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sharpened and polished

Ezekiel 21:1-13 (JDV)

Ezekiel 21:1 The word of Yahveh happened to me again. This is what it said:
Ezekiel 21:2 “Son of Adam, face Jerusalem and preach against the devoted places. Prophesy against the land of Israel,
Ezekiel 21:3 and say to it, ‘This is what Yahveh says: Notice I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the guilty.
Ezekiel 21:4 Since I will cut off both the righteous and the guilty, my sword will therefore come out of its sheath against all people from the south to the north.
Ezekiel 21:5 So all people will know that I, Yahveh, have taken my sword from its sheath – it will not be sheathed again.’
Ezekiel 21:6 “But you, son of Adam, groan! Groan bitterly with a broken heart right before their eyes.
Ezekiel 21:7 And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning? ‘ then say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, and every hand will become weak. Every breath will be discouraged, and all knees will run with urine. Notice, it is coming and it will happen. This is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh.'”
Ezekiel 21:8 The word of Yahveh happened to me:
Ezekiel 21:9 “Son of Adam, prophesy, ‘This is what Yahveh says! ‘ You are to proclaim, ‘A sword! A sword is sharpened and also polished.
Ezekiel 21:10 It is sharpened for slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! Should we be glad? The scepter of my son, the sword thinks lightly of every tree.
Ezekiel 21:11 The sword is given to be polished, to be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened, and it is polished, to be put in the hand of the slayer.’
Ezekiel 21:12 “Cry out and wail, son of Adam, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel! They are given over to the sword with my people. Therefore slap your thigh in grief.
Ezekiel 21:13 Surely it will be a test! And what if the sword thinks lightly of even the scepter? The scepter will not continue.” This is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh.

sharpened and polished

He is a heartbroken God who lets loose a sharpened and polished sword upon his own people. Their rebellion is too great — their sin too dark for the Almighty to let it be. Thus the prophet is told to groan bitterly with a broken heart right before their eyes. He is to be a symbol of the Lord’s pain — a pain that cannot be eased without judgment.

LORD, open our eyes to your coming judgment. Help us to snatch people from Gehenna’s fire.