1 A catalogue of sins in Jerusalem. 13 God will burn them as dross in his furnace. 23 The general corruption of prophets, priests, princes, and people.
Eze 22:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 22:2 “Now, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations!
Eze 22:3 Then say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “The city sheds blood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself.
Eze 22:4 You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries.
Eze 22:5 Those near and those far from you will mock you as infamous and full of tumult.
Eze 22:6 “Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you.
Eze 22:7 In you they have made light of father and mother; in your midst they have oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the fatherless and the widow.
Eze 22:8 You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.
Eze 22:9 In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed; in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness.
Eze 22:10 In you men uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity.
Eze 22:11 One commits abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father’s daughter.
Eze 22:12 In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me,” says the Lord GOD.
Eze 22:13 “Behold, therefore, I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst.
Eze 22:14 Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and will do it.
Eze 22:15 I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and remove your filthiness completely from you.
Eze 22:16 You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; then you shall know that I am the LORD.” ‘ ”
Eze 22:17 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 22:18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a furnace; they have become dross from silver.
Eze 22:19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
Eze 22:20 As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you.
Eze 22:21 Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst.
Eze 22:22 As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have poured out My fury on you.’ ”
Eze 22:23 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 22:24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’
Eze 22:25 The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.
Eze 22:26 Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
Eze 22:27 Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain.
Eze 22:28 Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD had not spoken.
Eze 22:29 The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger.
Eze 22:30 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.
Eze 22:31 Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD.
Eze 22:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
1. Moreover. Chapter 22 may be divided into three parts: vs. 1–16 a catalog of the sins of Jerusalem; vs. 17–22 the figure of the smelting of ore; vs. 23–31 the general corruption pervading all classes.
Eze 22:2 “Now, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations!
2. Wilt thou judge? See on ch. 20:1.
Bloody city. That is, “a city of bloodshed,” or “a city of bloodguiltiness.” Judicial murders and the offering of children in sacrifice to Molech were doubtless among the crimes that earned for Jerusalem this infamous title.
Eze 22:3 Then say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “The city sheds blood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself.
3. That her time may come. Her time of punishment. This should be considered a clause of result rather than of purpose, or, perhaps, a figure by which the consequences of an act are presented as the purpose of the act.
Eze 22:4 You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries.
4. A mocking. Or, “a derision.” Compare Ps. 44:13, 14; 79:4.
Eze 22:5 Those near and those far from you will mock you as infamous and full of tumult.
5. Those that be near. The Hebrew word translated by this phrase is feminine, as is the word translated “those that be far.” It doubtless refers to the near and distant cities. The word for “city” is feminine in the Hebrew.
Eze 22:6 “Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you
6. To their power. Literally, “according to his arm,” that is, according to his strength. The princes of Judah disregarded justice and ruled according to their personal pleasure.
To shed blood. Notice the threefold occurrence of this refrain (vs. 6, 9, 12). Under three heads the prophet enumerates Israel’s sins: under the first, sins of inhumanity and profanation (vs. 6–8); under the second, sins of idolatry, incest, and lewdness (vs. 9–11); under the third, avarice and covetousness (v. 12).
Eze 22:7 In you they have made light of father and mother; in your midst they have oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the fatherless and the widow.
Eze 22:8 You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.
Eze 22:9 In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed; in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness.
Eze 22:10 In you men uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity.
Eze 22:11 One commits abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father’s daughter.
Eze 22:12 In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me,” says the Lord GOD.
Eze 22:13 “Behold, therefore, I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst.
13. Smitten mine hand. Here a gesture of indignation (see chs. 6:11; 21:14, 17).
Eze 22:14 Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and will do it.
14. Can thine heart endure? The question implies a negative answer.
Eze 22:15 I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and remove your filthiness completely from you.
15. Consume thy filthiness. Though here not emphasized, the punishments were designedly salutary.
Eze 22:16 You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; then you shall know that I am the LORD.” ‘ ”
16. Shalt take thine inheritance. The Hebrew word translated by this phrase, chalal, means “to profane,” and is thus translated in ch. 7:24. The ancient versions have the verb in the first person, yielding the translation, “I shall be defiled through you in the sight of the heathen” (see chs. 20:9; 36:20).
