In the Hebrew Scriptures, chapter 21 begins with 20:45, and this is the best arrangement, for 20:45–49 introduces the coming judgment on Judah and Jerusalem. Ezekiel has explained the individual responsibility of the people and their leaders and the national responsibility of Israel. Now he focuses on the fact that God has a responsibility to punish His people when they rebel against Him. He must be true to His character and true to His covenant.
God identifies the target (20:45–49). Frequently in this book, God commanded His servant to “set his face” against something or someone (v. 46; 13:17; 21:2; 25:2; 28:21; 29:2; 35:2; 38:2). This was one way to point out the “target” at which His judgment would be hurled, in this case, Judah and Jerusalem (21:1–2). The prophet assumed a posture of stern judgment as he announced that threatened judgment was about to fall against “the south” (the Negev), and Judah and Jerusalem were in the territory south of Babylon. Using the image of a forest fire, he described the invasion of the Babylonians and the destruction of the Jewish nation. When you study chapter 21, you learn that the fire represents the deadly swords of the soldiers and that the “south” represents Judah and Jerusalem. According to Ezekiel 20:1, it was the year 591 BC when he gave these messages, so in five years, the Babylonians would set fire to the Holy City and the temple. During Israel’s wilderness wanderings, God didn’t severely punish His people for their rebellion because He wanted to honor His name before the Gentiles (20:14, 22, 44); but now He would honor His name by burning their city and temple and sending them into exile.
God draws the sword (21:1–7). The word sword is used nineteen times in this chapter to represent the invasion and attack of the Babylonian army. God has His eye on three targets: the land of Judah, the city of Jerusalem, and the holy place of the temple. Unfortunately, some of the righteous would suffer along with the wicked, but this is often the case in times of war. Note that God declared that it was “my sword,” because it was He who summoned the Babylonian army to punish His sinful people. If His own people won’t obey Him, at least the pagan nations will!
At this point, God commanded Ezekiel to perform another “action sermon” by groaning like a man experiencing great pain and grief. When the people asked him why he was groaning so, he would tell them, “Because of the bad news that is coming,” referring to the news of the fall of Jerusalem. The news didn’t come until January 8, 585 BC (33:21–22), five months after the city had been burned, which was August 14, 586 BC; but the Lord told Ezekiel that the news was coming. The exiles nurtured the false hope that the Lord would spare the city and the temple, but everything the Lord had prophesied would come to pass.
God sharpens His sword (21:8–17). In this second “action sermon,” Ezekiel not only cried and wailed (v. 12), but he smote his thigh and clapped his hands together (vv. 14, 17). It’s possible that he was also brandishing a sword as he spoke, although the text doesn’t state this. The Lord was preparing the Babylonian army to be effective and efficient in carrying out His plans. Despising the king of Judah (v. 13), the sword of Babylon would turn Judah’s scepter into nothing but a stick (v. 10)! The invading soldiers would be so effective that one swordsman would do the work of three (v. 14), and for the Jews there would be no escape (v. 16). Even the Lord would applaud the soldiers as they executed the judgment that He had ordained (v. 17). Perhaps some of the Jews recalled Ezekiel’s previous “action sermon” using the sword (5:1–4).
God directs the army (21:18–27). The pagan nations of that day used many forms of divination to discern the will of the gods, and Ezekiel pictured the Babylonian army at a fork in the road, trying to discover which way to go. Should they go to Rabbath, the capital of Ammon, and attack the Ammonites; or should they go to Jerusalem to attack the Jews? When the Lord told Ezekiel to “mark [appoint] two ways,” he probably sketched on the ground a map of the roads looking like an inverted Y, and at the juncture stuck a “signpost” into the ground. (Remember his plan of Jerusalem drawn on a wet clay brick—4:1–8?) It was God’s will that the army attack Jerusalem, so He overruled the soothsayers and diviners and made sure their decision was for Jerusalem. This doesn’t mean that their system of divining was accurate or even proper, but that the Lord used it to accomplish His purposes.
Nebuchadnezzar decided to attack Jerusalem, so he appointed his captains and made his plans. The people in Jerusalem were hoping he would attack the Ammonites, and when the word came that Jerusalem was his target, they hoped the diviners would say they had made a mistake. But God was in control and there had been no mistake. King Zedekiah had sworn an oath of allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar and had broken it (21:23; 2 Kings 24:20), and Nebuchadnezzar would not stand for this kind of rebellion from a weak vassal state. Zedekiah’s sins had finally caught up with him (Ezek. 21:24).
Ezekiel paused to give a special message to Zedekiah, whom he refuses to call a king but refers to as a prince. He calls him profane and wicked, a man who has committed iniquity and will suffer because of it. He would lose his crown and his throne. The day had arrived when God would turn everything upside down. Those who were “great and mighty” would be humbled, and those who were humble would be exalted. The word translated “overturn” (“ruin” niv) is awwa, and we can just hear Ezekiel lamenting: “Awwa—awwa—awwa!”
But once again, the Lord added a brief word of hope: the Messiah would one day come, the true Son of David and Israel’s King, and would claim the Davidic crown and reign over His people (v. 27). The phrase “whose right it is” takes us back to Genesis 49:8–12, a messianic promise that we met in Ezekiel 19 when we studied the images of the lion and the vine.
God completes the task (21:28–32). But what about the Ammonites? When the Lord directed the Babylonian army to Jerusalem, did this mean He would not judge the Ammonites for their sins against Him and the Jewish people? They would rejoice to see Babylon ravage the land of Judah and set fire to Jerusalem and the temple. (See Ezek. 25.) Along with Judah and the other nations, Ammon had joined the alliance against Babylon (Jer. 27:1ff.), so Ammon had to be punished. Their own false prophets and diviners would give them a false hope that they had been spared (Ezek. 21:29), but God hadn’t told Nebuchadnezzar to put his sword in its sheath (v. 30). The message closed with another fire (see 20:47–48), but this time a furnace in which ore was smelted. God would “blow” against the furnace and make it hotter, and then He would pour out the molten metal on His enemies. The Ammonites would become fuel for the fire, and the nation would disappear from the earth.
We come away from the study of chapters 18 to 21 with a fresh realization of the tragedy of rebellion against the Lord. Israel had a long history of rebellion, but the other nations weren’t any better, except that Israel was sinning against the light of God’s Word and His providential care over His people. If any people had the obligation to obey and serve the Lord, it was Israel, for the Lord had blessed them abundantly. Instead of becoming a holy nation to the glory of God, she became like all the other nations and failed to be God’s light to the Gentiles.
And yet, woven throughout this series of messages is the theme of Israel’s hope. The prophet reminded them that God had promised to regather them from the Gentile nations and give them their King and their kingdom. Historically speaking, weak King Zedekiah was the last ruler in the Davidic dynasty, but not prophetically speaking; for Jesus Christ, the Son of David (Matt. 1:1), will one day come and reign from David’s throne. Ezekiel will discuss that theme in detail before he completes his book.
Under “Query 18” in his Notes on the State of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.” Ezekiel has defended the justice of God and magnified the mercy and grace of God. What more could he do?