Ezekiel 22 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application
Ezekiel 22 Bible Study
TIMELINE:
This chapter is dated to the 7th year of the exile of King Jehoiachin (Eze 20:1), 590 or 589 BC. Jehoiachin had been king in Judah but was dethroned by the Babylonians and taken as a captive.
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.
Ezekiel 12 – Ezekiel prophesied about the downfall of King Zedekiah by carrying his possessions out of his house as if he were going into exile. God promised that His judgement was near, and anyone who suggested otherwise would be put to shame.
Ezekiel 13 – God confronted the false prophets and sorceresses amongst the people of Judah. The false prophets falsely claimed to speak with the authority of God, and the sorceresses hunted the souls of God’s people through witchcraft and divination.
Ezekiel 14 – God condemned the elders of Judah who harbored love for idols in their hearts. He told Ezekiel Jerusalem would not be spared even if righteous men like Noah, Daniel, and Job lived there.
Ezekiel 15 – God compared the citizens of Jerusalem to useless vine wood that was good for nothing except to burn.
Ezekiel 16 – God compared his people to a young woman who he had raised and cared for. When she grew up, she turned her back on God and prostituted herself with foreign nations and idols.
Ezekiel 17 – Ezekiel spoke a parable to the people of Judah about two great eagles. The parable indicated that the King of Judah would betray Babylon and be uprooted by them.
Ezekiel 18 – The people of Judah were accusing God of punishing them for the sins of their ancestors. God clarified that each man was responsible and would be held accountable only for his own sins.
Ezekiel 19 – God lamented the unfaithfulness of His people through two laments, the lament of the lion cubs and the lament of the vine.
Ezekiel 20 - The elders of Israel wanted to consult with God, but God refused them based on their continual and cyclical rebellion against His laws. God spoke of His future judgement on Judah and His future grace that would restore the nation.
Ezekiel 21 – Ezekiel spoke of the sword of the Lord that God had sharpened to punish Judah. The king of Babylon stood at a fork in the road, and God was going to direct him and his army to Jerusalem.
OUTLINE:
COMPLETE DISREGARD FOR GOD’S COVENANT (22:1-13):
The first part of chapter 22 is a list of grievances God had against His people. It shows that Judah ignored essentially every part of the civil and religious law God had given to them through Moses.
They worshiped idols (22:3, 4).
They were violent murderers (22:3-4, 9).
Their leaders were corrupt (22:6).
They mistreated their parents (22:7).
They extorted foreigners and visitors (22:7).
They abused orphans and widows (22:7).
They disrespected holy things and ignored the Sabbath (22:8).
They slandered to harm others (22:9).
They committed adultery with their neighbors and even their stepparents (22:10-11).
Men were sleeping with their stepsisters and daughters-in-law (22:11).
They took bribes and charged interest to make “dishonest gain” from their neighbors (22:12-13).
JERUSALEM, THE FURNACE OF GOD’S JUDGEMENT (22:14-22):
God promised to punish them for their disobedience. He was going to scatter them among the nations and purge the evil out of them.
God compared the people of Judah to dross. Dross is the impurity removed from metal during the purification process.
God would make Jerusalem like a furnace or a crucible when the Babylonians besieged the city. The people would be locked within the walls, and God would melt them down like metal. He would blow on them with the fire of His wrath.
THE SINS OF THE LEADING CLASS IN JUDAH (22:23-31):
God confronted the prophets, priests, princes, and upper classes in Judah for their bad behavior.
The prophets were like vicious lions “devouring human lives” to enrich themselves with treasure.
The priests profaned the holy things and done violence to God’s law. They didn’t teach the people to distinguish between clean and unclean things or to keep the Sabbath.
The princes were like wolves tearing prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for money and self-promotion.
The more privileged people were robbing and extorting the poor, needy, and foreigners.
God said He would consume these wicked people in the fire of His wrath.
APPLICATION:
It appears to me that every single one of the 10 commandments had been broken in Judah, and perhaps this is what Ezekiel had in mind when he listed their sins in verses 1-13).
They worshiped idols (22:3, 4)… C1 – “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” and C2 – “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.”
They were violent murderers (22:3-4, 9)… C6 – “Thou shalt not kill.”
They mistreated their parents (22:7)… C5 – “Honour thy father and they mother.”
They extorted foreigners and visitors (22:7)… C8 – “Thou shalt not steal.”
They disrespected holy things and ignored the Sabbath (22:8)… C3 – “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” and C4 – “Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.”
They slandered to harm others (22:9)… C9 – “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
They committed adultery with their neighbors and even their stepparents (22:10-11)… C7 – “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
They took bribes and charged interest to make “dishonest gain” from their neighbors (22:12-13)… C10 – “Thou shalt not covet.”
