Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 33:23
Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
23 29. The confirmation by the fugitives of all his previous predictions gave the prophet boldness to speak anew, and what he says is but a continuation of that which he had said before, and had been so literally confirmed. He had predicted the city’s fall because of its sins, and his prophecy had been verified; those remaining in the land continue in the sins for which the city fell, and its fate shall certainly overtake them. The judgment must be carried out till the offences cease. But the teaching of these verses is the natural supplement also to that in Eze 33:1-20. Those remaining in the land presume that they shall inherit the land because they are in it, notwithstanding their evil conduct: the inheritance of the land will be given on different conditions ( Eze 33:1-20, cf. Eze 36:25-38, Eze 37:23).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The exhortation to repentance. Ezekiel first addresses the remnant that still linger in their ancient home, and warns them against presumptuous hopes resting on false grounds Eze 33:23-29; then he turns his eyes to those near him, and points out that their apparent attention to his words was illusory.
Eze 33:24
Those wastes – The places in the holy land devastated by the conqueror.
Abraham – The argument is, Abraham was but one man, and he had the promise of the land, though he did not at once possess it; much more shall we, the descendants of Abraham, being many, retain this promise and possess the land, though for a time we are depressed and subject. Compare Mat 3:9; Joh 8:33, Joh 8:39.
Eze 33:25
To eat flesh with the blood was forbidden (see the marginal references). It seems to have been connected with the idolatries of Canaan. The prohibition was, on account of its connection with idolatry, continued in the enactment of the Council of Jerusalem Act 15:29.
Eze 33:26
Ye stand upon your sword – Ye put your trust in your swords.
Eze 33:30-33
God warns the prophet against being misled by the compliance of the people.
Eze 33:30
Against thee – Rather, about thee. by the walls Rather, within the walls.
Eze 33:31
As the people cometh – literally, as in the margin, i. e., in crowds. Render it: they shall come unto thee like the coming of a people, and shall sit before thee as My people etc., i. e., they assume the attitude of Gods people listening to His prophet. Compare Eze 14:1; Eze 20:1.
Eze 33:33
And when this – But when this.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Then the word of the Lord came unto me,…. After the messenger had delivered his message, and he had received it, and conversed with him about it:
saying: as follows:
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Preaching of Repentance after the Fall of Jerusalem
The first word of God, which Ezekiel received after the arrival of the fugitive with the intelligence of the destruction of Jerusalem, was not of a consolatory, but of a rebuking nature, and directed against those who, while boasting in an impenitent state of mind of the promise given to the patriarchs of the everlasting possession of the Holy Land, fancied that they could still remain in possession of the promised land even after the destruction of Jerusalem and of the kingdom of Judah. This delusion the prophet overthrows by the announcement that the unrighteous are to have no share in the possession of the land of Israel, but are to perish miserably, and that the land is to be utterly waste and without inhabitants (Eze 33:23-29). The Lord then shows him that his countrymen will indeed come to him and listen to his words, but will only do that which is pleasant to themselves; that they will still seek after gain, and not do his words; and that it will not be till after his words have been fulfilled that they will come to the knowledge of the fact that he really was a prophet (Eze 33:30-33). We perceive from these last verses that the threat uttered in Eze 33:24-29 was to form the basis for Ezekiel’s further prophecies, so that the whole of this word of God has only the force of an introduction to his further labours. But however the two halves of this word of God may appear to differ, so far as their contents are concerned, they are nevertheless closely connected. The state of heart disclosed in the first half, with reference to the judgment that has already fallen upon the land and kingdom, is to preclude the illusion, that the fact of the people’s coming to the prophet to hear his words is a sign of penitential humiliation under the punishing hand of God, and to bring out the truth, that the salvation which he is about to foretell to the people is only to be enjoyed by those who turn with sincerity to the Lord.
