No Strength in Iniquity

Ezekiel 7:1-13

1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "And you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel:

An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.
3 Now the end has come upon you,
And I will send My anger against you;
I will judge you according to your ways,
And I will repay you for all your abominations.

4 My eye will not spare you,
Nor will I have pity;
But I will repay your ways,
And your abominations will be in your midst;
Then you shall know that I am the LORD!'

5 "Thus says the Lord GOD:
'A disaster, a singular disaster;
Behold, it has come!
6 An end has come,
The end has come;
It has dawned for you;
Behold, it has come!

7 Doom has come to you, you who dwell in the land;
The time has come,
A day of trouble is near,
And not of rejoicing in the mountains.

8 Now upon you I will soon pour out My fury,
And spend My anger upon you;
I will judge you according to your ways,
And I will repay you for all your abominations.

9 'My eye will not spare,
Nor will I have pity;
I will repay you according to your ways,
And your abominations will be in your midst.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD who strikes.

10 'Behold, the day!
Behold, it has come!
Doom has gone out;
The rod has blossomed,
Pride has budded.

11 Violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness;
None of them shall remain,
None of their multitude,
None of them;
Nor shall there be wailing for them.

12 The time has come,
The day draws near.
'Let not the buyer rejoice,
Nor the seller mourn,
For wrath is on their whole multitude.

13 For the seller shall not return to what has been sold,
Though he may still be alive;
For the vision concerns the whole multitude,
And it shall not turn back;
No one will strengthen himself
Who lives in iniquity.

Judgment on Israel was coming near and they were agin warned that living in sin will weaken those proudly thinking themselves to be strong instead of living in humility according to His word in willing obedience (2 Corinthians 12:9).  God’s wrath on their sin was bringing judgment according to their ways of abomination in the temple of worship in Jerusalem and in the temples of their individual bodies with the idolatry of immortality and covetousness.  Recompense was coming due for their unrepentant and proud hearts full of disobedience and disbelief.  This justice was given so that they would know that He is the LORD and not any other just as told in the first moral commandment which was handed down to them years ago through Moses, along with the clarification that substituted idols of their own hands’ making was equally forbidden.  He alone was to be worshiped because there is no other real or true living God but Him and their pride sought to escape accountability and their vain imaginations took over as Romans 1:22-25 reveals the end of those doing these things and the results to follow.  Disaster, trouble, and doom had arrived at their doorstep and they did not resist the sin which brought it there as Genesis 4:7 warned us all in the beginning.  The end was coming and had arrived before their eyes, just as it will be for all at the time of the final judgment to come at time’s end.  This then was a warning to God’s people then and for all now.  All will be judged according to his or her ways which always come short of good enough (Romans 3:23, 6:23) just as Israel was unless they hear and heed God’s living Word, Jesus Christ, who takes away sin from the humble who confess their state and receive Him as their atonement who sacrificed Himself for them and takes away their individual iniquity.  Without Him there is only God’s due wrath of just punishment for forsaking Him is disbelief and unrepentant disobedience, just as Israel was here in the time of Ezekiel.  There is no hope of we are repaid according to our own ways and works which are tainted with evil from birth.  When that Day comes and we all face Him, the fruit of our budding pride in disbelief and disobedience will only find the doom we were warned of unless we flee to the Rock of grace to shelter us from the wrath we earned since Adam.  Yes, as it is written here, “No one will strengthen himself who lives in iniquity,” unless we admit our sin and turn from it to Him in the certain forgiveness and shelter of Christ our  rock (1 Corinthians 10:4) and foundation (Matthew 7:24-25, 1 Corinthians 3:10-11) of certain hope (Romans 4:23-24, 8:24-25,15:4).  Our only hope is in God’s Word!