Ezekiel Chapter 12
Tuesday, 01/06/26 at 07:56
Solitary Man
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Eze 12:1 The word of the LORD also came unto me, saying,
This chapter will contain five separate and distinct words of the Lord. Once God has found a willing servant, why not use him to the fullest? Is this not what Jesus taught as well:
Mat_13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Our evil western minds think of the above verse in terms of money and material wealth. God is always speaking in terms of spiritual things. Someone who is obedient in the things of God, can expect God to use him more and more. Become fearful or doubtful, and even what you once were doing for him may be taken away from you.
What we shall see are a series of many words of the Lord, all in the sixth year of king Zedekiah. The next date given will be the seventh year, but not until chapter 20. So hold onto your hats, we have a lot of prophecies to cover! And they were all given within the space of a single year.
Eze 12:2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious (mer-ee – bitter) house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious (mer-ee) house.
Yahweh takes great pains to remind Ezekiel that he is speaking to an utterly rebellious house. This is not just to continually denounce the backsliders, but it is also to help Ezekiel understand why there would be so little response to his preaching. Rebellious people are a stiffnecked people. Their hearts are hardened, and they have lost the ability to repent. Not only to repent, but even to hear and see spiritual truths. This phrase of not being able to see and hear spiritual things is found in other places in scripture:
Deu 29:4 Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.
Isa 6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Isa 6:10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Jer 5:21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
Mat 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Appearances can be deceiving. Someone may look saved. They may act saved. They may know the lingo. But do they have the right equipment on the inside, to be a true follower of the Lord? Has their heart been remade in the righteousness of God?
God here is linking the fact of their rebelliousness with their inability to hear and see the things of God. Your disobedience to what you know of the word will lead you to be unable to comprehend the things that God wishes to communicate personally to you.
Eze 12:3 Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff (kel-ee – instruments, vessels) for removing (go-law – to go into exile), and remove (exile) by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider (raw-aw – regard), though they be a rebellious (mer-ee) house.
Apparently Ezekiel’s acting career is not yet over. God wants to use more imagery, in order to try and shake these rebels out of their spiritual lethargy. Sometimes something seen may jar someone who is dull of hearing. Maybe some have heard enough sermons, so God is willing to communicate in a different manner. He is hoping they will regard the little play that his prophet is going to do for them. Something unusual usually makes people pause to take notice.
Since God is willing to use visual cues in order to try and reach souls, we should not be afraid to use video in this internet age to try and communicate bible truth. There are thousands of Christian movies and videos. The problem is that so little is actually done in the Spirit. Is that not a sad witness, when so called ‘Christian’ movies are known more for their poor production quality, and their ‘corniness’, instead of their spiritual impact upon the viewer? So many believers are tempted to go into the world for their entertainments, because the quality of most Christian productions is so poor. While we rejoice whenever the gospel is attempted to be preached, we also should strive to do all things to the best of our ability. Just because we mention Jesus in our video does not give us an excuse to produce something sub par, when we are capable of doing better.
Ezekiel is supposed to pantomime someone who is gathering up only whatever he can carry on his back, in preparation for a hasty departure. He is supposed to do this during the day, obviously in the sight of his neighbors in Babylon. He is to make it look like he is making some sort of hasty, permanent move. The purpose is to at least rouse some curiosity. However, Yahweh once again reiterates that these are true rebels, so who knows if they will even care to notice what someone else is doing.
Eze 12:4 Then shalt thou bring forth thy stuff (kel-ee) by day in their sight, as stuff for removing (go-law): and thou shalt go forth at even in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity (go-law).
While Ezekiel is to prepare his bug out bag during the day in public, he is supposed to wait until evening before he actually leaves. This was going to be literally fulfilled at the very end of the siege that would occur in 586 BC:
2Ki 25:4 And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.
Jer 39:4 And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain.
While Zedekiah may have made preparations to flee some days before the end, it was at night that he actually attempted his escape.