Eze 33:23-29 False reliance upon God’s Promises
Eze 33:23. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Eze 33:24. Son of man, the inhabitants of these ruins in the land of Israel speak thus: Abraham was one, and received the land for a possession; but we are many, the land is given to us for a possession. Eze 33:25. Therefore say to them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Ye eat upon the blood, and lift up your eyes to your idols, and shed blood, and would ye possess the land? Eze 33:26. Ye rely upon your sword, do abomination, and one defileth another’s wife, and would ye possess the land? Eze 33:27. Speak thus to them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, By my life, those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and whoever is in the open field him do I give to the beasts to devour, and those who are in the fortresses and caves shall die of the pestilence. Eze 33:28. And I make the land devastation and waste, and its proud might shall have an end, and the mountains of Israel shall be waste, so that no one passeth through. Eze 33:29. And they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I make the land devastation and waste because of all the abominations which they have done. – This threat is directed against the people who remained behind in the land of Judah after the destruction of Jerusalem. are the Israelites who dwelt amidst the ruins of the Holy Land, the remnant of the people left behind in the land. For it is so evident as to need no proof that Kliefoth is wrong in asserting that by we are to understand the district bordering on the Chaboras, which was not properly cultivated; and by the inhabitants thereof, the exiles who surrounded Ezekiel. It is only by confounding and that Kliefoth is able to set aside the more precise definition of the inhabitants of these ruins contained in the words , and to connect ‘ with , “they speak concerning the land of Israel;” and in Eze 33:27 it is only in a forced manner that he can generalize and take it as referring to the waste places both in the Holy Land and on the Chaboras. The fact, moreover, that Eze 33:30-33 treat of the Israelites by the Chaboras, is no proof whatever that they must also be referred to in Eze 33:24-29. For the relation in which the two halves of this word of God stand to one another is not that “ Eze 33:30-33 depict the impression made upon the hearers by the words contained in Eze 33:24-29,” so that “the persons alluded to in Eze 33:30-33 must necessarily be the hearers of Eze 33:24-29.” Eze 33:30-33 treat in quite a general manner of the attitude which the prophet’s countrymen would assume towards his words – that is to say, not merely to his threats, but also to his predictions of salvation; they would only attend to that which had a pleasant sound to them, but they would not do his words (Eze 33:31, Eze 33:32). It is quite in harmony with this, that in Eze 33:23-29 these people should be told of the state of heart of those who had remained behind on the ruins of the Holy Land, and that it should be announced to them that the fixed belief in the permanent possession of the Holy Land, on which those who remained behind in the land relied, was a delusion, and that those who were victims of this delusion should be destroyed by sword and pestilence. Just as in the first part of this book Ezekiel uttered the threatened prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and Judah in the presence of his countrymen by the Chaboras, and addressed them to these, because they stood in the same internal relation to the Lord as their brethren in Jerusalem and Judah; so here does he hold up this delusion before them as a warning, in order that he may disclose to them the worthlessness of such vain hope, and preach repentance and conversion as the only way to lie.
