Ezekiel 13
1 “And the
word of the LORD came unto me, saying,”
Another interval follows, and then a fresh and fuller burst
of
inspiration, manifestly in close connection with ch.12:21-28, and
to
be read in combination with Jeremiah 23., especially vs. 20-22,
which, as Jeremiah was in communication with the exiles
(Jeremiah 29:1),
Ezekiel may probably have seen. There were false prophets
and prophetesses
among the exiles as well as in
his
long pent up indignation.
2 “Son of
man, prophesy against the prophets of
and say thou unto them that prophesy out of
their own hearts, Hear
ye the word of the LORD; 3 “Thus saith the Lord
GOD; Woe unto
the foolish prophets, that follow their own
spirit, and have seen nothing!”
Son of man,
prophesy, etc. The sin of the men whom Ezekiel denounced was
that
they prophesied out of their own
hearts (Jeremiah 14:14; 23:16, 26), and
followed their own spirit
instead of the Spirit of Jehovah. All was human and
of
the earth. Not a single fact in the future, not a single eternal
law governing
both the future and the past, was brought to light by it. To one
who was
conscious that he had a message which he had not devised
himself, and which
he
had not been taught by men (Galatians 1:12); that he had no selfish ends in
what he said and did; that he was risking peace, reputation,
life itself, for the
truth revealed to him, — nothing could be more repulsive than
this claim to
have seen a vision of Jehovah, by men who
had in reality seen nothing.
For foolish
prophets, read, with the stronger Hebrew, the prophets, the
fools, the words deriving
their force from a kind of paronomasia of
alliteration. The nabiim are
also the n’balim.
Prophesying Against the Prophets (v. 2)
TAUGHT. No man
is a perfect fountain of original knowledge. The
teacher must not only be a scholar in his early days, he
must be a learner all
through his life. Moreover,
in regard to his own experience he needs light
and help. He is not
merely a voice for other souls. He too has a soul which
may be in darkness, even while he is striving to illumine his
hearers. There
is great danger in the professionalism of the pulpit. It
comes to be taken for
granted too readily that familiarity in handling the words of
eternal life
presupposes a healthy possession of that life. Preachers hear but few
sermons. We want missionaries to the pulpit of our land, that the
leaders of
the people’s religion may be
led by THE TRUTH OF GOD!
THEMSELVES. The
professional prophets of
false prophets. They were not simply blind and in error. They made lying
pretences to an inspiration which they did not possess, and they flattered
people with vain visions which they had themselves cunningly
devised.
Their’s was
guilt of deepest dye. The teacher may fall into error
unintentionally, for he is a fallible man; and then his mistake will not
be
culpable. But deception and moral
failure are fatal sins. Surely every
one
who stands in the responsible position of a leader of others
has a double
motive for searching his own soul to see that he is not a false
prophet.
ACCOUNT BY GOD. God
has been watching the false prophets, and
now Ezekiel is sent with a special message to them. What,
then, is the
advantage of prostituting the high mission of a servant of God for
the sake
of popular favor? The flatteries of a deluded multitude will
not save the
deceiver when he is called to account by his great Master. Nay,
those
flatteries will turn to curses when the victims of his base deception
have
their eyes open to the snare which he has laid for them. Of all pursuits, that
of preaching simply for popularity is the most
dangerous and degrading.
THE NAME OF GOD ARE THE MOST
FALSE TEACHERS. The
prophets of
they carried that teaching out of their own hearts, and then ascribed it to
God. Now, the prophet was an inspired man, or he was nothing. His SOLE
BUSINESS was TO DECLARE THE DIVINE MESSAGE — “Thus
saith the Lord.” But
in speaking only out of his own heart he knew that he
had no such message. Yet by professing to be a prophet he
claimed to be
giving it. Here was his great sin. He was forging the name of God
for his
own inventions (see v. 6). Similar is the sin of the preacher in a Christian
pulpit who uses that vantage ground to expound his own private
ideas to
the neglect of, or even in opposition to, the teachings of
the Bible, and yet
on the authority of the Christian ministry. This is treason
against Christ.
4 “O
Like
the foxes in the deserts, etc. The points of comparison are
manifold. The fox is cunning (Luke 13:32, where the term is applied
to
Herod Antipas). It spoils the vine and its fruits (Song of Solomon 2:15);
it
burrows among ruins (Nehemiah 4:3; Lamentations 5:18). So the false
prophets were crafty, laid waste the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
(Isaiah 5:7),
made their profit out of the ruin of
Matthew 7:15 and Acts 20:29 wolves appear as the types of
the false prophet.
Foxes (v. 4)
Ezekiel here likens the false prophets to foxes in waste
places. This cutting
comparison shows the daring of the true prophet, the extremity of the
evil
of
false prophecy, and the crying need of
exposure of this evil. There is a
limit to the reserve of politeness when truth is dishonored and
God
insulted by those whom a culpable charity still flatters with terms
of
friendliness. Christ called Herod a fox (Luke 13:32). Still, it needs
the
grace of Christ or the inspiration of an Ezekiel to be sure that
one’s use of
such a title for a fellow man is not misapplied. Consider in what respects
false teachers may be compared to foxes.
untamed and practically untamable. Now, to all appearance the
false
prophets were very different, were the very opposite in manners and
demeanor. They were the trained sophists of an ancient civilization,
court
preachers well skilled in the use of oily phrases, masters of polite
diction.
