Here is a study I did on Ezekiel - Please let the Holy Spirit use it to minister to you; to help you see God is for your not against you.
The book of Ezekiel is arguably one of the most terrifying books about God’s judgement. God goes into great detail about how He is going to destroy them, He leaves nothing to the imagination of those that He is going to destroy, if they don't repent.
These people were God’s people, they were sinning willfully, with no shame; they new the 10 commandments, but they could care less about them. The basically spit in the face of God with no second thoughts.
Read this part of Ezekiel to see what kind of children God was dealing with.
“Now this message came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, are you ready to judge Jerusalem? Are you ready to judge this city of murderers? Publicly denounce her detestable sins, and give her this message from the Sovereign Lord: O city of murderers, doomed and damned—city of idols, filthy and foul— you are guilty because of the blood you have shed. You are defiled because of the idols you have made. Your day of destruction has come! You have reached the end of your years. I will make you an object of mockery throughout the world. O infamous city, filled with confusion, you will be mocked by people far and near. “Every leader in Israel who lives within your walls is bent on murder. Fathers and mothers are treated with contempt. Foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed among you. You despise my holy things and violate my Sabbath days of rest. People accuse others falsely and send them to their death. You are filled with idol worshipers and people who do obscene things. Men sleep with their fathers’ wives and force themselves on women who are menstruating. Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors’ wives, who defile their daughters-in-law, or who rape their own sisters. There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere. They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign Lord.”
Ezekiel 22:1-12 NLT
In reality they could make the worst Christian look like a saint, and this was God’s chosen nation!
But if you read the book of Ezekiel, you will quickly see starting from the beginning of the book and throughout, God was only threatening to bring such disaster to try to break through to their unmovable, calloused, Stoney heart; and cause them to repent.
These people were as hard as stone to God, and such a impending disaster is the only thing that may cause them to repent. His ultimate purpose for such a warning because He wanted to save them from hell. Such a warning was given out of love, otherwise why give them a warning at all.
Read (below) some of the verses woven into the book of Ezekiel. All these verses tell the same thing, God brings warnings to people not to destroy them, but so they would repent.
“But if you do warn the righteous not to sin, and they don’t sin, they will be declared righteous. Their lives will be preserved because they heeded the warning, and you will save your life.”
Ezekiel 3:21 CEB
“But if wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my decrees and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die. All their past sins will be forgotten, and they will live because of the righteous things they have done. “Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign Lord. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. However, if righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things and act like other sinners, should they be allowed to live? No, of course not! All their righteous acts will be forgotten, and they will die for their sins. “Yet you say, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right!’ Listen to me, O people of Israel. Am I the one not doing what’s right, or is it you? When righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things, they will die for it. Yes, they will die because of their sinful deeds. And if wicked people turn from their wickedness, obey the law, and do what is just and right, they will save their lives. They will live because they thought it over and decided to turn from their sins. Such people will not die. And yet the people of Israel keep saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right!’ O people of Israel, it is you who are not doing what’s right, not I. “Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign Lord. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel? I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live!”
Ezekiel 18:21-32 NLT
“Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: You are saying, ‘Our sins are heavy upon us; we are wasting away! How can we survive?’ As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die? “Son of man, give your people this message: The righteous behavior of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the wicked behavior of wicked people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins. When I tell righteous people that they will live, but then they sin, expecting their past righteousness to save them, then none of their righteous acts will be remembered. I will destroy them for their sins. And suppose I tell some wicked people that they will surely die, but then they turn from their sins and do what is just and right. For instance, they might give back a debtor’s security, return what they have stolen, and obey my life-giving laws, no longer doing what is evil. If they do this, then they will surely live and not die. None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will surely live. “Your people are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right,’ but it is they who are not doing what’s right. For again I say, when righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and turn to evil, they will die. But if wicked people turn from their wickedness and do what is just and right, they will live.”
Ezekiel 33:10-19 NLT
Did a something cause you to repent? (repent basically means to think differently about sin, which then leads to a different lifestyle) – if so, its because God worked that out in your life to bring you to repentance.
Remember, no one seeks God; we all have gone astray. We only come to Jesus and repent because the Holy Spirit is drawing us to Him.
Also, this story is not an isolated instance; I could probably show you 30 or 40 other examples where God acted the same way. Actually I can not think of even One instance were someone truly repented and turned their life back to God, trusting in only His Mercy and Forgiveness who did not receive pardon. It is in God's Nature to Forgive!
God is Good and He Loves YOU - You Best Get Used To It - He LOVES YOU AND HAS AN AMAZING PLAN FOR YOU!!!!