Ezechiele 13:10 Commento

Mention had been made, in the chapter before, of the vain visions and flattering divinations with which the people of Israel suffered themselves to be imposed upon (v. 24); now this whole chapter is levelled against them. God's faithful prophets are nowhere so sharp upon any sort of sinners as upon the false prophets, not because they were the most spiteful enemies to them, but because the put the highest affront upon God and did the greatest mischief to his people. The prophet here shows the sin and punishment, I. Of the false prophets (v. 1-16). II. Of the false prophetesses (Eze 13:17-23). Both agreed to sooth men up in their sins, and, under pretence of comforting God's people, to flatter them with hopes that they should yet have peace; but the prophets shall be proved liars, their prophecies mere shams, and the expectations of the people illusions; for God will let them know that "the deceived and the deceiver are his," are both accountable to him, Job 12:16.

We have here more plain dealing with the false prophets, and some further articles of their doom. We have seen the people made ashamed of the false prophets (though sometimes they had been fond of them) and casting them away, as they shall do their false gods, with indignation; now here we find them as much ashamed of their false prophecies, which they had sometimes depended upon with much assurance. Observe, I. How the people are deceived by the false prophets. Those flatterers seduce them, saying, Peace, and there was no peace, Eze 13:10. They pretended to have seen visions of peace, Eze 13:16. But that could not be, for there was no peace, saith the Lord God. There was no prosperity designed for them, and therefore there could be no ground for their security; yet they told them that God was at peace with them, and had mercy in reserve for them, and that the war they were engaged in with the Chaldeans should soon end in an honourable peace, and their land should enjoy a happy repose and tranquillity. They told the idolaters and other sinners that there was neither harm nor danger in the way they were in. Thus they seduced God's people; they put a cheat upon them, led them into mistakes, and drew them aside out of that way of repentance and reformation which the other prophets were endeavouring to bring them into. Note, Those are the most dangerous seducers who suggest to sinners that which tends to lessen their dread of sin and their fear of God. Now this is compared to the building of a slight rotten wall, or, according to our Saviour's similitude, which is to the same purport with this (Mat 7:26), the building of a house upon the sand, which seems to be a shelter and protection for a while, but will fall when a storm comes. One false prophet built the wall, set up the notion that God was not at all displeased with Jerusalem, but that the city should be confirmed in its flourishing state, and be victorious over the powers that now threatened it. This notion was very pleasing, and he that started it made himself very acceptable by it and was caressed by every body, which invited others to say the same. They made the matter look yet more plausible and promising; they daubed the wall, which the first had built, but it was with untempered mortar, sorry stuff, that will not bind nor hold the bricks together; they had no ground for what they said, nor had it any consistency with itself, but was like ropes of sand. They did not strengthen the wall, were in no care to make it firm, to see that they went upon sure grounds; they only daubed it to hide the cracks and make it look well to the eye. And the wall thus built, when it comes to any stress, much more to any distress, will bulge and totter, and come down by degrees. Note, Doctrines that are groundless, though ever so grateful, that are not built upon a scripture foundation nor fastened with a scripture cement, though ever so plausible, ever so pleasing, are not of any worth, nor will stand men in any stead; and those hopes of peace and happiness which are not warranted by the word of God will but cheat men, like a wall that is well daubed indeed, but ill-built. II. How they will be soon undeceived by the judgment of God, which, we are sure, is according to truth. 1. God will in anger bring a terrible storm that shall beat fiercely and furiously upon the wall. The descent which the Chaldean army shall make upon Judah, and the siege which they shall lay to Jerusalem, will be as an overflowing shower, or inundation (such as Solomon calls a sweeping rain that leaves no food, Pro 28:3), will bear down all before it, as the deluge did in Noah's time: You, O great hailstones! shall fall, the artillery of heaven, every hailstone like a cannon-ball, battering this wall, and with these a stormy wind, which is sometimes so strong as to rend the rocks (Kg1 19:11), much more an ill-built wall, Eze 13:11. But that which makes this rain, and hail, and wind, most terrible is that they arise from the wrath of God, and are enforced by that; it is that which sends them; it is that which gives them the setting on (Eze 13:13); it is a stormy wind in my fury, and an overflowing shower in my anger, and great hailstones in my fury. The fury of Nebuchadnezzar and his princes, who highly resented Zedekiah's treachery, made the invasion very formidable, but that was nothing in comparison with God's displeasure. The staff in their hand is my indignation, Isa 10:5. Note, An angry God has winds and storms at command wherewith to alarm secure sinners; and his wrath makes them frightful and forcible indeed; for who can stand before him when he is angry? 2. This storm shall overturn the wall: it shall fall, and the wind shall rend it (Eze 13:11), the hailstones shall consume it (Eze 13:13); I will break it down (Eze 13:14) and bring it to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered; it will appear how false, how rotten it was, to the prophetical reproach of the builders. When the Chaldean army has made Judah and Jerusalem desolate then this credit of the prophets, and the hopes of the people, will both sink together; the former will be found false in flattering the people and the latter foolish in suffering themselves to be imposed upon by them, and so exposed to so much the greater confusion, when the judgment shall surprise them in their security. Note, Whatever men think to shelter themselves with against the judgments of God, while they continue unreformed, will prove but a refuge of lies and will not profit them in the day of wrath. See Isa 28:17. Men's anger cannot shake that which God has built (for the blast of the terrible ones is but as a storm against the wall, which makes a great noise, but never stirs the wall; see Isa 25:4), but God's anger will overthrow that which men have built in opposition to him. They and all their attempts, they and all the securities wherein they intrench themselves, shall be as a bowing wall and as a tottering fence (Psa 62:3, Psa 62:10); and when their vain predictions are disproved, and their vain expectations disappointed, then it will be discovered that there was no ground for either, Hab 3:13. The day will declare what every man's work is, and the fire will try it, Co1 3:13. 3. The builders of the wall, and those that daubed it, will themselves be buried in the ruins of it: It shall fall, and you shall be consumed in the midst thereof, Eze 13:14. And thus the threatenings of God's wrath, and all the just intentions of it, shall be accomplished to the uttermost, both upon the wall and upon those that have daubed it, Eze 13:15. The same judgments that will prove the false prophets to be false will punish them for their falsehood; and they themselves shall be involved in the calamity which they made the people believe there was no danger of, and become monuments of that justice which they bade defiance to. Thus, if the blind lead the blind, both the blind leaders and the blind followers will fall together into the ditch. Note, Those that deceive others will in the end prove to have deceived themselves; and no doom will be more fearful than that of unfaithful ministers, that flattered sinners in their sins. 4. Both the deceivers and the deceived, when they thus perish together, will justly be ridiculed and triumphed over (Eze 13:12): When the wall has fallen shall it not be said unto you, by those that gave credit to the true prophets, and feared the word of the Lord, "Now where is the daubing wherewith you have daubed the wall? What has become of all the fine soft words and fair promises wherewith you flattered your wicked neighbours, and all the assurances you gave them that the troubles of the nation should soon be at an end?" The righteous shall laugh at them, the righteous God shall, righteous men shall, saying, Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength, Psa 52:6, Psa 52:7. I also will laugh at your calamity, Pro 1:26. They will say unto you (Eze 13:15), "The wall is no more, neither he that daubed it; your hopes have vanished, and those that supported them, even the prophets of Israel," Eze 13:16. Note, Those that usurp the honours that do not belong to them will shortly be filled with the shame that does.

