CHAPTER 9
1. Then He called out in my ears with a loud voice: “Let the overseers of the city approach, each with a tool of destruction in his hand.”
Called out: exactly what He had just said would not elicit a response from Him if Israel did the same. (8:18)
2. And sure enough, there came six men from the road [to] the uppermost gate which faces northward, each with a shattering instrument in his hand. But one man among them was clothed in white linen, with a scribe’s inkhorn at his hips. Then they entered and stood near the bronze altar.
Shattering: the same term in its noun form is used for a battle axe, which was also commonly used for beheading. Bronze altar: the one outside the Temple, where the slaughtered animals were burned to YHWH or cooked for the priests. White linen was what the ordinary priestly garments were made from.
3. But the weightiness of YHWH had taken itself away from the kh’ruv above which it had been, [and moved] toward the threshold of the House, and He called out to the man clothed in white linen, who had the scribe’s inkhorn at his hips.
4. And YHWH said to him, “Pass through within the city, inside Yerushalayim, and put a mark on the foreheads of all the people who are groaning and lamenting over all the disgusting things that are done within her.”
In Revelation 7:3, such marking identifies these people as YHWH’s servants. Judgment may not come on the earth until they are sealed. A scroll is written in ink on the inside and sealed on the outside. But a mark can wash off; the practice it symbolizes must be perpetuated for the promise to remain current. The blood of the lamb similarly marked those in Egypt to be spared from otherwise-certain death; thus this mark correlates with the practice of Passover; James Trimm points out, and we can see clearly from this context, that its counterfeit—the mark of the beast (Rev. 13)—therefore corresponds with the observance of Easter instead. Passover is only the first of three pilgrim festivals commanded in Ex. 23, and so the analogy extends to all of YHWH’s mandated appointments with Israel, and Easter would in the same way represent, by extension, Christmas, Lent, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and all the rest of the whitewashed festivals that stem from paganism instead of YHWH’s commands. Observant Jews are therefore more on track in this regard than most modern Christians.
5. And He told them in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him and strike down; do not let your show pity, and do not spare [any];
6. “kill, destroy old and young, [virgin] maidens, toddlers, and women [alike], but do not get near anyone who [has] the mark on him. And you must start from My sanctuary.” So they started with the old men who were in front of the House.
Young and old, etc.: United Israel failed to do this when they first entered the Land, and it came back to haunt them.
7. Then He told them, “Make the House ritually impure, and fill the courtyards with the pierced. Go ahead out!” So they went out and struck down [those] in the city.
8. But as they struck down, it turned out that I myself was spared, so I fell on my face and cried out, “Alas, Master YHWH! Will You destroy all who are left of Israel as You pour out Your rage on Yerushalayim?”
9. And He told me, “The perversion of the House of Israel and Yehudah is very great in [its] extent, and the Land is filled with blood, and the city fully warped, because they have said, ‘YHWH has abandoned the Land, so there is no YHWH to inspect.’
10. “So My own eye, too, will not show pity, nor will I spare; I will employ their habits on their own head!”
11. Then, here [came] the man clothed in white linen, who [had] the inkhorn at his hips, brought back word, saying, “I have done just as You ordered me.”
CHAPTER 10
1. Then I looked and, lo and behold, toward the expanse that was over the head of the kh’ruvim, a sapphire stone with a form resembling a throne appeared above them.
On Mt. Sinai, Moshe, Aharon, and the elders of Israel saw a similar vision of YHWH with a tilework of sapphire under His feet. The word sapphire is related to the Hebrew word for writing or recounting. The word for stone is from the word for building. Thus we could say YHWH’s throne is built through the recounting of what is written.
2. And He spoke to the man clothed in white linen, and said, “Come in to [the area] between the rolling [chariots], underneath the kh’ruv, and fill your fists with burning coals of fire from [the area] between the kh’ruvim, and toss them over the city. So he went in as I watched.
Burning coals: always associated in Scripture with purification and/or judgment. The only time a man goes into the Holy of Holies is on Yom Kippur, the time for examining our motives, and the High Priest does indeed wear only white linen then. The fire from which he would take them is the golden altar of incense, which represents our prayers. The fire is what “motivates” the incense to go up, so the coals represent the motives behind our prayers. These are exactly what YHWH uses to judge us. We must be motivated not by what makes us feel nice, but by what benefits Israel and pleases YHWH. We are not naturally inclined to have the best motives, but at the moments when we do have them, YHWH hears us and takes us through what we need to experience in order to remove self from the equation.
3. And the kh’ruvim were standing on the right side of the House when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner courtyard.
4. Then the splendor of YHWH rose from [being] over the kh’ruv over the threshold of the House, and the House was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was filled with the brightness of the splendor of YHWH.
This rising is a continuation from 9:3, in which He had risen from His usual resting-place.
5. And the sound of the kh’ruvim’s wings was heard as far as the outer courtyard, like the voice of El Shaddai when He speaks.
Outer courtyard: it is too holy to be heard any further than this.
6. Now what took place when He ordered the man clothed in white linen, “Take fire from [the area] between the rolling [chariots], from between the kh’ruvim,” [is] that he started going in and stood near the rolling [chariots],
7. and the kh’ruv extended his hand from [the area] between the kh’ruvim to the fire that was between the kh’ruvim, and he picked up [the fire] and put it into the hollows of the hands of the one wearing the white linen, so he took it and went out.
This would not burn the High Priest as it might seem; he held a special shovel in his hands to collect the coals.
8. And a human hand was seen figuratively belonging to the kh’ruvim, under their wings.
A human hand: literally, Adam’s hand. This may represent the fact that because of Israel’s enthronement of YHHW, Adam was in the process of being reconciled with the kh’ruvim that had barred him from the Garden.
9. As I looked, lo and behold, the four wheels were beside the kh’ruvim—one wheel beside the one kh’ruv, one wheel beside the [other] kh’ruv, and the appearance of the wheels was like the eye of a [precious] stone [from] Tarshish.
Tarshish: an Israelite-Phonenican colony in the Atlantic region, possibly even as far west as Mexico. (Collins) Many from Israel had moved there as the Assyrian conquest was impending some 130 years before this.
10. And their appearance was one; the four of them had [the same] fashion, as if it were the wheel within the wheel.
11. When they moved, they went on the four of their quadrants; they do not change direction when they move, because the place toward which the head faced, [there] they followed it; they do not change direction when they move.
12. And all of their flesh, their backs, their hands, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all around; the four of them had their wheels.
In chapter 1 we saw that the eyes represent the fact that there is something to see in every part of YHWH’s calendar. Here there are also eyes even on their flesh, reminding us that though we are not to let our flesh (our natural inclinations) motivate us, we must look at what our inclination to rebel reveals about where we need to strengthen our motivation to overcome it.
13. [As] for the wheels, they were called in my hearing, “rolling [chariots]”.
Rolling: from YHWH’s perspective, they were not just spinning wheels, but were actually going somewhere. “Chariots” is added based on ancient tradition that this is what they were riding.
14. And [each] one had four faces. The one face was the kh’ruv’s face, and the second, a human face, and the third, a lion’s face, and the fourth, an eagle’s face.
The kh’ruv’s face was said to be a bull’s in chapter 1.
15. Then the kh’ruvim were lifted up. It is the living [creature] that I had seen by the River K’var.
16. When the living [creatures] moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when the living [creatures] lifted up their wings to rise up from upon the land, they too (the wheels) did not turn from [being] beside them.
17. When [the former] stood still, [the latter] stood still, and when they were lifted up from upon the land, the wheels lifted themselves up, because the spirit of the living creature was in them.
18. Then the splendor of YHWH went out from upon the threshold of the House, and stood over the kh’ruvim.
19. Then the kh’ruvim lifted up their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels also [went] parallel to them. And He stopped at the opening of the gate of the House of YHWH —the eastern [one]. And the splendor of the Elohim of Israel was upon them from above.
They only had splendor because of their association with Him.
20. This is the living [creature] that I had seen beneath the Elohim of Israel by the River K’var, and I recognized [this] because they were kh’ruvim.
Or, I recognized that they were kh’ruvim.
21. Four—each one has four faces and each one has four wings, and something resembling human hands was under their wings.
22. As for what their faces looked like, they are the faces of the ones that I saw [in] the visions on the River K’var. Each proceeds toward [what is directly] across from its face.
CHAPTER 11
1. Then a wind picked me up and brought me to the ancient gate of the House of YHWH which faces east, and at the entrance to the gate, here were 25 men, and among them I saw Ya’azanyah the son of Azzur and Platyahu the son of B’nayah—principal [men among] the people!
Wind: or spirit. These men’s names mean “YHWH hears me”, the son of “help” and “YHWH has delivered me”, the son of “YHWH builds”. They sound like noble names, but they are in the wrong context, just as the Church makes such claims to YHWH’s attention and help, but worships Him in a context that He does not approve of.
