Ezekiel 7:1-9: The Land of Israel will face Judgment

Introduction

Succinct Summation

Outline

Ezekiel 1-24 - Oracles against God’s People

Ezekiel 1:1-3 - Ezekiel the Priest

Ezekiel 1:4-28 - The Glory of the Lord

Ezekiel 2:1-3:15 - Ezekiel Commissioned

Ezekiel 3:16-27 - Ezekiel the Watchman

Ezekiel 4:1-5:4 - The Dramatization of Jerusalem’s Siege

Ezekiel 5:5-17 - The Dramatization Explained

Ezekiel 6:1-14 - Israel Will Know the Lord

Ezekiel 7:1-9 - The Land of Israel will face Judgment

Ezekiel 7:1-4 - The Land of Israel will be Punished

Ezekiel 7:5-9 - The Disaster will come Suddenly

Purpose of Book

The purpose of Ezekiel is Yahweh rebukes His people for their sinfulness and He promises to restore His glory so all nations will know He is the one true Lord. In short, the purpose of Ezekiel is the glory of God.

Main Point

Ezekiel, continuing as the watchman, now pronounces judgment upon the land of Israel

Ezekiel 7:1-4 - The Land of Israel will be Punished

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “And you, O son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel: An end!

1 The word of the Lord came to me:

2 “And you, O son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel: An end!

The land/soil of Israel was significantly important the the Israelites as it was a source of identity to them, but they will soon lose this

Instead of enjoying security in their homeland, those who are exiles would become vagabonds with no security of well-being

Amos 8:2 ESV

2 And he said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass by them.

Amos prophesied a similar fate to the northern kingdom - God’s grace to them had come to an end and God will implement the covenant curses He promised

The end has come upon the four corners of the land.

This usually refers to eschatological destruction, but Ezekiel uses it in an non-eschatological manner

Ezekiel’s point is regarding the severity of the destruction that will come upon Israel - it might as well be the end of the world for them because they are doomed

3 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.

3 Now the end is upon you, and I will send my anger upon you

“Now” destruction is near and imminent

“The end” the enemy is close and will attack soon

Ezekiel 5:16 ESV

16 when I send against you the deadly arrows of famine, arrows for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, and when I bring more and more famine upon you and break your supply of bread.

I will judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations.

First, Yahweh will judge the nation according to her own ways

Judgment here goes beyond a judicial decision - this refers to the execution of the sentencing

Second, He will punish them for their own abominations/evil-sinfulness

Yahweh is a righteous/just God

Exodus 34:6–7 ESV

6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Romans 9:10–14 ESV

And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!

In choosing Jacob over Esau

Leviticus 26:14–33 ESV

14 “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, 15 if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, 16 then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, with wasting disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the heart ache. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17 I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies. Those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none pursues you. 18 And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins, 19 and I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. 20 And your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield its increase, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit. 21 “Then if you walk contrary to me and will not listen to me, I will continue striking you, sevenfold for your sins. 22 And I will let loose the wild beasts against you, which shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock and make you few in number, so that your roads shall be deserted. 23 “And if by this discipline you are not turned to me but walk contrary to me, 24 then I also will walk contrary to you, and I myself will strike you sevenfold for your sins. 25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute vengeance for the covenant. And if you gather within your cities, I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. 26 When I break your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in a single oven and shall dole out your bread again by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied. 27 “But if in spite of this you will not listen to me, but walk contrary to me, 28 then I will walk contrary to you in fury, and I myself will discipline you sevenfold for your sins. 29 You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. 30 And I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars and cast your dead bodies upon the dead bodies of your idols, and my soul will abhor you. 31 And I will lay your cities waste and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your pleasing aromas. 32 And I myself will devastate the land, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be appalled at it. 33 And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you, and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.

Leviticus 26:40–45 ESV

40 “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me, 41 so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, 42 then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. 43 But the land shall be abandoned by them and enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them, and they shall make amends for their iniquity, because they spurned my rules and their soul abhorred my statutes. 44 Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not spurn them, neither will I abhor them so as to destroy them utterly and break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God. 45 But I will for their sake remember the covenant with their forefathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.”

4 And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but I will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst.

4 And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity

Yahweh is resolved to bring destruction upon the city of Jerusalem

The judgment has been cast - there is no going back as Yahweh has made His decree

Though God will not spare and have no pity, the wording here shows God’s motivation towards Israel is not based off law, but LOVE - His manner to spare and pity them is put aside due to the level of covenantal breach

But I will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst.

Then you will know that I am the Lord.

As the apostate, surviving Israelites survey the land they will understand their deities were utterly powerless AND they will know the punishment, power, holiness, glory, and presence of Yahweh - this is His ultimate purpose

Christ Connection - Jesus is a Righteous and Just God

Revelation 19:11–16 ESV

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Ezekiel 7:5-9 - The Disaster Will Come Suddenly

5 “Thus says the Lord God: Disaster after disaster! Behold, it comes.

5 “Thus says the Lord God:

Disaster after disaster! Behold, it comes.

Disaster is coming - Jerusalem will be destroyed and so will the temple

6 An end has come; the end has come; it has awakened against you. Behold, it comes.

6 An end has come

The end has come

It has awakened against you

Behold, it comes.

7 Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land.

7 Your doom has come to you

The word for doom here is symbolic

The word is used in Isaiah 28:5 describing a diadem of beauty, and here it is used as a “crown” of bondage and humiliation

O inhabitant of the land.

The time has come; the day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting on the mountains.

The time has come

The day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting on the mountains.

This contrasts the joy of the harvest

Instead of the joyful shouting of the harvest, there will be shouts of terror as the Babylonians come to conquer them

8 Now I will soon pour out my wrath upon you, and spend my anger against you, and judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations.

8 Now I will soon pour out my wrath upon you

This is one of the differences from the previous warning

The image here is a boiling hot cauldron that has been poured out on it’s victims

The Israelites have been playing a dangerous game of unrighteous chess - they will not escape the checkmate of Yahweh

And spend my anger against you

And judge you according to your ways

And I will punish you for all your abominations.

9 And my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity.

9 And my eye will not spare

Nor will I have pity.

I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst.

I will punish you according to your ways

While your abominations are in your midst.

Ezekiel 7:3–4 ESV

3 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. 4 And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but I will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

The same message is given again - the rebellious house of Israel is dead in sin and will not hear the prophecy

Then you will know that I am the Lord, who strikes.

Then you will know that I am the Lord

Who strikes.

To afflict/inflict suddenly

Christ Connection - The Judgment of Christ will also come Suddenly

Matthew 24:36–51 ESV

36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

How Should we Live in Light of Ezekiel 7:1-9?

The rebellious house of Israel profaned the righteousness of God before all the nations, and God executed judgment upon them. We should be deeply concerned for God’s righteousness and live a holy life before Him and the world.

Biblical righteousness encompasses His goodness, perfection, uprightness, and justice

Reformed Systematic Theology, Volume 1: Revelation and God Righteousness and Justice

Irenaeus wisely said that justice without goodness is not just, and goodness without justice is not good, so the true God must be both good and just.

The righteousness of God is revealed in His law

Romans 7:7–12 ESV

7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

We must understand that the righteousness we were given comes from God Himself

Romans 3:21–26 ESV

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

We must absolutely and completely renounce our “man-centered” righteousness, for our works are not perfect in their own right

1 John 3:5–7 ESV

5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.

Righteousness dwells in our eternal home

2 Peter 3:11–13 ESV

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Main Point

Ezekiel, continuing as the watchman, now pronounces judgment upon the land of Israel