Ezekiel 5

REVIEW QUESTIONS

What factors made the sin of Judah so grievous?

In what sense was Jerusalem in the midst of the nations (Ezekiel 5:5)?

What horrible barbarisms would accompany the fall of Jerusalem?

In what sense would a sword continue to pursue the refugees even on foreign soil?

What would be necessary before the righteous anger of God could be satisfied?

What are the evil arrow’s of famine which God would send against Jerusalem?

In what ways had the Jews defiled God’s sanctuary in Jerusalem?

Why was Ezekiel told to prophesy against the mountains of Israel?

In what ways does Ezekiel in this section indicate the futility of idolatry?

How many times does the expression you shall know that I am the Lord occur in the book? What does this expression reveal about the purpose of God?

What hopeful picture of a remnant did Ezekiel paint?

How does Ezekiel describe the anguish which God experiences over the apostasy of His people?

Why the clapping of the hands and stamping of the feet in Ezekiel 6:11?

Ezekiel says that those who sell land would never be able to reclaim it. How can this be reconciled with the prediction of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 32:15; Jeremiah 32:17; Jeremiah 32:43) that land would once again be bought and sold in Canaan?

Why did Ezekiel make a chain in Ezekiel 7:23?

How does Ezekiel describe the Chaldeans who would over throw Jerusalem?

How would the coming calamity affect the spiritual leaders of the nation?

Ezekiel 5:1-4

IV. PARABLE OF THE NATION’S FATE 5:1-4

TRANSLATION

(1) And as for you, son of man, take to yourself a sharp sword, for a barber’s razor, take it, and cause it to pass over your head and your beard, and take to yourself balances, and divide them. (2) A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city when the days of the siege are fulfilled. And take a third part, smite with the sword around about her. And a third part you shall scatter to the wind. And I will unsheath a sword after them. (3) And take a few in number, and bind them in the hem of your garment. (4) And from them take again, and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them; from it a fire shall go out into all the house of Israel.

COMMENTS

During the days of his symbolic siege of Jerusalem, Ezekiel performed another act. He shaved his head and beard with a sharp sword which he used like a barber’s razor.[161] The sword symbolizes the invading Chaldean army. Ezekiel symbolizes the land of Judah. Though shaving of the head was forbidden in the Law (Leviticus 19:27 f; Leviticus 21:5), the act was universally practiced as a sign of mourning (Isaiah 3:24; Isaiah 22:12). The coming invader would scrape the land bare (cf. Isaiah 7:20), and bring upon it disgrace and mourning. Here again Ezekiel was commanded to violate the ceremonial law so as to make a prophetic application. Such shaving was forbidden to a priest like Ezekiel and ordinarily meant the loss of priestly status and position. The hair of the priest was a mark of his consecration to God’s service (Leviticus 21:5; Leviticus 19:27).

[161] Grammatically it is difficult to determine whether Ezekiel took a sword or a razor-sharp knife symbolizing a sword. In either case the message here is the same.

The hairs removed from face and head were to be divided by weight into three parts. The balances which Ezekiel was to use may symbolize justice just as is still the case today. God’s judgment is measured, accurate and fair (cf. Jeremiah 15:2).

Ezekiel’s shorn hair symbolizes the population of Jerusalem; the manner of the disposal of the hair indicated the various fates which awaited those rebellious Jews. A third of the hair was to be burned in the midst of the city, i.e., on the tile which depicted the city of Jerusalem.[162] These hairs symbolized those who would die in the horrors of warfare fire, sword, famine and pestilence when the city was besieged.[163]

[162] Another view is that the actual city of Jerusalem is meant. If all these action Parables are visionary this could be a possible interpretation.

[163] For a similar prophecy of a much later time, see Zechariah 13:8-9.

Another third of the hairs were to be smitten with the sword round about her, viz., the city. This symbolized the fate of those who tried to escape the city either during or after the fall. A prime example is King Zedekiah and his associates (cf. 2 Kings 25:4 ff.).

The last third of the hairs was to be scattered to the wind. The hairs symbolize those who would be dispersed to foreign lands. Though they had escaped the holocaust at Jerusalem they would not find peace for I will unsheath a sword after them (Ezekiel 5:2). Jeremiah predicted the same fate for the exiles (Jeremiah 9:15), as did Moses before him (Leviticus 26:33).[164]

[164] Cf. Jeremiah 40-44 and the trials which befell the Jewish remnant in Egypt.

