The Gospel According to Ezekiel, Chapter 21

God's Judgment Pronounced Against the South

Ezekiel 20:45-49 marks the transition into chapter 21, where God commands Ezekiel to prophesy against the south, toward Teman and the forest land of the Negev.

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Son of man, set your face toward Teman, and speak out against the south and prophesy against the forest land of the Negev, and say to the forest of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am about to kindle a fire in you, and it will consume every green tree in you, as well as every dry tree; the blazing flame will not be quenched, and the whole surface from south to north will be burned by it. All flesh will see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.”’”

Then I said, “Ah Lord God! They are saying of me, ‘Is he not just speaking parables?’”

The people dismiss Ezekiel's words as mere parables or riddles, failing to take God's judgment seriously. Ezekiel's mouth is mute except when God speaks, so these are God's direct words. Their response mirrors how people today often evade warnings about God's kingdom.

Judgment Directed at Jerusalem

God responds with an explicit declaration against Jerusalem, the sanctuaries, and the land of Israel.

And the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and speak against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel; and say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord, “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. Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go forth from its sheath against all flesh from south to north. Thus all flesh will know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword out of its sheath; it will not return to its sheath again.”’

“As for you, son of man, groan with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan in their sight. And when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that is coming; and every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it comes and it will happen,’ declares the Lord God.”

God uses Babylon as His sword to judge Israel, purging both the righteous and wicked. This raises questions: earlier chapters distinguished the righteous who live from the wicked who die. Here, recall the three groups from Ezekiel 3: righteous, wicked, and remnant. The remnant—God's elect—will be spared. The "righteous" are those who appear moral but lack genuine faith, like those warned in Hebrews. They are not yet saved, and judgment calls them to true repentance and faith in Christ.

The Greek translation renders "righteous" as "unrighteous," distinguishing them from the wicked. Regardless, the response to judgment is repentance and trusting God's salvation through Jesus Christ.

The Sharpened Sword of Judgment

Again the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “A sword, a sword sharpened
And also polished!
Sharpened to make a slaughter,
Polished to flash like lightning!
Or shall we rejoice? The rod of My son despises every tree.
It is given to be polished, that it may be handled;
The sword is sharpened and polished
To give it into the hand of the slayer.”
“Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the officials of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with My people, therefore strike your thigh. For there is a testing; and what if even the rod which despises will be no more?” declares the Lord God.’

Verse 13's cryptic "rod that despises will be no more" involves testing, like the Exodus trials that weeded out the unfaithful. God purges to purify His remnant. The Greek sees prior justification and future preservation of a tribe. Ultimately, God preserves His people through sanctification, advancing the righteous toward salvation by purging sin.

“You therefore, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them, that their hearts may melt and many fall at all their gates. I have given the glittering sword. It is made for striking like lightning, it is wrapped up in readiness for slaughter. Show yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your edge is appointed. I will also clap My hands, and I will appease My wrath. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

God must judge sin to appease His wrath. This heightens our view of the cross, where Jesus bore God's wrath (Isaiah 53; Romans 5). Salvation is from wrath through Christ. Never envision a wrathless God apart from the cross—that tolerates sin, as Israel did for 400 years, mistaking patience for impunity. Modern churches downplay wrath, fabricating easy salvation. See God as loving, merciful, just—and merciful because Jesus bore wrath, declaring sinners righteous.

Babylon's Sword Diverted to Jerusalem

The word of the Lord came to me saying, “As for you, son of man, make two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to the city. You shall mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon and to Judah into fortified Jerusalem. For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination; he shakes the arrows, he consults the household idols, he looks at the liver.

Into his right hand came the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth for slaughter, to lift up the voice with a battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up rams, to build a siege wall. And it will be to them like a false divination in their eyes, to those who have sworn solemn oaths. But he brings iniquity to remembrance, that they may be seized.

“Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you will be seized with the hand.’”

Nebuchadnezzar divines between Rabbah and Jerusalem; God directs him to Jerusalem. Their oaths to Babylon are broken, iniquity remembered, transgressions uncovered. Exposure of sin here is judgment, unlike the Christian's healthy exposure to Christ (John 3; Psalm 139). Israel's sin is flaunted, stumbling blocks before their eyes, idols in hearts—constantly remembered.

This equips us: be forgetful of sin. Replace sinful habits with righteous ones. Remove reminders—computers leading to lust, gluttonous foods, toxic relationships. Bad company corrupts (1 Corinthians 15:33). Cut off sin's hand (Matthew 5). The Greek: pursuing sin means being conquered by it. Christian life is "amartylogical amnesia"—forgetting sin through beholding God's glory (Psalm 119:11; Psalm 1). Treasure God's word to displace sin's memory.

Judgment on the Wicked Prince and Promise of the True King

“And you, O slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the punishment of the end,’ thus says the Lord God, ‘Remove the turban and take off the crown; this will no longer be the same. Exalt that which is low and abase that which is high. A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I will make it! This also will be no more until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.’”

Zedekiah's prideful day of judgment comes. God will exalt the humble. "A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, until He comes whose right it is"—Jesus Christ, the eternal King, far superior to treacherous Zedekiah. Under Christ, sinless peace, justice, equity reign eternally.

Final Judgment on the Sword

“And you, son of man, prophesy and say,
‘Thus says the Lord God concerning the sons of Ammon and concerning their reproach,’
and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn,
Polished for the slaughter,
To cause it to consume, that it may be like lightning—
while they see for you false visions,
While they divine lies for you,
To place you on the necks of the wicked who are slain,
Whose day has come, in the time of the punishment of the end.’
Return it to its sheath,
In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin,
I will judge you.
I will pour out My indignation on you;
I will blow on you with the fire of My wrath,
And I will give you into the hand of brutal men,
Skilled in destruction.
You will be fuel for the fire;
Your blood will be in the midst of the land.
You will not be remembered,
For I the Lord have spoken.’”

Those remembering sin will not be remembered. Pursuing temporary pleasures ends in oblivion. Focus on eternal relationship with God on His terms: remember Him, forget sin. ```