Ezekiel 7:5-14 - I will not look on you with pity

7:5-9

The warning is repeated. “Disaster! Unheard of disaster!” There can be no misinterpreting the message, it is loud and clear. Yet we are always trying to soften the message of the Bible, we even seek to apologise for God! This is foolishness. The just and perfect anger of God makes the grace of God shine all the more brightly. Just as Judah needed to be convinced of the reality of God’s judgement against her, we need to be convinced of the righteous anger of the Lord. It occurs often enough in the Bible, and not just in the Old Testament!

“I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for your detestable practices” (Ezek 7:8). People sometimes talk about the “problem of hell”. The truth is that there is no “problem of hell”. When the final judgment comes everything God does will be seen to be just, and no one will question His decisions. The only “problem of hell” is our failure to take hell seriously enough.

7:10-14

Some may have thought they had enough wealth, or were skilled enough as traders that they could weather the coming storm. So even if trouble was coming, things might be difficult, but they would get through it. “The vision concerning the whole crowd” (v13). The judgement covers everyone, no one would escape. They may have thought that by making appropriate military preparations they could see off the invasion, but God tells them that even this would fail. When God’s judgement comes there is no escape possible.