Old Testament Commentary - Ezekiel 22

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 22 Ezekiel catalogs the sins of the Jews in Jerusalem—They shall be scattered and destroyed for their iniquities.
1 MOREOVER the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.
3 Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city ^asheddeth ^bblood in the midst of it, that her ^ctime may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself. 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 ^areproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries. 5 Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed.
6 Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood^a. 7 In thee have they ^aset light by ^bfather and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by ^coppression with the ^dstranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the ^ewidow. 8 Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths.	6^a the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood To understand just who these princes were who had such power over a man's life is but to consider that in the day of Christ is was the Jewish Senate or Sanhedrin who did take and try Jesus and effectively brought him forth to face death. This 'judgment council' by which so ever name was first established by Moses when he selected seventy elders of Israel to aid in judging the children of Israel. The head of this 'council' was the High Priest and all such elders of Israel as were chosen to judge the Law of Moses upon the people. In Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Lehi's day they were the 'ruling Jews' who sought the life of the prophet Lehi. These were they whose guard brought into captivity Jeremiah and cast him into prison and they would seek Jeremiah's life also. Laban, Lehi's cousin, was such as the 'captain of fifty' that is the 'fifty of the judgment council'. Recall that it was one such officer of the Sanhedrin who was sent among those who came by night to take Jesus to be tried. And how it was that they could require a man's life at the law of Moses need to be considered no further at the false accusations of Laban against the sons of Lehi as to being thiefs, and so accused if caught and killed the council could by the use of the law aquited Laban of any charges against him for he was but protecting his house against theives. And in fact it was likely Laban who met with the 'elders of the church' in full armor as their captain of police that would have been so commanded to have taken Lehi himself before the council in judgment and like the charges they would levy against Jeremiah, they could have so charged Lehi and brought him to death.
9 In thee are men that ^acarry tales to shed blood: and in thee they eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they commit ^blewdness. 10 In thee have they discovered their fathers' ^anakedness: in thee have they ^bhumbled her that was set ^capart for ^dpollution. 11 And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter. 12 In thee have they taken ^agifts to shed blood; thou hast taken ^busury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.
13 ¶ Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy ^adishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee. 14 Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it. 15 And I will ^ascatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy ^bfilthiness out of thee.
16 And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. 17 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become ^adross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the ^bfurnace; they are even the dross of silver.
19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.
21 Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the ^afire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. 22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.
23 ¶ And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 24 Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor ^arained upon in the day of ^bindignation. 25 There is a ^aconspiracy of her ^bprophets in the midst thereof, like a ^croaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the ^dtreasure and ^eprecious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.
Her Priests, Her Princes, and Her Prophets In this age the state of Jerusalem was such that its religious 'rulers', the priets, princes and prophets were all wicked and self serving. The Levites of the priesthood were all corrupt from the temple priests on down. The judging princes of the Law of Moses were all corrupt and administering the law only to get gain and not to exercise justice. And the prophets that were supported by the priests and princes and people were but only such false prophets who satified the ears of the wicked.
26 Her ^apriests have ^bviolated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no ^cdifference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my ^dsabbaths, and I am ^eprofaned among them. 27 Her ^aprinces in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest ^bgain. 28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered ^amorter, seeing vanity, and ^bdivining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.
29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the ^apoor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. 30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not ^adestroy it: but I found none. 31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I ^arecompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.