Ezekiel 8 has the LORD showing Ezekiel the blatant sin of Judah’s officials in the Temple as they worship idols, the sun, and other pagan deities even as they stand in the Temple. The LORD tells Ezekiel this is why His judgment is being poured out on the land.
Ezekiel 9 is a gory depiction of the LORD’s judgment on all those who have committed idolatry before Him. He has one of his messengers mark all those who have sinned, and then His destroyer comes behind and slays them. Ezekiel asks whether He will kill the entire remnant of His people? No answer comes as the chapter ends.
Ezekiel 10 recounts the departure of the LORD from the Temple. In great detail, Ezekiel describes the cherubim who are in the Temple, and the commands given to the man clothed in linen to take hot coals from the altar and spread them all over the city. Then the LORD and His entourage leave the Temple. Consider the symbolism: The LORD has never been bound to a building, from the time King Solomon constructed the first Temple to this very day, but He has always dwelt among His people. But here, He tells Ezekiel He is departing. He will have nothing to do with this sinful group of people who have abandoned Him totally.
Ezekiel 11 starts with more judgment for the leaders who have led the people astray to idols. They are told they will die, and their leader does. But then, the chapter takes a turn and the LORD tells Ezekiel a remnant of the people will be preserved from those who have gone into exile and will return to Jerusalem. The LORD will be with them, but once again He reminds those who have turned from Him and committed on-going sin will be destroyed. As always, the LORD’s mercy is evident even with a people who have been so completely filled with idolatry. Those who repent will be redeemed.
As we return to Matthew 18, the disciples ask a vital question, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” Jesus doesn’t answer with the name of a specific person but says whoever turns and becomes like a child will be the greatest. This raises the important matter of the distinction between childlikeness, which Jesus affirms here, and childishness, which He does not affirm. The childlike traits that makes us great in God’s kingdom are trust, love, joy, and being “all in.” Little children have a natural (supernatural?) exuberance and joy for living that often gets trained out of them as they grow. Jesus warns that any who lead one of His little ones astray will face severe punishment. He also points out how precious every single person is, when He compares it to a shepherd looking for one lost sheep, even though He has 100 sheep. In the same way, the LORD is not willing for even one of His little ones to perish.
As we move on, Jesus offers the process for us to follow when someone sins against us. The process is simple, but not always easy to carry out in life. First, we go to the person and confront the situation. If the person repents, we receive him or her back. If not, we take a couple of the elders or mature members of the church and confront again. If the person repents, we receive him or her back. If that doesn’t work, we bring the person before the entire church and ask him or her to repent. If that doesn’t work, the person is to be cast out and treated as a “tax collector.” Peter followed up these instructions by asking Jesus how many times we must forgive someone who sins against us? He asked if it were up to seven times? Jesus answered that it wasn’t seven times but seventy times seven. Jesus then told a parable about a master who forgave the massive debt of one of his servants, because the servant begged him to do so. But afterward, the servant had a fellow servant thrown into prison for a small debt. When the other servants told the master about this, the master brought the servant back in, called him wicked, and then had him cast into prison for not forgiving as he had been forgiven. Jesus’ punchline was: My Heavenly Father will also treat you the same way if you do not forgive those who sin against you. Forgiveness is the core of our faith. Jesus forgave us the sin that had condemned us to hell. That means we must forgive one another, regardless of the weight of the sin. That doesn’t mean we say the other person was right. It means we release the other person to the mercy of God!