Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezekiel 21:21

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Ezekiel 21:21. For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way — He was in doubt which way he should first take; whether to humble the Ammonites by taking their metropolis, Riblath, or go at once against Jerusalem. In this case of uncertainty, he made use of divination. And this was of three kinds: 1. By arrows. 2. By images or talismans. 3. By inspecting the entrails of a sacrifice offered on the occasion.

1. He made bright his arrows. This might be after the manner in which the divination is still practiced among the Arabs. These arrows were without head or wing. They took three. On one they wrote, Command me, Lord. On the second, Forbid me, Lord. The third was blank. These were put in a bag, and the querist put in his hand and took one out. If it was Command me, he set about the business immediately; if it was Forbid me, he rested for a whole year; if it was the blank one, he drew again. On all occasions the Arabs consulted futurity by such arrows. See D'Herbelot, under the word ACDAH.

2. As to the images, the Hebrew calls them תרפים teraphim. Genesis 31:19.

3. And as to the liver, I believe it was only inspected to see whether the animal offered in sacrifice were sound and healthy, of which the state of the liver is the most especial indication. When the liver is sound, the animal is healthy; and it would have been a bad omen to any who offered sacrifice, to find that the animal they had offered to their gods was diseased; as, in that case, they would have taken for granted that the sacrifice was not accepted.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

No possibility of escape (21:18-32)

In another acted message, the prophet drew a map on the ground, showing a road out of Babylon that branched in two directions. One led to Jerusalem, the other to Rabbah, capital of Ammon. By means of markings on the map, Ezekiel indicated that the king of Babylon had arrived at the road junction and was trying to decide whether to go and attack Rabbah or go and besiege Jerusalem. The king used three superstitious methods to determine which way to go: drawing lots (using arrows for lots), consulting idols, and looking into the liver of a sacrificed animal (18-21).
The decision of the Babylonian king was to besiege Jerusalem (22). The Jerusalemites, however, were not worried by this news. They took no notice of what they considered to be Babylonian superstitions. They trusted instead in their treaty with Egypt. But it would make no difference to the outcome; Jerusalem would be captured (23).
Jerusalem was doomed because of its sin; so was Zedekiah, and for the same reason. The proud king would suffer the greatest humiliation. There would not be another king over Israel till the Messiah came, to whom the throne rightly belonged (24-27).
Meanwhile the Ammonites, having escaped the Babylonian attack, took the opportunity to join in crushing Jerusalem. They were encouraged in this by lying prophets who assured them they were doing God’s work. The true prophet Ezekiel told them they were only making certain their own punishment (28-29). The Ammonites were not God’s instrument for punishing Jerusalem. When they returned to their own country, God would punish them (by means of a Babylonian attack) for their unprovoked attack on his people (30-32).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"The word of Jehovah came to me again, saying, Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; they twain shall come forth out of one land: and mark out a place, mark it out at the head of the way to the city. Thou shalt appoint a way to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified. For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shook the arrows to and fro, he consulted the teraphim, he looked in the liver. In his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to cast up the mounds to build forts. And it shall be unto them a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths unto them; but he bringeth iniquity in remembrance, that they may be taken."

"Appoint thee two ways" These lines seem to be God's explanation to Ezekiel of the meaning of that divination sought by Nebuchadnezzar, at the head of the two ways. "Damascus was the point at which the ancient trade routes separated."International Critical Commentary, p. 231.

"Mark out a place at the head of the way to the city" Since nothing is said of Ezekiel's going all the way to Damascus, it could be that some crucial place on the road from Damascus to Jerusalem would be the place that Ezekiel was commanded to mark. In any case, the Jews did not believe it.

The three types of divination which Nebuchadnezzar consulted were: (1) he placed two arrows in a quiver, one marked Ammon, the other Jerusalem. He shook them and poured them out; the Jerusalem arrow came out first. We do not know how (2) the teraphim and (3) the liver were consulted. This is the first passage in which the terrible sword of the Lord is also identified as the sword of the king of Babylon.

"In his right hand is the divination for Jerusalem" This indicates that Nebuchadnezzar had reached into the bag with the arrows and pulled out the one marked Jerusalem, or that, after that arrow fell out, he picked it up with his right hand. In any case, it meant that Jerusalem would be attacked first. The whole verse, with its mention of battering rams, forts, the slaughter, the shouting, etc.

"It shall be unto them as a false divination" The remarkable thing in this verse is that the Jews themselves had depended upon such divinations, but now they refused to believe it. We believe that Ezekiel told the people of Nebuchadnezzar's divination and the results of it, the information having come to the prophet by the direct revelation of God.

