Ezekiel 33:23-33
The Apostate Remnant in Jerusalem Will Die (33:23-24) — The rest of the chapter consists of two distinct oracles. Each one begins with Yahweh addressing Ezekiel as “son of man.” However, Ezekiel is given to respond to two di erent audiences, the rst, the Israelites left in ruined Jerusalem, and the second, Ezekiel’s fellow exiles. The claim of the poor peasants in Judah of title to the land is conveyed by the prophet in Babylon by Yahweh Himself. It is based on the repeated promises made to Abraham even while childless (Gen 12:2-3; 13:15-16; 15:5-7, 19; 17:7-8). If such a promise was made to one ma, how much more do the “many” qualify? There is no indication of who the counterclaim comes from as in 11:16-21. Perhaps it is the Edomites, “Idumeans” (35:10-12; see also Ezra and Nehemiah). But note that their claim is totally secular, not based on a recollection of Yahweh’s oath, promise, and covenant given to Abraham. Since God’s house is destroyed, He seems uninterested in who dwells there. Jeremiah asserts that the land will belong to those who experienced exile, not those who escaped it. In place of the faith of Abraham, it seems the Judeans have Darwinian materialism. They survived and are the ttest. The survivor’s pious-sounding appeal to Abraham is familiar. Protagonists of any cause will seek some higher moral ground, even appealing to Scripture. A mere formal appeal to Scripture is not necessarily proof of anything. Apart from Christology and the material principle of soteriology (AC/Ap IV), Scripture may be bent to all sorts of invalid and nefarious purposes (see Mt. 4:1-10). v. 25-26 — Yahweh accuses the survivors of six speci c transgressions, some of which have been levied before (ch. 18, 22). The rst seems to refer to the prohibitions of Lev 10:10-16 to properly drain the blood of the dead animal. But the preposition “upon/over” is di erent from “with/in,” and together only occurs in two places. In Lev 19:26, it is in the context that bans various forms of divination and occult practices. But 1 Sam 14:32-33 is in view. Here, it is probably referring to some sort of pagan communion meal in which the participants ate meat whose blood was poured out in order to attract jinns, whom they believed would come and give them knowledge of the future. The word for “abominations” can be comprehensive,…