In The Word
Read: Ezekiel 6-7
Idolatrous Worship Denounced
6 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them 3 and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord God! This is what the Lord God says to the mountains, the hills, the ravines, and the valleys: “Behold, I Myself am going to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. 4 So your altars will become deserted and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will make your slain fall in front of your idols. 5 I will also lay the dead bodies of the sons of Israel in front of their idols; and I will scatter your bones around your altars. 6 Everywhere you live, cities will be in ruins and the high places will be deserted, so that your altars will be in ruins and deserted, your idols will be broken and brought to an end, your incense altars will be cut down, and your works wiped out. 7 The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.
8 “However, I will leave a remnant, in that you will have those who escaped the sword among the nations when you are scattered among the countries. 9 Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations to which they will be taken captive, how I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which committed infidelity with their idols; and they will loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed, for all their abominations. 10 Then they will know that I am the Lord; I have not said in vain that I would inflict this disaster on them.”’
11 “This is what the Lord God says: ‘Clap your hands, stamp your foot and say, “Woe, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, which will fall by the sword, famine, and plague! 12 Anyone who is far away will die by the plague, anyone who is near will fall by the sword, and anyone who remains and is spared from these will die by the famine. So I will expend My wrath on them. 13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when their dead are among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, under every leafy tree and under every massive oak with thick branches—the places where they offered a soothing aroma to all their idols. 14 So through all their dwelling places I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land more desolate and waste than the wilderness toward Diblah; so they will know that I am the Lord.”’”
Punishment for Wickedness Foretold
7 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “And you, son of man, this is what the Lord God says to the land of Israel: ‘An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land. 3 Now the end is upon you, for I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and bring all your abominations upon you. 4 And My eye will have no pity on you, nor will I spare you, but I will bring your ways upon you, and your abominations will be among you; then you will know that I am the Lord!’
5 “This is what the Lord God says: ‘A disaster, a unique disaster, behold, it is coming! 6 An end is coming; the end has come! It has awakened against you; behold, it has come! 7 Your doom has come to you, you inhabitant of the land. The time has come, the day is near—panic rather than joyful shouting on themountains. 8 Now I will shortly pour out My wrath on you and expend My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and bring on you all your abominations. 9 My eye will have no pity nor will I spare you. I will repay you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst; then you will know that I, the Lord, am striking.
10 ‘Behold, the day! Behold, it is coming! Your doom has gone forth; the rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed. 11 Violence has grown into a rod of wickedness. None of them shall remain, none of their people, none of their wealth, nor anything eminent among them. 12 The time has come, the day has arrived. Let neither the buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn; for wrath is against all their multitude. 13 Indeed, the seller will not regain what he sold as long as they bothlive; for the vision regarding all their multitude will not be averted, nor will any of them maintain his life by his wrongdoing.
14 ‘They have blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but no one is going to the battle, for My wrath is against all their multitude. 15 The sword is outside the city and the plague and the famine are within. Anyone who is in the field will die by the sword, while famine and the plague will consume those in the city. 16 Even when their survivors escape, they will be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, each over his own wrongdoing. 17 All hands will hang limp, and all knees will drip with water. 18 They will put on sackcloth and shuddering will overwhelm them; and shame will be on all faces, and a bald patch on all their heads. 19 They will fling their silver into the streets, and their gold will become an abhorrent thing; their silver and their gold will not be able to save them on the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their appetite, nor can they fill their stomachs, because their wrongdoing has become a cause of stumbling.
The Temple Profaned
20 Moreover, they transformed the splendor of His jewels into pride, and they made the images of their abominations and their detestable things with it; therefore I will make it an abhorrent thing to them. 21 And I will hand it over to the foreigners as plunder, and to the wicked of the earth as spoils; and they will profane it. 22 I will also turn My face away from them, and they will profane My treasure; then robbers will enter and profane it.
23 ‘Make the chain, for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence. 24 Therefore, I will bring the worst of the nations, and they will take possession of their houses. I will also put an end to the pride of the strong ones, and their holy places will be profaned. 25 When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there will be none. 26 Disaster will come upon disaster and rumor will be added to rumor; then they will seek a vision from a prophet, but the Law will be lost from the priest, and counsel from the elders. 27 The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed in horror, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. I will deal with them because of their conduct, and by their judgments I will judge them. And they will know that I am the Lord.’”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
God’s judgment had come to a point of total destruction of His people. The abomination of sin had risen up to a point where the wrath of God was to be poured upon Israel. However, God in His mercy promised to leave a remnant of His people on the earth. The remnants that remained were given a purpose. That purpose was to remember God and keep His commandments among the nations where they would be spread out.
Romans 11:4-5 quotes the account where God promised Elijah that He would keep 7,000 people who had not bowed their knee to the false idol Baal. In the same way, God has chosen a remnant of us in His grace. God’s grace has been described as a gift that we don’t deserve. Upon accepting Christ as Lord our Savior, we are given grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). Because of His love, God has chosen us to be a remnant of His people upon the earth. We are called to proclaim His truth and His goodness to all those who are still kneeling to the devil and false gods of this world.
Are you a part of the remnant? If you are, then you have a purpose before you ascend into Heaven that Jesus spoke about. You are to go speak the gospel, make disciples, and baptize them. Most of this world is lost, but the battle is not lost. So be empowered today through the Holy Spirit to fulfill your purpose on this Earth.