Retribution on the Enemies of God’s People

Ezekiel 25:1-17 

Proclamation Against Ammon

1 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them. 3 Say to the Ammonites, 'Hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because you said, 'Aha!' against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity, 4 indeed, therefore, I will deliver you as a possession to the men of the East, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. 5 And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels and Ammon a resting place for flocks. Then you shall know that I am the LORD."

6 'For thus says the Lord GOD: "Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced in heart with all your disdain for the land of Israel, 7 indeed, therefore, I will stretch out My hand against you, and give you as plunder to the nations; I will cut you off from the peoples, and I will cause you to perish from the countries; I will destroy you, and you shall know that I am the LORD."

Proclamation Against Moab

8 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because Moab and Seir say, 'Look! The house of Judah is like all the nations,' 9 therefore, behold, I will clear the territory of Moab of cities, of the cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kirjathaim. 10 To the men of the East I will give it as a possession, together with the Ammonites, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations. 11 And I will execute judgments upon Moab, and they shall know that I am the LORD."

Proclamation Against Edom

12 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because of what Edom did against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended by avenging itself on them," 13 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "I will also stretch out My hand against Edom, cut off man and beast from it, and make it desolate from Teman; Dedan shall fall by the sword. 14 I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, that they may do in Edom according to My anger and according to My fury; and they shall know My vengeance," says the Lord GOD.

Proclamation Against Philistia

15 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because the Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the old hatred," 16 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. 17 I will execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I lay My vengeance upon them."'"

The Retribution of God on those against God’s people is His divine justice and judgment meted out, here against Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia.  In the final judgment this vengeance against His enemies and ours will include all who reject His Christ and His word of the gospel while persecuting His own as Revelation 6:10 states.  Ammon rejoiced when Israel profaned the sanctuary, when the enemy destroyed and emptied the promised land, and when God’s people were taken away into captivity with contempt for them.  Moab rejoiced when God’s people were humbled and defeated to look like all other defeated nations, as if they were nothing special to God.  Edom used this opportunity to enact their own vengeance on God’s people for the past judgments of God against them as a way to justify themselves.  Philistia spitefully went after their own vengeance on God’s people with an unforgiving heart of long-past grievances.  All who opposed God’s chosen ones were held accountable and felt the full retribution of God against them in return.  They would be defeated, enslaved, their lands taken away, rebuked and laid waste by the sword of judgment and destruction of divine vengeance.  God protects His name and glory, and He protects His chosen ones from the evil one and all set against Him and them.  Then all will bow and acknowledge Him as Lord of lords and King of kings when He executes justice on all as He honors Himself and His chosen people (Deuteronomy 32:35, 43, Isaiah 45:23, Philippians 2:10-11).  There is retribution on the enemies of God’s people.  As for we the people of God’s kingdom, we have a patient hope to endure for His name’s sake (Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, 1 Peter 4:17-19) as we await eternal retribution on His enemies (Romans 12:19) and our deliverance by His choosing of grace and mercy.  We have a certain eternal hope therefore as we endure suffering as His people because eternal justice is just as certain to follow to honor His name and our calling.  We may not find justice in this world, but most certainly will find it from the Lord when He comes in His kingdom brought down to earth.  Amen!

The Death of Ezekiel’s Wife as a Picture

Ezekiel 24:15-27

15 Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 16 "Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down. 17 Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips, and do not eat man's bread of sorrow."

18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded.

19 And the people said to me, "Will you not tell us what these things signify to us, that you behave so?"

20 Then I answered them, "The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 21 'Speak to the house of Israel, "Thus says the Lord GOD: 'Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the delight of your soul; and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. 22 And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips nor eat man's bread of sorrow. 23 Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall neither mourn nor weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another. 24 Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; and when this comes, you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.'"

25 'And you, son of man—will it not be in the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters: 26 that on that day one who escapes will come to you to let you hear it with your ears? 27 On that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you shall speak and no longer be mute. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the LORD.'"

The sudden death of the prophet’s beloved wife was a picture of the sanctuary of the temple and of Jerusalem lost suddenly to God’s people.  It was a graphic illustration to all so they could not miss the meaning of the word of God spoken against them for their unrepentant sins of immorality and idolatry.  The sanctuary had become an arrogant boast of pride in their own strength, the desire of their eyes, the delight of their soul, their joy and their glory, and that on which they set their minds.  They neglected to set their desires in humility on the strength and glory of their LORD and put it on the building of the sanctuary where they met with Him instead of on Him in recognition of their inadequacies and sins.  Therefore, God took away the desire of Ezekiel’s eyes in one swift stroke to demonstrate how He was about to take away the building and city where they should have been worshipping Him that they had put their trust in, the desire of their eyes and affections.  It seems a harsh way to illustrate their punishment as a consequence of their failure, yet God gave Ezekiel the strength to endure it for His sake and the redemption of a remnant who would see and take it to heart then or afterwards in reflection on the word and work of their God.  God profaned the temple set aside as holy to reflect their unholiness and unrighteousness to prepare them for the loss to turn to repentance as they withered away in their own iniquities and remorse for their sin.  Then they would understand what it meant that He was the LORD of all and that the sin of disobedience results in judgment (John 16:8, Romans 6:23).  Then one who who escaped judgement would later find Ezekiel and hear the entire story with their own ears as the prophet was able to finally open his mouth and explain it all, just as those apostles and disciples after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ were able to tell us as we escape the judgment to come. 

Out of the Pot and into the Fire

Ezekiel 24:1-14

(cf. Jer. 1:13–19)

1 Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, write down the name of the day, this very day—the king of Babylon started his siege against Jerusalem this very day. 3 And utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD:

"Put on a pot, set it on,
And also pour water into it.

4 Gather pieces of meat in it,
Every good piece,
The thigh and the shoulder.
Fill it with choice cuts;
5 Take the choice of the flock.
Also pile fuel bones under it,
Make it boil well,
And let the cuts simmer in it."

6 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
"Woe to the bloody city,
To the pot whose scum is in it,
And whose scum is not gone from it!
Bring it out piece by piece,
On which no lot has fallen.

7 For her blood is in her midst;
She set it on top of a rock;
She did not pour it on the ground,
To cover it with dust.
8 That it may raise up fury and take vengeance,
I have set her blood on top of a rock,
That it may not be covered."

9 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
"Woe to the bloody city!
I too will make the pyre great.
10 Heap on the wood,
Kindle the fire;
Cook the meat well,
Mix in the spices,
And let the cuts be burned up.

