Ezekiel 7:6-9 -- On Endings and Cleansings

"An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come.
The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains.
Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations.
And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the Lord that smiteth."
Ezekiel 7:6-9


Most of the time I like to emphasize the longsuffering nature of God and the fact that he gives us so many chances to start over, it is like a video game... as long as we put in the effort and change up our tactics when we make mistakes, we can keep restarting until we win.

This verse is not that kind of a scripture.  This one is a reminder that life is in fact, not a video game, and at some point we have to realize that the consequences are real and that we can't keep sinning and expecting God to ignore it forever.  God *is* going to return and make things right, and if we haven't repented and we are still wallowing in sin (or have chosen to become decidedly evil) then, despite all of his warnings and guidance and help, then making things right is going to remove us from the equation.

God isn't making this choice lightly... he's given us zillions of chances and warnings.  Even in this verse he is warning us to repent.  At some point though, it has to happen, because the world has to be cleansed and the fruit of the vineyard has to be gathered, and at least the mortal part of the story has to have a conclusion--so that the way can be cleared for the Millennium and, like a phoenix perhaps, the world can rise again and finally become the paradise that it should be.  We know this part of the story too, and we want what comes after this... the lamb dwelling with the lion, the children growing up without sickness to the age of a tree... the society based on righteousness with no poor (not because they are excluded, but because everyone loves and helps each other).  Unfortunately, before we can get there, there has to be an end to evil... including within us.

Today, let's work on flushing the evil out of our systems now, so we don't have to fear being recompensed according to our ways.  The morning will still come as it says, not just an echo of trouble but the real thing... but if we are prepared, and have heeded the Lord, we need not fear this end, or being judged, because the Lord will be with us and will save us, despite whatever calamities occur.