This prophecy Ezekiel 14:1 is a reproof of those who consult the false prophets. Some of the chief exiles come to Ezekiel as to one who has authority; but he, endowed with the genuine prophetic spirit, sees deep into their hearts, and finds the idols of self-will and unsubmissiveness set up therein.... [ Continue Reading ]
ELDERS OF ISRAEL - Some of the fellow-exiles of Ezekiel, among whom he ministered.... [ Continue Reading ]
Omit “that cometh.” ACCORDING TO THE MULTITIUDE OF HIS IDOLS - i. e., I will give him an answer as delusive as the idols which he serves. Compare Micaiah’s answer to Ahab 1 Kings 22:15.... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT I MAY TAKE ... - i. e., that I may take them, as in a snare, deceived by their own heart.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE STRANGER - They who sojourned among Israel, though they were not of Israel, were bound to abstain from idol-worship Leviticus 17:10; Leviticus 20:2. BY MYSELF - Or, as in Ezekiel 14:4, “according to” Myself. He who comes to inquire with a heart full of idolatry shall have his answer, (1) “acco... [ Continue Reading ]
WILL MAKE HIM - Or, I will make him amazed Ezekiel 32:10; or, astonished, so as to be a sign and a proverb.... [ Continue Reading ]
I THE LORD HARE DECEIVED THAT PROPHET - A deep truth lies beneath these words, namely, that evil as well as good is under God’s direction. He turns it as He will, employing it to test the sincerity of men, and thus making it ultimately contribute to the purification of His people, to the confirmatio... [ Continue Reading ]
“God,” it has been said, “punishes sins by means of sins,” but the end is the re-establishment of righteousness.... [ Continue Reading ]
Jeremiah 14; Jeremiah 15 is a remarkable parallel to this prophecy. Here, as elsewhere, Ezekiel is commissioned to deliver to the exiles the same message which Jeremiah conveys to the inhabitants of Judaea. The answer discovers the nature of the questions which had been expressed or implied. (1) Ca... [ Continue Reading ]