I SOUGHT A MAN WHO WOULD STAND IN THE BREACH,
BUT I FOUND NONE!
“And the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed or rained upon in the day of indignation. The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken. The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice. And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord GOD.” Ezekiel 22:23-31
God’s words to Ezekiel pulled no punches in showing how far away from God his people can go; they preyed upon the needy, sought dishonest gain, killed other humans made in the image of God, robbed, oppressed the poor and needy, and saw false visions that seemed to have encouraged those who were engaged in sin in these ways. How low can humans go?
Paul, by the inspiration of God, stated these same ideas and thoughts in Romans 1:18-32, showing how far the world in his time had gone away from God and his laws. If God were to write about us in the Bible, he would repeat himself yet again, seeing the way the world is now. As Christians our hearts should break, and cause us to do all we can to turn the tide of sin around. God looked for ONE MAN who would build up the wall and stand in the breach, but he could find none. How sad!
Yet, God sent HIS SON to stand in the breach, and HIS SON gives mankind the opportunity to be reconciled to God. Jesus stood in the breach for us, and we have hope through him. God also wants us to share the message with others, to give others hope in this world and the one to come.
God wants those who have this message of love and grace (his people) to stand up for him. He needs us, not to be like the prophets condemned in this passage, to preach the message of judgment God will bring upon the earth, and warn the world of this judgment.
Are we afraid of God’s wrath on the world? We have not heard about God’s judgment from the pulpit like we once did (Honestly, we don’t hear this much anymore, do we?). Has the examples we have seen in the Old Testament warned us that God, though loving man, will still punish those who go against His words of warning? Do we think God is too loving, and full of grace that He will never come to judge the world? Have we created a god in our image (idolatry) that will let us get away with everything because he “loves us?” Do we idolize our wisdom, knowledge and lives so much that we think we can solve any problem by ourselves? Has this really worked out for us in the past? Can we expect it to be better in the future?
Moses stood in the breach for the children of Israel when God was about to destroy them over the golden calf worship– “They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. Therefore he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them.” Psalms 106:19-23.
Will you and I love our families and God’s church to do all we can to encourage and help others to know God? Will we stand in the breach?
