The Sins of Israel

Text: Ezekiel 22

 

I.         Ezekiel is asked to judge - Ezekiel 22:1-2

            A.        He is invited as a son of man – to see that even man sees the problem

            B.        Would he be willing to declare Israel’s abominations?

II.        Murder and Idolatry - Ezekiel 22:3-6

            A.        God give Israel time, but she spent that time committing murder and creating idols

                        1.         Just like the later Jews - Romans 2:5

                        2.         Just like false teachers now - II Peter 2:3

            B.        She has inflicted harm on herself - Proverbs 8:36

            C.        Man doesn’t go part way into sin, he has a tendency to go as far as he can - I Thessalonians 2:16; Matthew 23:32

            D.        Their sins have advanced the day of their end, but they ignored the warning signs.

                        1.         Their evil and God’s destruction makes them a laughing stock among the nations - Deuteronomy 28:37; Psalm 44:13; Jeremiah 18:16; 24:9; Daniel 9:16

            E.        Her kings have promoted murder - Nehemiah 9:34; Isaiah 1:23; Micah 3:1-3, 9-11

III.       Sins from within - Ezekiel 22:7-12

            A.        Much are charges paralleling the curses in Deuteronomy 27:15-26

            B.        Make light of mother and father - Exodus 21:17; Deuteronomy 27:16; Proverbs 20:20; 30:17

            C.        Oppressed strangers, mistreated orphans and widows - Exodus 22:21-22; Deuteronomy 27:19; Jeremiah 7:6; Zechariah 7:10

                        1.         Why? Taking advantage of those at a disadvantage.

                        2.         Matthew 23:14

            D.        Despised the worship of God and His Sabbath - Leviticus 19:30; Amos 8:4-6; Ezekiel 22:26; Malachi 1:6-8, 12

            E.        Slander to cause murder - Leviticus 19:16; Deuteronomy 27:24; I Kings 21:10-13; Psalm 50:20; Jeremiah 9:4; Matthew 26:59; Acts 6:11-13

            F.        Fornication while worshiping idols - Deuteronomy 27:15; Psalms 106:28; Exodus 32:6

            G.        Incest - Leviticus 18:7-9, 15; 20:11-12, 17; Deuteronomy 27:20, 22-23

            H.        Violating the laws of uncleanness - Leviticus 18:19; 20:18

            I.         Adultery - Leviticus 18:20; 20:10; Jeremiah 5:8

            J.         Bribery - Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:19; 27:25

            K.        Usury - Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:35-36; Deuteronomy 23:19; Psalm 15:5

            L.        Extortion - Proverbs 1:19; Isaiah 56:11; I Corinthians 5:11; 6:10

            M.       Forgetting God - Deuteronomy 32:18; Psalm 106:21; Jeremiah 3:21

IV.      God’s response to their sins - Ezekiel 22:13-16

            A.        God will beat His fists at the dishonest profit and bloodshed

                        1.         “Beat fists” is a sign of anger - Numbers 24:10

                        2.         They will not be able to outlast God’s wrath - Isaiah 45:9; I Corinthians 10:22; Hebrews 10:31

                        3.         God later says He will not give up - Ezekiel 24:14

            B.        God will scatter them into captivity to remove their filthiness - Nehemiah 1:8; Isaiah 1:25; Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 4:1

            C.        They will be defiled so that they will acknowledge God - Isaiah 47:6; Psalm 9:6

V.        Parallel to purifying metal - Ezekiel 22:17-22

            A.        Israel is dross - worthless metals that need to be removed from silver - Psalm 119:119; Isaiah 1:22

                        1.         It takes a hot fire to remove the impurities - Jeremiah 6:28-30; Proverbs 17:3

                        2.         The fire is afflictions - Isaiah 31:9; 48:10

                        3.         Notice they became dross. They were always this bad.

            B.        God will gather them to melt them - Ezekiel 21:31-32; Isaiah 54:16

                        1.         God is a consuming fire - Deuteronomy 4:24; Psalm 21:9; 50:3; Nahum 1:6

                        2.         The wicked is consumed - Psalm 68:2; Jeremiah 9:7

VI.      Israel’s sins are wide spread, across all levels of society - Ezekiel 22:23-31

            A.        A land not cleansed (remains polluted) and no rain (no blessings - Joel 2:23)

                        1.         As charged - II Chronicles 36:14-16

                        2.         Even punished, they do not turn - Isaiah 1:5; 9:13; Jeremiah 2:30; 5:3; 6:29

                        3.         Example - Jeremiah 44:16-19

                        4.         Micah 3:11

            B.        The prophets

                        1.         Zephaniah 3:4; Jeremiah 6:13; Lamentations 2:14; II Peter 2:1-3

                        2.         A conspiracy - I Kings 22:11-13

                        3.         Micah 3:5-7

            C.        The priests

                        1.         Hosea 6:9; Jeremiah 2:8; Malachi 2:1-3, 8

                        2.         Ezekiel 20:12-13

            D.        The rulers - Zephaniah 3:3; Isaiah 1:23

            E.        Prophets using improper mortar - Ezekiel 13:10-16; 21:29

                        1.         Claiming to speak for God while telling lies - Jeremiah 6:14; 23:16-17, 21, 25-32

            F.        The people - Jeremiah 5:26-28; Micah 2;2; Isaiah 59:3-7

            G.        God looked for someone to stand up and oppose the wickedness, someone to plead the case for the people, but He found none - Jeremiah 5:1; Psalm 106:23; Isaiah 59:16; 63:5

                        1.         Others who pleaded - Genesis 20:7; Exodus 32:10-14; Numbers 16:48

                        2.         What about Jeremiah? - Jeremiah 11:14

                        3.         You see the godly also agree that they were too far gone and are unwilling to plead for such wicked people - Jeremiah 15:1

                        4.         Remember God asked Ezekiel to judge and now we know the answer

            H.        They receive what they deserve - Isaiah 3:11