What is the meaning of Ezekiel 5:9? Because of all your abominations God begins by naming the cause before He names the consequence. Jerusalem’s sins were not isolated slip-ups; they were “abominations.” Think of everything Ezekiel had already witnessed: images of crawling beasts on the temple walls (Ezekiel 8:10-11), women weeping for Tammuz (8:14), men bowing eastward to the sun (8:16). Add to that the catalogue in 2 Kings 21:11-15 and Jeremiah 7:9-11—idolatry, bloodshed, immorality, oppression. When the Lord says, “Because of all your abominations,” He is declaring that His judgment is morally justified, covenantally required, and fully informed. Practical take-away: • Sin is never generic; it is specific, seen, and recorded. • Abominations = willful, defiant violations, not minor mistakes (Leviticus 18:26-30). • The holy God never judges without first presenting the evidence (Ezekiel 16:2). I will do to you Notice the personal pronoun. The Babylonians may swing the swords, but the Lord Himself directs the outcome. “I myself will confront you,” He has already warned (Ezekiel 7:3-4). Similar language appears in Deuteronomy 28:63: “Just as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good … so the LORD will rejoice over you to ruin and destroy you.” He is the active Agent, not a passive observer, because covenant curses flow from the same covenant Lord who once blessed. Hebrews 10:30-31 echoes the sober reality: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Key reminders: • Divine judgment is never random; it is the purposeful action of a righteous Judge. • A personal God takes sin personally—hence “I will do.” • Discipline aims at correction and eventual restoration (Ezekiel 6:8-10). what I have never done before The punishment coming in 586 BC would be unprecedented. Lamentations 4:6 groans, “The punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than that of Sodom.” Siege-induced cannibalism is foretold in Ezekiel 5:10 and matched by Deuteronomy 28:53. No previous generation of Israel had endured destruction this complete: • City walls breached, temple burned (2 Kings 25:9). • Monarch removed, line seemingly ended (25:7). • Mass deportation scattering the nation (25:11). The uniqueness underscores the seriousness of violating revealed light. “To whom much is given, much will be required” (Luke 12:48). and will never do again The phrase sets a boundary around the catastrophe. God is saying, “This severity is once-for-all.” After the exile, He promises, “Comfort, comfort My people… her iniquity has been pardoned” (Isaiah 40:1-2). Ezekiel 16:60-63 pictures a future covenant of peace; Amos 9:8 assures, “I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob.” Even when later judgments fall (A.D. 70, end-time tribulation), none repeats the covenant curses of 586 BC in the exact same way. The one-time fury ultimately serves a redemptive purpose, preserving a remnant through which Messiah and final restoration will come (Romans 11:26-29). summary Ezekiel 5:9 is God’s solemn verdict on Jerusalem: your deliberate, accumulated abominations have compelled Me to act, and the judgment you are about to receive will be unparalleled in Israel’s history—never before, never again in the same measure. The verse reveals a holy God who keeps His Word, whether in blessing or in curse, and who disciplines His people so that, purified and humbled, they can yet share in His promised future. |
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