Just another example of the precision that the word of God continually exhibits! This is why one can stake their eternal life upon it. While so often a modern day ‘prophet’ is given a pass if he even gets an occasional word mostly correct, God’s standard is absolute truth, all the time. While we fallible humans may hear the voice of the Lord imperfectly, at least we know that what Yehovah chose to record for all eternity in this magnificent book is absolutely precise and accurate in every respect imaginable.
Eze 12:5 Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby.
This was to depict the stealth of Zedekiah’s future escape from the besieged city. Yehovah knows exactly what was about to happen. Tomorrow’s headlines rest with him, and occasionally, he shares some of them with his faithful servants. These exiles already in Babylon, and especially all those remaining in Jerusalem, may have presumed that the worst of God’s judgments was over. They may have felt strong and secure in their delusions. The fact that there had been no repentance, even after two invasions and two separate instances of the carrying off of captives, shows how sin causes seemingly incurable spiritual blindness. Yehovah is resorting to putting on a play, in order to try and break through their blinded hearts.
While God may have blinded the obstinate sinner, it is because the sinner initially chose to ignore the clear truths presented to him time and time again. Finally, God will give every man over to their sin, if that is what they clearly and continually choose. Often God continues to speak for a season, even knowing that they cannot hear anymore. This can be viewed as an official testimony, sort of like a verdict being read out loud. While they may be spiritually deaf, the verdict is still read, and the sinner still bears his guilt.
The key is to never, never even come close to such a dreadful spiritual condition in our own lives!
Eze 12:6 In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulders, and carry it forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign (mo-faith – token, omen) unto the house of Israel.
Whatever Ezekiel has managed to gather in his bug out bag, now that it is evening, he is to complete the charade by digging a hole in his fence, and escape under the fence, with nothing but what he can carry. He may have done this for several days in a row, we do not know for sure.
The fact that he was supposed to cover his face may be taken as a sign of shame that the king would feel. He continually listened to evil counsel, and to all his false prophets. He refused to heed the one true prophet (Jeremiah) in his midst. Now, he was forced to flee in the night like a rat fleeing a sinking ship. He was abandoning the residue of the starving population to the tender mercies of the Babylonians. And he didn’t even have the guts to let them know.
Such is the end of a corrupt soul. Fleeing for his life, caring for no one and no thing, at the end it’s every man for himself. This was all meant for a sign that the people would recall and remember when news of this actual event of the fall of Jerusalem reached their ears sometime in the future.
I see the covering of the face as a hint of the judgment that the planet faced in 2020, when the whole world was bullied into wearing those abominable, bacteria breeding face diapers. Of all the symbols of shame that God chose for a sinful world, this would rank right at the top of the list, and rightly so, as the beginning of payback for rebelling against him and his commandments. Some also see this face covering in this verse as a hint of the upcoming judgment that Zedekiah would face, which we will discuss in the next few verses.
Eze 12:7 And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for captivity (go-law), and in the even I digged through the wall with mine hand; I brought it forth in the twilight, and I bare it upon my shoulder in their sight.
Here Ezekiel simply states that he did all that the Lord commanded.
Can the same be consistently said about us?
Eze 12:8 And in the morning came the word of the LORD unto me, saying,
This may mean that Ezekiel only did this action once. It sounds like this next word came the very next morning, but it could have been some specific morning after he performed this symbolic act more than once.
Eze 12:9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious (mer-ee) house, said unto thee, What doest thou?
Eventually, most likely the very first time Ezekiel did this strange thing, someone would have come up to him and ask him if he had lost his mind! Okay, maybe they didn’t say that, but they could have. But Ezekiel would not have answered them in the evening, as he was carrying out the command of the Lord, because the Lord had not told him to answer anyone at that time.
This is an important principle. When Ezekiel decided to obey God, he did exactly as he was told, and no more. It is very likely that a crowd may have gathered to watch him prepare his provisions, as if he was going to go on a long trip. Then, when he started to make a hole in his wall, that would have attracted even more interest. Instead of leaving his home the normal way, via his gate, he decides to squirm through this hole that he had made in his nice wall. It doesn’t take much imagination to think that he was bombarded with all sorts of questions and comments. As he refused to answer any of them, I am sure that the comments turned to jeers and mockings.
