Pitiless God: 'I'm comforted in you getting yours'

In Ezekiel, God keeps reminding Israel they were to be His witness, His Word to all the nations of the earth, but that they fumbled the ball.

Ezekiel 5:6: [6] And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them.

"She's been worse than the nations. Doesn't that phrase 'she hath changed my judgments' remind you of Romans 1? They changed the truth of God into a lie. Israel had God's Word in written form, directly from the mouth of God, and they changed His Word MORE than the Gentiles did. They turned the truth into a lie," explains Richard Jordan.

Verse 7: [7] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you;

"God's saying, 'I mean, you had my name, my judgments, my statutes, my laws, and you were worse at keeping them--the Gentiles did better at following the false gods that they had. They were better at their religion than the one I gave you. They had a false religion while you had the truth and yet they did better than you at it!'

Verse 8: [8] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.

"He's going to judge them so that all the nations will see their God won't put up with what they're doing.

Verse 9: [9] And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.

"God's saying, 'It's going to be worse with you than it's ever been with anybody. Why? Because you had my Word; you had the light, the truth, and you rejected it. Your consistent rejection of the truth I gave you, my longsuffering in seeking to bring you back, my chastening--you've walked against me in all of that.'

Verse 10: [10] Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds.

"Imagine the fathers eating the sons and the sons eating the fathers. Back in Jeremiah and Lamentations where things got so bad with poverty, they would eat their babies only a span long. Just a little newborn, 18 inches long. You remember where it says they will be 'without natural affection'?

"Listen, you don't reject the truth of God in any culture and get better. And all those things that He's going to smite them with back in Leviticus and stuff, it isn't just that He has to send these things. He sends them but the people are down with it and He's going to scatter them.

Matthew 24:12 says, 'And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.' When you don't have the capacity to understand what God's doing, iniquity abounds.

Luke 12:48: [48] But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

"What Ezekiel is saying is just that; judgment is in proportion to knowledge and privilege. He's going to judge Israel as an example to the Gentiles of what happens when you have the light from God and then you walk against it.

Ezekiel 5:11: [11] Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.

"Notice He says, 'As I live.' God literally pledges His very existence to carry this out. This is not a small matter with the Lord. He's saying, 'Based on who I am, I'm going to do what I do.' 

"By the way, when you get to chapter 8, He'll lay out what the detestable things (the abominations) are and it had to do with idolatry, Baal worship. They forsook Jehovah and went after the gods of the Gentiles and then they brought that into Israel's temple and added it on.

"There's a verse in Kings that says they worshipped Jehovah and followed idols. How do you do that? It's called ecumenicalism. They're doing that today.

"What was the first commandment? Have no other gods before me. Don't make any graven images. He says, 'Therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.'

"What do you do when you don't have pity on people? You don't feel sorry for them. Here's Jehovah looking at His nation, putting them into captivity, punishing them, letting them bear the consequences of their rebellion, and He says, 'I won't have pity for you. I'm not going to feel sorry for you because you're getting what you deserve. You're getting what you asked for.'

"Here's what they're getting: [12] A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.

[13] Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.

"When He sees the destruction that His fury brings upon them, He says, 'I'm comforted.' Now, that's a side of God that we don't like to talk about. We like to say, 'God is love. God so loved the world. Love wins.'

"God says, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. That's not what I want. But they turned.' He says in Ezekiel, 'You're at a point now where you've had the opportunity to turn and you refused. You had the opportunity to get right and you wouldn't do it, and now you're at the place where the time of judgment's here.'

"If you look at Isaiah 1:24, He said this through Isaiah in relationship to the carrying away of the northern kingdom: [24] Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:

[25] And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:

"God says, 'I'll ease myself. I'll get rid of these dudes. They're fighting me on every hand; I'll quit fussing with them and get rid of them.'

"He's saying, 'It's over; the argument's over.' Did you ever get tired of arguing with people? If you've got kids you know what I'm talking about. Listen, God Himself has a right to decide when His patience has run out.

John 3:16 says there's life through trusting in Christ because God's love provided life for His Son. Then John 3:36 says, [36] He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

"There's a line. Which side are you on? God's love is on one side but look at the rest of that verse: 'the wrath of God abideth on him.'

"I know it's not popular to believe in the wrath of God. It's not popular to believe that the wrath of God would be something He'd be comfortable with for all eternity. But He says that willful, intentional, deliberate, continual rebellion . . . 'There's going to come a point where my patience is over and I'm going to be comforted with the destruction.'

Ezekiel 5: 14-15: [14] Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.

[15] So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.

"God says, 'Right there in the midst of the nations, I'm going to show everybody what happens when you rebel like you have.' They're going to be a reproach, a taunt. They're going to be instruction for the Gentiles on what happens when your rebel against the God of Israel.

[16] When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:
[17] So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it.

"All those things in verses 16-17 are back in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. These are things they knew would overtake them in their rebellion. They had full knowledge of the consequences of their sin. There's a long history of rebellion that brings Israel to this stage."

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