Ezekiel 12:13

My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there. MY NET ALSO WILL I SPREAD UPON HIM - the Chaldean army. He shall be inextricably entangled in it, as in the meshes of a net. It is God's net (). Babylon was God's instrument (). Called "a net," Habakkuk 1:14. I WILL BRING HIM TO BABYLON ... YET SHALL HE NOT SEE IT - because he should be deprived of sight before he arrived there ()....

That was no slight slaughter, when Zedekiah at length, in his desperation, thought of flight, and thus descended into hidden trenches, as if seeking life in the tomb: thus was he reduced to extremities. But the Prophet now adds, that it would be useless, _because notwithstanding this he should be taken by his enemies _Besides, what God executed by means of the Chaldeans he properly transfers to himself. The Chaldeans laid their snares when advised of the king’s flight: they knew its direction, and hence they apprehended him. So God announces himself as the author: I, says he, _will stretch out my net. _This we know, that the Chaldeans did not leave their own country of their own accord, nor carry on the war in their own strength, nor take the king by their own counsel; but the whole affair was under the government of heaven. Men lent their aid, and seemed to carry’ on the work by their o...

1-16 By the preparation for removal, and his breaking through the wall of his house at evening, as one desirous to escape from the enemy, the prophet signified the conduct and fate of Zedekiah. When God has delivered us, we must glorify him and edify others, by acknowledging our sins. Those who by afflictions are brought to this, are made to know that God is the Lord, and may help to bring others to know him....

Verse Ezekiel 12:13. _I WILL BRING - HIM TO BABYLON - YET SHALL HE NOT SEE IT_] Because Nebuchadnezzar caused him to have his eyes put out at _Riblah_. To Babylon he was carried in his blind state, and there he died. In saying, _My net also will I spread upon him_, there is probably a reference to an ancient manner of fighting. One, who was called the _retiarius_, had a small casting net, which if he could throw over his antagonist's head, he then despatched him with his sword; if he missed his throw, he was obliged to run in order to get his net once more adjusted for another throw. In the mean time the other pursued him with all his speed to prevent this, and to despatch _him_; hence he was called _secutor_: the _first_ the _netman_, the _second_ the _pursuer_....

Compare Jeremiah 52:9 ff...

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 12:1 THE WORD OF THE LORD, etc. This formula, so familiar in Isaiah and Jeremiah, appears for the first time in Ezekiel, but occurs repeatedly afterwards, especially in this chapter (verses 8, 17, 21, 26. and again Ezekiel 13:1; Ezekiel 14:2, _et al._)_. _The teaching by "the visions of God" ceases, and that of direct message or symbolic acts is resumed. In each case the point aimed at was the same. The people who heard the one or saw the other were to be taught how utterly groundless was the hope that Jerusalem could hold out against its enemies. The interval between the two was probably a short one, and the new teaching, we may conjectu

MY NET ALSO WILL I SPREAD UPON HIM,.... Meaning the Chaldean army, which the Lord raised up, and brought against him, and gave success unto: AND HE SHALL BE TAKEN IN MY SNARE; as a bird is taken in the snare of the fowler; or a wild beast by the hunter. The Jews have a tradition, which is mentioned both by Jarchi, Kimchi, and Abendana on the place, that there was a cave which reached from Zedekiah's house to the plains of Jericho, by the way of which he fled; and that God prepared a deer, which went upon the top of the cave; and the Chaldeans pursued it; and when it came to the mouth of the cave, Zedekiah was coming out, and they took him: AND I WILL BRING HIM TO BABYLON [TO] THE LAND OF THE CHALDEANS; yet shall he not see it; his eyes being put out at Riblah, Jeremiah 39:7. The Prophet Jeremiah says that his eyes should behold the eyes of the king of

CHAPTER S 12-19 Signs, Messages, and Parables _ 1. Signs given through the prophet (Ezekiel 12:1) _ 2. The message of speedy judgment (Ezekiel 12:21) 3. The message against false prophets and prophetesses. (Ezekiel 13:1) 4. The message against the elders (Ezekiel 14:1) 5. The parable of the vine given to the fire (Ezekiel 15:1) 6. The parable of the abandoned child and Israel's whoredom (Ezekiel 16:1)

EZEKIEL 12. EXILE FORESHADOWED. Ezekiel 12:1. Flight from the Beleaguered City. Ezekiel's message of doom has surely been made plain enough, but the rebellious house will not listen; for one thing, their confidence in the indestructibility of the monarchy and the throne made such a message incredible. Well then, if they will not hear, they must be made to see; and again, as before (4) Ezekiel incarnates his message. By his conduct, he becomes a prophetic sign. In the daytime, before the eyes of the people, he packs a few belongings together, such as an exile might take with him to the land for which he was destined; then, having thus stimulated their curiosity, he carries them on his shoulder in the dead of night through a hole which he had dug in the wall (apparently of his house). In the morning, in answer to their astonished queries, he tells them plainly that it is a prophetic sy

MY NET, &c.: i.e. the Chaldean army which overtook Zedekish. NOT SEE IT. The Figure of speech _Amphibologia,_ or _AEnigma (App-6),_ as in Jeremiah 34:3. The explanation is given in 2 Kings 25:7, and Jeremiah 39:7; Jeremiah 1:52; Jeremiah 39:11. Zedekish was taken to Babylon, but he never saw it, though he died there,...