Are You Standing For the Lord?

Ezekiel 22:30: "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none."




This Word of the Lord came to the prophet Ezekiel around 590 B.C., about seven years after Ezekiel had been sent with a second wave of exiles hundreds of miles away from Judea to the region of Babylon. The Babylonians had begun a campaign of invasions of the Promised Land as part of God's Divine judgment against the wickedness of the Judeans. In previous decades, God had sent a number of prophets to preach repentance to His people, but the Judeans would have none of it. They were so engrossed in their sin and were enjoying it, that they turned a deaf ear to the words of rebuke spoken by the prophets.




In Ezekiel 22, God identified the reasons why He was bringing judgment upon His people. The reasons are as follows:




1. The people worshipped false idols over the One True God


2. They were guilty of murdering innocent people


3. They treated their parents with contempt


4. They mistreated the disadvantaged (e.g. widows, orphans, aliens, etc.)


5. They despised the articles of worship set aside at the Temple to honor the Lord


6. They failed to set aside time to stop from their busyness and praise the Lord


7. They slandered others with false allegations


8. They practiced lewd acts on mountain tops in outright defiance to the Lord


9. They committed all kinds of sexual immorality (adultery, incest, fornication)


10. They accepted bribes


11. They charged exorbitant rates of interest to take advantage of the disadvantaged


12. They practiced extortion against their neighbors.


13. They profaned the law of the Lord




In response, God declared that He would pour out His wrath upon the people of Judea. God compared these wicked people to the dross left over after silver had been refined by fire, and He said that He would take these "impurities" and melt them within the city walls of Jerusalem. True to His Word, God sent the Babylonians who would siege the city of Jerusalem for 18 months, cutting off the food supplies to the people shut within the walls. The people would become so desperate for food that parents began cooking their children for their own nourishment (see Lamentations 4:10). Certainly, it was a most terrible time for the people of Judea.




Still, the greatest tragedy was the universal cosmic treason of the Judeans against the Lord, evidenced in the Biblical passage quoted above. Before satisfying His wrath for the wickedness of the Judeans, God looked for a man in the land who would stand in righteousness for Him, but He found no one. Everyone was devoid of submission to the Lord. Each man followed his own wanton lusts and desired His own Lordship over the Lord Sabaoth (Lord of Hosts). In response, God would destroy these rebellious people, thus proving that He is the One Holy God.




We have often heard the old adage, "Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it." We today would do well to hear the Word of the Lord, namely, that God even now is looking for men and women who are standing for Him through submission and obedience. If you yield to Him as your Lord, you will not later regret it. God will bless your faithfulness to Him. Still, if you seek your own sinful appetites (and hence your own quest for lordship) then be warned . . . God will bring your wickedness to account. You will not be able to escape His righteous wrath. Therefore, make this very day the day of your salvation by surrendering yourself to the Lord, repenting of your sins, and receiving His precious gift of grace, provided to you through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. Then you will be found by Him to be one who is standing for His Glory!