2. And He told me, “Son of Adam, these are the ones who are inventing futile mischief and giving damaging advice in this city--
3. “who are saying, ‘[It is] not in the vicinity; let’s build houses. She is the [boiling] pot and we are the meat.’
The Northern Kingdom was far from Yerushalayim now, so it appears that they are condemning Yehudah for its shortcomings, and are celebrating the fact that their brother is receiving a beating.
4. “Prophesy against them, therefore. Prophesy, son of Adam!”
5. Then the Spirit of YHWH fell on me and told me, “Say, ‘This is what YHWH says: “This is how you have spoken, O House of Israel, and the things that come up in your spirit—I know them!
6. “‘“You have caused your mortally wounded to increase in this city, and filled the open squares with the pierced.
7. “‘“So this is what the Master YHWH says: ‘Your mortally wounded, whom you have laid out within her—they are the meat and she is the [boiling] pot. But you I will take out from within her.
He changes their metaphor to one that is much less “tasty”. Many are also predicting the fall of the “spiritual Yerushalayim” as seen here, but thinking they will escape the consequences by means of the “rapture”. But YHWH says he will take these over-confident people away in a different way and to a different context than they expect:
8. “‘“‘You have feared the sword, and a sword I will bring upon you,’ declares the Master YHWH,
9. “‘“‘and I will take you out from within her and turn you over into the hands of foreigners , and carry out justice against you.
Foreigners: this began with the Assyrians. Indeed, since David had conquered the Assyrians about four centuries earlier, greatly reducing their military strength, now that they had made their comeback, they wanted revenge on Yerushalayim.
10. “‘“‘You will fall by the sword on the border of Israel; I will judge you, and you will know that I am YHWH.
11. “‘“‘She will not serve as a [boiling] pot for you, nor will you serve as meat within her.
12. “‘“‘To the border of Israel I will judge you. Then you will know that I am YHWH—in whose prescribed customs of Mine you have not walked, nor have you carried out My legal procedures; rather, you have acted according to the legal procedures of the nations who are all around you.’”’”
To the border: as then-righteous Yehudah was unaffected by the famine that came only on Israel due to her sins in Eliyahu and Akhav’s time, He is very capable of punishing only those who are guilty. This isolation of His instruments of judgment to specific limits would indeed let them see that He was in control of every detail.
13. No what took place when I prophesied [is] that Platyahu the son of B’nayah died! So I fell on my face and cried out with a loud voice, and said, “Alas, Master YHWH! Are you bringing about a complete annihilation of the remnant of Israel?”
As He brings correction to our understanding, the false leader with blasphemous names (v. 1) will indeed collapse.
14. Then the Word of YHWH came to me to say,
15. “Son of Adam, your brothers—your relatives, the men [for whom] you could act as kinsman-redeemer and the whole House of Israel—are all those to whom the inhabitants of Yerushalayim have said, ‘Distance [yourselves] from YHWH! This Land is given to us [to possess] as an inheritance!’
16. “So you are to say, ‘This is what the Master YHWH says: “Though I have sent them far away among the Gentiles and though I have shattered them into [many] pieces among the lands, I will nonetheless become for them a diminished sanctuary in the lands into which they have come.”
So: Just as YHWH destroyed the Assyrians, His chosen instrument to correct Israel, for taking this too far and in their own direction (), He will do this not because Israel deserves it, but because of the attitude expressed by Yehudah at Israel’s returning claim to the Land (v. 15; compare 36:22.) A diminished sanctuary: One of less worth, short of the fullness, but barely adequate. To ride out our exile, “while we were still missing the mark” (Rom. 5:8), He gave us Y’shua to keep alive in us a measure of the worship of YHWH throughout the long centuries until the time comes for the rest of this wonderful prophecy to come true:
17. “So you are to say, ‘This is what the Master YHWH says: “When I have gathered you from among the peoples, and collected you from the lands in which you were scattered, I will give you the soil of Israel.
18. “‘“And when they come there, they will abolish all her detestable things and [remove] all her disgusting things from her,
19. “‘“and I will give them one [unified] heart, and I will put a new spirit within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a fleshy heart
Fleshy: i.e., organic, soft, pliable, and no longer lifeless and stubborn like stone. The unified heart will not come until the idols (security, worldly values, and even Christian morals that do not line up with Scripture) are removed from our hearts. Anything that is commonly valued by men is suspect of being in this category. Until we remove the clutter from our minds, we cannot fill them with the true knowledge that is the key to our restoration.
20. “‘“so that they can walk in My prescribed customs and guard My legal procedures—and carry them out. Then they will come to serve as My people, and I will become their Elohim.
21. “‘“But [as for those] whose heart is going to the heart of their detestable and disgusting things, I will put their [habitual] way on their own head,” declares the Master YHWH.’”
22. Then the kh’ruvim lifted up their wings with the wheels paralleling them, and the splendor of the Elohim of Israel was upon them from above.
23. And the splendor of YHWH ascended from within the city and stood still over the mountain that is eastward from the city.
The mountain: i.e., the Mount of Olives, directly east of the Temple Mount. Is it leaving Yerushalayim? Or just waiting outside the Temple precinct until the Messiah returns to this very spot (Zkh. 14:4; Acts 1:11) with us to finish the purification of the City and the Land?
24. Then the wind lifted me and brought me to the exile [in the land] of the Khasdim in a vision by [the] Spirit of Elohim. Thus the vision that I had been seeing went up from [being] upon me.
Khasdim: He came back to Babylonia, where his vision had begun.
25. And I told the exiles all the things of YHWH that He had shown me.
CHAPTER 12
1. Then the Word of YHWH came to me, saying,
2. “Son of Adam, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious household who have eyes to see but have not seen, and have ears to hear, but have not listened, because a rebellious house they are!
Those who are given more are responsible for more. (Luke 12:48 and context.) But these people did not use the resources they had been given. (Compare Mat. 25:25.) They had the Torah, and thus should have been able to see. But like most today who still have it, they refused to see it as for now. They are therefore losing the kingdom, for if we leave it until tomorrow without maintaining it today, it will not be there tomorrow. (2 Kefa 3:12)
3. “So you, son of Adam, prepare for yourself paraphernalia for exile, and remove it in the daytime in their sight, and you must move from your place to another place in their sight. It may be that they will recognize that they are a rebellious house.
A warning is provided to show them they are without excuse, but He still holds out some hope that they will repent.
4. “Then bring out your baggage as paraphernalia for exile in the daytime in their sight, and at evening, when they are watching, depart like those going out into exile.
5. “Where they can see [you], dig for yourself through the wall and carry [the things] out through it.
6. “In their sight carry [them] on [your] shoulder; carry it out under cover of darkness. Cover your face so that you do not see the ground, because I have appointed you as a sign for the House of Israel.”
7. So I did just as I was commanded. I brought out my equipment as paraphernalia for exile in the daytime, and in the evening I dug for myself through the wall by hand. I brought it out under cover of darkness; I carried it on my shoulder in their sight.
8. Then the word of YHWH came to me in the morning to say,
9. “Son of Adam, didn’t the House of Israel—the rebellious house—say to you, ‘What are you doing?’
10. “Tell them, ‘This is what the Master YHWH says: “This oracle [concerns] the leader in Yerushalayim and the whole House of Israel who are among them.
11. “Say, ‘I am your sign! As I have done, so will it be done to them. Into exile, into captivity they will go!
12. “‘And the leader who is among them will carry [burdens] on his shoulder under cover of darkness when he goes out. They will dig through the wall to bring [things] out thereby, and he will have his face covered so he will not see the Land with his eyes.
Dig through: i.e., breach. But King Tzidqiyahu would also sneak out via the garden wall in an attempt to escape the besiegers. (2 Kings 25:4) But the gate of the garden is where kh’ruvim are stationed (Gen. 3:24), and since this king was to be judged, he did not escape. He was caught near Yerikho, which foreshadows the Counterfeit Messiah’s being caught near enough to there to be thrown alive into the Dead Sea (which used to be called the Lake of Fire due to lightning igniting the petroleum seepage that used to rise to its surface). See Rev. 19:20.
13. “‘Then I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare, and I will bring him to Bavel—land of Khasdim—but he will not see it, and there he will die.
This is a strange prophecy, but it makes complete sense when we remember that King Tzidqiyahu indeed had his eyes put out by the Babylonians before he was taken to Bavel, but not until after he saw his own sons put to death. (2 Kings 25:7) This is the point of Y’hezq’El’s being sure he could not see the ground (v. 6). Covering his face would also be an expression of grief. (2 Shmuel 19:4)
14. “‘All who surround him—his assistants and all his strike-forces—I will disperse to every wind, and I will keep a hungry sword behind them!’
Strike forces: “wings” of an army, from the root word for “an impending stroke”. I.e., all his “secret service agents” were scattered, removing his protection.
15. “Then they will know that I am YHWH when I scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them into [their] countries.