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 13 It being said in Eze 12:24; that there should be no more a vain vision, nor a flattering divination; the prophet is ordered to prophesy against the false prophets and prophetesses, Eze 13:1; the former are described as prophesying out of their own hearts, Eze 13:2; as foolish ones, following their own spirit, and seeing nothing, Eze 13:3; they are compared to foxes in the deserts, Eze 13:4; and are represented as unconcerned to stand in the gap for the people, Eze 13:5; and as seeing vanity and lying divination; wherefore the Lord was against them, Eze 13:6; what they are threatened with are, that they should not be in the assembly of God's people; nor written in the writing of the house of Israel; nor enter into the land of Israel, Eze 13:9; the reason of which was, because they seduced the Lord's people, by speaking peace to them when there was none; which is figuratively expressed by building a wall, and daubing it with untempered mortar, Eze 13:10; upon which the wall is threatened to be rent, and caused to fall with a stormy wind; signifying the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldean army; and the false prophets to have the wrath of God poured on them who doubted it, Eze 13:11; and then follows the order to the prophet to prophesy against the false prophetesses, and set his face against them, and pronounce woe upon them in the name of the Lord; who are described as prophesying out of their own hearts; sowing pillows to all armholes; and making kerchiefs on the head of all sorts of persons; and which they did for poor small gain, and to the detriment of immortal souls, good and bad, Eze 13:17; wherefore the Lord threatens to tear off their pillows and kerchiefs, and deliver his people out of their hands, no more to be hunted by them, Eze 13:20; the reason of which was, because they saddened the hearts of the righteous, and strengthened the hands of the wicked, Eze 13:22; and the chapter is concluded with a resolution that they should see no more vanity nor divine divinations; and that the Lord's people should be delivered from them, and they should know that he was the Lord, Eze 13:23.

