A HOLY INTOLERANCE
Opening Prayer
Mighty God, in You I find completeness and wholeness. Today, guide me in the way everlasting, I pray.
Read Ezekiel 22:23–31
23 Again the word of the Lord came to me: 24 “Son of man, say to the land, ‘You are a land that has not been cleansed or rained on in the day of wrath.’ 25 There is a conspiracy of her princes[a] within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her. 26 Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain. 28 Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says’—when the Lord has not spoken. 29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner, denying them justice.
30 “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. 31 So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Footnotes:
a Ezekiel 22:25 Septuagint; Hebrew prophets
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
The Lord shows favor and mercy toward the poor in Spirit. Whom do you show favor toward?This is no mere opinion written by a discerning journalist. It is “the word of the Lord” (1), given to a man brave enough to speak these words. It was God’s grief he was compelled to articulate. This requires courage, because these were not the words of false comfort and hope, but of condemnation and judgment upon God’s people.
God condemned the predatory behavior of Jerusalem’s kings, and the graphic language of Ezekiel’s description of their cannibalistic behavior echoes the words of Micah (3:1-3). The prophets, instead of speaking God’s Word in the situation, prostituted their vocation and curried favor with those in power (28). Not surprisingly, the corrupt behavior of kings, priests, leaders, and prophets is copied by ordinary people (29). Corruption at the top permeates the whole of society.
Sadly, it is the weak and powerless who suffer (29). Folk at the bottom of the socio-economic heap are denied justice; it is impossible to exaggerate the significance of this. Ezekiel, like other prophets before him, reminds us the “poor and needy” (29) have influence in the highest place of all. It is God who speaks through Ezekiel, and it is God who acts as their advocate. Jesus later appropriated this advocate role (Luke 4:18,19), something with immense implications for his church.
Apply
Do you have prejudices you may not have considered? How can you begin to treat all people with God’s compassion?
Closing prayer
Lord, You see through all my pretense and deception. Take it away, I pray. Cleanse me from my sin and continue to make me new.
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