Ezekiel 14:2

The elders of Israel are said to sit before the prophet, Ezekiel 14:1; to whom the Lord gives an account of them, Ezekiel 14:2; and orders the prophet what he should say to them, that the Lord would answer them himself, Ezekiel 14:4; and that he should bid the house of Israel repent and turn from their idols, or else the Lord would set his face against them, and cut them off, both them and the false prophets they sought unto; and this is threatened in order to reform them, and continue them his covenant people, Ezekiel 14:6; and then the judgment of famine is particularly threatened; to avert which, the prayers of the best of men would be of no effect, Ezekiel 14:12; and next the judgment of noisome beasts, with the same intimation, Ezekiel 14:15; likewise the sword, Ezekiel 14:17; and also the pestilence, Ezekiel 14:19; and much less when they should be all sent together, Ezekiel 14:21; and the chapter is concluded with a promise that a remnant should be saved; which would be a comfort to the captives of Babylon, and accounts for what the Lord had done, or would do, in Jerusalem, Ezekiel 14:22. Ver. 1. Then came certain, of the elders of Israel unto me,.... The Syriac version adds, "to consult the Lord"; by the prophet.

14:1-11 No outward form or reformation can be acceptable to God, so long as any idol possesses the heart; yet how many prefer their own devices and their own righteousness, to the way of salvation! Men's corruptions are idols in their hearts, and are of their own setting up; God will let them take their course. Sin renders the sinner odious in the eyes of the pure and holy God; and in his own eyes also, whenever conscience is awakened. Let us seek to be cleansed from the guilt and pollution of sins, in that fountain which the Lord has opened.

Ezekiel 14:2-3 . And the word of the Lord came unto me — To acquaint me with the real character of these men, and what I should say to them. These men have set up their idols in their hearts — They are not only inclined to idolatry in their hearts, but they have actually set up idols and worshipped them. It seems, however, that their idolatry consisted, not in entirely deserting, but in corrupting and polluting the service of the true God, intermixing it with foreign worship and superstitions, learned from the heathen. And have set up the stumbling-block, &c. — Their idols, which were both the object of their sin, and the occasion of their ruin. Should I be inquired of at all by them? — Shall I give any counsel, or any answer concerning that of which they inquire of me, to such hypocrites as these?

CHAPTER 14 Eze 14:1-23. Hypocritical Inquirers Are Answered According to Their Hypocrisy. The Calamities Coming on the People; but a Remnant Is to Escape. 1. elders—persons holding that dignity among the exiles at the Chebar. Grotius refers this to Seraiah and those sent with him from Judea (Jer 51:59). The prophet's reply, first, reflecting on the character of the inquirers, and, secondly, foretelling the calamities coming on Judea, may furnish an idea of the subject of their inquiry. sat before me—not at once able to find a beginning of their speech; indicative of anxiety and despondency.

And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Ezekiel 14:3 . Son of man, these men have let their idols rise up in their heart, and have set the stumbling-block to guilt before their face: shall I allow myself to be inquired of by them? Ezekiel 14:4 . Therefore speak to them, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Every man of the house of Israel who lifteth up his idols in his heart, and setteth the stumbling-block to his sin before his face, and cometh to the prophet, to him do I, Jehovah, show myself, answering according thereto, according to the multitude of his idols; Ezekiel 14:5 . To grasp the house of Israel by their heart, because they have turned away from me, all of them through their idols. - We have not to picture these elders to ourselves as given up to gross idolatry. העלה על לב means, to allow anything to come into the mind, to permit it to rise up in the heart, to be mentally busy therewith. "To set before one's face" is also to be understood, in a spiritual sense, as relating to a thing which a man will not put out of his mind. מכשׁול , stumbling-block to sin and guilt (cf. Ezekiel 7:19 ), i.e., the idols. Thus the two phrases simply denote the leaning of the heart and spirit towards false gods. God does not suffer those whose heart is attached to idols to seek and find Him. The interrogative clause 'האדּרשׁ וגו contains a strong negation.

The emphasis lies in the infinitive absolute אדּרשׁ et placed before the verb, in which the ה is softened into א, to avoid writing ה twice. נדרשׁ, to allow oneself to be sought, involves the finding of God; hence in Isaiah 65:1 we have נדרשׁ as parallel to נמצא. In Ezekiel 14:4 , Ezekiel 14:5 , there follows a positive declaration of the attitude of God towards those who are devoted to idolatry in their heart. Every such Israelite will be answered by God according to the measure of the multitude of his idols. The Niphal נענה has not the signification of the Kal, and does not mean "to be answerable," as Ewald supposes, or to converse; but is generally used in a passive sense, "to be answered," i.e., to find or obtain a hearing ( Job 11:2 ; Job 19:7 ). It is employed here in a reflective sense, to hold or show oneself answering. בה, according to the Chetib בהּ, for which the Keri suggests the softer gloss בא, refers to 'בּרב גל which follows; the nominative being anticipated, according to an idiom very common in Aramaean, by a previous pronoun. It is written here for the sake of emphasis, to bring the following object into more striking prominence. ב is used here in the sense of secundum, according to, not because, since this meaning is quite unsuitable for the ב in Ezekiel 14:7 , where it occurs in the same connection (בּי). The manner in which God will show Himself answering the idolatry according to their idols, is reserved till Ezekiel 14:8 .