John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 17:20

"And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will enter into judgment with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me." — Ezekiel 17:20 (ASV)

Here, he points out the kind of punishment that He was about to inflict on King Zedekiah. He had said generally that his treachery would fall upon his own head, but he now proceeds further, stating that Zedekiah would be a captive. For God could have chastised him by other means, but the prophecy was confirmed by this, since the Prophet had clearly threatened Zedekiah, as we see.

But he speaks in the person of God so that his language may have more weight. I will spread my net, says God, and he shall be taken in my snares. The passage is metaphorical, but it best explains what often occurs in Scripture: while the impious pursue first one course and then another, they are agents of God, who governs them by His own hidden power and directs them wherever He wishes.

Therefore, as men throw all things into confusion and are, as we see, driven here and there by their lusts, and disturb heaven and earth, yet God moderates their attacks by His hidden providence. We gather this from the Prophet’s words when he calls the army of the king of Babylon, his plans, and the apparatus of war, God’s net and snares. Although Nebuchadnezzar was driven by his own ambition and greed, and did not consider himself under divine authority, yet we see what the Spirit declares.

We must diligently observe this doctrine because if we rest on the fatherly care of God, although armies surround us on all sides, we may yet trust securely and await the outcome with quiet and tranquil minds, since men can do nothing without God. But when we provoke God’s wrath against us, we must remember that while men have their reasons for being hostile to us, God nevertheless governs them, or they are His nets or snares, as the Prophet says here.

I will bring him, He says, to Babylon, and there will I dispute with him in judgment, according to the prevarication by which he has prevaricated. Not only did God dispute with Zedekiah there, but He inflicted a severe and formidable judgment upon him in Riblah, when he saw his own sons put to death first, then his own eyes put out, and then he was bound with chains.

But he almost wasted away in his captivity and was treated shamefully even until death. For this reason, God says that He would judge him at Babylon; and yet it is not out of place if we include Riblah as well.

For although Zedekiah had been partially punished before he entered Babylon, God nevertheless inflicted His own sentence there, after he was dragged from his country and led into exile. He was indeed buried not without honor, as we saw in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 34:5), for they lamented him at his burial—Alas, my brother! Alas, O master! as the Prophet says.

Yet until his death, he was like the vilest prisoner, for he wasted away in his chains and was poorly clothed, while the king treated Coniah nobly and splendidly. Therefore, Zedekiah’s captivity was the seal of this prophecy, for Ezekiel could not have pronounced this sentence unless he had been the instrument of the Holy Spirit.