The Fire of God’s Wrath
Ezekiel 22:1-31
1 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 "Now, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations!
3 Then say, 'Thus says the Lord God: "The city sheds blood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself.
4 You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries.
5 Those near and those far from you will mock you as infamous and full of tumult.
6 "Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you.
7 In you they have made light of father and mother; in your midst they have oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the fatherless and the widow.
8 You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.
9 In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed; in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness.
10 In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity.
11 One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter.
12 In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me," says the Lord God.
13 "Behold, therefore, I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst.
14 Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and will do it.
15 I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and remove your filthiness completely from you.
16 You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; then you shall know that I am the Lord." ' "
17 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
18 "Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a furnace; they have become dross from silver.
19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
20 As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you.
21 Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst.
22 As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have poured out My fury on you.' "
23 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
24 "Son of man, say to her: 'You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.'
25 The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.
26 Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
27 Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain.
28 Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord God,' when the Lord had not spoken.
29 The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger.
30 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.
31 Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads," says the Lord God.
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One of the things that is quite obvious throughout the book of Ezekiel is the constant preaching against sin, wickedness and against idolatrous behaviour. God never changes His mind where this is concerned.
What is wrong, is wrong.
Many times we hear parents or teachers saying, “Now, I won’t tell you again”, or “this is the last time I will tell you”.
Until the judgement falls, God reminds them of their sin.
God did the same with Noah. Noah preached righteousness for 120 years, before the flood came.
Psalm 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
However, there comes a time when God has had enough.
Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
God lists all Israel’s wrongs and what a list it is.
5 Those near and those far from you will mock you as infamous and full of tumult.
6 "Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you.
7 In you they have made light of father and mother; in your midst they have oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the fatherless and the widow.
8 You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.
9 In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed; in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness.
10 In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity.
11 One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter.
12 In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me," says the Lord God.
Full of tumult: a state of confusion or disorder.
Shed blood: Leaders using their power for war.
Made light of father and mother: Men have no respect for parents.
Mistreated the fatherless and the widow: Poverty is rife in the world.
Despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths: God has been forgotten by the masses, His precepts abandoned, only a remnant remain.
Slander to cause bloodshed: Making excuse for war.
Commit lewdness: to lust or lechery; lascivious. obscene or indecent, as language or songs; salaciousness.
Men uncover their fathers' nakedness: The practice of homosexuality, even in the family.
They violate women: Rape and abuse.
Commits abomination with his neighbour's wife: Adultery.
Lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; Violates his sister: Incest.
Take bribes: Bought for a price.
You take usury: Extortion.
Have forgotten Me," Turned their back on God.
Does all this sound familiar? Israel generally had become a wicked people. There leaders were corrupt and the people were following their example.
Things don’t seem to change. We could be listing the sins of our nations today and the same kinds of people are being oppressed in our day.
As the time approached for God’s wrath to be poured out on Israel, they got worse.
So too in these days, which many believe to be the last days, men grow more and more wicked and turn their back on God.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come.
2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good,…
4 traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,…
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!
The lesson to us today is to heed the warnings of God. We must not turn our backs on, or ignore social violence or oppression.
We should never participate in any of these things to gain something for ourselves but on the contrary, we should stand up against these evils and preach the truth, whether it lobbying politicians or participating in peaceful demonstration and arguing for good.
Israel’s confidence in themselves, the pride and arrogance and self justification will fade away when God’s judgement falls.
There will be no excuse, when God scatters them amongst the nations. When He melts them down and they become mixed in an amalgamation, of metals and the dross removed.
God very often uses the analogy of a furnace of affliction and pain to try us.
Job 23:10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
God uses this method to try us and test us that we may be sanctified in Christ, to purify us.
However, in this passage in Ezekiel, God is using the analogy as a means of punishment to Israel. By melting them into the surrounding nations.
Eze 22:18 "Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a furnace; they have become dross from silver.
19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
20 As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you.
21 Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst.
22 As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have poured out My fury on you.' "
Here is a vision of the Judgement of God.
Whilst Christians will not stand before the Great White Throne judgement. They will stand before the Judgement seat of Christ.
The difference between these two judgements is that one carries condemnation, that is the judgement seat of God. This is where mankind answers for what they have done concerning Jesus.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
The judgement seat of Christ carries no condemnation.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
It is solely a judgement on deeds done whilst a Christian.
This judgement is known as the Bema seat. A judgement for performance.
2 Cor 5:10 For we must all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
For we shall all stand before the judgement in one way or another.
At these judgements, there will be no excuse.
Revelation 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
No one escapes the judgement.
Eze 25. her prophets.
26. Her priests.
27 Her princes
28 Her prophets (false prophets) seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord God,' when the Lord had not spoken.
29 The people of the land.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God;
Matt 7:22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!
No one escapes judgement.
Princes, kings, priests, prophets, rich, poor, all will stand before the judgement seat of God.
All will stand alone before a Holy God.
Eze 22:30 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.
There was no one in Israel that could mediate between the people and God.
Eze 22:31 Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads," says the Lord God.
Praise God that in the fullness of time, God did find one good enough to pay the price of sin.
God did find one who could mediate between man and God.
John1:29 Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
1 Tim 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God.
On the day of judgement, Christians will have no need to find an excuse, for Jesus paid the price of their sin.
All that Christians have to cling to is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, on our behalf and in our place.
