Read Ezekiel 5
God’s Razor of Judgment
5 “Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair. 2 When the days of your siege come to an end, burn a third of the hair inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind. For I will pursue them with drawn sword. 3 But take a few hairs and tuck them away in the folds of your garment. 4 Again, take a few of these and throw them into the fire and burn them up. A fire will spread from there to all Israel.
5 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. 6 Yet in her wickedness she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees.
7 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws. You have not even conformed to the standards of the nations around you.
8 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations.9 Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again. 10 Therefore in your midst parents will eat their children, and children will eat their parents. I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds.11 Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable practices, I myself will shave you; I will not look on you with pity or spare you. 12 A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds and pursue with drawn sword.
13 “Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged. And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal.
14 “I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by. 15 You will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and an object of horror to the nations around you when I inflict punishment on you in anger and in wrath and with stinging rebuke. I the Lord have spoken. 16 When I shoot at you with my deadly and destructive arrows of famine, I will shoot to destroy you. I will bring more and more famine upon you and cut off your supply of food. 17 I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I the Lord have spoken.”
Go Deeper
Ezekiel is in a hairy situation in today’s reading! All jokes aside, it can be difficult to see how passages like this one can be applied to us today, but there is something that we can learn from this passage regarding the Nature of God. For context, this chapter is the second installment of a three-part series of sign acts that Ezekiel completed in public for everyone to see. Each of these sign acts are a specific message from God to the Israelite exiles in Babylon. Let’s take a deeper look into how today’s reading displays some key aspects of God’s nature: namely His precision, justice, and omnipotence.
First, let’s talk about God’s precision. Think about everything that God asks Ezekiel to do: He asks Ezekiel to take a sword, cut up his hair, and divide it into three parts. He then commands Ezekiel to complete a different task with each part, each task signifying a distinct portion of God’s plan for Israel’s judgment. God cares about the details–the smaller things! The same is true of God’s care and concern for your life.
Next, let’s talk about God’s justice. God firmly metes out judgment on the Israelites in this passage. He firmly administers judgment upon the Israelites, emphasizing that while He desires reconciliation with His people, He remains just and will not tolerate His mercy being taken for granted.
Finally, let’s look at God’s omnipotence. Several times in today’s passage the phrase “sovereign Lord” is used in reference to God’s declarations of judgment over Israel. This emphasizes that He is the Lord over all creation, and His will prevails both on Earth and in Heaven. With these judgements being demonstrations of His power, God reaffirms His absolute control over all things. Even when we see chaos all around us, we can rest in the comfort that God is consistently working everything together for His good.
Ezekiel 5 may appear unusual (and unsettling) at first glance, but it offers profound insights into the very nature of God. We see His precision, justice, and omnipotence in action, reminding us of His sovereignty over all aspects of our lives. Just as He was actively involved in the lives of the Israelites, He is equally present and engaged in our lives today, inviting us to trust in His perfect plan and justice.
Questions
- How have you seen an aspect of God’s nature at work in your life recently?
- What does Ezekiel’s ministry teach us about God’s love for his people?
- Why should this passage make me more grateful for the grace of God?
Did You Know?
Scholars agree that Ezekiel used a sword to cut his hair in this passage as a reference to the judgment that Nebuchadnezzar’s army would bring upon Jerusalem.
2 thoughts on “Ezekiel 5”
The truth of the matter is that we don’t naturally navigate to thoughts of God’s justice, which illuminate hidden places in our hearts where secret sins camp. We’d much rather reflect on his love, goodness and grace, all of which are true of God’s nature as well. When reading of these dramatic visual images God used to command the people’s attention, I pray it burns a deep impression on our minds as well. God will not be mocked, and he issues no empty threats. Where have we treated casually the commands of scripture? Every warning in scripture is issued that we be drawn to holiness and repent of following our own futile ways. God really means what he says.
In Wiersbe’s commentary, he tells that a priest, publicly shaved his head and beard it was a thing of great sorrow and mourning which was the representation of how God was feeling about the impending destruction of Jerusalem and his holy temple. But even more dramatic was he was going to shave it by a sword not a razor to emphasis the message of “cutting down” the people of the land. The day of reckoning had come and there was no escape. Israel had adopted the wicked ways of the Gentiles and become greater sinners than their neighbors. This sounds so familiar to what is happening in our world today. Thank goodness for the faithful remnant. But boy oh boy, do I see a big storm coming. God is not happy with this world and what we “christians” have let happen. We will stand accountable, it is time to stand up, be those chosen people, the royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession. We are the called, we must declare His wonderful light.
God thank You for standing. I am not a boat rocker and this scares me greatly but I KNOW THAT I KNOW that for such a time as this You have called me, and have equipped me. I come against the spirit of fear, now today, because Your word says (1John 4:4) you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. and for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2 Tim 1:7). I believe Your Word, thank You for my bringing it to memory as this day progress in Jesus name amen.