"He will call to remembrance" "This refers to Nebuchadnezzar, and the iniquity he will call to remembrance is the perjury and treason of the king of Israel, Zedekiah."George Barlow, The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary (New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1891), p. 256.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The third word of judgment. The king of Babylon’s march upon Judaea and upon the Ammonites. Destruction is to go forth not on Judah only, but also on such neighboring tribes as the Ammonites (compare Jeremiah 27:2-3).

Ezekiel 21:19

Appoint thee - Set before thee.

Choose thou a place, choose it - Rather, “mark a spot, mark it,” as upon a map, at the head of the two roads, one leading to Jerusalem, the other to Ammon. These were the two roads by one or other of which an invading army must march from Babylon to Egypt.

Ezekiel 21:21

The Chaldaean king is depicted standing at the entrance of the holy land from the north, meditating his campaign, using rites of divination that really belonged to the Akkadians, a primitive race which originally occupied the plains of Mesopotamia. The Accadians and the Etruscans belong through the Finnish family to the Turanian stock; this passage therefore shows a characteristic mode of divination in use among two widely separated nations; and as the Romans acquired their divination from the conquered Etruscans, so the Chaldaeans acquired the same art from the races whose soil they had occupied as conquerors.

He made his arrows briqht - Rather, he shook his arrow; a mode of divination much in practice with the Arabians. It was usual to place in some vessel three arrows, on one of which was written, “My God orders me;” on the other, “My God forbids me;” on the third was no inscription. These three arrows were shaken together until one came out; if it was the first, the thing was to be done; if the second, it was to be avoided; if the third, the arrows were again shaken together, until one of the arrows bearing a decided answer should come forth.

Images - Teraphim (Genesis 31:19 note).

He looked in the liver - It was the practice both of the Greeks and the Romans (derived from the Etruscans) to take omens from the inspection of the entrails (especially the liver) of animals offered in sacrifice.

Ezekiel 21:22

The divination for Jerusalem - The lot fixing the campaign against Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 21:23

It shalt be unto them - The Jews in their vain confidence shall look upon the hopes gathered from the divinations by the Babylonians as false and groundless.

To them that have sworn oaths - According to some, “oaths of oaths are theirs;” i. e., they have the most solemn oaths sworn by God to His people, in these they trust, forgetful of the sin which broke the condition upon which these promises were given. More probably the allusion is to the oaths which the Jews had sworn to Nebuchadnezzar as vassals Ezekiel 17:18-19; therefore they trust he will not attack them, forgetting how imperfectly they had kept their oaths, and that Nebuchadnezzar knew this.

But he will call to remembrance the iniquity - The king of Babylon will by punishment remind them of their perjury 2 Kings 25:6-7; 2 Chronicles 36:17.

Ezekiel 21:25

Profane - Rather, “wounded,” - not dead but - having a death-wound. The prophet, turning from the general crowd, addresses Zedekiah.

When iniquity shall have an end - i. e., at the time when iniquity shall be closed with punishment. So in Ezekiel 21:29.

Ezekiel 21:26

The diadem (“the mitre,” the unique head-dress of the high priest) shall be removed, and the crown taken off (this shall not be as it is), the low exalted, and the high abased. Glory shall be removed alike from priest and king; the present glory and power attached to the government of God’s people shall be quite removed.

Ezekiel 21:27

It shall be no more - Or, “This also shall not be;” the present state of things shall not continue: all shall be confusion “until He come” to whom the dominion belongs of right. Not Zedekiah but Jeconiah and his descendants were the rightful heirs of David’s throne. Through the restoration of the true line was there hope for Judah (compare Genesis 49:10), the promised King in whom all power shall rest - the Son of David - Messiah the Prince. Thus the prophecy of destruction ends for Judah in the promise of restoration (as in Ezekiel 20:40 ff).

Ezekiel 21:28

The burden of the Song of the Sword, also in the form of poetry, is again taken up, directed now against the Ammonites, who, exulting in Judah’s destruction, fondly deemed that they were themselves to escape. For Judah there is yet hope, for Ammon irremediable ruin.

Their reproach - The scorn with which they reproach Judah (marginal references).

The sword ... the glittering - Or, “the sword is drawn for the slaughter; it is furbished that it may detour, in order that it may glitter.” In the Septuagint (and Vulgate) the sword is addressed; e. g., Septuagint, “Arise that thou mayest shine.”

Ezekiel 21:29

Whiles ... unto thee - A parenthesis. The Ammonites had their false diviners who deluded with vain hopes.

To bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain - To cast thee (Ammon) upon the heap of slaughtered men.

Shall have an end - Shall have its final doom.

Ezekiel 21:30

Shall I cause it to return ... - Or, Back to its sheath! The work of the sword is over.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Shall we turn now in our Bibles to Ezekiel 21 , the twenty-first chapter of Ezekiel.

