Introduction

In this chapter, we read about the sins of Jerusalem and Israel.
Blood guiltiness of Jerusalem, and the burden of its sin, Ezekiel 22:1-16.

Principal accusation: bloodshed and idolatry. Ezekiel 22:1-5
A multitude of sins were committed in Jerusalem. Ezekiel 22:6-12
The Lord is enraged; Judah is to be scattered among the heathen. Ezekiel 22:13-16
Refining of Israel in the furnace of besieged Jerusalem. Ezekiel 22:17-22
The immediate cause of destruction: the corrupt state of all classes in the kingdom. Ezekiel 22:23-31

SUMMARY

A catalogue of every type of sin in Jerusalem. Every type of person was involved in sin. They are condemned as dross to the fire. All are found guilty.

THE BLOODY CITY

‘The word of the LORD came to me: ‘Son of man, will you judge her? Will you judge this city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her detestable practices and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: You city that brings on herself doom by shedding blood in her midst and defiles herself by making idols, you have become guilty because of the blood you have shed and have become defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close, and the end of your years has come. Therefore, I will make you an object of scorn to the nations and a laughingstock to all the countries. Those who are near and those who are far away will mock you, you infamous city, full of turmoil. ‘See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood. In you, they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you, they have oppressed the foreigner and mistreated the fatherless and the widow. You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths. In you are slanderers who are bent on shedding blood; in you are those who eat at the mountain shrines and commit lewd acts. In you are those who dishonour their father’s bed; in you are those who violate women during their period, when they are ceremonially unclean. In you, one man commits a detestable offence with his neighbour’s wife, another shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law, and another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter. In you are people who accept bribes to shed blood; you take interest and make a profit from the poor. You extort unjust gain from your neighbours. And you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign LORD. ‘I will surely strike my hands together at the unjust gain you have made and at the blood you have shed in your midst. Will your courage endure, or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it. I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you through the countries; and I will put an end to your uncleanness. When you have been defiled in the eyes of the nations, you will know that I am the LORD.’ Ezekiel 22:1-16

The blood city is an apt title, for this section outlines the amount of bloodshed by the people of God in the city of God. Here is the absolute corruption in Jerusalem, Ezekiel 20:4. Jerusalem had shed much blood, especially the blood of innocent people, Nahum 3:1 / Acts 7:52.

The prophet is authorised to judge the Bloody city, the city of blood, the city’s crimes were bloody crimes, Ezekiel 22:1-2 / Ezekiel 7:23 / Ezekiel 22:3-4 / Ezekiel 22:6 / Ezekiel 22:9 / Ezekiel 22:12-13.

Feinberg, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Jerusalem is so named because of the many deeds of violence and oppression committed in her. The plural of the original for ‘blood’ points to numerous acts of bloodshed.’

God regarded Jerusalem as a city of blood, and notice that she makes idols against herself, Ezekiel 22:3, which means because of her sins, her time of judgment has come, Ezekiel 22:4.

God has allowed them enough time that they have become a laughingstock, Ezekiel 22:4. The nations around will mock them mock them because their infamous city is full of turmoil, Ezekiel 22:5 / Genesis 6:13 / Romans 2:24.

Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Jerusalem had certainly reached such a point, as indicated here. ‘Manasseh had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, 2 Kings 21:2-15.’

Alexander, in his commentary, says the following.

‘When a righteous people follow the world’s ways, as Judah had done, the world ends up laughing at her.’

The phrase, ‘in you’, Ezekiel 22:6, is repeated twelve times throughout. Notice it was Israel’s ruler, the princes who abused their powers, they were guilty of bloodshed, Ezekiel 22:6 / 2 Kings 21:16 / 2 Kings 24:4.

They treated father and mother with contempt, Exodus 20:12, oppressed the foreigner and abused the fatherless and the widow, Ezekiel 22:7 / Exodus 22:21-24 / Exodus 23:9 / Leviticus 19:33 / Deuteronomy 24:17. The KJV says, ‘children are set alight by father and mother’, Ezekiel 22:7.

They had despised God’s holy things and desecrated His Sabbaths, Ezekiel 22:8 / Exodus 20:8 / Leviticus 19:3. Some were practising slander, 1 Kings 21:10, and some had become murderers, Leviticus 19:16, some were idol-worshipping, Deuteronomy 12:1-2 / Deuteronomy 16:21-22.

A city known for its holiness is now polluted by lewdness, which is sexual sin related to their idol worship, Ezekiel 22:9 / Leviticus 18:6-23 / Leviticus 20:10-21. Notice in Ezekiel 22:10-11, how morality was a way of control, Leviticus 18:7-8 / Leviticus 18:19 / Leviticus 20:11 / Leviticus 20:18 / Deuteronomy 22:30 / Deuteronomy 27:20.

They took bribes to kill people, they took interest from those they shouldn’t have taken interest from, they enriched themselves by wronging the poor, Ezekiel 22:12 / Exodus 23:8 / Deuteronomy 23:19-20 / Deuteronomy 24:6 / Deuteronomy 24:10-12 / Deuteronomy 27:25. The real problem is they have forgotten their God, Ezekiel 22:12.

Alexander, in his commentary, says the following.

‘When one forgets God and leaves his ways, the path into every kind of abomination opens before him.’

