How does Ezekiel 23:26 connect with God's justice throughout the Old Testament? \Opening the Text: Ezekiel 23:26\ “They will strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry.” \In the Storyline of Ezekiel 23\ • Two sisters—Oholah (Samaria) and Oholibah (Jerusalem)—represent the divided kingdoms. • Both have committed spiritual adultery by turning to idols and foreign alliances. • Verse 26 is part of God’s verdict: humiliation that mirrors their sin. • Literal fulfillment came through invading armies who plundered and deported Judah (2 Kings 24–25). \Justice That Fits the Offense\ God’s retribution is never random. It matches the sin: • They flaunted borrowed splendor before false gods → He removes their splendor before hostile nations. • They exposed their covenant fidelity → He exposes their bodies publicly. • Measure-for-measure justice echoes the lex talionis principle (Exodus 21:24). \Covenant Framework of Old-Testament Justice\ 1. Covenant established (Exodus 19; Deuteronomy 5). 2. Blessings for obedience, curses for rebellion (Deuteronomy 28:15–68). 3. Prophets warn (Amos 3:1–2; Isaiah 1:18–20). 4. Patience is exhausted; judgment falls (2 Chronicles 36:15–17). Ezekiel 23:26 sits at stage 4, proving God keeps His covenant word—both promises and penalties. \Echoes of “Stripping” in Earlier Scriptures\ • Genesis 3:7, 21—after sin, nakedness brings shame; God covers yet still sends consequences. • Hosea 2:3—“I will strip her naked… like the day she was born.” Same metaphor for idolatry. • Isaiah 47:3—Babylon’s humiliation foretold: “Your nakedness will be uncovered.” Justice is impartial; even future oppressors receive it. \God Uses Human Agents for Divine Justice\ • Assyria (Isaiah 10:5) and Babylon (Jeremiah 25:9) called “the rod of My anger.” • Yet those nations are later judged for their own sin (Habakkuk 2:8; Jeremiah 50–51). • This dual action underscores God’s sovereign, righteous rule over history. \Justice Balanced with Mercy\ • Even while promising exile, God pledges restoration (Ezekiel 36:24–28). • Jeremiah 31:31–34 speaks of a new covenant that resolves the sin problem permanently. • Justice is not cancelled but satisfied, ultimately in the atoning work foretold in Isaiah 53. \Take-Home Reflections on God’s Justice\ • God’s holiness demands a response to sin; delay is mercy, not indifference (2 Peter 3:9). • Judgment is precise and purposeful, never capricious. • The same God who stripped Jerusalem later clothes believers in “garments of salvation” (Isaiah 61:10). • Old-Testament justice culminates at the cross where righteousness and grace meet (Romans 3:25–26). |
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