Ezekiel was told that he lived among a rebellious people.  The word rebellious is tied to disobedience.  To be rebellious is intentional defiance, intentional disobedience.  A person can't "accidentally" rebel. 


Interesting little twist in the following verse…was Ezekiel speaking of Zedekiah when he says the prince will not see the land of the Chaldeans?

Ezek 12:13
I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die.

Jer 52:11
Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death.

If it was indeed Zedekiah, he certainly didn’t “see” it.  But there is also a literal understanding of what happened to the whole house of Israel.  When the ten tribes were taken into captivity by the Assyrians, they were forced to watch as their homes and properties were being burned.  The enemy did this so that while in captivity the vision remained in their minds that there was nothing for them to return to.  Most of Judah on the other hand did not see the destruction. While they were in captivity in Babylonia, they could remember how the land was before they left and have dreams of returning to the land they knew and loved. 

Ezekiel speaks these words to the people of the land. 

Ezek 13: 5

You have not gone up to the breaks in the wall to repair it for the house of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord  

Apply the phrase "breaks in the wall" to today.  If we don't understand the whole scope of God's Word (Old and New Testaments) we will not have a complete understanding of Scripture. We may misunderstand the truth or refuse to learn the truth - especially if it's something we don't want to hear.  This is like having "breaks in the wall".  When we have "breaks in the wall" during a spiritual battle, we may be unable to stand firm.  Ezekiel is telling the people that the false prophets are building flimsy walls to fill in the breaks and covering them with whitewash, making the wall of faith look good but having no real substance. The false prophets are telling the people lies, telling them things they want to hear.  The people wanted to hear that the nation would be at peace and so that is what the false prophets told them.  God says that these prophets will be exposed just as the flimsy walls covered with whitewash will be exposed when the torrents of rain come down.   The reference to “whitewash” has connections in the New Testament as well as today.

Ezek 13:10
"'Because they lead my people astray, saying, "Peace," when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash,

Matt 23:27
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.

God is pretty specific and descriptive in how He feels about whitewash! 

Ezekiel 14 mentions the phrase "sets up idols in his heart".   Not all of our idol worship is visible.

A line in the commentary is this. How many righteous people does it take to save a nation?  Hmmm...this has been a question on our  hearts and minds for several months now.  We have referred many times to the "power of one".  Noah was one.  Daniel was one.  Job was one.  Ultimately it always comes down to the individual.  And as much as we would like for it to happen, just because we WANT our friends, neighbors, family members to be saved, doesn't mean they WILL be.  Today's reading is a great admonition for an evangelistic urgency for each one of us.  So, how many righteous people does it take to save a nation?  Maybe only one - if that one reaches out to others and shares the gospel message.