This was a man who had related two powerful visions to the elders in his vicinity. He had built himself quite a reputation as God’s man of the hour. I am sure he was watched like a hawk. People in those days did not have a sense or a desire for privacy like we have today. Everyone did things out in the open. Things such as wells and mills would have been communal. People interacted with each other daily. Food was obtained daily. They didn’t have 3 freezers and 2 fridges to store a year’s worth of food, so that you could lock yourself away from everyone for a long time. So, when this man of God started to behave in such a strange manner, there probably would have been great pressure placed on him to explain himself.
But Ezekiel did not make things up as he went along. He did what Yehovah asked, and waited for further instruction. Now, in the morning, Yehovah chooses to give his prophet the next set of commands.
Eze 12:10 Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; This burden (mas-saw – doom, utterance) concerneth the prince (naw-see – king, chief, ruler) in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel that are among them.
Now Ezekiel is released to go and give an explanation for his strange behavior. He is to tell them that this pantomime concerns Zedekiah, and also all the people left in the land. Until God gave him the go ahead to speak, he was under no obligation to tell anyone anything, even if it meant having to endure strange looks, misconceptions, misunderstandings, and whatever insults came his way.
Note also that God refers to the people left in Jerusalem as Israelites, not Judeans. Even at this late point in history, when the northern kingdom is all but forgotten in time, God has not forgotten them. There are no lost 10 tribes in God’s mind. He knows exactly where they are. Just like each and every backslidden soul out in the world, God knows where every prodigal is. He still speaks of them as they are his very own, regardless of the current personal and political situation that is in effect. Even here in 592 BC, 130 years after the destruction of the northern kingdom, God says that there are some left in Jerusalem that are originally from that land. If they were all Judeans only, then why didn’t God call them the house of Judah instead? One could rightly argue that Israel is used to describe the land of Judah alone, but I believe God is referring to everyone left in Jerusalem that is of the seed of Jacob.
Note that God calls this word a burden, or a doom. Most words of God are burdensome, chiefly because he seems to have to spend most of this time warning us sinners, who continually find ourselves rebelling against our God. If you want God to start speaking words of comfort and blessing, then stop sinning and start behaving as one who is worthy of such things!
Eze 12:11 Say, I am your sign (mo-faith): like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall remove (go-law) and go into captivity (sheb-ee – exile, taken prisoner, captive, booty).
Ezekiel is to be Jerusalem’s sign. Just because they have escaped exile once, just because they have escaped exile twice, does not mean that they are in the clear. Rather, their turn is next, and it will be worse than what has occurred up until now. My true prophet Ezekiel, whom I have confirmed in the office with a couple of previously unheard of visions, has shown you what is about to come to pass.
This is an important point. Anyone can claim to be a prophet. But has the Lord confirmed you into the ministry? Or have you confirmed yourself? Perhaps men have confirmed you. While it is nice when others recognize your gifts and calling, ultimately all that matters is if Jesus himself has placed you where you are claiming to be placed.
Eze 12:12 And the prince (naw-see) that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground with his eyes.
Here is a clear prediction as to the fate of Judah’s last king Zedekiah. We have already looked at the scriptures that speak of his sneaking out in the night by a secret passage in the wall, trying to evade the Chaldean army. Once again, there is an oblique reference to the unique punishment that he will face, when it speaks of Zedekiah’s face being covered, but not being able to see the ground. We will discuss this in detail in the next verse.
Eze 12:13 My net also will I spread (stretch forth) upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.
On the surface, this seems like a contradictory prediction. How could Zedekiah be taken to Babylon, but not see it himself? He will not be taken there as a corpse, as it also says that he will die there. Has Yehovah finally trapped himself in his own words?
Well, lets see:
Jer 52:10 And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.
