Ezekiel
22 reminds me of the tendency of decent people to look away from
evil, not wanting to believe it lives in their neighborhood. Evil
counts on this and exploits it to hide in plain sight. When horrible
atrocities are discovered the quotes are predictable, “I never
thought that could happen right here”. The most corrupt in our
society today repeat the mantra that people are basically good while
digging up dirt on anyone daring to challenge their power. It is to
this group that God directs Ezekiel, “Will
you judge her? Then confront her with all her detestable practices“.
God sees all, and He knows the thought behind the action. He is not
swayed by charm or misdirection.
He places the blame where it
belongs, saying of Jerusalem, she “brings
on herself doom by shedding blood… defiles herself…
you have become guilty…
You have brought your days to a close“.
Placing the blame on the evildoer sounds refreshing but God also
punishes the guilty, “I will
make you an
object of scorn to the nations and a laughingstock to all the
countries“. This is not the
result of good intentions gone wrong, He says this city is “full
of turmoil“. God does not
look past the sin, instead He lists the conduct, “treated
father and mother with contempt… mistreated the fatherless and the
widow… despised My holy things and desecrated My Sabbaths…
slanderers… commit lewd acts… violates his sister… accept
bribes… profit from the poor“.
Perhaps the last charge is the reason for every foul behavior, “And
you have forgotten Me, declares the Sovereign Lord“.
God
asks a question of the corrupted, “Will
your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with
you?” And He adds, “I
will put an end to your uncleanness“.
Ezekiel describes the result of good guys ignoring bad guys that are
doing evil, “I will gather you
into Jerusalem… gathered into a furnace to be melted with a fiery
blast… I will blow on you with My fiery wrath… They are but the
dross of silver“. The
impurities will be skimmed off and tossed, but the whole nation must
be brought to a boiling point for that to happen. Are you ignoring
corruption?
Notice
that evil does not grow by accident, “There
is a conspiracy of her princes within her… they devour people, take
treasures and precious things“.
How do the corrupt get cooperation? “They
teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean“.
They blurred the lines between right and wrong and probably labeled
the righteous as intolerant bigots. As a result, “they
shut their eyes” and let the
corrupt “practice extortion and
commit robbery… oppress the poor…
denying them justice“.
Listen to the final sad commentary of a nation ignoring laws based
on the Word of God, “I looked
for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before
me in the gap on behalf of the land… but I found no one“.
Our founders set up our nation with checks and balances, knowing
that “The heart is deceitful
above all things and
beyond cure” (Jeremiah 17:9).
This is why we must have a standard of truth. In John 17, Jesus
prayed for His disciples, “I
have given them Your Word and the world has hated them, for they are
not of the world any more than I am of the world…
Sanctify them by
the truth; Your Word is
truth“.
Friend, will you stand in the gap?