11 "Then set the pot empty on the coals,
That it may become hot and its bronze may burn,
That its filthiness may be melted in it,
That its scum may be consumed.

12 She has grown weary with lies,
And her great scum has not gone from her.
Let her scum be in the fire!

13 In your filthiness is lewdness.
Because I have cleansed you, and you were not cleansed,
You will not be cleansed of your filthiness anymore,
Till I have caused My fury to rest upon you.

14 I, the LORD, have spoken it;
It shall come to pass, and I will do it;
I will not hold back,
Nor will I spare,
Nor will I relent;
According to your ways
And according to your deeds
They will judge you,"
Says the Lord GOD.'"

Ezekiel recorded God’s message as the king of Babylon began his drawn out siege against Jerusalem but his message was a hidden parable for the rebellious people of God who had hardened their hearts from hearing.  It was hidden yet understandable to those God had chosen to call out from their sin to confession and repentance just as the parables which Jesus spoke as a fair warning against many and hope for those with ears to hear (Matthew 13:10-11, 13-15).  This parable was one of a coming judgment and the reason for it and not merely a moral lesson for the people of God.  A cooking pot was filled with the best choice cuts and quality of meats then thoroughly cooked and left to simmer.  Then a parallel was given of a sinful city which allowed scum to form on such a well prepared meal, just as Israel had wasted all the calling and blessings of the LORD in their immortality and idolatry.  They had eaten bad food and gone from the pot of His plenty and goodness into the fire of judgement’s refinement where they should have removed the dross of a cooked meal instead of meat.  This scum or rust is used figuratively to refer to the moral and religious corruption and rebellion of Jerusalem, which the Lord would consume by fire (CWSB); it could mean rust of an uncleaned pot or the rust floating to the top as if dross.  She also had left the blood of the meat on a rock as an offering to idols and did not even attempt to conceal this from Him.  The LORD therefore called out judgment by fire to consume their works and cleanse what remained, just as He will with us in a sense as 1 Corinthians 3:13-14 explains.  The pot of the parable was left emptied on the fire to ruin it by marring the metal, consuming the filth of sin, and burning away the scum left in it.  Unfortunately, Israel’s scum had not been cleaned away yet because they continued in sinful rejection with her immortality and idolatry and so now faced His fury of judgment, just as those who reject His Christ will in the final day of judgment.  God spoke these things with the promise that all would happen as He said and could not be altered in any way.  What is not revealed here is the hidden (1 Corinthians 2:7, Colossians 1:26-27), mystery of Jesus Christ who rescues the chosen ones while still judging those whose works do not include believing on and receiving Him for His work of graceful rescue from the fire (John 6:29).  We too would go out of the pot and into the fire apart from Christ standing in our place to be judged for our sins and found not guilty.  May we then seek to let others know of this example and point to the hope in Him for eternal rescue from that fire.  The good news is the only solution to the bad news of our sinful state in which we are born unless we are pulled from the fire (Jude 1:22-23) and remain in the pot of meat acceptable to Him with the rust and scum cleansed from these vessels of mercy.  Amen. 

Sisters Judged for Idolatry and Immortality

Ezekiel 23:36-49

36 The LORD also said to me: "Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations. 37 For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them. 38 Moreover they have done this to Me: They have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and profaned My Sabbaths. 39 For after they had slain their children for their idols, on the same day they came into My sanctuary to profane it; and indeed thus they have done in the midst of My house.

40 "Furthermore you sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and there they came. And you washed yourself for them, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments. 41 You sat on a stately couch, with a table prepared before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil. 42 The sound of a carefree multitude was with her, and Sabeans were brought from the wilderness with men of the common sort, who put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. 43 Then I said concerning her who had grown old in adulteries, 'Will they commit harlotry with her now, and she with them?' 44 Yet they went in to her, as men go in to a woman who plays the harlot; thus they went in to Oholah and Oholibah, the lewd women. 45 But righteous men will judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.

46 "For thus says the Lord GOD: 'Bring up an assembly against them, give them up to trouble and plunder. 47 The assembly shall stone them with stones and execute them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses with fire. 48 Thus I will cause lewdness to cease from the land, that all women may be taught not to practice your lewdness. 49 They shall repay you for your lewdness, and you shall pay for your idolatrous sins. Then you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.'"

Both sisters Oholah and Oholibah, Samaria and Jerusalem, were judged for their unrepentant sins of idolatry and immortality.  They committed both physical and spiritually immoral acts even in God’s house!  While they were burning incense and making offerings to their dead gods of wood and stone, they also slept with other godless men from the nations coming into them and their temple of the LORD.  These abominable acts were told through Ezekiel to them that they could not hide from Him or imagine that God could not see or hear, which is ironic since their deaf and dumb idols were themselves completely unable to hear or speak.  These in Jerusalem who were called to follow and worship the LORD their God had even sacrificed their own children to dead gods on the altar meant to atone their sins until the Messiah came in to the temple as the eternally atoning sacrifice.  Their adultery with these lifeless statues of wood and stone, the materials which aged had created and they had perverted for such use, this infidelity to Almighty God was the ultimate immortality of their adulterous lives and the cause for divine justice to be meted out on them.  God hates the idolatry of and in his temple, which we now are (1 Corinthians 6:18-19) because it is putting idols of passing pleasures and divided loyalty to Him and His covenants with us.  Samaria and Jerusalem played the harlot with the godless nations as they were bought with precious riches instead refusing because of the great price which would be paid for them by God Himself as foretold countless time until Christ arrived.  Though the nations came into them, they in their lewd behavior allowed it and so prosecuted themselves morally and spiritually with added blood on their hands for sacrificing their own children who were God’s more than their own.  Therefore, they were handed over to be plundered and suffer even to death.  They reaped the pay of their lewd immortality and idolatrous sins against their LORD.  Then the ones surviving could finally know and agree that the LORD alone is God of all and go to sin no more, a lesson for us to keep ourselves from sexual immorality and pursuit of other objects of worship which consume our pursuits and desires more than Him.  If we are found in Christ, our sins will not destroy us as Oholah and Oholibah, but we will suffer shame and loss with His disciplining mercy of grace (1 Corinthians 3:15-17, 2 Corinthians 7:10).  We are to be chaste both physically and spiritually before our Lord (2 Corinthians 11:2, 1 John 3:2-3).  Holiness is never optional.