Jer 52:11 Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.
The word of God is amazing, is it not? A wicked heart would have immediately screamed ‘contradiction’, or some other such blasphemy. But God knew what would happen to the king, since he is the one who ultimately passed sentence on this evil man. The king of Babylon was merely Yehovah’s instrument. Zedekiah would be blinded, then taken to Babylon. He would end up in Babylon, but he would not see it! He also would spend the rest of his miserable life locked up in a prison cell.
Such is the fate of the politician. One who always chose the politically expedient thing to do, rather than the right thing. Zedekiah may have escaped the daily pressure of his political enemies a time or two, but in the end, not listening to God’s man cost him everything.
Let us also not forget that it was Yahweh, not Nebuchadnezzar, who spread his net and snared Zedekiah. We are so quick to spew hatred and rage against the various pagans that are wreaking havoc in our lands. But why do we not first and foremost consider that it is Yehovah who is allowing, if not orchestrating, his judgments against us? The question is why is Yehovah judging us in the first place? Answer that, and maybe, just maybe, you will find the deh-rek, or road to deliverance. Quit wasting all your energy on the instruments of judgment. Yehovah will deal with them, once he is finished using them for his purposes.
Eze 12:14 And I will scatter toward every wind all that are about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them.
Looking in the same chapter of Jeremiah:
Jer 52:7 Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden; (now the Chaldeans were by the city round about:) and they went by the way of the plain.
Jer 52:8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.
Jer 52:9 Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him.
All of Zedekiah’s ‘mighty men’ turned out not to be so mighty after all, once God had decided to give them into the hands of their enemies. It does not matter who you surround yourself with. If you have been weighed and found wanting by Yahweh, then there is nothing you can do. Everyone who sided with this corrupt king would share his fate. They would be scattered, they would be pursued, and they would be hunted down. If Egypt did come to help him, they would have been scattered as well.
Eze 12:15 And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall scatter (poots – dash in pieces) them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries.
Jeremiah had pleaded over and over that Zedekiah surrender himself and the city to Nebuchadnezzar. But political pressure by his closest advisors, who somehow thought that they could still find a way to preserve their wealth, kept him from obeying God. He acted in a very similar fashion to king Saul, who always had some sort of excuse as to why he could not obey God.
We need to ensure that this sort of behavior is never found in our life, or chances are that we will share a similar unpleasant fate.
God would not only scatter these reprobates, but dash them in pieces, wherever they fled. They would be dispersed all over the place, never really forming any close knit communities of their own, being dispersed much too widely. I sometimes wonder at our generation. It seems that more and more of our children choose to separate themselves far and wide from where we live. They have all the excuses, whether its a career move, or that they found a spouse in a far off place. But perhaps some of it is God’s righteous judgment over our own lukewarmness in serving him.
There was a purpose to all this pain besides simple punishment and retribution. Yahweh continually says that as a result of his executing his fearsome wrath, ultimately these rebels will then know that I am the Lord. In other words, they failed to recognize his Lordship in the good times. So now, when he takes every good thing away from them, they will recognize that he is the sovereign ruler of the universe.
Some may take issue over this. Some would say that severe judgment makes atheists of people, not saints. While Hollywood likes to depict the person who has been struck with great tragedy as one who blames God and turns their back on him, the word says that by his judgments he is made known. And when you stop to think about it, you must admit that this is true. Who hasn’t heard about Noah’s flood? Or Sodom and Gomorrah? Or the upcoming apocalypse? The judgments of God are known in all the earth.
Eze 12:16 But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence (deh-ber – murrain, plague); that they may declare all their abominations (to-ay-baw – morally disgusting and abhorrent) among the heathen (goy – gentile) whither they come; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Sometimes God does leave a remnant of the rebellious ones, to testify of the consequences of living a life in defiance of the Almighty. Whether or not the specific individuals will acknowledge and repent, just their life story will be a vivid lesson in the observer’s mind as to what is the fate of those who turn their backs on their creator. While not everyone learns, some will learn nonetheless.
