The Hour of Doom

7:1 Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

The Word of God came to Ezekiel from Jehovah, the covenant-keeping, promise-keeping God.

7:2 And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto the land of Israel, An end: the end is come upon the four corners of the land.

Ezekiel was again called the “son of man.” A “son of man” is a human being. When Jesus called himself “the Son of Man,” even though He was deity in human form, then He was emphasizing the human part of His personality. He could suffer, feel pain, sorrow, and experience death.

Ezekiel prophesied that all areas of Judah (North, West, South, East) would be destroyed emphatically in the near future. Ezekiel was commanded to inform the people that an end had come upon the nation of Judah.

7:3 Now is the end upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways; and I will bring upon thee all thine abominations.

The reason for the judgment upon Judah was God's decree in anger for Israel's sin and idolatry.

7:4 And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity; but I will bring thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.

God would not spare or pity Judah. God would bring judgment upon her sins. Judah would be living around these idolatrous sinners.

7:5 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: An evil, an only evil; behold, it cometh.

Doom had come upon Judah. It was going to get worse. A unique calamity was going to come against Judah, because she had never been in this type of captivity before.

7:6 An end is come, the end is come; it awaketh against thee; behold, it cometh.

Wake up, Judah. The end emphatically would come upon you.

7:7 Thy doom is come unto thee, O inhabitant of the land: the time is come, the day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting, upon the mountains.

The Hebrew word for “doom” is only used three times in the entire Bible. There would be no joyful shouting in the mountains, where idolatry was practiced. The joyous shouting was feasting during the worship of idols.

7:8 Now will I shortly pour out my wrath upon thee, and accomplish mine anger against thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways; and I will bring upon thee all thine abominations.

Judah would be judged of her sinful acts and her idolatries.

7:9 And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will bring upon thee according to thy ways; and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, do smite.

God would not spare and He would not have pity upon Jerusalem. God would judge Judah according to her sin and her abominations.  When God judges Judah, then they would know that Jehovah was responsible for the judgment. The Hebrew name is compound, meaning Jehovah the Hammer. This Hebrew word is the same root as that of the Maccabeans.

7:10 Behold, the day, behold, it cometh: thy doom is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.

The rod of pride had blossomed in Judah with insolence.

7:11 Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness; none of them shall remain , nor of their multitude, nor of their wealth: neither shall there be eminency among them.

The second rod was the rod of wickedness. It had blossomed into violence. Violence had become the standard throughout the land. The result would be that Israel would become a desolate population. There would be no one to mourn for the Babylonian captives.

7:12 The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.

When the Babylonian siege begins, the Year of Jubilee would not be celebrated by either the buyer or the seller. The buyer would not rejoice, because his property would be taken by the Babylonians. The seller would not rejoice, because he would be either dead or captive in Babylon.

7:13 For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they be yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, none shall return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.

The sellers would not see their property again during the Year of Jubilee.

The Desolation of Israel

7:14 They have blown the trumpet, and have made all ready; but none goeth to the battle; for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.

The blowing of the trumpet was the signal of the arriving enemy. The Jewish soldiers were to prepare for battle. However, no one would go out to battle, because the Jewish soldiers would fear the invading Babylonian army.

7:15 The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword: and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.

The swords were in the hands of the enemy. Those in the city would die of pestilence and famine. Those in the battle field would die by the sword.

7:16 But those of them that escape shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, every one in his iniquity. 7:17 All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water.

When Babylon attacks, then the Jewish soldiers would be cowardly and weak.

7:18 They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads.

The people would mourn their predicament. They would take off their expensive clothes and wear sackcloth. Instead of wearing makeup and perfume, they would shave their heads and make their face black. Women may have debeautified themselves to escape rape. These pagan techniques of mourning would not arouse their lifeless idols. The demons behind the lifeless idols would not be able to help. Jehovah's decreed judgment would be executed.

7:19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be as an unclean thing; their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of Jehovah: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels; because it hath been the stumbling block of their iniquity.

The silver and gold that was hoarded by the wealthy would be thrown into the street, because the idols were made of silver and gold. The idols would be useless. There would be no food to buy. They would not be able to buy food from the Babylonian soldiers. They would not be able to buy their freedom. The Babylonian soldiers would simply take what they want.

7:20 As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty; but they made the images of their abominations and their detestable things therein: therefore have I made it unto them as an unclean thing.

The Temple was the beauty of God's ornament. It was His crowned jewel. The Jews filled God's jewel with detestable idols. Detestable idols were balls of excrement to God. Therefore, God turned the Temple into an unclean jewel.

7:21 And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall profane it.

God would turn the Jewish temple over to the Babylonians. The Jews had already profaned the temple. The Babylonians would profane the Temple as well.

7:22 My face will I turn also from them, and they shall profane my secret place; and robbers shall enter into it, and profane it.

God would turn His face away from the robbers. The robbers would profane the temple. They would steal from the temple.

7:23 Make the chain; for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.

There was a divine command to repare the chain of captivity for Judah, because of her bloody crimes and violence.

7:24 Wherefore I will bring the worst of the nations, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pride of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be profaned.

Because of her bloody crimes and violence of Jerusalem, God would bring the bloodiest and most violent nation against Israel, which is the Babylonians.

7:25 Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none.

Jerusalem would seek peace, but peace would not be found.

7:26 Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumor shall be upon rumor; and they shall seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders.

When trouble comes, the false prophets would disappear. The priests would not be able to teach the Scriptures to the other 11 tribes. The elders would not be able to give wise advice. Rumors would abound. The people of Jerusalem would become confused. The priests would lose the ability to teach the Scriptures. The land would be without Bible doctrine. One of the judgments of God against unholy nations is the lack of strong Bible teaching.

7:27 The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.

The people look to the king for help, but all that he would be able to do is mourn. God would judge Judah for her sin. When Judah is judged, she would recognize the name and character of Jehovah. Man has never kept his word to God. Jehovah is the One who keeps His promises.