The Truth Is Told (Ezekiel 12–14)

Hard truths have a way of finding us. We open Ezekiel 12–14 and step into a world where people cling to comforting slogans while reality closes in. Exiles in Babylon tell themselves the city will stand or that their return is just around the corner. Meanwhile, God asks Ezekiel to preach with a suitcase, to dig through his wall at night, and to act out the future everyone swears will never happen. The message is clear: delayed judgment isn’t canceled judgment, and denial is not the same as hope.

We walk through the striking prophecy about King Zedekiah—taken to Babylon, yet never seeing it—and watch how Scripture’s precision slices through wishful thinking. From there, we confront the sales pitch of false prophets who spin timelines, sell breakthroughs, and whitewash flimsy walls with feel-good promises. Their words sound soothing because they cost us nothing—until the bill arrives. Then the focus shifts to the elders, polished on the outside but harboring idols within. God’s diagnosis is not vague; He names the heart’s attachments and calls for a decisive turn back to Him.

All along, a deeper current runs beneath the warnings: mercy. God announces four acts of judgment—sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence—yet preserves a remnant and points beyond collapse to renewal. That is the pattern the gospel repeats. First, the bad news we would rather not face: sin is real and judgment is certain. Then, the good news that changes everything: Jesus offers forgiveness, freedom from hollow hopes, and a life anchored in truth. Join us as we expose counterfeit comfort, learn to read delay without drifting into denial, and rediscover a hope strong enough to carry us through hard news.

