For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.
The end has come!
Ezek 7:1-14
The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel:
“‘The end! The end has come
upon the four corners of the land!
3 The end is now upon you,
and I will unleash my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct
and repay you for all your detestable practices.
4 I will not look on you with pity;
I will not spare you.
I will surely repay you for your conduct
and for the detestable practices among you.
“‘Then you will know that I am the Lord.’
5 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘Disaster! Unheard-of disaster!
See, it comes!
6 The end has come!
The end has come!
It has roused itself against you.
See, it comes!
7 Doom has come upon you,
upon you who dwell in the land.
The time has come! The day is near!
There is panic, not joy, on the mountains.
8 I am about to pour out my wrath on you
and spend my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct
and repay you for all your detestable practices.
9 I will not look on you with pity;
I will not spare you.
I will repay you for your conduct
and for the detestable practices among you.
“‘Then you will know that it is I the Lord who strikes you.
10 “‘See, the day!
See, it comes!
Doom has burst forth,
the rod has budded,
arrogance has blossomed!
11 Violence has arisen
a rod to punish the wicked.
None of the people will be left,
none of that crowd—
none of their wealth,
nothing of value.
12 The time has come!
The day has arrived!
Let not the buyer rejoice
nor the seller grieve,
for my wrath is on the whole crowd.
13 The seller will not recover
the property that was sold—
as long as both buyer and seller live.
For the vision concerning the whole crowd
will not be reversed.
Because of their sins, not one of them
will preserve their life.
14 “‘They have blown the trumpet,
they have made all things ready,
but no one will go into battle,
for my wrath is on the whole crowd.
A. Find Out
- What has come and why? v.1-3
- What will the Lord not do, what will He do and to what end? v.4
- What has come and why? v.5-8
- What will the Lord not do, what will He do and to what end? v.9
- What have now come to fruition? v.10,11
- What will no longer happen and why? v.12-14
B. Think:
- What is the repeated order of v.1-4 and then v.5-9?
- How do verses 10-14 progress on?
- What sense are you left with after these verses?
C. Comment:
This is a new and separate word from the Lord (v.1), yet it repeats what Ezekiel has already heard from the Lord. The message comes again and again so there is no missing it. Very often when God brings a prophetic word, He brings it again and again because He knows we are slow to take it in, but take it in we will – eventually!
This word is like the Lord closing the book on Israel. It is as if He says, “Right, that’s it, no more, enough, it’s finished! This is very much a “now” word. The judgement is coming – now! Their idol worship had carried on (v.3,4), despite all the Lord had said, so don’t expect pity from the Lord that results in them being spared. No, it has gone beyond that.
The Lord is now going to deal with this idolatry in the most severe way. When you have a cancer, you don’t be nice to it; you cut it out because you know that to leave it will cause utter destruction of the body. Similarly the Lord is therefore going to cut this cancerous growth (idolatry) right out of the land. The only way to do that is to remove the people, and the only way to do that is bring in an invading army to destroy Jerusalem and take a remnant into exile where they can be treated and used to grow new “cells” who will eventually be able to be put back in the land to start again! Judgement is not the end. The Lord plans long-term.
D. Application:
- Does our blindness make us soft on sin? It will kill us! Repent!
- God saves a remnant to preserve a testimony. Are we it?
The Coming Terror
Ezek 7:15-27
15 Outside is the sword;
inside are plague and famine.
Those in the country
will die by the sword;
those in the city
will be devoured by famine and plague.
16 The fugitives who escape
will flee to the mountains.
Like doves of the valleys,
they will all moan,
each for their own sins.
17 Every hand will go limp;
every leg will be wet with urine.
18 They will put on sackcloth
and be clothed with terror.
Every face will be covered with shame,
and every head will be shaved.
19 “‘They will throw their silver into the streets,
and their gold will be treated as a thing unclean.
Their silver and gold
will not be able to deliver them
in the day of the Lord’s wrath.
It will not satisfy their hunger
or fill their stomachs,
for it has caused them to stumble into sin.
20 They took pride in their beautiful jewelry
and used it to make their detestable idols.
They made it into vile images;
therefore I will make it a thing unclean for them.
21 I will give their wealth as plunder to foreigners
and as loot to the wicked of the earth,
who will defile it.
22 I will turn my face away from the people,
and robbers will desecrate the place I treasure.
They will enter it
and will defile it.
23 “‘Prepare chains!
For the land is full of bloodshed,
and the city is full of violence.
24 I will bring the most wicked of nations
to take possession of their houses.
I will put an end to the pride of the mighty,
and their sanctuaries will be desecrated.
25 When terror comes,
they will seek peace in vain.
26 Calamity upon calamity will come,
and rumor upon rumor.
They will go searching for a vision from the prophet,
priestly instruction in the law will cease,
the counsel of the elders will come to an end.
27 The king will mourn,
the prince will be clothed with despair,
and the hands of the people of the land will tremble.
I will deal with them according to their conduct,
and by their own standards I will judge them.
“‘Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
A. Find Out
- What will be the end of various people? v.15,16
- How will people feel? v.17,18
- What did they feel about possessions & so what will happen? v.19-22
- What will the Lord do and why? v.23,24
- What will people want but what will they get? v.25,26
- Who will respond how & how will God deal with them? v.27
B. Think:
- What wrong does God speak about here?
- What descriptions of the coming judgement are given?
- How will people hope for one thing but get another?
C. Comment:
The descriptions of what is coming in the immediate future continue to be repeated. Death by plague, famine and the sword is reiterated. Anyone who manages to escape the city and flee to the hills will have no strength. In the city as these things come, those who had been proud and relied upon their wealth will realise that it is all worthless, it cannot help them now. Their money will not buy them food or security. They had used it to make idols, so now the Lord will make it worthless. While they are shut up within the city with the enemy outside, money will be meaningless. They will want peace, they will suddenly want to hear the word of the Lord through the prophet, or teaching through the priest, but it will be too late!
There is a sense in all this of a mighty God presiding over the destruction of a puny and foolish people. They had been utterly deceived. They thought they were secure, they thought they could get away with rejecting God, and they thought everything would just carry on as normal – they were wrong! Almighty God has focused His attention on them and is bringing an invader to fulfil His purposes. There is no way that this can be turned back (except possibly, mass repentance). This is GOING to happen, understand it! There is a certainty about the Lord’s intent in this prophecy that cannot be misconstrued!
D. Application:
- God’s purpose WILL prevail (Prov 19:21, Isa 46:10)
- God will not be mocked (Gal 6:7)