The Harlotry of Idolatry

Ezekiel 23:22-35

22 "Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord GOD:
'Behold, I will stir up your lovers against you,
From whom you have alienated yourself,
And I will bring them against you from every side:

23 The Babylonians,
All the Chaldeans,
Pekod, Shoa, Koa,
All the Assyrians with them,
All of them desirable young men,
Governors and rulers,
Captains and men of renown,
All of them riding on horses.

24 And they shall come against you
With chariots, wagons, and war-horses,
With a horde of people.
They shall array against you
Buckler, shield, and helmet all around.
'I will delegate judgment to them,
And they shall judge you according to their judgments.

25 I will set My jealousy against you,
And they shall deal furiously with you;
They shall remove your nose and your ears,
And your remnant shall fall by the sword;
They shall take your sons and your daughters,
And your remnant shall be devoured by fire.
26 They shall also strip you of your clothes
And take away your beautiful jewelry.

27 'Thus I will make you cease your lewdness and your harlotry
Brought from the land of Egypt,
So that you will not lift your eyes to them,
Nor remember Egypt anymore.'

28 "For thus says the Lord GOD: 'Surely I will deliver you into the hand of those you hate, into the hand of those from whom you alienated yourself. 29 They will deal hatefully with you, take away all you have worked for, and leave you naked and bare. The nakedness of your harlotry shall be uncovered, both your lewdness and your harlotry. 30 I will do these things to you because you have gone as a harlot after the Gentiles, because you have become defiled by their idols. 31 You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put her cup in your hand.'

32 "Thus says the Lord GOD:
'You shall drink of your sister's cup,
The deep and wide one;
You shall be laughed to scorn
And held in derision;
It contains much.

33 You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow,
The cup of horror and desolation,
The cup of your sister Samaria.
34 You shall drink and drain it,
You shall break its shards,
And tear at your own breasts;

For I have spoken,'
Says the Lord GOD.

35 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
'Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back,
Therefore you shall bear the penalty
Of your lewdness and your harlotry.'"

Judgment on Jerusalem fell because of their harlotry of spiritual adultery in worshiping very lifeless and powerless rock and wooden idols in place of the very much living God who is high above the heavens (Psalm 113:4).  Oholibah who chose to worship idols in tents on the high places was given over to her enemies by the LORD God for such defiance and denial of His sovereign rule and due worship as their Creator and Sustainer (Isaiah 43:15, 21).  God handed them over, delegating His judgment into their hands to attack and bring His justice on them as if it was their own.  Whoever was left would be devoured by the sword and by fire in His furious judgment on their sin of idolatry in substituting dead gods for the Living One and immortality for following His word for their good and His glory of holiness which they should have imitated.  It is a fearful thing (Hebrews 10:30-31) to fall into the hands of the living God!  God would put a stop to such lewdness and harlotry which is idolatry by hard discipline to correct them to,and through confession and repentance.  Because they followed the nations who did not know or serve God, He would hand them over for correction and destruction (1 Corinthians 5:5) of their sinful desires.  Jerusalem was warned by the bad example of her sister Samaria of the same consequences they would face for following that bad example and drink deeply of the results.  This was God’s word to them.  Because they had cast off the LORD and made idolatry and immorality their objects of worship, they would be made as lifeless as their idols and suffer the just due of lewd living contrary to the word of God.  Remember the consequences of the harlotry and adultery of God’s people before us.  May we learn from this and not do the same as Jerusalem and Samaria in these temples of our bodies where God dwells (1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19-20, but live according to God’s word by the power of His Holy Spirit living in us and leading us for His name’s sake which is to the glory, honor, and praise of Him and not any worthless and transitory substitute of affection or devotion.  May we learn the principles of this example’s lesson of what not to do and do what is right in honoring our Lord.

Tent Worshipers

Ezekiel 23:1-21

1 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying:
2 "Son of man, there were two women,
The daughters of one mother.

3 They committed harlotry in Egypt,
They committed harlotry in their youth;
Their breasts were there embraced,
Their virgin bosom was there pressed.

4 Their names: Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister;
They were Mine,
And they bore sons and daughters.
As for their names,
Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

5 "Oholah played the harlot even though she was Mine;
And she lusted for her lovers, the neighboring Assyrians,
6 Who were clothed in purple,
Captains and rulers,
All of them desirable young men,
Horsemen riding on horses.

7 Thus she committed her harlotry with them,
All of them choice men of Assyria;
And with all for whom she lusted,
With all their idols, she defiled herself.

8 She has never given up her harlotry brought from Egypt,
For in her youth they had lain with her,
Pressed her virgin bosom,
And poured out their immorality upon her.

9 "Therefore I have delivered her
Into the hand of her lovers,
Into the hand of the Assyrians,
For whom she lusted.

10 They uncovered her nakedness,
Took away her sons and daughters,
And slew her with the sword;
She became a byword among women,
For they had executed judgment on her.

11 "Now although her sister Oholibah saw this, she became more corrupt in her lust than she, and in her harlotry more corrupt than her sister's harlotry.

12 "She lusted for the neighboring Assyrians,
Captains and rulers,
Clothed most gorgeously,
Horsemen riding on horses,
All of them desirable young men.

13 Then I saw that she was defiled;
Both took the same way.
14 But she increased her harlotry;
She looked at men portrayed on the wall,
Images of Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion,

15 Girded with belts around their waists,
Flowing turbans on their heads,
All of them looking like captains,
In the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea,
The land of their nativity.

16 As soon as her eyes saw them,
She lusted for them
And sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

17 "Then the Babylonians came to her, into the bed of love,
And they defiled her with their immorality;
So she was defiled by them, and alienated herself from them.
18 She revealed her harlotry and uncovered her nakedness.
Then I alienated Myself from her,
As I had alienated Myself from her sister.

19 "Yet she multiplied her harlotry
In calling to remembrance the days of her youth,
When she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
20 For she lusted for her paramours,
Whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys,
And whose issue is like the issue of horses.

21 Thus you called to remembrance the lewdness of your youth,
When the Egyptians pressed your bosom
Because of your youthful breasts.

