Ezekiel 12:1-28
1 The word of the LORD also came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.
3 Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuffa for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they be a rebellious house.
4 Then shalt thou bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing: and thou shalt go forth at even in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity.
5 Digb thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby.
6 In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulders, and carry it forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.
7 And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for captivity, and in the even I diggedc through the wall with mine hand; I brought it forth in the twilight, and I bare it upon my shoulder in their sight.
8 And in the morning came the word of the LORD unto me, saying,
9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou?
10 Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel that are among them.
11 Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall remove and go into captivity.
12 And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground with his eyes.
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.
14 And I will scatter toward every wind all that are about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them.
15 And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries.
16 But I will leave a fewd men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the heathen whither they come; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
17 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
18 Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness;
19 And say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord GOD of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein.
20 And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
21 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
22 Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?
23 Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision.
24 For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel.
25 For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.
26 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
27 Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off.
28 Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 12:3. Son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing. Bring out thy goods ready packed up, and place the baggage before thy door. As the captives on the Chebar would neither see nor hear the predictions of the burning of Jerusalem, but constantly kept their hearts on a return to their habitations, the prophet must address them by signs, and thus excite the attention of the people.
Ezekiel 12:4. At even. The evening and the morning are usual times of travelling in all hot countries; nature asks the shade during the heat at noon.
Ezekiel 12:5. Dig through the wall in their sight, and carry out other effects, favoured with the shades of night. This was done to designate a sally port in the walls of Jerusalem, and made so as not to be observed by the besieging army. Thus the court fled, leaving the people behind for slaughter.
Ezekiel 12:12. The prince shall bear upon his shoulder. He does not mention Zedekiah by name; we must respect the glory of the diadem; but this refers to his shameful flight to the plains of Jericho with his guards, and to the king's retreat among the thorns or coverts on the western shores of the Jordan, as described in Jeremiah 12:5. The Lord knew what Zedekiah would do, therefore he revealed it to the prophet.
Ezekiel 12:13. My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare. The accomplishment of these words is recorded in Jeremiah 39. The net refers to the arts of the Chaldean hunters in catching captives. When heaven pursues, it is in vain to fly. Ancient nets were of various kinds, some for birds, and others for game. Strong ones were also used for entangling wild beasts. These, Virgil calls, retia rara, Æneid 4:131, used for entangling boars and other beasts of the chace. In book 10:714, he gives a fine view of an enraged boar, pausing and roaring before one of those nets, while the hunters, keeping a respectful distance, pierced him with their darts; but he fearlessly sustained the attacks on every side, and gnashing his tusks, shook the spears from his back.
Ille autem impavidus partes cunctatur in omnes, Dentibus infrendens, et tergo decutit hastas.
Ezekiel 12:18. Eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling. This refers to allowances during the siege of Jerusalem, and likewise to the trembling and shaking of groups of captives, all but in a state of nudity, going to Babylon. What a reverse between the luxuries of a city, and the privations of a doleful journey.
REFLECTIONS.
The Lord, who still had compassion for Israel, would not let his prophets rest. Vision succeeded vision, one severity of labour followed another. While Jeremiah was working and fighting in Jerusalem, Ezekiel was preaching by signs to the captivity. He himself was that sign to the people, lying on his sides with pain, baking his bread as an afflicted exile, destitute of graceful hair, and the veneration of the ancient beard. Now, already a bye-word among the people, he must pack up his goods for flight, when going no whither. All this was done that the captives might believe, and cease from the fond hopes of re-seeing Jerusalem.
It is most remarkable, that those two living prophets and faithful witnesses, were at the same time saying the same things, but in such figures of speech and originality of thought as precludes all private correspondence. Proofs divine, that they both spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
But the moral character of the age forms the darkest shade of the portrait. Zedekiah disregarded Jeremiah, speaking from the mouth of the Lord. It was much the same with the priests and the people. On the shores of the Chebar, Ezekiel had some respect paid him as a prophet, but the ever- evasive heart feigned that he prophesied not of calamities near, but of visitations which regarded a distant age, and other times. And what else is it but the same spirit which now blunts the edge of our ministry? The world treats our warnings as morning dreams. The wicked are filling up their measure, yet there is no danger! Our streets are crowded with harlots, yet there is no eye that sees, no ear that listens to the cry of wrong. Our jails are thronged with prisoners, yet there is no oppression, no want of labour! One half of the nation despise devotion, yet there is no God to avenge his sanctuary. Sinners, look to the flames of Jerusalem; and know for certainty that this God will be to you a consuming fire.