Ezekiel 22:15

And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee. AND WILL CONSUME THEY FILTHINESS OUT OF THEE - the object of God scattering the Jews....

1-16 The prophet is to judge the bloody city; the city of bloods. Jerusalem is so called, because of her crimes. The sins which Jerusalem stands charged with, are exceeding sinful. Murder, idolatry, disobedience to parents, oppression and extortion, profanation of the sabbath and holy things, seventh commandment sins, lewdness and adultery. Unmindfulness of God was at the bottom of all this wickedness. Sinners provoke God because they forget him. Jerusalem has filled the measure of her sins. Those who give up themselves to be ruled by their lusts, will justly be given up to be portioned by them. Those who resolve to be their own masters, let them expect no other happiness than their own hands can furnish; and a miserable portion it will prove....

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 22:1, EZEKIEL 22:2 MOREOVER, etc. The word connects what follows with THE WORD OF THE LORD which began in Ezekiel 20:2. That connection is, indeed, sufficiently indicated by the recurrence of the formula, "Wilt thou judge?" (see note on Ezekiel 20:4). In obedience to the commands which that question implied, Ezekiel has once more to go through the catalogue of the sins of Judah and Jerusalem. It is not without significance that he applies the very epithet of BLOODY CITY (Hebrew, _city of bloods_

AND I WILL SCATTER THEE AMONG THE HEATHEN, AND DISPERSE THEE IN THE COUNTRIES,.... Not only cause them to be carried captive to some one place, as Babylon; but to be scattered and dispersed throughout the various provinces of it, and in other nations, as chaff is by the winds; signifying hereby the power by which it would be done; their weakness, who would not be able to hinder it; and the uncomfortable condition they would be in: AND WILL CONSUME THY FILTHINESS OUT OF THEE; by destroying some filthy persons, and reforming others; by bringing them by means of those afflictions to a sense of their sins, and to forsake them; and so would be refined as silver from its dross in a furnace: it may have a particular reference to their idolatry, that filthy sin, which they were cured of, and purged from, by their captivity, and to which they returned no more....

Ezekiel 22:1; Ezekiel 23:1. Before the sharpened sword of justice and retribution does its dreadful work, the Lord uncovers the guilt and vileness of the city and lays bare the corruption of her prophets, priests, and princes, as well as of the people. The violence and abomination of Jerusalem are revealed in Ezekiel 22:1; the smelting furnace in Ezekiel 22:17 is the symbol of Jehovah's fiery indignation against Jerusalem and its inhabitants. The corruption of the prophets, priests, and princes is fully uncovered in the closing section of chapter 22 ...

EZEKIEL 22. THE SINS OF THE CLASSES AND THE MASSES. The doom which has just been described in such fiercely vivid terms contains only one allusion to the sins which justified it (Ezekiel 21:23 f.). This chapter details those sins, and deals with the present as Ezekiel 22:20 had dealt with the past, incidentally letting us see what Ezekiel means by sin. EZEKIEL 22:1. THE SIN. The evils denounced are largely social wrongs (_cf._ ch. 18), but it is significant that the low morality is traced to false religion idolatry (Ezekiel 22:3 f.) and forgetfulness of God ...

I WILL SCATTER, &c. Reference to Pentateuch, (Deuteronomy 4:27; Deuteronomy 28:25; Deuteronomy 28:64). App-92. Compare Ezekiel 12:14; Ezekiel 12:15....

Cf. ch. Ezekiel 23:27-28; Ezekiel 36:25; Ezekiel 36:29....

AND WILL COME THY FILTHINESS, &C.— _And I will bring the fame of thy filthiness whither thou hopedst not:_ Ezekiel 22:16. _And thou shalt be profaned,_ or _defiled by it, in the sight of the heathen, who shall know,_ &c. Houbigant....

CHAPTER ELEVEN THE DEFILEMENT OF ISRAEL 22:1-24:27 Chapter s 22-24 form the conclusion of a lengthy section of the Book of Ezekiel which began back in chapter 12. In these Chapter s Ezekiel has been answering all objections articulated and unarticulated which could be raised against his thesis that God must destroy Jerusalem. By means of three oracles, two parables and a symbolic action the prophet here underscores the defilement of the land of Israel in the past and in the present. Each chapter in this section forms a distinct unit which may be titled as follows: (1) A Sinful Nation (Ezekiel 22:1-31); (2) A Sad History (Ezekiel 23:1-49); (3) A Significant Date (Ezekiel 24:1-27)....