In this bleak passage there is another hint of hope. A few of the hairs presumably those that had been scattered to the wind were to be retrieved and bound in the hem of Ezekiel’s garment (Ezekiel 5:3). A remnant of those carried off to exile would survive. Yet their situation would be desperate. From the hairs retrieved, Ezekiel was to take some and cast them into the fire. The fire here may represent persecution through which some of the Jewish remnant would die. On the other hand, the fire may represent the fire which would destroy Babylon, and would represent the fate of some who refused to heed the prophetic admonition to flee Babylon.[165]

[165] The remnant theme can be traced through the following references: 2 Kings 25:22; Isaiah 6:13; Isaiah 10:22; Jeremiah 23:3; Ezekiel 6:8-10; Ezekiel 9:8; Ezekiel 11:13; Zechariah 13:8-9.

Thus the general drift of this parable is clear. Ezekiel foresees the total destruction and dispersion of Jerusalem’s populace. But true faith would survive in a faithful remnant. The expression from them fire shall go out into all the house of Israel (Ezekiel 5:4) is difficult. Perhaps the thought is that even the faithful remnant in Babylon would suffer new hardships because of the suicidal rebellion launched by the leadership in Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 5:5-6

Chapter Five

PROPHETIC DISCOURSES 5:5-7:27

The three discourses in Chapter s 5-7 are related in that they elaborate on the symbolism of Eze 5:1-4. However, each of these discourses has its own distinctive thrust. The first is characterized by the dual themes of rebellion and retribution (Ezekiel 5:5-17). The focus is on disobedience and desolation in the second discourse (Ezekiel 6:1-14). In his third sermon Ezekiel speaks of chaos and calamity (Ezekiel 7:1-27).

Whether these sermons were delivered during the later part of the time of the symbolic siege of Jerusalem, or whether they were given some time afterwards cannot be determined. In either case, the symbolic actions gained for Ezekiel an attentive audience. It would appear that during the period of these public discourses he was generally treated with respect (cf. Ezekiel 8:1; Ezekiel 14:1; Ezekiel 20:1).

I. REBELLION AND RETRIBUTION 5:5-17

In Ezekiel 5:5-17 the four symbols found in Ezekiel 4:1 Ezekiel 5:4 are directly and forcefully explained. That these paragraphs are meant as an interpretation of the foregoing is indicated by the direct assertion, This is Jerusalem. After briefly reciting the sin of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 5:5-6), the prophet enunciates two dreadful threats against the city (Ezekiel 5:7-12). He then describes the results of the judgment (Ezekiel 5:13-15), and closes this discourse with yet another direct threat (Ezekiel 5:16-17). This first discourse describes the privilege, perversity and punishment of Jerusalem.

A. The Sin of Jerusalem 5:5-6

TRANSLATION

(5) Thus says the Lord GOD: This is Jerusalem! In the midst of the nations I have placed her, and lands are round about her. (6) She has rebelled against My judgments for evil more than the nations, and against My statutes more than the lands which are round about her; for they have refused My judgments, and in My statutes they have not walked.

COMMENTS

Ezekiel through the siege signs of Eze 4:1 to Ezekiel 5:4 has made it clear that disaster was going to overtake the inhabitants of this besieged city. It remained only for Ezekiel to make known the identity of the city. The sense of drama is sustained as the prophet tersely announces, This is Jerusalem.

Ezekiel’s thesis in Ezekiel 5:5-6 is that Jerusalem’s sin against God was grievous. He argues his point in four ways.

1. Jerusalem’s sin was grievous because of the position which she occupied. God had placed Jerusalem in the midst of the nations (Ezekiel 5:5). This is no manifestation of Jewish pride, but an indication of the basic premise of Old Testament religion, viz., the election of Israel. Geographically, Canaan was in the midst of the great civilizations of the ancient Near East. The habitation assigned to the chosen people was carefully chosen by the Lord. The peoples of God were to be the great witness to mono theism in that ancient world. But Jerusalem was unfaithful to her mission. The ancient Jews thought of God as inexorably connected with physical Jerusalem. The continued physical existence of the walls and buildings known as Jerusalem was not what concerned God, but rather the mission and message of that city. This concept the contemporaries of Ezekiel found hard to accept.

2. Jerusalem’s sin was grievous in view of the fact that she had received special divine revelation in the form of judgments and statutes. The Rabbis taught that judgments (mishpatim) pertained to a man’s duty to his fellowman while statures (chukkim) spelled out his duty to God.[166] Certainly greater light involves greater responsibility before God. An Egyptian and an Israelite may commit the same overt act; but the deed was a far greater crime for the Israelite because Israel had divine law and light.

[166] Carley (BPE, p. 38) sees the distinction being that judgments were conditional laws (casuistic law) and statutes were unconditional commands or prohibitions (apodictic law).

3. The grievousness of Jerusalem’s sin is indicated by the verbs of Eze 5:6. She had rebelled (temer) against, and her population had rejected (ma-‘asu), the judgments of God. They refused to walk in the statutes of God.

4. The wickedness of Jerusalem was worse than that of heathen nations round about (Ezekiel 5:6). The judgments of God are always relative to the light and privilege granted to a people. This thought is amplified in the following verses.

