The days go by and every vision comes to nothing. (Ezekiel 12:22)Like Isaiah ben Amoz before him, Ezekiel tried to warn the people of Judah about their impending disaster, the penalty for disobedience to the Lord God. But that disaster had not fallen on Judah during the days of Isaiah, and as far as Ezekiel's contemporaries were concerned, it was unlikely to fall in their day either.
We see a parallel with the attitudes of those to whom Jeremiah prophesied. They have lied about the Lord; they said, "He will do nothing! No harm will come to us (Jeremiah 5:12)." They thought God was too uncaring or impotent to intervene.
Others said that in the event Ezekiel's prophecies did come true, nothing would happen for years, maybe generations (12:27). God told Ezekiel to let them know the time was upon them, not years in the future, but very, very soon.
Just because judgment is delayed is no reason to assume judgment has been averted. The payoff - good or bad - for present behaviors may not be realized for years to come, but things have a way of catching up with us.
Think you've pulled a fast one on God? Caught him napping? Probably not. Long term behaviors add up. And so does the reward or the consequence.
What behavior do you need to change before it's too late?
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