13:1-3 The Lord gave Ezekiel a message for the prophets who were devising messages for the Jews from their own hearts and calling them prophecies from Yahweh. He was using the word "prophet"ironically; these were not true prophets, but they claimed to be such. Ezekiel was to announce judgment on these false prophets. They were foolish (Heb. nabal) because they disregarded God's word and relied on themselves. This is the essential mark of this type of fool in the Old Testament (cf. 1 Sam. 25; 2 Sam. 13:13; Ps. 14:1; 74:18).
It is not clear in this chapter whether the Lord was speaking primarily of the false prophets in Jerusalem or in exile. Probably He meant false prophets in both places.
"In the same way that impersonating a police officer is a crime in modern society, because it harmfully defrauds people who trust and obey the police, impersonating a true prophet of the Lord was, by God's law, a fraudulent misleading of Israelites in Ezekiel's day."201
13:4-5 The Lord compared these false prophets to foxes (Heb. shu'alim) that prowled around among ruins looking for holes in which to hide (cf. Neh. 3:35; Lam. 5:18). They had not tried to repair conditions that had resulted in Israel's weakness and vulnerability nor had they strengthened the nation spiritually (cf. 22:30). Building the wall around the house of Israel so it could stand in the battle of the day of the Lord refers to preparing the people for the invasion and siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. The only concern of foxes and these prophets was their own welfare and self-interests. They contributed nothing to the welfare of other needy people.
13:6-7 When these prophets claimed to speak a message from the Lord they were only uttering falsehood and presenting the results of deceptive pagan divination. The Lord had not sent them, yet they expected their prophecies to come to pass. Yahweh asked them if their claimed revelations from Him were not really just false visions and lying divinations.
"Today there are also many false prophets' ministering in religious places, leading people into judgment rather than turning them to Christ and the security of a life of peace with God and eternity with him (cf. 2 Cor 11:13-15)."202