The two harlot sisters, one whose name meant she has a tent and the other means the tent is in her.  Both were symbolic of worshippers of idols in tents instead of the LORD in His holy place of worship as it ought to have been for Samaria the elder and Jerusalem the younger.  They both committed spiritual adultery against God with Egypt and her false gods in their youth.  Samaria and Jerusalem both went after Assyria for their idolatry as lovers consumed with lust against knowing and serving the LORD alone and no other to rely on or worship.  They had dirtied themselves with those idols and other immorality until God had enough of their rejection and disbelief of disobedience.  He then turned their lovers into their enemies to consume them.  Jerusalem had seen her Samaritan sister first fall, but instead of learning to avoid the same destructive path, she ran harder to sin even more than her!  Then the Babylonians came to Jerusalem to add to the spiritual immortality and exposed her for her sins and further separated the two sisters as a result.  God separated Himself from her because Jerusalem rejected Him as their LORD and sought another to worship and live for in defiance of the first commandment and their covenant of protection with Him.  This is a lesson for us all in a sense to be devoted to God alone in Christ and not allow ourselves to follow anyone or anything to satisfy our desires apart from His good will of providence and provision.  May we not commit spiritual adultery in these temples by our desires of gain or passing pleasures (1 Timothy 6:6, 1 Corinthians 6:19, Colossians 3:5, Hebrews 11:25) instead of godly contentment in worshiping Him and no other.  May we learn from Samaria and Jerusalem what to avoid in our living for God alone by the wisdom and grace He gives by His word and Spirit living in our hearts instead of becoming tent worshippers.  Amen. 

Into God’s Crucible

Ezekiel 22:17-31

17 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18 "Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a furnace; they have become dross from silver. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you. 21 Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst. 22 As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have poured out My fury on you.'"

23 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 24 "Son of man, say to her: 'You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.' 25 The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. 26 Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27 Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain. 28 Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD had not spoken. 29 The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. 30 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. 31 Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads," says the Lord GOD.

Israel’s sin earned the crucible of God’s wrath in judgment as refined silver is heated and the dross of worthless impurities (Proverbs 25:4, Isaiah 1:25) is scooped off the top to leave the underlying purity of the valuable remnant beneath of precious silver shining brightly and reflecting His glory.  God would put them through the fire of refinement in His crucible to remove all that offends Him (Matthew 13:41-42) as His poured out wrath burned against their sins of idolatry and immortality against Him.  As for their wicked leaders, they would be cleansed from the people because the conspiracies of the prophets took advantage of the people with lies and self-serving proclamations and other means of personal gain of riches and fame.  They had blurred the lines between the holy and unclean that God’s word had made clear and ignored the sabbath rest of trust in relying on God alone and honoring Him.  The princes who led them were wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15, 2 Peter 2:1) set as those who kill and destroy (John 10:10) God’s chosen people.  We see these even to this day as we have been warned by scripture (Acts 20:29-30) of false prophets’ activities and intent.  Their false concocted visions in the name of the Lord are only lies of deceit that sound so good, good enough to deceive many (Matthew 24:11) to worship someone other than the God of scripture.  These lies are not truth because God has not said them; their new revelations are opposed to God’s finalized written word from the final Prophet (Hebrews 1:1-2), and when the Lord has not spoken we should not listen.  That was the mistake of Israel and one which we can learn from to avoid repeating it.  Their corrupt spiritual leaders also found ways to defraud the poor and needy and failed to help their neighbor as the example of the good Samaritan teaches us.  God at that time looked for someone to stand in the gap to defend the right and others’ good while pouring out His wrath on those refusing to repent and do good to others (Acts 26:20).  The wages of sin were justly earned and justly recompensed.  Only repentance through faith in God’s work in Christ can deliver any out of the same sentence of death we all deserve.  The remnant of Israel who refused to listen to the false prophets and follow the corrupt leaders knew enough of the Messiah’s coming to hold fast to doing right until that time as adherence to the Law guided them by faith as of Abraham.  We who are in Christ have been refined and will be further refined (Psalm 66:10, Daniel 12:10, Revelation 3:18) in His mercy of grace in our sanctification as we have escaped His wrath on our sin and found peace with God in Him.  We see in 1 Peter 1:7 then that we are continuing to be refined in the crucible of sanctifying fire and our dross of sin is removed along the way.  In this way we praise, honor, and give glory to our Savior.

Accountability for the Sins of God’s People

Ezekiel 22:1-16 

1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Now, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations! 3 Then say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "The city sheds blood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself. 4 You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries. 5 Those near and those far from you will mock you as infamous and full of tumult.

6 "Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you. 7 In you they have made light of father and mother; in your midst they have oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the fatherless and the widow. 8 You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths. 9 In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed; in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness. 10 In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity. 11 One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter. 12 In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me," says the Lord GOD.

13 "Behold, therefore, I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst. 14 Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and will do it. 15 I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and remove your filthiness completely from you. 16 You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; then you shall know that I am the LORD."'"

The sins of God’s people were paraded before them through Ezekiel as the messenger of His judgment of divine justice for their idolatry and immortality.  The city of Jerusalem meant to be kept holy where God met with man and allowed temporary atonement for sins through acceptable sacrifices was now brought before the divine Judge who is sovereign over all creation and His chosen nation especially.  He therefore called them out to be held accountable for all their abominations of false worship and murderous bloodshed (2 Kings 21:16, Ezekiel 24:7-8) as He did with Cain long before (Genesis 4:10-11).  They brought on themselves a shorter time to live and less time to continue to get away with these things because the LORD was calling them to account before the throne of divine justice.  They were also exposed for their hypocrisy to the nations around them that they would see and fear the wrath of God on unfaithfulness to those following Him.  These would then carefully count the cost if they decided to follow the one true God as well instead of their lifeless idols.  The leaders of the people of God were exposed also for how they oppressed others instead of leading them to know and follow the LORD and mistreated orphans as if they were worthless, ironic since they also mocked and disobeyed their own parents (Ephesians 6:2-3).  They looked down on the commandments and word of God and the dedicated objects of the temple meant to instill a reverent fear of God in His own holiness.  They acted lewdly in immortality and sexual sins against women and adultery with sisters and neighbors.  All sense of holiness was ignored and cast aside for their passing pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25)!  Bribery, extortion, and monetary gain replaced the intended integrity of honesty and accountability with God and man.  This is why God judged them after giving them chance after chance to repent from their sins.  He would certainly deal with them according to His word and nature.  He spoke and would do what He said with the divine integrity of His holy nature which His people were supposed to imitate.  They would be scattered as at Babel (Genesis 11:9) until He removed their filthiest of body and soul, and left their example for others to learn to fear God and follow in righteous holiness.  This is still a warning and example people of God in Christ today.  There is accountability for the sins of God’s people.  May we there learn holiness and willingly obey out of love for the merciful One who first loved us (1 John 4:10, 19).  Let it be so! 

