April 22nd - Chapter Six and Seven

Chapter four and five continues to state as to why God would bring judgment of great famine and sword.
Verse 7, 10, 13, 14, 7:4, 7:9, and 7:27 all states that during/after the destruction and terror from the LORD,
they will know who the LORD would be.
"Then they/you will know that I am the LORD."
I'm not too sure as to why God changes from "you" and "they", maybe because this is addressed to Ezekiel and only Ezekiel would remain alive?
Or maybe it could be the fact that Israel is addressed as "you" as well, just like the house of Israel or when God says, "You people of Israel".

The remnant of Israel would be found among different lands and nations, and God states that they will remember Him and would remember that they had turned against God in rebellion through idolatry.
Chapter 7:12-13 and 19-20 speaks to me as signs of great judgment.

As Israel was so involved with buying and selling property as a form of financial gain,
God places judgment in the midst of their trade - stating that "because of their sins, not one of them will preserve his life."
As God pours out His wrath, regardless of where they stand with their possessions.
No person would escape, no ruler or king, no judge or thief - social and financial levels mean nothing to God.

Verse 19 would clearly state that "no silver or gold will be able to save them in the day of the LORD's wrath."
And God states that no nobody would be able to satisfy their hunger within gold and silver, as it "has made them stumble into sin."
When we look at it, we must acknowledge that sin will lead us to nowhere. The videos that we watch, the thoughts that we think - it satisfies nothing and God will NOT LET IT SATISFY US.

I think that this is a contrast that we seem to forget subconsciously.
That when we enter the throne of God or approach the cross, there is no social class involved in forgiveness.
Just as the pharisee and the tax collector went into the temple to pray,
God didn't consider any social/political/economic class, rather the heart of true repentance and from Ezekiel, the ones who acknowledge the LORD for who He is.
From this, I learn that we repent we need to acknowledge who we've sinned against, what kind of power that we have rebelled against.


I thought it'd be funny to mention 7:17 as God states that the people of Israel's knees will "become as weak as water". My study bible tells me that this meant that "every knee will be wet with urine."

Chapters 6 and 7 as James mentioned is a continuation of the wrath that God will show to the people of Israel. Reading more on this, we are able to see some parts of God's character. In verse 9, God "grieved" or in my translation "was hurt" by their adulterous hearts. I think we really see a purpose and understanding of why God is doing this even more. God is hurt that His people are sinning so much against Him and needs to punish them in this way. In doing so, He reveals that He is the Lord. God revealing Himself to the Israelites like this to me seems almost embarrassing for the Israelites. That they were so caught up in their own sin that God has to punish His children to remind them that He still exists and is always there.

I think what the Israelites sinned with back then is still relevant today. We still have idols that we put before God - whether they are physical or not, these idols are a stumbling block in our way to meet God. Yet in the OT, we see how God deals with this sin. How lucky are we to even have God's loving grace.