22:1 The word of the Lord came to me:
Jehovah gave Ezekiel another prophecy about Jerusalem.
22:2 “As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment, are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city? Then confront her with all her abominable deeds!
Jehovah asked Ezekiel to be His prosecuting attorney against Jerusalem. If Ezekiel accepted this assignment, then the question that Jehovah asked him was, would he be able to pronounce judgment upon this violent city? Will he be able to bring out in a court of law upon all of the evil things which she had done?
22:3 Then say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: O city, who spills blood within herself (which brings on her doom), and who makes herself idols (which results in impurity),
Ezekiel was to make his accusations against Jerusalem. He was to remind the courtroom that Jehovah was sovereign over all of history. He was to inform the courtroom that Jerusalem was a violent city who spilt blood and worshiped demonic idols.
22:4 you are guilty because of the blood you shed and defiled by the idols you made. You have hastened the day of your doom; the end of your years has come. Therefore I will make you an object of scorn to the nations, an object to be mocked by all lands.
Jerusalem was guilty of murder and demonism. She was sacrificing her children to demons. She became worse than the Canaanites whom she had replaced. Therefore, Jehovah would vomit her out of the land. He would cause the other Gentiles to despise her. The other Gentiles would not want the Jews in their cities, towns, and villages.
22:5 Those both near and far from you will mock you, you with your bad reputation, full of turmoil.
The Gentiles would mock the Jews and tell jokes about them.
22:6 “ ‘See how each of the princes of Israel living within you has used his authority to shed blood.
The Judean kings were supposed to carry the messianic seed and become examples to the Gentile. Instead, they used their authority to spill innocent blood through the infant sacrifice of demonism.
22:7 They have treated father and mother with contempt within you; they have oppressed the foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow within you.
The Judean kings from the line of David mistreated their parents. They oppressed the Gentiles who came to live inside the borders of Judah. They did not protect the orphans and widows with their laws. All of these infractions were violations of the Mosaic Law.
22:8 You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths!
The kings were responsible for making sure that the holy items in the temple were not desecrated. Instead, the holy items were used in the worship of demons in the temple on the Sabbath.
22:9 Slanderous men shed blood within you. Those who live within you eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains; they commit obscene acts among you.
The kings were not enforcing the Mosaic Law. Slanderous men were living inside of Judah. They were eating pagan sacrifices in the high places where demons were worshiped. They were committing satanic and sexual rituals in their worship ceremonies.
22:10 They have sex with their father’s wife within you; they violate women during their menstrual period within you.
The people of Israel were committing incest with their mothers. They were also violating women during their menstrual cycles. Both of these acts were violations against the Mosaic Law.
22:11 One commits an abominable act with his neighbor’s wife; another obscenely defiles his daughter-in-law; another violates his sister—his father’s daughter—within you.
The Jewish people were committing incest within their own families.
22:12 They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest; you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me, declares the sovereign Lord.
The judges were accepting bribes and shedding innocent blood. The Jews were taxing each other with interest. They were extorting money from each other. They were living a secular life as though God did not exist. All of the infractions listed in verses 6-12 were violations of the Mosaic Law. The divine penalty was expulsion from the land of Israel. Israel could only live in this land if they were obedient to the Mosaic Law.
22:13 “ ‘See, I strike my hands together at the dishonest profit you have made, and at the bloodshed they have done among you.
Jehovah would strike His hands together in judgment against Jerusalem. He would punish those who were making a living by dishonest means. He would punish those who shed blood in order to make profit.
It is important to note that throughout history, nations have sold their children for profit. Gentile and Jewish kings would draft 16-18 year old boys into their armies and send them out to battle in order to make the king more profit. General Julius Caesar eliminated the Roman Republic Senate for this same infraction and made himself Caesar. When American political leaders claim that they are fighting for “American interests,” this means that they are sending young teenagers to die for more profit for wealthy businessmen who control the strings of political leaders.
War is big business. The rich lend money to both sides with interest, sell them weapons, and keep the war going on as long as possible so that they can make more profit. Many European elitists throughout history have started wars to reduce the population. They did not want to share their natural resources with a large population.
22:14 Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong when I deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it!
Will the evil political leaders of Judah be able to quit shaking when Jehovah turns upon them? Jehovah has spoken. He will judge these evil political leaders.
22:15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you among various countries; I will remove your impurity from you.
Jehovah will scatter these evil Judeans among all of the nations of the world. He will remove their impurity on the last day of the Great Tribulation. On this day, Israel will sing “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” This national regeneration of Israel will be the call to Jesus to return and establish the Millennial Kingdom.