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Transcript

Exiles Reject God’s Warnings

Ezekiel’s Suitcase Sign-Act

Zedekiah’s Blind Capture Foretold

The Proverb Of Delay Exposed

False Prophets Discredited

Hypocrisy Of The Elders

Four Judgments And A Remnant

Bad News, Good News, Your Choice

SPEAKER_00 0:54

You know, it seems to me that some people just can't stand the reality of the truth, especially if the truth is bad news. Reminds me of the husband who came home from work after a very long and difficult day, and he said to his wife, Honey, I've had nothing but bad news at the office all day today. If there's one thing I don't want to hear, it's more bad news. And she said, Well, in that case, you'll be glad to know that three out of our four children didn't break their arm at school today. Well, I guess that's good news and bad news at the same time. As we arrive today in our wisdom journey at Ezekiel chapter 12, the prophet is surrounded by exiles who don't want to hear any more bad news, and I'm afraid they're in for a rude awakening. Now the problem is basically this. Both the Israelites who are still back in Judah and the exiles who are now here in Babylon, they're both refusing to listen to God's true prophets. You remember Jeremiah is preaching back in Jerusalem while Ezekiel is preaching here in Babylon. The people won't listen to either one of them. Those in Judah are convinced that Jerusalem will not fall. Those in exile in Babylon are convinced, well, they're going to go home any day now. They are simply refusing to hear any bad news about the coming judgment of God. Ultimately, of course, the people don't listen to the Lord because they really don't know him. In fact, they've abandoned him. They're worshiping animals in the temple. They're doing their best to ignore him. Well, what God is going to bring upon them as described in these next few chapters is going to make something so clear to them that it can't be ignored any longer. See, eight times in chapters twelve through fourteen, they're going to hear the same version of this statement. Here it is. Here in chapter twelve, their captivity is depicted. The Lord says to Ezekiel here in verse three, prepare for yourself an exile's baggage, and go into exile by day in their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house. Well, the prophets to pack a few suitcases and act out the part of someone going away, going into exile. According to verse five, he's actually supposed to dig a hole in the wall of his house and go through that hole, acting in desperation, going out at night, carrying in his suitcase only what is absolutely essential. All of this is to be done publicly, by the way, so that the people can see him doing this and they can understand the meaning. Now, just in case they don't connect the dots, the Lord tells Ezekiel in verse eleven to spell it out for them by saying, As I have done, so shall it be done to the people in Judah. They shall go into exile, into captivity. The Lord adds in verse twelve, the prince who is among them shall go out. Well, this is the king of Judah, Zedekiah, of whom the Lord says, I will bring him to Babylon, yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there. Verse 13. By the way, this fascinating prophecy is going to be fulfilled when King Zedekiah is taken captive. He's blinded before being taken to Babylon. Second Kings chapter 25 tells us he's taken to Babylon, then he, just like Ezekiel prophesied, he does not see it. Now, here in verse 22, the Lord mentions a popular proverb among the exiles. Here it is, the days grow long and every vision comes to nothing. In other words, the people are saying, look, none of these prophecies are going to come true that Ezekiel is giving us. The delay in fulfillment has led them to think that they can ignore Ezekiel's warning. Let me tell you, this is false hope. This is just like the people of Noah's day who took the absence of reign over those 120 years as a reason to ignore all that hammering as Noah built an ark. Well God replies to the exiles now in verse twenty eight. In other words, judgment and captivity for all of Judah is just around the corner. Well now next, Ezekiel takes on the false prophets. They've been telling the people to keep their suitcases packed because they're about to leave exile. Well, Ezekiel had packed his bags to show them that they are going into exile. And here in chapter thirteen now, the Lord discredits these false prophets. He says in verse three, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing. Verse six, they have seen false visions and lying divinations. The Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. I gotta tell you, some things never change. In Ezekiel's time, later in Jesus' time, today in our time, there are plenty of people who pretend to have a message from God, and it's nothing more than deception. Their so-called prophecies are intended to increase their power over people, perhaps their own bank account. I read the other day about a preacher who wanted his congregation to give him gifts of fifty-two dollars. He called them favor seeds. In other words, he said everybody who gave him fifty-two dollars would be rewarded by God with a breakthrough favor within fifty-two days or fifty-two weeks. Well, everybody found out later that what he wanted was the money to upgrade the blades on his helicopter, which was going to cost him fifty thousand dollars. This man's fifty-two dollar promise didn't have anything to do with prophecy, had nothing to do with God, had everything to do with greed, because he's a false prophet. Well, these false prophets back here in Babylon are doing the same thing. Now they're not updating their helicopter blades, but they're deceiving their followers. And they weren't the only ones, by the way. In chapter 14, now we find the elders, the leaders of the people misleading them as well. Now these elders come to Ezekiel supposedly to ask him for advice. But but God isn't impressed because he knows them. Here in verse 3, he says to Ezekiel, these men have taken their idols into their hearts. In other words, they're respectable outwardly, but in their heart they're rebellious. God says to them through Ezekiel here in verse 6, Repent and turn away from your idols. Listen, you might not want bad news. You might only want to hear somebody tell you, look, you're okay, you're fine. You you go chase after your idols, you go you go chase after your pleasures and and the promises of the world. Don't worry, you'll be fine, God'll pat you on the head one day. Well the truth is that those who speak those kinds of words are false prophets, and their false promises are leading many people astray. And with that, Ezekiel chapter 14 ends, or chapter twelve began, with the certainty of coming judgment. Here we see Judah's false hopes, dash, like the Lord says here in verse 21, that he is determined to send upon Judah four disastrous acts of judgment sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence. You see, whether the people of Judah wanted to hear the bad news or not, Jerusalem is going to fall. The question is, are they without hope? Oh no. There's always hope for those who will repent of their sin and follow the Lord. There will indeed be a remnant of people who turn to him in faith. You know, I've talked to many people over the years who don't want to hear the bad news of the gospel. They don't want to be told that the Bible says it is appointed unto man to die once, and after that comes judgment. Hebrews 9 27. You know, I've had people just walk away after hearing that. I I've had people say to me, Well, that's that's not the God they'll ever follow. That that's not the God they'll ever believe in. See, they won't listen to bad news. But for those who will accept the bad news that they are sinners, that there's judgment, well, to them there's hope. It's not a delusion, it's not blind optimism. It is in believing the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, and placing their hope and trust in the one who promised to forgive them and to save them. Well, what about you today? You need to believe the bad news that sin will be judged by God. But make sure you believe the good news that sinners can be saved from the judgment of God by placing their lives in the hands of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Well, until our next wisdom journey, beloved, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.