READING: Ezekiel 22-23
TEXTS AND APPLICATION: Who will stand in the gap between a wicked country and a righteous God, calling that country to righteousness? That question arises from today’s reading about a time when God could find no one to take this position.
While the text refers to the coming fall of Jerusalem, the parallels with our nation are again striking (Ezek. 22:23-29). The ruling class were extorting the poor. Priests were ignoring the holy and disregarding God. Government officials were hurting others for personal gain. False prophets were speaking words for God that God did not give them. It’s no wonder the people lived in open immorality. Bad leaders usually result in bad followers — especially when nobody will stand up for right.
Ezek. 22:30-31 I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one. So I have poured out My indignation on them and consumed them with the fire of My fury. I have brought their actions down on their own heads.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.
God could find no one to take the lead. No leaders would make righteous choices. No priests would intercede. No prophets would speak truth. Just as God could not find ten righteous people in Sodom (Gen. 18:22-33), He could not find anyone to stand for righteousness in Jerusalem in Ezekiel’s day.
Nobody would stand in the gap. Nobody. So, God would bring judgment down.
Standing in the gap when no one else will is hard. It’s lonely. It’s dangerous. It’s costly. It’s frightening sometimes. It’s agonizing. And it’s right.
As I read these words, I wonder if we believers have stood in the gap enough. To stand in the gap is to be different, to be holy, to speak truth. But, it’s hard to stand in the gap when you lapse into the gutters of apathy and unholiness. It’s impossible to stand in the gap when you’re falling into mediocrity. If we don't stand in the gap, we have assured ourselves of God's judgment.
Are you standing in the gap for righteousness today? Or falling into the ruts of the ways of the world? Am I standing or falling?
PRAYER: “God, give me courage to stand in the gap, even if no one stands with me. I don’t want to fall into the ways of the world.”
TOMORROW¹S READING: Ezekiel 24-27