Posted: 6/07/05
LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for June 19
God steps into the breach that rends lives
• Ezekiel 12
By Dennis Tucker
Truett Seminary, Waco
In chapter 12, the book of Ezekiel returns to a previous theme—the rebellious house of Israel. Earlier in the account of Ezekiel’s commission (chapter 2), the verb “to rebel” and its noun derivatives were used seven times reiterating the obdurate nature of this people.
In chapter 12, Ezekiel is told he is living among “a rebellious house” (v. 2)—they are a people who “have eyes to see, but do not see, ears to hear, but do not hear” (see similar comments made to earlier prophets, Isaiah 6:9-10 and Jeremiah 5:21). To such a house, one characterized by rebellion and forgetfulness, Ezekiel must present a startling message that will reawaken in them the certainty of God’s action. To this end, Ezekiel offers another symbolic act.
The symbolic act of exile (12:1-16)
Ezekiel delivered this symbolic act of exile to his fellow exiles in Babylon. For those who had been in captivity since the first exile in 597 B.C., they may have hoped their exile would be short-lived, but Ezekiel presented another picture of exile to those already in Babylon. He assembled baggage for exile, dug through a wall and then made an exit through the breach in the wall as though he were being exiled. All this was done in their presence, but apparently without initial explanation.
The next morning Ezekiel offered an explanation for his symbolic act—one that most surely would have shocked those already in exile. Some onlookers may have thought Ezekiel was merely repeating their own experience of exile, but Ezekiel announces in verse 10, “This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and the whole house of Israel who are there.” The “prince of Jerusalem” was King Zedekiah, but Ezekiel refused to label him “king”—from Ezekiel’s perspective, Jehoiachin still is the only legitimate king (see 1:2). The message is clear—the exile is not over, but in fact it will continue in new and unexpected ways.
In 2 Kings 25:4-7, we read of Zedekiah’s fate: “Then a breach was made in the city wall; the king with all the soldiers fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. They went in the direction of the Arabah. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho; all his army was scattered, deserting him. Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, who passed sentence on him. They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then put out the eyes of Zedekiah; they bound him in fetters and took him to Babylon.”
The announcement of continued exile in this chapter coincides with the continued announcement that Israel is the rebellious house. For Israel, judgment is not over—it has just begun.
The judgment of the rebellious house (12:17-28)
In verse 17, Ezekiel is told to eat his food with quaking and to drink his water with trembling, symbolizing the manner in which the inhabitants of Jerusalem will eat and drink as a result of their fear and dread concerning the impending destruction. Yet apparently some among those remaining in Israel began to doubt the words of judgment were true.
Apparently a proverb was circulating that said, “The days go by and every vision comes to nothing” (v. 22). Such a Pollyanna view reveals the true nature of this “rebellious house” and further supports the notion that they were a people who “have eyes to see but cannot see.” God announced he would put an end to the proverb—he would demonstrate the veracity of such visions.
A second proverb also was circulating, suggesting that even if judgment were to come, it most certainly was not imminent. The people who remained in the land were claiming, “the vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophecies about the distant future.” And once again God announced he would put an end to this proverb—and an end to their perception of delayed justice. In verse 28, the Lord announces, “None of my words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled.”
Implications
The image of covenantal relationship permeates the book of Ezekiel—and chapter 12 must be understood within this imagery. In our background text for this lesson, chapter 16 presents Jerusalem as the faithless bride of God. He finds her as a helpless child, and he nurtures her so that she grows “exceedingly beautiful, fit to be a queen” (16:13). Yet this beautiful queen is depicted in graphic and shocking imagery throughout the chapter suggesting a breach in their relationship. Chapter 16 presents a metaphor for the rebellious house of Israel mentioned in chapter 12.
The constant repetition of the phrase “the word of the Lord” in chapter 12 may cause us to focus too stringently on this idea alone. The repetition of this phrase is meant to characterize the great lengths to which God will go to restore this broken relationship. God has not abandoned his people in the midst of their disobedience and subsequent exile. He continues to come to them through Ezekiel’s announcement of God’s word to them.
The purpose of God’s word then was not to destroy the people, but to heal the breach. Such a reading is made abundantly clear in 16:59-63. God announces: “I will deal with you as you deserve because you have despised my oath by breaking the covenant.”
But that is not the final “word of the Lord.” In the next verse, God proclaims, “Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.”
The continual arrival of the “word of the Lord” to those in exile suggests God’s love for his people, as exhibited in chapter 16, overrides his disappointment with the rebellious house mentioned in chapter 12. The book of Ezekiel is not simply about hearing the word of God and obeying, the imagery is far richer. The book of Ezekiel is about God’s unrelenting faithfulness to a faithless people. It is about God’s steadfast love healing a breach.
Discussion questions
• How do we experience the continual arrival of the “word of the Lord” to us?
• How do we experience God healing the breach in our own lives?
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