Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel 22

Verse 1

Eze 22:1-2. The prophet is again told to direct his writing against the bloody city which means Jerusalem which was still standing. He was to recall to her the many abominations of which she was guilty, both physical and spiritual.

Verse 3

Eze 22:3. The city of Jerusalem not only harbored many idols, but also shielded men who were guilty of bloodshed against the helpless citizens.

Verse 4

Eze 22:4. Caused thy days to draw near referred to the closeness of the final downfall of the city. Made thee a reproach is past tense in form and to some extent it was so, for the bulk of the men of Judah were already in Babylon. However, the last act of the great drama was yet to come when tiie city would he destroyed by the army of the Babylonians.

Verse 5

Eze 22:5. When a great city like Jerusalem is utterly destroyed it always causes much comment from the people of tiie countries. Some might make remarks that were prompted by sincere regret that so great a city should come to ruin. Others would speak in derision and exultation as over the downfall of a dreaded rival.

Verse 6

Eze 22:6. The princes or leading men in Israel (Judah) used their advantage of position and prestige to carry out their personal wicked designs. Such a course included the shedding of innocent blood of which they were frequently accused by the inspired prophets and other teachers.

Verse 7

Eze 22:7. Set light means to make light of or belittle, and these wicked leaders in Jerusalem lost almost all "natural affection." If a man would lose respect for his own parents it might be expected that he would have very little regard for others. Hence these wicked lenders used oppressive measures against the visitors to their city, and also took advantage of the fatherless and widows.

Verse 8

Eze 22:8. These men despised (belittled) the holy things pertaining to the services of the temple. They profaned the sabbaths by ignoring the observance due the sacred days and by using the time in carrying out their wicked devices for gain.

Verse 9

Eze 22:9. There are three unrighteous practices mentioned in this verse. One is the peddling of gossip that led to the shedding of innocent blood. Another is to eat upon the mountains which means to participate in idolatrous feasts, and the other pertains to practices of immorality.

Verse 10

Eze 22:10. Ordinary lewdneas was not enough for these wicked men, but they invaded the sacred rights of their nearest relations. They were so vicious in their immoral indulgencies that they violated Lev 18:19.

Verse 11

Eze 22:11. This verse refers to the general and promiscuous practice of immorality. No rank of social or blood connection furnished any protection against the assaults of theSe abominable characters who were blind to ail sense of decency.

Verse 12

Eze 22:12. It is bad enough to shed blood in anger or on the spur of the moment, but these men deliberately did so for the sake of bribes. Their greed for gain was so great that they violated the law against usury in order to obtain It. They also took advantage of the urgency of a man’s condition to extort money from him.

Verse 13

Eze 22:13. Have smitten mine hand refers to the gesture that was used in ancient times to emphasize the intensity of God’s feelings against wicked men.

Verse 14

Eze 22:14. Can thine hands be strong was the Lord’s way of telling them they would not be able to resist the wrath that He would soon bring against them.

Verse 15

Eze 22:15. This verse has direct reference to the captivity. It was to be accomplished in the Babylonian Empire which is a singular word, but that great institution was composed of many countries, hence the mention of that subject in connection with the scattering among the heathen. Consume thy filthiness applies specifically to the cure of idolatry which the captivity was to accomplish.

Verse 16

Eze 22:16. Inheritance is from chalai. which Strong defines, "To bore, i.e. (by implication) to wound, to dissolve; figuratively to profane a person.” The verse means that Judah would he humiliated in the sight of the heathen by her corrupt conduct.

Verse 17

Eze 22:17-18. Dross is the worthless material that is found in silver ore, and the article is used to illustrate the sunken value of Judah in the Lord’s sight.

Verse 19

Eze 22:19. These evil men of Judah were destined to be put through the fire of God’s chastisement, and they were to be seized upon while in the midst ot Jerusalem.

Verse 20

Eze 22:20. Not that these people were to be left in Jerusalem, except until they would be subjected to the siege and made to feel the heat of God’s wrath.

Verse 21

Eze 22:21. The comparison of these verses is drawn from the work of the smelter, where fire is used to separate the dross from the silver.

Verse 22

Eze 22:22. The men of Judah were to be subjected to the test in order to learn about the wrath of the Lord. The warnings that had been repeatedly given them by the Lord through the prophets had fallen on deaf ears, so a physical test of chastisement was necessary to bring them to their Benses.

Verse 23

Eze 22:23-24. Land not cleansed has reference to the many pollutions both physical and moral of which the land was guilty. Nor rained upon. In those times God sometimes punished the land by withholding the rain (1Ki 8:35; Deu 11:17).

Verse 25

Eze 22:25. These were the false prophets who joined with other leading men in a conspiracy to defraud the people. They had practiced their wicked devices for personal gain even to the shedding of innocent blood.

Verse 26

Eze 22:26. These priests had some encouragement for their unlawful conduct In the false teaching of the prophets. Jer 5:31 shows a conspiracy between the evil priests and prophets. One of the surest in-dications of degeneracy is the confusing of clean and unclean things. Profane things might mean simply the things of a temporal nature and not necessarily wrong. But when the holy or sacred things are put on a basis with the profane or temporal, great corruption results.

Verse 27

Eze 22:27. Ravening is from TARAPH and Strong defines it, “To pluck off or pull to pieces.” The idea is the princes were vicious in their activities against, the helpless. The terrible nature of this situation Is shown in the fact that all this violence against the victims was for the sake of temporal gain.

Verse 28

Eze 22:28. This comparison to untempered mortar in the case of false teaching was used in Eze 13:9-11 and commented upon in that place. The false prophets claimed to have received some vision from the Lord, whereas He would not even make any use of such persons in such important matters as pertained to the welfare of the nation.

Verse 29

Eze 22:29. The people of the land would have reference to those citizens who had advantages over the others. Oppression is from a word that is defined "fraud” in the lexicon. They used deceitful means to get hold of the possessions of the poor and needy. They did not stop at defrauding their fellow citizens, but extended their fraudulent dealings to the strangers which means people who were visiting the country.

Verse 30

Eze 22:30. Make up the hedge is figurative and means to build up the weakened condition of the city. No man could be found who was able to remedy the condition.

Verse 31

Eze 22:31. Have poured out was both history and prophecy. Most of the national ruin had taken place but some of it was still in the future. Own way have I recompensed means the Lord imposed upon his unfaithful people the judgment that was due them in view of the way they had acted. The Lord is always compassionate toward the creatures of His care, but when they become impenitent, and ungrateful for divine favors, they must expect to receive the punishment their sins deserve.