THE JUDGMENT OF ISRAEL IS NEAR Having spoken to the mountains of Israel about their bitter judgment, He started to confirm them that the end is near. Man, used to exploit God’s long-suffering; assuming that no chastisement would ever happen. He preoccupies himself with daily affairs, with formalities of worship, or with leaning upon temporal authority. That is why God, in this chapter speaks of the following: 1- The end is near 1-11. 2- The end of social life 12-19. 3- The end of formal religious life 20-21. 4- The end of temporal authority 27. 1- THE END IS NEAR St. Peter demonstrates to us the thoughts of the mockers who walk according to their lusts; who say: “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3: 4). St. Paul also rebukes them; saying: “Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads to repentance? But in accordance to your hardness and your impenitent heart, you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Rom 2:4, 5). Here, God confirms that the time for punishment is near; that which the Jewish people thought will not come. That is why He repeats the phrases: “An end! The end has come.” “Now the end has come upon you.” “Doom has come to you.” “The time has come” (Ez 7:2, 5, 6, 12). He spoke of the end from three aspects: 1- The end is to be very bitter 1-6. 2- The end is close 7-10. 3- The end is inevitable 11-15. The end had come as their consciences got completely hardened; and in their life, there is no indication of repentance. That is why God will judge them according to their wicked ways and their abominations; as they did not listen to His prophets, nor repented their idolatry. The end is going to be very bitter; not that God wishes for the bitterness of their souls, as He still loves them, but because that is the very nature of sin: trouble and grief. “A day of trouble is near; and not of rejoicing in the mountains” (Ez 7:7). No more songs; joy is taken away from them, and worries and afflictions came instead, through the dwelling of sin in their life. That He confirms by saying: “I will repay your ways; and your abominations shall be in your midst” (Ez 7:4). It is as though God confirms that what takes place is nothing but the nature of corruption of sin and abominations, that were chosen by man himself; it bears its punishment in itself. This is what St. Augustine confirms, commenting on the words of the Psalmist: “As wax melts, they are taken away,” [They perish by the fire of the lusts. Here (in this world), there is a kind of concealed punishment for sinners, talked about by the psalm... Wicked lust is like burn, and fire. Will fire burn a garment, while the lust of adultery 5 would not burn the soul? The Book says about the intended adultery: “Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes do not burn? “ (Prov 6:27); and the apostle says: “Therefore God gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts” (Rom 1:24). Behold the fire that makes them melt like wax.] “Doom has come to you, you who dwell in the land” (Ez 7:7). As the heart of the wicked dwells in the land, and turns into dust; his turn will come through the rolling of the wheel of divine judgment, whose way no one can alter. The day of wrath will come; but whoever lifts his heart by repentance up to heaven, will not fall under wrath, but will enjoy the divine mercy. The wicked that persist in their wickedness, falling under the wrath, they will not behold God - the Shepherd; but God - the Striker; who says: “Then you will know that I am the Lord who strikes” (Ez 7:9). Proclaiming how close the bitter end is; that is the natural fruit of abominations, God clarifies what those abominations are, so that the believers can avoid: a- Pride: “The rod has blossomed. Pride has budded” (Ez 7:10). The fall of the people into idolatry or into fornication, is caused by their pride. That is the beginning of the ailments of the soul that has destroyed the devil, and brought him down from the highest heavenly ranks to hell. It is likewise what has driven Adam and Eve out of Paradise. That is why God humiliates the proud; not because He likes to humiliate them, but in order to amputate from them what belongs to the devil; so that, by the spirit of humility, they can repent, in abidance to the divine commandment. b- Violence (oppression): “Violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness” (Ez 7:11). If pride is more concerned with man’s relationship with God, oppression concerns man’s relationship with his fellow man; although the two of them are bound together, both referring to the hardness of heart, as a wicked nature that corrupts the inner life of man, and consequently his dealings with both God and man. Pride brings man to humiliation, with no one to have compassion on him; and oppression will lead him to lose what he has, with no one to have mercy on him: “None of them shall remain... nor shall there be wailing for them “ (Ez 7:11). 2- END OF SOCIAL LIFE Because our temporal life may take our minds away from getting prepared for our encounter with the Lord, God will sometimes allow for affliction in what concerns our temporal life from all its aspects, in hope that we may return and think about God’s warnings and chastisements. That is why He speaks to them here about conditions of complete social and economic desolation and destruction of the city: The buyer will not rejoice, having no money to buy; nor the seller will rejoice, not resuming his trade. Trumpets will be blown for war, but no one will go to battle... a complete state of loss! The sword will chase them from outside, as well as pestilence and famine within. Those who survive, will not escape like strong lions, but like weak doves; All will mourn as they behold the complete desolation of the city; will lose all their physical, mental, and spiritual energies: “Every hand will be feeble, and every knee will be as weak as water” (Ez 7:17); They will enter into a state of grief, as though mourning someone dead; “They will be girded with sackcloth... Baldness on all their heads” (Ez 7:18). 