CHAPTER 22 GOD'S INDICTMENT ON JERUSALEM. This chapter consists of three oracles spoken against Jerusalem possibly at different times (Ezekiel 22:1; Ezekiel 22:17; Ezekiel 22:23). They are united by their message as they depict the extreme sinfulness of Jerusalem. They also act as a warning to othe... [ Continue Reading ]
JERUSALEM, THE CITY OF BLOOD. ‘Moreover the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge, the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations.” ' Ezekiel continues in his silent vigil, speaking only when the word of Yahweh comes to him. God asks h... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And you will say, “Thus says the Lord Yahweh, A city that sheds blood in the midst of her, that her time may come, and that makes idols against herself to defile her. You are become guilty in your blood that you have shed, and are defiled in your idols that you have made, and you have caused your d... [ Continue Reading ]
“Behold the princes of Israel, every one according to his power, have been in you to shed blood. In you have they treated dismissively the authority of father and mother. In the midst of you they have dealt with the stranger by oppression. In you they have wronged the fatherless and the widow. You h... [ Continue Reading ]
“Slanderous men have been in you to shed blood, and in you they have eaten on the mountains. In the midst of you they have committed lewdness. In you they have discovered their fathers' nakedness, in you they have humbled her who was unclean in her separation. And one has committed abomination with... [ Continue Reading ]
“In you have they taken bribes to shed blood, you have taken usury and increase, and you have greedily gained from your neighbours by oppression, and have forgotten me, says the Lord Yahweh.” In Jerusalem the love of money has made men forget God, a common problem through the ages. Here men take bri... [ Continue Reading ]
“Behold therefore I have smitten my hand at your dishonest gain which you have made, and at your blood which has been in the midst of you.” What has happened in Jerusalem has made God ‘smite his hand', in anger and determination to do something. Two sins stand out, those of dishonest business deali... [ Continue Reading ]
“Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I will deal with you? I, Yahweh, have spoken it and will do it.” God's warning comes loud and clear. Those who disobey His commandments will have to face His judgment. And do they think that they will then be able to endure or be... [ Continue Reading ]
“And I will scatter you among the nations, and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your filthiness out of you, and you will be profaned in yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will know that I am Yahweh.” God will deal with them by scattering them among the nations and d... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL WHO ARE FULL OF IMPURITY. ‘And the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “Son of man, the house of Israel is become dross to me, all of them are brass and tin and iron and lead in the midst of the furnace. They are the dross of silver.” In this second oracle ‘the house of Israel' a... [ Continue Reading ]
“Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, Because you are all become dross, behold therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem, as they gather silver and brass and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire on it to melt it. So will I gather you in my anger and in... [ Continue Reading ]
“Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you will be melted in its midst. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so will you be melted in its midst. And you will know that I Yahweh have poured out my fury on you.” It is now reiterated and emphasised that the... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed nor rained on in the day of indignation.” ' Ezekiel now declares his third oracle. It concentrates on the infiltration of evil into the whole of society. Its first warning is that there will be n... [ Continue Reading ]
“There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst of her, like a roaring lion ravening the prey. They have devoured people. They take treasure and precious things. They have made her widows many in her midst.” As the text stands it declares that the prophets, who should have been such a force for... [ Continue Reading ]
“Her priests have done violence to my law, and have profaned my holy things. They have put no difference between the holy and the common, nor have they caused men to distinguish between the clean and the unclean, and they have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.” The prie... [ Continue Reading ]
“Therefore have I poured out my indignation on them, I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. Their own way have I brought on their heads, says the Lord Yahweh.” It was because of this total lack of worthiness among the ‘cream' of the land that God brought on them His final judgment. Here He... [ Continue Reading ]