Ezekiel 22 Bloody Hands
God tells Ezekiel that Israel has bloody hands. She has been mistreating both her guests and her own people. She has abandoned the Lord.
I’m finding it challenging to bring a story out of all the prophecies of Ezekiel. The ones that give him directions for something to do are easier. But when God tells him to “say” something against a land he is no longer even in, I come up against a question in my spirit; “And what am I supposed to do about it?” I wonder if Ezekiel asked God this question.
But then I remember that Ezekiel was told that if he DIDN’T warn the people, their blood would be upon his head. Ezekiel is compelled to cry out to the people, even though he, and they, can’t do anything about what is to come in Jerusalem.
What they can, and must, do is change their own lives. God isn’t holding up Israel’s sin just so her exiles can say, “Poor thing” or “You horrible city”, but so THEY can stop doing the same sins that are bringing her down to the ground. Just because they are in exile doesn’t mean that they have mended their own ways. They are still bowing down to the foreign gods in Babylon. They are still finding ways to ‘take advantage’ of others in their lives.
God wants a clean people to return to the land. NOT one that will fall right back into the same sinful ways. No. They won’t be perfect when He brings them back, but they will have learned to trust in Him again. And He doesn’t bring them out because they can be trusted again to follow His statutes, but because of His own name’s sake. EVERY nation will see that God is faithful to do exactly as He says He will. That He will rebuild the nation He swore to keep as His own.
Let’s rejoin Ezekiel as he warns the exiles of the evils that Israel, and they, are being judged for. Holy Spirit, guide this journey today. Lead me where You would have me go with Your story. Show me what You would have me take for my own life today as well. Thank You for already speaking to my heart regarding why I need to continue walking with Ezekiel during this time.
♥ ♦ ♥
Ezekiel hasn’t been called on to give another visual message for several months. He still spends time with the Lord EVERY DAY. He would be out ministering to his fellow exiles, except that the Lord has made him mute, other than the times He gives him direct instructions.
There is comfort and quiet in his home. It’s times like these that Ezekiel and his beloved wife spend time enjoying one another’s company. She is an excellent wife and she supports him in everything that the Lord has called him to do. Even during the time of more than a year when he was only allowed a small portion of food and water as he acted out the judgment of Israel and Judah. She watched the weight fall off of him but refused to speak against the directions the Lord had given him. Initially, she said that she would do the same as he did, but Ezekiel made signs to her imploring her to care for herself as usual. With tears, she agreed to do as he instructed.
One thing she does, when the silence becomes too great for her, is hum songs unto the Lord. She says the words to these songs in her heart but does not speak them, out of respect for her husband’s muteness before the Lord. On hard nights, when the visions weigh upon him and the response of the people is ridicule, she holds his head in her lap and softly hums her songs of prayer and praise. It amazes her how much stronger her husband seems after these moments. When her heart hurts over the things that God is calling her husband to, she weeps in silence and offers silent prayers while he is performing the acts that he has been called to do.
Today will be one of those days when she will stand silent beside him as he wrestles with his calling. When she offers him her strength as well.
Ezekiel is on his knees before the Lord. As he kneels silently, the Lord begins to speak to him.
“And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominations. You shall say, Thus says the Lord God: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself! You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made, and you have brought your days near, the appointed time of your years has come. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all the countries. Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you; your name is defiled; you are full of tumult” (Ezekiel 22:2-5).
“O Lord, what do You expect me to do with this word? I cannot speak to Jerusalem. Her people are beyond the reach of my voice. Am I to proclaim this in the spirit towards her?”
“You will say this in the hearing of the exiles while looking towards Jerusalem. They will hear her sins and be convicted of their own.”
Ezekiel bows his head. He will obey, as he always does. Before he can rise from his knees and set about the work, the Lord continues to speak. Ezekiel can hear the pain and anger in His voice and He recounts His people’s sin.
“Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you. You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths. There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and people in you who eat on the mountains; they commit lewdness in your midst. In you men uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity. One commits abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you violates his sister, his father’s daughter. In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord God” (Ezekiel 22:6-12).