The meaning of the words spoken by these people, “Abraham was one,” etc., is, that if Abraham, as one solitary individual, received the land of Canaan or a possession by the promise of God, the same God could not take this possession away from them, the many sons of Abraham. The antithesis of the “one” and the “many” derived its significance, in relation to their argument, from the descent of the many from the one, which is taken for granted, and also from the fact, which is assumed to be well know from the book of Genesis, that the land was not promised and given to the patriarch for his own possession, but for his seed or descendants to possess. They relied, like the Jews of the time of Christ (Joh 8:33, Joh 8:39), upon their corporeal descent from Abraham (compare the similar words in Eze 11:15). Ezekiel, on the other hand, simply reminds them of their own sinful conduct (Eze 33:25, Eze 33:26), for the purpose of showing them that they have thereby incurred the loss of this possession. Eating upon the blood, is eating flesh in which the blood is still lying, which has not been cleansed from blood, as in Lev 19:26 and 1Sa 14:32-33; an act the prohibition of which was first addressed to Noah (Gen 9:4), and is repeatedly urged in the law (cf. Lev 7:26-27). This is also the case with the prohibition of idolatry, lifting up the eyes to idols (cf. Eze 18:6), and the shedding of blood (cf. Eze 18:10; Eze 22:3, etc.). , to support oneself, or rely ( , used as in Eze 31:14) upon the sword, i.e., to put confidence in violence and bloodshed. In this connection we are not to think of the use of the sword in war. To work abomination, as in Eze 18:12. is not a feminine, “ye women,” but is written in the place of on account of the which follows, after the analogy of for (Hitzig). On the defiling of a neighbour’s wife, see the comm. on Eze 18:6. Such daring sinners the Lord would destroy wherever they might be. In v. 37 the punishment is individualized (cf. Eze 14:21). Those in the shall fall by the (the play upon the word is very obvious); those in the open country shall perish by wild beasts (compare 2Ki 17:25; Exo 23:19; Lev 26:22); those who are in mountain fastnesses and caves, where they are safe from the sword and ravenous beasts, shall perish by plague and pestilence. This threat is not to be restricted to the acts of the Chaldeans in the land after the destruction of Jerusalem, but applies to all succeeding times. Even the devastation and utter depopulation of the land, threatened in Eze 33:28, are not to be taken as referring merely to the time of the Babylonian captivity, but embrace the devastation which accompanied and followed the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. For , see the comm. on Eze 7:24. For Eze 33:29, compare Eze 6:14.
Eze 33:30-33 Behaviour of the People Towards the prophet
Eze 33:30. And thou, son of man, the sons of thy people converse about thee by the walls and in the house-doors; one talketh to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come and let us hear what kind of word goeth out from Jehovah. Eze 33:31. And they will come to thee, like an assembly of the people, and sit before thee as my people, and will hear thy words, but not do them; but that which is pleasant in their mouth they do; their heart goeth after their gain. Eze 33:32. And, behold, thou art unto them like a pleasant singer, beautiful in voice and playing well; they will hear thy words, but they will not do them. Eze 33:33. But when it cometh – behold, it cometh – they will know that a prophet was in the midst of them. – This addition to the preceding word of God, which is addressed to Ezekiel personally, applies to the whole of the second half of his ministry, and stands in obvious connection with the instructions given to the prophet on the occasion of his first call (Eze 3:16.), and repeated, so far as their substance is concerned, in Eze 33:7-9, as Kliefoth himself acknowledges, in opposition to his assumption that vv. 1-20 of this chapter belong to the prophecies directed against the foreign nations. As God had directed the prophet’s attention, on the occasion of his call, to the difficulties connected with the discharge of the duties of a watchman with which he was entrusted, by setting before him the object and the responsibility of his vocation, and had warned him not to allow himself to be turned aside by the opposition of the people; so here in Eze 33:30-33, at the commencement of the second section of his ministry, another word is addressed to him personally, in order that he may not be influenced in the further prosecution of his calling by either the pleasure or displeasure of men.
