“The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the Lord. They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘Declares the Lord,’ when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, whenever you have said, ‘Declares the Lord,’ although I have not spoken?”” (Ezekiel 13:1-7 ESV)
The times that we’re living in often remind me of God’s dealing with Israel. Just as in the days of Israel, there is no shortage today of people claiming to speak on God’s behalf. Not to mention those religions that attack, murder, and curse in the name of God, some who claim to be Christians have no shortage of blasphemies to speak in the name of God. We must acknowledge that the temptation to preach what is pleasing to man will always be present. So this text is a reminder to the preacher to stay faithful to what God has said, and a call to the listeners to discern and listen only to those preachers who faithfully expound God’s Word.
Notice the contrast that will prevail in this passage: Ezekiel receives the Word of God while others profess to have received it. And what Ezekiel receives is a hard and unpopular word. He is to prophesy against those who have spoken falsely. This is going to cause the false prophets to call down curses on Ezekiel, and there will always be those faithful followers of the false prophets who will also denounce Ezekiel. Then we must not forget those that will call Ezekiel unloving and divisive for his stand for the purity of the Word of God. The preacher must always speak as loving as He can, and strive to always maintain unity. But there is no true love and no true unity where truth has been lost. At all costs, no matter the reaction, the Word of God must be brought and the man of God must faithfully deliver it.
When describing those that lie about God’s Word, God shows the magnitude of their sin. He calls them “those who prophesy from their own heart: ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’” They have not sought the Lord, but followed the evil inclinations of their own hearts. More heinously, they attribute their own messages as those that have come from God. The horror of this atrocity can not be minimized. It is the horror of depriving the sick children from the very life-giving fountain that will restore their life and joy forever. It is the denial to feed the newborn babe with the milk of strong health. It is the turning away from mother, father, brother, friend, daughter, son, and wife as they perish in the almighty blaze of the fire that could have so easily ensure their survival. It is the grievous error of the prophet lusting after the fame of men, pride of self-exaltation, self-reliance of creativity, appearance of spiritual superiority, and love affair with idolatry. They boast from within and brag of the spiritual sights that they have seen when their hearts and spirit are dried corpses and their sights are full of imaginative deception.
And unfortunately, the false prophet does not just hurt himself. He is essence attacking the people that he was supposed to protect. God calls them “jackals among ruins.” They are not just content to speak their falsehoods, they frequent the wastelands they’ve created in order to pick off all remaining life. They are the worst kind of traitors. When they were the ones standing guard, they turned to attack the city they had sworn to defend. Where they were supposed to built the walls that were the defenses of God’s people, they chose to sneak in other enemies to join in utterly decimating God’s people.
They rob God’s people of the hope that is found in His Word. They tell the people that that there is strength to be found, while they remove all possibilities of that strength being found. God has never left His people alone. Although He may be invisible, He has always spoken along the way, “I am still with you. Ahead is my battle, behind I have you covered, and you go in the strength which I give you. Do not fear though the troubles come.” Yet the false prophets refuse to hear what God truly says. Instead they prophesy peace. Then when the battle comes, the people think that God has forsaken them. “He did not tell us this was coming! He has deserted us! Maybe He has lost control!” The false prophet refuses to remind the people to “stand in battle in the day of the Lord.”
The false prophets are full of false visions filled with false gods. They picture a god like man and they enjoy their lying divinations. They expect God to act as they tell him to act. Some false prophets may believe that they are even speaking in faith. If they have enough faith that what their saying is really God’s Word, then He will be sure to fulfill what they are saying. But “the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word.” Here we have the greatest arrogance, “Because I said it, God is obligated to do it.” For the false prophet, the idea of God is just a means by which their own ends may be achieved. They do not know the God of whom they profess to speak.
Believer, God is zealous for His glory. One way that He upholds the glory of His name is through His Word and your trust in it. Thankfully, we have a complete revelation of God’s Word to us in our Bible. God has passionately ensured (through men like Ezekiel) that the books contained in it are the very books which God Himself has inspired and brought to pass. You can trust that the Bible has all that is needed for life, salvation, and godliness (which is basically happiness). Find that preacher that faithfully preaches God’s Word and you will find the breaches filled, the city wall of your faith built up, and the strength to stand firm in the battle for God’s Word in the day of the Lord.
