Ezekiel 22:6

Ezekiel 22:6 says, Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood.  God said that all the princes of Israel, who should have been the protectors of the people, were using their power to shed blood instead, and Matthew Henry says that they enjoyed it.  If we are in a position of power today where we have it in our ability to protect people but enjoy shedding the blood of others instead, we certainly aren’t following God’s commandments.   

Verse seven adds, 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.  God said that children had become disobedient to their parents making light of what they had taught them.  We know that many children today don’t obey their parents and grow up to believe differently than their parents do, and this includes the children of Christians.  God then  said that instead of protecting and helping people, they had dealt with them by oppressing them, especially the strangers and the fatherless and the widows.  We as Christians are still called on to help protect other people, especially the fatherless, or orphans we might say, but even those without fathers may need our help, and even the strangers in the land.   

Verse eight continues, Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths.  God said that the people of Israel had despised His holy things and had profaned His sabbaths.  God’s holy things today would be His commandments and even though we as followers of Christ celebrate the Lord’s Day, Sunday the first day of the week instead of the Sabbath, Saturday, we often profane it.  Since this was a message for those who were supposed to be God’s people, I have not said how the rest of the world treats these things.  We, as God’s people, cannot afford to be guilty of these things.   

Verse nine states, 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.  God said that in the midst of the people of Israel there were people who were openly sinning.  He listed several ways.  They told lies about the leaders hoping to cause this to lead to their blood being shed, they were eating in the mountains where idols were worshiped, even if they didn’t worship them, and they committed lewd acts openly.  We don't have to look very far to see lewd acts being committed openly today, and we are sometimes too willing to just go along with those who worship idols, I believe.   

Verse ten adds, In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for position. Matthew Henry says this refers to a man taking his father's wife and causing both to be polluted.  I don’t know that we see this happening too often today, but if it does, we should certainly condemn it.   

Verse eleven continues, 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.  God continues to speak about the ways the people of Israel, His chosen people, had been guilty of sexual misconduct.  At least some of these things we still see going on in the world today, but as Christians, we should never be guilty of doing these things.   

Verse twelve concludes, 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.  God then said they were guilty of many things that we today indorse, such as taking usury to increase their wealth while causing our neighbors who pay it to suffer in need.  There is still a shift in wealth upward to the few while many, many of the poorest continue to suffer, and if they come to borrow money, they are often charged exorbitant amounts of interest, or usury as it is referred to here.  This has never been God’s plan.    

Ezekiel 22:1

Ezekiel 22:1 says, Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  As with Ezekiel, as followers of Christ, God’s word should never stop coming to us.   

Verse two adds, Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.  God asked if Ezekiel would be a judge over Jerusalem, which is referred to as a bloody city, and show them their abominations.  He wasn’t to judge people based on who he was or who they were but was to judge them as one God had called to point out their sins to them.  We are not called to judge people based on where they were born but are called on to judge their actions if they are not in accordance with God’s word for the purpose of calling them to salvation.   

Verse three continues, 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.  Ezekiel was to make it clear that it was God’s judgment that he was proclaiming and that it was based on their sinful actions.  These people were still Israelites in name, but they were not Israelites spiritually.  We may be Christians in name, but still not have a spiritual relationship with God, and if that is true, our actions will show it.   

Verse four states, 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.  God said that the sins of the people of Israel, who were shedding innocent blood and worshipping idols instead of worshipping Him and living by their covenant relationship with Him had become a laughingstock to the people who did not believe in Him.  As followers of Christ, we need to live our lives in obedience to God’s commandments and if we don't, we may become a laughingstock to the unsaved people of the world.  

Verse five adds, Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed.  God said people everywhere, those close and those far off, would mock the people of Israel because of their disobedience to Him.  If we are professed Christians who are not obeying God’s law, those who live in the same country that we do and those around the world may mock us and by implication, God as well.  We may have heard people say based on the way we act in the world that if that is what it means to be a Christian, I don’t want to be one, and we need to make sure if they say that it is not based on how we personally are acting in relationship to other people. 

Ezekiel 21:28

Ezekiel 21:28 says, 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:  God then gave Ezekiel a message for the Ammonites. Their destruction was coming, and it happened about five years after they defeated Israel when Nebuchadnezzar defeated them.  Matthew Henry says that their triumph over Jerusalem was a temporary thing and that even if it was delayed for a while, their judgment was coming.  People of the world today may think that they have defeated God's people, just as they thought they had defeated Jesus Christ when He died on the cross for the sins of the world, but it is only a temporary defeat for those who feel victorious over God and His people, just as it was but a temporary defeat that the people who crucified Jesus Christ thought they had over Him.  He is forever victorious, and so are those who put their faith in Him. 

Verse twenty-nine adds, 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.  God said that their prophets, who were false prophets as were many in Israel before they were defeated, had prophesied lies to them when they prophesied of lasting power and riches. No matter what people may promise us today concerning power and riches, if it is not in accordance with God’s word, they are making false promises.  

Verse twenty-nine continues, 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.  God asked if they thought He was going to return His sword of judgment to its sheath and not judge them as well.  He then answered the question by saying that He was going to judge them in their own land.  Just as God’s judgment had come on the people of Israel because of their refusal to remain true to Him, it was going to come on the Ammonites because they were not obeying His law as well.  God will one day judge all people based on their relationship to Jesus Christ, and those who have felt that they have defeated those who are God’s people will realize that it was only a temporary victory.  They will be held accountable for their sins, no matter how powerful they may think they are.   

Verse thirty-one states, 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.  God said He was going to deliver the Ammonites into the hand of powerful men who would carry out His wrath against them.  God may use other nations that are evil themselves to carry out His purpose, but that doesn't mean that they are forever victorious.  One day, God is going to send His judgment on them, and they will not stand against it.   

Verse thirty-two adds, 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.  God said that they would be totally defeated and remembered no more.  Those we who fight against God and His people today, no matter how powerful they may think they are, will one day will be sent away to everlasting punishment and their names will no longer be remembered in His kingdom.