Ezekiel 7
A Sermon on Sin
Read…
Gal. 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
Gal. 6:8 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.
Pray
Intro
√ A sermon on sin
You’ll remember that God used a series of signs to capture the attention of the Jewish captives in Babylon…
…then spoke through Ezekiel by means of two sermons, chapter 6 and 7 to communicate His plans for Israel.
Chapter 6 ~ The reason for God’s judgment
Chapter 7 ~ The nature of God’s judgment
You’ll also notice that Ezekiel’s writing style changes in chapter 7 to very short, choppy, phrases…
…by which he illustrates the panic that the impending judgment will bring upon the people of Israel!
Ex. The harried watchman
The inescapable truth that we’ll find woven through the chapter is that God’s judgment is the result of sin.
It is the natural progression of life…
…that whatsoever a person sows he will reap!
Sow righteousness and reap mercy, sow sin and reap judgment.
The people, the land and the nation of Israel are now going to bring in a bumper crop of judgment at the end of which they will understand and acknowledge that…
…God is the Lord and there are no others!
Ap. Get under Grace!
You don’t want to reap the crop that sin grows! Therefore, sow good seed!
The Judgment of Sin (vs. 1-4)
Ezek. 7:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Ezek. 7:2 “And you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel:
‘An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.
Ezek. 7:3 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.
Ezek. 7:4 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;
Then you shall know that I am the LORD!’
√ The judgment of sin
As we’ve noted in previous studies God had been warning the people of Israel, specifically the people of Judah…
…that their continuing sin would bring His judgment upon them.
In fact, the prophet Micah had spoken a hundred years before Ezekiel that God would destroy the entire nation…
…including the Temple (Micah 3:12).
Yet, because of His great mercy and longsuffering God had withheld His judgment…
…until now.
√ The end
Thus, Ezekiel begins his 2nd Sermon with…
“Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “And you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel: ‘An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.” ~ vs. 1-2
…which he will repeat a total of five times (“the end”) in his sermon to communicate that God’s judgment is coming now.
Ap. God’s patience has a limit
Without doubt God is merciful and very longsuffering with us!
He’s put up with our sin since the Garden and done everything necessary to save us from the consequences of our sin.
Yet, God’s patience does have a limit.
Ex. Romans 1:18-32
Paul shows us the progression of sin and how if not repented of ultimately leads to a point where God turns a person (or a people) over to their sin!
Vs. 24 ~ “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness…”
Vs. 26 ~ “For this reason God gave them up to vile passions…”
Vs. 28 “God gave them over to a debased mind…”
The point is that a person who continually refuses to receive the Grace of God will ultimately find themselves to have a crossed a point of no return…
…a point in which they have given themselves so wholly to sin that God can only give them over to it and the judgment that it will bring.
Ex. Pharaoh
First he hardened his own heart, later God hardened his heart.
Ap. If you’re still breathing there’s hope!
But I wouldn’t push it with God!
The Wages of Sin (vs. 5-9)
Ezek. 7:5 “Thus says the Lord GOD:
‘A disaster, a singular disaster;
Behold, it has come!
Ezek. 7:6 An end has come,
The end has come;
It has dawned for you;
Behold, it has come!
Ezek. 7:7 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.
Ezek. 7:8 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.
Ezek. 7:9 “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.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD who strikes.
√ The wages of sin
You’ll notice another word that God repeats in Ezekiel’s sermon on sin…
…the word repay.
In verses 3, 4, 8 & 9.
That is, God’s judgment is simply a repayment for their sin! There are a lot of things that I’d like repayment for…
…sin isn’t one of them!
“I will repay you for all your abominations.” ~ vs. 3
“I will repay your ways” ~ vs. 4
“And I will repay you for all your abominations.”
vs. 8
“I will repay you according to your ways.” ~ vs. 9
Reminding us that that the wages of sin is death and judgment!
As Paul writes…
Rom. 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The point is that every act of disobedience, every wrong thought and motive, every ungodly word spoken earns for us a wage…
…death and judgment.
I suspect that some of us are “six figure” sinners!
We’ve earned a lot of death!
