Crime, Punishment, Mercy

Ezekiel Chapter 5-7

Emmanuel Christian Church

1.28.24

INTRODUCTION: As I promised last week, today we will take a condensed “bird’s eye” view of Ezekiel chapters, 5-7. Let me encourage you however- take the time this week to read (or listen to) them for yourself. To listen to them being read on a website like Bible Gateway, will only take 11 minutes of your day. My purpose in this morning’s sermon is to act as a tour-guide for the text, so that when you read it for yourself it will sound familiar, and your understanding will be clear. PROPOSITION: If I were to sum these three chapters in just one verse it would be this: Ezekiel 7:10 “The day is here! It has come! Doom has burst forth, the rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed! But that verse begs the same simple question we asked of last week’s text: “Why?”. What had the people of God done to so incur His wrath? And what was God going to do about it? Their crime and punishment, along with God’s mercy are the focus of the message this morning. ISRAEL’S CRIMEEzekiel 5:7 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: You have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws. You have not even conformed to the standards of the nations around you.

Remember last week? When God’s Word falls deaf upon our ears, He resorts to the “Nonsense” of prophetic ACTIONS to shock us back into thinking about what He has SAID.
In Chapters 5-7, there is a phrase that is repeated 7 times (not so incidentally, the number 7 is associated with perfection and completion in the Bible- in this case, pointing to the IMPORTANCE of this simple phrase). So what is that important phrase that God wants to get across? Simply this: “THIS IS WHAT THE LORD SAYS”. APPLICATION: In this life, there are MANY voices competing for your attention. The GREAT mistake made by the people of God was simply being distracted from listening to the MOST IMPORTANT voice of all- HIS voice. Avoiding their fate is as simple as listening to HIM. Psalms 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Look back at verse seven again. The crime of God’s people is plainly stated: “you…have not followed my decrees or kept my laws”.
This is exactly the same problem that precipitated the fall of mankind in the first place!
God said “Don’t” - Adam and Eve went ahead and did it anyway!
To add insult to injury, look at God’s editorial comment: “you are more unruly than the nations around you… You have not even conformed to the standards of the nations around you.”
You know there’s a BIG problem when God’s people look worse than the unbelievers around them! It’s exactly the SAME problem Paul charged to the Corinthian Christians: “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.” 1 Corinthians 5:1 APPLICATION: It’s the age-old problem of hypocrisy. “Do as I say, not as I do!” “Rules for thee, but not for me!”. For those who think that all you have to do is have “faith” and you’ll be right with God- just listen to what God has to say on the subject: James 2:24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. Matthew 12:36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. ISRAEL’S PUNISHMENT
Why is there a need for punishment for sin? Can’t God just say- “Oh well, it’s not a big deal.” NOOOOO! For God to take that approach, He would have to betray His own character of JUSTICE. APPLICATION: God’s Word warns us of our failure to listen and the consequences of having done so: “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?”Hebrews 2:1-3
So what were the consequences of Israel’s failure to listen and obey:
SPIRITUAL SEPARATION Ezekiel 5:8 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations. Ezekiel 5:11 Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable practices, I myself will withdraw my favor; I will not look on you with pity or spare you.
NATIONAL HUMILIATION Ezekiel 5:14 “I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by. 15 You will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and an object of horror to the nations around you when I inflict punishment on you in anger and in wrath and with stinging rebuke. I the LORD have spoken.
PHYSICAL PERIL Ezekiel 7:15 “Outside is the sword, inside are plague and famine; those in the country will die by the sword, and those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague.
MATERIAL LOSS Ezekiel 7:19 They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be an unclean thing. Their silver and gold will not be able to save them in the day of the LORD’s wrath. They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it, for it has made them stumble into sin. APPLICATION: Sin and rebellion against God, always looks like the smart short-cut to all the good things in life (that’s why people do it!). The truth? Sin ALWAYS brings PUNISHMENT- and when it’s time to pay that price, NO ONE is happy about the cost! So, choose to be wise! In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, he introduces a discussion on the real secret to success and happiness in life with a very simple phrase: 1 Timothy 6:6But godliness with contentment is great gain. As in last week’s message, I have no desire to leave you on a downer (and quite frankly, neither does God!) So, listen to the third message of these three chapters: it’s all about GOD’S MERCY. Ezekiel 6:8 “‘But I will spare some, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations. 9 Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember me — how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices. 10 And they will know that I am the LORD; I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them.
It is consistent throughout all Scripture: when God promises His judgment, He also foreshadows His MERCY. APPLICATION: Those who charge God with being solely vengeful, even “bloodthirsty” prove their ignorance with their own words. Fully nine times in the Old Testament we find the statement that “God is slow to anger and abounding in love.” In the New Testament we see this: “The Lord is… patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
In the midst of God’s righteous judgment, it’s understandable that those being punished would be most concerned with the pain of their punishment. But, what about God? Just how does HE feel about it? We don’t have to guess- God says “I have been GRIEVED”.
God takes NO JOY in our sin and punishment- it actually breaks His heart!
So WHY does God punish sin? His righteous and just character requires it. BUT, there is another reason as well. God wants us to KNOW HIM and be restored in our fellowship with Him. Look at verse 10. There is a phrase there that is repeated 7 times in these 3 chapters: “And they will know that I am the LORD”. CONCLUSION: God wants us to KNOW Him, because He knows that our life, our future and our happiness are only to be found in Him. Remember what Jesus said: John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.