The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “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!’ 3 Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! 4 Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. 5 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. 6 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. 7 Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, whenever you have said, ‘Declares the Lord,’ although I have not spoken?”
8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, I am against you, declares the Lord God. 9 My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord God. 10 Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash, 11 say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. 12 And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you smeared it?’ 13 Therefore thus says the Lord God: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. 14 And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord. 15 Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it, 16 the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord God.
17 “And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own hearts. Prophesy against them 18 and say, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive? 19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies.
20 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against your magic bands with which you hunt the souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will let the souls whom you hunt go free, the souls like birds. 21 Your veils also I will tear off and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand as prey, and you shall know that I am the Lord. 22 Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his evil way to save his life, 23 therefore you shall no more see false visions nor practice divination. I will deliver my people out of your hand. And you shall know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 13 ESV
Ezekiel 13 Woe to the Foolish Prophets
Who follow their own spirit - It is not God speaking to them; the Holy Spirit is not guiding them. They speak what they come up with from their own depraved minds and feelings. They judge what is said by how much they would want to hear it, and by it's marketing value, "what do my listener's want?" Moses, Elijah, Isaiah and Jeremiah have all warned against this type.
1If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you, 2and if the sign or wonder he has spoken to you comes about, but he says, “Let us follow other gods (which you have not known) and let us worship them,” 3you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. For the LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul.… Deuteronomy 13: 1-3
…21You may ask in your heart, “How can we recognize a message that the LORD has not spoken?” 22When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the message does not come to pass or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him. Deuteronomy 18: 21-22
Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins - They can't rebuild, but they will dig burrows into what others have done. They didn't take down the game, but when the lion looks the other way they are quick to tear off pieces. These are scavengers, opportunists, stirring up contentions in order that they may profit from them.
That it might stand in battle - These called themselves spiritual, but Jerusalem is in ruins spiritually, and this puts them at odds with God. You gave the people no sound direction, only lying visions and now they are grossly unprepared for what is coming. These prophets draw God's wrath, the day of His vengeance; their wisdom is not wisdom at all, for if they had any it would have shown itself in silence.
Although I have not spoken - They keep saying, "declares the Lord." Whenever I hear men saying that today, or "thus saith", "hear the word of the Lord", if they are not reading from the Bible then I walk away.
…14Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say, ‘You must not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying to you a lie. 15For I have not sent them, declares the LORD, and yet they are prophesying falsely in My name; therefore I will banish you, and you will perish— you and the prophets who prophesy to you.” 16Then I said to the priests and to all this people, “This is what the LORD says: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, ‘Look, very soon now the articles from the house of the LORD will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying to you a lie.… Jeremiah 27: 14-16
My hand - You are afraid of not being liked by men, of not having riches here, of not saying what people want to hear, but you have made a far more horrifying enemy.
…27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.… Matthew 10: 27-29
Nor be enrolled in the register - Some 70 years later this will be seen when Ezra returns with people to Jerusalem.
…61And from among the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, and the descendants of Barzillai (who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name). 62These men searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. 63The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.… Ezra 2: 61-63
Say to those who smear it with whitewash - The prophets and the priest had taken Judaism and turned it into an abomination like that of Roman Catholicism, wherein they kept the feasts, they enjoyed rituals, but also added upon the law things that God never said, and removed the weightier things. The religion they built was flawed, the wall was poorly put together and the answer they came up with was paint it, cover it up. Man looks on the outside, but God looks upon the heart.
…26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well. 27Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.… Matthew 23: 26-28
When there was no peace - Somehow these prophets saw what was not, and this fed a people who wanted the comfort of their words, but Babylon came like hail and tore down what remained.
Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists - There were also female false prophets, and many of these seem to employ the sorcery common to the land, blending Judaism with paganism.
They told deliberate lies to those who consulted them, and came to them to be advised, and to be told their fortune: "You do mischief by your lying to my people that hear your lies (v. 19); they come to be told the truth, but you tell them lies; and, because you humour them in their sins, they are willing to hear you." Note, It is ill with those people who can better hear pleasing lies than unpleasing truths; and it is a temptation to those who lie in wait to deceive to tell lies when they find people willing to hear them and to excuse themselves with this, Si populus vult decipi, decipiatur-If the people will be deceived, let them. - Matthew Henry
“We can only guess at what, precisely, were the magic wristbands and head veils created by the sorceresses.” (Vawter and Hoppe)
iii. “In Babylonia Jewish women were selling charms and’ spells. They were ready to do anything for even a small reward, putting a curse on the innocent, and promising a long and safe life for wrongdoers.” (Wright)
“Women held a higher place in Israel than among most other nations. While there were no priestesses in Israel, the nation knew the prophetic ministry of women.” (Feinberg) There are several examples:
· Miriam, the sister of Moses (Exodus 15:20, Numbers 12:2).
· Deborah (Judges 4:4).
· Huldah (2 Kings 22:14).
· The wife of Isaiah (Isaiah 8:3).
· Noadiah, a false prophetess (Nehemiah 6:14).
· Anna, the daughter of Phanuel (Luke 2:36).
· The four daughters of Philip (Acts 21:9).
In the hunt for souls - They used the afore mentioned items as part of their witchcraft. They were mediums, putting curses upon people, like the prophet Balaam would do, but also speaking to the dead, raising up or "hunting" their souls. Necromancy was forbidden by God, but people sought them out just like the false prophets on tv, to hear a word, to know the future, to get advice from beyond. I have sat with "Christians" today that hold Dr. Phil in higher esteem than one who is faithful to the word of God, and yet this man has a necromancer on his show and refers to him as an expert on the spiritual. Churches let charlatans in their pulpits all the time, like Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Beth Moore, all preaching against the self denial that Jesus calls His followers to.
7Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I can go and consult her.” “There is a medium at Endor,” his servants replied. 8So Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and he set out with two of his men. They came to the woman at night, and Saul said, “Consult a spirit for me. Bring up for me the one I name.”… 1 Samuel 28: 7-8
…19I know your deeds—your love, your faith, your service, your perseverance—and your latter deeds are greater than your first. 20But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling.… Revelation 2: 19-21
Alexander had a different understanding of this barley and pieces of bread: “Barley and bread were also instruments of sorcery (v.19). Some have understood the bread and barley to represent the cheap payment these prophetesses would accept in return for their occult practices; but Hittite practices and later Syrian rituals demonstrate that divination was carried out with barley bread either as part of the pagan sacrificial ritual or as a means of determining whether the victim would live or die.”
That he shall not turn from his evil way - Like the mother that refuses to punish or allow punishment of her child, she has encouraged him not to repent, for in their foolish minds he is just a good hearted boy that once in a while does bad things. If you give money to a prosperity teacher then they will have a good word for you, though that is not what your soul needs. Repent and be saved, the call has gone out, deny yourself and take up the cross, you must be born again.
To save his life - And what good have you done anyone? It was not in your power to change what God has said, though heaven and earth pass away, His word will remain, and He says, "the wages of sin is death."
1What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?… Romans 6: 1-2
…3So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? 5But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.… Romans 2: 3-5
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