So, God’s judgment on Israel is a sober reminder that our sin creates a spiritual debt in our lives that will bring about bitter “pay day” if not dealt with.
Ap. Receive the gift of God
The only way to avoid God’s repayment of our sin debt is to have our debt canceled by the Blood of Jesus!
His death is the full payment for every sin we’ve committed, and will yet commit!
While God’s spiritual debt consolidation plan wasn’t fully revealed until the New Testament…
…it has always been the way that God has dealt with His people.
Ex. Isaiah’s message to Israel
Isa. 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the LORD,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
Isa. 1:19 If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
Isa. 1:20 But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword”;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Remember, Isaiah was a prophet living in Jerusalem who warned the Jewish people of God’s judgment…
…yet, we see in his message that God held out the hope that their sin debt could be forgiven if they would but come back to the Lord.
Ex. Manasseh
The worst king in Judah’s history, fully gave himself over to sin and led the nation into her greatest idolatry.
Josephus records that Manasseh executed a person every day who rejected his idolatry and remained true to God.
One of his victims was Isaiah whom according to tradition was sawn in two! (ref. Heb. 11:37)
Yet, as wicked as he was even Manasseh received God’s grace when he repented!
2Chr. 33:12 Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
2Chr. 33:13 and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.
After returning to Jerusalem he destroyed all the idols and places of worship that he had built in Jerusalem and served God with his whole heart!
Ap. Keep praying!
If a man like Manasseh, living under the Old Covenant, can repent and be saved…
…how much more possible is it that the worst sinner you know can be saved!
So, chose to live in God’s Grace so that you won’t have to receive payment on the wages of your sin!
The Harvest of Sin (vs. 10-13)
Ezek. 7:10 “Behold, the day!
Behold, it has come!
Doom has gone out;
The rod has blossomed,
Pride has budded.
Ezek. 7:11 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.
Ezek. 7:12 The time has come,
The day draws near.
“Let not the buyer rejoice,
Nor the seller mourn,
For wrath is on their whole multitude.
Ezek. 7:13 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.
√ The harvest of sin
In this section the Lord uses some interesting language to portray the consequence of sin…
…that is, He uses the image of a budding branch to communicate that the harvest of judgment has arrived!
Note vs. 10…
Ezek. 7:10 “Behold, the day!
Behold, it has come!
Doom has gone out;
The rod has blossomed,
Pride has budded.
The symbolism of a rod blossoming wouldn’t be missed by any Jewish person!
Ex. Aaron’s rod
There had been a rebellion among the people who thought that they should have a share of the ministry of the priesthood.
God judged Korah and his followers and then set up a unique demonstration to show the people which tribe was His selected group to serve as priests.
12 men, one from each tribe placed a rod (staff representing their family crest and authority) in the Tabernacle – that is, in God’s tent!
Num. 17:8 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.
The miracle of the budding rod demonstrated whom God selected for service in the priesthood.
√ Selected for judgment
Now, re-read verse 10 in light of the incident in the wilderness…
Ezek. 7:10 “Behold, the day!
Behold, it has come!
Doom has gone out;
The rod has blossomed,
Pride has budded.
The point is that God has selected Israel, not for service unto Him…
…rather for doom and judgment!
Ap. The harvest is coming!
In the Bible we read about two kinds of harvest, the good kind and the bad kind!
The good kind ~ harvesting souls for salvation as Jesus describes in John 4:35.
The bad kind ~ harvesting unrepentant sinners for judgment as John describes in Rev. 14:17-20.
Harvest time is dictated by the ripeness of the fruit.
As we look around the world today we can see that the fruit of sin and rebellion against God is ripe…
…and ready for harvesting.
But, I’m praying that before that harvest comes that the Lord will grant us one more great harvest of souls for salvation!
The Weakness of Sin (vs. 14-17)
Ezek. 7:14 “They have blown the trumpet and made everyone ready,
But no one goes to battle;
For My wrath is on all their multitude.
Ezek. 7:15 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.
Ezek. 7:16 “Those who survive will escape and be on the mountains
Like doves of the valleys,
All of them mourning,
Each for his iniquity.
Ezek. 7:17 Every hand will be feeble,
And every knee will be as weak as water.