Ezekiel 5:7-10

B. The First Threat 5:7-10

TRANSLATION

(7) Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Because you are more tumultuous than the nations which are round about you in My statutes you have not walked, and My judgments you have not done, nor have you done according to the judgments of the nations which are round about you; (8) therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold I, even I, am against you, and I will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations. (9) And I will do in you that which I have not done and the likes of which I will not do again, because of all your abominations. (10) Therefore, fathers shall eat sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in You, and I will scatter all your remnant to every wind.

COMMENTS

1. The basis of the threat (5.7). Because Jerusalem was more tumultuous than surrounding nations (Ezekiel 5:7) she would have to have the judgment of God. The word translated tumultuous (hamanchem) is of uncertain meaning.[167] It seems to be connected with the noun hamon which means a tumultuous crowd. They raged in their opposition against God. Such a description is appropriate to these lawless ones who rejected the judgments and statutes of the Lord. In fact, Judah had not even measured up to the standards of heathen nations nor have you done according to the judgments of the nations round about you (Ezekiel 5:7). Judah had sunk even deeper into wickedness than pagan nations. The thought here may be that of Jer 2:10 f, viz., that the heathen were more loyal to their non-gods than was Israel to the God of creation.

[167] KJV if multiplied more than the nations. ASV. We are turbulent than the nations.

2. The specifics of the threat (Ezekiel 5:8-10). Five specific details concerning the forthcoming judgment of God are set forth in Ezekiel 5:8-10.

(1) The future judgment is the work of the sovereign ruler of Judah (Ezekiel 5:8 a). Yahweh is -adonay, sovereign. It is He who has become the adversary of Judah. The formula I am against you seems to be derived from the background of hand to hand combat. The dreadful thought that God has entered into mortal combat against Jerusalem is underscored by the emphasis on the first person pronoun I, even I, am against you. This great sovereign God not only declares in Ezekiel 5:8 His hostility toward Jerusalem, He announces His intention to execute judgments in the midst of that city (Ezekiel 5:8). The last expression is repeated in Ezekiel 5:10.

(2) The future judgment will take place in the sight of the nations (Ezekiel 5:8). Repeatedly Ezekiel emphasizes this thought.[168] Judah had publicly profaned the honor of God, and thus the Holy One of Israel must be publicly vindicated. The death of Judah would be a hideous example to others.

[168] See Ezekiel 20:9; Ezekiel 20:14; Ezekiel 20:22; Ezekiel 20:41; Ezekiel 22:16; Ezekiel 28:25; Ezekiel 38:23; Ezekiel 39:27.

(3) The judgment would be unprecedented. The abominations of Judah were without precedent, so also would be the mani festation of God’s judgment (Ezekiel 5:9). Modern students find it easy to criticize the spiritual blindness and obduracy of Israel in refusing to believe the prophetic threats that Jerusalem would be overthrown. This verse should serve to explain in part the bewilderment and incredulity which this message of destruction produced. There was no precedent to prepare for the disaster. Currey observes that

The punishments of God are cumulative. The calamities of the Babylonian were surpassed by the Roman siege (Matthew 24:21), and these again were but a foreshadowing of still more terrible destruction at the last day.[169]

[169] Currey, BC, p. 37.

(4) The judgment would result in horrible barbarisms. In the extremities of the forthcoming siege cannibalism would be practiced in Jerusalem. That children would be devoured during that brutal period had been prophesied already.[170] The gruesome fulfillment is recorded in Lamentations 4:10. But Ezekiel here goes beyond previous threats in that he predicts that sons shall eat their fathers. Human plight can know no greater depths.[171]

[170] Leviticus 26:29; Deuteronomy 28:53; Jeremiah 29:9.

[171] Feinburg, PE, p. 38.

(5) The judgment would involve the scattering of God’s people. In Ezekiel 5:10 Ezekiel alludes to those Jews who would flee from the Babylonian invasion as well as those who would be carried off to Babylon or sold into slavery in distant lands.

Ezekiel 5:11-12

C. The Second Threat 5:11-12

TRANSLATION

(11) Therefore as I live (oracle of the Lord GOD) surely, because My sanctuary you have defiled with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will cut you short, and My eye will spare not, nor shall I have pity. (12) A third part of you with pestilence shall die, and with famine they shall be consumed in your midst; and a third part shall fall by the sword round about you; and a third part I shall scatter to every wind, and a sword I shall unsheath after them.

COMMENTS

1. The basis of this threat (Ezekiel 5:11* a);* This dire threat is in order because the inhabitants of Jerusalem had defiled God’s Temple with their detestable things and their abominations, i.e., their idolatrous paraphernalia. History records how King Manasseh erected an idol in the Temple precincts (2 Kings 21:7) and Ahaz replaced the divinely ordained altar with an Assyrian model (2 Kings 16:11). Because of such brazen presumption God would cur shot-(Jerusalem without mercy (Ezekiel 5:11). There is no evidence that the Israelites were overtly more wicked than neighboring peoples. But they had violated the first and most basic commandment in that they rendered allegiance to that which was less than God.