Ezekiel’s face reddens with shame at the acts of his brothers. “I did not realize how far the people had fallen Lord. I’m sorry. What can I do to fix this?”
“Call out as I have instructed you to do. That is all you can do. This is what I will do” says the Lord.
“Behold, I strike my hand at the dishonest gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in your midst. Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it. I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your uncleanness out of you. And you shall be profaned by your own doing in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 22:13-16).
Ezekiel nods again. He WILL call out to the people and to Jerusalem. “I wonder if it is this bad among the exiles” he thinks to himself. “Please Lord, let them hear Your words and turn from their sins. I PRAY that the exiles will not have to incur further judgment in this hard place.”
Ezekiel rises and goes to his front door. This message will be one he takes to the marketplace. ALL need to hear it. Before he opens the door, his wife lays a hand on his cheek to give him comfort and to offer him her strength. She has seen in her own spirit the weight this message carries.
Ezekiel is surprised at her gesture but accepts it willingly. He smiles at her and gives her a kiss on her forehead.
Ezekiel takes up his walking stick and makes his way to the marketplace. When the people see him approaching, they move to allow him his favorite stone to stand upon. They also begin gathering near to hear what he has to say.
Ezekiel steps up on the stone but faces in a different direction today. The people are intrigued but say nothing. Even though the people don’t realize it, Ezekiel is facing the direction of Jerusalem. The people shift their position so they are again in front of him, waiting to hear what he will say today.
Ezekiel begins calling out the Lord’s judgment against Jerusalem. As he lists their sins, the people become visibly uncomfortable. These things ought not be said in public! Some of the mothers cover their children’s ears and hurry away; shielding them from Ezekiel’s words. Others become angry that he would say such things against the people. While others still cover their heads with their hands in shame.
By the time Ezekiel reaches God’s judgment, the people are angry. Ezekiel says that God is going to make their name “profane”.
“How much worse can it get for us here? We are already profaned before these people!” “What do you expect US to do with this?” “Let our brothers be brought down as well!”
These are just a few of the shouts that are hurled at Ezekiel. He had one or two of these thoughts himself, but God dealt with his attitude. If only he could speak other words than only those the Lord gave him. He would tell them to examine their hearts and seek out their own sin, least God do as much to them also. All he can do though is look pleadingly at the crowd and pray that God opens their hearts and minds.
Ezekiel repeats his warning three times before being driven from the marketplace by an angry mob. He returns home, low in spirit. When he opens the door, he smells the aroma of his wife’s baking. She has made one of his favorites to offer him comfort.
The next day Ezekiel returns to the marketplace again and proclaims the same message. He remembers God telling him that his calling would not be easy. He endures the same harsh treatment before returning home.
Ezekiel goes a third day, bringing the same message. This time, he doesn’t even make it to his stone before the people start calling out against him. He stands where he is and proclaims Israel’s sins and God’s judgment two times before returning home.
It isn’t the fact that God is judging Israel, but that Ezekiel speaks so openly of the perverse sins being committed. His words are hitting too close to home. And they are opening the eyes of some who really didn’t want to see all that is going on in their beloved Jerusalem.
The morning of the fourth day, Ezekiel feels in his spirit that he should stay home today and not bring the same message to the people. He knows that word has spread regarding the message he was told to bring. Him going again, when the people block his entrance, won’t do them any good. They have to be willing to at least allow him to speak.
It is another three days before God gives Ezekiel another message for the people. He spends quiet time with his wife and the Lord during those days. But it is time to get back to work.
“Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver. Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you. I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it. As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord; I have poured out my wrath upon you” (Ezekiel 22:18-22).
This message still speaks of Israel’s sin and God’s judgment, but the intimate details are not broadcast. Ezekiel expects that they will not be so resistant to this message.
Ezekiel returns to the marketplace, to his stone, again. The people’s anger has subsided and their curiosity is piqued again. They prepare to listen to Ezekiel, but only hesitantly.
