Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 14

Certain of the elders of Israel. — There is no distinction intended here between the elders of Israel and the elders of Judah mentioned in Ezekiel 8:1; therefore, there is no reason to suppose a delegation was sent to the prophet from Jerusalem. Israel is now becoming the ordinary name for the existing nation, except when it is used with some special mark of distinction. The purpose of their inquiry is not mentioned, nor is it even explicitly stated that they made any inquiry; but the message to them implies this, and from what is said to them, we can likely gather what was uppermost in their minds.

Already told by the previous prophecies that God would not spare Jerusalem for its own sake, and that His long forbearance until then was no guarantee for its continuance, they still evidently cherished the hope that, however sinful they might be in themselves, their city would yet be delivered for the sake of the holy men who lived in it. With such thoughts in their minds, the elders came and sat before the prophet, in whose fearless words they had already learned to have confidence, and waited for what he might have to say to them.

Have set up their idols in their heart. —It was not the open idolatry of Judea which is reproved among these elders of the captivity; that had already passed away, but still their heart was not right. Like Lot’s wife, they longed for what they dared not do. With such a disposition, they were in the greatest danger, putting the stumbling-block of their iniquity, the temptation to sin, directly before them. And not only that, but they kept themselves in a state of alienation from God, so that it was idle to imagine He would allow Himself to be inquired of by them. The question implies the negative answer which is fully expressed in the following verses.

Will answer him that cometh. —The words that cometh, not being in the original, should be omitted. The verb answer in the original is passive and has a reflexive sense, meaning “I will show myself answering”—a softer form than the English. The principle that when man persists in going counter to God’s known will, He will allow him to misunderstand that will, is abundantly established by such instances as that of Balaam (Numbers 22:20) and of Micaiah (1 Kings 22:15).

No man can hope to know what God would have him to do unless his own heart is truly submissive to the Divine will. The threat here is that the man coming to inquire of God with a heart full of idolatry will receive no true answer from that Omniscience which he does not respect. Instead, he will find himself deceived by the illusions of his own heart. This idea is more fully developed in the following verse .

Repent and turn. —The announcements of the previous verses form the basis for the earnest call to a true repentance. There can be no hope for Israel in any merely outward reformation; they have to do with the Searcher of hearts, and the only repentance acceptable to Him is that which has its seat in the affections of the heart.

Or of the stranger. — Under the Mosaic legislation, “the stranger” living among the Israelites was bound to observe a certain outward deference to the law of the land, just as a foreigner in any country now is bound to respect in certain things the law of the country in which he lives. Israel being a theocracy, its fundamental law against idol-worship could not be violated with impunity by those who sought the protection of its government (Leviticus 17:10; Leviticus 20:1–2, and other similar passages).

In this case, however, outward idolatry is not alleged, as the accusations of this verse and Ezekiel 14:4 refer only to the secret idolatry of the heart; and the point insisted upon is not so much the idol-worship in itself, as the hypocrisy of attempting to join with this the inquiring of the Lord. God declares that He will answer such hypocrisy, in whomsoever it may be found, not by the prophet through whom the inquiry is made, but by Himself interposing to punish the inquirer, and to make him an example to deter others from a like course.