ESOCS Devotional 26 June 2025: Standing in the Gap

ESOCS Devotional 26 June 2025 – Standing in the Gap

MEMORY VERSE: “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” Ezekiel 22:30

TEXT: EZEKIEL 22:13-END

“Behold, therefore, I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst. ¹⁴Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and will do it. ¹⁵I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and remove your filthiness completely from you. ¹⁶You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; then you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

¹⁷The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸“Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a furnace; they have become dross from silver. ¹⁹Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. ²⁰As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you. ²¹Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst. ²²As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have poured out My fury on you.’ ”

²³And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²⁴“Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ ²⁵The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. ²⁶Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. ²⁷Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain. ²⁸Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord had not spoken. ²⁹The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. ³⁰So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. ³¹Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.

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The book of Ezekiel rings with God’s message of His impending judgment of the nation of Judah culminating in the upcoming destruction of Jerusalem. It is not a pleasant message to read. For example, through Ezekiel God says to His people, lets read Ezekiel 22:13-16. Why was God bringing such punishment upon His people? They were facing God’s judgment because of all their abominable practices (1-2). Regarding the priests, God says, “Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them” (Ezekiel 22:26).

About Judah’s governing leaders, God adds, “Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain” (Ezekiel 22:27). Moreover, concerning the prophets, God notes: “Her prophets plastered them with untampered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord had not spoken” (Ezekiel 22:28). Finally, about those remaining in the land of Judah while Ezekiel was ministering to the captives among God’s people in Babylon, God states: “The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger” (Ezekiel 22:29). God had good cause to bring such judgment upon His people!

Yet, as the opening verses above indicate, in spite of all the evil among His people, God searches to see if there was a man among them who was still righteous. He was seeking “a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it…” (Ezekiel 22:30). This is reminiscent of Abraham bargaining with God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if just 10 righteous men could be found in these cities (Genesis 18:32). However, like Sodom and Gomorrah, regarding the Jerusalem of Ezekiel’s day, God’ search for a man to “stand in the gap” comes to a sad end. God states, “…but I found no one” (Ezekiel 22:30).

As I consider this scripture, I wonder, “Will God find a man (or woman) to ‘stand in the gap’ today? Can God find a man to stand up for the truth of God’s Word? Today, I will strive to rise to the challenge and “stand in the gap” for God as I practice His Word. The Bible says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15).

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