To call such men foxes would
seem to be an extravagant insult.
Nevertheless, beneath the
gracious exterior there was the heart of the
untamed animal. These teachers were
not submissive to the guidance of the
Spirit of God. All who refuse
that guidance are wandering in the wilderness
of life. They are not the sheep of God’s flock, but like the
foxes that range
at large outside the fold.
were not celebrated for the cunning for which they were famous
in Greek
fables, but for their wasting mischief.
False teachers are compared to these
ravenous beasts. The willful teachers of
error are like the wreckers who
hang out false lights to draw ships to the rocks. The
destruction is twofold.
Ø
By driving from the true pastures. Thus the flock is
starved in the
wilderness. Error draws men off from
the wholesome food of truth.
Ø By direct
injury. The foxes tear and devour the lambs of the flock.
Error has deadly fangs in spite of its gracious aspect.
among ruins. False teaching
flourishes when the Church has fallen into
decay. A low moral tone prepares the way for error. If the soul
were in a
vigorous condition, the deceitfulness of an unworthy teacher would
be
speedily detected. It is only spiritual
degeneracy that can give an
opportunity for the religious charlatan.
night. Deceitful teachers prey upon the ignorant and
superstitious. Like the
wild animals that only creep out under shelter of night, they
prowl about in
the shadows of dark times. They dread the day. (Jesus said “this is the
condemnation, that light is come
into the world, and men loved
darkness rather than light, because their deeds
were evil. For every
one that doeth evil hateth the
light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”
(John 3:19-20) Therefore
the remedy is to be found in THE SPREAD
OF LIGHT! We
cannot conquer error by directly refuting it so well as
by fortifying people against it with A CLEAR, STRONG TEACHING
OF THE TRUTH! The foxes of error are on the look out for
their victims.
Let the shepherds of light be to
the fore in keeping the pure truth of the
New Testament
well in the minds and hearts of the people.
5 “Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for
the house of
The verse contains two distinct images. There were breaches
in
the
walls of
not
been as “repairers of the breach” (Isaiah 58:12; Psalm 106:23).
The hedge of the vineyard of
and
they had done nothing to restore it (ch.22:30). The day
of
battle, the day of the Lord, had come, and they
were betraying the
people instead of helping.
The Breaches of Sin, and the Duty of Closing
Them (v. 5)
“Ye have not gone up, into the gaps,” etc. Our text
suggests the following
observations.
DANGERS. The
text suggests the figure of a besieged city, in the walls of
which breaches have been made, through which the enemy rushes in
to
fight with its inhabitants and to take possession of its
treasures. There is
perhaps a reference to the approaching siege of
Chaldeans, in which that city would fall
because of the sins of its
inhabitants. So sin
makes wide gaps in the defenses of a people, deprives
them of the Divine protection, and exposes them to the assaults of their
enemies. The sins of the
people of
breaches which let in the fiery flood which consumed them. The sins
of the
Israelites in the wilderness on
one occasion made a gap in their defenses
through which the plague entered and slew fourteen thousand and
seven
hundred persons (Numbers 16:41-50). The sin of Achan
in coveting,
stealing, and concealing some of the spoils of
express commands, opened a wide breach through which the enemies
of
Of them
(Joshua 7.). And when David sinned in numbering
the people he
made a gap through which the pestilence entered and destroyed
seventy
thousand men (II Samuel 24.; compare Isaiah 42:24-25).
IN WHICH JUDGMENT WILL BE EXECUTED UPON SINNERS.
That crisis is here called “the
day of the Lord.” The day of Jehovah is
the
time fixed by Him with reference to the reckoning to be given in
to Him.
It seems to us more correct to
say that it is “the time of the arrival of the
judgment.” This crisis was
rapidly drawing near to the inhabitants of
that their punishment will enter thereat and seize upon them. Sinful
character and conduct advance towards maturity, and when that is
attained,
if not before, the sinner, or the community of sinners, will
meet with just
retribution. “Whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap.”
(Galatians 6:7) The forbearance and long suffering of God
with the wicked
are very great; but if these be trifled with and presumed
upon, He will cease
to exercise them, and will appear for the execution of His
judgment
(See Romans 2:4-11).
ENDEAVOR TO GUARD THE IMPERILLED PEOPLE AGAINST
THE DANGERS WHICH THREATEN THEM. When the people by their
sins have exposed themselves to their enemies, it behoves the faithful to go
up into the gaps, and to make “up the fence for the house of
in the battle in the day of the Lord.” This may be done:
Ø
By preaching repentance to the guilty people. When the people of
Threatened because of their
sins, was averted. If the prophets had
summoned the people to repentance, and the people had responded
truly to that summons, then would the breach in the fence have
been
made up, and they would have been able “to stand in the battle in the
day of the Lord.” There is no
better wall than REFORMATION OF
LIFE! “If
they have stood in my council, then had they caused my
people to hear my words,”
etc. (Jeremiah 23:22).
Ø
By presenting intercession for the guilty people. There are a number of
impressive examples in the sacred Scriptures of the servants of God
stepping into the gap and saving the imperiled people by their
prayers
(Exodus 32:11-14, 31-34; Psalm
106:23; Numbers 14:13-24; 16:41-48;
I Samuel 7:8-10). God has often graciously heard the cry of
His faithful
servants on behalf of the guilty, and turned aside
from
them the stroke of His judgment. He has spared the wicked for the
sake of the righteous.
