Nothing Left But Destruction
It's not until you finish reading chapter 22 that chapter 21 seems fully justified. The overwhelming destruction of the people, the nation, Jerusalem (the city of God), and the Temple is truly heartbreaking (21:6). Yet when you read the description of the overwhelming wickedness of the nation, it begins to make sense. A nation that had been created by God to bring the revelation of His glory to the world had fallen to a place where there was nothing left to salvage. God had sent warning after warning for over a generation of the judgment that would come if they did not embrace repentance. Instead, the vast majority of the nation embraced ever-heightened levels of sin, levels not seen even among the pagan nations, to whom they were to be a light of truth (16:51). Consider the summary of wickedness that had engulfed Jerusalem and the nation. The list begins with them becoming a bloody city, defiled by idols, a mockery, oppressors of foreigners, widows, and the poor (22:1-7, 29). They had become a nation known for their lewdness that included sexual fertility rituals on mountaintops, sexual violation of family members, and adultery (22:9-11). They had become a people known for dishonest financial gain, from bribery to extortion to the dishonest and unjust fees leveled upon the poor who borrowed money (22:12-13). Lastly, we find that both priests and prophets had taught and lived lives that violated God's law. They even went so far as to give false messages from "God" to justify their lies and deception (22:26-28). The spiritual condition was so bad that Ezekiel declared that from among the entire nation God sought for a man to "stand in the gap" before Him, but found none. No one seemed to fully grasp the tragic condition of the nation nor the judgment that was soon to be unleashed. The nation had so fully lost their anchor that there was nothing left to do but start over. The vast majority of the people who survived the violent overthrow of their nation would be scattered throughout the nations within Babylon's vast empire. Yet from the ashes of this devastating experience would arise a small remnant. Men and women like Daniel and Esther would once again become a light of the glory of God to the nations of the world. This chapter in Israel's long history is a graphic warning to us in our own time who claim to be God's people. If we lose our way, and become like or worse than the world we are to bring Christ to, we should expect similar consequences to those that fell upon Israel. Let us beware. Let us with renewed faithfulness and passion pursue the high call of God in Christ with which we have been entrusted. Otherwise, we too will be trampled underfoot by a world God will use to bring judgment for our unfaithfulness. | |||
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Ezekiel 21:1-22:31  Babylon, the Sword of God 1 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, preach against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel; 3 and say to the land of Israel, 'Thus says the LORD: "Behold, I am against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off both righteous and wicked from you. 4 Because I will cut off both righteous and wicked from you, therefore My sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh from south to north, 5 that all flesh may know that I, the LORD, have drawn My sword out of its sheath; it shall not return anymore."' 6 Sigh therefore, son of man, with a breaking heart, and sigh with bitterness before their eyes. 7 And it shall be when they say to you, 'Why are you sighing?' that you shall answer, 'Because of the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,' says the Lord GOD." 8 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9 "Son of man, prophesy and say, 'Thus says the LORD!' Say: 'A sword, a sword is sharpened 10 Sharpened to make a dreadful slaughter, 11 And He has given it to be polished, 12 "Cry and wail, son of man; 13 "Because it is a testing, says the Lord GOD. 14 "You therefore, son of man, prophesy, 15 I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, 16 "Swords at the ready! 17 "I also will beat My fists together, 18 The word of the LORD came to me again, saying: 19 "And son of man, appoint for yourself two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to go; both of them shall go from the same land. Make a sign; put it at the head of the road to the city. 20 Appoint a road for the sword to go to Rabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah, into fortified Jerusalem. 21 For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the road, at the fork of the two roads, to use divination: he shakes the arrows, he consults the images, he looks at the liver. 22 In his right hand is the divination for Jerusalem: to set up battering rams, to call for a slaughter, to lift the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to heap up a siege mound, and to build a wall. 23 And it will be to them like a false divination in the eyes of those who have sworn oaths with them; but he will bring their iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken. 24 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand. 25 'Now to you, O profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose iniquity shall end, 26 thus says the Lord GOD: "Remove the turban, and take off the crown; 27 Overthrown, overthrown, 28 "And you, son of man, prophesy and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach,' and say: 'A sword, a sword is drawn, 29 While they see false visions for you, 30 'Return it to its sheath. 