Ezekiel 21 & 22 -- The Fury Of A Holy And Righteous God

God gave Ezekiel a catalog of the sins that were being committed by His people in His Holy City.  They included bloodshed; idolatry; murder; contempt of parents; oppression of strangers, orphans, and widows; desecrating the temple; breaking the Sabbaths; slander; lewdness; immorality; adultery; incest; bribery; usury; and extortion.  That makes Jerusalem sound worse than just about any major world city today.  But there was one other sin that he mentioned that really caught my attention:  forgetfulness of the Lord God – “And you have forgotten me, says the Lord God.”

How many times do we do this and not even think about it?  Each time we choose to think an unclean thought and let our minds roam at will around it, rather than immediately fleeing the temptation, we are choosing to forget God, and we are just as guilty as they are – myself included. 

In chapter 21, Ezekiel was told to warn the people of God’s judgment for their unrepentant attitudes toward sin.  Ezekiel describes the fearfulness of God’s coming judgment  which will satisfy the fury of Jehovah, as my commentary described it.

God’s own people were running rough-shod over His commands, and they felt no remorse over their actions.  God had had enough.  Will He also lose His patience with us?

Father, our sins as a nation are reaching epidemic proportions.  I groaned last night, as Ezekiel did, as I kept hearing more and more information about what America no longer seems to stand for.  Please help me to not be guilty of forgetting You.  Let purity be the watchword in my own home.  Raise up leaders who honor You and follow Your commands, and who acknowledge You as God and acknowledge Your right to rule over us.  As a nation, let us not be forgetful of You, inviting the fearfulness of Your coming judgment to satisfy the fury of a holy and righteous God.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford