Ezekiel 12

Eze 12:1-28.

EZEKIEL'S

TYPICAL

MOVING TO

EXILE:

PROPHECY OF

ZEDEKIAH'S

CAPTIVITY AND

PRIVATION OF

SIGHT: THE

JEWS'

UNBELIEVING

SURMISE AS TO THE

DISTANCE OF THE

EVENT

REPROVED.

1, 2. eyes to see, and see not, . . . ears to hear, and

hear not--fulfilling the prophecy of

De 29:4,

here quoted by Ezekiel (compare

Isa 6:9;

Jer 5:21).

Ezekiel needed often to be reminded of the people's perversity, lest he

should be discouraged by the little effect produced by his prophecies.

Their "not seeing" is the result of perversity, not incapacity. They

are wilfully blind. The persons most interested in this prophecy were

those dwelling at Jerusalem; and it is among them that Ezekiel was

transported in spirit, and performed in vision, not outwardly, the

typical acts. At the same time, the symbolical prophecy was designed to

warn the exiles at Chebar against cherishing hopes, as many did in

opposition to God's revealed word, of returning to Jerusalem, as if

that city was to stand; externally living afar off, their hearts dwelt

in that corrupt and doomed capital.

3. stuff for removing--rather, "an exile's outfit," the articles

proper to a person going as an exile, a staff and knapsack, with a

supply of food and clothing; so "instruments of captivity,"

Jer 46:19,

Margin, that is, the needful equipments for it. His simple

announcements having failed, he is symbolically to give them an ocular

demonstration conveyed by a word-painting of actions performed in

vision.

consider--

(De 32:29).

4. by day--in broad daylight, when all can see thee.

at even--not contradicting the words "by day." The baggage was to be

sent before by day, and Ezekiel was to follow at nightfall

[GROTIUS]; or, the preparations were to be made by day, the actual

departure was to be effected at night [HENDERSON].

as they that go forth into captivity--literally, "as the goings forth

of the captivity," that is, of the captive band of exiles, namely, amid

the silent darkness: typifying Zedekiah's flight by night on the taking

of the city

(Jer 39:4; 52:7).

5. Dig--as Zedekiah was to escape like one digging through a wall,

furtively to effect an escape

(Eze 12:12).

carry out--namely, "thy stuff"

(Eze 12:4).

thereby--by the opening in the wall. Zedekiah escaped "by the gate

betwixt the two walls"

(Jer 39:4).

6. in . . . twilight--rather, "in the dark." So in

Ge 15:17,

"it" refers to "thy stuff."

cover thy face--as one who muffles his face, afraid of being recognized

stealthily and afraid to look around, so hurried should be their fight

[CALVIN].

sign--rather, "a portent," namely, for evil.

9. What doest thou?--They ask not in a docile spirit, but making a jest

of his proceedings.

10. burden--that is, weighty oracle.

the prince--The very man Zedekiah, in whom they trust for safety, is

to be the chief sufferer. JOSEPHUS

[Antiquities, 10.7] reports that

Ezekiel sent a copy of this prophecy to Zedekiah. As Jeremiah had sent a

letter to the captives at the Chebar, which was the means of calling

forth at first the agency of Ezekiel, so it was natural for Ezekiel to

send a message to Jerusalem confirming the warnings of Jeremiah. The

prince, however, fancying a contradiction between

Eze 12:13;

"he shall not see Babylon," and

Jer 24:8, 9,

declaring he should be carried to Babylon, believed neither. Seeming

discrepancies in Scripture on deeper search prove to be hidden

harmonies.

11. sign--portent of evil to come

(Eze 24:27;

Zec 3:8,

Margin). Fulfilled

(2Ki 25:1-7;

Jer 52:1-11).

12. prince . . . among them--literally, "that is in the midst of them,"

that is, on whom the eyes of all are cast, and "under whose shadow" they

hope to live

(La 4:20).

shall bear--namely, his "stuff for removing"; his equipments for his

journey.

cover his face, that he see not the

ground--See on

Eze 12:6;

the symbol in

Eze 12:6

is explained in this verse. He shall muffle his face so as not to be

recognized: a humiliation for a king!

