“In anger,
In wrath,
I will execute vengeance
On the nations
That did not obey.”
Yahweh was very serious. In his anger and wrath, he was going to execute vengeance on any country that did not obey him.
execute
Yahweh has second thoughts (Hos 11:8-11:9)
“How can I give you up?
O Ephraim!
How can I hand you over?
O Israel!
How can I make you
Like Admah?
How can I treat you
Like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils
Within me.
My compassion
Grows warm.
My compassion
Grows tender.
I will not execute
My fierce anger.
I will not again
Destroy Ephraim.
I am God!
I am not a mortal!
I am the Holy One
In your midst.
I will not come
In wrath.”
Yahweh, via Hosea, had second thoughts about the destruction of Israel. How could he give Ephraim up? How could he hand over Israel? He could not make them like Admah and Zeboiim, two of the five cities destroyed with Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis, chapter 19. His heart was compassionate with warm tenderness. He decided not to execute his fierce anger against Ephraim. Yahweh was God, not a mere mortal. He was the Holy One in their midst. He was not going to come in anger.
The destruction of the various Egyptian city idols (Ezek 30:13-30:16)
“Thus says Yahweh God!
‘I will destroy
The idols.
I will put an end
To the images
In Memphis.
There shall no longer
Be a prince
In the land of Egypt.
Thus I will put fear
Into the land of Egypt.
I will make Pathros
A desolation.
I will set fire
To Zoan.
I will execute
Acts of judgment
On Thebes.
I will pour my wrath
Upon Pelusium,
The stronghold of Egypt.
I will cut off
The hordes of Thebes.
I will set fire
To Egypt.
Pelusium shall be
In great agony.
Thebes shall be
Breached.
Memphis will face
Adversaries by day.”
Yahweh, via Ezekiel, said that he was going to destroy the idols and images of the city of Memphis, the capital of lower Egypt. They would face daily adversaries. There would be no longer a prince in Egypt. Yahweh was going to put fear into the people of Egypt. He was going to decimate Pathros and set a fire in Zoan, that later became known as Tanis, in the northeast Delta area. He was going to execute his judgment on Thebes, current day Karnak, by getting rid of the multitude of people there, when the walls would be broken down. He was going to pour out his wrath on the stronghold of Pelusium that was east of Zoan, so that it would be in great agony.
Capture (Ezek 11:9-11:9)
“I will take you
Out of it.
I will give you over
To the hands
Of foreigners.
I will execute judgments
Upon you.”
Yahweh was going to take them out of Jerusalem. They were going to be given over into the hands of strangers. Yahweh was going to execute his judgments on them.
The anger and fury of Yahweh on Jerusalem (Ezek 5:13-5:15)
“My anger shall
Spend itself.
I will vent my fury
On them.
I will satisfy myself.
They shall know
That I,
Yahweh,
Have spoken
In my jealousy,
When I spend my fury
On them.
Moreover
I will make you
A desolation.
I will make you
An object of mocking
Among the nations
Around you,
In the sight
Of all that pass by.
You shall be a mockery.
You shall be a taunt.
You shall be a warning.
You shall be a horror,
To the nations around you.
I will execute judgments
On you
In anger,
In fury,
With furious punishments.
I!
Yahweh!
Have spoken!”
Yahweh said that he was going to spend his anger on the people of Jerusalem. He was going to vent his fury on them. He was going to satisfy himself. They would know that he was Yahweh. He was going to speak out of jealousy against them. This is a very strong statement about the anger of God against the people of Jerusalem, because he was a jealous God. Jerusalem would become a desolation, an object of mocking, a taunt, a warning, and a horror among all the nations around her. Angry Yahweh was going to execute his judgments on them with his furious punishments. Yahweh has clearly spoken.
Cannibalism (Ezek 5:10-5:10)
“Surely,
Parents shall eat
Their children
In your midst.
The children shall eat
Their parents.
I will execute judgments
On you.
Any of you
Who survive,
I will scatter
To every wind.”
This ideal of cannibalism in Jerusalem was attested by Jeremiah, chapter 19, and Lamentations, chapters 2 and 4, and now here in Ezekiel. Parents would eat their children, while children would eat their parents in this situation of starvation in Jerusalem. Yahweh was going to execute his judgments on those who survived. These survivors would be scattered to the four winds in every direction.
The great judgment of Yahweh (Ezek 5:7-5:9)
“Therefore thus says
Yahweh God!
‘You are more turbulent
Than the nations
That are all around you.
You have not followed
My statutes.
You have not kept
My ordinances.
But you have acted
According to the ordinances
Of the nations
That are all around you.’
Therefore thus says
Yahweh God!
‘I,
I myself,
Am coming against you.
I will execute judgments
Among you
In the sight of the nations.
Because of all your abominations,
I will do to you
What I have never yet done,
The like of which
I will never do again.’”
Yahweh now spoke directly to Jerusalem, as if Ezekiel was not even there. The God Yahweh proclaimed his judgment against Jerusalem. The people of Jerusalem were more turbulent than all the other nations around them. They have not followed Yahweh’s statutes. They have not kept his ordinances, but acted according to the ordinances of their surrounding nations. Thus Yahweh said that he himself was coming against them. He was going to execute his judgments on the people of Jerusalem in the sight of all the other countries. Because of their abominations, he was going to do what he had never done before or would ever do again.
The wrath of Yahweh (Jer 23:19-23:20)
“Look!
The storm of Yahweh!
Wrath has gone forth!
It is a whirling tempest!
It will burst
Upon the head of the wicked.
The anger of Yahweh
Will not turn back
Until he has executed
The intents of his mind.
It will not turn back
Until he has accomplished
The intents of his mind.
In the latter days,
You will understand it clearly.”
The wrath of Yahweh was going to come forward like a whirling tempest storm. His wrath would burst upon the heads of the wicked. They cannot turn back the anger of Yahweh, their God, who wants to execute and accomplish what he intended to do. In the coming days, people will understand more clearly the powerful anger of God, Yahweh.
The destructive fire for the house of Judah (Jer 21:11-21:12)
“To the house
Of the king of Judah
Say.
‘Hear the word of Yahweh!
O house of David!
Thus says Yahweh.
‘Execute justice in the morning!
Deliver from the hand
Of the oppressor
Anyone who has been robbed!
Otherwise my wrath
Will go forth
Like fire.
It will burn
With no one to quench it,
Because of your evil doings.’”
Having talked about the fire destruction of Jerusalem, Yahweh turned to the house of Judah, the house of David. They were to execute justice every morning. They were to help the oppressed, especially those who had been robbed. If they did not, they too would have a fire without end descend upon them because of their evil ways.
Chariots of fire (Isa 66:15-66:16)
“Yahweh will come in fire.
His chariots will be
Like a whirlwind.
He will pay back his anger in fury.
His rebuke will be in the flames of fire.
Yahweh will execute judgment By fire.
Yahweh will execute judgment
By his sword upon all flesh.
Those slain by Yahweh shall be many.”
The prophet portrays Yahweh coming in fire with chariots, so that we have the chariots of fire. His anger and fury will be in the flames of this fire. He will execute his judgment with fire and the sword on everyone. Yahweh will kill many people.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 