Ezekiel 22
Refiners Fire
Open your Bibles to…
Ez 22:21 Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst.
Ez 22:22 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.’ ”
Pray
Intro
√ Review
It’s been a couple of weeks since our last study in Ezekiel so it would be a good idea to do a quick review!
We’re in the 3rd major division of God’s message to the Jewish people regarding His coming judgment of the Nation.
God’s message breaks down like this…
Need for judgment ~ chapters 4-11
(
Need for discernment ~ chapters 12-19
(Don’t listen to the false prophets)
Need for perspective ~ chapters 20-24
(Present condition rooted in ancient corruption)
So, in our study of chapter 22 we find that God demonstrates
that everyone in
Princes
Prophets
Priests
People
…are corrupt to the very core of their being ~ thus God is justified in bringing judgment upon the nation.
Ap. Every nation and every person is responsible to God!
The sobering reality of this chapter is that it reveals just
how much like
The sins for which God judged ancient
…we’re encouraging them!
The…
Princes (legislators) ~ practice & legislate sin
Prophets (
Priests (spiritual leaders) ~ practice & accommodate sin
People ~ practice & encourage sin
Historically we can look at every great civilization and find that when a nation abandons the moral fabric that God has woven into our conscience…
…that nation is doomed for judgment.
Since God judged
…I don’t think we can glibly believe that the
So, I suggest that we pray for our nation, our princes, prophets, priests, and people that they return to the Lord before He must bring judgment!
A Sinful City (vs. 1-16)
Ez 22:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Ez 22:2 “Now, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations!
Ez 22:3 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.
Ez 22:4 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.
Ez 22:5 Those near and those far from you will mock you as infamous and full of tumult.
Ez 22:6 “Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you.
Ez 22:7 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.
Ez 22:8 You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.
Ez 22:9 In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed; in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness.
Ez 22:10 In you men uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity.
Ez 22:11 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.
Ez 22:12 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.
Ez 22:13 “Behold, therefore, I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst.
Ez 22:14 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.
Ez 22:15 I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and remove your filthiness completely from you.
Ez 22:16 You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; then you shall know that I am the LORD.” ’ ”
√ A sinful city
You’ll find that this chapter is made up of three messages from the Lord, verse 1, 17, and 23 begin with…
“…the word of the LORD came to me, saying.”
Three messages by which God demonstrates the total corruption of His people, kind of like, “three strikes and you’re out!”
Vs. 1-16 ~ A sinful city (Jerusalem)
Vs. 17-22 ~ A sinful nation (Judah/Israel)
Vs. 23-31 ~ A sinful people (Jews)
In the 1st message we find that the Lord lists the sins that the people were committing in the Holy city of Jerusalem…
…the city that God set apart to Himself and where He put His Name!
Shed innocent blood (vs. 2-6)
Oppressed the weak, the widow, and the poor (vs. 7)
Practiced apostasy (vs. 8)
Worshipped false gods (vs. 9)
Unashamedly immoral (vs. 10-11)
Driven by greed (vs. 12)
In short, the city that was supposed to be known as a beacon of spiritual enlightenment and holiness…
…was instead practicing and encouraging others to break all of the 10 Commandments!
God’s 1st piece of evidence against His people then is that they had made His city into a city in which He was no longer welcome…
…because it was characterized by such great ungodliness.
So, God tells the people of Jerusalem that He is going to remove them from the city so that He can clean them of their sinful ways…
“I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and remove your filthiness completely from you.” ~ vs. 20
Ap. These sins characterize a nation headed for judgment!
Some cities in the US
I wish it weren’t true but the unfortunate truth is that some of the cities in our nation, a nation founded upon the concept that there is absolute truth that defines right and wrong behavior…
…are now practicing the same kinds of ungodly behavior that Jerusalem did.
Ex. San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair
A so-called celebration of sexual perversion that is so sordid that it’s hard to believe that it is not only tolerated, it’s encouraged by government officials!
This year’s event was advertised with a reenactment of the Leonardo De Vinci’s “Last Supper” but with sadomasochists in the place of Jesus and His disciples!
In place of the bread and wine the sponsors of the fair covered the table with sadomasochist sex toys!