Eze 22:17 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
17. The word of the Lord. Verses 17–22 are a parable based on the process of smelting silver ore. The furnace is Jerusalem (v. 19). The people are the ore (v. 20). They turn out to be dross (v. 18). It is doubtful whether the idea of purification is to be found in this parable. The thought emphasized is that of divine anger blowing upon the worthless ore and melting it.
Eze 22:18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a furnace; they have become dross from silver.
Eze 22:19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
Eze 22:20 As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you.
Eze 22:21 Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst.
Eze 22:22 As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have poured out My fury on you.’ ”
Eze 22:23 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 22:24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’
Eze 22:25 The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.
Eze 22:26 Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
26. Have violated my law. It was the special work of the priests to give instruction concerning the divine requirements and to observe and to teach the distinction between the holy and the unholy (Lev. 10:10), and to instruct the people in proper Sabbath observance. In all this they had been unfaithful.
Hidden their. This indictment has a striking parallel in our day. The prophecies of the book of Revelation (chs. 12–14) declare that God is calling for a reform in the matter of a return to the true Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day of the week. This reformation is to prepare the world for the second coming of Christ. The message has been proclaimed. The reaction has been the same as in Ezekiel’s day. Men hide their eyes from the obligation to keep the true Sabbath. They close their eyes to plain scriptural evidences and declare, “I cannot see it.”
Eze 22:27 Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain.
27. Princes. Heb. śarim, members of the ruling class and leaders of important families.
Eze 22:28 Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD had not spoken.
28. Untempered morter. Whitewash (see on ch. 13:10). There are voices in the religious world to support almost any kind of belief.
Several important rules will help men today to distinguish between that which is untempered mortar and that which is genuine. These rules should be used to test any alleged claim to scriptural support. They serve equally as a system of guidance to direct one in original Bible research, lest unwarranted conclusions be drawn.
1. The Bible should always be studied in the setting of prayer. Only the Holy Spirit can help us to see the importance of those things easy to be understood, and keep us from wresting those truths difficult of comprehension (see GC 599, 600). Furthermore, spiritual things are spiritually discerned (see 1 Cor. 2:14), so that a man without the Spirit of God cannot understand divine things. Prayer, properly exercised, will place a man in a condition to receive heavenly truth.
2. There must be willingness to follow revealed light (John 7:17). God’s truths are not thrown about promiscuously for men to trample under their feet. God reserves an understanding of His messages for those who are willing to walk in the light that illuminates their minds. A stubborn refusal to walk in this light locks the door to further understanding of divine truth.
3. The Bible must be interpreted according to the analogy of the rest of Scripture. The Bible, correctly understood, does not contradict itself. If a conclusion drawn from a Scripture passage is contradicted in another portion of the Book, that conclusion must be labeled as false. Often a verse or passage, taken by itself, can be shown to have several possible interpretations. In such an event that exposition which is in complete harmony with the whole Bible must be adopted.
4. The Bible must be interpreted in the light of its context. The student ought to note carefully the setting of the passage under consideration to find out what the writer was talking about. The student must limit his application to the bounds set by the author. For example, when Paul said, “All things are lawful unto me” (1 Cor. 6:12), his words, taken by themselves, could be interpreted to mean that Paul was here declaring himself to be a libertine. But the context shows that he is speaking about the propriety of eating meats sacrificed to idols. One has no right to apply the “all things” to anything further than that which was in the mind of Paul when he made this statement.
5. The Bible must be permitted to be its own interpreter. Often the Holy Spirit does not immediately interpret the symbol it employs, but the same Spirit would be expected elsewhere to explain the shadowy language, if men are to grasp its meaning. This is found to be the case. One might add that when such further elucidation is absent, any attempt by men to interpret these symbols can at best be only conjecture.
In summary, the proper procedure to discover what the Bible teaches on any topic is to take all that the Bible says on that subject before drawing any conclusions. Seeing the picture in its entirety prevents one from going off on some unscriptural tangent of interpretation.
Eze 22:29 The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger
29. The people of the land. The common people are now indicted.
Eze 22:30 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.
Stand in the gap.
God is calling upon men today to repair the breach in the law of God. Many have responded, but others still reason from the worldling’s standpoint, and see no need of reform. Of those who take hold of the work it is declared,
Isa 58:12 Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In
31. The fire of my wrath. This is obviously figurative language, in which the various judgments of God are referred to as fire. Fire consumes, and the effect of these judgments was to consume those upon whom they were poured out. At the end of time those who have rejected divine mercy will experience literal fire (Rev. 20:9).