The wicked deeds of the people so enraged the Lord that warranted His dealings. On top of their widespread bloodshed, they had also taken advantage of the needy and dishonestly profited from their misfortune. God in Ezekiel 22:13-16 then expressed His indignation and promised punishment for their wickedness.
In
verse 14, He asked a rhetorical question. “Will your strength
and courage endure when I deal with you?” It was by way of warning them of the intensity
of His dealing. His plan to bring them into submission and strip away
their evil would be humiliating. God assured them that He was not just talking about it and then doing nothing about it. He always acts on what He has said. God wanted to debunk their delusion and false perception.
For in their spiritual amnesia, they first thought that there would be no
consequence for sins. Then it also led them to think that they could endure the
consequences. So God set out to guarantee them that what they were about to
experience would be unbearable.
They
would be dispersed and brought into exile where the filth among them would be thoroughly
purged. God said, “I will scatter you among the nations and disperse
you throughout the lands, and so I will remove your uncleanness from you.” When
they had been brought low then there would be the realization of who their God
and covenant Lord He truly is.
God's dealing is never aimed at destroying but at perfecting us. What God wants of us is fruitfulness. His goal is for us to become more and more like Him bearing His character. He will cut away the part of us that will hamper us from bearing fruit. He will prune the part that bears fruit to enable it to bear more fruit. The pruning may be painful but it is needful. As Hebrews 12:10 says, “He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.”
No comments:
Post a Comment