His former utterances had already induced the elders of the people to come to him to hear the word of God (cf. Eze 14:1 and Eze 20:1). But now that his prophecies concerning Jerusalem had been fulfilled, the exiles could not fail to be still more attentive to his words, so that they talked of him both secretly and openly, and encouraged one another to come and listen to his discourses. God foretells this to him, but announces to him at the same time that this disposition on the part of his countrymen to listen to him is even now no sign of genuine conversion to the word of God, in order that he may not be mistaken in his expectations concerning the people. Kliefoth has thus correctly explained the contents, design, and connection of these verses as a whole. In Eze 33:30 the article before the participle takes the place of the relative , and the words are in apposition to , the sons of thy people who converse about thee. is reciprocal, as in Mal 3:13, Mal 3:16, and Psa 119:12. But is to be understood, not in a hostile sense, as in the passage cited from the Psalms, but in the sense of concerning, like in 1Sa 19:3 as contrasted with in Num 21:7, to speak against a person. The participle is continued by the finite , and the verb belonging to follows, in the of Eze 33:31, in the form of an apodosis. There is something monstrous in Hitzig’s assumption, that the whole passage from Eze 33:30 to Eze 33:33 forms but one clause, and that the predicate to does not occur till the of Eze 33:33. – , by the side of the walls, i.e., sitting against the walls, equivalent to secretly; and in the doors of the houses, in other words publicly, one neighbour conversing with another. , Aramean for , and by the side of , every one; not merely one here or there, but every man to his neighbour. , lit., as the coming of a people, i.e., as when a crowd of men flock together in crowds or troops. is a predicate, as my people, i.e., as if they wished, like my people, to hear my word from thee. But they do not think of doing thy words, i.e., what thou dost announce to them as my word. are things for which one cherishes an eager desire, pleasant things in their mouth, i.e., according to their taste (cf. Gen 25:28). Hvernick is wrong in taking to mean illicit love. The word is quite inapplicable to such a meaning. The rendering, they do it with their mouth, is opposed both to the construction and the sense. .esnes , their gain, the source from which they promise themselves advantage or gain. In Eze 33:32 a clearer explanation is given of the reason why they come to the prophet, notwithstanding the fact that they do not wish to do his words. “Thou art to them ;” this cannot mean like a pleasant song, but, as (one who can play well) clearly shows, like a singer of pleasant songs. The abstract stands for the concrete , a singer, a man of song (Hitzig). In Eze 33:32, “they hear thy words, but do them not,” is repeated with emphasis, for the purpose of attaching the threat in Eze 33:33. But when it cometh – namely, what thou sayest, or prophesiest – behold, it cometh, i.e., it will come as surely as thy prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem; then will they know that a prophet was among them (cf. Eze 2:5), that is to say, that he proclaimed God’s word to them. Therefore Ezekiel is not to be prevented, by the misuse which will be made of his words, from preaching the truth. – This conclusion of the word of God, which points back to Eze 2:5, also shows that it forms the introduction to the prophecies which follow.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
HEARERS BUT NOT DOERS OF THE WORD
Verses 23-32:
HYPOCRISY IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL
Verses 23, 24 recount a new message to Ezekiel as the “son of man,” the prophet speaking for the coming heir-redeemer of man, Luk 19:10. He was to focus attention on their claim to be heirs of Abraham and the land of Abraham’s God. Their talk and their walk were not harmonized or synchronized, Jas 1:22. Those then inhabiting the land of Israel, desolated by war, recounted that Abraham who was but one, with 318 warriors, possessed the land, though he never inherited it, Gen 14:14-24. But those then occupying the waste land were adamantly claiming it as an inheritance, Isa 51:2; Act 7:5; The Jews boasted similarly in the days of our Lord, and have continued their boast, after near 2,000 years and since the reorganizing of their nation in the land in 1948. Though they were then and are now void of the faith and works of Abraham; See Mic 3:11; Mat 3:9; Joh 8:39; Rom 4:4; Rom 5:16.
Verse 25 charges that while they claimed to be heirs of Abraham they breached and defiled the laws of Abraham’s God, as given to them by Moses in particular. They ate blood (unbled animals) that were slain as food. And consumed blood offered to idol gods; Thus they engaged in the rites of idolatry, Exo 20:1-5; Gen 9:4; Lev 19:26; Eze 18:6; Eze 22:6.
Verse 26 further charged that their trust (dependence) was upon the sword, not the Lord. Having embraced idolatry they also turned to the licentious and promiscuous practice of adultery among them, defying the Law of their God, Exo 20:14; Exo 20:17.
Verse 27 calls upon Ezekiel to prophesy judgment that was to befall them in their own self-defiled land. On the open fields they were to be slain, while running from the sword, devoured by the carnivorous beasts and vultures of the earth; And even those who fled into caves were to die of the vermin and pestilence that followed the war. Their sins had found them out, without excuse, Num 32:23; De ch. 28, 29; Rom 2:1-2. See also Jer ch. 40-44; Jdg 6:2; 1Sa 13:6.
