Ezekiel 13:14, commentary and pictures

The wall daubed with untempered mortar is false teaching and false messages that appear secure but are unsound, and God will break it down to the ground, lay bare its foundation, consume those responsible in its fall, and make them know that He is the Lord. The untempered mortar is smooth, deceptive words that cry peace when there is no peace, hiding the truth and concealing danger without repairing anything that is wrong. To daub is to excuse, whitewash, and cover over grave sin instead of facing it with disgust, repentance, confession, and forsaking, and to offer flattering sympathy and weak charity that gives a false peace instead of dealing plainly with the erring. God requires instead a plain, clear-cut, cutting testimony that does not hide serious sin or lessen truth, but awakens, convicts, and converts, with deep digging, purging away of evil, dying to self, and thorough repentance bearing fruit in obedience. Those who trust the false covering will face its collapse and be consumed in it, sharing responsibility for the delusion, with severe punishment for cherishing grave sin against great light unless they are convicted, converted, and purified by obeying the truth.

The Wall and Its Fall

The wall coated with untempered mortar is false teaching and false messages that look secure but are unsound, and God will break the wall down to the ground, uncover its foundation, consume those responsible within its ruins, and they will know that He is the Lord. The false message must not be softened or concealed, and fellowship with those holding spiritual-union views, as in the case of Henry Allen, is to be withdrawn until they are given up. The same breaking down is applied to those who would cover over a breach in the institution rather than let God work, who should get out of the way and seek heaven's light for themselves. It calls for a clear testimony that does not conceal serious sin, for those who cherish grave sins despite great light and precious opportunities face severe punishment unless they are convicted, converted, and purified by obeying the truth. God does not conceal sin and impenitence with misleading words, but distinguishes false doctrine from pure, elevating truth, and glossing over wrongdoing is the untempered mortar He exposes and brings down. The warning is against giving people unsound guidance and against covering a false religious foundation, so those responsible must first submit to the Spirit's cleansing and reformation, guard their own character, and teach with clarity and truth, with clear, uncompromising reform and testimony, for half-hearted witnesses who fail to uphold Christianity and God's law are not saving in their influence.

Untempered mortar is smooth, misleading words that cry peace when there is no peace, hiding the truth and concealing danger without making anything sound or repairing what is wrong. Like a poorly built wall covered with weak mortar, flattering words conceal danger rather than repair it, and the wall will fall, exposing its weak foundation, so that those who trusted it will face the consequences. This applies to flattering and sympathizing with unconsecrated friends, because this harms rather than helps them. Those who oppose pointed reproof and soften its effect daub with untempered mortar, covering over wrong with smooth, reassuring words and making the testimony against sin ineffective among God's people.

The walls are also restrictions and obstructions set up to keep reproof, rebuke, and exhortation from coming among God's people and to block the truth. They cannot stand, for the truth will go onward and upward to the end. God puts His Spirit upon men who bear the ark of God and proclaim the word of the Lord, and they go through those walls, lifting up their voice like a trumpet and showing the people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins, without diminishing the truth or losing its power in their hands.

The breach is the rebuilding of the large sanitarium at Battle Creek on its old site after God swept it away, against repeated counsel that the institutions there were too large and that the work should be divided and memorials planted in many places. Trying to plaster up that breach by excusing and covering transgressions and mistakes instead of calling those responsible to be converted and to humble their hearts before God is daubing with untempered mortar, and such human patchwork cannot meet the highest standard because self is revealed. Those who took that responsibility on their own shoulders will be pardoned for the sake of God's cause and His name's glory if they are converted and humble their hearts before Him. Those who had no part in it are to unite with them in humbling the soul before God and seeking the Lord's guidance to make the best of the situation without tearing things to pieces. Associates who stand ready to plaster up the breach must get out of the way, let God work upon their hearts, humble their own souls, and strive with all their might to bring the light of heaven upon their own souls.

