Ezekiel 20:45

Ezekiel 20:45 says, Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, This was a separate message from what God had been saying to Ezekiel.   

Verse forty-six adds, Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;  Ezekiel was told by God that he was to look to the south and prophesy to the forests there.  Matthew Henry says that this next few verses might have fit better into the beginning of the next chapter since they don’t relate back to the previous verse, but as I have said before, Ezekiel did not put in the chapters, but they came later.  This forest to the south that is referred to is Judah and Jerusalem, which were south of Babylon, so this prophesy was to them.  Lost people today may be as numerous as trees in a forest, but God’s word will always come to them at some point in their lives, beginning with His call to accept His gift of salvation.  Matthew Henry said they were called a forest because the people of Israel were like trees that didn't bear fruit. They had stopped being God’s people in anyway other than in name.   If someone calls themselves a Christian, or if we as a nation call ourselves a Christian nation but are no different than lost people, then we will stop bearing fruit for God and will become useless to Him.

Verse forty-seven continues, And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.  God said for Ezekiel to tell the people that God was going to burn down this useless forest.  The nation of Isreal was no longer living by their covenant relationship with God, so He was going to burn them up.  If we have not entered into a covenant relationship with God, all our works will one day be burned up, and we will be sent away to everlasting punishment in the fires of hell.  

Verse forty-eight states, And all flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.  God said that everyone would see that He had kindled this fire and that no one could quench it. When a person goes away to everlasting punishment in the fires of hell, no one will be able to quench that fire.   

Verse forty-nine adds, Then said I, Ah Lord God! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?  The people that Ezekiel was prophesying to would not understand that he was speaking about them, but would ask if he was speaking a parable, because of their spiritual lack of understanding or because they had no respect for Ezekiel.  Many people today refuse to acknowledge the truth of God’s word because they do not have a covenant relationship with Him and have no respect for preachers or even individual Christians when they share the gospel with them.