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Commentary on Ezekiel 21 verses 1–7
The prophet had faithfully delivered the message he was entrusted with, in the close of the foregoing chapter, in the terms wherein he received it, not daring to add his own comment upon it; but, when he complained that the people found fault with him for speaking parables, the word of the Lord came to him again, and gave him a key to that figurative discourse, that with it he might let the people into the meaning of it and so silence that objection. For all men shall be rendered inexcusable at God's bar and every mouth shall be stopped. Note, He that speaks with tongues should pray that he may interpret, Co1 14:13. When we speak to people about their souls we should study plainness, and express ourselves as we may be the best understood. Christ expounded his parables to his disciples, Mar 4:34. 1. The prophet is here more plainly directed against whom to level the arrow of this prophecy. He must drop his word towards the holy places (Eze 21:2), towards Canaan the holy land, Jerusalem the holy city, the temple the holy house. These were highly dignified above other places; but, when they polluted them, that word which used to drop in the holy places shall now drop against them: Prophesy against the land of Israel. It was the honour of Israel that it had prophets and prophecy; but these, being despised by them, are turned against them. And justly is Zion battered with her own artillery, which used to be employed against her adversaries, seeing she knew not how to value it. 2. He is instructed, and is to instruct the people, in the meaning of the fire that was threatened to consume the forest of the south: it signified a sword drawn, the sword of war which should make the land desolate (Eze 21:3): Behold, I am against thee, O land of Israel! There needs no more to make a people miserable than to have God against them; for as, if he be for us, we need not fear, whoever are against us, so, if he be against us, we cannot hope, whoever are for us. And God's professing people, when they revolt from him, set him against them, who used to be for them. Was the fire there of God's kindling? The sword here is his sword, which he has prepared, and which he will give commission to; it is he that will draw it out of its sheath, where it had laid quiet and threatened no harm. Note, When the sword is unsheathed among the nations God's hand must be eyed and owned in it. Did the fire devour every green tree and every dry tree? The sword in like manner shall cut off the righteous and the wicked. Good and bad were involved in the common calamities of the nation; the righteous were cut off from the land of Israel when they were sent captives in Babylon, though perhaps few or none of them were cut off from the land of the living; and it was a threatening omen to the land of Israel that in the beginning of its troubles such excellent men as Daniel and his fellows, and Ezekiel, were cut off from it and conveyed to Babylon. But though the sword cut off the righteous and the wicked (for it devours one as well as another, Sa2 11:25), yet far be it from us to think that the righteous are as the wicked, Gen 18:25. No; God's graces and comforts make a great difference when his providence seems to make none. The good figs are sent into Babylon for their good, Jer 24:5, Jer 24:6. It is only in outward appearance that there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked, Ecc 9:2. But it speaks the greatness of God's displeasure against the land of Israel. Well might it be said, His eye shall not spare, when it shall not spare, no, not the righteous in it. Since there are not righteous men sufficient to save the land, to make the justice of God the more illustrious the few that there are shall suffer with it, and God's mercy shall make it up to them some other way. Did the fire burn up all faces from the south to the north? The sword shall go forth against all flesh from the south to the north, shall go forth, as God's sword, with a commission that cannot be contested, with a force that cannot be resisted. Were all flesh made to know that God kindled the fire? They shall be made to know that he has drawn forth the sword, Eze 21:5. And, lastly, Shall the fire that is kindled never be quenched? So when this sword of the Lord is drawn against Judah and Jerusalem the scabbard is thrown away, and it shall never be sheathed: It shall not return any more, till it has made a full end. 3. The prophet is ordered, by expressions of his own grief and concern for these calamities that were coming on, to try to make impressions of the like upon the people. When he has delivered his message he must sigh (Eze 21:6), must fetch many deep sighs, with the breaking of his loins; he must sign as if his heart would burst, sigh with bitterness, with other expressions of bitter sorrow, and this publicly, in the sight of those to whom he delivered the foregoing message, that this might be a sermon to their eyes as that was to their ears; and it was well if both would work upon them. The prophet must sign, though it was painful to himself and made his breast sore, and though it is probable that the profane among the people would ridicule him for it and call him a whining canting preacher. But, if we be beside ourselves it is to God; and, if this be to be vile, we will be yet more so. Note, Ministers, if they would affect others with the things they speak of, must show that they are themselves in the greatest sincerity affected with them, and must submit to that which may create uneasiness to themselves, so that it will promote the ends of their ministry. The people, observing the prophet to sigh so much and seeing no visible occasion for it, would ask, "Wherefore sighest thou? These sighs have some mystical meaning; let us know what it is." And he must answer them (Eze 21:7): "It is for the tidings, the heavy tidings, that we shall hear shortly; the tidings come (the judgments come which we hear the tidings of), they come apace, and then you will all sigh; nay, that will not serve. every heart shall melt and every spirit fail; your courage will all be gone and you will have no animating considerations to support yourselves with. And, when heart and spirit fail, it will follow of course that all hands will be feeble and unable to fight, and all knees will be weak as water and unable to flee or to stand their ground." Those who have God for them when flesh and heart fail have him to be the strength of their heart; but those who have God against them have no cordial for a fainting spirit, but are as Belshazzar when his thoughts troubled him, Dan 5:6. But some people are worse frightened than hurt; may not the case be so here and the event prove better than likely? No: Behold it cometh, and shall be brought to pass. It is not a bugbear that they are frightened with, but according to the fear so is the wrath, and more grievous than is feared.
