Ezekiel 13:1

AGAINST LYING PROPHETS AND FALSE PROPHETESSES

Keil divided this chapter into only two divisions, namely, (1) prophecies against false prophets (Ezekiel 13:1-16), and (2) prophecies against the false prophetesses (Ezekiel 13:17-23). Bruce further divided the first division as 1st and 2nd denunciations of the false prophets in Ezekiel 13:1-9 and Ezekiel 13:10-16, respectively.

THE FIRST DENUNCIATION AGAINST FALSE PROPHETS

Ezekiel 13:1-9

"And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own heart, Hear ye the word of Jehovah: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! O Israel, thy prophets have been like foxes in the waste places. Ye have not gone up into the gaps, ye have neither built up the wall for the house of Israel, to stand in the battle in the day of Jehovah. They have seen falsehood and lying divination, that saith, Jehovah saith; but Jehovah hath not sent them: and they have made men to hope that the word would he confirmed. Have ye not seen a false vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, in that ye say, Jehovah saith; albeit I have not spoken? Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye have spoken falsehood, and seen lies, therefore behold, I am against you, saith the Lord Jehovah. And my hand shall be against the prophets that see false visions: they shall not be in the council of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord Jehovah."

"Against the prophets ..." (Ezekiel 13:2). "Ezekiel had already prophesied against Jerusalem, against the cities of Judah, against the priests and against the king; and now he directs the prophecies against the false prophets."[1] Howie noted that there were at least three reasons for these denunciations: (1) they were prophesying out of their own subjective desires and imaginations and were not following God's Spirit at all; (2) they were doing nothing whatever to help Israel, neither building up the wall, nor helping to repair the breaches (gaps) in it; and (3) they were deliberate liars who prophesied lies and then expected God to confirm their lying words.[2]

"The foolish prophets that follow their own spirit ..." (Ezekiel 13:3). The Biblical conception of the "fool" is the man who says in his heart that, "there is no God." Much more than a lack of intelligence is indicated: (1) The fool is ignorant; (2) he is stupid, and (3) he is wicked (John 3:19).

"Like foxes in the waste places ..." (Ezekiel 13:4). Plumptre gave the meaning of this comparison as follows.

"The fox is cunning (Luke 13:32); it spoils the vine and its fruits (Song of Song of Solomon 2:15); and it burrows among ruins (Nehemiah 4:3). So, (1) the false prophets were crafty; (2) they laid waste the vineyard of the Lord; (3) they profited from the ruin of Israel and made that ruin worse."[3]

"Neither built up the wall for the house of Israel ..." (Ezekiel 13:5). The wall here, is not the literal wall of Jerusalem, but the wall of integrity, truth, honor, and love of the true God, which alone could afford any protection to the house of Israel in the disaster coming upon them. The false prophets were no help at all in this sector.

"Have ye not spoken a lying divination ..." (Ezekiel 13:6)? "Divination is a reference to the superstitious method of procuring information or receiving an oracle by reading omens, drawing lots, or by some other such device."[4] It would appear from Ezekiel's use of the interrogative here that the false prophets did not even deny his charge of falsehoods on their part.

"They have made men hope that the word would be confirmed ..." (Ezekiel 13:6). "The word" here is the word of the false prophets. The Good News Bible renders this place, "Yet they expect their words to come true." Plumptre noted this possible meaning of the text, adding that, "In their deceiving of others, they came to deceive themselves, and were really expecting a fulfillment."[5]

Bunn summarized the six charges against these false prophets as follows: "(1) their alleged prophecies were produced by their own minds; (2) they followed their own spirit, not God's; (3) they have seen nothing (Ezekiel 13:3); (4) they do nothing to help the people (Ezekiel 13:5); (5) they are deliberate liars (Ezekiel 13:6); and (6) they have misled God's people (Ezekiel 13:10)."[6]

The sins of the false prophets having been boldly proclaimed, the prophet announced their punishment in Ezekiel 13:9.

"My hand shall be against the prophets that see false visions ..." (Ezekiel 13:9) The following punishments are spelled out in this verse. (1) They shall not be in the council of my people. (2) Neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel. This was thought by Plumptre to be a reference to the Book of Life.[7] (3) Neither shall they enter into the land of Israel. This refers to the return of the "righteous remnant" following the end of the captivity. The false prophets shall have no part in the restored Israel.