Ezekiel 5:11

Ezekiel 5:11 says, Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord God; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.  God said as surely as He lived, and He always has and always will, that since the people of Israel had defiled His sanctuary with detestable and abominable things that He would diminish their number.  God had promised that He would make them a great nation with numbers like the sands of the sea if they were obedient to Him.  They had failed to be obedient, so He was going to reduce their number down to only those who were.  If we share the gospel faithfully and are obedient to God’s will, the number of Christians, people who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, will grow, but if we begin to pervert the gospel and follow lies instead of God’s truth, the number of Christians will decrease.  This will be true even if the number of people who profess to be Christians but have done so in name only without faith in God alone grows. 

Verse twelve adds, A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them. Ezekiel said God was going to allow a third of the people of Israel to die of pestilence, or plague.  God doesn’t need an army to defeat those who rebel against Him, but He can do so by just removing His protective hand and allowing the diseases of the world to kill them. Ezekiel then said that God was going to allow another third of the people of Israel to die by the sword, or to be killed in battle.  Their success when they were victorious had always been because God was with them, and He was no longer going to be.  Our success in overcoming the world today since we are in a spiritual battle will always be because God is with us when we are obedient to Him. Ezekiel concluded by saying that God was to then scatter the remaining third, many of whom would also die by the sword.  God will punish those who refuse to accept His gift of salvation, even if they call themselves Christians but have never accepted His gracious gift of salvation.    

Verse thirteen adds, Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.  God said that after this happened that His anger would be finished and that the world would know that He was God and that His word would always be true.  The people of Isreal were never called to be God’s chosen people because of anything they did, but they were called to be His people and to represent Him in the world because of His grace in calling them. Since they were seen as God’s people, when they did things that made Him look bad or unpowerful in the world’s view, He had no choice but to allow them to be defeated.  It was their disobedience that caused this and not just an arbitrary act of God.  If we refuse to accept God’s gift of salvation, one day we will feel His wrath, but the choice will always be ours.