“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me"

redleghunter

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A pretty bleak picture depicted for Israel in the below passage. My question is what is meant by “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one" in verse 30? Was there not a man in the land who could do this? Was Israel so far gone deep in their sin that as a nation they reached a point like one described in Romans 1:24-32 ? A point of apostasy a point of no return?

Here's more of the passage:

Ezekiel 22: NASB

23And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 24“Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ 25“There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. 26“Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. 27“Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain. 28“Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken. 29“The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. 30“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. 31“Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads,” declares the Lord GOD.
 

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A pretty bleak picture depicted for Israel in the below passage. My question is what is meant by “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one" in verse 30? Was there not a man in the land who could do this? Was Israel so far gone deep in their sin that as a nation they reached a point like one described in Romans 1:24-32 ? A point of apostasy a point of no return?

Here's more of the passage:

Ezekiel 22: NASB

23And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 24“Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ 25“There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. 26“Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. 27“Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain. 28“Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken. 29“The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. 30“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. 31“Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads,” declares the Lord GOD.

When I read this I thought about Abraham's conversation with God about the impending destruction of sodom, and Gamorha.

Abraham kept asking humbly what if there are 50 righteous, and God said he would not destroy it if he found 50 righteous.

The conversation continued until it got down to one, and God said if he found one righteous he would not do it.

Both were justly wiped out. Many of the sins may have been the same, some were different, but I think the situation was similar. Not one was found righteous.
 
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Halbhh

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and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. 30“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. 31“Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads,” declares the Lord GOD.

I do fear that we, America, today, are much in danger of we as a nation doing this: "have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice."

A 'sojourner' is a foreigner, coming to our land seeking refuge for instance. What today are called "illegal immigrants", desperate for a safe land to live and work in.

And then what would happen to us, if we continued in that -- that we might suffer God's "indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath;" in some way, as a nation, proportional to our wrongs against the poor sojourner seeking shelter in our land.

Who will stand up and speak for them, to help America continue to be the land of the free -- to stand in the gap to preserve the America we've all known in the past, opening its arms to welcome those fleeing here?
 
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A pretty bleak picture depicted for Israel in the below passage. My question is what is meant by “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one" in verse 30? Was there not a man in the land who could do this? Was Israel so far gone deep in their sin that as a nation they reached a point like one described in Romans 1:24-32 ? A point of apostasy a point of no return?

Here's more of the passage:

Ezekiel 22: NASB

23And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 24“Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ 25“There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. 26“Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. 27“Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain. 28“Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken. 29“The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. 30“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. 31“Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads,” declares the Lord GOD.
President Trump is that man, in our time of course. His party leaders ‘were/still are’ against him, candidates who lost to him are against him – along with their supporters, the media was/is against him, and popular election voters were/are against him... still he won the election. And yet, despite the man being found and put in place for us, such conspiracies will still cause us to suffer the same outcome.
 
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Gregory Thompson

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A pretty bleak picture depicted for Israel in the below passage. My question is what is meant by “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one" in verse 30? Was there not a man in the land who could do this? Was Israel so far gone deep in their sin that as a nation they reached a point like one described in Romans 1:24-32 ? A point of apostasy a point of no return?

Here's more of the passage:

Ezekiel 22: NASB

23And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 24“Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ 25“There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. 26“Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. 27“Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain. 28“Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken. 29“The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. 30“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. 31“Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads,” declares the Lord GOD.
I stand in the gap, it hurts a lot. When people stop standing in the gap, the internal organs of the body get infected and go all demonic looking.
 
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Silverback

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I do fear that we, America, today, are much in danger of we as a nation doing this: "have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice."

A 'sojourner' is a foreigner, coming to our land seeking refuge for instance. What today are called "illegal immigrants", desperate for a safe land to live and work in.

And then what would happen to us, if we continued in that -- that we might suffer God's "indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath;" in some way, as a nation, proportional to our wrongs against the poor sojourner seeking shelter in our land.

Who will stand up and speak for them, to help America continue to be the land of the free -- to stand in the gap to preserve the America we've all known in the past, opening its arms to welcome those fleeing here?

Those coming to the US requesting asylum should be treated with respect, and human dignity.

However, we have civil authorities that are allowed to create laws, administer justice, and punish those who break the law (Romans 13)

No one is oppressing the sojouner, by asking them to obey our laws.

If they were to show up at the border, and we refused to give them food, and water, then that is oppressing.

No one in our Government is deliberately inflicting conditions of life on them so as to cause there demise.

But I will agree we have room to improve.
 
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Halbhh

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Those coming to the US requesting asylum should be treated with respect, and human dignity.

However, we have civil authorities that are allowed to create laws, administer justice, and punish those who break the law (Romans 13)

No one is oppressing the sojouner, by asking them to obey our laws.

If they were to show up at the border, and we refused to give them food, and water, then that is oppressing.

No one in our Government is deliberately inflicting conditions of life on them so as to cause there demise.

But I will agree we have room to improve.
We appear to agree generally, though possibly I'm more aware of some ways America had been oppressing them recently, in 2017 and 2018, such as calculated family seperations and deportations, meant to discourage and block and deter asylum seekers for a time until the public outcry and the election helped change that.
 