31 I will pour out My indignation on you; 32 You shall be fuel for the fire; 1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Now, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations! 3 Then say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "The city sheds blood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself. 4 You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries. 5 Those near and those far from you will mock you as infamous and full of tumult. 6 "Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you. 7 In you they have made light of father and mother; in your midst they have oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the fatherless and the widow. 8 You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths. 9 In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed; in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness. 10 In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity. 11 One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter. 12 In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me," says the Lord GOD. 13 "Behold, therefore, I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst. 14 Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and will do it. 15 I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and remove your filthiness completely from you. 16 You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; then you shall know that I am the LORD."'" Israel in the Furnace17 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18 "Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a furnace; they have become dross from silver. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you. 21 Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst. 22 As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have poured out My fury on you.'" Israel's Wicked Leaders23 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 24 "Son of man, say to her: 'You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.' 25 The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. 26 Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27 Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain. 28 Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD had not spoken. 29 The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. 30 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. 31 Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads," says the Lord GOD. | |||
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| Ezekiel 21:1-22:31 v. 2 Set your face – This prophecy follows the same form as that given at the end of chapter 20, telling Ezekiel to look in the direction of Jerusalem and make His pronouncements against it. It is this second prophecy that enables us to interpret the one given in 20:45-49. Preach – Part of the job of the prophet is to take God's vision and proclaim it to the people to whom God is speaking. A prophet thus has two primary responsibilities: 1. to receive the word of the Lord and 2. to proclaim it to others. Against – Ezekiel's prophecies were to be prophecies of judgment and thus were words "against" the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Holy Places – This could be referring to the places of pagan worship or to the Holy places established in the Law, which the people of Israel had profaned. Israel – The term for the whole land is being used even though the specific nation of Judah is the primary recipient of these prophecies. v. 3 I am against you – The Lord says this to let the people know that He is the one that is bringing the Babylonians against them, and, as this is the case, it is useless to try to invoke His name to save them. My sword – Here the Lord uses two figures of speech in speaking to the people of Israel: anthropomorphism and metonymy. Anthropomorphism is a description of God using human characteristics. In this case the image of a soldier carrying a sword is used of God. Metonymy is a type of metaphor that associates one object with another and uses the former as a picture of the latter. In this case, a sword is a representation of the armies of the Babylonians. Ultimately, in this chapter God repeatedly uses this image to drive home the point that the Babylonians are his tool to accomplish His purposes of judgment upon the land. Righteous and Wicked – The judgment upon the nation will be complete and, sadly, many righteous will die. It is not that God is judging the righteous, but, as with floods and earthquakes often unleashed in judgment in the Old Testament, many righteous would often die as a result of the wicked's actions. This is consistent with the facts of life and scripture (Matt. 5:45). The righteous and the wicked both endure hardship as well as prosperity and we all experience the effects of Adam's sin. This, nonetheless, should never be interpreted as God judging the righteous themselves. v. 5 All flesh – The previous mention of the righteous and the wicked both being killed in this Babylonian onslaught is primarily stating what is restated here, that everyone will experience hardship under this trial. Nobody will be exempt. Not return – During the time of this judgment, God is not going to stay His hand. In other words, He is not going to change His mind and pull the Babylonians back out of compassion for the people. He has