I was recently lead to a passage in Ezekiel. There is no shortage of blog posts, books, and news concerning the decline of the United States. If you click the link, you’ll see about 32 million hits on the subject.
There is a laundry list of attitudes and behaviors that precipitate this decline: abortion, homosexuality, murder, pornography, racism, cohabitation, premarital sex, and on and on. What I don’t understand is the justification for any of these. I don’t care if you’re not even a Christian. How can you justify abortion? Honestly. I don’t care about the argument of when life starts or not. This goes beyond that. If you are pregnant, then you have the beginning of a new life. Period. I don’t care how you want to scientifically classify the “tissue” that is growing in your body. It’s a new life! Why is this so hard to comprehend?
UPDATE 06/17/2009: Don’t believe that we are declining into utter depravity? How about giving away abortions to honor a slain doctor?
Have we, as human beings, not learned from history? Have we failed to remember how once great empires–who practiced such things as these–no longer exist?
Ezekiel 22 documents the sins of Judah: idolatry, bloodshed, immorality, indecency and extortion. List sounding familiar? But God continues and provides to Ezekiel the “classes of sinners” which include: prophets, priests, princes, and the people. Sounds like God includes everybody!
“There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.” –Ezekiel 22:25-26.
Stunning. The indictments toward the prophets and priests is absolutely stunning at the implications for today. I think of the churches today that have openly homosexual priests and pastors. I think of pastors cussing from the pulpits. I think of the watered down, “health-and-wealth” gospel. I think of even my own behaviors which could lead people to think there is no difference between the body of Christ and the world. May we turn, repent of our evil and ask for God’s forgiveness!
“Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain.” –Ezekiel 22:27.
Our princes are our governmental officials or anyone in charge over us. The Hebrew word is “sar,” which could mean “prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain or governor.” Is not our own government destroying many lives with policies that will lead us to financial ruin? Are we not experiencing the results of those policies even at this very moment?
“The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice.” –Ezekiel 22:29.
Here everyone else is under similar condemnation.
The most sorrowful verse is the following one:
“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.” –Ezekiel 22:30.
Remember, this is God speaking. Can you imagine God speaking this verse of the United States? Is God speaking this of us even today?
“When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” –Luke 18:8.
Christian: let us examine ourselves before Almighty God. Let Him not find spot or blemish among us!
To those who walk in darkness: I beg of you, don’t wait before it is too late! Turn! Repent! The Day of the Lord draws near! Salvation is in Jesus alone! John 8:24.
May He Increase!