Humble the Exalted and Exalt the Humble

Ezekiel 21:18-32

18 The word of the LORD came to me again, saying: 19 "And son of man, appoint for yourself two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to go; both of them shall go from the same land. Make a sign; put it at the head of the road to the city. 20 Appoint a road for the sword to go to Rabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah, into fortified Jerusalem. 21 For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the road, at the fork of the two roads, to use divination: he shakes the arrows, he consults the images, he looks at the liver. 22 In his right hand is the divination for Jerusalem: to set up battering rams, to call for a slaughter, to lift the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to heap up a siege mound, and to build a wall. 23 And it will be to them like a false divination in the eyes of those who have sworn oaths with them; but he will bring their iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.

24 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand.

25 'Now to you, O profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose iniquity shall end, 26 thus says the Lord GOD:

"Remove the turban, and take off the crown;
Nothing shall remain the same.
Exalt the humble, and humble the exalted.
27 Overthrown, overthrown,
I will make it overthrown!
It shall be no longer,
Until He comes whose right it is,
And I will give it to Him."'

28 "And you, son of man, prophesy and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach,' and say:

'A sword, a sword is drawn,
Polished for slaughter,
For consuming, for flashing—

29 While they see false visions for you,
While they divine a lie to you,
To bring you on the necks of the wicked, the slain
Whose day has come,
Whose iniquity shall end.

30 'Return it to its sheath.
I will judge you
In the place where you were created,
In the land of your nativity.

31 I will pour out My indignation on you;
I will blow against you with the fire of My wrath,
And deliver you into the hands of brutal men who are skillful to destroy.

32 You shall be fuel for the fire;
Your blood shall be in the midst of the land.
You shall not be remembered,
For I the LORD have spoken.'"

The word of the LORD said He would humble the exalted and exalt the humble (Luke 1:52, Matthew 23:12) and that He would hold the nation of the Ammonites accountable to judgment.  God appointed two ways at a crossroads as to which way the sword of judgment would fall and even moved the pagan king of Babylon to make his divination turn towards Jerusalem of Judah instead of the Ammonite city of Rabbah.  God Himself would then deal with Ammon of Lot’s descendants after using Babylon to avenge Himself on their sin and discipline them so a remnant would yet repent and turn to Him again in humble worship.  Therefore, the LORD provided a forced divination of arrows, images, and a liver to direct that king’s heart the way it was to go (Proverbs 21:1) according to His sovereign will and predetermined plan.  Because God’s people had openly and brazenly flaunted their rejection and immortality of idolatry in their covetousness to gain for themselves (Colossians 3:5, 1 Timothy 6:5), instead of submitting themselves to God in obedience of worship and no other, He held them accountable.  They had defamed His holy name as His people in their evil doings and would be overthrown for their pride; only the humble would be lifted up and restored, just as humility leads us even now to repentance and submission to the gospel as God’s work and not our own according to our ways to earn favor instead of according to His word and work in the Christ.  Even Jerusalem would only be restored to her proper King (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14) in the end.  As for Ammon who were born from the incestuous relationship between Lot and his younger daughter (Genesis 19:36-38) and who opposed God’s people, they had already been condemned by the prophets to be judged and destroyed (Isaiah 11:14; Ezekiel 25:2).  The sword of the LORD had pointed to them after Babylon’s had been used against Judah of Israel.  They would be judged accordingly.  These things teach us by example how we should always seek the Lord in sole worship and not pursue the idolatry of covetousness nor immortality which defames His name and presence in these temples which we live in with Him to serve (1 Corinthians 3:16-17, Romans 12:1).  May we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord with confession and repentance and serve no other.

The Sword of the LORD

Ezekiel 21:1-17

1 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, preach against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel; 3 and say to the land of Israel, 'Thus says the LORD: "Behold, I am against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off both righteous and wicked from you. 4 Because I will cut off both righteous and wicked from you, therefore My sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh from south to north, 5 that all flesh may know that I, the LORD, have drawn My sword out of its sheath; it shall not return anymore."' 6 Sigh therefore, son of man, with a breaking heart, and sigh with bitterness before their eyes. 7 And it shall be when they say to you, 'Why are you sighing?' that you shall answer, 'Because of the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,' says the Lord GOD."

8 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9 "Son of man, prophesy and say, 'Thus says the LORD!' Say:

A sword, a sword is sharpened
And also polished!
10 Sharpened to make a dreadful slaughter,
Polished to flash like lightning!
Should we then make mirth?
It despises the scepter of My son,
As it does all wood.

11 And He has given it to be polished,
That it may be handled;
This sword is sharpened, and it is polished
To be given into the hand of the slayer.'

12 "Cry and wail, son of man;
For it will be against My people,
Against all the princes of Israel.
Terrors including the sword will be against My people;
Therefore strike your thigh.

13 "Because it is a testing,
And what if the sword despises even the scepter?
The scepter shall be no more,"
says the Lord GOD.

14 "You therefore, son of man, prophesy,
And strike your hands together.
The third time let the sword do double damage.
It is the sword that slays,
The sword that slays the great men,
That enters their private chambers.

15 I have set the point of the sword against all their gates,
That the heart may melt and many may stumble.
Ah! It is made bright;
It is grasped for slaughter:

16 "Swords at the ready!
Thrust right!
Set your blade!
Thrust left—
Wherever your edge is ordered!

17 "I also will beat My fists together,
And I will cause My fury to rest;
I, the LORD, have spoken."

The sword of the LORD was drawn out against Jerusalem and His people who continued in unrepentant sin for their idolatry and immortality in turning away from worshiping Him and living according to His word.  Ezekiel was told to face them and preach against them as he prophesied also against all Israel of God’s people with a certain judgment on the edge of His sword Babylon, a sharpened tool prepared in the divine hand of retribution.  Ezekiel was to then show his sighs of a breaking heart with bitterness before their eyes so they would ask and hear this word of judgment to melt their proud hearts with the approaching doom because they rejected His word and refused to repent of their evil deeds as will many in the final judgment to come (Revelation 9:20-21).  Ezekiel was a bearer of bad news, of a certain judgment which still hangs before all humanity and not just Israel; the good news of the gospel is the only hope, and it relies on understanding the bad news to grasp and respond to it for deliverance from judgment.  That good news is based on God’s mercy provided in grace as undeserved and unable to earn; it is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9) who provides a certain hope of peace with Him (Romans 5:1) and deliverance from His wrath to come.  He does not revel in the punishment of us (Ezekiel 33:11-12, 2 Peter 3:9), but desires us to turn from sin to Him through the Lamb sacrificed in our stead on the cross.  That is the bad news showing our state answered by the infinitely good news of deliverance from our deserved consequences of judgment we call salvation.  The LORD has written to His people then that the sword was sharpened and would cut them down just as it will in the very end (Revelation 1:16, 19:11, 13, 15).  As it is written here, the sword “is sharpened to make a dreadful slaughter, polished to flash like lightning!  Should we then make mirth?”  It will slay poor and rich, common and royalty alike.  None escape by their own position, possessions, or power, for all those things are given by God and earn no favor for eternity.  God will thrust in His sword to harvest His people who humbled themselves in faith to trust His righteousness for deliverance.  Then His fury against sin and sinners will rest because He said so.  For us the lingering issue is to make our calling and choosing certain (2 Corinthians 13:5, 2 Peter 1:10) through repentance and faith that we may escape that wrath and stand forever certain in His loving grace.  We either heed the word of the Lord as we do not deserve or suffer the sword of the Lord as we all do deserve (Romans 3:23-24, 6:23).  Will we receive the word of the Lord now or the sword of the Lord when we die?  