Then they will know: His intent behind this corrective is that they will know Him and become intimate with Him again; it is only punishment if they refuse to repent and choose to remain alienated from Him.
16. “But I will cause a number of their men to be left over from the sword, from famine, and from the plague, in order that in the nations into which they enter they may recount all the disgusting things they [have done]. Then they will know that I am YHWH.”
A number: but the term used here implies a number small enough to be easily counted. They would still be remembered—but as a reproach.
17. Then the Word of YHWH came to me to say,
18. “Son of Adam, eat your bread with trembling and drink your water with trepidation and anxiety.
19. “Then tell the people of the Land, ‘This is what the Master YHWH says to the inhabitants of Yerushalayim—to the Land of Israel: “They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water with [appalled] horror, in order that the Land may become desolate of all that fills it, because of the violent injustice of all who live in her.
The infrastructure and landscaping could not be maintained since everyone was afraid to go outside any more than was absolutely necessary. But part of the reason for this exile was that the people had not obeyed YHWH and allowed the Land to enjoy its sabbatical years. (Lev. 26:34)
20. “‘“The inhabited cities will become ruins and the Land will be deserted. Then you will know that I am YHWH.”’”
21. Then the Word of YHWH came to me to say,
22. “Son of Adam, what is this saying you have about the Land of Israel that says, ‘The days are prolonged, and every prophetic vision will vanish’?
23. “For this reason I say to them, ‘This what the Master YHWH says: “I will put a stop to this saying, and they will no longer use it as a proverb in Israel, because”, tell them, “The days are approaching with the substance of every prophetic vision.”’
I.e., “It has been a long time since He started warning us, and nothing has happened yet.” Today people also say, “There is nothing to be afraid of. Judgment has not come yet.” (2 Kefa 3:3-15) But today YHWH is showing us that if we do not fear Him, there is “more to fear than fear itself”. Compare Y’shua’s words about those who allow themselves to be sidetracked and abuse His delay. (Luke 12:42ff)
24. “Because there will never again be any empty prophecy or flattering divination within the House of Israel,
Empty: worthless, in vain. Flattering: from an identical word meaning smooth or slippery. The reason they did not take the words of the prophets seriously is because there were so many false prophets muddying the waters by giving the opposite prognostication.
25. “because I am YHWH! I will say what I will say. The thing will be done; it will not be deferred again, for in your days, O rebellious household, when I say the word, I will carry it through [to completion],” declares YHWH.
26. Then the Word of YHWH came to me to say,
27. “Son of Adam, here, the House of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he is seeing is for many days [off], and he prophesies for times far removed [from now].’
It is a common attitude in the Church, that the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation, etc., are only for the “end times”, though 1 Yochanan 2:18; 2 Yoch. 1:7 tell us that these things have been going on all along, and if one does not “get off the train” of the Counterfeit Messiah that he is already on, he will soon end up at the end of that line.
28. “So tell them, ‘This is what the Master YHWH says: “None of My words will be postponed any longer; whatever I have said, [that] word will be carried out,” declares the Master YHWH.’”
CHAPTER 13
1. Then the Word of YHWH came to me to say,
2. “Son of Adam, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own heart, ‘Listen to the word of YHWH!
3. “‘This is what the Master YHWH says: “Woe to the foolish prophets who go after their own spirit, but have gone without seeing [a vision]!
4. “‘“O Israel, your prophets have become like foxes in the wastelands!
5. “‘“You have not gone up into the breaches or closed up the fence in regard to the House of Israel, so that it might endure in the battle on the Day of YHWH.
Foxes find ruins beneficial, because there is food there for them. The responsibility of a prophet (especially since most were Levites, who are responsible to teach Torah), however, is not to feed off others’ doom, but to prevent it by shoring up the defenses meant to protect Israel through the knowledge of the Truth.
6. “‘“[As seers], they have beheld worthless things and deceitful witchcraft—those who say, ‘YHWH declares’, when YHWH has not sent them, but they [intently] hoped to confirm [what they] said.
Confirm: establish, ratify, or impose.
7. “‘“Haven’t you beheld an empty vision and pronounced a divination that is untrue when you say, ‘YHWH declares’ though I have not spoken?”
8. “‘Therefore, this is what the Master YHWH says: “Since you have made empty promises and [as if you were seers] beheld deceitful things, I am therefore against you,” declares the Master YHWH.
9. “‘“And My hand will be against the prophets who behold wasteful things, and who divine a lie. They will not be in the inner circle of My people’s council, nor will they be enrolled in the registry of the House of Israel, and they will not arrive onto the ground of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Master, YHWH.”’
The exiles in Bavel were probably hoping that the king of Yehudah, who was still reigning in Yerushalayim, might yet be able to send an army to bring them back home, as only a small percentage , the cream of the crop, had been taken to Bavel thus far. But by revealing that the king, too, would be brought into exile (12:12-13), YHWH takes away this humanly-based hope. But there are many layers to this prophecy. It speaks to our day as well, when many expect to be in the inner circles in the Kingdom, but are not obeying the light they have already been given.
10. “Because—now pay attention! Because they have led My people astray, saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace. He also builds an outer wall and, indeed, [others] smear it with plaster.
Outer wall: where the defenses of the city of Gamla were breached in Roman times. By limiting themselves to politically correct messages of “sweetness and light”, they fail to point out the weak spots in the wall that could be repaired in time. Instead, they whitewash the walls with “fluff” like the rapture doctrine which causes people to expect to escape YHWH’s firm hand.
11. “Tell those who are smearing with plaster, ‘Indeed, it will fall! There will be an overflowing of rain and you will fall, O hail stones! And a raging wind will split it right through!
Indeed, it will fall: Who said anything about it falling before this? The key is that the words for plaster (tafel) and “you will fall” (tipol) are spelled exactly the same way in Hebrew without the vowel points.
12. “Then indeed, [after] it has fallen, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you have overlaid it?’
13. “Therefore, this is what the Master YHWH says: ‘I will split it with a raging wind in My fury, and in My anger there will be an overflowing of rain, and hail stones to finish it off in the heat of My indignation!
Compare Y’shua’s parable of the foolish builder. (Mat. 7:26)
14. “‘And I will tear down the wall that you have smeared with plaster and make it touch the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it has fallen, you [who are] inside it will be finished off. Then you will know that I am YHWH.’
15. “And I will exhaust My rage on the wall and on those who have smeared it with plaster. And [they] will say to you, ‘There is no wall, and none of those who plastered it over are here’--
16. “‘the prophets of Israel, who prophesy to Yerushalayim, and who behold visions of peace for her, when there is no peace,” declares the Master YHWH.
17. “Now you, son of Adam, fix your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own heart, and prophesy about them.
18. “What you must say is, ‘This is what the Master YHWH says: “Woe to those who sew covered amulets to all the joints of My forearm and press long veils over the heads of anyone tall enough to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people, yet save the souls alive for yourselves?
Tall enough… save the souls alive: This seems like an allusion to King Sha’ul, who was the tallest in Israel, and left King Agag of the Amaleqites alive long enough to sire at least one more son, when YHWH had ordered that they all be slain. (1 Shmuel 15:9) Covered amulets: in the place where t’fillin (phylacteries bearing YHWH’s commandments) should be on a human being, idolatrous images are being joined to YHWH!
19. “‘“Will you even profane Me to My people for handfuls of barley or crumbs of bread to put to death the souls that should not die and keep alive the souls that should not live—by lying to My people who listen to lies?”
Barley, crumbs of bread: possibly what they placed inside the amulets. It seems that they were using a form of voodoo here to curse others.
20. “‘So this is what the Master YHWH says: “Here I come against your amulets with which you are eagerly hunting the souls to make them sprout! And I will tear them from upon your forearms, and set free the souls, which souls you were hunting to make them sprout!
Again, there are many layers to this prophecy, for YHWH was dealing with many types of rebellion at the same time. The term for amulets can also be rendered cushions, and “make them sprout” can have the shade of meaning of “making them fly”; some even render it “hunt souls like birds”. A cushion that covers the forearm (v. 18) when hunting birds suggests hunting with a falcon or hawk. An unclean bird of prey has symbolized Gentile governments bent on conquest since the time of Nimrod, founder of Babylon. Missionaries have often compromised with occupying governments’ agendas in order to gain access to the tribes they have conquered. Sometimes they feed their bellies so they will listen to their spiritual message, and today we hear of governments funding after-school food programs in churches to provide a forum for the themes they wish to advance as well. To keep the bird from wounding one’s hand, a glove that limits the movement of the joints (v. 18) must be used. YHWH’s Hand is an idiom for the Messiah. Compromises that blunt and limit His real message must be used in order to retain the funding source. But this only highlights what the bird of prey will do if one does not have the cushion there! Why should we deal with such a hunting aid?
21. “‘I will also tear your long veils and recover My people from your hand, and they will never again be in your hand to be hunted as prey. Then you will know that I am YHWH.
