Reading: Ezekiel 25-27, Psalm 38
One of the most frustrating parts of any story is the villain who escapes. Usually this is not the main “bad guy,” but is some kind of secondary, opportunistic character who causes the main protagonist harm, and then wanders off to cause, in Tolkien’s word, “Mischief in a mean way.” During the course of a really long story these little villains may grow to be the big villain, as is the case in Tolkien, as the defeated wandering Saruman becomes the major threat to the Shire at the end of the books. If you’ve only seen the movies you won’t know what I’m talking about, and it serves you right. Go read the books. I hope you can speed read.
Done? There is something tragic in every fall. Continuing the Tolkien comparison, Saruman begins as a hero. Even Sauron begins well. Nothing is corrupt in it’s beginning, and fallenness is a lamentable tragedy in every being, family, and nation that has every existed.
Ezekiel does any international judgment unload today, which will continue tomorrow. There are a huge number of interesting links from what Ezekiel says about various nation to what Isaiah and Jeremiah say about them, and to the behavior of those nations during the great narrative story of Israel that spans Genesis to 2 Kings. Go and study them, it’s worth it. Here I just want to talk about the fact that Ezekiel’s declaration of judgment, wrath, and destruction in followed by laments for the destroyed. The nations that are to face wrath from God through the Babylonians have done some pretty bad stuff. Given their interactions with our “heroes,” the nation of Israel, one might wonder why there is much in the way of mourning for them necessary. These are not always the major villain of Israel’s story, though at times they were pretty bad. These are opportunists. Side players. People who take advantage when someone is down.
This is where God’s wrath separates from human wrath. In our case, or at least in mine, when I think of justice and righteousness I think of leveled playing fields, equal treatment (especially under the law, but really in all things), liberation of the oppressed to make their own choices, and recompense or restitution to victims. A bunch of other things too, but those will do for now. In my worst moments, I want to see final justice done on villains such that they are removed from the story. In better moments I want to see tragic characters made over into good characters. Never in my wildest imaginations can I see a way for there to be justice in every way all at once. But that is what God’s wrath is about. When Ezekiel prophesies against Tyre and Sidon, it is in recompense for their victims, but somehow also contains the grief of their allies. God’s concept of justice runs wider and deeper than the destruction I might imagine. It contains a link all the way back to creation, when God called the world he had made very good.
Remember that the great call of Abraham was to bless all the nations of the earth. God’s blessing to Jacob was a step by step unworking of the curse in Genesis 3. God’s desire for the nation of Israel at Sinai was for them to be a kingdom of priests to bear witness to the nations of who God was and the restored world he intends. When Ezekiel, or any of the other prophets, prophesy against one of the wicked nations around them, it is with one eye on the present wickedness, but with the other on the destiny of his people to bear witness of a God who makes all things new. To the ones who are paying attention to the whole story, all these pronouncement of doom and destruction are multi-leveled tragedy, worthy of lament. They are the fall of humanity. The playing out of the human declaration of independence from God. They declare the wrath of God in order to bring about restoration more complete than any humans could possibly imagine. Ezekiel’s series of prophecies against the nations in the next few days reading will be closely followed by his words about a new covenant, a new heart and a new spirit- actually more than a new spirit, a better spirit- for humans. There is wrath now, but it is setting the stage for something better.