Sorrow for Sin Leading to Repentance

Ezekiel 20:27-49

27 "Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "In this too your fathers have blasphemed Me, by being unfaithful to Me. 28 When I brought them into the land concerning which I had raised My hand in an oath to give them, and they saw all the high hills and all the thick trees, there they offered their sacrifices and provoked Me with their offerings. There they also sent up their sweet aroma and poured out their drink offerings. 29 Then I said to them, 'What is this high place to which you go?' So its name is called Bamah to this day."' 30 Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Are you defiling yourselves in the manner of your fathers, and committing harlotry according to their abominations? 31 For when you offer your gifts and make your sons pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols, even to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live," says the Lord GOD, "I will not be inquired of by you. 32 What you have in your mind shall never be, when you say, 'We will be like the Gentiles, like the families in other countries, serving wood and stone.'

33 "As I live," says the Lord GOD, "surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. 34 I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. 35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face. 36 Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you," says the Lord GOD.

37 "I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; 38 I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

39 "As for you, O house of Israel," thus says the Lord GOD: "Go, serve every one of you his idols—and hereafter—if you will not obey Me; but profane My holy name no more with your gifts and your idols. 40 For on My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel," says the Lord GOD, "there all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me; there I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the firstfruits of your sacrifices, together with all your holy things. 41 I will accept you as a sweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles. 42 Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an oath to give to your fathers. 43 And there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed. 44 Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you for My name's sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel," says the Lord GOD.'"

45 Furthermore the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 46 "Son of man, set your face toward the south; preach against the south and prophesy against the forest land, the South, 47 and say to the forest of the South, 'Hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree and every dry tree in you; the blazing flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be scorched by it. 48 All flesh shall see that I, the LORD, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched."'"

49 Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! They say of me, 'Does he not speak parables?'"

Sorrow for sin to repentance followed the unfaithfulness of Israel’s blasphemy and corrective discipline.  Their spiritual unfaithfulness was the blasphemy which God accused them of, having substituted lifeless and powerless creations of their imagination for the eternal God alone worthy of worship and praise.  We must also beware of lesser idols of our own time being put over our attention that we live for as well in our present day since many of us do not love in the Eastern countries still bowing to carved idols of wood and stone passed off as living deities.  God forbid that we should line our church windowsills with objects to venerate as diversions to true worship of our Lord either!  The first commandment of course still holds morally and spiritually for us, contrary to some who would abolish instead of fulfill the Law in Christ.  Our God still yearns jealously for His people (2 Corinthians 6:16, James 4:5) and shares our  veneration of Him with no one and nothing else.  The harlotry of adulterous idolatry (James 4:4) is as much immortality as the bodily sinful acts that Israel had done both in and out of the temple, and these spiritual ones are what are most hated by God because commitment to Him is not to be given to another in worship or another object pursued by us more than Him.  The LORD promised to pull His people out of such abominations in His furious wrath and omnipotent power to speak to them about these things face to face in a sense, to discipline and restore them into a covenant relationship with Himself.  Those who refused were given over to their idols with a stern warning not to blaspheme Him by associating themselves with His name if they did these things in their disobedience of adulterous idolatry or coverups of gifts of penitent acts to somehow imagine those would appease Him as some teach even now.  Yes, God desires a broken spirit (Psalm 51:17, Isaiah 66:2) of confession and repentance instead.  He wants our hearts in complete devotion to Him with sacrifices of praise and prayer burning on the altars of our hearts.  That is acceptable sweet smelling worship (Romans 12:1).  God dealt with Israel according to His name and glory with grace and mercy and not according to what they deserved for their wicked ways and corrupt doings as Ezekiel 20:44 tells us.  This is the grace of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ who pardons sin and restores our worship of Him.  God started a cleansing fire in Israel and continues to do so now until Christ’s return.  Some only read these things and hear parables with stopped up ears and blind eyes, but those whom He calls are given sight and the ability to listen.  Then we are led to sorrow for our sin against Him which leads to repentance by faith in His work according to His word.  His hand is powerful enough to pull us out and sustain us forever.

Rebellious People of God

Ezekiel 20:1-26 

1 It came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me. 2 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 3 "Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Have you come to inquire of Me? As I live," says the Lord GOD, "I will not be inquired of by you."' 4 Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Then make known to them the abominations of their fathers.

5 "Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "On the day when I chose Israel and raised My hand in an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob, and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, I raised My hand in an oath to them, saying, I am the LORD your God.' 6 On that day I raised My hand in an oath to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, 'flowing with milk and honey,' the glory of all lands. 7 Then I said to them, 'Each of you, throw away the abominations which are before his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.' 8 But they rebelled against Me and would not obey Me. They did not all cast away the abominations which were before their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said, 'I will pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.' 9 But I acted for My name's sake, that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles among whom they were, in whose sight I had made Myself known to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

10 "Therefore I made them go out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 And I gave them My statutes and showed them My judgments, which, if a man does, he shall live by them.' 12 Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them. 13 Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes; they despised My judgments, which, if a man does, he shall live by them'; and they greatly defiled My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them in the wilderness, to consume them. 14 But I acted for My name's sake, that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out. 15 So I also raised My hand in an oath to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, 'flowing with milk and honey,' the glory of all lands, 16 because they despised My judgments and did not walk in My statutes, but profaned My Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols. 17 Nevertheless My eye spared them from destruction. I did not make an end of them in the wilderness.

18 "But I said to their children in the wilderness, 'Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols. 19 I am the LORD your God: Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; 20 hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.'

