Notice the number of times in the following verses where God makes himself the subject of the action that will take place in the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC.
“Thus my anger shall spend itself, and I will vent my fury on them and satisfy myself. And they shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken in my jealousy, when I spend my fury on them.
Moreover, I will make you a desolation and an object of mocking among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by.
You shall be a mockery and a taunt, a warning and a horror to the nations all around you when I execute judgments on you in anger and fury and with furious punishments—I, the Lord, have spoken—
When I loose against you my deadly arrows of famine, arrows for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, and when I bring more and more famine upon you and break your staff of bread.
I will send famine and wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children; pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword upon you. I, the Lord, have spoken” (Ezekiel 5:13-17).
The Justice of God
Some people who struggle with their understanding of God often point to verses like this and say, “This is exactly why I have a hard time with God. He seems angry and vengeful, constantly punishing humans.”
Bible scholars remind us not to engage in the anachronistic reading of the Scriptures. This means we should avoid applying modern standards and ideas to the ancient world. If we do, we risk arriving at conclusions like the one expressed by those who criticize God in the previous statement.
Ezekiel received his call to be a prophet in 593 B.C. At that time, people commonly believed that each god had power over a specific region. For example, Yahweh was thought to have power over Jerusalem, while Marduk ruled over Babylon.
Given that the Israelites were exiled in Babylon, many would have reasoned that Marduk had defeated Yahweh, which explained why God’s people were conquered and exiled.
This belief would later be reinforced when Jerusalem was destroyed in 587 B.C.
Instead of focusing on Yahweh’s anger and vengeance, Ezekiel emphasized Yahweh’s supremacy over all other gods. God’s people were not casualties of a battle between deities; rather, they were suffering the consequences of their own actions.
Yahweh was executing judgment on a people who had turned away from Him repeatedly over many years.
The following chapters will detail how Israel turned away from Yahweh and ignored the covenant relationship they had with Him. God was not judging them out of irrational anger; rather, He was allowing them to face the consequences of their choice to live apart from Him.
Reflections
Instead of criticizing God in this chapter or trying to explain away His judgment of the nation, we should reflect on how to read this passage with humility and repentance.
We are familiar with 2 Chronicles 7:14, which tells us that if God’s people humble themselves, pray, and seek His face, He will turn and heal their land. This is God’s prescription for avoiding His judgment.
God cannot bless a nation that is proud, arrogant, and sinful. If God were to withhold His judgment for our sins and let us continue without any consequences, there would be no incentive to change our behavior. Our sin not only harms ourselves but also those affected by our wrongdoing.
The only way God can bless us is if we turn to Him and begin living according to His guidance.
One of the greatest gifts we can offer the world is to come before God and ask for the grace to humble ourselves, pray, and seek His face.
We should also ask God to help us align our lives with the guidance He has provided through the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, the life of Jesus, and other teachings.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 