Bible Commentaries

Eze 14:1-23.

HYPOCRITICAL INQUIRERS ARE ANSWERED ACCORDING TO THEIR HYPOCRISY. THE CALAMITIES COMING ON THE PEOPLE; BUT A REMNANT IS TO ESCAPE.

1. elders--persons holding that dignity among the exiles at the Chebar. GROTIUS refers this to Seraiah and those sent with him from Judea

(Jer 51:59).

The prophet's reply, first, reflecting on the character of the inquirers, and, secondly, foretelling the calamities coming on Judea, may furnish an idea of the subject of their inquiry.

sat before me--not at once able to find a beginning of their speech; indicative of anxiety and despondency.

3. heart . . . face--The heart is first corrupted, and then the outward manifestation of idol-worship follows; they set their idols before their eyes. With all their pretense of consulting God now, they have not even put away their idols outwardly; implying gross contempt of God. "Set up," literally, "aloft"; implying that their idols had gained the supreme ascendancy over them.

stumbling-block of . . . iniquity--See

Pr 3:21, 23,

"Let not them (God's laws) depart from thine eyes, then . . . thy foot shall not stumble." Instead of God's law, which (by being kept before their eyes) would have saved them from stumbling, they set up their idols before their eyes, which proved a stumbling-block, causing them to stumble

(Eze 7:19).

inquired of at all--literally, "should I with inquiry be inquired of" by such hypocrites as they are?

(Ps 66:18; Pr 15:29; 28:9).

4. and cometh--and yet cometh, reigning himself to be a true worshipper of Jehovah.

him that cometh--so the Hebrew Margin reads. But the Hebrew text reading is, "according to it, according to the multitude of his idols"; the anticipative clause with the pronoun not being pleonastic, but increasing the emphasis of the following clause with the noun. "I will answer," literally, reflexively, "I will Myself (or for Myself) answer him."

according to . . . idols--thus, "answering a fool according to his folly"; making the sinner's sin his punishment; retributive justice

(Pr 1:31; 26:5).

5. That I may take--that is, unveil and overtake with punishment the dissimulation and impiety of Israel hid in their own heart. Or, rather, "That I may punish them by answering them after their own hearts"; corresponding to "according to the multitude of his idols" (see on

Eze 14:4);

an instance is given in

Eze 14:9; Ro 1:28; 2Th 2:11,

God giving them up in wrath to their own lie.

idols--though pretending to "inquire" of Me, "in their hearts" they are "estranged from Me," and love "idols."

6. Though God so threatened the people for their idolatry

(Eze 14:5),

yet He would rather they should avert the calamity by "repentance."

turn yourselves--CALVIN translates, "turn others" (namely, the stranger proselytes in the land). As ye have been the advisers of others (see

Eze 14:7,

"the stranger that sojourneth in Israel") to idolatry, so bestow at least as much pains in turning them to the truth; the surest proof of repentance. But the parallelism to

Eze 14:3, 4

favors English Version. Their sin was twofold: (1) "In their heart" or inner man; (2) "Put before their face," that is, exhibited outwardly. So their repentance is generally expressed by "repent," and is then divided into: (1) "Turn yourselves (inwardly) from your idols"; (2) "Turn away your faces (outwardly) from all your abominations." It is not likely that an exhortation to convert others should come between the two affecting themselves.

7. stranger--the proselyte, tolerated in Israel only on condition of worshipping no God but Jehovah

(Le 17:8, 9).

inquire of him concerning me--that is, concerning My will.

by myself--not by word, but by deed, that is, by judgments, marking My hand and direct agency; instead of answering him through the prophet he consults. FAIRBAIRN translates, as it is the same Hebrew as in the previous clause, "concerning Me," it is natural that God should use the same expression in His reply as was used in the consultation of Him. But the sense, I think, is the same. The hypocrite inquires of the prophet concerning God; and God, instead of replying through the prophet, replies for Himself concerning Himself.

8. And I will set my face against that man--(See on

Le 17:10).

and will make him a sign--literally, "I will destroy him so as to become a sign"; it will be no ordinary destruction, but such as will make him be an object pointed at with wonder by all, as Korah, &c.

(Nu 26:10; De 28:37).

9. I the Lord have deceived that prophet--not directly, but through Satan and his ministers; not merely permissively, but by overruling their evil to serve the purposes of His righteous judgment, to be a touchstone to separate the precious from the vile, and to "prove" His people

(De 13:3; 1Ki 22:23; Jer 4:10; 2Th 2:11, 12).

Evil comes not from God, though God overrules it to serve His will

(Job 12:16; Jas 1:3).

This declaration of God is intended to answer their objection, "Jeremiah and Ezekiel are but two opposed to the many prophets who announce 'peace' to us." "Nay, deceive not yourselves, those prophets of yours are deluding you, and I permit them to do so as a righteous judgment on your wilful blindness."