DUTY. These false prophets had “not gone up into the gaps, neither made
up the fence for the house of
Lord.” They had neither preached repentance to the people, nor
pleaded
with God on their behalf; but had positively encouraged them in their sinful
and false security; therefore
the judgment of the Lord fell upon them TO
THEIR UTTER OVERTHROW!” “I sought for a man among them,
that should make up the fence, and stand in the gap before me
for the
land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none,” etc. (ch.22:30-31).
False prophets cannot pray.” They have neither
interest in heaven nor
intercourse with heaven. And they have no heart to make a stand against
the sins of their people, and so save them from ruin.
6 “They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD
saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they
have made
others to hope that they would confirm the
word. 7 Have
ye not
seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a
lying divination, whereas
ye say, The Lord saith
it; albeit I have not spoken? 8 Therefore thus
saith the Lord God; Because ye have spoken
vanity, and seen lies,
therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God.”
The Lord saith. The verb is that specially used for the
utterance of prophets, and the
deceivers used it without the authority of a
true mission. For they have made others (or, men)
to hope, etc., as in the
Authorized Version and Revised Version, read, with the
margin of Revised
Version, they hope to confirm their word, taking the
verb as in Psalm
119:43, 49; Job 6:11, et al.). So the
Vulgate, persereraverunt
confirmare. Through
deceiving others, they came to DECEIVE
THEMSELVES and were
really expecting a fulfillment.
9 “And
mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that
divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of
my people, neither
shall they be written in the writing of the
house of
shall they enter into the
the Lord GOD.” Mine hand shall be, etc. After Ezekiel’s manner, the
thought of v. 6 is repeated in an altered form
in vs. 7-8. What had been a
statement appears as a question to which there could be but one
answer.
The prophet, as it were, cross examines his rivals. Could
they deny the
charge? Was not every word of it true? Then, after the statement
of the sin
of
the false prophets, comes the proclamation of the punishment. The hand
of Jehovah
would be upon them for evil and not for good.
In
the assembly
of my people. The Hebrew word indicates not a large popular gathering,
but
a secret council of those who deliberate together to carry out their
plans (Psalm 89:7; 111:1; Jeremiah 6:11). The prophets who had
acted together, and been looked up to by the people as forming
such a
council, should lose that position of authority. The words that
follow point
to
a yet lower degradation. They should be in the strictest sense of the
word excommunicated. The city of
had
its register of citizens. In such a register were inscribed also the names
of
proselytes of other races (Psalm 87:6), and so men came to think of
a
like register as kept by the King of kings, containing the names of those
who
were heirs of the “life” of the true
Daniel 12:1). In neither of those registers, the earthly
and the
heavenly (but stress is probably laid upon the former), shall the
false
prophets find a place. Ezra 2:62 gives an example of the use made of
such registers on the return from the Captivity. One notes the contrast
between the “my people” which recognizes
Jehovah, and the “thy
people” used in ch.3:11 of the rebellious
house of the Captivity. For the false prophets there should be
no return to
the
faithful and the penitent (ch.37:21; compare Isaiah 57:13). Here
there is no specific mention of the name being struck out. The
prophet
contemplates a new register, in which their names will never even have
appeared.
10
“Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying,
Peace; and there was no peace; and one
built up a wall, and, lo,
others daubed it with untempered
morter:” Peace, when there was no
peace. This, as in Micah 3:5; Jeremiah 6:14; 23:17; Zechariah 10:2, was
the
root evil of the false prophet’s work. He lulled men
into a false security,
and
so narcotized their consciences. One built up a
wall. The imagery starts
from the picture of a ruined city already implied in vs. 4-5, and expands into
a
parable in which
we note a parallelism”
(Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 6:47-49).
With an incisive sarcasm, Ezekiel describes what we should
call the
“scamp-work” of their spiritual
building. They profess to be “repairers
of
the breach” (Isaiah 58:12) in the walls of the spiritual
how
they set about it. One built up a wall. This may point to a false
prophet, but the “one” (Hebrew, “he”) is probably indefinite, like
the
French on, equivalent to “some
one.” Some scheme is devised, an
Egyptian
alliance or the like, to which the people look for safety. It is,
as in the
margin of the Authorized Version, a “slight wall,” such as was
used for
partition walls inside houses. They make it do duty as an outside
wall (kir
in
v. 12). It has no sure “footings,” and materials
and workmanship are
alike defective. The
false prophets would smear it over with
untempered
mortar (the Hebrew word is found only here and in ch. 22:28, and
is
probably an example of Ezekiel’s acquaintance with the technical
vocabulary of his time) — with a stucco or plaster, which is hardly
better
than whitewash (compare the “whitened” or plastered wall or sepulchre of
Matthew 23:27; Luke 11:44; Acts 23:3), used to hide its
detects and give
it
a semblance of solidity. They come, that is, with smooth words and
promises of peace.
False Peace (v. 10)
“Peace; and there
was no peace.”
War stands with famine and
plague as one of the three great scourges of
man, and it is the greatest of the three. There is a worse war than that of
man with his fellow:
Ø
the war of sin
against the soul, and
Ø
the war of the soul against God.
