How can we reconcile God's wrath in Ezekiel 5:13 with His love? The Setting of Ezekiel 5 Ezekiel is told to dramatize Jerusalem’s coming judgment. After describing famine, sword, and dispersion, the Lord declares: “‘So My anger will be spent, and I will satisfy My wrath upon them, and when I have vented My fury on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in My zeal.’” (Ezekiel 5:13) The Reality of Divine Wrath • Wrath is not a divine mood swing; it is the settled, holy opposition of God to sin (Nahum 1:2–3). • It arises because His character is perfectly righteous: “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil” (Habakkuk 1:13). • In Ezekiel, wrath falls after centuries of prophetic warnings (2 Kings 17:13, Jeremiah 25:4–7). Patience has been extended; justice is now enacted. Why Wrath Does Not Contradict Love 1. Love protects what it cherishes. • God loves holiness and human flourishing; sin destroys both. • A parent who never disciplines harms the child (Hebrews 12:6). 2. Love provides a way of rescue. • Judgment in Ezekiel drives the remnant to repentance and ultimately prepares the way for the New Covenant (Ezekiel 36:26–27). • At the cross, God’s wrath and love meet: “God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice… to demonstrate His righteousness… so that He would be just and the justifier” (Romans 3:25-26). 3. Love sets limits. • Wrath is finite: “My anger will be spent.” • Love is everlasting: “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). What This Reveals About God • He is zealous for His own glory and for covenant faithfulness (Exodus 34:6-7). • He is patient but not permissive (2 Peter 3:9). • He is both “the Lord who rejoices over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17) and the Judge who “will by no means leave the guilty unpunished” (Exodus 34:7). Living in the Light of Both Love and Wrath • Take sin seriously; God does (Romans 6:23). • Flee to the provision of grace in Christ: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son” (John 3:16). • Walk in grateful obedience, knowing judgment has fallen on Jesus for all who believe (1 Thessalonians 1:10). • Proclaim both warning and hope: “Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed” (Psalm 85:10). Takeaway Truths • God’s wrath is the necessary expression of His holy love. • Justice executed at Jerusalem foreshadows justice satisfied at Calvary. • The same Lord who judged in Ezekiel now offers full pardon through His Son—embrace Him today. |
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