It has been my observation that Ezekiel 5 contains three messages, each building upon the other. I reviewed the first message in — You have been Unruly (part 1). Now we are moving to the second of the three messages. What makes Ezekiel 5 worthy of detailed examination is simple – this is the first real message presented by Ezekiel in his writings. First, the Hebrews abdicated their position as the light of the world. Second, the Hebrews are about to endure something that God has never done in the past and will not do again. Parents will eat their children and children will eat their parents. Third, God says He will bring them bloodshed, famine, drought, childlessness, and the plague. This is intense.

Ezekiel 5:8-11 says — 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. Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again. 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. 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 at you with pity or spare you.

This is a harsh message compared to the first message from Ezekiel 5 (see part 1 of this essay series). Is he justified? Yes. They brought this judgement to their own doorstep. They knew the right path and had experienced the benefit that comes from following the right path, yet they rejected the mantle of God and decided they could do better for themselves, if they took matters into their own hands.

Standing against the one true living God is a lonely place to be. There is nowhere on the face of this earth to hide. There is nothing that can be hidden. All is known. Those who will not acknowledge God’s judgement will suffer the consequences. The ability to hide behind the mercy of God and sidestep the judgement of God is over. The punishment of famine and cannibalism is the only path forward. When God’s sovereignty is set aside and dishonored by man’s sin, God is grieved (implied in Psalms 95:10). Their destruction brings the situation to closure. The books are balanced.

The notion of ransom and mitigation defers or resolves the impact of sin. But when God’s mercy has been stayed, then we find only wrath with no pity. This is not a place any person ever wants to find themselves. From this place there is no recourse. You never want to find yourself the intended audience of this message.  Notice the intent of Ezekiel 7:4 — I will not look at you with pity; I will not spare you. I will surely repay you for your conduct and for the detestable practices among you. Then you will know that I am the LORD [NIV].  The Hebrews have crossed the line.

We do not know the exact details surrounding their cannibalism, it appears they engaged in this detestable practice because of the lack of food. We know that as the siege progresses, life becomes difficult, people lose hope and physical strength. They did not have any manna to help them, they were left with few options to maintain life.

Even if they managed to escape the famine, they knew the Judgement was still in full force. It did not matter where they went, God was there. He was calling them back to him. He was telling them to turn back or die. It is remarkable that so many chose death rather than repent. They were a stubborn group who had completely abandoned the God of their forefathers. The remnant was a very thin line during this period of Israelite history. But the remnant survived. I choose Jesus.