determined that this is what is to be done and He will accomplish it. v. 6 Sigh…breaking heart – Ezekiel is called to visibly demonstrate emotional distress to the people. This "sighing" is to be very exaggerated and public so that the people will be inspired to ask him about the meaning of his actions. v. 7 Why are you sighing? – Ezekiel's emotional distress is itself a metaphor used by the Lord to speak to the people of what is about to happen to them. News – the news that the Babylonians are going to come one more time and destroy the city of Jerusalem Heart will melt…hands will be feeble…spirit will faint…knees become weak as water – Metaphors used to describe the fear, anguish, and distress the people will feel when they realize that the Babylonian armies are attacking and there will be no escape. It is coming – This is said as a warning to the people not to get too comfortable in thinking that it is for some distant time in the future. It will happen soon. v. 9 Sharpened and polished – This is again a metaphor describing a sword that is ready for use in battle. It implies that, already, the Babylonian army is preparing to invade. v. 10 Mirth – having fun, feasting, and partying Should we then make mirth? – This rhetorical question reveals the foolish hearts of the Israelites, who thought that life was just going to continue on as it always had without fear of any further ruin. Thus, the people spent their free time in feasting, dancing, and partying. The Lord is pointing out just how foolish such behavior is in the light of impending doom. Despises the scepter – Here the term "scepter" is used as a special kind of metaphor and represents the king of Judah. Here God is pointing out that the Babylonian army does not fear Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and that they would take him captive as well as remove all regal authority from the land of Israel (2 Kings 25:7). My son – Here it is used of the king of Judah and relates back to Psalm 2:12, which refers to the king of Israel as "the son," and points forward to Jesus Christ as the true king of Israel. Wood – This metaphor is being used of all the common people and is communicating that the Babylonians will make no distinction between royalty, nobility, and commoner. v. 12 Strike your thigh – The action of striking one's thigh was commonly performed in times of high emotional distress. Here God is continuing to tell Ezekiel to make a show of his sadness at what is going to happen to Israel, in order to draw the attention of the people. This is a continuance of what God told him to do in verses six and seven. v. 13 Testing – This whole event is going to serve as a time of trial for the people so that the righteous ones might prove themselves. Those that would prove themselves would eventually be led back into the land. What if the sword despises even the scepter? – God has already said that the sword would despise the scepter and here simply asks the people to consider the consequences of the king being killed by the Babylonians. No more – This is a prophecy stating that, after the Babylonians invade Judah this time, there will no longer be a king ruling in Judah. v. 14 Strike you hands – again an action conveying heightened emotional distress Third time – The Babylonians had already invaded Judah twice before, during the reigns of King Jehoiakim (2 Kings 24:1-5), and his son Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:10-17). There would ultimately be one more third and final Babylonian invasion (2 Kings 25). It is this third and final invasion that makes up the substance of these prophecies. Double damage – The affliction brought this time will be much worse than before. v. 15 Ah! It is bright – This is said in attempt to create in the mind of the Israelites a picture of what people will be feeling when the Babylonians invade. v. 16 Swords at the ready – Each of these statements is made as if the event is happening at the present in order to vividly create the image in the mind of the hearer. v. 19 Two ways – Here God is describing events as they would really unfold shortly during the Babylonian campaign against Judah. The Babylonians would march into the land and face a crossroads, one heading to the city of Rab'bah in Ammon and the other toward Jerusalem. The Ammonites and the Moabites had allied with Zedekiah in his rebellion against Babylon and this picture is used to remind the Israelites that they cannot rely on their allies to save them. v.21 Divination – The art of consulting spirits for information about the future. This practice was condemned in the Law (Deuteronomy 18:10), but was commonly practiced among pagan nations. In what follows, the Babylonian king will use various means of divination to discern his battle strategy, whether he should attack Ammon or Jerusalem first. Shakes the arrow – A common method of divination among the Arabic peoples and the nomads of the Middle East. People would take a number of arrows, commonly three, write directions on each of them, and shake them together until one came out of the quiver. The directions of the one that came out were to be followed. The images – The Hebrew word Teraphim commonly used of idols. This tells us that the King of Babylon consulted his gods for direction. The liver – Another common form of divination practiced among the peoples of the Middle East involved the spilling of an animals entrails and searching the various pieces for strange markings and shapes. These