Not Far Off

Ezekiel 12:1-28
 

Welcome! Today we continue our series on Ezekiel, looking at Chapter 12. Let me start with a quick reminder of the context of the book of Ezekiel. At the time of Ezekiel, most of the rest of Israel had long ago fallen to the nations around them, a consequence of their repeated sin and rebellion against God. The land of the tribe of Judah, and within it, the city of Jerusalem, had remained, but they too had more or less deserted God, and God had allowed the other nations to make excursions into their land to carry off people as exiles. Among the exiles was Ezekiel, a man who was supposed to be a priest, but now, living far away at the Kebar River within the land of the Babylonians, he had become a prophet, a spokesperson for God. In the first eleven chapters of the book of Ezekiel, we see a combination of prophetic visions given to Ezekiel and a number of commands God had given him to act out among the people intended to dramatize for them the coming judgement and urge their repentance. At the center of the visions and the dramatic acts was the message that Jerusalem, and with it, the Temple itself, would soon and would surely fall. The visions included a depiction of God’s presence through a cloud, four winged creatures each with four faces, intersecting wheels, a platform, a shining throne, and upon the throne a brilliantly glowing human figure. The visions culminate in seeing God’s Presence, after hundreds of years, leave the Temple made to God’s specifications by king Solomon, and depart Jerusalem on this throne to go to the Kebar River. This vision communicated that although God would allow a terrible tribulation to take place at Jerusalem, resulting in the complete fall of Israel, He was not done with His people, but would be with the exiles until a future time in which He would lead the exiles to return. God would remain faithful to His promises, including the most important promise of all, the promise that out of the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would come the Savior of the World, the Son of God, Jesus the Messiah. Although this message no doubt brought great hope and encouragement to Ezekiel, we are not yet told how Ezekiel’s people responded to being told these visions. For this, we continue on into today’s passage.

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people. – Ezekiel 12:1-2
 
Ezekiel had spent over a year reaching out to his fellow exiles, through verbal descriptions of his God-given visions and through a series of acted-out illustrations that were extraordinarily demanding on Ezekiel’s body. But despite these incredible efforts, the people did not respond. They did not repent. They did not seek the Lord. The phrase translated here as “rebellious people” is more literally “house of rebels”, bayt-hameri in Hebrew, and it is used over and over in the book of Ezekiel.
 
Here the Lord reminds Ezekiel that they have eyes to see and ears to hear but that they do not use them. This phrase occurs repeatedly in Scripture. Even Jesus uses something related. He repeatedly tells people, “He who has ears, let him hear.” Who has ears? Just about everyone. So Jesus’ use of the phrase is a call for everyone listening to Him to actually heed what He is saying, to take it to heart, to let it change their beliefs and resulting actions. The Lord here is telling Ezekiel that the people should be heeding the Lord’s message, but they are choosing to ignore it, and that behavior is sin, the sin of rebelliousness.
 
Now, I think it is highly instructive to note that the word meri which means “rebellious” has the same root as the Hebrew word maror which means “bitter.” In Scripture, these two terms often go together. In Exodus, when the Israelites repeatedly grumble against the Lord (which happens every time they experience a challenge of some kind), both terms are used. I would say that bitterness against the Lord is a form of rebelliousness, because to be bitter against the Lord is to deny who the Lord is and what He has promised. I would go so far as to say that this specific kind of rebelliousness is the most common sin of the people in Exodus.
 
It is a bit more veiled, but I see this same kind of sin among the people in Ezekiel. The people have definitely experienced a challenge; they have been forcefully taken from their homes and their homeland and brought to a far-away country to live among foreigners. The older ones have watched their homeland become weaker and weaker. And now Ezekiel has been showing and telling them for over a year that a complete collapse is coming to their homeland, and that all Israelites, including themselves, these exiles, need to personally repent of their sins before God.

They have seen and heard Ezekiel, but they are choosing to not see and not hear. They do not want to heed his message, the message of the Lord. I am sure bitterness is a part of their refusal. Since being taken captive and moved, they are asking “Where is the Lord? How could He let this happen? I’m not following a God who treats me like this!” This is the very definition of rebelliousness. And not only do they ignore Ezekiel’s message, they also seek to know and practice the customs of those around them, ignoring God, ignoring their heritage, ignoring who they really are.  They are truly beyt-hameri, a house of rebels, a house of bitter rejectors of God.
 