21 "Notwithstanding, the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments, which, if a man does, he shall live by them'; but they profaned My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the wilderness. 22 Nevertheless I withdrew My hand and acted for My name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 Also I raised My hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them throughout the countries, 24 because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers' idols.

25 "Therefore I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live; 26 and I pronounced them unclean because of their ritual gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire, that I might make them desolate and that they might know that I am the LORD."'

Here God holds Israel accountable for their rejection and rebellion against Him after all Je had done for them.  The LORD called them and told them His holy name as Yahweh, the One who is self existent in Him.  He made a covenant agreement with them to deliver from the enslavement of Egyptian bondage into a land that He personally had searched out and chosen for His chosen ones, 'flowing with milk and honey,' the glory of all nations.  He instructed His people to turn away from the idols of Egypt where they were in bondage to not defile their calling to holiness as He is holy (Leviticus 19:2, 1 Peter 1:15-16) according to His word covenanted with them.  They rebelled and held onto those false gods in willing disobedience as they rejected His word and all the blessings they had been promised if they were faithful to Him and worshiped no other but God alone (Exodus 20:3-5).  They refused to discard the abominations and defiled their once holy bodies with immortality and set up idols in the temples of their hearts and bodies.  They made their worship unclean by their willful and unrepentant sin and broke the covenant of works to follow his word which said, if a man does, he shall live by them.  This meant conversely that not following His word meant death instead.  They chose badly for death instead of life in following the LORD according to His word.  How many times did the LORD plead with them through the prophets to choose life but they chose their pride and passing pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25) to avoid facing the fact that none can keep all the Law perfectly (Romans 3:19-20, James 2:10) as required (Galatians 3:10-12, 23-24)?  They lacked faith, they did not trust God’s providence and provision to give them faith and forgiveness in His grace and sought their own justification instead of in the Messiah to come.  Even though they ran after their idols, He still did not destroy them but called each new generation to learn from their bad examples and follow Him according to His word instead.  That was grace.  We also are offered grace in our rebellious lost state of not trusting His word if we turn from sin to Him in Christ according to His great mercy of grace in His work to keep every point of the Law for us as we are quite unable to do.  Resting in His work is the Sabbath we are called to as they were, and our attempts to evade the accountability of judgment only makes us unclean in attempting to earn our salvation.  We are instead to know that He is the LORD as we know the Lord in His Son who is our sacrifice for sin and the High Priest ministering salvation to us by his perfect works of obedience which we can never accomplish.  Trust and follow Him.  That is the lesson we can learn here from their example according to His word.  He will make a New Covenant of grace with us which we cannot break (Galatians 3:15-17) and He promised not to annul (John 10:28-29) or allow anyone else to break.  The rebellion of Israel left only a remnant to be delivered; our rebellion is answered in Christ for them and us by the faith displayed in Abraham (Galatians 3:8-9) to take God at His word in the finished work of His Son as a certain hope for all who trust in Him according to His gospel word of hope which is good news indeed! 

Israel’s Glory Lamented in a Hidden Hope

Ezekiel 19:1-14 

1 "Moreover take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, 2 and say:

'What is your mother? A lioness:
She lay down among the lions;
Among the young lions she nourished her cubs.
3 She brought up one of her cubs,
And he became a young lion;
He learned to catch prey,
And he devoured men.

4 The nations also heard of him;
He was trapped in their pit,
And they brought him with chains to the land of Egypt.

5 'When she saw that she waited, that her hope was lost,
She took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.
6 He roved among the lions,
And became a young lion;
He learned to catch prey;
He devoured men.

7 He knew their desolate places,
And laid waste their cities;
The land with its fullness was desolated
By the noise of his roaring.

8 Then the nations set against him from the provinces on every side,
And spread their net over him;
He was trapped in their pit.

9 They put him in a cage with chains,
And brought him to the king of Babylon;
They brought him in nets,
That his voice should no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel.

10 'Your mother was like a vine in your bloodline,
Planted by the waters,
Fruitful and full of branches
Because of many waters.

11 She had strong branches for scepters of rulers.
She towered in stature above the thick branches,
And was seen in her height amid the dense foliage.

12 But she was plucked up in fury,
She was cast down to the ground,
And the east wind dried her fruit.
Her strong branches were broken and withered;
The fire consumed them.

13 And now she is planted in the wilderness,
In a dry and thirsty land.

14 Fire has come out from a rod of her branches
And devoured her fruit,
So that she has no strong branch—a scepter for ruling.'"
This is a lamentation, and has become a lamentation.

This is a lament for the called and fallen people of God.  Judah had been born as a lion tribe in Israel from which also the Messiah who is the Lion of the tribe of Judah would come.  Israel had grew her offspring strong and they conquered nations around her until cast into a pit and delivered Eliakim to Egypt (2 Kings 23:33-34), reminiscent of when Jacob was put in a pit (Genesis 37:28) and sold into Egypt only to bring his family and people there to grow even when enslaved in bondage (Acts 7:9, 17, 36) until delivered.  Likewise, God’s people were taken from the pit of their sin and judgment in Jerusalem into captivity to the foreign land of Babylon for bondage of their sin until later delivered by the LORD when the remnant was humbled and disciplined.  Gods used the nations which Israel had ruled over to help capture God’s people and deliver them into that captivity.  God’s wrath had picked them up and consumed them with a fiery judgment and planted them in a wilderness where they would thirst once more for Him (Psalm 63:1).  Her rule over others was put on hold because of her pride and sins of idolatry and immortality.  This was truly a great lamentation, a song of mourning, for the state of God’s people, but yet there remained hope for a remnant of them yet to be delivered from bondage as they had been from Egypt long before (Acts 7:7).  For we who read of the glory of God’s people lamented here, it reminds us of the lament of all under sin who are only rescued by Him in the work of Jesus Christ who delivers His remnant out of spiritual bondage to sin and death with its eternal punishment after being humbled to confession of and repentance from sin through faith in Him.  There is a certain hope for those bound in iniquity (Acts 8:23, Romans 6:22-23) who find peace with God in Christ (Isaiah 53:5, Acts 10:36, Romans 5:1, Ephesians 2:17) as a delivered remnant of all under judgment which we all deserve.  This is the grace and peace of the gospel which turns mourning into rejoicing (Psalm 30:11) after enduring necessary suffering and discipline!

Turn and Live!

Ezekiel 18:19-32

19 "Yet you say, 'Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?' Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live. 20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

21 "But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live. 23 Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?" says the Lord GOD, "and not that he should turn from his ways and live?