Ways of Daubing Condemned

Daubing with untempered mortar is excusing and reinforcing wrongdoing with false reassurance instead of repenting, confessing wrongs, and forsaking them, and God will expose and bring down such work so that those who trusted it face its collapse. It is excusing and whitewashing grave sin instead of recognizing it with disgust and horror, which kindles God's anger and makes a person unfit for responsible church leadership until there is complete reform and a changed view of sin and sinners. Holding up and approbating transgressors in the church is this daubing, covering sins such as breaking God's commandments, dishonoring parents, guile, taking God's name in vain, desecrating God's house, and giving way to unsubdued passion and the carnal heart, instead of laying the ax at the root of the tree. Such false covering nourishes wicked feelings God abhors — impatience, fretfulness, faultfinding, anger, self-justification and self-exaltation — calls serious wrong a small thing, pleases Satan, leaves the sinner far from God and far from the truth with God's Spirit withdrawn, and leaves those who plaster over sin to their own ways to be filled with their own doings.

Daubing is undue attention and efforts to please people without giving them the plain truth their condition requires, like the efforts to please the Hales, where faithful, kind correction would have exposed and addressed the underlying problem rather than hiding it. It is false sympathy that reassures a dying person while leaving unconfessed sin unaddressed, giving a false sense of peace that can help lead people to ruin. It is a weak charity that covers unconfessed and unrepented sins instead of dealing plainly brother with brother and supposed friend with friend, countenancing evil through lack of discernment and leaving souls bound in Satan's chain. Telling a man everything he has done is all just right when correction is needed is daubing, whereas God requires faithful reproof that brings a man into a position where the Holy Spirit can work with him, and he knows it. This daubing work must end, with stronger faith in the love of Christ, thorough gospel repentance bearing fruit in obedience to the law of God, and magnified faith, hope, love, and every kind of true charity, while those who have done it must weep and pray and confess their lack of discernment that countenanced evil.

Daubing is giving a testimony that is not clear cut and leaves sins of a grave character cherished among professed Sabbath keepers unrebuked, instead of plain witness that awakens, convicts and converts. It is softening reproof and covering corrupting error with smooth words instead of a plain, cutting message that exposes false views such as spiritual union, calls for giving them up, and withdraws fellowship until there is repentance, for covering error leaves Israel sickly and the false wall must be broken down. It is mincing the matter and covering betrayal of holy trust with flattering remarks, smooth words and fair speeches, giving influence and sympathy to traitors instead of calling rebellion by its right name. That halfhearted work brings the frown of God, deceives many to their ruin, and repeats the blindness and deception of those who followed Korah, Dathan and Abiram. It is clipping the truth and holding peace about what God has shown instead of lifting up the voice and declaring faithfully even if hearers turn to enemies, in order to clear garments from the blood of souls; to soften the message leaves no excuse when met in the judgment, and brings the curse of God on the one who withholds warning. Without such awakening those guilty will die in their sins and be consumed in the midst of the fallen wall, with punishment heavier than Sodom and Gomorrah for those who had great light and precious opportunities yet remained earthly minded, corrupt in thoughts and practices, and did not purify their souls by obeying the truth.

Daubing is dealing with wrongs in an underhanded, two-sided, unfaithful way instead of plain, straightforward, frank and open duty. It withholds the message God gave at the right time, failing to come close to the erring one, pray with and for him, and perseveringly set matters before him as God pointed out, in place of striving to save his soul from the tempter's power. Those in responsible positions of trust who do this are held accountable by God for their neglect, and their failure leaves souls lost and a wrong showing in the work. God condemns this miserable work in dealing with wrongs because it hurts souls and mars His work, and He requires that things be set in order by men of decided fidelity who will lay the hand upon a wrong work and say this is not according to the will of God, for He has no use in an emergency for two-sided men. It is also covering over wrong with a superficial appearance while no decided break has been made, as in an institution and workers attempting reformation without the faith that works by love and purifies the soul, leaving a work that only the Spirit of God can undo.

