beliefs and practices that constitute “rivals” of the one true God are usually more abstract. Our cultural equivalents that often violate the first commandment are many: educational credentials; career goals; political control; children or perhaps their accomplishments; human lovers or even “love” in the abstract; celebrities on stage, screen, or the sports arena; body image or personal magnetism (in short, ourselves)—these easily become alternative absolutes that compete for our loyalty and affection toward the true God. The distinction between a rival person and a representative idol image is blurred.
It is easy to think of our God as the “unmoved mover,” but Scripture paints a different picture of him as a very personal God whose response to betrayal is similar to our own experience—brokenness and pain. Accepting this does not entail that God’s being is somehow diminished in perfection or that his sovereign control of the universe is threatened. Rather, it recognizes his deep, personal attributes whereby he was capable of entering fully into human experience (cf. Jesus).
Appreciation of this personal, divine character, is prerequisite to an appropriate repentance of our own idolatry, because remorse comes in part through admission of the pain caused to another. An honest appraisal of the pain we cause our God leads to an appropriate sense of shame for what we have done. We quickly move our hearts to the grace of the gospel, realizing there is no condemnation. However, deep abhorrence of our attitudes and actions is part of balanced, self-examination. One who would truly “know” the Lord, mentioned four times in this chapter, must understand not only the grace of God but also the demands of the covenant relationship and the effects of our attitudes and actions on God. Only after honest appraisal of the gravity of our idolatry should we move on to the good news: there is no condemnation (Rom 8:1).
46. Block, Ezekiel 1–24, 225–26.
47. For more discussion, see Petter, “High Places,” 413–18.
48. Greenberg, Ezekiel 1–20, 134–35.
The Impotence of Materialism
Ezekiel 7:1–27
Ezekiel’s Message
God’s merciless judgment comes swiftly and unavoidably to those who seek security and pride in their own resources.
Key Themes
• There is a point after which turning to God for mercy is too late.
• The judgment of God comes at a time of his discretion.
• Materialism, like all idolatry, is useless to deliver from judgment.
• The inherent injustice of economic greed amplifies its culpability.
Context in Ezekiel
Similar to chapter 6, the limits of this unit are marked by the opening, “The word of the Lord came . . .” and the end, “Then they will know . . .” (Ezek 7:27). The chapter may be broken into smaller units, marked by the emphatic repetition of words that call the audience to attention: “end . . . end” (Ezek 7:2); “disaster . . . disaster” (Ezek 7:5); “see . . . see” (Ezek 7:10); “blown the trumpet . . . made all things ready” (Ezek 7:14); “full of bloodshed . . . full of violence” (Ezek 7:23).
Ezekiel develops his message of judgment with two new emphases in this passage. First, he stresses that merciless judgment is imminent, and second, he focuses his accusation on the arrogant yet useless economic greed of Israel’s leadership that is linked with their idolatry.
Interpretive Highlights
7:2 The end has come: Like a series of exclamation points, the five-fold concentration of the word, “end,” in the opening six verses punctuates this oracle with urgency. This language, first invoked by the prophet Amos concerning the northern kingdom (Amos 8:2), is now applied by Ezekiel to the southern kingdom. The irreversible nature of such judgment is stressed by the repetition of the phrase “has come” (8 times in the opening 7 verses). It is too late for repentance; judgment is already upon the city of Jerusalem, which is the primary referent throughout Ezekiel’s judgment speeches (cf. “now,” v. 3; “see, it comes,” v. 10; “trumpet,” v. 14).
7:3–4 detestable practices: This expression refers to a wide range of behavior that the Bible condemns as corrupt (variously translated with words related to “detestable” and “abominable” in the NIV). It includes the worship of foreign gods and the Canaanite practices associated with it (Deut 7:25; 20:18; 32:16), sexual immorality (Lev 18:22; 20:13; Ezek 22:11), falsehood (Prov 8:7), hypocritical prayer (Prov 28:9), and dishonesty in business dealings (Deut 25:16). All these things characterized Judah’s behavior at the time of Ezekiel, but the prophet’s emphasis in the context of this chapter is upon the financial materialism and injustice of the people (see below).
7:7 the day is near: Here Ezekiel draws upon another concept introduced by Amos. Perhaps related to ancient Near Eastern imagery for a king’s decisive day of victory in battle, the expression “day of the Lord” (or more simply “that day”/“the day”) became common in Old Testament texts to refer to any event when the Lord intervenes in war-like fashion for judgment and/or deliverance (see also discussion at Ezek 30:3). The shocking revelation in Amos is that such intervention would not necessarily be on behalf of God’s covenant people (as in Isa 13:1, 6; Zeph 3:8) but could also entail his destruction of them (Amos 5:18–26; cf. Zeph 1:7–18; Joel 1:15; 2:1–11).
7:9 the Lord who strikes you: Rooted in Old Testament tradition are passages about the origin of compound names for God involving his covenant name “Yahweh” and a blessing he bestows (“The Lord Will Provide,” Gen 22:14; “The Lord who Heals You,” Exod 15:26; “The Lord is my Banner,” Exod 17:15). In ironic fashion, in this context of judgment the Lord is known by the name of one who “strikes.”
7:10–11 the rod has budded: This phrase probably alludes to the budding of Aaron’s rod that put an “end” to the rebellion in Moses’ generation (Num 17:8–12). Here, the literary allusion underscores the “end” in Ezekiel’s day, when a “rod” arises to again challenge the arrogance of rebels. In v. 11, the allusion continues in reference to Aaron’s rod as an instrument of judgment (Exod 7:9; 8:5). The Hebrew of this verse is difficult. Note that the NIV (compared with the ESV and NASB) clarifies, probably rightly, that the “rod” is directed toward the wicked.49 This makes good sense with the parallel lines that follows, which stress the extermination of people and the wealth they have gained.
7:12–13 buyer . . . seller: In biblical law, both property and people (as bond-servants) could be exchanged for a price that was set according to a statute of limitations, after which the property must revert to its original owner and people set free (Exod 21:2; Lev 25:1–17; 27:22–25). In view of the imminent judgment, all parties of such transactions will be dead before anything is enjoyed or recovered.
7:15 sword . . . famine . . . plague: Ezekiel uses this triad (cf. Ezek 5:12; 6:11–12) to indicate that the major, lethal threats of a siege will successfully decimate the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Attempting to assign each threat to specific targets (inhabitants inside or outside the city) over reads the text, since the victims of each threat differ in the passages where the triad appears. The point is that few escape, and even these will suffer miserably (v. 16). A similar description features in a Mesopotamian text that describes the progressive decimation of the population of a city: “Anyone who has not died in battle will die in an epidemic.