Now the prophets of God were often very colorful persons. And because people would not always listen to the Word of God, they would often do things to draw the people's attention to create a question in their mind, curiosity, "What in the world is he doing now?" And when these questions would arise or when they would draw the people's attention, then they would preach the message of God to them. And so, oftentimes their ministry was extremely colorful, as they were attracting attention, creating the questions in order that they might deliver their message to the people. And as we come in to chapter 21, Ezekiel is getting a lot of attention grabbers here from the Lord and his ministry to the people.

The word of the LORD came unto me saying, Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel ( Ezekiel 21:1-2 ),

So we see what the background is. The prophecies are to be against Jerusalem the land of Israel.

Say unto the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more. Now sigh, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes ( Ezekiel 21:2-6 ).

So, at this point having uttered these words, "God has stretched out His sword against Jerusalem," he would have said, "Just hold his loins, bend over and start just sighing." And just really wailing in a sense, just sighing and all.

And it shall be, when they say unto you, Why are you sighing? that you shall answer, For the tidings, because it is coming: every heart shall melt, and all of the hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all of the knees shall be weak as water: behold, it is coming, it shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord ( Ezekiel 21:7 ).

So he is to go into this little scene of this heavy sighing as he holds his loins and bends. Until they say, "What are you sighing about?" He said, "I'm sighing because of the tidings that are going to be coming. And, of course, when they come, all of you will be sighing and mourning when you hear that Jerusalem has been destroyed, the cities have been murdered." Many of them had families back in Jerusalem still. They are soon to be receiving word that their families had been wiped out.

And again the word of the LORD came unto me saying, Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished [or polished]: It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? ( Ezekiel 21:8-10 )

Is it time for joy? Is it time for a hilarity?

it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree. And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer. Cry and howl, son of man; for it shall be upon my people ( Ezekiel 21:10-12 ),

Now from sighing he goes to crying and howling. And as he cries and howls and draws the attention of the people, then he speaks to them about this sword of the Lord that is to be stretched out against Jerusalem. How God is coming with His sword to judge the people. And, of course, it will be wielded at the hand of the Babylonians.

Verse Ezekiel 21:14 :

Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite your hands together ( Ezekiel 21:14 ),

So he's doing a lot of things to get attention. So now he's just clapping his hands.

and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which enter into their private chambers. For I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter. Go thee one way or the other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set. I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it. The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city. Now appoint a way, that the sword [literally, the arrow] may come to Rabbath ( Ezekiel 21:14-20 )

Which was the capitol of the Ammonites.

and to Judah in Jerusalem the defensed. For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: and he shook his arrows [literally], and consulted with images, and looked in the liver ( Ezekiel 21:20-21 ).

Now these were methods by which they sought to divine the purposes of their god. And when Nebuchadnezzar came to the parting of the ways, one road led to the capitol of the Ammonites, to the city of Rabbath, the other road led to Jerusalem. He has his troops; they are going to march. "Against whom shall we march? Let's consult the gods." And so they would take these arrows, and on one arrow they would write the name Rabbath; on the other arrow they would write the name Jerusalem. They would put the arrows into a sack and shake them up and then they reach in and pull out an arrow and whatever name is on the arrow they have discerned as the purpose of god that that is what we will smite.

And then they would cut a lamb and lay out its liver and then they would watch these lines on the liver. Again, to determine the direction that they were to go. And so they would divine by liver or by this shaking of the arrows. And so he is to speak to the people about how that Nebuchadnezzar was standing at the fork of the road. One road leading to Rabbath, the other to Jerusalem to divine, to seek, to get guidance from his god as to where he was to strike.

At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort. And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity that they may be taken. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins to appear; because, I say, that you are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand. And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it to him ( Ezekiel 21:22-27 ).

Here is a marvelous prophecy in Ezekiel that actually comes out to our present day and into the future. As the Lord said, "And thou profane and wicked prince of Israel." Now the direct prophecy is against Zedekiah, who was to be the last of the kings of Israel until the king whose right it is shall come to reign. But this prophecy also has a double interpretation in that the profane king referred to here, "Thou profane wicked prince of Israel," is actually the antichrist in the last days. The words, "when iniquity shall have an end," literally is, "at the end of the days of iniquity." So it is in the last days when the antichrist arises and is accepted by the Jews as their Messiah, worshipped by them in a sense, acclaimed by them as their deliverer.

Now, Jesus said to the Jews, "I came in My Father's name but you did not receive Me. Another is going to come in his own name and him you will receive" ( John 5:43 ). Daniel tells us that the prince of the people that shall come, the antichrist, will make a covenant with the nation Israel and in the midst of the final seven-year period he'll break that covenant as he sets up the abomination that causes desolation. Now this world ruler that will arise soon upon the scene, known in the scripture as the son of perdition, the beast, commonly called the antichrist, is going to arise with great power, blasphemies and all, going to take over this European confederation of nations. Going to make a covenant with the nation Israel, going to be hailed by them in the beginning as their Messiah.