The event was sponsored by national corporations including Miller Beer and endorsed by government officials including…
S.F. Mayor Gavin Newsom who greeted the attendees with this nicety…
“Have a great day and enjoy the exciting event”
…as if he was welcoming a Boy Scout troop to a family picnic!
Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, refused to publicly condemn the event and specifically refused to condemn the blasphemous ad featuring the reenactment of the “Last Supper.”
A group of homosexual men dressed as Roman Catholic nuns and calling themselves “The sisters of perpetual indulgence” welcomed the homosexuals but vehemently protested a Christian outreach group “BattleCry” for trying to share the real Christ with any who might listen.
The point is that as bad a Jerusalem was the 5th Century B.C., they were tame by comparison to the corruption practiced in one of America’s cities today, as Billy Graham once said…
“If God doesn’t judge America then He owes an apology to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.”
I don’t think God will owe anyone an apology, so if the folks in the U.S. don’t repent then I can’t imagine how our cities will escape His judgment.
A Sinful Nation (vs. 17-22)
Ez 22:17 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Ez 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.
Ez 22:19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
Ez 22:20 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.
Ez 22:21 Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst.
Ez 22:22 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.’ ”
√ A sinful nation
In the 2nd message that God speaks through Ezekiel He turns His attention to the entire nation comparing them to the worthless dross that the silversmith throws out.
Ex. Smelting metal
Ore is placed in a furnace and heated to melting. At that temperature the impurities of the metal (called dross) come to the surface.
The silver or gold smith then scrapes the impurities from the molten metal and tosses is out because it is totally worthless.
The process is repeated seven times until the refiner is able to look into the molten metal and see a perfect reflection of his face which indicates that all the impurities have been removed.
As the Psalmist says…
Psa. 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
But, here in verses 17-22 the Lord tells the people that the nation has become so full of sin that they are like dross to Him…
…the worthless impurities that the refiner throws away!
So, He tells them that He is going to gather them together in Jerusalem and turn up the fire and the heat so that the city becomes like a furnace to purify the people!
Historically that is exactly what transpired!
When Nebuchadnezzar invaded Israel all the people in the country gathered in Jerusalem for protection from the Babylonian army.
The reason? The false prophets had told king Zedekiah and the people that Jerusalem would not fall to Nebuchadnezzar!
However, God gave Jerusalem over to the Babylonians who crushed the opposition and burnt the entire city and her inhabitants with fire!
Thus, Jerusalem became a furnace just as God predicted!
Ap. Last judgment will be with fire
Peter tells us that God’s final judgment of the earth will be with fire!
2Pet. 3:6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
2Pet. 3:7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
A Sinful People (vs. 23-31)
Ez 22:23 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Ez 22:24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’
Ez 22:25 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.
Ez 22:26 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.
Ez 22:27 Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain.
Ez 22:28 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.
Ez 22:29 The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger.
Ez 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.
Ez 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.
√ A sinful people
This is a familiar section of scripture, yet it never ceases to bring sorrow to my heart as it communicates that the entire nation from the…
Prophet ~ vs. 25
Prince ~ vs. 26
Priest ~ vs. 27
People ~ vs. 29
…were all corrupt and that not one would take a stand for the Lord and His righteousness.
√ What about Jeremiah?
He lived in Jerusalem at this time and was certainly a man with a pure heart before the Lord…
…so how is it that God couldn’t “find a man to stand in the gap”?
Most likely because by this time the leaders in Israel were so thoroughly corrupt having already rejected Jeremiah, even imprisoning him…
…that he didn’t have the authority to effect a change in the nation.
So, among those who did have power and authority in Israel not one would stand up for godliness that they might turn the nation back to God.
Ap. He wants to refine each of us to reflect His character
1Pet. 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,
1Pet. 1:7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
If you’re going through a tough time and you know that you’re not walking in disobedience to the Lord…
…then the trial you’re in has been permitted by our loving God so that your faith might be purified to better reflect His glory!
Close
√ Refiners fire
I hope that it’s not too late to turn our own nation back to God and would encourage each of you to be the man, or woman, who would…
Stand in the gap
…and turn our city, our nation and the American people back to the Lord.
Ap. Be the person to stand in the gap!
Who knows whether or not you were born for such a time as this, to stand in the gap for…
Your kids at school
The people in your community
The integrity of your work place
…be a man/woman of godly character and stand until the Lord takes us home.