Ezekiel · chapter 12 of 48
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Ezekiel 12 presents two signs: Ezekiel carries out his exile's baggage in daylight, and at night digs through the wall and goes out with his face covered, to show the flight of the prince of Jerusalem, who will be captured and taken to Babylon without seeing it. Then he eats and drinks trembling, and the Lord answers two proverbs of the people that denied or postponed the fulfillment of his prophecies.
Ezekiel 12 begins a series of messages that runs from chapter 12 to 14. The exiles expected a quick return and the people in Jerusalem believed the prophecies of judgment were far off. God answers with actions and words that make clear that Judah's exile is not over and that Jerusalem will fall.
The Lord tells Ezekiel that he lives in the midst of a rebellious house, with eyes to see and not seeing, ears to hear and not hearing. He is to prepare an exile's baggage and go out by day, in their sight, like one going from place to place, to see whether they understand. At night he must dig through the wall, bring his baggage out in the dark, cover his face so he cannot see the land and carry it on his shoulder. Ezekiel does it as commanded.
In the morning the Lord explains the sign: it is a message about the prince in Jerusalem and the whole house of Israel. They will go into exile, and the prince will carry his baggage at night, go out through a hole dug in the wall and cover his face. The Lord will spread his net over him and bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die. His helpers and troops will be scattered to the wind. A few will escape the sword, famine and pestilence to tell of their abominations among the nations, and they will know that he is the Lord.
Another sign: Ezekiel must eat his bread with quaking and drink his water with trembling and anxiety, because the land will be stripped of what fills it, because of the violence of its inhabitants. The inhabited cities will be laid waste.
The Lord answers two proverbs. First, the one saying that the days grow long and every vision comes to nothing: God will put an end to that saying, for the days are near and every vision will be fulfilled. Second, the one saying the vision is for many years away: none of his words will be delayed any longer, and what he speaks will be done.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
God describes the people as a rebellious house that has eyes to see and does not see, and ears to hear and does not hear. The sign that follows aims to break that blindness with something so visible it cannot be ignored.
Ezekiel must carry his baggage on his shoulder in the dark and cover his face. The image of a man slipping out through a hole in the wall anticipates the desperate flight of the prince of Jerusalem.
God says he will bring the prince to Babylon, yet he will not see it, and he will die there. The text seems to point to King Zedekiah, who would be blinded before being taken, as 2 Kings 25 relates.
The Lord declares that whatever he speaks will be fulfilled without delay. God's words are not an empty threat: they will come to pass in the people's own time, not in some distant generation.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: As a rebellious house that has eyes and ears but does not see or hear. — Ezekiel 12:2
Answer: By day, in the sight of the people. — Ezekiel 12:3-4
Answer: He digs through it and goes out through the hole with his baggage on his shoulder. — Ezekiel 12:7
Answer: He will be caught in God's net and brought to Babylon, but he will not see it, and he will die there. — Ezekiel 12:13
Answer: With quaking, and drink his water with trembling and anxiety. — Ezekiel 12:18
Answer: That it will be fulfilled without further delay. — Ezekiel 12:25
The people saw but did not understand, because they did not want to believe. We often have God's signs in front of us and explain them away with phrases like there is still time or that is for others. Ezekiel 12 invites us to listen to God today, without postponing a response we know he is asking for.
It also encourages anyone waiting patiently for the fulfillment of God's promises: his word is not empty. In a small group, you can talk about how to keep faith when time seems to drag, remembering that God's promises are fulfilled in his own time.
Ezekiel 12 assures that the prophecies of judgment on Jerusalem will be fulfilled without delay. In chapter 13 Ezekiel turns to another group that keeps the people from seeing the truth: the false prophets who announce peace where there is none.
According to 2 Kings 25 and Jeremiah 39 and 52, King Zedekiah fled Jerusalem at night when the city fell, was captured, had his eyes put out and was taken to Babylon, where he died. That matches what was announced: that he would go to Babylon but not see it.
The exiles did not want to listen, and actions made the message impossible to ignore. Ezekiel acts it out with his body and forces people to ask what it means. In the Bible, prophets often use gestures to reinforce their words.