Daubing means covering over faults rather than dealing with them soundly, as in the need to speak plainly about McCullagh's unsuitability to shepherd the flock before he has been instructed in Scripture. Applied to character, covering what is defective with a false appearance of safety means deficiencies must not be glossed over: pride, selfishness, love of the world, and wrong words and actions must be overcome through humility and thorough conversion. God is holy and true; He offers pardon and hope to those who humble themselves, but salvation requires facing and correcting these faults.

Daubing includes presenting Bible truth unwisely and without sound, careful teaching, covering over or misrepresenting it instead of handling it wisely and making its importance known. Physicians in particular must handle Bible subjects wisely and share their importance on every possible occasion, meeting unbelievers with wise counsel and instruction and using every talent to give light to all they can reach outside their own institutions, rather than conceal their influence. This faithful, solid work for righteousness and truth breaks down prejudice, reaches souls, and leads to conversion. The false covering built with untempered mortar will be broken down and exposed, bringing judgment on those who made it and those within it, which applies to people who falsely exalt Dr. Kellogg as morally worthy and call evil good; those who support his delusion despite repeated warnings share responsibility and will be judged for their actions.

Faithful Witness Required

God requires plain, clear-cut, cutting testimony that does not conceal serious sin or diminish truth but awakens, convicts and converts, bringing people where the Holy Spirit can work with them. Such testimony distinguishes false doctrine from pure, elevating truth, and half-hearted witnesses who fail to uphold Christianity and God's law have no saving influence. Leaders who cover a faulty wall with weak mortar to make it look secure hinder correction, conceal or disregard divine reproof, make flimsy excuses, and give God's work a wrong direction, and the breaking down of the wall to expose its foundation is the exposure and judgment of that unfaithfulness.

Faithful work means searching, digging deep, stirring up pestilent matter and purging it away, dying to self and becoming Christlike in every sense, childlike in malice but mature in understanding. It requires thorough gospel repentance bearing fruit in obedience to the law of God, with faith, hope, love and true charity magnified, rather than healing the hurt slightly and crying peace when there is no peace and leaving people without self-knowledge in an awful state. Physicians in particular must wisely present Bible truth on every occasion to break down prejudice, reach souls and lead to conversion. Meekness and righteousness must be sought so as to be hidden when the fierce anger of the Lord comes.

Those who have daubed a breach with untempered mortar by human patchwork, excuse and covering of transgressions and mistakes must be called to conversion, to weep, pray and confess lack of discernment, to humble their hearts before God and seek His guidance, and they will be pardoned for the sake of God's cause and His name's glory. The breach so covered was the rebuilding of the large sanitarium at Battle Creek on its old site after God swept it away, against repeated counsel that the institutions there were too large and that the work should be divided and plants and memorials for present truth planted in many places so the light might shine forth. Such plastering cannot make the work meet the highest standard because self is revealed. Associates who stand ready only to plaster up that breach must get out of the way, let God work upon their hearts, humble their own souls, seek the Lord's guidance and heaven's light for themselves, and strive with all their might to bring others to conversion and to make the best of the situation without tearing things to pieces.

Unfaithfulness brings exposure and judgment, for God breaks down to the ground the wall coated with weak mortar, uncovers its foundation, and destroys falsehood presented as truth so that wrongdoing cannot be covered over or made acceptable. Those who built and trusted the false covering face its collapse and are consumed in its midst, and they and those who mislead will face the consequences and know that the Lord is God. Supporters share responsibility for the delusion, and punishment is severe for those who cherished grave sin despite great light unless they are convicted, converted and purified by obeying the truth. Messengers must therefore lift up the voice and declare the false message faithfully without softening or concealing it, even if hearers become enemies, standing stiffly for the truth on the eternal Rock, ceasing from man, and speaking straightforward truth without self and without harshness. Fellowship is to be withdrawn from persistent error, as from Henry Allen's spiritual-union views until he gives them up, and from those who doubt God's work of setting a church right and do not receive His teaching, with communion ceasing as the only way to live and to wipe away stain and reproach, until there is repentance and complete reform.