If you go to Israel today, you will hear that there is much talk about the Messiah. They are really expecting the Messiah to come very soon. In fact, a couple of respected rabbis have been making some predictions that the Messiah is coming very soon and the people are all excited about it. Incidentally, there is some fellow here in the United States going around declaring that the man who has the answers for all of the world's problems is going to appear in the first part of 1982. And he is featured on so many of the television talk shows and all, and he is lecturing all over the United States on this man that the world is waiting for and has been looking for. The man who has the solutions and the answers and is gonna bring peace and all. And he's sort of a forerunner, he declares, of this man who will make himself known in the early part of 1982, will take over the governments, and will bring peace to mankind. The answers to your prayers are about upon us, he is telling people. And he's going around lecturing. Interesting, only inasmuch as people are looking for some kind of a leader to lead us into sanity from the insanity that seems to prevail in the world diplomacy.

But if you go to Israel today, they'll tell you they're expecting Messiah very soon. They will tell you that they do not look for the Son of God. They do not believe the Messiah will be the Son of God, that he will be a man just like Moses was a man. Moses said, "And there shall come another prophet like unto myself. Unto him shall ye give heed." He was prophesying concerning the Messiah. So they say he'll be a man just like Moses. He'll not be the Son of God. So then you must question them, well then how will you know he's your Messiah? And immediately their answer will come back, "Because he will help us to rebuild our temple." Just, that's where it is. And so in Israel today, they are looking for some man who will come and help them to rebuild their temple. Of course, Daniel tells us he'll make a covenant with them. Surely this covenant is to rebuild their temple. He will make the covenant whereby they will be able to rebuild their temple.

We will get in a couple of weeks, three or four weeks, to a fascinating prophecy here in Ezekiel. In fact, Ezekiel starts getting more exciting all the while now as we move on into this latter portion. You see, it sort of starts with Israel's history, but then it keeps coming chronologically and it goes right on out to what's happening today, yesterday, last year, the last few years. And it goes right in to what is going to happen next year, and the next few years in Israel. And it goes into the rebuilding of the temple which is coming very soon. And he gives you dimensions of the temple. And then he makes one very interesting comment concerning the temple, which I think is an extremely significant prophecy, and we will point that out to you when we get to... stay tuned.

Now, here he is predicting this profane wicked person who will arise in the end of the days of iniquity. "Thus saith the Lord God, 'Remove the diadem.'" And the word diadem there is miter. It is the little head thing that priest wore, not the crown of the king. But also the crown. Now Satan gives unto this man his authority and his power. He comes as a spiritual leader to Israel. That is, in the making of the covenant which is related and associated to the rebuilding of the temple. People are excited. They acclaim him as their Messiah. He has the answers; he has the solutions. He has the most simple solution for the rebuilding of the temple, one that doesn't upset the Muslims, the great Moslem world. They're not upset by his solution. He's just a genius and the whole world wonders after the genius of this man, as he comes up with this solution that is so simple yet so practical and so easy to fulfill and everybody is happy.

Now, take from him this miter, for he is a false Messiah; he is not the true Messiah. He is not the true priest that shall come. He's not the true king.

take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. [For God said,] I will overturn, I will overturn, will overturn: and it shall be no more, until he comes [that is Jesus Christ] whose right it is; and I will give it to him ( Ezekiel 21:26-27 ).

So when Jesus Christ returns, He will destroy this man of sin with the brightness of His coming, with a sharp sword that goes forth out of His mouth. And He shall sit upon the throne of David and will be acclaimed King of kings and Lord of lords. And He will bring in the glorious Kingdom Age.

So there is this false hope that they will hold on to at the beginning. In the scriptures we read, "Because they would not believe the truth of God, God gave them over to a strong delusion that they would believe a lie" ( 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11 ). He will come with such power, such exciting miracles, such charisma that the whole world, except for the elect, will be deceived and were if possible even deceive the elect. Now, that word elect there does not refer to the church, but to Israel. Those elect of Israel who have been elected of God, the 144,000 elected of God to be sealed and preserved in the Great Tribulation period. Coming with lying wonders, but God is going to overturn, and he who is exalted himself will be abased, and he who was abased will be exalted and will come and sit upon the throne whose right it is.

When we get into the book of Revelation chapter 5 we see a scroll in the right hand of Him who was sitting upon the throne, God. The scroll is sealed with seven seals; it has writing both within and without. And an angel proclaims with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to take the scroll and loose the seals thereof?" The scroll is the title deed to the earth. Who is worthy to redeem the earth back to God? is the whole idea.

