1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
2 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
3 "Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be inquired of at all by them?"
God knows what is in our very hearts. He knows if we have things we love more than Him. We must ask Him to help us set those things aside and seek Him first.
4 "Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, 'Thus says the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and comes to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that comes according to the multitude of his idols;'"
When these men sought for a word from God, He gave answer about their idols and their priorities, not necessarily about the subject they were seeking the prophet for.
5 "That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from Me through their idols."
Though many in Israel were undoubtedly worshiping physical statues, idols are actually anything that we think is more important than God; power, money, comfort, entertainment, social status (all of which actually is to say the god “Self”).
6 "Therefore say unto the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.'"
The only answer for Israel (and for us today) was to put God even ahead of themselves. We must put God and His worship, His Righteousness and His Will ahead of our own.
Israel failed to listen to the prophets and do this. God destroyed them.
7 "'For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourns in Israel, which separates himself from Me, and sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me; I the Lord will answer him by Myself:'"
God did not leave Israel; Israel left God. Each individual separated himself from God in order to pursue his own way.
God’s not even going to bother speaking through a prophet. He will speak to the sinner Himself so there is no doubt where the message comes from.
8 "'And I will set My face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.'"
A true Hell Fire and Brimstone sermon here.
9 "And if the prophet be deceived when he has spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of My people Israel."
“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.” Isaiah 45:7
God created EVERYTHING. He uses evil to accomplish His will, often to test us and see where our hearts really lie. He doesn’t bring evil on us directly, but He allows it to come; He just gets out of the way. Evil is the norm in this fallen world and if we have anything else it’s because God is standing between us and it.
The Bible tells us that “the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet.” (1 Corinthians 14:32) Even before the printing press was invented, prophets had the Word of God available in some form (their own memory from sermons and their own conscious if nothing else) and they could check out the prophecies they were given with that Word to see if it is consistent. If it is not, the prophet should reject it and not speak.
There are many today who take one verse of the Bible and speak what comes to their mind about it, building an entire ministry around that one verse. We must be diligent in reading the whole Bible and taking each verse in light of the entire Word. Otherwise, we are in danger of being a false prophet.
10 "And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeks unto him;"
God considers the false prophet to be the same as the idol worshiper and will punish them both the same.
11 "That the house of Israel may go no more astray from Me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be My people, and I may be their God, says the Lord God."
This is how God went about purifying His people.
12 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying,
13 "Son of man, when the land sins against Me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out Mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:"
The Laws of the Universe that God wrote apply to everyone. Gravity works whether you choose to believe in it or not, for example.
God will punish any people who chooses to sin against Him starting with famine.
14 "Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, says the Lord God."
The Bible calls Noah, “A preacher of righteousness.” (2 Peter 2:5) It also says he was perfect in his generation (times). Yet the only ones saved by his ministry were those of his own household.
Daniel was a contemporary of Ezekiel, having been carried away in the first captivity while Ezekiel went in the second. Daniel would most likely have been at this point in his thirties, a well-known figure in the king’s court, famous throughout the land. He has already had to refuse the King’s meat (Daniel 1), break the news to Nebuchadnezzar that he will suffer a time of insanity, and likely helped to write the decree for the whole kingdom to honor his God (Daniel 4). The Fiery Furnace incident would likely have also happened already (Daniel 3), though we don’t know where Daniel was during that time since he isn’t mentioned in the whole story. He would not have had his visions yet, nor spent the night with lions. Yet with all his determination to serve God, only three of his peers chose to follow him in this service.
Job is renowned for his steadfast faith in God and his righteousness, yet all ten of his children turned their backs on God.
God tells Ezekiel that even if these three famous prayer-warriors were in Jerusalem, they would not be able to turn God’s wrath away from the city. Only they would be spared.
15 "If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts:
16 "Though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate."
God delivered the righteous, but He was determined to punish the rest of the land.
17 "Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, 'Sword, go through the land;' so that I cut off man and beast from it:
18 "Though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves.
19 "Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out My fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:
20 "Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
21 For thus says the Lord God; "How much more when I send My four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?"
It doesn’t matter what punishment God sends. All will be judged.
22 "Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it."
Not everyone was killed. Some were brought into captivity with those already there. When that happened, those Ezekiel is speaking to saw the conduct of the survivors and hear the tales of the sins of the city and saw that God ruled justly in destroying them.
23 "And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, says the Lord God."