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Jehovah Refuses to Answer the Idolaters
v. 1. Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, namely, of the exiles in Chaldea, and sat before me, evidently for the purpose of obtaining some information concerning the fate of Jerusalem and of the Jewish people, their bearing expressive of the anxiety which they felt.
v. 2. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
v. 3. Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, literally, "have caused their filthy gods to go up upon their heart," for the corruption of man begins in his heart, and put the stumbling-block of their iniquity before their face, for the iniquity of their heart became manifest in their outward actions, their evil thoughts causing them to stumble, Pro_3:21-23; should I be enquired of at all by them? Were such transgressors, who were here acting the hypocrites, at all worthy of an answer? The emphatic question of the Lord denies this fact with unmistakable vehemence.
v. 4. Therefore speak unto them and say unto them, in a message every word of which was divinely inspired, as the entire book of prophecies is, Thus saith the Lord God, Every man of the house of Israel, each individual being held responsible for his every act, that setteth up his idols, his filthy gods, in his heart and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face and cometh to the prophet, increasing the guilt of his idolatry by his insolent oracle-seeking: I, the Lord, will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols, in proportion to the idolatry practiced by him,
v. 5. that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, to bend and mold their hearts by means of His judgments, because they are all estranged from Me through their idols. If the present judgments did not succeed in bringing the people to their senses, they would act as fitting punishments for their idolatry.
v. 6. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God, Repent and turn yourselves from your idols, from the filthy gods which they had chosen for themselves, and turn away your faces from all your abominations, with the proper revulsion and loathing.
v. 7. For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, associated with the people of God either by birth or by accession in later life, which separateth himself from Me, through idolatry becoming estranged from the true God, whom he once confessed, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, as described above, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning Me, regarding God's will and intentions over against himself and others: I, the Lord, will answer him by Myself, giving him the answer which his apostasy and hypocrisy deserve,
v. 8. and I will set My face against that man, as an implacable enemy, and will make him a sign and a proverb, so that his case would serve as a standing example of warning to men everywhere, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people, Cf Num_26:10; Deu_28:37; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. Nor should the message of any prophet differ from that proclaimed by the Lord.
v. 9. And if the prophet, one who really considers himself a minister of Jehovah, be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, permitting himself, for any reason whatever, to be led astray and to deviate from the clearly expressed will of the Lord, so that his message confirms sinners in their obstinacy, I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet, permitting a spirit of falsehood to convey to him a message in agreement with the obstinacy of the people; and I will stretch out My hand upon him and will destroy him from the midst of My people Israel. One of God's reasons for letting false prophecy gain such headway in the latter years of Judah's existence was to have the process of separation between the true and the false Israelites go forward with the proper vigor and speed.
v. 10. And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity, that which they deserved for their willful transgressions; the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him, thereby supporting hypocrisy and deceit,
v. 11. that the house of Israel may go no more astray from Me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions, for the effect of sin is to bring corruption and pollution upon every one that sins, but that they may be My people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord God. The purpose of the Lord, even in His severest chastisements, is to gain the sinner, if possible, and to preserve his soul from eternal destruction. Well-deserved as every chastening is, it is still an instrument of mercy in the hands of God, unless the sinner hardens his heart against every influence for good and deliberately invites perdition.