We see the bible can speak of a remnant in a negative sense. This is not God’s holy remnant, spared from his wrath, but a small residue of wicked men, left alive as a reminder of what occurs to a people when they rebel against Yehovah. If he had killed them all, perhaps the lesson may have been forgotten all the sooner. Here are a few verses that speak of this phenomenon:
Jer 22:7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.
Jer 22:8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?
Jer 22:9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
Jer 22:10 Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.
Eze 14:21 For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?
Eze 14:22 Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it.
Eze 14:23 And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord GOD.
God wants his judgments to be made known in all the earth. He wants us to pay attention to them, so that we may be warned to fear him always. Without the fear of the Lord, how shall you prevent your own sinful soul from falling into the same behaviors that lead to such a terrible fate? This is why we must take the time to thoroughly study these precious books of judgment.
Be forewarned, and sin not!
Yahweh speaks of the sword, the famine, and the pestilence. War, starvation, and disease. These are not nice things. In fact, they are very evil things. But these are the 3 things that God always turns to, when it is time to pay back those who wallow in unrepentant sin. And remember that he is doing this to his people. Today, the church is his people. Do not for one moment think that these things somehow would never apply to you.
If you have been put through the wringer like these Judeans have, would you not have learned your lesson? At least, would you not bemoan your fate? Would you not finally experience the humility that God requires, and be compelled to testify of your wickedness to others that led to your present predicament? Would you then finally admit to your morally disgusting and abhorrent behavior that led to your just punishment from the Lord? Would not the total destruction of your life, and everything that you cherish, finally bring you to the place where you would acknowledge that God is God, and that he can do whatever he pleases in your life? Or would you continue to harden your heart, and stiffen your neck, until he has utterly wiped you and your seed off the face of the earth?
Eze 12:17 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Now begins the 3rd of 5 specific words found in this chapter.
Eze 12:18 Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking (rah-ash – commotion, uproar, confusion), and drink thy water with trembling (rog-zaw – trepidation, only time in OT) and with carefulness (deh-aw-gaw – anxiety, fear, heaviness);
God must think highly of Ezekiel’s acting abilities! One more time, God will ask him to act out something that is about to occur to the remainder that is left in Judah. Here, he is asked to eat and drink as a man who is in abject terror. This word picture is supposed to convey the fact that the residue that thought that they have escaped the worst of the judgments are about to suffer something far worse than those who have been removed from the land.
A siege is a horrible thing. As supplies dwindle, fear and terror take hold. Self preservation becomes the order of the day. People will hoard food, and hide it even from loved ones. Pray that none of us ever have to face such a scenario, where starvation becomes common. Most of us would find a capacity for selfishness that we would never sink to in normal times. But from all indications, when one is starving, very few will maintain their moral compass in order to survive. Especially our pampered, narcissistic generation. All we need to do is remember covid. How many untold millions were willing to turn in their neighbors, administer deadly drugs and procedures in hospitals, fire their fellow employees, abandon family members, all in the name of an imaginary pandemic?
Think of what those same people would be willing to do if they were actually starving!
Eze 12:19 And say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord GOD of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread with carefulness (deh-aw-gaw), and drink their water with astonishment (sim-maw-mone – stupefaction), that her land may be desolate (yaw-sham – lie waste) from all that is therein, because of the violence (khaw-mawce – unjust gain, cruelty, oppression) of all them that dwell therein.
Because these backsliders have become so dull of hearing, God will have Ezekiel explain his actions to them, so that there is no misunderstanding. You would think what he is doing would be obvious, but when someone has convinced themselves of the truth of a certain thing, no amount of contradictory evidence seems to be able to penetrate their convictions. In this case, God is prophesying to the people left in the land of Judah (which here he calls the land of Israel). Obviously Ezekiel is not physically present in Jerusalem. Most likely these words would be written down and eventually make their way back there.
