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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Ezekiel 22:17 - 22:31
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The Corruption of Judah inviting Destruction
v. 17. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
v. 18. Son of man, the house of Israel is to Me become dross, the refuse of the purer metals, thrown out as unfit for fine use; all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead in the midst of the furnace, all the baser metals, unfit for the divine Refiner's purpose; they are even the dross of silver, full of impurity.
v. 19. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, Because ye are all become dross, impure with idolatry and other wickedness, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem, heaped together like quartz in a furnace.
v. 20. As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin into the midst of the furnace, the baser metals being mixed with the precious and the object being to separate them, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it, the process resulting in an almost pure extraction of the nobler metal, so will I gather you in Mine anger and in My fury, in carrying out the contemplated judgment upon Jerusalem and Judah, and I will leave you there and melt you. Note that the process of refining is not used in the figure, the smelting as such being a picture of the avenging wrath of God.
v. 21. Yea, I will gather you and blow upon you in the fire of My wrath, as silver alloyed with baser metals is submitted to a blast of air in the so-called cupeling process, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof.
v. 22. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof, Judah experiencing this operation during the last siege of the city; and ye shall know that I, the Lord, have poured out My fury upon you. Having thus set forth the punishment upon Jerusalem, the Lord proceeds to show the corruptness of all classes of people in Judah.
v. 23. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
v. 24. Son of man, say unto her, namely, to Jerusalem and Judah, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, namely, from the weeds, briars, and thorns with which it is overgrown, or upon which the sun does not shine in due season, nor rained upon in the day of indignation, that is, from which the Lord withholds fruitfulness on account of its wickedness.
v. 25. There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, self-appointed teachers and leaders as these false prophets were, like a roaring lion ravening the prey they have devoured souls, the fierceness and cruelty of their actions being in evidence throughout; they have taken the treasure and precious things, property and jewels in possession of the people; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof, for pious men were put to death by them.
v. 26. Her priests, who held the office of keepers and protectors of the Law, have violated My Law, since they did the very things from which they were supposed to keep the people by their warnings, and have profaned Mine holy things, by not observing them with the proper respect, Cf Zep_3:4; they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean, Lev_10:10-11, that is, they calmly disregarded the ordinances of the Lord concerning these distinctions, and have hid their eyes from My Sabbaths, by neglecting the law of the Sabbath, and I am profaned among them, for all these acts detracted from the Lord's glory.
v. 27. Her princes in the midst thereof, the leaders and chief protectors of the people, are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain, the civil rulers thus siding with the church powers in performing deeds of wickedness.
v. 28. And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, Cf.Ezekiel 13:10, by flattering the people with false assurances of peace and safety, seeing vanity, unfounded promises of good, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken.
v. 29. The people of the land, following the bad example of their leaders, have used oppression, practicing extortion and violence in every form, and exercised robbery, either open or hidden, and have vexed the poor and needy, Cf.Ezekiel 18:7; yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully, in spite of the earnest warnings of the Lord concerning this practice, Exo_22:20-21; Deu_24:17.
v. 30. And I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge, building up a wall against these various acts of wickedness, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, to close up the breach and make intercession for Judah, that I should not destroy it; but I found none, the moral degeneration was such as to leave even the few righteous without the power to do anything.
v. 31. Therefore have I poured out Mine indignation upon them, as explained above; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath, in melting them in the furnace of His punishment; their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God, punishing them in exact agreement with their wicked deeds. It is this fact, that they themselves have brought the evil fate upon them, which will cause many wicked the greatest torment in the last great punishment.