The Sins of Jerusalem
Jerusalem, the holy city where God had placed...
Jerusalem, the holy city where God had placed his name, was the spiritual heart of Judah. It had been corrupted and defiled; instead of being filled with God, Jerusalem was filled with bloodshed. As a result, God’s wrath would certainly fall on the city.
Now Ezekiel was called upon to act as...
Now Ezekiel was called upon to act as a prosecutor by detailing the indictment against Jerusalem that would bring about its judgment. The city was guilty of sins against fellow human beings, including the blood they had shed (see Gen 9:5–6), and of sins against God, such as making idols (see Exod 20:4–6). These two classes of sin defiled the city and made it guilty, liable to judgment and unfit to appear in the presence of the holy God. As a result, Jerusalem faced guaranteed destruction and scorn.
1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“As for you, son of man, will you judge her? Will you pass judgment on the city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her abominations 3and tell her that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘O city who brings her own doom by shedding blood within her walls and making idols to defile herself, 4you are guilty of the blood you have shed, and you are defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close and have come to the end of your years. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations and a mockery to all the lands. 5Those near and far will mock you, O infamous city, full of turmoil.
These charges against the people of Judah and...
These charges against the people of Judah and their leaders were all drawn from God’s law, especially from Lev 18–20; 25:1–55. Israel’s many sins represented a wider failure to honor and trust the Lord and his commands. Such unfaithfulness to their covenant with the Lord could have only one result: The people of Israel would experience the covenant curses (Deut 8:19–20; 28:15–68).
6See how every prince of Israel within you has used his power to shed blood. 7Father and mother are treated with contempt. Within your walls the foreign resident is exploited, the fatherless and the widow are oppressed.
8You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths. 9Among you are slanderous men bent on bloodshed; within you are those who eat on the mountain shrines and commit acts of indecency.
10In you they have uncovered the nakedness of their fathers; in you they violate women during their menstrual impurity. 11One man commits an abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another wickedly defiles his daughter-in-law; and yet another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter.
12In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.
God expressed his wrath first in the angry...
God expressed his wrath first in the angry gesture of clapping his hands and then by pouring out judgment. The first judgment was that God would scatter the people of Judah among the nations to purge them of their wickedness.
13Now look, I strike My hands together against your unjust gain and against the blood you have shed in your midst. 14Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will act. 15I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you throughout the lands; I will purge your uncleanness. 16And when you have defiled yourself† in the eyes of the nations, then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
The Refining Furnace
Scattering was not the only aspect of judgment....
Scattering was not the only aspect of judgment. God would also gather Judah into Jerusalem for judgment as metal is gathered into a smelter’s furnace. This refining fire would not yield a purified remnant. Since only worthless slag would go in, only worthless molten slag would come out. The judgment would not cleanse the people but would destroy everything in its path.
17Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18“Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside the furnace; they are but the dross of silver.
19Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because all of you have become dross, behold, I will gather you into Jerusalem. 20Just as one gathers silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into the furnace to melt with a fiery blast, so I will gather you in My anger and wrath, leave you there, and melt you.
21Yes, I will gather you together and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted within the city. 22As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted within the city. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out My wrath upon you.’”
Israel’s Wicked Leaders
The previous judgments on Jerusalem had not had...
The previous judgments on Jerusalem had not had a cleansing effect; Jerusalem remained polluted.
23And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 24“Son of man, say to her, ‘In the day of indignation, you are a land that has not been cleansed, upon which no rain has fallen.’
This list of Jerusalem’s sins focuses on the...
- This list of Jerusalem’s sins focuses on the sins of the leaders in Judah (cp. Zeph 3:3–4).
- princes: The princes and other leaders had abused their power by killing innocent people and seizing their wealth. The priests had sinned by not teaching people the law so that they could distinguish between holy and profane, clean and unclean. The prophets announced false visions instead of a true word from God. As a result, the people went astray for lack of guidance.
25The conspiracy of the princes† in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her.
26Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
27Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.
28Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.
29The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy and have exploited the foreign resident without justice.
In response to the sins of these former...
In response to the sins of these former community leaders, the Lord sought someone who would rebuild the wall and stand in the gap as a true prophet (see 13:5), someone who would intercede for the people, as Moses did after the people sinned with the gold calf (Exod 32). The Lord found no one to deflect his wrath, so his fury would now be poured out upon them in full measure (cp. Ezek 11:21).
30I searched for a man among them to repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it. But I found no one. 31So I have poured out My indignation upon them and consumed them with the fire of My fury. I have brought their ways down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.”