2. The specifics of the threat (Ezekiel 5:12). In Ezekiel 5:12 Ezekiel alludes to the symbolic act which he performed with his shaven hair (Ezekiel 5:1-4). A third of the populace would be consumed by pestilence and famine in the midst of the city. A third would fall by the sword round about the city, and a third would be scattered in every direction. This latter group would include both those who might manage to escape to surrounding nations and those who would be carried into foreign exile. Divine retribution would continue to pursue these folks even on foreign soil. The sword which God would unsheath after these refugees and exiles symbolizes the persecution which they would continue to experience. The horrors of the Babylonian siege were but the beginning of sorrows of the nation. The prophecy may reach beyond the limits of the Babylonian era. Ezekiel may here be foretelling the continuous misery which the once favored people of God would experience.

Ezekiel 5:13-15

D. The Results of the Judgment 5:13-15

TRANSLATION

(13) Then My anger shall end, and MY wrath I shall cause to rest in respect to them and shall be comforted; and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken in My zeal when I have finished My wrath on them. (14) And I shall make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations which are round about you, before every one who passes by. (15) And it shall be a reproach, and a taunt, a lesson and an astonishment to the nations which are round about you when I execute against you judgments in anger and wrath and in furious rebukes; I the LORD have spoken it.

COMMENTS

Three results of Jerusalem’s judgment are mentioned in these verses:

1. Only when Jerusalem was in ruins and her few survivors scattered abroad would God’s indignant wrath be assuaged. The strongly anthropomorphic expression, My wrath I shall cause to rest in respect to them is used in three other places in the book.[172] Evil actions have tragic results. In this first discourse the only note of hope is that once Jerusalem is destroyed the righteous anger of God would be satisfied.

[172] Ezekiel 16:42; Ezekiel 21:22; Ezekiel 24:13.

2. Through the fulfillment of the predicted punishment they would recognize that the calamity was initiated by God and was not due to mere chance.

3. The retribution against Jerusalem would earn for the people of Judah the contempt of all neighboring nations and passers by as well (Ezekiel 5:14), The ruins of the once proud capital of Judah would serve a reproach, taunt, a warning lesson and a source of astonishment to the neighboring nations. At this point Ezekiel mentions only this one good which will result from the fall of Judah. From the tragedy of Israel the nations will learn that Yahweh is in control of history and that He is a righteous God.

Ezekiel 5:16-17

E. The Third Threat 5:16-17

TRANSLATION

(16) When I send against them the evil arrows of famine that are for destruction which I shall send against you to destroy you; and I shall increase famine upon you and I shall shatter your staff of bread; (17) and I will send against you famine and wild beasts and they shall bereave you; and pestilence and blood shall pass through you; and I will bring a sword upon you. I the LORD have spoken it.

COMMENTS

In the third threat of this discourse Ezekiel enumerates six calamities which will befall Judah!

1. God was about to send against His people the evil arrows of famine, i.e., blasting, mildew, locusts and other plagues which would lead to a scarcity of food.

2. On top of this God would increase the famine. He would withhold the rain. Thus would He shatter the staff of bread (Ezekiel 5:16; cf. Ezekiel 4:16).

3. In addition to famine, God would send other disasters against His wayward people. The land would become so de populated that wild beasts would be a problem. They would especially attack children and thus would the wicked mothers and fathers be bereaved.

4. Pestilence plagues against man and beast would also take their toll.

5. Others would die by violence as blood would pass through their midst

6. Finally, they would face the sword of divine retribution, the Chaldean enemy.

It should be noted that three times in this first discourse Ezekiel stressed the fact that I the Lord have spoken (Ezekiel 5:13; Ezekiel 5:15; Ezekiel 5:17). It is not the existence of the Lord that is being stressed, but the identity of the speaker as Yahweh. It is really Yahweh, the God of revelation and redemption, who has made these threats. He is a God who reveals Himself in acts as well as in words In fact His acts accredit and validate His words. The dire threats of this chapter were certain to befall Judah.

In summarizing the first discourse, three stages of backsliding can be observed (1) the Jews had rebelled against the ordinances of God in their hearts (Ezekiel 5:6); (2) they ceased to walk in God’s statutes in the outer life (Ezekiel 5:6); and finally, (3) they were so brazen that they defiled God’s sanctuary (Ezekiel 5:11). With regard to Jerusalem’s punishments again a threefold progression is observable: (1) God was against His people (Ezekiel 5:8); (2) God would execute judgments on His people (Ezekiel 5:8); and finally (3) those judgments would be executed in anger and wrath (Ezekiel 5:15).