(Verse 35, 36, and following) And I will bring you into a desert of peoples, and there I will judge you face to face. Just as I contended with your fathers in the desert of the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, says the Lord. And I will subject you to my scepter, and I will bring you into the bonds of the covenant, and I will choose from among you the transgressors and the wicked: from their place of residence I will bring them out, and they will not enter the land of Israel, and you will know that I am the Lord. Thus says the Lord: I will do for you who are in Babylon, and now serve idols, what I did for your ancestors in Egypt. I will lead you into the desert of the peoples, and there I will judge you face to face, just as I contended with them in judgment when they came out of Egypt. And after I have judged you, I will subject you to my scepter and rule, and I will make a covenant with you and bring you into your land with the bonds of love, so that bound by my love, you will never be able to depart from me. But I will choose from among you the transgressors and the wicked, who persist in the hardness of their hearts in evil deeds, not for possession, but for rejection. And I will indeed bring them out of the land of their dwelling, so that when they are brought out, they will not enter the land of Israel; but they will perish in various regions. And by the distinction between good and evil, you shall know that I am the Lord, who judges all things. The rest of the discourse hastens, and we briefly go through each point, in order to provide only the meaning to the readers.
(Chapter 21, Verse 1 onwards) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and drop toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel, and say to the land of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, and I will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. Seeing then that I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked: therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh, from the south to the north. And all flesh shall know that I am the Lord, for I have drawn my sword out of its sheath, the sword that cannot be returned. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Therefore, son of man, prophesy and set your face against Jerusalem, and behold their sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel, and say to the land of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, and I will draw my sword out of its sheath and cut off from you the righteous and the wicked. Thus my sword will go forth from its sheath over all flesh from the South to the North, and all flesh will know that I, the Lord, have brought forth my sword from its sheath; it will not return again. For as it was said before: They say of me, is not this one speaking in parables? And the people demanded a clear judgment: therefore what the Lord spoke metaphorically or in parable, and as others interpret, as a proverb, he now speaks more clearly, that the desert of Nageb and Darom and Theman are Jerusalem, and its temple, the Holy of Holies, and all the land of Judah; and the flame which will consume the desert is to be understood as the devouring sword, which has been brought forth from its sheath, to strike down the righteous and the wicked. For this is a green wood and a dry wood. Hence the Lord says: If they do these things in the green wood, what will they do in the dry? (Luke 23:31) For this reason, I do not know what they were thinking, the Seventy interpreted it as unfair and unjust, as if both did not mean the same. And what he had said there: And all flesh shall see that I, the Lord, have kindled it, that is, the wood or the flame, and it shall not be extinguished, he speaks here in other words: That all flesh may know that I, the Lord, have drawn forth my sword from its sheath never to be returned. For truly, the fire against Jerusalem is not extinguished, nor is the burning sword recalled, because there is little time in between, and Jerusalem with its temple is burned by the fire of Babylon.
