Week 27 Ezekiel
I was reminded of something today.
When I think of the first Babylonian attack on Jerusalem – they sacked the city, carried off a lot of exiles and set up a puppet ruler – I tend to think that Jerusalem was left a kind of busted-up broke-down do-nothing semi-ghost town. Israel had to reap-their-whirlwind. And Babylonian blew into town and helped them do just that.
But in chapter 22 today I see Ezekiel didn’t think of those last three puppet-governors (who all came after that first attack) as just ho-hum place-holders who just twiddled-their-thumbs. I forgot that more than six weeks ago the chronicler pointed out that Jehoiakim & Jehoiachin & Zedekiah all: did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. And here & now in a long-distance prophecy from Babylon Ezekiel ticks off a list of offences that were still going on: murder idolatry contempt-for-family gouging-foreign-residents oppressing-the-weak despising-sacred-things lewd-activities illicit-sexual-practices assassination racketeering extortion conspiracy theft disregard-for-religious-laws false-prophecy injustice and like that.
Chapter 22 reminds me that things were seriously degraded in Jerusalem. Meaning that Babylon would soon be back for the third time.
The real surprise is that the Lord kept trying to help: I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one. The Lord surveyed the entire city and didn’t find a single God-fearing person.
If he’d found one things could have been a lot different.
Note: quotes from 2 Chronicles 36:5, 9, 12 & Ezekiel 22:30 (NLT)