22. “‘Since through deceit you have made sad the heart of the righteous when I have not caused him pain, and have strengthened the hands of the wicked to keep him from repenting from his evil way, so that he could survive,
False prophets not only give people false hope; they give people false fears as well, to advance their agendas.
23. “‘for this reason you will no longer behold worthless things or practice divination, and I will recover My people out of your hand. Then you will know that I am YHWH!’”
CHAPTER 14
1. Then some men from among the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me.
2. Then the word of YHWH came to me, to say,
3. “Son of Adam, these men have let rolling-idols ascend onto their hearts, and set the stumblingblock of their perversity right in front of their faces; should I allow Myself to be consulted by them at all?
Consulted: most likely for advice on how to end their captivity. To them, YHWH was just one more of many whose prophets they consulted. The others have not come through for them, so as a last resort, they inquire of YHWH. So He does not answer the question they come with, but gives them a more important message:
4. “So address them and tell them, ‘This is what the Master YHWH says: “Each man of the House of Israel who lets his idols ascend toward his heart or sets the stumblingblock of his perversity right in front of his face, yet comes to the prophet, I, YHWH, will be testified to [as a witness] in this regard according to how many idols he has,
Temptation is inevitable (Mat. 18:7), but giving it space is not. They were putting their idols in a place where they could not miss them, as a constant reminder—something we are instead told to do with YHWH’s words. (Deut. 11:18-20) By their actions, these leaders have given the wrong message and set a bad example for the rest of Israel. People in ancient times were not so foolish as to worship wood or stones as such. Each idol was linked with a particular purpose which matched a desire of the human heart. Ba’al-Peor was worshipped so one could have more authority in the underworld after his death. Asherah was worshipped for the sake of fertility, etc. The images were just symbols, but in making them, the worshipper felt like he was more in control of the demon behind them. (See 1 Cor. 10:20.) In modern society, we do not bow down to carvings, but we still worship our desires by putting them first. An idol may be something as simple as your right to your own opinion. When we cannot get what we desire, we come to Him, still bearing the lipstick and perfume of our illicit lover, and expect Him to do something for us!
5. “‘“so that I may capture with their own heart the House of Israel, who are estranged from Me by means of their idols.”’
Capture: Since they already had their hearts set on believing a lie, YHWH sent them a strong delusion. (2 Thess. 2:11)
6. “For this reason, tell the House of Israel, ‘This is what the Master YHWH says: “Repent, and turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all of your disgusting things!
7. “‘“Any man from the House of Israel, or any foreigner who lives temporarily in Israel, who separates himself from following after Me, and lets his idols ascend toward his heart or sets the stumblingblock of his perversity right in front of his face, yet comes to the prophet to consult him in regard to Me, I, YHWH, will answer him Myself.
No visitor to Israel is permitted to worship anyone but YHWH when in His territory. Once one knows the truth, tolerance of anything else is a fault.
8. “‘“And I will inflict My face on that man, and bring on him appalling horror as a sign and for [purposes of] ethical comparison, and I will cut him off from among My people. Then you will know that I am YHWH.
Ethical comparison: as a proverb or byword to warn others not to do the same.
9. “‘“And [as for] the prophet—if he is gullible though he has spoken a word, I, YHWH, have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and will cause him to perish from among My people Israel.
He has already set a standard by his own words, so he should know better than to fall for anything that relaxes the standard. YHWH has already told them not to answer them (v. 3), so if a message did come to the prophet for them, it would be for the sake of blinding those whose minds were already made up anyway (v. 5), and the prophet would be giving an untrue message, and thus be just as guilty as they.
10. “‘“But they will bear [the consequences of] their own perversity. The [consequences of] the perversity of the prophet will come to be like the [consequences of] the perversity of the one who consults [him],
11. “‘“so that the House of Israel may no longer wander away from Me nor continue to defile themselves with their rebellion, but become for Me a people; then I will come to serve as an Elohim for them,” declares the Master YHWH.’”
12. Then the Word of YHWH came to me to say,
13. “Son of Adam, if a land sins against Me by treacherously crossing a [forbidden] line, then I will stretch out My hand over it and break the staff of bread for it, and send it a famine, and I will cause [both] man and animal to be cut off from it.
Staff: or supply; literally, stretching out; i.e., the bread would not last long enough. Man and animal: literally, Adam and [the] Beast.
14. “And [even if] these three me—Noach, Daniel, and Iyov—were within it, they would rescue [only] their own souls through their righteousness,” declares the Master YHWH.
These three men dwelt in lands other than Israel. But Daniel was actually Y’hezq’el’s contemporary, brought to Bavel at the same time as he, so he must have already, even in his youth, had an exemplary reputation as someone who had earned YHWH’s respect.
15. “If only I could make vicious beasts go through the land and make it barren so that it became a wasteland that no one passed through because of the presence of [wild] animals,
16. “[and] these three men were within it, [I swear that as] I live,” declares the Master YHWH, “[even] if they could rescue sons or daughters, they alone would be delivered, while the land remained a wasteland.
We cannot ride on the coattails of anyone else’s righteousness. Righteousness is defined in Deut. 6:25 as observing and guarding YHWH’s Torah.
17. “Or [if] I were to bring a sword on that land and I said, ‘Let a sword pass through the land, and I will cause man and animal to be cut off from it,’
18. “[and] these three men were within it, [I swear that as] I live,” declares the Master YHWH, “they could not [even] rescue sons or daughters, because only they themselves would be delivered
19. “Or [if] I let loose a pestilence into that land, and poured out My rage on it with blood to eliminate man and animal from it,
20. “even [if] Noach, Daniel, and Iyov were within it, [as] I live,” declares the Master YHWH, “if they could rescue sons or daughters, they would deliver their souls [only] by their righteousness.
21. “Because this is what the Master YHWH has said: ‘How much more when I let loose My four injurious acts of judgment—sword, famine, vicious beast, and pestilence—toward Yerushalayim to eliminate man and animal from it!
This city knows better, so even the influence of the righteous within it will not be enough to spare the wicked majority as in S’dom and Ghamorah.
22. “‘Yet look! There will be left within it refugees who will be brought out—[both] sons and daughters. Indeed, they are coming out to you, and you will see their habitual manner and their practices, and you will be consoled for all the injury that I have brought against Yerushalayim—everything that I have brought upon it.
When the righteous see what all these chastisements have done for the lifestyle of the small remnant who survive them, they will recognize that it was more than worth it all.
23. “‘And they will deeply comfort you when you see their habitual manner and their practices, and you will recognize that it is not in vain that I have done anything that I have done to it,’ declares the Master YHWH.”
In vain: without cause, to no purpose, for nothing. I.e., every stroke of judgment that He lays on it will achieve its purpose and make it more righteous than ever.
CHAPTER 15
1. Then the word of YHWH came to me to say,
2. “Son of Adam, how could the [woody] stalk of the [grape] vine be [better] than any pruned tree that was among the trees of the forest?
3. “Can wood be made to be taken from it to produce any workmanship? Or can they procure from it a peg on which to hang any [kind of] tool?
It is too flimsy to hang a heavy tool on.
4. “Look! It is assigned to the fire [as fuel] to be consumed! The fire devours both of its ends, and its mid-section is scorched! Can it be put to any successful use?
5. “Indeed, when it was unimpaired it could not be used [to make] any product; how much less can it be used to make a product again when the fire has devoured it?
6. “Therefore, this is what the Master YHWH says: ‘As the vine is among the trees of the forest that I have provided as fuel for the fire, I have likewise designated the inhabitants of Yerushalayim.
If it was never useful for anything but producing grapes, once it has been burned, can it ever be used again? Israel is called a vine that was planted to bear fruit for YHWH. (Psalm 80:19ff; Yeshayahu 5) It is not designed to be useful for anyone else’s purposes. If we do not fulfill our calling, what else can He do with us but destroy us? It may even put out bad grapes, which are worse than no grapes because they give one a false hope.
7. “‘When I dedicate My face [to being] against them, though they have come out of a fire, the fire will devour them. Then they will know that I am YHWH, when I set My face against them.
The prophet’s word is a fire from YHWH that is meant to burn away what is useless in us. But if we are offended by their words and run away from them, it will be the proverbial “out of the frying pan, into the fire”.
8. “‘And I will give the Land over to be a wasteland, since they have treacherously crossed a [forbidden] line,’ declares the Master YHWH.”
CHAPTER 16
1. Then the word of YHWH came to me to say,
2. “Son of Adam, let Yerushalayim know what she [is doing] that nauseates Me,
3. “and say, ‘This is what the Master YHWH says to Yerushalayim: “Your forgings and your springings-forth were from the land of the Kanaanite. Your father was the Emorite and your mother a Hittite.
Emorite and Hittite: the origins of the Yevusite city that existed on the site previously.
4. “‘“And [as for] your birth, [on] the day you were given birth, your umbilical cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to make you presentable, nor were you made to be salted with salt or wrapped with wrappings.
