John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 12:5-6

"Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby. In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulder, and carry it forth in the dark; thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the land: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel." — Ezekiel 12:5-6 (ASV)

Ezekiel is verbose in this narration. But in the beginning of the book, we said that because the teacher was sent to men who were very slow and stupid, he therefore used a rough style. We also added that he had acquired it partly from the custom of the region in which he lived.

For the people declined by degrees from the polish of their language, and so it happens that the Prophet’s diction is not quite pure, but is intermixed with something foreign. As to the subject itself, there is no ambiguity, since God repeats that he should dig through a wall, and bring out his vessels by himself before their eyes. Here follows another part of the vision, namely, that there should be no free exit but that the Jews would desire to depart by stealth.

First, therefore, it is shown to the Prophet that the Jews who, while secure at Jerusalem boasted that all was well with them, should be exiles; then, that it would not be in their power to leave when they wished, unless perhaps they stealthily escaped the hands of the enemy through their hiding-place, as thieves escape by digging through a wall.

Then the application will follow, but it was worthwhile to state what God intended by this vision. Afterwards, everything is embraced. In their sight, he says, you shall bear upon your shoulder, that is, you shall be prepared and girded for a journey as a traveler, and this shall be done in the daytime; but in darkness, he says, you shall bring them forth; after your vessels have been prepared, wait for the evening; in the darkness afterwards you shall go forth.

Here he shows what I have already touched upon: when necessity expelled the Jews from their country, their departure would not be free, because they would be fortunate if they could snatch themselves away from the sight of their enemies in hiding-places and the darkness of the night.

He adds, you shall hide your face, and the clause, neither shall you look upon the earth, means the same thing. Anxiety and trembling are marked by this phrase. For instance, when he says, you shall hide your face, it signifies that the Jews would be so perplexed that they would fear every event that happened.

For those who fear everything veil their faces, as is well known. But this trembling is better expressed when he says, you shall not look upon the earth. For those who are in haste do not dare to lower their eyes even slightly in one direction or another, but are carried along to the place where they are going, and press forward with their eyes, because they cannot hasten with their feet as quickly as they desire.

Hence they seize their way, as it were, with their eyes. This is the reason why God says, you shall not look upon the earth, because I have set you, he says, for a sign to the house of Israel. Here God addresses the petulance of those who otherwise would laugh at what the Prophet was doing: what do you mean by that fictitious emigration?

Why do you not rest at home? Why do you here frighten us with an empty spectacle? God, therefore, so that the Jews should not obstinately despise what he shows them, adds that the Prophet was a sign or a wonder to the house of Israel. The word wonder is here taken in its genuine sense, though sometimes it has an unfavorable meaning.

We say that anything portentous is disagreeable, but a “portent” properly designates any sign of the future. When, therefore, men predict what is hidden, it is called a portent. And this is the meaning of Isaiah (Isaiah 8:18), where he says, Behold me, and the children whom God has given me, for signs and wonders.

He puts אתות, athoth, “signs,” in the first place, then מופתים, mophthim, “portents.” Here the Prophet speaks in the singular: I have given you for a wonder. But since Isaiah treats of the rest of the faithful, he then uses signs and portents, because Isaiah seems to imply something more: namely, that the people were so stupid that they so feared and abhorred God’s servants, as if they had met with a prodigy.

Here, therefore, the depravity of the people is to be noted, because when they saw any pious and sincere worshipper of God, they turned away their eyes as from a formidable prodigy. But now the Prophet speaks simply, that he had been placed for a prodigy to the house of Israel, because in truth this action was a presage of that future captivity which the Jews did not fear for themselves, and which was also incredible to the Israelites; from this came that penitence and weariness of which I have spoken.

But I do not object if anyone thinks that the Prophet speaks of a portent because the Israelites were struck with astonishment; however, the former sense is far more fitting. In this way, then, God distinguishes the action of the Prophet from all empty spectacles and so vindicates his servant from all opprobrium. Meanwhile, he signifies that although the Prophet was despised, he would nevertheless be true, and at the same time the avenger of contempt.