Ezekiel 13:17

Ezekiel 13:17 says, Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them,  Ezekiel was told to not only set his heart against the men who prophesied falsely, but against the women as well.  We may say that women should never prophesy, or proclaim God’s word, but God said that He would pour out His Spirit on both men and women who put their faith in Him and they would prophesy.  We may always think of only men being able to prophesy for or against God, but God said that both men and women would proclaim His  word, but God is no respecter of people, so both men and women will be held accountable for their sins, especially if they are professing to proclaim God’s word when they aren’t.   

Verse eighteen adds, And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you?  These  prophetesses held the people in awe with their lies.  They would make it seem that they were giving comfort to the people of Israel, but it would all be based on lies.  There are still women today who profess to speak for God who build all their promises on falsehoods, but those women who profess to be followers of Christ never will if they have actually accepted Him as their Savior and Lord.   

Verse nineteen continues, And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?  God asked if the people would trade His truth for a handful of barley and pieces of bread. They were under siege and bread was scarce at this time, but the situation was not going to change no matter who proclaimed that it would.  Matthew Henry says that the people came to them to be told the truth of God, but they told them lies instead.  When people are in need today, they may be willing to put their faith in anyone who proclaims that everything is going to get better without putting their faith in God.   

Verse twenty states, Wherefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly.  God said He was going to free the people from the false teachings of these false prophetesses.  We should never put our faith in an individual but  must always put our faith in God.  If someone proclaims that we can find peace outside the will of God, they are leading astray those who believe them.  God said He would destroy these pillows that they proclaimed would bring peace to the people, and He will one day destroy all the false gods that people put their faith in.   

Verse twenty-one adds, Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.  Along with the pillows God said He was going to destroy their kerchiefs that they proclaimed to bring peace to the people.  Every false god that people put their faith in will one day be destroyed by God and those who put their faith in them will discover that there is only One God Who can redeem them, but for too many this knowledge will come too late.   

Verse twenty-two continues, Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:  God said that the prophesies of these women made the hearts of the righteous sad when He had not made them sad.  He also said that they strengthened the hand of the wicked so that they would not turn to Him for salvation. As followers of Christ, we should never allow false prophesies to make us sad about our relationship with God.  If we are not a follower of Christ, we can never put our faith in the things of this world and expect them to bring us success.  Everything gained outside the will of God will one day be destroyed and those who put their faith in them instead of God will be sent away to everlasting punishment, no matter how many people say this isn’t true.  

Verse twenty-three concludes, Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.  God said that these women would see no more vanity, or prophesies based on nothing and that He would deliver the people out of their hands.  When we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, He will deliver us from the lies of the world as long as we are faithful to Him, 

Ezekiel 13:13

Ezekiel 13:13 says, Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it.  God told Ezekiel that He was going to destroy the wall with the wind of His fury and an overflowing shower of His anger and that His fury would be like giant hailstones.  We need to remember that God had redeemed the people of Israel and entered into a covenant relationship with them, which they now rejected, so they had brought God’s anger and fury on themselves by their actions.  If we don’t accept God’s gracious gift of salvation and enter into a covenant relationship with Him, we will one day face His judgment.   

Verse fourteen adds, So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. God said that the untempered mortar would be discovered and the wall would fall.  The things built by man without God's guidance will always be proven to be untempered, or untrue we could say, and they will always fall when God’s judgment comes if not before.  God said that when this happened that they would be consumed in the middle of the city and would know that He is God.  One day, all those who have refused to put their faith in Jesus Christ will fall, and then they will know that God is God, but it will be too late to do them any good. 

Verse fifteen continues, Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered morter, and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it;  God said that when this happened that His wrath on the people for their disbelief would be accomplished.  This wrath would be not just at the wall that people looked at for protection instead of looking to Him, but on the people who built it as well.  God’s wrath will always be on sin and those who have lived committed to sinful actions, those living without looking to Him for salvation and protection, because He has already provided for their salvation and they refused to accept it.  

Verse sixteen concludes, To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord God.  God then said that this applied to the false priests of Israel who were prophesying peace when there was no peace.  We are never going to find spiritual peace outside the will of God, and those who proclaim this will never be endorsed by God, especially if they proclaim themselves to be His people and proclaim any other way to salvation and peace that is not founded in God’s word.  

Ezekiel 13:9

Ezekiel 13:9 says, And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord God.  God said that these false prophets would never be a part of the house of Israel when He assembled them together again and their names would not be written in the writing of the house of Israel.  False prophets will never really be a part of the church, and their names will never be written in the Lamb’s book of life.  They may deceive many people, but they will never deceive God, and neither will anyone who professes to be a Christian, but who does not base this on God’s word.   

Verse ten adds, Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter:  God said this was because they had preached peace when there was none and built up a wall that would not stand.  Whatever we proclaim to be God’s word that really isn’t and no matter what defense we may think we have in the world today will not stand when God’s judgment comes.  No matter how many people may work together to bring about peace without God, they will never find lasting peace.   

Verse eleven continues, Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.  God told Ezekiel to tell the people who were daubing with untempered mortar and that the wind and rain would destroy it.  It wouldn’t even take an army to destroy this untempered wall, built to defend them without God’s power. It  would be destroyed by the elements.  We will never find protection outside the will of God and whatever we may put our faith in, God can easily destroy.   

Verse twelve adds, Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?  God said when the wall fell, that the people would be asked where the daubing that they did went.  It would have been washed away, and so will any defense that we think we have against evil in the world today outside the will of God.  There is nothing else that will protect us spiritually but faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to God's word.