√ The weakness of sin
One of the consequences of sin is that it weakens the sinner so that they cannot stand against the enemy.
Notice that in vs. 14 and 17 the call to defend Israel goes out…
…but no one responds because they lack the strength to fight.
The reality is that the greatness and power of Israel’s armies was never the result of…
Large numbers of troops
Superior weapons
Mighty leaders
Rather, their power came from their relationship with God who strengthened them for the battle!
Lev. 26:7 You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you.
Lev. 26:8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.
Ex. Gideon and his 300 against 150,000!
Now Ezekiel predicts that they will find themselves weak before their enemies and unable to resist them…
…all because of their sin, a fulfillment of God’s Word that warned them such would be the case if they disobeyed the Lord.
Lev. 26:17 I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you.
Ap. Sin weakens the child of God, physically, emotionally and spiritually.
The Shame of Sin (vs. 18-23)
Ezek. 7:18 They will also be girded with sackcloth;
Horror will cover them;
Shame will be on every face,
Baldness on all their heads.
Or, for all of us who are follicly challenged…as the NLT translates it better…
“They will shave their heads in sorrow and remorse.”
Ezek. 7:19 “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.
Ezek. 7:20 “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.
Ezek. 7:21 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.
Ezek. 7:22 I will turn My face from them,
And they will defile My secret place;
For robbers shall enter it and defile it.
Ezek. 7:23 “Make a chain,
For the land is filled with crimes of blood,
And the city is full of violence.
√ The shame of sin
Ezekiel describes the resulting shame that will come upon the people of Israel as a result of their sin.
That is, as a result of God’s judgment the people will acknowledge their sin and be ashamed of it.
He says that as a result of their shame they will…
Dress in sackcloth
Shave their heads
Throw their silver and gold in the streets
I’m familiar with sackcloth, ashes, and shaving…
…but throwing money in the street is new to me!
The idea is that the people will recognize that they had allowed their money, their silver and gold…
…to become sin in their lives and now they want to get rid of it because it can’t save them!
Look at vs. 19 again…
Ezek. 7:19 “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.
His point is that they finally understood the wealth they had pursued couldn’t…
Couldn’t provide security from their enemies
Didn’t bring satisfaction in life
Couldn’t buy food in a famine
…so they toss it into the streets because it no longer has any value to them.
Ex. Tossing out the old life
Many times when a person comes to Christ they find that what they once thought of as valuable they now realize is the very thing that lead them into sin, so they…
Toss the drug paraphernalia
Get rid of the movies
Burn the magazines
In Christ we find a new set of values that reveals the poverty of the things we once coveted.
The Desolation of sin (vs. 24-27)
Ezek. 7:24 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.
Ezek. 7:25 Destruction comes;
They will seek peace, but there shall be none.
Ezek. 7:26 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.
Ezek. 7:27 “The king (Jehoichin – in Babylon) will mourn,
The prince (Zedekiah in Jerusalem) 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;
Then they shall know that I am the LORD!’ ”
√ The Desolation of sin
I always try to close out my sermons with a ray of hope, a scarlet thread of grace…
…but Ezekiel doesn’t get much opportunity here as the Word of the Lord to the people of Israel is that there is only desolation in their future!
God will bring the worst of the Gentiles against them (the Babylonians).
Occupy their homes and cities and defile their Temple.
They won’t get any rest from the desolation, rather, each disaster will be followed by another!
Rumors of deliverance will prove hopeless, and rumors of destruction will come to pass.
People will seek a Word from the Lord and no one will receive one.
Everyone from the king to the common person live in fear and mourning because of the unrelenting pounding of God’s judgment.
√ They shall know the Lord
For the 6th time in these two sermons God says that the end result of all the judgment for their sin is that…
“they shall know that I am the LORD!”
That is, none of the survivors will ever again question the reality that there is only One God in all of the universe.
No more false gods made of silver and gold
No more worship of creatures and Creation
Rather, they would recognize God for who He is because He did exactly what He said He would do if they turned away from Him (Lev. 26 & Deut. 28).
Close
√ A sermon on sin
We’ll all reap a harvest…
…what kind of crop do you want to bring in?