This spiritual war wounds,
slays, devastates, terrorizes. It is true that many
who wage it never confess its hurtfulness, and even profess a
joy in their
condition. But when men retire
into the silence of their own souls they
must feel that the unrest within, which perhaps they do not
yet ascribe
to their sinful alienation from God, is a source of utter
weariness,
perhaps even of soul agony. Cowper exclaims:
“Oh for a
lodge in some vast wilderness,
Some
boundless contiguity of shade,
Where
rumor of oppression and deceit,
Of
unsuccessful or successful war,
Might never reach me more!”
contemporary prophets promised peace, though
threatened with destruction by the true prophets of God.
Ø
The peace of unbelief. The threatenings of judgment are discredited.
Future punishment is regarded as
an invention of the priests to keep
their dupes in subjection.
Ø
The peace of self-satisfaction. The true prophets
denounced sin; but the
false prophets flattered with smooth words. There is a teaching which
minimizes sin and guilt, and
so lulls the alarmed conscience to sleep.
Ø
The peace of presumption. The false teachers
taught their hearers to
presume on the favor of God, and to assume that God would never
suffer
of God’s love by assuming that He will never smite in anger.
might say “peace;” but there would be no more
peace for all their
reiteration of the pleasant message. Smooth doctrines do not make
smooth
facts. We may enjoy a rosy theology with no shadows in its
ideas; but if
there are shadows in life, they will not be softened
thereby. The future is
not shaped by our notions of what it should be; neither is
real peace given
in the present by mere words of peace. The need is deeper
than that which
any assuring language can satisfy. The
unrest of the soul calls for an active,
powerful pacifying. Till that is experienced the soul will be restless still.
but it is not to be got through flattering words and pleasant
assurances.
Perhaps storms and trouble will
precede it. At least there must be the break
up of the false peace in the revolution of complete repentance. Then Christ
will not only speak peace; He comes to make peace
(Ephesians 2:15).
His peace is brought about by
His victory over sin, which is the one
fundamental cause of war between the soul and God, and of unrest in the
soul itself. Christ reconciles us to God by His cross, and
brings our souls
into harmony with the will of God. This
is the only sure and solid peace.
11
“Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall
fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and
ye, O great hailstones, shall
fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it. 12 Lo, when
the wall is fallen, shall it
not be said unto you, Where is the daubing
wherewith ye have daubed it?
13
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend
it with a
stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an
overflowing shower
in mine anger, and great hailstones in my
fury to consume it.
14 So will
I break down the wall that ye have daubed with
untempered morter, and
bring it down to the ground, so that the
foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall
fall, and ye
shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye
shall know that I
am the LORD.
15 Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon
the wall, and
upon them that have daubed it with untempered morter, and will say
unto you, The wall is no more, neither they
that daubed it;
16 To wit,
the prophets of
peace, saith the Lord
GOD.” In
words which would almost seem to have
been in our Lord’s thoughts in Matthew 7:25, we have the picture of an
Eastern storm,
torrents of rain passing into hail, accompanied
by a tornado
of
irresistible violence (compare like pictures in Exodus 9:22; Joshua 10:11;
Isaiah 30:30; 28:2, 17). And when the disaster comes men
will turn to those
who
professed to be master builders and repairers of the breach, with derision,
and
ask, “Where
is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed?” And then men
shall see that through all this it is
Jehovah’s hand that has been working.
It is He who “rends” the wall; He who “brings
it down to the ground;” He who
“accomplishes His wrath” (vs. 13-15). That shall
be the end of the false
“visions of peace.”
Untempered
Mortar (vs. 11-16)
The teaching of the false prophets of peace is here
compared to a wall built
of
untempered mortar, which is overthrown in a tempest.
MORTAR.
Ø
It offers protection. The wall is built,
and it endures long enough to
invite the threatened people to take shelter behind it. It stands
between
them and the enemy. So a false
hope is planted between men and their
danger, like a city wall,
and it encourages them to despise the danger.
Ø
It presents a fair appearance. The wall may be well
designed with
towers, and bastions, and battlements, and all the latest
improvements
in plans of fortifications. It has a certain mortar holding
the stones
together, which may appear to be of the very best quality. So false
hopes charm with an appearance of solidity.
Ø
It contains solid materials. It is not a mere
mound of earth. There are
good hewn stones in the structure. Hence its
deceptive appearance.
A lie that is half a truth is
the most deadly lie. We may have certain
solid truths of the Christian religion. Yet if these are not united by
personal faith they hang
loosely together, and will not save us.
Ø
It lacks an essential element. The mortar is rotten.
Then all the rest goes
for nothing. “One thing thou lackest”
(Mark 10:21). Yet that one thing
may be so vital that the absence of it may lead to utter
failure. Our
system of religion, like the teaching of the false prophets, may
have
every commendable element, beauty, symmetry, fullness, etc., except
one — TRUTH. Then,
alas! there is nothing to hold it together, and
the whole is no better than a heap of rubbish.
When we see people who are
comfortably concealed in a neat little system
of religious conceptions, though we know that that system is
only held
together by the friable mortar of fancy, not by the Portland cement
of truth,
at first it might seem cruel to unsettle them. But it should
be remembered
that they are certain to
be unsettled at length, and the only
questions are as
to when and how this will take place. If the rotten wall is not pulled down,
some day it will be thrown down.
Ø
The tempest of trial will come. God sends His
hailstorm, His
hurricane. It came to
It visits every soul at
some time, for “man is born to trouble”
(Job 5:7). If our bark is only made for fair weather,
it is
doomed to shipwreck, because the storm will break at
last on every life. If it does not come during our earthly
course, it will visit us at the close. Death will then come
as a howling tempest.
