What other biblical passages warn of similar consequences for disobedience to God? Ezekiel 7:15 in Focus “The sword is outside; plague and famine are within. Whoever is in the field will die by the sword, and famine and plague will consume those in the city.” • Three-fold judgment—sword, plague, famine—summarizes the covenant curses now falling on Judah. • Scripture repeats this triad whenever God warns a wayward people. Echoes in the Torah: Warnings from the Covenant • Deuteronomy 28:21-22, 25, 52 – “The LORD will make the plague cling to you… The LORD will afflict you with wasting disease… The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies… They will besiege all your cities…” • Leviticus 26:25-26 – “I will bring a sword against you… I will send a plague among you… When I cut off your supply of bread… you will eat but never be satisfied.” —The law made clear from the start that rebellion invites sword, pestilence, and hunger. Prophetic Amplifications • Jeremiah 14:12 – “I will consume them by sword, famine, and plague.” • Jeremiah 21:9 – “Whoever stays in this city will die by sword, famine, and plague.” • Amos 4:6-10 – Repeated refrains of famine, withholding rain, blight, mildew, pestilence, and the sword, each time concluding, “yet you did not return to Me.” • Ezekiel 5:12 – “A third… will die by plague or be consumed by famine… a third will fall by the sword…” —The prophets echo the Torah, underscoring that God’s warnings have not changed. Historical Fulfillments Reminding Israel (and Us) • 2 Kings 17 (fall of Samaria) – Assyria’s sword and ensuing exile come exactly as Moses foretold. • 2 Kings 25 / 2 Chronicles 36 (fall of Jerusalem) – Babylon brings siege-induced famine, plague in the city, and slaughter by the sword. —History records that the covenant curses were no empty threat. New Testament Continuity • Luke 21:11 – “There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places…” • Revelation 6:8 – “They were given authority over a quarter of the earth, to kill by sword, famine, plague, and the beasts of the earth.” —Even under the new covenant, global rebellion still invites the classic trio of judgments. Why These Warnings Still Matter • God’s character is consistent; His holiness still opposes sin. • The repeated triad—sword, plague, famine—reminds every generation that disobedience has deadly consequences. • Grace in Christ rescues, yet that grace calls us to respond with wholehearted obedience, lest we invite discipline rather than blessing. |
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