Lo, when the wall is fallen,.... Jerusalem is taken: shall it not be said unto you; the false prophets, by the people who had been deceived by them: where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it? what is become of all your promises of peace, and assurance of safety and prosperity; your smooth words and plausible arguments; your specious pretences, and flattering prophecies? thus would they be insulted by those they had deceived, as well as laughed at by such who disregarded their predictions, and believed the prophets of the Lord.

For there is a peace that does not have an offense, and there is one that has it: which is from love, it does not have an offense; which is from deceit, it has. Therefore, the Prophet also says: Peace, peace; but where is peace (Ezekiel 12:10)? Therefore, let us seek the refuge of peace for sinners; for they conspire against the innocent, they gather together to oppress the righteous, to destroy the widow, or to assault her modesty.

How is the cause helped by the people who dance attendance on these people with itching ears who know neither how to hear nor how to speak? They confound old mire with new cement and, as Ezekiel says, daub a wall with untempered mortar; so that, when the truth comes in a shower, they are brought to nothing.

(Verse 10 and following) Because they have deceived my people, saying: peace, and there is no peace. And he was building a wall: but they were plastering it with mud without straw. Say to those who plaster without mortar, that it will fall. For there will be a overflowing rain: and I will give great stones falling from above, and a stormy wind blowing. Indeed, behold, the wall has fallen. Will it not be said to you, where is the whitewash that you plastered? Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: I will unleash the spirit of storms in my anger; and there will be a torrential rain in my fury, and great stones of wrath will be poured out, and I will destroy the wall that you have whitewashed without mortar, and I will level it to the ground; its foundation will be exposed, and it will fall and be consumed in its midst; and you will know that I am the Lord. And I will fulfill my anger against the wall and against those who whitewashed it without mortar; and I will say to you: The wall is no more, and there are no longer any who whitewash it. The prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem see a vision of peace, but there is no peace, says the Lord God. LXX: For they have deceived my people, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace. And this one builds a wall, and these ones plaster it with folly. Say to those who plaster with folly, it will fall. There will be a flooding rain, and I will give great stones for their joints and they will fall. And a wind will come and tear it apart. And behold, the wall has fallen, and they will not say to you, 'Where is the whitewash that you whitewashed with?' Therefore, thus says the Lord Adonai: I will break the spirit of fury that carries away, and rainwill overflow in my anger, and I will bring great stones in fury to a consummation, and I will dig up the wall that you have plastered, and it will fall. And I will put it on the ground, and its foundations will be exposed, and it will fall. And you will be consumed with reproach, and you will know that I am the Lord. And I will complete my fury on the wall, and on those who plaster it, it will fall. And I said to you: There is no wall, nor those who plaster it, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem and see peace for her: there is no peace for them, says the Lord God. The prophets of Israel, who will not be in the assembly of the people of God, nor be written in the scriptures of the house of Israel, nor enter the promised land, therefore suffer these things because they have deceived my people, proclaiming peace and prosperity by the severity of repentance and the wrongfulness of conversion, according to what is said elsewhere: Peace, peace, where is peace? (Jeremiah 8:11) Therefore, God figuratively built a wall for them through the commands of the law and the words and warnings of the holy prophets. For this Hebrew word signifies 'His', that is, it would repel every incursion of wild beasts and hostile attack from them, while they turned to God, they would be surrounded by this like a very strong wall and fortress. But the false prophets, not once but often, promised them peace, for this repeated talk of peace signifies this. And they were building the very wall which is called 'Cir' in the following, the false prophets were coating it without any restraint, as Symmachus interpreted, that is, with pure mud, and that it did not have straw, so that it could not provide any strength. But indeed, both the Septuagint and Theodotion interpret it as folly: but the eagle has interpreted the Hebrew word Thaphel as ἀνάλῳ, which means without salt, passing from one translation to another, just as food without salt has no flavor: so too clay, without straw to strengthen and bind it, can offer no strength to a wall. Say, he says, to those who make empty promises and pledge useless help, that this wall and this structure will fall, and I will send a very violent rain, namely the most fierce enemies. But it refers to the Babylonians and the Chaldeans; and it signifies the same hails stones falling from above, everything through a metaphor, by which a sudden whirlwind overturns and destroys an unstable wall; and afterwards it is said to them, that is, to the false prophets, Where is the plaster with which you plastered it, and where is the help that you promised? But whatever we have said about false prophets can also be applied to heretics, for all their God-inspired inventions will be dissolved by God's wrath; and the structure of false teachings, which the Holy Spirit does not support, shall fall and crumble down to its foundations and turn to dust, and become equal to the wall of the earth, and fall, and the prophets who made promises and the people to whom the promises were made shall be consumed in its midst; so that once He has completed His wrath and says to them: this is not a wall, that is, this is not your defense; and there are none who plaster it, but all are empty and amount to nothing: then you shall come to know by these actions that I am the Lord. But in order to know who these individuals are who daub the wall, it follows, the prophets of Israel, that is, the false prophets, who prophesy to Jerusalem and see for her a vision of peace, these are the cause of sin and ruin, and foolish security. For there will be no peace, says the Lord, because the Lord did not send them, nor did he speak to them. This which the Septuagint translated as 'and on their joints' is not found in the Hebrew. However, it signifies the joints of the stones in the wall, or the supports of wood, by which the walls are strengthened. And also that which we read above: he himself was building the wall; most people report that Israel, who promised himself either the empty help of the Egyptians or of peace, was referring to the people.