Ø
The false hope will then crumble away. Hail and hurricane
dash down
the feeble, pretentious wall. Trouble overthrows false hopes.
We may be
content to live in the dreamland of
illusion during the drowsy summer
days of prosperity. But trouble compels us to be real. Then we
are forced
to ask ourselves in solemn earnestness, “What is truth?” Then the refuge
of lies tumbles into a hopeless ruin.
Ø
The builder of the false hope will suffer in its overthrow. “Ye shall be
consumed in the midst thereof.” (v. 14). False teachers will suffer
with the overthrow of their teachings. They who take refuge in
falsehood will be BURIED IN THE
RUIN OF THEIR DELUSIONS!
The greater the hope, the more fearful
will be its fall, and the more
dreadfully will they be bruised and crushed who take up their abode
in it.
Ø
The false hope is overthrown that we may TURN TO THE TRUE
HOPE. “Christ our Hope.”
17 “Likewise,
thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy
people, which prophesy out of their own heart;
and prophesy thou
against them,”
Set thy face against the daughters of thy people. Here we
note that the formula, “thy people,” of ch.
3:11 reappears. The
section which follows (vs. 17-23) throws an interesting side light
on the
position of women in the religious life of
influence was stronger there than in most other nations. Miriam had
led the
way
(Exodus 15:21), and had been followed by Deborah (Judges 5:1).
Huldah had been almost as prominent in Josiah’s reformation as
Hilkiah the high priest (II Kings 22:14-20; II
Chronicles 34:22). It
was
but natural that there should be women on the other side also, guiding
their own sex; and it is probable that Ezekiel had in his
thoughts some
special leaders who headed the women of
Jeremiah, as afterwards at Pathros (Jeremiah 44:15-19). So, later on, we
have the prophetess Noadiah heading the opposition
to Nehemiah
(Nehemiah 6:14); and in the New Testament, on the one hand,
Anna
(Luke 2:36) and the daughters of Philip (Acts 21:9), and on
the
other, the ill-regulated prophetesses of
and
the woman Jezebel, who called herself a prophetess (Revelation 2:20).
18 “And
say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that
sew
pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon
the head of every
stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of
my people, and will
ye save the souls alive that come unto you?” Woe to the women who sew pillows,
etc.
Ezekiel’s minute description, though it is from a different standpoint,
reminds
us
of that in Isaiah 3:18-26. In both cases there are the difficulties
inseparable from
the
fact that he had seen what he describes, and that we have not; and that
he
uses words which were familiar enough then, but are now found nowhere else.
So that (as in the case of the ἐξουσία – exousia – authority;
power -of I Corinthians
11:10) we have to guess their meaning. The picture which he
draws of a
false prophetess is obviously taken from the life, and the
dress, we can
scarcely doubt, was one that belonged to her calling. The word for “sew”
meets us in Genesis 3:7; Job 16:15; Ecclesiastes 3:7; and the
English is an
adequate rendering. For the word rendered “pillows,” the Septuagint
gives
προσκεφάλαια – proskephalaia - the Vulgate pulvilli (equivalent
to
“cushions”). The word here
obviously denotes an article of dress,
something fastened to the arms. For arm-holes read joints of the two
hoods, which may mean
either knuckles, wrists, or (as in the Revised
Version) elbows. Possibly these may have been, like the
phylacteries of
Matthew 23:5, cases containing charms or incantations, and
used as
amulets. Something analogous to, if not identical with, these
ornaments, is
found in the “seeress wreaths,” and
“divining garments” of Cassandra
(AEsch., ‘Agamemnon,’ 1237-1242), and in the “garlands” or
“fillets” of
the
Pythian priestess in AEsch.,
‘Eumeu.,’ 39. By some writers
(Havernick) the word has been
taken, as, perhaps, in the Authorized
Version, for “pillows”
in the larger sense, either literally as used in wanton
luxury, like the “tapestry”
of Proverbs 7:16, or figuratively, like the
“wall” of the preceding
section, for counsels that lulled the conscience into
the
slumber of a false security. Strangely enough, the Hebrew noun
rendered “arm-holes” has
the pronominal suffix “my arms,” or “my hands.”
Keil accepts this rendering, and explains it as meaning that
the
prophetesses sought to “bind the arms,” i.e. to restrain the power of
Jehovah. On the whole, it is safer to follow Ewald
and Hitzig, as I have
done above. Make kerchiefs upon the
head of every stature. The word
for
“kerchiefs” is again unique, but is,
perhaps, a variant of the word in
Isaiah 3:22, and rendered “wimples” in the
Authorized Version. There
is
a fair consensus of interpretations that it means, as “kerchief” means,
some covering for the head, a veil that hangs down over it, like the Spanish
mantilla. Its use is, perhaps, explained by the words that follow,
which
suggest that the veils were not worn by the prophetesses
themselves, but
by
those who came to consult them. The former had, as it were, a whole
wardrobe of such veils adapted to persons of various heights, so
that in all
cases it shrouded their whole form. We may, perhaps, read
between the
lines the thought that their utterances, like their veils, were
adapted to suit
every age and every taste. Analogous usages present themselves
in the
tallith of later Judaism, and
the veil worn by the Roman augurs. Ezekiel
paints, we may believe, what he had seen. And in those veils he
had seen a
net
cast over the victims of the false prophetesses, a snare from which they
could not escape. Will
ye hunt, etc.? The question (that form is preferable
to
the affirmative of the margin of the Revised Version) is one of burning
indignation. Omitting the words, “that come” (which have nothing in
the
Hebrew corresponding to them), the second clause will run, “Will ye make
your own souls live?” and the question is explained by what follows. The
prophetesses were living upon the credulity of the victims over whom
they
cast their nets.
