Eze 12:3-16 | KingComments | STEP | With this chapter begins the third section of the great second section. This section, which covers Ezekiel 12-17, exposes the sins of the leaders. This chapter addresses the false prophecies that are circulating that the deliverance of Jerusalem will happen soon and that the exiles will return soon. The teaching of these chapters counters this false optimism. From the beginning, the LORD has prepared Ezekiel that the carried away into exile of His people as a whole will not listen to His Word ( ). Here He confirms that again ( ). As a whole, they are “the rebellious house”. Their eyes are blind to their sins and their ears are closed to God’s Word. The cause of this is their rebellion; they are “a rebellious house.” Yet Ezekiel must convey to them God’s message. He must do so by visible sign acts and an audible declaration of them. He must depict an exile ( ). This might “perhaps” lead them to “understand though they are a rebellious house”. The word “perhaps” gives room for a glimmer of hope that there will be some who will listen after all. The LORD’s command for this action of Ezekiel shows His great lovingkindness that He uses such means to get the attention of the rebellious people. He tells Ezekiel what to take, what to do with it, and to go to another place. Ezekiel is to do everything “in their sight”, an expression that appears seven times in . Ezekiel is to perform the play in two acts, one act by day and the other by night. The first act, during the day, consists of his having to bring out from the house before their eyes the “baggage for exile”, that is, no more than the very essentials ( ; cf. ). The performance of the second act takes place at night ( ). While the exiles stand by and watch, he himself must come out in the evening and move away, as exiles move away. To make it look like a real run, he must break through the wall to make an escape route and through it bring out everything ( ). To do this, he must carry everything on his shoulder, as exiles do ( ). It must be done at night. He must also cover his face, as people do who do not want to be recognized. Also, it is a sign that he will not see the land, because he is leaving it. Likewise, those who are still living in Jerusalem today will not see the land from which they will be carried away as exiles. The LORD has given Ezekiel as a sign. In this sign, not only the future is announced, but it also shows what it looks like. In and during Ezekiel’s performance, the future becomes present. What is going to happen is seen in reality in the sign. Ezekiel does exactly what the LORD has commanded him ( ), although he himself may not yet have understood what it means. It proves the utter obedience of the prophet. He literally does what the LORD has told him to do. All his actions are described again, except for covering his face. So he stands there waiting for further instructions. These come in the morning. The LORD gives him the explanation in the following verses, which he is also to pass on.

‏ Ezekiel 12:3-16

Introduction

With this chapter begins the third section of the great second section. This section, which covers Ezekiel 12-17, exposes the sins of the leaders. This chapter addresses the false prophecies that are circulating that the deliverance of Jerusalem will happen soon and that the exiles will return soon. The teaching of these chapters counters this false optimism.

The Exile Depicted

From the beginning, the LORD has prepared Ezekiel that the carried away into exile of His people as a whole will not listen to His Word (Eze 2:3-8 ; Eze 3:7-9). Here He confirms that again (Eze 12:1-2). As a whole, they are “the rebellious house”. Their eyes are blind to their sins and their ears are closed to God’s Word. The cause of this is their rebellion; they are “a rebellious house.”

Yet Ezekiel must convey to them God’s message. He must do so by visible sign acts and an audible declaration of them. He must depict an exile (Eze 12:3). This might “perhaps” lead them to “understand though they are a rebellious house”. The word “perhaps” gives room for a glimmer of hope that there will be some who will listen after all.

The LORD’s command for this action of Ezekiel shows His great lovingkindness that He uses such means to get the attention of the rebellious people. He tells Ezekiel what to take, what to do with it, and to go to another place. Ezekiel is to do everything “in their sight”, an expression that appears seven times in Eze 12:3-7.

Ezekiel is to perform the play in two acts, one act by day and the other by night. The first act, during the day, consists of his having to bring out from the house before their eyes the “baggage for exile”, that is, no more than the very essentials (Eze 12:4a; cf. Jer 46:19). The performance of the second act takes place at night (Eze 12:4b). While the exiles stand by and watch, he himself must come out in the evening and move away, as exiles move away.

To make it look like a real run, he must break through the wall to make an escape route and through it bring out everything (Eze 12:5). To do this, he must carry everything on his shoulder, as exiles do (Eze 12:6). It must be done at night. He must also cover his face, as people do who do not want to be recognized. Also, it is a sign that he will not see the land, because he is leaving it. Likewise, those who are still living in Jerusalem today will not see the land from which they will be carried away as exiles.

The LORD has given Ezekiel as a sign. In this sign, not only the future is announced, but it also shows what it looks like. In and during Ezekiel’s performance, the future becomes present. What is going to happen is seen in reality in the sign.

Ezekiel does exactly what the LORD has commanded him (Eze 12:7), although he himself may not yet have understood what it means. It proves the utter obedience of the prophet. He literally does what the LORD has told him to do. All his actions are described again, except for covering his face. So he stands there waiting for further instructions. These come in the morning. The LORD gives him the explanation in the following verses, which he is also to pass on.

The Exile of the King

When Ezekiel has performed his play, the next morning the word of the LORD comes to him (Eze 12:8). The LORD is curious, as it were, about the reaction of the people (Eze 12:9). How did they react to the performance? Did they also ask Ezekiel about the meaning? Whether they did or not, in any case Ezekiel must go and tell them what he wanted to make clear with his performance (Eze 12:10). What he has played out is a speaking of God that applies to the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel in Jerusalem. He must say in plain words that he is a sign and that what he has played out will actually happen to the prince and the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Eze 12:11).

Ezekiel says that in his performance he has mainly played out what will happen to the prince (Eze 12:12). That prince is Zedekiah. Several years later, what Ezekiel has played out and is described again here will literally happen to Zedekiah (2Kgs 25:1-7; Jer 39:1-10 ; Jer 52:7-11). Zedekiah flees through the wall at night. But the soldiers of the king of Babylon pursue him and seize him. So the LORD spreads His net over him and takes him captive (Eze 12:13). It is not bad luck that Zedekiah is seized.

Zedekiah is taken to Riblah and there his eyes are put out. Then the Chaldeans take him to Babylon, but he cannot see that land because he is blind. There, in Babylon, he dies. Those who helped him flee are scattered by the LORD throughout all the winds and will fall there by the sword (Eze 12:14). Through their dispersion and scattering, they will know that He is the LORD (Eze 12:15).

The dramatic conquest of Jerusalem and the extermination of its inhabitants will not put a final end to them (Eze 12:16). The LORD will leave a small number of people alive. He will spare them so that they can tell the nations why all this has happened to them (cf. Eze 14:22 ; Eze 33:21). It is the message to all that God punishes evil no matter how long the judgment waits because He is longsuffering. It is folly to deny eternal judgment when there is so much evidence that God punishes evil.

We can learn another lesson from the play that Ezekiel performed. Is our life in line with what he showed? Do we have only the bare necessities and are we ready to go to another place (1Pet 1:13). For us, it is not a departure to go into exile, but to the Father’s house. Maybe then people will ask us why we live the way we do. Then we can point them to the anger of God that is coming upon the world and to the Savior Who can and wants to save from it. We can then give witness to the hope that is in us (1Pet 3:15a).