Ezekiel’s Prophecy Against the Prophets
In Ezek 13:1-16, Ezekiel prophesied against the false prophets who were prophesying Peace to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. This lesson is on his prophecy against the prophets.
The Source of Their Prophecy
The false prophets prophesy out of their own hearts, v.2. They follow their own spirit, v.3.
The Character of their prophecy – They are foolish prophets, v.3. They are like the foxes in the deserts, v.4. A desert fox is a fennec fox. A group of foxes is called a skulk. To skulk is to hide or conceal something, often out of cowardice or fear, or with sinister intent. Fennecs are very destructive. False prophets fit these descriptions, perfectly. Erwin Rommel was called the Desert Fox because of his daring surprise attacks.
These false prophets didn’t go up into the gaps, and they didn’t make up the hedge, v.5. They are unlike Moses who stood before God in the breach, Ps 106:23.
The Veracity of Their Prophecy
They’ve seen nothing, v.3. They have seen vanity and lying divination, v.6. They said, The Lord saith; and he didn’t say what they professed that he said, v.6. They have seen lies, v.8.
And they made others to hope that they would confirm the word, v.6. That is, their hope was that other prophets would bear witness to their prophecies to confirm them, Deut 19:15. Other false prophets did confirm their prophecies. But the prophets of God did not.
For example, others hoped Micaiah’s prophecy would confirm the prophecy of Zedekiah and the prophets who prophesied as he did, 2 Chr 18:10-12. But, alas, Micaiah didn’t confirm their lie, 2 Chr 18:13-17. Likewise, look at Jeremiah’s reply to Hananiah in Jer 28:1-9. In Jer 28:6, Jeremiah wanted Hananiah’s prophecy to be true. However, the “confirming witnesses” in Jer 28:7-9 were in support of Jeremiah’s prophecy and contrary to Hananiah’s.
The Lord’s Response to Their Prophecy
The Lord said, I am against you, v.8. And he said, They shall not be in the assembly of my people, v.9. They won’t be written in the writing of the house of Israel, v.9. And they won’t enter into the land of Israel, v.9.
The Gist of Their Prophecy
They prophesied, Peace; and there was no peace, v.10. They saw visions of peace, and there was none, v.16. What made them so believable is that they were seductive, v.10, telling people what they wanted to hear.
The Picture of Their Prophecy
They were like a wall daubed with untempered mortar, v.10. To daub is to cover or coat with a soft adhesive matter. Untempered mortar is mortar not brought to a proper consistency. So, a wall daubed with untempered mortar is a wall that looks good, but which will not stand.
In the picture, one built the wall. He’s the first prophet to prophesy, Peace. He would be like Zedekiah in 2 Chr 18:10. Others daubed the wall with untempered mortar. These would be like the prophets who confirmed Zedekiah’s prophecy, 2 Chr 18:11.
Ezekiel preached to these prophets and said, the wall shall fall, v.11. It would fall by a shower, by great hailstones, and by a stormy wind. See Ezek 13:13; Is 28:2. And when it falls, people will ask where the daubing is, v.12. The daubing should have been strong enough to hold.
In other words, if the prophecies of peace had been true, the Chaldeans shouldn’t have been able to besiege and conquer Jerusalem. Nevertheless, just like this picture, the walls of Jerusalem were broken down, 2 Ki 25:10. And the prophets who prophesied lies did die. So this illustration is picture perfect.
According to Ezekiel’s prophecy, the prophets responsible for the weak wall will die when God breaks down the wall and it falls, v.14. The wall will be totally destroyed, v.15. And the Lord will say, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it. They that daubed it are the false prophets who prophesied, Peace, v.16. They go down with their prophecies.
Lesson from Ezekiel’s Prophecy Against the Prophets
We must always believe what God wrote in his words and reject all prophets and prophecies that are contrary to the words of God, no matter how many false prophets might confirm the witness of the liars.