19 “And will
ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley
and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls
that should not die, and to
save the souls alive that should not live, by
your lying to my people
that hear your lies?” Will ye pollute me, etc.? rather, with the Revised
Version,
ye have
profaned, the interrogative form not being
continued in the Hebrew.
The prophet dwells with scorn on the miserable pay for
which the
prophetesses were guilty of so great a sin. Not for rewards of
divination,
like those of Balaam (Numbers 22:7), but for gifts like those bestowed
on
the harlot or the beggar (l Samuel 2:36; Hosea 3:2) — for handfuls
of barley and pieces
of bread — they plied their wretched trade. For
examples of the lower gifts in kind offered to prophets, compare
those of
Saul (I Samuel 9:8), of Jeroboam’s wife (I Kings 14:3), the
false
prophets in Micah 3:5. And they did this in direct opposition to
the will
of
Jehovah. They “slew,” i.e. drew on to
destruction, the souls that were
meant for life. They “saved the souls alive,” i.e. “their own, which were
worthy of death.” That
was the outcome of their “lying” divinations.
20
“Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am
against your
pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make
them fly, and I
will tear them from your arms, and will let the
souls go, even the
souls that ye hunt to make them fly.” 21 Your
kerchiefs also will I tear,
and deliver my people out of your hand, and
they shall be no more in
your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that
I am the LORD.”
To make them fly, etc.; rather, with the Revised Version and
Ewald, as if they were birds, carrying out the thought
that the amulets on
the
arms of the prophetesses, and the veil cast over the heads of the
votaries, were like the snare of the fowler. So the threat that
follows, that
the
amulets should be torn off and the veil rent, is practically equivalent to
the
promise that the victims should be “delivered out of the snare of the
fowler” (Psalm 91:3;
124:7). They should no longer be in the power of
those who traded on their credulity. They too
shall know that HE WHO
SPEAKS IS INDEED JEHOVAH!
Effeminate Religion (vs. 17-20)
If Ezekiel is not to be read with prosaic literalness as
referring to the
women of
metaphor, the false prophets as daughters of
has
here given us a picture of effeminate religion.
EFFEMINATE.
Ø
There is a noble sphere for woman in religion. The women of the
Bible give
us many a fine example of exalted piety. From Deborah,
“the mother in
have appeared on the sacred page as inspiring examples.
The Bible
elevates the position of woman, and teaches us to treat her
with
reverence.
Ø
There is something feminine in the highest character of
men. We
see it in Jeremiah and John. Christ combines in His own Person
the perfection of a woman’s character with the perfection of a
man’s.
Ø
Nevertheless, there is an effeminacy of religion. Effeminate is all
accommodation theology. The present inclination to shun the stern
facts of revelation, and confine attention to what is pleasing,
runs in the direction of effeminacy. If we adapt our religion to the
inclinations of people, instead of declaring the whole counsel of God,
whether men will hear or whether they will forbear, we betray a sad
lack of virile strength.
COMFORT. These
“daughters
of
spent their time in sewing pillows when they should have been
forging
swords or building solid walls; for they were only whispering
soft words
of hollow consolation when they
should have been RENOUNCING
SIN and PREPARING TO
FACE CALAMITY!
Ø
There are pillows for evil consciences. Men desire to escape
from the
stabs of conscience. They would lay the restless conscience at
ease.
An effeminate
religion helps to do this by lulling
the alarmed sense
of guilt and danger.
Ø
There are pillows for indolence. When called to action
effeminate souls
prefer ease and comfort. We meet with consoling promises in
Scripture,
but not for such. It is the mistake of many that they convert
the religion
which should be a stimulant into an opiate.
OPPOSED.
Ø
It is cruel. The prophets of
the expense of their neighbors, and preserving their own lives
by
destroying the lives of other people (v. 18).
Ø
It is mercenary.
God is “polluted”
for “handfuls of barley and pieces
of bread.” This
“preaching to the times” in meek submission to the
zeitgeist (spirit of the times) is a profitable thing for the popular
preacher,
but it means unfaithfulness to the Master when pleasant words
only
are spoken, and hard truths are hidden in
order to bring “grist to the mill.”
Ø
It is fatal. God says, “Behold, I am against your pillows.”
The present
age has a horror of pain. But SIN IS WORSE
THAN PAIN and rough
dealing which saves from sin is better than pillows of ease for
impenitent
souls. They who trust to
artificial comfort now will be awakened by the
terrible arm of judgment. The pillows are supposed to be made for
God’s
arms, so that He may act softly. But no softened doctrine will destroy
the stern facts of judgment.
22
“Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad,
whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the
hands of the
wicked, that he should not return from his wicked
way, by
promising him life:
23 Therefore ye shall see no more
vanity, nor
divine divinations: for I will deliver my people
out of your hand:
and ye shall know that I am the LORD.” Because with lies, etc.
What specially stirred Ezekiel’s indignation was that the false
prophetesses
saddened the hearts of the righteous (of those who looked to him
and
Jeremiah for guidance) with prophecies of evil and deluded the evil
door
by
false hopes, so that he should not turn from his evil way and live. For by
promising him life, read, with the Septuagint, Vulgate, and Luther and the
Revised Version, that he should live, as he would do,
if he turned from
his wickedness
(ch.3:21; 18:9, 17).