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"have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice."
We’re one of the most hospitable places in the world... stroll across any other border anywhere in the world without proper entry and see what happens to you. Nowhere are the poor and needy taken any better care of than here. Why do you think so many of them are coming here, and I don't think the majority of them are going on to Canada?
 
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FireDragon76

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A pretty bleak picture depicted for Israel in the below passage. My question is what is meant by “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one" in verse 30? Was there not a man in the land who could do this? Was Israel so far gone deep in their sin that as a nation they reached a point like one described in Romans 1:24-32 ? A point of apostasy a point of no return?

Here's more of the passage:

Ezekiel 22: NASB

23And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 24“Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ 25“There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. 26“Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. 27“Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain. 28“Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken. 29“The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. 30“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. 31“Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads,” declares the Lord GOD.


In Judaism, both ancient and modern, the notion that a human being could offer some kind of personal sacrifice in atonement for Israel is present. So my guess this is what this passage is speaking to. People were so wicked and cold-hearted that no one was going to interpose themselves against God's wrath.
 
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A pretty bleak picture depicted for Israel in the below passage. My question is what is meant by “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one" in verse 30? Was there not a man in the land who could do this? Was Israel so far gone deep in their sin that as a nation they reached a point like one described in Romans 1:24-32 ? A point of apostasy a point of no return?

Here's more of the passage:

Ezekiel 22: NASB

23And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 24“Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ 25“There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. 26“Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. 27“Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain. 28“Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken. 29“The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. 30“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. 31“Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads,” declares the Lord GOD.

Yep, a point of no return.
Israel in 70 A.D. comes to mind.
 
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Silverback

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We appear to agree generally, though possibly I'm more aware of some ways America had been oppressing them recently, in 2017 and 2018, such as calculated family seperations and deportations, meant to discourage and block and deter asylum seekers for a time until the public outcry and the election helped change that.

Since you mentioned family separations, I would like to chime in on that.

Crossing the U.S. Border illegally is a Federal Misdemeanor Offence.

Trespassing on federal property is a Federal Misdemeanor Offence.

If I had my son with me when I trespasses at the local VA Hospital, or at some Federal monument and get caught I don't get to take my son with be to jail/detention, he goes into the foster care system until a family court judge heard the case, and that may not be the next day, it could sometime, and these cases get bumped a lot of other more urgent issues need to be heard before the court.

Additionally, even if the case is heard, and a family member agreed to take the child, the judge can say no, in which case my son stays in the system until I am released.

That is how a citizen is treated when they bring there children along when they decide to commit a crime.

Why should a non citizen get to bring their children to jail/detention with them?

The only people to blame for the separation of children from there parents at the border are the parents that took there kids along why they committed there crime.
 
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FireDragon76

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President Trump is that man, in our time of course. His party leaders ‘were/still are’ against him, candidates who lost to him are against him – along with their supporters, the media was/is against him, and popular election voters were/are against him... still he won the election. And yet, despite the man being found and put in place for us, such conspiracies will still cause us to suffer the same outcome.

Ditch the messiah narrative for Trump, please.

Besides, the whole comparison of the US to Israel is deeply theologically problematic.
 
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Halbhh

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A pretty bleak picture depicted for Israel in the below passage. My question is what is meant by “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one" in verse 30? Was there not a man in the land who could do this? Was Israel so far gone deep in their sin that as a nation they reached a point like one described in Romans 1:24-32 ? A point of apostasy a point of no return?

Here's more of the passage:

Ezekiel 22: NASB

23And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 24“Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ 25“There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. 26“Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. 27“Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain. 28“Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken. 29“The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. 30“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. 31“Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads,” declares the Lord GOD.
Jeremiah 15:1 Then the LORD said to me: "Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My heart would not go out to this people. Send them from My presence, and let them go.

See? As others may have touched on above, such as whether any righteous people could be found, even just 10, to cause God to spare Sodom -- if some righteous people would act in justice for the poor, the oppressed, then it would be as if someone stood in the breach to hold back against God's anger at all those who:

"“ ‘See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood. 7 In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have oppressed the foreigner and mistreated the fatherless and the widow. 8 You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths. 9 In you are slanderers who are bent on shedding blood; in you are those who eat at the mountain shrines and commit lewd acts. ..."

But no one did:

"... but I found no one. 31 So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Sodom did not have 10 righteous, and Israel had no one to help turn God's wrath at their manifold evils, in that day.

Consider the sharp, awful evils of Sodom --

48 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done.

49“ ‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.
Ezekiel 16 NIV

Israel's sins at this time in the passage you point to are akin, at least as bad, perhaps worse. (and in Ezekiel 16 Jerusalem's sins would definitely be worse).
 
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redleghunter

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President Trump is that man, in our time of course. His party leaders ‘were/still are’ against him, candidates who lost to him are against him – along with their supporters, the media was/is against him, and popular election voters were/are against him... still he won the election. And yet, despite the man being found and put in place for us, such conspiracies will still cause us to suffer the same outcome.
I have an Israeli news piece up where Rabbis discuss this.

