Morning Light – Ezekiel 12
Today: [Ezekiel 12] Ezekiel Rents a U-Haul. In this chapter God commands Ezekiel to perform a series of prophetic acts that are so outlandish they get the attention of people 100’s of miles away in the city of Jerusalem. It is a lesson to us as to what lengths God will go to press home His message to us so that we will be spared in times of upheaval and difficulty around us.
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[Eze 12:1-28 KJV] 1 The word of the LORD also came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they [are] a rebellious house. 3 Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they [be] a rebellious house. 4 Then shalt thou bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing: and thou shalt go forth at even in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity. 5 Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby. 6 In their sight shalt thou bear [it] upon [thy] shoulders, [and] carry [it] forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee [for] a sign unto the house of Israel. 7 And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for captivity, and in the even I digged through the wall with mine hand; I brought [it] forth in the twilight, [and] I bare [it] upon [my] shoulder in their sight. 8 And in the morning came the word of the LORD unto me, saying, 9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou? 10 Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; This burden [concerneth] the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel that [are] among them.
In this chapter Ezekiel is called upon to continue speaking to those elements of the southern kingdom that have been taken in captivity to Babylon. Now you would think that in the midst of the suffering of these enslaved people that God would deal minimally with them in terms of areas of their lives that needed reformation. Instead, we see that hand of God dealing very stridently with them, identifying them to Ezekiel as a rebellious house. Imagine that God would send you to a family who has suffered a great loss and are trying to put their lives back together. Instead of a comforting, peaceful word, you are commanded to speak directly into some very personal issues and hidden things that you know they are not going to receive politely. This is Ezekiel’s commission.
Why would God move Ezekiel to such lengths? Because even in their suffering the people are not moved to repentance. The idols that precipitated the fall of Judah, the people have now carried into captivity. Their hearts are not changed. They are sorrowful, but not repentance. Their suffering touches our hearts, but their hearts as chapter 11 tells us are yet stony, for they are a “rebellious house”. The word for bitter in this very is “mara” and it is translated literally as “bitter”. The frame of mind these people are carrying is about looking back on what they believe is unfair, unjust and unwarranted treatment by the hand of God and the Babylonians. They are incapable of making any connection between the idolatry and sinful practices in their lives and the situation they are now enduring.
Bitterness is an error that is very virulent in the sense that it can infect others and spread like a contagion. We see the suffering and bitterness of soul in the lives of someone close to us and we tend to pick up the offenses in their heart and before we know it find ourselves magnifying their complaints out of all proportion and completely ignoring aspects of the situation that may have brought on the difficulty. In this manner we create unanswerable questions, with dubious suggestions as to how could God allow this to happen to such good and decent people. We must never forget what Paul said in Romans:
[Rom 3:12-18, 23 KJV] 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat [is] an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps [is] under their lips: 14 Whose mouth [is] full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet [are] swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery [are] in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes. … 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
In this regard, when suffering comes we are never justified to become angry with God or to question how indecent it is that an allegedly loving heavenly Father could ever allow such thing happen to such a faithful and honest people. God places no premium upon us sitting on the ash heap of suffering and cutting ourselves with the pottery shards of regret – but we must maintain a sense of transparency and humility before God that realizes that He is part of our solution and not part of our problem and never chooses suffering for us as His first option for what happens next in our lives.
To get the attention of the people and to jar them out of their entrenched self pity, Ezekiel is told to conspicuously prepare to move his belongings before the eyes of the people. On the day of his move Ezekiel is told to dig a hole in the wall of his house in the middle of the night and carry out this relocation as though it was done clandestinely – all as a sign to the captives at Chebar as to God’s message to them – a prophetic act. Can you imagine God telling you to go rent a U-Haul, and to make show of preparing your belongings for a move in such a way as to get the attention of all your neighbors. Then in the midst of the move you are told not to take your things out the door or the garage – but to knock a hole in the wall of your house and to carry your things out in this manner in the middle of the night when everyone is trying to sleep!
11 Say, I [am] your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall remove [and] go into captivity. 12 And the prince that [is] among them shall bear upon [his] shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground with [his] eyes. 13 My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon [to] the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there. 14 And I will scatter toward every wind all that [are] about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them. 15 And they shall know that I [am] the LORD, when I shall scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries. 16 But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the heathen whither they come; and they shall know that I [am] the LORD. 17 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18 Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness; 19 And say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord GOD of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, [and] of the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein. 20 And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD. 21 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 22 Son of man, what [is] that proverb [that] ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth? 23 Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision. 24 For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. 25 For I [am] the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD. 26 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 27 Son of man, behold, [they of] the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth [is] for many days [to come], and he prophesieth of the times [that are] far off. 28 Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.
The message of God here is not just to the captives that Ezekiel is with at Chebar. God knows that these captives are in regular communication but messenger or courier back with those who were not yet forced out of the city of Jerusalem at this time (the beginning of Ezekiel’s ministry overlaps the end of Jeremiah’s ministry, therefore this would have been during the final years of the reign of Zedekiah). Not only do Ezekiel’s fellow captives observe his behavior, but they send word back to Jerusalem as to what this crazed prophet is doing next. His actions as commanded by God have the attention of all the people even those far away – and the message from Ezekiel from captivity to those yet in Jerusalem is that they are next to be removed into bondage! To all of this we hear the echo of agreement from Jeremiah who during this time is languishing in the dungeon in the king’s house saying “yes – that’s what I have been trying to tell them!!!” Of course we know the story that the people heard these words from the least to the greatest yet had no positive response but just went on their ways as though there was no accountability on their part to do anything any differently.
An important point to make here. When you give a word from God and it is not received, that is not the end of the matter. To the degree that a word given originates with God and proceeds from God – it will have a determinate effect on the person or people it is intended for whether they like it or not. When this happens of course as in the case of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, they are not lauded as prophets and told they were right all along. Prophets often are only accepted when they seem to tell the people what they want to hear.
In verse 18 Ezekiel is told to make a shew of eating his bread with great care as though he fears those around him are trying to steal from his plate. Can you imagine going to a covered dish dinner at your church and to act like a madman who thinks the good church folks around you are trying to take food out of your mouth or off of your plate? They would call for the men with the butterfly nets to take you to the nearest bedlam! Yet the Lord tells Ezekiel to do this as a prophetic act predicting what we know from Jeremiah was a 3 year siege that became so horrible that mothers were eating their own children. Why is this radical action commanded by God on Ezekiel’s part. In verses 22-24 we find it is because many false prophesies have gone out confirming and affirming the people in their unregenerate condition. It isn’t just that the false prophesies said that only good would happen to the city of Jerusalem, but that there was no call to reform their thinking or to do anything differently. A prophetic word properly given does not have to do with dire consequences, but it will always call us up to a place of transparency, humility and reformation of our thinking and our actions before a holy God.
