Ezekiel 13:17 - Meaning and Application

As God promised that, when he pours out his Spirit on his people, both sons and daughters will prophesy, so the devil, when he works as a spirit of lies and falsehood, speaks through false prophets and false prophetesses alike. These are the deceivers the prophet must speak against here. They are not too small or unworthy to notice, and neither the weakness of their sex nor the respect usually given to women can excuse their sin or shield them from God’s rebuke and judgment.

God says, “Son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people” (Ezekiel 13:17). God is not pleased to call them his people in a warm sense here. They are “your people,” as in Exodus 32:7, meaning they belong to the nation, even if they have fallen into sin. These women claim a spirit of prophecy and speak in step with the men, like Ahab’s prophets who kept saying, “Go on and prosper.” They also speak from their own hearts, saying whatever comes into their minds, even though they know nothing of it. So the prophet must speak against them from God’s own mouth. He must face them openly and see whether they can hold their ground when confronted. When sinners grow bold, those who correct them must be bold too.

Their sin is described in several ways. First, they told deliberate lies to people who came to them for guidance and wanted to know what would happen. God says, “You do harm by lying to my people who listen to lies” (Ezekiel 13:19). The people came to hear the truth, but these women gave them lies instead, and the people were willing to hear them because the lies fit their sins. It is a sad thing when people prefer pleasant lies over hard truth. It also tempts deceivers to keep lying when they find willing listeners.

Second, they profaned God’s name by claiming that these lies came from him. “You pollute my name among my people,” God says, because they used his name to support falsehood and gain trust for it. Anyone who uses God’s name to cover lies and wickedness dishonors him greatly. They did this for very small pay, just a handful of barley or a piece of bread. For such poor gain, they were willing to sell a false prophecy that pleased the people. If they had asked for food as a simple gift, for God’s sake, that would have been different. But by taking payment for lying in God’s name, they stained his name, and the smallness of the reward only made the sin worse. “For a piece of bread,” Scripture says, “a man will transgress” (Proverbs 28:21).

Third, they kept people in fear and used their influence to control them. God says, “You hunt the souls of my people” (Ezekiel 13:18). He also says they hunt them “to make them flee” or even “hunt them into gardens” (Ezekiel 13:20), meaning they used every trick to draw people into the places where they gave their false messages, or they had so much power over them that they made them do what they wanted. It was true that the people were at fault for listening, but the prophetesses were also guilty for using lies to win that hearing. They claimed they could save alive the souls that came to them (Ezekiel 13:18). In effect, they told people that if they only listened to them and supported them, all would be well. In this way they misled unstable people who cared about salvation but did not understand the right way to it. Anyone who pretends to secure salvation for a group or party should be suspected.

Fourth, they discouraged the righteous and encouraged the wicked. God says, “You slay the souls that should not die, and save alive the souls that should not live” (Ezekiel 13:19). This is explained further: “You have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad” (Ezekiel 13:22). Because the righteous would not support the women’s claims, and did not dare to do so, the women spoke judgments against them and made them suffer grief. They gave them bad names to make them look low or hateful in the eyes of the people, and they did this in God’s name. That made honest people walk around with heavy hearts. But God had not meant for the righteous to be treated that way. He wanted them comforted and honored. On the other side, which is even worse, they strengthened the hands of the wicked and pushed them further into sin. They promised sinners life while they stayed in their sinful ways, and peace while they kept going on as they were. That made evil people more confident and their hearts harder. Some think this refers to the harsh judgments they gave against those already taken into captivity, who were humbled by their suffering, while they praised those who rebelled against the king of Babylon, which made the rebels more stubborn. Others think it means that by dishonoring God’s name, they saddened true believers and gave atheists and unbelievers more reasons to mock divine revelation. Those who wound the hearts of good people and encourage sinners have much to answer for. Nothing strengthens sinners more than being told they can be saved without repentance, or that repentance is possible even if they do not turn back from their wicked ways.

Fifth, they copied the true prophets by using signs to support their false messages, as Hananiah did (Jeremiah 28:10). Their signs fit their role as women. They sewed little cushions onto people’s armpits to show that they could be at ease and should not worry about trouble coming.

They also made little head coverings for people of every size and age, young and old, to fit each person’s stature (Ezekiel 13:18). These coverings were like badges of freedom or victory. They suggested that the people would not only be rescued from the Babylonians, but would triumph over them.

Some think these were part of a superstitious ritual used when these false prophets gave their messages. They may have prepared people to accept their lies by placing enchanted pillows under their arms and cloths on their heads, stirring up their imaginations and raising false hopes. Or the words may be figurative. In that case, the prophets did all they could to make people feel safe, shown by the pillows, and to make them proud, shown by the fine head coverings, perhaps laid on or embroidered on their heads.

Then the commentary turns to God’s anger against them. There is a warning of grief for them (Ezekiel 13:18), and God declares himself against the ways they used to mislead and deceive people (Ezekiel 13:20). What will God do to them? First, their efforts will fail, and they will go no farther. God says, “You will no longer see false visions or receive divine messages” (Ezekiel 13:23). This does not mean they will repent and give up their claims. Rather, when events prove them wrong, they will be silent out of shame. Or their imaginations will no longer be stirred in the way that helped their false prophecies before. Or God may simply cut them off.

Second, God’s people will be freed from their grip. When they realize that these prophets have fooled them into a false peace and a false comfort, they will see that, while they would not leave their sin, their sin has now left them. Then they will no longer listen to these false visions or claims of divine guidance. The righteous will no longer be grieved by them, and the wicked will no longer be encouraged by them. The pillows will be torn from their arms, and the head coverings from their heads. Their lies will be exposed, their fraud uncovered, and God’s people will no longer be in their power, hunted and controlled as before.

This is a great mercy, to be freed from a fearful dependence on people who, under the claim of divine authority, deceive and tyrannize over human consciences and tell souls to bow down so they can walk over them. But it is a serious loss for those who enjoy such power when it is broken and their prey is set free. In part, that was true in the Reformation from the church of Rome. When God does this, he shows that he is the Lord, and that it belongs to him alone to give law to souls.