God is so angry with their sinful behaviour and financial practices that He actually strikes His hands together, Ezekiel 22:13. God’s people will have no chance of enduring the coming judgment because they would have no courage or strength to do so, Ezekiel 22:14.

Notice the four things the Lord promises to do to His people.

1. He will scatter them, Ezekiel 22:15.

2. He will put an end to their uncleanliness, Ezekiel 22:15.

3. They will become defiled, Ezekiel 22:16. Note the footnote says the following, ‘Or when I have allotted you your inheritance.’

4. They will know that He is the LORD, Ezekiel 22:16.

IN THE MELTING POT

‘Then the word of the LORD came to me: ‘Son of man, the people of Israel have become dross to me; all of them are the copper, tin, iron, and lead left inside a furnace. They are but the dross of silver. Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem. As silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin are gathered into a furnace to be melted with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you. I will gather you, and I will blow on you with my fiery wrath, and you will be melted inside her. As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out my wrath on you.’ Ezekiel 22:17-22

Here we see the figure of a man using a furnace, putting all these different metals in the pot. The dross, God’s people are represented as copper, tin, iron, and lead left inside a furnace; they are the silver dross, Ezekiel 22:17-18. They are going to be refined in the furnace.

Because His people have become dross, He will gather them into Jerusalem, Ezekiel 22:19, for the refining process, Isaiah 1:22-25 / Isaiah 48:10 / Jeremiah 6:27-30 / Jeremiah 9:7 / Zechariah 13:9 / Malachi 3:2-4. The purification process is described in Ezekiel 22:20.

Stuart, in his commentary, says the following concerning Ezekiel 22:20.

‘Punishment for sin involves three major things: retribution, correction, and purification.’

God’s wrath is described as the fire, that is Him blowing on them, Ezekiel 22:21, as a result they would melt, Ezekiel 22:22 / 2 Peter 3:9-14 / Revelation 20:15, and then they would know that God is the LORD, Ezekiel 22:22. God is going to do this with them, creaming off the dross as He purifies His city.

Morgan, in his commentary, says the following.

‘In such an hour the methods of patience and mercy are useless; it is only by the fiery furnace that the dross can be destroyed, and the corrupted silver be recovered.’

McFadyen, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Under the stress of the siege, Jerusalem would become a furnace in which they all shall be melted by the fierce heat of the Divine anger.’

The wretched degeneracy of the house of Israel is described. In David and Solomon’s time, it had been a head of gold; when kingdoms are divided, they are arms of silver, and now that degeneration has taken place, they are seen as the bases of metal. They need to be refined. They had fled for safety to Jerusalem; now they will be destroyed.

THE EXTENT OF THE SIN

‘Again, the word of the LORD came to me: ‘Son of man, say to the land, ‘You are a land that has not been cleansed or rained on in the day of wrath.’ There is a conspiracy of her princes within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things, and make many widows within her. Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain. Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says’—when the LORD has not spoken. The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner, denying them justice. ‘I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land, so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. So, I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD.’ Ezekiel 22:23-31

Using another figure, Ezekiel was to announce that Judah was a land that had not been cleansed with rain, because of their disobedience to God, Ezekiel 22:23-24 / Deuteronomy 28:24.

Constable, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Some translations have ‘princes’ instead of ‘prophets,’ following the Septuagint, but the Hebrew word is nebieyha, ‘her prophets.’’

Notice four groups are isolated again, probably to represent the sin of the whole people, Ezekiel 22:25-29 / Zephaniah 3:3-4.

1. Princes, Ezekiel 22:25, and Ezekiel 22:27.

The princes, that is, the leaders, devoured people’s lives, like a wild lion tears its prey, stole people’s possessions, and made people widows. They basically sent married men to war when God didn’t ask them to.

In other words, they abused people to get what they wanted. In Ezekiel 22:27, they are described as wolves because this is how they were behaving, Zephaniah 3:3-4.

2. Priests, Ezekiel 22:26.

The priests were no better, as they totally abused God’s law and had no respect for holy things. They had no respect for God’s laws concerning what is clean and unclean, they ignored God’s Sabbaths, and as a result, God’s Name was profaned, Hosea 4:6 / Malachi 2:6-8.

3. Prophets, Ezekiel 22:28.

The false prophets apparently were helping the princes, evidently by saying this was the Lord’s will, when God hadn’t said a thing. The prophets, who pretended to make known the mind of God, not only were they deceivers but also devourers.

4. People, Ezekiel 22:29.

The people also took advantage of each other by oppressing and stealing from one another. They oppressed the poor and needy and mistreated the foreigner, denying them justice.

A general idea is given of the land of Israel in these verses. It deserved the judgments coming to destroy it, and how much it needed these judgments to refine it.

God is said to be unable to find one righteous man to prevent the judgement, Ezekiel 22:30. Jeremiah himself did the same thing, Jeremiah 5:1-6. This is not literal, for we know there were at least two, Jeremiah and Baruch, Jeremiah 36:1-32. God is saying there is not enough righteousness to prevent destruction, Ezekiel 14:14.

God is going to pour out His wrath in His anger, like a fire. All the evil they had done to others will come down upon their own heads, Ezekiel 22:31 / Galatians 6:7.

Go To Ezekiel 23