God wants them to know that shortages of a severe nature are on their way. No more will they be able to take their next meal for granted. God also says that he has decreed that the land shall lie empty. Why? As a respite from all the shedding of innocent blood. There is a principle in scripture where God says that the land cannot handle an overabundance of shedding of innocent blood.
Lev 18:26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:
Lev 18:27 (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)
Lev 18:28 That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.
Lev 20:22 Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.
Deu_19:10 That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.
2Ki_21:16 Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.
2Ki_24:4 And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon.
Psa_106:38 And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.
There is something about filling the land with violence and innocent blood that triggers the wrath of God concerning his very own land. As God cannot walk amongst the unclean, so his land cannot abide continual defilement.
Now someone may claim that this only applies to the promised land. But the principle is the same everywhere. God may have allowed such things to continue for far longer in a pagan land that has no knowledge or presence of his person. But our ‘Christian’ lands were places that were dedicated for the glory of God. Filling it with innocent blood, as we have in our generation, is begging for the same judgment as Judah has obtained here.
Eze 12:20 And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste (khaw-rab – destroyed, parched through drought), and the land shall be desolate (shem-aw-maw – devastated, left in a state of astonishment); and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
If people fled to the walled up city to escape the approaching army, they would starve. If they stayed in the country, they would be destroyed – either killed or taken as slaves. The army would ravage the land, consuming all that there is to consume, and destroying the rest. They would empty the land, thus letting it rest until God decided to allow the remnant to return. Those starving cities would eventually fall, and be obliterated.
Eze 12:21 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Now begins the 4th of 5 words. We do not know if they came one right after another, or if a certain period of time passed in between each.
Eze 12:22 Son of man, what is that proverb (maw-shawl – pithy maxim) that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged (aw-rak – lengthened), and every vision (khaw-zone – dream, oracle) faileth (aw-bad – wanders away, perishes, made void)?
These jaded cynics that were left in God’s land had fallen into total unbelief. Perhaps none of them had seen the hand of Lord fight on their behalf their entire lives, and had stopped believing in the stories of their ancestors. If they bothered to pay any attention to the prophecies spoken by Jeremiah and Ezekiel, they would have immediately dismissed them all with some locally known proverb that effectively meant that any word of doom was for a time far off. Maybe in the end times this would occur, but for us, all will continue as it has for our entire lives thus far.
This was a form of the heresy of cessationism. This diabolical doctrine states that God does not do anything supernatural anymore. He used to in the past, but I haven’t seem him do anything special in my lifetime. Since the problem cannot be with me, since I’m so holy, God must have chosen to stop doing miracles.
I was listening to a podcast recently where some young men who were well versed in the scripture were analyzing and deconstructing a cessationist’s arguments as to why miracles had ceased. And they did a marvellous job in clearly showing that not a single argument advanced was based on scripture. It was all sloppy reasoning, red herrings, straw man arguments, and finding the most extreme misuses of the gifts to ‘prove’ that there was no such thing as true gifts in the first place! Because most sheep do not know how to critically think, or spend the time researching these things, this man could easily dupe his congregation into his incorrect point of view.
Now these boys were very charitable to this fellow, calling him a brother in the Lord that they would see in heaven. They simply disagreed with his cessationist doctrine.
As for me, I am not so charitable. When you teach others that God does not do miracles anymore, nor does he hand out spiritual gifts, aren’t you denying scripture? How is this different than the Sadducees of Jesus’ day, who also denied the supernatural? This robs your congregation of any hope that God will intervene in their desperate situations, where sometimes a miracle is their only hope.
We need to realize that cessationism is a fairly recent phenomenon. There was no such thing before the Protestant reformation. Certain splinter groups came up with this heresy. And heresy it is. The point being is that this is not a traditional church teaching. This doctrine is a recent innovation. I don’t agree that this is merely an error. This is denying certain portions of scripture, no matter how you spin it. All I know is that I would not want to be someone who has to stand before Jesus on judgment day and try to explain why you taught others to deny the ministry and work of the precious Holy Spirit.
