The Lord’s Resolve, Ezekiel 7

Our outline for this chapter:

1)    Introduction 1-2a

2)    You 2b-4a

3)    Imminent 5-9a

4)    Day of Reckoning 10-12a

5)    No Escape 12b-19

6)    Beauty to Ashes 20-22

7)    Enslaved 23-27a

8)    The Lord's Resolve 4b, 9b, 27b

¹ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 

Literally: “Word Yahweh came near saying”.

Once again, we hear the often repeated, pleasant reminder, of who our God is.

The God who draws near, “Immanuel: God with us.

And the God who speaks. In the beginning God spoke the worlds into existence. And in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (Gen. 1, John 1).

The Lord came near to Ezekiel saying...     

^2a “And you, son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel:

God draws near and speaks to Zeke specific and personal.

 Yet He calls him by the generic phrase, son of man (over 90 times), Ben Adam, meaning, son of mankind, thus looping us into the conversation.

As if saying, “Listen up, I’m speaking to you, too.”

^2b... ‘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;...

You

Straight out of the gate the Lord lets them know, this is on you.

You made your bed. You did it to yourself.

You brought this end which has come upon you.

My judgement against you, is repayment for your abominations.

You have sown to the flesh, now you reap corruption.

You have sown to the wind, now you reap the whirlwind.  

Be  not deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. ⁸ For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. ⁹ And let us not grow weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. Galatians 6:7-9.

Twenty-five times, the Lord, through the prophet, points His finger at Israel in judgement, saying, “You!”

When God repeats a word or phrase it’s not because He can’t think of another, it’s because He’s making a point, highlighting a theme.

When He says something once, it’s important, pay attention.

Twice, scoot to the edge of your seat and really listen.

Thrice, stand up, draw close, take notes, it’s vitally important.

Twenty-five times. My oh my. Taking personal responsibility must be mega, vitally, important.

And that’s not all He repeats.

“End” five times through verse six.

“Has come” ten times through verse twelve. (as in end has come, doom..., time..., it...).

“According to” a half-dozen times, throughout the chapter, always refers to judgement according to their ways, in repayment for their abominations.

“Your abominations” four times through verse eight.

Even a blind man can see His Message crystal clear; the end has come according to your abominations.

Then you shall know that I am the Lord!’

The Lord’s Resolve.

Over 60 times Ezekiel repeats that phrase or something like it, revealing God’s resolve; that all will know that He is the Lord.

Isaiah 45:23
I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall take an oath.

Romans 14:11
For it is written:
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”

Philippians 2:10-11
At the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Our Father wants His children to know Him.

It’s as simple as that.

If we refuse Him, reject Him, run from His Presence, His peace, protection and provision, He will let us.

When our bad choices bring disaster after disaster, He won’t stop them.

When we come to the end and only doom awaits us, He won’t change the consequences we created. 

He loves us.

Love allows choice.

Love is not control, but freedom.

Love is not silent.

Love draws near and speaks.

God is Love.

He warns us, again and again, even if it hurts. 

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.

Imminent

Notice the urgent imminency of His Words. An end has come, has come, has dawned, has come, doom has come, time has come, trouble is near. Now, upon you I will soon pour out My fury.

God’s Words must not be taken lightly or passed off for another day.

Today is the day of Salvation. Today if you hear His Voice, harden not your heart. 2 Cor. 6:2, Hebrews 4:7.

His warnings are imminent.

Then you shall know that I am the Lord who strikes.

The Lord’s Resolve, again, this time with action. The Lord who strikes.

Strikes, means what it says, strikes, smites.

“Son, this is going to hurt me, a lot more than it’s going to hurt you” is the way my dad put it as we walked, behind the woodshed.

Proverbs put it like this:

Proverbs 3:11-12
My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.

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.

Day of Reckoning

No need to be overly distraught over the rising tide of evil.

Behold the Day of Reckoning is coming.