22:16 You will be profaned within yourself in the sight of the nations; then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”
None of the other Gentile nations will want these scattered Jews. They will despise them and attempt to get rid of them. During the Holocaust of World War II, the Jews attempted to relocate to surrounding European nations. However, the European political leaders said, “We already have our quota of Jews.” These godless politicians sent God’s chosen people back to the gas chambers of Germany. When Israel is scattered all over the world and returned supernaturally back into the land of Israel, then they will all know that Jehovah is Lord. Israel will finally become a nation of messianic believers.
22:17 The word of the Lord came to me:
Jehovah spoke to Ezekiel once again.
22:18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become slag to me. All of them are like bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the furnace; they are the worthless slag of silver.
The house of Israel had become filthy slag to Jehovah. Slag (or dross) was the impurities which were melted off of the pure metal during its refining process. It was dirty, unclean, and unusable. It must be burnt off of the pure metal in the furnace and thrown away.
22:19 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Because all of you have become slag, look out!—I am about to gather you in the middle of Jerusalem.
Jehovah is sovereign over all history. Ezekiel continually reminded Judah of the sovereignty of God over all things. He was the One who made them prosper and would make them suffer. Jerusalem was a bunch of dirty, unclean, and unusable slag. Jehovah was going to gather all of this slag and burn it in the middle of the city.
22:20 As silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are gathered in a furnace so that the fire can melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and in my rage. I will deposit you there and melt you.
Jehovah would gather up all of the slag, place it in the furnace, and melt the slag a second time. The wicked people in Jerusalem were the slag.
22:21 I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my fury, and you will be melted in it.
Jehovah would melt the wicked people of Jerusalem in the fire of His fury.
22:22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted in it, and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my anger on you.’ ”
After the Jews are melted in Jehovah’s furnace, then they will be cleaned of impurities. Then they will be able to recognize Jesus as their Messiah. This refining process will occur during the Great Tribulation. The return of Israel in 1948 was a return in unbelief. The modern nation of Israel has been regathered by God in Jerusalem to refine them. The judgments of the Great Tribulation will remove the dross and refine the metal. The dross will be the unbelieving Jews who will follow the Antichrist. Two thirds of them will die during the Great Tribulation. The refined metal will be the believing Jews. One third of them will be refined by the fires of the Great Tribulation. They will believe and enter into the Millennial Kingdom as fine, purified silver.
22:23 The word of the Lord came to me:
Jehovah spoke to Ezekiel once again.
22:24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that receives no rain or showers in the day of my anger.’
Jerusalem was going through a drought because of her sin. It is possible that many nations receive drought because of national sin. Drought causes the people to turn back to God and focus on divine matters rather than material things.
25 Her princes within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows within it.
The kings of Judah were using their authority to tear the people apart like a roaring lion tears apart its prey. They overtaxed the people and took away their wealth. They murdered many of their political enemies, turning their wives into widows.
22:26 Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane, or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore my Sabbaths and I am profaned in their midst.
The Levitical priests were abusing the Mosaic Law. They used the temple articles to worship demons. They ignored the Sabbaths. They accepted blemished, diseased, and sick animals for sacrifice. They refused to teach the people sound Bible doctrine.
22:27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey—shedding blood and destroying lives—so they can get dishonest profit.
The political and religious officials were using their appointed authority to murder their political opponents so that they could gain more profit.
22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken.
The false prophets were tickling the ears of their listeners and telling them what they wanted to hear. They saw false visions and announced them as truth. These false visions could have been invented by themselves or given by demons. They were speaking in “the name of the Lord,” but Jehovah was not speaking through them.
It is important to note that Satan still uses false prophets inside of the modern charismatic churches today. Just because a person says, “The Lord said to me,” this does not mean that they received divine revelation. The Lord speaks to believers today only through the written Word of God.
Beware of charismatics who claim that God speaks audibly to them. Some will say that God speaks to them through that “quiet still voice.” Beware of them as well. They are using the name of God to propagate their own human agenda. God only speaks through the written Word of God, not through charismatic prophets.
22:29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice.
The rulers oppressed the common people, so the common people oppressed the helpless. The businessmen of Judah practiced extortion and robbery upon the poor. They oppressed the foreigners who were living inside the borders of Judah. They used corrupt judges in the courtroom to make them more profit.
22:30 “I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one.
Jehovah looked for one good man to lead Judah out of their corrupted state, but this leader did not exist. Jeremiah had these godly leadership qualities, but he did not have the authority to lead the nation.
22:31 So I have poured my anger on them, and destroyed them with the fire of my fury. I hereby repay them for what they have done, declares the sovereign Lord.”
Since there was no hope for Judah, then God would burn them with His fire of fury.