Question 1

What is happening in this passage and who is God speaking about?

Accepted Answer

In this passage God is describing a coming judgment on Judah and its main city. The people have filled the land with violence, bloodshed, and idol worship, even using God’s gifts to make images of their abominations. God says the sword will be outside the city and famine and disease inside, so no one can escape. Their wealth will not save them, and even the temple, the “secret place,” will be handed over to strangers and defiled. Kings, princes, priests, and common people will all be thrown into fear and sorrow as God judges them for their ways.

Question 2

What does it mean that their silver and gold cannot deliver them?

Accepted Answer

The passage says the people will throw their silver in the streets and their gold will become useless, “not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord.” This means that when God’s judgment falls, money cannot buy safety, peace, or life. They had trusted wealth, and even used it in idol worship, turning God’s gifts into a “stumblingblock” that helped lead them into sin. In the crisis, they finally see that riches cannot satisfy the soul or protect the body when God Himself is against their sin.

Question 3

Why does God send sword, famine, and pestilence together in this judgment?

Accepted Answer

God describes three kinds of trouble: the sword outside, famine and pestilence inside. This shows that His judgment will cover every place. Those in the open fields die by the invading armies, and those shut in the city waste away from hunger and disease. There is no safe spot to hide from what He has decided to bring. The picture is meant to show how serious their sin is and how complete the judgment will be. God is showing that when people harden themselves in violence and idolatry, they cannot escape the consequences He sends.

Question 4

What is meant by the people mourning like doves on the mountains?

Accepted Answer

God says that those who escape will be on the mountains “like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity.” The survivors are not pictured as strong heroes but as timid birds hiding among the hills, constantly sighing. They have no real home, safety, or comfort left. Their grief is heavy, and they finally see their sin. The picture of doves suggests soft, ongoing lament, not loud boasting. It shows that even escape from death does not remove the sorrow and loss that come when a people has turned away from God.

Question 5

What does this passage say about the temple and holy places being defiled?

Accepted Answer

The text explains that what had been God’s beautiful ornament, the sanctuary with its holy parts, has been misused. The people used what God gave them to make images of their abominations. In response, God says He will hand this over to strangers and the wicked of the earth as spoil, and they will pollute it. Robbers will enter God’s “secret place,” the most holy place, and defile it. This shows that when the people treat God’s worship lightly and mix it with idols, He may remove His protection and allow even the holiest places to be shamed.

Question 6

Why are the people’s hands feeble and their knees weak as water?

Accepted Answer

The picture of feeble hands and knees weak as water shows complete fear and loss of strength. The people had once boasted and blown the trumpet as if ready for battle, but when God’s wrath is on them their courage melts away. Their bodies show what is happening inside: they are terrified, ashamed, and without hope. They put on sackcloth and are covered with horror and shame. It is a reminder that sin, once judged, leaves people empty and powerless, unable to stand before God or their enemies in their own strength.

Question 7

What does it mean that God will judge them according to their ways?

Accepted Answer

Near the end God says, “I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them.” This means His judgment fits what they have done. They filled the land with blood, so He brings war. They trusted idols and wealth, so those things fail them. They rejected His word earlier, so in the crisis there is no helpful vision, law, or counsel to guide them. God is not acting at random. He is giving them what their lives have been asking for, and through this they will finally know that He is the Lord.

Question 8

Why do people seek prophets and peace only after destruction comes?

Accepted Answer

The passage says, “Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none.” It also says that in that time they will seek a vision of the prophet, but the law and counsel will be gone. This shows a sad pattern. While things seemed safe, they ignored God’s warnings. When trouble finally arrives, they suddenly want peace, guidance, and clear words from God, but they have waited too long. God shows that His patience has limits, and that putting off listening to Him can lead to a day when help is no longer found.

Question 9

What does this passage teach about God’s character in judgment?

Accepted Answer

This passage shows God as holy, just, and patient, yet willing to act firmly against long‑standing sin. He does not judge lightly. The land has become full of bloody crimes and violence, and even His sanctuary has been turned into a place of idols. God’s face is turned from them, not because He is changeable, but because they have pushed Him away. When He judges, it is measured: He does it “after their way.” At the same time, His purpose is not hidden. He says that through this they “shall know” that He is the Lord, the true ruler over them.

Question 10

How should believers today think about wealth and security in light of this passage?

Accepted Answer

This passage shows how unsafe it is to rest our hearts on wealth, power, or places. The people thought their silver, gold, strong houses, and even the temple would keep them safe while they kept on in sin. In the day of God’s wrath, those things failed. For believers today, this calls us to see money and comfort as gifts to be used for God, not as idols to trust. Real security is not in savings, status, or buildings, but in walking with God in repentance and obedience, knowing that He alone can keep and satisfy us.

Ezekiel 7:14

They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.

The Desolation of Israel

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Ezekiel 7:14

They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.

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The Desolation of Israel

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