Preparations for Judgment
Ezekiel receives four messages in which the sword of the Lord is
the focus. The first message (Ezekiel
20:1-7) is as simple as it is short. In
case anyone had missed Isaiah’s warning, Jeremiah’s warning, the warnings of
the Minor Prophets, and the earlier warnings of Ezekiel, God tells this
prophetic message once more. The Hebrew
people – south and north alike – would fall under judgment. God’s sword was coming for them. There could be no doubt. God promises that it is coming and that it
will be fulfilled.
Ezekiel is also told to mourn over this. However, Ezekiel’s mourning wasn’t so much a
genuine mourning over the actual judgment of the Lord as it was to be a sign to
the Hebrew people already in captivity.
The news of the destruction of Jerusalem would break them. It is one thing to be away from your hometown
as long as the hometown still stands.
But when the hometown is destroyed, hope vanishes with it. The people would be broken when the
Babylonians tear Jerusalem apart.
Second Message of the Sword
Ezekiel receives a second message of the sword. This one is as deep as the first one is
simple. In this message, the three
passages of the sword (8-10a, 11-12, 14-17) are broken up by two refrains about
the rod (10b and 13). The sword and the
rod are juxtaposed.
First, let’s talk about the sword.
The sword is sharpened. God
prepares Himself for the work to be done.
Like a soldier going out to battle, God’s judgment will be quick and
efficient. Furthermore, the sword will
be polished and handed to the slayer.
The sword of the Lord will glisten and gleam. It will be noticeable as judgment comes upon
the Hebrew people. Finally, we hear that
the sword will sweep left and right. The
sword will be thorough. It will complete
and fulfill God’s judgment.
Now, let’s talk about the rod.
Rods are not instruments of judgment, rods are instruments of
correction. This is why we have the
phrase, “spare the rod; spoil the child.”
When we don’t take time to correct our children, they grow up
spoiled. This actually what God is
getting at in verses 10b and 13. The
Hebrew people did not listen to God when He was correcting them. They despised the rod. They ignored God’s correction. Because they ignored the rod, they left God
with only one choice.
The sword. God’s judgment
came.
The Third Message of the Sword
In the third message of the sword, God tells Ezekiel that the
sword of His judgment would be Nebuchadnezzar.
We know this truth. Ezekiel knew
it too. It was no secret that
Nebuchadnezzar was the one who was prophesied to bring God’s judgment to
Jerusalem.
What God declares in this third message of the sword is that God
is in control of fate. You see, in 588
B.C. three cities banned together and rebelled, seeking their freedom. Tyre, Rabbah (Ammonite capital), and
Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar set out to put
those cities in line.
Of course, Tyre would have been the most difficult to take. So Nebuchadnezzar decided to not make it his
top priority. That left a choice between
Jerusalem and Rabbah. God tells Ezekiel
that although Nebuchadnezzar will use three means of deciding which one to
attack, God would control the outcome.
When Nebuchadnezzar consulted arrows (probably something akin to drawing
straws) the result would point to Jerusalem.
When Nebuchadnezzar consulted his household gods, the result would point
to Jerusalem. When Nebuchadnezzar
consulted the liver to make sure the attack on Jerusalem was a good idea, his
soothsayers would read the liver and tell him all is well.
Not only is God in control of judgment, He is in control of things
like fate and chance. God reigns supreme
over everything else. It is this God who
even reigns supreme over divination attempts that the Hebrew people have chosen
to ignore.
The Fourth Message of the Sword
This message of the sword is directed against the Ammonites. Although God would make it so that Jerusalem
would be brought low first, Ammon would not escape the sword. They had been given a short amount of time to
be spared because of Jerusalem’s disobedience.
But they would not escape.
Remember the stories that we learned at the end of Jeremiah. Once Zedekiah was taken into captivity,
Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah. The
Ammonites organized a coup that killed Gedaliah. That coup would draw the wrath of
Nebuchadnezzar.
They would not escape the sword.
The sword that was prepared to glisten as it brought judgment upon the
Hebrew people would also bring judgment upon the Ammonites because of their
treachery.
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