The Terrible Immediacy of God: No More Delays Text: Ezekiel 12:26-28
Introduction: The Comfortable Heresy of 'Later'
We live in a generation that has mastered the art of the indefinite delay. We have become experts in procrastination. We put off diets until Monday, projects until tomorrow, and difficult conversations until never. This is a common human frailty, but when it is applied to the living God, it ceases to be a mere weakness and becomes a profound theological rebellion. It is the comfortable heresy of 'later.' It is the sin of treating the eternal God as though He operates on our flimsy, self-serving timetables.
The people of Israel in Ezekiel's day were not, for the most part, swaggering atheists. They were not publicly burning the Torah or building statues to Richard Dawkins. No, their rebellion was far more subtle, and therefore far more insidious. It was a rebellion disguised as a kind of weary, sophisticated piety. They heard the prophet's words, they nodded along to the dire warnings of judgment, and then they patted the prophet on the head and said, in effect, "That's a lovely sermon, son. It will be very relevant to our great-great-grandchildren." They did not deny the truth of God's Word; they just denied its imminence. They pushed it off into a hazy, distant future where it could do no immediate damage to their present comfort and their current sins.
This is the most dangerous form of unbelief because it feels so reasonable. It is the unbelief that says, "Of course the Bible is true, but it's not for now." It domesticates the Lion of Judah, turning Him into a housecat that might, perhaps, scratch the furniture in a few centuries. It treats the consuming fire of God's holiness as a decorative candle on a far-off mantelpiece. But God will not be managed. He will not be scheduled. He will not be put on hold. And in our text today, He confronts this spiritual sloth with a terrifying and glorious declaration of His own sovereign timing. He announces the end of all delays.
We must understand that this message is not just for ancient Israel. The temptation to postpone our accounts with God is a perennial one. We hear the call to repent and think, "I'll get right on that after this next bit of fun." We hear the promise of Christ's return and think, "Well, that's been two thousand years, so I've probably got time." This passage comes to us today as a divine interruption, a bucket of ice water on our drowsy souls, to tell us that God's 'now' has arrived.
The Text
Furthermore, the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, "Son of man, behold, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he beholds is for many years from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “None of My words will be delayed any longer. Whatever word I speak will be done,” ’ ” declares Lord Yahweh.
(Ezekiel 12:26-28 LSB)
The Scoffer's Anesthetic (v. 27)
God begins by diagnosing the precise nature of Israel's disease. He quotes their own words back to them.
"Son of man, behold, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he beholds is for many years from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’" (Ezekiel 12:27)
Notice the condescension here. This is the voice of a man who believes he has the system figured out. He is not a blasphemer in the classic sense. He is a pragmatist. He has calculated the odds. He has looked at the political situation, at the strength of Jerusalem's walls, at the alliances with Egypt, and he has concluded that God's prophet is getting a bit ahead of himself. The vision is true, perhaps, in some abstract, spiritual sense. But for "many years from now." The prophecy is about "times far off."
This is a spiritual anesthetic. It is a way of hearing the truth without feeling the force of it. By relegating God's Word to the distant future, they rob it of its present power. It becomes an interesting piece of religious speculation, a topic for debate in the city square, but not a summons that demands immediate repentance. It is the equivalent of a doctor telling a patient he has a fatal disease that will kill him in eighty years. The patient thanks him for the information and goes right on smoking three packs a day. The threat is not real because it is not immediate.
This is the very essence of worldly wisdom. The world always wants to negotiate the terms of God's reality. It wants to take God's absolute declarations and turn them into suggestions. It wants to take the sharp sword of the Spirit and put a cork on the tip. The Apostle Peter describes these same scoffers who will come in the last days, saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation" (2 Peter 3:4). The argument is the same: because judgment has not happened yet, it will not happen soon. This is the logic of fools who think that God's patience is the same thing as God's absence or God's impotence.
