Ezekiel 22:1-16

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).

1. A SINFUL NATION 22:1-31

Chapter 22 contains three separate oracles each of which begins with the phrase, The word of the LORD came to me (Ezekiel 22:1; Ezekiel 22:17; Ezekiel 22:23). These messages originally may have been uttered on separate occasions. However, there is logic in the grouping of these three messages here, for they share the common theme of the defilement of Israel. One might suggest the following titles for these three sermons: (1) The Bloody City (Ezekiel 22:1-16); (2) The Smelting Furnace (Ezekiel 22:17-31); (3) The Corrupt Land (Ezekiel 22:23-31).

A. The Bloody City 22:1-16

TRANSLATION

(1) And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) And as for you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then make known to her all her abominations. (3) And say: Thus says the Lord GOD: O city that sheds blood in her midst, that her time may come, and that makes idols unto her to defile herself; (4) you are guilty in the blood that you have shed, and you are defiled by the idols which you have made; and you have caused your days to draw near, and you have come unto your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all lands! (5) Those that are near and those that are far from you shall mock you, you defiled of name and great of tumult. (6) Behold, the princes of Israel, each according to his strength, they have been in you in order to shed blood. (7) In you they have made light of father and mother; in the midst of you they have dealt with the stranger by oppression; in you they have wronged the orphan and widow. (8) You have despised My holy things, and you have profaned My sabbaths. (9) Talebearers have been in you to shed blood; and in you they have eaten upon the mountains; in the midst of you they have committed lewdness. (10) In you a father's nakedness has been uncovered; in you they have humbled the woman who was unclean in her impurity. (11) And one has committed an abomination with the wife of his neighbor, while another has defiled his daughter-in-law with lewdness; and still another in you has humbled his sister, his father's daughter. (12) In you they have taken gifts in order to shed blood; interest and increase you hate taken and you have gotten illicit gain from your neighbor by oppression, and you have forgotten Me (oracle of the Lord GOD). (13) Behold I have smitten My hand at your illicit gain which you have made, and against your blood which exists in your midst. (14) Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong for the days when I will deal with you? I the LORD have spoken, and will do it. (15) And I will scatter you among the nations, and spread you in the lands; and I will consume your uncleanness from you. (16) And you shall be profaned in yourself in the sight of the nations; and you shall know that I am the LORD.

COMMENTS

Again Ezekiel is asked if he would judge Jerusalem (cf. Ezekiel 20:4). Before he can pronounce such judgment, Ezekiel must inform the inhabitants of the charges against them (Ezekiel 22:2). He therefore lists for them their crimes:

1. The inhabitants of Jerusalem were guilty of bloodshed openly practiced in the midst of the city. This brazen disregard for life indicates the terrible moral debasement of the place.

2. The Jerusalemites had made idols for themselves which had resulted in ritual and moral defilement (Ezekiel 22:3).

The bloodshed and idolatry had caused Jerusalem's time (Ezekiel 22:3) and days to draw near, i.e., had hastened the retribution. The years of dispersion and exile were just around the corner. In the eternal counsels of God Jerusalem had already been made a reproach and an object of mockery to all neighboring lands (Ezekiel 22:4). The people of God would be known far and near. They would be defiled of name, i.e., have a bad reputation derived from the fact that their land was full of tumult, i.e., turmoil and confusion caused by war and natural calamity (Ezekiel 22:5). After this brief aside on the nearness of judgment, Ezekiel continues the catalog of crimes committed by his countrymen.

3. The princes or leaders of Judah had abused their power even to the point of bloodshed (Ezekiel 22:6).

4. In open defiance of the fifth commandment the people of Judah had ridiculed and mocked their elderly fathers and mothers (Ezekiel 22:7 a).

5. Oppression of the helpless the strangers or sojourners, the orphans and widows was common throughout the land (Ezekiel 22:7 b).

6. They had despised the holy things of God by the dis respectful way in which they conducted themselves in the Temple (Ezekiel 22:8 a).

7. The weekly sabbath and the special festival days designated as sabbaths had been profaned by the hypocritical conduct of the worshipers (Ezekiel 22:8 b).

8. Talebearers or slanderers had sent many innocent persons to face the death penalty (Ezekiel 22:9 a).

9. Participation in the idolatrous worship exercises upon the hills was common (Ezekiel 22:9 b).

10. Lewdness or unchastity was an integral part of those pagan rituals (Ezekiel 22:9 c). Unlike his contemporary Jeremiah who says virtually nothing about sexual sins, Ezekiel expands the general charge of lewdness in sickening detail in Ezekiel 22:10-11. He accuses the Jews of uncovering the nakedness of their fathers, an expression which refers to incestuous relation ships especially with a stepmother (cf. Leviticus 18:7 f.).[355] They had also committed rape, and that of a menstruous woman whose condition rendered intercourse forbidden (cf. Leviticus 18:19; Leviticus 20:18). Adultery which is an abomination in the sight of God, had been committed. Their lust even drove them to defiling their daughters-in-law and raping their half-sisters (cf. Leviticus 18:9; Leviticus 18:15).

[355] According to a Rabblnic tradition this verse refers to King Amon who is said to have had intercourse with his mother.

11. Bribery of judicial officials leading to the execution of innocent men was common (Ezekiel 22:12 a).

12. In violation of the laws against usury (cf. Leviticus 25:36 f.), the wealthy had taken undue interest and thus had enhanced their personal wealth through greed and oppression (Ezekiel 22:12 b).

13. All of the above sins grew out of one fundamental transgression: Judah forgot God.

Such crimes must be punished! In a gesture of anger God is said to smite His hands, i.e., to clap His hands, to summon the agents of judgment (Ezekiel 22:13). By means of a rhetorical question Ezekiel drives home the point that the Jews would not have the fortitude nor the physical strength to stand against the enemies by which God would bring judgment upon them. With God the very pronouncement of judgment is tantamount to the act of judgment, for what He decrees He will surely bring to pass (Ezekiel 22:14).

As far as Judah was concerned, that judgment involved ultimately exile to foreign lands. However, this exile would have a positive benefit. The people of God would be purged of their uncleanness, i.e., their Sin and iniquity (Ezekiel 22:15), and they would realize that Yahweh who knows the end from the beginning had brought this calamity to pass. But however beneficial the ultimate result, the exile would not be a pleasant experience. In the sight of the nations Judah would be profaned, i.e., humiliated and debased, and this would generate feelings of shame and remorse (Ezekiel 22:16).