What I Noticed Today (Ezekiel 21-22)
Ezekiel 21
Parable 1. In verses 1-7, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel telling him to set his face toward Jerusalem, to preach against the sanctuary and the land of Israel. The Lord said a sword would cut off both the righteous and the wicked from south to north. There would be much groaning and grief because of the coming judgment.
Parable 2. In verses 8-17, Ezekiel refers to a sharpened sword ready for judgment. The judgment will come against the people, including the princes. The reference to the Lord clapping His hands speaks of His anger. The three strikes of the sword may refer to the three times the Babylonians came against Jerusalem (605 B.C, 597 B.C., and 588-586 B.C.). The sword would move from left to right and then right to left and would not stop until the judgment was complete.
Parable 3. In verses 18-27, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, telling him to mark two ways for the king of Babylon to come. When Nebuchadnezzar came north from Babylon, he reached a literal fork in the road. If he went one way he would attack Ammon and Rabbah, or to Judah to attack Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar’s war council met and consulted their gods, and the lot fell to attack Jerusalem first. This was all controlled by God. God had pronounced judgment on the people for their sins, and the city brought to ruin (ruin used three times for emphasis). The city will not be restored until Christ’s return (the scepter of the line of David).
Parable 4. In verses 28-32, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel directed against the Ammonites. The polished sword that would judge Jerusalem would also be directed to them. God would hand the Ammonites over to brutal men to destroy the people, and they would be remembered no more.
Ezekiel 22
Ezekiel delivers three messages in Ezekiel 22 describing the sins and judgment coming to Jerusalem.
First Message. In verses 1-5, the word of the Lord comes to Ezekiel, saying if he is going to judge this bloody city (Jerusalem), he needs to name the charges against them. God then tells Ezekiel what charges to bring against the people. They have been guilty of shedding innocent blood and making idols. The time for judgment had come. Neighboring countries would mock her, and Jerusalem’s name will be defiled.
In verses 6-12, Ezekiel lays out the sins of the people: they killed innocents, social injustice, apostasy, idolatry, immorality, greed, and most importantly, they had rejected God.
In verses 13-16, God says He will strike His hands together (some translations say, “I will strike my hands at…”) at the dishonest gain. They will not be so courageous when God’s judgment comes, and He scatters them among the nations. They will be profaned in the sight of nations, and then they will know that He is the Lord.
Second Message. In verses 17-22, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel saying the people of Israel had become dross to him (when refining metals impurities were referred to as dross). The people were impure to God because of their sin. God said He would gather the people together and refine them by blowing the fire of His wrath on them, and then they will know that He is the Lord.
Third message. In verses 23-31, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel to lay out charges against the leaders. Prophets were full of greed; they had taken treasures and killed men making many widows. Priests rejected the Law and profaned God’s holy things. They made no distinction between the clean and the unclean and had even abandoned the keeping of the Sabbath. The princes (kings) were destroying people seeking dishonest gain. The prophets had spread a false vision and lied to the people claiming that the Lord had spoken to them. The people were not exempt; in general, they were practicing extortion, robbing, and oppressing the poor and needy. Ultimately, when God looked for a leader who could stand with God, He found none and so He has determined to pour out His judgment on them.
