Eze 12:21-14:11 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Ezek 12:21-14:11: 12:21–14:11 The messages in this section address the issue of true and false prophecy.

Summary for Ezek 12:21-14:11: 12:21–14:11 ^a The messages in this section address the issue of true and false prophecy.
12:22 ^b Ezekiel’s hearers were so reluctant to open their ears to the message of the prophets that they had coined a proverb to express their skepticism.
Summary for Ezek 12:23-25: 12:23-25 ^c In response to the people’s unbelief (12:22 ^d), the Lord framed a new proverb for the people, using similar words but with an opposite meaning.
Summary for Ezek 12:26-28: 12:26-28 ^e The people responded with a second proverb, and again the Lord refuted them. What the Lord had threatened, he would do.

‏ Ezekiel 13

Summary for Ezek 13:1-3: 13:1-3 ^f The fundamental difference between true and false prophets was that false prophets were inventing their own prophecies, while true prophets spoke the word of the Lord. Now these false prophets would receive a word from the Lord about their own destruction. Sorrow awaited these deceived and deceiving messengers.
Summary for Ezek 13:4-5: 13:4-5 ^g The false prophets are compared to jackals digging in the ruins to prey on the small animals living there. The false prophets did not repair the breaks in the walls by calling the people who were suffering at the hands of the Babylonians to repent, live holy lives, and fight evil. Instead, they gained prestige—and perhaps money—by telling lies that encouraged the people to continue to rebel. Like jackals, these false prophets were actually breaking the walls down, not building them up (cp. Neh 4:3 ^h).
Summary for Ezek 13:6-7: 13:6-7 ⁱ Although the false prophets knew that their words were lies and false predictions, they confidently expected God to fulfill their prophecies. These false hopes gave God’s people a false sense of security that would prove empty and destructive on the coming day of judgment (cp. Jer 6:14 ^j).
Summary for Ezek 13:8-9: 13:8-9 ^k The false prophets’ desire for personal safety would be counterproductive. They would be banished from the community and would never again set foot in their own land.
Summary for Ezek 13:10-16: 13:10-16 ^l The people’s “righteousness” was a flimsy wall in danger of collapse. Rather than doing the hard work of constructing their wall properly by calling the people to repentance, the false prophets were content to give it a coat of whitewash by telling the people that peace would come to Jerusalem. This external touch-up made the wall appear more solid than it was. Its true weakness would be exposed by a heavy rainstorm. Water would flow into the unsealed cracks, wash away the mortar, and allow the stones to fall away. In this case, the storm would be the great flood of God’s anger, which would destroy the people’s pretense to righteousness and the false prophets who had encouraged it. Meanwhile, they would have no peace.
Summary for Ezek 13:17-19: 13:17-19 ^m Like the false male prophets (13:1-16 ⁿ), some women prophets proclaimed words that came only from their own imaginations. The false male prophets had been using conventional forms of prophecy, but the women used magical techniques involving charms and veils. Motivated by personal gain (a few handfuls of barley or a piece of bread), they promised life and death (cp. 3:17-21 ^o; 33:1-9 ^p), but to the wrong people.
Summary for Ezek 13:20-23: 13:20-23 ^q The false women prophets did not define who qualified for life or death in the way that God did, so their ministry discouraged the righteous by making them feel that their obedience was in vain. It also encouraged the wicked to believe that they could continue in their sins without penalty. The result of this misdirection was to ensnare both the righteous and the wicked, giving both groups false ideas about God.

‏ Ezekiel 14:1-11

Summary for Ezek 14:1-3: 14:1-3 ^r The leaders of the exiled community of Israel came to visit Ezekiel again, probably seeking encouragement (cp. 8:1 ^s; 20:1 ^t). The people were tainted with the same kinds of sin, such as idolatry, that affected the people in Judah (cp. 8:10-12 ^u).
Summary for Ezek 14:4-5: 14:4-5 ^v Though the exiles were going through the motions of seeking the Lord, their hearts had turned from the Lord to worship their detestable idols. It was tempting for the exiles to think that the Babylonians’ many military successes demonstrated that true power lay with the Babylonian gods rather than with the Lord.
Summary for Ezek 14:6-7: 14:6-7 ^w When asking for God’s advice, rebels should only expect the response to be, Repent.
14:8 ^x Instead of answering these people through a false prophet with a word of divine guidance, the Lord would answer them directly with a terrible act of judgment, thus eliminating them from among his people. Whether this indicates death or excommunication, these half-hearted leaders would be removed from the covenant community, the only place where true life is to be found.
Summary for Ezek 14:9-10: 14:9-10 ^y False prophets, who sought to counteract God’s will by prophesying what God had not spoken, would do God’s will unwittingly—they and other rebels would be deceived and confirmed in their rebellion. False prophets and rebellious people alike were thus punished for their sins (see also Deut 13 ^z; 1 Kgs 22:6-23 ^aa).
14:11 ^ab The goal of God’s judgment was not the total destruction of the exiles but their salvation, so that the people of Israel would learn not to stray from the Lord.