Ezekiel: God's Judgment on False Prophets

When I first surrendered my life to Christ, I had such a hunger to know my Savior and His Word. Don't think I am trying to claim that I was in any way perfect... I had a lot of a mess to pile through. There is a Bible verse that I feel describes my heart toward Jesus:

Luke 7:47 "Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little"

I had been forgiven MUCH and, in turned, loved the Lord so much for all He had done for me. It was my mission to replace my old way of thinking with His way of thinking. As a result, I listened to a lot of various preachers and teachers, hoping to learn more about my Savior. In the process of seeking, I found a bunch of junk packaged in eloquence and beauty.

People claiming they have insight from the Lord isn't a new thing. In this post, I am taking a look at the prophets in Ezekiel's day that God rebuked for the junk they were selling.

The visions and prophecies that Ezekiel received were some of the most incredibly strange ones found in the Bible. There are numerous exciting things in this book that we could dig into, but I had someone ask me about a specific passage in chapter 13 that is challenging to understand (to say the least). So, I would like to spend some time on it and try to unpack the meaning of the chapter.

Chapter 13 is broken into two sections: the first part addresses coming judgement on false prophets and the second half addresses judgement on the false prophetesses. At the end of chapter 12 the Lord lets Ezekiel know that the visions he has received are for "many days to come" and are "of times that are far off". Some Bible commentators state that chapter 13 is in reference to our times; some focus solely on the nation of Israel in the time of Ezekiel. There is no doubt that the false prophets and prophetesses existed at the time of Ezekiel and the words of the Lord that came to Ezekiel are described in terminology of that time period. However, as we look at the reasons for their judgement, it is undeniable that we are surrounded by people pronouncing the same rhetoric as they were in Ezekiel's time... such as the junk I ran into in my search for deeper understanding of the Lord.

"A Biblical prophet was a person chosen by God to be His spokesperson, delivering His messages—often concerning the future, but also the past and present—to individuals or nations. Their role included calling people to repentance, interpreting God's will, and sometimes performing signs or wonders to confirm their divine authority. These messages were called prophecies and were intended to guide, warn, and encourage God's people to live in obedience to His law and worship." - Google AI

The Lord opens chapter 13 with the crux of the problem... "say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts." (V2) A true prophet/prophetesses should be delivering God's messages, not making up their own. Their message should be one of warning and encouragement to live in obedience to the Lord. Israel was being subjected to a group of charlatans who were "prophesying" lies. God calls out their deceit in no uncertain terms:

"Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!" (V3)

"Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord." (V5) (notice this reference to a day still yet in our future)

"Whereas ye say, The Lord saith it, albeit I have not spoken?" (V7)

"Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace." (V10)

The Lord very directly states that these "prophets" will be held accountable for their lies that were used to deceive His people.

As we move to the second half of chapter 13, the focus is still on false prophecies leading Israel astray, but it is turned to the females that are going about spreading lies and saying God said so. There is no lack of female preachers and teachers today, some of which are attempting to share God's Word and some who are just trying to make a name for themselves. The prophetesses that Ezekiel warns had departed from anything that was scripturally based. As we take a look at verses 17-23, I will focus on some cryptic language Ezekiel uses as he addresses the false prophetesses and their form of godliness.

Again, it is said of the females, as it was of the men, that they prophesy out of their own thoughts and not God's. They are also accused of corrupting the righteous and strengthening the unrighteous in their beliefs by promising them life.

"Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart;" (V17)

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: (V22)

Let's take a look at these strange verses about the wicked false prophetesses:

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?

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?

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.

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.

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: (V18-2)

Let's pull out a few things from the text that we can easily discern. The motive for their lies is for their personal financial gain. They are selling their religious ceremonies, which had nothing to do with what God had instructed for Israel.

From the text, we gather that these false prophetesses were involved in secret occult practices. They used their magic charms and probably spells and incantations to keep the (unrighteous) people who came to them alive and well. I believe it is possible that they claimed to hold the keys to determine one's eternal destiny. It is said that they slay the souls that should not die (the righteous), and save alive that should not live (the unrighteous), by their lies. It also says that their message made the heart of the righteous sad, and strengthened the hand of the wicked.

Regarding the term soul in this passage, John Taylor notes in the Tyndale Commentary:

“It means the total person, the self, not just a part of him. By their sorceries these women were trying to possess and dominate those who came under their influence, and like so many witch-doctors they held the power of life and death over them”(p. 124).

Taylor says that they offered “a spurious salvation” from calamity in this life (p. 125). Instead of telling people that they must turn from their wicked ways to escape temporal judgment, which was the message of true prophets, they called them to occult practices to be delivered from enemies, illness, and ultimately death.

Biblical scholars give us several options as to what the pillows and kerchiefs represent. I don't think I could tell you with 100% certainty how these objects were used in their evil practices. However, these "charms" were clearly part of their magic trick that God did not ordain.

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.

I wanted to address the strange wording that these false prophetesses were "hunting souls". Below are pieces from different verses in this passage that addresses their "hunting".

Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you? And will ye pollute Me among My people? I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly. (I will) 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.

The word hunt is the Hebrew word tsud meaning: to hunt, to catch, the lay snares. In the KJV this word is translated as chase, hunt, sore, and take (provision). Used in this specific text, tsud gives the idea of lying in wait to catch a prey. These women were actively searching out people they could influence and dominate with their occult practices.

Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you? God askes them, "Are you able to hunt down my people and save their souls? (With God's implied answer: of course not!)

And will ye pollute Me among My people? "Do you think you can corrupt Me and My Word among the nation of Israel and get away with it?"

I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly. "You will not get away with your evil practices. I will take back/release/redeem My people that you have captured like one captures a bird."

To summarize this passage, these wicked prophetesses were using occult practices for a fee. They were attempting to not only bless the ungodly but also destroy the godly. God calls them out on their lies. He promises to destroy their occult practices and free the souls they have captive. And my favorite part of the passage is that the God says, "Ye shall know that I am the Lord!" This promise is repeated multiple times in Ezekiel. God will show up to intervene in humanity and the godly and ungodly alike will know that there is no other God but our Lord.

As I think about today's Christian culture, there are plenty of false teachers, men and women, filled with a message that isn't based in the Word of God. In the boarder culture of the world, it doesn't take much searching to find famous women actively seeking to seduce God's people into accepting their evil way of life.

What a blessed thing to be so in love with our Savior that our days are filled with thoughts of knowing Him more and applying His Word in every aspect of our lives!! I pray we will be careful to guard ourselves and our families from the wicked hunters that roam about in this world seeking to draw us from God.