Verse 28 declares that the Lord would desolate the land, to cause her pomp to cease, 2Ch 36:21; Isa 6:11; Jer 9:11; Jer 16:16; Jer 25:11; Jer 44:2; Jer 44:6; Jer 44:22. The mountains were to be made so desolate of civilization that none should pass through them for fear of pestilence and wild beasts and ravaging robbers.
Verse 29 concludes that then (at that time) they would recognize that the Lord was God, a keeper of His word, to judge men who willfully and hypocritically defied His laws, committed moral and spiritual abominations before Him in their own promised land, Exo 20:1-5; Num 32:23.
Verse 30 recounts the Lord’s telling Jeremiah that his own people, there in Babylonian captivity at Chebar, from where He was writing and speaking these prophecies, were coming to hear his messages, then going about publicly in the city and in privacy in their homes criticizing both him and the message from the Lord, Eze 20:40; They came to hear, not to correct the evil in their lives, but as curiosity seekers, and as tid-bit-stink-toters, and gossip agencies, 2Ti 4:3; Isa 29:13; Jer ch. 42, 43; Mar 7:6-7.
Verse 31 continues a Divine revelation to Ezekiel of how his own people of the Chebar area were coming before him as pupils or disciples come to sit before a teacher, on a lower seat or level below the teacher, according to Jewish custom, Deu 33:3; 2Ki 4:38; Luk 10:39; Act 22:3. They feigned interest in his prophetic words but would not follow his instructions. They were like seed that fell on stony places, Mat 13:20-21; and like the self-deceived and mirror gazer described in Jas 1:22-24. They were mouthbabblers of love, but practiced covetousness,.after the carnal lusts of heathen idolatry, loving and serving the creature rather than the creator, Mat 13:22; Eph 5:5; 1Ti 5:10.
Verse 32 explains that the Lord was to Israel like a “toy” to which feigned or “play-love” and devotion were vowed. They paid eloquent, formal devotion toward God, but their hearts were far from Him, Mar 7:6-7. Their voices were pleasant in play-lovers songs, as they even praised Him with musical instruments, but, hearing His words, they did not obey them, Mat 7:21-22; Mat 12:50; Jas 1:22; Luk 6:46; Luk 11:28.
Verse 33 concludes that when this comes to pass, for “lo, it cometh” or is come, vs. 21, 22 – they shall know, experimentally, to their regret, and at eternal cost, that the Lord is God, the one, true, living, caring, judging God; Even as He was set forth in the preamble of the Law, Exo 20:1-5; Mat 7:21; Rom 14:11-12.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(23) Then the word.There is no reason to doubt that the following prophecy was uttered immediately after the arrival of the fugitive; but there may have been a short interval. None of the prophecies from this point to the close of Ezekiel 39 are dated. Ezekiel 40-48 form one continuous prophecy, which closes the book, and is dated more than twelve years after the present one. We are then to suppose that the prophecies, to Ezekiel 39 inclusive, were uttered at intervals during these twelve years, but we have no means of fixing their dates more exactly.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
23-29. The captives were utterly paralyzed by the confirmed account of the destruction of the holy city (Eze 24:23), and Ezekiel with redoubled influence, because of the fulfillment of his former prophecy, lifts up his voice once more in another word of warning and comfort. He recites the boast of the miserable lawless remnant of the population which had been left in the ruined cities of the land that they would take possession of the property of the captives (Eze 33:24). He recounts their many sins, showing how they depended upon their swords, not upon law or justice, in their treatment of each other, and how they worked abominations and violated the most sacred family relations (Eze 33:25-26; compare Eze 18:6; Eze 18:11; Eze 18:15; Eze 20:9; Eze 22:6; Eze 22:9; and Jeremiah 40-44), and he declares that a dishonored death shall come to them for their sins (Eze 33:27; compare Eze 27:29-31), and the land shall be left uninhabited (Eze 33:28) until the exiles go back again to possess it (Eze 34:13).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “Son of man, those who inhabit those waste places in the land of Israel speak, saying, ‘Abraham was one, and he inherited the land. But we are many. The land is given to us for an inheritance.’ ” ’