The earth originally was God's. God gave it to man; man turned it over to Satan. Satan governs and rules the world today. Jesus came to redeem the world back to God, not by force, but by the price of His blood. The just for the unjust. "For by one man's sin entered the world, and death by sin so that death passed unto all men because all sin. Even so, by one man's righteousness shall many be made righteous." And so in heaven, the day is come, the transaction, the time of redemption.

There is the scroll, the instrument that was drawn up. "'Who is worthy to take the scroll and loose the seals?' John began to sob convulsively because no man was found worthy in heaven and earth or under the sea to take the scroll or even to look upon it. But the elder said, 'Don't weep, John. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed to take the scroll and loose the seals.' And I turned and I saw Him as He stepped forth and He took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat upon the throne. And when He did, the twenty-four elders came forward with their vials, golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints and they offered them before God. And they sang a new song, saying, 'Thou art worthy to take the scroll and loose the seals. For Thou was slain and hath redeemed us by Thy blood'" ( Revelation 5:2-5 , Revelation 5:7-9 ).

Now, "whose right it is." You see, He is going to come and reign. Satan's kingdom is going to be overthrown. Satan will no longer rule over the earth. In fact, Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss. And He will rule whose right it is, and then we will see the world that God intended when He made Adam and placed him upon the earth. You'll see the earth renewed and restored to the beauty and glory of the Garden of Eden. You'll see and earth in which righteousness will reign. You will see an earth in which there is no sickness, no blindness, no lameness, no deformities. You'll see an earth that is covered with righteousness, even as the waters do cover the sea. An earth without deserts, an earth without hurricanes, an earth that is lush and beautiful and glorious and doesn't have polluted skies. You'll see the earth that God intended. And you'll live and dwell with Him upon this earth for a thousand years. Glorious day, and we look forward to it.

But it's interesting. Here is the prophecy, "There will be no king in Israel until He comes whose right it is." There's not going to be any diadem, not going to be any royal crown until Jesus comes. It's interesting that when the Jews return from their Babylonian captivity, they didn't reestablish monarchy. They didn't anoint a king to rule over them. The monarchy ended with Zedekiah. It is interesting that when the Jews returned to Israel again in 1948 they did not establish a monarchy which was their traditional form of government. And there will not be a monarchy or a king until He comes whose right it is. And Jesus Christ will be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords. So beautiful prophecy here concerning Jesus Christ in this twenty-first chapter.

Now thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites ( Ezekiel 21:28 ).

Now you remember one of the arrows was marked with the Ammonites on it.

and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering: While they see vanity unto thee, while they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end. Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity ( Ezekiel 21:28-30 ).

So the Ammonites will not escape, but then God said, "Don't think that you're going to be delivered. I will judge thee, the nation Israel, in the place where you were created. Right in the land. And the land of your nativity."

And I will pour out my indignation upon thee; I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, those who are skilful to destroy. Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the LORD have spoken it ( Ezekiel 21:31-32 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The model of the map 21:18-27

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

When the king of Babylon reached the fork in the road, he used pagan methods to determine which road he should take (cf. Isaiah 47:8-15). Belomancy involved writing various names on several arrows, mixing them in a quiver, and then drawing or throwing them out. The arrow chosen indicated the god’s selection. Teraphim were household idols that the pagans believed had connections with the spirits of departed ancestors who could communicate with them (necromancy). Hepatoscopy involved inspecting the liver or entrails of a sacrificed animal and making a decision based on their shape, color, and markings.

Both Judah and Ammon had proved to be disloyal vassals; they had both rebelled against Babylon in 593 B.C. The lot fell to go against Jerusalem and to besiege it rather than Rabbah. Obviously the Lord controlled the pagan means that Nebuchadnezzar used to determine what He should do (Proverbs 16:33; Proverbs 21:1; Jeremiah 27:6).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways,.... That is, he would stand there; the prophet knew that it was certain it should be, and therefore represents it as if it was; he had, by a spirit of prophecy, seen, that when the king of Babylon was come to such a place, on the borders of the desert of Arabia, where the road from Babylon parted, where two ways met, the one leading to Jerusalem on the right, and the other to Rabbath on the left, he should make a full stop with his army, and consider which way he should take, whether that which led to Jerusalem, or that which led to Rabbath. It is very probable, when he came out of Babylon, his scheme was to make an attempt on both these important places, and take them; but be had not determined which to attack first, and was still doubtful; and now being come to the two roads, which led to the one and the other, it was necessary to make a halt, consider, and conclude, which course to steer; to determine which, he thought proper "to use divination", which was performed in the following manner:

he made his arrows bright; being made of iron or steel; in the brightness of which diviners looked, and made their observations, and accordingly directed what was to be done; as they did by looking into the brightness of a man's nails, as David Kimchi observes; though his father, Joseph Kimchi, was of opinion that the word has the signification of casting of arrows, or causing them to fly in the air; and supposes that Nebuchadnezzar cast up arrows into the air, and observed on which side they fell, and so judged which way to take; to this agrees the Targum,

