A new chapter in the Hebrew Bible begins with 20:45. The section of the book that it begins contains four messages of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem with special emphasis on the judgment coming on the leaders of the people. The Lord explained the basis for His judgment of Judah (20:1-44) and then proceeded to describe and to affirm the certainty of that judgment (20:45-21:32).
21:8-10 Another of Ezekiel's messages was to be poetic. He was to announce that a sword had been sharpened and polished and was now ready to go to work slaughtering people quickly.
"A sword, a veritable Excalibur with a life of its own, is made ready for its grim destiny."296
How could the people rejoice since the rod (scepter, symbol of authority) of God's representative (son) would have no respect for anyone (despise every tree, cf. 20:47) in this judgment? They could not. God's son here refers to Nebuchadnezzar who would accomplish God's will by executing His punishment.
The figures of the rod and the son of God both describe Messiah elsewhere (cf. Gen. 49:9-10; 2 Sam. 7:14), so Ezekiel's hearers were accustomed to thinking of these figures as representing their deliverer. But here they learned that God had another son with a scepter who would destroy them (cf. Isa. 10:5, where the rod is the Assyrians).
21:11 It was as though God had polished the sword with which He would judge His people and had placed it in the hand of their slayer, Nebuchadnezzar.
21:12-13 Ezekiel was therefore to cry out and slap his thigh in great despair because this judgment was coming on the people and officials of Judah (cf. Jer. 31:19). The leaders would die with the rest of the people. This cutting off of Israel's leadership was a cause for even greater sorrow than the destruction of the ordinary Israelites. This would really test the nation. The Judahites should not despise the rod that the Lord would use to judge them; they should not think that Nebuchadnezzar lacked the power to destroy Judah. Nevertheless even Nebuchadnezzar would not prevail over Israel ultimately because the rod Messiah would be the final victor.
21:14-15 Ezekiel was to clap his hands together as he continued to prophesy symbolizing his approval of God's will (cf. 6:11; 22:13; 25:6; Num. 24:10; 2 Kings 11:12; Job 27:23; Ps. 47:1; Isa. 55:12). But he was also to announce the awfulness of the coming sword-like judgment.
Some translators interpret the description of the invasion as coming three times and doing double damage the third time (e.g. NKJV). This may be a reference to Nebuchadnezzar's three invasions of Jerusalem in 605, 597, and 586 B.C., the last invasion being twice as bad as the other two.297Another preferable translation is that the sword would strike twice or even three times (e.g. NIV). This suggests that the invasion would come fast from several different angles, that the sword would double or triple itself in its influence.298The invasion would be unusually devastating. Even the great among the people would not escape.299The invaders would surround everyone.
21:15 The sword would cause the people to lose heart and die in the gates of the city, the place where the leaders did business. The Lord had an instrument of judgment (sword) that He had prepared and kept ready that would slaughter His people suddenly (like lightning), namely, Nebuchadnezzar.
21:16-17 The Lord spoke to His instrument of judgment urging it to show itself sharp by slaying His people on every side, as the Lord directed. Yahweh would also give His approval by clapping His hands and appeasing His wrath against His sinful people.
"At least some of the problem that Ezekiel's audience had in accepting such a gloomy picture of the future can be traced to the natural religious tendency to think of God as kindly and thus not really capable of punishing people decisively. Why would God destroy His own beloved people in whom He had invested such time and effort since He brought them out of Egypt centuries before? Some of the problem lay also in people's natural, routine optimism. It is hard to imagine the country in which one grew up and enjoyed life in the past actually coming to an end, never again to be an independent nation, never again to have its own government and laws and economy and stable traditions."300
21:18-20 The Lord also commanded Ezekiel to make a representation of two roads coming out of Babylon by which judgment from Yahweh would come. Perhaps he did this by drawing in the dirt or on a tablet. Really there was to be one road leaving Babylon that diverged as it approached Jerusalem, and there was to be a signpost at the fork in the road. One of this road's branches would go to Rabbah, the capital city of the Ammonites to the east of Judah. The other branch would lead to Jerusalem.
21:21-22 When the king of Babylon reached the fork in the road, he used pagan methods to determine which road he should take (cf. Isa. 47:8-15). Belomancy involved writing various names on several arrows, mixing them in a quiver, and then drawing or throwing them out. The arrow chosen indicated the god's selection. Teraphim were household idols that the pagans believed had connections with the spirits of departed ancestors who could communicate with them (necromancy). Hepatoscopy involved inspecting the liver or entrails of a sacrificed animal and making a decision based on its shape, color, or markings.
Both Judah and Ammon had proved to be disloyal vassals; they had both rebelled against Babylon in 593 B.C. The lot fell to go against Jerusalem and to besiege it rather than Rabbah. Obviously the Lord controlled the pagan means that Nebuchadnezzar used to determine what He should do (Prov. 16:33; 21:1; Jer. 27:6).
21:23 Nebuchadnezzar's decision to come against Jerusalem would look like a mistake to the leaders of Israel. It would seem to them that God should have guided him to besiege the Ammonites since they were more wicked. Furthermore Israel's leaders had sworn oaths of allegiance to Yahweh in response to His sworn promises to them. They thought surely He would defend them, but they were wrong. He would allow Nebuchadnezzar to capture them.
21:24-27 The Lord would remember the sins of His people and allow them to suffer conquest (Deut. 28-29). He would allow their destruction because their many sins were open before Him. Even wicked King Zedekiah, the prince of Israel, would be as good as dead when his day of judgment came with the taking of Jerusalem. The Lord would remove the high priest's turban and the king's crown by terminating their offices. Then there would be a reversal of fortunes, the powerful would be humbled and the poor of the land would be the only people allowed to remain in it. Yahweh would make Jerusalem the ultimate ruin.301It would no longer enjoy its former glories until One would come who had a divine right to replace both high priest and king (cf. Ps. 110:2, 4; 72; Isa. 9:6; Jer. 23:5; 33:17; Zech. 6:12-13). God would then give the city into His control (Gen. 49:10). This is a messianic prediction of Jesus Christ's future earthly reign (cf. Heb. 5-7).
21:28-30 As for Ammon, the Lord said, it too would fall under His judgment (cf. 25:1-7).302The Ammonites were saying that the Judahites deserved destruction because of their wickedness. They attacked and plundered the land of Judah after the siege of Jerusalem. However, Yahweh would put His sword of judgment on Judah away to rest; Israel's enemies would attack her no more. Then He would judge the Ammonites in their ancient homeland.
21:31-32 The Lord promised to judge the Ammonites in the fierceness of His wrath and to deliver them into the hands of their enemies. He would burn up their cities and cause their blood to flow in their fields. There would be no future for the Ammonites, but there would be for the Israelites.
"To the Semitic mind nothing could be more terrible: no prospect of restoration, no continuance in succeeding generations, no memorial, not even a memory. Oblivion."303
