Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Son of man, they who inhabit those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. But we are many; the land has been given to us as a possession.’ Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: You eat meat with blood, you lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land? You rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and you defile one another’s wives. Should you then possess the land? ”  (Ezekiel 33:23-26)

Who Is To Blame?

Ezekiel was a prophet of God who lived with the captives in Babylon following the fall and destruction of Jerusalem. It had been three hundred forty-five years since Solomon died, and the nation of Israel was divided in civil war. The ten northern tribes were destroyed in 722 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar brought his Babylonian army into Jerusalem a final time in 586 B.C. and destroyed the Temple built by Solomon. Now the people of God faced seventy years in a captive land. A remnant would return to a destroyed Jerusalem in 536 B.C., but the Jewish nation would always be a captive people until the Romans again destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

There was no one to blame for the plight of the Jews but the people of God themselves. When Moses gave the law to the nation at Sinai, he warned them of the dangers of turning away from God. If they forgot the law of the Lord, the wrath of God would destroy them. History proved the word of the Lord correct when the people went after the gods of the nations around them. Idolatry filled the land with its abominations of sexual immorality, hedonism, wickedness, and debauchery. The prophets warned the people, but they refused to listen. When the Assyrians took the northern tribes of Israel, God warned the remaining two tribes to take heed to the punishment against their brethren. Judah refused to listen and learn.

As the news of the fall of Jerusalem came to the Jews in Babylon, Ezekiel reminded them why they were in bondage. The people tried to blame their forefathers for their predicament, but only themselves were to blame. Judah thought that because they were the people of God and the people of Abraham, God should show mercy. Ezekiel reminded them that they sacrificed to idols with blood meat and followed after the ways of idolatry. Should they possess the land when it was their hearts that had turned away from God? They deserved all that God brought upon them.

When Judah was attacked by her enemies, they did not seek the counsel of the Lord for help. They sought alliances with other nations to save them. The land was filled with the abominations of idolatry and sexual immorality. Judah was not a nation of godly people but a people like the nations around them that lived with fleshly pleasures, abuse of the poor, cravings for worldly possessions, and the pursuit of drunkenness, revelry, lewdness and lust, strife, and envy. Israel did not deserve the mercy of God, but the Lord kept His word to retain a remnant of righteous people to preserve the Seed promise made in the Garden of Eden.

Jerusalem was destroyed because of the sins of the people. The arrogant strength of the people led them to their destruction. Like the wilderness journeys of Israel leaving Egypt, a generation of people died because of rebellion. Those who went into captivity would never return home again. The Babylonian captivity removed a whole generation of people because of their wickedness. Only the people could blame themselves for their punishment, because they were guilty of rejecting God’s mercy and refusing to repent.

God’s wrath served the purpose of punishing His people and letting the world know the penalty for sin. Israel’s captivity revealed the majesty of the Lord God. The land was desolate because of all the abominations of the Jews, which they committed. God’s justice is pure and right. The world in the days of Noah was destroyed because it was the right thing to do. God destroyed nations because it was the righteous thing to do. Sin comes with a penalty because it is a righteous thing.

The example of Israel is a warning to a world that rejects the word of the Lord. God has revealed His complete truth in the words of the Bible. Rejecting the word of the Lord will bring judgment upon the unrighteous. Filling life with the abominations of the world will end badly. God will not forget His word. Everyone who stands before the Lord God Almighty will know that He is Lord and He is Lord alone. Is it possible to live a worldly, ungodly life and expect to find eternal life in death? Can a man reject God and expect God to receive him in eternity? The righteous judgment of God is against all wickedness and rebellion. Who is to blame when someone loses their soul? The responsibility lies squarely upon the shoulders of the individual. God is not a respecter of persons. Sin will be judged and punished.