Ezekiel 22:13 says, 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. God said He had smitten His hand against the dishonest gain that some of the people of Isreal had gained by mistreating those less fortunate than them and the blood that they had shed unjustly. God seemed to put gaining wealth by abusing others ahead of killing people for their own gain, though both are sins. I believe there are many rich people today who have become rich by abusing the less fortunate that will one day have to answer to God for this, just as those who have murdered someone will. I also believe that their greed often leads to the death of other people around the world, who starve to death while they live in luxury.
Verse fourteen adds, 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. God asked if the people would be able to stand His judgment when it came, and the implied answer was they couldn’t. This was a rhetorical question. No one is ever going to be able to stand guiltless under God’s judgment unless they have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, and if they have, He will have borne their guilt for them.
Verse fifteen continues, And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee. God had brought the people of Israel into a land flowing with milk and honey after they entered into a covenant relationship with Him but now, He was going to disperse them throughout the nations that did not believe in Him. This was going to occur because even though they as a nation were supposed to be God’s people, they as a whole had turned their back on Him. Though they would be caught up in the dispersion, those Israelites who were in fact still living in accordance with their covenant with God would still be His people forever. Since the people of Israel had become just like other people morally, God was going to place them in the midst of these other people who didn’t worship Him. If we are born-again believer in Jesus Christ, we will always spiritually be a part of God’s kingdom no matter what happens to us here, but if we profess to be a Christian individually or as a nation, but have not accepted His gift of salvation and then do not live by His commandments, then we will find ourselves outside of His kingdom. Failing occasionally to live by His commandments after we become a Christian will not keep us out of God's kingdom, but it will affect our witness for Him here and cause a rift in our relationship with Him.
Verse sixteen concludes, And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. God said when they were dispersed throughout the rest of the world that they would have to survive by their own power or ability because He was no longer going to fight for them. When this happened, they would know that He is God, but it would be too late to do them any good. If we do not accept God’s gift of salvation and enter into a covenant relationship with, after which we should live by His commandments under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we will still one day know that He is God when His judgment comes, but it will be too late for it to do us any good.
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