24 "But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.

25 "Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not fair.' Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair? 26 When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies. 27 Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive. 28 Because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair?

30 "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord GOD. "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!"

Turn from sin and live in Him who died in your place of judgment due according to God’s just anger on all our sin.  Turn and live forever!  The soul who sins shall surely die as Genesis 2:17 gave our ancestors the divine warning.  Romans 3:23 declares that we are all guilty of our original father’s sin (Romans 5:12, 1 Corinthians 15:22) and Romans 5:18-19 offer the only hope of our accountability for the sin we inherited.  This is not the same as the sins committed by our fathers after Adam, however.  We are not held responsible for those unless we continue to sin in like manner.  The original sin affects all descendants of Adam and Eve because they were sinless when they fell from God’s grace; all sin after them is willingly committed from an already corrupt heart under judgment (Romans 5:12).  We inherit the sin nature of a broken will and soul by Adam but are also held accountable for the sins we commit out of that nature and not from any other person, least of all our parents or other forefathers.  This passage reminds us that we newer for our own sin no cannot point a deflecting finger at our upbringing or other acquaintances who influenced us.  We all answer for our own sin and there is nobody without sin because of the original sin ingrained in the spiritual DNA of our souls.  Turning from sin is repentance, and is effective only when accompanied by faith for an eternal deliverance from sin’s just penalty we have inherited and earned.  When the prophet repeated the words of the LORD to turn and live, he was foretelling the gospel of complete forgiveness by repentance through God-given faith to believe and be saved from the judgment we all are born under.  This passage also speaks of the one who is righteous and then commits sin; it does not refer to eternal death of one declared righteous in Christ, but of the unregenerate man or woman who earns it by keeping the Law until it is broken as we all do (James 2:10, Galatians 3:11-12, 14).  For the regenerated in Christ are accountable yet not judged to punishment of eternal death, but given life irrevocably (John 5:24).  The second Adam, Jesus Christ, has taken the guilt and punishment of our inherited sin on Himself and no longer holds us accountable.  This grace shows in a way that the accusation of God not being fair seems to be true because He appears not to judge us and give us the death we deserve for our sin, but since He has atoned in our place for it we have been released from that sentence of death (John 8:51, 6:29) by faith which takes God at His word and trusts in His work of righteousness to make us righteous in Him who is the just one and justifier (Romans 3:26) of those in Christ.  God made it clear here that He takes no pleasure in our sentence of death for our sins, but offers a new heart and life (Ezekiel 36:26, 2 Corinthians 3:3) in Himself if we turn (repent) to live forever in His grace with Him.  This is the gospel of Jesus Christ who saves those He calls out of sin and into Him.  Turn and live (Acts 20:21)! 

Each One’s Accountability for Sin

Ezekiel 18:1-18

1 The word of the LORD came to me again, saying, 2 "What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying:
'The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children's teeth are set on edge'?

3 "As I live," says the Lord GOD, "you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel.

4 "Behold, all souls are Mine;
The soul of the father
As well as the soul of the son is Mine;
The soul who sins shall die.

5 But if a man is just
And does what is lawful and right;
6 If he has not eaten on the mountains,
Nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,
Nor defiled his neighbor's wife,
Nor approached a woman during her impurity;

7 If he has not oppressed anyone,
But has restored to the debtor his pledge;
Has robbed no one by violence,
But has given his bread to the hungry
And covered the naked with clothing;
8 If he has not exacted usury
Nor taken any increase,
But has withdrawn his hand from iniquity
And executed true judgment between man and man;

9 If he has walked in My statutes
And kept My judgments faithfully—
He is just;
He shall surely live!"
Says the Lord GOD.

10 "If he begets a son who is a robber
Or a shedder of blood,
Who does any of these things
11 And does none of those duties,
But has eaten on the mountains
Or defiled his neighbor's wife;

12 If he has oppressed the poor and needy,
Robbed by violence,
Not restored the pledge,
Lifted his eyes to the idols,
Or committed abomination;

13 If he has exacted usury
Or taken increase—
Shall he then live?
He shall not live!
If he has done any of these abominations,
He shall surely die;
His blood shall be upon him.

14 "If, however, he begets a son
Who sees all the sins which his father has done,
And considers but does not do likewise;

15 Who has not eaten on the mountains,
Nor lifted his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,
Nor defiled his neighbor's wife;
16 Has not oppressed anyone,
Nor withheld a pledge,
Nor robbed by violence,
But has given his bread to the hungry
And covered the naked with clothing;
17 Who has withdrawn his hand from the poor
And not received usury or increase,

But has executed My judgments
And walked in My statutes—
He shall not die for the iniquity of his father;
He shall surely live!

18 "As for his father,
Because he cruelly oppressed,
Robbed his brother by violence,
And did what is not good among his people,
Behold, he shall die for his iniquity.

Yes, each and every person is accountable for their own sin and answers to God.  The only exception is the sin nature inherited from Adam; we are all guilty and worthy of judgment without an eternal deliverance of atonement which was accomplished by Christ to be counted to us as righteousness by His work.  All sins we commit that we are not born with as our fallen inheritance are individually reckoned to us as the outworking of that utterly corrupt nature.  No person is born good (Romans 3:20, 23) and we all continue to add sins as Israel did here.  The souls who sins shall die as it is written here in verse 4 for us to take to heart, as Romans 6:23 makes clear there is no escape for anyone from judgment and death because of our sin inherited and committed personally.  Hebrews 9:27-28 explains how we all are certain to face that judgment when we die; there is no second chance to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ after that, no fantasy of a Purgatory to be prayed out of or paid head by good works which always fall short of God’s standards of His perfect glory.  As written here, if anyone could keep all God’s word perfectly and not fail to do these things, that one would surely live and not be judged, but it also spells out that failing to do these things earns death.  Since none can do all the Law of God’s word (James 2:10), we all are born in sin under judgment and live to fall short in our sins.  Galatians 3:10-11 show us that only by faith in God’s work is there hope (John 6:29) for us.  One thing clear from this page is that we are not accountable for our parents’ sins but our own alone.  Our sin inherited is still unaccounted for by these words to Ezekiel, however, as they do not take that into account.  That is why this only speaks for accountability of our own sins which we now know are born out of a fallen sinful nature which we all after born with and that will condemn us to a certain judgment if not covered by the atoning death of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who took our sins and sin nature on Himself who was sinless to satisfy the wrath of God on our sin.  May each new year be in Christ with hope for tomorrow and into eternity!