There is a lot wrong with Israel in Ezekiel’s time, enough for God to allow Israel to be invaded and conquered by the Assyrians. In the preceding chapters of Ezekiel God says:
“An end has come; the end has come; it has awakened against you…Now I will soon pour out my wrath upon you, and spend my anger against you, and judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations” (Eze. 7:6, 8)
“The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice” (Eze. 9:9).
“…I have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from me and over their eyes that go whoring after their idols” (Eze. 6:9)
The first time God appears to Ezekiel he says this:
“Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendents also are impudent and stubborn…” (Eze. 2:3-4)
From these few quotes we see that Israel is full of injustice, abominations, idols, rebellion, impudence, and stubbornness. These are not positive qualities.
In chapter thirteen God condemns false prophets, mocking those who say, “ ‘Declares the LORD,’ when the LORD has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word” (Eze. 13:6). These self-proclaimed prophets “follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!” (13:3). They “have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel” (Eze. 13:4), when they should have been like sentinels, waiting for the word of the Lord.
When it comes to false prophets, Israel’s real problem is that they listen to them. That's always the problem with any lie: somebody believes it. God says, “You have profaned me among my people…by your lying to my people, who listen to lies” (Eze. 13:19). Only a fool believes a lie, and false prophecies turn us into fools.
Here are some things that I learned about false prophets from reading this chapter:
1) False prophecy hurts faith. It appears that such stunted logic (men creating prophecy and then being surprised when it is not fulfilled) is what leads to a popular proverb at this time, mentioned in the previous chapter: “The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing” (Eze. 12:22). What an arrogant saying! What a faithless saying! But it is something we often fall into, we often think, “Where is God?” “Where are His promises?”
2) False prophecy misleads God’s people. One of God’s biggest accusations in this chapter is that “they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash…There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you smeared it?’” (Eze. 13:10, 11-12).
At the end of the chapter God talks specifically about how it misleads people: “Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his evil way to save his life” (Eze. 13:22). False prophecy can make a righteous man feel guilty and a sinner feel righteous.
3) False prophets are popular. And they get there by sugar-coating (or white-washing) things. False prophets don’t get popular because they are declaring the word of the Lord – in fact, looking at all the prophets it would seem that successfully delivering the word of the Lord didn’t make you a popular guy. False prophets are popular because they are saying what people want to hear. As Paul says in the New Testament, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Tim. 4:3-4). This was written at a different time in history, but the concept rings true then, in Ezekiel, and now. The reason some churches are so big today is because the preaching is only about wealth and prosperity and how God wants to bless you – and, admittedly, it is an enticing message. It’s much easier to listen to that “invitation” than Christ’s sobering words: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
4) False prophets are disobedient to God. Maybe this one’s obvious, but in making their prophecies they are dishonoring the living God by putting words in His mouth. Let me (fittingly), let God speak on this one: “Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, I am against you, declares the Lord GOD. My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations” (Eze. 13:8-9).
This one especially terrifies me. It’s never good to put words into someone else’s mouth, it will inevitably come back to reach you, and when it does, it will be painful. It’s a person’s honor that you are attacking when you put words into their mouth. Now, no matter how angry or vengeful your friend or whoever might be, imagine doing this to God. As the writer of Hebrews says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31).
5) False prophets are snares, dragging people to hell with them. Apparently there was a specific kind of woman prophet that God is addressing in the second half of this chapter, to whom he says: “Woe to the women who sew magic bans upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive?” (Eze. 13:18). I don’t know specifically what these women were doing, but apparently it was manipulative and misleading. God also says that these women “have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keep alive souls who should not live” (Eze. 13:19).
Thankfully, God is ever-watching and guarding of His people – even then, in a time of punishment. And of course, even now. There are other spots in the Bible where God condemns false prophets, but in this chapter He declares:
“Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, I am against you, declares the Lord GOD. My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.” (Eze. 13:8-9)
And at the end of this chapter God says something that, if I’m reading it correctly, is kind of funny to me (God always gets the last laugh):
“…therefore you shall no more see false visions nor practice divination. I will deliver my people out of your hand. And you shall know that I am the LORD.” (Eze. 13:23)
I’m not sure if these false prophets were seeing visions – and if they were, it would have been from demons and not God – but if they were the type that like to act super-spiritual, the type that likes to act like they have a deep connection to the supernatural – in other words, they faked things a little for their reputation – then this is especially funny. God is going to put an end even to their fake visions. And that’s funny, because God ultimately has power over the lies we are told, and He promises to deliver His children out of such things.
I’ll close these thoughts with two things Jesus said that are especially refreshing after this semi-depressing and frustrating topic. It is in Him that we can find an ever-faithful prophet, an ever-faithful witness, who won’t lie or make up things and tack on a “Declares the Lord”. He is Truth incarnate:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:6-7)
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)
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