“Therefore, son of man, pack your belongings for exile and in the daytime, as they watch, set out and go from where you are to another place. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious people. During the daytime, while they watch, bring out your belongings packed for exile. Then in the evening, while they are watching, go out like those who go into exile. While they watch, dig through the wall and take your belongings out through it. Put them on your shoulder as they are watching and carry them out at dusk. Cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have made you a sign to the Israelites.” So I did as I was commanded. During the day I brought out my things packed for exile. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands. I took my belongings out at dusk, carrying them on my shoulders while they watched. – Ezekiel 12:3-7
 
So once again, the Lord directs Ezekiel to act out a parable so that his people would see and hopefully begin to think and to respond to the Lord. Recall that Ezekiel and his people are already in exile, so the message of this parable is not that they need to repent, or they will go out in exile. The passage says over and over “as they are watching.” The intent is to get them talking, asking themselves, what does it mean? Why is he showing us this? Interestingly, even Ezekiel is apparently not yet told what this means! But he does exactly has instructed. He shows the people himself packing things for exile. He digs through a wall. He carries out his belongings as the sun sets.
 
In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, did not the Israelites, that rebellious people, ask you, ‘What are you doing?’ “Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This prophecy concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the Israelites who are there.’ – Ezekiel 12:8-10
 
Who is the “prince in Jerusalem”? This is referring to King Zedekiah, king of Judah. The king before Zedekiah was Jehoiachin, and the king before Jehoiachin was Jehoiakim. Jehoiachin was the son of Jehoiakim, and Jehoiakim was Jehoiachin’s uncle (so it was likely Zedekiah’s brother). All three had to deal with invasions from Nebuchadnezzar. I think it is useful at this point to read excerpts from 2 Kings on each of these kings. Through this process, we will learn why Zedekiah is called “prince” rather than “king.” From 2 Kings 23:
 
Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah. And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his predecessors had done. – 2 Kings 23:36-37
 
During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded the land, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. But then he turned against Nebuchadnezzar and rebelled. The Lord sent Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite and Ammonite raiders against him to destroy Judah, in accordance with the word of the Lord proclaimed by his servants the prophets. Surely these things happened to Judah according to the Lord’s command, in order to remove them from his presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive. – 2 Kings 24:1-4
 
Manassah was quite possibly the worst king of Judah, and his terrible deeds, including the sacrifice of his own son, practicing divination, consulting mediums and spiritists, and as this passage explains, killing countless numbers of innocent people of Judah, are described in 2 Kings 21. The Lord at this time promised to bring destruction on Judah and Jerusalem in response, not just because the king was so bad, but because the people willfully followed him and participated in his evil deeds. God’s promise was fulfilled with this first raid on Judah at the time of Jehoiakim. Turning to Jehoiachin:
 
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father had done. At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem and laid siege to it, and Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city while his officers were besieging it. Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his attendants, his nobles and his officials all surrendered to him. – 2 Kings 25:8-12
 
The passage goes on to describe how Jehoiachin was taken prisoner, how many of the treasures from the Temple were taken, and how many top officials and fighting men were also taken into exile. It goes on to explain how Nebuchadnezzar selected the next “king” for Judah:
 
He [Nebuchadnezzar] made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah. Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done. – 2 Kings 25:17-19
 
So why is Zedekiah called “prince”? Because he served at the pleasure of Nebuchadnezzar. It is true that the Babylonian armies left Jerusalem, giving Jerusalem and Judah once again a small degree of autonomy, but Zedekiah was expected to keep the people in line, maintain order, and, no doubt, collect offerings for the true king, Nebuchadnezzar. And so, this prophecy of Ezekiel 12 is all about the fate of “prince” Zedekiah. Recalling that the Lord was in the process of telling Ezekiel what to tell the people about his mysterious actions the day before. Continuing at verse 11:
 
“Say to them, ‘I am a sign to you.’ As I have done, so it will be done to them. They will go into exile as captives. The prince among them will put his things on his shoulder at dusk and leave, and a hole will be dug in the wall for him to go through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land. I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die. I will scatter to the winds all those around him—his staff and all his troops—and I will pursue them with drawn sword. They will know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries. But I will spare a few of them from the sword, famine and plague, so that in the nations where they go they may acknowledge all their detestable practices. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” – Ezekiel 12:11-16
 
The “I” in “I am a sign to you” is Ezekiel. Recall that Ezekiel had packed up some meager belongings. This was an illustration of how Zedekiah and his attendants will likewise gather up some things to escape. His people would dig a hole in the wall (presumably one of the walls of Jerusalem). Because he could be recognized, he would escape wearing a veil to hide his face. He would succeed in leaving Jerusalem, but he would not succeed in escaping; he would be captured and brought to Babylonia. His attendants and military escorts would flee at his capture, and they would scatter in every direction, but many would be captured and killed, and the rest would become so scattered that it would be the absolute end of their being a fighting force.
 
