Ezekiel 21:24

"Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the land. And then, O deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day is come, in the time of the iniquity of the end, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Remove the mitre, and take off the crown; this shall be no more the same; exalt that which is low; and abase that which is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: this also shall be no more. UNTIL HE COME WHOSE RIGHT IT IS; and I will give it to him."

This is one of the key passages in the Bible. Here is announced the end of the earthly House of David. Zedekiah's "day is come." It is not merely the death of the king, but the end of the kingdom which is at hand. The mitre, standing for the high priest and the whole religious system, and the crown standing for the king and the nobility receive the sentence: "Remove them!" Take them off! "This (the kingdom) shall be no more." "I will overturn, overturn, overturn." (Ezekiel 21:26-27).

UNTIL HE COME WHOSE RIGHT IT IS

We have no patience at all with alleged scholars who cannot find any reference here to the Messiah. Such scholars remind one of the "elders" in these two chapters who could not understand the parable of the Great Fire!.

First, we call the reader's attention to our discussion of the text in Genesis 49:10 (Vol. 1 of the Pentateuchal Series, pp. 566-569), to which there is a direct reference in Ezekiel 21:27, here.

The old, outdated and discredited fulminations against this text by the radical critics, are gradually being replaced in this last quarter of the 20th century by the dependable words of many scholars. A few of these, we enclose here:

"The only hope left to Judah in this passage was that `the ultimate scepter of Judah,' the Messiah would yet come. When Judah was purified, the scepter, `the Messiah', would rule over his people (Ezekiel 21:27.)[11] ... Ezekiel 21:27 indicates the overthrow of Zedekiah's throne, the end of the Davidic kingdom until the coming of the Messiah.[12] ... The one to whom this right belongs, and to whom God will give it, is the Messiah, of whom the prophets from the times of David and onward have prophesied as the founder and restorer of perfect right on earth.[13] ... These verses prophesy the end of the monarchic succession and of the state, which are to be brought into ruin until the Messiah comes.[14] This echoes Genesis 49:10. "Until he comes, to whom it belongs" (Revised Standard Version) ... The Jewish rabbis paraphrase this in a Messianic sense.[15] ... The promised king in Ezekiel 21:27 is the Son of David, the Messiah; thus the promise of Judah's destruction here ends in a promised restoration, as in ch, 20:40.[16] ... Here we have a cryptic reference back to Genesis 49:10, where is given the expectation of one to whom the right of kingship really belonged; he will be that one to whom everything in the House of David and the Messianic kingship have always pointed.[17] ... These verses (26,27) express Ezekiel's hope of a personal Messiah; there is an allusion here to Genesis 49:10.[18] ... The Lord Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, was the true King of Judah.[19]