seems like Jeremiah’s song.

Poems and songs describing Judah’s fate,

He tried to tell them, now it’s too late.