Ezekiel 21
BBCEzekiel 21:1
- The Sign of the Drawn Sword (21:1-17)21:1-7 God expresses His determination to lay waste Judah and Jerusalem with His sharpened sword. Ezekiel’s sighing was to warn the people of the fearfulness of God’s coming judgment. 21:8-17 The sword of Babylon is prepared for the slaughter (vv. 8-13) and will satisfy the fury of Jehovah (vv. 14-17). Verses 10c and 13 are especially difficult. The thought may be this: It was no time for Judah to make mirth. They had despised all previous weapons of affliction, which are spoken of in the NKJV as having been made of wood. Now they would experience a sword made of steel, and there was the possibility that the scepter that despises, i.e., Judah, would be no more.
Ezekiel 21:18
- The Sign of the Fork in the Road (21:18-32)21:18-24 Next, the king of Babylon is seen marching toward the land. He comes to a fork in the road: One branch leads to . . . Jerusalem, and the other to Rabbah (capital of Ammon). Which city shall he attack first? He uses three means of divination: (1) He marks an arrow for Jerusalem and one for Rabbah; (2) He consults his household gods; (3) He looks into the liver of some slaughtered animal. The decision? Attack Jerusalem first!21:25-27 Zedekiah is the profane, wicked prince of verse 25. His kingship is overthrown and he will be the last king over God’s people until the Messiah comes, whose right it is to reign. Matthew Henry comments: There shall be no more kings of the house of David after Zedekiah, till Christ comes, whose right the kingdom is, who is that seed of David in whom the promise was to have its full accomplishment, and I will give it to him. He shall have the throne of his father David, Luke i. 32. . . . And having the right, he shall in due time have the possession: I will give it to him; and there shall be a general overturning of all rather than he shall come short of his right, and a certain overturning of all the opposition that stands in his way to make room for him, Dan. ii. 45; 1 Cor. xv. 25. This is mentioned here for the comfort of those who feared that the promise made in David would fail for evermore. “No,” says God, “that promise is sure, for the Messiah’s kingdom shall last for ever.” 21:28-32 The Ammonites will next be attacked by the king of Babylon; they will be utterly destroyed. History and current events are full of instances of God overturning human governments until Christ comes, whose right it is to reign.