Condemnation of False Prophets
Book of Ezekiel • Sermon • Submitted
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Judgment on the Prophets
Judgment on the Prophets
The Lord spoke his word to me, saying:
In chapter 12 Ezekiel spoke against the false security that led those in exiles to think that judgment was not imminent. They have been encouraged by visions and divination of many false prophets and prophetess. Now Ezekiel was instructed to charges them for their foolish ways.
“Human, prophesy against the prophets of Israel. Say to those who make up their own prophecies: ‘Listen to the word of the Lord.
Exe
Ezek
This is what the Lord God says: How terrible it will be for the foolish prophets who follow their own ideas and have not seen a vision from me!
The Characteristics of the Prophets
This is what the Lord God says: How terrible it will be for the foolish prophets who follow their own ideas and have not seen a vision from me!
They were foolish - spiritual and morally insensitive com paired to the nature of a wise man. Used to describe people who blasphemed.
Lord, remember how the enemy insulted you.
Remember how those foolish people made fun of you.
People who were arrogant
My master, don’t pay attention to this worthless man Nabal. He is like his name. His name means ‘fool,’ and he is truly a fool. But I, your servant, didn’t see the men you sent.
Speaks of people who are atheistic.
Fools say to themselves,
“There is no God.”
Fools are evil and do terrible things;
there is no one who does anything good.
It’s also used to describe people who lacked self-discipline and humility. Ezekiel described the basic cause of their foolishness as their reliance on their own hearts and failure to seek God’s revelation.
They are described in Jeremiah:
This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“Don’t pay attention to what those prophets are saying to you.
They are trying to fool you.
They talk about visions their own minds made up,
not about visions from me.
They say to those who hate me:
‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’
They say to all those who are stubborn and do as they please:
‘Nothing bad will happen to you.’
But none of these prophets has stood in the meeting of angels
to see or hear the message of the Lord.
None of them has paid close attention to his message.
Look, the punishment from the Lord
will come like a storm.
His anger will be like a hurricane.
It will come swirling down on the heads of those wicked people.
The Lord’s anger will not stop
until he finishes what he plans to do.
When that day is over,
you will understand this clearly.
I did not send those prophets,
but they ran to tell their message.
I did not speak to them,
but they prophesied anyway.
But if they had stood in the meeting of angels,
they would have told my message to my people.
They would have turned the people from their evil ways
and from doing evil.
Jer 23:17-22
These prophets misled the people who relied upon them for the truth
People of Israel, your prophets have been like wild dogs hunting to kill and eat among ruins.
Israel is like a house in ruins, but you have not gone up into the broken places or repaired the wall. So how can Israel hold back the enemy in the battle on the Lord’s day of judging?
Your prophets see false visions and prophesy lies. They say, “This is the message of the Lord,” when the Lord has not sent them. But they still hope their words will come true.
You said, “This is the message of the Lord,” but that is a false vision. Your prophecies are lies, because I have not spoken.
They speak from their heart or mind; but we were warned:
“More than anything else, a person’s mind is evil
and cannot be healed.
Who can understand it?
Jer 17
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
These prophets followed their own spirit, not the Spirit of God. They spoke from their heart.
They don’t care about the people and prophecy based on their best interest and failed to prepare the people for the difficult times ahead.
They had abused their gifts and offices and dulled the people’s ears to the true message of God.
They Failed as Watchmen over the Nation of Judah.
God’s Verdict
“ ‘So this is what the Lord God says: Because you prophets spoke things that are false and saw visions that do not come true, I am against you, says the Lord God.
I will punish the prophets who see false visions and prophesy lies. They will have no place among my people. Their names will not be written on the list of the people of Israel, and they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord God.
Ezekiel 13:
“ ‘It is because they lead my people the wrong way by saying, “Peace!” when there is no peace. When the people build a weak wall, the prophets cover it with whitewash to make it look strong.
So tell those who cover a weak wall with whitewash that it will fall down. Rain will pour down, hailstones will fall, and a stormy wind will break the wall down.
ezekiel 13:
When the wall has fallen, people will ask you, “Where is the whitewash you used on the wall?”
Ezekiel 13:
“ ‘So this is what the Lord God says: I will break the wall with a stormy wind. In my anger rain will pour down, and hailstones will destroy the wall.
Ezekiel 13:
I will tear down the wall on which you put whitewash. I will level it to the ground so that people will see the wall’s foundation. And when the wall falls, you will be destroyed under it. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
So I will carry out my anger on the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. Then I will tell you, “The wall is gone, and those who covered it with whitewash are gone.
The prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem and who see visions of peace for the city, when there is no peace, will be gone, says the Lord God.” ’
Judgment on the Prophetesses
“Now, human, look toward the women among your people who make up their own prophecies. Prophesy against them.
These women were involved in divination and sorcery. Their practice of witchcraft was common in ancient Babylonia and Egypt.
But witchcraft was forbidden
“ ‘You must not eat anything with the blood in it.
“ ‘You must not try to tell the future by signs or black magic.
The practice of these false prophetesses was to tie bands of cloth to their wrists and place veils over their heads as they cast spells over people’s lives.
Say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: How terrible it will be for women who sew magic charms on their wrists and make veils of every length to trap people! You ruin the lives of my people but try to save your own lives.
Ezekiel 13
For handfuls of barley and pieces of bread, you have dishonored me among my people. By lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed people who should not die, and you have kept alive those who should not live.
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 6: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel b. Judgment on the Prophetesses (13:17–23)
Some have understood the bread and barley to represent the cheap payment these prophetesses would accept in return for their occult practices; but Hittite practices and later Syrian rituals demonstrate that divination was carried out with barley bread either as part of the pagan sacrificial ritual or as a means of determining whether the victim would live or die.
These women not only had the power to kill people through their incantations, they also lied to God’s people.
Because they listened many died unnecessarily.
Ezekiel
“ ‘So this is what the Lord God says: I am against your magic charms, by which you trap people as if they were birds. I will tear those charms off your arms, and I will free those people you have trapped like birds.
I will also tear off your veils and save my people from your hands. They will no longer be trapped by your power. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
Ezekiel 13:21
Ezekiel 13
By your lies you have caused those who did right to be sad, when I did not make them sad. And you have encouraged the wicked not to stop being wicked, which would have saved their lives.
So you will not see false visions or prophesy anymore, and I will save my people from your power so you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”
Ezekiel 13:23