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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Ezekiel 33:21 - 33:33
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The Relation of the People to Ezekiel
v. 21. And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that is, a year and a half after the capture of Jerusalem, since Ezekiel was living in a very remote part of Babylon, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten, the appalling news of the overthrow of Jerusalem thus being brought to the prophet's attention in a most abrupt manner.
v. 22. Now, the hand of the Lord was upon me in the evening, causing a kind of ecstasy to fall upon him, afore he that was escaped came and had opened my mouth, which had formerly been closed, until he came to me in the morning, that is, this opening happened during the night, before the arrival of the messenger; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb. Cf.Ezekiel 24:26-27.
v. 23. Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
v. 24. Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel, the few dwellers in the ruins of the cities of Israel, speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land; but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance. Their argument was: If Abraham as an individual person received the land of Canaan for his possession, then surely the same God will not deny to us, the many rightful heirs of Abraham, the possession thus solemnly transmitted to him.
v. 25. Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Ye eat with the blood, that is, without letting the blood drain out on the ground, as the ordinance of the Lord prescribed, Levitcus 3:17, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, in gross idolatry, and shed blood, by freely committing deeds of violence; and shall ye possess the land? Did they think that the Lord would permit them to retain possession of the heritage of their fathers with such transgressions found in their midst?
v. 26. Ye stand upon your sword, depending upon the forceful application of what they desired, ye work abomination, by committing base crimes without a show of regard for God's will, and ye defile every one his neighbor's wife, sins against the Sixth Commandment being unusually prevalent at that time; and shall ye possess the land? The rhetorical question places a double emphasis upon the Lord's horror at their transgressions and the demand of His holiness for the proper punishment of the transgressors.
v. 27. Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, the God of the covenant, who is at the same time the Ruler of the universe, As I live, the most solemn oath which He is able to swear, surely they that are in the wastes, having sought refuge in the ruined cities and towns, shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, for the beasts of prey multiplied rapidly in the devastated country, and they that be in the forts, in mountain fastnesses, and in the caves, many of which, according to the account of Josephus, were inaccessible, shall die of the pestilence, unable to escape the punishment of the Lord.
v. 28. For I will lay the land most desolate, making it an utter waste, Jer_4:27; Jer_12:11, and the pomp of her strength, upon which she depended and of which she boasted, shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate that none shall pass through, all the regular routes of travel through the land being abandoned and only an occasional horde of nomads being seen.
v. 29. Then shall they know that I am the Lord, this conviction being forced upon them in spite of all their efforts to deny His power, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed. Note the force of the description in setting forth the continued state of desolation, on account of which some commentators think of the ruined state of the country, not only during the Exile, but also after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.
v. 30. Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people, namely, those among the exiles in Babylon, still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, both when they met in public and when they felt secure in the privacy of their own homes, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, with a show of interest which was far from proceeding from a willing obedience to the Lord's commands, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord. Their sole motive was an obstinate curiosity, for they were not really concerned about keeping the will of the Lord; therefore Ezekiel was not to be deceived by this hollow mockery.
v. 31. And they come unto thee as the people cometh, in an assembly or crowd, as students flock to a teacher, and they sit before thee as My people, pretending to be the people of the Lord, and they hear thy words, in a respectful attitude, apparently earnest and willing, but they will not do them, op. Mat_13:20-21; Jam_1:23-24; for with their mouth they show much love, literally, "for the pleasant things in their mouth they are doing," that is, they follow after, and perform, only such things as please them for the time being, but their heart goeth after their covetousness, they have their minds set on advantages which they hope to get.
v. 32. And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, like a singer who charms with the sound of his voice, and can play well on an instrument, in accompanying his singing; for they hear thy words, but they do them not, giving no heed to their import nor obeying their admonition.
v. 33. And when this cometh to pass, namely, the prophecy concerning the desolation of the entire land of Israel, (lo, it will come, this emphatic declaration being inserted as a final warning,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them, that it was God's message which Ezekiel proclaimed to them. As in those days, thus, too, many people of modern times are still willing enough to listen to a good speaker and even praise his eloquence, but they are altogether unwilling to follow his words, to apply the lessons of God's Word iii their own lives. It is a form of hypocrisy which is bound to bring God's punishment upon those who are guilty of such sham.