EZEKIEL 22:23-30
Key verse: 30, “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.”
INTRODUCTION
The Lord said this about Israel, His own people. Matthew Henry said, “All orders and degrees of men had helped to fill the measure of the nation’s guilt. The people that had any power abused it and even the buyers and sellers find some way to oppress one another. It bodes [to be an omen of] ill to a people when judgments are breaking in upon them, and the spirit of prayer is restrained.
Let all who fear God, unite to promote His truth and righteousness; as wicked men of every rank and profession plot together to run them down.”
I. SOUGHT FOR A MAN AMONG THEM,” v. 30.
A. A MAN, a male,
John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,
(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
B. A SERVANT, a dedicated servant of God,
Isaiah 42:1: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in
whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.”
C. A GREAT MAN, an uncommon man,
Isaiah 42:6-7, “I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and
‘will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.”
D. A CHAMPION, One that is clearly superior or has the attributes
of a winner. Note this list of men of ability and courage.
1. Noah, a man who walked with God, Genesis 6.
2. Abraham, a man of faith, Genesis 15.
3. David, a man after God’s own heart, Acts 13:22.
4. The Apostles of Jesus Christ, Luke 6:12-16.
5. The Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:8-10.
6. Jesus Christ, The Champion! Matthew 3:17, “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
II. A MAN TO CLOSE THE GAP
A. A worker.
1. A builder, (Jesus was a carpenter, he knew the discipline of work) someone who knows how to work.
2. Someone trained for the work to be done.
3. Someone willing to labor and finish the job, John 6:38,
“For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”
B. A Contractor.
One who will take the responsibility. Matthew 16:18, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
III. A MAN TO STAND IN THE BREACH
A. The Man of Courage and Faith.
1. This man did not come from the outside, John 1:11, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not,”
2. Jesus was born a Jew and a part of Israel.
B. The Servant of God,
Isaiah 42:1, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect,
in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.”
C. God’s chosen man to stand in the breach.
1. The Spirit of God is upon Him.
2. God’s will was His will,
Hebrews 10:7, “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the
book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.”
D. A Great Man,
Isaiah 52:13-14, “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. 14 As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:”
E. The Alpha and Omega,
Revelation 1:10-11, 17-18, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, 11Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last:… 17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: 18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
F. He is the author and finisher of our faith,
Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
CONCLUSION
The Lord did not find a man in Israel during that time that could stand in the gap.
But in time Jesus Christ was born exactly as God had planned, Galatians 4:4, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, The Man to stand in the gap.