What an insult to tell God what he can or cannot do!
This is what happens when God warns, but in his mercy delays the execution of the promised judgment. Wicked men scoff and mock. They may have heard that God was going to destroy them for many years, yet here they were. Oblivious of the critical warning signs all around them, as long as it hadn’t yet directly affected them personally, they could care less what the ranting prophets were babbling about.
The shocking thing is that this pattern repeats itself over and over again. We never seem to learn. Our wicked hearts tend to the same mockery and unbelief. If you have not submitted your heart to the lordship of Christ, you too will be eventually led down this same path of unbelief. Think of how many believers mock at the numerous contemporary prophecies of upcoming judgment. If one cannot see that the west is about to fall, then God help you all.
Eze 12:23 Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will make this proverb (maw-shawl) to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb (maw-shal – allegory) in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect (power) of every vision (khaw-zone).
Yahweh has finally had enough. He’s had to listen to these idiots mock his messengers time and time again. He is saying that is about to end. In a very permanent way. In fact, we are now less than 6 years away from their total destruction. One that they will never fully recover from. At least not until their Messiah returns.
Visions and true words of the Lord carry a supernatural power with them. You mock them at your own peril. While most prophecies on the net today are generally nonsensical, never for a moment think that God is not speaking to us through some genuine individuals. It just takes a certain level of disciple and discernment that most believers are not willing to pay the price to obtain. So many fall for the false, and miss the true. For example, they fall for the false words of revival, and disregard the true words of imminent judgment for our countless sins.
This is why this comparatively recent heresy of cessationism is so dangerous. In effect, you are rejecting a specific word of the Lord that you don’t like. You may be terrified of the supernatural. You may shy away from the responsibility of believing for a miracle. You may simply be mired in unbelief. I think a lot of people are so enslaved to their public persona, that to be caught doing something ‘spooky’ and/or embarrassing, if your country club friends saw you, closes their heart to the Holy Spirit. I am sure that many would say that they could never live down the embarrassment if they were caught speaking in an unknown tongue. All their friends in polite society would think they had gone mad. They simply cannot bear the thought of doing something embarrassing for Jesus that would ruin their good standing in the social circles to which they have become accustomed. So they play it safe by finding and sticking with an old, dry church, where nothing ever happens. What really galls me is how these same fundamentalists scathingly mock the repetitious rituals of the liturgical denominations, while they themselves never deviate from their formats and customs. God forbid if anyone would ever even dare to show any emotion, much less start speaking in tongues!
Just because you have not experienced something is not the litmus test of whether something is true or not. In these verses, just because these apostates had not experienced the full judgment of God personally in their own lives, does not mean that these words were not true. Now, we might want to cut these stony hearted people some slack, as Yahweh was expecting them to embrace this fresh word from him, delivered via a yet unknown prophet of the Lord. In our generation, the bible has been set in stone for many hundreds of years. If you cannot even embrace all of the word of God that has been tried and proven for millennia, what is your excuse? Similarly, if God uses someone to deliver a word of warning that lines up with his word, why do you so easily discount it?
Eze 12:24 For there shall be no more any vain (shawv – useless, lying) vision (khaw-zone) nor flattering (khaw-lawk – smooth) divination (mik-sawm – augury) within the house of Israel.
After God uses Ezekiel to indict these doubters of the word from the true prophet, he now uses him to condemn these unbelievers for embracing the false. And isn’t that the way it always is? Why are there hundreds of false prophets for every real one? Because there are hundreds of believers who love to embrace a lie for every one that loves the truth. And the reason is that the truth is almost always something that the flesh does not want to hear.
A common characteristic of the false prophet is consistent utterances of peace and safety, while the true man of God will always bring warning, rebuke, and correction. God does not waste his gifts to come down to his people and tell them how wonderful they are. God is not interested in building up your self esteem. In fact, he wants to tear down your high opinion of yourself. That’s what got you into trouble in the first place. Just from a common sense viewpoint, doesn’t it make sense that God will not trouble himself to find a worthy man of God just so that he can tell us how great we are? Wouldn’t he use his prophets on important things? And what could be more important than to try and warn you that your behavior is leading you straight to hell!
