Posted: 6/01/05
LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for June 12
Live by the Lord’s values in all circumstances
• Ezekiel 7:1-27
By Dennis Tucker
Truett Seminary, Waco
Chapter 7 is a strong and disturbing announcement of Judah’s coming judgment. Thus far in the book, the visions of Ezekiel make it abundantly clear that Judah is to blame for her coming calamity. But this claim is articulated most forcefully in chapter 7.
The tension in judgment
The strong language of judgment must be considered in light of the language found in verse 1. Ezekiel is charged to speak a word of judgment against “the land of Israel.”
Typically when the “land of Israel” is mentioned, the Hebrew word ‘eres is used for land. But in verse 1 a different word for land, ’adama, is used. In many contexts, the term ’adama suggests something like “dirt” or “soil.” The same word is used in Genesis 2 when we are told that Adam (’adam) was created from the dust of the earth (’adama). Whereas ‘eres typically invokes images of land as a geopolitical reality, ’adama may invoke more “earthy” images of the land as the source of life.
Thus from the beginning of chapter 7, the tragedy of this entire event is made evident. The very God who has given this land, this ’adama, to ensure the well-being of his people is the same God who must now destroy it because of that very same people.
The phrase the “land (’adama) of Israel” appears 17 times in the book of Ezekiel—and nowhere else in the Old Testament. Perhaps the writer of Ezekiel simply chose a different word at random, or more likely, the writer has chosen a different word in an effort to generate a certain pathos concerning the “soil of Israel.”
The statement in verse 4 that God will not “look on you with pity” may lead some to conclude that God is stoic in his decisions and aloof from the consequences of such decisions. But verse 1 reminds the reader such is not the case. The announcement of a coming end in verse 2 is spoken to “the soil of Israel” (verse 1). That which God has tilled, that which God has breathed life into, will now be decimated.
The rationale for judgment
Chapter 7 is connected with the previous chapter through the repetition of one phrase. After the announcement of judgment in each chapter, a rationale is given for the punitive activity of God—“then they will know that I am the Lord.” This summation statement appears 6 times in chapters 6 and 7 (6:10; 6:13; 6:18; 7: 4; 7:9; 7:27). The implications for such a statement, and especially for its frequent repetition, are considerable.
Throughout chapters 6 and 7, the people of Judah appear to no longer know this God. Mingled with their worship of the Lord is their defiling behavior at the high places in the land of Israel. Although these places may have been dedicated to God at some point, their worship became syncretistic, particularly associated with Canaanite rituals. Thus in chapter 6, Ezekiel speaks about the corpses of God’s people that will lie before the idols, altars and incense associated with these high places.
In chapter 7, the same theme is sounded. In the day of disaster, God announces “their silver and gold will not be able to save them” (7:19). But this is more than merely a condemnation of wealth, though it is that in part. The text suggests their wealth has in fact contributed to the manifestation of their own sin: “They were proud of their beautiful jewelry and used it to make detestable idols and vile images” (7:20). The law strictly forbade the making of idols (Exodus 20:4), yet the people did just that, suggesting they did not know God.
Apparently, the idolatrous practices of Israel had become commonplace, so commonplace among the people that they were no longer considered offensive. In an effort to remind the people of the offensive nature of these idols, the LORD announces twice in chapter 7 that they are “unclean” (7:19, 20). The word for “unclean” in Hebrew (nidda) is literally the word for “menstrual blood,” and represents more figuratively, something that is an extreme pollutant. Given the concern for taboos associated with blood and bodily secretions in the ancient world, there is little doubt that the Israelites remained fearful of the contaminating and defiling effects of blood—yet they had grown lax in their concern for items that would contaminate and defile them spiritually. The intent of the text is clear: idols are unclean—they are nidda, extreme pollutants. Ironically, then, by handling an idol an individual is not demonstrating his or her religiosity, but to the contrary, is making oneself incapable of religious activity at all.
The activity in chapter 8 further suggests the Israelites did not know God. In Jerusalem, there were women weeping for Tammuz and men bowing to the sun in the east. All of this was taking place in the court of the Temple—but little of what was taking place gave evidence they knew the God speaking to Ezekiel.
The judgment that will come is meant to rectify this situation. The judgment is not the act of a capricious God—nor is it the act of a God that relishes in exacting punishment. Rather, the judgment that is to come is the result of a strained covenantal relationship in which one side (Israel) no longer even acknowledges the other (God). From such slumber and such apathy, the people of God must be awakened. They must know that he is the Lord.
The movement of God
A brief word must be said about chapter 10. Following the litany of religious and cultic abuses mentioned in chapters 6-9, we are told of Ezekiel’s vision in chapter 10. Similar to chapter 1, Ezekiel uses highly imagistic language to speak of the cherubim that will become the throne of God. Most shocking in Ezekiel’s vision, however, is verse 18: “Then the glory of the LORD departed.”
The unimaginable occurred in this vision. The God who had made his home in the Temple of Jerusalem had abandoned the city. The God who demanded utter loyalty could no longer remain among such a defiled people. The sin of the people ultimately led to the movement of God—but this time it was a movement from, and not toward, his people.
Discussion questions
• Often we dismiss the Old Testament notions of being unclean or defiled. How might the terms “unclean” or “defiled” challenge us to reflect on our own disobedience in new ways?
• It is easy to read texts such as Ezekiel 6-7 and frown upon the behavior of “those people,” but are there things in our own lives that might suggest we are more like them than we would care to admit?
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