"with a bow he cast out arrows;''

so the Syriac and Arabic versions b. Jerom says the way of divining by arrows was this: arrows, with the names of the cities inscribed upon them, were put into a quiver, and mixed together; and the city upon the arrow which came out first was first attacked. To this agrees the Vulgate Latin version, which renders the words, "mingling the arrows"; and Dr. Pocock c prefers this sense of the word, which he observes so signifies in the Arabic language; and who gives an account of the use of divination by arrows among the Arabians, who much used it; though forbidden by Mahomet, as Schultens d observes. Their custom was this; when a man was about to marry a wife, or go a journey, or do any business of importance, he put three arrows into a vessel; on one was inscribed,

"my lord hath commanded me;''

on another,

"my lord hath forbid me;''

the third had nothing on it. If the first he took out had the command upon it, then he proceeded with great alacrity: but if it had the prohibition, he desisted; and if that which had nothing inscribed on it, he laid it by, till one of the other two was taken out; and there is to this day a sort of divination by arrows used by the Turks; it is commonly for the wars, though it is also performed for all sorts of things; as to know whether a man should undertake a voyage, buy such a commodity, or the like. The manner of doing it, as Monsieur Thevenot e relates, is this; they take four arrows, and place them with their points against one another, giving them to be held by two persons; then they lay a naked sword upon a cushion before them, and read a certain chapter of the Alcoran; with that the arrows fight together for some time, and at length the one fall upon the other: if, for instance the victorious have been named Christians (for two of them they call Turks, and the other two by the name of their enemy), it is a sign that the Christians will overcome; if otherwise, it denotes the contrary. The Jews f say, that in the present case of Nebuchadnezzar, that when he or his diviner cast the arrow for Antioch, or for Tyre, or for Laodicea, it was broke; but when he cast it for Jerusalem, it was not broke; by which he knew that he should destroy it. This is that sort of divination which is called "belomancy": he consulted with images; or "teraphim"; images in which, as Kimchi says, they saw things future; Heathen oracles, from whence responses were made; these were images for private use, such as were the "lares" and "penates" with the Romans; these Laban had in his house in which Rachel stole from him; and are supposed to be such as are made under certain constellations, and their influences capable of speaking; see Zechariah 10:2, as Aben Ezra on

Genesis 31:34 observes, with which men used to consult about things future or unknown; and this is thought to be one reason why Rachel took away these images from her father, that he might not, by consulting with them, know which way Jacob fled g with such as these the king of Babylon consulted, that he might know which way he should take:

he looked in the liver; of a beast slain, and made observations on that to direct him; as used to be done by the Aruspices among the Romans. This is that sort of divination which is called "hepatoscopy", or inspection into the liver; for though the Aruspices or Extispices, so called from their looking into the entrails of a beast, and making their observations on them, used to view the several inward parts, yet chiefly the liver, which they called the head of the intestines; and if this was wanting, or the head in it, the chief part of it, it was an ill omen; thus, in the month that Claudius Caesar was poisoned, the head of the liver was wanting in the sacrifice; or if the liver was livid, vicious, had any pustules upon it, or any purulent matter in it; or was touched, cut and wounded with the knife of the sacrificer, it foreboded great evils and misfortunes; or if the extreme part of the liver, which is called the fibre, was so placed, that from the lowest fibre the livers were replicated, or there was a double liver, this was a token for good, and portended joy and happiness h: moreover, they used to divide the bowels or entrails into two parts, and so the liver; the one they called "familiaris", by which they judged what would befall themselves and their friends; the other "hostilis", what concerned their enemies; according to the habit, colour, and position they were in, they concluded what would befall the one and the other i. Lucan k and Seneca l particularly have respect to this: and the king of Babylon here having two people to deal with, the Ammonites and the Jews, he inspects the liver of a creature slain for sacrifice, that he might judge which was best and safest for him to attack; which was less threatening, and more easy to be overcome m: this divination used to be made with calves, kids, and lambs n.

b So R. So. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 25, 2, interprets the word. c Specimen Arab. Hist. p. 327. d Animadv. in Job, p. 169, 170. e Travels, par. 1. B. 1. ch. 6. p. 36. f Midrash Tillim in Psal. lxxix. 1. g See Godwin's Moses and Aaron, l. 4. c. 9. h Vid. Alex. ab flex. Genial. Dier. l. 5. c. 25. & Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 37. i Vid. Valtrinum de Re Militari Roman. l. 1. c. 6. p. 27. Liv. & Ciceron. in ib. k "Cernit tabe jecur madidum, venasque minaces, Hostili de parte videt", &c. Pharsal. l. 1. l "Hostile valido robore insurlit latus." Oedipus, Act. 2. m Vid. Lydium de Re Militari, l. 1. c. 3. p. 9, 10. n Pausanias, l. 6. p. 345.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      18 The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,   19 Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city.   20 Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.   21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.   22 At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort.   23 And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.   24 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.   25 And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end,   26 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.   27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.