Now the statement, “I will bring him to Babylonia, but he will not see it” is vague and somewhat mysterious. It can’t be because of the veil, can it? It gets even more interesting when looking at a prophecy of Jeremiah. From Jeremiah 34:
 
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, with all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his control and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I am handing this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire. And as for you, you will not escape from his hand, for you will assuredly be caught and handed over to him; and you will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you face to face, and you will go to Babylon. – Jeremiah 34:1-3
 
It seems like Zedekiah’s veil was an attempt to prevent this prophecy from coming true. Isn’t it interesting how Ezekiel’s prophecy emphasizes how Zedekiah will not see something, while Jeremiah’s prophecy emphasizes how Zedekiah will see something?  Can they possibly both come true? We will see.
 
Let me also mention that this image of burning Jerusalem with fire is consistent with elements of the vision we saw in Ezekiel 10 two weeks ago. Recall the man in linen taking coals from among the wheels beneath the creatures with wings and four faces. He was instructed to take the coals and scatter them among the city, and in the vision he did so.
 
Let us continue on in Ezekiel 12. Ezekiel is now given another action to perform in front of the people.
 
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, tremble as you eat your food, and shudder in fear as you drink your water. Say to the people of the land: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says about those living in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel: They will eat their food in anxiety and drink their water in despair, for their land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who live there. The inhabited towns will be laid waste and the land will be desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” – Ezekiel 12:17-20
 
Can you imagine what it was like as the people watched him doing this, at first without explanation? The word for tremble is also used to describe earthquakes. So, this is not just a little shaking, but really hamming it up, making it extreme. (Am I allowed to use the word “hamming” to describe a Jewish servant of God?) But I can imagine the reaction. “Mommy? Why is that man doing that? Is he okay?”
 
Did the people respond with repentance to this action, or to the one before, with getting ready for exile? Maybe a few did, but by and large, no, the people just went on as usual, mainly trying to fit in to the foreign culture around them, maybe trying to forget their God, maybe worshiping the local objects of worship. There is no question that most did not take Ezekiel seriously as a spokesman for God Himself, but instead considered him a crazy person, someone whose mind had not survived the stress of being exiled. Others may have thought a little kindlier of Ezekiel, but they still did not consider his warnings as likely to really come true. Continuing on in Ezekiel 12:
 
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel: ‘The days go by and every vision comes to nothing’? Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to put an end to this proverb, and they will no longer quote it in Israel.’ Say to them, ‘The days are near when every vision will be fulfilled. For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations among the people of Israel. But I the Lord will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, you rebellious people, I will fulfill whatever I say, declares the Sovereign Lord.’” – Ezekiel 12:21-25
 
Reactions of unbelief to warnings about judgment go all the way back to Noah. And it goes forward to our present day. People can be told the reasons to believe in Christ, reasons from Scripture as well as from outside Scripture, and many do not take them seriously at all. They scoff at God much like it seems the people do who repeat this “proverb.” But the Lord’s promises are sure. It is extremely unwise to have such an attitude.
 
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, the Israelites are saying, ‘The vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies about the distant future.’ Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign Lord.’” – Ezekiel 12:26-28
 
Unbelievers often do not respond well when told that they need to repent and give their lives to God today, because they could be dead tomorrow, and then it will be too late. But this statement is not wrong! Yesterday, I read about a person in Pakistan who gave his life to Christ this week and was baptized, a man who is 100 years old. I rejoice that this man was able to respond to the Lord so late in life, but sadly most people do not have 100 years. And none of us know how long we have.
 
