Ezekiel 13

Ministers of God have the duty to tell people the truth of the Scriptures. People need to know that a foundation built on anything other than the Blood of Jesus is built on lies and when trouble comes it will crumble. There is no peace built on the promises of men, the only true peace and assurance offered to men comes from the direction of the Holy Spirit who places Christ within us. Satan comes to kill, steal from and destroy believers and ensnare men and he uses people and their desire for wealth, control and power to accomplish it. Men fail, God does not. God alone is in control and we need to place our trust only in Him.

Woe to Foolish Prophets

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, 'Hear the word of the Lord!' "

3 Thus says the Lord God: "Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! 4 O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the deserts. 5 You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the Lord. 6 They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, 'Thus says the Lord!' But the Lord has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may be confirmed. 7 Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, 'The Lord says,' but I have not spoken."

8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: "Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you," says the Lord God. 9 "My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord God.

10 "Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, 'Peace!' when there is no peace—and one builds a wall, and they plaster it with untempered mortar— 11 say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall. There will be flooding rain, and you, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall tear it down. 12 Surely, when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you, 'Where is the mortar with which you plastered it?' "

13 Therefore thus says the Lord God: "I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in My fury; and there shall be a flooding rain in My anger, and great hailstones in fury to consume it. 14 So I will break down the wall you have plastered with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be uncovered; it will fall, and you shall be consumed in the midst of it. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

15 "Thus will I accomplish My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it with untempered mortar; and I will say to you, 'The wall is no more, nor those who plastered it, 16 that is, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace,' " says the Lord God.

17 "Likewise, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own heart; prophesy against them, 18 and say, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive? 19 And will you profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies?"

20 'Therefore thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like birds. I will tear them from your arms, and let the souls go, the souls you hunt like birds. 21 I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people out of your hand, and they shall no longer be as prey in your hand. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

22 "Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life. 23 Therefore you shall no longer envision futility nor practice divination; for I will deliver My people out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord." ' "

The NKJV Study Bible says this: The prophets were fools because they confused their own thoughts with God's. They were like foxes among the ruins because they scavenged for themselves while causing, ignoring, and profiting from the human wreckage surrounding them. They were racketeers instead of reformers. The day of the Lord refers to times when God triumphs. The phrase is particularly used by the prophets to describe those periods in which God is unusually active in the affairs of His people, either for deliverance or for judgment. In that day, God will actively bring about His purposes for the world: He will rescue the righteous and judge evildoers. The false prophets, such as Balaam, practiced divination. This was the pagan art of finding "divine" guidance through such means as astrology, reading sheep livers and other animal organs, and consulting spiritists or witches to communicate with the dead. By prefacing their predictions with the Lord says, these false prophets were deceitfully claiming that God had spoken to them when in fact He had not. God's prophets never sought visions through the methods of divination, instead they received their visions and prophecies through the Spirit of the Lord. Because these false prophets had prophesied messages that contradicted God's truth they were condemned. The Lord would separate them from God's people, from membership in the nation of Israel, and from life in the land. The false prophets would not participate in the future restoration of the people to the Promised Land. The preaching of a false peace had prompted people to build for a "certain" future; but only the opposite was certain. The false prophets had deceived the people with false hopes of comfort and prosperity. Their deception placed them not only at odds with God's truth, but also with God Himself. Their destruction was certain. The Hebrew women who were false prophetesses were confusing their own ideas with God's and casting magic death spells through sorcery or witchcraft. The charms and veils were elements used in occult rituals in the ancient Middle East. These prophetesses were sowing discouragement and doubt among those not involved in demonic divination and were offering encouragement to those already initiated. They would be stopped through the same judgment that was to come on the rest of the false prophets.