      The prophet, in the verses before, had shown them the sword coming; he here shows them that sword coming against them, that they might not flatter themselves that by some means or other it should be diverted a contrary way.

      I. He must see and show the Chaldean army coming against Jerusalem and determined by a supreme power so to do. The prophet must appoint him two ways, that is, he must upon a paper draw out two roads (Ezekiel 21:19; Ezekiel 21:19), as sometimes is done in maps; and he must bring the king of Babylon's army to the place where the roads part, for there they will make a stand. They both come out of the same land; but when they come to the place where one road leads to Rabbath, the head city of the Ammonites, and the other to Jerusalem, he makes a pause; for, though he is resolved to be the ruin of both, yet he is not determined which to attack first; here his politics and his politicians leave him at a loss. The sword must go either to Rabbath or to Judah in Jerusalem. Many of the inhabitants of Judah had now taken shelter in Jerusalem, and all the interests of the country were bound up in the safety of the city, and therefore it is called Judah in Jerusalem the defenced; so strongly fortified was it, both by nature and art, that it was thought impregnable, Lamentations 4:12. The prophet must describe this dilemma that the king of Babylon is at (Ezekiel 21:21; Ezekiel 21:21); for the king of Babylon stood (that is, he shall stand considering what course to take) at the head of the two ways. Though he was a prince of great foresight and great resolution, yet, it seems, he knew neither his own interest nor his own mind. Let not the wise man then glory in his wisdom nor the mighty man in his arbitrary power, for even those that may do what they will seldom know what to do for the best. Now observe, 1. The method he took to come to a resolution; he used divination, applied to a higher and invisible power, perhaps to the determination of Providence by a lot, in order to which he made his arrows bright, that were to be drawn for the lots, in honour of the solemnity. Perhaps Jerusalem was written on one arrow and Rabbath on the other, and that which was first drawn out of the quiver he determined to attack first. Or he applied to the direction of some pretended oracle: he consulted with images or teraphim, expecting to receive audible answers from them. Or to the observations which the augurs made upon the entrails of the sacrifices: he looked in the liver, whether the position of that portended good or ill luck. Note, It is a mortification to the pride of the wise men of the earth that in difficult cases they have been glad to make their court to heaven for direction; as it is an instance of their folly that they have taken such ridiculous ways of doing it, when in cases proper for an appeal to Providence it is sufficient that the lot be cast into the lap, with that prayer, Give a perfect lot, and a firm belief that the disposal thereof is not fortuitous, but of the Lord,Proverbs 16:33. 2. The resolution he was hereby brought to. Even by these sinful practices God served his own purposes and directed him to go to Jerusalem, Ezekiel 21:22; Ezekiel 21:22. The divination for Jerusalem happened to be at his right hand, which, according to the rules of divination, determined him that way. Note, What services God designs men for he will be sure in his providence to lead them to, though perhaps they themselves are not aware what guidance they are under. Well, Jerusalem being the mark set up, the campaign is presently opened with the siege of that important place. Captains are appointed for the command of the forces to be employed in the siege, who must open the mouth in the slaughter, must give directions to the soldiers what to do and make speeches to animate them. Orders are given to provide every thing necessary for carrying on the siege with vigour; battering rams must be prepared and forts built. O what pains, what cost, are men at to destroy one another!

