Ezekiel 6

“The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am YHWH. Yet I will leave a remnant when you are scattered among the nations, for throughout the countries there will be some of you who will escape the sword. Then your survivors will remember Me among the nations where they are taken captive, how I was crushed by their promiscuous hearts that turned away from Me and by their eyes that lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves because of the evil things they did, their detestable practices of every kind. And they will know that I am the Lord; I did not threaten to bring this disaster on them without a reason.” Ezekiel 6:7-10 (HCSB)

In recent years, there has been a movement among parenting circles not to spank children. I say “recent years” because when I was growing up, I remember getting spanked all the time, in public, whenever necessary. I remember people patting my parents on the back and applauding them for disciplining my siblings and me. But, if a parent were to spank a child in public these days, there is a high probability that someone would call the police, and the child would be taken into protective custody. An investigation would be conducted on whether they were fit to raise children.  

I am not advocating abusing children. It’s just that there are times when harsh discipline is necessary for the healthy long-term development of children so they transition into law-abiding adults. If you do not believe in the potential necessity of harsh discipline (with the ultimate goodwill of the one undergoing harsh discipline in mind), you will not understand what God is doing to Israel. And you will not understand how a massive reckoning is in store for our generation. Why would God allow Israel and Judah to be defeated and driven from their land? Because they had abandoned His Word. And not just the average Jew. From the pulpit, the whole community was corrupted as God’s Word had been compromised.

“For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is making profit dishonestly. From prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have treated My people’s brokenness superficially, claiming, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.” Jeremiah 6:13-14 (HCSB)

The message of the false prophets was simple: God is only a God of GRACE and not of JUDGMENT. “Peace, peace!” had replaced God’s standard of personal holiness and His hatred of sin. They preached a false hope, assuming that God is a pushover Who is not concerned with the faithfulness of His people. Paul warned the early Messianic community about a coming day that would be just like the days of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem. And we see that day quickly approaching!

“About the times and the seasons: Brothers, you do not need anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. When they say, ‘Peace and security,’ then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains come on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 (HCSB)