(Ver. 23, 24 onwards) Again, I raised my hand against them in the wilderness, to scatter them among the nations and disperse them in the lands, because they had not performed my judgments, and had rejected my commandments, and had violated my Sabbaths, and their eyes had been after the idols (or thoughts) of their fathers. Therefore, I also gave them statutes that were not good, and judgments in which they would not live, and I defiled them in their offerings (or transgressions), as they offered (or led astray) everything that opens the womb because of their sins (for which the Septuagint translated, to destroy them and what they had overlooked): and they will know that I am the Lord. Where in the Old Testament, against their children, who fell in the wilderness, the Lord lifted up His hand to scatter them among the nations, Scripture does not say; but it is to be believed that this was done in accordance with what is reported here. Or he signifies by this, that after they entered the promised land, they were given over at various times, for many sins, to different nations and kings, and at that time the commandments of the Lord, which were good according to their nature, and the judgments by which believers could live, were made not good for them, since they were in no way able to keep the precepts of the law in captivity, and to do what the divine word commanded. He did not say, 'I gave them evil commandments,' but, 'not good commandments.' For it does not immediately follow that what is not good is evil, as the Apostle teaches, it is good for a man not to touch a woman; but because of incontinence, let each possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor (I Cor. VII). And if he does not do this, it is neither good nor evil. Therefore, God gave them, dispersed among the nations, not good commandments, that is, he allowed them to follow their own thoughts and desires, to do what is not appropriate. And he defiled them in his gifts: just as a Priest separates lepers from the people, and shows that they are defiled; while they offer to idols what they should offer to God. And they pass everything that opens the womb through the fire of Baal, that is, the firstborn; so that after they have deserted God and been handed over to the worship of idols, then they may understand that He is the Lord whom they have provoked to anger by their own fault. Symmachus interpreted this passage more explicitly, treating the future as past. Therefore, I will also give them bad precepts and judgments for which they will not live, and I will defile them because of their gifts, as they consecrate and offer everything that opens the womb, so that I may destroy them, and they will know that I am the Lord. And the meaning is this: because I have seen the sons of the fathers equaling the wickedness of their ancestors and doing the same things for which they offended God, I wanted to divide them into nations and disperse them throughout the whole world, and give them bad precepts and judgments in which they would not live, so that I may defile them with their gifts, for they consecrated everything that opens the womb to idols, and I may destroy them forever, and they will know that I am the Lord. Through which he showed that he had not given them good commandments who dwelt in the wilderness, but to those whom he wanted to scatter among the nations, and to make foreigners in the whole world, he gave them a desire for things that he did not give: so that there they would do good commandments of God, not good because of their own fault, while they exhibited to idols what God had commanded to be exhibited. This can also be said, that before the offense, they received only the Ten Commandments; but after idolatry and blasphemy, they received multiple ceremonies of the law, so that they would offer victims to God rather than to demons, and by comparison with sacrilege, what was not good in itself became lighter, and by no means evil, because it was offered to God, and yet not good, because they offended the author of good.
(Verse 27, 29 onwards) Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and tell them: Thus says the Lord God: Moreover, your fathers have blasphemed against me and have treated me with contempt, even as they spurned me. And I brought them into the land that I had lifted my hand to give them ((Vulgate adds: that land)): they saw every high hill and every leafy tree, and there they offered their sacrifices and presented there the irritation of their offerings, and they placed there the fragrance of their sweetness, and they poured out their ((Vulgate is silent on this)) libations there. And I said to them, 'What is the high place to which you are going?' And its name was called the High Place until this day. Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: As for your fathers, they have provoked Me to anger by their iniquities, by the fact that they have fallen away from Me. So I brought them into the land that I had lifted My hand in an oath to give them.' They saw every high hill and every leafy tree, and there they offered their sacrifices. They also presented there the provocation of their gifts, and they set there their pleasing aroma, and they poured out there their drink offerings. And I said to them: What is abbana, because you enter there? And they called its name abbana until this day. I wanted, he said, to scatter them in the wilderness, and to give them not good precepts, so that they would sacrifice to idols what they should have offered to me, and consecrate all their first-fruits to them by fire, so that I might kill them and destroy them. But when he says, I wanted, he shows that he did not do what he wanted. And that which follows: 'And they shall know that I am the Lord,' is not found in the Septuagint. For it did not seem fitting to them to know after their destruction that he himself is the Lord. But you, son of man, speak again to them, that is, to the elders of the house of Israel, who have come to inquire of you: Your fathers, from whom you have descended, have also blasphemed against me and held me in contempt; after I brought them into the land which I had given them to possess, they turned against me to provoke me. For when they saw every high hill and leafy tree, they would sacrifice on the mountains and in the groves and thickets, and offer victims to the idols, and pour out libations. And when I saw this, I said to them: What is this, Bama? for it is called high: or why do you enter into such a place which you have chosen for yourselves in all the hills, so that even today these places are called Bamoth, and the ancient error retains its original name? Regarding Bama, which we translate as excelsum, there is an error in the Septuagint edition, where it is written as ἀββανὰ, which does not resonate in the Hebrew language. Bama can mean 'in which' if the two syllables are divided into two words, but in the present context, that sense does not fit. However, wherever it is written in the Books of Kings and Chronicles: 'The people still sacrificed and offered incense on the high places,' Bama in the singular and Bamoth in the plural mean 'high places.'