markings were used as a means of decision making amongst these peoples. v. 22 Right hand – This refers to the decision that was determined. The divinations turned out against Jerusalem. The King and his forces would march against them first. Battering rams…siege mound…build a wall – These are the tools of warfare that would be used by the Babylonians. The Jews would wall themselves up inside the city of Jerusalem and the Babylonians would use battering rams to break down the walls and siege mounds that would enable soldiers to scale the wall quickly. v. 23 False divination…those who have sworn oaths – Zedekiah and his allies will realize that they made the wrong choice in trying to fight against the king of Babylon. Their alliance will fail and they will lose. Iniquity to remembrance – The king will hold their rebellion against them and punish them to the uttermost. He will not be merciful this time as he was the two times previously. v. 24 Iniquity to be remembered – Here God makes a play on words, showing that, although the king of Babylon will be punishing them for their betrayal of him, God is the one in control of these events and he is ultimately punishing them for their iniquity against Him. v. 25 Wicked prince of Israel – King Zedekiah v. 26 Turban – A cloth covering that was worn on one's head. Take off the crown – This is a prophecy indicating that King Zedekiah would be removed from his office as king. v. 27 It shall be no longer until He comes whose right it is – This is a prophecy about Jesus the Messiah. Here the Lord is telling the people that the kingship of Judah and Israel will not exist again until the day that the Messiah takes his place as the true King of Israel. This prophecy has been shown to be true as Zedekiah was the last king to rule in Jerusalem. Only the Messiah will rule there again. v. 28 Ammonites – The vision that follows is directed to the people of Ammon, who were in alliance with Judah, warning them that they too would suffer judgment at the hands of the Babylonians. v. 29 False visions…divine a lie – The priests and prophets of Ammon had divined that they would be victorious against the Babylonians. Here the Lord is telling them that such divinations were a lie. They would lose and be destroyed as assuredly as Judah would be. The necks of the wicked, the slain – This is calling to mind the image of the people of Ammon being heaped upon piles of dead bodies. v. 30 Return it to its sheath – Here the image of the sword being put back calls to mind the image of a battle being completed. God is saying that he will bring judgment until it is all finished. Nativity – The people of Ammon from their inception inhabited the land to the Northeast of Judah. These people were descended from an illicit union between Abraham's nephew Lot and his own daughter (Genesis 19:38). Ezekiel 22v. 2 Will you judge? – Here Ezekiel is given the call to pronounce the sentence of judgment upon the people of Judah. Even though the judgments aren't his, he is the one proclaiming them to the people, as a judge would in a real court case. Show her all her abominations – Here Jerusalem is personified as an adulterous woman. v. 4 Reproach – an embarrassment; shameful Mockery – a joke v. 5 They will mock – The Lord is telling the people that the surrounding nations will hear of what has happened to Israel and Judah and will despise them and make fun of them as a result. Israel will become a laughingstock. Infamous – having an exceedingly bad name or reputation Full of Tumult – This refers to the fact that everyone will know the terrible things that have happened to the people of Israel. v. 6 Princes of Israel – the household of the kingly line of David Power to shed blood – This refers to the injustices committed by the royalty and nobility in Judah. These people were using their authority and power to commit crimes against the common man. These crimes went so far as murder, yet they got away with everything they did, because of their social status. v. 7 Made light of…oppressed…mistreated – God is giving a specific list of accusations against the people of Judah. After describing murder and injustice, he goes on to speak of disrespect against parents, oppression of foreigners, and abuse of orphans and widows. v. 8 Profaned – He now mentioned crimes committed against his laws, specifically that of not keeping the Sabbath properly and defiling holy objects such as the Temple and the instruments used therein. v. 9 Eat on the mountains – This is referring to partaking of unlawful sacrifices offered on the high places. Generally people would take part in eating the sacrifices that they offered. Lewdness – an inappropriate sexual act v. 10 Uncover their father's nakedness – This is an idiom meaning that they were sleeping with their father's wives. Violate women who are set apart during their impurity – This is speaking of the fact that the men of Judah were raping women. To heighten the grotesqueness of his description and the unlawfulness of their deeds, God says that they do this at the end of the woman's menstrual cycle. v. 11 Defiles – Here is given a continuing list of the lewd sexual acts being committed by the Jews at this time. v. 12 Usury – charging exorbitant interest v. 13 Therefore – Remember that this entire list of accusations against the people was made in the context of verse two, in which God commanded Ezekiel to show the people all of their "abominations" and to "judge" them. This, therefore, introduces the judgments that God is going to bring upon the people for the sins aforementioned. This is to remind them that it is not without cause that these things are to befall them. Beat my fists – an idiom expressing extreme anger at what's going on v. 15 Scatter – This judgment will end in the people of Judah being removed from their land and scattered throughout the lands of Babylon. v. 16 Defile yourself in the sight of the nations – God is telling them that they will serve as slaves and be shamed and humiliated by the peoples amongst whom they will dwell. Shall know – When the people see these things come to pass, then they will know that God had truly spoken through a real prophet. God is using even these harsh judgments as a way of communicating his truth to his people. Prophecy has always been the surest proof God has given his people of who he is. He shows that he is truly God by telling us that something will come to pass and then glorifying himself when it in fact does (Deut. 18:21-22). v. 18 Dross – In the process of refining, metal is heated up beyond its boiling point to a liquid state, at which point all of the impurities and substances that had been embedded in the metal rise to the top. Those impurities are removed and the metal is allowed to cool. The impurities are the dross, which is subsequently thrown out. Here God is comparing the nation of Israel to such impurities. Bronze, tin, iron and lead – In this metaphor God compares Israel to these various metals which would have risen to the top as one refined silver. Each of these is vastly inferior to silver and must be removed if the silver is to be valuable. The Lord is telling the people that they must be removed and judged if the nation is ever to become what it was meant to be. v. 19 Gather – The people of the surrounding towns and villages would eventually gather into Jerusalem to try to find refuge behind the huge walls of the city. This would end up as a huge mistake as the people would ultimately find themselves trapped against the invading Babylonian hordes. v. 20 Melt it – Here the Lord continues to expand upon his earlier metaphor by reminding Judah what people do with the worthless metals removed from the silver during the process of purification: such metals are melted. Using a simile, comparing Judah to those metals, God is telling the people that they will be utterly destroyed as well. v. 24 Not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation – Despite God's many warnings and the judgments that he had brought upon the land previously, the children of Israel still refused to repent and turn from their evil ways. In other words, no matter what God did, they would not be cleansed. v. 25 Prophets…priests…princes – In this section a series of accusations are delivered against the leaders of the children of Israel telling them that they have abused their offices and have used their power to oppress the people and blaspheme the name of God. Like lions…like wolves – Using similes, these leaders are compared to lions and wolves two of the strongest predators, in that those animals tend to rip their prey apart limb from limb. So too, these leaders tear apart the lives of the people they are oppressing. v. 26 Violated my law – The priests did not perform their office as they were instructed to in the law. Various rituals were prescribed down to the letter and the priests were not concerned with ensuring that they performed those rituals properly. Holy and unholy – The law made a distinction of what was holy and what was not concerning many different kinds of things. Certain types of animals were clean while others were unclean; certain kinds of dress were holy while other types were unholy; rituals performed in certain ways were holy, while performed any other way were not. All of this points to the fact that the priests did not concern themselves with what the Lord thought of them. v. 28 Plastered with untempered mortar – This metaphor calls to mind the picture of somebody taking wet mortar and covering a person up with it. Since mortar is white, this implies that the false prophets of Judah refused to tell people of the sinfulness of their sin and, instead, covered it up and pretended as if the behaviors of the people were righteous. Thus, the simile is used: for the people look white and clean, but underneath they are still dirty. v. 30 Man…to stand in the gap – Here the Lord is lamenting the fact that the people of Israel are so completely evil that he cannot find one man righteous enough to turn away his wrath from the nation. God's search for such a man is a prophetic foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, who will be that man that is righteous enough to "stand in the gap" or to intercede on behalf of the people of Israel and effectively turn away the wrath of God. | |||
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| Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, –Ezekiel 22:1 We pray today, O God, for hearts that heed the Word we find in these chapters of Ezekiel. Our world is not so very far away from the sinful and abominable conditions of Israel during this time. Let us listen, Lord, and obey. Show us in Your word where we are doing exactly the same sinful misdeeds as those in Jerusalem. Convict our hearts, God, by Your Spirit. | |||
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22:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Mexico Outreach Mission