“If he starts with those foul descriptions again…”
The people gather on the outskirts of the market as Ezekiel begins sharing the words of the Lord. When he uses examples of impure metals and heating the silver to remove the impurities, the people breathe easier. This is something they can understand without having to look directly at their sins. They listen and draw closer as Ezekiel shares God’s words. It is still judgment for sin, but they don’t run Ezekiel from his place.
Ezekiel spends the next five days sharing this message from the Lord. By that time, the people have gone back to their regular lives. It’s not ‘new’ anymore, so they lose interest.
God speaks to Ezekiel during their time together again.
“Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed or rained upon in the day of indignation. The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken. The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice. And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord God” (Ezekiel 22:24-31).
Ezekiel expects that this pronouncement is not going to go over favorably. What tears at his heart is when God said that He looked for someone to stand in the gap, and couldn’t find even one man willing to do so. “What about the real prophets Lord? What about Jeremiah? Could he not stand in the gap?”
“Jeremiah can no more stop the people of Judah from turning a deaf ear to their sins, than you can make the exiles return to My ways.”
“Who could do it, if not one of Your prophets?”
“At this point, even if David stood before them, they wouldn’t return to me with their whole heart.”
Ezekiel’s shoulders slump and he hangs his head. “Then what good is my standing before them and proclaiming Your words?”
“If even one hears My words and turns his heart to Me, it is worth everything to Me.”
Ezekiel nods. “For You, Lord, and the one, I will go.”
Ezekiel returns to the marketplace. He is expecting a less than favorable outcome, but he takes his place on the stone anyway. The people listen to God’s description of the sins of their princes, priests, and even prophets without protest. But when Ezekiel calls out that the common people are practicing extortion and robbery, and that they are oppressing the poor and the sojourner, they begin to bristle at his words.
“The poorest of the people are all that is left in Jerusalem. How can the be oppressing themselves” cries out a voice from the crowd. Several join in with him.
Ezekiel has no words that the Lord has given him to answer them with. His tongue is still bound.
Another voice calls out; “This ought not to be!”
Ezekiel points and nods in agreement before the people.
These comments are shared along with God’s message through Ezekiel in all the homes of the Jews. This inditement against the poorest of them oppressing their own neighbors resonates with the exiles. They see this in themselves.
Ezekiel continues to give this message to the people for a full week. And each time he falls silent, one or more of the people respond with; “This ought not to be!”
Even on the last day that Ezekiel brings this message, and the reply is called out, tears fill Ezekiel’s eyes. “They are listening Lord! Just one more please.”
Ezekiel knows that there are more messages to come, probably some even harder that earlier, but he is buoyed by the change in the people’s hearts that he is seeing now. “Maybe there is hope for us after all” thinks Ezekiel.
(to be continued)
I know that we haven’t officially met Ezekiel’s wife yet, but I’ve read ahead. We only meet her as she passes from his life. I felt led to give her a role in Ezekiel’s life. For her to be a support to him, before she is taken from him.
It’s hard seeing your sins laid bare before you. I react like the people did, at times too. We don’t want to be called out on our own faults. It’s easier when the references are vague and veiled. Then we can ‘assume’ that it is someone else or something else, not related to us, being pointed out. Sometimes it takes an ‘in your face’ confrontation before we listen. If it wasn’t for just such a confrontation, I would still be struggling with unprofitable stubbornness. ‘Profitable stubbornness’ is called determination or persistence. We need these, but ‘unprofitable stubbornness’ is insistence on your OWN ideas and ways, no matter what. THIS is what got Israel in trouble; and me too, until God addressed it.
Thank You Father God for calling me out, even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts! Those are the lessons I need the most. Remind me of the healing that happens when I listen, the next time I want to ‘stomp away in anger’ when I see my sin so clearly. Help me learn those lessons and put them DEEP into my spirit where they will grow and bear good fruit.
Thank You Holy Spirit for bringing this story to life; again. Each time I come to You struggling with this, You AMAZE me once again. And You inspire me to come to You again to see what You will bring out next. I’m NOT looking forward to tomorrow’s story. But I am looking forward to see what YOU do with it. It’s definitely a HARD story for Israel and Judah. I leave it in Your hands again.