5. “‘“Not [one] eye looked on your with pity to do any of these things for you to have compassion on you. Rather, you were flung onto the surface of the field in abhorrence of your soul on the day you were given birth.
6. “‘“And when I was passing by you, I saw you kicking about in your own blood. And [while you were] in your blood, I told you, ‘Stay alive!’ Indeed, [while you were] in your blood, I told you, ‘Live on!’
Kicking about: or, squirming. YHWH noticed Yerushalayim because fo Melkhitzedeq in Avraham’s time, but His people were not yet there; the city was not taken by Y’hoshua. It remained Yevusite until David conquered it. In your blood, live: Why is it said twice? Because taking the easy way out is really choosing death. (Deut. 30:15-19) When we left our own blood for Y’shua’s and came in the door to Israel, yet thought the fight was over, we could not become fully alive, for it was not the time to rest (His Kingdom). When our obligation to the Torah caught up with us, it told us to get up and do something about His unfinished business, to become a threat to His enemies instead of avoiding pain, blood, and conflict.
7. “‘“I made you grow like a shoot of the field, and you got bigger and grew up [to maturity] and have entered into ornamental finery. [Your] breasts were already firm and your hair grown in thickly, yet you were bare [with] nakedness.
8. “‘“That’s when I passed by and saw you, and lo and behold, your time was the season for affection, so I spread the extremity [of My garment] over you and concealed your nakedness. Then I swore a vow to you and entered into a covenant with you,” declares the Master YHWH, “and you became Mine.”
When YHWH passed by the second time, Israel was in the picture. Extremity: literally, wing. We often think of being under YHWH’s wings as referring to His protection, and it does, but it goes much further. Spreading a garment over someone is an idiom and a symbol of marrying them, as seen in the story of Boaz and Ruth.
9. “‘“Then I washed you with water and rinsed your blood off you, and poured oil on you.
Ruth washed and anointed herself before asking Boaz to spread his garment over her as kinsman-redeemer. (Ruth 3:3) Your blood: This time the blood of niddah, in which a woman is temporarily unavailable to her husband.
10. “‘“I also clothed you with skillfully embroidered [garments] and put shoes of takhash skins on you. Then I bound you up in fine linen and covered you with costly [silk].
Embroidered… takhash skins: this is also the description of how the Tabernacle was “clothed”. (Ex. 36:19) Even her sandals were bejeweled.
11. “‘“I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your hands and a necklace on your throat.
Ornaments: The term is also used to describe t’fillin (phylacteries) in Exodus 33:4-5.
12. “‘“I put a ring in your nose and earrings in your ears and a garland of splendid renown on your head.
13. “‘“You were adorned with gold and silver, and your apparel was of fine linen, costly [silk], and skillfully embroidered [workmanship]. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You were very beautiful, and you advanced to royalty.
Gold and silver, fine flour and oil are also common components of the offerings at the Tabernacle, but honey was not permitted to be baked into any of the grain offerings. Honey was, however, part of the description of the Land of Israel. (Ex. 3:8 et al) The milk was there with the Torah when they arrived in the Land, but the honey, the sweetest part of the country—Yerushalayim, as described here—was not part of it until it was totally set apart under David and Shlomo, when it truly became world-renowned for the first time:
14. “‘“A reputation went out for you among the nations for your beauty, because it was perfect through My splendor by which I had made a transformation come over you,” declares the Master YHWH.
My splendor: Forgetting where it all came from and that we were nothing without Him was our downfall.
15. “‘“But you were confident because of your beauty, and became a prostitute because of your reputation, and poured out your sexual favors. For any who passed by, [if he would have it] it was for him!
Confident: that because of the Land’s greatness, no consequences would come if she became unfaithful to YHWH. She no longer derived her pride from being related to her husband, but from the prosperity He had brought her. We see the same pattern with haSatan. (Y’hezq’El 28:2, 5, 17) King Shlomo made compromises with idolatry because of his worldwide fame and diplomacy.
16. “‘“Then you took some of your cloaks and prepared colorful cultic platforms for yourself, and played the prostitute on them. None [like them] had come [before] and there will not be [any like them].
Cloaks: or garments. The things that defined His dwelling-place as set apart (see v. 10) were at best watered down and at worst, defiled. This is not only about thousands of years ago. The Church, too, took valid things YHWH had given Israel and made doctrines foreign to Him, since we wanted to be kind and share the blessings He had given us, we lowered it to a level they could understand, which meant we stopped ascending to YHWH. Because we did not restrict the inflow of pagans to only those who were truly repentant, other religions’ practices were given free access. What is outside will affect what is inside if allowed a foot in the door. But friendship with the world dilutes the potency because it dissipates our focus. YHWH calls it enmity with Himself! (Yaaqov/James 4:4) Now Yerushalayim is full of steeples and minarets (both phallic symbols that stemmed from earlier pagan practices. Had come: or possibly, should come about.
17. “‘“You also took some of the splendid articles of My gold and My silver that I had given you, and fashioned for yourself masculine shapes and committed adultery with them.
Macsuline shapes: or, images of a man—which is reminiscent of the counterfeit kingdom portrayed in Daniel, Revelation, and Lev. 24:10ff.
18. “‘“Then you took your skillfully embroidered cloaks and spread them over them, and set My oil and My incense in front of them.
Spread them over: i.e., propositioning them as if to marry them (see v. 8), yet not actually doing so. The most recent instance of this kind of activity was when Christianity adopted many pagan practices and put Biblically-oriented titles on them so as to grant them a new legitimacy, then forgot that there had ever been a difference between the two religions. This was actually offering YHWH’s things to demons!
19. “‘“And My bread that I gave you—fine flour, oil, and honey that I fed you—you set in front of them to serve as a soothing aroma, and [so] it came to be,” declares the Master YHWH.
20. “‘“You even took the sons and daughters that you bore to Me and made slaughters to them as food!
Are your harlotries a petty [matter]?
21. “‘“You have slaughtered My sons and made them pass through [the fire] for them!
22. “‘“And with all your nauseating things and your fornications, you never recalled to mind the days of your youth, when you were naked, bare, and squirming in your own blood!
23. “‘“And this came about after all your distress. Alas! Alas for you!”, declares the Master YHWH.
24. “‘“You have also built yourself a mound and made a high place for yourself in every open plaza.
25. “‘“At the head of every road you have made your high place and have made your beauty abhorrent, spreading your legs to anyone who passed by and having many illicit affairs.
Legs: or feet, also an idiom for the pilgrimage festivals, which we did indeed throw to the dogs. (Mat. 7:6)
26. “‘“You have whored around with the sons of Egypt, your neighbors whose flesh grows large, and have increased your whoredoms [just] to provoke Me to anger.
27. “‘“So look! I have extended My hand over you and withdrawn your allotted portion, and I will give you over to the desire of those who hate you—the daughters of the Filistines, who are embarrassed by your lewd habits.
Allotted portion: their Land. The Filistines, who were very lewd themselves, were blushing about Israel’s actions! Why does Israel outdo the Gentiles in their own ways once given the opening to imitate them? We take them to such extremes as to become caricatures, because this is not our lot, and thus we cannot even “sin properly”.
28. “‘“You have prostituted [yourself] toward the sons of Assyria, without whom you were not satisfied, yet when you played the prostitute, you were still not satisfied.
29. “‘“You extended your fornication to the land of Kanaan in [the place of the] Khasdim, yet with this you were still not satisfied.
30. “‘“How feeble is your heart,” declares the Master YHWH, “in doing all these deeds of a domineering, adulterous woman,
Heart: enduring love for her husband. She only used Him as a means to gain access to others.
31. “‘“in building your mound at the head of every road and making your high place in every open plaza, yet you have not been like a prostitute in that you scoff at being paid [for it]--
32. “‘“the adulterous wife who receives strangers in place of her husband!
33. “‘“All prostitutes are given disproportionately-large gifts, but you bribe your lovers and hire them to come from all around for your fornication!
Gifts: the word has the sense of throwing away money in thoughtless generosity.
34. “‘“You have become the opposite of [other] women: by prostituting yourself when no one goes after you for favors and by giving payment when you are not given a hire-price. So you have become the reverse!”’
Others might be excused to some extent if they are starving and use this last resort to be able to buy food. But she is nowhere near such a position. She is too wealthy to need their gifts, but she is not sought after, so she goes chasing after them and pays them to let her give them her favors! The Church also erred in this way by giving away freely the set-apart things YHWH had beforehand purposefully relegated to being behind walls and closed doors. In doing so, she opened herself to the ways of those she wanted to absorb, and took on a mixture of all their practices, yet saying it was from Him. His special treasures are thus no longer treated as such, but are profaned.
35. “Therefore, you prostitute, listen to the word of YHWH:
36. “‘This is what YHWH says: “Because your copper was poured out and your nakedness uncovered by your fornications with your lovers and with all your nauseating idols and by the blood of your sons, whom you give to them--
37. “‘“for this reason, watch as I gather all your lovers over whom you have been pleased and all whom you have loved in addition to all whom you have hated—that is, I will gather them together against you from all around and they will disclose your nakedness to themselves, and they will see all your indecency.