In case some of you think that I am uniquely harsh and over the top in some of my commentary, let us see what Matthew Poole, a commentator who lived from 1624 to 1679, had to say about all this:
These proverbializing scoffers compared the true prophets with the false. These predict prosperity and return of the captives from Babylon within few years, and before Jerusalem be destroyed; so they flattered the people. The true prophets foretell long captivity, bloody slaughters, strait siege, a burnt city and temple. Now these scoffers bear up themselves on these flatteries, and argue against the Divine menaces, and are ready to inquire, Why may not Ezekiel’s vision be as vain as he saith theirs is? and if one, why not both? Well, these fools are capable of no better answer than that which will destroy at once their doubts and their hopes. Judgment executed shall convince the false prophets of their lying divination, and these atheists of their illogical inferences. [end]
Whenever I am tempted to take some pride in a fancy turn of phrase that comes to my mind, these learned men of centuries past humble me with their erudition and their scholarship. I truly believe that we are getting stupider with each successive generation. Now that we are training AI (artificial intelligence), to write its own software code, soon there will be no more jobs left for anyone that will tax their skills and creativity. The well spoken and well written man (or woman) is becoming a scarce commodity indeed.
These scoffers had no problem embracing empty and lying visions because, as we shall see in the very next chapter, these purveyors of putrid pronouncements of plenty spoke only to tickle the ears of their hearers. Truth was of no import. God calls the methods that they used to obtain these words of emptiness as a form of divination. Only smooth things were ever said, as if they were the forerunners of the mega church message, and the ancestors of the prosperity gospel.
Do you ever wonder why God seems to allow these false ones to linger in their deceptive roles? I believe they serve a real heavenly purpose. They are used to ferret out the fake from the genuine. That is, those who embrace these lying words manifest their wicked hearts for all to see.
Eze 12:25 For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged (delayed): for in your days, O rebellious (mer-ee) house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.
God is fed up with these smart alecks. These lovers of self have mocked the genuine word of the Lord long enough. While God had sent many prophets to Israel, of which the bible only records a portion, in the days of Ezekiel all those warnings of what would occur should Israel persist in their rebellion will come to pass. These reprobates could not grasp that it was the mercy of God that delayed their execution. Yehovah was going to give his people every chance to repent. But even as in every soul’s life, there does come a day when the time is ended. Every soul will come to that day when they take their last breath. And no matter if they have lived a thousand years, what will that matter once they face the judgment of God?
Eze 12:26 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
We now examine the 5th and final word of this chapter.
Eze 12:27 Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision (khaw-zone) that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off.
God once again uses repetition to make his point. God has heard the reasonings of the rebels. They figure that Ezekiel is speaking of some far off future generation, maybe even the end times.
Eze 12:28 Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged (delayed) any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.
Yahweh repeats himself in order to try and penetrate their dullness of mind. He unequivocally states that the time of delay is no more. He makes it sound like the final destruction is going to commence immediately.
But here, once again, we are given a lesson in the way God perceives time. Even by repeating himself in saying that his wrath will delay no longer, it would yet be 5 or 6 years before Jerusalem fell. In God’s mind, 5 years is equivalent to immediately! Another way of taking this verse is that in God’s mind, there would yet be an opportunity for delay, if only the people would respond to God’s demand to repent. But now, because of their arrogance and wholehearted rejection of this final warning, God is saying that there is no more chance to repent. Even though you rebels in Judah would be allowed to live for another 5 years or so, there was now no possibility of this sentence from ever being reversed, or even delayed.
Here is another example of a case where repentance is not possible anymore. Nothing is more terrifying for a living soul than to hear those words pronounced over them. Judgment is sure, it is coming, and you have run out of chances to make things right. This is the fate of the man who chooses to ignore every warning that God sends his way.
Solitary Man
