Judgment falls when a people persistently choose violence instead of God’s ways.
“Make the chain, for the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence” (v.23). The prophet Ezekiel, who ministered to the exiles of Judah in the sixth century BC (circa 593-571 BC), utters this pronouncement as a grave warning of impending judgment. Ezekiel lived during a tumultuous period when the kingdom of Judah was on the brink of catastrophe. By commanding, “Make the chain,” Ezekiel vividly illustrates the captivity and bondage that would soon come upon Jerusalem for its moral corruption. The phrase “the land is full of bloody crimes” underscores that lawlessness and violent acts had become rampant among God’s people, showing open defiance against the Lord’s standard of justice. Similarly, the statement “the city is full of violence” implies that Jerusalem, meant to be a holy city, had been overtaken by deceit and brutal wrongdoing, provoking divine punishment.
Ezekiel’s words align with earlier passages warning of the consequences of sin leading to destruction. Throughout Israel’s history, God forbade murder, oppression, and violence, insisting that His people reflect righteousness and compassion. In neglecting these covenants, Judah was heading toward the domination of foreign powers—represented by the chain—indicating enslavement and a life subject to disorder. Ancient accounts of God’s judgment, such as the devastating flood in Genesis, were repeatedly linked to the earth’s being “filled with violence,” revealing a pattern where persistent bloodshed brings eventual reckoning. In Ezekiel’s day, this pattern would culminate in the Babylonian siege and the shattering of Jerusalem because they refused to repent of their wrongdoing.
Although these words contain severe warnings, they also remind believers that God takes no delight in seeing the wicked suffer (Ezekiel 18:23). The punishment was meant to cleanse and restore holiness, pointing forward to a future hope in which ultimate redemption is found in Jesus Christ, the true King who came to break the chains of sin and bring reconciliation (Colossians 1:13-14). Yet the tragic consequences of Jerusalem’s failure to turn from violence demonstrate that every generation is called to pursue righteousness and mercy instead of bloodshed and cruelty.
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Ezekiel 7:23 meaning
“Make the chain, for the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence” (v.23). The prophet Ezekiel, who ministered to the exiles of Judah in the sixth century BC (circa 593-571 BC), utters this pronouncement as a grave warning of impending judgment. Ezekiel lived during a tumultuous period when the kingdom of Judah was on the brink of catastrophe. By commanding, “Make the chain,” Ezekiel vividly illustrates the captivity and bondage that would soon come upon Jerusalem for its moral corruption. The phrase “the land is full of bloody crimes” underscores that lawlessness and violent acts had become rampant among God’s people, showing open defiance against the Lord’s standard of justice. Similarly, the statement “the city is full of violence” implies that Jerusalem, meant to be a holy city, had been overtaken by deceit and brutal wrongdoing, provoking divine punishment.
Ezekiel’s words align with earlier passages warning of the consequences of sin leading to destruction. Throughout Israel’s history, God forbade murder, oppression, and violence, insisting that His people reflect righteousness and compassion. In neglecting these covenants, Judah was heading toward the domination of foreign powers—represented by the chain—indicating enslavement and a life subject to disorder. Ancient accounts of God’s judgment, such as the devastating flood in Genesis, were repeatedly linked to the earth’s being “filled with violence,” revealing a pattern where persistent bloodshed brings eventual reckoning. In Ezekiel’s day, this pattern would culminate in the Babylonian siege and the shattering of Jerusalem because they refused to repent of their wrongdoing.
Although these words contain severe warnings, they also remind believers that God takes no delight in seeing the wicked suffer (Ezekiel 18:23). The punishment was meant to cleanse and restore holiness, pointing forward to a future hope in which ultimate redemption is found in Jesus Christ, the true King who came to break the chains of sin and bring reconciliation (Colossians 1:13-14). Yet the tragic consequences of Jerusalem’s failure to turn from violence demonstrate that every generation is called to pursue righteousness and mercy instead of bloodshed and cruelty.