Ezekiel 22:23

Ezekiel 22:23 says, And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  

Verse twenty-four adds, Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.  God said that Ezekiel was in a land that was not purified by God.  Therefore, it had not rained on them.  They needed to go into the purifying furnace once more to continue the analogy from the last few verses, so they certainly didn’t need rain.  We are not purified by a furnace as followers of Christ but by His shed blood, and if we become spiritually unclean, we need to go back under His blood to be purified once more.   

Verse twenty-five continues, There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.  God told Ezekiel that there was a conspiracy amongst His supposed prophets who were leading the people astray.  God equated this to their being like a roaring lion devouring not their bodies but their souls.  These false prophets were also taking riches for themselves while leaving many widows uncared for.  No matter how many preachers or religious leaders may together proclaim something that is against God’s law and enrich themselves while those in need are ignored, that doesn’t mean that what they are preaching or teaching is right.  One day, they will face His judgment for it, especially if they haven’t really accepted God’s gift of salvation.   

Verse twenty-six states, Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.  God then spoke of those who were supposed to be His priests.  He said they didn’t treat things that were holy to Him any different than they treated the profane things of life. They had also hidden His sabbaths from their eyes and had made Him profaned among them.  These were the people who were supposed to come to God on the part of the people, but today we as Christians are a part of the priesthood of believers and I believe this applies to every Christian, though it would especially apply to preachers and teachers.  Everything that we do should be considered holy or set aside from the world view of life and God, and too often we do not do this.  We live by the standards of the world during the week and then live by different standards when we gather in God’s name on Sunday.  This should never be the case.   

Verse twenty-seven adds, Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.  God then spoken about the princes, those who were supposed to lead the people of Israel in a Godly way in their everyday life in accordance with His commandments.  God said instead of doing this, these princes were looking to enrich themselves while using the people to do so.  I don’t believe it is ever God's intention for a certain few, especially those who are supposed to be doing what is best for all people, to enrich themselves with no concern for those they may mistreat in order to do so.   

Verse twenty-eight continues, And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken. God then returned to the prophets once again, saying they had daubed the people with untampered mortar.  They may have made things look secure like untempered mortar would, but it would not stand under pressure, and neither would what they were teaching. They said that they were proclaiming God’s word, but He said they weren’t.  We need to make sure that whatever we proclaim to be God’s word actually comes from Him, especially if we claim to be His speak for Him to other people.   

Verse twenty-nine says, The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.  God then spoke about the people of Israel in general.  He said they were using oppression and robbery to vex the poor and the strangers.  I believe we can see a lot of that going on in America today and often being done in the name of God.  We can never blame our spiritual failures as followers of Christ on religious or secular rulers, since God gives each of us the ability to know what is right and what is wrong in His sight.   

Verse thirty adds. And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.  God said that He sought a man to be a hedge and stand in the gap against sin the world and He didn't find even one.  We need to pray that God can find many people in the church today who are willing to be a hedge and stand in the gap against the evil nature of the world.    

Verse thirty-one continues, Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.  God said because the people of Israel had turned away from their covenant relationship and had started to live by the laws and values of the world that He was going to pour out His wrath on them.  If we are God’s people in name only, He will one day pour out His wrath on us.  Even if we are a born-again Christian, if we begin to put the values of the world ahead of God’s commandments, He may pour out His wrath on us because of these actions.  

Ezekiel 22:17

Ezekiel 22:17 says, And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,   

Verse eighteen adds, Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.  God told Ezekiel that the people of Israel had become as dross, scum that forms on metal when it is purified, to Him that would be burned away in the fire.  In David and Solomon’s time, the people of Israel had been as gold, but when the kingdom was divided, they became as silver and then went down to less precious metals after that and now were just as like worthless scum left over after metal is purified. The nation of Israel, now divided into Israel and Judah, were now useless to God for the most part.  A few were still obedient, but not enough to bring honor to God.  When people of the church are obedient to God and follow His commandments, we are like pure gold, but if we allow ourselves to become disobedient to His commandments and allow things of the world to enter into our worship services or even our everyday life, we become less valuable as witnesses for Him, and one day, all that is not pure will be burned away like dross.   

Verse nineteen continues, Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.  God said that since they had all become dross, or worthless to Him, He would gather them into the midst of Jerusalem, His holy city.  This would not be to honor them though. They had flocked to Jerusalem for protection, but God said that He had brought them there for another reason.  People who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, but who call themselves Christians may come to the church for protection in times of trouble, but they will not find it.   

Verse twenty states, As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.  God said that just as these less valuable metals were put into the midst of the furnace to be melted, so would He show His anger to those who were falsely claiming to be His people, and one day He will do this for all people.   

Verse twenty-one adds, Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst therof.  The people of Israel may have thought they had gathered in Jerusalem of their own accord for protection, but God said He had gathered them there to punish them for their rebellion against Him.  We may think that we will find protection in the world today by simply proclaiming ourselves to be Christians without a personal relationship with God as we gather in His name, but He may be just allowing us to gather in order to punish us when His judgment comes.   

Verse twenty-two continues, As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my fury upon you.  God said that just as surely as silver is melted in the furnace that the people would know that He had poured out His fury on the people of Israel because they had rejected Him and become His people in name only.  On day, when God’s judgment comes, everyone will be judged by their personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and all who are not purified by that relationship will be burned away as dross.