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SUMMARY
Ezekiel 21:5 powerfully articulates the Lord's unyielding determination to execute His divine judgment, symbolized by a sword drawn from its sheath, against both Israel and the nations. This declaration emphasizes that God's decisive action is irreversible and designed to ensure that all humanity will experientially recognize His sovereign power and authority, acknowledging that the unfolding devastation is unequivocally His doing and will not cease until its revelatory purpose is fully accomplished.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Ezekiel 21:5 is rich in Symbolism and Anthropomorphism. The "sword" is a potent symbol, representing not merely a literal weapon but the instrument of God's divine judgment and wrath, often personified as the Babylonian army. The act of God "drawing forth" His sword is an Anthropomorphism, attributing human actions (unsheathing a weapon) to God to make His decisive and active involvement in the judgment comprehensible. This imagery evokes a sense of immediate danger and irreversible action. The phrase "it shall not return any more" employs Hyperbole to emphasize the absolute finality and unyielding nature of this judgment, conveying that once set in motion, God's decree will run its full, unhindered course. The entire verse functions as a Divine Oracle, a direct pronouncement from God, lending it immense authority and solemnity, reinforcing the certainty of its fulfillment.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Ezekiel 21:5 unveils a profound theological truth about God's character: His unwavering commitment to justice and His ultimate sovereignty over all creation. The judgment depicted is not a sign of God's weakness or absence, but rather His active presence in history, ensuring that His holiness is vindicated and His name known. This verse highlights that even in acts of severe judgment, God's ultimate purpose is revelatory—to bring "all flesh" to a knowledge of Him. This knowledge is not merely intellectual assent but a profound, experiential recognition of His power and authority, demonstrating that He is the true and only God.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Ezekiel 21:5 stands as a stark reminder of the gravity of God's holiness and His unwavering commitment to justice. For those living in rebellion against Him, it serves as a solemn warning that His patience is not infinite, and His warnings are not idle threats. The "sword" of His judgment, once drawn, will accomplish its purpose. This should stir a healthy fear of the Lord, prompting genuine repentance and a turning towards Him in humility and obedience. For believers, this verse reinforces the absolute trustworthiness of God's word, both in its promises and its warnings. It reminds us that God is sovereign over all circumstances, even those that seem chaotic or destructive, and that His ultimate aim is always to reveal Himself. Our appropriate response should be one of humble reverence, unwavering obedience, and a renewed commitment to living in light of His revealed truth, understanding that His justice is as certain and unyielding as His mercy and grace.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does the "sword" in Ezekiel 21:5 symbolize?
Answer: The "sword" in Ezekiel 21:5 is a powerful and multi-layered symbol of God's divine judgment and wrath. While it literally refers to a weapon of war, in this prophetic context, it primarily symbolizes the instrument through which God will execute His righteous judgment upon both covenant Israel and the surrounding nations. Historically, this "sword" was largely understood to represent the invading Babylonian army, which God sovereignly used as His chosen instrument to bring about the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of its people, thereby fulfilling His prophetic warnings against their persistent idolatry, unfaithfulness, and disobedience. The imagery emphasizes the decisive, destructive, and inescapable nature of God's impending action, underscoring that His judgment is not arbitrary but a direct and deliberate act of His holy will, as further elaborated in Ezekiel 21:3-4.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Ezekiel 21:5 speaks of God's drawn sword of judgment against ancient Israel, its ultimate fulfillment and deepest theological resonance are found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The "sword" of divine wrath, once drawn, "shall not return any more" until its purpose is fulfilled. This foreshadows the perfect and complete fulfillment of God's justice in Christ. Instead of the sword falling upon humanity for its sin, the full weight of divine judgment for sin was poured out upon Jesus on the cross. He became the ultimate sacrifice, bearing the "sword" of God's righteous anger against sin, as powerfully prophesied in Zechariah 13:7. Through His atoning death, Christ fully satisfied the demands of God's justice, ensuring that for all who believe, the "sword" of judgment has been sheathed, never to return. The purpose "that all flesh may know" is ultimately realized in the global proclamation of the Gospel, where people from every tribe and nation come to know the Lord not primarily through devastating judgment, but through the saving knowledge of Christ's redemptive work, as declared in John 3:16 and Philippians 2:9-11. The finality of the drawn sword in Ezekiel points to the once-for-all, perfect sacrifice of Christ, which definitively dealt with the problem of sin, ushering in an era of grace and salvation for all who call upon His name, as affirmed in Hebrews 9:26.