Ezekiel 12
Judah’s Captivity Symbolized
12 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house. 3 As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself an exile’s baggage, and go into exile by day in their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house. 4 You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself at evening in their sight, as those do who must go into exile. 5 In their sight dig through the wall, and bring your baggage out through it. 6 In their sight you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder and carry it out at dusk. You shall cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.”
7 And I did as I was commanded. I brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands. I brought out my baggage at dusk, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight.
8 In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’ 10 Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.’ 11 Say, ‘I am a sign for you: as I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.’ 12 And the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage upon his shoulder at dusk, and shall go out. They shall dig through the wall to bring him out through it. He shall cover his face, that he may not see the land with his eyes. 13 And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there. 14 And I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops, and I will unsheathe the sword after them. 15 And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. 16 But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they go, and may know that I am the Lord.”
17 And the word of the Lord came to me: 18 “Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink water with trembling and with anxiety. 19 And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with anxiety, and drink water in dismay. In this way her land will be stripped of all it contains, on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it. 20 And the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
21 And the word of the Lord came to me: 22 “Son of man, what is this proverb that you have about the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? 23 Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, The days are near, and the fulfillment of every vision. 24 For there shall be no more any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. 25 For I am the Lord; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord God.”
26 And the word of the Lord came to me: 27 “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ 28 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord God.” [1]
In this chapter, there are a couple of living parables. In the first, Ezekiel was commanded to flee into exile in the sight of everyone, and in the second, he had to tremble while eating and drinking. These living parables should have been enough to make people question what was happening, but they didn’t raise a single concern. The people ignored them. So, God places further emphasis by having Ezekiel speak words of prophecy about what was about to be fulfilled.
In verses 21- 28, the Lord addressed those who said Ezekiel’s prophecies were many days away. The Lord corrected the false words by saying that the prophecies would be fulfilled in their days and would no longer be delayed. The king would be captured as he tried to flee and would die in Babylon (which he does in 2 Kings 25), and the people would suffer because of their unfaithfulness and failure to repent and seek the Lord's face (which happened). The people tried to ignore it all by saying that the words and visions of Ezekiel were for a distant time, but that was not the case—it was about to unfold.
What do we do with all of this? First, we need to remember a few things:
The people were in complete rebellion against the Lord.
God’s standards are evenly applied to everyone, with no special favor shown to His own people. This is seen when God used Joshua as His instrument to deal with the sinful people of the Promised Land, and now God is using the Babylonians as His instrument to deal with the sinfulness of His own people.
God is sovereign and will accomplish all that He has promised (which, looking down the road of history, is awesome when we consider all that Jesus has done on our behalf).
Ezekiel is an incredible model of faithfulness to us. God asked Ezekiel to do some pretty strange things. Why? Because people would ask questions, "What is this about? What is going on?" In Ezekiel’s case, the questions would hopefully lead to the opportunity to talk about the Lord and the people’s broken relationship with Him.
As we continue to pursue our own relationship with Jesus, as His disciples, we grow in our understanding that we are called to live faithfully for Him and to honor and glorify Him in our lives. As the Apostle Peter put it, to live in such a way that no one can question to whom we belong. (paraphrase of 1 Peter 2)
Live so that your life, your choices, your actions, attitudes, and even how you handle your failures is a living parable to those around you. Live so that people ask, "What is it that you have that I am longing for?"
Paul encouraged us to "live a life worthy of the calling you have received." Let your life be a living parable of Christ in you, and then be ready to answer some great questions.
But in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
1 Peter 3:15-16 ESV
God bless you, and know that you are prayed for this morning!
Scott