Ezekiel 39:23
The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their iniquity because they acted treacherously against Me, and I hid My face from them; so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword.
Suppose God were to post a sign over our heads every time we sinned and every time He disciplined us for that sinning? Wouldn't that be a hoot? Instead "people watching" we could create a new game at the mall called, "sign checking." We could simply walk around the mall and read peoples signs over their heads. In one sense, that is what God is doing when He disciplines Israel and Judah in the midst of the other nations. He wants the other nations to know that His people have turned against His word and have sinned against Him. He wants the world to know that when we do that we offend a Holy and Righteous God and deserve punishment. We take sin so lightly that we stand in shock and awe at such a thought. But, that is what God is saying in this passage in the middle of Ezekiel's prophecy. God has come to the end of the line in regard to their sin and His patience. He has used the surrounding nations to punish them and to show the surrounding nations what it means to be God's people. As God's people we need to realize how jealous God is for us and for our love. He takes our commitment to follow Him seriously. He takes our obedience to His Word seriously. When we disobey God does not put a sign over our heads. But, that doesn't mean He ignores our sin and fails to discipline.
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