Ezekiel 12 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application
Ezekiel 12 Bible Study
TIMELINE:
In chapter 12, Ezekiel prophesies the capture and captivity of King Zedekiah at the hands of the Babylonians. Zedekiah’s capture took place when the city of Jerusalem fell to a Babylonian siege in 587/586 BC. - Below is a list of kings of Judah and dates for their reign:
Below is a list of kings of Judah and dates for their reign:
Amon (642-640 BC)
Josiah (640-609 BC)
Jehoahaz (also known as Shallum, 609 BC)
Jehoiakim (initially known as Eliakim, 609-598 BC)
Jehoiachin (also known as Jeconiah or Coniah, 598-597 BC)
Zedekiah (His reign ended when Babylon conquered Judah, (597-586 BC)
WHAT WE STUDIED PREVIOUSLY
Ezekiel 1 – Ezekiel had a vision of 4 living creatures, 4 wheels, and God’s throne.
Ezekiel 2 – God commissioned Ezekiel to be a prophet to his rebellious countrymen.
Ezekiel 3 – The end of the heavenly vision. Ezekiel ate a scroll of God’s words, and God called him to be a watchman over the people of Judah.
Ezekiel 4 – Ezekiel prophesies with an object lesson in the street by laying on his side for 430 days, eating rations of bread, and creating a siege scene with a brick that represents Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 5 – After the 430 days, Ezekiel cut off his hair divided it up into 3 parts and used it as a symbol for what would happen to the people of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 6 – Ezekiel prophesies against the idol worshipers in Judah, telling them their bodies will be thrown at the feet of their powerless gods.
Ezekiel 7 – God spoke to Ezekiel about the day of His judgement. The end was near for the citizens of Jerusalem, and their doom was on the horizon.
Ezekiel 8 – Ezekiel saw a vision of the Temple in Jerusalem. God guided him through the courts and gates of the Temple and showed him the secret idolatries that filled God’s house.
Ezekiel 9 – God sends a man with a writing case to mark the foreheads of those who hated the idolatries of Judah. Afterwards, God sends 6 executioners to kill everyone in Jerusalem who didn’t have the mark.
Ezekiel 10 – God’s glory departed the inner sanctuary of the Temple and ascended to His throne carried by the 4 living creatures.
Ezekiel 11 – God announced judgement on the wicked rulers of Judah. They thought they were safe in Jerusalem, like meat in a cauldron, but God promised to bring them out for death and captivity. At the end of the chapter, God spoke of a future day, when He would regather a remnant of His people and give them a new heart and new spirit.
OUTLINE:
EZEKIEL PLAYS OUT THE CAPTIVITY OF JUDAH AND THEIR KING (12:1-17):
God told Ezekiel to play out another prophetic sign in the streets of Babylon.
Ezekiel was to pack up his possessions like an “exile’s baggage” and carry it out of his house, but he wasn’t allowed to use the front door, he had to “dig” or break through one of the walls of his house and carry it out that way.
At dusk, Ezekiel was to carry his baggage while covering his eyes. He was not allowed to see where he was going.
All this was meant as a sign to the people of Judah.
When Ezekiel’s neighbors asked what he was doing, he was to tell them his actions were an oracle concerning the prince of Jerusalem (the king of Jerusalem, Zedekiah).
The king of Jerusalem would try to escape through the walls of the city, but he would be captured and carried into exile with his people.
The king would be taken to Babylon, but he would never see the city (symbolized by Ezekiel covering his eyes).
BREAD EATEN WITH TREMBLING AND ANXIETY (12:18-20):
God told Ezekiel to eat bread with “quaking, and drink water with trembling and with anxiety” (12:18).
This sign was a foretelling of the sad state of Judah and Jerusalem upon the arrival of the Babylonian armies. The Babylonians would siege Jerusalem, causing food shortage and starvation, and people would eat and drink with anxiety, not knowing if they had enough food to keep them alive in the coming days.
THE NEARNESS OF GOD’S JUDGEMENT (12:21-28):
Ezekiel’s countrymen had popularized a proverb that was disrespectful to God and His prophets. The proverb said, “The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing” (12:22).
Essentially the people were saying that the prophets had been prophesying for years but their predictions of judgements never came to pass.
God said He was going to invalidate this proverb. While His judgement was still far off in the days of Isaiah, it was very near in the days of Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
God said, “Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel. But say to them, The days are near, and the fulfillment of every vision… Thus says the Lord God: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed” (12:23, 28).
BIBLE COMPREHENSION:
The history required to understand Ezekiel’s sign in verses 1-17 is documented for us in Jeremiah 39.
The sign related to the king of Judah, King Zedekiah.
Regarding Zedekiah, God prophesied, “I will spread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare. And I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there” (Eze 12:13).
How was it possible that Zedekiah could be captured, brought to Babylon, and even die there, but never see the city?
Jeremiah 39 documents that when the Babylonian army breached the walls of Jerusalem, Zedekiah and his family fled out of the city during the night through a private door (39:4). Ultimately, he was captured, just like Ezekiel and Jeremiah prophesied he would be.
The rebellious king of Judah was brought to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, for sentencing. Nebuchadnezzar killed his sons in front of him, slaughtered all the officials of Judah, put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and then took him in chains to Babylon.
So Zedekiah went to Babylon without eyes, which is how he lived and died there but never saw the land. A remarkable fulfillment to Ezekiel covering his eyes as he carried his baggage out of his house.
