By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville
Focal Passage: Ezekiel 24:1-14
Have you ever heard anyone say, “You shouldn’t judge people?” Many misquote Jesus’ prohibition against judgmentalism in Matthew 7:1 as an excuse to not develop sound, biblical judgment, an attitude of discernment between right and wrong. God abhors prideful judgmentalism; yet Scripture calls us to make judgments all the time and to practice discernment.
While our judgments can be subjective, God’s judgments are true, right, just, and merciful through the person of Jesus Christ. God will judge those who reject Him. Ezekiel was commissioned to not only preach a message of salvation, but of judgment. The message of judgment serves as a warning to unrepentant sinners.
Confronted, Ezekiel 20:1-4
Ezekiel was confronted by the elders of Israel as to God’s activity. These elders did not receive what they wanted. Rather than a message of peace and comfort, Ezekiel declared that God would “not let you inquire of me,” verse 3.
Kevin Shrum
Ezekiel was to explain to them the ugliness before God of “the detestable practices of their ancestors,” verse 4. God confronted Israel in their sin before He would restore them in salvation.
Confrontation is never a comfortable thing. As we preach the gospel, we understand that imbedded in the gospel is the truth about our sin, a truth the Spirit of God uses to convict us of “sin and righteousness and judgment,” John 16:8. Conviction of sin is necessary to conversion.
Early Signs, Ezekiel 20:5-9
The signs of Israel’s rebellion were there from the beginning. God called Ezekiel to remind Israel that He “chose” them, “swore an oath” to them, and promised them that He would be their God, verse 5. He promised to bring them out of Egyptian bondage and into “a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands,” verse 6. God called them to throw away the “idols of Egypt,” verse 7. God remained faithful to His covenant with Israel.
But Israel was unfaithful. Israel rebelled against God, did not listen to Him, and prized the idols of Egypt, verse 8. As a result, God poured out His “wrath on them, exhausting my anger against them within the land of Egypt,” verse 8. God judged His own people so that His name would not be profaned among the nations, verse 9.
God wanted the nations to know that His judgments were without favor. Yet, God brought Israel out of Egypt not because they were righteous, but because God was faithful.
Repeated Rebellion, 20:1-14
Did Israel learn from their rebellion? No. Even though God led them out of bondage, gave them “statutes” and “ordinances” to live by, they did not obey, vv. 10-11. God even gave them a Sabbath rest so that “they would know I am the Lord who consecrates them,” v. 12.
But “Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness,” and they did not follow His statutes and ordinances, verse 13. God had every right to pour out His wrath on them. Instead, He acted to save Israel “for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out,” verse 14.
The lesson is clear. Beware. Our saving God is a God of judgment. Seek His mercy. B&R Shrum is pastor of Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville and is a past president of the Tennessee Baptist Convention.