Ezekiel 22:3

Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself. THE CITY SHEDDETH BLOOD ... THAT HER TIME MAY COME. Instead of deriving advantage from her bloody sacrifices to idols, she only thereby brought on herself "the time" of her punishment. MAKETH IDOLS AGAINST HERSELF - ()....

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....

Verse Ezekiel 22:3. _HER TIME MAY COME_] Till now, it was my long-suffering; she has fulfilled her days - completed the time of her probation; has not mended, but is daily worse; therefore her judgment can linger no longer....

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_

THEN SAY THOU, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD,.... For though the prophet was to sit as judge, yet in the name of the King of kings, under whose authority he acted: THE CITY SHEDDETH BLOOD IN THE MIDST OF IT; openly and impudently, in the face of all, and in great abundance; even innocent blood, as the Targum has it: murders were frequent and common, either through quarrels, or through unrighteous judgments in courts of judicature: THAT HER TIME MAY COME; to fill up the measure of her iniquity, and to receive the just punishment of her sins. So the Targum, "the time of her destruction:'' AND MAKETH IDOLS AGAINST HERSELF, TO DEFILE HERSELF; being guilty, not only of murder, but of idolatry; she was an idol maker and an idol worshipper; and which was against herself, as well as against God; to her own ruin and destruction, as well as to his dishonour; and it is no wonder she should be defiled...

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 ...

THE LORD GOD. Hebrew. _Adonai Jehovah_. See note on Ezekiel 2:4. IDOLS. manufactured gods....

_the city sheddeth_ Rather as address: CITY THAT SHEDDETH! ch. Ezekiel 24:6; Ezekiel 24:9. Her "time" is that of her chastisement, cf. Ezekiel 30:3 "the time of the heathen," Jeremiah 27:7. So Ezekiel 22:4, "days" and "years," i.e. full number of thy years. _against herself_ Rather: UNTO herself, parallel to "in the midst of it....

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)....