The Judge is coming.

Justice will be served.

God is not dead nor doth He sleep. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail.

Deuteronomy 32:35
Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them.’

Romans 12:17-19
Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. ¹⁹ Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

Hebrews 10:30-31, 37
For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. ...³⁷ “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.

^12b ‘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.

¹⁴ ‘They have blown the trumpet and made everyone ready,
But no one goes to battle;
For My wrath is on all their multitude.
¹⁵ The sword is outside,
And the pestilence and famine within.
Whoever is in the field
Will die by the sword;
And whoever is in the city,
Famine and pestilence will devour him.

¹⁶ ‘Those who survive will escape and be on the mountains
Like doves of the valleys,
All of them mourning,
Each for his iniquity.
¹⁷ Every hand will be feeble,
And every knee will be as weak as water.
¹⁸ They will also be girded with sackcloth;
Horror will cover them;
Shame will be on every face,
Baldness on all their heads.

¹⁹ ‘They will throw their silver into the streets,
And their gold will be like refuse;
Their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them
In the day of the wrath of the Lord;
They will not satisfy their souls,
Nor fill their stomachs,
Because it became their stumbling block of iniquity.

No Escape

There is a point of no return. Where we suffer the consequences of our sin, and God will not soften the blow.

Outside they died by the sword. Inside by starvation. If they managed to head for the hills, they wasted away in fear and trembling.

Their wealth was worthless. Their objects of worship were repulsive.

There is no escaping God’s judgement.

²⁰ ‘As for the beauty of his ornaments,
He set it in majesty;
But they made from it
The images of their abominations—
Their detestable things;
Therefore I have made it
Like refuse to them.
²¹ I will give it as plunder
Into the hands of strangers,
And to the wicked of the earth as spoil;
And they shall defile it.
²² I will turn My face from them,
And they will defile My secret place;
For robbers shall enter it and defile it.

Beauty to ashes

They turned God’s blessings into idols.

They worshipped the gift over the Giver.

God turned His face from them, lifted His hand of protection, provision and peace.

Enemies invaded.

The secret place, the Holy of Holies was defiled, the Ark of the Covenant vanished, along with God’s Presence.

Beauty turned to ashes.

²³ ‘Make a chain,
For the land is filled with crimes of blood,
And the city is full of violence.
²⁴ Therefore I will bring the worst of the Gentiles,
And they will possess their houses;
I will cause the pomp of the strong to cease,
And their holy places shall be defiled.
²⁵ Destruction comes;
They will seek peace, but there shall be none.
²⁶ Disaster will come upon disaster,
And rumor will be upon rumor.
Then they will seek a vision from a prophet;
But the law will perish from the priest,
And counsel from the elders.

²⁷ ‘The king will mourn,
The prince will be clothed with desolation,
And the hands of the common people will tremble.
I will do to them according to their way,
And according to what they deserve I will judge them;

Enslaved

Make a chain, foreshadowing the shackles of bondage your sins have brought upon you.

Judicial corruption has covered the land with crimes of blood and violence.

Therefore, the worst of the Gentiles, (criminal aliens), will possess your houses and positions of power. The land of the free the home of the brave, will cease.

You will seek peace but only find destruction and division.

You will seek vision and counsel but only find chaos and deception.

You will be enslaved in the web of sin you have sown.

Then they shall know that I am the Lord!’ ”

The Lord’s Resolve

The chapter ends revealing, once again, the Lord’s Resolve.

Three times we saw the Lord’s Resolve (end of verses: 4,9,27).

That all will know that He is Lord.

Actually, all know Him.

The question is: How?

As Father, or Judge?

Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, oh how we want to know You, and be known by You. Lord, please search our heart and if there be any wicked way, that would cause You to say, “I never knew You”  please reveal it so we can repent of it, and run far from it. Help us live to hear You say, “Well done, enter in My beloved child.”

Thank You.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

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