The time is come! In today’s reading, the prophet records several instances where the time has come. The time has come for what? The time for judgment; the end. …An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land. (Ezekiel 7:2, KJV) Now is the end come upon thee…(Ezekiel 7:3, KJV) …An evil, an only evil, behold, is come. (Ezekiel 7:5, KJV) An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come. (Ezekiel 7:6, KJV) …the time is come, the day of trouble is near…(Ezekiel 7:7, KJV) Behold the day, behold, it is come…(Ezekiel 7:10, KJV) The time is come, the day draweth near…(Ezekiel 7:12, KJV) Yes, after centuries of warning, after much patience and pleading, the time, the end, the day has come—such finality.
This is the day when Judah realizes that rejecting God isn’t worth it. That God allows them to receive what they have demanded. That the idols they worship are worthless on the day of calamity. That destruction and death are inseparable companions of sin. The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 7:27, KJV) For Judah, it is too late; the end has come.
What an example to all to heed the call to repentance while God can be found! Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:6–7, KJV) The mercy of God, what an offer of hope before the end!
Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Ezekiel 5-8.