They who choose to declare their own honor have refused to dwell in [God’s] house; and therefore they do not sing a new song with all the earth. For they do not share it with the whole world; and hence they are not building in the house but have erected a whitened wall. How sternly does God threaten the whitened wall?… What is the whitened wall but hypocrisy, that is, pretense? Outside it is bright; inside it is dirt.

This chapter denounces heavy judgments against the lying prophets who flattered the people, in the midst of their sin and danger, with false hopes of peace and security, Eze 13:1-9. The work of these deceivers is beautifully compared to a frail and insolent piece of building, which can never stand against the battering elements of heaven, (the Chaldean forces), which God will commission against it, Eze 13:10-16. In the remaining part of the chapter woes are denounced against false prophetesses who practiced vain rites and divinations, with the view of promoting their own gain by deceiving the people, Eze 13:17-23.

One built up a wall - A true prophet is as a wall of defense to the people. These false prophets pretend to be a wall of defense; but their wall is bad, and their mortar is worse. One gives a lying vision, another pledges himself that it is true; and the people believe what they say, and trust not in God, nor turn from their sins. The city is about to be besieged; it needs stronger fortifications than what it possesses. The prophet should be as a brazen wall for its defense; and such my prophets would have been had the people received the word from my mouth. But ye have prevented this by your lying vanities; and when you have perverted the people, you pretend to raise up a rampart of specious prophecy, full of fine promises, for their defense. What one false prophet says, another confirms; and this is like daubing over a bad wall with bad mortar, which prevents its blemishes and weaknesses being discovered, though it has no tendency to strengthen the building.

DENUNCIATION OF FALSE PROPHETS AND PROPHETESSES; THEIR FALSE TEACHINGS, AND GOD'S CONSEQUENT JUDGMENTS. (Eze. 13:1-23) As the twelfth chapter denounced the false expectations of the people, so this denounces the false leaders who fed those expectations. As an independent witness, Ezekiel confirms at the Chebar the testimony of Jeremiah (Jer 29:21, Jer 29:31) in his letter from Jerusalem to the captive exiles, against the false prophets; of these some were conscious knaves, others fanatical dupes of their own frauds; for example, Ahab, Zedekiah, and Shemaiah. Hananiah must have believed his own lie, else he would not have specified so circumstantial details (Jer 28:2-4). The conscious knaves gave only general assurances of peace (Jer 5:31; Jer 6:14; Jer 14:13). The language of Ezekiel has plain references to the similar language of Jeremiah (for example, Jer. 23:9-38); the bane of false prophecy, which had its stronghold in Jerusalem, having in some degree extended to the Chebar; this chapter, therefore, is primarily intended as a message to those still in the Jewish metropolis; and, secondarily, for the good of the exiles at the Chebar.

Because, even because--The repetition heightens the emphasis. Peace--safety to the nation. Ezekiel confirms Jer 6:14; Jer 8:11. one--literally, "this one"; said contemptuously, as in Ch2 28:22. a wall--rather, "a loose wall." Ezekiel had said that the false prophets did not "go up into the gaps, or make up the breaches" (Eze 13:5), as good architects do; now he adds that they make a bustling show of anxiety about repairing the wall; but it is without right mortar, and therefore of no use. one . . . others--besides individual effort, they jointly co-operated to delude the people. daubed . . . with untempered mortar--as sand without lime, mud without straw [GROTIUS]. FAIRBAIRN translates, "plaster it with whitewash." But besides the hypocrisy of merely outwardly "daubing" to make the wall look fair (Mat 23:27, Mat 23:29; Act 23:3), there is implied the unsoundness of the wall from the absence of true uniting cement; the "untempered cement" answering to the lie of the prophets, who say, in support of their prophecies, "Thus saith the Lord, when the Lord hath not spoken" (Eze 22:28).