Ezekiel 20:45-21:32, Four Visions of Judgment

It’s getting tiresome, isn’t it? Judgment, judgment, judgment. And the exiles of Israel are getting tired of it. They are complaining about Ezekiel. Maybe you are, too.

20:45 The word of Yahweh came to me: 46 “Son of man, set your face toward the south; preach against the south and prophesy against the forest of the southland. 47 Say to the southern forest: ‘Hear the word of Yahweh. This is what the Sovereign Yahweh says: I am about to set fire to you, and it will consume all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and every face from south to north will be scorched by it. 48 Everyone will see that I Yahweh have kindled it; it will not be quenched.’”

49 Then I said, “Sovereign Yahweh, they are saying of me, ‘Isn’t he just telling parables?’”

Ezekiel is prophesying against Judah, which was in the south of Israel and was the only part of the kingdom of Israel remaining (the northern part, called Israel, had been taken captive by Assyria). The exiles claim Ezekiel’s message is unclear, just “parables.” Ezekiel gets more specific.

21:1 The word of Yahweh came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel 3 and say to her: ‘This is what Yahweh says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 4 Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north. 5 Then all people will know that I Yahweh have drawn my sword from its sheath; it will not return again.’

The sword of Babylon will come against Judah and Jerusalem, cutting off both the green trees (the righteous) and the dry (the wicked). Not that the righteous deserve judgment, nor that they will experience Paradise after death, but they will be indiscriminately killed by the Babylonians who are acting as God’s sword.

6 “Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief. 7 And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every leg will be wet with urine.’ It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Yahweh.”

Part of Ezekiel’s message is acted out, his mourning for the destruction of his people that is coming.

8 The word of Yahweh came to me: 9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what Yahweh says:

“‘A sword, a sword, sharpened and polished—10 sharpened for the slaughter, polished to flash like lightning!

“‘Shall we rejoice in the scepter of my royal son? The sword despises every such stick.

11 “‘The sword is appointed to be polished, to be grasped with the hand; it is sharpened and polished, made ready for the hand of the slayer. 12 Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people; it is against all the princes of Israel. They are thrown to the sword along with my people. Therefore beat your breast.

13 “‘Testing will surely come. And what if even the scepter, which the sword despises, does not continue? declares the Sovereign Yahweh.’

14 “So then, son of man, prophesy and strike your hands together. Let the sword strike twice, even three times. It is a sword for slaughter—a sword for great slaughter, closing in on them from every side. 15 So that hearts may melt with fear and the fallen be many, I have stationed the sword for slaughter at all their gates. Look! It is forged to strike like lightning, it is grasped for slaughter. 16 Slash to the right, you sword, then to the left, wherever your blade is turned. 17 I too will strike my hands together, and my wrath will subside. I Yahweh have spoken.”

Israel is still hoping that Messiah will come and deliver them, he of Judah to whom the scepter belongs (Genesis 49:9-10). But whatever scepters exist now (leaders, rulers), such “sticks” will fall to the sword and all Israel’s hope with them. Is there a chance that then the promised scepter holder will not “continue”? The slaughter will be great until God’s wrath is satisfied.

18 The word of Yahweh came to me: 19 “Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same country. Make a signpost where the road branches off to the city. 20 Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem. 21 For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver. 22 Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp and to erect siege works. 23 It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind them of their guilt and take them captive.

24 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Yahweh says: ‘Because you people have brought to mind your guilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all that you do—because you have done this, you will be taken captive.

25 “‘You profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax, 26 this is what the Sovereign Yahweh says: Take off the turban, remove the crown. It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low. 27 A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come; to him I will give it.’

Judah’s and Ammon’s defeat is assured. The king of Babylon will be led by Yahweh’s determination of the casting of lots, not the idols, and they will come to Jerusalem, lay siege to her, and take her citizens captive. The guilt of their open rebellion will be punished. And the wicked prince who has led them will be punished. And Yahweh answers the question of whether the coming ruler to whom the scepter belongs will still be promised. The crown will be restored when this man of Judah comes.

28 “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Yahweh says about the Ammonites and their insults:

“‘A sword, a sword, drawn for the slaughter, polished to consume and to flash like lightning! 29 Despite false visions concerning you and lying divinations about you, it will be laid on the necks of the wicked who are to be slain, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax.

30 “‘Let the sword return to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your ancestry, I will judge you. 31 I will pour out my wrath on you and breathe out my fiery anger against you; I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men, men skilled in destruction. 32 You will be fuel for the fire, your blood will be shed in your land, you will be remembered no more; for I Yahweh have spoken.’” (Ezekiel 20:44-21:32)

Though Yahweh has led Nebuchadnezzar to Jerusalem instead of Ammon, Ammon too will be judged at some point. God’s wrath will be poured out on her, only she will not, like Israel, be restored. Rather, she will be remembered no more.