23 July 2002

Text: Ezekiel 22

THE JUDGMENT OF JERUSALEM

1. Ezekiel as judge
"Now, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city?
Yes, show her all her abominations"
Ezekiel 22:1

2. The sins of Jerusalem (Common People)
a) Murder
Charge:
"The city sheds blood in her own midst…"
Ezekiel 22:3a

Proof:
"You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed…"
Ezekiel 22:4a

b) Idolatry
Charge:
"She makes idols within herself to defile herself…"
Ezekiel 22:3b

Proof:
"And have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made..."
Ezekiel 22:4b

c) Judgment

i) End of grace period given to Jerusalem
"You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years;
and have come to the end of your years"
Ezekiel 22:4

ii) The Good Name of Jerusalem will be no more
"Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries.
Those near and those far from you will mock you as infamous and full of tumult."
Ezekiel 22:5 (Cf. Deut. 4:25-28; 28:15-68)

3. The Sins of Jerusalem (The Nobility)
a) Murder
"Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you."
Ezekiel 22:6

b) Despising of Parents
"They have made light of father and mother…"
Ezekiel 22:7 (Leviticus 19:3)

c) Oppression of strangers
"They have oppressed the stranger…"
Ezekiel 22:7 (Leviticus 19:33-34)

d) Mistreatment of the fatherless and widows
"You have mistreated the fatherless and the widow…"
Ezekiel 22:7 (Deut. 27:19)

e) Despising of Things Sacred
"You have despised My holy things…"
Ezekiel 22:8

f) Violation of the Sabbaths
"And profaned My Sabbaths"
Ezekiel 22:8

g) Slandering
"In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed"
Ezekiel 22:9

h) Idolatry
"In you are those who eat on the mountains;
In you they commit lewdness"
Ezekiel 22:9
(Reference to idolatrous practices which often promotes promiscuity)

i) Immorality
"In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness;
In you they violate their father's nakedness;
In you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity.
One commits abomination with his neighbour's wife'
Another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law;
And another violates his sister, his father's daughter."
Ezekiel 22:10-11

j) Perversion of Justice
"In you they take bribes to shed blood"
Ezekiel 22:12

k) Dishonest Profit
"In you they take bribes to shed blood;
You take usury and increase;
You have made profit from your neighbours by extortion,
And have forgotten Me, says the Lord God"
Ezekiel 22:12

"I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which You have made"
Ezekiel 22:13

Judgment Pronounced the Nobility and the City

1. Scattering of the People
"I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries…"
Ezekiel 22:15

2. People will be defiled
"You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations…"
Ezekiel 22:16 (Cf. Eze. 5:13)