THE SONG OF THE SWORD OF GOD As the Lord proclaimed that He had forsaken the city (Jerusalem); and even confirmed that He will kindle it with fire; the Jews answered saying: “Does he not speak parables?!” (Ez 20:49) That is why, in this chapter, He speaks openly of that fire; namely, the chastising fiery sword: 1- A prophesy against Jerusalem 1-7. 2- A sword, sharpened and polished 8-17. 3- The two ways of the king of Babylon 18-24. 4- Words against king Zedekiah 25-27. 5- A prophesy against the Amonites 28-32. 1- A PROPHESY AGAINST JERUSALEM He commanded His prophet to set his face toward Jerusalem (Ez 21:1), and to prophesy frankly against the holy land, the holy city, and the holy temple. The prophet Ezekiel, who previously, and in several situations, interceded and supplicated for them (Ez 9:8), is now called to proclaim God’s judgment that will come over Israel that declared its rejection of the commandment, and its open stubbornness. He is uttering the words of God; saying: “Behold, I am against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath, and cut off both righteous and wicked from you” (Ez 21:3). This does not mean that He will kill both of them without discernment. But He will set aside the righteous, to transfer him to the land of the Chaldeans; like the good figs (Jer 24); and will cut off the wicked, by having him killed in Judah. Thus the land would lose the two of them through captivation and the sword. The Lord has clarified His position concerning the good figs in Jeremiah as such: “Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judas, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them out. Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart” (Jer 24:5-7). So although He would cut off both the good and the bad figs from Jerusalem; but He will discern between this and that. He asked His prophet to sigh with bitterness before their eyes; and it shall be when they ask him why he is sighing, he would answer: “Because of the news. When it comes, every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass” (Ez 21:7). Here God does not speak parables, but gives real news and actual facts, before which all would tremble! 2- A SWORD, SHARPENED AND POLISHED This sword is not Nebuchadnezzar’s, but it is the sword of God Himself, who uses that king for chastisement. It does a good job. It is sharpened and polished; slays the princes of Judah; together with their people. A great and deadly sword, that thrusts once, twice and thrice. It comes the first time after an oral warning; and the second time after the prophet strikes his thigh (Ez 21:12); and the third time after he strikes his hands together (Ez 21:14). It is as though drawing the sword is not a goal by itself; but it is drawn when the people and those responsible disregard the warnings of God. 5 It is to be noticed that, while it is a sharpened sword, to slay the wicked; but, for the children of God, it is a rod of chastisement, to cut off in them the green branch (the pagan worship), and not their souls; describing it as: “The scepter of My Son despises all sticks” (Ez 21:10); and not all souls. It is coming to cut off evil and sin; and not the sinners. It is a “testing sword” (Ez 21:13). if someone despises it, he shall be no more; But if someone turns from his evil; he shall be saved. It is also to be noticed, that it is drawn against the people as well as against all the princes of Israel, who rejected the prophecy. It is not prejudiced on the side of a ruler at the expense of the people; all are equal before it. Finally, it stands at every gate, thrusting right and left; sparing no one (Ez 21:15, 16). 3- THE TWO WAYS OF THE KING OF BABYLON It seems that the king of Babylon came to a point where the road parted to two directions: one leads to Jerusalem and the other to Rabbah, the capital of the Amonites. Then he started to meditate, which of them he should attack at first: Jerusalem or Rabbah. He used every pagan divination; from burnishing arrows to shoot to either ways and make a lot, to consulting his idols, to looking at the liver of the sacrifice he offered to his god. The answer came, to start by Jerusalem. Apparently, the answer came through his evil pagan ways; but actually, it was God who covertly planned for the chastisement. Divination is false, but God the Almighty, turned the evil ways of the king into a way to chasten the people. It is to be noticed that the Lord says: “Appoint a road for the sword to go to... Judah, into fortified Jerusalem” (Ez 21:20). It seems that the majority of the people of Judah, came together to Jerusalem, on the assumption that, even if all the cities of Judah fell, God would defend Jerusalem, being ‘the city of the Great King.’ But God confirms that Jerusalem will take the first mighty blow; not only before the other cities of Judah, but also before those of the Amonites. Jerusalem that came to know much about God, was found worthy of the bigger blow; because its iniquity is not out of ignorance, or lack of knowledge, but out of rebellion and disobedience. 4- WORDS AGAINST KING ZEDEKIAH Here God directs His talk directly against king Zedekiah, who destroys his people by his wickedness; saying: “Now to you, O profane, wicked prince of Israel...; whose day has come to remove the turban and to take off the crown” (Ez 21:25, 26). Thinking of himself as great, he destroyed his people. That is why the situation will be reversed, and the arrogant king will lose his crown forever: “Overthrown, overthrown, I will make it overthrown...; Until he comes whose right it is, and I will give it to him” (Ez 21:27). The Lord Christ will come with His humility to reign forever. If the people of Zedekiah perished through the counsel of their king; the Lord of glory will reign, and raise His people and save them, to reign together with Him forever. 5- A PROPHESY AGAINST THE AMONITES The Amonites, having been spared the sword of judgment, because of the preoccupation of Nebuchadnezzar with Jerusalem, rejoiced for the calamity of the people of Jerusalem. They reproached the people who perished, and Jerusalem that was burned. Yet, while the chastisement of Jerusalem was to be temporary, until the time when the spiritual King comes and saves the believers, the sword that will destroy the Amonites; 6 the same one that destroyed Judah, will strike, not to chasten but to consume those who will be remembered no more. The Amonites did not enter into a covenant with God, as Israel did; yet they fell to divine chastisement; because God does not stand iniquity, in the life of His own people, or that of others. The Amonites refer to sin, but not to sinners; to perish by a mighty hand, and to be no longer. (The Amonites were struck five years after Jerusalem). 7 AN INSPIRATION FROM THE BOOK OF E ZEKIEL 21 THE SWORD THAT DESTROYS, AND THE EXECUTER God, You used Nebuchadnezzar as a sword to destroy. Every heart melted; all hands became feeble, and all knees became weak like water. You struck with the sword to discern, in the heart, between the evil and the good! You meant by the sword to lead to repentance, and to return to You! Before Your chastisement, my soul trembles, and all my being shake! As long as the sword is in Your hand, O Almighty, O Lover of mankind. My soul will find peace and comfort, O You who accept the sinners! If You allow for chastisement, Allow also for my repentance. Make me repent; and heal me! The Amonites reproached Jerusalem and all Judah, on the day of their chastisement. But the same sword that chastened Judah, destroyed the Amonites! Destroy the Amonites inside me; And chasten Jerusalem inside me! Scatter all evil inside me; And sanctify Your work in me, O the Grantor of salvation and life! I have peace, as long as the sword is in Your own hand, O My Savior!
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