Now look, I strike My hands together against your unjust gain and against the blood you have shed in your midst. Sermons
I. THE VALUE WHICH THE LORD ASSIGNS TO JUDAH. This is very qualified. There is, indeed, metal, whether more precious as silver or less so as iron. Yet there is much that is worthless; so that the Lord says, "Ye are all become dross." The inference is that, however there may be latent some possibility of good, this can only become actual after the subjection of it to much discipline. II. THE TREATMENT TO WHICH THE LORD SUBJECTS JUDAH. The ore is gathered, cast into the furnace, left there, to be blown upon by the blast of indignation, and subjected to the heat of the fire, until it be melted in the midst thereof. Through such a process must Judah pass before God could take pleasure therein. Siege, suffering, privation, pestilence, famine, decimation, captivity, reproach, mockery, - such were the sufferings appointed for the people of Jerusalem. And, as a matter of fact and history, God did not spare Jerusalem - favored though the city had been. He poured out his fury upon it, and for a time and for a purpose withheld from it his clemency and compassion. III. THE UTTER INCAPACITY AND HELPLESSNESS OF JUDAH TO RESIST OR TO ENDURE WHAT THE LORD APPOINTS. This is expressed very powerfully in Ver. 14, "Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee?" We are reminded of the inquiry, "Who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire." The discipline of God's justice is enough to overcome and break down the hard and obdurate hearts of men. They cannot accept it with equanimity. They must profit by it or be consumed by it. IV. THE PURPOSE OF THE LORD'S SEVERE TREATMENT OF JUDAH. Ammon was cast into the fire, to be consumed into smoke and to vanish away; Judah, in order to refinement and purification. The intention of Eternal Wisdom and Goodness was and ever is that the dross may be consumed in the furnace of affliction and trial, and thus that the pure metal may be brought forth fit for the use and for the pleasure of the Most High. - T.
Should we then make mirth? I. BECAUSE THEY ARE UNDER CONDEMNATION. The sword is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter. Should we then make mirth? It is unreasonable in a condemned malefactor to make mirth. Would it not greatly shock every feeling mind to see a company of men condemned to die, meeting and making merry, talking lightly and jestingly, as if the sword was not over them?II. BECAUSE GOD'S INSTRUMENTS OF DESTRUCTION ARE ALL READY. Not only are Christless persons condemned already, but the instruments of their destruction are prepared and quite ready, The sword of vengeance is sharpened and also furbished. The, disease by which every unconverted man is to die is quite ready — it is perhaps in his veins at this very moment. The accident by which he is to drop into eternity is quite ready — all the parts and means of it are arranged. The arrow that is to strike him is on the string — perhaps it has left the string, and is even now flying towards him. III. BECAUSE THE SWORD MAY COME DOWN AT ANY ONE MOMENT. Not only are Christless persons condemned already, and not only is the sword of vengeance quite ready, but the sword may come down at any one moment. It is not so with malefactors: their day is fixed and told them, so that they can count their time. If they have many days, they make merry today at least, and begin to be serious tomorrow. But not so Christless persons: their day is fixed, but it is not told them. It may be this very moment. Ah! should they then make mirth? IV. BECAUSE GOD HAS MADE NO PROMISE TO CHRISTLESS SOULS TO STAY HIS HAND ONE MOMENT. God has laid Himself under no manner of obligation to you. He has nowhere promised that you shall see tomorrow, or that you shall hear another sermon. There is a day near at hand when you shall not see tomorrow. V. IT IS A SORE SLAUGHTER. 1. Sore, because it will be on all who are Christless. 2. Sore slaughter, because the sword is the sword of God. (R. M'Cheyne.) ( C. H. Spurgeon.) People EzekielPlaces JerusalemTopics Acquired, Behold, Blood, Bloodshed, Dishonest, Flowing, Force, Gain, Gained, Goods, Hands, Hast, Midst, Overreaching, Shed, Smite, Smitten, Strike, Struck, Surely, Taking, Unjust, WrathOutline 1. A catalogue of sins in Jerusalem, and the dispersion of the Jews in consequence17. God will burn them as dross in his furnace 23. The general corruption of prophets, priests, princes, and the people Dictionary of Bible Themes Ezekiel 22:138792 oppression, God's attitude Library God Seeks Intercessors"I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night. Ye that are the Lord's remembrancers, keep not silence, and give Him no rest till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth."--ISA. lxii. 6, 7. "And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor."--ISA. lix. 16. "And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered, and there was none to uphold."--ISA. lxiii. 5. "There is none that calleth upon Thy name, that … Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession The Life and Death of Mr. Badman, How those who Fear Scourges and those who Contemn them are to be Admonished. The Wrath of God The Holy City; Or, the New Jerusalem: Ezekiel Links Ezekiel 22:13 NIVEzekiel 22:13 NLT Ezekiel 22:13 ESV Ezekiel 22:13 NASB Ezekiel 22:13 KJV Ezekiel 22:13 Bible Apps Ezekiel 22:13 Parallel Ezekiel 22:13 Biblia Paralela Ezekiel 22:13 Chinese Bible Ezekiel 22:13 French Bible Ezekiel 22:13 German Bible Ezekiel 22:13 Commentaries Bible Hub |