Those who now remained in the land, ‘the poorest of the land’ who were left to become vinedressers and ploughmen (Jer 52:16), began to boast of their new inheritance. They were able to take over large tracts of empty land, land which had been wasted by war, and boasted that in comparison with Abraham they were many and were thus in a better position than he. They thus saw themselves as having been left there by God as inheritors of God’s promises, and indeed had some grounds for optimism had they been faithful to the covenant (Jer 42:10-12).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 33:23 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Ver. 23. Then the word of the Lord. ] See Eze 18:1 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eze 33:23-29
23Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, 24Son of man, they who live in these waste places in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one, yet he possessed the land; so to us who are many the land has been given as a possession.’ 25Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, You eat meat with the blood in it, lift up your eyes to your idols as you shed blood. Should you then possess the land? 26You rely on your sword, you commit abominations and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?’ 27Thus you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, As I live, surely those who are in the waste places will fall by the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and in the caves will die of pestilence. 28I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and the pride of her power will cease; and the mountains of Israel will be desolate so that no one will pass through. 29Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I make the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations which they have committed.’
Eze 33:24 they who live in these waste places in the land of Israel are saying Those who escaped the captivity and exile to Babylon (cf. Jeremiah 24), were asserting that God had blessed them and had cursed the exiles, but this was simply not the case (cf. Eze 33:27; Eze 11:1-25).
Eze 33:25 You eat meat with blood in it This refers to the improper preparations of meat (cf. Lev 3:17; Lev 7:26-27; Lev 17:10; Lev 17:12; Lev 17:14; Lev 19:26; Deu 12:16; Deu 12:23; Deu 15:23). In this context it probably refers to cultic meals at pagan altars.
lift up your eyes This is a metaphor for prayer. They were idolaters.
you shed blood This refers to (1) the killing of righteous people; (2) the killing of the poor; or (3) the offering of their children to the Phoenician fertility god, Molech.
Should you then possess the land This question is very similar to Jeremiah’s temple sermon of chapter 7, in particular Eze 33:9-10.
Eze 33:26 You rely on your sword They were trusting in their military power and walled cities (cf. Eze 33:28, the pride of her power will cease).
you commit abominations and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife This refers to the sexual fertility rites of the Canaanite gods, Ba’al and Ashterah. See Special Topic: FERTILITY WORSHIP OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST .
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Eze 33:23-29
Eze 33:23-29
“And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, they that inhabit those waste places in the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance. Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes unto your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land? Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abominations, and ye defile every one his neighbor’s wife; and shall ye possess the land? Thus shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: As I live, surely they that are in the waste places shall fall by the sword; and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured; and they that are in the strongholds and caves shall die of the pestilence. And I will make the land a desolation and an astonishment; and the pride of her power shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, so that none shall pass through. Then shall they know that I am Jehovah, when I have made the land a desolation and an astonishment, because of all their abominations which they have committed.”
GOD’S MESSAGE FOR THE
ARROGANT REMNANT IN JUDEA
(Eze 33:23-29)
The necessity for God’s destruction of that arrogant remnant yet in Palestine was lodged in their influence upon the captives in Babylon. The group in Judea claimed Palestine and all of the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant as theirs by right of inheritance. They were “the seed of Abraham!” The problem was that they had not learned one thing from all the punishment God had brought upon Israel. They were still idolaters, adulterers, blood=eaters, murderers, and truly the sons of the devil in the same manner as their successors (the Pharisees) were so designated by Jesus. Would they inherit the land? No way! was the word God had for them.