For the text in question here in theology I was not addressing our modern times but the dire situation mentioned in the time of Ezekiel and how it relates to other passages.
 
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redleghunter

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I do fear that we, America, today, are much in danger of we as a nation doing this: "have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice."

A 'sojourner' is a foreigner, coming to our land seeking refuge for instance. What today are called "illegal immigrants", desperate for a safe land to live and work in.

And then what would happen to us, if we continued in that -- that we might suffer God's "indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath;" in some way, as a nation, proportional to our wrongs against the poor sojourner seeking shelter in our land.

Who will stand up and speak for them, to help America continue to be the land of the free -- to stand in the gap to preserve the America we've all known in the past, opening its arms to welcome those fleeing here?
I understand the rhetoric surrounding our US politics. US poor have a material living standard well above the majority of nations. And our southern border just over the past two months took in close to 100K immigrants.

I believe our efforts at relieving poverty overseas is something we have been doing through relief and missionary efforts. Most of which are Evangelical in origin.

Survey:


http://www.gordonconwell.edu/ockenga/research/documents/USMissionsSurvey_FINALReport.pdf
Sometimes our political rhetoric does not match what’s actually happening.
 
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redleghunter

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In Judaism, both ancient and modern, the notion that a human being could offer some kind of personal sacrifice in atonement for Israel is present. So my guess this is what this passage is speaking to. People were so wicked and cold-hearted that no one was going to interpose themselves against God's wrath.
Very good assessment. I believe the situation so dire in the time of Ezekiel that the majority felt they could do nothing as God had abandoned them Tk their own devices.
 
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paul1149

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“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one"
The part I find interesting is "I found no one". Ezekiel himself seems to have been a faithful servant of the Most High, and if memory serves he had at least a few contemporaries that were likewise.

Before Ezekiel, God had told Isaiah that there were 7000 who had not bowed their knee to Ba'al. Surely there were some likewise here, but the text paints a picture of oppression of the godly by the dominant ungodly.

So it's not that there were no godly in the land, including some faithful prophets. I think this points to God looking not just for intercessors, which were the first necessity, and then for proclaimers of His law, which was the next, but for a leader in the political realm who would rise up and take a stand for the Lord, and for His law and true prophets. Without such a leader, the land would continue in oppression and moral chaos until finally it had brought destruction upon itself. This points to the critical importance of godly leadership in the political realm.
 
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Halbhh

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The part I find interesting is "I found no one". Ezekiel himself seems to have been a faithful servant of the Most High, and if memory serves he had at least a few contemporaries that were likewise.

Before Ezekiel, God had told Isaiah that there were 7000 who had not bowed their knee to Ba'al. Surely there were some likewise here, but the text paints a picture of oppression of the godly by the dominant ungodly.

So it's not that there were no godly in the land, including some faithful prophets. I think this points to God looking not just for intercessors, which were the first necessity, and then for proclaimers of His law, which was the next, but for a leader in the political realm who would rise up and take a stand for the Lord, and for His law and true prophets. Without such a leader, the land would continue in oppression and moral chaos until finally it had brought destruction upon itself. This points to the critical importance of godly leadership in the political realm.
100 or 120 years time difference, for instance 3,4, or 5 generations, is very long time difference.

A nation can be starting to seriously go the wrong way in one generation, but still some righteous around, and even just one generation or two generations later the situation very different.

Therefore we cannot assume the situation during Isaiah has remained much or even largely the same much later in time during Ezekiel.
 
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redleghunter

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100 or 120 years time difference, for instance 3,4, or 5 generations, is very long time difference.

A nation can be starting to seriously go the wrong way in one generation, but still some righteous around, and even just one generation or two generations later the situation very different.

Therefore we cannot assume the situation during Isaiah has remained much or even largely the same much later in time during Ezekiel.
Things were pretty bad in the time of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 8: NASB

5Then He said to me, “Son of man, raise your eyes now toward the north.” So I raised my eyes toward the north, and behold, to the north of the altar gate wasthis idol of jealousy at the entrance. 6And He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations which the house of Israel are committing here, so that I would be far from My sanctuary? But yet you will see still greater abominations.”

7Then He brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall. 8He said to me, “Son of man, now dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall, and behold, an entrance. 9And He said to me, “Go in and see the wicked abominations that they are committing here.” 10So I entered and looked, and behold, every form of creeping things and beasts anddetestable things, with all the idols of the house of Israel, were carved on the wall all around. 11Standing in front of them were seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them, each man with his censer in his hand and the fragrance of the cloud of incense rising. 12Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are committing in the dark, each man in the room of his carved images? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’” 13And He said to me, “Yet you will see still greater abominations which they are committing.”
 
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redleghunter

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So it's not that there were no godly in the land, including some faithful prophets. I think this points to God looking not just for intercessors, which were the first necessity, and then for proclaimers of His law, which was the next, but for a leader in the political realm who would rise up and take a stand for the Lord, and for His law and true prophets.
As in the time of Josiah.
 
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