38. “‘“Then I will judge you as adulteresses and shedders of blood are judged, and I will assign to you blood of rage and jealousy.
39. “‘“And I will give you over into their hand, and they will tear down your mound and demolish your high places, and they will strip you of your cloaks and seize your splendid articles, and leave you naked and bare.
40. “‘“And they will stir up an invasion against you and stone you with stones and cut you down with their swords.
41. “‘“Then they will burn your houses with fire and carry out judgments on you in the sight of many women, and I will stop you from playing the prostitute, and you will no longer employ wages.
42. “‘“Then I will let My rage against you rest and My jealousy will turn away from you, and I will be quieted and no longer be provoked to anger.
43. “‘“Since you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have perturbed Me in all these [things], hey! I, too, will employ your way on your own head,” declares the Master YHWH, “and you will not carry out this lewd plan in addition to all the nauseating things you [have done].
44. “‘“Indeed, any who make comparisons will use this proverb against you, saying, ‘Like mother, [like] daughter.’
45. “‘“You are your mother’s daughter, who casts off her husband and children [as loathsome], and your are the sister of your sisters, who cast off their husbands and children [as loathsome]. Your mother is [indeed] a Hittite, and your father an Emorite.
Hittites overcharged Avraham for his wife’s tomb. Esau got his wives from among them (Gen. 26:34), and YHWH had told Israel He would help them drive both the Hittites and the Emorites out of the land of Kanaan. (Ex. 33:2) Yet now they were acting just like them. Though Protestants declared their independence from Rome, they still celebrate her changed times and accept her changed laws (Daniel 7:25). Thus they are really very much like her, and have not returned to their true roots.
46. “‘“Now your older sister is Shomron, who dwells with her daughters on your left side, and your sister [who is] younger than you, who dwells on your right side with her daughters, is S’dom.
Left side: north, since Hebraic orientation is literally to the east. Shomron: Samaria, the former capital of the now-exiled Northern Kingdom of Israel. Right side: south. S’dom (which means “scorched”) was by this time long since obliterated. She was gone before Israel even existed as such, yet is called younger. Is it because she was considered more innocent, being held less accountable because she knew far less truth?
47. “‘“But you have not walked in their ways or done the kind of disgusting things they [did], as if it was a petty trifle; you are more corrupt than they in all your ways!
48. “‘“[As] I live”, declares the Master YHWH, “if your sister S’dom and her daughters have done as you and your daughters have done!
49. “‘“Indeed, this was the perversion of S’dom, your sister: arrogance, being glutted with bread, and the prosperous [ease that comes from being] left undisturbed, and she did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
50. “‘“When they were lifted up, they did nauseating things in front of My face, so I removed them as I saw [fit].
51. “‘“Shomron as well has not sinned to half the extent of your sins, and you have been making your disgusting [practice]s increase more than they, and with all the disgusting things you have done, you have made your sister seem righteous!
Shomron was exiled long ago for doing much less; how can you imagine you deserve less?
52. “‘“Even you, who interceded for your sisters, [must] bear your own dishonor in your sins, which you have made more disgusting than they. They are becoming more righteous than you! So you, too, be ashamed and bear your disgrace in making your sisters seem righteous.
Interceded: or, prayed, intervened. Assumedly Yehudah, at first, prayed that Israel might repent. Becoming more righteous: Some groups among the exiles of the Northern Kingdom actually repented en masse not long after they left the Land and did their best to follow YHWH in the new places to which they migrated. Some (the Scythians) even came back to the Land and participated in Yoshiyahu’s reforms and renewed obedience to Torah. In Scripture they are described as cities of Menashe, Efrayim, Shim’on, and Nafthali (2 Chron. 34:6-9) 100 years after these tribes had lost their inheritance. (Steve Collins)
53. “‘“When I bring back their captives—the captives of S’dom and her daughters and the captives of Shomron and her daughters, I will bring the captives of your own exile [right] among them,
This is one of many scriptures that leads us to believe that the largely-secular/atheist Jewish state in the Land now will again be displaced, for it is not until the rest of Israel returns (under King Y’shua) that Yehudah is counted as returning from exile. Some who have unnecessarily remained in exile have met Y’shua and have been a major catalyst in the return of the Northern Kingdom to their Hebraic roots—and have been surpassed in many cases!
54. “‘“in order that you may bear your dishonor and be humiliated from all that you have done while consoling them.
55. “‘“When your sisters, S’dom and her daughters, return to their former [condition] and Shomron and her daughters return to their former [condition], then you and your daughters will return to your former [condition].
Former: ancient or original—the condition of being exalted (v. 56). Not until these “lost sheep” were found, could any of the flock return home?
56. “‘“But your sister S’dom came to no longer be mentioned in your mouth on the day you were exalted--
57. “‘“before your wickedness was being uncovered at the time of your shame, as at the time of the shame of the daughters of Aram and all of those around her—the daughters of the Filistines, who despise you—from all around,
58. “‘“you bore your licentiousness and your disgusting things,”’ declares the Master YHWH.
Because Israel forgot how S’dom was punished, sins similar to hers gained a foothold in her.
59. “Because this is what the Master YHWH says: ‘I will do to you as you have done—you who have treated the oath with contempt by violating the covenant.
60. “‘But I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an eternal covenant.
Though we were unfaithful, He kept His part of the bargain. (2 Tim. 2:13) Eternal covenant: A reference to the covenant of eternal priesthood for the descendants of Pin’has. (Num. 25:13) This gives us hope that the priesthood will be restored, and that though rabbinic authority has seemed to usurp their role, the Levitical priests will again be the authorized teachers and interpreters of the Torah. (Deut. 17:9)
61. “‘Then you will remember your ways and be put to shame when you fetch your sisters—those older than you to those younger than you—and I will give them to you to serve as daughters, but not from your covenant.
The Northern Kingdom would not convert to modern rabbinic Judaism, which is largely man-made; when she returns, it will not be by Yehudah’s doing, but YHWH’s. Not through her futile attempts at peace with her sworn enemies, but when Yehudah’s King brings a rod of iron. Remember, we would be nothing without Him.
62. “‘Then I Myself will establish My covenant with you, and you will know that I am YHWH,
Establish: or set up, raise up.
63. “‘in order that you may remember and be ashamed, but you will no longer have a gaping mouth from the face of your disgrace, when I am satisfied [that atonement has been made] for you for all that you have done,” declares the Master YHWH.
CHAPTER 17
1. Then the word of YHWH came to me to say,
2. “Son of Adam, set forth a riddle and make a comparison with a parable to the House of Israel,
3. “and say, ‘This is what the Master YHWH says: “The large eagle with big wings, long pinions and full of feathers that had many colors, came into Levanon and took the highest branch of the cedar tree.
Eagle: The first bird listed among the abominations not to be eaten among flying creatures. (Lev. 11:13) Since this is also the first time the eagle is mentioned in Scripture, it sets the tone in Hebraic thought for the realization that something unclean is being spoken of. The Torah also compares the army that will come to punish YHWH’s people if they disobey to an eagle. (Deut. 28:49) And in Daniel 7:4, an eagle’s wings (on a lion) are seen as specifically idiomatic of Bavel/Babylon. Highest branch: During the first siege, the royalty, nobility, and the best of Israel’s youths (including Y’hezq’el and Daniel) were the ones taken to exile in Bavel.
4. “‘“He plucked off the top of its young twigs and brought it into the land of Kanaan. He set it in a city of merchants.
Kanaan: sometimes another term for merchants; here, another idiom for Bavel/Babylon. (16:29)
5. “‘“He started to take some of the seed of the land and put it in a planted field. He brought it over abundant waters; he planted it like a willow tree.
Willow trees were common “by the rivers of Bavel”. (Psalm 127:1-2)
6. “‘“It sprouted and became a sprawling vine, low of stature. It turned its dangling branches to face him, and its roots formed under him. Thus it became a vine and produced separate [branches] and sent out shoots.
Vine: one description Yaaqov gave of Yosef. (Gen. 49:22) Since it is the Northern Kingdom (often called by the name of Efrayim, the son of Yosef) being addressed here (v. 2), rather than Yehudah, who was taken captive at that time, we also need to consider what this means for the rest of Israel. The scepter of Bavel has been passed to the United States, since it is the literal conqueror of Bavel’s homeland (now called Iraq). And a large contingent of Yosef’s descendants are in this land, from which the return of the Efrayimite tribes is emanating due to the freedoms this land and those influenced by it afford, as Bavel did in its day, allowing the Jews to remain a strong community even in exile. YHWH is building His community while still in exile, just as the stones for the Temple had to be cut outside of Yerushalayim, then brought there after being fully prepared in advance. (1 Kings 6:7)
7. “‘“Then [along] came another large eagle with big wings and plentiful feathers. And lo and behold, this vine hungrily twisted its roots over him and sent out its branches to him so it could be watered from the furrows of [that] plantation.
