Commentary - Ezekiel 14:1-11

Bird's-eye view

In this potent confrontation, the prophet Ezekiel is approached by the elders of Israel, men who should be the spiritual backbone of the nation. They come with all the outward forms of piety, sitting before the man of God as though they are ready to hear the word of the Lord. But God, who is not fooled by outward appearances, immediately exposes the rot within. Their hearts are infested with idols. They are attempting to play both sides, to serve both Yahweh and their lusts. The central issue here is the absolute incompatibility of true worship and heart-idolatry. God's response is one of holy indignation. He declares that He will answer such hypocritical inquiries not with the comfort they seek, but with a judgment that corresponds to their sin. He will answer their idolatry by giving them over to it, and to its consequences. This severe judgment, which extends even to the prophet who would dare to flatter such men, has a glorious and redemptive purpose: to purge Israel of her whoredoms so that she might once again be His people in truth, and He their God.

Outline

The Text

1 Then some elders of Israel came to me and sat down before me.

It all begins with the appearance of propriety. These are not riff-raff off the street; they are the elders of Israel. They are the leaders, the men of influence. And they do the right thing, outwardly. They come to the prophet and sit before him, assuming the posture of disciples ready to be taught. But this is a picture of the deep-seated hypocrisy that God is about to confront. They honor God with their posture, but their hearts are far from Him.

2 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 3 “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put right before their faces the stumbling block of their iniquity. Should I be inquired by them at all?”

God immediately pulls back the curtain. He does not deal in pleasantries when the integrity of His worship is at stake. He gives Ezekiel the divine diagnosis. The problem is not external, it is internal. They have "set up their idols in their hearts." This is the source of all idolatry. Before a man ever carves an idol out of wood, he has already erected one in his heart. The heart is the throne room, and God will not share it. They have also put the "stumbling block of their iniquity" right before their faces. They are not tripping over it in the dark; they have set it up as a centerpiece in their living room. Their sin is deliberate, cherished, and blatant. And so God asks the rhetorical question, a question dripping with holy fury: "Should I be inquired by them at all?" Is it fitting for the Holy One of Israel to give counsel to men who are actively engaged in spiritual adultery?

4 Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Any man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I Yahweh will be brought to give him an answer in light of it, in light of the multitude of his idols, 5 in order to seize the house of Israel by their heart, those who are estranged from Me through all their idols.” ’

God does answer them, but not in the way they expect or desire. He promises to answer the idolater according to his idolatry. This is a terrifying principle of divine judgment. God answers the fool according to his folly. If a man comes seeking a word from God while his heart is full of idols, God will give him a word that confirms him in his delusion, a word that drives him further into the consequences of his sin. The answer will be proportional to the "multitude of his idols." The purpose of this is surgical: "to seize the house of Israel by their heart." God is not trying to win a debate; He is performing a divine arrest. He is grabbing hold of the very heart that has become estranged from Him, exposing its treason for all to see.

6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Turn back and turn away from your idols and turn your faces away from all your abominations.” ’

In the midst of this fiery declaration of judgment, the grace of God shines forth. Here is the only way out. The command is simple and stark: Repent. The Hebrew is emphatic, a call to turn and then turn again. This is not a slight course correction. It is a radical, 180-degree reversal. Turn away from your idols, and as a consequence, turn your faces away from all your abominations. Repentance is not just stopping the bad; it is turning your face toward God.

7 For anyone of the house of Israel or of the sojourners who sojourn in Israel who separates himself from Me, sets up his idols in his heart, puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity, and then comes to the prophet to inquire of Me for himself, I, Yahweh, will be brought to answer him in My own person. 8 I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from among My people. So you will know that I am Yahweh.

The warning is now personalized and intensified. This applies to anyone in the covenant community, native or sojourner. For the man who persists in this hypocrisy, God says He will bypass the prophet and answer him directly, "in My own person." This is not the beatific vision; this is the terrifying confrontation of a holy God. To have God answer you "in person" under these circumstances is to be undone. "I will set My face against that man." This is the covenant curse, the polar opposite of the Aaronic blessing. God's face set against you is hell. The result is that the man becomes a public spectacle of judgment, a "sign and a proverb," a cautionary tale for generations. He will be excommunicated, cut off from the people of God. And the ultimate purpose is the magnification of God's own name: "So you will know that I am Yahweh." God reveals His character, His holiness, and His justice through His judgments.

9 “But if the prophet is enticed to speak a word, it is I, Yahweh, who have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel.

This is a hard providence, but it is a providence nonetheless. God's sovereignty extends even over the deception of false prophets. This does not make God the author of sin, but it does make Him the sovereign ruler over it. When a people are determined to have their ears tickled, God will, in His judgment, raise up prophets who are expert ticklers. He gives them over to the lie they love. Think of Ahab and the 400 prophets who were animated by a lying spirit sent from the throne of God (1 Kings 22). But this divine enticement is not an excuse for the prophet. God holds him fully accountable. God will stretch out His hand against that prophet and destroy him. The one who provides the lying words the idolaters crave will share in their destruction.

10 They will bear the punishment of their iniquity; as the iniquity of the inquirer is, so the iniquity of the prophet will be,

Here is the terrible equity of God's judgment. The punishment will be distributed equally. The sin of the one asking for a lie is just as great as the sin of the one who supplies it. The corrupt demand and the corrupt supply will be judged together. There is no passing the buck. Both the idolatrous elder and the compromising prophet will bear their own iniquity.

11 in order that the house of Israel may no longer wander from Me and no longer defile themselves with all their transgressions. Thus they will be My people, and I shall be their God,” ’ declares Lord Yahweh.”

The chapter ends by revealing the ultimate purpose behind this severe and terrifying judgment. It is restorative. It is redemptive. God amputates the gangrenous limb in order to save the body. He purges the hypocrites and the false prophets so that the nation as a whole might be purified. The goal is to stop their wandering, to end their spiritual defilement. And why? So that the covenant promise, the very heart of the gospel, might be realized in truth. "Thus they will be My people, and I shall be their God." God judges His people severely precisely because they are His people, and He will not have a house full of idols.

Application

The warnings in this chapter should ring in our ears today. The temptation to set up idols in the heart has not diminished with the passage of time; it has only changed its form. We may not have wooden idols, but we have idols of comfort, security, reputation, political power, and personal peace and affluence. We are just as capable as these elders of coming to church, reading our Bibles, and praying our prayers, all while cherishing these idols in our hearts.

When we seek counsel, whether from a pastor or a friend, we must first examine our own hearts. Are we coming with a sincere desire to hear from God, ready to obey whatever He says? Or are we coming with a heart full of idols, hoping to find a prophet who will bless our sin and tell us what we want to hear? God warns us that if we come the second way, He will answer us according to our idols. He will give us over to our delusions.

This passage is also a solemn warning to all who teach the Word of God. The temptation to soften the hard edges of Scripture, to avoid confronting cherished sins, and to tell the people what they want to hear is immense. But God says that the prophet who does so will share in the iniquity of the people he flatters. We must resolve to speak the truth in love, even when it costs us.

Finally, we must see the grace in God's severe judgments. He does not judge us to destroy us, but to purify us. His goal is always the restoration of the covenant: that we might be His people, and He might be our God. Therefore, let us heed the call to repent, to turn away from our idols, and to turn our faces to Him alone.