©Michael Player
Chapter 3:1-4 (ESV) - And I said:
Hear, you heads of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel!
Is it not for you to know justice?—
you who hate the good and love the evil,
who tear the skin from off my people
and their flesh from off their bones,
who eat the flesh of my people,
and flay their skin from off them,
and break their bones in pieces
and chop them up like meat in a pot,
like flesh in a cauldron.
Then they will cry to the Lord,
but he will not answer them;
he will hide his face from them at that time,
because they have made their deeds evil.
Question to consider: What should be our response when we face injustice?
The rulers described in today’s passage would have been those from among the Sanhedrin– the judges who were to administer justice in Israel (both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah). In the same way the oppressors found preachers to scratch their itching ears and give ascent to their actions, so they found judges to rule in their favor.
In yesterday’s passage, the remnant of Israel was described as sheep who the LORD promised would be led by a king who would shepherd them and guard the sheepfold. Rather than protecting these sheep according to their calling, the rulers in today’s passage victimized them and used them to enrich themselves. Their treachery was graphically described as tearing the skin from the people’s bones and chopping them up like flesh in a cauldron in order to consume them.
When the Assyrians laid siege to the northern kingdom and the countryside of Judah, the LORD promised that He would not hear their cries for justice. Instead, He would turn His face against them because they did not give justice to His people.
By the time God used the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem and Solomon's temple about three generations later, the holy city became the cauldron, and the wicked were the flesh being cooked in it. God spoke the following concerning the rulers of that day, “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man.” (Ezekiel 11:2-4)
We also live at a time in which justice is perverted and the innocent are consumed by oppressors. This is nothing new, and the church in Paul’s day experienced similar treatment because they belonged to Christ. Paul’s advice to the church at that time is still true today, “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’” (Romans 12:17-19)
Dear heavenly Father, may Your name be kept holy and Your will be done on the earth. Please strengthen us to be faithful heralds of Your peace as we face injustice so that those who persecute us may repent and become our brothers and sisters in Christ. May the mercy of Christ shine brightly from us so that His name may be glorified in all the earth. Amen.