8. “‘“It had been planted in a rich field by abundant waters to produce branches and bear fruit so it could become a majestic vine.”’
9. “Say, ‘This is what the Master YHWH says: “Will it succeed? Won’t he tear out its roots and strip off its fruit so that it dries up? All the leaves that have sprouted on it will wither, and [it will] not [take] a strong arm or a large [group of] people to take it up from its roots.
10. “‘“Indeed, will it succeed [just because] it was planted? Won’t it dry up and wither when the east wind reaches it? It will wither in the furrows [where] it sprouted!”’”
11. Then the word of YHWH came to me to say,
12. “Please say to the rebellious house, ‘Don’t you realize what these things are saying? Look! The king of Bavel has come to Yerushalayim and has brought her king and her princes to Bavel for himself!
What was idiomatically called Levanon in v. 3 is shown to represent Yerushalayim. Levanon simply means “the very whit place”, and indeed the Temple looked like that, shimmering in the sun. But it was also built from cedars of Levanon, as were King Shlomo’s palaces which still stood at this time. One of them was called the House of the Forest of Levanon.
13. “‘And he has taken some of the royal seed and cut a treaty with him, and made him enter into an oath, and he has taken the mighty [leaders] of the Land
14. “‘so that the sovereignty might become lowered [in station] so as to be unable to sustain itself [in order] to guard his treaty so that it can remain intact.
Or, unable to sustain itself without keeping his treaty, to make sure it stands.
15. “‘But he has rebelled against him by sending his messengers to Egypt to provide horses and many people for him. Can he succeed? Will someone who does such things escape? Or can he violate the treaty and be rescued?
Egypt: the second eagle in the parable (v. 7). In order to get out from under subjection to Bavel, Yehudah’ s king Tsidqiyahu was courting Egypt, whom he thought strong enough to help him throw off the yoke of Bavel. (2 Kings 24:20) Had he been righteous and repented, he would not have needed to ask anyone but YHWH for help. Egypt is the place of our bondage, and one of its modern equivalents is the Roman Catholic Church and all its daughters. Many in Israel, even the government there now, are courting the Church as allies due to its sheer numbers and clout, but this passage tells us that such a course will actually backfire. And asking the secular government of Israel to aid our cause would only bring us back under the Babylonian system. We need to grow where YHWH has let us be sown into exile until the time comes to go back as a Kingdom. At that time, Babylon will have no power to stop what we do. He will transplant us to His Land at the proper time. While we must not partake of the philosophy of Bavel, we should be grateful for the freedoms it affords us to begin preparing for the Kingdom before the King arrives.
16. “‘[As] I live,’ declares the Master YHWH, ‘if he won’t die with him in the place of the king who made him king, whose oath he held in contempt and whose treaty he violated—right in Bavel!
Who made him king: Nevukhadnetzar had indeed appointed Mattanyah (whom he renamed Tsidqiyahu) as king in place of his nephew. (2 Kings 24:17-20; 2 Chron. 36:13; Yirm. 52:3)
17. “‘Even with a larger army and a more numerous company, Pharaoh will not accomplish [anything] for him in battle, by pouring out banks and building siege walls to cut off many souls.
18. “‘Since he held the oath in contempt and violated the treaty when he had indeed pledged his hand, since he did all these things, he cannot escape!’
19. “Therefore, this is what the Master YHWH says: ‘[As] I live, if I don’t bring [back] onto his own head My oath that he has held in contempt as well as My [own] covenant, which he has violated!
YHWH is saying, “This man is not faithful even to the fealty he pledged on the human level, let alone to the more ancient covenant his ancestors swore at Mt. Sinai that he would keep.” If he were rebelling against tyranny so that he could be free to keep the Torah, it would be another matter. His motive was only to be out from under anyone else so he could do whatever he pleased.
20. “‘Then I will spread My net over him and he will be caught in My snare, and I will bring him to Bavel and bring him to judgment there for the treachery by which he has betrayed Me.
Snare: based on the word for “siege wall” or bulwark that appears in v. 17. I.e., he would be caught in what he asked Pharaoh to do for him. Betrayed Me: It was not only Bavel that Yehudah had betrayed. YHWH’s word through his prophet had been that submission to Bavel was the ticket to surviving and thriving. (Yirm. 38:17)
21. “‘And all who have fled from his regiments will fall by the sword, and those who remain will be scattered toward every wind. Then you will know that it is I, YHWH, [who] have spoken.
22. “‘This is what the Master YHWH says: “I Myself will also take from the highest branch of the cedar that was lifted up, and put it [back] on. I will pluck off some of the top of its young twigs and transplant it on a high and eminent mountain.
High mountain: often idiomatic of the Temple Mount, and it appears that one day it will literally be the highest as well. (Yeshayahu/Isa. 2:2) The highest branch: another King from the lineage of David, as Tsidqiyahu was.
23. “‘I will plant it on a high mountain of Israel, and it will bear branches and produce fruit and become a majestic cedar, and every bird of every wing will dwell under it; they will settle down in the shade of its branches.
24. “‘Then all the trees of the field will know that I, YHWH, have brought the proud tree low, and caused the humble tree to be exalted. I have caused the fresh tree to wither, and made the dry tree to blossom. I, YHWH, have promised, and I have carried it out.’”
Nevukhadnetzar himself was described as a proud tree brought low in a dream given directly to him. (Daniel 4:10ff) YHWH always treats harshly the instruments that He uses to correct His people which then let this go to their head and imagine themselves indispensable. (Compare 31:10-14; Yirmeyahu 50:29.) His Kingdom (which in Daniel’s overview extends all the way until the end times through a series of empires to whom its scepter is passed) would finally be displaced by that of the Messiah. (Dan. 2:35, 44) Indeed, Y’shua uses the same imagery of the birds nesting in its branches to speak of His Kingdom (Mat. 13:32)
CHAPTER 18
1. Then the word of YHWH came to me to say,
2. “What do you mean when you make the comparison with this proverb concerning the Land of Israel, saying, ‘When the fathers eat sour grapes, the children’s teeth will be blunted’?
Sour grapes: or, unripe grapes, a sin in itself because grapes should not be eaten before the firstfruits are brought to YHWH, and by that time they should be ripe. Blunted: feeling dulled from being ground together.
3. “[As] I live,” declares the Master YHWH, “if you use this proverb any longer in Israel…!
Though YHWH is growing tired of hearing it, this proverb is actually the normal pattern. (Compare Ex. 34:7; Lamentations 5:7.) The reason this is not a contradiction will be seen more clearly below.
4. “Look, all the souls belong to Me. As the soul of the father is, so also is the soul of the son. They are Mine! The soul that is sinning—it [is the one that] will die.
The same idiom of the reversal of this proverb is used in Yirmeyahu 31:29-30, but the fuller context there is the exile of both houses of Israel (31:27), which will be accomplished within a few weeks of Y’hezq’El’s prophecy here. Thus all of Israel is still inheriting the punishment their fathers earned. But this including of all of Israel in the category of guilty (see Rom. 11:32) sets the stage for the Renewed Covenant for both houses together. (Yirm. 31:3ff) which they will not break. Y’shua made that covenant possible, but it will not be fully ratified until the Kingdom (the context of the rest of Yirmeyahu 31), when both houses of Israel are regathered (31:28). Thus, though he begins to foretell it now, this promise does not apply immediately. The correction must come first. The exile is just beginning, and in some ways it will last about 2,600 years. Some try to say that if each one will die for his own sins, and all one needs to do to be counted righteous again is repent (as the rest of this chapter would seem to imply), then Y’shua’s blood sacrifice was not necessary—and Yehudah often concludes that no blood sacrifice is necessary today because of this chapter. But many other Scriptures (notably chapters 40-49 of this very book) make it clear that blood sacrifice will again be a regular activity in the Temple that is yet to come, and without Y’shua’s sacrifice for the whole nation (Yochanan 11:50), the tribes that had forsaken the covenant could not have been regathered, nor can there be a Kingdom without the King. So the assertions made in this chapter, like those in the “New Testament” must be taken in the overall context of the rest of Scripture, not in isolation. Since the regathering has now begun, though, our emphasis must be on making sure we do not continue in the sins of our ancestors, so that we will not continue to inherit the curse they brought upon themselves and us. (Deut. 27:26)
5. “But a man that will be righteous and does what is just and right,
6. “has not eaten on the mountains nor lifted up his eyes to the rolling idols of the House of Israel, nor defiled his neighbor’s wife, nor approached a woman who is off limits,
Eaten on the mountains: i.e., partaken of food offered to idols at their cultic sites. Notice that the list of things abominable in YHWH’s eyes starts off with something as simple as eating. The first step in returning to what is acceptable to Him has to do with eating foods “acceptable” (Heb., kosher) to Him. Paul shows in 1 Cor. 10 how physically partaking of certain foods can actually make us sharers in sacrifices to demons. But even if the food is kosher, when eating, our largest gate is frequently open, and eating with anyone is an expression of fellowship with them. If the motivators and goals of someone we know are not all about YHWH, should we eat with them? The wy to stop our teeth from being set on edge is to increasingly remove ourselves from fellowship from anything not dedicated to YHWH, that is, not part of Israel, for exchanging energy with it diminishes from what we can give to our true fellows. Lifted up his eyes: an action meant to be directed toward YHWH. (Psalm 123:1; 141:8) The chief idols specific to the House of Israel were the golden calves Yarav’am set up (2 Kings 10:29), hearkening back to the Golden Calf Aharon made while Moshe was on Mt. Sinai. At that time their lewd activity was also preceded by sitting down to eat in honor of these idols. (Ex. 32:6) That is why this continuum begins with eating and proceeds to sexual sins. Off limits: due to being on her menstrual cycle. When someone gets to the point of again keeping the instructions in this regard, it shows he is very serious about returning to the Torah. This is part of the preamble to our restoration, so we must concentrate on keeping them on the literal level (for we are not even there yet) so we can also learn the deeper lessons they hold.
