Tyndale Open Study NotesEzekiel 12

This section brings together different prophecies and sign acts. A sign act is a symbolic action that a prophet performs to show God’s message.

These prophecies and actions all share one main message. They announce God’s judgment against Jerusalem and its leaders because of their sin.

The people of Judah were not the only ones with stubborn hearts who resisted the prophet's message (Ezekiel 11:19). The exiles living with Ezekiel were also rebellious. They refused to see their wrongdoings and ignored his message, just like those who remained in Judah.

Ezekiel was to dig a hole through the wall to sneak out of a besieged city without being noticed, similar to what Zedekiah later tried to do (2 Kings 25:4).

King Zedekiah could not foresee the coming judgment. He would not see the land he was leaving or the land of the Babylonians. This prophecy came true when the Babylonians captured Zedekiah as he fled from besieged Jerusalem. They forced him to watch as they tortured his sons to death, then they blinded him (2 Kings 25:1–7).

This terrible end for Judah’s last king did not happen only because Babylon wanted to expand its empire. More importantly, the Lord himself planned to judge the king.

The few unhappy survivors confessed their terrible sins to their captors. They did not do this out of repentance, but because they recognized that the Lord had judged them fairly.

Ezekiel trembled and shook while he ate and drank. This was a sign act, a symbolic action that showed God’s message.

His shaking showed the fear and anxiety of the people living in Jerusalem and Judah. They would see that destruction was coming and that they could not escape it.

Later, the exiles would hear that their homeland had been destroyed. Then they would understand something important. They were not rejected by God. Instead, they were the ones who had escaped his complete judgment (see Jeremiah 24:1–8).

The messages in this section address the issue of true and false prophecy.

Ezekiel’s hearers did not want to listen to the message of the prophets. They were unwilling to accept what God was saying.

Because of this, they created a proverb. A proverb is a short saying that expresses a common belief. This proverb showed their doubt and disbelief.

The people did not believe the message from God (Ezekiel 12:22). So the Lord gave them a new proverb.

He used words that were similar to their saying. But he gave those words a different and opposite meaning.

The people responded with a second proverb, and again the Lord refuted them. What the Lord had threatened, he would do.