False Prophets Condemned - Ezekiel 13:1-23 Topics: Anger, Death, Deceit, Discouragement, Foolishness, Freedom, Judgment, Listening, Lying, Occult, Opposition, Peace, Power, Prophecy, Righteousness, Salvation, Suffering Open It 1. For what different reasons do people listen to fortune-tellers and psychics? * 2. When have you refused to face reality in a specific situation? Explore It 3. To whom did God tell Ezekiel to prophesy? (13:1-2) * 4. Where did the false prophets get the message they were preaching? (13:2) 5. What had the prophets of Israel actually seen? (13:3) 6. To what animal did Ezekiel compare the false prophets? (13:4) * 7. What had the false prophets not done that God expected of His prophets? (13:5) 8. What verbal “signature” did the prophets use to give their words more weight? (13:6-7) 9. What attitude did God take toward the false prophets? (13:8) 10. In what way did the Lord promise to silence the false prophets? (13:9) 11. With what pleasing message were Israel’s prophets leading the people astray? (13:10) 12. What did God predict about the flimsy wall covered with whitewash? (13:11-12) 13. What imagery did God use to portray the fate of the false prophets and their lies? (13:13-16) 14. What practices did God condemn in the prophetesses of Israel? (13:17-19) 15. What did God promise to do for the people who had been ensnared by the prophetesses? (13:20- 21) * 16. How did the false prophets have justice completely reversed? (13:22) 17. What would God prove by delivering His people from the false prophets? (13:23) Get It 18. Why is it a temptation for human beings to pass off their own ideas as God’s? 19. What do you suppose the false prophets were telling the people of Jerusalem about their relationship with Babylon and their hope for the future? * 20. Why should we be wary of any Christian teacher who makes us feel complacent and self- satisfied? * 21. What forms of “flimsy, whitewashed walls” do you see being offered today for material or spiritual security? 22. If the prophets were at fault for leading the people astray, for what weakness of character did God hold the people responsible? 23. Why do we prefer to deliver good and flattering news rather than painful and difficult news? Apply It * 24. What false security offered to you by the world should you renounce before God in order to remain faithful to Him? 25. How can you be sure that, when you speak the Word of the Lord, you are accurate to His intent? .