Ezekiel 21:25

The Message

“‘O Zedekiah, blasphemous and evil prince of Israel: Time’s up. It’s “punishment payday.” God says, Take your royal crown off your head. No more “business as usual.” The underdog will be promoted and the top dog will be demoted. Ruins, ruins, ruins! I’ll turn the whole place into ruins. And ruins it will remain until the one comes who has a right to it. Then I’ll give it to him.’

Cross References

Psalm 7:9

Close the book on Evil, God, but publish your mandate for us. You get us ready for life: you probe for our soft spots, you knock off our rough edges. And I’m feeling so fit, so safe: made right, kept right. God in solemn honor does things right, but his nerves are sandpapered raw.

Jeremiah 24:8

“But like the rotten figs, so rotten they can’t be eaten, is Zedekiah king of Judah. Rotten figs—that’s how I’ll treat him and his leaders, along with the survivors here and those down in Egypt. I’ll make them something that the whole world will look on as disgusting—repugnant outcasts, their names used as curse words wherever in the world I drive them. And I’ll make sure they die like flies—from war, starvation, disease, whatever—until the land I once gave to them and their ancestors is completely rid of them.”

Jeremiah 49:1

God’s Message on the Ammonites: “Doesn’t Israel have any children, no one to step into her inheritance? So why is the god Milcom taking over Gad’s land, his followers moving into its towns? But not for long! The time’s coming” —God’s Decree— “When I’ll fill the ears of Rabbah, Ammon’s big city, with battle cries. She’ll end up a pile of rubble, all her towns burned to the ground. Then Israel will kick out the invaders. I, God, say so, and it will be so. Wail Heshbon, Ai is in ruins. Villages of Rabbah, wring your hands! Dress in mourning, weep buckets of tears. Go into hysterics, run around in circles! Your god Milcom will be hauled off to exile, and all his priests and managers right with him. Why do you brag of your once-famous strength? You’re a broken-down has-been, a castoff Who fondles his trophies and dreams of glory days and vainly thinks, ‘No one can lay a hand on me.’ Well, think again. I’ll face you with terror from all sides.” Word of the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies. “You’ll be stampeded headlong, with no one to round up the runaways. Still, the time will come when I will make things right with Ammon.” God’s Decree.

Jeremiah 52:2

As far as God was concerned, Zedekiah was just one more evil king, a carbon copy of Jehoiakim.

Ezekiel 17:19

“‘Therefore, God, the Master, says, As sure as I am the living God, because the king despised my oath and broke my covenant, I’ll bring the consequences crashing down on his head. I’ll send out a search party and catch him. I’ll take him to Babylon and have him brought to trial because of his total disregard for me. All his elite soldiers, along with the rest of the army, will be killed in battle, and whoever is left will be scattered to the four winds. Then you’ll realize that I, God, have spoken.

Ezekiel 21:12

“Yell out and wail, son of man. The sword is against my people! The princes of Israel and my people—abandoned to the sword! Wring your hands! Tear out your hair!

Ezekiel 21:24

“So this is what God, the Master, says: ‘Because your sin is now out in the open so everyone can see what you’ve been doing, you’ll be taken captive.

Ezekiel 35:5

“‘I’m doing this because you’ve kept this age-old grudge going against Israel: You viciously attacked them when they were already down, looking their final punishment in the face. Therefore, as sure as I am the living God, I’m lining you up for a real bloodbath. Since you loved blood so much, you’ll be chased by rivers of blood. I’ll reduce Mount Seir to a heap of rubble. No one will either come or go from that place! I’ll blanket your mountains with corpses. Massacred bodies will cover your hills and fill up your valleys and ditches. I’ll reduce you to ruins and all your towns will be ghost towns—population zero. Then you’ll realize that I am God.