Day 246 Reading Schedule: Ezekiel 12-14

Ezekiel 12: A Famine Foreshadowed as a Judgement

[Content Overview]

The people of Judah were still caught up in a false optimism that Jerusalem would not be destroyed. In this situation, the prophet Ezekiel emphasizes the destruction of Jerusalem through a series of signs and messages in this chapter, exhorting them to abandon their false hopes and accept reality. The book is divided into two sections: the first describes the prophet's two symbolic acts of foreshadowing the famine and famine that will come upon Israel through his actions of eating, drinking, and floating (vv. 1-20), and the second introduces two messages that emphasize the certainty of judgment (vv. 21-28).

Ezekiel 13: A Warning Against False Prophets

[Overview]

This chapter exposes the false prophets who are deceiving the people of Israel and pronounces stern curses and condemnations against them. The false prophets boasted that they were imparted with the spirit of prophecy and despised the prophecies of the true prophets sent by God, who ignored Jeremiah's proclamation of seventy years of captivity and pandered to the desires of the people, promising them a speedy return and the prosperity of Jerusalem. They thus contaminated the entire community, giving them false hope and making the true repentance God expected impossible. This section is divided into two parts: the first half (vv. 1-16), which condemns the irresponsible behavior of the false prophets, and the second half (vv. 17-23), which mentions the curse on the false women prophets.

Ezekiel 14: The Inevitable Judgement of God

[Overview]

In this chapter, Ezekiel records the accountability of the elders for their idolatry and a call to repentance for the people of Israel, presenting the inevitability of judgment and the salvation of a remnant. Notably, this section is structured as a response to questions from the elders, rather than a unilateral declaration from God as in previous chapters. It consists of a first half (vv. 1-11) that condemns the false faith of the idolatrous elders, a middle section (vv. 12-20) that proclaims the unalterable absoluteness of judgment, and a final section (vv. 21-23) that promises salvation for the remnant. Through these contents, the author rebukes the abominations of the elders who outwardly pretend to trust God but actually believe more in idols.