What is the meaning of Ezekiel 22:12? In you they take bribes to shed blood “ In you they take bribes to shed blood ” (Ezekiel 22:12a). • God is exposing a culture where justice is for sale. Bribes override truth, leading to innocent lives being destroyed—literally “shed blood.” • Exodus 23:8 warns, “Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.” When leaders ignore this, life itself is cheapened (Isaiah 1:23). • Deuteronomy 27:25 places bribery on the same level as idolatry: “Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.” The curse is not symbolic; God upholds it. • The principle still cuts close: whenever influence or money is used to pervert justice—whether in a courtroom, a boardroom, or a family dispute—God sees it as blood-guilt (Proverbs 17:23). You engage in usury “You engage in usury ” (Ezekiel 22:12b). • Usury is lending to fellow Israelites at interest, something the Law forbade (Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:35-37). • The practice exploits someone in a vulnerable moment—exactly the opposite of neighbor-love commanded in Leviticus 19:18. • Nehemiah 5:7 shows righteous leadership: Nehemiah demands that the nobles stop charging interest and restore what they took. God expects the same courage from us. take excess interest “ take excess interest ” (Ezekiel 22:12c). • The phrase intensifies the charge. Even where some lending interest was permissible to foreigners (Deuteronomy 23:19-20), “excess” crosses a clear line into greed. • Psalm 15:5 says the one who “does not lend his money at usury” will never be shaken; by contrast, Ezekiel’s audience is about to be shaken by exile (Ezekiel 18:13). • Modern parallels: predatory loans, exploitative fees, and any financial practice that preys on desperation. God’s standard never changes. and extort your neighbors “ and extort your neighbors ” (Ezekiel 22:12d). • Extortion is coercion—using power to seize what belongs to another. Micah 2:1-2 paints the picture: plotting at night, seizing fields by day. • Amos 4:1 rebukes those who “oppress the poor and crush the needy.” Ezekiel echoes that same heartbeat for justice. • Notice the downward spiral: bribery, usury, excessive interest, now outright extortion. When God is forgotten, sin escalates. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD “ But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD ” (Ezekiel 22:12e). • This is the root issue. Every social sin listed above flows from forgetting the LORD (Deuteronomy 8:11-14). • Jeremiah 2:32 laments, “Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number.” Forgetting is not mental lapse; it is willful disregard evidenced by disobedience. • Hosea 4:6 ties it together: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge… you have forgotten the law of your God.” Spiritual amnesia always breeds societal collapse. summary Ezekiel 22:12 traces a chain reaction: forgetting God leads to corruption, exploitation, and bloodshed. Bribery twists justice, usury and excess interest prey on need, and extortion robs outright. The LORD names each sin, proving His perfect knowledge and His refusal to overlook injustice. Remembering Him—honoring His character and commands—is the only antidote, then and now. |
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