The elders among the captives in Babylon would come to listen to Ezekiel. One day the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel concerning these leaders of Israel that were with Ezekiel in captivity and were setting with him.
God has a message for these elders. God says they have “idols in their hearts” and “put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces.” These elders enquire of the Lord, but are determined to see things from their own perspective. They use the Lord’s name, but only accept what they have already determined is what they want.
God says that if an Israelite inquires of the Lord in this condition (“idols” and “blocks”) then “the Lord will answer him myself in keeping with his great idolatry.” This means God will not answer the Israelite’s question, but will tell the man what he desires to hear. He will not tell him the truth, but what the idolatrous Israelite wants to be true. The Lord says he “will answer them myself in keeping with their great idolatry.” (Ezekiel 14:4)
God tells them, “Repent!” (Ezekiel 14:6). Then, in verse 9 (Ezekiel 14:9) the Lord says:
“And if the prophet is enticed to utter a prophecy, I the Lord have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel.” - Ezekiel 14:9
God will set his face against the man who comes to God for direction. The Lord will “entice” the prophet who wants to give a pleasing answer and not the truth to the man enquiring of the Lord.
“Entice” is the Hebrew word pathah. The root means “to open”, “to be roomy”, “to be simple”, “to delude”. It means, “allure, deceive, flatter, and persuade.” The New International Dictionary of OT says, “Scriptures speak of the Lord deceitfully inspiring false prophets” concerning this verse and
1 Kings 22:21-23. |
