14:1–5 The elders come and sit respectfully around Ezekiel (cf. 8:1; 20:1). The word of the Lord then comes to the prophet, immediately distinguishing him from the false prophets of the previous chapter, who did not need to wait for such guidance but spoke on their own authority. The Lord confronts the elders because they took idols into their hearts and “set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces” (14:3). The first part of the charge echoes the vision of chapter 8, in which the elders of Jerusalem were secretly offering incense to “all the idols of the house of Israel” (8:10–12). Here the elders of the exiles are similarly accused of idolatry—not outwardly but inwardly, in their hearts. Outwardly they are conforming to the rituals of orthodox Yahwism, but their deeper loyalties are compromised.

The second half of the charge, that they “set the stumbling block of iniquity before their faces,” is more complex. The phrase “stumbling block of iniquity” occurs six times in Ezekiel (3:20; 7:19; 14:3, 4, 7; 44:12) and always has idolatry in view.95 As a result of the divided loyalties of the elders, the Lord refuses to allow himself to be consulted by them through the prophet. They seek an assurance of a hopeful future with a swift resolution of their exile, but the only response they will receive from the Lord is one of judgment (14:4).96 By this confrontational strategy the Lord intends to “lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel” (v. 5). This phrase has in view not so much bringing them to repentance as much as confronting and convicting them of their sin.97 Nor is it only the elders seated in front of Ezekiel at fault here. The whole “house of Israel” is estranged from the Lord through its inner devotion to idols (v. 5).

14:6–11 The conviction of God’s people and their sin leads to a call to the exiles to turn from that sin in repentance and change (v. 6). Calling for repentance is part of Ezekiel’s commission in 3:19; in contrast, it is part of the sin of the false prophets that they make no such demands on their hearers (cf. 13:22). When God warns of judgment to come, all men should repent, in hopes that he may relent and forgive. Even the pagan Nineveh understood this (Jonah 3:9)! This is the first time in the book that the Lord directly calls Ezekiel’s audience to repent.98 There is no such call given to the idolatrous Jerusalemites in Ezekiel 8 because their doom was already assured. However, if the current audience remains half-hearted, attempting to serve both the Lord and their idols, they will face the inevitable consequences of their choice. Whether it is a native-born Israelite or a foreigner who has devoted himself to the Lord,99 the principle is the same. God is not deceived by the orthodoxy of outward behavior; he sees what is in the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). To serve idols—even in one’s heart, while outwardly remaining loyal to the Lord—is to separate oneself from him (Ezek. 14:7).

In an apt punishment for their setting idols before their faces, the Lord will set his face against them (v. 8). As 4:1–3 made clear in the case of Jerusalem, to have the Lord’s face set against oneself means disaster. It is the antithesis of the priestly blessing, in which the Lord’s face is turned toward his people in blessing (cf. Num. 6:22–27). The Lord will make them “a sign and a byword,” a proverbial warning of the fate deserved by someone who follows this pattern of sinful behavior.

How should the Lord respond to someone who has internally already cut himself off from the Lord? The appropriate response is to cut such a person off from the midst of the people externally as well (Ezek. 14:8). There is debate over whether this punishment has in view excommunication or execution.100 In the following verse the prophet who cooperates with the idolater is threatened with destruction, and thus it is likely that a death sentence is in view for the idolater as well if he does not repent while there is still time. But the door of repentance is still open for the exiles to turn from their idolatry and live (cf. 18:30–32).

Building on the concern of the previous chapter over false prophecy, the Lord also addresses any prophets in Israel (and among the exiles) who might be tempted to cooperate with the idolater and give him a “word from the Lord,” which would actually be, of course, simply a word from one’s own imagination (14:9). Because the false prophets are complicit in encouraging the halfhearted in their idolatry by providing a comforting oracle instead of confronting them with their need of repentance, they will face the same sentence as the idolater.

What is more striking—and often more challenging for modern readers—is the Lord’s claim to sovereignty even over such deceptive words of false prophets. The rebellious actions of a prophet who devises and delivers an oracle out of his own mind is not an eventuality outside the Lord’s sovereign control but an aspect of his governing providence. The false prophet is responsible for his own sinful actions, yet these very actions cannot do anything other than accomplish the Lord’s holy purposes. Ezekiel 14 is not the only place in the Bible that teaches this truth. Deuteronomy 13:1–5 similarly envisages a prophet’s seeking to lead the people astray from the Lord, yet the text attributes that eventuality to the Lord’s testing his people to see if they will remain faithful to him or allow themselves to be led astray. The false prophet in Deuteronomy 13 is accountable for his own actions—indeed, he is subject to the death penalty—yet even his tempting of the Lord’s people is subject to the Lord’s sovereign purposes. As a matter of fact, the Lord sometimes judges his people who refuse to listen to genuine prophets by sending them lying prophets who tell them what they want to hear. The classic example is King Ahab and Micaiah in 1 Kings 22. Both deceiver and deceived remain accountable, but none of this occurs outside the Lord’s sovereign control.

The reality of God’s control over everything that happens in this world, even temptations to sin and great acts of sin, finds its greatest expression in two other biblical examples. First, in Job, Satan torments Job in an effort to make him curse God, but the Lord sets strict limits at all times on exactly how far Satan can go (Job 1–2). Second, the crucifixion of Christ combines the ultimate expression of human sin and wickedness with the ultimate expression of God’s predetermined purpose for the salvation of his people (cf. Acts 4:27–28). The Lord is able to exercise sovereign control over every sin without ever becoming the author of that sin or being tainted by it.

But the goal of the Lord’s interaction with the elders in this chapter—and thereby with the wider exilic community—is not to justify condemning them to death. If they continue on the pathway of divided loyalties, they will certainly bear their punishment in that regard, yet the Lord’s purpose is to forgive and purify his people through repentance so that they might no longer go astray and defile themselves with their idols (Ezek. 14:11). They must become a holy kingdom of priests so that they can indeed be the Lord’s people and he can be their God (cf. Lev. 26:1–12).