Ezekiel 12

1-16 Judah’s Captivity Portrayed

• God tells Ezekiel he lives in the midst of rebellion, with people who “have eyes but do not see, and ears that do not hear.” These words are similar to those spoken by Moses in Deuteronomy 29:4, Isaiah in 6:9, Jeremiah in 5:21, and by Jesus in Matthew 13:15, part of the Parable of the Sower.
• God is about to use Ezekiel as a visual aid.
• In the daytime he is to gather his household goods in the sight of his neighbors, as if he is preparing to go into exile.
• In the evening, again in the sight of his neighbors, he is to dig through the wall of his house, as if escaping, carrying his goods on his shoulder through the opening in the wall.
• He is to cover his face so he won’t see where he is.
• Ezekiel does as he has been commanded.
• In the morning, God’s word comes to him again, and tells him what to say when the neighbors ask him what he was doing.
• The interpretation of the visual aid:
• This is about the prince and people of Jerusalem
• They shall go into exile.
• Their prince [Zedekiah] shall take his baggage and try to escape through the wall.
• I will capture him through my net and will bring him to Babylon, but he will not be able to see where he is, and he will die there. This is fulfilled in 2 Kings 25:1-7 – Zedekiah and his men try to escape through a wall, but are captured. The Babylonians kill Zedekiah’s sons, then put his eyes out before they take him into Babylon.
• I will scatter to the winds his support group: helpers and troops.
• When I disperse their nation, they will know I am the LORD.
• I will let a few of them escape the sword so they will be able to tell of their abominations to the countries where they are scattered, so they too will know I am the LORD.

17-28 Judgment Not Postponed

• God tells Ezekiel to eat and drink with trembling, because that is what the inhabitants of Jerusalem will do.
• Their cities will be desolated, so they shall know “I am the LORD.”
• God tells Ezekiel he will put an end to the proverb that says the days are long, and visions come to nothing.
• There will be no more false or flattering visions; judgment on Israel will no longer be delayed. Again, I am reminded of a passage in the New Testament, 2 Peter 3:9-10, which includes the phrase “the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” We forget the urgency of this statement, supposing that life will go on as it always has.