Ravening Wolves Among Us

"There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof. Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GoD, when the LORD hath not spoken. The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none."

Throughout the book of Ezekiel, we see the prophet desperately expressing the disgust of the Lord God, YHWH, over the corruption of Israel before its fall to Babylon. This corruption identified by Ezekiel, is exactly why God let Jerusalem fall. There are many things Ezekiel identifies as issues within Israel, but in the passage above, he is addressing, more specifically, the corruption within the temple of God, and those that would call themselves priests or leaders of the temple in Jerusalem, something all of the prophets of God within the Bible lend heavy focus on.

So then, let us take a moment to more specifically understand the passage above, and what the prophet Ezekiel is identifying. First, he identifies the prophets themselves as people conspiring like a lion that preys upon others; they devour souls and resources. These are people who claim to represent and speak for God. Second, he identifies the priests as those who violate God's law and profane His holy things. People who cannot discern the holy from the profane. Third, he identifies the princes as wolves who prey upon others for their own dishonest gain. Fourth, he identifies the prophets as those who lie and say "Thus saith the Lord" when the Lord has not spoken.

So then, how is all of this relevant to us today? The church, beloved, is in the same state. There are wolves among us. There are those who claim to speak for God but do not. There are those who claim to be priests but violate God's law. There are those who claim to be leaders but prey upon others for their own gain. And there are those who lie and say "Thus saith the Lord" when the Lord has not spoken.

In this passage, God identifies specific markers by which we can discern a false prophet or leader. They are those who: devour souls and resources, cannot discern the holy from the profane, prey upon others for their own gain, and lie about speaking for God. These are not subtle markers, beloved. These are glaring, obvious, and unmistakable. The question is, are we willing to see them? Are we willing to call them out? Are we willing to stand in the gap?

The Lord looked for a man to stand in the gap and found none. Let us not be that generation. Let us be those who stand in the gap, who call out the wolves, who protect the flock, and who speak the truth in love. Let us be those who are willing to be unpopular, to be misunderstood, to be rejected, for the sake of the truth and the protection of God's people.