13. My net--the Chaldean army. He shall be inextricably entangled in

it, as in the meshes of a net. It is God's net

(Job 19:6).

Babylon was God's instrument

(Isa 10:5).

Called "a net"

(Hab 1:14-16).

bring him to Babylon . . . ; yet shall he not see it--because he should

be deprived of sight before he arrived there

(Jer 52:11).

14. all . . . about him--his satellites: his bodyguard.

bands--literally, "the wings" of an army

(Isa 8:8).

draw out . . . sword after

them--(See on

Eze 5:2;

Eze 5:12).

16. I will leave a few . . . that they may declare

. . . abominations--God's purpose in scattering a remnant

of Jews among the Gentiles; namely, not only that they themselves

should be weaned from idolatry (see

Eze 12:15),

but that by their own word, as also by their whole state as

exiles, they should make God's righteousness manifest among the

Gentiles, as vindicated in their punishment for their sins (compare

Isa 43:10;

Zec 8:13).

18. Symbolical representation of the famine and fear with which they

should eat their scanty morsel, in their exile, and especially at the

siege.

19. people of the land--the Jews "in the land" of Chaldea who thought

themselves miserable as being exiles and envied the Jews left in

Jerusalem as fortunate.

land of Israel--contrasted with "the people in the land" of Chaldea.

So far from being fortunate as the exiles in Chaldea regarded them, the

Jews in Jerusalem are truly miserable, for the worst is before them,

whereas the exiles have escaped the miseries of the coming siege.

land . . . desolate from all that is

therein--literally, "that the land (namely, Judea) may be despoiled

of the fulness thereof"; emptied of the inhabitants and abundance of

flocks and corn with which it was filled.

because of . . . violence--

(Ps 107:34).

20. the cities--left in Judea after the destruction of Jerusalem.

22. proverb--The infidel scoff, that the threatened judgment was so

long in coming, it would not come at all, had by frequent repetition

come to be a "proverb" with them. This skeptical habit contemporary

prophets testify to

(Jer 17:15; 20:7;

Zep 1:12).

Ezekiel, at the Chebar, thus sympathizes with Jeremiah and strengthens

his testimony at Jerusalem. The tendency to the same scoff

showed itself in earlier times, but had not then developed into a

settled "proverb"

(Isa 5:19;

Am 5:18).

It shall again be the characteristic of the last times, when "faith"

shall be regarded as an antiquated thing

(Lu 18:8),

seeing that it remains stationary, whereas worldly arts and sciences

progress, and when the "continuance of all things from creation" will

be the argument against the possibility of their being suddenly brought

to a standstill by the coming of the Lord

(Isa 66:5;

2Pe 3:3, 4).

The very long-suffering of God, which ought to lead men to repentance,

is made an argument against His word

(Ec 8:11;

Am 6:3).

days . . . prolonged . . . vision faileth--their twofold argument:

(1) The predictions shall not come to pass till long after our time. (2)

They shall fail and prove vain shadows. God answers both in

Eze 12:23, 25.

23. effect--literally, "the word," namely, fulfilled; that is, the

effective fulfilment of whatever the prophets have spoken is at hand.

24. no more . . . vain vision . . . flattering divination--All those

false prophets

(La 2:14),

who "flattered" the people with promises of peace and safety, shall be

detected and confounded by the event itself.

25. word . . . shall come to pass--in opposition to

their scoff "the vision faileth"

(Eze 12:22).

The repetition, "I will speak . . . speak," &c. (or as

FAIRBAIRN, "For I, Jehovah, will speak whatever

word I shall speak, and it shall be done") implies that whenever God

speaks, the effect must follow; for God, who speaks, is not divided in

Himself

(Eze 12:28;

Isa 55:11;

Da 9:12;

Lu 21:33).

no more prolonged--in opposition to the scoff

(Eze 12:22),

"The days are prolonged."

in your days--while you are living (compare

Mt 24:34).

27. Not a mere repetition of the scoff

(Eze 12:22);

there the scoffers asserted that the evil was so often

threatened and postponed, it must have no reality; here

formalists do not go so far as to deny that a day of evil is

coming, but assert it is still far off

(Am 6:3).

The transition is easy from this carnal security to the gross

infidelity of the former class.