6 Terror will prevail on them; their gold and their silver will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They will lose every hope, strength, and sanctification! Their riches that used to preoccupy them away from the divine commandments, and the heavenly threats, are no more able to deliver them, but will be a reason for their perdition; as they use it for idol worship. “They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be like refuse” (Ez 7:19). What is silver, but the word of God seven times purified? Instead of acquiring it in their heart, and of keeping it in their inner stores, they throw it unto the street and discard it. As for gold that refers to the heavenly things; instead of lifting their life up to fellowship with God, to experience the heavenly life within themselves, they stumbled over the heavenliness and their uncleanness grew! 3- END OF FORMAL RELIGIOUS LIFE If those mentioned above have forsaken God because of their love for the world; and God has allowed for the destruction of the city and everything in it; others got preoccupied away from God through the formalities of worship. That led God to allow for the destruction of the seen temple, in hope that they might care for the inner temple in the heart. God has delivered their cities and land to be looted by foreign hands; and now He is also delivering His temple to the foreigners. As His people defiled His altar by idol worship; God delivered His temple to the foreign hosts (besiegers) and to the wicked of the earth to loot. He turned His face away from His house, because His children made it a den of thieves. “I will turn my face from them, and they will defile my secret place. For robbers shall enter it and defile it” (Ez 7:22). Defiling the altar, does not stop at their adoption of idol worship, but extends to breaking the divine commandment, and to walking in oppression. That is why God counts their worship as defilement of His temple; having come out of hearts that are covered with blood and filled with violence. Because they defiled His temple, He allowed foreigners to defile their sanctuaries; that probably means the temple itself, or their own houses as sanctuaries. He says: “Make a chain, for the land is filled with crimes of blood, and the city is full of violence. Therefore I will bring the worst of the Gentiles, and they will possess their houses. I will cause the pomp of the strong to cease, and their holy places shall be defiled” (Ez 7:23, 24). He allows for the preparation of chains, namely, shackles to take them captives. Having bound themselves by the chains of their sins; they will be delivered into the hands of enemies, shackled with apparent metal chains. He might probably also prepare the chain of His divine justice to punish them! Beside idol worship and breaking the commandment, they resort to self-deception by false prophecies. Instead of repentance, they seek from the prophets and priests, false peace and deception. That is why false prophets appeared who prophesied, not according to God’s command, but according to what pleases the people. The Law disappeared from the priest, and the counsel from the elders... “They say ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace” (Jer 8:11). Let every believer, every family, and also every church beware; because if 7 accursed things get in, there would be desolation, and all would fall under the wrath of God! Then, it will be said: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel “ (Jos 7:13). 4- THE END OF TEMPORAL AUTHORITY “The king will mourn. The prince will be clothed with desolation. And the hands of the common people will tremble” (Ez 7:27). Sometimes man leans upon temporal authority, with the assumption that this way he would not be touched by God’s chastisements; that is why God breaks that temporal authority; and the king mourns. Here he refers to Jehoiakin (27:12), to the former kings (43:7, 9); as well as to kings who would reign in the future (37:22, 24); but he does not refer to king Zedekiah (12:12, 21, 25). As to the ‘Prince,’ this refers to the ruler of the new congregation; namely the ruling rank of that time. As to the ‘people’ of the earth; before captivity, he referred to the non- Hebrews (Ezra 4:4; Nehemiah 19:31); while here, he refers to the Jewish people. 8 AN INSPIRATION FROM THE BOOK OF E ZEKIEL 7 HOW LONG WILL YOU WAIT, O MY SOUL! Your voice, O my God, never stopped! It warns me: The end is near! As the Architect of the whole world, You know its mysteries. You confirm to me, that heaven and earth will disappear. Yet, with my idiocy, I remain slothful and negligent. Until when will you wait, O my soul?! Will you escape to the mountains? They are shaking! Do You lean on your friends? All hands will be feeble, And all knees will be like water! Do you trust in your silver and gold? They will not deliver you! Do you lean upon the formalities and letters of worship? Your God seeks the heart and depths! Do you lean on authority? Everything will come to an end! Until when will you wait, O my soul?!
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