Ezekiel 22:4

Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries. THOU HAST CAUSED THY DAYS TO DRAW NEAR - the shorter period-namely, that of the siege. AND ART COME EVEN UNTO THY YEARS - the longer period of the captivity. The "days" and "years" express that she is ripe for punishment....

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 22:4. _THOU ART BECOME GUILTY IN THY BLOOD_] Thou art guilty of blood....

THY DAYS, - i. e., of judgment; “thy years,” i. e., of visitation (compare Ezekiel 20:25, Ezekiel 20:39). A REPROACH ... A MOCKING - Judah shall be like the Ammonites Ezekiel 21:28....

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_

THOU ART BECOME GUILTY IN THY BLOOD THAT THOU HAST SHED,.... Not only she contracted guilt by the innocent blood she shed, but she was tried and found guilty; her guilt was notorious, plain, and evident, as well as exceeding great, and much aggravated: AND HAST DEFILED THYSELF IN THINE IDOLS WHICH THOU HAST MADE: she not only made them, in doing which she sinned; but polluted herself with them, by worshipping them; her mind and conscience were defiled with them; and which brought such a stain and pollution, as could not be removed by anything that she could do: there are both pollution and guilt in sin, and neither can be removed but by the blood of Christ; and, unless removed that way, punishment must follow: AND THOU HAST CAUSED THY DAYS TO DRAW NEAR, AND ART COME EVEN UNTO THY YEARS; to full age, to ripeness for judgment; she had hastened by her sins her days of affliction and distr...

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 ...

DAYS. Put by Figure of speech _Metonymy_ (of Adjunct), App-6, for the judgment inflicted in them. COME EVEN UNTO. Some codices, with Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "hast entered the time of". HAVE. MADE THEE. REPROACH... MOCKING. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 28:37). These words occur nowhere else. App-92. HEATHEN = nations....

The "blood" is not only that of her children sacrificed to the idols, but judicial and other murders, cf. Ezekiel 22:6_; Ezekiel 22:9_. Cf. Ezekiel 23:37; Ezekiel 24:6; Ezekiel 24:9. _therefore have I made_ prophetic perf., cf. "shall mock" Ezekiel 22:5....