Ezekiel 22
Share
CHAPTER 22
Jerusalem’s Sins (22:1–31)
1–16 Here Ezekiel is given a word from the Lord concerning the sins of Jerusalem—this city47 (verse 2). In verses 1–12, Jerusalem’s various sins are listed; some of these sins have been mentioned in Ezekiel 18:5–9 as things a righteous man would not do. All the actions mentioned here are forbidden by the law of Moses.
In verses 13–16, God announces His punishment: those in Jerusalem who do not die by sword or by famine will be scattered among the nations; in this way God will put an end to Jerusalem’s uncleanness (verse 15). God’s judgments are not meant to destroy but to purify; they are also meant to let people know that He is the Lord (verse 16).
17–22 Here the Lord says that the house of Israel is already as worthless as dross, the impure elements left over from the refining process. So the Lord will gather up this “dross” and burn it again (verses 19—21). This literally happened when the Babylonians burned Jerusalem several years later (2 Kings 25:9).
23–29 In these verses the Lord speaks to the whole land of Judah. Its people, especially its leaders, have defiled the land by their evil deeds. The priests profane God’s holy things (verse 26); they do not teach the difference between the unclean and the clean48 (see Leviticus 10:10–11). The officials are like wolves; they oppress the people (verse 27). The prophets do not expose the people’s sins (verse 28); rather, they whitewash them, they cover them over to make them look good (see Ezekiel 13:10). For these and many other sins, God will pour out His wrath on the land (verse 31). And the people will have no one to blame but themselves; it is they who will have brought God’s judgment down upon themselves.
30–31 God does not take pleasure in judgment (Ezekiel 18:32); He looks for a man to intercede for the people, to build up the wall49 (see Ezekiel 13:4–5), to stand . . . in the gap on behalf of the land (verse 30). God looks for such a man so that He will not have to destroy the land and its people (see Psalm 106:23). In Judah’s case, the Lord looked, but found no such man.50
Today the Lord continues to look for such men and women who will “stand in the gap” and lead their communities and nations back from ungodliness and unbelief. May the Lord not say of our generation: “I looked . . . but I found none” (verse 30).