Misplaced Sorrow (v. 22)
We have here set before us the twofold mischief of the
false preaching of
peace. The righteous
are made needlessly sad, and the wicked are spared
the
sorrows which they need to drive them from their evil ways, and are
thus confirmed
in their wickedness.
GOOD PEOPLE. One
particular aspect of this mischief is here brought
before us — that of the triumph of sin and the prospect
of its immunity,
together with the persecution of men
who resist it. Such was the condition
of things at
days of Jeremiah; and a similar state appears to have prevailed
when
Ezekiel was writing. But we may
see other aspects of the same mischief.
Ø
Doubt as to Divine justice. If sin is to be
unrestrained, goodness may
fail. It looks then as though the world were left to drift
without
control.
Ø
Doubt as to the Fatherly care of God. This is an opposite
mistake in
appearance, and yet the two lie near together. They both come from
losing the perception of God’s
active presence. In the second case,
however, good people may trouble themselves by dwelling
exclusively
on the stern features of judgment, through a reaction against
the laxity
of popular notions.
Ø
Misapplication of the doctrine of election. Good people have
feared
they might not be among the elect. A false fatalism has hung
like a pall
over their hopes. They have not seen the freedom of grace, the
perfect
love of God for every soul, the open door for return.
Ø
A
horror of the unpardonable sin. Yet they who fear they have
committed this sin prove by their very distress that they have not,
because that distress shows that they are not dead to spiritual
things.
FROM BAD PEOPLE. Sorrow for sin is a wholesome experience, and
nothing can be more dangerous than to be able to do evil without
experiencing any feeling of compunction.
The flattering theology which
would encourage such a condition is the most deadly enemy to its
dupes,
and while it professes kindness to the sinners whom it lulls to sleep as they
float down the rapids of increasing wickedness, it is really
murdering their
souls by rendering them deaf to the thunders of the cataract. Let us note
some of the delusions which lead to this fatal result:
Ø
Disbelief in judgment to come. Soothed by such a
notion, reckless men
imagine that they can sin with impunity. It would be better for them if
they were pained by visions of judgment. No doubt the extravagant,
coarse pictures of a medieval hell have led to a revolt against
the idea
of future punishment. Yet whatever may be the nature of that
punishment, justice requires some terrible retribution for terrible
sin.
Ø
The belief that God is only mild. His love is infinite.
But therefore it
must include wrath against sin. Soft-hearted
benevolence is not
perfect love.
Ø
Light views of sin. The evil being
slightly regarded, its punishment is
not expected to be great. Moreover, apart from slavish fears
of future
suffering, sin itself should be sorrowed over as a hateful thing.
But
while it is painted in flattering hues it will not be followed
by
wholesome anxiety of guilt!
False Prophetesses (vs. 17-23)
Women have always played an important part in the religious
history of
every nation, sometimes for good, sometimes for evil. The
Scriptures, with
their proverbial impartiality, record instances of both kinds
of:
whom their power extended.
Of the prophetesses whose pretensions are exposed in this
passage we know nothing
from other sources of information. But if curiosity is unsatisfied, enough
is here
revealed to justify us in thinking of these
women as a very pernicious element in the
Hebrew nation at the era of the Captivity.
us to understand all the allusions in this passage. Whatever
were these
pillows and kerchiefs, it seems clear that they were used in
connection with
superstitious divinations, and were intended to impress all beholders
with a
sense of the dignity and mysterious powers of these sorceresses.
The
mystic veil that robed the tall form of the prophetesses, the
paraphernalia
with which such persons were wont to invest themselves, tended
to inspire
reverence and awe, as if for a supernatural power revealed in the
stately
presence and authoritative voice.
striking in the description given by the prophet of the poor,
deluded victims
who resorted to the sorceresses, carrying with them “handfuls of barley and
pieces of bread” — the
common tribute paid in such cases and to such
persons. Probably the women loved to exercise power and to exact
respect; yet with most of them the motive was mercenary, and they were
content to deceive others if they could enrich, or even support,
themselves.
their utterances in irony. For it is evident:
Ø
that their inspiration
came from their own heart, and
Ø
that the substance of their so called prophecies was false.
They were animated by a desire
to please those who resorted to them; and
this they did to gratify their own prejudices or to display
their own worldly
wisdom. In such communications there was nothing that deserved
the name
of prophecy; for a
prophet is one who speaks in the place of God, and who
shows no regard to the person or to the wishes of those
addressed. It was
no spirit of rivalry or of jealousy which induced the Prophet
Ezekiel to
speak thus severely of these female impostors; it was for the public good
that their deceptions should be exposed.
have hunted the souls of the Lord’s people; and this they did
by their
perverse and unjust oracles. The language used concerning them is
very
remarkable, and it could not have been used through mere delight in
antithesis. It is said that the ministry of the “prophetesses” was “to
slay the
souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that
should not live.”
They were reproached with their
attempt to subvert God’s righteous
providence: “With lies ye have
grieved the heart of the righteous, whom I
have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that
he
should not return from his wicked way.” A more scathing denunciation
could not have been uttered than this; these women strove to OVERTURN
THE MORAL ORDER (Perhaps a predecessor of The National Organization
of Women – CY – 2014) to encourage the rebellious, and to depress the
just
and godly!
rectitude declared Himself opposed to these seducers of His people. The
symbols of their delusive arts should be stripped from them.
