Ezekiel 22

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Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 

"Now, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations! 

Examine the city of Jerusalem and see the crimes that have been committed.  This is what God told Ezekiel to do.

"Then say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "The city sheds blood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself. 

The city shortens its days by shedding blood, and the city of My people makes gods of her own and brings corruption upon herself.

"You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries. 

You killed, and I have brought your days to an end, polluted the land I gave you, and made your name despicable to other nations who once knew of your greatness.

"Those near and those far from you will mock you as infamous and full of tumult. 

People near and far will make fun of who you are, and you be a reproach to everyone; you will be called a people who are known for having trouble.

"Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you. 

The kings of Israel used their power to kill.

"In you they have made light of father and mother; in your midst they have oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the fatherless and the widow. 

You care nothing for people, whether you are related to them or not.  If you saw people who needed help, you despise them too.

"You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths. 

All of my guidelines you hated and did evil on the days I told you to live right or keep holy.

"In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed; in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness.

You are a people who speak evil of people, and those people you speak against are killed by those who listen to you; you hold a feast on mountains and waste time thinking that I am noticing you, and you commit explicit sexual sins where ever you want to.

"In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity.

You have no regard for your father's wife for sexual activity, and you have a sexual relationship with women during their periods. 

"One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter; and incest with your own sister.  

You commit the unthinkable with your neighbor's wife: will sex with your daughter in law;

"In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me," says the Lord GOD. 

This is what God had a problem with many years ago; why do we think things are different now?  We take bribes, we kill, we charge too much interest, and we have forgotten all about the Word of God.

"Behold, therefore, I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst. 

I am extremely angry at your conduct.

"Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and will do it.

Are you strong enough to fight Me when I bring justice upon your sins? 

"I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and remove your filthiness completely from you.

I am going to separate you as a nation and scatter you among the heathens, and remove the sin nature completely out of you. 

"You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; then you shall know that I am the LORD." ' " 

Other nations will see the real you and you will be ashamed of yourselves and know that I am the Lord.

The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 

"Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a furnace; they have become dross from silver. 

Once you were the finest of silver, now you are like the heathen nations.

"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 

'As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you. 

'Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst. 

'As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have poured out My fury on you.' " 

You will not be able to sustain the heat I am going to blow on you; as a silversmith who puts the rock in the fire to find out its worth, so will I put the heat to you and watch you melt as the unwanted substance from minerals because you are not made of the precious quality that can stand the heat.

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 

"Son of man, say to her: 'You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.' 

"The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. 

Even when I send My wrath, you still refuse to change you evil ways.

"Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 

The leaders are of no use to Me.  They do not tell the people how to make right choices by showing them both sides of what they are doing.  The priest or leader ignore My Word and the people are not living holy.

"Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain. 

The leader destroy My people to get money using evil devices.

"Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD had not spoken. 

The prophets promote and display lies.

"The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. 

Business are corrupt and mistreat people in need.

"So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. 

I asked Zedekiah to let Me use him to spare the land and he refused to comply with My request.

"Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads," says the Lord GOD.

My anger against My people has led Me to destroy what I gave as a promise.  My people are being paid for the wrongs they committed and refused to stop doing.