Ezekiel 6-7; 29:1-16; 30:20-31:18
Yet I will leave some of you alive. When you have among the nations some who escape the sword, and when you are scattered through the countries, then those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, how I have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from Me and over their eyes that go whoring after their idols. And they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils that they have committed, for all their abominations. And they shall know that I am the LORD. I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.
Ezekiel 6:8-10
I find that last sentence to be quite interesting. But before we get to the interesting part, we should be very clear about what is meant by the word “evil” in that sentence. This does not mean that God sins or ever does anything that is morally wrong, but it does mean that God does things that we do not like, things that we might call “bad” or “evil” in the sense that they involve our suffering. Sometimes people claim that God never causes suffering, never brings sickness, never does anything unpleasant. That just simply is not true. Whoever makes such a claim isn’t reading the same Bible I’m reading.
Now, back to that last sentence. The first thing I see in this sentence is that God is not kidding around. He’s not blowing smoke. He means what He says, and He does it. The second thing I see is that what God does has a purpose. His actions are not pointless, just the whims of some capricious deity. No, neither His words nor His actions are empty or “vain”. He has a very specific aim, and that is that they shall know that I am the LORD. The LORD states this purpose repeatedly today — 12 times, in fact:
…and you shall know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 6:7b
And they shall know that I am the LORD…
Ezekiel 6:10a
And you shall know that I am the LORD…
Ezekiel 6:13a
Then they will know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 6:14b
Then you will know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 7:4b
Then you will know that I am the LORD, Who strikes.
Ezekiel 7:9b
…and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 7:27b
Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 29:6a
Then they will know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 29:9b
Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 29:16b
Then they shall know that I am the LORD…
Ezekiel 30:25b
Then they will know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 30:26b
So, what do you think? Has the LORD said all this in vain?