Ezekiel 22:1-16 - Homilies By W. Jones

An appalling indictment and a just judgment.

"Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city?" etc. "This chapter," says Fairbaim, "stands closely related to the last chapter, and may fitly be regarded as supplementary to it; the former having presented a striking delineation of the Lord's purpose to execute the severity of his displeasure upon the people of Jerusalem, while this returns to lay open the fearful mass of corruption on account of which such severity was to be inflicted. In what is written here there is nothing properly new; in its general purport it is a repetition of the charges which were urged in Ezekiel 20:1-49 .; and so the chapter begins much in the same way—with a call upon the prophet to judge the people, and set before them their iniquities. There, however, the charge took the form of an historical review for the purpose of connecting the present state of wickedness with the past, and showing how continuously the stream of corruption had flowed through all periods of their national existence . Here, on the other hand, the prophet looks exclusively to the present, and brings out in fearful array the many heinous and rampant sins which were crying in Heaven's ear for vengeance." We have in the text—

I. AN APPALLING CATALOGUE OF THE PEOPLE 'S SINS .

1. The nature of these sins .

2. The scene of these sins . Jerusalem . In this paragraph we have the words, "in thee," or "in the midst of thee," not less than twelve times. This was a grievous aggravation of their sins that they were committed in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was spoken of as "the holy city;" it was the seat of the worship of the true and holy God; it was celebrated in sacred song as the dwelling-place of the Most High ( Psalms 76:2 ); and it was favored religiously above any other city in the world. But now it had become "the bloody city," the "defiled" city, the home of the foulest crimes, "A Jerusalem may become a Sodom, a holy city a den of murderers." And if it do so, its former privileges aggravate its guilt and augment its doom (cf. Matthew 11:20-24 ; Luke 12:47 , Luke 12:48 ).

3. The maturity of these sins . "Thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years" ( 1 Corinthians 5:4 ; cf. Ezekiel 21:25 , Ezekiel 21:29 ). By reason of its sins Jerusalem had grown ripe for the sickle of the Divine judgment. By the extent and enormity of its transgressions it had hastened the time of its doom. In the history of persistent wickedness there comes a crisis when the evil-doers are ripe for judgment; and then the Divine executioners go forth against them.

II. THE DIVINE VISITATION ON ACCOUNT OF THE PEOPLE 'S SINS .

1. They become a reproach among the nations . "Therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the nations, and a mocking to all the countries. Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, thou infamous one and full of tumult." We noticed (on Ezekiel 21:28 ) how the Ammonites reproached the people of Judah, and were to be punished for so doing. Yet although the people of Ammon had no right to reproach their suffering neighbors, the Jews deserved reproach. Jerusalem had made itself infamous by its wickedness before it became a reproach and a mocking unto the nations. "Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people."

2. They shall be dispersed among the nations . "And I will scatter thee among the nations, and disperse thee through the countries." We have noticed this point in Ezekiel 5:12 ; Ezekiel 12:1-16 ; Ezekiel 20:23 (cf. Deuteronomy 4:27 ; Deuteronomy 28:25 , Deuteronomy 28:64 ).

3. They shall be dishonored in the sight of the nations . "And thou shalt be profaned in thyself, in the sight of the nations," etc. ( Ezekiel 20:16 ). "Thou shalt by thine own fault forfeit the privileges of a holy nation." Mark the retributiveness of this. "Jerusalem has desecrated the holy things of the Lord (Verse 8); therefore shall it also be desecrated for a requital (Verse 16). It has wickedly insulted the dignity of God; for this it must suffer the loss of its own dignity" (Hengstenberg).

4. They would be unable to withstand this visitation of judgment . "Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee?" (Verse 14). Says Greenhill, "O Jerusalem! be thine heart never so stout or strong, my judgments will be too heavy for thee to bear them; when they come, thine heart will fail thee, fail thee of counsel, that thou shalt not know what to do, and fail thee of strength, that thou shalt not be able to do what thou knowest." When God in judgment visits any one, "heart and hand, courage and power, fail" (cf. Job 40:9 ; Psalms 76:7 ; Nahum 1:6 ).

CONCLUSION . Many are the lessons deducible from our subject. We mention three.

1. The fearful growth of sin . Forgetfulness of God may develop into idolatry, adultery, murder.

2. The essential ruinousness of sin . It is of its very nature to blight and destroy everything that is true and beautiful, wise and good, right and strong, both in individuals and communities. "Sin, when it is full-grown, bringeth forth death."

3. The righteous judgment of God against sin . ( Romans 2:2-11 .)—W.J.