Ezekiel 6:14

Ezekiel Chapter 6:14

Ezekiel 6:11, “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them. Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols. So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD.”

When man cries out at the grievousness of war and the suffering and the death which it causes, he does so out of compassion and the understanding that human life is precious. If we looked at human history from the beginning of time up to the present, and counted all the lives that have been cut short as a result of war; what a tremendous loss we would see. Men do not take gold and cast it to the earth as though it is polluted water. Yet how many millions upon millions of lives, mostly the young whom have yet to spend their years of opportunity, have been cut short and cast to the earth. But sometimes war and death is a good thing because it is God judging a nation. In verse 12 these 3 things describe war: the “sword”, “famine”, and “pestilence”. This judgment was for those that were far off, those that were near, and those that remained. In other words no one would escape the judgment which came by the sword, famine and, pestilence. The reason that these judgments fell upon the house of Israel is given: because of all their evil abominations. Not because of some, but because of all. It is a tragedy that they did not repent when they had the chance. The way for the world to achieve world peace is not through human effort and human wisdom but it is for nations to repent of their sins, of all their evil abominations, and turn to Jesus. The sword, famine, and pestilence come because God must judge nations just as He must judge individuals. Sometimes it can be hard for men to conceive that there is any justice in the suffering that comes because of the sword, famine, and pestilence. It seems rational for the mind to reason with itself how can God let such things happen? The Bible tells us in Psalms 9:17 that the wicked shall be cast into hell and all the nations that forget God.

In verse 13 and verse 14 the Bible says, “Ye shall know that I am the Lord,” and “They shall know that I am the Lord.” God’s desire towards all men is that they might know Him. The Bible says God is love. And when you love someone it is only natural that you want them to know who you are. Unfortunately men are weak and sinful and we are often prevented from knowing about God because of our own selfish nature. Human beings too easily are prideful in their own perceived abilities and strengths. Verse 13 says “when the slain men shall be among their idols.” In warfare, of course, it is always the young men that make up the bulk of a nation’s might. When the pride and the strength of a nation is defeated then it is a prime opportunity for that nation to see its need to trust in Jesus. Psalm 34:10 says, “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.”

In verse 14 when God says the phrase, “So will I stretch out my hand,” we are given a very vivid picture. When God created man He used his hands and formed Him of the dust of the earth. The reaching out and using of hands is the idea of a work that is being done and of a very intimate involvement in something. Man uses his hands to touch, to feel, to shape and to work. We have seen in the previous chapters of Ezekiel how God is broken over sin, that He will be comforted, and that His anger will be accomplished. When God brings judgment on the earth He is not a distant being who cannot relate to us and stands afar off casting lightening bolts, but He is the Almighty God stretching out His hands.

Once again verse 14 says, “So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD.” The wilderness toward Diblath refers to the deserts of Arabia. And if you know anything about deserts then you know that there is very little life in deserts and no water. The picture is that, of course, of total destruction. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. All good things come from God, and therefore when He judges He has the right to take away all the good things. It is sad but true that sometimes for men or nations to know who God is requires such total and complete judgment. Here in verse 14 let’s look again at the phrase, “They shall know that I am the Lord.” Whenever we look in the Old Testament and see the word LORD or God in all caps it is the name Jehovah. Jehovah means the eternally existent one, the “I am.” Jesus said, ”I am that I am.” In other words Jesus is Jehovah. If you want to find the person of Jesus revealed in the Old Testament you don’t have to look very far because the name Jehovah is used many times.

It’s no surprise that in these verses Jehovah, or Jesus, is referred to for several reasons. First of all to know God you must know Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 10:30, “I and My Father are one.” Jesus also said, in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Another reason that the name Jehovah, or Jesus, is mentioned here in reference to who is judging Israel is also found often in the Bible in reference to judgment against nations because Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of Lords; and it is through His only begotten son Jesus Christ, that God will judge all the nations of the world. A description of Jesus as judge and Lord of the earth is given in Revelation 19:11-16, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

You may ask yourself the question who is Jesus that He should be fit to be the judge of nations and of the world? It seems to be a reasonable question. After all, men do not like it when other men judge them. But this first question has a very reasonable answer because Jesus is more than a mere man: Jesus is God. And Jesus Himself was judged for the sins of the world. This is an extraordinary thing that Jehovah, the eternally existent one, should die on the cross for my sins and for yours. Romans 5:7-8, “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

The hands of God are reaching out as surely as the light of a star reaches out across the vast folds of space to shine down upon us of this world. The hands of God are stretched out in judgment against the nations of this world. If the truth be told, it is an insignificant thing that nations rise and fall to ruin, for rather it is the souls of men that are most precious.

All of the judgment that came against Israel was somehow tied up in idolatry. Of course anytime that we go against the will of God we are falling into Idolatry. Through every moment of the day which of your deeds and thoughts are aligned with the will of God and which of them are not? In other words we are all idolaters much more than we realize. But there is great comfort found in knowing that God is more powerful than men. He is the LORD, the eternally existent one, and therefore He is eternally more powerful. In the end when all is said and done and the last sunset has faded over the skies of this world and most men have spent their last opportunities in pursuit of their own will, there is great comfort in knowing that God’s will is more powerful than the will of men. A nation can pass laws to attempt to keep prayer out of school or to take the Ten Commandments down from a court room, but in the end even those whom spend the power of their will to not know God and to keep others from knowing God will know who He is, because it is the will of God.

Isaiah 45:18-23, “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right. Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.” And Philippians 2:9-11 says, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

We as men will not know all the answers, but is it better to know all the answers or to know the LORD? You have the opportunity today to choose of your own free will to trust in Jesus for forgiveness of your sins. One day such an opportunity will pass. And you will against your own will know the LORD JESUS. It is better to repent and trust in Him today rather than to have famine, and pestilence, and sword.

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