7. “and will not mistreat any man, who will give back to a debtor what he holds in pledge, will plunder no one by forceful robbery, give his bread to the hungry, and cover the naked with a cloak,
This is a summary of the Torah’s requirements similar to that given by another prophet (Mikha 6:8). Some specific passages this alludes to are Ex. 22:21-27; Deut. 12:2; Lev. 18:19-20; 25:14. What is held in pledge is often one’s outer garment (Deut. 24;12-13). It is the outer garment on which the tzitziyoth are worn (Num. 15:38). It is the corners of the garment that the Northern Kingdom will take hold of when returning to Torah (Zkh. 8:23), and Yehudah should not withhold this from the Northern Kingdom. (Compare Mat. 5:40)
8. “will not entrust [money] at interest nor take a bonus, will draw back his hand from injustice, will carry out true legal proceedings between [one] man and [another],
At interest: literally, with a bite. Might this include even receiving interest from banks, since we do not know whether any other lenders to the bank are Israelites? A bonus: he has overcharged or “price-gouged”, taking advantage of another’s weakness at a time of crisis.
9. “will walk in My prescribed customs and has guarded My legal procedures to act reliably—he is righteous; he will survive to live,” declares the Master YHWH.
10. “But if he fathers a violent son who sheds blood and does the likes of any of these,
Does the likes of any of these: literally, does one of these a brother.
11. “or [even if] he has done none of these, yet he has eaten on the mountains, or profaned his neighbor’s wife,
12. “has caused the poor or needy to be mistreated, has plundered by forceful robbery, has not given back what he held in pledge, or has lifted up his eyes to the rolling idols, has carried out his disgusting practice,
13. “has entrusted [money] at interest, has taken a bonus—will he survive? He will not survive! He has done all these disgusting things! He will die the death! His blood will be on himself.
Even if someone is not violent or a murderer (v. 10), if he does any of these seemingly “lesser” sins (many of them overtly forbidden only to Israel) are counted as just as guilty in YHWH’s eyes, for we should know better. Blood…on himself: i.e., he will be responsible for his own death; it is his own fault and no one else’s. He cannot blame it on his parents, as their proverb said. (v. 2) Note how much emphasis psychology today has put on parents’ mistakes to explain and excuse the way their children act. How timely these verses still are!
14. “But indeed, if he fathers a son who sees all the sins his father has done, and is discerning and does not do the [same]--
15. “has not eaten on the mountains nor lifted up his eyes to the rolling idols of the House of Israel, nor defiled his neighbor’s wife,
16. “nor mistreated any man, nor withheld what he held in pledge, nor plundered by forceful robbery, given his bread to the hungry, and covered the naked with a cloak,
17. “has withdrawn his hand from the poor, having not taken interest or a bonus—he has carried out My legal procedures. He has walked in My prescribed customs. He will not die in his father’s guilt; he will survive to live [on].
This proved true for the sons of Qorach, who led a rebellion against Moshe (Lev. 26:10), which sets a precedent for those of us from the Northern Kingdom who are returning to Torah despite our ancestors’ unquestionable guilt.
18. “His father—because he has defrauded with extortion, plundered his brother by forceful robbery, and done what is not beneficial among his people—will thus indeed die in his own guilt.
19. “Then say, ‘Why does the son not bear the guilt of the father? When the son has carried out just legal ruling and righteousness, he has guarded all My prescribed customs and carried them out; he will survive to live.
20. “The soul that sins—it [is the one that] will die. A son will not bear the guilt of the father, nor will a father bear the guilt of the son; the righteousness of the righteous will be concerning himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be concerning himself.
He cannot rest on his father’s laurels, as was seen in the cases of Aharon (Lev. 10), Eli (1 Shmuel 2:22ff), and David (1 Kings 1:5-6), for a few examples.
21. “Then [again], if the wicked will turn back from all the sins that he has done, and guard all My prescribed customs, and carry out justice and righteousness, [then] indeed he will live; he will not die.
22. “Any of his rebellions that he has perpetrated will not be brought to remembrance for him; by his righteousness that he has done, he will survive.
23. “Do I really take delight in the death of the wicked?” says the Master YHWH. “Wouldn’t it [rather be] in his turning from [the] path he [is on] and survive [that I would take delight]?
He would prefer that everyone did what was right and would not have any sins to die for.
24. “But if the righteous turns back from his righteousness and does injustice [and] acts in accordance with all the disgusting things the wicked do, will he survive? None of his righteousness that he has done will be brought to remembrance because of the betrayal by which he has acted treacherously and for the sin that he has sinned; in them he will die.
This is a sobering thought indeed. Consider even Paul, who said he could be “put on the shelf” after all his righteous accomplishments. (1 Cor. 9:27) Many who are considered righteous by Christian standards are still doing many of the things that YHWH condemns in this chapter. The “bar” has been raised as we recognize that we are meant to be more than just “saved” by the skin of our teeth, but righteous according to the Torah’s standards.
25. “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Master is not fair!’ Listen, now, O House of Israel. Is My way not fair? Isn’t it [rather] that it is your ways that are unfair?
26. “When a righteous one turns back from his righteousness and perpetrates [deeds of] injustice [instead], then dies while [doing] them, he will die in his deviation that he has produced.
27. “But when a wicked one turns back from his wickedness that he has done and carries out justice and righteousness [instead], he will keep his soul alive.
28. “When he recognizes and turns away from all the steppings-across-the-line that he has done, he will survive to live [and] not die.
29. “Yet the House of Israel has said, ‘The Master’s way is not fair!’ Are My paths not level, O House of Israel? Isn’t it your paths that are not level?
Fair: even, equally weighted, adjusted to the standard. This attitude is a real temptation to those of us who are used to democracy. Yet He has just shown how “fair” He is, to use such human terminology. The Master: Heb., Adonai.
30. “Therefore, I will judge each of you according to his ways, O House of Israel,” declares the Master YHWH. “Turn back and turn [others] back from all the trespassings by which you have stepped out of bounds, and [punishment for] perversity will not be a cause of stumbling for you.
Each of you: while still in exile, there is no blanket acceptance or rejection of His people as a whole. But His intent is for us to function as a united whole.
31. “Throw away from on top of you all your trespassings by which you have stepped out of bounds, and forge a new heart and a new spirit? Then why should you die, O House of Israel?
32. “Because I do not take pleasure in the death of one who dies,” declares the Master YHWH. “So turn back and survive!”
INTRODUCTION: Y’hezq’el’s name means “Elohim strengthens”. His activities began five years after Yehoyakhin, the second last king of Yehudah, was carried into exile in Bavel (Babylon) in the eighth year of his reign (597 B.C.E.) by Nevukhadnetzar and replaced by a puppet ruler (2 Kings 24), Tzidqiyahu, who ruled for eleven years until, because of his rebellion, Nevukahdnetzar besieged and took Yerushalayim and destroyed the Temple (586 B.C.E.)—six years after this account begins and two years after he began the siege (the same day Y’hezq’el’s wife died, 24:1). Thus he prophesied while the Temple still stood, though its days were numbered. However, his target audience was the Northern Kingdom (2:3), which had been exiled 130 years earlier (722 B.C.E.). Y’hezq’el was from a priestly family, exiled along with the choicest people of the land (2 Kings 24:14-16), and thus apparently from an important priestly family. Based on 44:15-16, he is thought to have been Tzadoqite, and may have been named for the Y’hezq’el who was among the heads of the priestly orders as chosen by David. (1 Chron. 24:16) The book was included in the Hebrew “canon” as listed by Ben Sira in the second century B.C.E. (Ecclesiasticus 49:8) It speaks of YHWH’s plans to restore His people despite their horrendous rebellion.
THE WRITINGS OF THE PROPHET
Y'hezq'El (Ezekiel)
