Compare Ezekiel 24:10 with Romans 2:5 on God's wrath against sin. Text in Focus • Ezekiel 24:10 – “Pile on the logs, kindle the fire, cook the meat well, mixing in the spices, and let the bones be charred.” • Romans 2:5 – “But because of your hardness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.” Scene and Context • Ezekiel 24 pictures Jerusalem as a cooking pot; the prophet acts out God’s coming judgment. The piling of fuel and the burning of bones graphically portray wrath turned up to maximum heat. • Romans 2 addresses every self-righteous person. Instead of fuel under a pot, Paul speaks of sinners stockpiling God’s anger for a final “day of wrath.” Shared Truths About Wrath • Accumulation – Ezekiel: “Pile on the logs.” – Romans: “Storing up wrath.” – Sin keeps adding fuel; judgment grows hotter (Nahum 1:2–6; Hebrews 10:26-27). • Certainty – Ezekiel’s symbolic fire was lit the very day Babylon besieged Jerusalem (Ezekiel 24:2). – Romans promises wrath “will be revealed.” God does not bluff (Psalm 7:11-13). • Purpose – Fire in the pot burns away filth (Ezekiel 24:11-13). – Final wrath exposes unrepentant hearts and upholds God’s righteousness (Romans 2:6-9; Revelation 20:11-15). Distinct Emphases • Ezekiel highlights collective judgment on a covenant nation—corporate sin brings collective calamity. • Romans emphasizes personal responsibility—each hard heart adds to its own account. Wrath, Mercy, and the Cross • God’s wrath is real, yet His desire is redemption. Ezekiel’s pot points ahead to a cleansing only Christ can accomplish (Isaiah 53:5). • Romans moves quickly to grace: “God presented Christ as a propitiation through faith in His blood” (Romans 3:25). • Believers “are not appointed to wrath” (1 Thessalonians 5:9) because Jesus absorbed the full heat (2 Corinthians 5:21; John 3:36). Living Response • Take sin seriously; every unrepented act fuels divine anger (Deuteronomy 32:22). • Flee to the Savior now—before the fire is kindled further (Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30-31). • Walk in ongoing repentance, keeping accounts short with God (1 John 1:9). |
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