{"id":73663,"date":"2020-04-22T18:15:16","date_gmt":"2020-04-22T15:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=73663"},"modified":"2020-04-22T18:15:16","modified_gmt":"2020-04-22T15:15:16","slug":"whos-to-blame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/whos-to-blame\/","title":{"rendered":"Who\u2019s To Blame?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"73663","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":62571,"related_cahpter":"465","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"The liars for lying, or the listeners for listening?\r\n","content":"

Ezekiel 13 is dedicated to warning false prophets of the impending punishments for their grave transgressions. These individuals, instead of reinforcing God\u2019s word that significant changes are required in order to mitigate the impending divine decrees, reassure everyone that all is well, and everyone can continue with \u201cbusiness as usual.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ezekiel employs two metaphors for what the false prophets are perpetrating by claiming to speak in God\u2019s name. First, he describes their fallacious presentations as comparable to shoddy workmanship provided by someone who has been hired to repair one\u2019s home, and who can\u2019t offer a legitimate explanation when what he has done is shown to be sub-standard:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cInasmuch as they have misled My People, saying, \u201cIt is well,\u201d when nothing is well, daubing with plaster the flimsy wall which the people were building. Say to those daubers of plaster: It shall collapse; a driving rain shall descend\u2014and you, O great hailstones, shall fall\u2014and a hurricane wind shall rend it. Then, when the wall collapses, you will be asked, \u201cWhat became of the plaster you daubed on?\u201d (10-12).<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, addressing specifically female false prophets, Ezekiel charges that they have created an erroneous impression among their followers by \u201cfabricating attractive garments\u201d in exchange for food, thereby lulling their audiences into a false sense of security:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd say: Thus Said the Lord GOD: Woe to those who sew pads on all arm-joints and make bonnets for the head of every person, in order to entrap! Can you hunt down lives among My People, while you preserve your own lives? You have profaned My Name among My People in return for handfuls of barley and morsels of bread; you have announced the death of persons who will not die and the survival of persons who will not live\u2014lying to My People, who listen to your lies\u201d (18-19).<\/span><\/p>\n

While in both contexts, the ultimate blame must lie with those falsely claiming to be presenting the word of God when they speak \u201c\u2026out of their own imagination,\u201d (2 and 17), one cannot simply exonerate the listeners. They are eagerly giving ear to what they want to hear. It is clearly more difficult to accept substantive criticism and censure, than glad-handing and \u201csimple fixes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One midrash suggests that the practice to derisively treat prophets delivering difficult messages already began with how Joseph\u2019s brothers responded to his dreams, if we choose to understand his visions as pleas for his older siblings to become more spiritual and ethical (see Genesis 37:6-9; 20).<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, it becomes clear which prophets were telling the truth and which were not, only after \u201cthe fact.\u201d If we could acquire for ourselves the prescience of the people of Nineveh (Jonah 3:5), we would be so much better off.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":73664,"id":73664,"title":"ez13-lie","filename":"ez13-lie.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez13-lie.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/whos-to-blame\/ez13-lie\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"ez13-lie","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":73663,"date":"2020-04-22 15:14:52","modified":"2022-03-13 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To Blame?","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"The liars for lying, or the listeners for listening?","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":{"ID":73664,"id":73664,"title":"ez13-lie","filename":"ez13-lie.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez13-lie.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/whos-to-blame\/ez13-lie\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"ez13-lie","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":73663,"date":"2020-04-22 15:14:52","modified":"2022-03-13 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