Their
hypocrisy should be unveiled, and their pretences should be
ridiculed. The
means by which they had been wont to ensnare men should be taken
from
them. Their reputation and
their power should be destroyed, and their
influence should come to an end. (Consider the import of this in
the 21st Century concerning the misconstrued emphasis by the national
media on the so-called “War on Women!” – CY – 2014)
prophetesses sought to entangle and to capture were the Lord’s people;
and the Lord claimed His own. It was His purpose to deliver
them out of
the hand of their spiritual foe, and to let the hunted souls
go free. The
means by which this result was to be brought about are not
stated; but the
resources of the Omnipotent were sufficient to ransom and liberate
His
own. Thus it should
be made apparent to all observers that the Lord
reigneth,
and that He is ever mindful of His own.
Effeminate Religion (vs. 17-23)
Moral evil is sadly
contagious. The boastful, arrogant
temper of the false
prophets spread to the women also. It was a time of great
excitement — a
national crisis, in which all political considerations were intermingled
with
religion. Amid the general panic of fear, women as well as men were
stirred
to
action. The party who sought God and desired to know
His will were a
small minority. The
major part of the people, both men and women, were
carried away by a spirit of
carnal wisdom. They cared far more to
secure
personal advantage than to please God. But the gravity of their
offence
was
that they falsely presumed to speak in the stead of God.
invent for themselves religious creeds and forms. The human mind has
chafed against God’s requirements as being irksome and severe, and the
world has carved out a religion that shall be self-pleasing, a lullaby to
conscience, a sedative to fear.
The doctrines and creeds have been spun out
of men’s self-consciousness, and have had no foundation
outside
themselves. In the pride of their heart they have imagined that
Reason was
a god, and that this internal god was supreme. They see
vanity and
prophesy falsehood.
practices are regulated by pleasure. What ministers to present
enjoyment is
tolerated; what is unpleasant is denounced. “They sew pillows to all arm-
holes.” Bodily ease is paramount. To crucify the flesh is a heresy.
To wear
a jeweled cross upon the breast is an ornament, and is
therefore approved;
but to obey commands which are a burden to the flesh, to bear
Christ’s
cross of pain and reproach, this is contemned. He who
really desires
acceptance with God may well suspect any religion that panders to
bodily
pleasure. “He who is a friend of the world is an enemy of God.” (James
4:4)
ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for
pieces of
bread?” These
self-styled servants of God really cared nothing for the
honor of God. They did not scruple to profane His Name, and to
trample
on sacred things, if only they could gain a pitiance of bread thereby. They
made merchandise of religion. It was a religion for the body, not for the
soul. They acted as if gain were godliness (I Timothy
6:5). So is it oft times
now. If religion
would ensure prosperity to secular business, many men
would profess to be religious. But if religion frowns upon fraud and deceit,
they will eschew it as unfriendly to their worldly prospects. Yet, in the long
run, godliness is favorable to every human interest. “It is profitable for all
things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come!”
(I Timothy 4:8)
These false prophets sought “to
slay the souls that should not die, and to
save the souls alive that should not live.” It seeks to frustrate all
God’s
purposes, to overturn the very foundations of righteousness. God’s plan of
government is to make righteousness contribute to life. “The just shall live
by faith” (Habakkuk
2:4; Romans 1:17; Hebrews 10:38); “The
soul that
sinneth, it shall die” (ch. 18:20). But this
self-made religion of
proud men strives to arrest the processes of God’s rule, and
endeavors to
make the worst things appear the best. “It puts darkness for light, and
light
for darkness” (Isaiah
5:20). It would fain slay the righteous;
for the godly
are as thorns in the sides of the hypocrite. (This is why Cain
slew his brother,
Abel! - I John 3:12) It seeks to confuse men’s ideas of truth and
error, of right and wrong.
WICKED AND TO THE RIGHTEOUS. “Ye have made the heart of the
righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands
of
the wicked, that he should Lot return from his wicked way.” It is God’s
wise intention that, in
proportion as men are righteous, they should have
joy. This is their
encouragement and, in part, their reward. He who seeks
to prevent this IS FIGHTING
AGAINST GOD! But it is a greater
wrong
still to encourage the wicked in their evil ways (Matthew
18:6). The pains and
disappointments which the wicked experience are the thorns with which God
would hedge up their way and turn them back. He who promises heaven to
sinners is a confederate in their sin, and shall share their punishment.
Such
a one is a soul-murderer. On his skirts is indelibly fixed the blood of human
souls. To encourage false hopes is treason against humanity.
or later the bubble will burst, for it has no foundation in truth or in reality.
It is a mirage of men’s heated imagination,
and cannot long endure. The
God of truth will, in His own
time, appear; will scatter to the winds the
flimsy fancies of men; and the mischief they have sought to do to
others
shall return in tenfold disaster upon their own heads. If men will not know
and acknowledge God in the day of His kindness, they shall recognize
Him
in the night time of His vengeance. Falsehood cannot perpetuate itself. Like
Jonah’s gourd, it springs up in
a night, and in a night it perishes. But the
truth, like its Author, is omnipotent, and must prevail.
“Truth,
crushed to earth, shall rise again,
The eternal years of God are hers.
But Error, wounded,
writhes with pain,
And dies amid her worshippers.”
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