What is the meaning of Ezekiel 7:15? The sword is outside God announces that violent judgment is literally poised at Judah’s gates. The Babylonian army—“My servant Nebuchadnezzar” (Jeremiah 25:9)—is the sword waiting to strike. Deuteronomy 32:25 foreshadowed this moment: “Outside the sword will bereave.” Ezekiel’s words are not poetic exaggeration; they are an exact prediction of enemy forces executing divine justice because Judah refused to repent (Ezekiel 5:8). • The “sword” underscores God’s use of real events, not abstract ideas. • It also reminds us that rebellion invites consequences (Leviticus 26:25). plague and famine are within While the army besieges from without, life inside the walls collapses. Siege cuts supply lines, producing starvation; overcrowding breeds disease. Ezekiel 5:12–17 confirms that famine and pestilence will “consume” the city. Jeremiah 14:12 likewise records God saying, “I will consume them by sword, famine, and plague.” • The pairing of famine and plague shows how one misery triggers another. • God’s warning is precise: internal decay accompanies external assault. Those in the country will die by the sword Escape to the countryside is futile. Raiders and patrols scour the fields, slaughtering any who flee (Jeremiah 41:17-18; 42:16). Ezekiel 12:14 stresses that even the scattered survivors face “the sword” as God pursues unrepentant hearts. • The open land, once a place of freedom, becomes a death trap. • No geographic shift can outrun divine justice (Amos 5:19). those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague Citizens trusting Jerusalem’s walls discover that their supposed refuge becomes a furnace of suffering. Lamentations 4:9 mourns, “Those slain by the sword are better off than those who die of famine.” Bread runs out (Ezekiel 4:16-17); pestilence spreads (Jeremiah 21:9). “Devoured” pictures relentless loss of life until nothing is left. • The verb presses home the totality of judgment: slow, agonizing, unavoidable. • God upholds His word with chilling accuracy, proving His holiness (Ezekiel 7:27). summary Ezekiel 7:15 is a literal forecast of God’s comprehensive judgment on a rebellious nation: death by enemy swords outside, and by famine and disease inside. The verse underscores that sin leaves no safe haven, validates every prior warning, and spotlights God’s unwavering faithfulness to His word—both in promise and in penalty. |
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