Ezekiel 21:24

The Bible says in Ezekiel 21:24, “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.” This is a verse about the opposite of forgiveness, and why we need forgiveness from our sins. God said in this verse that He “remembered” their sins. At the end of the verse God says, “ye are come to remembrance.” Since the Almighty God knows everything, He also knows all of our sins. It is not surprising that He brings them to mind and then takes action: the action that a judge must take for crimes committed. What is more surprising is that God has the capacity to forget our sins when we trust in Jesus the Savior. Forgiveness is a wonderful thing and everyone needs it desperately whether they know it or not. It says in Jeremiah 31:34, “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

The Bible says in Ezekiel 21:25-27, “And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end,[26] Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.[27] I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.” Because they did not turn from their sins and find forgiveness, the consequences of their sins came upon them. Israel and the leaders had been given a great opportunity, but now that opportunity was being taken away because of sin, and the absence of repenting of sin. In verse 25 God spoke of, “when iniquity shall have an end.” Iniquity and sin always has a final end. It always has a conclusion that can be predicted because God is Judge. Sin will be judged. Sin will have negative long-term effects. Think of sexual immorality. The message of the world is that sexual immorality is fun or cool or ok. That is a lie. What are the real ending consequences of sexual immorality? Here is a list of some of the true consequences: 1. venereal diseases, some of which are incurable or cause sterility. 2. Unwanted pregnancies, often ending in abortion, or a child with one parent. 3. Lies to cover it up. 4. Anger and jealousy and sometimes violence, if a spouse is involved. 5. Guilt. 6. Being a bad influence. 7. Being a failure in your life: not the way that life was meant to be lived.

In verse 26 God said, “exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.” God can turn the tables whenever He so desires because God is the One who is really in charge of all things and of everyone. If you are low on the totem pole, this is good news. If it is God’s will to change things, you will not always be low. If you are high up, beware: God can bring you down. Jesus was talking about this truth in the Sermon on the Mount when He said such things as in Matthew 5:3-5, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.[4] Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.[5] Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”

In Ezekiel 21:27 God looks far off into the future to the coming of the Messiah. “I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.” The three-fold use of the word “overturn” is an emphasis on the fact that the monarchy in Israel would end. God will take them all away. But even though man fails, God does not fail. God wants a king to sit on the throne of David forever. And God will accomplish that with King Jesus. At the end of verse 27 God said, “until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.” That is why the New Testament starts with the words in Matthew 1:1, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” The first thing said about Jesus in the New Testament is that Jesus is “the son of David.” In other words Jesus is in the linage of King David. Jesus is the King that God promised would come to rule over Israel. Four hundred years had passed since Ezekiel and the other prophets told of a king who would come. He came. And He will come again to fulfill the prophecies about the King. His king is more than any other king. He is the King of kings.

The Bible says in Ezekiel 21:28-32, “And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering:[29] Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end.[30] Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity.[31] And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, and skilful to destroy.[32] Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the LORD have spoken it.” Look at the descriptive words used in these verses that reveal what was going to happen to the Israelite people: “reproach,” “sword,” “consume,” “slaughter,” “end,” “judge,” “indignation,” “fire,” “wrath,” “destroy,” “blood.” What made all these terrible things come to pass? That is explained very simply at the end of verse 32. The Lord said, “I the LORD have spoken it.” That is all it takes from the all-powerful God. God spoke, and the worlds were created.

The Bible says in Ezekiel 22:1-6, “Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,[2] Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.[3] Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself.[4] Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries.[5] Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed.[6] Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood.” In verse 2 God talks about “the bloody city.” In verse 3 God says, “The city sheddeth blood.” Verse 4 speaks of “thy blood that thou hast shed.” Verse 6 talks about “shed blood.” That is the city of Jerusalem. What a terrible conclusion to what should have been the greatest city on earth. The inhabitants of Jerusalem had become a violent people. They sacrificed their children in the false religious ceremonies. Armies from Babylon came and conquered them and killed many of them with the sword. What should have been a holy city, a beautiful city, the city of God, came to be known as the bloody city. That certainly typifies the human race: they take what might have been, and turn it into a disaster. They waste the opportunity and lose it. The lesson is this: do not put your hopes in the human race, but put your hopes in Jesus the Savior.

The Bible says in Ezekiel 22:7-12, “In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow.[8] Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths.[9] In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood: and in thee they eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they commit lewdness.[10] In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution.[11] And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter.[12] In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.” The first phrase of verse 7 tells us that the Israelites were breaking one of the Ten Commandments that says, “Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” O how much human beings fail to become all that they could be. Why do they fail so horrible? Here is one of the reasons: the young people do not honor their parents enough. If only they would listen, and if only they would take that sound advice. It is a common mistake of youth to think that they have the answers when they do not. What do the parents have to offer that is so important? They have two things especially: experience and love. They have lived longer and they have already gone through what the youth have not gone through. Most parents love their children, and therefore have the right motivation in what they say. If you have loving parents, no one in the world will love you as much as your parents do with the exception of your spouse if you marry the right person.

Also in Ezekiel 22:7 other sins of the Israelites are mentioned. “in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow.” Jesus told us that the second greatest commandment was to love our neighbor as ourselves. But this is about the worse that you can get: oppressing and hurting the most vulnerable. People who are on a journey to a new location are very vulnerable. Orphans and widows are very vulnerable and need help. Christians should be kind and thoughtful to everyone. Christians should think about the needs of others and what can be done to help. What kind of a person would take advantage and harm the vulnerable ones: the most wicked of all. And that is what the Israelites were doing.

The rest of these verses go on to mention idolatry, immorality in many forms, violence, bribery, greed, taking interest on loans (called usury), and extortion. In other words society had broken down morally and ethically in every way possible. And then God sums it all up and says in verse 12 that they had “forgotten” Him. These people had once believed in God. We must guard our mind and our memory. We must remember the wonderful things that God has done for us. We must be thankful every day for Jesus our Savior and for all that He did for us when He suffered and died on the cross. We must never forget.

The Bible says in Ezekiel 22:13-16, “Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.[14] Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it.[15] And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee.
[16] And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.” The first thing mentioned in verse 13 is “dishonest gain.” There is nothing wrong with gain, as long as it is done honestly. Dishonest gain is stealing. Dishonest gain is greed. Dishonest gain is a sin against God. God told the Israelites in verse 14 that they would have a problem with their heart and with their hands. They are going to suffer so greatly that they will lose heart and lose hope. That is one of the terrible results of turning away from God. And once you lose heart, even your hands will be weakened. Motivation comes from the heart. But all of this will happen because of God’s judgment upon them. You do not want to be under the law because it will always end this way. It is much better to be under grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

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