Ezekiel 12

Ezekiel 12 follows the temple vision of chapters 8–11. With this chapter, the symbolic acts and oracles (messages God gave through the prophet) foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem resume. Ezekiel 11 ends with the glory of the LORD departing from the city and Ezekiel relating the vision to the exiles.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 The LORD addresses Ezekiel as "son of man" and tells him that he dwells among a rebellious house that has eyes to see and ears to hear yet neither sees nor hears.
• Verses 3–7 By day Ezekiel brings out his belongings as baggage for exile. At evening he digs through the wall with his own hand, and in the dark he carries the baggage on his shoulder and goes out with his face covered.
• Verses 8–16 The next morning the act is explained as a sign concerning the king in Jerusalem (the "prince" of the KJV) and the house of Israel. The king will be caught in a net and snare and brought to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, where he will die, yet he will not see that land. A few will be spared so that they may declare their abominations among the heathen.
• Verses 17–20 Ezekiel eats his bread with quaking and drinks his water with trembling and carefulness. This is a sign that the cities and the land will be laid waste because of the violence of the land.
• Verses 21–25 The LORD declares that He will put an end to the proverb "The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth."
• Verses 26–28 In response to the claim that Ezekiel's vision concerns times far off, the LORD answers that His word will no longer be delayed but will be fulfilled.

Key Verses

• Ezekiel 12:2 "which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not" — summarizes the spiritual condition of the people that forms the backdrop of the entire chapter.
• Ezekiel 12:11 "I am your sign" — illustrates a distinctive feature of the Book of Ezekiel, in which the prophet's own body and actions become the message.
• Ezekiel 12:28 "There shall none of my words be prolonged any more" — the chapter's conclusion, addressed to those who doubted that prophecy would be fulfilled.

People and Places

• Ezekiel: A prophet who ministered among the exiles in Babylon. In this chapter he performs the symbolic acts.
• The king in Jerusalem: The text does not name him. He is commonly identified as Zedekiah.
• Jerusalem: The city against which judgment is announced.
• Babylon: The place to which the king will be carried; the text also calls it "the land of the Chaldeans."

Points for Reflection

• The statement in verse 13, "yet shall he not see it," is read alongside the accounts in 2 Kings 25 and Jeremiah 52. According to those accounts, Zedekiah was captured while fleeing the city by night, had his eyes put out, and was carried to Babylon. Reading these events as the fulfillment of the prophecy is a widely known interpretation, but the text of Ezekiel 12 itself does not directly mention the king's name or his blinding.
• Interpreters generally regard Ezekiel's symbolic acts as things he actually performed, since verse 7 records, "And I did so as I was commanded." Some scholars, however, regard parts of these actions as visionary experience or literary expression.
• In the Book of Ezekiel, "son of man" is a form of address designating a frail human being standing before God. Although the expression is the same as the title Jesus used of Himself in the Gospels, the two usages are read as distinct.
• The wording of verse 2 resembles Jesus' words to His disciples in Mark 8. The dispute over "delay" in verses 22–28 is often read together with the response in 2 Peter 3 to those who scoff that the Lord's promise is slow in coming.