The Strand Study Bible

EZEKIEL 21:3

EZEKIEL 21:22

1276

3 And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, 1 and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. P 4 1 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, there- fore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: P 5 That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more. 6 Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitter- ness sigh before their eyes. 7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, 1 For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD. P 8 Again the 2 word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 9 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, 1 A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished: P 10 1 It is sharpened to make a sore slaugh- ter; it is 3 furbished that it may glitter: should we thenmake mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree. P 11 And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharp- ened, and it is furbished, 1 to give it into the hand of the slayer. P 12 Cry and howl, son of man: 1 for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh. P 13 Because it is a trial, and what if the

sword contemn even the 4 rod? 1 it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD. P 14 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together, 1 and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which entereth into their privy chambers. P 15 1 I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter. P 16 Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whitherso- ever thy face is set. 17 1 I will also smite mine hands togeth- er, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it. P 18 The 2 word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, 19 Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, 1 that the sword of the 5 king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city. P 20 Appoint a way, 6 that the sword may come to 7 Rabbath of the Ammonites, 1 and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced. PP 21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the 8 liver. 22 At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint 9 battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort.

1. Fulfilled - II Ki 25

(Fall of Judah) 2. Ezk 1:3,24 3. or, “polished” 4. or, “leader” 5. that is, “King Nebuchadnezzar” 6. Fulfilled - 582 BC (Fall of Ammon) 7. Jere 49:2 & Ezk 25:5 8. or, “liver of a sacrificed animal” 9. Ezk 4:2

21:3,4 Sometimes bad things happen to innocent people ( the righteous ), and they suffer and die along with those ( and the wicked ) who God judges (Lam 1:1-4 & 2:10-12 & 5:7,11). Remember Jonathan? He was innocent. He even supported David; yet he too died along with his wicked father, King Saul, when the judgment of God fell (I Sam 31:1-2). So why is it when the judgment of God falls that some that are innocent escape while others do not? The answer lies in the heart, and whether it is broken or not over the right things (Ezk 9:1-6 & 14:12-14,16,20 and Jere 15:1). 21:19 Ezekiel stood with his back to the Jewish captives in Babylon and faced Jerusalem with both arms stretched out ( appoint thee two ways ), as if holding two swords –one facing Jerusalem (the capital of Judah), and the other facing Rabbath (the capital of Ammon). Which would Nebuchadnezzar attack first (vs 20)? Hesitating between the two, Nebuchadnezzar consults his soothsayers and magical signs (vs 21). All the omens point to Judah and Jerusalem. God would make sure of that. Judgment on Ammon can wait (vs 22-26). In the coming destruction, Jerusalem would be overthrown and occupied by foreign powers, and would remain so until the return of CHRIST (vs 27). NOTE – Although the omens had guided the king of Babylon to Judah rather than Ammon, Ammon would not escape judgment (vs 28-32).