They Said It Wouldn’t Happen Ezekiel 24:1-14
This generally happens for children, but it can happen to anyone at any age depending on how smart you are. I am sure you have been told something many times over, in most cases a parent, that if you continue to do A then B will happen. You were warned several times: wear your hat or cover yourself in sunscreen, otherwise you will get burned; if you keep eating this amount of food or these types of foods you will be obese, unhealthy in danger of a heart attack; if you continue smoking, you will be in danger of getting lung disease. Well, it is a very similar situation here.
The Jewish hierarchy in Jerusalem had been told that continued rejection of the Law, the worship of idols, the continued display of corruption by the leaders, false prophets, priests and princes would result in the downfall of Jerusalem.
We are certain of the date and year. The date calculated from Ezekiel 24:1 is January 15, 588BC. The siege had begun, and Jerusalem would be slowly ground down until there was no food in the city. In 586/7BC, the Babylonians would break through, and the destruction of the people and the buildings would begin.
The remaining gold and silver would be taken, as well as the unmeasurable amount of bronze and other articles of value. Remember, this is the third time that the city was surrounded. It happened in 605BC, and in 597BC when Ezekiel was taken to Babylon with many others. Then finally in 586BC after being besieged, it was destroyed.
This was the culmination of being told repeatedly by Jeremiah for over 40 years and other prophets, if you continue down this road, forsaking the Law of Moses, not providing for the poor, the widow, the orphan, worshipping idols rather than worshipping the Lord, judgement would come.
They had been clearly warned twice before in their most recent history. Rebellion without discipline is not love. It’s allowing the rebel to abuse themselves and others.
We see that unfortunately in a lot of modern parenting. Kids have no boundaries and therefore, they have very little respect for those in authority, from teachers to police.
They were trusting in false hope. They believed that the Lord would not ever destroy Jerusalem, simply because they were His people and Jerusalem was the heavenly city. The prophets often spoke about Jerusalem as being the city of the Lord and that the Lord Himself would fight for it. E.g., didn’t Hezekiah find favour in the Lord’s eyes 100 years before when Jerusalem was surrounded by the Assyrians? God heard King Hezekiah’s prayer and 185, 000 Assyrian soldiers were dead when they woke in the morning: the death angel, like what happened in Egypt 500 years before that. The only difference was that there was repentance and faith displayed by Hezekiah.
Jerusalem is described as a pot. “And utter a parable to the rebellious house and say to them, thus says the Lord GOD: "Set on the pot, set it on; pour in water also; put in it the pieces of meat, all the good pieces, the thigh and the shoulder; fill it with choice bones. Take the choicest one of the flock; pile the logs under it; boil it well; seethe also its bones in it.” (Ezekiel 24:3-5)
The best were the worst. The pot was filled with the best pieces of meat. These were the princes, the elders, false prophets, priests, all who were considered the elite of society. These were about to be boiled down even to the bones in the pot (Jerusalem).
Ezekiel, of course, is just another voice against the elite. They believed the Lord would never judge them or Jerusalem, but the text says that even the copper pot had corrosion. Its corrosion and metal would also be burned up. (verse 11) Ezekiel, like Jeremiah before him, was shut out and not listened to.
Didn’t we see that this week, where the newly appointed CEO for the Essendon football club has been forced to step down because he was also on the board of a church that spoke out against same sex marriage and abortion?
Eventually the Lord said times up. (verse 13) Jerusalem would lose everything and be bare: a wasted ruin for 70 years.
There is nothing more sure than God’s promises, whatever way we look at it. (verse 14) If the Lord says it, it will happen. The day that Ezekiel got this word from the Lord is the same day Jerusalem was surrounded by the Babylonian army. 2 years after these words were spoken, Jerusalem was impoverished. The king tried to escape, but was caught in the plains of Jericho. The religious and royal hierarchy were destroyed. God was keeping the covenant He made with Israel on Mt Ebal and Mt Gerizim: blessing for obedience, judgement for disobedience.
I believe we are seeing that in our own day. We could point to the extremes in the weather patterns, but I think there is far greater evidence of the Lord’s hand and that is that we are seeing a greater divide between the believer and the unbeliever. The church is by-and-large weaker and the resulting fruit in society, business, politics is seen. The difference between a Bible believing follower of Christ and the community is getting wider.
What’s the answer? 1. Be the example of Christ. Be the obedient blesser. Ezekiel was in Babylon, being blessed with the other exiles. Pray the Lord gives you hearers. 2. Continue with the Spiritual disciplines and join a cell group: life is done in community. Pray for mercy, restoration and revival. Many times, we read in Ezekiel that this is not the final state for Jerusalem.
In fact, the final chapters of Ezekiel speak about a time of abundant blessing where a river a life flows out from the temple at Jerusalem. It fills the Kidron valley and then continues to get deeper to the point where it flows into the salt sea – known as the Dead Sea. This will fill and be full of fish and life. This is more than a picture of hope, but truth.
Jesus Himself, on the last day of the festival of booths, at the spot where those waters will one day flow from said, “"If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" (John 7:37, 38) This will literally make this place split and a river of life will flow from this place. But He says to us that He will fill us as we trust in Him; out of us will flow rivers of living water.