They were using the future as a shield against the present. They were building a fortress out of 'tomorrows' to protect them from the demands of 'today.' But they failed to realize that the future belongs to God, and He can collapse it into the present any time He chooses.
The Divine Refutation (v. 28)
God does not let this lie stand. He does not allow His people to remain comfortable in their delusion. He gives Ezekiel the precise words to shatter their false security.
"Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “None of My words will be delayed any longer. Whatever word I speak will be done,” ’ ” declares Lord Yahweh." (Ezekiel 12:28 LSB)
This is one of the most stark and absolute statements in all of prophecy. It is a divine course correction. The first thing to notice is the authority. "Thus says Lord Yahweh." This is not Ezekiel's opinion. This is not a counter-argument in a debate. This is a royal decree from the throne of the universe. And the message is twofold.
First, "None of My words will be delayed any longer." The grace period is over. The time for longsuffering, in this particular matter, has run its course. God is a patient God, to be sure. His patience is our salvation (2 Peter 3:15). But His patience is not infinite. There comes a point when the accounts must be settled. God is telling Israel that the clock they thought was on the wall is not the real clock. The real clock is in His hand, and the alarm is about to sound. The future they had so comfortably pushed away was now rushing toward them like a freight train.
Second, and this is the foundation of it all, "Whatever word I speak will be done." This gets to the very nature of God and His Word. God's Word is not like our word. Our words are descriptive; we try to make them match reality. God's Word is performative; it creates reality. When God said, "Let there be light," He wasn't hoping for the best. He was issuing a command that could not be resisted. When Jesus stood before the tomb of Lazarus and said, "Lazarus, come forth," the molecules of a dead man had no choice but to obey. God's Word is effectual. It carries within itself the power to bring about what it says.
To say that God's prophecy is for "a time far off" is to fundamentally misunderstand who God is. It is to assume that there is some external force, some friction in the universe, that can slow down or resist the divine decree. But there is no such force. There are no brakes on the will of God. When He speaks, it is done. The declaration is so final, so absolute, that it is bookended with His authority: "Thus says Lord Yahweh..." and it concludes with "...declares Lord Yahweh." He is signing His name to the death warrant of their procrastination.
Your Account is Due Today
The application for us is as sharp as a razor. This is not a history lesson about the bad attitude of the ancient Jews. This is a mirror. In what ways are we guilty of the heresy of 'later'?
When the Scriptures command us to put off a particular sin, to mortify the deeds of the flesh, do we say, "Yes, Lord," and then add under our breath, "starting next month"? When we are convicted of bitterness or unforgiveness toward a brother, do we decide to deal with it after we've had a little more time to nurse our grievance? This is to say that the vision is for a time far off. This is to treat the command of the living God as a friendly suggestion.
When the gospel is preached, and the free offer of grace in Jesus Christ is extended to all who would repent and believe, how is it received? Many hear it and think, "That is a wonderful message. I will certainly give it my full attention when I am older, when I have had my fill of the world." They are prophesying to themselves of a time far off. But the Bible says, "Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). The call of the gospel is not an invitation to an event in the distant future. It is an urgent summons to be rescued from a burning building, right now.
God's word to us is the same as His word to Israel. "None of My words will be delayed any longer." The word of judgment against unrepentant sin will not be delayed. The sentence has been passed, and only the cross of Christ can stay the execution. And that cross is offered to you today, not tomorrow. The word of promise to the believer will not be delayed. The promise of His presence, His provision, and His sanctifying grace is for you right now, in the midst of your trial. And the word of His return will not be delayed. He will come at an hour you do not expect, and all our worldly timetables will be burned up in the fire of His appearing.
Therefore, we must be a people who live in the light of God's terrible immediacy. We must hear His commands as commands for this afternoon. We must receive His promises as promises for this moment. We must live with the blessed reality that our God is not a distant, retired deity. He is the Lord Yahweh, whose every word is alive and active, and whatever He speaks, shall be done.