Ezekiel 24:13-14 (NIV)
13 […] I tried to cleanse you but you would not be cleansed from your impurity, […].14 I the LORD have spoken. The time has come for me to act. I will not hold back; I will not have pity, nor will I relent. […]
It’s easy to read the Old Testament and see God’s wrath and judgment resulting in a ridiculous amount of death and violence. And we wonder as we read the New Testament how is it that God is supposed to love and desire everyone to have eternal life?
The real reason for God’s wrath and judgment isn’t because God enjoys bringing those things in our life, it is because God is ultimately trying to clean us but we refuse (v13). We miss the mark.
Ezekiel 24:27 (NIV)
27 […] and they will know that I am the Lord.
That is the mark we are missing. There is no blaming God for that.