The word of the Lord came unto me, saying. The word of prophecy, as the Targum; the vision of the cherubim being over, this, very likely, immediately followed upon the former; though the exact time of the prophecy cannot be fixed, because the date is not given; it must be between the sixth month of the sixth year of Jehoiachin's captivity, Ezekiel 8:1 ; and the fifth month of the seventh year, Ezekiel 20:1 . read more
Verse 1 Because God was about to give a command to his servant, he wished to inspire him with fortitude of mind, lest, when he saw that he was consuming his labor in vain, he should withdraw from his course. For we know how severe is that temptation to God’s servants when they speak to the deaf, and not only is their doctrine rejected but even refused with ignominy. They think, therefore, that nothing is better than silence, because where their word is so despised it only exposes the name of... read more
The word of the Lord, etc. This formula, so familiar in Isaiah and Jeremiah, appears for the first time in Ezekiel, but occurs repeatedly afterwards, especially in this chapter (verses 8, 17, 21, 26. and again Ezekiel 13:1 ; Ezekiel 14:2 , et al. ) . The teaching by "the visions of God" ceases, and that of direct message or symbolic acts is resumed. In each case the point aimed at was the same. The people who heard the one or saw the other were to be taught how utterly groundless... read more
The dramatic form of prophecy. It is of the first moment that men should have right and adequate impressions of the truth. A man's life is properly moulded through his intelligence. His intelligence moulds his tastes, feeds his emotions, inspires his purposes, directs his life. Clear convictions of truth and duty possess unspeakable value. I. MORAL OBTUSENESS IN MEN IS A GRIEF TO GOD . Eyes have been conferred for the sole reason that men may see; and ears, that they... read more
It parabolic appeal to a rebellious people. "The word of the Lord also came unto me, saying, Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house," etc. "Now begin the amplifications," says Hengstenberg, "the marginal notes, so to speak, on the great text in ch. 8-11; which extend to Ezekiel 19:1-14 ; and these terminate in a song, corresponding to the song in the first group in Ezekiel 7:1-27 . The approaching catastrophe of Jerusalem forms the central point throughout. The... read more
Ezekiel 12:1-2. The word of the Lord also came, &c. This is supposed to have happened in the sixth year of Zedekiah, and five years before the siege of Jerusalem: and the prophecies contained in the following chapters, to the twentieth, are thought to be of the same year. Thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house “He was among them of the captivity in Chaldea, as appears from Ezekiel 12:10, Ezekiel 11:24; Ezekiel 14:22, and Ezekiel 24:2. And these seem to have disbelieved the... read more
Pictures of exile (12:1-16)It appears that many of the exiles were rebellious against God because of his message of doom, and were still hoping for an early return to Jerusalem (12:1-2). God therefore commanded Ezekiel to act another message for them. He was to show that the exiles had no chance of returning to Jerusalem. On the contrary, the Jerusalemites would come to join the exiles in Babylon. Ezekiel’s daytime act was to gather a few belongings that an exile could carry with him and set... read more
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 . read more
VARIOUS PROPHECIES AGAINST JERUSALEM (Ezekiel 12-19)ACTED PROPHECIES REGARDING THE SIEGE AND CAPTIVITYThere is very little need for any special help in understanding this chapter. The judicially hardened condition of the Chosen People, including even those of the captivity, had left them unwilling to hear the word of God; and yet both Jeremiah in Jerusalem and Ezekiel in Babylon continued their faithful ministries.The necessity for God's prophets to continue their efforts to guide the Chosen... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ezekiel 12:1-16
Perhaps Ezekiel reflected with so much pleasure upon the vision he had had of the glory of God that often, since it went up from him, he was wishing it might come down to him again, and, having seen it once and a second time, he was willing to hope he might be a third time so favoured; but we do not find that he ever saw it any more, and yet the word of the Lord comes to him; for God did in divers manners speak to the fathers (Heb. 1:1) and they often heard the words of God when they did not... read more