      II. He must show both the people and the prince that they bring this destruction upon themselves by their own sin.

      1. The people do so, Ezekiel 21:23; Ezekiel 21:24. They slight the notices that are given them of the judgment coming. Ezekiel's prophecy is to them a false divination; they are not moved or awakened to repentance by it. When they hear that Nebuchadnezzar by his divination is directed to Jerusalem, and assured of success in that enterprise, they laugh at it and continue secure, calling it a false divination; because they have sworn oaths, that is, they have joined in a solemn league with the Egyptians, and they depend upon the promise they have made them to raise the siege, or upon the assurances which the false prophets have given them that it shall be raised. Or it may refer to the oaths of allegiance they had sworn to the king of Babylon, but had violated, for which treachery of theirs God had given them up to a judicial blindness, so that the fairest warnings given them were slighted by them as false divinations. Note, It is not strange if those who make a jest of the most sacred oaths can make a jest likewise of the most sacred oracles; for where will a profane mind stop? But shall their unbelief invalidate the counsel of God? Are they safe because they are secure? By no means; nay, the contempt they put upon divine warnings is a sin that brings to remembrance their other sins, and they may thank themselves if they be now remembered against them. (1.) Their present wickedness is discovered. Now that God is contending with them so perverse and obstinate are they that whatever they offer in their own defence does but add to their offence; they never conducted themselves so ill as they did now that they had the loudest call given them to repent and reform: "So that in all your doings your sins do appear. Turn yourselves which way you will, you show a black side." This is too true of every one of us; for not only there is none that lives and sins not, but there is not a must man upon earth that does good and sins not. Our best services have such allays of weakness, and folly, and imperfection, and so much evil is present with us even when we would do good, that we may say, with sorrow and shame, In all our doings, and in all our sayings too, our sins do appear, and witness against us, so that if we were under the law we were undone. (2.) This brings to mind their former wickedness: "You have made your iniquity to be remembered, not by yourselves that it might be repented of, but by the justice of God that it might be reckoned for. Your own sins make the sins of your fathers to be remembered against you, which otherwise you should never have smarted for." Note, God remembers former iniquities against those only who by the present discoveries of their wickedness show that they do not repent of them. (3.) That they may suffer for all together, they are turned over to the destroyed, that they may be taken (Ezekiel 21:23; Ezekiel 21:23): "You shall be taken with the hand that God had appointed to seize you and to hold you and out of which you cannot escape." Men are said to be God's hand when they are made use of as the ministers of his justice, Psalms 17:14. Note, Those who will not be taken with the word of God's grace shall at last be taken by the hand of his wrath.

      2. The prince likewise brings his ruin upon himself. Zedekiah is the prince of Israel, to whom the prophet here, in God's name, addresses himself; and, if he had not spoken in God's name, he would not have spoken so boldly, so bluntly; for is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? (1.) He gives him his character, Ezekiel 21:25; Ezekiel 21:25. Thou profane and wicked prince of Israel! He was not so bad as some of his predecessors, and yet bad enough to merit his character. He was himself profane, lost to every thing that is virtuous and sacred. And he was wicked, as he promoted sin among his people; he sinned, and made Israel to sin. Note, Profaneness and wickedness are bad in any, but worst of all in a prince, a prince of Israel, who as an Israelite should know better himself, and as a prince should set a better example and have a better influence on those about him. (2.) He reads him his doom. His iniquity has an end; the measure of it is full, and therefore his day has come, the day of his punishment, the day of divine vengeance. Note, Though those who are wicked and profane may flourish awhile, yet their day will come to fall. The sentence here passed is, [1.] That Zedekiah shall be deposed. He has forfeited his crown, and he shall no longer wear it; he has by his profaneness profaned his crown, and it shall be cast to the ground (Ezekiel 21:26; Ezekiel 21:26): Remove the diadem. Crowns and diadems are losable things; it is only in the other world that there is a crown of glory that fades not away, a kingdom that cannot be moved. The Chaldee paraphrase expounds it thus: Take away the diadem from Seraiah the chief priest, and I will take away the crown from Zedekiah the king; neither this nor that shall abide in his place, but shall be removed. This shall not be the same, not the same that he has been; this not this (so the word is); profane and wicked perhaps he is as he has been. Note, Men lose their dignity by their iniquity. Their profaneness and wickedness remove their diadem, and take off their crown, and make them the reverse of what they were. [2.] That great confusion and disorder in the state shall follow hereupon. Every thing shall be turned upside down. The conqueror shall take a pride in exalting him that is low and abasing him that is high, preferring some and degrading others, at his pleasure, without any regard either to right or merit. [3.] Attempts to re-establish the government shall be blasted and come to nothing, Gedaliah's particularly, and Ishmael's who was of the seed-royal (to which the Chaldee paraphrase refers this); neither of them shall be able to make any thing of it. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, first one project and then another; for who can build up what God will throw down? [4.] This monarchy shall never be restored till it is fixed for perpetuity in the hands of the Messiah. There shall be no more kings of the house of David after Zedekiah, till Christ comes, whose right the kingdom is, who is that seed of David in whom the promise was to have its full accomplishment, and I will give it to him. He shall have the throne of his father David,Luke 1:32. Immediately before the coming of Christ there was a long eclipse of the royal dignity, as there was also a failing of the spirit of prophecy, that his shining forth in the fulness of time both as king and prophet might appear the more illustrious. Note, Christ has an incontestable title to the dominion and sovereignty both in the church and in the world; the kingdom is his right. And, having the right, he shall in due time have the possession: I will give it to him; and there shall be a general overturning of all rather than he shall come short of his right, and a certain overturning of all the opposition that stands in his way to make room for him, Daniel 2:45; 1 Corinthians 15:25. This is mentioned here for the comfort of those who feared that the promise made in David would fail for evermore. "No," says God, "that promise is sure, for the Messiah's kingdom shall last for ever."