What happened to “the prince”? What happened to Zedekiah? We are told in 2 Kings 25. Starting with the last part of the last verse of 2 Kings 24:
 
Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege works all around it. The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. – 2 Kings 24:20b-25:2
 
This was a long siege. The purpose of a siege is to wear down and weaken a city's inhabitants until it becomes easy to defeat them or, even more ideally, until the inhabitants of the city simply surrender as a result of prolonged starvation. The siege, if effective prevents food from getting into the city. Continuing with the account:
 
By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah, but the Babylonian army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, and he was captured. – 2 Kings 25:3-6a
 
Notice how the details of this line up with the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Let us also look at the parallel account of Jeremiah because it brings up some different details:
 
In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it. And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city wall was broken through. Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Babylon. – Jeremiah 39:1-3
 
Notice how neither account mentions any kind of battle. There is no battle. This reminds me of the various accounts in the books of Joshua and Judges and later books of the lopsided or even non-existent battles in which God made Israel victorious, where the other side would flee in terror even before a battle began. But in this case, it is reversed. Without God’s support, it is the Israelites who don’t even put up a fight. Continuing the account of Jeremiah:
 
When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and headed toward the Arabah. But the Babylonian army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. – Jeremiah 39:4-5
 
Both the Jeremiah account and the 2 Kings account mention how Zedekiah escaped with his army to protect him, but how the army was utterly useless, scattered, and pursued, just as foretold by Ezekiel. Going back to the 2 Kings account:
 
He [Zedekiah] was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where sentence was pronounced on him. They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. – 2 Kings 25:6-7
 
And from the Jeremiah account:
 
There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the nobles of Judah. Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. – Jeremiah 39:6-7
 
And now the mysterious part of Ezekiel’s prophecy makes sense: Indeed, the “prince” was brought to Babylonia, but he did not see it.
 
The Babylonians set fire to the royal palace and the houses of the people and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard carried into exile to Babylon the people who remained in the city, along with those who had gone over to him, and the rest of the people. But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields. – Jeremiah 39:8-10
 
And back to the 2 Kings account:
 
On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He set fire to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. The whole Babylonian army under the commander of the imperial guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the rest of the populace and those who had deserted to the king of Babylon. But the commander left behind some of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields. – 2 Kings 25:8-12
 
The promises of the Lord are sure. They will surely come to pass. The Bible contains promises, or prophecies about us. They too are sure to come to pass. As it comes time to finish today, let me remind you of a few critical prophecies about us. The first is from the book of Hebrews:
 
Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment… – Hebrews 9:27
 
This is not even a whole sentence, yet what an important prophecy! We need to heed it and tell it to others, despite its brevity. People are destined – that means this is a prophecy that, like the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, is sure to pass. They are destined to die – we will all die, unless Christ returns before we do. And even in that case, we are not exempt from the rest of this verse. There are apparently two exceptions, Enoch and Elijah, but to loosely paraphrase a line from a presidential debate many years ago, I know of Enoch and Elijah, and you are no Enoch and no Elijah. (Even if your name is Elijah, you are not that Elijah!)
 
We are destined to die once. There is no do-over for life. There is no reincarnation. We live the life we are currently living, and then we die.
 
“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that…” There is an “after that” after we die. We don’t just become nothingness, as I used to believe when I was an atheist. And perhaps most importantly, the part that most of our culture conveniently tries to forget:
 
“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that the judgment.” After we die, God will judge each one of us individually, for what we have done. Most people think you just show up at the heavenly gates and are let in if you aren’t too bad. But God is perfectly holy, and most of us have repeatedly fallen short even on the Ten Commandments, let alone in all the other ways we can sin. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount tells of the true standard of God by which we are judged. And all of us fall horribly short. Our judgment is as sure a thing as Zedekiah’s. And if you die before you acknowledge your sin before God and give your life to Christ, you will be condemned at the judgement because you are a sinner, because your life has been one long story of sin. This is true for everyone. But let us be reminded of the rest of the verse:
 
Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him. – Hebrew 9:27-28
 
Jesus was indeed sacrificed. He died on a cross, the punishment reserved for only the worst sinners, but He had no sin. Unlike every other person who has ever lived, He lived a life utterly without sin. He experienced the judgment of God on the cross, but there was nothing to judge. And so, He gave His life as a ransom for anyone and everyone who would accept His gift of salvation through faith. And thus, for those who are waiting for Him, that is, those who have received His gift of salvation through professed faith in Him, at that judgment that comes after death, as it says in Romans 8:1, there will be no condemnation, because Christ has paid for these people’s sins. This is a critical and sure promise. If you have not yet given your life to Christ, I beseech you to do so today. Because, just as the people around Ezekiel learned, God’s promises are sure, and they come to pass sooner than you expect. We all have an appointment with God, and it is not far off.