Not Without Cause (Ezek. 14:23)

When the justice of God against the wicked is described in holy Scripture, it can be very hard for us to wrap our minds around. We are sometimes tempted to wonder, "Could such things truly be the decree of a holy and loving God?" I think it is safe to say that all thoughtful persons have felt this doubt well up in their hearts. However, this very struggle, and the many questions which arise from it, are precisely the things which God himself speaks to in Ezekiel 14:22-23. As he foretells the destruction of Jerusalem that is soon to come, God says through Ezekiel:

"But behold, some survivors will be left...and when...you see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem...They will console you, when you see their ways and deeds, and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in [Jerusalem], declares the Lord God."

In this passage God says that he will not make a full end of the wicked in the land, but rather leave a few survivors. The stated reason that he will leave these survivors is that they might be a living testimony to the righteousness of the judgment of God. In other words, when people see how wickedly these survivors continue to live before the face of God (i.e. “their ways and deeds”), his wrath against them will be unequivocally proven to be perfectly holy and just, and the doubting questions of men's hearts who look on at the destruction will be sufficiently laid to rest, (.i.e. “they will console you”).

I personally find it very helpful that God not only acknowledges the struggle we all face in grappling with the severity of his wrath, but that he also condescends to provide an answer to steady our hearts through the doubts we face. Above all, what we learn through this passage is that the reason we struggle to accept the severity of God's justice against the wicked is because we fail to recognize the true depth of evil that dwells in men's hearts. If we saw the evil for what it truly is, then we would see the justice of God as something wholly pure, deserved, and proper. Instead of shrieking at the justice dispensed we would begin to shriek at the abomination of the sins committed. And instead of wondering why God has sometimes acted so severely against others, we will be humbled to the dust as we begin to wonder as to why he has not (yet) dispensed that same justice against ourselves.

For the non-Christian, the reason such fearful justice against your sin has not yet come is because God is patient, and has mercifully left time for you to repent and turn to his Son, the only Savior of sinners. The day of wrath is coming, and soon, but the fact that it has not come yet is a testimony of God’s kindness and mercy toward you. However, for the Christian, the reason such justice will never come is because it has already fallen upon the Lord Jesus Christ in our place. At the cross, all the wrath of God, against all the sins God's chosen people, was already poured out upon the Lamb of God who shed his blood for our redemption. For the Christian, we can truly say that our sinful souls now enjoy “peace with God” for the Lord Jesus Christ has “made peace by the blood of his cross.,” (Rom. 5:1; Col. 1:20).

May we see with greater clarity the perfect holiness of God’s fierce justice against all wickedness—and may such clarity cause our souls to tremble before him. Yet, may we also come to see with greater clarity the astounding mercy of God that is freely offered to sinners in the gospel of his Son, Jesus Christ—and may such clarity cause us to sincerely repent and cling only to Christ by faith.