April 21, Ezekiel 7
The word of the LORD came to me: "And you, O 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. Now the end is upon you, and I will send my anger upon you; I will judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations." - Ezekiel 7:1-3
The end had finally come. It was a long time coming, because God was very patient and didn't want to destroy his people. But the nation of Israel was entrenched in idolatry, and refused to listen to God's warnings through the prophets. So the end came. The Lord was about to punish his people for forsaking him and turning to abominations.
Their day of doom was arriving when the wrath of God would fall on the people of Jerusalem and the entire nation. The riches they had pursued couldn’t save them. Their military force could not defend them. Nebuchadnezzar’s troops would seize their treasures. The Chaldeans would chain the people together and lead them away into captivity. Their rulers and their spiritual leaders would be no help at all. The invaders would rob them of their peace and hope and fill them with terror and despair. They would learn the hard way that God was their Lord and Lord over all the earth.
The judgment against Judah and Jerusalem was another judgment in time that signified the great judgment of all the world that will come at the end of time. Noah's flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and multiple events in Israel's history were judgments from God against ungodliness. The fall of Jerusalem and Judah, like the fall of Samaria and Israel before it, reminds us that God is God and all people are accountable to him. The delay of those judgments show that God is patient and would rather bless and reward than curse and condemn. But the fact that the judgment came teaches us the grim reality that God's great patience does run out and judgment comes. All those big lessons are portable concepts that apply far beyond the ancient stories, all the way to our own accountability to and our own appointment with the Judge of all.
I can think of no more solemn thought than the idea of standing before God to give an account of ourselves to him. When Paul preached to the Roman governor Felix about righteousness, self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed. So should we all be if we are not reconciled to God in Christ. The picture of judgment in Ezekiel's prophecy is a tragic one. When people stubbornly disobey God and mock or ignore solemn warnings to turn to him, the outcome can only be tragic. That would be the fate of us all if it were not for Christ dying for us, taking the punishment and death we deserve, so we can be reconciled to God and saved from wrath.
Judgment will still be a solemn occasion. But let's remember, that on the day we stand before the Judge, the people of God in Christ can look into their Judge's face and see their Savior who redeemed them with his blood. Instead of being sent away to everlasting punishment, he will give his faithful people an eternal reward. I pray that no one who reads these words will be like the ancient Israelites, who refuse God's invitation and ignored his warning until the end comes and it is too late.
Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—April 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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