As Skinner said, “That remnant in Judea afford one more instance of the boundless capacity of the Jewish race for religious self-delusion, and their no less remarkable insensibility to that in which the essence of religion lay.
The delusion of the fragment of Israel left in Palestine after the fall of the city of Jerusalem was due to their misunderstanding of the Mosaic covenant. If they had ever read the Book of Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 28) Moses had told them categorically that, if they did not obey all the commandments of the Mosaic covenant, that God would pluck them off the land I (Deu 28:63).
Moreover Ezekiel here cited a whole catalogue of their violations of the sacred covenant. How could they, for a moment, dare to believe that they were indeed the true heirs of God’s promise to Abraham?
God’s verdict was no! The judgments of the Mosaic covenant (Deuteronomy 27 and Deu 29:25-29, etc.) were at that very time being executed against Israel. Those left in Judea would die by the sword, by disease, or fall prey to wild animals (v. 27). Their arrogant pride would cease (v. 28). The land would become a desolation (vv. 27,28). Most importantly of all, God’s purpose for judgment upon his people would be accomplished; they would come to know that he was their God when these judgments were executed (29).
In addition to the sword, pestilence, and wild beast assault upon the conceited Judean remnant, “There would also be another deportation of some of them into Babylonian captivity in 583/82.
Regarding the arrangement of this chapter, it is evident that verses 23ff were addressed to the prophet after the fugitive arrived with the news of the fall of the city; but verses 1-20 preceded that event, serving as the renewal of his prophetic commission to Israel, and also resulting in the cessation of the prophet’s dumbness. That, of course, is the reason why the date appears where it does in 5:21.
Abraham was one, and he inherited the land …” (Eze 33:23). There was nothing wrong with this argument, except the false notion that the wicked remnant in Judea entertained regarding themselves, namely that they were Abraham’s seed, when as a matter of fact, they were not sons of Abraham at all, but sons of the devil.
The complete fulfillment of the Abrahamic promises is accomplished in the New Israel who have inherited all things through Jesus Christ, not a literal Palestine, of course, but “the kingdom of God.” (Gal 3:2).
“Ye stand upon your sword …” (Eze 33:26). “This means that they followed the doctrine that `might makes right.’ Assassinations were one of the instruments of their policy (Jeremiah 41).
“Ye work abominations …” (Eze 33:26). “The word here is used in a feminine construction, indicating not merely the open idolatry practiced in Judea, but also the orgiastic rites that accompanied it.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Reciprocal: Rev 22:4 – they
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 33:23-24. The reasoning of the people is In the form of a complaint. They refer to Abraham having possessed the land of Palestine although he was but one man. But here is a large multitude that should possess it since they are heirs of Abraham, but instead they are inhabiting -wastes (in Babylonian captivity) and not enjoying the land that was promised to Abraham’s descendants.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
The first message of hope 33:23-33
This first message dealt with a serious defect in the Israelites. The Jews still in Judea were not listening to the whole counsel of God but were picking and choosing what they would obey (Eze 33:23-29). The Jews in exile were listening to Ezekiel, but they were not responding (Eze 33:30-33). If they were to profit from the messages of hope that Ezekiel proceeded to give them, all the Jews needed to respond to those he had already delivered by repenting. Thus this first message in this series prepared them for those that followed. The first step on the road to hope was a change in their attitude toward God’s word.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The attitude of the Jews in Judea 33:23-29
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The Lord informed the prophet about the attitude of the Jews still in the land. The few Jews who still lived in the waste places of the Promised Land were claiming that since God had promised that land to Abraham they were right in staying in it (cf. Eze 11:15; Mat 3:9; Luk 3:8; Joh 8:33; Joh 8:39). But Jeremiah had told the Jews in the land to submit to the Babylonians (Jeremiah 40-44).
"The lack of spiritual sensitivity and the smug self-interest evident in the quotation contrast with Abraham’s total dependence on God." [Note: Block, The Book . . . 48, p. 260.]